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"the Spaniard comes to settle the King of Scots in this realm: "which is so creditably bruited as a preacher, in his prayer before "his sermon, prayed to be delivered from the mighty forces of the "Spaniard, the Scots and the Danes; that my Lord Scroope was slain, with 200 men more, by the Scots; that Sir William Bowes "was turned out of Scotland by the King with great disdain; that "the Adilantado has taken the sacrament to come to London "Bridge, and brings his wife and two daughters with him. Upon Tuesday at night last, it went for certain the Spaniards were "landed at Southampton, and that the Queen came at ten of "the clock at night to St. James's in all post; and upon "Wednesday, it was said the Spanish army was broken, and no 'purpose of their coming hither: with 100 other strange and "fearful rumours." The writer thought that the very propagation of these rumours was in itself "a dangerous plot to amaze and discourage our people, and to advance the strength and mighty 'power of the Spaniard, working doubts in the better sort, fear in "the poorer sort, and a great distraction in all."

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The alarm was at its height about the 11th of August (p. 289). Notwithstanding the imperfect state of the preparations for resisting a landing, the levies at this date having not yet all assembled under the Lord Admiral, and being likely to be "wonder"ful raw, for in all the shires there are very few of the trained men left," yet there was some confidence that the Spaniards, if they came, would be "better beaten than ever they were." Come, however, at this time, in fact, they did not; and in the height of the preparations, before even these had reached finality, the alarm began to grow cold. Barks were sent out along the south coast (p. 291) but they could "learn nothing of these beggarly "Spaniards." Information came through the French Ambassador (p. 295), that there was no reason to think that the Spanish vessels seen in the bay of Brest carried any troops, as the Adelantado was known to have been a short time before at Lisbon. even as late as the 14th of August (p. 296), Henry Lok, who, stationed at Bayonne, was a source of information, sends intimation of suspicious preparations. Soon, however, reports of an eye-witness from Brest itself (p. 307) proved the absence of any Spanish army there, and by the 20th of August the real state of affairs was sufficiently well known to make it possible for the Lord General, the Earl of Nottingham, to be authorised to "dismiss the Queen's loving subjects" who had been assembled

Yet,

for defence of the realm. The Earl of Nottingham made haste to carry this proceeding into effect, making an effort thereby "to

save her Majesty a day or two's pay" (p. 317), and to send the men all homeward before the end of the week. He also suggested arrangements by which the troops from Flushing, when they reached the English coast, should be sent back without disembarking (p. 318).

So the danger, if in any way real, passed away. But if, indeed, it had been otherwise, and an assault, sudden and unexpected as to the place of delivery, had in fact been made, the least of the results might have been "much confusion and mighty disorders." The Lord Admiral, upon whom the "heavy burden" of organising the defence had been laid (p. 338), before it was certainly known that there was no sufficient cause of alarm, was exceedingly anxious to receive tidings of Sir Francis Vere's arrival with his men from the Low Countries. In the so-called trained men at home he had little confidence. "There was never prince," he writes, "so "deceived as her Majesty has been with this word of trained men, "for I am surely persuaded there is not in these shires nominated "to this service, and many stewards named, not one thousand "trained men, or that can so much as march in good and just "order; and where the count was of Sussex of 4,000, there is but "2,000. These deceits are good to lose a realm." Nor was the state of things better in the Western counties, according to the testimony of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who was stationed at Plymouth. When danger was over, he wrote (p. 323), so that the "reports of ignorant people" might not deceive :-"First, for "the gentry, they are in faction, and divided amongst themselves, "so as whatsoever the one would make, the other will endeavour to 'mar, and in truth ignorant what they ought to do; the most of "them of a disposition to please the people about them without a "sound consideration of the public good; the people themselves

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(I mean the men appointed to arms) a raw multitude, without "either use of their arms or knowledge of any order. So as, how"ever we made show of ourselves, if we had been suddenly attempted, you would have heard of much confusion and mighty "disorders. For here was no one captain nor officer, more than I "had of my own, that understood anything." His recommendation was that his little force of 300 men at Plymouth should be kept there until the following year, as in themselves of more value than four times the number brought there "upon a sudden," and

as a means to hold some of the officers together-to her Majesty a great certainty and to the undoubted safety of the place and the neighbourhood.

The Spaniards had, it subsequently transpired, been at the Groyne in force, and their objective had been some point of the English coast (p. 328), but the diversion caused by the attack made on the Canary Islands by the Dutch fleet, and the rashness of the Adelantado had frustrated their design; so the Adelantado sailed away to the South, leaving behind him the big galleys in a state of great misery. The main part of the English fleet at sea under Lord Thomas Howard was consequently recalled (p. 328), but directions were given that an effort should be made to catch the galleys left behind, six of which were heard of near Cape La Hogue. It is amusing to read the somewhat simple stratagem which was concocted in London when the Lord Admiral, the Lord Chamberlain and Sir Robert Cecil laid their wise heads together. They appear to have thought that they had hit upon a very pretty ruse indeed in the suggestion they diffidently make of a method by which "these baggages might be catched or canvassed" (p. 332) :—“ G. Fenner, you are a wise man and "have experienced how to use stratagems. It will not be amiss, "if you think good, to lay a bait for them in this sort; that some "league before you, some barque may be sent, and take in her "ordnance as though she were no man-of-war, which peradven"ture may entice them from the shore to come off and take her, "but this we do but remember unto you, leaving all things to your discretion. Expedition is now all, and resolution. If you "light on them, you will find good store of treasure in them."

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As regards countries of Europe other than Spain, the present volume has but little to say. Taking such papers as relate to France, the first to be noted is a long letter from Thomas France. Edmondes, the English resident or agent in that country. It is an unsigned duplicate or copy, the signed original of which is among the hitherto uncalendared State Papers in the Public Record Office. The letter was written from Paris in the month of January, and has for its subject the measures proposed in France to restrain the import of foreign manufactures for the benefit of native interests, "to set their people at work and keep "their money in the country," proposals which Edmondes endeavoured to combat as being directly against the ancient treaties

The Low

Countries.

of confederacy between the Crowns of England and France. The letter also deals with the toleration extended to the carrying of corn into Spain. Edmondes, in this despatch, urges the necessity of the sending by the Queen of a minister of greater authority than himself, a suggestion which was carried out later in the person of Sir Henry Neville. Three letters only of Neville's, however, will be found in these pages, two relative to his preparations, the third, from Dieppe, of no interest. But the contents of his ambassadorial correspondence is, of course, very well known, made public, as it has been for so many years, in Sawyer's "Memorials of Affairs of State," &c., taken from the original papers of Sir Ralph Winwood. Nor is there here any letter of importance from Edmondes other than that above referred to. With respect to other correspondents, in March, report is made of the arrival of five hundred Frenchmen from Rochelle at Plymouth on their way to Count Maurice, a large emigration in those days, which, it was said, was to be followed by another of the same number. A copy of the French King's letter to the Governor of "Newhaven," or Havre-de-Grace, forbidding the admission into the harbour of men-of-war for refitting and refreshment, by which they were the better able to make piratical attacks on merchantmen, and a communication from the Recorder of London on the subject of a fray originating in a boy of the Ambassador's household "and a butcher and a "baker miscalling one another," with a few others, make up the meagre list of papers which can be included under the head of France.

In connexion with the Low Countries, on the very first day of the year, Sir Francis Vere and George Gilpin announce the success of their negotiations with the States-General, and note a common resolve on the part of all the provinces to "maintain "their own, both by defending and offending the enemy." Then come from various pens accounts of the arrangements connected with the withdrawal of English troops for service in Ireland, already adverted to, demands which (p. 13) "the present strength "of the enemy made them [the States-General and Count Maurice] "digest grievously." In February, there are two letters from Gilpin to the Earl of Essex, chronicling such events as had happened, and testifying again to a growing determination on the part of the Dutch people "to make and maintain a good war."

Vere.

He also gives information (p. 81) of an intention to forbid trade with Spain to their own people and to arm a certain number of ships to lie on the Spanish coast to hinder any others who might be disposed to take advantage of their abstention. Later on in the year these Dutch armed vessels, so sent forth, made a successful descent upon the Canary Islands, where they secured great booty, and took revenge on the Inquisition and the clergy there, sparing none of them (pp. 247, 301). By the year 1599, Sir Francis Vere had become, in Sir Francis Holland, a personage of great influence and authority, a position resented by other English soldiers, as, for example, Sir Thomas Knollys and Sir Henry Docwra. The former grumbles (p. 123) that Vere's "authority and maintenance from the 'States" was so great and absolute since he had been appointed by them their General of all the English in the field, that he made small account of the Queen's town and government of Briel, "being wholly addicted unto the States and their proceedings." Knollys had an eye on the command of Briel himself, thinking it too much for one man to be "Lord General "for the States in the field and Lord Governor of the Brill for her "Majesty." Knollys considered the latter post so desirable that he declared that, if he could but obtain it, he would then regard himself as fully recompensed for all the miseries and misfortunes he had endured by sea and land, and that he would then have cause never to cease praying for the Queen's "most flourishing "estate, and that God might number her most happy years, joyful "days and prosperous hours with the stars of heaven, the sands of "the shore and the drops of the sea." As to Docwra, the illfeeling between Vere and himself would have ended in a personal encounter (p. 363) but for the interference of the Earl of Nottingham and Sir Robert Cecil. Vere's reputation was without doubt great" reverenced of strangers in a high degree" (p. 252), and by the English in the field, "as no living soldier more."

Of the military operations on the Rhine during the year, the amount of information is comparatively small.

Other countries, such as Russia, Sweden, Venice, Turkey, etc., yield a few papers, the nature of which the index will sufficiently show.

Coming now to England itself, and in particular to the northern parts of the country, it may be of interest to summarise the