Published first in the _Nineteenth Century_, March, 1878. Reprinted in
_Ballads, and other Poems_, 1880.
_The Revenge_ deals with an incident of the war between England and
Spain during the latter half of the sixteenth century. Sir Richard
Grenville, the hero, came from a long line of fighters and was one of
the most famous naval commanders of the period. He had led, in 1585, the
first English colony to Virginia, and had been in charge of the Devon
coast defence at the time of the _Armada_ (1588) when that great Spanish
fleet, organized to deal a crushing blow to England, was defeated and
almost entirely destroyed by English ships and seamen under Lord Howard
and Sir Francis Drake. In 1591 he was given command of the _Revenge_, a
second-rate ship of five hundred tons' burden and carrying a crew of
two hundred and fifty men, and sent to the Azores to intercept a Spanish
treasure fleet. While there, he was cut off from his own squadron and
left with two alternatives: to turn his back on the enemy, or to sail
through the fifty-three Spanish vessels opposed to him. He refused to
retreat, and the terrible battle described in the ballad was the result.
Grenville was a somewhat haughty and tyrannical leader, though
noble-minded, loyal, and patriotic. In Charles Kingsley's _Westward Ho!_
which gives a vivid portrayal of English national feeling and character
during these stirring times, he is made to take an important part, and
is idealized as "a truly heroic personage--a steadfast, God-fearing,
chivalrous man, conscious (as far as a soul so healthy could be
conscious) of the pride of beauty, and strength, and valour, and
wisdom." Froude calls him "a goodly and gallant gentleman." Perhaps the
best comment on him is found in his own dying words: "Here die I,
Richard Grenville, with a joyful and quiet mind: for that I have ended
my life as true soldier ought to do, that hath fought for his country,
Queen, religion, and honour. Whereby my soul most joyfully departeth out
of this body, and shall always leave behind it an everlasting fame of a
valiant and true soldier; that hath done his dutie as he was bound to
do."
_The Revenge_ is styled by Stevenson (the _English Admirals_) "one of
the noblest ballads in the English language." Indeed, in vigor of
spirit, and in patriotic feeling, there are few poems which surpass it.
[225] 1. The =Azores= (here pronounced _A-zo-res_) are a group of
islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island of _Flores_ (pronounced
_Flo-res_) is the most westerly of the group.
[226] 4. =Lord Thomas Howard= was admiral of the fleet to which the
_Revenge_ belonged.
[227] 12. =The Inquisition= was a system of tribunals formed in the
thirteenth century by the Roman Catholic Church to investigate and
punish cases of religious unbelief. In the sixteenth century the
Inquisition became infamous in Spain because of the cruelty of its
persecutions, many people suffering terrible tortures and dying the most
painful deaths, through its instrumentality.
[228] 17. =Bideford= in Devon was the birthplace of Sir Richard
Grenville. In the sixteenth century it was one of England's chief
seaports and sent seven vessels to fight the Armada. It is described in
the opening chapter of _Westward Ho!_
[229] 21. The =thumbscrew= was an instrument of torture employed by the
Inquisition.
[230] 21. Victims of the Inquisition were sometimes tied to a =stake=
and burned alive.
[231] 30. =Seville= is a city in southwestern Spain. It is here to be
pronounced with the accent on the first syllable.
[232] 31. =Don=; a Spanish title of rank, here used to designate any
Spaniard.
[233] 46. =Galleon=; a name applied to sailing vessels of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries.