which he had so recently escaped, carried it immediately to Sir William. The terms of the letter were sufficiently indicative of the pirate's fears :-" Dear Friend-I was bearing into Broad Haven to give you corn for ballast, but I was frighted by the king's ship, I supposed to be there. I pray you send me word what ship it is; for we stand in great fear. I pray you, provide me two kine; for we are in great want of victuals: whensoever you shall make a fire on shore, I will send my boat to you." Sir William dictated the answer to this momentous epistle, and made Cormat sign it, to the effect that "he rejoiced to hear of his health, and desired to see him. He bid him be confident this ship could not endanger him; for she was not the king's, as he imagined, but one of London that came from the Indies with her men sick, and many dead. He promised him two oxen and a calf; to observe his directions by making a fire; and gave him hope to see him within two nights." Three or four of the ship's company, disguised in Irish habits, were sent to accompany the messenger, with instructions to remain in ambush. The pirates kept an anxious lookout for the beacon fire, and it was no sooner lighted than they rowed ashore, making no delay, but receiving the letter and hastily returning to their vessel. Cormat's assurances gave them the utmost confidence, and, to make amends for the six days of foul weather at sea, they surrendered themselves to the most extravagant rejoicings. In the meanwhile, Sir William was quietly effecting the plan he had secretly laid for their capture. Understanding that there was "a nook of land two miles in breadth, which separated the river where the pirates lay from another river which flowed into the sea opposite to the island, he took several of the Irish, without com municating his intentions to them, and, with the help of his own company, caused them to draw two boats overland; and having reached the other river, he made them row thirty miles to the place where it was agreed the fire should be made. The Irish who assisted at this manœuvre were quite as much astonished at it as the pirates, who were so amazed when Sir William appeared among them, that "they had not power to resist, but yielded like so many wolves caught in their own snares. The whole gang were seized and carried to Broad Haven, where the captain was executed as an example to the rest, as much mercy being shown to his associates as the rigorous character of the admiral's instructions would permit. By this achievement the pirates were effectually banished from Broad Haven, and for some time afterwards they wholly abandoned the Irish coast. The country was so completely cleared of the seafaring adventurers, that Sir William went, to use his own words, groping along the coast, not being able to procure a pilot; touching on the 12th of July at Vintry, which had relieved him twice before; and making a complete circuit of the three kingdoms before he reached the Downs, on the 18th of August. ROBERT SOUTHEY THE MANNER OF KILLING THE WHALE William Baffin first came into note in 1612, when he sailed in an expedition to Greenland. The next two years he acted as pilot in expeditions to Spitzbergen for the Muscovy Company. In 1615-16 he was engaged in exploring in the North-West. From 1617 he was in the service of the East India Company, and was killed in the Persian Gulf in 1622. THE whale is a fish, or sea beast, of a huge bigness, about 60 feet long and 18 feet thick. His head seems to be one-third part of his whole quantity. His fins (which we call whalebone in England) do grow and are wholly included within his spacious mouth, being fastened, and, as it were, rooted in his uppermost jaw, spreading on both sides of his tongue, in number more than 80 on one side, and as many on the other side. The longest fins are placed in the midst of his mouth, and the rest do orderly shorten, more and more, both backwards and forwards, from 12 feet to less than 3 inches in length. His eyes are not much bigger than the eyes of an ox, and his body in fashion round,with a very broad-spreading tail, which is of a rough and solid substance, and therefore it is used for to make chopping blocks, to chop the whales' fat upon (which we call blubber); and of other like matter are also his two swimming fins, which serve, at some times, for the same use. The whale comes often above water, and will commonly spout eight or nine times before he goes under again, by which spouting of water we may discern him when he is two or three leagues distant from us. When he enters into the sounds, our whale killers do presently sally forth to meet him, either from our ships, or else from some other place more convenient for that purpose, where to expect him, making very speedy way toward him with their shallops. But, most commonly, before they come near him, he will be gone down under water, and continue, perhaps, a good while ere he rise again; so that sometimes they row past him, and therefore are they always very circumspect, looking if they can discern his way under the water (which they call his wake), or else see him farther off by his spouting, being risen. Then, coming near him, they row resolutely toward him, as though they intended to force the shallop upon him. But so soon as they come within stroke of him, the harponier (who stands up ready in the head of the boat) darts his harping iron at him out of both his hands, wherewith the whale being stricken, he presently descends to the bottom of the water, and therefore the men in the shallop do wear out 40, 50, or 60 fathoms of rope-yea, sometimes 100, or more, according as the depth requireth. For upon the socket of the harping iron there is made fast a rope, which lies orderly coiled up in the stern of the boat, which, I say, they do wear forth until they perceive him to be rising again, and then they hale in some of it, both to give him the less scope, and also that it may be the stronger, being shorter. For when he riseth from the bottom, he comes not directly above the water, but swims away with an uncontrolled force and swiftness, hurrying the shallop after him, with her head so close drawn down to the water, that she seems ever ready to be haled under it. When he hath thus drawn him perhaps a mile or more which is done in a very short time, considering her swiftness-then will he come spouting above the water; and the men row up to him, and strike him with their long lances, which are made purposely for that use. In lancing of the whale they strike him as near his swimming fin, and as low under water as they can conveniently, to pierce into his entrails. But when he is wounded he is like to wrest the lance out of the strikers' hand; so that sometimes two men are fain to pluck it out, although but one man did easily thrust it in. But now will he frisk and strike with his tail very forcibly, sometimes hitting the shallop, and splitting her asunder, sometimes, also, maiming or killing some of the men. And for that cause, there are always two or three shallops about the killing of one whale, that one of them may relieve and take in the men out of another, being split. When he hath received his deadly wound, then casteth he forth blood where formerly he spouted water; and before he dies he will sometimes draw the shallops three or four miles from the place where he was first stricken with the harping iron. When he is dying, he most commonly turneth his belly uppermost, and then do the men fasten a rope, or small hauser, to the hinder part of his body, and with their shallops (made fast one to another) they tow him to the ships with his tail foremost; and then they fasten him to the stern of some ship appointed for that purpose, while he is cut up in manner as followeth. Two or three men come into a boat, or shallop, to the side of the whale, one man holding the boat close to the whale with a boat-hook, and another, who stands either in the boat or upon the whale, cuts and scores the fat, which we call blubber, in square-like pieces, 3 or 4 feet long, with a great cutting knife. Then, to raise it from the flesh, there is a crab, or capstow, set |