The Earl of Leicester shortly afterwards resigned his appointment as
general of the army. He had got on but badly with the States-General,
and there was from the first no cordial cooperation between the two
armies. The force at his disposal was never strong enough to do
anything against the vastly superior armies of the Duke of Parma, who
was one of the most brilliant generals of his age, while he was
hampered and thwarted by the intrigues and duplicity of Elizabeth, who
was constantly engaged in half-hearted negotiations now with France and
now with Spain, and whose capricious temper was continually
overthrowing the best-laid plans of her councillors and paralysing the
actions of her commanders. It was not until she saw her kingdom
threatened by invasion that she placed herself fairly at the head of
the national movement, and inspired her subjects with her energy and
determination.
Geoffrey Vickars had been somewhat severely wounded upon the last day
of the struggle in the cellar, a Spanish officer having beaten down his
guard and cleft through his morion.
Pages:
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161