18,000 sailors, but they had not half the weight of the Spanish artillery, and they were scantily supplied with ammunition and provisions. The ships, however, those of the Queen in particular, were in splendid order, and the sailors were the finest in England. The lord high admiral was Lord Howard of Effingham, who had under him Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, and others, the most celebrated mariners of the age, He took his station with the main body of the ships, about eighty in number, at Plymouth, and another squadron, under Lord Seymour, cruised off Dunkirk, commanding the straits and blockading the prince of Parma. Meantime news was brought to England that the Armada had encountered severe storms, and that the expedition was given up. So much faith was put in this report that several ships began to discharge their crews. Howard, however, sailed down towards Corufia, and discovered that the report had no foundation. On the 29th (19th) July, the fleet was observed entering the Channel, and the beacon-lights along the coast gave warn ing to England that the dreaded enemy was at hand. That evening Howard s ships were moored so as to be able to slip out of Plymouth Sound at a moment s notice. On the following day the Armada was seen standing up the Channel in the form of a crescent, seven miles long, and numbering 150 ships. They passed Plymouth towards evening, and during the night the English fleet sailed out of the Sound, and took up a position to windward. On the following day the action began by the duke of Medina Sidonia attempting to close and come to a general engagement. But he found this to be impossible; the English ships, light and admirably handled, sailed so swiftly, and were manoeuvred with such dexterity, that it was out of his power to inflict any injury on them. Their fire also was rapid and deadly, while the Spanish guns were worked slowly, and generally sent the shot far over the light English vessels. Dismayed at their want of success, the Spanish fleet stood off up the Channel, closely pursued by the English. Throughout all the next week the same tac tics were pursued; the English, hovering on the rear of the Armada, harassed and weakened it without coming to a general engagement. At length, on the 6th August {27th July), Medina Sidonia cast anchor in the roads of Calais, and sent messengers to the prince of Parma, asking him for ammunition and light vessels, and suggesting that he should now attempt his landing on the coast of England. But the prince declared that it was impossible to cross the Channel while the English fleet was on the sea, that he had no light ships, and that the state of the weather pre vented him sending such ammunition as he could spare. Lord Howard had now been joined by Seymour s squadron and by many private ships, but he and the other com manders were still in the deepest anxiety. They were almost destitute of provisions and powder, and did not yet know what damage they had inflicted on the Armada, which, after all their endeavours, seemed now to have reached its destination. At last it was resolved to drive the Spanish fleet out into the open sea, and to effect this by means of fire-ships. Eight ships were selected and filled with combustibles, their rigging was smeared with pitch, and on the night of the 7th August (28th July) they were drifted down with the tide and set on fire. The Spaniards, in great alarm, immediately cut their cables and cleared off from the shore. Next morning Drake pursued them, while Howard remained for some time to attack a galleon that had gone ashore during the night. The Spanish fleet was scattered over a large space off Gravelines, and Drake at once began the action, driving them together into a confused mass by his rapid firing and swift manoeuvring, and forcing the whole towards the coast of Flanders. Had his ammunition held out he might have completed the ruin by driving them on shore ; as it was, the injury inflicted by this one day s fighting was enormous. Nearly 4000 men were killed and many ships were disabled, and the hopes of the Spaniards were broken. Their courage completely deserted them; and next day, when a council of war was held, it was resolved to try the perilous voyage to Spain by the North Sea and Pentland Firth rather than again face Drake and the English fleet. The whole fleet, still numbering 120 vessels, stood off accordingly towards the North Sea. Drake and Howard pursued for some days, till want of provisions compelled them to return. But the weather proved a sufficiently formidable enemy to the unhappy Spaniards. The con tinuous violent gales which .accompanied them along their route, by the north of Scotland and the wild Irish coast, completely shattered their unseaworthy vessels. The shores were strewn with wrecks, and many hundreds of unfortunates who were saved from the sea were slain by the Irish. Con stant sickness had decimated the troops, and when at length, in September and October, fifty-four shattered vessels reached Spain, they conveyed only 9000 or 10,000 men, and these were in a pitiable state from sickness and want. A full account of the Armada is given in the curious Spanish work, La felicisima Armada, &c., published in 1588, a copy of which, with Lord Burleigh s manuscript notes, is in the British Museum. Froude (History, vol. xii.) gives valuable extracts from Spanish manuscripts bearing on the expedition.
The Peba (Tatusia Peba, Owen).
