fore and most of the high officers were
equally innocent of professional knowledge, for sailors were despised
as inferior to soldiers. Three-fourths of the crews were soldiers, all
but useless in naval warfare of the new type. Blind zeal did little to
supply the lack {342} of foresight, though Philip spent hours on his
knees before the host in intercession for the success of his venture.
The very names of the ships, though quite in accordance with Spanish
practice, seem symbolic of the holy character of the crusade: _Santa
Maria de Gracia, Neustra Senora del Rosario, San Juan Baptista, La
Concepcion_.

On the English side there was also plenty of fanatical fury, but it was
accompanied by practical sense. The grandfathers of Cromwell's
Ironsides had already learned, if they had not yet formulated, the
maxim, "Fear God and keep your powder dry." Some of the ships in the
English navy had religious names, but many were called by more secular
appellations: _The Bull, The Tiger, The Dreadnought, The Revenge_. To
meet the foe a very formidable and self-confident force of about
forty-five ships of the best sort had gathered from the well-tried
ranks of the buccaneers. It is true that patronage did some damage to
the English service, but it was little compared to that of Spain. Lord
Howard of Effingham was made admiral on account of his title, but the
vice-admiral was Sir Francis Drake, to whom the chief credit of the
action must fall.

[Sidenote: July, 1588]

The battle in the Channel was fought for nine days. There was no
general strategy or tactics; the English simply sought to isolate and
sink a ship wherever they could. Their heavier cannon were used
against the enemy, and fire-ships were sent among his vessels. When
six Spanish ships had foundered in the Channel, the fleet turned
northward to the coasts of Holland. During their flight an uncertain
number were destroyed by the English, and a few more fell a prey to the
Sea Beggars of Holland. The rest, much battered, turned north to sail
around Scotland. In the storms nineteen ships were wrecked on the
coasts of Scotland and Ireland; of thirty-five ships the Spaniards
themselves {343} could give no account. For two months Philip was in
suspense as to the fate of his great Armada, of which at last only a
riddled and battered remnant returned to home harbors.

The importance of the victory over the Armada, like that of most
dramatic events, has been overest