made for the Frith, and sente certaine pinesses to dog the fleete untill they sholde be paste the Isles of Scotlande which I verelie beleave, they are loste at theire stearnes, or this. We are perswaded that they eather are paste aboute Irelande, and so dooe what they can to recover theire owne coaste, oneless that they are gon for some parte of Denmarke. I have herewith sent unto you a breife abstracte of such accidents as have happened, which hereafter at better leisure I will explaine by more particular relations. In the meane tyme I bid you hartelie farrewell. From aboarde the Ark, the 7th of Auguste, 1588. The Right Honorable Sir Fra. Walsingham, knight. C. HOWARD. Good Mr. Secretarie, lett not Her Majestie be too haste in desolvying her forses by sea and land: and I pray you send me with speed what advertysements you have of Dunkerk, for I long to dow some exployt on their shippinge. If the Dukes forses be retyred into the land I dowt not but to dow good. I must thank your favourable yousing of my brother Hoby. He telleth me how forwarde you weer to forder all thyngs for our wants. I wold some weer of your mynde: If we had had that wych had been soe, England and her Majestie had had the gretest honor that ever any nasion had: but God be thanked it is well. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE TO THE QUEEN. 8th August, 1588. THE absence of my Lord Admirall, most gratious Soveraigne, hath emboldened me to putt my penne to the paper. On Fridaye last, uppon good consideracion, we lefte the army of Spaigne so farre to the northewarde, as they could neither recover England nr Scotlande; and within three daies after we were entertayned with a greate storme, considering the tyme of the yere; the which storme, in manye of our judgements, hath not a litle annoyed the enemie's armye. If the wind hinder it not, I thinck they are forced to Denmark; and that for divers causes; certaine it is that manie of theire people were sicke, and not a fewe killed; ther shippes, sailes, ropes, and wasts, needeth greate reperations, for that they had all felte of your Majesties force. If your Majestie thoughte it meete, it were [-] amisse you sent presentlie to Denmark to understand the truth, and to deall with their king according to your Majesties great wisdome. I have not written this whereby your Majestie should deminish any of your forces. Your Highnes' enemies are manie; yeat God hath, and will heare your Majestie's praier, putting your hand to the plough, for the defence of his truth, as youre Majestie hath begunne, God for his Christ's sak, blesse your sacred Majestie, now and ever. Written aboard your Majestie's verie good shipp the Reveng, this 8th August, 1588. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE TO SIR FRANCIS WALSINGHAM. MOST HONORABLE, 10th August, 1588. THE armye of Spaigne I thincke certainlye to be put either into Norwaye or Denmarke; ther are dyvers causes which moveth me so to thincke. The firste we understood by dyvers prisoners which we have taken, that jenerallye throwgh all ther hoole fleet ther was no on shipp free of sycke people. Secoundlie, their shipps, masts, sayles, and ropes were verye much decayed and spoyled by our greate shot. Thyrdlye, at Callys, by ffyer we forced them to cut manye of their cables, wherby they lost manye of their anckors, which of necessytye they muste seke to supplye. Further, yf they had had none of these former great causes of distrese, yet the wynds and storme with the wynde westerlye as yt was, hath forced them theither; and I asure myselfe that whensoever her Majestie shall here of their aryvall in anye of these coastes, that her Heighnes shall be advertised bothe of their greate distrese and of no smalle losse amongst them: for I asure your honor her Majestie's good shipps felt muche of that storme, and loste manye of their boats and pynaces, with some anckors and caibles; yet were we fayer by our own shoare, and the wynde ryght of the land; some amongst us wyll not lett to saye that they are in Scotland. I cannot thincke so, for that we had no wynd wherby they were able to recover anye parte of the mayne lande of Scotland, without yt were some of the out isles, which are no meet places to releve their so manye greate wants. Norwaye, or the out isles of Scotlande, can releve them but with water and a ffew cowes, or bad beof, and some smalle quantitie of goats and henes, which ys to them as nothinge; and yet these bade relefes are to be had but in few places, and their roads daungerous. The onely thinge which ys to be lookt for ys, that if they should goe to the Kinge of Denmarke, and there have hys frendshipp and healpe for all their releifes, non can better helpe their wants in all these partes then he, for that he ys a Prynce of greate shippinge, and cane best supplye hys wants, which nowe the Duke of Medyna the Sedonya standeth in nede of, as great anckors, caibles, mastes, roopes, and vitualles, and what the Kinge of Spaigne's whole crownes will doe, in cold counteryes, for maryuers and men, I leave to your good Lordship, which can best judge thereof. We lefte a pynace of her Majesties, the Advise, and a fyne carvell of my owen to attende the fleet of Spaigne when we lefte them; but what ys become of them, that great storme, or whether they maye be stayed in anye other countery, as they maye, I knowe not. My power oppynion ys, that yt were moste meet to sende a good shipp, and some fyne barke, with some verie sufficient personne to dele effectualy from her Majestie with the Kinge of Denmarke, as he shall fynde the cause to requyer; and to send the trew report backe with all speede possyble, that they maye be the beter prevented: for no doubt, but that which they are able to dooe they wyll presentlye put yt in execusyon, the wynter wyll overtake them else in those partes. Yf they staye in the sounde thys wynter I hope manye of the Spanyards wyll seke Spaigne by lande. The Prynce of Parma, I take him to be as a beare robbed of her whealpes; and, no doubte, but beinge so great a soldiour as he ys, that he will presentlye, if he maye, undertake some great matter, for hys reste wyll stande now thereuppon. Yt ys for certayne that the Duke of Sedonia standeth somewhat jelious of hym, and the Spanyards begynne to hate hym, their honour being towcht so nere, manye of their lyves spent. I asure your Honor not so lyttle as fyve thowsande men lesse then when first we sawe them nere Plymoth, dyvers of their shipps soncke and taken, and they have nothinge to saye for themselves in excuse but that they came to the place apoynted which was at Callys, and there stayed the Duke of Parma's commynge above 24 howers, yea, and untyll they were fyred thence. So this ys my power conclusyon, if we maye recover near Dunkerke this nyght or to morrowe mornynge, so as their power may see us retorned from the chase, and readye to encounter them yf they once sallye, that the next newes you shall here will be the one to mutenye againste the other; which, when yt shall come to passe, or whether they mutenye or no, let us all, with one consent, bothe hygh and looe, magnyfye and prayse our most gratious and mercyful God for hys infynyt and unspeackable goodnes towards us: which I protest to your good Lordship that my belefe ys that our most gratious Soveraigne, her power subjects, and the Church of God, hath opened the heavens in dyvers places, and perced the eares of our most mercyful Father; unto whome, in Christe Jesus, be all honor and glorye,-so be yt. Amen, Amen. Wrytten with much haste, for that we are readye to sett sayle to prevent the Duke of Parma, this southerlye wynde, yf yt please God, for trewlye my power oppynion ys that we should have a greate eye unto hym. From her Majestie's verye good Shipp the Revenge, the 10th of Auguste, 1588. Your Honor's faythfully to be To the Right Honorable Sir Francis Walsingham, knight. Commanded always, FRA. DRAKE. P.S. For that we wer very neere to sett saile, I most humbly beseech your Honor to pardon my pen, for that I am forced to writ the very copy of that letter which I have sent to my Lord Chanceller. Sence the writteng hereof I have spoken with an Ynglishman, which cam from Dunckerck yesterday, who sayeth, uppon his lyfe ther is no feare of the flett; yeat would I willinglye see it. Your Honour's ever, SIR FRANCIS DRAKE TO SIR F. WALSINGHAM. FRA. DRAKE. MOST HONORABLE, 11th August, 1588. THE Soden sending for of my very good Lord, my Lord Admeral, hath cawsed me to screbell these fewe lynes, fyrst, most humbly beseching your honor to delyver this letter unto her Majestie as a testyfycatyon of my Lord Admerall's most honorable usage of me in this accyon, wher it hath pleased his good Lordship to except of that which I have somtymes spoken, and commended that lettell servis which I was abell, much better then ether of them bothe I was abell to deserve,-wherein yf I have not performed as much as was lowked for, yeat I perswade my self his good Lordship will confesse I have byne dutiffull. Towching any other cawsses that ether hath byne done, or is to be done, lett me pray pardon of your honor, for I assure your Honor that my Lord Admerall hath so suffycyently instructed hymself dayly, as I faythfully beleve his good Lordship will throwghly satisfye her Majestie and your Honor what is now best to be done; thus humbly takyng my leave, I besech God to bless the work of her Majestie's hands allways. Written abourd her Majestie's good ship the Reveng, at mydnyght, this 11th August, 1588. Your Honor's faythfully to be comanded, To the Right Honorable Sir Francis Walsingham, knight. FRA. DRAKE. CHAPTER X. THE SPANISH ARMADA, CALLED THE INVINCIBLE. 1588. Summary of the Spanish losses-Libels of the late Spanish Ambassador on the British Officers-Drake's reply-Public thanksgiving-Queen's procession to St. Paul's-Letters of the Lord High Admiral and Sir Francis Drake, relative to the late invasion-The fleet is paid off. THE disasters which befel the Armada in its passage along the western coast of Ireland were most deplorable. The loss of officers and men by shipwreck and sickness exceeded that which they had previously experienced in the English Channel and the North Sea. By one account, made out with great care, it would appear that in the British Channel and the North Sea fifteen ships were lost, and on the west coast of Ireland seventeen others; and that the loss of life on board these thirty-two vessels must have exceeded ten thousand souls, exclusive of those who were slain in fight, or died of sickness and famine. But if the statement be correct that the utmost number of ships which reached the Spanish ports did not exceed sixty, the loss must have been much greater. Hakluyt says— "Of one hundred and four and thirty sail, that came out of Lisbon, only three and fifty returned to Spain. Of the four galiasses of Naples, but one the like of the four largest galleons of Portugal; of the one and ninety galleons and great hulks, from divers provinces, only three and thirty returned. In a word, they lost eighty-one ships in this expedition, and upwards of thirteen thousand five hundred soldiers." It may easily be conceived how severe the shock must have Deen to Philip, when he received the intelligence of the defeat and destruction of his Invincible Armada. He is said, however, to have borne his disappointment well, and to have returned thanks to God that it was no worse. He could not, however, overlook |