and to leave the boats which had been towing her: and thereupon the enemy's fleet, which had previously fallen a little to leeward, recovered the wind. The duke, seeing that in the intended attack the advantage would no longer be with us, and that we were near the Isle of Wight, fired a gun and proceeded on his course, the rest of the Armada following in very good order, and the enemy remaining far astern.
"The same day the duke dispatched Captain Pedro de Leon to Dunquerque, to the Duke of Parma, to advise him not only of the place where the duke was, but also of his success, as also that it was desirable that he should come out and join the fleet with as little delay as possible. The duke gave the charge of the squadron of Don Pedro de Valdes to Don Diego Enriquez, son of the viceroy, since he had noted him to be able and careful in matters belonging to the sea.
"Friday, the 26th, broke calm, with the fleets in sight of one another.[1] The duke dispatched a pinnace to the Duke of Parma, with Domingo Ochoa as pilot, to obtain from him 4-lb., 6-lb., and 10-lb, shot, because much of his munition had been expended in the successive fights; and begging him also to send as soon as possible forty fly-boats to join the Armada, so that with them we might close with the enemy, our ships being very heavy in comparison with those of the enemy, and it being impossible, in consequence, to get at close quarters with them. The pilot was also to inform the duke that it would be well for him to be ready to come out and join the Armada on the day when it should arrive in sight of Dunquerque. Thither the Duke of Medina Sidonia was proceeding cautiously, fearing lest Parma might not be there, seeing that Don Rodrigo Tello had not returned, nor had any other messenger come thence. At sunset the wind got up, and the Armada pursued a course toward Calais.
"On Saturday, the 27th, at daybreak, the two fleets were very near one another, but did not fire. The Armada had a fair wind, and the rear was close up and in excellent order. At ten o'clock we sighted that part of the coast of France near to Boulogne; and proceeding towards Calais, we arrived off that place at four o'clock in the afternoon."
For the third time the fight was indecisive; but, as before, the balance of advantage turned in favour of the English. The Santa Ana was obliged to leave the Armada, which she never again rejoined; and, by the admission of a Spanish eye-witness,[2] the English inflicted more damage than they received.
Plymouth, Portland, and the Isle of Wight had previously been considered in England as likely places[3] for an attempted landing by the Spaniards. It is curious that the first three battles of the campaign took place off those spots; but the fact seems to be a mere chain of coincidences, and nothing more. Medina Sidonia certainly had no thought of landing, and made no attempt to land, at either Plymouth or Portland; and although he had thought at one time of seizing the Isle of Wight, and, at another, of remaining near it until Parma should be ready to join him, he had before July 25th, surrendered both those ideas. That the fight of July 25th ever became heavy, and to some extent general, is far
