New-York tribune., 1901-01-27

naval commender is it easy to deny him his
romantic fancy that it was upon him above al
others that brakes cloak fel-' The first Of the
passages have cited occurs at the beginning
of the book; the second is found toward its
close. Between them lies OF we'll
ranged detail which not only sheds light upon
the character of Essex, but explains to great
extent why he ACCOMPLISHED less than one would
like to place to the credit of successor Of
Drake. If Essex is disappointing. also i
Elizabeth: also is Burghley. also is the
whole spirit by which the naval policy OF Eng
land was controlled after brakes masterfuI soul
had taken flight Mr. Corbett rightly lays
stress upon the fact that Essex. Raleigh. We're
and Mountjoy, all conspicuous in the period of
which he treats. We're soldiers and handled the
navy accordingly; he sees in their handiwork
signs of that conception OF maritime and land
forces as interdependent to which the develop
ment Of English supremacy owes much. But
he cannot disguise the influences which darsened
the counsels of the commanders and retarded
for time the growth Of the navy. Elizabeth
and Burghley. both lovers of peace. indis-
posed to decide upon a farseeing campaign and
abide by it's issues with answering faith and
resolution Mr.. Corbett exhibited very plainly
In his earlier volumes the curious diplomacy of
that time. which enabled English sea rovery to
ravase the commerce of the King of Spain and
permitted that monarch to retaliate without any
declaration of war emanating from either Power.
Elizabeth had a canny way of smoothing over
these episodes. and while there diminu-
ton of the enmty between her and Philip from
the time of brakes death to her own. she seems
to have chung all along to her ambiguous meth
DDS. blowing now hot and cold. II Essex
and his comrades had been allowed to carry
their ideas of naval warfare to a logical concIu-
sion. England would have held doggedly to the
ont ftict and Qfv,
with another Instead OF this she carried on
each campaign a kind OF detached enterprise,
and in consequence the period traversed in this
volume not only witnessed few substantial Brit
ish gains. but kept the country on the defensive
and gave Spain heart of grace
The expedition to Cadz offers the salient IL
iustration 1t was needlessly delayed by the
anxiety of Elizabeth to first deal with the Span
iards at beeaguered Calais. In vain was the
calm sagacity Of Sir Francis We're put at the
service Of the distracted Court. He saw that the
wisest thing to do was to leave the French Khx
to dree his own weird with comparatively nt,ke
heip, and press on to the execution Of a great
design against Spain in her own waters The
queen did not know her own mind. or II she did
she changed 1T from day to day. Hence one
delay after another. and a confusion which was
only worse confounded by the chickering's OF the
commanders all Of trie1 capacity and each re-
When the ships were at last got under way and
Cadiz was occupied. under circumstances of
romantic valor the course OF Englands foreign
policy was again muddled Spain. profoundly
shaken. was also effectively warned for her own
good: she saw the wisdom of recovering herself
and was allowed to take all the necessary steps
to that end The fight went on sporadicaIly and
the sick. revengeful King was foiled in his er
forts to invade his enemy's country; but the
prime defect in the E.lizabethan policy was tr.t
II only foied him at great cost in blood shy,s
and treasure whereas with greater foresight ann
energy IT might have permanently crippled him
at the start.
MT Corbett does not hesitate to say that while
IL mas become a habit OF thought TO seek for the
FOUNDATIONS of the Empire in the EIizabethan
era the Queen and the ministers she trusted
were really the main obstacles to expansion He
couraSeously calls her THE first Little Eng
lander. 1t is. perhaps. her first title To honor
II she set her face against conquest deliberately
as fundamental factor of her policy" if was
because she knew that the country was not nre-
pared for it, Her first business was to make
sure OF the foundations of her realm at home
Posterity has ratified her decision and i'm tbe
last resort. the vacillations and lost chances or
the time covered by Mr. Corbett are reckonad an
their true value without involving auy deduc
tionS from her glory. But il the events of bisto-