Stories of the Sea Told by Sailors Author:Edward Everett Hale Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. THE SPANISH ARMADA. " T TNCLE FRITZ, when you used to go to school LJ did the boys ' speak a piece' in which 1t said, ' Tell them how Spain sent fo... more »rth a nation over the deep, and England and the elements overwhelmed it' ? " " To be sure," said the old gentleman ; " I do not know but I have ' spoken' it ten times myself, — I have heard it a hundred. I could repeat it now, merely from the hearing it." And he struck a theatrical attitude. Clem Waters said he always thought he could have managed that about "the elements" better; that if you were to brag, you had better brag squarely, — that modest bragging was impossible. And the boys fell to trying to adjust the speech so as to tell the truth and yet preserve a good face on the matter. But Uncle Fritz asked what set Bob to ask about it. " Oh, because, we found in Hakluyt all about the Armada, and it is just splendid. It tells how they all pounded away, piece by piece, Hawkins. Drake, Lord Howard, and all the rest of them." " Hawkins is your grandfather's great-grandfather's great-grandfather, Sybil; do you know that ?" said Mr. Ingham. Sybil blushed, and said "No," that she did not know much about genealogy. " Yes," §aid Mr. Ingham, " there is a good deal ot the old sea-dog's blood in New England. He inventedthe slave-trade, and Queen Elizabeth knighted him for it. She permitted him to take for his device a blackamore chained, and three gold bezants They were for the money he brought England by this valuable business." Sybil shuddered, and said she was glad she was so far away from the old pirate. "And so am I," said Col. Ingham. " We have fallen on better days. But I can remember the year when the last ship sailed in that horrid business; it was not till near the end of our war here. But, boys,"...« less