him ever after, and is
supposed to have hastened his end.

Although her majesty had taken the most vigilant precautions to foresee
and prevent all dangers that might threaten from sea, yet did she not
deem herself and country too secure against the enemy by these means,
and therefore prepared a royal army to receive them in case of landing.
But it was not the will of God that the enemy should set foot on
England, and the queen became victorious over him at sea with small
hazard, and little bloodshed of her subjects. Having thus shewn the
designs of the Spaniards, and the course pursued by the queen to prevent
them, I propose now to consider the errors committed on both sides[348].

[Footnote 348: Our readers are requested to remember that these are the
reflections of Sir William Monson, a contemporary.--E.]

Nothing could appear more rational or more likely to happen, after the
Duke of Medina Sidonia had got intelligence of the state of our navy,
than a desire to surprise them at unawares in harbour; since he well
knew, if he had taken away or destroyed our strength at sea, that he
might have landed when and where he pleased, which is a great advantage
to an invading enemy: Yet, admitting it to have had the effect he
designed, I see not how he is to be commended for infringing the
instructions he had received from his sovereign. That being the case,
it is easy to appreciate what blame he deserved for the breach of his
instructions, when so ill an event followed from his rashness and
disobedience. It was not his want of experience, or his laying the blame
on Valdes, that excused him at his return to Spain, where he certainly
had been severely punished, had not his wife obtained for him the royal
favour.

Before the arrival in Spain of the ships that escaped from the
catastrophe of this expedition, it was known there that Diego Flores de
Valdes had persuaded the duke to infringe the royal instructions.
Accordingly, the king had given strict orders in all his ports, wherever
Valdes might arrive, to apprehend him, which was executed, and he was
carried to the castle of Santander, without being permitted to plead in
his defence, and remained there without being ever seen or heard of
afterwards; as I learned from his page, with whom I afterwards
conversed, we being both prisoners together in the castle of Lisbon. If
the directions of the king of Spain had been punctually carried into
execution, then the armada had kept al