to pafs by quietly, that, having the advantage of the wind, he might the better attack them in the rear; which he performed with equal courage and fuccefs: and though Don Martinez de Ricalde, did all that it was poffible for a brave officer to do, yet they were put into the utmost disorder, and many of them received confiderable damage. More had been done, but that a great part of the English fleet lay at too great a distance, so that the admiral was forced to wait for them:

The night following, a Dutch gunner, who had been ill treated by fome Spanish officers, fet fire to the ship on board which was their treasure; nor was it without great difficulty, that the flames were extinguished. The greatest part of the money was put on board a galleon commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez, which foon after sprung her foremaft; and being thus disabled, and the night very dark, fell into the hands of Sir Francis Drake. He fent her captain to Dartmouth, and left the money on board to be plundered by his men. The next day was spent by the Spanish general in difpofing his fleet, iffuing orders to his officers, and difpatching an advice-boat to haften the duke of Parma, by giving him an account of the great lofs he had already fuffered, and the extream danger he was in. On the twenty-third they fought again, with variety of fuccefs, which however demonftrated to the Spaniards, that the mighty bulk of their fhips was a difadvantage to them, their fhot flying over the heads of the English, while every bullet of theirs took place.

On the twenty-fourth, the English were able to do little for want of ammunition; but a supply arriving in the evening, the admiral made all neceffary difpofitions for attacking the Spaniards in the midst of the night; dividing his fleet into four fquadrons, the first commanded by himself, the fecond by Sir Francis Drake, the third by Admiral Hawkins, and the fourth by Captain Martin Frobisher; but a dead calm pre

vented the execution of his defign. On the twentyfifth, one of the Spanish fhips was taken; and on the twenty-fixth, the admiral refolved to make no further attempts upon them, till they fhould enter the ftreights of Dover, where he knew Lord Henry Seymour, and Sir William Winter, waited for them with a fresh squadron. He alfo took this opportunity of knighting Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Sheffield, Roger Townsend, Admiral Hawkins, and Captain Frobisher, for their gallant behaviour throughout the engagement.

The wind favouring the Spanish fleet, they continued their courfe up the channel, with the English ships close in their rear. The ftrength of the Spaniards had not only alarmed, but excited the courage of the whole nation; infomuch, that every man of quality and fortune was ambitious of diftinguishing himfelf, by appearing upon this occafion, against the common enemy. With this public fpirited view, the earls of Oxford, Northumberland, and Cumberland, Sir Thomas Cecil, Sir Robert Cecil, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Thomas Vavafor, and many others, fitted out fhips at their own expence, and went, most of them in perfon, to attend the admiral. Men of lower rank fhewed their zeal and loyalty by fending ammunition and provifions; and fo unanimous were all men against these foreigners, that even the papifts, whom the Spaniards expected to have found in arms, were glad to wipe away the afperfions which had been thrown upon them, by ferving as common foldiers.

When, therefore, the Spanish fleet anchored on the twenty-feventh of July before Calais, the English admiral had with him near a hundred and forty fhips, which enabled him to gall the enemy extreamly. But, perceiving on the twenty-eighth, that the Spaniards had fo difpofed their larger fhips, that it would be a very difficult matter to put them again into dif order, he refolved to practife an expedient long tefore in contemplation in cafe the enemy fhould have VOL. VII.

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come up the river Thames; which was converting fome of their worft veffels into fire-fhips. This method he accordingly purfued, filling eight large barks with all forts of combuftible matter, and fending them under the command of the Captains Young and Prowfe, about midnight, into the thickest part of the Spanish fleet, where they speedily began to blaze; and, as the admiral had forefeen, obliged the navy to feparate, and each fhip, by fteering a different course, to feek its own fafety. This is the firft account we meet with of fire-fhips being ufed in feaengagements.

The next day a large galeafs ran afhore on the fands of Calais, where fhe was plundered by the English. Defirous, however, of attempting fomewhat, the Spaniards again rendezvoufed near Graveling; where they waited fome time, in hopes the prince of Parma would have come out: but in this they were difappointed, whether through the want of power, or of will, in that great general, is uncertain. At laft, finding themselves hard preffed by the English fleet, which continued to make a terrible fire upon them, they made a bold attempt, to have retreated through the ftreights of Dover: but the wind, coming about with hard gales at north-west, drove them on the coaft of Zealand; but foon after fteering to the fouthweft, they tacked and got out of danger. The duke de Medina Sidonia took this opportunity of calling a council of war; wherein, after mature deliberation, it was refolved, that there were now no hopes left of fucceeding, and therefore, the most prudent thing they could do, was to drop their design and to fave as many fhips as poffible.

This refolution being once fixed, was immediately carried into execution, and the whole Spanish navy made all the fail they could for their own coaft, going north about, which expoled them to variety of unforefeen dangers. The English admiral very prudendly fent Lord Henry Seymour with a ftrong qua

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dron to cruize on the coaft of Zealand, to prevent any danger from their joining with the prince of Parma, and afterward left them to purfue their course. When the Spanish fleet arrived on the Scots coaft, and found that care was every where taken they should meet with no fupply, they threw their horses and mules overboard; and fuch of them as had a proper ftore of water, bore away directly for the bay of Bifcay, with the duke of Medina Sidonia, making in all about twenty-five fhips. The reft, about forty fail, under the command of the vice-admiral, stood over for the coaft of Ireland, intending to have watered at Cape Clare. On the fecond of September, however, a tempeft arofe, and drove most of them afhore, fo that upward of thirty fhips, and many thousand men, perifhed on the Irish coaft.

Some likewife were forced a fecond time into the English channel, where they were taken, fome by the English, and fome by the Rochellers. Several very large veffels were loft among the western ifles, and upon the coaft of Argylefhire. Out of thefe, about five hundred perfons were faved; who came into Edinburgh, in a manner naked; and, out of mere charity, were cloathed by the inhabitants of that city; who alfo attempted to fend them home to Spain. But, as if misfortunes were always to attend them, they were forced in their paffage upon the coaft of Norfolk, and obliged to put into Yarmouth; where they stayed, till advice was given to the queen and council: who confidering the miferies they had already felt, and not willing to appear lefs compaffionate than the Scots, fuffered them to continue their voyage.

Thus, in the fhort space of a month, this mighty feet, which had been no lefs than three years preparing, was deftroyed and brought to nothing. Of one hundred and thirty fhips, there returned but fifty-three or four; and of the people embarked there perifhed twenty thousand men at leaft. We may beft

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form an idea of their lofs, from the precaution taken by King Philip to hide it, which was publishing a proclamation to prohibit mourning. As to the courage and conftancy he expreffed upon this occafion, it is certain, that the lord treasurer Burleigh received intelligence That the king fhould fay, after mafs, "that he would fpend the wealth of Spain, to one of "thofe candlesticks upon the altar, rather than not

revenge himself upon the English." His future conduct agreed fo exactly with this threatning, that we may well conclude, if he did not fay, he thought fo, and was therefore far from being fo unmoved at this difafter as is commonly reported. What might in fome measure juftify his refentment, was, the falling out of this mifchief, through the breach of his orders, which is well remarked by a writer of our own: for, if the king's inftructions had been purfued, it is more than probable, that Queen Elizabeth's government had run the utmoft hazard of being overturned.

The duke of Medina Sidonia escaped punishment, through the intereft of his wife; but as for Don Diego Flores de Valdez, whofe perfuafions induced the general to take that rash step, he was arrefted as foon as he fet foot on fhore, and conducted to the caftle of St. Andero; after which, he was never heard of more. The fame writer, from whom we have this particular, remarks alfo an error in the conduct of the English; viz. that they did not attack the Spanish fleet after it arrived before Graveling; which, however, he affures us, was not through any fault in the admiral, but was occafioned through the negligence of fome under-officers, who had the direction of the military ftores, and had been too fparing of powder and ammunition. Otherwife, he tells us, it was thought, the duke de Medina Sidonia, at the perfuafion of his confeffor, would have yielded both himself and his fhips, which, it feems, were, in that particular, not at all better provided. This would