LII. PLYMOUTH.—The Clemency, 34 feet by 7 feet 9 inches, 10 oars.

ALTHOUGH the history of Plymouth is intimately connected with the exploits of the renowned and adventurous sailors of the Elizabethan era, it does not seem to have held that prominent place in the earlier maritime history of the country that might have been expected from the important position it has long attained, both as a naval arsenal and a port of commerce. Celtic and Roman remains have been found which prove its claim to antiquity, and before the Norman Con- quest it was known by the name of Tamarwearth, afterwards changed to Snt- ton or Southport, before it received its present name. However, in the time of Henry II. it is described as being " a mene thing as an inhabitation for fischers." la the fourteenth century it appears to have been of sufficient importance to bring down upon it the fury of the French, who attacked the place in 1339, and although ultimately repulsed with great loss, it was not until after they had landed and de- stroyed a great part of the town. In 1350 these unwelcome visitors again made their appearance, but were driven off without being able to do much mischief.

These visits were shortly to be repaid, for in 1355 Edward the Black Prince sailed from here with a large force, on the ex- pedition which ended with the victory of Poictiers. Some authorities assert that this Prince landed here with his prisoner, the King of France, and not at Sandwich as generally believed. The last time he returned to this country, only to die young, he certainly landed here, and was conveyed in a litter to London.

From this time Plymouth appears to have risen, in importance and in Royal estimation, for more than one attempt appears to have been made to fortify it under Royal orders, but this was not done until after 1400, when the French fleet, on its way to Wales under James of Bourbon, put in here, destroyed a large part- of the town, and plundered the neighbourhood, to be shortly followed by Da Chastet, Lord of Brittany, with a larger force, who burnt six hundred houses and carried off many prisoners.

The part of the town then destroyed was long known by the name of Breton, or Briton Side, a distinction it has only lost in recent years. The town was then for- tified under a patent from Henry IV. In 1470 the Duke of Clarence and his con- federates landed here, to raise the revolt that ended in the temporary restoration of Henry VI.

In the time of Henry VIII. Leland visited it, and has left us the following description of the harbour then in use, and which was the chief, if not the only mercantile port used, until the recent construction of the Millbay Docks by the Great Western Railway Company:—" The mouth of the gulf (Sutton Pool), where the ships of Plymouthm lyith, is waullid on eche side and chained over in time of neces- sitie; on the south west side of the mouth is a block-house, and on a rocky hill hard by it is a strong castle quadrate, having on eche corner a great round tower. It seemeth to be no very old peace of work." In the reign of Elizabeth those renowned sons of Devonshire—Drake, Raleigh, and Hawkins, with their companions, con- tributed largely towards the fame of the port and to raise its importance. Of course the great feat of that day was the destruction of the Spanish "Invincible Armada " by the English fleet, under Lord Howard, of Efflngham, the former con- taining the flower of Spanish chivalry, coming, as they believed, to make a com- plete conquest of these islands, and to add them to the Spanish dominions. Whether true or not, the well-known anecdote of Sir Francis Drake not allowing a game of bowls he was playing with Hawkins and others, to be interrupted by the news that the Armada was in sight, until it was finished, saying there was quite -time to finish the game and thrash the Spaniards also, was characteristic of the man and of the indomitable spirit that distinguished him and his fellows. Drake appears to have been a benefactor to Plymouth in more ways than one, for besides making it his rendezvous in going and returning from his adventurous voyages, when he generally returned with "great store in silver and gold in blocks/' he represented it in Parliament, and was at one time Mayor. The town is indebted to him for its supply of water, the long " leat," or canal that brings it from Dartmoor having been constructed by tim. At the annual "Fysching Feaste" of the Corporation, when the leat is inspected, a goblet of water is drunk at the weir head, " to the pious memory of Sir Francis Drake, with the hope that " the descendants of him who brought us water may never want wine," of which, as he died childless, we cannot quite see the force.

Tradition gives him the reputation of having been a magician, who exerted his power in this matter of the water supply, by riding on to Dartmoor, and having found a suitable stream, uttering some magical words over it, and turning his horse's head, galloped straight into Ply- mouth, the charmed water following close at his horse's heels all the way. He is also supposed, when in chase of the Spanish Armada, to have called for a block of wood and an axe, and having cut the wood in pieces, to have thrown the chips overboard. These turned into fire- ships and burnt the enemy's vessels.

In addition to Drake and Raleigh, Grenville, Gilbert, Frobisher, Cavendish, and all the other prominent sailors of that time, made Plymouth their headquarters.

During the Civil War of the seventeenth century, Plymouth remained staunchly faithful to the Parliamentary side; several attempts to take it by siege and assault having failed, with great loss to the Royalist forces, a strict blockade was resorted to, which led to great privations and suffering on the part of the towns- people. At one time, " when no fresh victuals of either flesh or fish could be had," immense shoals of pilchards came into the harbour in such quantities as not only to relieve the sufferers' present wants, but to enable them to increase their store of provisions by salting large quantities.

Daring the persecution of the Protest- ants on the Continent, many Huguenots who escaped, settled in this neighbourhood, and many well-known local names indicate Flemish and French origins. Huguenot churches were established'in Plymouth in 1690, and the last existed until 1810.

The great work here, and which must have immensely contributed to its import- ance as a port, is the breakwater. When it was undertaken, in the year 1811, it must have severely taxed the resources and ingenuity of the originators, Messrs.

Eennie and Whidby, to construct it, with the mechanical appliances and experience of those times, so different and inferior to those of the present day. It forms a perfectly safe anchorage for men-of-war ; but even its protection is not found suffi- cient to prevent casualties from time to time amongst merchant ships. These mostly anchor in the N.E. corner of the Sound, where a heavy sea sets in during S.W. gales, that sometimes proves too much for their anchors and cables, causing wrecks from time to time, that call for the services of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE- BOAT INSTITUTION'S boat to save life, and sometimes property. The first Life-boat was stationed here by the Institution in 1862, having been presented by Miss ! BURDETT COUTTS, and had saved sixty I lives when it was superseded, in 1873, by the present ten-oared boat, presented by the Hon. Mrs. HUBBARD, which is now kept in a very convenient and well-built boathouse on the western side of the entrance to Millbay. She has saved four- teen lives, and in 1880 performed a very arduous and important service, by rescu- ing, in conjunction with the Government tug, the disabled steamer Hankow with a very valuable cargo on board, from a most dangerous position at the back of the breakwater, during a heavy S.W. gale.

The branch is under the management of a thoroughly representative committee, of which Admiral D. H. HICKLEY is the chairman, and J. ROONEY, Esq., the honorary secretary..