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PREPARATIONS IN ENGLAND.

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ire, some with fear; but all sorts, almost without exception, resolved to venture their lives for the withstanding of all manner of conquest." The people, firmly devoted as they were to their magnanimous and excellent queen, were, by such insolent threats, "thoroughly irritated," says a contemporary, "to stir up their whole forces for their defence against such prognosticated conquests; so that, in a very short time, all her whole realm, and every corner, were furnished with armed men, on horseback and on foot; and those continually trained, exercised, and put into bands, in warlike manner, as in no age ever was before in this realm. There was no sparing of money to provide horse, armour, weapons, powder, and all necessaries; no, nor want of provision of pioneers, carriages, and victuals, in every county of the realm, without exception, to attend upon the armies. And to this general furniture every man voluntarily offered, very many their services personally without wages, others money for armour and weapons, and to wage soldiers: a matter strange, and never the like heard of in this realm or elsewhere. And this general reason moved all men to large contributions, that when a conquest was to be withstood wherein all should be lost, it was no time to spare a portion."

There were some who advised the queen to place no reliance upon any means of maritime defence, but to expect the enemy's coming, and "welcome him with a land battle," as her father had resolved to do when he was threatened with invasion by a superior fleet; and as was intended in the time of the French Armada, in Richard II.'s reign. But Elizabeth, though her reliance was not upon any human strength, knew the worth of her seamen, and omitted none of those means of defence with

Copy of a letter sent out of England (Harl. Muse. 8vo. edition, vol. ii 63, 64.) The editor of this collection must have cast a careless eye over this letter, or he would not have supposed that it had really been written by a papist in the Spanish interest.""

"One strange speech," says the writer," that I heard spoken, may be marvelled at, but it was avowed to me for a truth, that one gentleman in Kent had a band of 150 footmen which were worth in goods above 150,0002. sterling, besides their lands. Such men would fight stoutly before they would lose their goods." p. 65.

which God and nature had provided her. The command of the whole fleet she gave to Charles lord Howard of Effingham, who had been appointed lord high admiral three years before, on the death of the earl of Lincoln, Edward Clinton.* That office "seemed to have become almost hereditary in the Howard family. The queen had a great persuasion of his fortunate conduct, and knew him to be of a moderate and noble courage, skilful in sea matters, wary and provident, valiant and courageous, industrious and active, and of great authority and esteem among the sailors." Him she sent early in the year to the western coast with the main body of the fleet; Drake, who was her vice-admiral, joined him here, and Hawkins and Frobisher (great names in naval history) were in this division. Lord Henry Seymour, second son of the duke of Somerset, was ordered to lie off the coast of Flanders with 40 ships, Dutch and English; blockade the enemy's ports there; and prevent the prince of Parma from forming a junction with the Armada from Spain. Ten years before this time the royal navy consisted of no more than 24 ships of all sizes, the largest being of 1000 tons, the smallest under 60; all the ships throughout England of 100 tons and upwards were but 135, and all under 100 and above 40 tons. were 656.† But if the ten years which had elapsed had done little toward the augmentation of the royal navy, it had added more than any preceding century to the maritime strength of the country in that race of sailors which had been trained up in adventurous expeditions to the new world. The whole number of ships collected for the defence of the country on this great occasion was 191, the number of seamen 17,472, the amount of tonnage 31,985. Eighteen of these ships were volunteers. There was one ship in the fleet (the Triumph) of 1100 tons, one of 1000, one of 900, two of 800 each, three of 600, and five of 500, five of 400, six of 300, six of 250, twenty of 200: all the rest were smaller. But, in the Armada, though there were only three ships that

* Camden, 325.

+ Campbell, i. 334.

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exceeded in size the Triumph, there were no fewer than 45 between 600 and 1000 tons burden; and though the English fleet outnumbered the Armada nearly by sixty sail, its tonnage amounted not to one half of that of the enemy.*

For the land defence, somewhat more than 100,000 men were called out, regimented and armed, but only half of them were trained. Of these the cavalry, with the pioneers, amounted to 14,000. This was exclusive of the force upon the borders, and of the Yorkshire force, which was reserved for service northward. 20,000 men were disposed along the southern coast; an army of 45,000 was collected under the earl of Hunsdon to guard the queen's person, who, in case of the invaders' success, if she escaped from that malignant treason which had so often threatened her life, was to have been placed at the pope's disposal. The band of pensioners was attached to this army. Another was formed at Tilbury under Leicester: it consisted of 1000 horse, and 22,000 foot; and 2000 troops were requested and obtained from Holland to act with this force, which was specially intended to engage the prince of Parma, it being understood that London was the point for which he would immediately aim. "The Hollanders," says Stowe, "came roundly in, with threescore sail, brave ships of war, fierce and full of spleen, not so much for England's aid, as in just occasion for their own defence; these men foreseeing the greatness of the danger that might ensue, if the Spaniards should chance to win the day, and get the mastery over them; in due regard whereof their manly courage was inferior to none." Both sides of the river were fortified under the direction of Federico Giambelli, an Italian deserter from the Spanish service, who invented the famous fire-ships, or rather floating mines, employed against the prince of Parma over the Scheldt at the siege of Antwerp. Gravesend was fortified, and western barges brought thither with the twofold intent of constructing a bridge * Charnock, vol. ii. 15. 17. Turner, 667.

like that of Antwerp, for blocking the river, and affording a passage for horse and foot between Kent and Essex, as occasion might require. Arthur lord Grey of Wilton, sir Francis Knolles, sir John Norris, sir Richard Bingham, and sir Roger Williams, were appointed, as experienced soldiers, to consult upon the best means of defence. They advised that the most convenient landing-places for the enemy, whether coming from Spain, or from the Low Countries, should be well manned and fortified, “namely, Milford Haven, Falmouth, Plymouth, Portland, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, that open coast of Kent which we call the Downs, the Thames mouth, Harwich, Yarmouth, Hull. And that the trained bands all along the maritime counties should meet in arms upon a signal given, to defend the said parts, and do their best to prohibit the enemy's landing. And if the enemy did land, to lay all the country waste round about, and spoil all things that might be of any use to them; that so they might find no food but what they brought with them on their shoulders; and to busy the enemy night and day with continual alarms, so as to give them no rest; but not to put it to the hazard of a battle, till more commanders with their companies were come to them,

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The bull, cardinal Allen's treasonable appeal to the English Romanists, and the opinion confidently expressed in Spain, that they would, as soon as Spanish aid afforded them opportunity, cast off the queen's yoke, and attempt something memorable for her destruction †, had rendered them objects of suspicion; and there were evil counsellors who argued that the Spaniards abroad were not so much to be feared as the papists at home; that no invasion would be attempted were it not in reliance upon their co-operation; and, therefore, that for the sake of public safety, the heads of this dangerous party ought to be taken off; alleging, as an example, that in Henry VIII.'s time, when, at the pope's instigation, * Camden, 406, Strype, vol. iii. p. 33.

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the emperor and the king of France were about to invade England, their intention was abandoned as soon as he had put to death the persons whom he suspected of favouring it. This Elizabeth justly condemned as wicked counsel: on account, however, of the general murmurs, she thought it prudent not only to secure the priests and seminarists, but to commit some of the principal laity to custody, part in Wisbeach castle, others in the bishop's palace at Ely.* This was not an indiscriminate measure, nor can it be judged from the event to have been a needless one; for, after the failure of the armada, when they might have been enlarged upon signing a bond, they took exception at a clause in it engaging "for their good behaviour to the queen and the state," because, they said, it seemed to touch them in credit; they offered a form of their own, which was properly suspected of some mental reservation; and, in fact, three of the persons who were thus committed were afterwards engaged in the gunpowder plot.

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While all human means for defence were provided by the queen and her wise ministers, they did not neglect to implore that aid without which all human means would have been unavailing. A form of prayer, 66 cessary for the present time and state," was set forth, and enjoined to be used on Wednesdays and Fridays every week, in all parish churches. "One of these prayers deserves," says Strype, "to be recorded, in eternal memory of this imminent national danger:" it ran thus:- "O Lord God of Hosts, most loving and merciful Father, we, thy humble servants, prostrate ourselves before thy Divine Majesty, most heartily beseeching thee to grant unto us true repentance for our sins past; namely, for our unthankfulness, contempt of thy word, lack of compassion toward the afflicted, envy, malice, strife and contention among ourselves, and for all other our iniquities. Lord, deal not with us as we have deserved: but of thy great goodness and mercy do away our offences; and give us grace to confess and acknow

* Camden, 406. Copy of a letter, &c. 66. Strype's Whitgift, i. 528-530

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