Lord Admiral in the Ark-Royal, accompanied by the
Golden Lion; the White Bear, the Elizabeth, the Victory, and the
Leicester, bore boldly down into the very midst of the Spanish fleet, and
laid himself within three or four hundred yards of Medina's flag ship,
the St. Martin, while his comrades were at equally close quarters with
Vice-Admiral Recalde and the galleons of Oquendo, Mexia, and Almanza. It
was the hottest conflict which had yet taken place. Here at last was
thorough English work. The two, great fleets, which were there to
subjugate and to defend the realm of Elizabeth, were nearly yard-arm and
yard-arm together--all England on the lee. Broadside after broadside of
great guns, volley after volley of arquebusry from maintop and rigging,
were warmly exchanged, and much damage was inflicted on the Spaniards,
whose gigantic ships, were so easy a mark to aim at, while from their
turreted heights they themselves fired for the most part harmlessly over
the heads of their adversaries. The leaders of the Armada, however, were
encouraged, for they expected at last to come to even closer quarters,
and there were some among the English who were mad enough to wish to
board.

But so soon as Frobisher, who was the hero of the day, had extricated
himself from his difficulty, the Lord-Admiral--having no intention of
risking the existence of his fleet, and with it perhaps of the English
crown, upon the hazard of a single battle, and having been himself
somewhat damaged in the fight--gave the signal for retreat, and caused
the Ark-Royal to be towed out of action. Thus the Spaniards were
frustrated of their hopes, and the English; having inflicted much.
punishment at comparatively small loss to themselves, again stood off to
windward; and the Armada continued its indolent course along the cliffs
of Freshwater and Blackgang.

On Friday; 5th August, the English, having received men and munitions
from shore, pursued their antagonists at a moderate distance; and the
Lord-Admiral; profiting by the pause--for, it was almost a flat
calm--sent for Martin Frobisher, John Hawkins, Roger Townsend, Lord
Thomas Howard, son of the Duke of Norfolk, and Lord Edmund Sheffield; and
on the deck of the Royal Ark conferred the honour of knighthood on each
for his gallantry in the action of the previous day. Medina Sidonia, on
his part, was again despatching messenger after messenger to the Duke of
Parma, asking for small shot, pilots, and forty fly