THE VOYAGERS 



Many of his critics held, and some still hold, that he 

 should have kept possession of Carthagena with the same 

 object. But the profit-sharing system of naval enterprise 

 made a policy of this kind almost impossible ; and to the 

 end of his life the buccaneer in Drake held the upper 

 hand of the statesman. If the English had established 

 and fortified themselves on the main trading route of 

 the Spanish Indies the story of the Armada might have 

 remained unwritten. 



It is unnecessary to touch, except very briefly, on what T'he singeing 

 followed. The founding of Colonies and the exploration phuils beard. 

 of unknown lands had given way to the necessities of 

 war ; and the history of Drake and Hawkins and 

 Frobisher henceforward is a part of the history of 

 England. In 1587 Drake was despatched with another 

 fleet to make havoc of King Philip's preparations for 

 invading England. It is from the realm of the Indies, 

 says an Elizabethan sailor, that King Philip ' has feathers 

 to fly to the top of his high desires.' Drake had singed 

 his feathers ; he was now to singe his beard. He took 

 and burned the shipping in Cadiz harbour, seized Cape 

 St. Vincent, threatened Lisbon, and struck terror into the 

 heart of the Spanish commanders. When the great Thelnmncible 

 Armada at last set sail, Drake, if he had had his way, 

 would have met and fought with it at the mouths of the 

 Spanish harbours. But he was controlled by men who 

 feared the boldness of his strategy, and the Spanish 

 preparations were permitted to proceed in quietness. Let 

 the rest be told in the grand style which reached its 

 maturity in English at this very time, as if it had been 

 designed for the deeds it was to celebrate. *This great 

 preparation,' says Bacon, 'passed away like a dream. 



