The English ships sailed out and in, sailed briskly in and out.
As when a mighty baited bull the valiant dogs surround,
And all his bulk and all his strength of little use are found,
So many a great three-decker then threw wide her shot and shell;
The balls flew o’er the English masts, and in the billows fell!
But now the light and gunpowder alike were spent and gone,
And, in the night, the Spanish fleet their eastward way went on.
In Calais roads the foemen next their anchors huge let fall,
And to the Duke of Parma then they sent an urgent call:
“Send out your pinnaces in haste, your boats with all dispatch;