his defects, but not aware that so great a prince had any
need to mend them; without vanity, without ambition, and most happy when
lounging in his orange gardens at San Lucan. Of active service he had
seen none. He was Captain-General of Andalusia, and had run away from
Cadiz when Drake came into the harbour; but that was all. To his
astonishment and to his dismay he learnt that it was on him that the
choice had fallen to be the Lord High Admiral of Spain and commander of
the so much talked of expedition to England. He protested his unfitness.
He said that he was no seaman; that he knew nothing of fighting by sea
or land; that if he ventured out in a boat he was always sick; that he
had never seen the English Channel; and that, as to politics, he neither
knew anything nor cared anything about them. In short, he had not one
qualification which such a post required.

Philip liked his modesty; but in fact the Duke's defects were his
recommendations. He would obey his instructions, would not fight unless
it was necessary, and would go into no rash adventures. All that Philip
wanted him to do was to find the Prince of Parma, and act as Parma
should bid him. As to seamanship, he would have the best officers in the
navy under him; and for a second in command he should have Don Diego de
Valdez, a cautious, silent, sullen old sailor, a man after Philip's own
heart.

Doubting, hesitating, the Duke repaired to Lisbon. There he was put in
better heart by a nun, who said Our Lady had sent her to promise him
success. Every part of the service was new to him. He was a fussy,
anxious little man; set himself to inquire into everything, to meddle
with things which he could not understand and had better have left
alone. He ought to have left details to the responsible heads of
departments. He fancied that in a week or two he could look himself into
everything. There were 130 ships, 8,000 seamen, 19,000 Spanish infantry,
with gentlemen volunteers, officers, priests, surgeons, galley
slaves--at least 3,000 more--provisioned for six months. Then there were
the ships' stores, arms small and great, powder, spars, cordage, canvas,
and such other million necessities as ships on service need. The whole
of this the poor Duke took on himself to examine into, and, as he could
not understand what he saw, and knew not what to look at, nothing was
examined into at all. Everyone's mind was, in fact, so much absorbed by
the spiritual side of the thing