e

f

war to attend the expedition. There was more spirit and bravery, than foresight or prudence, in the conduct of this enterprise. The small stock of the adventurers did not enable them to buy either provisions or ammunition sufficient for such an undertaking: they even wanted vessels to stow the numerous volunteers who crowded to them; and they were obliged to seize by force some ships of the Hanse-towns, which they met with at sea: an expedient which set them somewhat more at ease in point of room for their men, but remedied not the deficiency of their provisions. Had they sailed directly to Portugal, it is believed that the good-will of the people, joined to the defenceless state of the country, might have ensured them of success: but hearing that great preparations were making at the Groine for the invasion of England, they were induced to go thither, and destroy this new armament of Spain. They broke into the harbour, burned some ships of war, particularly one commanded by Recalde, viceadmiral of Spain; they defeated an army of four or five thousand men, which was assembled to oppose them; they assaulted the Groine, and took the lower town, which they pillaged; and they would have taken the higher, though well fortified, had they not found their ammunition and provisions beginning to fail them. The young earl of Essex, a nobleman of promising hopes, fired with the thirst of military honour, had secretly, unknown to the queen, stolen from England, here joined the adventurers; and it was then agreed by common consent to make sail for Portugal, the main object of their enterprise.

The English landed at Paniche, a sea-port town, twelve leagues from Lisbon; and Norris led the army to that capital, while Drake undertook to sail up the river, and attack the city with united forces. By this time the court of Spain had gotten leisure to prepare

against the invasion. Forces were thrown into Lisbon the Portuguese were disarmed; all suspected persons were taken into custody: and thus, though the inhabitants bore great affection to Don Antonio, none or them durst declare in favour of the invaders. The English army, however, made themselves masters of the suburbs, which abounded with riches of all kinds; but, as they desired to conciliate the affections of the Portuguese, and were more intent on honour than profit, they observed a strict discipline, and abstained from all plunder. Meanwhile they found their ammunition and provision much exhausted; they had not a single cannon to make a breach in the walls; the admiral had not been able to pass some fortresses which guarded the river; there was no appearance of an insurrection in their favour, sickness, from fatigue, hunger, and intemperance in wine and fruits, had seized the army: so that it was found necessary to make all possible haste to re-embark. They were not pursued by the enemy; and finding at the mouth of the river sixty ships laden with naval stores, they seized them as lawful prize; though they belonged to the Hansetowns, a neutral power. They sailed thence to Vigo, which they took and burned; and having ravaged the country around, they set sail and arrived in England, Above half of these gallant adventurers perished by sickness, famine, fatigue, and the sword; and England reaped more honour than profit from this extraordinary enterprise. It is computed, that eleven hundred gentlemen embarked on board the fleet, and that only three hundred and fifty survived those multiplied disasters.h

When these ships were on their voyage homewards, they met with the earl of Cumberland, who was outward bound with a fleet of seven sail, all equipped at his own charge, except one ship of war which the

queen had lent him. That nobleman supplied sir Francis Drake with some provisions; a generosity which saved the lives of many of Drake's men, but for which the others afterward suffered severely. Cumberland sailed towards the Terceras, and took several prizes from the enemy; but the richest, valued at 100,000l. perished in her return, with all her cargo, pear St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall. Many of these adventurers were killed in a rash attempt at the Terceras; a great mortality seized the rest: and it was with difficulty that the few hands which remained were able to steer the ships back into harbour.i

Affairs of

Though the signal advantages gained over Scotland. the Spaniards, and the spirit thence infused into the English, gave Elizabeth great security during the rest of her reign, she could not forbear keeping an anxious eye on Scotland, whose situation rendered its revolutions always of importance to her. It might have been expected, that this high-spirited princess, who knew so well to brave danger, would not have retained that malignant jealousy towards her heir, with which, during the lifetime of Mary, she had been so much agitated. James had indeed succeeded to all the claims of his mother; but he had not succeeded to the favour of the Catholics, which could alone render these claims dangerous: and, as the queen was now well advanced- in years, and enjoyed an uncontrolled authority over her subjects, it was not likely that the king of Scots, who was of an indolent unambitious temper, would ever give her any disturbance in her possession of the throne. Yet all these circumstances could not remove her timorous suspicions: and so far from satisfying the nation by a settlement of the succession, or a declaration of James's title, she was as anxious to prevent every incident which might anywise raise his credit, or procure him the regard of the Eng

i Monson, p. 161.

* Winwood, vol. 1. p. 41.

lish, as if he had been her immediate rival and competitor. Most of his ministers and favourites were her pensioners; and, as she was desirous to hinder him from marrying and having children, she obliged them to throw obstacles in the way of every alliance, even the most reasonable, which could be offered him; and during some years she succeeded in this malignant policy. He had fixed on the elder daughter of the king of Denmark, who being a remote prince and not powerful, could give her no umbrage; yet did she so artfully cross this negotiation, that the Danish monarch, impatient of delay, married his daughter to the duke of Brunswick. James then renewed his suit to the younger princess, and still found obstacles from the intrigues of Elizabeth, who, merely with a view of interposing delay, proposed to him the sister of the king of Navarre, a princess much older than himself, and entirely destitute of fortune. The young king, besides the desire of securing himself by the prospect of issue, from those traitorous attempts, too frequent among his subjects, had been so watched by the rigid austerity of the ecclesiastics, that he had another inducement to marry, which is not so usual with monarchs. His impatience therefore broke through all the politics of Elizabeth the articles of marriage were settled: the ceremony was performed by proxy: and the princess embarked for Scotland; but was driven by a storm into a port of Norway. This tempest, and some others which happened near the same time, were universally believed in Scotland and Denmark to have proceeded from a combination of the Scottish and Danish witches; and the dying confession of the criminals was supposed to put the accusation beyond all controversy. James, however, though a great believer in sorcery, was not deterred by this incident from taking a voyage, in order to conduct his bride home: he arrived in Melvil, p. 166, 177. Ibid. p. 180.

Norway carried the queen thence to Copenhagen: and having passed the winter in that city, he brought her next spring to Scotland, where they were joyfully received by the people. The clergy alone, who never neglected an opportunity of vexing their prince, made opposition to the queen's coronation, on account of the ceremony of anointing her, which they alleged was either a Jewish or a Popish rite; and therefore utterly antichristian and unlawful. But James was as much bent on the ceremony as they were averse to it; and, after much controversy, and many intrigues, his authority, which had not often happened, at last prevailed over their opposition."

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CHAP. XLIII.

French affairs-Murder of the duke of Guise-Murder of Henry III.-Progress of Henry IV.-Naval enterprises against Spain -A parliament-Henry IV. embraces the Catholic religionScotch affairs-Naval enterprises-A parliament-Peace of Vervins-The earl of Essex.

AFTER a state of great anxiety and many difficulties, Elizabeth had at length reached a situation, where, though her affairs still required attention, and found employment for her active spirit, she was removed from all danger of any immediate revolution, and might regard the efforts of her enemies with some degree of confidence and security. Her successful and prudent administration had gained her, together with the admiration of foreigners, the affections of her own subjects; and, after the death of the queen of Scots, even the Catholics, however discontented, pretended not to dispute her title, or adhere to any other person as her competitor. James, curbed by his factious nobility and ecclesiastics, possessed at home very little autho

m Spotswood, p. 381.