ns Roads off Brading Harbour.
The English, being greatly inferior in numbers, lay waiting for them
inside the Spit. The morning after the French came in was still and
sultry. The English could not move for want of wind. The galleys crossed
over and engaged them for two or three hours with some advantage. The
breeze rose at noon; a few fast sloops got under way and easily drove
them back. But the same breeze which enabled the English to move brought
a serious calamity with it. The Mary Rose, one of Lisle's finest
vessels, had been under the fire of the galleys. Her ports had been left
open, and when the wind sprang up, she heeled over, filled, and went
down, carrying two hundred men along with her. The French saw her sink,
and thought their own guns had done it. They hoped to follow up their
success. At night they sent over boats to take soundings, and discover
the way into the harbour. The boats reported that the sandbanks made the
approach impossible. The French had no clear plan of action. They tried
a landing in the island, but the force was too small, and failed. They
weighed anchor and brought up again behind Selsea Bill, where Lisle
proposed to run them down in the dark, taking advantage of the tide. But
they had an enemy to deal with worse than Lisle, on board their own
ships, which explained their distracted movements. Hot weather, putrid
meat, and putrid water had prostrated whole ships' companies with
dysentery. After a three weeks' ineffectual cruise they had to hasten
back to Havre, break up, and disperse. The first great armament which
was to have recovered England to the Papacy had effected nothing. Henry
had once more shown his strength, and was left undisputed master of the
narrow seas.

So matters stood for what remained of Henry's reign. As far as he had
gone, he had quarrelled with the Pope, and had brought the Church under
the law. So far the country generally had gone with him, and there had
been no violent changes in the administration of religion. When Henry
died the Protector abolished the old creed, and created a new and
perilous cleavage between Protestant and Catholic, and, while England
needed the protection of a navy more than ever, allowed the fine fleet
which Henry had left to fall into decay. The spirit of enterprise grew
with the Reformation. Merchant companies opened trade with Russia and
the Levant; adventurous sea captains went to Guinea for gold. Sir Hugh
Willoughby followed the phan