Now glory be to God who has given us the victory! It is true, the strength of Spain is shattered, her ships are sunk or fled, the sea has swallowed her soldiers and her sailors by hundreds and by thousands, and England breathes again. They came to conquer, to bring us to the torture and the stake-to do to us free Englishmen as Cortes did by the Indians of Anahuac. Our manhood to the slave bench, our daughters to dishonour, our souls to the loving-kindness of the priest, our wealth to the Emperor and the Pope! God has ...
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Now glory be to God who has given us the victory! It is true, the strength of Spain is shattered, her ships are sunk or fled, the sea has swallowed her soldiers and her sailors by hundreds and by thousands, and England breathes again. They came to conquer, to bring us to the torture and the stake-to do to us free Englishmen as Cortes did by the Indians of Anahuac. Our manhood to the slave bench, our daughters to dishonour, our souls to the loving-kindness of the priest, our wealth to the Emperor and the Pope! God has answered them with his winds, Drake has answered them with his guns. They are gone, and with them the glory of Spain.I, Thomas Wingfield, heard the news to-day on this very Thursday in the Bungay market-place, whither I went to gossip and to sell the apples which these dreadful gales have left me, as they hang upon my trees.Before there had been rumours of this and of that, but here in Bungay was a man named Young, of the Youngs of Yarmouth, who had served in one of the Yarmouth ships in the fight at Gravelines, aye and sailed north after the Spaniards till they were lost in the Scottish seas.Little things lead to great, men say, but here great things lead to little, for because of these tidings it comes about that I, Thomas Wingfield, of the Lodge and the parish of Ditchingham in the county of Norfolk, being now of a great age and having only a short time to live, turn to pen and ink. Ten years ago, namely, in the year 1578, it pleased her Majesty, our gracious Queen Elizabeth, who at that date visited this county, that I should be brought before her at Norwich. There and then, saying that the fame of it had reached her, she commanded me to give her some particulars of the story of my life, or rather of those twenty years, more or less, which I spent among the Indians at that time when Cortes conquered their country of Anahuac, which is now known as Mexico. But almost before I could begin my tale, it was time for her to start for Cossey to hunt the deer, and she said it was her wish that I should write the story down that she might read it, and moreover that if it were but half as wonderful as it promised to be, I should end my days as Sir Thomas Wingfield. To this I answered her Majesty that pen and ink were tools I had no skill in, yet I would bear her command in mind. Then I made bold to give her a great emerald that once had hung upon the breast of Montezuma's daughter, and of many a princess before her, and at the sight of it her eyes glistened brightly as the gem, for this Queen of ours loves such costly playthings. Indeed, had I so desired, I think that I might then and there have struck a bargain, and set the stone against a title; but I, who for many years had been the prince of a great tribe, had no wish to be a knight. So I kissed the royal hand, and so tightly did it grip the gem within that the knuckle joints shone white, and I went my ways, coming back home to this my house by the Waveney on that same day.Now the Queen's wish that I should set down the story of my life remained in my mind, and for long I have desired to do it before life and story end together. The labour, indeed, is great to one unused to such tasks; but why should I fear labour who am so near to the holiday of death? I have seen things that no other Englishman has seen, which are worthy to be recorded; my life has been most strange, many a time it has pleased God to preserve it when all seemed lost, and this perchance He has done that the lesson of it might become known to others. For there is a lesson in it and in the things that I have seen, and it is that no wrong can ever bring about a right, that wrong will breed wrong at last, and be it in man or people, will fall upon the brain that thought it and the hand that wrought it.
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Seller's Description:
Used-Good. Good hardback. Well-preserved copy in tight binding. Blue cloth; gilt title on front board and spine; bevilled edges. Corners and head & foot of spine rubbed to faded cloth; spine slightly discoloured. Swan-decorated end papers; Light foxing present; concentrated mainly on prelims & edges. Bright frontispiece with original tissue guard; 24 black and white illustrations all present.
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Seller's Description:
Good. No Dj cover as issued. GC, Longmans Green, 1893. First UK edition. Green hardback (gilt lettering on the front cover and spine, some dents, nicks and small marks on the cover and spine, very small tear on the edges of the spine) in GC, no Dj cover as issued. Illustrated with b/w plates. Clean pages but aged and tainted on the outer edges, first 4 pages are slightly loose from the spine (a couple of the hinges of the book are slightly broken), small creases, foxing marks and marks on the edges of the pages, three pages has come loose from the book but are included. The book is in GC for its age with some shelf wear. 325pp including List of plates. A collectable first edition.,
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Seller's Description:
VG. First Tauchnitz Edition complete in two volumes and released in the sa me year as the Longman's First Edition. Bound in red cloth with vellum spines and red leather spine labels. Each volume measures approximate ly 4 1/2" x 6 1/4". A Very Good set. The leather spine label is missin g on Volume 2. The labe on Volume 1 is partially chipped away. The bin dings have mild dust soiling. The interiors of the books are clean, ti ght and unmarked. Scarce edition.
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Seller's Description:
VERY GOOD PLUS. FIRST US PRINTING. 1893 Longmans, Green green cloth hardcover, red design on front cover and spine, gold lettering on spine, b&w illustrations, 328 pages + publisher's ads at back. Slight cover wear, some white spots on spine as if water spatter diluted some of the green dye in the cloth cover, very slightly soiled due to handling. Tight binding, endpaper hinges are sound. Pages have a very slight ripple, slightly yellowed due to age, no marks. A nice copy. **We provide professional service and individual attention to your order, daily shipments, and sturdy packaging. FREE TRACKING ON ALL SHIPMENTS WITHIN USA.