crecy of the Spanish council, and their pretending to employ this force in the Indies, it was easily concluded that they meant to make some effort against England. The Queen had foreseen the invasion; and finding that she must now contend for her crown with the whole force of Spain, she made preparations for resistance; nor was she dismayed with that power by which all Europe apprehended she must of necessity be overwhelmed. Her force, indeed, seemed very unequal to resist so potent an enemy. All the sailors in England amounted at that time to about 14,000 men. The size of the English shipping was, in general, so small, that except a few of the queen's ships of war, there was not four vessels which exceeded 400 tons. The royal navy consisted only of twenty-eight sail, many of which were of small size; none of them exceeding the bulk of our largest frigates, and most of them deserved rather the name of pinnaces than of ships. The only advantage of the English fleet consisted in the superior courage and dexterity of the seamen. All the commercial towns in England were required to furnish ships for reinforcing this small navy; and they discovered, on the present occasion, great alacrity in defending their liberty and religion against those imminent perils with which they were menaced. The citizens of London, in order to shew their zeal, instead of fifteen vessels, which they were commanded to equip, voluntarily fitted out double that number. The gentry and nobility hired, armed, and manned forty-three ships at their own charge; and all the loans of money which the Queen demanded, were frankly granted by the persons applied to. Lord Howard of Effingham, a man of courage and capacity, was admiral, and took on him the command of the navy. Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, the most renowned seamen in Europe, served under him. The principal fleet was stationed at Plymouth; a smaller squadron, consisting of forty vessels, lay off Dunkirk, in order to intercept the Duke of Parma. "The land forces of England were more numerous than the enemy, but much inferior in discipline, reputation, and experience. A body of 20,000 men was disposed in different bodies along the coast; and orders were given them, if they could not prevent the landing of the Spaniards, to retire backwards, to waste the country around, and to wait for reinforcements from the neighbouring counties before they approached the enemy. A body. of 22,000 foot and 1000 horse was stationed at Tilbury, in order to defend the capital. The principal army consisted of 34,000 foot and 2,000 horse: these forces were reserved for guarding the Queen's person, and were appointed to march whithersoever the enemy should apThe fate of England, if all the Spanish armies should be able to land, seemed to depend on the issue of a single battle, and men of reflection entertained the most dismal apprehensions when they considered the force of 50,000 veteran Spaniards, commanded by experienced officers under the Duke of Parma, the most consummate general of the age, and compared this formidable armament with the military power which England, not enervated by peace, but long unused to war, could muster up against it. pear. "The chief support of the kingdom seemed to consist in the vigour and prudence prudence of the Queen's conduct, who, undismayed by the present dangers, issued all her orders with tranquility, animated her people to a steady resistance, and employed every resource which either her domestic situation or her foreigu alliances could afford her. All the Protestants throughout Europe regarded this enterprize as the critical event which was to decide for ever the fate of their religion; and though unable to join their force to that of Elizabeth, they kept their eyes fixed on her conduct and fortune, and beheld with anxiety, mixed with admiration, the intrepid countenance with which she encountered that dreadful tempest which was every moment advancing towards her. ing fury against them. She rejected all violent counsels by which she was urged to seek pretences for dispatching the leaders of that party; and the Catholics, sensible of this good usage, generally expressed great zeal for the public service. Some gentlemen of that sect entered themselves as volunteers in the fleet or army. Some equipped ships at their own charge, and gave the command of them to Protestants. Others were active in animating their tenants and vassals and neighbours to the defence of their country: and every rank of men burying for the present all party distinctions, seemed to prepare themselves with order, as well as vigour, to resist the violence of these invaders. "The more to excite the martial spirit of the nation, the Queen appeared on horseback in the camp at Tilbury, and riding through the lines discovered a cheerful and animated countenance, exhorted the soldiers to remember their duty to their country and their religion, and professed her intention, though a woman, to lead them herself into the field against the enemy, and rather to perish in battle than survive the ruin and slavery of her people*. By this spirited be haviour * The Queen's speech was in these words: 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 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 placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you at this time, not as for my recreation or sport, 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 but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England too; and think foul scorn, that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the border of my realms; to which, rather than any dishonour will 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. 1 know haviour she revived the tenderness and admiration of the soldiery; an attachment to her person became a kind of enthusiasm among them; and they asked one another, Whether it were possible that Englishmen could abandon this glorious cause, could display less fortitude than appeared in the female sex, or could ever, by any dangers, be induced to relinquish the defence of their heroic princess? and "The Spanish armada was ready in the beginning of May, but the moment it was pr. paring to sail, the Marquis of Santa Croce, the admiral, was seized with a fever of which he soon after died. The vice-admiral, the Duke of Paliano, by a strange concurrence of accidents, at the very same time suffered the same fate; the king appointed for admiral the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman of great family, but unexeperienced in action and entirely unacquainted with sea affairs. This misfortune retarded the sailing of the armada, and gave the English more time for their preparations to oppose them. At last the Spanish fleet, full of hopes and alacrity, set sail for Lisbon; but next day met with a violent tempest, which scattered the ships, sunk some of the smallest, and forced the rest to take shelter in the Groine, where they waited till they could be refitted. The damages of the armada having been repaired, the Spaniards, with fresh hopes, set out again to sea in prosecution of their enterprize. The fleet consisted of one hundred and thirty vessels, of which near one hundred were galleons, and were of greater size than any ever before used in Europe. It carried on board 19,295 soldiers, 8,456 mariners, 2,088 galley slaves, and 2,630 great pieces of brass ordnance. It was victualled for six months, and was attended by twenty less ships called caravals, and ten gallies with six oars a-piece. "The plan formed by the king of Spain was, that the armada should sail to the coast opposite to Dunkirk and Nieuport, and having joined themselves to the Duke of Parma, should thence make sail to the Thames, and having landed the whole Spanish army, thus complete at one blow the entire conquest of England. After the armada was under sail they took a fisherman, who informed them that the English admiral had been lately at sea, had heard of the tempest which scattered the armada, had retired back into Plymouth, and no longer expecting an invasion this season, had laid up his ships and discharged most of the seamen. From this false intelligence, the Duke of Medina conceived the great facility of attacking and destroying the English ships in harbour; and he was tempted, by the prospec. of so decisive an advantage, to break his orders, and make sail directly for Plymouth; a resolution which proved the safety of England. The Lizard was the first land made by the armada about sunset; and as I know already, by your forwardness, that you have deserved rewards and crowns; and we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean. time, my lieutenant-general (the Earl of Leicester) shall be in my stead; than whom never prince commanded a more noble and worthy subject; not doubting 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 kingdom, and of my people.” the the Spaniards took it for the Ramhead near Plymouth, they bore out to sea with an intention of returning next day and attacking the English navy. They were descried by Fleming, a Scottish pirate, who was roving in those seas, and who immediately set sail to inform the English admiral of their approach; another fortunate event which contributed extremely to the safety of the fleet. Effingham had just time to get out of port, when he saw the Spanish armada coming full sail towards him, disposed in the form of a crescent, and stretching the distance of seven miles from the extremity of one division to that of the other. 66 Effingham gave orders not to come to close fight with the Spaniards, but to cannonade them at a distance, and to wait the opportunity which winds, currents, or various accidents must afford him of intercepting some scattered vessels of the enemy. Nor was it long before the event answered expectation, and two vessels, which had fallen behind, were taken, after some resistance, by Sir Francis Drake. As the armada advanced up the channel, the English hung upon its rear, and still infested it with skirmishes. Each trial abated the confidence of the Spaniards, and added courage to the English; and the latter soon found that even in close fight the size of the Spanish ships was no advantage to them. The alarm having reached the coast of England, the nobility and gentry hastened out with their vessels from every harbour and reinforced the admiral, whose fleet now amounted to one hundred and forty sail. "When the armada had reached Calais, and cast anchor before that place, the English admiral practised a successful stratagem upon the Spa niards. He took eight of his smaller ships, and filling them with all combustible materials, sent them one after another into the midst of the enemy. The Spaniards fancied that they were fire-ships, and immediately cut their cables and took to flight with the greatest disorder and precipitation. The English fell upon them next morning while in confusion; and besides doing great damage to other ships, they took or destroyed about twelve of the enemy. By this time it became apparent that the intention of the Spaniards was entirely frustrated. The vessels, provided by the Duke of Parma, were made for transporting soldiers, not for fighting; and that general, when urged to leave the harbour, positively refused to expose his flourishing army to such apparent hazard; while the English, not only were able to keep the sca, but seemed even to triumph over their enemy. The Spanish ad miral found in many rencounters, that while he lost a considerable part of his own navy, he had destroyed only one small vessel of the English; and he foresaw that, by continuing so unequal a combat, he must draw inevitable destruction on the rest of his fleet. He prepared, therefore, to return homewards, but as the wind was contrary to his sailing through the channel, he resolved to sail northwards. The English fleet followed him during some time; and had not their ammunition fallen short, they had obliged the whole armada to surrender at discretion. But the event proved almost equally fatal to the Spaniards. A violent tempest overtook the armada after it had passed the Orkneys; the ships had already lost their anchors and were obliged to keep to sea: the mariners unaccus→ tomed tomed to such hardships, yielded to the fury of the storm, and allowed their vessels to drive either on the Western Isles of Scotland, or on the coast of Ireland, where they were miserably wrecked. Not a half of the navy returned to Spain; and the seamen as well as soldiers, who remained, were so overcome with hardships and fatigue, and so dispirited by their discomfiture, that they filled all Spain with accounts of the desperate valour of the English, and of the tempestuous violence of that ocean which surrounds them*." I trust, Mr. Editor, that if the French should persist in the attack upon us, which is now projected, they will in like manner return, if any of them should return, only to fill all France with accounts of the desperate valour of the English, Philip, when he heard of the mortifying event, is said, by Hume, "to have fallen on his knees, and render ing thanks for that gracious dispensation of Providence, to have expressed his joy that the calamity was not greater." I have but little hope that Bonaparte will in this particular, follow Philip's example. I trust, how ever, that we shall not forget to render the thanks which will be due ta the Great Author of our deliverance; and I hope that there is a multitude in this land, who, at this time, are not ashamed to use the posture of Philip, in supplicating the Divine protection of their country. B. R. In the mean time, we have to determine whether we will defend ourselves like Scotsmen, or become the slaves of French Despots, I do not mean, my Friends, to exaggerate the danger. What I know of the designs of the enemy, is what you all know, or have heard of. Fortunately for us, he cannot keep his plans secret. He has been obliged to collect boats, to repair ships already shattered by the fire of British cannon, and build others. He cannot persuade his men by nods and whispers to embark for England. He must tell them, that at land we are cowards, and that we have cannot defend. riches, which we All this they have done, and more. They have covered sign-posts with ac、. counts of the riches of Britain, and the wealth it contains; and hold all that out as easy prey for their greedy generals, and half-starved soldiers. We hear of this every day; and after it can any man doubt that they will invade this country? And now, my friends, as the danger is certain, what are you and I to do when it comes? When I say this, I do wiser or richer than myself. As for not pretend to speak to those who are learning, when I say that I can make a Hume's History of England, Vol. V. P. 330-334. shift |