In the YEAR MDLXXXVIII.
THE Defeat of the SPANISH ARMADA being the most glorious Victory that
was ever obtained at Sea, and the most important to the _British_
Nation, every Method deserves some Praise, that may in a suitable Manner
propagate the Memory of it. Our Ancestors, that were personally
interested in it, were so careful it should not pass into Oblivion, that
they procured the Engagements between the two Fleets to be represented
in ten curious Pieces of Tapestry, with the Portraits of the several
_English_ Captains, taken from the Life, worked in the Borders, which
are now placed, some in the Royal Wardrobe, some in the House of Lords,
the most august Assembly of the Kingdom, there to remain as a lasting
Memorial of the Triumphs of _British_ Valour, guided by _British_
Counsels. But because Time, or Accident, or Moths may deface these
valuable Shadows, we have endeavoured to preserve their Likeness in the
preceding Prints, which, by being multiplied and dispersed in various
Hands, may meet with that Security from the Closets of the Curious,
which the Originals must scarce always hope for, even from the Sanctity
of the Place they are kept in.
Thus far we have been able to go within our own Province; but as a more
particular Detail of the Circumstances of this glorious Expedition,
which lye blended in our Histories with other Matters, may not be
altogether unacceptable, we shall beg Leave to offer the following brief
Account of it, collected from the most authentic Writers and
Manuscripts.