Queen Elizabeth reviewing her army at Tilbury.
The queen got herself ready to march to whatever place the Spaniards might land at. She had a good army a little way from London, at Tilbury Fort, and she went there on horseback, and spoke to the soldiers, to give them courage.
Oh, how anxious everybody in England was, when the news came that the great Armada was at sea, and sailing very near them! but it pleased God to save England. Soon after the Spanish fleet set sail a great storm arose, and many of the ships were so damaged that they could not come to England at all.
When the others did come, Queen Elizabeth’s fleet sailed out and followed them for a week up the English Channel, fighting and beating them all the way. At last, in the Straits of Dover, the English admirals sent fire ships into the middle of the Armada, and the Spaniards sailed away in a fright; and not one ship got to England to land Spanish soldiers. Twelve of them were taken or destroyed; and another storm, greater than the first, sank a great many and wrecked others, so that of all Philip’s great fleet and army, only one-third could get back to Spain; and they were so tired and so hurt that he never could get them together again to attack England.
Philip must have been very sorry that he began to make war against England, for the war lasted as long as he lived, and every year the English admirals used to take a good many of his ships; and one year Lord Essex, who was a great favorite of Queen Elizabeth’s, landed in Spain, and took Cadiz, one of Philip’s best towns, and burnt a great many ships that were in its harbour.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Armada is the Spanish word for Navy.
CHAPTER XLVI.
ELIZABETH.—Continued.
How Ireland was in an evil condition from the conquest; how Elizabeth tried to improve it by sending it wise governors; how the Earl of Desmond’s and the Earl of Tyrone’s rebellions were subdued; how the Earl of Essex behaved ill, and was put to death; and how Sir Philip Sidney was killed in battle.
It is a long time since I mentioned Ireland to you. You know that in the reign of King Henry the Second the English took a great part of it, and drove the old Irish away to the west side of the island.