ad THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1591. 



or third day aboord the Generall, and was by them 

 greatly bewailed. What became of his body, whether 

 it were buried in the sea or on the land we know 

 not : the comfort that remayneth to his friends is, that 

 hee hath ended his life honourably in respect of the 

 reputation wonne to his nation and countrey, and of the 

 same to his posteritie, and that being dead, he hath not 

 outlived his owne honour. 



For the rest of her Majesties ships that entred not 

 so farre into the %ht as the Revenge, the reasons and 

 causes were these. There were of them but sixe in all, 

 whereof two but small ships ; the Revenge ingaged past 

 recovery : The Hand of Flores was on the one side, $3 

 saile of the Spanish, divided into squadrons on the other, 

 all as full filled with souldiers as they could containe : 

 Almost the one halfe of our men sicke and not able to 

 serve : the ships growne foule, unroomaged, and scarcely 

 able to beare any saile for want of balast, having bene 

 sixe moneths at the sea before. If all the rest had 

 entred, all had bene lost : for the very hugenes of the 

 Spanish fleete, if no other violence had beene offered, 

 would have crusht them betweene them into shivers. 

 Of which the dishonour and losse to the Queene had 

 bene farre greater then the spoyle or harme that the 

 enemie could any way have received. Notwithstanding 

 it is very true, that the Lord Thomas would have entred 

 betweene the squadrons, but the rest would not con- 

 descend ; and the master of his owne ship offred to leape 

 into the sea, rather then to conduct that her Majesties 

 ship and the rest to bee a pray to the enemie, where 

 there was no hope nor possibilitie either of defence or 

 victory. Which also in my opinion had ill sorted or 

 answered the discretion and trust of a Generall, to com- 

 mit himselfe and his charge to an assured destruction, 

 without hope" or any likelyhood of prevailing : thereby 

 to diminish the strength of her Majesties Navy, and to 

 enrich the pride and glory of the enemie. The Foresight 

 of the Queenes commaunded by M. Thomas Vavisor 



48 



