IN THE TIME OF HENRY VIE. 253 



the offing. Having thus the advantage of the 

 wind, they could force an engagement if they 

 pleased, and Lord Lisle expected that they would 

 bear down upon him. Indeed, an indecisive 

 battle lasted till the evening, when the French 

 retreated behind their larger ships, and by that 

 time the whole line had drifted down within a 

 league of the English. Lord Lisle cast anchor, 

 to show that he was ready for them, if they 

 dared to approach them nearer. As darkness 

 fell, the enemy appeared to be imitating the 

 example, and a general action was looked for in 

 a few hours. A strong wind, however, sprang 

 up at midnight. As the day broke, the space 

 which the French fleet had occupied was vacant, 

 and their last vessel was hull down on the 

 horizon, in full sail for France. The fact was, 

 the plague had broken out in their ships, and 

 thus drove them to their own shores. Such 

 was the conclusion of the mighty effort the 

 French had made to lay England prostrate. 

 They completely failed in doing this, and left 

 the English, almost without a blow, undisputed 

 masters of the sea. Nor was this the only good 

 result of what had taken place. The French 

 had suffered so severely, and the defensive 



