the Pope's use, for their design was no less, but, withal, they brought arms for five-thousand men above their own company, intending to arm so many of the rebels of Ireland; and their purpose was to fortify in some strong place of the wild and desolate country, and that to nestle till greater succours came, they being hastened upon this enterprise upon a special reason of state not proper to the enterprise itself, which was by the invasion of Ireland, and the noise thereof, to trouble the council of England, and to make a certain diversion of certain aids that were then preparing from hence for the Low-Countries. They chose a place where they erected a fort, which they called the Fort del Or, and from thence they bolted like beasts of the forest, sometimes into the woods and fastnesses, and sometimes back again to their den. Soon after, siege was laid to the fort by the Lord Gray, then deputy, with a smaller number than those were within the fort, venturously indeed, but haste was made to attack them before the rebels came in to them. After the siege of four days only, with two or three sallies, with loss on that part, they, that should have made good the fort for some months, till new succours came from Spain, or at leat from the rebels of Ireland, yielded up themselves without conditions, at the end of those four days; and for that there were not in the English army enough to keep every man a prisoner; and for that also the deputy expected instantly to be assailed by the rebels; and again there was no barque to throw them into, and send them away by sea, they were all put to the sword, with which Queen Elisabeth was afterwards much displeased.

In the year 1582, was that memorable retreat of Ghent, than the which there hath not been an exploit of war more celebrated; for, in the true judgment of men of war, honourable retreats are no ways inferior to brave charges, as having less of fortune, more of discipline, and as much of valour. There were to the number of three hundred horse, and many thousand foot, English, commanded by Sir John Norris, charged upon an advantage taken by the prince of Parma coming upon them with seven-thousand horses; besides that, the whole army of the Spaniards was ready to march on. Nevertheless, Sir John Norris maintained a retreat without disaray by the space of some miles, part of the way champaign, unto the city of Ghent, with less loss of men than the enemy: The Duke of Anjou, and the Prince of Orange, beholding this noble action from the walls of Ghent, as in a theatre, with great admiration.

In the year 1585, followed the prosperous expedition of Drake and Carlisle into the West-Indies. In which I set aside the taking of St. Jago and St. Domingo in Hispaniola, as surprises rather than encounters. But that of Carthagena, where the Spaniards had warning of our coming, and had put themselves in their full strength, was one of the hottest services and most dangerous assaults hath been known, for the access to the town was only by a neck of land between the sea on the one part, and the harbour-water or minor-sea on the other, fortified clean over a strong rampart barricado, so as upon the ascent of our men they had both great ordnance and small shot that thundered and showered upon them from the rampart in front, and from the

gallies that lay at sea in flank; and yet they forced the passage, and won the town, being likewise very well manned. As for the expedition of Sir Francis Drake in the year 1587, for the destroying of the Spanish shipping and provision upon their own coast, as I cannot say that there intervened in that enterprise any sharp fight or encounter, so nevertheless it did straightly discover, either that Spain is very weak at home, or very slow to move, when they suffered a small fleet of English to make an hostile invasion or incursion upon their havens and roads from Cadiz to Cape Sacre, and thence to Cascous, and to fire, sink, and carry away at the least ten-thousand ton of their greater shipping, besides fifty or sixty of their smaller vessels, and that in the sight and under the favour of their forts, and almost under the eye of their great admiral, the best commander of Spain by Sea, the Marquis de Santa Cruce, without ever being disputed with by any fight of importance. I remember Drake, in the vaunting stile of a soldier, would call this enterprise the singeing of the King of Spain's beard. The enterprise of 88, deserveth to be stood upon a little more fully being a miracle of time. There arrived from Spain, in the year 1588, the greatest navy that ever swam upon the seas; for, tho' there have been far greater fleets for number, yet the bulk and building of the ships, with the furniture of great ordnance and provisions, never the like. The design was not to make an invasion only, but an utter conquest of this kingdom. The number of vessels were one-hundredthirty, whereof galleasses and galleons seventy-two goodly ships, like floating towers or castles, manned with thirty-thousand soldiers and mariners. This navy was the preparation of five whole years at the least; it bare itself also upon divine assistance, for it received special blessing from Pope Sixtus, and was assigned as an apostolical mission for the reducement of this kingdom to the obedience of the see of Rome. And, in further token of this holy warfare, there were, amongst the rest of these ships, twelve called by the names of the twelve apostles. But it was truly conceived that this kingdom of England could never be overwhelmed, except the land-waters came in to the sea-tides: Therefore, was there also in readiness in Flanders a mighty army of land forces, to the number of fifty-thousand veteran soldiers, under the conduct of the Duke of Parma, the best commander, next the French King, the fourth of his time. These were designed to join with forces at sea, there being prepared a number of flat-bottom boats, to transport the land forces, under the wing and protection of the great navy, for they made no other account, but that the navy should be absolutely master of the seas. Against these forces, there were prepared on our part, to the number of near one-hundred ships, not of so great bulk in deed, but of a more nimble motion, and more serviceable, besides a less fleet of thirty ships, for the custody of the narrow seas. There were also in readiness at land two armies, besides other forces, to the number of ten-thousand, dispersed amongst the coast towns, in the southern parts; the two armies were appointed, one of them consisting of twenty-five-thousand horse and foot, for the repulsing of the enemy, at their landing, and the other of thirty-five thousand, for safeguard and attendance about the court, and the Queen's person. There

were also other dormant musters of soldiers, throughout all parts of the realm, that were put in readiness, but not drawn together. The two armies were assigned to the leading of two generals, noble persons; but both of them rather courtiers, and assured to the state, than martial men, yet loved and assisted, with subordinate commanders, of great experience and valour.

The fortune of the war made this enterprise, at first, a play at base: The Spanish navy set forth out of the Groyne in May, and was dispersed and driven back by weather: Our navy set forth somewhat later out of Plymouth, and bare up towards the coast of Spain, to have fought with the Spanish navy; and partly upon advertisement, that the Spaniards were gone back, and upon some doubt also, that they might pass by towards the coast of England, while we were seeking them afar off, returned likewise into Plymouth, about the middle of July. At that time, came more constant advertisement, though false, not only to the lord admiral, but to the court, that the Spaniards could not possibly come forwards that year; whereupon our navy was upon the point of disbanding, and many of our men gone a-shore. At that very time, the invincible Armada (for so it was called, in a Spanish ostentation, throughout Europe) was discovered upon the western coast: It was a kind of surprise, for that, as we said, many of our men were gone on land, and our ships ready to depart. Nevertheles, the admiral, with such ships only, as could suddenly be put in readiness, made forth towards them; insomuch as, of onehundred ships, there came scarce thirty to work. Howbeit, with them, and such as came duly in, we set upon them, and gave them the chace. But the Spaniards, for want of courage, which they called Commission, declined the fight, casting themselves continually into roundels, the strongest ships walling in the rest, and in that manner, they made a flying march, towards Calais. Our men, by the space of five or six days, followed them close, fought with them continually, made great slaughter of their men, took two of their great ships, and gave divers others of their ships their deaths wounds, whereof soon after they sank, and perished, and, in a word, distressed them, almost in the nature of a defeat, we ourselves, in the mean time, receiving little or no hurt. Near Calais the Spaniards anchored, excepting their land forces, which came not. It was afterwards alledged, that the Duke of Parma did artificially delay his coming; but this was but an invention, and pretension, given out by the Spaniards, partly upon a Spanish envy, against the Duke, being an Italian, and his son a competitor to Portugal, but chiefly to save the monstrous scorn and disreputation, which they and their nation received by the success of that enterprise; therefore, their colours and excuses forsooth were, that their general by sea had a limited commission, not to fight, until the land forces were come in to them, and that the Duke of Parma had particular reaches, and ends of his own, under hand, to cross the design. But it was both a strange commission, and a strange obedience to a commission, for men, in the midst of their own blood, and being so furiously assailed, to hold their bands, contrary to the Jaws of nature and necessity. And as for the Duke of Parma, he was

reasonably well tempted to be true to that enterprise, by no less promises, than to be made feudatory, or beneficiary, King of England, under the seignory in chief of the Pope, and the protection of the King of Spain. Besides it appeared, that the Duke of Parma held his place long after in the favour and trust of the King of Spain, by the great employments and services that he performed in France. And again, it is manifest, that the duke did his best to come down, and to put to sea; the truth was, that the Spanish navy, upon these proofs of fight, which they had with the English, finding how much hurt they received, and how little they did, by reason of the activity, and low building of our ships, and skill of our seamen, and being also commanded by a general of small courage and experience, and having lost, at the first, two of their bravest commanders at sea, Petro de Valdez and Michael de Oquenda, durst not put it to a battle at sea, but set up their rest wholly upon the land enterprise. On the other side, the transporting of the land forces failed, in the very foundation; for whereas the council of Spain made full account, that their navy should be master of the sea, and therefore able to guard and protect the vessels of transportation, it fell out to the contrary, that the great navy was distressed, and had enough to do to save itself, and again, that the Hollanders impounded their land forces, with a brave fleet of thirty sail, excellently well appointed; things, I say, being in this case, it came to pass, that the Duke of Parma must have flown, if he would have come into England, for he could get neither barque nor mariner to put to sea; yet, certain it is, that the duke looked still for the coming back of the armada, even at that time, when they were wandering and making their perambulation, upon the northern seas. But to return to the armada, which we left anchored at Calais; from thence, as Sir Walter Raleigh was wont prettily to say, they were suddenly driven away with squibs, for it was no more but a stratagem of fireboats manless, and sent upon them, by the favour of the wind, in the night-time, that did put them in such terror, as they cut their cables, and left their anchors in the sea. After they hovered many days about Graveling, and there again were beaten in a great fight, at which time our second fleet, which kept the narrow seas, was come in, and joined with our main fleet. Thereupon the Spaniards, entering into further terror, and finding also divers of their ships every day to sink, lost all courage, and, instead of coming up into the Thames mouth for London, as their design was, fled on towards the north, to seek their fortunes, being still chaced by the English navy at the heels, until we were fain to give them over, for want of powder. The breath of Scotland the Spaniards could not endure, neither durst they, as invaders, land in Ireland, but only ennobled some of the coasts thereof with shipwrecks, and so going northwards aloof, as long as they had any doubts of being pursued, at last, when they were out of reach, they turned and crossed the ocean to Spain, having lost fourscore of their ships, and the greater part of their men. And this was the end of that sea giant, the invincible armada, which having not so much as fired a cottage of ours at land, nor taken a cockboat of ours at sea, wandered through the wilderness of the northern seas, and according

to the curse in the scripture, came out against us one way, and fled before us seven ways, serving only to make good the judgment of an astrologer, long before given, octogesimus octavus mirabilis annus! or rather, indeed, to make good, even to the astonishment of all posterity, the wonderful judgments of God, poured down commonly upon vast and proud aspirings.

In the year that followed, 1589, we gave the Spaniards no breath, but turned challengers and invaded the main of Spain; in which enterprise although we failed of our end, which was to settle Don Antonio in the kingdom of Portugal, yet a man shall hardly meet with an action, that doth better reveal the great secret of the power of Spain, which, weil sought into, will be found rather to consist in a veteran army, such as, upon several occasions and pretences, they have ever had on foot in one part or other of Christendom, now by the space almost of six-score years, than in the strength of their several dominions and provinces; for what can be more strange or more to the disvaluation of the power of the Spaniards, upon the continent, than that with an army of eleven thousand English land soldiers, and a fleet of twenty-six ships of war, besides some weak vessels for transportation, we should, with the hour-glass of two months, have won one town of importance by Escalida, battered and assaulted another, overthrown great forces in the field, and that, upon the disadvantage of a bridge strongly barricadoed, landed the army in three several places of his kingdom, marched seven days in the heart of his countries, lodged three nights in the suburbs of his principal city, beat his forces into the gates thereof, possessed two of his frontier forts, and, after all this, came off with small loss of men, otherwise than by sickness. And it was verily thought, that, had it not been for four great disfavours of that voyage, that is to say, in the failing of sundry provisions that were promised, especially of cannons for battery, the vain hopes of Don Antonio, concerning the people of his country, to come in to his aid, the disappointment of the fleet, that was directed to come up the river of Lisbon, and lastly, the diseases which spread in the army, by reason of the heat of the season, and of the soldiers misrule in diet, the enterprise had succeeded, and Lisbon had been carried. But howsoever it makes proof to the world, that an invasion of a few English upon Spain may have just hope of victory, or at least of a pass-port to depart safely.

In the year 1591, was that memorable fight of an English ship, called the Revenge, under the command of Sir Richard Greenfield; memorable, I say, beyond credit, and to the height of some heroical fable. And, though it was a defeat, yet it exceeded a victory, being like the act of Sampson, that killed more men at his death than he had done in the time of all his life. This ship, for the space of fifteen hours, sat like a stag amongst hounds at the bay, and was sieged and fought with, in turn, by fifteen great ships of Spain, part of a navy of fifty-five ships in all, the rest, like abettors, looking on afar off. And, amongst the fifteen ships that fought, the great St. Philip was one, a ship of fifteen-hundred tons, prince of the twelve sea apostles, which was right glad, when she was shifted off from the Revenge. This