persevering of the mighty brotherhood to which he belonged. And at that sea-funeral surely would be heard "The far bell ringing At the setting of the sun, To the great days done." CHAPTER X THE ARMADA: LORD HOWARD AND ESSEX No picture of English life during the time of Shakspere would be complete without showing the narrow strip of sea which Sir Thomas Gresham crossed on his business journeys forty times in one year, crowded as it was for those few summer weeks in 1588 with the knighthood of England and of Spain. The ever growing hatred between the Spaniards and English could no longer be restrained. Mary, Queen of Scots, in Catholic eyes the rightful heir to the throne of England, had met her tragic fate the year before, and had closed the life, in which she had met with little but trouble and disappointment, with a lofty resignation worthy of her noble Stuart race; now Philip of Spain, the most ardently Catholic among the Princes of Europe, had made ready, with help from all sides, to invade England, depose the heretic and blood - stained Queen who now reigned there, and re-establish the old religion throughout the country. Such was the Spanish intention, and the preparations for its successful carrying out were gigantic. There were 132 ships, bringing, besides sailors, priests, and galley-slaves, soldiers to the number of over 21,000, and stocked with provisions to last for six months during the projected conquest of England. Such was the Armada, which contained the bravest sons of every Spanish house, and refugees from many noble families of other nations, and it was to be met in the Channel by the Duke of Parma, with an additional Spanish army from the Netherlands of 17,000 men. Elizabeth's navy only numbered thirty-four vessels, but from every seaport town private ships came forth ready to serve against the national enemy. Drake and Hawkins had vessels of their own, and Drake's privateers were in good fighting condition; Lord Howard had two ships which he manned, and of the great ports London alone provided thirty, furnished and equipped by the chief merchants of the city. And men and money poured in on all sides for the service of Queen and country. From town and village, from castle, manor-house, and cottage, from Yorkshire Moors and Devonshire Fells, and from the pleasant hills of Kent poured N forth the best of England's sons, of every age and class, united in one bond of loyalty to England, and of hatred to England's enemy. A gallant band the seamen must have made, as each passed in turn to take the command of his ship, whose helm he had guided through many a troubled sea in frozen Arctic region or under burning tropical skies, but which had never had so great a need of cool head and steady hand as she would have now when facing her deadly foe in the narrow waters of the English Channel. Hawkins was Rear-Admiral; he was also Treasurer of the Navy, and it was owing to his care that the ships were all sent out of dock in first-rate condition. Drake was Vice-Admiral, with his little fleet of devoted privateers ready to follow him to death in any form; Raleigh, Essex, and Frobisher were there too, all eager for honour and for revenge. The story of the Armada and its fate hardly needs re-telling, it has been so often told that it is familiar to all. Lord Howard, who commanded the fleet, was an able man, patient and painstaking, who knew well the worth of his subordinates; the land army, gathered at Tilbury, was under the leadership of the Queen's old favourite Leicester, who died a few months after the scattering of the Armada. The greatest trial to the English ships, which were quite inadequately provided both with food and ammunition, was the time of waiting while they lay in the Channel expecting the foe. Even when the start from Cadiz was made, the weather was so violent that it took the Spaniards three weeks to reach the Cape of Finisterre. The weather had been bad all through the spring, and seemed no better with the advance of summer. But the day was fair and mild when at last the great galleons were seen entering the Channel, and news of their coming was brought to the English ships lying in Plymouth harbour. Drake let the heavy Spanish fleet sail by, and then pursued them; and by their quick movements the English vessels were able to get near enough to pour discharges from their guns into the great broadsides of the larger ships, and then to turn and move quickly out of range. The Spaniards were prepared for hand-to-hand warfare, their decks were crowded with the soldiers who were to complete, on landing, the conquest of England, but they were poor marksmen, and their vessels were slow and lumbering, so that |