OF A WAR WITH SPAIN. 271 



earl of Essex, in concert with the noble earl of 

 Nottingham that now liveth, then admiral. This 

 journey was like lightning ; for in the space of 

 fourteen hours the king of Spain s navy was de 

 stroyed, and the town of Cadiz taken. The navy 

 was no less than fifty tall ships, besides twenty 

 galleys to attend them. The ships were strait- 

 ways beaten, and put to flight with such terror, as 

 the Spaniards in the end were their own executioners, 

 and fired them all with their own hands. The 

 galleys, by the benefit of the shores and shallows, 

 got away. The town was a fair, strong, well built, 

 and rich city; famous in antiquity, and now most 

 spoken of for this disaster. It was manned with 

 four thousand soldiers foot, and some four hundred 

 horse ; it was sacked and burned, though great 

 clemency was used towards the inhabitants. But 

 that which is no less strange than the sudden 

 victory, is the great patience of the Spaniards ; who 

 though we stayed upon the place divers days, yet 

 never offered us any play then, nor ever put us in 

 suit by any action of revenge or reparation at any 

 time after. 



In the year 1600 was the battle of Newport in 

 the Low-Countries, where the armies of the arch 

 duke, and the States, tried it out by a just battle. 

 This was the only battle that was fought in those 

 countries these many years. For battles in the 

 French wars have been frequent, but in the wars of 

 Flanders rare, as the nature of a defensive requireth. 

 The forces of both armies were not much unequal: 



