Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_; boldface text is enclosed in =equals signs=. HALF HOURS ON THE QUARTER-DECK THE HALF HOUR LIBRARY. _TRAVEL, NATURE, AND SCIENCE._ Handsomely bound, very fully Illustrated, 2s. 6d. each; gilt edges, 3s. Half Hours in the Holy Land. Travels in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. By NORMAN MACLEOD. Half Hours in the Far North. Life amid Snow and Ice. Half Hours in the Wide West. Over Mountains, Rivers, and Prairies. Half Hours in the Far South. The People and Scenery of the Tropics. Half Hours in the Far East. Among the People and Wonders of India. Half Hours with a Naturalist. Rambles near the Seashore. By the Rev. J. G. WOOD. Half Hours in the Deep. The Nature and Wealth of the Sea. Half Hours in the Tiny World. Wonders of Insect Life. Half Hours in Woods and Wilds. Adventures of Sport and Travel. Half Hours in Air and Sky. Marvels of the Universe. Half Hours Underground. Volcanoes, Mines, and Caves. By CHARLES KINGSLEY and others. Half Hours at Sea. Stories of Voyage, Adventure, and Wreck. Half Hours in Many Lands. Arctic, Torrid, and Temperate. Half Hours in Field and Forest. Chapters in Natural History. By the Rev. J. G. WOOD. Half Hours on the Quarter-Deck. Half Hours in Early Naval Adventure. [Illustration: _Frontispiece._] [_Page 41._ SIR FRANCIS DRAKE CALLS ON HIS COMRADES TO “PLAY OUT THE MATCH, FOR THERE IS PLENTY OF TIME TO DO SO, AND TO BEAT THE SPANIARDS TOO.”] THE HALF HOUR LIBRARY _OF TRAVEL, NATURE, AND SCIENCE_ FOR YOUNG READERS HALF HOURS ON THE QUARTER-DECK The Spanish Armada to Sir Cloudesley Shovel 1670 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS London JAMES NISBET & CO. LIMITED 21 Berners Street, W. 1899 INTRODUCTION. This is the second of a series of books on a subject of the greatest interest to all young Englishmen--the Naval History of England. To the sea England owes its greatness, and the Anglo-Saxon race its possession of such large portions of the earth. Two-thirds of the surface of our globe are covered with water, and the nations that have the chief command of the seas must naturally have immense power in the world. There is nothing more marvellous in the last century, great as has been the progress in all directions, than the birth of new nations in distant parts of the earth, sprung from our own people, and speaking our own language. England and America bid fair to encompass the world with their influence; because, centuries ago, England became, through the bravery and endurance of her sailors, the chief ocean power.