Raleigh took a great interest in these estates, so perhaps it was not altogether a hardship to him, finding himself out of favor with his Queen, to go to Ireland for a time.  And although they had known each other before, it was then that his friendship with Spenser began.  Spenser read his Faery Queen to Raleigh, and perhaps Raleigh read to Spenser his poem Cynthia written in honor of Queen Elizabeth.  But of that poem nearly all has been lost.  Elizabeth was not as yet very angry with Raleigh, still he felt the loss of her favor, for Spenser tells us:—­

    “His song was all a lamentable lay,
    Of great unkindness and of usage hard,
    Of Cynthia, the Lady of the Sea,
    Which from her presence faultless him debarred. 
    And ever and anon with singults* rife,
    He cried out, to make his undersong,
    ’Ah! my love’s Queen, and goddess of my life,
    Who shall me pity when thou doest me wrong?’"**

    Sobs.
    *"Colin Clout’s come home again.”

But Raleigh soon decided to return to court, and persuaded Spenser

    “To wend with him his Cynthia to see,
    Whose grace was great and bounty most rewardful"*

    Colin Clout.

You know how Spenser was received and how he fared.  But Raleigh himself after he had introduced his friend did not stay long at court.  Quarrels with his rivals soon drove him forth again.

It was soon after this that he published the first writing which gives him a claim to the name of author.  This was an account of the fight between a little ship called the Revenge and a Spanish fleet.  Although with the destruction of the Invincible Armada the sea power of Spain had been crippled, it had not been utterly broken, and still whenever Spanish and English ships met on the seas, there was sure to be battle.  It being known that a fleet of Spanish treasure-ships would pass the Azores, islands in the mid-Atlantic, a fleet of English ships under Lord Thomas Howard was sent to attack them.  But the English ships had to wait so long at the Azores for the coming of the Spanish fleet that the news of the intended attack reached Spain, and the Spaniards sent a strong fleet to help and protect their treasure-ships.  The English in turn hearing of this sent a swift little boat to warn Lord Thomas.  The warning arrived almost too late.  Many of the Englishmen were sick and ashore, and before all could be gathered the fleet of fifty-three great Spanish ships was upon them.  Still Lord Thomas managed to slip away.  Only the last ship, the Revenge, commanded by the Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Grenville, lost the wind and was caught between two great squadrons of the Spanish.  Whereupon Sir Richard “was persuaded,” Sir Walter says, “by the Master and others to cut his main-sail, and cast about, and to trust to the sailing of the ship. . . .  But Sir Richard utterly refused to turn from the enemy, alleging that he would rather choose to die, than to dishonour himself, his country, and her Majesty’s ship, persuading his company that he would pass through the two squadrons, in despite of them.”