374 -

1600.

“These Shipsfitted oatprivately :

And orderedtotheljlands.

The Spani-ards fendlikewise a.Fleet thi-ther.

They missone another ,

Eliz. Naval Expeditions , 6c L. of the English* Book II,

“ Her, and lest Her Majesty sliould be“ blamed or condemned, by other" Princes of too great Security, in rely-“ ing upon the Success of this uncertain" Treaty; She furnished the three Ships" before-named, but in Shew to guard" the Western Coast, which at that" Time was infested with Dunkirkers.

“ And because there should be the“ less Notice taken of this little Fleet," Part of the Victuals was provided at“ Plymouth, and Sir Richard Levison“ who was then Admiral of the Nar-" row Seas, was appointed General,£t for the more secret and provident“ Carriage of these Ships, so as it couldtC not be conjectured, either by theirVictualing, or by the mean Condition" of their Commander, being only Ad-" miral of the Narrow Seas, that it was“ design’d a Service from home. When" they were in a Readiness, at Plymouth," expecting their Orders, the Queen(t being fully satisfied, that the-Treatyof Boulogne would break, off without" Effect; She Commanded Sir Richardtf Levison to hasten to the Istands, thereet to expect the Carracks and Mexico-" Fleet. The Spaniards, on the other<c Side, being as circumspect to prevent" a Mischief, as we were subtile to" contrive it, and trusting as we did," that the Peace would prove a vain" hopeless Shew of what was never<£ meant, they furnished eighteen tall" Ships to the Istands, as they had usu-" ally done, since the Year 1591. The<£ General of this Fleet was Don Diego“ de Borachero.

" Our Ships came nigh to the Istands,and both they and the Spaniards had" Intelligence of one another ; But not" the Sight; for Sir Richard Levison“ hailed sixty Leagues Westward: not" only to avoid them, but in Hopes“ to meet with the Carracks and Mexico-" Fleet, before their Joining: But the

" Carracks being formerly warned by 1600.

“ the taking one of them and the burn- ^ n d theCar-“ ing another in 1591. I know x\ot rack5 e ^ ca t e ’" whether to impute it to Detections or" to their Foresight, but it is most cerr" tain, that since that Year, they stiuri-£f ed the Sight of that Island, and by" Consequence of the Fleet that lay to" wait for them, Our Fleet being“ thus prevented, as they had often" before been, whereby the Uncertain-<f ty of Sea-Actions may be discern-t£ ed, where Ships are to meet one ano-" ther casually ; And they having con-“ fumed their Time and Victuals, and" seen not so much as one Sail, from" the Time they quitted the Coast of“ Engla?:d, untill their Return, two S,r Richar ^<c Ships of Holland excepted, that came ur" from the Eas-Indies , For then be-“ gan their Trade thither, which Ships" Sir Richard Levison relieved, finding" them in great Distress and Want.

Towards the latter End of the Year1599. we left the Earl of Esex underConfinement, from which, however, hewas afterwards set free, and might pro-bably by a prudent Behaviour, have re-gained the Queen’s Favour: But he con-tinued his Indiscretions, ’till they at last ,

broke out into an open Rebellion, for °

which he was tried, condemned, and, 'headed.the five and twentieth of February , ofthis Year, beheaded in the Tower. , S

The Queen is said to have appearedsomething irresolute that Day ; And e-ven sent an Order to the Lieutenant ofthe Tower to countermand the Earl’sExecution, but soon after She orderedhim to proceed. This Irresolution,whether pretended or real, has affordedPlenty of Matter for Plays and Roman-ces in which Elizabeth is represented asstruggling between Love and Anger, notknowing which of these Passions Sheshould submit to.

CHAP.