of cannon were taken, of which 200 were of brass. The loss of men was about 750; almost all of them died of calenture. Of these, four were captains of the army, two of the navy, four lieutenants of the army, and six masters of merchant ships. Of the money brought home, 20,000l., as they had resolved in council, were divided among the soldiers and sailors, being about 61. per man. They arrived at Portsmouth on the 28th of July, 1586.

Sir William Monson, speaking of this expedition, says—

"This fleet was the greatest of any nation but the Spaniards, that had ever been seen in those seas since the first discovery of them. And if it had been as well considered of, before their going from home, as it was happily performed by the valour of the undertakers, it had more annoyed the King of Spain than all other actions that ensued during the time of the war.

"But it seems our long peace made us uncapable of advice in war; for had we kept and defended these places, when in our possession, and provided to have been relieved and succoured out of England, we had diverted the war from this part of Europe; for at that time there was no comparison betwixt the strength of Spain and England by sea, by means whereof we might have better defended them, and with more ease encroached upon the rest of the Indies, than the king of Spain could have aided or succoured them.

"But now we see, and find by experience, that those places which were then weak and unfortified, are since so fortified that it is to no purpose to us to annoy the king of Spain in his West Indies. And though this voyage proved both fortunate and victorious, yet considering it was rather an awakening than a weakening of him, it had been far better to have wholly declined than to have undertaken it upon such slender grounds, and with so inconsiderable forces."

To this it might have been replied, 'If we could not support the little colony of Virginia, unmolested by an enemy of any description, how should we have been able to support three or four populous districts, every inhabitant of which was in bitter hostility against us, and not merely national and political hostility, but religious also-regarding us, from the highest to the lowest, with a hatred incapable of conciliation ?'

Queen Elizabeth's policy was of a higher order, we conceive, than Sir William Monson's. She said to her Parliament

"It may be thought simplicity in me, that, all this time of my reign, I have not sought to advance my territories, and enlarge my dominions; for opportunity hath served me to do it. I acknowledge my womanhood and weakness in that respect; but though it hath not been hard to obtain, yet I

doubted how to keep the things so obtained: and I must say, my mind was never to invade my neighbours, or to usurp over any; I am contented to reign over my own, and to rule as a just princess."

The real causes of failure appear to have been the unfortunate and ill-judged landing of 1000 men at St. Jago, the delay there of fourteen days, the fever they caught at that most unhealthy and miserable place, and the subsequent delay at Dominica and St. Christopher, making it full thirteen weeks before they reached St. Domingo, owing to which the Spaniards had ample time to prepare for them, and were accordingly on their guard at Nombre de Dios, Panama, and other places, where the gold and silver of Peru and Mexico are usually deposited.

CHAPTER VII.

EXPEDITION TO CADIZ.

1587.

Designs of Philip-Insolence of the Spanish Ambassador-Drake appointed to command an expedition-Letter of Sir F. Drake-Arrives at Cadiz; burns, sinks, and carries away about 100 sail of ships-Dispatches Capt. Crosse with letters-Leaves Cadiz-Destroys a number of ships in the Tagus-Drake stands over to Terceira and captures a large and rich carrack-Case of Capt. Burroughs.

In the course of the year 1587, the intentions of Spain with regard to England could no longer be concealed. Philip, while affecting an earnest desire to come to an amicable adjustment of the differences that had so long existed between the two nations, was secretly preparing to invade England with an overwhelming force. In the mean time Catholic priests were employed as spies, both in Great Britain and on the Continent, to learn the feelings of the Queen and her ministers on the question of war; and also to ascertain the extent and efficiency of the warlike preparations in England. They had besides what they terined seminary priests in England, whose business it was to seduce the people from their allegiance to the Queen and the established religion, and to entice them into the body of the Catholic church. The Queen, on her part, was well informed of all the designs of Spain, and vigorous measures were taken to counteract them. The intention to invade England is said to have been first discovered in consequence of a letter written by Philip to the Pope, asking the blessing of his Holiness on the intended project; a copy of which letter Mr. Secretary Walsingham procured from a Venetian priest, whom he retained at Rome as a spy. The original letter was stolen from the Pope's cabinet by a gentleman of his bed-chamber, who took the keys out of the

pocket of his Holiness while he slept, and furnished the priest

with a copy.

One favourite object of Philip was to get possession of the person of Queen Elizabeth, and to deliver her into the hands of the Pope; in the hope, no doubt, that he would consign her to the Inquisition. This he conceived would give a death-blow to heresy in England; and as Elizabeth was the chief safeguard of the Protestants, he hoped, by subduing that princess, to acquire the eternal renown of re-uniting the whole Christian world in the Roman communion. It is said that the King of Spain gave special charge to the commander of the Expedition and to all the captains that in no wise they should harm the person of the Queen; but, upon taking her, show all reverence towards her, looking well, however, to her safe custody; and further, that order should be taken as speedily as possible for the conveyance of her person to Rome, that his Holiness the Pope might dispose of her as it should please him.

An English papist priest, of the name of Allen, traitorously circulated the Pope's bull excommunicating the Queen, dethroning her, and absolving her subjects from allegiance, and granting plenary indulgence for her murder. He even went to the Duke of Parma, and preached to him the meritorious doctrine of putting to death heretical sovereigns; but the Duke gave him no encouragement, and openly declared his respect for Elizabeth.

It appears that Philip was fully persuaded by his priests and courtiers of the certain success of the invasion of Great Britain. He was led to believe that England, by a long peace, had lost all military discipline and experience both in the army and navy ; that the papist population, which was numerous, would be ready to a man to join his forces on their landing; and that one battle by sea, and one on land, would decide her fate. In the mean time, however, the ambassador of Spain affected to express a strong desire on the part of his sovereign to maintain a state of peace. But when he discovered that their plans were detected, and that England was also preparing her forces, he assumed a more haughty tone, and put forward such demands, in the name of Philip, as he well knew never would be complied with. He required that the Queen should withdraw her protection from the Netherlands, replace the ships and treasure seized unlaw

H

fully by Drake, restore the abbeys and monasteries destroyed by Henry VIII., and acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope.

Acquiescence in these demands was of course never for an instant thought of by the lion-hearted Queen or her brave subjects one spirit animated the whole nation: but the emergency was great, and strenuous measures were to be adopted. The first steps to be taken were to ascertain, by the personal inspection of some able officer, the actual state of the enemy's preparations in the ports of Spain and Portugal; to intercept any supplies of men, stores, or ammunition, that the Duke of Parma might dispatch from the Low Countries; also to lay waste the enemy's harbours on the western coast; and not only destroy all the shipping that could be met with at sea conveying stores and provisions, but even to attack them in port. For services such as these no one was considered so fit as Drake. He was sent for; and, always ready to undertake any duty which the Queen might command, he did not hesitate a moment to accept the appointment, and immediately busied himself in the preparation of a fleet suitable to the occasion. The Queen told him he should have four of her best ships, and she doubted not her good city of London would cheerfully furnish the rest. The Queen's ships were the Elizabeth Bonaventure, Commander Sir Francis Drake; Golden Lyon, Capt. Wm. Burroughs; Rainbow, Capt. Bellingham; Dreadnought, Capt. Thos. Fenner. These ships, together with twenty others, supplied chiefly by the Londoners -some accounts say twenty-four-were ordered by Drake to assemble at Plymouth, to which port he repaired to hasten their equipment. The chief adventurers in this voyage were, as the Queen had anticipated, her good citizens of London, who however are said to have sought their own private gain more than the advancement of the service; nor were they deceived in their expectation. Lord Charles Howard, Earl of Effingham, who had been appointed Lord High Admiral of England in 1585, put himself in communication with Drake, whose movements are detailed in the following letter:—

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE TO SIR FRANCIS WALSINGHAM. RIGHTE HONORABLE, April 2d, 1587. THIS last nyght past came unto us the Ryall Marchant, with 4 of the rest of the London flett, the wynd would permett them no sooner. We have