On the occasion of this visit, her Majesty addressed the army in a speech which merits the attention of all. Protestants, and more especially at this particular juncture, when a most perfect contrast is presented in the public proceedings of the nation, to those of the age of Elizabeth. The address was couched in the following terms:

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"My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you that I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that (under God) I have always placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die amongst you all-to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of ENGLAND too, and think fine scorn that PARma, or SPAIN, or any prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm, to which, rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms-I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I

know that already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and crowns; and we do assure you, on the word of a prince, that shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my Lieutenant General (LEICESTER) shall be in my stead, than whom, never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdoms, and my people."

That such an address was well suited to the circumstances under which it was delivered must be admitted. Dr. Lingard, however, pretends to doubt whether such a speech was delivered by the Queen: "I have not," says he, "noticed the speech said to have been spoken by her Majesty at Tilbury. It might have been prepared for her as an address to the soldiers, if it had been necessary. But she certainly could not exhort them to fight after the enemy was gone, and when she had resolved to disband the army immediately*." He adds also, that "the danger was now over."

This extraordinary statement demands an investigation. In the first place, it cannot be said that Elizabeth was not capable of conceiving and uttering a speech like the above, for, on many occasions, she proved herself more than equal to such a task. In the next place, it is not true, as is stated by Dr. Lingard,

LINGARD, V. 504.

that the danger was over. He would insinuate, that Elizabeth presented herself to the army, when all peril was out of the question. Such an insinuation is unworthy of an honest writer: for at the moment when the speech was delivered, the people were apprehensive of the landing of the Spaniards. Let the facts of the case be examined. Dr. Lingard himself fixes the Queen's visit to the camp at Tilbury on the 9th of August. Let this be borne in mind in the examination. It was only on the 31st of July that the Duke of Medina determined to return home by the Northern Ocean, and this determination was not known until some time after the Queen's visit to Tilbury. It was not known until some of the prisoners were examined. It was known that the armada was sailing away, pursued by the English fleet; but the intentions of the Spaniards were not known; nor could any one feel assured that they would not prove victorious over the English. Nay, it is clear, that at the period of the Queen's visit, the return of the Spanish fleet was expected. It is, indeed, stated, by a writer of undoubted veracity, Bishop Carleton, who wrote not long after the period, and who must have remembered the circumstances connected with the armada, that it was the rumour that the Spaniards would return that induced the Queen to visit the army. Speaking of the flight of the armada, he says, "The English navy followed, and sometimes the Spanish turned upon the English, insomuch that it was thought by many that

they would return back again. Upon which report the Queen came into the camp at Tilbury, and mustered the army, riding among them with a leader's staff in her hand, and did, by her presence and speech, animate both captains and soldiers with incredible courage*." At all events, the Queen must have been ignorant, on the 9th of August, of the fate of the

armada.

Even as late as the 15th of August the English general was uncertain whether the Spaniards would return, as is evident from a letter from the Earl of Leicester to the Earl of Shrewsbury. After mentioning the Queen's visit, Leicester adds, "But God hath fought mightily for her Majesty, and I trust they be too much daunted to follow their pretended enterpriset." From this extract it is plain that Leicester did not believe that the danger was over even on the 15th of August, six days after the Queen's visit to the camp. The English admiral returned to the Downs on the 7th of August, but at that time he was unacquainted with the fate of the Spanish fleet‡.

But Dr. Lingard has intentionally suppressed another very important fact. It was not known in England that the Duke of Parma could not sail from the ports of the Netherlands; on the contrary, it was expected that he might land with his army; and, at the moment of

*CARLETON'S Thankful Remembrance, 155, 156,

+ ELLIS'S Letters. Second series, iii. 141.

Letter to Mendoza, 34.

the Queen's visit to the camp, it was supposed that he might effect a landing while the English admiral was chasing the armada. Parma had intended to waft his troops over while the armada was hovering near our shores; and it was natural, in the English, to expect that he would accomplish his purpose during the absence of the fleet. A letter is printed by Mr. Ellis, from Sir Edward Radcliffe to the Earl of Sussex, dated the 10th of August, 1588. It contains the following passage: "Whilst her Majesty was at dinner in my Lord General's tent, there came a post and brought intelligence that the Duke, with all his forces, was embarked for England, and that he would be here with as much speed as possibly he could. The news was presently published throughout the camp, to what end I know not, but no preparation is made for the sending for more men, which maketh us think the news untrue*." The intelligence evidently was not believed, but the circumstance proves, that there was an expectation that the Duke of Parma might embark and land his troops on the soil of England.

These facts must have been known to Dr. Lingard when he published his history. No other conclusion can, therefore, be arrived at, on this subject, than that the doctor has designedly been guilty of misrepresentation. The circumstance is, however, of a similar kind with many others in his history; it stamps the character of his work, and renders it of little authority

* ELLIS's Letters. Second series. Vol. iii. 124.