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 plundered by the Spaniards, and prayed that he and Sir John, and his brother William Hawkins, might be allowed to make reprisals under the commission which they held from the Prince of Condé. Relating what had taken place in a way least prejudicial to themselves, Elizabeth, smarting under the great loss she had sustained through the failure of the expedition, listened eagerly to what they had to say, and was prepared to meet their wishes after hearing from the Bishop of Salisbury, whom she had consulted, that "God would be pleased to see the Spaniards plundered"—a theory which too generally then prevailed among all ranks of Protestants.

It was, however, no easy matter to accomplish. It would have been too monstrous an outrage to have openly seized any of the rich Spanish vessels which then lay in her ports, or to have fitted out a fleet for Hawkins, granting him liberty to plunder as many of them as he could catch in the Channel. Some other means must be devised as there was not sufficient pretext for wanton violence. It required grave consideration, for it would expose the Queen's government to reproach if any of the subjects of her "good ally" king Philip suffered wrong in English waters. While hesitating what to do, some English privateers, sailing under the flag of the Prince of Orange, and holding his letter of marque, brought into Plymouth Spanish and Portuguese prizes, with treasure on board said to be worth 200,000 ducats. The Spanish ambassador lodged a complaint with Elizabeth, and expressed his alarm for the safety of the large amount of treasure which was on board these vessels. Here an excellent opportunity pre