In Europe the news of this fleet, following upon the news of the
Spanish Admiral's defeat at Maracaybo, produced something of a
sensation. Spain and England were variously and unpleasantly
exercised, and if you care to turn up the diplomatic correspondence
exchanged on the subject, you will find that it is considerable
and not always amiable.
And meanwhile in the Caribbean, the Spanish Admiral Don Miguel de
Espinosa might be said - to use a term not yet invented in his
day - to have run amok. The disgrace into which he had fallen as
a result of the disasters suffered at the hands of Captain Blood
had driven the Admiral all but mad. It is impossible, if we
impose our minds impartially, to withhold a certain sympathy from
Don Miguel. Hate was now this unfortunate man's daily bread, and
the hope of vengeance an obsession to his mind. As a madman he
went raging up and down the Caribbean seeking his enemy, and in
the meantime, as an hors d'oeuvre to his vindictive appetite, he
fell upon any ship of England or of France that loomed above his
horizon.
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