45. And eastward straight from wild Blackheath The warlike errand went, And roused in many an ancient hall The gallant squires of Kent. Southward from Surrey's pleasant hills Flew those bright couriers forth; High on bleak Hampstead's swarthy moor They started for the north; 46. And on, and on, without a pause Untired they bounded still; All night from tower to tower they sprang: They sprang from hill to hill: Till the proud peak unfurled the flag O'er Darwin's rocky dales, Till like volcanoes flared to heaven The stormy hills of Wales; 47. Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze On Malvern's lonely height, Till streamed in crimson on the wind The Wrekin's crest of light, Till broad and fierce the star came forth On Ely's stately fame, And tower and hamlet rose in arms O'er all the boundless plain; 48. Till Belvoir's lordly terraces The sign to Lincoln sent, And Lincoln sped the message on O'er the wide vale of Trent; Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burned On Gaunt's embattled pile, And the red glare on Skiddaw roused The burghers of Carlisle. THE PRELIMINARY SKIRMISH. 49. It was on Saturday, July 20th, a dull, misty day, that the two great fleets, which represented the cause of freedom on the one side and the longing after universal empire on the other, came in sight of each other. The great Armada, with its huge galleons in battle array extending over a space of many miles, was suffered to sail up the Channel, past Plymouth Harbor, without molestation. This was in accordance with the general plan of attack which bad been agreed upon. 50. The superior force of the Spaniards caused no fear, but rather a grim determination to overwhelm and destroy. The universal sentiment that seemed to prevail among all classes of Englishmen concerning their country finds fitting expression in the words which Shakespeare puts into the mouth of John of Gaunt: "This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise; This fortress, built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war; This happy breed of men, this little world; This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands; This blessed spot, this earth, this realm, this England, Dear for her reputation through the world."