And yet notwithstanding all this, in the night time while they had this respite to pause, and deliberate about the peacemaking, there were diuers great and suddaine alarms giuen: which did breed some great outrages and disorder in the towne. At euery which alarme, the two Lordes Generall shewed themselues maruelous ready and forward, insomuch that at the very first alarme, skant wel furnished with any more defence then their shirts, hose, and dublets, and those too altogether in a maner vntied, they were abroad in the streets themselues, to see the vttermost of it. But for that it is not as yet very well knowen (or at the least not well knowen vnto me) either wherfore, or by whom these alarmes were attempted: I am therefore to intreat, that a bare report, that such a thing was done, may suffice. These things being done, and this surrender being made, present proclamation was published, that the fury now being past, all men should surcease from all maner of blood and cruell dealing, and that there should no kind of violence or hard vsage be offered to any, either man, woman or child, vpon paine of death: And so permitting the spoyle of so much of the towne as was by them thought meete, to the common souldiers for some certaine dayes, they were continually in counsell about other graue directions, best knowen to their honourable wisedomes. This honourable and mercifull Edict I am sure was streightly and religiously obserued of the English: But how well it was kept by the Dutch, I will nether affirme, nor yet denie. For I perceiue betweene them and the Spaniards, there is in implicable hartburning, and therefore as soone as the Dutch squadron was espied in the fight, immediatly thereupon both they of Siuil and S. Lucar and also some, of some other places, did not onely arrest all such Dutch ships, as delt with them friendly by the way of traffick and Marchandise, and so confiscated their goods, but also imprisoned the Marchants and Owners of the same, and, as the report goeth, did intreat many of them with extreame cruelty thereupon. In the meane while the very next day being the two and twenty day of Iune, all the Spanish shippes which were left on ground in the Bay of Cadiz, where the great ouerthrowe had beene but the day before, were by the Spaniards themselues there set on fire, and so from that time forward they neuer left burning of them, till euery one of them, goods and all, as farre as wee know were burnt and consumed. This their doing was much maruelled at of vs, and so much the more, for that, as I sayd before, there had bene made some offer for the redemption and sauing of the goods, and it was not to them vnknowen that this their offer was not misliked, but in all probabilitie should haue bene accepted. The common opinion was, that this was done either by the appointment of the Duke de Medina Sidonia, or els by expresse commandement from the higher powers.