We had decided to stop
there for the night and, after securing suitable apartments, went out
into the town. The sight of so many people moving backwards and forwards
had quite a bewildering effect upon us after walking through moors and
rather sleepy towns for such a long period; but after being amongst the
crowds for a time, we soon became accustomed to our altered
surroundings. As a matter of course, our first visit was to the Plymouth
Hoe, and our first thoughts were of the great Spanish Armada.
[Illustration: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. _From the picture in the possession of
Sir T.F. Elliot Drake._]
The position of England as the leading Protestant country, with the fact
of the refusal of Queen Elizabeth when the King of Spain proposed
marriage, made war between the two countries almost certain. Drake had
also provoked hostilities, for he had sailed to the West Indies in 1587,
and after defeating the Spaniards there had entered the Bay of Cadiz
with thirty ships and destroyed 10,000 tons of shipping--an achievement
which he described as "singeing the whiskers of the King of Spain." In
consequence of this Philip, King of Spain, declared war on Elizabeth,
Queen of England, and raised a great army of ships to overwhelm the
English.
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