Synopsis
Excerpt from The Edinburgh Review, Vol. 255: Or Critical Journal: For July, 1901;;; October, 1901; To Be Continued Quarterly
The volumes are, in fact, a monument to the memory of Drake - the Drake of history Drake drawn forth from the legend of fable long associated with his name, and now presented to us as a real man, though grand beyond the ordinary run of men; grand in his deeds, grander still in his yet imperfect conceptions, instinct with that spirit of prophecy which is so closely attendant on genius, and which links the musings of the poet to the warnings-of revelation. That, with a sound mind in a sound body, Drake had also some of this transcendent feeling, impelling him to acts which he himself could not understand, and to plans which he himself could not realise, is clear to every one at all familiar with the story of his life. It was not calm judgement, it was rather a movement akin to inspira tion, which, as he descended from the tree over against Panama, threw him on his knees to pray that he might be permitted to sail on that southern sea which his eyes had just beheld. Judgement would have declared the thing im possible then, as six years later it declared it to be to Doughty, who mutinied, or to Wynter, who deserted. To these men, Drake was a dreamer of dreams, dangerous when in authority. But the dreams became accomplished facts, the passage through the Straits of Magellan was made in a shorter time than ever again for nearly two hundred and fifty years, and the raid up the coasts of Chili, and Peru, and Mexico brought to the adventurer wealth beyond the dreams of avarice.' Of other dreams, other conceptions, then impossible, but long since realised, we shall have to speak later on. We do not propose to follow in detail Mr. Corbett's lifelike narrative of Drake's career, to do which, indeed, would be trespassing on the domain of the historian or biographer; but rather, while briefly recalling the sequence of events, to examine some of them, interesting in themselves and tending to illustrate not only what was most remarkable in Drake's character, but also the tendency of the age and the outburst of maritime energy which so especially distinguished the reign of Elizabeth.
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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Product Description
Excerpt from The Edinburgh Review, Vol. 255: Or Critical Journal: For July, 1901;;; October, 1901; To Be Continued Quarterly Of all the brave men who have devoted their lives to the establishing and confirming England's empire of the seas, the one whose name, first after Nelson's, would rise spontaneously to the popular lips is undoubtedly Drake. Round his memory there is a golden halo, richly set, too, with precious stones, which lightens up the obscurity of tradition and legend; and even when viewed with the aid of the lamp of history, his story still shines forth brilliant beyond the conception of fable. It is to elucidating this story, to illustrating its relation to the winning of that sea-power which has been England's heritage for the last three centuries, that Mr. Corbett has devoted the patient labour of many years, now represented by the admirable volumes whose titles stand at the head of this article. No. 3, being a collection of official and other contemporary documents printed for the Navy Records Society, is the framework of the narrative of the West Indian campaign of 1585-6, and of the raid on Cadiz in 1587, just as the companion volumes relating to the defeat of the Spanish Armada are for the events of 1588. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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