ack the "Ark." But the wind freshened and changed
suddenly, and the English ships escaped from their dangerous position, and
so the fight ended.

On the Friday it was almost a dead calm. It was a bright summer day, and
from the hills of the Isle of Wight there was a wondrous spectacle of the
two fleets drifting idly over miles of sea, with the sails flapping against
the masts. On board the "Ark," now repaired and again fit for action, there
was a stately ceremony, the admiral, in the Queen's name, conferring
knighthood on Hawkins, Frobisher and several other of the captains who had
taken a leading part in the fighting. It was decided not to engage the
enemy again till the fleets had reached the Straits of Dover. Shortness of
ammunition was the reason for this decision.

Medina-Sidonia was anxious on the same score. He sent off a pilot-boat to
the Duke of Parma, asking him to send him a supply of "four, six, and
ten-pound shot," "because much of his ammunition had been wasted in the
several fights." The mention of such small weights shows with what light
artillery most of the galleons were armed. He also asked Parma to send
forty light craft to join the Armada, "to the end he might be able with
them to close with the enemy, because our ships being very heavy in
comparison with the lightness of those of the enemy, it was impossible to
come to hand-stroke with them."

At sunset the wind freshened, and at daybreak on Saturday the English were
seen following up closely, but there was no fighting, "the Armada sailing
with a fair wind and the rear close up, and in very good order." At 10 a.m.
the French coast near Boulogne was in sight. At four in the afternoon the
Armada was off Calais, and at five orders were given to anchor in Calais
roads, "seven leagues from Dunkirk," or between Calais and Gravelines. The
Spaniards noticed that some thirty-six ships had joined Howard's fleet,
which anchored about a league away. The new arrivals were Seymour's and
Winter's squadrons from Dover and the Downs.

Medina-Sidonia now believed that he had all but accomplished his task.
English writers say that the enemy were disappointed and discouraged when
they anchored off Calais, but there is no proof of this in contemporary
Spanish accounts. Medina-Sidonia thought it a success that he had got into
touch with the Viceroy of the Netherlands. He had sent off a messenger to
his head-quarters at Dunkirk, asking him to embark his army at once, a