Both sides of a medal
struck off at the time of Drake's return to England, commemorating his
voyage around the world. The faint dotted line shows the course sailed
by him in the _Golden Hind_.]
After all the perils Drake saw in the subsequent war--Cadiz and the
Armada--it seems strange that he should return to the scene of his past
exploits to die. He was with Hawkins in the campaign of 1595 against
Spain in the New World. Things had not gone well. He had not approved
of Hawkins's plans of attack, and the venture was being bungled. Sick
of the equatorial fever, or of chagrin from failure, Drake died off
Porto Bello in the fifty-first year of his age. His body {167} was
placed in a leaden coffin, and solemnly committed to that sea where he
had won his first glory.[11]
[1] This is but a brief epitome of the Spaniard's swelling words. Only
the Heavens above were omitted from Spain's claim.
[2] The exact position of the English towards the port is hard to give,
at the site of Vera Cruz has been changed three times.
[3] This halfway station was known as Venta Cruz.
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