504 
THE SPANISH ARMADA. 
he was obliged to send them along the Scheldt to Ghent, from Ghent 
to Bruges by the canal which joins these towns, and from Bruges to 
Nieuport by a new canal which he dug on purpose. This laborious 
undertaking was already finished, and the duke now w^aited for the 
arrival of the Spanish fleet, hoping, that as soon as it should approach, 
the Dutch and English ships which cruised upon the coast would 
retire. 
When the news reached England, terror and consternation seized 
the inhabitants. A fleet of not above thirty ships of war, and those 
very small in coniparisitn, was all that was to oppose it by sea. All 
the coiiiiuercial tor. ns «)f England, however, were required to furnish 
ships for reinforcing this small navy. The citizens of London, instead 
of fifteen vessels, which they were commanded to equip, voluntarily 
fitted out double the number; and the gentry and nobility equipped 
forty-three ships at their own charge. Lord Howard of Effingham 
was admiral ; and under him served Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, 
all renowned seamen of courage and capacity. The principal fleet 
was stationed at Plymouth. A smaller squadron, consisting of forty 
vessels, English and Flemish, was commanded by Lord Seymour, 
second sou of protector Somerset, and lay off Dunkirk, in order to 
intercept the duke of Parma. 
The land-forces of England were more numerous than those of the 
enemy, but inferior in discipline and experience. An army of twenty 
thousand men was disposed in different bodies along the south coast, 
with orders to retire backwards and waste the country, if they could 
not prevent the Spaniards from landing; tw'cnty-two thousand foot and 
one thousand horse, under the command of the earl of Leicester, was 
stationed at Tilbury, in order to defend the capital ; and the principal 
army, consisting of thirty-four thousand foot and two thousand horse, 
commanded by lord Hunsdon, was reserved for guarding the Queen’s 
person, and appointed to march whithersoever the enemy should appear. 
These armies, though all the Spanish forces had been able to land, 
w'ould possibly have been sufficient to have protected the liberties of 
their country. 
«/ 
But as the fate of England, in that event, much depended on the 
issue of a single battle, all men of reflection entertained the most 
serious apprehensions from the shock of at least fifty thousand vete- 
rans, commanded by so consummate a general as the duke of Parma. 
The queen alone was undaunted. She issued all her orders with 
tranquillity, animated her people to a steady resistance, and employed 
every resource which either her domestic situation or her foreign 
alliances could afford. She even appeared on horseback in the camp 
at Tilbury ; and riding through the lines, discovered a cheerful and 
animated countenance, exhorted the soldiers to remember their duty 
to their country and their religion, and professed her intention, though 
a woman, to lead them herself into the field against the enemy, and 
rather perish in battle than survive the ruin and slavery of her people. 
“I know,” said she, intrepidly, “ I have hut the weak and feeble arm 
of a woman ; but I have the heart of a king, and a king of England 
too !” The heroic spirit of Elizabeth communicated itself to the 
army, and every man resolved To die rather than desert his station. 
