nd
declaring his readiness to convoy it across Channel.

But Medina-Sidonia was in a fool's paradise. His ignorance of war was the
ultimate source of his satisfaction with the outlook. Better men, like
Leyva and Recalde, realized that until the enemy's fleet was not merely
eluded, but effectively beaten, there could be no invasion of England. The
French Governor of Calais told the admiral that a change in the weather
might make his position very unpleasant, and Medina-Sidonia urged Parma to
act at once by telling him "that he could not tarry without endangering the
whole fleet."

But Parma was neither ready nor anxious for any prompt action. The fleet of
the Netherlanders, some fifty sail, was blockading most of the places along
the coast where he had prepared his flat-bottomed boats. He knew better
than to embark the force he had in hand at Dunkirk till Howard's fleet was
disposed of.

But Howard was determined not to leave the Armada undisturbed in its
exposed anchorage. He had no sooner been joined by Seymour and Winter than
he hurriedly prepared eight small craft in his own fleet to be used as
fireships, by turning over to them all the inflammable lumber he could
collect from the other vessels, and removing their guns, ammunition, and
stores.

Medina-Sidonia had spent the Sunday writing pressing letters to the Prince
of Parma, and obtaining fresh water and other supplies from Calais. When
the long summer twilight ended the Armada was still riding at anchor, the
irregular lines of dark hulls stretching for miles, with lanterns
flickering at yard-arm or poop, and guard-boats rowing about the outskirts
of the floating city. At midnight there was a cry of alarm passed from ship
to ship. The tide was running strong from the westward through the Straits,
and sweeping along on its current came eight dark masses, each defined in
the night by a red flicker of fire that rose higher and spread wider as the
English fireships came nearer and nearer.

Three years before, when Parma was besieging Antwerp, the revolted
Netherlanders had attacked the bridge he had thrown across the river below
the city by sending drifting down upon it a ship laden with powder barrels,
with a burning fuse and powder-train to fire them, and blocks of stone
heaped over them to increase the force of the explosion. The awful
destruction caused by this floating volcano made the Spaniards long after
fearful of the attempt being repeated elsewhere, and