But every year English merchantmen were held up by Spanish galleys and had to fight for their existence: so in 1590 we hear of Sir John proposing another attack on Spain; and when this too was rejected, he wrote to Burghley, saying that he was now out of hope that he should be allowed to perform "any royal thing." So out of heart was he now that he begged he might be relieved of his duties as Treasurer of the Navy. "No man living hath so careful, so miserable, so unfortunate, and so dangerous a life." This request too was declined. But in May 1590 Sir John was sent, with Sir Martin Frobisher as Vice-Admiral, in command of fourteen ships to try and intercept a fleet of Portuguese carracks coming from India. They ransacked nearly every port on the Spanish coast for five months, so that all valuables were hastily removed inland, and all the Spanish galleys were hidden behind rocky promontories. But Philip had ordered the trading fleets to be kept back, and therefore no prizes were captured, and the adventurers returned empty-handed. Queen Elizabeth was mightily incensed, though it was through no fault of the admirals that the expedition had been a financial failure. Hawkins wrote the Queen a lengthy epistle explaining why they had failed, and he finished with a Biblical allusion: "Paul might plant, and Apollos might water, but it was God only who gave the increase." The Queen, stamping her foot, exclaimed hotly, "This fool went out a soldier, and is come home a divine!" So the poor seaman returned to his hated desk as Treasurer, though he wrote to Burghley that he was fain to serve her Majesty in any other calling. "This endless and unsavoury occupation in calling for money is always unpleasant." He was now over seventy years of age, and his son Richard had for some years been distinguishing himself on the sea. But when that son had to surrender to the Spaniards and was sent to a Spanish prison, the old sea-dog thirsted to go abroad again and rescue his son, or at least take a great revenge. His old friend Sir Francis Drake was to go with him, for the Queen had assented; but rumours of a fresh Armada kept them in England, for "all men," says Camden, "buckled themselves to war," and mothers only bewailed that their sons had been killed in France instead of being alive and well to defend hearth and home in England. But all the Spaniards did was to cross from Brittany with four galleys and land at Penzance. This town they sacked and burnt, but as the inhabitants had fled inland, no lives were lost. This was the last hostile landing made by the Spaniards on England's shore.