ewly
awakened powers, braced by the vigor of youth and elevated by a sense of
their future destiny.

[1] Ranke.

"The intrepid corsairs, who had rendered every sea insecure, now
clustered round the coasts of their native island. The Protestants in a
body--even the Puritans, although they had been subjected to as severe
oppression as the Catholics--rallied round their Queen, who now gave
admirable proof of her masculine courage and her princely talent of
winning the affections and leading the minds and preserving the
allegiance of men."

Ranke should have added that the English Catholics at this crisis proved
themselves as loyal to their Queen and true to their country as were the
most vehement anti-Catholic zealots in the island. Some few traitors
there were, but as a body, the Englishmen who held the ancient faith
stood the trial of their patriotism nobly. The lord admiral himself was
a Catholic, and--to adopt the words of Hallam--"then it was that the
Catholics in every country repaired to the standard of the lord
lieutenant, imploring that they might not be suspected of bartering the
national independence for their religion itself." The Spaniard found no
partisans in the country which he assailed, nor did England, self-wounded,

"Lie at the proud foot of her enemy."

For upward of a year the Spanish preparations had been actively and
unremittingly urged forward. Negotiations were, during this time,
carried on at Ostend, in which various pretexts were assigned by the
Spanish commissioners for the gathering together of such huge masses of
shipping, and such equipments of troops in all the seaports which their
master ruled; but Philip himself took little care to disguise his
intentions; nor could Elizabeth and her able ministers doubt but that
this island was the real object of the Spanish armament.

The peril that was wisely foreseen was resolutely provided for.
Circular-letters from the Queen were sent round to the lord lieutenants
of the several counties requiring them to "call together the best sort
of gentlemen under their lieutenancy, and to declare unto them these
great preparations and arrogant threatenings, now burst forth in action
upon the seas, wherein every man's particular state, in the highest
degree, could be touched in respect of country, liberty, wives,
children, lands, lives, and--which was specially to be regarded--the
profession of the true and sincere religion of Christ, and to lay