of Parma should make by sea, did depart from the Downs towards the west with certain of her Majesty's ships and twenty other ships and barks of London, which arrived at Plymouth the 23rd of the same, where Sir Francis Drake, with the number of 60 sails, until that time under his charge, met1 with the Lord Admiral in good order, whereupon his Lordship, commanding that fleet unto his own, made Sir Francis Drake his vice-admiral.

His Lordship, upon his arrival at Plymouth, took present order for the victualling and putting in a readiness of the whole army, being then near about the number of 90 sails of ships and barks; which being accomplished, his Lordship put out of harbour again into the sea, and lay off and on in the Sleeve,2 betwixt Ushant and Scilly, abiding the coming of the Spanish fleet; and afterwards his Lordship having spent long time, sometimes near the coast of France, and sometimes near the coast of England, retired with the fleet to Plymouth to refresh them.

In the meantime there were discovered betwixt Ushant and Scilly certain ships of the Spanish fleet, to the number of 14 sail, which afterward were known to be separated from their fleet by force of foul weather, and before they could be met with by any of the English army, they had a northerly wind which carried them back to the Groyne,3 whither the rest of the fleet returned and watered. Hereupon his Lordship had intelligences sundry ways that the Spanish army was dispersed into sundry ports of Spain, distressed, spoiled, in necessity of victuals and great mortality grown amongst their people; which

1 Cf. post, ib. These details could then scarcely be known outside the official circle.

2 The Sleeve (Fr. La Manche) is more properly the Channel. It will be seen, however, that Howard, like this unknown writer, always applies it to the Chops of the Channel, the sea between Ushant and Scilly. 3 Corunna.

notwithstanding did not so fall out in truth; whereupon his Lordship, seeing our own coast clear and the coast of France also, which he had very narrowly searched, thought it good, with liking and advice of his council, to take the opportunity of the next north wind that should happen, and to bear with the coast of Spain, there to seek out the Spanish fleet in the Groyne or other ports of Galicia, which course was held from the 8th of July, 1588, until the 10th of the same, with a north wind, at which time the same changed to southerly, 40 leagues short of the coast of Spain, or thereabouts. His Lordship therefore, doubting that which afterwards fell out in very deed, and having his chief care and regard to the defence of the realm of England, and finding that with that wind the enemy might pass by the fleet of England undescried, with that change of wind being prosperous for the fleet of Spain to come for the coast of England, returned with his whole company and arrived at Plymouth the 12th of the same, where, with great expedition, his Lordship put divers things in order, watered and refreshed his ships with victuals.

The 19th of July, 1588, we had intelligence by one of the barks that his Lordship had left in the Sleeve for discovery, named the [Golden Hind],1 wherein was Captain Thomas Flemyng, that the fleet of Spain was seen near the Lizard, the wind being then southerly or south-west; and although the greater number of ships of the English army, being then in Plymouth, with that wind were very

1 Blank in MS. Flemyng is said by Sir William Monson to nave been a 'pirate,' 'at sea a-pilfering,' an idea which Kingsley elaborated in Westward Ho! It is, however, distinctly contradicted by the State Papers. He was, through the Gonsons, a near connection of Hawkyns, and is frequently named during the following ten years as commanding a ship of war, either in the Queen's service or with the Earl of Cumberland.

hard to be gotten out of harbour, yet the same was done with such diligence and good will, that many of them got abroad as though it had been with a fair wind. Whereupon, the 20th of July, his Lordship, accompanied with 54 sail of his fleet, with that southwest wind plied out of the Sound; and being gotten out scarce so far as Eddystone,1 the Spanish army was discovered, and were apparently seen of the whole fleet to the westwards as far as Fowey.

3

The next morning, being Sunday, the 21st of July, 1588, all the English ships that were then come out of Plymouth had recovered the wind of the Spaniards two leagues to the westward of Eddystone,1 and about 9 of the clock in the morning, the Lord Admiral sent his pinnace,2 named the Disdain, to give the Duke of Medina defiance, and afterward in the Ark bare up with the admiral of the Spaniards wherein the Duke was supposed to be, and fought with her until she was rescued by divers ships of the Spanish army, In the meantime, Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkyns, and Sir Martin Frobiser fought with the galleon of Portugal, wherein John Martinez de Recalde, viceadmiral, was supposed to be. The fight was so well maintained for the time that the enemy was constrained to give way and to bear up room to the eastward, in which bearing up, a great galleon, wherein Don Pedro de Valdes was captain, became 1 MS. Idye Stone.

2 This is not mentioned in any of the State Papers; though the Lord Admiral's pinnace Disdain is.

3 The flag-ship. The use of the word admiral in this sense, common in the Elizabethan period, continued till the end of the seventeenth century.

* So called by anticipation. They were not knighted till the 26th.

76

5 Room to leeward. It is only used adverbially, as 'to bear room,' 'to go room,' ' roomwards,' and seems to conceal the same idea as the still familar to sail large.'

foul of another ship which spoiled and bare overboard his foremast and bowsprit,1 whereby he could not keep company with their fleet, but being with great dishonour left behind by the Duke, fell into our hands. There was also at that instant a great Biscayan, of 800 tons or thereabouts, that, by firing of a barrel of gunpowder, had her decks blown up, her stern blown out, and her steerage spoiled. This ship was for this night carried amongst the fleet by the galleasses.

3

This fight continued not above two hours; for the Lord Admiral, considering there were forty sail of his fleet as yet to come from Plymouth, thought good to stay their coming before he would hazard the rest too far, and therefore set out a flag of council, where his Lordship's considerate advice was much liked of, and order delivered unto each captain how to pursue the fleet of Spain; and so, dismissing each man to go aboard his own ship, his Lordship appointed Sir Francis Drake to set the watch that night.

This night the Spanish fleet bare alongst by the Start, and the next day, in the morning, they were as far to leeward as the Berry. Our own fleet, being disappointed of their light, by reason that Sir Francis Drake left the watch to pursue certain hulks which were descried very late in the evening, lingered behind not knowing whom to follow; only his Lordship, with the Bear and the Mary Rose in his company, somewhat in his stern, pursued the enemy all night within culverin shot; his own fleet being as far behind as, the next morning, the

1 MS. bolspreete.

2 Await.

3 This sentence must surely have emanated from Howard. 4 Cf. post, August 10, Starke's Deposition. Starke's word is 'scryed.'

5 As that

nearest might scarce be seen half mast high, and very many out of sight, which with a good sail recovered not his Lordship the next day before it was very late in the evening. This day, Sir Francis Drake with the Revenge, the Roebuck and a small bark or two in his company, took Don Pedro de Valdes, which was spoiled of his mast the day before; and having taken out Don Pedro and certain other gentlemen, sent away the same ship and company to Dartmouth, under the conduction of the Roebuck, and himself bare with the Lord Admiral, and recovered his Lordship that night, being Monday.

This Monday, being the 22nd of July, 1588, the Spaniards abandoned the ship that the day before was spoiled by fire, to the which his Lordship sent the Lord Thomas Howard and Sir John Hawkyns, knight, who together, in a small skiff of the Victory's, went aboard her, where they saw a very pitiful sight -the deck of the ship fallen down, the steerage broken, the stern blown out, and about 50 poor creatures burnt with powder in most miserable sort.1 The stink in the ship was so unsavoury, and the sight within board so ugly, that the Lord Thomas Howard and Sir John Hawkyns shortly departed and came unto the Lord Admiral to inform his Lordship in what case she was found; whereupon his Lordship took present order that a small bark named the Bark Flemyng, wherein was Captain Thomas Flemyng, should conduct her to some port in England which he could best recover, which was performed, and the said ship brought into Weymouth the next day.

That night fell very calm, and the four galleasses singled themselves out from their fleet, whereupon some doubt was had lest in the night they might

1 These details are not found in the State Papers.

2 Many ships are similarly named after their owner. The true name of the Bark Flemyng was Golden Hind.