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expended their means in building castles and in paying soldiers ; 

 but he built ships and paid sailors, and that to such an extent that 

 he had to sell off considerable estates. He made some eleven or 

 twelve voyages, most of them to the least-known parts of the 

 world; some of his voyages were privateering expeditions, organized 

 to harass and plunder the ships of arrogant and menacing Spain. 

 Occasionally he inflicted some damage upon the national enemy, 

 but seldom did any good to himself For one exploit, however, 

 he deserves renown ; he commanded one of the Queen's ships, the 

 Bouaventain, in the world-famous little fleet that encountered and 

 vanquished the stupendous Spanish Armada ; and it is no small 

 thing for the Earl of Cumberland's fame, that his name stands in 

 the nation's archives with those of Drake, Fenner, Hawkins, 

 Fenton, Seymore, Southwell, Raleigh, and Frobisher. 



But he was a prominent man at court as well as at sea, and 

 foremost in all the gay and brilliant pursuits of high life ; and to 

 his enormous expenses for his sea expeditions he added unbounded 

 extravagance ashore. He was a great favourite with Queen Eliza- 

 beth, as indeed handsome gentlemen were wont to be. She 

 appointed him her champion at her tiltings and court pageantries, 

 on which occasions he wore a magnificent suit of armour inlaid 

 with gold. This armour is now at Appleby Castle. 



On one occasion the coquetish Queen dropped her glove for 

 him to pick up, and when he presented it to her on his knees, she 

 gave it to him to keep for her sake. He had it covered with 

 jewels, and wore it on state occasions in front of his hat. 



But George, Earl of Cumberland, though a brilliant man before 

 the public, was a bad husband and father : his neglect, tyranny, 

 and scandalous immorality, caused a separation between himself 

 and his high-souled and saintly Countess. His final act of tyranny 

 was to leave a will disinheriting his daughter, leaving her a sum of 

 money and bequeathing all the possessions of the Vetriponts and 

 Cliffords to his brother Francis, who properly could succeed only 

 to the title of Earl of Cumberland. 



Anne Clifford loved and venerated her mother almost to idolatry, 

 and although in all her voluminous writing she pens no word of 



