sand of them
were slain; that many leapt into the sea from fear and were drowned;
and that their fleet consisted of two hundred large ships, on board of
one of which four hundred dead bodies were found. The Royal dispatch,
however, affords much more minute information, and corrects the
statements both in Avesbury and in the preceding Chronicle. It asserts
that the French fleet amounted to one hundred and eighty sail; that
they were nobly defended the whole of a day and a night; that they
were all captured in the engagement excepting twenty-four which took
to flight, and part of them were subsequently taken at sea; that the
number of the men at arms and other armed persons amounted to
thirty-five thousand, of whom five thousand escaped; that the English
ships captured by the French at Middleburgh were then retaken; and
that among the prizes were three or four as large as 'the
Christopher,' which we may infer was then the largest ship of the
English navy.

It is unquestionable from what has been said, that this document
supplies some important facts in the history of the times, whilst its
entry among the Records of the City of London tends to establish that
the Mayor of the city was accustomed at that early period to receive
an official account of every public transaction, and of which another
example will be found in a subsequent page.

The events which led to the battle of the Swyne, or as it is more
generally termed of the Scluse, are too familiar to require
repetition.

"NOTA DE BELLO AQUATICO:--
L'RA D'NI E' DIRETT'
FILIO SUO DUCI CORNUB'
DE BELLO SUP' MARE
P'CUSSO DIE NATIVIT'
S'C'I JOH'IS BAPT'

"Tresch' fitz no' pensoms bien q' vo' estes desirons assavoir bones
novelles de no' et coment il no' est avenuz puys n're aler Denglet're
si vo' fesom savoir q' le Joedi'[139] ap's ceo q' no' dep'times du
Port Dorewe[-ll-],[140] no' siglames tut le iou ret la nuyt suaunte,
et le vendredi[141] en tour hour de noune no' venismes s' la costere
de fflaundres devant Blankebergh ou no' avioms la vewe de la fflote de
nos enemys qi estoyent tut amassez ensemble en port del Swyne et p'
ceo q' la Tyde nestoit mis adonges p' assembler a eux no'
yherbergeasmes tut cel noet le samady le iour de seint Johan[142] bien
ap's houre de noune a la Tyde nous en noun de Dieu et en espoire de
n're droite querele entrames en dit port s' nos ditz enemys qi avoyent
a