The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-07-12
A Story of the
Spanish Armada
BY ELINOR MARSH

clear, peachy Irish complexion, Will
the children were brunettes. remark
ed to the farmer upon this dark ski
of his children, whereupon he told m
that there was Spanish blood In thei
veins. Going to a desk, he took out
manuscript and handed 1t to me.
was written In a woman's hand OF
parchment and evidently was very old
was sufficiently interested In 1t I,
take copy Of It. Here it is:
IL was midsummer. 1888, when on,
morning l was picking berries in tn,
field and stopped to rest. Looking ou
over the bay, saw ship. Scattered
here and there far and near were othel
ships. One of them was so close tc
the shore that could see the standard
she bore, and 1t was a strange one
The ship, which was large one and
with portfolios for guns, was coming
into the harbor. Her foremost was
gone, and what sails she carried were
In tatters.
This was the year of the famous
Spanish armada. We in the north of
Ireland had heard something about the
Spaniards intending to invade Eng
land, but we get little news from a
land SO far away. and we had not
heard that they had sailed up the Eng
ush channel; that there had been a
running fight; that many Of the Span
fish ships had been wrecked In storm,
that the rest, cut off from returning to
Spain over the course they had come,
had sailed to the northward of the
Orkney islands and were coming
southwark around the west coast of
Ireland to get back home.
This ship saw came into port evil
IDENTIFY in distress. We had no means
of defending ourselves. Indeed, we
needed no defense. for the ship came
in only to make such repairs as might
enable her to make the voyage back
to Spain.
l went down to the shore, where
watched a boat coming from the ship.
1t landed near where / stood, and the
sailors carried a man wrapped In blan-
kets on to the beach and laid him on
the sand The sun was shining, and
the sand was warm and not hard to lie
upon. The sailors left the man. re-
turned to their boat and pulled back
to the ship.
went to the man and looked down
upon him. His eyes were closed; but,
hearing me, he opened them. He was
no doubt very Ill or much reduced from
exposure. He spoke a little English
and told me that he had been wound
ed fighting In the English channel. The |
rolling Of the ship greatly injured |
him, and he had begged his COM
rades to take him ashore. If not res
cued by some landsman he would pre-
fer to die there rather than on ship |
board
He seemed greatly relieved to be ~
Ing where he was, so left him to 60
to the house and tell father and mother
about him. l took back to him some
milk, which he drank and seemed to
relish. Father was not minded to save
4 hated Spaniard from death, but at
last prevailed upon him to go with
me to the stranger, and when father
saw him and that he was very young
md well favored he would have car
lied him to the house, but the invalid
preferred to remain where he was so
ong as the sun shone upon him. and
he breeze famed his cheek. :
But when evening came he was re-
moved to our house, where gave him
ome bread and honey for supper, and
lie was laid upon bed and at once fell
nto a sleep from which he did not !.
lwaken till the next day at noon. The
irst question he asked was whether
he ship that had brought him had v
allied, and when told that 1t had he
vas much cast down, for he said that
le felt much stronger and would have
eturned to Spain in her.
These things he communicated part
Y In English words and partly by
igns. Nc one except myself could I'M n
erstand him, so whenever he wished [
. communicate anything he did 1t n
trough me. / nursed him and prepar- O
d his meals for him. and he would Il
OF permit any one else to do anything &
Or him. 8,
By the time he had recovered a =
panish ship that had been wrecked, n
ut had been repaired, was ready to +
Ill for Spain, and the Spaniard sent !,
ord to her commander that he would :,
D with him as one of the crew. A :
pat was sent for him. and he babe
oodby to father and mother and the
lildren. | went with him to the place
here the boat was waiting for him.
ut we never reached it Looking
,wn from an eminence upon the boat
tried to permit him to go to 1t. but
'uld not, nor could he leave me. We
manned where we were. and when
e night was coming on the sailors
He'd away and left Is.
I have written this that my children
ID my children's children may know
w 1t came about that the blood of
,ain and Ireland was mingled in
EN- at the time of the great armada.
' husband has long ago renowned ,
) allegiance TO the king Of Spain and
now a lawful subject OF King James ,
,e thing has tended TO balance the t,
ference in blood-we are both OF the =
me religion. being OF the true and
~ Catholic church.
rhe farmer told me that the narrator
the episode was his grandmother
.rr .xornros 4orr hooE The oNxnr5rC T