CORNWALL AND THK SPANISH ARMADA. 161 



as the gallantest dauncers at the court," and short of provisions 

 as they were, almost utterly neglected by the Queen, in the face 

 of the Lord Admiral's passionate protest " for the love of God 

 let her Majesty care not now for charges," the Armada could not 

 arrive too soon. 



On June 23rd came a false alarm. Sir Francis Godolphin 

 writing that the Spanish fleet had been seen off the Scilly 

 Islands, 9 sail of great ships between Scilly and Ushant with 

 red crosses on the sails. These were, however, ships that had 

 been driven northward by the gales and returned again. But 

 on the night of the 1 9th of July the flaming beacons along the 

 coast and far inland, told that the Invincible Armada was at 

 last in sight of the English coast. 



" Niglit suuk upon the dusky beach, and on the purple sea, 

 Such night in England ne'er had been, nor e'er again shall be. 

 From Eddystone to Berwick bounds, from Lynn to Milford Bay, 

 That time of slumber was as bright and busy as the day. 

 For swift to east and swift to west the ghastly war-flame spread, 

 High on St. Michael's Mount it shone ; it shone on Beachy Head, 

 Far on the deep the Spaniard saw, along each southern shire, 

 Cape beyond cape in endless range, those twinkling points of fire." 



The Sx^anish fleet, 136 sail and pinaces, of which 90 were 

 very great ships, swept on in the form of a half moon, and on the 

 morning of the 21st the first engagement took place within two 

 miles of Looe, the English fleet numbering 67 sail. How they 

 followed the Spaniards up the narrow seas, fought them again 

 off the Isle of Wight, drove them on shore and dispersed them 

 at Calais, how the Armada fled northward and around the 

 Orkneys, until on the wild west coast of Ireland, on one beach 

 alone less than five miles in length, eleven hundred dead bodies 

 of Spaniards were counted, and timber, cordage, and masts 

 enough to build many great ships were heaped up on the strand, 

 and so on until out of the 150 ships and thirty thousand men that 

 left the Bay of Ferol in the early morn of July 12th, only 54 

 ships and ten thousand men returned to Spain again. All t]iis 

 there is no need to dwell on, it has been told by far abler pens 

 than mine. 



