OF A WAR WITH SPAIN. 273 



whom sir Francis Vere, in a private commentary 

 which he wrote of that service, leaveth testified, that 

 of fifteen hundred in number, for they were no 

 more, eight hundred were slain in the field : and, 

 which is almost incredible in a day of victory, of the 

 remaining seven hundred, two men only came off 

 unhurt. Amongst the rest sir Francis Vere himself 

 had the principal honour of the service, unto whom 

 the prince of Orange, as is said, did transmit the 

 direction of the army for that day ; and in the next 

 place sir Horace Vere his brother, that now liveth, 

 who was the principal in the active part. The 

 service also of sir Edward Cecil, sir John Ogle, and 

 divers other brave gentlemen, was eminent. 



In the year 1601 followed the battle of Kinsale 

 in Ireland. By this Spanish invasion of Ireland, 

 which was in September that year, a man may 

 guess how long time a Spaniard will live in Irish 

 ground ; which is a matter of a quarter of a year, or 

 four months at most. For they had all the ad 

 vantages in the world ; and no man would have 

 thought, considering the small forces employed 

 against them, that they could have been driven out 

 so soon. They obtained, without resistance, in the 

 end of September, the town of Kinsale ; a small 

 garrison of one hundred and fifty English leaving 

 the town upon the Spaniards approach, and the 

 townsmen receiving the foreigners as friends. The 

 number of Spaniards that put themselves into Kin- 

 sale, was two thousand men, soldiers of old bands, 

 under the command of Don John d Aquila, a man of 



VOL. v. T 



