cate, and contumacious against the church of Rome; and also supporting the King of Spain's rebel subjects in the Netherlands, annoying the Spaniards by constant depredations, surprising and sacking their towns in Spain and America, and having, not long before, put to death the Queen of Scotland, thereby violating the majesty of all sovereign princes.

Among the most active promoters of the invasion of England was Bernardin Mendoza, formerly ambassador from Spain at the court of London, and now at Paris. His hatred of Elizabeth for having got rid of him was inveterate; and by means of the press, which was at his disposal, he disseminated every species of falsehood and invective against England; and confidently proclaimed the overthrow of that kingdom, by the immense forces of Philip then in preparation; asserting also the weakness of Elizabeth in her naval and military establishments, and withal the disaffection of her subjects. There was resident in London at this time an English Catholic missionary (or seminary) priest, who took the trouble to write a voluminous letter to Mendoza, to disabuse him and his partisans of the erroneous opinions they were propagating respecting England; stating to him at the same time what he conceived to be the more proper conduct for Spain to pursue. He asserts that the success of a foreign invasion of England depended less on a large army being landed, than on a strong Catholic party in England, ready to join the foreign forces on their landing; he recommends a more politic line of conduct than that of having recourse to the Pope's excommunication of the sovereign, or his usurped power of absolving subjects from their allegiance, and disposing of kingdoms by violence, blood, slaughter, and conquest; above all, he points out the necessity of concealing their intentions till the time comes for striking the blow effectually :—

"For," says he, "when such things are published without reserve, they only induce the Queen to strengthen her kingdom, by calling out the military, and to guard those parts of the coast where a landing is feasible. Besides,” he adds, “every nobleman, knight, and gentleman of fortune, immediately took the alarm, and thought it time, for their own and the public safety, by arming their servants and dependents."*

There is reason to suppose that this letter never reached Men

* Harleian Miscellany.

doza: had he received it, however, he was not the man to have been moved by such arguments. This honest priest―an Englishman, be it remembered-is said to have been executed for treason, committed during the time that the Armada was on its way to England.

Not only Mendoza and his partisans, but all the priests, politicians, and poets of Spain, were sedulously employing their pens in proclaiming her approaching glorious triumph, of which they said it would be little short of impiety to entertain a doubt. In almost all these effusions the two great points insisted upon were to take the Queen and kill the Drake.

The enthusiasm which prevailed in Spain the preceding year, did not appear to have been in the least diminished by the destructive operations of Drake, or the delusive negociations in the Netherlands: on the contrary, the Spaniards were more eager than ever to make the attempt. Alphonso Perez de Gusman, Duke of Medina Sidonia, was appointed to the chief command, and John Martinez Recaldé, an experienced seaman, to be second in command under him. The Duke of Paliano and the Marquis of Santa Croce were originally designed to fill these offices, but they both died before the preparations were completed; and it was said that the marquis received his death-blow from Drake, at Cascais, the preceding year; at least he fell sick almost immediately after those transactions, and never recovered.

On putting to sea, the Duke of Medina Sidonia was instructed to keep as near to the coast of France as wind and weather would permit, in order to avoid falling in with the English fleet; and to proceed to Calais, where he might expect to meet the Duke of Parma, with a fleet of small vessels and 40,000 men: if the duke were not arrived, he was to come to anchor in a place of safety thereabouts, and wait his joining; when the whole were to stand over and enter the Thames, directing their course for London; which it was presumed would be taken by a sudden assault, or fall after a single battle. In laying down this plan of operations, they were not aware that Lord Henry Seymour had already taken his station, with a fleet of sixty English and Dutch ships, to prevent the Duke of Parma from coming out of harbour.

'The Duke of Sidonia, however, on his arrival in the Groyne, to which port the fleet had been driven for refuge by stress of

weather, was induced to deviate from the king's instructions, in consequence of false information received from the master of an English barque, that the English fleet were lying inactive in Plymouth Sound, and were unprepared to meet such an armament. Relying on this information, the general Don Diego de Valdez, an able and experienced seaman, on whose opinion the greatest reliance was placed, and who in fact was the chief adviser of the original plan, prevailed on the duke to deviate from it, and proceed direct to Plymouth in order to attack the British fleet unprepared in that port; which, he said, if once destroyed, would lay all England open to their victorious arms.

Here again they evinced how ill they were informed: England was now fully prepared to receive them. The Queen had appointed Charles Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of England, to the chief command: his good qualities had placed him very high in her favour; she knew him to be brave, and if not eminently skilled in sea affairs, that he was wary and provident, industrious and active, and of great authority and esteem among the officers of her navy. Sir Francis Drake was next sent for, and received from the Queen his commission as Vice-Admiral, next in command to Lord Charles Howard: his established fame for seamanship, resolution, and forethought, filled every English breast with confidence. Lord Henry Seysecond son of the Duke of Somerset, was already in command of a squadron of ships, English and Netherlanders, sent to watch the Prince of Parma, and prevent his putting to sea with his forces to join the Armada.

mour,

Her Majesty was not disappointed in the activity displayed by her two commanders, Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake. Lord Charles immediately hoisted his flag in the Ark Royal, and having obtained information of the movements of the enemy, addressed the following letter to Sir Francis Walsingham :

SIR,

LORD C. HOWARD TO SIR FRANCIS WALSINGHAM.

9th March, 1587-8. As I had maed up my other letter, Capten Fourbysher dow the advertyse me that he spake with 2 shyps that chame presently from Lysbone, who declared unto him that for certenty the King of Spaynse flyte dowthe parte from Lysbon unto the Groyne, the 15 of this monthe by ther acounte. Sir,

ther is non that comse from Spayne but bryngse this advertysment, and yf it be trew I am afrayd it wyll not be helped when the tyme sarvethe. Surly this charge that heer Majestie is at is ether to muche er to lyttell, and the stay that is maed of Sir Francys Drake going owt I am afrayd will bred graet parell, and yf the King of Spayne dow send forces ether into this Relme, Irland, or Scotland, the Queene's Majestie shall say, the Duke of Parme is tretyng of a pece, and therfor it is not pryncly downe of his master to dow so in the tyme of Trete, but what is that to the pourpos yf we have by that a Casado. And yf her Majestie chanot show the King's hande his sarvant's hande wyll be but a bad warant, yf they have ther wyshe. Sir, for my selfe I am detarmyned to end my lyfe in it, and the matter is not graet: I protest my graetest care is for heer Majestie's honour and surte. I send you a letter that now as I wryght, I receved from a man of myne, wyche afyrmeth the lyk. And so, Sir, I tak my leave from aboarde the Ark Rawly (Royal), the 9 Ma. at 12 o'clock at nyght.

To the Righte Honorable my verie

Your very lovynge frend,

lovinge freinde Sir ffrances Walsingham, Knighte:

Principall Secretare unto Her Majestie.

C. HOWARD.*

Drake was equally ready, and proceeded to Plymouth, where he hoisted his flag in the Revenge.

The following is an abstract of the several squadrons composing the English and Spanish naval forces :—

No. of

Ships.

ENGLISH.

Tons.

Mariners.

34 Her Majesty's Ships under the Lord High Admiral

10 Serving by tonnage with the Lord High Admiral 32 Serving with Sir F. Drake

38 Fitted out by the City

20 Coasters with the Lord High Admiral

23 Coasters with the Lord Henry Seymour

18 Volunteers with the Lord High Admiral 15 Victuallers

197

7 Vessels not mentioned in the King's-Library list

MS. State Paper Office.

+ Lediard's Naval History

The comparison then of the two forces will stand thus:

So that the Spaniards had double the force of the English, except in the number of ships; and in guns nearly four times the

* The author, after consulting the best authorities and several manuscripts, does not hesitate to say that these lists of the two fleets are the most complete and perfect that have hitherto appeared. They also very nearly agree with an average obtained from demi-official returns.