slain.  In some places the ground rose up, the cliffs were removed from their places, and even some hills were thrown down and levelled with the adjoining plains.  The earthquake was so violent, that the ships in the road and in the adjoining sea, were shaken as if the whole earth had been agitated to its centre.  In one place a fountain sprung from the ground, whence clear water flowed in abundance for four days, and then ceased.  All this time a noise was heard under ground as of thunder, or as if all the devils in hell had been assembled there, by which many died of fear.  Four several times the island of Tercera shook with such violence as if it had turned upon its foundations, yet was it not overwhelmed.  Earthquakes are common in these islands, as about 20 years before there happened just such an earthquake, when a hill, close to the town of Villa Franca, fell down and buried all the town with earth, by which many people were overwhelmed and slain.

The 25th of August, the kings armada from Ferrol arrived in Tercera, consisting of 30 ships of war belonging to Biscay, Portugal, and Spain, together with 10 Dutch fliboats that were pressed at Lisbon into the service, besides other small vessels and pataxos to serve as advice-boats, and to scour the seas for intelligence.  This fleet came to wait for and convoy the ships from the Spanish Indies; and the fliboats were for the purpose of bringing home to Lisbon our goods that were saved in the lost ship from Malacca.  This fleet arrived at the island of Corvo on the 13th of September[385], where the English then lay waiting for the fleet from the Spanish Indies, with a squadron of about 16 ships.  Some or most of the Spanish ships were already come to the Azores, and the English were in great hopes to have taken them:  But, on perceiving the Spanish fleet of war to be so strong, the lord Thomas Howard, who was admiral of the English, gave orders to his fleet not to assail the Spaniards, and on no account to separate from him without special orders[386].  Yet the vice-admiral, Sir Richard Grenville, in his ship the Revenge, bore into the Spanish fleet, and shot among them doing much harm, thinking that the rest of the English ships would have followed him, which they did not, but left him there and sailed away, the reason of which could not be known.  Perceiving this, the Spaniards boarded the Revenge with 7 or 8 ships, but she bravely withstood them all, fighting with them at the least 12 hours without ceasing, and sunk two of them, one a double fliboat of 600 tons, and admiral of the fliboats, the other a ship of Biscay.  In the end, however, in consequence of the overwhelming number that came against her, the Revenge was taken, but to the heavy loss of the Spaniards, who lost in the fight, either slain or drowned, above 400 men, while 100 of the English were slain.  Sir Richard was himself wounded in the brain, of which he afterwards died.

[Footnote 385:  It is probable, from this date, that the arrival of the fleet at Tercera on the 25th August, as above, is an error; and that it only then left Ferrol; on its voyage for Tercera.—­E.]