The San Mateo,
which was one of those that grounded between Ostend and Sluys,
fought to the last, and kept Francis Vere's three ships at bay for
two hours, until she was at last carried by boarding.
Left to themselves at the end of the day, the Spaniards gathered
in what order they could, and made sail for the north. On counting
the losses they found that four thousand men had been killed or
drowned, and the number of wounded must have been far greater. The
crews were utterly worn out and exhausted. They had the day before
been kept at work cleaning and refitting, and the fireships had
disturbed them early in the night. During the engagement there had
been no time to serve out food, and the labours of the long struggle
had completely exhausted them. Worst of all, they were utterly
disheartened by the day's fighting. They had been pounded by their
active foes, who fired five shots to their one, and whose vessels
sailed round and round them, while they themselves had inflicted
no damage that they could perceive upon their assailants.
The English admirals had no idea of the extent of the victory they
had won. Howard, who had only come up in the middle of the fight,
believed that they "were still wonderful great and strong," while
even Drake, who saw more clearly how much they had suffered,
only ventured to hope that some days at least would elapse before
they could join hands with Parma.
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