Chapter LXVI: Section VI

_Account of the Relief of a part of the Spanish Armada, at Anstruther in Scotland, in 1588_[349].

However glorious and providential the defeat and destruction of the _Invincible Armada_, it does not belong to the present work to give a minute relation of that great national event. It seems peculiarly necessary and proper, however, in this work, to give a very curious unpublished record respecting the miserable fate of the Spanish armada, as written by a contemporary, the Reverend James Melville, minister of Anstruther, a sea-port town on the Fife, or northern, shore of the Frith of Forth.

[Footnote 349: From MS. Memoirs of James Melville, a contemporary.]

James Melville, who was born in 1556, and appears to have been inducted to the living of Anstruther only a short time before the year 1588, left a MS. history of his own life and times, extending to the year 1601. Of this curious unpublished historical document, there are several copies extant, particularly in the splendid library of the Faculty of Advocates, and in that belonging to the Writers to the Signet, both at Edinburgh. The present article is transcribed from a volume of MSS belonging to a private gentleman, communicated to the editor by a valued literary friend. It had formerly belonged to a respectable clergyman of Edinburgh, and has the following notice of its origin written by the person to whom it originally belonged.

"The following History of the Life of James Melville, was transcribed from an old MS. lent to me by Sir William Calderwood of Poltoun, one of the Judges of the Courts of Session and Justiciary, who had it among other papers that belonged to his grand-uncle, Mr David Calderwood, author of Altare Damascenum, History, &c."

This MS. so far as it contains the Life of James Melville, extends to 360 folio pages; of which the present article occupies about three pages, from near the bottom of p. 184. to nearly the same part of p. 187. The orthography seems to have been considerably modernized by the transcriber, but without changing the antiquated words and modes of expression. Such of these as appeared difficult to be understood by our English readers, are here explained between brackets.--E.

* * * * *

That winter, [1587-8] the King [James VI. of Scotland] was occupied in commenting of the Apocalyps, and in setting out sermons thereupon, against the papists and Spaniards; and yet, by a piece of great oversight, the papists practiced never more busily in this land, and [nor] made greater preparation for receiving of the Spaniards, nor [than] that year. For a long time, the news of a Spanish navy and army had been blazed abroad; and about the lambastyde of the year 1588, this island had found a fearful effect thereof, to the utter subversion both of kirk and policy, if God had not wonderfully watched over the same, and mightily foughen and defeat that army, by his souldiers the elements, which he made all four most fiercely till afflict them, till almost utter consumption. Terrible was the fear, peircing were the preachings, earnest zealous and fervent were the prayers, sounding were the sighs and sabs, and abounding were the tears, at that fast and general assembly keeped at Edinburgh, when the news were credibly told, sometimes of their landing at Dunbar, sometimes at St Andrews and in Tay, and now and then at Aberdeen and Cromerty firth: and, in very deed, as we knew certainly soon after, the Lord of armies, who rides upon the wings of the wind, the Keeper of his own Israel, was in the mean time convying that monstrous navy about our coasts, and directing their hulks and galliasses to the islands, rocks and sands, whereupon he had distinat their wrack and destruction.

For, within two or three moneths thereafter, early in the morning by break of day, one of our baillies[350] came to my bed side, saying, but not with fray [fear], "I have to tell you news, Sir: There is arrived within our harbour this morning, a shipfull of Spaniards, but not to give mercy; but to ask." And so shews me that the commander had landed, and he had commanded them to their ship again, and the Spaniards had humbly obeyed. He therefore desired me to rise and hear their petition with them. Up I got with diligence, and, assembling the honest men of the town, came to the tolbooth[351], and after consultation taken to hear them and what answer to make, there presented us a very venerable man of big stature, and grave and stout countenance, grey haired and very humble like, who, after much and very low courtesie, bowing down with his face near the ground, and touching my shoe with his hand, began his harangue in the Spanish tongue, whereof I understood the substance; and, I being about to answer in Latin, he having only a young man with him to be his interpreter, [who] began and told over again to us in good English.

[Footnote 350: The baillies of towns in Scotland are equivalent to aldermen in England. The author here refers to the town of Anstruther, a sea port town of Fife, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, of which he was minister. There are two Anstruthers, easter and wester, very near each other, and now separate parishes; but it does not appear to which of these the present historical document refers: Perhaps they were then one.--E.]

[Footnote 351: The town-house; but now generally applied to signify the prison, then, and even now, often attached to the town hall.--E.]

The sum was, That king Philip his master had rigged out a navy and army to land in England, for just causes to be avenged of many intollerable wrongs which he had received of that nation. But God, for their sins, had been against them, and by storm of weather had driven the navy _by_ [past] the coast of England, and him with certain captains, being the general of twenty hulks, upon an isle of Scotland called the Fair isle, where they had made shipwrack, and were, so many as had escaped the merciless seas and rocks, more nor [than] six or seven weeks suffered great hunger and cold, till conducting that bark out of Orkney, they were come hither as to their special friends and confederates, to kiss the kings majesties hand of Scotland, and herewith he _becked_ [bowed] even to the _yeard_ [ground]; and to find relief and comfort thereby to himself, these gentlemen, captains, and the poor souldiers, whose condition was for the present most miserable and pitiful.

I answered this much in sum, That, howbeit neither our friendship, which could not be great, seeing their king and they were friends to the greatest enemy of Christ, the pope of Rome, and our king and we defied him, nor yet their cause against our neighbours and special friends of England, could procure any benefit at our hands for their relief or comfort; nevertheless they should know by experience that we were men, and so moved by human compassion, and christians of better religion _nor_ [than] they, which should _kythe_ [appear manifest] in the fruits and effects plain contrary to theirs: For, whereas our people, resorting among them in peaceable and lawful affairs of merchandise, were violently taken and cast in prison, their goods and _gier_ [chattels] confiscate, and their bodies committed to the cruel flaming fire for the cause of religion, they should find nothing amongst us but Christian pity and works of mercy and alms, leaving to God to work in their hearts concerning religion as it pleased him. This being truly reported again to him by his townsmen, with great reverence he gave thanks and said, "He could not make answer for their _kirk_ [church], and the laws and order thereof, only for himself, that there were divers Scotsmen who knew him, and to whom he had shewn courtesy and favour at Calice[352], and as he supposed some of this same town of Anstruther."

[Footnote 352: _Calice_ in this passage, and _Calais_ in one subsequent, certainly means Cadiz in Spain; which to this day is often called _Cales_ by English mariners.--E.]

So [I] shewed him that the bailies had granted him licence, with the captains, to go to their lodging for their refreshment, but to none of their men to land, till the overlord of the town were advertised, and understood the kings majesties mind _anent_ [concerning] them. Thus with great courtesie he departed.

That night the _laird_ [lord of the manor] being advertised, came; and, on the morn, with a good number of the gentlemen of the countrey round about, gave the said general and the captains _presence_, [audience] and after the same speeches in effect as before, received them in his house, and suffered the souldiers to come a land and ly altogether to the number of thirteen score, for the most part young beardless men, _silly_, [weak] travelled, and hungered; to the which, one day or two _kail pottage_[353] and fish was given; for my advice was conform to the prophet Elizeus [Elisha] his to the king of Israel in Samaria, _Give them bread and water, &c._

[Footnote 353: A mess formerly much used in Scotland among the commons, being a kind of soup maigre, composed of _kail_, a species of greens or coleworts, boiled in water, and thickened with oat-meal, grits, or shelled barley.--E.]

The names of the commanders were Jan [Juan] Gomes de Medina, general of twenty hulks, captain Patricio, captain de Lagaretto, captain de Luffera, captain Mauretio, and Seingour Serrano. But verily all the while, my heart melted within me for desire of thankfulness to God, when I remembered the prideful and cruel natural temper of the people, and how they would have used us, in case they had landed with their forces among us, and the wonderful work of Gods mercy and justice in making us see them, the chief commanders of them, to make such due-gard [submission] and courtesie to poor seamen, and their souldiers, so abjectly, to beg alms at our doors and in our streets.

In the mean time, they knew not of the wrack of the rest, but supposed that the rest of the army was safely returned [to Spain,] till one day I got in St Andrews, in print, the wrack of the gallies in particular, with the names of the principal men, and how they were used, in Ireland and our Highlands, in Wales and other parts of England. The which, when I recorded to Jan Gomes, by particular and special names, he cried out for grief, _bursted and grat_ [burst into tears.] This Jan Gomes shewed great kindness to a ship of our town, which he found arriested at _Calais_[354] at home coming, _rode_[355] to court for her, and made great _russe_ [praise] of Scotland to his king, took the honest men to his house, and inquired for the laird of Anstruther, for the minister, and his host, and sent home many commendations: But we thanked God in our hearts, that we had seen them in that form.

[Footnote 354: This must signify Cadiz, as mentioned before.--E.]

[Footnote 355: Perhaps ought to have been _wrote_.--E.]