consisting of t,. hundred soldiers under I)on Juan de Ortega, was sent from Panama to surprise them. Ortega reached the delta of the river, but he was at a loss which mouth to enter, for it dis- charged its waters into the sea by three channels. Presently a quantity of feathers of plucked fowls came floating down one of them. Ortega at once went up that chanuel, and on the fourth day came to the pinnace with only six men in her. Soon the Spaniards discovered where the booty was concealed, and were returning to their boats, when they x ere overtaken by Oxenham and the maiu body. The fearless Englishman led on a desperate attack, and his men fought with impetuous valour. But they were overpowered by numbers. Eleven were killed, and twelve, including the gallant leader, were captm'ed and sent to Lima. All were put to death except two boys. It was a sad ending for an exploit almost without an equal in the annals of maritime daring. Its reckless audacity has been condemneel, though it is a quality which should be fostered and encouraged, for it has made England the mistress of the sea. It must be remembered too that Oxenham aud his men showed that, although they knew n6 fea. r and counted no odds, they, and espe- cially their leader, had the minds to plan out an undertaking of extreme difficulty, and to execute it with skill and foresight. Above all we shotfid be proud that the cause of their disaster was their generous humanity. If they had done to their prisoners what the Spaniards did to theirs, they would have returneel home safely with their little ship laden with treasure. The training of an explorer alone could have enabled Oxenham to achieve what he did. The noble attribute of mercy to the vanquished caused his failure and death.

While Drake, fireel by the sight of the South Sea from the tall tree on Darien, was dreamtug of a eat voyage rouud the world, the attention of some of his brother adventurers was tunturi to the discove, of a way to the Indies by the north-west. !Iichael Lok was a leadtug spirit in advocating an attempt; and the bold Yorkshireman who commanded the expedition vas fortunate in having a man on board who was so well able to give an interesting account of his voyages. Mr. George :Best knew what he was writing about, for he had "applied himself wholly to the study of cosmographic and the secrets of navigation." He tells us that ('aptaiu Martin Frobiscr fitted out two very small vessels--the O,brie! of 25, and the Michael of 20, tons--and sailed on the 1st