h England. And his ships captured English vessels on the
high seas and their crews were sent to torture or death because they
were Protestants. England did not sit meekly by and watch these
depredations on her seamen. English sailors were as good as any, and
often captured Spanish ships in their turn; and Spanish gold frequently
found its way to the English treasury, instead of into the coffers of
Philip.

England was poor, and had not then come to her full power as a great
nation, and Elizabeth did not feel able openly to go to war with Spain,
much as she desired to do so. But while she would not give orders for
her sailors to attack Spanish ships, she was not a little pleased to
have her share of the Spanish gold. Chief among her sailors who brought
home treasure in this way were Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake.
The last of these was a great friend of Elizabeth's on account of his
bold deeds and his great discoveries, and much more is told of him in
another chapter of this book. For he not only took many rich ships from
Spain, but sailed around the world, bringing back with him great
knowledge and gold and gems of priceless value. And although Elizabeth
had warned Drake to "see that he did no harm to her good friend, Philip
of Spain," she rewarded him richly for his deeds.

The death of Mary Queen of Scots had greatly angered Philip, and the
deeds of the English buccaneers filled him with rage. He labored for
years collecting a great fleet to invade England, and crowded the decks
of his vessels with soldiers. This fleet was called _The Invincible
Armada_ and set sail for England in 1588.

Elizabeth rallied her countrymen, and with the utmost coolness and
bravery made her preparations for defense. Every Englishman who could
wield a sword was called to the defense of his country. Boys of
eighteen were enlisted and men of sixty once more became men at arms.
For Elizabeth knew that if Philip ever gained a foothold in England,
the same terrible scenes would be enacted there that had taken place in
the Low Countries.

But the Spanish army never landed in England. When its sails appeared,
and it seemed as though it must overwhelm the small English fleet that
was opposed to it, Queen Elizabeth on horseback rode among her
soldiers, encouraging and cheering them, and urging them to fight to
their last drop of blood in defense of their country. But the English
fleet, under Sir Francis Drake, put the Spanish ships to f