CHAPTER XX.
CADIZ.
In March, 1596, Sir Francis Vere returned to Holland. He had during hisabsence in England been largely taken into the counsels of QueenElizabeth, and it had been decided that the war should be carried intothe enemy's country, and a heavy blow struck at the power of Spain.Vere had been appointed to an important command in the proposedexpedition, and had now come out charged with the mission of persuadingthe States-general to co-operate heartily with England, and tocontribute both money and men. There was much discussion in the States;but they finally agreed to comply with the queen's wishes, consideringthat there was no surer way of bringing the war to a termination thanto transport it nearer to the heart of the enemy.
As soon as the matter was arranged, Sir Francis Vere left the Hague andwent to Middleburg, where the preparations for the Dutch portion of theexpedition were carried out. It consisted of twenty-two Dutch ships,under Count William of Nassau, and a thousand of the English troops inthe pay of the States. The company commanded by Lionel Vickars was oneof those chosen to accompany the expedition; and on the 22d of April itstarted from Flushing and joined the British fleet assembled at Dover.This was under the command of Lord Howard as lord-admiral, the Earl ofEssex as general, Lord Thomas Howard as vice-admiral, and Sir WalterRaleigh as rear-admiral.
Sir Francis Vere was lieutenant-general and lord-marshal. He was to bethe chief adviser of the Earl of Essex, and to have the command ofoperations 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-twoDutch vessels. The fleet, which was largely fitted out at the privateexpense of Lord Howard and the Earl of Essex, sailed from Dover toPlymouth. Sir Francis Vere went by land, and set to work at theorganization of the army.
A month was thus spent, and on the 1st of June the fleet set sail. Itcarried 6360 soldiers and 1000 volunteers, and was manned by nearly7000 sailors. There had been some dispute as to the relative ranks ofSir Francis Vere and Sir Walter Raleigh, and it was settled that SirFrancis should have precedence on shore, and Sir Walter Raleigh at sea.
All on board the fleet were full of enthusiasm at the enterprise uponwhich they were embarked. It was eight years since the Spanish Armadahad sailed to invade England; now an English fleet was sailing toattack 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 ofthe seas, on which Spain had formerly considered herself to be supreme.
A favourable wind from the north-east carried the fleet rapidly acrossthe Bay of Biscay, and it proceeded on its way, keeping well out ofsight of the coast of Portugal. The three fastest sailers of the fleetwere sent on ahead as soon as they rounded Cape St. Vincent, withorders to capture all small vessels which might carry to Cadiz thetidings of the approach of the fleet.
Early on the morning of the 20th June the fleet anchored off the spitof San Sebastian on the southern side of the city.
Cadiz was defended by the fort of San Sebastian on one side and that ofSan Felipe on the other; while the fort of Pun tales, on the long spitof sand connecting the city with the mainland, defended the channelleading up to Puerto Real, and covered by its guns the Spanish galleysand ships of war anchored there. Lying off the town when the Englishfleet came in sight were forty richly-laden merchant ships about tosail for Mexico, under the convoy of four great men-of-war, two Lisbongalleons, two argosies, and three frigates.
As soon as the English were seen, the merchant ships were ordered upthe channel to Puerto Real, and the men-of-war and the fleet ofseventeen war galleys were ranged under the guns of Fort Puntales toprevent the English passing up. It had first been decided to attempt alanding in the harbour of Galeta, on the south side of the city; but aheavy sea was setting in, and although the troops had been got into theboats they were re-embarked, and the fleet sailed round and anchored atthe mouth of the channel leading up the bay. A council of war was heldthat night, and it was decided that the fleet should move up the baywith the tide next morning, and attack the Spanish fleet.
The next morning at daybreak the ships got up their anchors and sailedup the channel, each commander vieing with the rest in his eagerness tobe first in the fray. They were soon hotly engaged with the enemy; thefort, 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 shipshotly responded. The galleys were driven closer in under the shelter ofthe fire of the fort, and the fire was kept up without intermissionfrom six o'clock in the morning until four in the afternoon.
By that time the Spaniards had had enough of it. The galleys slippedtheir cables and made sail for a narrow channel across the spit,covered by the guns of the fort. Three of them were captured by SirJohn Wingfield in the _Vanguard_, but the rest got through the channeland escaped. The men-of-war endeavoured to run ashore, but boardingparties in boats from the _Ark-Royal_ and _Repulse_ captured two ofthem. The Spaniards set fire to the other two. The argosies andgalleons were also captured. Sir Francis Vere at once took the commandof the land operations. The boats were all lowered, and the regimentsof Essex, Vere, Blount, Gerard, and Clifford told off as a landingparty. They were formed in line. The Earl of Essex and Sir Francis Veretook their places in a boat in advance of the line, and were followedby smaller boats crowded with gentlemen volunteers.
They landed between the fort of Puntales and the town. The regiments ofBlount, Gerard, and Clifford were sent to the narrowest part of thespit to prevent reinforcements being thrown into the place; while thoseof 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 landguns from the fleet, raise batteries, and make a breach in the walls.Vere, however, perceiving some Spanish cavalry and infantry drawn upoutside the walls, suggested to Essex that an attempt should be made totake the place by surprise. The earl at once agreed to the plan.
Vere marched the force across to the west side of the spit, hismovements being concealed by the sand-hills from the Spanish. Sir JohnWingfield with two hundred men was ordered to march rapidly on againstthe enemy, driving in their skirmishers, and then to retreat hastilywhen the main body advanced against him. Three hundred men under SirMatthew Morgan were posted as supports to Wingfield, and as soon as thelatter's flying force joined them the whole were to fall upon theSpaniards and in turn chase them back to the walls, against which themain body under Essex and Vere were to advance.
The orders were ably carried out. The Spaniards in hot chase ofWingfield found themselves suddenly confronted by Morgan's force, whofell upon them so furiously that they fled back to the town closelyfollowed by the English. Some of the fugitives made their way in at thegates, which were hurriedly closed, while others climbed up at thebastions, which sloped sufficiently to afford foothold. Vere's troopsfrom the Netherlands, led by Essex, also scaled the bastions and thenan inner wall behind it. As soon as they had captured this they rushedthrough the streets, shooting and cutting down any who opposed them.
Sir Francis Vere, who had also scaled the ramparts, knew that citiescaptured by assaults had often been lost again by the soldiersscattering. He therefore directed the rest of the troops to burst openthe gate. This was with some difficulty effected, and he then marchedthem in good order to the market-place, where the Spaniards had ralliedand were hotly engaged with Essex. The opposition was soon beaten down,and those defending the town-hall were forced to surrender. The troopswere then marched through the town, and the garrison driven either intothe convent of San Francisco or into the castle of Felipe. The conventsurrendered on the same evening and the castle on the following day.The loss upon the part of the assailants was very small, but Sir JohnWingfield was mortally wounded.
The English behaved with the greatest courtesy to their captives, theirconduct presenting an extraordinary contrast to that of the Spaniardsunder similar circumstance in the Netherlands. The women were treatedwith the greatest courtesy, and five thousand inhabitants, includingwomen 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, andthat some of the chief citizens should remain as hostages for payment.
As soon as the fighting ceased, Lionel Vickars accompanied Sir FrancisVere through the streets to set guards, and see that no insult wasoffered to any of the inhabitants. As they passed along, the door ofone of the mansions was thrown open. A gentleman hurried out; he pausedfor a moment, exclaiming, "Sir Francis Vere!" and then looking atLionel rushed forward towards him with a cry of delight. Sir FrancisVere 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 ifstupefied, and then with a cry of "Geoffrey!" fell into his brother'sarms.
"It is indeed Geoffrey Vickars!" Sir Francis Vere exclaimed. "Why,Geoffrey, what miracle is this? We have thought you dead these sixyears, and now we find you transmuted into a Spanish don."
"I may look like one, Sir Francis," Geoffrey said as he shook his oldcommander's hand, "but I am English to the backbone still. But my storyis too long to tell now. You will be doubtless too busy to-night tospare time to listen to it, but I pray you to breakfast with me in themorning, when I will briefly relate to you the outline of myadventures. Can you spare my brother for to-night, Sir Francis?"
"I would do so were there ten times the work to be got through," SirFrancis replied. "Assuredly I would not keep asunder for a minute twobrothers who have so long been separated. I will breakfast with you inthe morning and hear this strange story of yours; for strange it mustassuredly be, since it has changed my young page of the Netherlandsinto a Spanish hidalgo."
"I am no hidalgo, Sir Francis, but a trader of Cadiz, and I own thatalthough I have been in some way a prisoner, seeing that I could noteffect my escape, I have not fared badly. Now, Lionel, come in. I haveanother surprise for you."
Lionel, still confused and wonder-stricken at this apparentresurrection of his brother from the dead, followed him upstairs.Geoffrey led the way into a handsomely furnished apartment, where ayoung 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 mespeak. Lionel, this is my wife and my eldest boy, who is named afteryou."
It was some time before Lionel could completely realize the position,and it was not until Dolores in somewhat broken English bade himwelcome that he found his tongue.
"But I cannot understand it all!" he exclaimed, after responding to thewords of Dolores. "I saw my brother in the middle of the battle withthe Armada. We came into collision with a great galleon, we lost one ofour masts, and I never saw Geoffrey afterwards; and we all thought thathe had either been shot by the musketeers on the galleon, or had beenknocked 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 togo down at once to Hedingham to tell them there. He left the ship hewas in out in the West Indies, and I hoped had reached home safely."
"We have heard nothing, Geoffrey. The man has never come with yourmessage. But now tell me how you were saved."
"I was knocked over by the mast, Lionel, but as you see I was notkilled. I climbed up into a passing Spanish ship, and concealed myselfin 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 mysenses and my speech, and none suspected that I was English. The ship Iwas on board of was one of those which succeeded after terriblehardships in returning to Spain. An Irish gentleman on board her, towhom I confided my secret, took me as a servant. After many adventuresI 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 Iwas taken prisoner. I remained a captive among them for nearly twoyears, and then with a fellow-prisoner escaped, together with Doloresand her father, who had also been captured by the pirates We reachedSpain in safety, and I have since passed as one of the many exiles fromEngland and Ireland who have taken refuge here; and Senor Mendez, mywife's father, was good enough to bestow her hand upon me, partly ingratitude for the services I had rendered him in his escape, partlybecause 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," hecontinued, "he gave me a share in his business. I have been a fortunateman indeed, Lionel; but I have always longed for a chance to returnhome; until now none has ever offered itself, and I have grievedcontinually at the thought that my father and mother and you weremourning for me as dead. Now you have the outline of my story; tell meabout all at home."
"Our father and mother are both well, Geoffrey, though your supposedloss 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 SenorMendez that whenever an opportunity occurred I was to return home,taking, of course, Dolores with me. She has been learning English eversince, and although naturally she would rather that we remained hereshe 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 allat once acquired nephews as well as a brother and sister. Here is SenorMendez. This is my brother, senor, the Lionel after whom I named myboy, though I never dreamed that our next meeting would take placewithin the walls of Cadiz."
"You have astounded us, senor," the merchant said courteously. "Wethought that Cadiz was safe from an attack; and though we were awareyou had defeated our fleet we were astonished indeed when two hourssince we heard by the din and firing in the streets that you hadcaptured the city. Truly you English do not suffer the grass to growunder 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, capturedour town, and have our lives and properties at your disposal."
"Your lives are in no danger, senor, and all who choose are free todepart without harm or hindrance. But as to your property--I don't meanyours, of course, because as Geoffrey's father-in-law I am sure thatSir Francis Vere will inflict no fine upon you--but the city generallywill have to pay, I hear, some half million ducats as ransom."
"That is as nothing," the Spaniard said, "to the loss the city willsuffer in the loss of the forty merchant ships which you will doubtlesscapture or burn. Right glad am I that no cargo of mine is on board anyof them, for I do not trade with Mexico; but I am sure the value of theships with their cargoes cannot be less than twenty millions of ducats.This will fall upon the traders of this town and of Seville. Still, Iown that the ransom of half-a-million for a city like Cadiz seems to meto be very moderate, and the tranquillity that already prevails in thetown is beyond all praise. Would that such had been the behaviour of mycountrymen in the Netherlands!"
Don Mendez spoke in a tone of deep depression. Geoffrey made a sign tohis brother to come out on to the balcony, while the merchant took aseat beside his daughter.
"'Tis best to leave them alone," he said as they looked down into thestreet, where the English and their Dutch allies, many of whom had nowlanded, were wandering about examining the public buildings andchurches, while the inhabitants looked with timid curiosity from theirwindows and balconies at the men who had, as if by magic, suddenlybecome their masters. "I can see that the old gentleman is terribly cutup. Of course, nothing has been said between us yet, for it was notuntil we heard the sound of firing in the streets that anyone thoughtthere 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 u
nderstood between us that I should do so as soonas any safe method of making a passage could be discovered; but afterbeing here with him more than three years he had doubtless come tobelieve that such a chance would never come during his lifetime, andthe thought of an early separation from his daughter, and the break upof our household here, must be painful to him in the extreme. It hasbeen settled that I should still remain partner in the firm, and shouldmanage our affairs in England and Holland; but this will, of course, bea comparatively small business until peace is restored, and ships arefree to come and go on both sides as they please. But I think it islikely he will himself come to live with us in England, and that weshall make that the headquarters of the firm, employing our ships intraffic with Holland, France, and the Mediterranean until peace isrestored with Spain, and having only an agent here to conduct suchbusiness as we may be able to carry on under the present stringentregulations.
"In point of fact, even if we wound up our affairs and disposed of ourships, it would matter little to us, for Mendez is a very rich man, andas Dolores is his only child he has no great motive beyond theoccupation it gives him for continuing in business. So you are acaptain now, Lionel! Have you had a great deal of fighting?"
"Not a great deal. The Spaniards have been too much occupied with theiraffairs in France to give us much work to do. In Holland I took part inthe adventure that led to the capture of Breda, did some fighting inFrance with the army of Henry of Navarre, and have been concerned in agood many sieges and skirmishes. I do not know whether you heard of thedeath of Robert Vere. He came out just after the business of theArmada, and fell in the fight the other day near Wesel--a mad businessof Count Philip of Nassau. Horace is serving with his troop. We haverecovered all the cities in the three provinces, and Holland is nowvirtually rid of the Spaniards.
"Things have greatly changed since the days of Sluys andBergen-op-Zoom. Holland has increased marvellously in strength andwealth. We have now a splendidly-organized army, and should not fearmeeting the Spaniards in the open field if they would but give thechance to do so in anything like equal numbers. Sir Francis is marshalof our army here, and is now considered the ablest of our generals; andhe and Prince Maurice have never yet met with a serious disaster. Buthow have you escaped the Inquisition here, Geoffrey? I thought theylaid hands on every heretic?"
"So they do," Geoffrey replied; "but you see they have never dreamedthat I was a heretic. The English, Irish, and Scotchmen here, eitherserving in the army or living quietly as exiles, are, of course, allCatholics, and as they suppose me to be one of them, it does not seemto have entered their minds that I was a Protestant. Since I have beenhere I have gone with my wife and father-in-law to church, and havesaid my prayers in my own way while they have said theirs. I cannot sayI have liked it, but as there was no church of my own it did not goagainst my conscience to kneel in theirs. I can tell you that, afterbeing for nearly a couple of years a slave among the Moors, one thinksless of these distinctions than one used to do. Had the Inquisitionlaid hands on me and questioned me, I should at once have declaredmyself a Protestant; but as long as I was not questioned I thought itno harm to go quietly and pay my devotions in a church, even thoughthere were many things in that church with which I wholly disagreed.
"Dolores and I have talked the matter over often, and have arrived atthe conclusion long since that there is no such great differencebetween us as would lead us to hate each other."
Lionel laughed.
"I suppose we generally see matters as we want to, Geoffrey; but itwill be rather a shock to our good father and mother when you bringthem home a Catholic daughter."
"I daresay when she has once settled in England among us, Lionel, shewill turn round to our views on the subject; not that I should ever tryto convert her, but it will likely enough come of itself. Of course,she has been brought up with the belief that heretics are very terriblepeople. She has naturally grown out of that belief now, and is ready toadmit that there may be good heretics as well as good Catholics, whichis a long step for a Spanish woman to take. I have no fear but that therest will come in time. At present I have most carefully abstained fromtalking with her on the subject. When she is once in England I shall beable 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, andthe manner in which it came about that he was found established as amerchant in Cadiz.
They then talked over the situation. Sir Francis was much vexed thatthe lord-admiral had not complied with the earnest request the Earl ofEssex had sent him, as soon as he landed, to take prompt measures forthe pursuit and capture of the merchant ships. Instead of doing this,the admiral, considering the force that had landed to be dangerouslyweak, had sent large reinforcements on shore as soon as the boats cameoff, and the consequence was that at dawn that morning masses of smokerising from the Puerto Real showed that the Duke of Medina-Sidonia hadset the merchant ships on fire rather than that they should fall intothe hands of the English.
For a fortnight the captors of Cadiz remained in possession. SenorMendez had, upon the day after their entry, discussed the future withGeoffrey. To the latter's great satisfaction he took it for grantedthat his son-in-law would sail with Dolores and the children in theEnglish fleet, and he at once entered into arrangements with him forhis undertaking the management of the business of the firm in Englandand Holland.
"Had I wound up my affairs I should accompany you at once, for Doloresis everything to me, and you, Geoffrey, have also a large share of myaffection; but this is impossible. We have at present all our fifteenships at sea, and these on their return to port would be confiscated atonce were I to leave. Besides, there are large transactions open withthe merchants at Seville and elsewhere. Therefore I must, for thepresent at any rate, remain here. I shall incur no odium by yourdeparture. It will be supposed that you have reconciled yourself withyour 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 goodshere suitable for your market. This, again, will not excite badfeelings, as I shall say that you as my partner insisted upon yourright 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 onhere as before. I shall gradually reduce my business and dispose of theships, transmitting my fortune to a banker in Brussels, who will beable to send it to England through merchants in Antwerp, and you canpurchase vessels to replace those I sell.
"I calculate that it will take me a year to complete all myarrangements. After that I shall again sail for Italy, and shall cometo England either by sea or by travelling through Germany, ascircumstances may dictate. On arriving in London I shall know where tofind you, for by that time you will be well known there; and at anyrate the bankers to whom my money is sent will be able to inform me ofyour address."
These arrangements were carried out, and at the departure of the fleet,Geoffrey, with Dolores and the children, sailed in Sir Francis Vere'sship the _Rainbow_, Sir Francis having insisted on giving up his owncabin for the use of Dolores. On leaving Cadiz the town was fired, andthe cathedral, the church of the Jesuits, the nunneries of Santa Mariaand Candelaria, two hundred and ninety houses, and, greatest loss ofall, the library of the Jesuits, containing invaluable manuscriptsrespecting the Incas of Peru, were destroyed.
The destruction of the Spanish fleet, and the enormous loss caused bythe burning of Cadiz and the loss of the rich merchant fleet, struck aterrible blow at the power and resources of Spain. Her trade neverrecovered from its effects, and her prestige suffered very greatly inthe eyes of Europe. Philip never rallied from the blow to his prideinflicted by this humiliation.
Lionel had at first been almost shocked to find that Geoffrey hadmarried a Spanish
woman and a Catholic; but the charming manner ofDolores, her evident desire to please, and the deep affection withwhich she regarded her husband, soon won his heart. He, Sir FrancisVere, and the other officers and volunteers on board, vied with eachother in attention to her during the voyage; and Dolores, who hadhitherto been convinced that Geoffrey was a strange exception to therule that all Englishmen were rough and savage animals, and who lookedforward with much secret dread to taking up her residence among them,was quite delighted, and assured Geoffrey she was at last convincedthat all she had heard to the disadvantage of his countrymen was whollyuntrue.
The fleet touched at Plymouth, where the news of the immense successthey had gained was received with great rejoicings; and after taking infresh water and stores, they proceeded along the coast and anchored inthe mouth of the Thames. Here the greater part of the fleet wasdisbanded, the _Rainbow_ and a few other vessels sailing up toGreenwich, where the captains and officers were received with greathonour 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 wasaccomplished in two days, Geoffrey riding with Dolores on a pillionbehind him with her baby in her lap, while young Lionel was on thesaddle before his uncle.
When they approached Hedingham Lionel said, "I had best ride forwardGeoffrey to break the news to them of your coming. Although our motherhas always declared that she would not give up hope that you would someday 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 theboy up in the saddle and walk beside him, and we shall be in a quarterof an hour after you."
The delight of Mr. and Mrs. Vickars on hearing Geoffrey was alive andclose at hand was so great that the fact he brought home a Spanishwife, which would under other circumstances have been a great shock tothem, was now scarcely felt, and when the rapturous greeting with whichhe was received on his arrival was over, they welcomed his pretty youngwife with a degree of warmth which fully satisfied him. Her welcomewas, of course, in the first place as Geoffrey's wife, but in a veryshort time his father and mother both came to love her for herself, andDolores very quickly found herself far happier at Hedingham Rectorythan she had thought she could be away from her native Spain.
The announcement Geoffrey made shortly after his arrival, that he hadaltogether abandoned the trade of soldiering, and should in future makehis home in London, trading in conjunction with his father-in-law,assisted to reconcile them to his marriage. After a fortnight's stay atHedingham Geoffrey went up to London, and there took a house in thecity, purchased several vessels, and entered upon business, beingenabled 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 thechildren, and established them in his new abode.
The apprenticeship he had served in trade at Cadiz enabled Geoffrey tostart with confidence in his business. He at once notified all thecorrespondents of the firm in the different ports of Europe, that infuture the business carried on by Signor Juan Mendez at Cadiz wouldhave its headquarters in London, and that the firm would trade with allports with the exception of those of Spain. The result was that beforemany months had elapsed there were few houses in London doing a largertrade with the Continent than that of Mendez and Vickars, under whichtitle they had traded from the time of Geoffrey's marriage with Dolores.