SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
141 
soldiers had returned on board ship it was night, so the attack had 
to be put off till Sunday morning. Up to ten o'clock on Saturday 
night, Essex, Raleigh, and the Lord-Admiral disputed for the honour 
of leading the van. At length it was settled in favour of Raleigh, 
who took care to weigh anchor at the very first break of day, and bear 
down upon the Spaniards well in advance of the rest of the fleet. 
He was only followed by six large vessels. At his approach several 
galleons and other ships of war, together with forty great vessels 
besides, hastened to shelter themselves under a fort, and seventeen 
galleys were ranged under the walls of Cadiz. Raleigh passed by 
the galleys, which gave him a broadside ; but he only answered by 
a flourish of trumpets, and passed straight on towards the large 
galleons, which he battered briskly for three hours, till his ship, 
always single at the head of all, was in danger of sinking, when 
he had to row in a skiff to Essex's ship to ask for some small craft, 
called fly-boats, in which to board the enemy. On his return, in a 
quarter of an hour's time, he found that Lord Thomas Howard and 
Sir Francis Yere had contrived to push their ships ahead of his ; 
so he observes : "I presently let slip anchor, and thrusting in 
between Lord Thomas and Yere, went further ahead than all of 
them before, and thrust myself athwart the channel, so as I was 
sure none should outstart me again for that day." At last, having 
given up all hopes of his fly-boats, Raleigh and the other com- 
manders determined to board the Spaniards direct from their ships, 
whereupon the enemy let slip their anchors and ran aground, 
having set fire to their ships. The soldiers tumbled out into the 
sea in heaps, to use Raleigh's words, " as thick as if coals had been 
poured out of a sack." About two in the afternoon, or perhaps 
later, 2,300 men were landed, and quickly routing the Spanish 
force opposed to them, proceeded at their leisure to sack the city ; 
but Raleigh and the Lord- Admiral took the women and children 
under their special protection. The citadel of Cadiz capitulated 
the following day, and paid a considerable ransom, which, with 
the other booty, was quite sufficient to satisfy the officers and men, 
and make them anxious for nothing but to go home and enjoy 
themselves, contrary to the wishes of Essex, who desired to intercept 
the plate fleet. It was, as we have seen, entirely owing to Raleigh 
that this great victory did not end in a disastrous defeat. It is also 
pretty certain that if Raleigh had had command of the expedition 
instead of Essex and Howard, England would have been the richer by 
