and they

;

CHAP. merous voluntiers, who crowded to them XLIII. were obliged to feize by force fome fhips of the Hanfe Towns, which they met with at fea: An expedient, 1589. which fet them fomewhat more at ease in point of room for their men, but remedied not the deficiency of their provifions T. Had they failed directly to Portugal, it is believed, that the good will of the people, joined to the defenceless state of the country, might have enfured them of fuccefs: But hearing, that great preparations were making at the Groine, for the invafion of England, they were induced to go thither, and deftroy this new armament of Spain. They broke into the harbour; burned fome fhips, of war, particularly one commanded by Recalde, vice admiral of Spain; they defeated an army of four or five thousand men, which was affembled to oppofe them; they affaulted the Groine, and took the lower town, which they pillaged; and they would have taken the higher, though well fortified, had they not found their ammunition and provisions beginning to fail them. The young earl of Effex, a nobleman of promifing hopes, who, fired with the thirft of military honour, had fecretly, unknown to the queen, ftolen from England, here joined the adventurers; and it was then agreed by common confent to make fail for Portugal, the main object of their enterprize.

THE English landed at Faniche, a fea-port town, twelve leagues from Lifbon; and Norris led the army to that capital, while Drake undertook to fail up the river, and attack the city with united forces. By this time, the court of Spain had got leifure to prepare against the invafion of the English. Forces were thrown into Lisbon : the Portuguese were difarmed: All fufpected perfons were taken into cuftody: And thus, though the inhabitants bore great affection to Don Antonio, none of them dared to declare in favour of the invaders. The English army, however, made themselves mafters of the fuburbs, which abounded with riches of all kinds; but as they defired to conciliate the affections of the Portuguese, and were more intent on honour than profit, they obferved a ftrict difcipline, and abstained from all plunder. Meanwhile, they found their ammunition and provifions much exhaufted; they had not a single cannon to make a breach

in

T Monfon, F. 159.

1589.

in the walls; the admiral had not been able to pass fome CHA P.
fortreffes, which guarded the river; there was no ap- XLII.
pearance of an infurrection in their favour; ficknefs, from
fatigue, hunger, and intemperance in wine and fruits,
had feized the army: So that it was found requifite to
make all poffible hafte to reimbark. They were not
pursued by the enemy; and finding, at the mouth of
the river, fixty fhips laden with naval ftores, they seized
them as lawful prize; tho' they belonged to the Hanfe
Towns, a neutral power. They failed thence to Vigo,
which they took and burned; and having ravaged the
country around, they fet fail and arrived in England.
Above half of these gallant adventurers perished by fick-
nefs, famine, fatigue, and the fword "; and England
reaped much more honour than profit from this extraor-
dinary enterprize. It is computed, that eleven hundred
gentlemen embarked on board this fleet, and that only
three hundred and fifty furvived thofe multiplied difafters X.

U

WHEN the hips were on their voyage homewards, they met with the earl of Cumberland, who was outward bound, with a fleet of feven fail, all equipped at his own charge, except one fhip of war, which the queen had lent him. That nobleman fupplied fir Francis Drake with fome provifions; a generofity, which saved the lives of many of Drake's men, but for which the others afterwards fuffered feverely. Cumberland failed towards the Terceras, and took feveral prizes from the enemy; but the richeft, valued at a hundred thoufand pounds, perished in her return, with all her cargo, near St. Michael's Mount in Cornwal. Many of these adventurers were killed in a rash attempt at the Terceras: A deftructive mortality feized the reft: And it was with difficulty that the few hands, which remained, were able to fteer the fhips home into harbour Y.

THOUGH the fignal advantages, gained over the Spa- Affairs of niards, and the fpirit, thence infufed into the English, Scotland. gave Elizabeth great fecurity during the reft of her reign, The could not forbear keeping an anxious eye on Scotland, whofe fituation rendered its revolutions always of importance to her. It might have been expected, that this high-fpirited princefs, who knew fo well to brave danger, would

Y

Birch's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 61.

Monfon, p. 161.

X Idem ibid.

1589.

CHA P. would not have retained that malignant jealousy towards XLIII. her heir, with which, during the life-time of Mary, the had been so much agitated. James had indeed fucceeded to all the claims of his mother; but he had not fucceeded to the favour of the catholics, which could alone render thefe claims dangerous 2: And as the queen was now well advanced in years, and enjoyed an uncontrouled authority over her fubjects, it was not likely, that the king of Scots, who was of an indolent unambitious temper, would ever give her any difturbance in her poffeffion of the throne. Yet all these circumstances could not remove her timorous fufpicions: And fo far from fatisfying the nation by a fettlement of the fucceffion, or a declaration of James's title, fhe was as anxious to prevent every incident, which might any-wife raise his credit, or procure him the regard of the English, as if he had been her immediate rival and competitor. Moft of his minifters and favourites were her penfioners; and as the was defirous to hinder him from marrying and having children, the obliged them to throw obftacles in the way of every alliance, even the most reasonable, which could be offered him; and during fome years, the fucceeded in this malignant policy. He had fixed on the eldest daughter of the king of Denmark, who, being a remote prince and not powerful, could give her no umbrage; yet did the fo artfully cross this negociation, that the Danish monarch, impatient of delay, married his daughter to the duke of Brunfwic. James then renewed his fuit to the younger princefs; and ftill found obftacles from the intrigues of Elizabeth, who, merely with a view of interpofing delay, propofed to him the fifter of the king of Navarre, a princefs much older than himself, and entirely deftitute of fortune. The young king, befides the defire of fecuring himself, by the profpect of iffue, from those traiterous attempts, too frequent among his fubjects, had been fo watched by the rigid aufterity of the ecclefiaftics, that he had another inducement to marry, which is not fo ufual with monarchs. His impatience therefore broke through all the politics of Elizabeth: The articles of marriage were settled: The ceremony was performed by proxy And the princefs embarked for Scotland; but was driven by a storm into a port of Norway. This

:

tempeft,

7 Winwood, vol. i. p. 51. A Melvil, p. 166, 177.

1589.

tempeft, and fome others, which happened near the CHA P. fame time, were univerfally believed in Scotland and Den- XLIII. mark to have proceeded from a combination or the Scottish and Danish witches; and the dying confeffion of the criminals was fupposed to place the accufation beyond all controverfy B. James, however, though a great believer in forcery, was not deterred by this incident from taking a voyage, in order to conduct his bride home: He arrived in Norway; carried the queen thence to Copenhagen; and having paffed the winter in that city, he brought her next fpring to Scotland, where they were joyfully received by the people. The clergy alone, who never neglected an opportunity of vexing their prince, made oppofition to the queen's coronation, on account of the ceremony of anointing her, which, they alledged, was either a Jewish or a popish rite; and therefore utterly antichriftian and unlawful. But James was as much bent on the ceremony, as they were averfe to it and after much controversy and many intrigues, his authority, which had not often happened, at laft prevailed over their oppofition C.

B Melvil, p. 180. c Spotfwood, p. 381.

CHAP

CHAP.
XLIV.

CHAP. XLIV.

Murder of the duke of Guife

French affairs.
Mur-
der of Henry the third-Progrefs of Henry the fourth
Naval enterprizes against Spain—A parliament
Henry the fourth embraces the catholic religion-
Scotch affairs-Naval enterprizes—A par.iament
Peace of Vervins-The earl of Effex.

A

FTER a state of great anxiety and many difficulties, Elizabeth had at length reached a fituation, where, though her affairs ftill required attention, and found employment for her active fpirit, the was removed from all danger of any immediate revolution, and might regard the efforts of her enemies with fome degree of confidence and fecurity. Her fuccefsful and prudent adminiftration had gained her, together with the admiration of foreigners, the affections of her own fubjects; and after the death of the queen of Scots, even the catholics, however discontented, pretended not to difpute her title, or adhere to any other perfon as her rival and competitor. James, curbed by his factious nobility and ecclefiaftics, poffeffed at home very little authority; and was folicitous to remain on good terms with Elizabeth and the English nation, in hopes that time, aided by his patient tranquillity, would fecure him that rich fucceffion, to which his birth entitled him. The Hollanders, tho' overmatched in their contest with Spain, ftill made an obstinate resistance; and fuch was their unconquerable antipathy to their old mafters, and fuch the prudent conduct of young Maurice, their governor, that the fubduing of that small territory, if at all poffible, must be the work of years, and the refult of many and great fucceffes. Philip, who, in his powerful effort against England, had been transported by refentment and ambition beyond his ufual cautious. maxims, was now difabled, and fill more difcouraged, from adventuring again on fuch hazardous enterprizes. The fituation alfo of affairs in France, began chiefly to employ his attention: but notwithstanding all his artifice, and force, and expence, the events in that kingdom. proved every day more contrary to his expectations,

2

and