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stance,^) for that otherwise, by theUnwieldiness of their Ships, they couldnot (as they said) engage the light andactive Vessels of the Englijh. They al-so desired him with great Earnestness,to use all Speed in Embarking his Ar-my, and to be in a Readiness to takethe first Opportunity, under their Con-voy, to land in England. But, besidesthat his flat-bottom’d Boats were becomeleaky, and that he was not in many o-ther Respects in that Readiness, whichhad been concerted, in (being particu-larly in Want both of Men and Provi-sions) he was hindered from complyingwith their Demands, by the Ships ofHolland and Zealand, under the Com-in by mand of Count Justin NaJJau. Theycontinued to block up the Harbours ofDunkirk and Newport , the only Portsfrom whence he could put to Sea : Andso well were these Ships provided, notonly with great Guns, but with smallArms, that he could not have put offfrom Shore, without a manifest Dan-ger.

The next Day after the two Fleetscame to an Anchor, being the eightand twentieth, the Lord Admiral, bythe Queen’s especial Command, singledout eight of the worst Ships, bestowedupon them good Plenty of Pitch, Tar,Wild-fire and Rosin, lined them wellwith Brimstone and other CombustibleMatters, and loaded all theirCannon withBullets, Chains, and the like destructiveThings. Thus equip’d, he sent thembefore the Wind, and with the Tide,about two Hours after Midnight, underthe Conduct of Young and Prowse, intothe Midst of the Spanijh Fleet. Beingarrived at a certain Distance, they setFire to the Trains, and then retired.Their Approach was no sooner disco-ver’d by the Spaniards , and the pro-digious Blaze they made, which repre-sented the Sky and Ocean in one Confla-gration, than the whole Fleet was inthe utmost Consternation. Many ofthem had been at the Siege of Antwerp,and had seen the destructive Machinesmade Use of there: Suspecting, there-fore, that these were big with suchlike Engines,they set up a most hideousClamour of, Cut your Cables and get upyour Anchors ; And immediately, in a

259

15S8.

^Pani.

Panick, put to Sea, with all the Con-fusion and Precipitancy immaginable.

One of the Fleet, a large Galleass, (h)having lost her Rudder, was toss’d upand down, for some Time; And the A largenext Day, being flung upon the Sands Spamsh Gai-before Calais, was taken by Str AmasPrefton, Mr. Thomas Gerrard, Mr.

Harvey, and several other Gentlemen,sent by the Admiral in his Long-Boat,with other Boats, and about a HundredMen. She did not, however, surrender'till after a sharp and doubtful Dispute,wherein Don Hugo de Moncada, the p°n HugoCaptain of her, was killed, by a Shot in 7 ,ct^ oncadathe Head ; And the Soldiers and Row-ers, to the Number of four Hundred,either drowned, or put to the Sword ;

The Ship and Guns, after the Englijhhad freed three Hundred Gally-Slaveswhich were on Board, and taken outfifty Thousand Duckets of Gold, of theKing’s Mony, fell, as a Wreck, toMr. Gourdon, Governour of Calais. (/)

The Spaniards reported, however,that their Admiral, did, indeed, uponthe Approach of the Firefhips, givethe Signal for weighing Anchor, to a-void the present Danger; But orderedthat each Ship, after it was over, shouldreturn to her Station. This he himselfdid, and he fired a Gun, as a Signal forthe rest to do the like; But the Reportthereof was not heard by many; Fortheir Fears had so dispersed them, thatsome had got a considerable Way outto Sea, and others among the Shoals onthe Coast of Flanders. Those whoheard the Signal endeavoured to cometo their Rendezvous, off of Graveling,where the Englijh again got the Wea-ther-gage of them, deprived them of theConvenience of the Calais Road, andhindered them from receiving Succourfrom Dunkirk » In the mean Time theywere very warmly plied with Shot bySir Francis Drake, in the Revenge, andMr. Thomas Fenner, in the Nonpareil}by Sir John Hawkins, in the Victory ;

Nix.Edward Fenton, in the Mary -Rose ;

Mr. Robert Cross , in the Hope ; SirGeorge Be es on, in the Dreadnought ;

Mr. Richard Hawkins, in the Swallow -,

Sir Robert Southwell, in the ElizabethJonas j and others: And in a little while,by the Lord High Admiral himself,

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(/?;) Many of the Spanish Noblemen, and a- (/) Some Authors call her the Admiral-Gal- MS. inBM.mong them the Prince of Ascoli , the King’s natu- leafs, and a Manuscript in the Cottonian Library Cotton.

i'al Son, being now sick of the Expedition, took says, the chief Galleass,the Opportunity of this Messenger, to leave theFleet, and go aihoar.