268 OF A WAR WITH SFA1N. 



were fain to give them over for want of powder. 

 The breath of Scotland the Spaniards could not en 

 dure ; neither durst they as invaders land in Ire 

 land ; but only ennobled some of the coasts thereof 

 with shipwrecks. And so going northwards aloof, 

 as long as they had any doubt of being pursued, 

 at last, when they were out of reach, they turned, 

 and crossed the ocean to Spain, having lost fourscore 

 of their ships and the greater part of their men. 

 And this was the end of that sea-giant, the Invinci 

 ble Armada : which, having not so much as fired 

 a cottage of ours at land, nor taken a cock-boat 

 of ours at sea, wandered through the wilderness 

 of the northern seas ; and, according to the curse in 

 the Scripture, &quot; came out against us one way, and 

 fled before us seven ways ;&quot; serving only to make 

 good the judgment of an astrologer long before 

 given, &quot; octogesimus octavus mirabilis annus :&quot; or 

 rather, to make good, even to the astonishment of 

 all posterity, the wonderful judgments of God, poured 

 down commonly upon vast and proud aspirings. 



In the year that followed, of 1589, we gave the 

 Spaniards no breath, but turned challengers, and in 

 vaded the main of Spain. In which enterprise, 

 although we failed in our end, which was to settle 

 Don Antonio in the kingdom of Portugal, yet a man 

 shall hardly meet with an action that doth better 

 reveal the great secret of the power of Spain ; which 

 power well sought into, will be found rather to 

 consist in a veteran army, such as upon several 

 occasions and pretensions they have ever had on 



