"O fools! to think that ever foe Should triumph o'er that sea-girt land! Besides our own historians who have written upon the Armada, the opinions of some foreign writers of repute may be cited as to the great importance to Europe generally of the action of Drake and his compatriots in warding off the danger which so closely threatened this land. Sismondi evidently regards the attack on England by Philip II. as part of a scheme for universal empire and for the conquest of France. This dread of an empire threatening France from both the Pyrenees and the Rhine is not yet extinct among Frenchmen, and was one of the causes, as is well known, of the late Franco-Prussian war. Had Philip succeeded, France would have been hemmed in, and being then divided by party conflicts, might have been conquered. So the tempest and Drake saved France as well as England and the Netherlands. Ranke also gives some valuable evidence as to the preparations which were made by the Spaniards during their sojourn in Flanders, and refers to the fact that even new uniforms appear to have been ordered for the triumphal entry of the Spanish troops into London. "Philip" (says Ranke on another point) "found himself confronted in England by the national energies in all the force of their youth, and elevated by the full consciousness of their destiny. The bold corsairs, who had rendered every sea unsafe, gathered around the coasts of their native land. The whole body of the Protestants, even the Puritans, although they had been oppressed as heavily as the Catholics, rallied around the Queen, who now maintained to an admirable degree that masculine courage with which she was endowed, and gave proof of her princely talent of winning, retaining, and controlling the minds of men. The insular position of the country, and even the elements, co-operated to the defence of England. The Invincible Armada was annihilated even before the assault had been made; the expedition failed completely." 1 Again, Motley, in his History of the United Netherlands, has furnished a full view of the English-Dutch struggle against Spain, and of the origin and destruction of the Spanish Armada. He says:-"Few more magnificent spectacles have been seen in history than the enthusiasm which pervaded the country as the great danger, so long deferred, was felt at last to be closely approaching. The little nation of four millions, the merry England of the sixteenth century, went forward to the death-grapple with its gigantic antagonist as cheerfully as to a long-expected holiday. Spain was a vast empire, overshadowing the world; England in comparison but a province; yet nothing could surpass the steadiness with which the conflict was awaited." The same writer bears strong testimony to the loyalty of the English Catholics. "No man," he says, "who has studied the history of those times can doubt the universal and enthusiastic determination of the English nation to repel the invaders. Catholics and Protestants felt alike on the great subject. Philip did not flatter himself with assistance from any English Papists, save exiles and renegades like Westmoreland, Paget, Throgmorton, Morgan, Stanley, and the rest. The bulk of the Catholics, who may have constituted half the population of England, although malcontent, were not rebellious; and notwithstanding the precautionary measures taken by government against them, Elizabeth proudly acknowledged their loyalty." It is however not our intention to enter further into these details, our only desire being to show the general consensus of opinion as to the magnitude of the danger which threatened the country, and the great cause there was for rejoicing over the Providential deliverance. It is then to show our gratitude as a people for national blessings; to acknowledge in a becoming manner the brave deeds of brave men; to do honour to Howard and Drake and the other great seacaptains of the Elizabethan era, that the men of the Victorian age are called upon to cele brate the memory of this great crisis in our history. We have said that it is not our intention 1 Ranke's History of the Popes (Bohn), 1847. to dwell upon the purely historical features of the subject; they may be found fully treated in the various works which we have quoted. Our purpose is rather to make a running commentary upon the admirable series of engravings which have been prepared to illustrate this article, and which, though exhibiting much of the quaintness of detail pertaining to the art-work of the last century, are yet highly interesting and instructive, both from their artistic excellence and historical character. They illustrate in a remarkable manner the event of which we have been speaking, that event which stands pre-eminently forward amongst the decisive battles of the world, than which none more striking or important is to be found in the naval annals of Great Britain. In 1739, John Pine, an eminent engraver, produced the series of prints to which we have referred, the full title of his work being as follows: "The Tapestry Hangings of the House of Lords: Representing the several Engagements between the English and Spanish Fleets, In the ever memorable Year MDLXXXVIII., With the Portraits of the Lord High-Admiral, and the other Noble Commanders, taken from the Life. To which are added, From a Book, entitled Expeditionis Hispanorum in Angliam vera Descriptio, A.D. 1588, done, as is supposed, for the said Tapestry to be work'd after. Ten Charts of the Sea-Coasts of England, and a General One of England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Holland, &c., Shewing the Places of Action between the Two Fleets; Ornamented with Medals struck upon that Occasion, and other suitable Devises. Also an Historical Account of each Day's Action. Collected from the most Authentic Manuscripts and Writers. By John Pine, Engraver. London, MDCCXXXIX." This remarkable work is dedicated to the King, and has a large and influential list of subscribers. The historical account of the various actions which accompanies the engravings was drawn up by the Rev. Philip Morant, M.A., Rector of St. Mary's, Colchester. In his introductory remarks he says:— "The defeat of the Spanish Armada being the most glorious victory that was ever obtained at sea, and the most important to the British nation, every method deserves some praise that may in a suitable manner propagate the memory of it. Our ancestors that were personally interested in it were so careful it should not pass into oblivion that they procured the engagements between the two fleets to be represented in ten curious pieces of tapestry, with the portraits of the several English captains, taken from the life, worked in the borders, which are now placed, some in the Royal Wardrobe, some in the House of Lords, the most august assembly in the kingdom, there to remain as a lasting memorial of the triumphs of British valour, guided by British counsels. But because time, or accident, or moths may deface these valuable shadows, we have endeavoured to preserve their likeness in the preceding prints, which, by being multiplied and dispersed in various hands, may meet with that security from the closets of the curious which the originals must scarce always hope for, even from the sanctity of the place they are kept in." In a further explanatory note we are informed that, according to Joachim de Sandrart, the designs of the tapestry were made by Henry Cornelius Vroom, a famous painter of Harlem, famous for his great skill in drawing all sorts of shipping; and that it was wove by Francis Spiring. Pennant, in his description of the old House of Lords (Some Account of London, p. 91, 3rd ed., 1793), has this curious and interesting passage: "The House of Lords is a room ornamented with the tapestry which records our victory over the Spanish Armada. It was bespoke by the Earl of Nottingham, Lord High Admiral and Commander-in-Chief on the glorious day. The Earl sold it to James I. The design was drawn by Cornelius Vroan, and the tapestry executed by Francis Spiering. Vroan had a hundred pieces of gold for his labour. The arras itself cost £1628. It was not put up till the year 1650, two years after the extinction of the monarchy, when the House of Lords was used as a committee room for the House of Commons." It will be noticed by reference to the plates that there are two distinct borders, although the tapestries had one uniform border running through the whole series, that on Plates II., IV., VI., VIII., X. of the original set. This is an exact representation of the border to the tapestryhangings, which is ornamented with the portraits of the principal commanders, and is the same in all the pieces of the tapestry, only the heads are differently placed. But for more variety, and in order to bring in the heads of Sir Robert Carey, the Earl of Northumberland, Sir Roger Townshend, and Sir Thomas Gerard, another border was de 1 Academia Artis Pictoria Noribergæ, p. 274. |