CADIZ
In March, 1596, Sir Francis Vere returned to Holland. He had during
his absence in England been largely taken into the counsels of Queen
Elizabeth, and it had been decided that the war should be carried
into the enemy's country, and a heavy blow struck at the power
of Spain. Vere had been appointed to an important command in the
proposed expedition, and had now come out charged with the mission
of persuading the States General to cooperate heartily with England,
and to contribute both money and men. There was much discussion
in the States; but they finally agreed to comply with the queen's
wishes, considering that there was no surer way of bringing the
war to a termination than to transport it nearer to the heart of
the enemy.
As soon as the matter was arranged, Sir Francis Vere left the
Hague and went to Middleburg, where the preparations for the Dutch
portion of the expedition were carried out. It consisted of twenty-two
Dutch ships, under Count William of Nassau, and a thousand of
the English troops in the pay of the States. The company commanded
by Lionel Vickars was one of those chosen to accompany the expedition;
and on the 22d of April it started from Flushing and joined the
British fleet assembled at Dover. This was under the command of Lord
Howard as lord admiral, the Earl of Essex as general, Lord Thomas
Howard as vice admiral, and Sir Walter Raleigh as rear admiral.
Sir Francis Vere was lieutenant general and lord marshal. He
was to be the chief adviser of the Earl of Essex, and to have the
command of operations on shore. The ships of war consisted of the
Ark Royal, the Repulse, Mere Honour, War Sprite, Rainbow, Mary Rose,
Dreadnought, Vanguard, Nonpareil, Lion, Swiftsure, Quittance, and
Tremontaine. There were also twelve ships belonging to London, and
the twenty-two Dutch vessels. The fleet, which was largely fitted
out at the private expense of Lord Howard and the Earl of Essex,
sailed from Dover to Plymouth. Sir Francis Vere went by land, and
set to work at the organization of the army.
A month was thus spent, and on the 1st of June the fleet set sail.
It carried 6860 soldiers and 1000 volunteers, and was manned by
nearly 7000 sailors. There had been some dispute as to the relative
ranks of Sir Francis Vere and Sir Walter Raleigh, and it was settled
that Sir Francis should have precedence on shore, and Sir Walter
Raleigh at sea.
All on board the fleet were full of enthusiasm at the enterprise
upon which they were embarked. It was eight years since the
Spanish Armada had sailed to invade England; now an English fleet
was sailing to attack Spain on her own ground. Things had changed
indeed in that time. Spain, which had been deemed invincible, had
suffered many reverses; while England had made great strides in
power, and was now mistress of the seas, on which Spain had formerly
considered herself to be supreme.
A favourable wind from the northeast carried the fleet rapidly
across the Bay of Biscay, and it proceeded on its way, keeping well
out of sight of the coast of Portugal. The three fastest sailers
of the fleet were sent on ahead as soon as they rounded Cape St.
Vincent, with orders to capture all small vessels which might carry
to Cadiz the tidings of the approach of the fleet.
Early on the morning of the 20th June the fleet anchored off the
spit of San Sebastian on the southern side of the city.
Cadiz was defended by the fort of San Sebastian on one side and
that of San Felipe on the other; while the fort of Puntales, on the
long spit of sand connecting the city with the mainland, defended
the channel leading up to Puerto Real, and covered by its guns
the Spanish galleys and ships of war anchored there. Lying off the
town when the English fleet came in sight were forty richly laden
merchant ships about to sail for Mexico, under the convoy of four
great men of war, two Lisbon galleons, two argosies, and three
frigates.
As soon as the English were seen, the merchant ships were ordered
up the channel to Puerto Real, and the men of war and the fleet of
seventeen war galleys were ranged under the guns of Fort Puntales
to prevent the English passing up. It had first been decided to
attempt a landing in the harbour of Galeta, on the south side of
the city; but a heavy sea was setting in, and although the troops
had been got into the boats they were re-embarked, and the fleet
sailed round and anchored at the mouth of the channel leading up
the bay. A council of war was held that night, and it was decided
that the fleet should move up the bay with the tide next morning,
and attack the Spanish fleet.
The next morning at daybreak the ships got up their anchors and
sailed up the channel, each commander vying with the rest in his
eagerness to be first in the fray. They were soon hotly engaged
with the enemy; the fort, men of war, and galleys opening a heavy
fire upon them, to which, anchoring as close as they could get to
the foe, the English ships hotly responded. The galleys were driven
closer in under the shelter of the fire of the fort, and the fire
was kept up without intermission from six o'clock in the morning
until four in the afternoon.
By that time the Spaniards had had enough of it. The galleys slipped
their cables and made sail for a narrow channel across the spit,
covered by the guns of the fort. Three of them were captured by
Sir John Wingfield in the vanguard, but the rest got through the
channel and escaped. The men of war endeavoured to run ashore, but
boarding parties in boats from the Ark Royal and Repulse captured
two of them. The Spaniards set fire to the other two. The argosies
and galleons were also captured. Sir Francis Vere at once took the
command of the land operations. The boats were all lowered, and the
regiments of Essex, Vere, Blount, Gerard, and Clifford told off as
a landing party. They were formed in line. The Earl of Essex and
Sir Francis Vere took their place in a boat in advance of the line,
and were followed by smaller boats crowded with gentlemen volunteers.
They landed between the fort of Puntales and the town. The regiments
of Blount, Gerard, and Clifford were sent to the narrowest part
of the spit to prevent reinforcements being thrown into the place;
while those of Essex and Vere and the gentlemen volunteers turned
towards Cadiz. Each of these parties consisted of about a thousand
men.
The walls of Cadiz were so strong that it had been intended to
land guns from the fleet, raise batteries, and make a breach in the
walls. Vere, however, perceiving some Spanish cavalry and infantry
drawn up outside the walls, suggested to Essex that an attempt should
be made to take the place by surprise. The earl at once agreed to
the plan.
Vere marched the force across to the west side of the spit, his
movements being concealed by the sand hills from the Spanish. Sir
John Wingfield with two hundred men was ordered to march rapidly on
against the enemy, driving in their skirmishers, and then to retreat
hastily when the main body advanced against him. Three hundred men
under Sir Matthew Morgan were posted as supports to Wingfield, and
as soon as the latter's flying force joined them the whole were to
fall upon the Spaniards and in turn chase them back to the walls,
against which the main body under Essex and Vere were to advance.
The orders were ably carried out. The Spaniards in hot chase of
Wingfield found themselves suddenly confronted by Morgan's force,
who fell upon them so furiously that they fled back to the town
closely followed by the English. Some of the fugitives made their
way in at the gates, which were hurriedly closed, while others
climbed up at the bastions, which sloped sufficiently to afford
foothold. Vere's troops from the Netherlands, led by Essex, also
scaled the bastions and then an inner wall behind it. As soon as
they had captured this they rushed through the streets, shooting
and cutting down any who opposed them.
Sir Francis Vere, who had also scaled the ramparts, knew that cities
captured by assaults had often been lost again by the soldiers
scattering. He therefore directed the rest of the troops to burst
open the gate. This was with some difficulty effected, and he then
marched them in good order to the marketplace, where the Spaniards
had rallied and were hotly engaged with Essex. The opposition was
soon beaten down, and those defending the town hall were forced to
surrender. The troops were then marched through the town, and the
garrison driven either into the convent of San Francisco or into
the castle of Felipe. The convent surrendered on the same evening
and the castle on the following day. The loss upon the part of
the assailants was very small, but Sir John Wingfield was mortally
wounded.
The English behaved with the greatest courtesy to their captives,
their conduct presenting an extraordinary contrast to that of
the Spaniards under similar circumstance in the Netherlands. The
women were treated with the greatest courtesy, and five thousand
inhabitants, including women and priests, were allowed to leave
the town with their clothes. The terms were that the city should
pay a ransom of 520,000 ducats, and that some of the chief citizens
should remain as hostages for payment. As soon as the fighting
ceased, Lionel Vickars accompanied Sir Francis Vere through the
streets to set guards, and see that no insult was offered to any
of the inhabitants. As they passed along, the door of one of the
mansions was thrown open. A gentleman hurried out; he paused for a
moment, exclaiming, "Sir Francis Vere!" and then looking at Lionel
rushed forward towards him with a cry of delight. Sir Francis Vere
and Lionel stared in astonishment as the former's name was called;
but at the sound of his own name Lionel fell back a step as if
stupefied, and then with a cry of "Geoffrey!" fell into his brother's
arms.
"It is indeed Geoffrey Vickars!" Sir Francis Vere exclaimed. "Why,
Geoffrey, what miracle is this? We have thought you dead these six
years, and now we find you transmuted into a Spanish don."
"I may look like one, Sir Francis," Geoffrey said as he shook his
old commander's hand, "but I am English to the backbone still. But
my story is too long to tell now. You will be doubtless too busy
tonight to spare time to listen to it, but I pray you to breakfast
with me in the morning, when I will briefly relate to you the outline
of my adventures. Can you spare my brother for tonight, Sir Francis?"
"I would do so were there ten times the work to be got through," Sir
Francis replied. "Assuredly I would not keep asunder for a minute
two brothers who have so long been separated. I will breakfast
with you in the morning and hear this strange story of yours; for
strange it must assuredly be, since it has changed my young page
of the Netherlands into a Spanish hidalgo."
"I am no hidalgo, Sir Francis, but a trader of Cadiz, and I own
that although I have been in some way a prisoner, seeing that I
could not effect my escape, I have not fared badly. Now, Lionel,
come in. I have another surprise for you." Lionel, still confused
and wonder stricken at this apparent resurrection of his brother
from the dead, followed him upstairs. Geoffrey led the way into a
handsomely furnished apartment, where a young lady was sitting with
a boy two years old in her lap.
"Dolores, this is my brother Lionel, of whom you have so often
heard me speak. Lionel, this is my wife and my eldest boy, who is
named after you."
It was some time before Lionel could completely realize the position,
and it was not until Dolores in somewhat broken English bade him
welcome that he found his tongue.
"But I cannot understand it all!" he exclaimed, after responding
to the words of Dolores. "I saw my brother in the middle of the
battle with the Armada. We came into collision with a great galleon,
we lost one of our masts, and I never saw Geoffrey afterwards; and
we all thought that he had either been shot by the musketeers on
the galleon, or had been knocked overboard and killed by the falling
mast."
"I had hoped that long before this you would have heard of my
safety, Lionel, for a sailor friend of mine promised if he reached
England to go down at once to Hedingham to tell them there. He left
the ship he was in out in the West Indies, and I hoped had reached
home safely."
"We have heard nothing, Geoffrey. The man has never come with your
message. But now tell me how you were saved."
"I was knocked over by the mast, Lionel, but as you see I was not
killed. I climbed up into a passing Spanish ship, and concealed
myself in the chains until she was sunk, when I was, with many of
the crew, picked up by the boats of other ships. I pretended to
have lost my senses and my speech, and none suspected that I was
English. The ship I was on board was one of those which succeeded
after terrible hardships in returning to Spain. An Irish gentleman
on board her, to whom I confided my secret, took me as a servant.
After many adventures I sailed with him for Italy, where we hoped
to get a ship for England. On the way we were attacked by Barbary
pirates. We beat them off, but I was taken prisoner. I remained
a captive among them for nearly two years, and then with a fellow
prisoner escaped, together with Dolores and her father, who had
also been captured by the pirates. We reached Spain in safety,
and I have since passed as one of the many exiles from England and
Ireland who have taken refuge here; and Senor Mendez, my wife's
father, was good enough to bestow her hand upon me, partly in
gratitude for the services I had rendered him in his escape, partly
because he saw she would break her heart if he refused."
"You know that is not true, Geoffrey," Dolores interrupted.
"Never mind, Dolores, it is near enough. And with his daughter,"
he continued, "he gave me a share in his business. I have been a
fortunate man indeed, Lionel; but I have always longed for a chance
to return home; until now none has ever offered itself, and I have
grieved continually at the thought that my father and mother and
you were mourning for me as dead. Now you have the outline of my
story; tell me about all at home."
"Our father and mother are both well, Geoffrey, though your
supposed loss was a great blow for them. But is it still home for
you, Geoffrey? Do you really mean to return with us?"
"Of course I do, Lionel. At the time I married I arranged with
Senor Mendez that whenever an opportunity occurred I was to return
home, taking, of course, Dolores with me. She has been learning
English ever since, and although naturally she would rather that
we remained here she is quite prepared to make her home in England.
We have two boys, this youngster, and a baby three months old, so,
you see, you have all at once acquired nephews as well as a brother
and sister. Here is Senor Mendez. This is my brother, senor, the
Lionel after whom I named my boy, though I never dreamed that our
next meeting would take place within the walls of Cadiz."
"You have astounded us, senor," the merchant said courteously.
"We thought that Cadiz was safe from an attack; and though we were
aware you had defeated our fleet we were astonished indeed when
two hours since we heard by the din and firing in the streets that
you had captured the city. Truly you English do not suffer the grass
to grow under your feet. When we woke this morning no one dreamed
of danger, and now in the course of one day you have destroyed our
fleet, captured our town, and have our lives and properties at your
disposal."
"Your lives are in no danger, senor, and all who choose are free
to depart without harm or hindrance. But as to your property--I
don't mean yours, of course, because as Geoffrey's father in law
I am sure that Sir Francis Vere will inflict no fine upon you--but
the city generally will have to pay, I hear, some half million
ducats as ransom.
"That is as nothing," the Spaniard said, "to the loss the city
will suffer in the loss of the forty merchant ships which you will
doubtless capture or burn. Right glad am I that no cargo of mine
is on board any of them, for I do not trade with Mexico; but I am
sure the value of the ships with their cargoes cannot be less than
twenty millions of ducats. This will fall upon the traders of
this town and of Seville. Still, I own that the ransom of half a
million for a city like Cadiz seems to me to be very moderate, and
the tranquillity that already prevails in the town is beyond all
praise. Would that such had been the behaviour of my countrymen in
the Netherlands!"
Don Mendez spoke in a tone of deep depression. Geoffrey made a sign
to his brother to come out on to the balcony, while the merchant
took a seat beside his daughter.
"'Tis best to leave them alone," he said as they looked down into
the street, where the English and their Dutch allies, many of whom
had now landed, were wandering about examining the public buildings
and churches, while the inhabitants looked with timid curiosity
from their windows and balconies at the men who had, as if by magic,
suddenly become their masters. "I can see that the old gentleman is
terribly cut up. Of course, nothing has been said between us yet,
for it was not until we heard the sound of firing in the streets
that anyone thought there was the smallest risk of your capturing
the city. Nevertheless, he must be sure that I shall take this
opportunity of returning home.
"It has always been understood between us that I should do so as
soon as any safe method of making a passage could be discovered;
but after being here with him more than three years he had doubtless
come to believe that such a chance would never come during his
lifetime, and the thought of an early separation from his daughter,
and the break up of our household here, must be painful to him in
the extreme. It has been settled that I should still remain partner
in the firm, and should manage our affairs in England and Holland;
but this will, of course, be a comparatively small business until
peace is restored, and ships are free to come and go on both sides
as they please. But I think it is likely he will himself come to
live with us in England, and that we shall make that the headquarters
of the firm, employing our ships in traffic with Holland, France,
and the Mediterranean until peace is restored with Spain, and having
only an agent here to conduct such business as we may be able to
carry on under the present stringent regulations.
"In point of fact, even if we wound up our affairs and disposed of
our ships, it would matter little to us, for Mendez is a very rich
man, and as Dolores is his only child he has no great motive beyond
the occupation it gives him for continuing in business.
"So you are a captain now, Lionel! Have you had a great deal of
fighting?"
"Not a great deal. The Spaniards have been too much occupied with
their affairs in France to give us much work to do. In Holland I
took part in the adventure that led to the capture of Breda, did
some fighting in France with the army of Henry of Navarre, and have
been concerned in a good many sieges and skirmishes. I do not know
whether you heard of the death of Robert Vere. He came out just
after the business of the Armada, and fell in the fight the other
day near Wesel--a mad business of Count Philip of Nassau. Horace
is serving with his troop. We have recovered all the cities in the
three provinces, and Holland is now virtually rid of the Spaniards.
"Things have greatly changed since the days of Sluys and Bergen op
Zoom. Holland has increased marvellously in strength and wealth. We
have now a splendidly organized army, and should not fear meeting
the Spaniards in the open field if they would but give the chance
to do so in anything like equal numbers. Sir Francis is marshal
of our army here, and is now considered the ablest of our generals;
and he and Prince Maurice have never yet met with a serious disaster.
But how have you escaped the Inquisition here, Geoffrey? I thought
they laid hands on every heretic?"
"So they do," Geoffrey replied; "but you see they have never dreamed
that I was a heretic. The English, Irish, and Scotchmen here, either
serving in the army or living quietly as exiles, are, of course,
all Catholics, and as they suppose me to be one of them, it does not
seem to have entered their minds that I was a Protestant. Since I
have been here I have gone with my wife and father in law to church,
and have said my prayers in my own way while they have said theirs.
I cannot say I have liked it, but as there was no church of my own
it did not go against my conscience to kneel in theirs. I can tell
you that, after being for nearly a couple of years a slave among the
Moors, one thinks less of these distinctions than one used to do.
Had the Inquisition laid hands on me and questioned me, I should
at once have declared myself a Protestant; but as long as I was not
questioned I thought it no harm to go quietly and pay my devotions
in a church, even though there were many things in that church with
which I wholly disagreed.
"Dolores and I have talked the matter over often, and have arrived
at the conclusion long since that there is no such great difference
between us as would lead us to hate each other."
Lionel laughed.
"I suppose we generally see matters as we want to, Geoffrey; but
it will be rather a shock to our good father and mother when you
bring them home a Catholic daughter."
"I daresay when she has once settled in England among us, Lionel,
she will turn round to our views on the subject; not that I should
ever try to convert her, but it will likely enough come of itself.
Of course, she has been brought up with the belief that heretics are
very terrible people. She has naturally grown out of that belief
now, and is ready to admit that there may be good heretics as well
as good Catholics, which is a long step for a Spanish woman to take.
I have no fear but that the rest will come in time. At present I
have most carefully abstained from talking with her on the subject.
When she is once in England I shall be able to talk to her freely
without endangering her life by doing so."
Upon the following morning Sir Francis Vere breakfasted with Geoffrey,
and then he and Lionel heard the full account of his adventures,
and the manner in which it came about that he was found established
as a merchant in Cadiz.
They then talked over the situation. Sir Francis was much vexed
that the lord admiral had not complied with the earnest request the
Earl of Essex had sent him, as soon as he landed, to take prompt
measures for the pursuit and capture of the merchant ships. Instead
of doing this, the admiral, considering the force that had landed
to be dangerously weak, had sent large reinforcements on shore as
soon as the boats came off, and the consequence was that at dawn
that morning masses of smoke rising from the Puerto Real showed
that the Duke of Medina Sidonia had set the merchant ships on fire
rather than that they should fall into the hands of the English.
For a fortnight the captors of Cadiz remained in possession. Senor
Mendez had, upon the day after their entry, discussed the future
with Geoffrey. To the latter's great satisfaction he took it for
granted that his son in law would sail with Dolores and the children
in the English fleet, and he at once entered into arrangements with
him for his undertaking the management of the business of the firm
in England and Holland.
"Had I wound up my affairs I should accompany you at once, for
Dolores is everything to me, and you, Geoffrey, have also a large
share of my affection; but this is impossible. We have at present
all our fifteen ships at sea, and these on their return to port
would be confiscated at once were I to leave. Besides, there are
large transactions open with the merchants at Seville and elsewhere.
Therefore I must, for the present at any rate, remain here. I shall
incur no odium by your departure. It will be supposed that you have
reconciled yourself with your government, and your going home will
therefore seem only natural; and it will be seen that I could not,
however much I were inclined, interfere to prevent the departure
of Dolores and the children with you.
"I propose to send on board your ships the greater portion of my
goods here suitable for your market. This, again, will not excite
bad feelings, as I shall say that you as my partner insisted upon
your right to take your share of our merchandise back to England
with you, leaving me as my portion our fleet of vessels. Therefore
all will go on here as before. I shall gradually reduce my business
and dispose of the ships, transmitting my fortune to a banker in
Brussels, who will be able to send it to England through merchants
in Antwerp, and you can purchase vessels to replace those I sell.
"I calculate that it will take me a year to complete all my
arrangements. After that I shall again sail for Italy, and shall
come to England either by sea or by travelling through Germany,
as circumstances may dictate. On arriving in London I shall know
where to find you, for by that time you will be well known there;
and at any rate the bankers to whom my money is sent will be able
to inform me of your address."
These arrangements were carried out, and at the departure of
the fleet, Geoffrey, with Dolores and the children, sailed in Sir
Francis Vere's ship the Rainbow, Sir Francis having insisted on
giving up his own cabin for the use of Dolores. On leaving Cadiz
the town was fired, and the cathedral, the church of the Jesuits,
the nunneries of Santa Maria and Candelaria, two hundred and ninety
houses, and, greatest loss of all, the library of the Jesuits,
containing invaluable manuscripts respecting the Incas of Peru,
were destroyed.
The destruction of the Spanish fleet, and the enormous loss caused
by the burning of Cadiz and the loss of the rich merchant fleet,
struck a terrible blow at the power and resources of Spain. Her
trade never recovered from its effects, and her prestige suffered
very greatly in the eyes of Europe. Philip never rallied from the
blow to his pride inflicted by this humiliation.
Lionel had at first been almost shocked to find that Geoffrey had
married a Spanish woman and a Catholic; but the charming manner of
Dolores, her evident desire to please, and the deep affection with
which she regarded her husband, soon won his heart. He, Sir Francis
Vere, and the other officers and volunteers on board, vied with
each other in attention to her during the voyage; and Dolores, who
had hitherto been convinced that Geoffrey was a strange exception
to the rule that all Englishmen were rough and savage animals, and
who looked forward with much secret dread to taking up her residence
among them, was quite delighted, and assured Geoffrey she was at
last convinced that all she had heard to the disadvantage of his
countrymen was wholly untrue.
The fleet touched at Plymouth, where the news of the immense
success they had gained was received with great rejoicing; and
after taking in fresh water and stores, they proceeded along the
coast and anchored in the mouth of the Thames. Here the greater part
of the fleet was disbanded, the Rainbow and a few other vessels
sailing up to Greenwich, where the captains and officers were
received with great honour by the queen, and were feasted and made
much of by the city.
The brothers, the day after the ship cast anchor, proceeded to town,
and there hired horses for their journey down into Essex. This was
accomplished in two days, Geoffrey riding with Dolores on a pillion
behind him with her baby in her lap, while young Lionel was on the
saddle before his uncle.
When they approached Hedingham Lionel said, "I had best ride forward
Geoffrey to break the news to them of your coming. Although our
mother has always declared that she would not give up hope that
you would some day be restored to us, they have now really mourned
you as dead."
"Very well, Lionel. It is but a mile or so; I will dismount and
put the boy up in the saddle and walk beside him, and we shall be
in a quarter of an hour after you."
The delight of Mr. and Mrs. Vickars on hearing Geoffrey was alive
and close at hand was so great that the fact he brought home
a Spanish wife, which would under other circumstances have been a
great shock to them, was now scarcely felt, and when the rapturous
greeting with which he was received on his arrival was over, they
welcomed his pretty young wife with a degree of warmth which fully
satisfied him. Her welcome was, of course, in the first place as
Geoffrey's wife, but in a very short time his father and mother
both came to love her for herself, and Dolores very quickly found
herself far happier at Hedingham Rectory than she had thought she
could be away from her native Spain.
The announcement Geoffrey made shortly after his arrival, that he
had altogether abandoned the trade of soldiering, and should in
future make his home in London, trading in conjunction with his
father in law, assisted to reconcile them to his marriage. After
a fortnight's stay at Hedingham Geoffrey went up to London, and
there took a house in the city, purchased several vessels, and
entered upon business, being enabled to take at once a good position
among the merchants of London, thanks to the ample funds with which
he was provided.
Two months later he went down to Essex and brought up Dolores and
the children, and established them in his new abode.
The apprenticeship he had served in trade at Cadiz enabled Geoffrey
to start with confidence in his business. He at once notified all
the correspondents of the firm in the different ports of Europe, that
in future the business carried on by Signor Juan Mendez at Cadiz
would have its headquarters in London, and that the firm would trade
with all ports with the exception of those of Spain. The result
was that before many months had elapsed there were few houses in
London doing a larger trade with the Continent than that of Mendez
and Vickars, under which title they had traded from the time of
Geoffrey's marriage with Dolores.