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 co-operate 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 6360 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 north-east 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.
[Illustration]
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 Pun tales, 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 vieing 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 places 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 market-place, 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 to-night 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 to-night, 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 of 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 Señor 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 Señor
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, señor, 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, señor," 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, señor, 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 rejoicings; 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.