was posted to oppose his progress, but fled at his approach; and finding that the inhabitants in their terror had closed the gates, they made their way over a ruinous wall, and the English without delay followed them. Spite of the fire kept up from the tops of the houses, Essex led his nen to the market-place, where they were speedily joined by the lord admiral, who had found his way through a portal. The city capitulated, paying 120,000 crowns for the lives of the people, the town and all its wealth being abandoned to the plunder of the troops.

"Through the whole of the conquest Essex was the real hero. He not only led the way regardless of danger, but when the place was won, whilst others were engrossed only by the accumulation of booty, he was busy exerting himself to check the cruelties of the invaders-to save the lives and the honour of the inhabitants. He succeeded so well that never was a city taken with so little insult or injury to the people. The soldiers were restrained from shedding blood wantonly-from treating the women with contumely; and so far was the moderation of the conquerors carried, that about three thousand men were sent away to the fort of St. Mary, under guard, being permitted to carry with them all their jewels and apparel. The conduct of Essex in all this drew applause from the very enemy, the king and the Infanta, his daughter, joining in it. Essex proposed to strike a great blow whilst the panic of their victory paralysed the country. He recommended that they should march into the heart of Andalusia; and such was the destitution of disciplined troops from the great drain which the wars of France and the Netherlands had occasioned, such the discontent of the nobles and the disaffection of the Moriscoes, that much mischief might have been done before they could have been successfully opposed. The plan, however, was resisted by the other commanders, and Essex then offered to remain in the Isle de Leon with four thousand men, and defend it against the whole force of the enemy. But the other leaders would hear of nothing but hastening home. They had laid the town in ruins, with the exception of two or three churches; they had nearly annihilated the fleet, had collected a vast booty, and inflicted on the Spaniards a loss of twenty million ducats. The conquerors returned home, having dealt the severest blow on Spain that it had received for generations. They had raised the prestige of the English arms, amply revenged the attempt at the invasion of their country, and sunk the tation of Spain in no ordinary degree. Foreigners nded toit with wonder, and

the people raised thunders of acclamations as the victorious vessels sailed into port."

The capture of Cadiz and the destruction of his fleet roused again the old enmity of Philip. So long as life remained he entertained the hope of achieving the conquest of his two great enemies-Henry of France and Elizabeth of England—and of completing the subjugation of the revolted Dutch provinces. One more blow he determined to strike, and having prepared a fleet, gave it into the command of the Adelantado of Castille. The expedition fitted out by Elizabeth was again commanded by Essex; but entertaining some doubt as to her favorite's loyalty-Philip had praised his soldiership, and it may be flattered his vanity-sent for him and "talked" to him privately for some hours, sending him away at last pale and flurried, but still high in the queen's favour. The fleet set sail on the 11th of July, 1597, the queen having published a prayer-a very remarkable specimen, in its way, of queen's English, in which divine help was sought to "assist with wonder our just cause, not founded on pride's motion, nor begun on malice's stock." "The effect of the royal prayer, however," says an historian already quoted, "was very transient, for the fleet had not sailed more than forty leagues when it was driven back by a tempest, which raged for four days. Essex himself disdained to turn back, but, with his utter contempt of danger and his dogged obstinacy, he, to use his own words, beat up his ship in the teeth of the storm, till it was actually falling asunder, having a leak which obliged them to pump eight tons of water per day out of her; her main and foremast cracked, and most of her beams broken and reft, besides the opening of all her seams. The gentlemen volunteers were so completely satisfied with sailing with such a man, that on reaching land at Falmouth they all stole away home. But Essex himself was as resolved as ever to prosecute the voyage, though the queen would advance nothing more for refitting the fleet. He got as many of his ships into order as he could, and on the 17th of August was enabled to sail again, though the men had by this time consumed most of their provisions. He made now, not for the coast of Spain, but the Azores, where they took Fayal, Graciosa, and Flores-useless conquests, as they could not keep them, and which led to immediate quarrels, for Raleigh, with his indomitable ambition, took Fayal himself without orders, which Essex very properly deeming an honour stolen from him, resented greatly. He ordered several of the officers concerned to be arrested; but when he was advised to try Raleigh by a court-martial, he

Such was Essex's

replied, "So I would had he been one of my friends." high feeling of honour, that he would not risk his proceedings against the offender being attributed to malice or pique. What was worse than this dispute, however, was that the Spanish treasure vessels returning from America, which Elizabeth had expressly ordered them to lay wait for,

had escaped into Tercera, and they were obliged to return with the capture of three Spanish ships and other plunder, valued at one hundred thousand pounds.

"In the meantime the Adelantado had sailed from Ferrol and menaced the British coast. He contemplated seizing the Isle of Wight, or some