An Englishman living in Lisbon hastened home to England and demanded audience with the queen.
“Your Majesty,” said he, “King Philip is making great preparations for some warlike enterprise. In the Lisbon harbor are twenty galleons and forty other vessels. Men from Italy and Germany are coming in by hundreds. What can this mean but an attack upon England?”
Two months later came a message to the queen from her spies in Spain:—
“Soldiers are coming every day, and vast quantities of wine, grain, biscuit, bacon, oil, vinegar, barley meal, and salted meats are being laid in besides powder and cannon.” A ship that had recently sailed from Lisbon was captured, and both captain and men were tortured on the rack that more might be learned of the doings264 of Philip. All told the same story, that he was planning an invasion of England.
In those days honor between sovereigns was a thing almost unknown. No one blamed the government of one country for trying to get the better of that of another. While Philip was making ready for war, he and Elizabeth were engaged in arranging for a treaty of peace and friendship. Each knew that the other was treacherous, but each meant to get the better of the bargain.
On the arrival of this news from Spain, Elizabeth sent for Drake. “Sir Francis,” said she, “how would it please you to make a voyage to Spain?”
Drake guessed in a moment what she wished of him and answered most heartily:—
“There’s nothing in all the world that would do me greater good.”
“Ships and stores and soldiers are assembling off Cadiz and Lisbon. It would be a goodly sight, perhaps as fine as anything you saw in your voyage around the world.”
“With how many ships may I go?” asked Drake.
265 “I can give you four, and the merchants will add to the fleet.”
They did add twenty-six vessels of all kinds and sizes, for they well knew that, though Drake would probably sail with the usual orders to “do no harm to my good friend, the king of Spain,” the chances were that every vessel would come back with a valuable cargo.
Drake made a rapid voyage, and on his return he at once brought his report to the queen.
“Well, my sailor lad,” was her greeting, “have you another wild tale of adventure to tell me? Have you made me queen of a new land or have you excommunicated your chaplain?”
“I’ve not excommunicated my chaplain,” returned Drake, “but it’ll take many a blessing from the Pope to make up to the Spaniards for that merry time off Cadiz. I’ve not discovered a new country, but your Majesty is queen of what is stowed away in my ships, and perchance that is of more worth than some of the raw lands that lie to the westward.”
Elizabeth’s eyes shone. “I know you’ve been in many a gallant fight,” said she, “and now tell me just what you have done.”
266 “The Spanish fleet was off Cadiz ready to sail for Lisbon, so there was nothing else to do but to attack it. We took eighty or more of their vessels, laden with stores to the gunwale, and we captured two galleons.”
“So that’s the way you do no harm to my friend Philip,” said the queen. “Brave sailor laddie that you are, what did you do next?”
“My men were a bit weary of the sea,” answered Drake, “and——”
“Yes, it must have been a dull and wearisome voyage,” said Elizabeth with a smile. “And what did you do to amuse them?”
“There was little to do, but we took three castles and burned some fishing boats and nets. I hadn’t time for much, for there was news of a carrack coming from India, and it was only courtesy to sail out and give her a greeting.”
“Surely,” said the queen. “My sailors are always ready to show that kind of courtesy to an enemy in loneliness on the ocean.”
“That’s the whole story,” said Drake, “save that the carrack was full of the richest treasure that ever sailed the seas, and I brought it home.”
“That is more of your courtesy,” said Elizabeth.267 “You would save the busy king from the care of it, I suppose.”
“Yes, your Majesty. He’ll be busy enough for one while. We’ve singed his whiskers for him.”
The stories were true. Philip was at last determined to attack England. Mary was dead, and he claimed the crown by virtue of his connection with the royal house of Lancaster and by the will of the Queen of Scots. There was another side to his plan, Elizabeth had torn her country from its allegiance to the Pope, and this invasion was a crusade. If he conquered England, the country would be brought back to the Roman church, and so would Holland; it was a holy war. A Spanish cardinal wrote, “Spain does not war against Englishmen, but against Elizabeth. It is not England but her wretched queen who has overthrown the Holy Church and persecuted the pious Catholics. Let the English people rise and welcome their deliverer.” This letter was circulated throughout England, but it produced no effect save to increase the loyalty of the English Catholics. They were the more indignant because the author of the letter was268 an Englishman who had abandoned his country and become a subject of Spain. “It is only the blast of a beggarly traitor,” declared Elizabeth.
The “singeing of his whiskers” kept Philip waiting for a year. To sail out into the Atlantic with the probability of meeting the autumn gales far away from any friendly harbor would have been a reckless thing to do, and it was not easy to bring together at short notice stores enough to take the place of those that had been destroyed. Philip waited. He even gave the queen a final chance to avoid the attack, for he sent her a Latin verse to the effect that she might even yet escape his conquest by agreeing to return the treasure taken by Drake, to render no more aid to the Low Countries, and to bring her kingdom back to the Church of Rome. Elizabeth replied, “My good king, I’ll obey you when the Greek kalends come around,” and as the Greeks had no kalends, there was little hope of peace.
While the shipbuilders of Spain were working night and day, and while men and provisions and powder and cannon were being brought together, England, too, was preparing for the encounter. There was no ally on the continent to lend aid,269 the King of Scots might be faithful and he might not, according to what he regarded as for his interests. The fortifications of the kingdom were weak. At Portsmouth the guns could not be fired when the queen was crowned because the tower was so old and ready to crumble, and for thirty years little had been done to put it in order. This very weakness, however, of the resources of the government was England’s strength, for every Englishman saw that if his country was to be saved from becoming a province of Spain, he and every other man must do his best to defend it. The council sent a message to London:—
“What number of ships and men is it your wish to contribute to the defence of the land?”
“How many may properly be required of us?” asked the Londoners.
“Fifteen ships and five thousand men,” was the answer.
Now in all London there were hardly more than seventeen thousand men, but the city straightway wrote to the council:—
“Ten thousand men and thirty ships we will gladly provide, and the ships shall be amply furnished.”
270 So it was throughout the kingdom. Every town sent a generous number of men and generous gifts of money. Every little village on the coast hastened to refit its fishing vessels and offer boats and sailors to the government. The wildest stories were rife of what the Spaniards would do if they were once in control of the country. It was said that they had already lists of the stately castles of the realm and the homes of rich London merchants, marked with the names of the Spanish nobles to whom they were to be given. Most of the English were to be hanged, so the rumor went, but all children under seven years of age were to be branded on the face and kept as slaves.
Philip had not expected to conquer England without other aid than that of the soldiers whom he was to carry with him. He had a large band of allies, on English soil, so he thought, waiting for his coming and ready to welcome him. These were the Catholics of England. The Pope had excommunicated Elizabeth and had pronounced the curse of the church upon all Catholics that should support her.
“These are not common days,” said one of271 her advisers, “and in such times there must often be resort to means that would be most cruel and unjust in other years.”
“What do you mean?” demanded the queen.
“Your Majesty has of course not failed to consider the support that the Spanish king may find if he succeeds in landing upon our shores.”
“Who will support him, you or I?”
“It would be but natural for those of his own church to welcome him.”
Join or Log In!
You need to log in to continue reading
(Left Keyword <-) Previous:
CHAPTER XIV THE QUEEN OF SCOTS
Back
Next:
CHAPTER XVI CLOSING YEARS
(Right Keyword:->)