262 OF A WAR WITH SPAIN. 



vision upon their own coast ; as I cannot say that 

 there intervened in that enterprise any sharp fight 

 or encounter ; so, nevertheless, it did strangely dis 

 cover, either that Spain is very weak at home, or 

 very slow to move ; when they suffered a small fleet 

 of English to make an hostile invasion or incursion 

 upon their havens and roads, from Cadiz to Capa 

 Sacra, and thence to Cascais; and to fire, sink, and 

 carry away at the least, ten thousand ton of their 

 great shipping, besides fifty or sixty of their smaller 

 vessels ; and that in the sight, and under the favour 

 of their forts ; and almost under the eye of their 

 great admiral, the best commander of Spain by sea, 

 the marquis de Santa Cruz, without ever being 

 disputed with by any fight of importance. I re 

 member Drake, in the vaunting stile of a soldier, 

 would call this enterprise, the singing of the king of 

 Spain s beard. 



The enterprise of eighty-eight, deserveth to be 

 stood upon a little more fully, being a miracle of time. 

 There armed from Spain, in the year 1588, the 

 greatest navy that ever swam upon the sea : for 

 though there have been far greater fleets for number, 

 yet for the bulk and building of the ships, with the 

 furniture of great ordnance and provisions, never the 

 like. The design was to make not an invasion only, 

 but an utter conquest of this kingdom. The number 

 of vessels were one hundred and thirty, whereof 

 galliasses and galleons seventy-two goodly ships, 

 like floating towers or castles, manned with thirty 

 thousand soldiers and mariners. This navy was the 



