Afterwards it would be desirable, without wasting more time than was requisite, to return with a large portion of the invading force out of England, in order to complete the conquest of Holland.

For after all, England was to be subjugated only as a portion of one general scheme; the main features of which were the reannexation of Holland and "the islands," and the acquisition of unlimited control upon the seas.
Thus the invasion of England was no "scarecrow," as Wilford imagined, but a scheme already thoroughly matured.

If Holland and Zeeland should meantime fall into the hands of Philip, it was no exaggeration on that soldier's part to observe that the "freehold of England would be worth but little." To oppose this formidable array against the liberties of Europe stood Elizabeth Tudor and the Dutch Republic.

For the Queen, however arbitrary her nature, fitly embodied much of the nobler elements in the expanding English national character.

She felt instinctively that her reliance in the impending death-grapple was upon the popular principle, the national sentiment, both in her own country and in Holland.