vy was first beaten by the Navy of
England, until the 10th of September, being the space of Seven Weeks,
and more, it is very probable that the said Navy had never had one good
Day or Night."

That much treasure of gold and jewels and plate went down in these lost
galleons was the opinion of Scotch and Irish tradition, but these
stories gained the greatest credence in the case of the _Florencia_ of
Tobermory Bay. She was said to have contained the paymaster's chests
of the Armada, and to have carried to the bottom thirty million ducats
of money, and the church plate of fabulous richness. It is certain
that the _Florencia_ was one of the largest galleons of the Armada and
that she never returned to Spain. Her armament comprised fifty-two
guns, and her company numbered 400 soldiers and eighty-six sailors. It
is probable that this was the _Florencia_ belonging to the Duke of
Tuscany, which was refitting at Santander in September, 1587,
concerning which Lord Ashley wrote to Walsingham, after the destruction
of the Armada, that she was commanded by a grandee of the first rank
who was always "served on silver."

While even now the most painstaking investigation is unable to find
definite information regarding the amount of treasure lost in the
galleon of Tobermory Bay, that she contained a vast amount of riches
was believed as early as a half century after her destruction. The
papers of the great house of Argyll record the beginning of the search
almost as far away as 1640. Of these fascinating documents, the first
is the grant to the Marquis of Argyll and his heirs by the Duke of
Lennox and Richmond, Lord High Admiral, with consent of King Charles
the First, of all rights and ownership in the wreck of the _Florencia_
and her treasure. The deed of gift is dated from the Court of St.
Theobold's, February 5th, 1641 and "proceeds upon the narrative that in
the year 1588, when the great Spanish Armada was sent from Spain
towards England and Scotland, and was dispersed by the mercie of God,
there were divers ships and other vessels of the Armada, with
ornaments, munition, goods, and gear, which were thought to be of great
worth, cast away, and sunk to the sea ground on the coast of Mull, near
Tobermory, in the Scots seas, where they lay, and still lie as lost;
and that the Marquis of Argyll, near whose bounds the ships were lost,
having taken notice thereof, and made inquiries therefor, and having
heard some doukers[2]