at last to declare them a free people, about the year 1609; and afterwards they were declared by all Europe to be an independent state, under the name of the UNITED PROVINCES.

CHAP. LVIII.

Of the Defeat of the Spanish Armada by Queen Elizabeth.

PHILIP, king of Spain, made use of the immense sums which he drew from Mexico and Peru, in equipping the most formidable armament that perhaps had ever been put to sea, under the prince of Parma, the best captain of that age. This fleet, which was called the "Invincible Armada," consisted of an hundred and thirty vessels, and carried about twenty thousand land-forces, eight thousand four hundred mariners, two thousand galley-slaves, and two thousand six hundred and thirty great pieces of brass ordnance.

Nothing could exceed the terror and consternation which all ranks of people felt upon the news of this terrible armada being under sail to invade England. A fleet of not above thirty ships of war, and those very small, in comparison, was all that was to oppose it by sea; and as for resisting by land, that was supposed to be impossible, as the Spanish army was composed of men well disciplined, and long inured to danger.

The queen alone seemed undismayed in this threatening calamity. She issued all her orders with tranquility, animated her people to a steady resistance; and the more to excite the martial spirit of the nation, appeared on horseback in the camp at Tilbury, exhorting the soldiers to their duty, and promising to share the same dangers, and the same fate with them. "I myself," said she, "will be your general, your judge, and the rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. Your alacrity has already deserved its rewards; and, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. Persevere then in your obedience to command, shew your valor in the field, and we shall soon have a glorious victory over the enemies of my God, my kingdom, and my people.'

Nor were her preparations at sea driven on with less alacrity. Although the English fleet was much inferior in number and size of shipping to that of the enemy, yet it was much more manageable, the dexterity and courage of the mariners being greatly superior. Lord Howard of Effingham, a man of great courage and capacity, as lord admiral, took upon him the com. mand of the navy. Drake, Hawkins, and Forbisher, the most renowned seamen in Europe, served under him.

Effingham, who had been informed of the approach of the Spanish fleet by a Scotch pirate, had just time to get out of port, when he saw it coming full sail towards him, disposed in the form of a crescent, and stretching the distance of seven miles, from the extremity of one division to that of the other. The lofty

N

masts, the swelling sails, and the towering prows of the Spanish galleons, seem impossible to be justly described by the historians of that age, without assuming the language of poetry. Not satisfied with representing the Armada as a spectacle infusing equal terror and admiration into the minds of all beholders, and as the most magnificent that had ever appeared on the main, they assert, that, though the ships bore every sail, it yet advanced with a slow motion, as if the ocean groaned with supporting, and the winds were tired with impelling so enormous a weight.

The English admiral at first gave orders not to come to close fight with the enemy, on account of the size of their ships, and the number of soldiers on board. But a few trials convinced him, that, even in close fight, the size of the Spanish ships was of no advantage to them. Their bulk exposed them to the fire, while their cannon, placed too high, shot over the heads of the English.

Every thing conspired to the ruin of this vast armament. Sir Francis Drake took the great galleon of Andalusia, and a large ship of Biscay, which had fallen behind the rest; while the nobility and gentry hastened out with their vessels from every harbor, and reinforced Effingham, who filled eight of his smaller ships with combustibles, and sent them into the midst of the enemy. The Spaniards fled with disorder and precipitation. The English fell upon them while in confusion; and, besides doing great damage to the whole fleet, took twelve ships.

It was now evident that the purpose of the Armada was entirely frustrated; and the duke of Parma, whose vessels were calculated for transporting soldiers, not for fighting, positively refused to leave the harbor, while the English were masters of the sea. The Spanish admiral, after many unsuccessful rencounters, prepared therefore to return home. But, as the winds were contrary to his passage through the channel, he resolved to make the circuit of the island. The English fleet followed him for some time; and had not their ammunition fallen short, through the negligence of the officers in supplying them, they had obliged the Invincible Armada to surrender at discretion.

Such a conclusion of that vain-glorious enter. prize would have been truly illustrious to the English; but the event was scarce less fatal to the Spaniards. The Armada was attacked by a violent storm in passing the Orkneys. The ships having already lost their anchors, were obliged to keep to sea; and the mariners unaccustomed to hardships, and unable to manage such unwieldy vessels, allowed them to drive on the western isles of Scotland, or on the coast of Ireland, where they were miserably wrecked. Not one half of the fleet returned to Spain, and a still smaller proportion of the soldiers and seamen. Yet Philip, whose command of temper was equal to his ambition, received with an air of tranquility the news of so humbling a disaster. "I sent my fleet," said he, " to combat the English, not the elements. God be praised that the calamity is not greater."

CHAP. LIX.

The Character of Queen Elizabeth, by Mr Hume.

of

QUEEN Elizabeth died on the twentyfourth of March 1603, in the seventieth year her age, and forty-fifth of her reign.

There are few personages in history, who have been more exposed to the calumny of enemies, and the adulation of friends, than Queen Elizabeth, and yet there is scarce any, whose reputation has been more certainly determined by the unanimous consent of posterity. The unusual length of her administration, and the strong features of her character, were able to overcome all prejudices; and obliging her de tractors to abate much of their invectives, and her admirers somewhat of their panegyrics, have at last, in spite of political factions, and what is more, of religious animosities, produced an uniform judgment with regard to her conduct. Her vigor, her constancy, her magnanimity, her penetration, vigilance and address, are allowed to merit the highest praises, and appear not to have been surpassed by any person who ever filled a throne. A conduct less rigorous, less imperious, more sincere, more indulgent to her people, would have been requisite to form a perfect character. By the force of her mina, she con. trolled all her more active and stronger qualities, and prevented them from running into excess. Her heroism was exempted from all temerity,