Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	duke_n	king_n	richard_n	10,097	5	9.0487	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09218	Three to one being, an English-Spanish combat, performed by a westerne gentleman, of Tauystoke in Deuon shire with an English quarter-staffe, against three Spanish rapiers and poniards, at Sherries in Spaine, the fifteene day of Nouember, 1625. In the presence of dukes, condes, marquesses, and other great dons of Spaine, being the counsell of warre. The author of this booke, and actor in this encounter, Richard Peeeke [sic].	Pike, Richard, fl. 1625.	1626 (1626)	STC 19529; ESTC S120629	14,680	38

Three to One Being An English-Spanish Combat Performed by a Westerne Gentleman of Tauystoke in Deuonshire with an English Quarter-Staffe against Three Spanish Rapiers and Poniards at Sherries in Spaine The fifteene day of Nouember 1625. In the Presence of Dukes Condes Marquesses and other Great Dons of Spaine being the Counsell of Warre The Author of this Booke and Actor in this Encounter Richard Peeeke TO THE KINGS MOST EXCELLENT Maiestie GRATIOVS SOVERAIGNE IF I were againe in Spaine I should thinke no happinesse on Earth so great as to come into England and at your Royall Feete lay downe the Story of my Dangers and Peregrination Which I tell as a late Sea-wrackt Man tos'd and beaten with many Misfortunes Yet setting my weary Body at last on a Blessed Shore My Handes now lay hold vpon your Altar which is to me a Sanctuary Heere I am safe in Harbor That Psalme of Kingly Dauid which I sung in my Spanish Captiuity Psal 137. When as wee sate in Babilon c. I now haue changed to an other Tune saying with the same Prophet Great is thy Mercy towards me O Lord for thou hast deliuered my Soule from the lowest Graue Psal 86.13 And as your Maiesty hath bene gratiously pleased both to let your poore Soldier and Subiect behold your Royall Person and to heare him speake in his rude Language So if your Maiesty vouchsafe to cast a Princely Eye on these his vnhandsome Papers New Sun-beames shall spread ouer him and put a Quickning Soule into that Bosome which otherwise must want Life for want of your Comfort Those Graces from your Excellent Clemency already receiued being such that I am ashamed and sorry not to haue Endur'd and to haue done more in Forreigne Countries for the Honor of Yours When from so High a Throane my Souereigne Deignes to looke Downe on a Creature so vnworthy whose Life he prostrates before your Highnes Euer resting Your Maiesties most Humble and Loyall Subiect RICHARD PEEKE Three to One Being An English-Spanish Combat LOuing Countreymen Not to weary you with long Praeambles vnnecessary for you to reade and troublesome for me to set downe I will come roundly to the matter intreating you not to cast a malitious eye vpon my Actions nor rashly to condemne them or to stagger in your Opinions of my performance sithence I am ready with my life to Iustify what I set downe the Trueth of this Relation being Warrented by Noble Proofes and Testimonies not to be questioned I am a Westerne Man Deuonshire my Countrey and Tauestoke my place of Habitation I know not what the Court of a King meanes nor what the fine Phrases of silken Courtiers are A good Shippe I know and a poore Cabbin and the Language of a Cannon And therefore as my Breeding has bin Rough scorning Delicacy And my Present Being consisteth altogether vpon the Soldier blunt plaine and vnpollished so must my Writings be proceeding from fingers fitter for the Pike then the Pen And so kinde Countreymen I pray receaue them Neither ought you to expect better from me because I am but the Chronicler of my owne Story After I had seene the Beginning and End of Argeires Voyage Argiers I came home somewhat more acquainted with the World but little amended in Estate My Body more wasted and weather-beaten but my Purse neuer the fuller nor my Pockets thicker lyned Then the Drumbe beating vp for a New Expedition in which many Noble Gentlemen and Heroicall Spirits were to venture their Honors Liues and Fortunes Cables could not hold me for away I would and along I vowed to goe and did so The Dissigne opening it selfe at Sea for Cales Cales proude I was to be imployed There where so many Gallants and English Worthies did by their Examples encourage the Common Soldier to Honorable Darings The Shippe I went in was called The Conuertine one of the Nauy Royall The Captaine Thomas Portar On the two and twentie day of October October 22. The Fleete came to Cales being Saterday 1625. our Fleete came into Cales about three of the clock in the afternoone we being in all some hundred and ten Sayle The Saturday-night some sixteene Sayle of the Hollanders and about ten White-Hall-Men who in England are called Colliers were commanded to fight against the Castle of Puntall Fight at Puntall standing three miles from Cales who did so accordingly and discharged in that Seruice at the least one thousand sixe hundred Shott On the Sunday morning following the Earle of Essex going vp very early Earle of Essex and an hower at least before vs to the Fight commanded our Shippe the Conuertine being of his Squadron to follow him The Castle playing hard and hotly vpon his Lordship Captaine Portar and the Maister of our Ship Captaine Portar whose name is M. Hill hauing vpon sight of so fierce an Encounter an equall desire to doe something worthy themselues and their Countrey came vp so close to the Castle as possibly Men in such a danger either could or durst aduenture and there fought brauely The Castle bestowing vpon vs a hotte salutation and well becomming our approach with Bullets whose first Shot killd three of our Men passing through and through our Shippe the second killd foure and the third two more at least with great spoile and battery to our Shippe The last Shotte flying so close by Captaine Portar that with the winde of the Bullet his very Hands had almost lost the Sence of feeling being struck into a suddaine numbnesse Vpon this Captaine Portar perceiuing the danger wee and our Shippe were in commaunded a number of vs to get vpon the vpper Deck and with our Small Shotte to try if we could force the Cannoneers from their Ordnance Wee presently aduaunced our selues fell close to our worke and plyed them with Pellets in which hotte and dangerous Seruice one Master William Iewell Mr. William Iewell his Seruice behaued himselfe both Manly and like a Noble Soldier expressing much Valour abillity of Body and readinesse with whom and some few more I amongst the rest stood the brunt which continued about three houres Out Ship lay all this while with her Star-bord side to the Fort who beating vs continually with at least two hundred Muskets whose Bullets flew so thick that our Shrowdes were torne in peices and our Tacklings rent to nothing and when she came off 500. Bullets in the Star-board side of our Shippe there were to be seene fiue hundred Bullets at the least sticking in her side I for my part without vaine glory be it spoken discharging at this time some threescore and ten Shotte as they recounted to me who charged my Peeces for me In the heate of this Fight Sir William Sentliger Sir William Sentliger whether cald vp by my Lord of Essex or comming of himselfe I know not seeing vs so hardly besett and that we had but few Shotte vpon our Deck in regard of the

foure Marquesses besides other great Persons the towne hauing in it at least fiue thousand Soldiers At my first appearing before the Lordes my Sword lying before them on a Table the Duke of Medina asked me if I knew that Weapon It was reached to me I tooke it and embraced it in mine armes and with teares in mine eyes kist the Pomell of it He then demaunded how many Men I had kild with that Weapon I told him if I had kild One I had not bene there now before that Princely Assembly for when I had him at my foote begging for Mercy I gaue him life yet he then very poorely did me a mischiefe Then they asked Don Iohn my Prisoner what Woundes I gaue him He sayd none Vpon this he was rebuked and told That if vpon our first Encounter he had run me through it had beene a faire and Noble Triumph but so to wound me being in the hands of others they held it Base Questions by the Spaniards Then sayd the Duke of Medyna to me Come on English-Man What Shippe came you in I told him The Conuertine Who was your Captaine Captaine Portar What Ordnance carryed your Shippe I sayd forty Peices But the Lords looking all this while on a Paper which they held in their hands Duke Medyna sayd In their Note there was but thirty eight In that Paper as after I was informed by my two Irish Interpreters there was set downe the Number of our Shippes their Burden Men Munition Victuall Captaines c. as perfect as wee our selues had them in England Of what Strength quoth an other Duke is the Fort at Plymouth I answered very Strong What Ordnance in it Fifty sayd I That is not so sayd he there is but seuenteene How many Soldiers are in the Fort I answered two hundred That is not so quoth a Conde there is but twenty Marquesse Alquenezes asked me Of what strength the little Iland was before Plymouth I told him I knew not Then quoth he wee doe Is Plymouth a Walled Towne Yes my Lords And a good Wall Yes sayd I a very good Wall True sayd a Duke to leape ouer with a Staffe And hath the Towne sayd the Duke of Medyna strong Gates Yes But quoth he there was neither Wood nor Iron to those Gates but two dayes before your Fleete came away Now before I goe any farther let me not forget to tell you that my two Irish Confessors had been heere in England the last Summer when our Fleete came from England they came for Spaine Hauing seene our King at Plymouth when the Soldiers there shewed their Armes and did then diligently obserue what the King did and how he carried himselfe How chance sayd Duke Giron did you not in all this Brauery of the Fleete take Cales as you tooke Puntall I replyed that the Lord Generall might easily haue taken Cales for he had neere a thousand Scaling Ladders to set vp and a thousand Men to loose but he was loath to rob an Almeshouse hauing a better Market to goe to Cales I told them was held Poore Vnmand and Vnmunitioned What better Market sayd Medyna I told him Genoa or Lisbone and as I heard there was instantly vpon this an Army of sixe thousand Soldiers sent to Lisbone Then quoth one of the Earles when thou meetst me in Plymouth wilt thou bid me welcome I modestly told him I could wish they would not too hastely come to Plymouth for they should finde it another manner of place then as now they sleight it Many other Questions were put to me by these great Dons which so well as God did enable me I answered they speaking in Spanish and their words interpreted to me by those two Irish Men before spoken of who also relate my seuerall answers to the Lords And by the common People who encompast me round many ieerings mockeries scornes and bitter iestes were to my face throwne vpon our Nation which I durst not so much as bite my lippe against but with an inforced patient eare stood still and let them runne on in their Reuilings At the length amongst many other reproches and spightfull Names one of the Spaniardes called English Men Gallinas Hennes At which the great Lordes fell a laughing Herevpon one of the Dukes poynting to the Spanish Soldiers bid me note how their King kept them And indeed they were all wonderous braue in Apparell Hattes Bandes Cuffes Garters c and some of them in Chaines of Gold And asked farther If I thought these would prooue such Hennes as our English when next yeare they should come into England I sayd no But being somewhat imboldned by his merry Countenance I told him as merily I thought they would be within one degree of Hennes What meanst thou by that sayd a Conde I replyed they would prooue Pullets or Chickens Darst thou then quoth Duke Medyna with a brow halfe angry fight with one of these Spanish Pullets O my Lord sayd I I am a Prisoner and my Life at Stake and therefore dare not be so bold to aduenture vpon any such Action There were heere of vs English some foureteene Thousand in which Number there were aboue twelue Thousand better stouter Men then euer I shall be Yet with the licence of this Princely Assembly I dare hazard the breaking of a Rapier And withall told him Hee was vnworthy the Name of an English Man that should refuse to Fight with one Man of any Nation whatsoeuer Herevpon my Shackells were knockt off and my Iron Ring and Chayne taken from my Neck Roome was made for the Combatants Rapier and Dagger the Weapons A Fight betweene Peeke a Spaniard A Spanish Champion presents himselfe Named Signior Tiago When after wee had played some reasonable good time I disarmed him as thus I caught his Rapier betwixt the Barres of my Poniard and there held it till I closed in with him and tripping vp his Heeles I tooke his Weapons out of his hands and deliuered them to the Dukes I could wish that all you my deere Countrey-men who reade this Relation had either bin there without danger to haue beheld vs Or that He with whome I fought were heer in Person to iustifie the issue of that Combat I was then demaunded If I durst Fight against an other I told them my heart was good to aduenture but humbly requested them to giue me pardon if I refused For to my selfe I too well knew that the Spaniard is Haughty Impatient of the least affront And when he receiues but a Touch of any Dishonor Disgrace or Blemish especially in his owne Countrey and from an English Man his Reuenge is implacable mortall and bloudy Yet being by the Noblemen pressed agen and agen to try my Fortune with an other I seeing my Life in the Lyons paw to struggle with whome for safety there was no way but one and being afrayd to displease them sayd That if their Graces and Greatnesses would giue me leaue to play at mine