[ [223] 733. Shingle; coarse gravel or small stones.
[ [224] 747. Creasy; full of creases.
The Revenge [(Page 146)]
Published first in the Nineteenth Century, March, 1878. Reprinted in Ballads, and other Poems, 1880.
The Revenge deals with an incident of the war between England and Spain during the latter half of the sixteenth century. Sir Richard Grenville, the hero, came from a long line of fighters and was one of the most famous naval commanders of the period. He had led, in 1585, the first English colony to Virginia, and had been in charge of the Devon coast defence at the time of the Armada (1588) when that great Spanish fleet, organized to deal a crushing blow to England, was defeated and almost entirely destroyed by English ships and seamen under Lord Howard and Sir Francis Drake. In 1591 he was given command of the Revenge, a second-rate ship of five hundred tons' burden and carrying a crew of two hundred and fifty men, and sent to the Azores to intercept a Spanish treasure fleet. While there, he was cut off from his own squadron and left with two alternatives: to turn his back on the enemy, or to sail through the fifty-three Spanish vessels opposed to him. He refused to retreat, and the terrible battle described in the ballad was the result.
Grenville was a somewhat haughty and tyrannical leader, though noble-minded, loyal, and patriotic. In Charles Kingsley's Westward Ho! which gives a vivid portrayal of English national feeling and character during these stirring times, he is made to take an important part, and is idealized as "a truly heroic personage—a steadfast, God-fearing, chivalrous man, conscious (as far as a soul so healthy could be conscious) of the pride of beauty, and strength, and valour, and wisdom." Froude calls him "a goodly and gallant gentleman." Perhaps the best comment on him is found in his own dying words: "Here die I, Richard Grenville, with a joyful and quiet mind: for that I have ended my life as true soldier ought to do, that hath fought for his country, Queen, religion, and honour. Whereby my soul most joyfully departeth out of this body, and shall always leave behind it an everlasting fame of a valiant and true soldier; that hath done his dutie as he was bound to do."
The Revenge is styled by Stevenson (the English Admirals) "one of the noblest ballads in the English language." Indeed, in vigor of spirit, and in patriotic feeling, there are few poems which surpass it.
[ [225] 1. The Azores (here pronounced A-zo-res) are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island of Flores (pronounced Flo-res) is the most westerly of the group.
[ [226] 4. Lord Thomas Howard was admiral of the fleet to which the Revenge belonged.