Brazilian monarch died on his voyage back, which made Hawkins fear for
the life of Martin Cockeram, whom he had left in Brazil as a hostage.
However, the Brazilians took Hawkins's word for it and released
Cockeram, who lived another forty years in Plymouth. 'Olde M. William
Haukins' was the father of Sir John Hawkins, Drake's companion in arms,
whom we shall meet later. He was also the grandfather of Sir Richard
Hawkins, another naval hero, and of the second William Hawkins, one of
the founders of the greatest of all chartered companies, the Honourable
East India Company.

Hawkins knew what he was about. 'Master Hore' did not. Hore was a
well-meaning, plausible fellow, good at taking up new-fangled ideas, bad
at carrying them out, and the very cut of a wildcat company-promoter,
except for his honesty. He persuaded 'divers young lawyers of the Innes
of Court and Chancerie' to go to Newfoundland. A hundred and twenty men
set off in this modern ship of fools, which ran into Newfoundland at
night and was wrecked. There were no provisions; and none of the 'divers
lawyers' seems to have known how to catch a fish. After trying to live
on wild fruit they took to eating each other, in spite of Master Hore,
who stood up boldly and warned them of the 'Fire to Come.' Just then a
French fishing smack came in; whereupon the lawyers seized her, put her
wretched crew ashore, and sailed away with all the food she had. The
outraged Frenchmen found another vessel, chased the lawyers back to
England, and laid their case before the King, who 'out of his Royall
Bountie' reimbursed the Frenchmen and let the 'divers lawyers' go scot
free.


Hawkins and Hore, and others like them, were the heroes of travellers'
tales. But what was the ordinary life of the sailor who went down to the