towe_, 1243.--F.)

The first skonses are made in England vpon the borders of the Thames, & in
other places of the land, to kepe the Spanish powre from entrauns, whose
chief purpose is, as most affirme, to invade Kent with one part of their
navie, & to come by the River of Thames to sacke London with the
other./....

_The Spanish Armada. Leicester's Death._

1588. The Spanish navie so long loked for, doth now at last show it self
ouer against our coastes, vpon our 20 of July, where it is foughten
withall vpon the morow, onely with 50 saile of our English shipps vnder
the conduct of the lord Admirall[249] & Sir Fraunces Drake; afterward by
our whole navie of 150 saile, for the space of 2 daies together: in thend
whereof, they are put to flight before Calice, & driven to returne home
about by Scotland, with great losse, so that, of 160 saile & more, which
came out of Spaine, scasely 40 returned againe in safety vnto that king;
God himself so fighting for vs, that we lost not 80 men, neither was there
so moche as one vessell of oures sonke by the enemy, or taken, in all
these skirmishes. In their returne also, & beside those 15 vesselles which
they lost in our seas, 17 other of them did either perish vpon the coast
of Ireland, or, coming thether for succour, were seized vpon also vnto her
Majesties vse. The lieftenaunt of this great navie was the duke Medina of
Cydonia, & with him were 210 noble men, among which, beside the kinges
bastard sonne, were 2 marquesses, one prince, one duke, 4 erles, & 3
Lordes, which came to seeke aduentures, & winne honor vpon England, as
they said; howbeit, as God would, they neuer touched the land, nor came
nere vnto our shore by diuers miles. The duke of Parma should haue
assisted them at this present with 80 or 100 saile prouided out of the Low
Countries; but being kept in by wether, & a portion of our navie, & his
mariners also forsaking him, he was inforced to staie & kepe vpon the
land, where he abode in safety, & out of the roring gunshot / (Stowe's
_Annals_, 1605, pp. 1243-1258.--F.)

Robert, Erle of Leicester, dieth, who in his time became the man of
grettest powre (being but a subiect) which in this land, or that euer had
bene exalted vnder any prince sithens the times of Peers Gavestone &
Robert Veer,[250] some time duke of Ireland. Nothing almost was done,
wherein he had not, either a stroke or a commoditie; which, together with
his scraping from the churche & comons, spoile o