There were on board 8000 sailors, 19,000 soldiers, 1000 gentlemen
volunteers, 600 priests, servants, and miscellaneous officers, and
2000 galley slaves. This was indeed a tremendous array to meet the
fleet lying off Plymouth, consisting of 29 queen's ships of all
sizes, 10 small vessels belonging to Lord Howard and members of
his family, and 43 privateers between 40 and 400 tons under Drake,
the united crews amounting to something over 9000 men.
The winter had passed pleasantly to Geoffrey and Lionel Vickars;
the earl had taken a great fancy to them, and they had stayed for
some time in London as members of his suite. When the spring came
they had spoken about rejoining Francis Vere in Holland, but the
earl had said that there was little doing there. The enmity excited
by the conduct of Elizabeth prevented any cooperation between the
Dutch and English; and indeed the English force was reduced to
such straits by the refusal of the queen to furnish money for their
pay, or to provide funds for even absolute necessaries, that it
was wholly incapable of taking the field, and large numbers of the
men returned to England.
Had this treatment of her soldiers and sailors at the time when such
peril threatened their country been occasioned by want of funds,
some excuse would have been possible for the conduct of Elizabeth;
but at the time there were large sums lying in the treasury, and
it was parsimony and not incapacity to pay that actuated Elizabeth
in the course she pursued.
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