In 1588, when the Spanish Armada appeared outside the Bay, there was great excitement in the neighbourhood of Torbay, which grew into frenzy when the first capture was towed in.  The Rosario, or, to give her the full name, Nuestra Senora del Rosario, was a fine galleon manned by 450 men and many gallant officers.  She was the capitana, or flagship, of the squadron commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez, who had seen much service in the West Indies and who, because of his special knowledge of the English Channel, was of great importance in the council of the Armada.  He was a bold, skilful leader, very different from the Commander-in-Chief, and as his ship formed one of the rearguard he took an early part in the fight with the pursuing English.  He was badly mauled, losing his foremast and suffering worse by fouling two ships, one of his own squadron, the other a Biscayan; all three were damaged.  He demanded assistance of Medina Sidonia, but the weather was rough and the Duke refused.  In the darkness the Rosario drove off one or two English attempts to cut her off, but Drake himself in the famous Revenge lay alongside and called upon Valdez to surrender.  His reply was a demand for honourable terms, to which Drake answered that he had no time for parley—­the Spanish commander must come aboard at once or he would rake her.  The name of Drake (El Draque, the Dragon) was enough for the Spaniard, and Valdez, in handing over his sword, took credit to himself that he yielded to the most famous captain of his day.  Drake in reply promised good treatment and all the lives of the crew, a thing by no means usual, as can be guessed by the remark of the disgusted Sheriff, when so many prisoners were handed over at Torbay; he wished “the Spaniards had been made into water-spaniels.”  Drake sent the Roebuck to see the ship safely into Torbay, where she was left in charge of the Brixham fishermen, her powder being secured at once and sent by the quickest of the fishing-boats to our own ships, at that moment badly in need of it.  The prisoners were taken round to Torbay, where they were lodged in a building ever afterwards known as the “Spanish barn.”

[Illustration:  STATUE OF WILLIAM, PRINCE OF ORANGE, BRIXHAM, ERECTED ON THE SPOT WHERE HE LANDED.]

In 1601 the first squadron organised by the East India Company sailed from Torbay, and in 1667 the Dutch fleet, commanded by De Ruyter, paid the Bay a brief but not a friendly visit, doing some damage.  In 1688 another fleet appeared—­this time a friendly one, for it brought William, Prince of Orange, who had been invited to occupy the English throne abdicated by James II.  We were informed that when his ship approached the shore he spoke to the people assembled there in broken English—­very broken—­saying, “Mine goot people, mine goot people, I mean you goot; I am come here for your goot, for your goots,” and suggested that if they were willing to welcome him they should