The first time the queen took notice of him was one day that she was walking in London, and came to a splashy place just as Sir Walter was going by. As she was thinking how she could best step through the mud, Sir Walter took off a nice new cloak that he had on, and spread it on the dirt, so that the queen might walk over without wetting her shoes. She was very much pleased, and desired him to go to see her at her palace; and as she found that he was very clever and very brave, she made him one of her chief admirals.
Queen Elizabeth used to behave to her brave admirals and generals, and her wise counsellors, and even to her great merchants, like a friend. She visited them in their houses, and talked to them cheerfully of her affairs. She took notice of even the poorest people, and she used to walk and ride about, so that all her subjects knew her and loved her. And now I am going to tell you a part of her history, which will show you how happy it was for her and for England that the people did love their good queen.
The King of Spain had never loved Elizabeth; and he hated England, because the people were Protestants: and I am sure you remember how cruel he and his wife Queen Mary were to the English.
He made war against England, and thought that if he could land a great army on the coast, he might conquer all the country and drive away Elizabeth, and make the English all Papists again. He hoped this would be easy, because he was the richest king in the world, and had more ships and sailors and soldiers than any other. And he began to build more ships and to collect more sailors and soldiers; and he made so sure he should conquer England, that I have heard he even had chains put on board the ships, to chain the English admirals when his people should take them.
This fleet, that King Philip made ready to conquer England, was the largest that any king had ever sent to sea, and he called it the “Invincible Armada,”[3] because, he said, nobody could conquer it.
But Queen Elizabeth heard in time that Philip was making ready this great navy, to bring as great an army to attack England. She immediately told the Parliament and people of her danger. She rode out herself to see her soldiers and her ships, and she said she trusted herself entirely to her good people. The people soon showed her they might be trusted: they came willingly to be sailors and soldiers; and the great lords gave money to pay the soldiers; and many gentlemen built ships, and bought guns, and gave them to the queen. And she had soon a good fleet. It was not so large as King Philip’s indeed, and the ships were quite small compared with his; but the sailors belonging to it remembered that they were to fight for their own dear England, and for a queen whom they loved.
The Spanish Armada.
The chief admiral was Lord Howard of Effingham; under him were Lord Seymour, Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Walter Raleigh, and several other lords and gentlemen.
