The attire of cuted was the perquisite of those exe you shall make an end of all my troubles.' Then they, with All this tyme they were pulling off her apparell, she never chaunged her countenaunce, but with smiling cheere she uttered thes wordes, 'that she never had such groomes to make her unready, and that she never put off her clothes before such a company.' the execu in a brown velvet skirt satin bodice Then She, being stripped of all her apparell saving her She was clad peticote and kirtle, her two women beholding her made great lamentacion, and crying and crossing themselves and black prayed in Latin; She, turning herselfe to them, imbrasinge with long them, said thes wordes in French, Ne crie vous, j'ay prome sleeves. pour vous, and so crossing and kissing them, bad them pray for her and rejoyce and not weepe, for that now they should see an ende of all their Mistris troubles. Then She, with a smiling countenaunce, turning to her men servauntes, as Melvin and the rest, standing upon a bench nigh the Scaffold, who sometyme weeping sometyme crying out alowde, and continually crossing themselves, prayed in Latin, crossing them with her hand bad them farewell; and wishing them to pray for her even untill the last howre. This donn, one of the women having a Corpus Christi cloth lapped up three-corner-wayes, kissing it, put it over the Q. of Sc. face, and pinned it fast to the caule of her head. Then the two women departed from her, and she kneeling downe upon the cusshion most resolutely, and without any token or feare of death, she spake alowde this Psalme in Latin, In te Domine confido, non confundar in eternam,' &c. Then lying upon the blocke most N quietly and stretching out her armes cryed, ' In manus tuas, Domine,' etc. three or fowre times. Official Narrative of the Execution sent to the Court. H. Ellis, The follow- 1590), one of bethan states the time of 59. The Fight with the Armada (1588) Howard to Walsyngham Sir: I will not trouble you with any long letter; we are at this present otherwise occupied than with writing. men, and at Upon Friday, at Plymouth, I received intelligence that there were a great number of ships descried off of the Lizard; whereupon, although the wind was very scant, we first warped out of harbour that night, and upon Saturday turned out very hardly, the wind being at South-West; and about three of the clock in the afternoon, descried the Spanish fleet, and did what we could to work for the wind, which the Armada The these letters are by Charles, Lord How ard of Effing- [by this] morning we had recovered, descrying their f[leet to] consist of 120 sail, whereof there are 4 g[alleasses] and many ships of great burden. ham and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth. He belonged to a Catholic family, fa mous in Eng- No. 51. Howard was blamed for this. Later Raleigh At nine of the [clock] we gave them fight, which continued until one. [In this fight] we made some of them to bear room to stop their leaks; notwithstanding we durst not adventure to put in among them, their fleet being so strong. But there shall be nothing either neglected or unhazarded, that may work their overthrow. Sir, the captains in her Majesty's ships have behaved themselves most bravely and like men hitherto, and I doubt not will continue, to their great commendation. And so, recommending our good success to your godly prayers, I bid you heartily farewell. From aboard the Ark, thwart wrote, "The of Plymouth, the 21st of July, 1588. Your very loving friend, C. HOWARD. the with Sir, the southerly wind that brought us back from coast of Spain brought them out. God blessed us turning us back. Sir, for the love of God and our country, let us have with some speed some great shot sent us bigness; for this service will continue long; and powder with it. Drake to Walsyngham of all some This bearer came aboard the ship I Spaniards had an army aboard them, and he had none; they had more ships than he had, and of higher building and charging; so that had he entangled himself with these great and powerful vessels, he had greatly endangered this kingdom of England." The Ark, 800 tons, was the flagship. By SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, born 1540? died in the in 1596. West Indies Right Honourable : was in in a wonderful good time, and brought with him as good knowledge as we could wish. His carefulness therein is worthy recompense, for that God has given us so good a day in forcing the enemy so far to leeward as I hope in God the Prince of Parma and the Duke of Sidonia shall not shake hands this few days; and whensoever they shall meet, I believe neither of them will greatly rejoice of this day's service. The town of Calais hath seen some part thereof, whose Mayor her Majesty is beholden unto. Business commands me to end. God bless her majesty, our gracious Sovereign, and give us all grace to live in his fear. I assure your Honour this day's service hath much appalled the miral.-See enemy, and no doubt but encouraged our army. From aboard her Majesty's good ship the Revenge, this 29th of the Tudor July, 1588. Your Honour's most ready to be commanded, Most active and brilliant of all the Elizabethan seamen. this time he At was vice-ad J. Corbett, Navy. FRA. DRAKE. The Prince of Parma was in command of the Spanish land There must be great care taken to send us munition and forces victual whithersoever the enemy goeth. Yours, FRA. DRAKE. and at the head of the whole expedition. The Duke of Medina-Sidonia was in command of the Armada. He was of high birth and noble character, but utterly ignorant of naval affairs. The Revenge Hawkyns to Walsyngham My bounden duty humbly remembered unto your good Lordship : I have not busied myself to write often to your Lordship in this great cause, for that my Lord Admiral doth continually advertise the manner of all things that doth pass. So do others that understand the state of all things as well as myself. We met with this fleet somewhat to the westward of Plymouth upon Sunday in the morning, being was captured the 21st of July, where we had some small fight with them by the Spaniards in 1591, in the afternoon. By the coming aboard one of the other the only ship of the Spaniards, a great ship, a Biscayan, spent her foremast and bowsprit; which was left by the fleet in the sea, and so taken up by Sir Francis Drake the next morning. The same Sunday there was, by a fire chancing by a barrel of powder, a great Biscayan spoiled and abandoned, which my Lord took up and sent away. during the whole war to strike her colours to the enemy. "This ship, for the space of 15 hours, sate like a stagge amongst Hounds, at the bay, and was sieged and fought with, in turne, by 15 great ships of Spaine." Francis By SIR JOHN HAWKYNS, who died off Puerto Rico in 1595. He The Tuesday following, athwart of Portland, we had a sharp and long fight with them, wherein we spent a great part of our powder and shot, so as it was not thought good to deal with them any more till that was relieved. The Thursday following, by the occasion of the scattering of one of the great ships from the fleet, which we hoped to have cut off, there grew a hot fray, wherein some store of powder was spent; and after that, little done till we came near to Calais, where the fleet of Spain anchored, and our fleet by them; and because they should not be in peace there, to refresh their water or to have conference with those of the Duke of Parma's party, my Lord Admiral, with firing of ships, determined to remove them; as he did, and put them to the seas; in which broil the chief galleass unscrupulous spoiled her rudder, and so rode ashore near the town of dealings even toward Calais, where she was possessed of our men, but so aground as she could not be brought away. was one of the most dar ing of the sea dogs, but was charged with his friends in his greed for gain. That morning, being Monday, the 29th of July, we fol He has the bad fame of being one of the first Englishmen to engage in the slave trade. At the lowed the Spaniards; and all that day had with them a long and great fight, wherein there was great valour showed generally of our company. In this battle there was spent very much of our powder and shot; and so the wind began to blow westerly, a fresh gale, and the Spaniards put themselves somewhat the northward, where we follow and keep time of the company with them. In this fight there was some hurt done among the Spaniards. A great ship of the galleons of Portugal, her rudder spoiled, and so the fleet left her in the sea. I doubt not but all these things are written more at large to your Lordship than I can do; but this is the substance and material matter that hath passed. Our ships, God be thanked, have received little hurt, and are of great force to accompany them, and of such advantage that with some continuance at the seas, and sufficiently provided of shot and powder, we shall be able, with God's favour, to weary them out of the sea and confound them. Yet, as I gather certainly, there are amongst them 50 forcible and invincible ships which consist of those that follow, viz.: : Armada he admiral. tinctly, per- history of Europe, the battle which curbed the power of Spain, which Nine galleons of Portugal of 800 ton apiece, saving two shattered the of them are but 400 ton apiece. Spanish prestige, and es Twenty great Venetians and argosies of the seas within tablished the the Strait, of 800 apiece. One ship of the Duke of Florence of 800 ton. Four galleasses, whereof one is in France. basis of England's empire." Laughton. Galleon: a high-built There are 30 hulks, and 30 other small ships, whereof ship of war; little account is to be made. At their departing from Lisbon, the soldiers were twenty thousand, the mariners and others eight thousand; so as, in all, they were twenty-eight thousand men. Their commission was to confer with the Prince of Parma, as I learn, and then to proceed to the service that should be there concluded; and so the Duke to return into Spain with also used by Spain in the Ameri can trade. Galliass: a low-built ship, often used in war. |