Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 9.djvu/162

I 4 8 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 53. would be no need of stroke or shot.' Constable had been directed 'to sow sedition among the rebels, dis- courage, divide, and disperse them/ and to 'spare no money ' in the process. For such purposes Elizabeth was generous, and he did his work effectually. 1 The garrison which had been left at Hartlepool strained their eyes for the sails of Alva's fleet, but they saw in- stead only the ships of the Queen, which, as the weather served, drew in upon the shore and sent long shots among them. The harbour, even had Alva been will- ing, would not have answered the purpose, for it was dry at low water, and vessels of large burden could not enter it in ordinary high tides. 2 It was useless to wait longer. Barncastle was again deserted, Hartlepool was evacuated, and so much of the insurgent force as held together was reassembled in Durham in the middle of December. There, as the solitary result of their movement, they could still hear mass in the Cathedral, but the Almighty Power whom they had hoped to propitiate had not interfered in their favour. About 4000 were said to be now remaining in arms, but among these ' mistrust ' was spreading, and a fear that the Earls would steal away and leave them to their fate. 3 Meanwhile Clinton and Warwick were advancing on their several routes. They had been long on their way, for the 'roads were foul and miry.' 'The men 1 Constable to Sadler, December 14: Sadler Papers, vol. ii. 2 Sussex to the Council, Decem- ber 1 1 : MSS. Border. 3 Cotton. MSS. CALIG. B. ix. f. 488.