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 PUBLISHED BY Ol/iVLL i B0YD,?:niN3UR.GrH. 
 
LIFE 
 
 or 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 RALEIGb’s BEAL OF OrFICE. 
 
 OLIVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH. 
 

 LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH: 
 
 FOUNDED ON 
 
 AUTHENTIC AND ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS, 
 
 SOME OF THEM NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED : 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 A VIEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TRANSACTIONS 
 IN THE REIGNS OF 
 
 ELIZABETH AND JAMES I. ; 
 
 SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 BURLEIGH, ESSEX, SECRETARY CECIL, SIDNEY, 
 SPENSER, 
 
 AND OTHER EMINENT CONTEMPORARIES *. 
 
 WITH A 
 
 VINDICATION OF HIS CHARACTER FROM THE ATTACKS OF 
 HUME AND OTHER WRITERS. 
 
 BY PATRICK FRASER TYTLER, ESQ. 
 
 F. R. S. AND F. S. A. 
 
 WITH PORTRAITS, SEALS, AND AUTOGRAPHS, BY HORSBURGH, JACKSON, 
 AND BRUCE. 
 
 THIRD EDITION, IMPROVED. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 OLIVER & BOYD, TVTEEDDALE COURT; 
 AND SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., LONDON. 
 MDCCCXL. 
 
ENTERED IN STATIONERS HALL. 
 
 Printed by Oliver & Boyd, 
 Tweeddale Court, High Street, Edinburgh. 
 
CAP 
 
 B. 
 
 ^, / 6 3 i"y 
 
 I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 I TRUST it will not be deemed presumptuous when I 
 express a hope that this Life will be found the most 
 authentic account of Sir Walter Raleigh which has 
 yet been given to the Public. This is said not only with 
 respect, but with gratitude for the labours of my prede- 
 cessors, Oldys, Birch, Cayley, and latterly Mrs Thomson, 
 whose Appendix of original letters, although undervalued 
 by herself, has assisted me in tracing to its real authors 
 that extraordinary conspiracy against Raleigh, which 
 ultimately brought him to the scaffold. 
 
 But whilst I acknowledge these obligations, I must 
 add that in none of these works, so far as I can judge, 
 has full justice been done to Raleigh. The mistakes and 
 aspersions of Hume, and other writers, have been suffered 
 (except by Cayley) to pass unnoticed ; the secret history 
 of his offences, his trial, and condemnation, has been 
 abandoned as obscure and unintelligible ; his famous 
 and fatal Guianian voyage has been misunderstood ; and 
 the gross charges against his honour and veracity, have 
 neither been sufficiently examined, nor their falsehood 
 exposed. To supply these defects and omissions, to inves- 
 
6 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 tigate with care, and determine with truth and clearness, 
 the history and character of an extraordinary man, who 
 perhaps more than any other of his age, combined pro- 
 found views with practical knowledge and activity, has 
 been my object in the present work. I have endeavoured 
 also to surround him with groups of his most eminent 
 contemporaries, and, at the same time, to introduce into 
 this biographical picture a fuller account than is to be 
 found in our general historians, of those great political 
 events in the reign of Elizabeth, in which he was a prin- 
 cipal actor. 
 
 In accomplishing this, the reader will perceive by the 
 references in the text, and by the documents in the 
 Appendix, that I have consulted some of Raleigh’s manu- 
 scripts in the British Museum, and through the permission 
 of Lord Melbourne, which I gratefully acknowledge, have 
 taken various extracts from' original letters and journals 
 preserved in His Majesty’s State-paper Office. I beg also 
 to notice the courtesy of Mr Lemon and Mr Lechmere, 
 who, although trammelled by strict official rules, showed 
 every disposition to facilitate my researches. For the 
 purposes of history and biography, these stores of original 
 materials cannot perhaps be too highly appreciated, as 
 may be seen by the interesting details which have been 
 derived from this source alone, in the account I have 
 given of the invasion of England by the Spanish Armada. 
 In truth, such materials are the only legitimate bases 
 on which all history must be founded ; and until not 
 only these, but all our national papers and muniments, 
 are made accessible to the public, no perfect History of 
 England can be written. May we hope that by the 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 7 
 
 labours of the New Record Commission, the freedom of 
 consultation and transcription will be at length estab- 
 lished, not only in the State-paper Office, but in the 
 other great collections of the kingdom, many of which, 
 as they at present exist, are not so much the repositories 
 as the cemeteries of our national records. 
 
 Torquay, Devonshire, 
 
 December 15 , 1832 . 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth to his settlement of Virginia. 
 
 Birth of Raleigh — Early Education — Sent to Oriel College, 
 Oxford — Passes over to the War in France — State of that 
 Kingdom— His Return to England — Goes to the Netherlands 
 — Serves as a Volunteer under Sir John Norris — His Enthu- 
 siasm for Navigation — Embarks in the Expedition of his 
 Brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, to America — Its Failure — 
 Raleigh engages in the War in Ireland — State of that Country 
 — His eminent Services there — He returns to England — ■ 
 Court of Queen Elizabeth — Character of Burleigh — Of Lei- 
 cester — Of Sussex— Of Sir Philip Sidney — First Introduction 
 to the Queen — Dispute with Lord Grey — Increases in Favour 
 at Court — Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Second Voyage of Dis- 
 covery — Raleigh’s deep Interest in it — ’Its disastrous Issue 
 — Raleigh perseveres in his Schemes — He fits out two Ships 
 — The Voyage — Discovery of the Island Wokokon and Coast 
 of North Carolina— Return to England — The Queen calls the 
 Country Virginia — Raleigh knighted — He sends a Fleet to 
 Virginia under Sir Richard Grenville — Settlement of Virginia 
 ■ — Difficulties of the infant Colony — Introduction of Tobacco 
 
10 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 into England by Raleigh — Raleigh’s Irish Estate — Spenser 
 the Poet — Raleigh sends a new Fleet under Governor White 
 to Virginia, Page 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA TO RALEIGH’s IMPRISONMENT. 
 
 Expected Invasion of England by the Spanish Armada — 
 Conduct of Elizabeth — Consultations with Sir Walter Raleigh 
 and other experienced Officers — Preparations for Defence — 
 Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, and Lord Henry Seymour — 
 Strength, Numbers, and Disposition of the English Navy, 
 shown from Original Documents in the State-paper Office — 
 Ehzabeth visits the Army in the Camp at Tilbury — The Ar- 
 mada sails from the Tagus— Dispersed and driven back— 
 Sails the Second Time — Its Arrival off the Lizard — Cautious 
 Tactics of the English — Their Success— Fight on the 22d, 
 23d, 25th, and 26th July — The Armada makes its Way up 
 Qiannel to Calais — Its Discomfiture — Rejoicings for the Vic- 
 tory — Raleigh’s Services rewarded by the Queen— He sails 
 with Drake and Norris in the Portuguese Expedition— Cha- 
 racter of the Earl of Essex — Raleigh’s Journey to Ireland — 
 Visits Spenser at Kilcolman — Their Friendship — First Three 
 Cantos of the Fairy Queen completed — Spenser returns with 
 Raleigh to England — Introduced to the Queen — Raleigh’s 
 Defence of Sir Richard Grenville— Character and Fate of 
 this great Officer — Raleigh’s Amour with Elizabeth Throg- 
 morton — They are privately married — Elizabeth’s Indigna- 
 tion, and Raleigh’s Disgrace— Sent to the Tower— Singular 
 Conduct in Confinement— He recovers his Liberty, 67 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 11 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 Raleigh chosen a Member of the Parliament — Importance of 
 the Period — Philip resolves to make a second Attempt for 
 the Destruction of England — Speech of Lord Burleigh — Ra- 
 leigh’s Plans for the Defence of England — He obtains a Grant 
 of Sherborne in Dorsetshire — Becomes a Planter and Horti- 
 culturist — His Project for the Discovery and Conquest of 
 Guiana — 'Resolves to conduct the Enterprise in Person — Fits 
 out a Fleet — Sails from Plymouth in 1595 — Arrives at Trini- 
 dad — Expedition up the Orinoco — Description of the People 
 and the Country — They enter the Plains of Saima — Penetrate 
 to the Province of Aromaia — Forced to return — Arrive at 
 Wincapora — Return to Trinidad — Description of the Country 
 — Ungenerously treated — Raleigh’s Dedication of his Discov- 
 ery of Guiana to the Lord-admiral Howard and Secretary 
 Cecil — Second Voyage under Captain Keymis — Researches 
 into the Country, and Return to England — He finds Raleigh 
 absent on the Cadiz Expedition — Account of this Enterprise 
 —Return of the Fleet — Encomiums on the Ability of Raleigh 
 — The Queen retains her Resentment — Essex’s Displeasure at 
 the Preferment of Sir Robert Cecil — Character of Elizabeth — 
 Character of Cecil — Raleigh sends Captain Berrie in a Ship 
 of his own to Guiana — His Return to England, Page 123 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour to the fall of 
 
 ESSEX. 
 
 Raleigh effects a Reconciliation between Cecil and Essex, and 
 is himself restored to Favour — Designs of Philip II. — Eliza- 
 
12 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 beth’s Preparations against him — The Island-voyage — Ra- 
 leigh appointed Rear-admiral — He takes Fayal— Disputes 
 with Essex — Their Reconciliation— Inexperience of Essex — 
 A large Carrack destroyed by Raleigh — Philip’s third Fleet 
 intended for the Invasion of England is dispersed by a Storm 
 ■ — Essex returns to England — Elizabeth receives him with 
 Reproaches — Decline of his Favour — Critical Circumstances 
 of the Country — Cecil’s Mission to France— Cecil and Lord 
 Burleigh advise a Peace with Spain — Essex violently opposes 
 it — Rivalry of Raleigh and Essex — Their Splendour— State 
 of Ireland — Essex’s Quarrel with the Queen — Plot of Cecil 
 ■ — Essex appointed to the Government of Ireland — His In- 
 activity— His Letters— The Queen’s severe Answers — Essex’s 
 sudden Return to England— His Reception— Trial and Con- 
 demnation — Relative Position of Cecil and Raleigh— Contrast 
 between their Characters — Superior Address of Cecil — His 
 Correspondence with James, King of Scots — Raleigh retires 
 for a short Season to Sherborne — His Employments — Mission 
 to Boulogne — Elizabeth’s Passion for tall and handsome Ser- 
 vants— Anecdote illustrative of this — Raleigh’s magnificent 
 Taste in Dress and Equipage — Queen’s Progresses — Taste of 
 the Times for solemn Masques and Pageants— Elizabeth’s 
 Passion for Hunting — Her Love of Display — Elizabeth’s Re- 
 ception of the Marshal Biron at Basing, Page 160 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament to the trial of raleigh. 
 
 Elizabeth opens her last Parliament— Raleigh returned a Mem- 
 ber — His Conduct in Parliament — Opposes the Bill making 
 it compulsory to sow Hemp— Debate on voting a Subsidy — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 13 
 
 Subserviency of Cecil and Bacon— Raleigh’s Reply to their 
 Speeches — Great Debate on Monopolies — Singular Speech of 
 Secretary Cecil — His -Condemnation of all Discussion without 
 the Walls of Parliament— Pirates of Dunkirk — Debate on 
 the Transport of Ordnance without the Kingdom— Raleigh’s 
 excellent Observations upon this Subject — Debates on the 
 Statute of Tillage— Raleigh argues for the Removal of all 
 Restrictions on Agriculture — Evident Decay of the Intimacy 
 between Cecil and Raleigh— Amusing Parliamentary Anec- 
 dote — A‘^ No” pulled out by the Sleeve — Style of Parliament- 
 ary Speaking— Elizabeth’s last Speech to the Deputation of 
 the House of Commons — Raleigh sells his Irish Estate to the 
 Earl of Cork— Character of this remarkable Man — Last Ill- 
 ness of Elizabeth— Her Death— Accession of James— Raleigh 
 treated with Coldness and Neglect — Contrast between the 
 Character of the King and that of Raleigh— Cecil’s secret 
 Correspondence with James — He is appointed his Secretary 
 and Prime Minister— Raleigh deprived of his Office of Captain 
 of the King’s Guard, and of his Patent of Wines — Involved 
 in an Accusation of Treason — History of this mysterious 
 Transaction— Raleigh’s Trial — Observations upon it — The 
 whole Conspiracy regarding Arabella Stewart a Fiction— The 
 Plot against Raleigh to be traced to Secretary Cecil, Page 209 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement in the tower to his 
 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 Extraordinary Pageant of an Execution in the Case of Mark- 
 ham and the Lords Grey and Cobham— Said to be the In- 
 vention of the King — Raleigh is reprieved and confined in the 
 
14 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Tower — Reflections on his Character at this Period — His 
 Pursuits in the Tower — His History of the World — His 
 Chemical Studies — Lady Raleigh shares his Confinement — 
 His Son Carew born in the Tower — His Estate of Sherborne 
 given to the Favourite Carr, Earl of Somerset — Raleigh’s 
 Correspondence and Friendship with Prince Henry — His 
 various Writings addressed to this Prince — On War — On 
 the Naval Power of England — On the Match with Savoy — 
 Death of Prince Henry — Raleigh’s Sorrow at this Event — 
 His History of the World — ^Criticism upon this great Work 
 — ^Death of Secretary Cecil — Raleigh’s Epitaph on this States- 
 man — He regains his Liberty — Scheme for the Settlement of 
 Guiana — Remonstrances of the Spanish Court — Character of 
 Gondomar — Account of the Expedition— Its unfortunate Is- 
 sue — Raleigh’s Return to England — Proclamation against 
 him — Inveteracy of the Spanish Government — James’s Re- 
 solution to sacrifice him — Raleigh’s Attempt to Escape — 
 Betrayed by Stukely and Manourie — Recommitted to the 
 Tower — His Examination by the Commissioners — His Em- 
 ployments in Prison — Difficulties attending the Mode of ex- 
 ecuting the former Sentence — His Behaviour on the Scaffold 
 — His Death — Reflections on his Character, Page 263 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A. Raleigh’s Account of Guiana defended — B. Club at the 
 Mermaid — C. Raleigh’s alleged Attempt to stab himself — 
 D. Hume’s Errors in his Account of Raleigh— E. Cecil’s 
 Enmity to Raleigh— F. Raleigh’s Plot — Its Origin and Se- 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 ]5 
 
 cret History — G. Errors of Mr D’Israeli — H. Raleigh and 
 the French Agent — Extracts from the Manuscripts in the 
 State-paper Office — I. Raleigh in the Tower — His Unpub- 
 lished Manuscripts — Hampden — K. Inventory of Raleigh’s 
 Jewels and Trinkets, from State-paper Office— L. Portrait 
 of Raleigh, Page 37 3 
 
ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh. Engraved by Horsburgh. 
 The Original in Granger’s time was at West Wickham, in 
 Kent . — To face the Vignette. 
 
 Vignette — Raleigh’s Seal of Office. Engraved by Jackson. 
 
 The Original is in the possession of Mr Cayley. 
 
 Portrait of Lord Burleigh. Engraved by Jackson. The Ori- 
 ginal in Granger’s time was in the possession of the Earl of 
 
 Burlington, Page 30 
 
 Seal of Lord Burleigh, and Autograph. Engraved by Bruce, 66 
 Portrait of Spenser. Engraved by Jackson. From Vertue’s 
 
 Print, 103 
 
 Private Seal of Raleigh, and Autograph. Engraved by 
 
 Bruce, 159 
 
 Portrait of the Earl of Essex. Engraved by J ackson. The 
 Original in Granger’s time was in the Collection of Sir 
 
 Robert Worsley, 188 
 
 Essex’s Seal and Autograph. Engraved by Bruce, 208 
 
 Portrait of Raleigh as he walked at the Funeral of Queen 
 Elizabeth. Engraved by Bruce. From the Monumenta 
 Vetusta^ vol. iii. plate 24. The Original is supposed to 
 be a Drawing of Camden’s, 262 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 From RaleigFs Birth to his Settlement of Virginia, 
 
 Birth of Raleigh — Early Education — Sent to Oriel College, 
 Oxford — Passes over to the War in France — ^State of that 
 Kingdom — His Return to England — Goes to the Netherlands 
 — Serves as a Volunteer under Sir John Norris — His Enthu- 
 siasm for Navigation — Embarks in the Expedition of his 
 Brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, to America — Its Failure — 
 Raleigh engages in the War in Ireland — State of that Country 
 — His eminent Services there — He returns to England — 
 Court of Queen Elizabeth — Character of Burleigh^ — Of Lei- 
 cester — Of Sussex — Of Sir Philip Sidney — First Introduction 
 to the Queeij^— Dispute with Lord Grey — Increases in Favour 
 at Court — Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Second Voyage of Dis- 
 covery — Raleigh’s deep Interest in it — -Its disastrous Issue 
 — Raleigh perseveres in his Schemes — He fits out two Ships 
 — The Voyage — Discovery of the Island Wokokon and Coast 
 of North Carolina — Return to England — The Queen calls the 
 Country Virginia — Raleigh knighted — He sends a Fleet to 
 Virginia under Sir Richard Grenville — Settlement of Virginia 
 — Difficulties of the infant Colony — Introduction of Tobacco 
 into England by Raleigh — Raleigh’s Irish Estate — Spenser 
 the Poet — Raleigh sends a new Fleet under Governor White 
 to Virginia. 
 
 Few subjects of biography present greater attractions 
 than the life of Sir Walter Raleigh. As a statesman, 
 a soldier, a navigator, and a writer of original and varied 
 genius, he is connected with all that is interesting in 
 
 A 
 
18 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 perhaps the most interesting period of English history, — 
 the reign of Elizabeth ; and so much was he the child of 
 enterprise and the sport of vicissitude, that he who sits 
 down to write his life, finds himself, without departing 
 from the severe simplicity of truth, surrounded with 
 lights almost as glowing as those of romance. 
 
 The family of Raleigh was one of ancient gentility, 
 though neither rich nor noble. His father was Walter 
 Raleigh, Esq. of Fardel, in Devonshire, a gentleman 
 who in the reign of Mary had gained considerable dis- 
 tinction as a naval officer.* His third wife, Catherine, 
 daughter of Sir Philip Champemon and widow of Otho 
 Gilbert, Esq. of Compton, in the county of Devon, was 
 Raleigh’s mother. She was in all prohabihty a woman 
 of talent, as by her first marriage she gave birth to Sir 
 John, Sir Humphrey, and Sir Adrian Gilbert, — all men 
 of eminence, knighted for their public services by Queen 
 Elizabeth. 
 
 Walter Raleigh, the youngest of two sons by this 
 union, was born in the year 1552, at Hayes, a pleasant 
 farm in the parish of East Badleigh, Devonshire, situated 
 three or four miles from the coast, — a circumstance 
 which, combined with his father’s occupation, may have 
 given him that early passion for maritime enterprise 
 which afterwards distinguished him. It is certain he 
 was much attached to the spot, as we find him in the 
 days of his greatness endeavouring to purchase it, from 
 the natural disposition he had to the place, being born 
 in that house.” t The same year in which he first saw 
 
 * Raleigh’s father having been a sea-captain is a fact hitherto 
 unknown. I discovered it very recently in examining some 
 documents in the State-paper Office. — See MS., State-paper 
 Office, entitled “ Names of certain Gentlemen appointed to be 
 captains of certain Ships ; and Queen Mary’s letter to them. 
 26th April 1558.” — Oriff. 
 
 t Original letter of Raleigh to Mr Duke, Works, vol. viii. 
 p. 744. The edition of Raleigh’s Works referred to throughout 
 this Life, is that in eight volumes printed at Oxford University 
 Press, 1829. The first volume contains the Lives of Raleigh 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 19 
 
 the light closed the brief hut hopeful reign of Edward 
 VI. ; and it was a happy circumstance, that during the 
 domination of Mary he was still a boy, and secluded in 
 the retirement of his father’s country-seat, where he 
 received, either from a domestic tutor or in some school 
 in the neighbourhood, the rudiments of his education. 
 When still very young he was sent to Oriel College, 
 Oxford, where his ready wit and precocity of genius 
 were such, that they have been deemed worthy of com- 
 memoration by his illustrious contemporary Lord Bacon.* * 
 He exhibited at the same time a restless ambition, which 
 prompted him to seek distinction rather in the stirring 
 scenes of the world than the cloistered solitude of a 
 college ; and this natural inclination to adventure was 
 fostered by the study of books relating to the conquests 
 of the Spaniards in the New World, — a species of reading 
 which was the delight of his early years, and undoubtedly 
 gave a colour to the whole tenor of his life. 
 
 His stay at Oxford, therefore, was short ; and in 1569 
 he seized the opportunity of the civil wars in France, 
 between the Huguenots and the Roman Catholics, to 
 visit that kingdom, and commence his military education. 
 A more excellent school could not have been selected ; 
 and in adopting this step young Raleigh was sure of the 
 approbation of Elizabeth : for tliis great queen, although, 
 to use the words of Camden, her hands were full of dis- 
 orders at home, was not wanting either in commiseration 
 or relief to the persecut-ed Protestants of France. She 
 not only exhorted other princes to lend them assistance, 
 but advanced a considerable sum to the Queen of Navarre, 
 and gave permission to Henry Champemon, Raleigh’s 
 near kinsman, to raise a troop of a hundred gentlemen 
 volunteers, with which he passed over to the continent. 
 They were, according to the description in De Thou, 
 a gallant company, nobly mounted and accoutred, 
 having on their colours the motto, Finem det mihi Vir- 
 
 by Oldys and Birch ; and the quotations from these writers are 
 taken from it. 
 
 * Apothegms, No. 66. 
 
20 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 tus and many of them rose afterwards to eminence. 
 But the most noted of them all was Walter Raleigh.* 
 
 The historian might have added, that a more important 
 or arduous period could hardly have been selected, in 
 the history of France, for a young man to enter into 
 public life. It was the crisis when the Protestants under 
 the Prince of Conde and the Admiral Coligni, two of 
 the greatest men of modern times, had risen in defence 
 of their religious liberty against the tyranny of the 
 Romanists. In the very year when Raleigh joined the 
 army was fought the battle of Jarnac, so disastrous to the 
 Huguenots, in which Conde, having been made prisoner, 
 was murdered in cold blood. About the same time the 
 Prince of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV., commenced 
 his military career under the care of the veteran Coligni. 
 
 Of Raleigh’s personal adventures in this army no 
 account has been preserved either by himself or others. 
 But in his History of the World, written during his long 
 imprisonment in the Tower, he alludes in more than one 
 place to his French campaign. Speaking of the dangers 
 of intrusting equal power to the commanders of an army, 
 who seldom possess equal courage and judgment, I 
 remember it well,” says he, that when the Prince of 
 Conde was slain, after the battle of Jarnac, the Protest- 
 ants did greatly bewail the loss of the said prince, in 
 respect of his religion, person, and birth ; yet, comforting 
 themselves, they thought it rather an advancement than 
 a hinderance to their affairs ; for so much did the valour 
 of the one (Conde) outreach the advisedness of the other 
 (Coligni), as whatsoever the admiral intended to win by 
 attending the advantage, the prince adventured to lose 
 by being over confident in his own courage.” f In this 
 sentence, the style of its commencement, I remember 
 it well,” creates a presumption that Raleigh was present 
 in the battle. 
 
 * Thuani Hist. h. 46, chap. ii. Camden, Annal. Reg. Elis, 
 ad Ann. 1569. Admodum adolescens, jam primum fatis 
 monstratus.” 
 
 t Raleigh’s Works, vol. vi. pp. 157, 158. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA, 
 
 21 
 
 Not long after this occurred the disastrous defeat of 
 the admiral at Moncontour, on which occasion the vic- 
 torious army was commanded by the Duke of Anjou, 
 afterwards Henry III. It appears from Raleigh’s own 
 account, that having shared in the perils of this contest, 
 he retired with Count Ludowick of Nassau, who, by his 
 ability in conducting the retreat, saved one-half of the 
 Protestant force, then broken and disbanded, — ‘‘ of 
 which,” says he, myself was an eyewitness, and one 
 of them that had cause to thank him for it.” * 
 
 There is yet another allusion in his History to the 
 scene of his military education. I saw,” he observes, 
 in the third civil war in France, certain caves in Lan- 
 guedoc, which had hut one entrance and that very narrow, 
 cut out in the midway of high rocks, which we knew not 
 how to enter by any ladder or engine, till at last by cer- 
 tain bundles of lighted straw let down by an iron chain, 
 with a weighty stone in the midst, those that defended 
 it were so smothered, that they rendered themselves with 
 their plate, money, and other goods therein hidden.” f 
 It seems certain, from a passage quoted by Oldys, that 
 Raleigh remained in France till after the death of Charles 
 IX. This would make the period of his stay upwards 
 of six years, — a circumstance which will account for a 
 considerable chasm in all the memoirs of his life. During 
 this time, we may presume, to use the words of the same 
 author, that he was initiated in those accomplishments, 
 both civil and military, through the language and polite- 
 ness of the people, as well as their warlike and ministerial 
 affairs, whereof he afterwards gave such manifold proofs.” J 
 The era was indeed remarkable for great changes, and 
 not less so for men eminent in the arts of peace, of civil 
 government, and of elegant literature, as well as in war. 
 If it was the age of Conde and Coligni, it produced also 
 the Chancellor de I’Hopital, the President De Thou, 
 Ronsard, and Muretus ; and before leaving France, when 
 
 Raleigh’s Works, vol. vi. p. 211. f Ibid. vol. v. p. 355. 
 Oldys’s Life, pp. 16, 17. 
 
22 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 still only twenty-three, Raleigh had no doubt availed 
 himself of the advantages which it held out to a mind 
 full of ambition and enthusiasm. On the conclusion of 
 the peace in 1576, which secured to the Protestants the 
 free exercise of their religion, he returned to England. 
 It has been supposed by his biographers, that about this 
 time he proved his early predilection for poetry hy pre- 
 fixing some commendatory verses to Gascoigne’s satire 
 entitled the Steel Glass ; but although written in the 
 quaint style of his age, their poetical merit is below his 
 other pieces, and it is difficult to believe that they flowed 
 from the same sweet vein which produced the answer to 
 Marlowe’s Passionate Shepherd. Be this as it may, he 
 allowed himself but a short time for his domestic plea- 
 sures, or his recreations with the muses ; for soon after 
 quitting France he repaired to the seat of war in the 
 Netherlands, where he served as a volunteer, under the 
 Prince of Orange, against the Spaniards. 
 
 Fortunately for Raleigh, the condition of this portion 
 of Europe rendered it at that time an instructive school, 
 both for political wisdom and for the military art ; so 
 that the rudiments of his education as a statesman and a 
 soldier, which had been received in France, were matured 
 in the Netherlands. 
 
 In the great contest then maintained, despotic power 
 was arrayed against the rights of conscience. It was the 
 same struggle he had seen carried on in France, in which, 
 under the banner of royal power, devotion to the ancient 
 faith was leagued agamst the right of private judgment ; 
 and in both kingdoms he bore arms on the side of liberty. 
 Elizabeth, under the directions of her able minister Cecil, 
 had early placed herself at the head of the Protestant 
 interests in Europe, and the same principles which led 
 her to support the French Huguenots, and to aim at the 
 extinction of the power of the house of Guise, induced 
 her to thwart the schemes of Philip II. of Spain. The 
 advance of his imperious governor, the Duke of Alva, in 
 the Netherlands, had at first, in 1567, driven the Prince 
 of Orange, a man as illustrious for genius as for ancient 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 23 
 
 lineage, to seek a retreat in his estates in Germany. But 
 the determined spirit of resistance shown by Holland and 
 Zealand drew him from seclusion ; and, at the head of 
 a league, by every member of which he was beloved, 
 he organized a resistance against Spain, which, amidst 
 frequent reverses and intolerable oppression, only grew 
 more resolute and decided, till at last, in 1574, it tri- 
 umphed in the defeat of the ferocious schemes of Alva, 
 and his recall from the government of the Low Countries. 
 
 Two years after, upon the death of Requesens, who 
 had succeeded the duke, Don John of Austria, natural 
 brother of Philip, was appointed viceroy of the Nether- 
 lands. He was a man of much pride, inordinate ambition, 
 and certainly of some genius. But his plans though vast 
 were ill digested, and his imagination greatly outran his 
 judgment. One of his projects, which had come to the 
 ears of Elizabeth, and deeply incensed her against Spain, 
 consisted in a plot to marry the Queen of Scots, and 
 in her right to acquire the sovereignty of the British 
 dominions. It was this, perhaps, which changed the 
 policy of the English queen from concealed encourage- 
 ment, to an avowed espousal of the cause of the Protest- 
 ants, and a deteimined hostility to Spain. The same 
 motives induced her to conclude a treaty with the States 
 of Holland, to advance them a loan of £50,000 and to 
 despatch to their assistance that force of 5000 foot and 
 1000 horse in which Raleigh now enlisted as a volunteer. 
 
 The chief command was given to Sir John Norris, 
 one of the most experienced soldiers in Europe, of whom 
 it has been well said, that he was no less remarkable for 
 his safe retreats than for his resolute onsets ; whilst his 
 conduct and discipline were so exact, that for a long time 
 his actions were considered precedents, and his orders 
 laws of war.* To serve under such a master could not 
 fail to be of high advantage to any young soldier ; and, 
 although there is no direct reference to it in Raleigh’s 
 History or in his other works, there can be little doubt 
 
 Lloyd’s State Worthies, pp. 618, 619. 
 
24 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 that he shared in that famous action at Rimenant, in 
 which the Spanish army, commanded by Don John of 
 Austria and the Prince of Parma, was overthrown by the 
 forces of the States. The English auxiliaries had been 
 joined by a Scottish force, under Sir Robert Stuart ; and 
 the success of the battle is ascribed by De Thou and 
 Lord Bacon to the steady discipline and determined 
 courage of the English and Scots, who, oppressed by a 
 long march and the extreme heat of the weather, stript 
 off their armour and doublets, and fought in their shirts 
 and drawers.* 
 
 Although thus engaged in war, both in France and in 
 the Netherlands, Raleigh had found leisure to inform 
 himself on those subjects of cosmography and navigation, 
 which at this time engrossed the attention not only of 
 the learned and the adventurous, but of crowned heads 
 and imperial councils. He had studied the histories of 
 the discoveries of Columbus, the conquests of Cortes, and 
 the sanguinary triumphs of Pizarro ; and a witer of 
 good authority, who bears the same name, informs us 
 that such books were his especial favourites, and the 
 subjects of his early conversation. Colonel Richard Bing- 
 ham, his fellow-soldier, amongst other multifarious pro- 
 jects, was occupied with a scheme for the plantation of 
 America.t Nor were there wanting, we may believe, 
 in the army in which he served, many others whose 
 society was fitted to encourage his early devotion to such 
 pursuits. It is not surprising, therefore, that the ardent 
 mmd of Raleigh should have eagerly embraced an op- 
 
 * Thuani Historia, vol. hi. p. 608, ed. Bulkely. 
 f Richard Bingham was an eccentric and extraordinary sol- 
 dier of fortune, who had gained experience in the French, Scot- 
 tish, and V enetian wars. He was a man of wonderfully versatile 
 genius, a great projector, ‘‘ of a fancy high and wild, too desultory 
 and overvoluble,” to use the expressive language of a quaint 
 writer : he had travelled over most parts of the world ; and 
 although it was his fortune rather to be skilful in many mys- 
 teries than thriving in any, his conversation and society must 
 have been agreeable to a young man of an enthusiastic turn 
 of mind. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 25 
 
 portunity of embarking in an adventure of this nature, 
 which offered itself Avhilst he was in Holland. 
 
 His stepbrother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had published, 
 in 1576 , a treatise concerning a north-west passage to the 
 East Indies, which, although infected with the pedantry 
 of the age, is full of practical sense and judicious argu- 
 ment.* The work appears to have made no inconsider- 
 able impression upon the government ; and Sir Humphrey 
 having obtained a patent from the queen to colonize such 
 parts of North America as were not possessed by any of 
 her allies, prevailed with Raleigh to abandon his military 
 pursuits and try his fortune in the voyage. 
 
 The project, however, failed. Many who had eagerly 
 embarked in it became discontented ; all desired an 
 equal share of power ; discord bred coldness and deser- 
 tion ; and Sir Humphrey and Raleigh at last found 
 themselves obliged to put to sea with a few friends who 
 disdained to leave them under such adverse circumstances. 
 
 When the shipping was in a manner prepared,” says 
 Edmond Haies, who was a principal actor in the enter- 
 prise, and men ready upon the coast to go aboard, some 
 brake consort and followed courses degenerating from 
 the voyage before pretended, others failed of their pro- 
 mises contracted, and the greater number were dispersed, 
 leaving the general with a few of his assured friends^ 
 with whom he adventured to sea, where, having tasted 
 of no less misfortune, he was shortly driven to retire 
 home with the loss of a tall ship.”t On its homeward 
 passage the small squadron of Gilbert was dispersed and 
 disabled by a Spanish fleet, and many of the company 
 were slain ; but, perhaps owing to the disastrous issue of 
 the fight, it has been slightly noticed by the English 
 historians. J Although unsuccessful, however, in his 
 
 first voyage, the instructions of Gilbert could not fail to 
 be of service to Raleigh, who at this time was not much 
 above twenty -five, whilst the admiral must have been in 
 the maturity of his age and talent. 
 
 * Hakluyt has printed it in his third volume, p. 11. 
 
 t Hakluyt, vol. hi. p. 146. X Oldys’s Li fe of Raleigh, p. 28. 
 
26 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 On his return from the American adventure in 1579, 
 a new scene of activity was presented to his enterprising 
 spirit by the rebellion in Ireland. The intrigues of Spain 
 had kindled the flame of civil war in that misgoverned 
 country, and the prospect was not a little alarming. 
 James Fitz-Morris of the Geraldine family, with the 
 Earl of Desmond and his two brothers, had raised the 
 standard of revolt ; and soon afterwards three foreign 
 ships, bearing a freight of Spanish and Italian chivalry, 
 arrayed under the papal banner and commanded by San 
 Josepho, arrived at Smerwick in Kerry. Raleigh’s mili- 
 tary experience now entitled him to promotion, and we 
 find him commanding a company in Ireland. The chief 
 conduct of the war was intrusted to the Earl of Ormond, 
 governor of Munster, who dislodged the foreign troops 
 from the Fort del Ore, in which they had intrenched 
 themselves. It was found, from the testimony of the 
 prisoners, that a scheme for the subjugation of the island 
 had been concerted between Philip of Spain and the Pope ; 
 but we may be permitted to suspend our belief in the 
 assertion of Mr George Whetstone, who insists that his 
 holiness had provided a chalice to drink the Queen of 
 England’s precious blood as soon as she should be made 
 a sacrifice.* 
 
 Ormond had not used the precaution of destroying 
 the fort, for which his army was too small to spare a 
 garrison ; and this neglect led to its re-occupation by a 
 larger body of the enemy than at that time it would have 
 been prudent to attack. He fell back, accordingly, on 
 the Lord-deputy Arthur Lord Grey, who was stationed 
 at Rakele with a body of 800 horse and foot under Cap- 
 tains Raleigh, Zouch, Denny, and Mackworth ; on the 
 strength of which reinforcement he again advanced. 
 On striking their tents, Raleigh, who had observed that 
 so soon as an encampment was abandoned the Irish flocked 
 into it in great crowds, remained behind with his troop, 
 and lay in ambush to receive them. Nor was he de- 
 
 Whetstone’s English Mirror, p. 154. Oldys’s Life, p. 31. 
 
TO ms SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 27 
 
 ceived in his expectation ; for the deserted camp was 
 broken into by a tumultuous body of the rebels, whom 
 he instantly charged, and all were either slain or made 
 prisoners.* One of them when taken had a bundle of 
 withes or willow- ropes on his shoulder ; and being asked 
 what use he meant to put them to, answered, Why, to 
 hang up the English churls!” “Well,” said Raleigh, 
 “ they will now do for an Irish kerne,” and commanded 
 him to be suspended in one of his own collars, — an in- 
 stance of severity too much in character with the stern 
 and exasperating policy at that time pursued by the 
 generals of Elizabeth. 
 
 Lord Grey having procured artillery, now laid siege 
 to the fort ; and for the first three days Raleigh com- 
 manded in the trenches, where John Cheke, the son of 
 Sir John Cheke, tutor to Edward VI., and whose name 
 has been embalmed in a sonnet of Milton, was slain. 
 “ He was,” says a quaint biographer, “ a tall proper gen- 
 tleman ; but he paid dear for his curiosity, for venturing 
 to look over the parapet, a Spaniard levelled his piece 
 and picked him off.” The full batteries were now opened, 
 and the assault prosecuted so desperately that the foreign- 
 ers hung out a flag of truce. But Grey, a veteran and 
 unrelenting soldier, refused to grant any terms except 
 those of an unconditional surrender. At this time the 
 famous poet Edmund Spenser was at head-quarters, and 
 he has left us an account of the conference. “ When,” 
 says he, “ their secretary. Seignior Jeffrey, an Italian, 
 was sent to treat with the lord-deputy for grace, he was 
 flatly refused it ; and afterwards when their colonel, 
 named Don Sebastian, came forth to entreat that they 
 might part with their arms like soldiers, and at least he 
 spared their lives, according to the custom of war and 
 law of nations, it was strongly denied him, and told him 
 by the lord-deputy himself, that they could not justly 
 plead either custom of war or law of nations, for that 
 they were not any lawful enemies. * * Neither were 
 
 Cox’s History of Ireland, p. 367. 
 
28 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 the Earl and John of Desmond any thing but rebels and 
 traitors, and therefore they, who came to succour them, 
 no better than rogues and runagates ; * * wherefore it 
 
 would be dishonourable for him, in the name of his queen, 
 to condition, or make any terms with such rascals.” It 
 is painful to pursue the story farther. The fort surren- 
 dered, and orders were given by the inexorable deputy 
 to put the garrison to the sword, — sparing only an Irish 
 nobleman and a few Spanish officers, who were sent 
 prisoners to England. Elizabeth, although she excul- 
 pated the inferior officers, who simply obeyed orders, 
 expressed herself deeply dissatisfied with their leader on 
 account of this piece of cruelty.* 
 
 For some time after this the life of Raleigh was that 
 of an aspiring soldier, enthusiastic in his profession, and 
 mortified by the poor place and charge which he en- 
 joyed under the lord-deputy.” In a letter to the Earl 
 of Leicester, whose favour he seems to have enjoyed at 
 this time, he declares that were it not that Grey was the 
 friend of that powerful favourite, he would disdain his 
 charge as much as to keep sheep,” and describes Ire- 
 land as a lost land, not a commonwealth, but a common- 
 wo.t This discontent, however, was of short duration. 
 Sir Walter rose in the confidence of the government ; 
 and his activity was so great in reducing the seditious 
 practices of Lord Barry, and other leaders of the rebellion, 
 — in the repulse of Fitz-Edmonds, — the capture of Lord 
 Roch, — and the restoration of the country to a state of 
 security, — that he was repeatedly promoted to situations 
 of trust and responsibility. On the return of the Earl of 
 Ormond to England, the government of Munster was 
 committed to Raleigh, in conjunction with Sir William 
 Morgan and Captain Pierce ; and the same year we find 
 him holding the chief command in the city of Cork. The 
 variety of his exploits, and the apparently contradictory 
 qualities which he exhibited, were remarkable. He 
 
 * See a letter writen about this time to the Earl of Leicester, 
 Cayley’s Life, p. 25. 
 
 t Cayley’s Life, vol. i. p. 25. 
 
Lord Burleigh 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 31 
 
 united the daring courage of the old knight of chivalry 
 with the calm judgment and the love of stratagem which 
 distinguished a later and more refined age. Of the first 
 he gave an example in the defeat of Fitz- Edmonds, where 
 he twice rescued and saved the life of one of the gentle- 
 men of his company at the imminent peril of his own. 
 Of the last he furnished a no less striking instance in the 
 surprise and seizure of the Lord Roch in his own castle, 
 surrounded by a powerful garrison, and in a country 
 where the enemy had carefully occupied every road and 
 fastness. 
 
 Upon the suppression of the rebellion Raleigh returned 
 to England, with a reputation for valour and experience 
 well known to those with whom he had served, but 
 which was lost at court amidst the dazzling brilliancy 
 of superior rank and power. Nor could it well be other- 
 wise ; for at this moment the throne of Elizabeth was 
 surrounded by a nobility amongst whom was to be found 
 all that was illustrious in birth and pre-eminent in genius, 
 by statesmen, and warriors both by land and sea, whose 
 names have become familiar and stirring words, indis- 
 solubly associated with every recollection of the glory of 
 their country. 
 
 The sagacious and wary Burleigh was now in the 
 zenith of his power, the favoured minister of his royal 
 mistress, and possessing an influence over her masculine 
 mind which no other amongst her servants ever retained 
 so long. Capricious, and exhibiting the weakness and 
 mutability of a woman to his rivals Leicester and Essex, 
 she maintained an invariable regard for Cecil ; her con- 
 fidence in his councils was never shaken ; and upon 
 every subject relating to internal administration or foreign 
 policy, his opinion, although openly and severely can- 
 vassed at the moment it was given, was silently followed 
 in the end. And yet, although the chosen minister of 
 this great queen, Cecil was not a man of splendid genius 
 or of brilliant and original endowments. In tracing the 
 principles of his government, and studying the accounts 
 of his private life, it will he found that the prominent 
 
32 
 
 PROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 qualities of Lord Burleigh were of a homelier nature. 
 Prudence, calm and unimpassioned judgment, indefati- 
 gable application, and extreme closeness and taciturnity 
 in the despatch of business, were perhaps his most striking 
 qualities ; and the exercise of these was not interrupted 
 by the impediments of the heart or the imagination, 
 which lead some men astray. No bursts of natural and 
 generous feeling, — no enthusiasm for high intellectual 
 talent, — no admiration for Avhat was profound in science, 
 or graceful, or beautiful in art, — no foolish feelings for 
 chivalrous honour or unproductive glory, interrupted 
 the even tenor of his purposes, or shook a single principle 
 which he felt to he expedient and necessary. His ne- 
 glect of Spenser, when this delightful poet was recom- 
 mended to his patronage by his royal mistress, — his 
 contempt for military renown, unless the victory brought 
 some tangible fruit in security or in solid coin, — his 
 coldness to every thing in religion which did not affect 
 the strictness of the Protestant doctrines or the integrity 
 of established forms, all point the same way, and con- 
 vince us that the character of this great minister was less 
 ardent than reflective. 
 
 But this is only one side of the picture. Looking to 
 the principles and conduct of his administration, and the 
 energy with which he pursued them, nothing can be 
 more consistent and successful. His determination to 
 humble the Papal power, and to support the Protestant 
 reformation, — his zeal on the side of liberty of conscience, 
 — his consequent support of the Huguenot party in 
 France, the Prince of Orange in the Low Countries, and 
 the Reformed Lords in Scotland, — his encouragement of 
 all that serviceable learning which promised to further 
 these objects,* — his decided opposition to a war for terri- 
 torial conquest, — the energy with which he wielded the 
 strength of the kingdom in the resistance of foreign 
 
 * Witness his engaging his friend Sir Thomas Smith to write 
 a Treatise on the Roman Money, which he deemed of practical 
 utility in guiding his own measures for the reformation of the 
 coin. Biographia Britannica, by Kippis, art. Cecil, p. 387. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 33 
 
 invasion, and in cnishing the Irish rebellion, — his wise 
 encouragement of the maritime power of England, — his 
 ardour in humbling the naval supremacy of Spain, in 
 fitting out fleets for the discovery and planting of new 
 countries, and enlarging the boundaries of foreign com- 
 merce, — his measures of internal policy, for the settle- 
 ment of a form of ecclesiastical government, for the 
 payment of the debts of the crown, the relief of the poor, 
 the reformation of the coin of the realm, — all speak the 
 great man, and justify the universal confidence of the 
 nation in his prudence, vigilance, and wisdom, and the 
 extraordinary reputation which he had acquired in foreign 
 countries. 
 
 No man perhaps ever lived in more difficult times, or 
 survived them with greater credit and success ; and the 
 circumspection and caution of his earlier years, under 
 Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary, are as remarkable 
 in a different way as his pre-eminence during the reign 
 of Elizabeth. Raised to the peerage from the rank of 
 a private gentleman, he yet thought little of the dis- 
 tinction. He had been as powerful under the name of 
 William Cecil as he now was when he wrote Burleigh ; 
 and although on great occasions, where a political object 
 was to be gained, he could assume a magnificence in his 
 entertainments which almost rivalled those of his sove- 
 reign, and even ordinarily in his houses, gardens, and 
 equipage, kept- up a splendid state, it was apparently 
 more in obedience to the taste of the queen and of the 
 times than from personal vanity or enjoyment. The 
 common habits of his life were sober and unostentatious. 
 
 He had a little mule at his favourite seat at Theobalds, 
 upon which he rode up and down the walks : sometimes 
 he would look on those who were shooting with arrow’s 
 or playing with bowls ; but as *for himself he never en- 
 gaged in any diversion, taking the word in its usual 
 s’ense. He had a few^ friends who were constantly at his 
 table because he liked their company ; but in all his life 
 he never had one favourite, or suffered any body to get 
 an ascendant over him. Basking, as he did, in the sun- 
 
34 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 shine of royal favour, he rather suffered than enjoyed 
 his greatness ; and whenever he had time to spare he 
 fled, as his expression was, to Theobalds, and buried 
 himself in privacy, where he would pleasantly throw off 
 his gown and say, ^ Lie thou there. Lord Treasurer !’ ”* 
 Yet these intervals of ease and domestic enjoyment were 
 rarely snatched from the constant pressure of his employ- 
 ments, which continued to engross him from his first 
 entrance into public life till he settled a treaty with the 
 States, as he lay sick upon the bed from which he never 
 rose. 
 
 In striking contrast to the grave Burleigh, the next 
 most conspicuous person in Elizabeth’s court was the 
 gay, profligate, and magnificent Dudley, Earl of Lei- 
 cester, the unremitting enemy of Cecil, and yet the 
 highest favourite of the queen. It was as a woman, 
 however, that Elizabeth loved and applauded Dudley, 
 whilst as a sovereign she fully appreciated his rival, 
 Noble birth, the devotion and sufferings of his ancestors 
 in her father’s and her sister’s reigns, a person and coun- 
 tenance of extreme beauty and gracefulness, and a studied 
 gallantry to his royal mistress, were qualities which 
 endeared Leicester to Elizabeth, and blinded her to the 
 darker parts of his character. Burleigh was earnest for 
 the glory and security of England, and in labouring for 
 his mistress’s interest was content that his own should 
 follow as an accessory. Leicester loved power for its 
 own sake, and desired to be omnipotent at court and in 
 the council, that he might gratify his pride and revenge, 
 destroy his enemies, and raise himself upon their ruin. 
 Endowed with a profound dissimulation, he intrigued 
 with Spain, and plotted with the Roman Catholics, in 
 order to undermine the Protestant interest of Cecil ; 
 while, though abandoned in his principles and dissolute 
 in his habits, he could assume the mask of religion and 
 become the leader of the Puritans, that he might use 
 
 * Biographia Britannica, art. Cecil. Lloyd’s State Worthies, 
 p. 478. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 35 
 
 their power to weaken the ecclesiastical establishment, 
 for the support of which his rival was so deeply interested. 
 His information was so secret, that his spies and depend- 
 ants were supposed to be as busy on the continent as at 
 home. He was little scrupulous as to the means em- 
 ployed to rid himself of an enemy ; and whilst, to shame 
 the coldness and parsimony of Cecil, he acted as a muni- 
 ficent patron of the sciences and learning, he scrupled not 
 to deal with astrologers, wizards, and poisoners, provided 
 they lent their dark assistance in the accomplishment 
 of his designs. Yet all this was done so silently and 
 circumspectly that no proof could be found against him, 
 and the thread was lost before it could be traced to the 
 master-hand which presided within the labyrinth. 
 
 Many,” says Lloyd, “ fell in his time, who saw not the 
 hand that pulled them down ; and as many died that 
 knewnot their own disease.”* At the period when Raleigh 
 made his appearance at court, Dudley possessed some of 
 the highest offices in the kingdom ; but whilst the re- 
 putation of Burleigh is permanent, his once potent rival 
 is now chiefly remembered as the uncle of Sir Philip 
 Sidney and the patron of Spenser. 
 
 At this time another great man at court was Rat- 
 CLiFFE, Earl of Sussex and Lord Chamberlam, whose 
 blunt, open, and martial character came out in striking 
 relief beside the polished and brilliant personages amongst 
 whom he moved. His abilities in war were of the high- 
 est order, as was repeatedly shown in Ireland ; and al- 
 though the rust of the camp and the smoke of battle had 
 rather besmirched and unfitted him for the office of 
 chamberlain to a virgin queen, there was an affability 
 and simplicity in his manners which attracted all honest 
 men to his party, and enabled him, infinitely inferior as 
 he was to Leicester in court-policy, to raise a party against 
 him which had nearly ruined his great enemy, when 
 Sussex showed the nobleness of mind to plead for a fallen 
 foe. It was his custom to designate Dudley by the nick- 
 
 Lloyd’s State Worthies, p. 519. 
 
36 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 name of the Gipsy, and on his deathbed he is said to 
 have given this singular advice to his friends who stood 
 by: — I am now passing into another world, and I 
 must now leave you to your fortunes and to the queen’s 
 grace and goodness : but beware of the Gipsy — for he 
 will be too hard for you all ; you know not the beast 
 so well as I do.”'^* 
 
 Leicester, from his lordly state and influence, had 
 acquired amongst the common people the title of the 
 Heart of the Court, while Sussex, by his martial virtue, 
 may be said to have been the soul of the camp ; yet 
 there was another at this time in the suite of Elizabeth, 
 who, although bearing no higher title than that of a 
 knight, was better known in England and throughout 
 Europe than if he had borne a ducal star. This was the 
 all-accomplished Sir Philip Sidney, — a person of so 
 versatile a genius, that he seemed born to arrive at excel- 
 lence in almost every department, whether of knowledge 
 or of action. His descent,” says Sir Robert Naunton, 
 “ was apparently noble on both sides : for his education, 
 it was such as travel and the university could afford or 
 his tutors infuse ; for, after an incredible proficiency in 
 all the species of learning, he left the academical life for 
 that of the court, whither he came by his uncle’s [Lei- 
 cester] invitation, famed aforehand by a noble report of 
 his accomplishments, which, together with the state of 
 his person, framed by a natural propension to arms, 
 soon attracted the good opinion of all men, and was so 
 highly prized in the good opinion of the queen, that she 
 thought the court deficient without him ; and whereas, 
 through the fame of his deserts, he was in the election 
 for the kingdom of Pole, she refused to further his 
 advancement, not out of emulation, but out of fear to 
 lose the jewel of her times.”t This quaint encomium 
 savours somewhat of flattery ; yet, judging in the calmest 
 mood of his numerous endowments, and estimating him 
 
 Naunton’s Fragmenta Regalia, p. 49. f Ibid. p. 66. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 37 
 
 by the influence which he acquired over his age, Sidney 
 must have been an extraordinary man. His acquaint- 
 ance with the affairs of Europe was so exact and profound, 
 that William of Nassau assured Sir Fulke Greville he 
 was deserving of a throne in foreign parts, although he 
 filled no office in England. His abilities in war and 
 wisdom in civil policy were of so high an order, that his 
 uncle Leicester held his government in the Low Countries 
 by his counsels and energy when alive, and lost or rather 
 found it prudent to resign it after his death. As a 
 writer, indeed, he cannot be ranked so high. His Ar- 
 cadia, which had just been finished when Raleigh came 
 to court, is an interminable and unreadable production, 
 although in some parts deficient neither in sweetness nor 
 in energy ; yet we ought to criticise it with a reference to 
 the taste of those times, and not by the rules applicable 
 to a modern novel or romance. That he could sometimes 
 write with no common vigour and elegance, his little 
 piece entitled Valour Anatomised in a Fancy, and his 
 reply to the libel on his uncle Leicester, sufficiently 
 demonstrate. He who was the friend and patron of 
 Spenser, — who is styled by the judicious Camden the 
 darling of the learned world, — whose natural genius and 
 propensity to great designs are commemorated by Gro- 
 tius, — and whose death at the age of thirty-two created 
 a sensation throughout Europe, — could scarcely have 
 been the inferior person to which the amusing and para- 
 doxical attack of Walpole has laboured to reduce him. 
 One other quality of Sidney, which he shared with some 
 of the greatest men of his time, was an ambition for 
 naval adventure and a zeal for the discovery and colo- 
 nization of new countries, — a passion with which Raleigh, 
 as we have already seen, could deeply sympathize, and 
 which did not fail to attract these soaring spirits to each 
 other. 
 
 It is unnecessary to add to these sketches of the court 
 of Elizabeth as it existed at the period when Raleigh 
 returned from the Irish wars into England. The bril- 
 liant picture might be filled up by other illustrious and 
 
38 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 able men who surrounded her throne, and carried the 
 terror of her arms into foreign lands, or the thunder of 
 her fleets into the remotest seas of the New World, — by 
 Drake, Howard, Hawkins, Sir Francis Vere, Lord Wil- 
 loughby, Walsingham, Sadler, Knowles, and many more. 
 But I have preferred to select such as undoubtedly oc- 
 cupied the foreground, and who were leaders and masters 
 in their various classes, — Burleigh among statesmen and 
 civilians, Sussex among soldiers, Leicester among cour- 
 tiers, and Sidney amid the assembled virtues and graces 
 of them all ; and thus to convey to the reader some idea 
 of the busy and extraordinary scene on which our hero 
 was now called to act a part. That Cecil was at this 
 time aware of the talents of an officer who had served 
 with such distinction cannot be doubted ; but his per- 
 sonal introduction to Elizabeth has been ascribed by 
 tradition to a circumstance which, though well known, 
 is too pleasing to be omitted. 
 
 In her progress from the royal barge to the palace the 
 queen, surrounded by her nobles and officers, came to a 
 spot where the ground was so moist that she scrupled for 
 a moment to advance ; upon which Raleigh, stepping 
 forward with an air of devoted gallantry, cast off and 
 spread on the earth a richly embroidered cloak which he 
 then wore. Her majesty, after pausing for a moment, 
 and regarding, not without some little emotion, the fine 
 figure of the young soldier to whom she owed so fair a 
 footcloth, passed over it and proceeded on her way ; but, 
 as was to be expected, immediately sent for and took 
 him into her service. The anecdote, though resting on 
 no higher authority than that already mentioned, almost 
 proves itself to be true by the knowledge it evinces 
 Raleigh to have possessed of the character of Elizabeth. 
 Her predilection for handsome men and her love of 
 splendid apparel were well known ; while in his sacrifice 
 of the gorgeous cloak, and the air of devoted admiration 
 which none knew better how to assume, he displayed that 
 mixture of generous feeling and high-flown gallantry, 
 not unlikely indeed to meet the ridicule of the graver 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 39 
 
 sort, yet fitted to surprise and delight the princess to 
 whom it was addressed. 
 
 At this moment the subject of public talk and deli- 
 beration was the marriage of the queen to the Duke of 
 Anjou, — a match apparently agreeable to Elizabeth, and 
 having the countenance of Burleigh and Sussex ; hut 
 opposed on selfish grounds by Leicester, and by Sidney 
 on the basis of political expedience. Baleigh appears in 
 this matter to have adopted the notions of the Treasurer 
 and Sussex, and to have been selected by the queen to 
 execute some matters of state diplomacy connected with 
 it. He accompanied Simier, the French ambassador, 
 from England to his own court ; and when the intrigues 
 of Leicester or the versatility of the queen had defeated 
 the match, and Anjou departed from England to assume 
 the government of the Netherlands, Raleigh was one of 
 that retinue of nobles and gentlemen who conducted 
 him in a magnificent progress to Antwerp, and saw him 
 invested in his new charge. He was here recognised by 
 the Prince of Orange, under whom he had served in the 
 Low Countries, and invited to remain after the departure 
 of Howard, Leicester, and Sidney, tliat he might be the 
 bearer of letters to the English queen. Of this circum- 
 stance, evincing the consideration in which he was held 
 by no incompetent judge, he gives us an account in his 
 Discourse of the Invention of Ships,” See, Speaking of 
 the flourishing estate of the Hollanders, he traces it in 
 the first instance to the aid of his own country ; ‘‘ which,” 
 says he, the late worthy and famous Prince of Orange 
 did always acknowledge ; and in the year 1582, when I 
 took my leave of him at Antwerp, after the return of the 
 Earl of Leicester into England, and Monsieur’s arrival 
 there, when he delivered me his letters to her majesty, 
 he prayed me to say to the queen from him, Sub umbra 
 alarum tuarum protegimur ; for certainly they had 
 withered in the bud and sunk in the beginning of theii* 
 navigation had not her majesty assisted them.”* 
 
 *■ Works, vol. viii. p. 331. 
 
40 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 Sir Robert Naunton, who had no predilection for 
 Raleigh, describes him as possessing at this time a mind 
 of uncommon vigour, with a person and manners which 
 attracted all who saw him. His countenance was some- 
 what spoiled by the unusual height of his forehead ; but 
 his expression was animated, his conversation varied and 
 brilliant, and in speaking on matters of state he possessed 
 a ready and convincing eloquence. Of this, not long 
 afterwards, he was called upon to give an example before 
 the queen and council, which all the authors of his life 
 agree had a surprising effect. The occasion arose out of 
 a dispute with Lord Grey of Wilton. What was the 
 matter in debate does not exactly appear ; though it is 
 probable the severity of the late deputy in the massacre 
 of the garrison at Fort del Ore, and the part borne by 
 Raleigh and Mackworth in its execution, may have 
 called for inquiry. It is certain that on this occasion he 
 defended himself with such spirit, and brought forward 
 the history of the transaction in which his credit was 
 involved with so much force and clearness, that it made 
 an extraordinary impression in his favour both on the 
 queen and the council ; whilst the old lord, who was 
 more of a blunt soldier than an orator, found himself 
 overpowered by the weighty reasons urged against him. 
 
 But amidst all this versatility of talent and pursuit, 
 there was one predominant subject to which he was 
 attached from his early years, and which now engrossed 
 his attention : This was the scheme for prosecuting dis- 
 coveries in the New World, to which the near expiry of 
 Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s patent nowrecalled hisattention. 
 The letters had only been granted for six years. Of 
 these, four had elapsed ; and Gilbert determined, with 
 the assistance of Raleigh, to fit out a second squadron to 
 promote that plan of discovery which he had explained 
 in his discourse upon a north-west passage to India. 
 Tlie fleet consisted of five ships and barks, — the Delight, 
 Raleigh, Golden Hind, Swallow, and Squirrel, — having 
 on board a force of 260 men ; and all was ready for their 
 departure on the 1st June 1583. Raleigh had studied 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 41 
 
 navigation, not only in its higher branches but even in 
 the minuter practical details ; and the largest ship in the 
 squadron, which bore his name, of 200 tons, was built 
 under his own eye, equipped at his expense, and com- 
 manded by Captain Butler, her master being Thomas 
 Davis of Bristol. The proprietor, who had now risen 
 into favour with the queen, did not embark in the expe- 
 dition ; but he appears to have induced his royal mistress 
 to take so deep an interest in its success, that, on the eve 
 of its sailing from Plymouth, she commissioned him to 
 convey to Sir Humphrey Gilbert her earnest wishes for 
 his success, with a special token of regard, — a little 
 trinket representing an anchor guided by a ladyT We 
 find this interesting circumstance in the following letter 
 written by Raleigh from the court 
 
 Brother, — I have sent you a token from hermajesty, 
 — an anchor guided by a lady, as you see, — and farther 
 her Highness willed me to send you word, that she wished 
 you as great good hap and safety to your ship as if herself 
 were there in person, desiring you to have care of your- 
 self, as of that which she tendereth ; and therefore, for 
 her sake, you must provide for it accordingly. Farther, 
 she commandeth that you leave your picture with me. 
 For the rest I leave till our meeting, or to the report of 
 this bearer, who would needs be the messenger of this 
 good news. So I commit you to the will and protection 
 of God, who send us such life or death as he shall please, 
 or hath appointed ! — Richmond, this Friday morning. 
 Your true brother, Walter Raleigh.”* 
 
 * This letter is indorsed as having been received March 18,* 
 1582-3 ; and it may be remarked that it settles the doubt as to 
 the truth of Prince’sf story of the golden anchor, questioned 
 by Campbell in his Lives of the Admirals. In the Heroologia 
 Anglise, p. 65, there is a fine print of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 
 taken evidently from an original picture ; but, unlike the portrait 
 mentioned by Granger in his Biographical History, vol. i. p. 246, 
 it does not bear the device mentioned in the text. Raleigh’s 
 
 * Cayley, vol. i. p. 31 . 
 
 t Wortliies of Devon, p. 419. 
 
42 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 The expedition, which set out under these happy 
 auspices, was unfortunate even in its commencement, 
 and ultimately fatal to its brave leader. In a short time 
 the Raleigh returned into harbour, a contagious dis- 
 temper having broken out on board. Gilbert pursued 
 his voyage ; and having reached the Baccalaos, originally 
 discovered by John Cabot and since called Newfoundland, 
 took possession of it and the adjoining coasts in the name 
 of the English queen. The ceremony, although per- 
 formed in the New World, was, according to the usages 
 of the Old, entirely feudal ; the royal charter being first 
 read, and a rod and turf of the soil delivered to the 
 admiral. After a partial survey of the island, and an 
 interview with the natives, whose disposition was gentle 
 and pacific,"^ they steered towards the south, with the 
 intention of bringing the countries in that quarter under 
 the compass of the patent.” But discontent, mutiny, 
 and disease, broke out in the fleet ; the Swallow was 
 sent home with the sick, and soon after the Delight was 
 completely wrecked. The remaining barks were the 
 Golden Hind and Squirrel ; the first of forty, the last of 
 ten tons burden. For what reason does not appear, the 
 admiral insisted, against the remonstrances of his officers 
 and crew, in having his flag in the Squin*el. It was a 
 fatal resolution : the weather soon after became dark 
 and lowering, the sailors with characteristic superstition 
 declared they heard strange voices commanding them to 
 leave the helm ; fearful shapes were said to glare during 
 the night around the ship, and the apparition of the 
 ominous flame, called by seamen Castor and Pollux,” 
 flitted above the mast.t These portents were the preludes 
 
 letter explains this difference. When Sir Humphrey was at 
 Plymouth on the eve of sailing, the queen commands him, we 
 see, to leave his picture with Raleigh. This must allude to a 
 portrait already painted ; and of course the golden anchor then 
 sent could not be seen in it. Now he perished on the voyage. 
 The picture at Devonshire House mentioned by Granger, which 
 bears this honourable badge, must therefore have been painted 
 after his death. 
 
 * Hakluyt, vol. iii. pp. 151, 153. f Ibid. pp. 156, 158, 159. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 43 
 
 to a tremendous storni ; and on the 9th of September, 
 at midnight, the little vessel which carried the admiral 
 was swallowed up with all on board, and not a plank of 
 her ever seen again. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was an able 
 and extraordinary man, and deserves the epithet bestowed 
 on him by Campbell, the father of our plantations,” 
 having been the first to establish a regular method of 
 colonial settlement. When seen for the last time before 
 they were cast away, he was sitting on deck with a book 
 in his hand, and was heard to exclaim, as if encouraging 
 Ills men, We are as near to heaven by sea as by land.” 
 According to Captain Haies, an eyewitness, he reiterated 
 ‘‘ the same speech, well beseeming a soldier resolute in 
 Jesus i Christ, as I can testify he was.”* After this 
 disaster the Golden Hind pursued her homeward voyage, 
 and arrived at Falmouth on the 22d of September 1583. 
 
 The melancholy fate of his brother did not deter 
 Raleigh from the prosecution of his schemes. By the 
 study of the Spanish voyages, and his conversations with 
 some skilful mariners of that nation whom he met in 
 Holland and Flanders, he had learnt that the Spanish 
 ships always went into the Gulf of Mexico by St Domingo 
 and Hispaniola, and directed their homeward course by 
 the Havannah and the Gulf of Florida, where they found 
 a continued coast on the west side trending away north, 
 which however they soon lost sight of by standing to 
 the east to make the coast of Spain. Upon these grounds, 
 and for reasons deduced from analogy and a knowledge 
 of the sphere, he concluded there must he a vast extent 
 of land north of the Gulf of Florida, of which he resolved 
 to attempt the discovery. 
 
 It is not improbable, also, that during his residence in 
 France he might have become acquainted with the par- 
 ticulars of the voyage of Verazzano, or have seen the 
 charts constructed by that navigator, who had explored 
 the same coast nearly as far south as the latitude of 
 
 * Captain Edward Haies’ Narrative of the Expedition of 
 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Hakluyt, vol. iii. pp. 143, 159. 
 
44 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 Virginia.* Having fully weighed this project, he laid 
 a memoir before the queen and council, who approved 
 of the undertaking ; and in the beginning of 1584 her 
 majesty granted, by her letters patent, all such countries 
 as he should discover in property to himself and his 
 heirs, reserving to the crown the fifth part of the gold or 
 silver ore which might he found. The patent contained 
 ample authority for the defence of the new countries, 
 the transport of settlers, and the exportation ot pro- 
 visions and commodities for their use. 
 
 Burleigh was now anxious to retire from public life ; 
 and although his royal mistress insisted on his remaining 
 in office, and rallied him with great vivacity on his love 
 of seclusion. Sir Walter, who was in high favour at court, 
 did not deem it prudent, or perhaps was not permitted, 
 to leave the country. He therefore selected for the 
 command of his projected voyage two experienced officers, 
 — Captains Philip Amadis and Arthur Barlow, — to whom 
 he gave minute written instructions, and who sailed with 
 two ships, well manned and provisioned, on the 27th of 
 April 1584. On the 10th of May they arrived at the 
 Canaries ; after which, keeping a south-easterly course, 
 they made the West Indies, where they remained twelve 
 days ; and, departing thence, on the 2d of July found 
 themselves in shoal-water, discerning their approach to 
 the land by the delicious fragrance with which the air 
 
 * Ramusio, vol. iii. p. 417. In 1582, Hakluyt published a 
 work entitled “ Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of Ame- 
 rica and the Islands adjacent.” It is dedicated to Sir Philip 
 Sidney ; and, among other subjects, urges the necessity of an 
 attempt to discover a passage by the north-west to the East 
 Indies. His reasons for the existence of such a passage are, 
 first, the letter of Sebastian Cabot to Ramusio, stating his 
 belief that the northern part of America was divided into islands ; 
 and, secondly, “ That Master John Verazzano, who had been 
 thrice on that coast, in an old excellent map had so described ; 
 which map he gave to Henry the Eighth, and which,” says Hak- 
 luyt, “ is yet in the custody of Mr Lock.” It is probable that 
 Raleigh had seen this map, as Hakluyt’s book, published in 
 1582, the very year before his discovery was planned, contains 
 a copy of it. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 45 
 
 was loaded, — as if,” to use the words of their letter to 
 Raleigh, we had been in the midst of some delicate 
 garden, abounding with all kind of odoriferous flowers.”'^ 
 
 Arrived upon the coast, and sailing along upwards of 
 120 miles, they at length found a haven and disembarked. 
 Their first step was to take possession of the country in 
 name of the queen ; after which they ascended a neigh- 
 bouring eminence, and discovered to their surprise that 
 they had not landed on the continent, but on the island 
 of Wokokon, which they found running parallel to nearly 
 the whole coast of North Carolina. The valleys were 
 finely wooded with cedars, around whose trunks wild 
 vines hung in festoons ; and the grape seemed so native 
 to the soil, that the clusters covered the ground, and dipt 
 into the sea. For two days no inhabitants were seen ; 
 but on the third a canoe with three men approached. 
 One of them was easily prevailed on to come aboard, 
 when the present of a shirt and some trinkets gained his 
 confidence. On returning to his boat he began to fish, 
 and having loaded it heavily, paddled back to the Eng- 
 lish, and, dividing his cargo into two parts, intimated 
 that one was for the ship and the other for the pinnace. 
 
 Next day they received a visit from some canoes, in 
 which were forty or fifty men, amongst whom was 
 Granganimeo, brother to the king of the country. Hav- 
 ing first rowed within a short distance, they landed on 
 the beach ; and the chief, attended by his suite, who 
 were handsome and athletic persons, fearlessly approached 
 opposite the ship. A long mat was spread for him, on 
 which he sat down ; and four of his followers, apparently 
 men of rank, squatted themselves on the corner. Signs 
 were made for the English to come forward ; and on 
 doing so Granganimeo desired them to sit down beside 
 him, showing every token of joy and welcome, first 
 striking his own head and breast, and afterwards those 
 of the strangers, as if to express that they were all 
 brethren. Presents were exchanged ; and such was the 
 
 Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 246. 
 
46 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 reverence with which these people treated their prince, 
 that whilst he made a long harangue, they remained 
 perfectly still, standing at a distance ; even the four 
 chiefs only venturing to communicate their feelings to 
 each other in a whisper. The gifts were received with 
 delight ; but on some trinkets being offered to the 
 chiefs, Granganimeo quietly rose up, and taking them 
 away, put them into his OAvn basket, intimating by signs 
 that every thing ought to be given to him, these men 
 being no more than his servants, — a proceeding to which 
 they submitted without a murmur. A traffic was soon 
 opened, in which the English made good profit, by ex- 
 changing beads and other trifles for rich furs and skins. 
 On exhibiting their wares, Granganimeo’s eye fixed with 
 delight upon a tin dish, for which he conceived the strong- 
 est desire. It became his at the price of twenty skins ; 
 and, having pierced a hole in the rim, he hung it round 
 his neck, making signs that it would serve as a breastplate 
 to protect him against the arrows of his enemies. 
 
 It was now foimd that these people were engaged in 
 hostilities with a neighbouring nation, and that the ab- 
 sence of the king was occasioned by severe wounds lately 
 received in battle, of which he lay sick at the chief town, 
 six miles off. His brother, after a few days, again visited 
 the English, attended by his wife and children, came 
 aboard, and partook of a collation, which they seemed 
 to enjoy. Their manners were remarkable for ease and 
 civility. The lady was a handsome little woman, ex- 
 tremely bashful. She wore a leathern mantle, with the 
 fur next her skin, and her hair, which was long and 
 black, was confined in a band of white coral ; strings of 
 pearl, as large as peas, hung from her ears, reaching to 
 her middle. Her children had earrings of the same pre- 
 cious material, whilst those of her attendants were of 
 copper. Granganimeo was dressed much in the same 
 fashion as his wife. On his head he wore a broad plate 
 of metal ; but, not being permitted to examine it, they 
 were uncertain whether it was copper or gold. 
 
 A brisk trade now began with the natives; but no 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 47 
 
 one was allowed to engage in it when the king’s brother 
 was present, e3j;cept such chiefs as were distinguished by 
 having plates of copper upon their heads. When this 
 prince intended to visit the ship he invariably intimated 
 the number of boats which were to accompany liim, by 
 lighting on the shore an equal number of beacons. The 
 navigators learnt that, about twenty years before their 
 arrival, a vessel belonging to a Christian country had 
 been wrecked on the coast; all hands on board perishing ; 
 out of the planks cast ashore the people had drawn the 
 nails and bolts, with which they had formed some edge- 
 tools, not having possessed any previous to this accident ; 
 but these were very rude, and their common instruments 
 consisted of shells and sharp flints. Yet with such im- 
 perfect means their canoes were admirably made, and large 
 enough to hold tw^enty men. When they wished to con- 
 struct one, they either burnt down a large tree, or selected 
 such as had been blown down by the wind, and laying 
 a coat of gum and resin on one side, set fire to it, by which 
 it was hollowed out ; after w^hich they scraped and po- 
 lished it with their shells ; and if found too shallow, laid 
 on more resin, and burnt it down to the required depth. 
 
 The soil of the country was rich, the air mild and 
 salubrious, and they counted fourteen kinds of sweet- 
 smelling trees, besides an underwood of laurels and box, 
 with oaks whose girth was greater than those of Eng- 
 land. Their fruits were melons, walnuts, cucumbers, 
 gourds, and esculent roots ; and the woods were plenti- 
 fully stocked with bucks, rabbits, and hares. After a 
 short while the adventurers, by invitation of the natives, 
 explored the river, on whose banks was their principal 
 town ; but the distance to be travelled being twenty 
 miles, they did not see the city. They reached, however, 
 an island called Roanoak, where they found a village of 
 nine houses built of cedar, the residence of their friend 
 Priuce Granganimeo, who was then absent. His wife, 
 with whom they were already acquainted, received them 
 with a generous hospitality, running out to meet them, 
 giving directions to her servants to pull their boats on 
 
48 
 
 FROM RALEIGH S BIRTH 
 
 shore, and to carry the white strangers on their backs 
 to her own house, where she feasted them with fish and 
 venison, and afterwards set before them a dessert of fruits 
 of various kinds. The people were gentle and faithful, 
 void of all deceit, and seemed to live after the manner 
 of the golden age.* 
 
 As the surf beat high on landing, they got wet, not- 
 withstanding their mode of transport ; but this incon- 
 venience was soon remedied, — a great fire being kindled, 
 and their clothes washed and dried by the princess’s 
 women, whilst their feet were bathed in warm water. 
 The natives expressed astonishment at the whiteness of 
 their skins, and kindly patted them as they looked won- 
 deringly at each other. During the feast two men armed 
 with bows and arrows suddenly entered the gate, when 
 the visiters in some alarm took hold of their swords, 
 which lay beside them, to the great annoyance of their 
 hostess, who at once detected their mistrust. She de- 
 spatched some of her attendants to drive the poor fellows 
 out at the gate, and who, seizing their bows and arrows, 
 broke them in an instant. These arrows were made of 
 small canes, pointed with shell or the sharp tooth of a 
 fish. The swords, breastplates, and war-clubs, used by 
 the natives, were formed of hardened wood ; to the end 
 of this last weapon they fastened the horns of a stag or 
 some other beast, and their wars were carried on with 
 much cruelty and loss of life. 
 
 The name of the country where the English landed 
 was Wingandaeoa, and of the sovereign Wingina ; but 
 his kingdom was of moderate extent, and surrounded by 
 states under independent princes, some of them in alliance 
 and others at war with him. Having examined as much 
 of the interior as their time would permit, our country- 
 men sailed homeward, accompanied by two of the natives 
 named Wanchese and Manteo, and arrived in England 
 in the middle of September. 
 
 Raleigh was highly delighted with this new discovery. 
 
 Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 249. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 49 
 
 establishing in so satisfactory a manner the results of his 
 previous reasoning, and undertaken at his sole suggestion 
 and expense. His royal mistress, too, was scarcely less 
 gratified ; she gave her countenance and support to the 
 schemes for colonization which he began to urge at 
 court, and issued her command, that the new country, 
 so full of amenity and beauty, should, in allusion to her 
 state of life, be called Virginia.* He was soon after- 
 wards chosen, along with Sir William Courtney, to 
 represent the county of Devon in Parliament ; and al- 
 though the imperfect manner in which at this period the 
 transactions of the House of Commons wei’e recorded 
 renders it difficult to follow the steps of his political 
 career, it is certain that he served upon various com- 
 mittees, and took an active share in public business. 
 On the 14th of December, the bill for the confirmation 
 of his patent of discovery, already mentioned, after 
 having been read the second time, was referred to a 
 committee, amongst whom we find the eminent names 
 of Walsingham, Sidney, Drake, and Grenville, by whom 
 it was approved without alteration ; and on the 18th, 
 after some discussion, it passed the house. 
 
 Not long after this Raleigh received the honour of 
 knighthood ; a dignity bestowed by Elizabeth with sin- 
 gular frugality and discrimination. In the time of this 
 great queen, it was a certain cognizance of distinguished 
 genius and valour, very different from those titles of 
 more pompous denomination conferred by her successor, 
 who suffered lucre to corrupt the true fountain of no- 
 bility, and to divert it into vulgar channels. It is a 
 remarkable fact, that during her whole reign, extending 
 to forty-four years, and perhaps more prolific of great 
 men and great events than that of any former sovereign 
 of England, she created only six earls and nine barons. 
 With regard to the dignity of knight, it was reserved 
 as the highest distinction which could be conferred upon 
 a warrior and a gentleman. This was shown in the in- 
 
 * Oldys’s Life of Raleigh, p. 58. 
 
 c 
 
50 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 stances of Sir Francis Vere and Sir Walter Raleigh, men 
 set apart for military service, and whom she never raised 
 above the rank of knighthood ; saying, when importuned 
 to make the former a baron, — ‘‘ that in his proper sphere 
 and in her estimation he was above it already.”* About 
 the same period. Sir Walter received a new mark of 
 favour, in the grant of a patent to license the vending 
 of wines throughout the kingdom, — a monopoly, how- 
 ever objectionable in principle, extremely lucrative in 
 its returns, and which was probably bestowed by Eliza- 
 beth to enable him more effectually to carry on his 
 great schemes for the improvement of navigation, and 
 the settlement of a colony in Virginia. 
 
 It was at this time that a company was formed by 
 some able men, under letters-patent from the queen, 
 denominated The Colleagues of the Fellowship for the 
 Discovery of the North-west Passage. The principal 
 persons in this spirited undertaking were, Sanderson, a 
 wealthy merchant of London, Sir Adrian Gilbert, and 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. An account of the results of their 
 labours, — the three celebrated voyages of Davis, — has 
 elsewhere been given ;t but some months previous to 
 the departure of this great seaman, Raleigh had fitted 
 out a fleet for Virginia, the command of which he in- 
 trusted to his relative Sir Richard Grenville. This 
 officer, whose life was as enterprising as his death was 
 heroic, had, in his early years, served against the Turks, 
 and after sharing in the glory of the battle of Lepanto, 
 returned to England with the reputation of an experienced 
 soldier, which he increased by his conduct during the 
 Irish rebellion. The queen promoted him to be Sheriff 
 of Cork ; and, on his coming to England, he was chosen 
 to represent the county of Cornwall in Parliament, in 
 which he exhibited uncommon talents and energy. 
 
 * Osborne’s Traditional Memorialls on the Reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth. Secret History of the Court of James I., vol. i. 
 
 pp. 80 , 81 . 
 
 f Edinburgh Cabinet Library, No. I. Polar Seas and Re- 
 gions, 4th edition, p. 211-222. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 51 
 
 The fleet of which he now assumed the direction 
 consisted of seven vessels, including the Dorothy a small 
 bark, and two pinnaces. The others were the Tiger of 
 140 tons burden, the Lion of 1 00, the Elizabeth of 50, 
 and the Roebuck, a fly-boat of the same burden as the 
 Tiger. Part of these were fitted out at Sir Walter’s ex- 
 pense, the remainder by his companions in the adventure ; 
 one of whom was Thomas Candish or Cavendish, after- 
 wards so eminent as a navigator,* who now served under 
 Grenville. 
 
 On the 1 4th of April the mariners reached the Canaries, 
 from which they steered to Dominica in the West Indies, 
 and landed at Puerto Rico, where they constructed a 
 temporary fort ; and during their stay captured two 
 richly freighted Spanish ships, having on board some 
 persons of rank, who purchased their liberty at a high 
 ransom. On the 26th of June, after some delays at 
 Hispaniola and Florida, they came to anchor at Wokokon 
 in Virginia ; and having sent notice of their arrival by 
 Manteo, one of the two natives who had visited England, 
 they were soon welcomed by their old friend Grangani- 
 meo, who displayed much satisfaction at their return. 
 Mr Ralph Lane, who had been invested with the dignity 
 of chief governor, now disembarked with 108 men, 
 having as his deputy Philip Amadas, one of the original 
 discoverers. Grenville does not appear to have been 
 sufficiently aware of the difficulties likely to be en- 
 countered by an infant colony in a new country ; and 
 accordingly, after a short stay, during which was collected 
 a valuable cargo of skins, furs, and pearls, he returned 
 to England, carrying into Plymouth a Spanish prize, 
 which he had captured on the homeward voyage, of 300 
 tons burden, and richly laden. 
 
 There is a combination of qualities required in the 
 governor of a new settlement, which are of rare occur- 
 rence. Courage, promptitude, and firmness, are absolutely 
 necessary, but they must be under the control of much 
 good temper, patience, and self-command. An aptitude 
 
 * Edinburgh Cabinet Library, No. V. Early English Navi- 
 gators, 3d edition, p. 125. 
 
52 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 to take offence, and an eagerness to repel imaginary 
 insults, are the most dangerous qualities which such a 
 dignitary can exhibit ; and unfortunately they seem to 
 have been too prominent features in the character of Mr 
 Ralph Lane. The consequence was a speedy and total 
 failure. Yet the first survey of their new territory 
 delighted the English ; and the governor in a letter to 
 Hakluyt, who appears to have been his intimate friend, 
 informs him that they had discovered the mainland to 
 be the goodliest soil under the cope of heaven ; abounding 
 with sweet trees that bring sundry rich and pleasant 
 gums ; * * and, moreover, of huge and unknown 
 
 greatness, well peopled and towned, though savagely, 
 and the climate so wholesome that they had not one 
 person sick since their arrival.”* 
 
 Lane fixed his abode on the island of Roanoak, and 
 thence extended his researches eighty miles southward 
 to the city of Secotan. He also pushed 130 miles north 
 to the country of the Chesepians, a temperate and fertile 
 region ; and north-west to Chawanook, a large province 
 under a monarch named Menatonon. These proceedings, 
 however, were soon interrupted by the threatening aspect 
 of ‘affairs at head-quarters. Even before the departure 
 of Grenville for England an accident occurred in which 
 the conduct of the settlers was rash and impolitic. A 
 silver cup had been stolen, and a boat was despatched 
 to Aquascogok to reclaim it. Alarmed at this visit the 
 savages fled into the woods, and the enraged crew demo- 
 lished the city and destroyed the corn-fields. A revenge 
 so deep for so slight an injury incensed the natives ; 
 and, although they artfully concealed their resentment, 
 from that moment all cordiality between them and the 
 strangers was at an end. 
 
 Not long after, Menatonon and his son Skyco were 
 seized and thrown into irons ; but the monarch was soon 
 enlarged, whilst the youth was retained as a hostage for 
 his fidelity. To all appearance this precaution had the 
 desired effect. But the king, although an untaught 
 savage, proved himself an adept in dissimulation. W ork- 
 
 Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 254. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 53 
 
 ing upon the avarice and credulity of the English, he 
 enticed them into the interior of the country by a flat- 
 tering report of its extraordinary richness and amenity. 
 He asserted that they would arrive at a region where the 
 robes of the sovereign and courtiers were embroidered 
 with pearl, and the beds and houses studded with the 
 same precious material. Menatonon described also a 
 remarkably rich mine, called by the natives Chaunis 
 Temoatan, which was situated in the country of the 
 Mangaoaks, and produced a mineral similar to copper, 
 although softer and paler. 
 
 By these artful representations Lane was persuaded 
 to undertake an expedition by water, with two wherries 
 and forty men. Instead, however, of the promised relays 
 of provisions, they found the towns deserted, and the 
 whole country laid waste. Their boats glided along 
 silent and solitary banks ; and after three days, during 
 which they had not seen a human being, their last morsel 
 of food was exhausted, and the governor, now aware of 
 the treachery of Menatonon, proposed to return. His 
 men, however, entreated him to proceed, still haunted 
 by dreams of the inexhaustible riches of the Mangaoaks’ 
 country, and declaring they could not starve as long as 
 they had two mastiffs, which they might kill and make 
 into soup. Overcome by such arguments Lane continued 
 the voyage ; but for two days longer no living thing 
 appeared. At night indeed lights were seen moving on 
 the banks, demonstrating that their progress was not 
 unknown, though the observers were invisible. At last, 
 on the third day, a loud voice from the woods suddenly 
 called out the name of Manteo, who was now with the 
 expedition. As the voice was followed by a song. Lane 
 imagined it a pacific salutation ; but the Indian seized 
 his gun, and had scarcely time to warn them that they 
 were about to be attacked, when a volley of arrows was 
 discharged into the boats. The travellers now landed 
 and assaulted the savages, who fell back into the depths 
 of the wood, and escaped with little injury ; upon which 
 it was resolved to return to the settlement. On their 
 homeward voyage, which, owing to their descending 
 
54 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 with the current, was performed with great rapidity, 
 they had recourse to the mastiff-broth, or as the governor 
 terms it, dog’s porridge,” and arrived at Roanoak in 
 time to defeat a formidable conspiracy. 
 
 The author of the plot was Wmgina, who, since the 
 death of his brother Granganimeo, had taken the name 
 of Pemisapan. His associate was Menatonon, to whose 
 son, Skyco, at that time a prisoner in the hands of the 
 English, Pemisapan also communicated the design ; and 
 these two chiefs, pretending friendship, but concealing 
 under its mask the most deadly enmity, had organized 
 the plan of a general massacre of the colony. The design, 
 however, was betrayed to Lane by Skyco, who had 
 become attached to the English ; and, aware of the ne- 
 cessity of taking immediate measures before Pemisapan 
 could muster his forces, the governor gave instructions 
 to seize any canoes which might offer to depart from the 
 island. In executing this order, two natives were slain, 
 and their enraged countrymen rose in a body and at- 
 tempted to overpower the colonists, but were instantly 
 dispersed. Not aware, however, that his secret was 
 discovered, and affecting to consider this as an accident, 
 Pemisapan admitted Lane and his officers to an interview 
 which proved fatal to him. The Virginian monarch was 
 seated in state, surrounded by seven or eight of his 
 principal weroanees, or high chiefs ; and after a brief 
 debate, upon a signal given, the Europeans attacked the 
 royal circle and put them all to death. 
 
 This alarming conspiracy had scarcely been put down, 
 when the natives made a second attempt to get rid of 
 the strangers by neglecting to sow the adjacent lands, 
 hoping in this manner to compel them to leave the 
 country. At this decisive moment a fleet of twenty- 
 three vessels came in sight, which turned out to be the 
 squadron of Sir Francis Drake, who had fortunately 
 determined to visit the colony of his friend Sir Walter, 
 and carry home news of their condition on his return 
 from an expedition against the settlements in the Spanish 
 Main. It was now long past the time when supplies 
 had been expected from England, and Drake generously 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 55 
 
 offered every sort of provisions, which were readily ac- 
 cepted . Lane also received a vessel and som e smaller craft 
 to carry them home ; but before they could get on board, 
 a dreadful tempest, which continued four days, dashed 
 the barks intended for the colonists to pieces, and might 
 have driven on shore the whole fleet, unless, to use the 
 language of the old despatch, the Lord had held his 
 holy hand over them.” Deprived in this way of all 
 other prospect of return, they embarked in Sir Francis’ 
 fleet, and arrived in England on the 27th of July 1586. 
 
 Scarcely, however, had they sailed, when the folly of 
 their precipitate conclusion that Raleigh had forgotten 
 or neglected them, was manifested by the arrival at 
 Hatorask of a vessel of 100 tons, amply stored with every 
 supply. Deeply disappoyited at finding no appearance 
 of the colony, they sailed along the coast and explored 
 the interior. But all their search was in vain, and they 
 were compelled to take their departure for Europe. This, 
 however, was not all. Within a fortnight after they 
 weighed anchor. Sir Richard Grenville, with three well- 
 appointed vessels, fitted out principally by Raleigh, 
 appeared off Virginia, where, on landing, he found to his 
 astonishment every thing deserted and in ruins. Having 
 made an unsuccessful effort to procure intelligence of his 
 countrymen, it became necessary to return home. But, 
 unwilling to abandon so promising a discovery, he left 
 behind him, on the isle of Roanoak, fifteen men with 
 provisions for two years, and, after some exploits against 
 the Spaniards in the Azores, arrived in England.* 
 
 Such repeated mismanagement would have disgusted 
 any spirit less ardent and energetic than Raleigh’s. But 
 his zeal for the naval glory of the country, and his en- 
 thusiasm for the prosecution of maritime discovery, con- 
 tinued unabated. At this moment he had commissioned 
 two vessels, the Serpent and Mary Spark, which he 
 despatched under Captains Jacob Whiddon and John 
 Evesham to cruise against the Spaniards. In this ad- 
 venture more prizes were taken than they could carry 
 home. Nor was he enriched only by the ships and 
 
 Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 265, 
 
56 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 commodities which were captured, hut by the ransom 
 of prisoners, amongst whom were the commandant of St 
 Michaels, and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, governor of 
 the Straits of Magellan, one of the most able navigators 
 of Spain. W ith him Sir W alter, who from a congeniality 
 of pursuits could well appreciate his talents, entered into 
 an intimate correspondence, treating him whilst under his 
 roof with distinguished courtesy, discussing subjects of 
 cosmography, examining charts of the New World, and 
 availing himself as far as was possible of the great expe- 
 rience of the Spaniard. We learn this from an amusing 
 anecdote introduced in his History of the World, in com- 
 paring the extravagant conjectures with which some anti- 
 quaries have filled up the more obscure periods of ancient 
 history to the pigmies and blocks of loadstone that geogra- 
 phers think themselves at liberty to set down in their 
 tracts of unexplored countries : — I remember,” says 
 he, a pretty jest of Don Pedro de Sarmiento, a worthy 
 Spanish gentleman who had been employed by his king 
 in planting a colony upon the Straits of Magellan ; for 
 when I asked him, being then my prisoner, some ques- 
 tion about an island in those straits, which methought 
 might have done either benefit or displeasure to his en- 
 terprise, he told me merrily, that it was to be called 
 the Painter’s Wife’s Island ; saying, that whilst the 
 fellow drew that map, his wife sitting by desired him to 
 put in one country for her, that she in imagination might 
 have an island of her own.”* 
 
 It was about this time that George Clifford, earl of 
 Cumberland, another celebrated admiral of Elizabeth, 
 fitted out a small squadron for an expedition to the South 
 Seas, to which Raleigh contributed a pinnace named the 
 Dorothy. Clifford in his youth had been the pupil of 
 the celebrated Archbishop Whitgift, and was probably 
 intended by his father for a pacific and learned profession ; 
 but his early knowledge in mathematics predisposed him 
 to navigation, and, in common with many other enter- 
 prising spirits of that age, he was seized with a passion 
 
 * Hist, of the World, book ii. c. xxiii. § 4. Works, vol. iv. 
 p. 684. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 57 
 
 for adventure. This expedition, however, in which 
 Raleigh was a partner, proved unfortunate ; and Sir 
 Walter’s attention was soon engrossed by the arrival of 
 his colony from Virginia. 
 
 It is asserted by Camden, that tobacco was now” for 
 the first time brought into England by these settlers ; 
 and there can be little doubt that Lane had been directed 
 to import it by his master, who must have seen it used 
 in France during his residence there.* There is a well- 
 known tradition that Sir Walter first began to smoke 
 it privately in his study, and the servant coming in with 
 his tankard of ale and nutmeg, as he was intent upon his 
 book, seeing the smoke issuing from his mouth, threw 
 all the liquor in his face by way of extinguishing the fire, 
 and running down stairs, alarmed the family with piercing 
 cries, that his master, before they could get up, would 
 be burnt to ashes. “ And this,” continues Oldys, “ has 
 nothing in it more surprising than the mistake of those 
 Virginians themselves, who the first time they seized 
 upon a quantity of gunpowder which belonged to the 
 English colony, sowed it for grain, or the seed of some 
 strange vegetable, in the earth, with full expectation of 
 reaping a plentiful crop of combustion by the next har- 
 vest to scatter their enemies.” t 
 
 On another occasion it is said that Raleigh, conversing 
 with his royal mistress upon the singular properties of 
 this new and extraordinary herb, “ assured her majesty 
 he had so well experienced the nature of it, that he could 
 tell her of what weight even the smoke would be in any 
 quantity proposed to be consumed. Her majesty, fixing 
 her thoughts upon the most impracticable part of the 
 experiment, that of hounding the smoke in a balance, 
 suspected that he put the traveller upon her, and would 
 needs lay him a wager he could not solve the doubt : so 
 he procured a quantity agreed upon to he thoroughly 
 smoked ; then went to weighing, but it was of the ashes ; 
 and in the conclusion, what was wanting in the prime 
 weight of the tobacco, her majesty did not deny to have 
 
 * Camden, in Kennet, vol. ii. p. 509. 
 
 + Oldys’ Life of Raleigh, p. 74. 
 
58 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 been evaporated in smoke ; and further said, that ^ many 
 labourers in the fire she had heard of who had turned 
 their gold into smoke, but Raleigh was the first who 
 had turned smoke into gold.’ 
 
 Along with Lane, Raleigh had sent Mr Thomas Hariot, 
 his master in mathematics, in whose society and instruc- 
 tions he took so much delight that he maintained him 
 in his house, and allowed him a pension. He was a man 
 of profound scientific acquirements ; the undoubted in- 
 ventor of the theory of equations universally followed 
 in modern algebra, unjustly claimed by Descartes ;t and 
 being also an excellent naturalist. Sir Walter selected him 
 as the person best fitted to accomplish a minute survey 
 of the extent and productions of his new kingdom. The 
 reader will be amused at his description of this plant, 
 afterwards destined to become so famous throughout 
 Europe : There is an herb,” says he, “ which is sowed 
 
 apart by itself, and is called by the inhabitants Vppowoc. 
 In the West Indies it hath divers names, according to 
 the several plaoes and countries where it groweth and is 
 used. The Spaniards generally call it tabacco. The 
 leaves thereof being dried and brought into powder, they 
 use to take the fume or smoke thereof by sucking it 
 through pipes made of clay, into their stomach and head ; 
 from whence it purgeth superfluous fleame and other 
 gross humours, and openeth all the pores and passages 
 of the body ; by which means the use thereof not only 
 preserveth the body from obstructions, but also (if any 
 be, so that they have not been of too long continuance), 
 in short time breaketh them : whereby their bodies are 
 notably preserved in health. * * This Vppowoc is of 
 
 so precious estimation amongst them, that they think 
 their gods are marvellously delighted therewith, where- 
 upon sometime they make hallowed fires, and cast some 
 of the powder therein for a sacrifice : being in a storm 
 upon the waters, to pacify their gods they cast some up 
 into the air and into the water ; so a wear for fish being 
 
 * Apothegms of English Nation, a MS. quoted by Oldys in 
 his Life of Raleigh, p. 75. 
 
 f Biogr. Brit., art. Hariot. W allis’s Hist, of Algebra, c. 30, 53. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 59 
 
 newly set up, they cast some therein and into the air ; 
 also after an escape of danger, they cast some into the 
 air likewise ; but all done with strange gestures, stamp- 
 ing, sometime dancing, clapping of hands, holding up of 
 hands, and staring up into the heavens, uttering there- 
 withal, and chattering strange words and noises. We 
 ourselves, during the time we were there, used to suck 
 it after their manner, as also since our return, and have 
 found many rare and wonderful experiments of the 
 virtues thereof, of which the relation would require a 
 volume by itself : the use of it,” concludes Mr Hariot, 
 evidently himself an enthusiastic smoker, by so many 
 of late, men and women of great calling, and some learned 
 physicians also, is sufficient witness.”'^* 
 
 In the treatise on Virginia written by this ^thor, we 
 find ample proof that liberal terms were offered by the 
 proprietor to those who chose to settle in his new colony. 
 The smallest portion of land that he granted was 500 
 acres to any person who engaged in the adventure, and 
 there seems to be little doubt that the failure of his first 
 attempt ought to be ascribed to the imprudent conduct 
 of Lane, not only in his attacks upon the natives, but 
 his precipitate desertion of the settlement. Yet Raleigh, 
 undismayed by these misfortunes, and having a consider- 
 able command of money, drawn from the prizes which 
 his ships had taken, determined to send out a second 
 colony, the preparations for which, however, he was for 
 the present obliged to defer, on account of the multiplicity 
 of affairs which pressed upon him at home. 
 
 Of these one of the most difficult was the management 
 of a large estate in Ireland, given him by the queen. 
 On the suppression of the Munster rebellion, the for- 
 feited principality of the Earl of Desmond was parcelled 
 out by Elizabeth among those who had distinguished 
 themselves in the war ; and in this plantation of Mun- 
 ster, as it was called, there was assigned to Raleigh a 
 portion of 12,000 acres. The persons to whom these 
 grants were made received the name of Gentlemen Un- 
 dertakersy and were bound to improve their property. 
 
 Hakluyt, vol. iii. pp. 27 L 272 . 
 
60 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 with the view of reducing the country to civilisation and 
 good order. One of those who shared in this benevolence 
 was the famous Spenser, who formerly filled the office 
 of secretary to the lord-deputy, and with whom Sir 
 Walter, during his campaign in Ireland, had contracted 
 a warm friendship. The lot given to the poet of the 
 Fairy Queen contained the Castle of Kilcolman, the 
 ancient and romantic domains of the Earls of Desmond, 
 which was watered by the river Mulla. Although he 
 remained in England, Sir Walter adopted, with his cha- 
 racteristic energy, immediate measures for the cultivation 
 of his territory, not sparing his private fortune, re-enclos- 
 ing the lands laid waste by war, and encouraging the 
 people to return to their deserted farms and hamlets. 
 The subsequent rebellion, however, defeated these salu- 
 tary endeavours ; and in 1601, by the advice of Sir 
 George Carew, then President of Munster, Raleigh sold 
 his Irish state to Boyle, afterwards Earl of Cork. The 
 farms, as we learn from Carew, were then untenanted, 
 and instead of yielding any profit, cost their proprietor 
 £200 a-year to keep them from invasion and havoc, — a 
 consideration which induced him readily to accept the 
 offer of Mr Boyle.* 
 
 Sir Walter’s favour at court had now risen so high 
 that he began to experience the jealousy which always 
 attends unusual promotion ; and yet his preferments 
 were rather honourable than lucrative. He was ap- 
 pointed Seneschal of the dutchies of Cornwall and Exeter, 
 and Lord- warden of the Stanneries ; and he sat in the 
 parliament of 1586, in which the majority of the house 
 recommended to Elizabeth to put to death the Scottish 
 queen, as affording the only sure prospect of security to 
 her dominions. 
 
 His office of Warden of the Stanneries was no sine- 
 cure ; and it may he necessary to explain it. Tin, from 
 a remote period, has been the staple commodity of Corn- 
 wall, this produce having been famous even in the time 
 of the Romans. After the conquest by the Normans, the 
 earls of that county derived great revenues from the same 
 
 * Life of Boyle, Earl of Cork, in Biograpliia Britaiinica. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 61 
 
 source, and in fact had the monopoly of the trade in 
 Europe ; for the Spanish mines had ceased to be worked, 
 and those of Germany were not yet discovered. Edmund, 
 brother to Henry III., having obtained possession of this 
 dutchy, enacted the stannery-laws, by which a certain 
 impost, payable to the Duke of Cornwall, was laid upon 
 this mineral. These laws were afterwards confirmed and 
 enlarged by Edward III., who divided the whole society 
 of tinners, till then composing one body, into four parts, 
 called, from the places of their residence, Foymore, 
 Blackmore, Trewarnaile, and Penwith. Over these he 
 constituted one general warden to judge in causes both 
 of law and equity, and to set over each company a sub- 
 warden, whose duty it was to determine controversies 
 once a-month, — their sentences, from the stannum or 
 tin, being denominated stannery-judgments, from which 
 an appeal lay to the lord- warden. And lest the tribute, 
 forty shillings for every thousand pounds of tin, should 
 not be regularly paid to the Duke of Cornwall, it was 
 provided that the metal should be carried to one of the 
 four towns to he weighed, stamped, and charged with 
 duty ; after which the proprietor was at liberty to sell 
 it, giving the first offer to the king. Such were the 
 origin and uses of this ancient office. When conferred 
 upon Raleigh the title of Duke of Cornwall was extinct ; 
 but the patent conveyed to him the same privileges which 
 had belonged to the dukedom. Under his management 
 the condition of the workmen was ameliorated and their 
 wages doubled, — a fact which shows that the monopoly, 
 although injurious in itself, was mildly and honestly 
 administered. 
 
 Amidst these multiplied cares, he found time to cul- 
 tivate his literary taste, to enjoy the society of learned 
 and scientific men, to extend his patronage to professors 
 of the fine arts, and not only to make himself useful to 
 the queen in the graver matters of state policy, but agree- 
 able to her by his accomplishments and fascinating con- 
 versation. “ The queen,” says Naunton, in speaking of 
 his rise, began to be taken with his elocution, and 
 loved to hear his reasons to her demands ; and the truth 
 
62 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 is, she took him for a kind of oracle, which nettled 
 them all.”^ 
 
 Of those who were thus offended with the power 
 which Raleigh gained at this time over the queen, none 
 more deeply resented it, or bore it more impatiently, 
 than the Earl of Essex. The following remarkable letter 
 has lately been discovered, which throws much light on 
 this jealousy, and establishes the fact that Elizabeth de- 
 lighted to see Raleigh and Essex competing for her love. 
 
 Mr Dier, — I have been this morning at Winchester 
 House to seek you, and I would have given a thousand 
 pounds to have had one hour’s speech with you : so much 
 I would hearken to your counsel, and so greatly do I 
 esteem your friendship. Things are fallen out very 
 strangely against me, since my last being with you. Yes- 
 ternight, the queen came to Northhall ; where my 
 lady of Warwick would needs have my sister to he ;t 
 which though I knew not at the first, yet, to prevent 
 the worst, I made my aunt Laighton;|: signify so much 
 unto the queen before her coming from Theobalds, that 
 at her coming to Northhall this matter might not seem 
 strange unto her. She seemed to he well pleased and 
 well contented with it, and promised to use her well. 
 Yesternight, after she was come, and knew my sister 
 was in the house, she commanded my lady of Warwick 
 that my sister should keep her chamber. Whereupon, 
 being greatly troubled in myself, I watched when the 
 queen had supped, to have some speech with her ; which 
 I had at large, yet still she giving occasion thereof. 
 Her excuse was ; first, she knew not of my sister’s com- 
 ing ; and besides, the jealousy that the world would 
 conceive that all her kindness to my sister was done for 
 love of myself. Such bad excuses gave me a theme 
 large enough, both for answer of them, and to tell her 
 what the true causes were ; why she would offer this 
 
 * Fragmenta Regalia, pp. 109, 110. 
 
 t My Lady of Warwick — probably Anne, daughter to Francis, 
 earl of Bedford, third wife to Ambrose Dudley, earl of Warwick. 
 
 X Who she was I cannot yet find. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 63 
 
 disgrace both to me and to my sister ; which was only 
 to please that knave Raleigh, for whose sake I saw she 
 would both grieve me and my love, and disgrace me in 
 the eye of the world. From thence she came to speak 
 of Raleigh, and it seemed she could not well endure any 
 thing to be spoken against him ; and taking hold of one 
 word, disdain^ she said there was no such cause why I 
 should disdain him. This speech troubled me so much, 
 that as near as I could I did describe unto her what he 
 had been, and what he was ; and then I did let her see, 
 whether I had cause to disdain his competition of love ; 
 or whether I could have comfort to give myself over to 
 the service of a mistress that was in awe of such a man. 
 I spake what of grief and choler as much against him 
 as I could : and I think he standing at the door might 
 very well hear the worst that I spoke of himself. In 
 the end, I saw she was resolved to defend him, and to 
 cross me. From thence she came to speak bitterly against 
 my mother ;t which, because I could not endure, to see 
 me and my house disgraced (the only matter which both 
 her choler and the practice of mine enemies had to work 
 upon), I told her, for my sister, she should not any 
 longer disquiet her ; I would, though it were almost 
 midnight, send her away that night : and for myself, I 
 had no joy to be in any place, but loth to be near about 
 her, when I knew my affection so much thrown down, 
 and such a wretch as Raleigh highly esteemed of her. 
 To this she made no answer but turned her away to my 
 lady of Warwick. So at that late hour I sent my men 
 away with my sister ; and after, I came hither myself. 
 This strange alteration is by Raleigh’s means : and the 
 queen, that hath tried all other ways, now will see 
 whether she can by these hard courses drive me to be 
 friends with Raleigh ; which rather shall drive me to 
 many other extremities. If you come hither by twelve 
 of the clock I would fain speak with you. My resolu- 
 tion will let me take no longer time. I will be this 
 night at Margett, and if I can I will ship myself for 
 
 + Lettice, daughter to Sir Francis Knolles, and then Countess 
 of Leicester. 
 
64 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth 
 
 Flushing. I will see Sluse lost or relieved, which can- 
 not be yet, but is now ready to be done. If I return I 
 will be welcomed home. If not, una hella morier is 
 better than a disquiet life. This course may seem strange ; 
 but the extreme unkind dealing with me drives me to 
 it. My friends will make the best of it ; mine enemies 
 cannot say it is unhonest ; the danger is mine, and I am 
 content to abide the worst. Whatsoever becomes of me, 
 God grant her to be ever most happy. And so in haste 
 I commit you to God. — Yours assured, 
 
 R. Essex. 
 
 “ This 21st of July. 
 
 “ If you show my letter to any body, let it be to my 
 mother and Mr Secretary.'^'” 
 
 It was now time to think of his Virginian colony, the 
 failure of which, as already noticed, was rather owing to 
 the precipitate desertion of Lane than to any fault in 
 the original plan ; and he determined to make a new 
 attempt for the settlement of a country which held out 
 so many encouragements from its salubrious climate and 
 fertile soil. Hariot, who accompanied Lane, had by this 
 time published his True Report of the New Found Land 
 of Virginia, which created much speculation ; so that he 
 experienced little difficulty in procuring 150 settlers. 
 He appointed as governor Mr John White, with twelve 
 assistants, to whom he gave a charter, incorporating them 
 by the name of the Governor and Assistants of the City 
 of Raleigh in Virginia. These, in three vessels, fur- 
 nished principally at his own expense, sailed from Ports- 
 mouth on the 26th of April 1587, and on the 22d of 
 July anchored in Hatorask harbour. White, with forty 
 men, proceeded in the pinnace to Roanoak to confer with 
 the fifteen colonists left by Sir Richard Grenville ; but 
 to his dismay found the place deserted, and human bones 
 scattered on the beach, — the remains, as was afterwards 
 
 * This curious letter was discovered by my learned friend 
 Mr Brewer of Queen’s College, Oxford, amongst the valuable 
 MS. Collections of Archbishop Bancroft, vol. Ixxiv. p. 46. — 
 It is now printed for the first time. 
 
TO HIS SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 65 
 
 discovered, of their countrymen, all of whom the savages 
 had slain. A party then hastened to the fort on the 
 north side of the island. But here the prospect was 
 equally discouraging. No trace of a human being was 
 to be seen ; the building was rased to the ground, and 
 the wild deer were couching in the ruined houses, and 
 feeding on the herbage and melons which had overgrown 
 the floor and crept up the walls. 
 
 Although the governor held Raleigh’s written orders 
 to make the settlement on the Bay of Chesepiock, he 
 was obliged to abandon that plan, and commenced re- 
 pairing the buildings at Roanoak. But disaster attended 
 all their proceedings. Dissensions broke out among 
 them ; and White, either from want of firmness or not 
 being intrusted with sufficient authority, found it im- 
 possible to carry on operations wdth success. The natives 
 of Croatoan were friendly ; those of Secota and Aquas- 
 cogok, whohad murdered the former colonists, completely 
 hostile ; but all were clothed alike, — and before going 
 to war the Croatoan s anxiously begged for some badge 
 by which they might be recognised. In the confusion 
 this was neglected, and it led to unhappy consequences. 
 Howe, an English sailor, who had gone a- fishing, was 
 slain by the savages, being pierced with sixteen arrows ; 
 and White having in vain attempted to open a pacific 
 communication with the weroanees or chief men of 
 Secota and Pomeiock, determined not to delay his re- 
 venge. Guided, therefore, by Manteo, he set out at 
 midnight with Captain Stafford and twenty-four men, 
 and stealing in the dark upon the natives as they sat 
 around a fire, shot some of them dead on the spot, while 
 others fled shrieking into a thicket, and one savage who 
 knew Stafford rushed up, calling out his name and em- 
 bracing his knees. To the grief and horror of the 
 governor it was then discovered that they had attacked 
 a party of friends instead of enemies. 
 
 Soon after, Manteo, in obedience to Raleigh’s directions, 
 was christened, and created Lord of Roanoak and Dasa- 
 monwepeuk ; whilst Mrs Eleanor Dare, the wife of one 
 
 D 
 
66 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s birth, &c. 
 
 of the assistants, having given birth to a daughter, the 
 infant was named Virginia, being the first Christian horn 
 in that country.* 
 
 White was now anxious to fulfil Sir Walter’s instruc- 
 tions ; but disputes arose with renewed bitterness among 
 the settlers. Though they were not in want of stores, 
 many demanded permission to go home ; others violently 
 opposed this ; and at last, after stating a variety of pro- 
 jects, all joined in requesting the governor to sail for 
 England, and return with all the supplies requisite for 
 the establishment of the colony. To this he reluctantly 
 consented ; and departing from Roanoak on the 27th of 
 August 1587, where he left eighty-nine men, seventeen 
 women, and eleven children, he arrived in England on 
 the 5th of November.t 
 
 * Halduyt, vol. iii. pp. 284, 285. f Ibid. p. 286. 
 
FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA, &c. 67 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 From the Defeat of the Armada to Raleigh’s 
 Imprisonment* 
 
 Expected Invasion of England by the Spanish Armada — 
 Conduct of Elizabeth — Consultations with Sir Walter Raleigh 
 and other experienced Officers — Preparations for Defence — 
 Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, and Lord Henry Seymour — 
 Strength, Numbers, and Disposition of the English Navy, 
 shown from Original Documents in the State-paper Office — 
 Elizabeth visits the Army in the Camp at Tilbury — The Ar- 
 mada sails from the Tagus — Dispersed and driven back — 
 Sails the Second Time — Its Arrival off the Lizard — Cautious 
 Tactics of the English — Their Success — Fight on the 22d, 
 23d, 25th, and 26th July — The Armada makes its Way up 
 Channel to Calais — Its Discomfiture — Rejoicings for the Vic- 
 tory — Raleigh’s Services rewarded by the Queen — He sails 
 with Drake and Norris in the Portuguese Expedition — Cha- 
 racter of the Earl of Essex — Raleigh’s Journey to Ireland — 
 Visits Spenser at Kilcolman — Their Friendship — First Three 
 Cantos of the Fairy Queen completed — Spenser returns with 
 Raleigh to England — Introduced to the Queen — Raleigh’s 
 Defence of Sir Richard Grenville — Character and Fate of 
 this great Officer — Raleigh’s Amour with Elizabeth Throg- 
 morton — They are privately married — Elizabeth’s Indigna- 
 tion, and Raleigh’s Disgrace — Sent to the Tower — Singular 
 Conduct in Confinement — He recovers his Liberty. 
 
 The governor of Virginia could not have returned home 
 at a moment more unpropitious to the interests of the 
 infant colony. The mind of the whole nation was en- 
 grossed with one great subject, — the expected invasion 
 of England by the fleet so proudly described as the In- 
 
68 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 vincible Armada, — and Raleigh, along with a committee 
 of the ablest councillors and commanders, w'as engaged 
 in devising measures of defence. He despatched White, 
 however, with supplies in two vessels ; but they were 
 attacked by a Spanish privateer, and so much disabled 
 as to be obliged to put back, whilst it was impossible to 
 refit the ships, owing to the urgency of more important 
 matters. The crisis was indeed one of the deepest im- 
 portance. The preparations of Spain were conducted on 
 a greater scale than had ever before been witnessed ; 
 and, whether we look to these mighty efforts, or to the 
 consequences involved in their success or discomfiture, 
 it is perhaps not too much to affirm, that in a reign 
 crowded with events, this threatened annihilation of 
 England, the Protestant bulwark of Europe, by the con- 
 centrated energies of a despotic and Roman Catholic 
 power, was the greatest of them all. 
 
 The resources of Philip made him a formidable enemy. 
 His navy was vast, and unrivalled if we consider the size 
 of his vessels and their ordnance ; the possession of Flan- 
 ders gave him harbours opposite to those of England ; 
 his influence with the Romish party in France was great ; 
 his exchequer rich in the gold of the New World ; and 
 his army composed of the best- disciplined troops and the 
 most experienced officers in Europe* His preparations 
 had now continued for three years, and the result was 
 the assembling of a fleet greater than had ever sailed from 
 Spain. According to a letter of Sir John Hawkins, 
 written at the time to Sir Francis Walsingham,* the 
 main strength of the Armada consisted in a squadron of 
 fifty-four ‘‘ forcible and invincible” ships, embracing nine 
 galleons of Portugal, twenty great Venetians and argosies 
 of the seas, twenty great Biscainers, four galleasses, and 
 one ship of the Duke of Florence of 800 tons. Besides 
 these there were thirty smaller ships, and thirty hulks, 
 making in all 114 vessels ; but another account, derived 
 from the Spanish historians, gives a higher estimate, 
 
 Preserved in the State-paper Office. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 69 
 
 affirming that the whole naval force extended to 132 
 ships and twenty caravels.* 
 
 It was divided into seven squadrons. The first, con- 
 sisting of twelve Portuguese galleons, under the command 
 of the generalissimo, the Duke de Medina Sidonia ; the 
 second, of fourteen ships, being the fleet of Biscay, under 
 the Vice-admiral Juan Martinez de Recaldo ; the third, 
 that of Castile, of sixteen ships, commanded by Don 
 Diego de Valdez ; the fourth, the Andalusian squadron, 
 of eleven ships, by Pedro de Valdez ; the fifth, the squa- 
 dron of Guypuscoa, of fourteen ships, by Don Michel de 
 Oquendo ; the sixth, the eastern fleet, of ten ships, called 
 Levantiscas, led by Don Martin de Vertendona ; and 
 the seventh, of twenty-three ureas, or hulks, under the 
 command of Juan Lopez de Medina. Besides these there 
 were twenty-four vessels, called pataches or zabras, under 
 Antonio de Mendoza, four galleasses of Naples, led by 
 Hugo de Moncada, and four Portuguese galleys, by Don 
 Diego de Medrana. The united crews amounted to 8766 
 mariners ; and on board were 21,855 soldiers, besides 
 2088 galley-slaves. The ordnance was less than might 
 have been expected, the whole fleet mounting only 8165 
 guns ; but exclusive of this the Armada contained a large 
 quantity of stores for the army, consisting of cannon, 
 double cannon, culverins, and field-pieces ; 7000 muskets, 
 
 10.000 halberds, 56,000 quintals of gunpowder, and 
 
 12.000 quintals of match. Confident of success, the 
 Spaniards loaded the ships with horses, mules, carts, 
 wheels, wagons, spades, mattocks, baskets, and every 
 thing necessary for taking up their permanent residence 
 in the country ; and the fleet and army were provisioned 
 on a scale of unexampled profusion. The generalissimo, 
 the officers under him, and the volunteers, who belonged 
 to the noblest families of Spain, were attended by their 
 suites, physicians, and domestics. Every want had been 
 
 7 Kent, vol. ii. pp. 266, 267. This would make the total 152 
 ships. It will be seen that Howard afterwards, in stating the 
 whole force first seen off the Lizard, makes it 160 sail. It is 
 difficult to arrive at the exact numbers. 
 
70 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 provided for, every wish anticipated, with a splendour 
 befitting more the progress of an Asiatic potentate, than 
 the passage of an army against a formidable antagonist. 
 Superstition, too, had sent her votaries, with the apparatus 
 of her triumphs. One hundred and eighty monks and 
 Jesuits embarked on board the Armada ; they carried 
 with them chains, wheels, racks, whips, and other instru- 
 ments of torture, to be employed in the conversion of 
 heretics ; and a more intellectual but not less character- 
 istic part of the stores consisted of many thousand copies 
 of Doleman’s “ Treatise on the Succession,” written 
 against the title of Elizabeth to the English throne.* 
 But this was not all the force that Elizabeth saw arrayed 
 against her. In the Netherlands the Duke of Parma had 
 prepared a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats, and collected 
 an army of 80,000 men, commanded under him by 
 Amadeus of Savoy, John of Medicis, and Vespasian 
 Gonzaga, duke of Sabionetta ; whilst the Duke of Guise 
 was conducting 12,000 men to the coast of Normandy, 
 in expectation of being received on board the fleet, and 
 landed on the west of England. 
 
 Such was the force destined for the destruction of the 
 liberty of England, and the overthrow of the Protestant 
 religion ; and it might have been thought the gathering 
 of a storm so tremendous would have shaken the con- 
 stancy of a female sovereign. But it was far otherwise. 
 The mind of Elizabeth rose with the emergency ; and, 
 at all times decided, now assumed an attitude of strength, 
 cheerfulness, and preparation, which was truly noble. 
 She knew the resources of her kingdom ; she expressed 
 her confidence that God would never desert the cause of 
 the true faith, or permit its enemies to triumph, and she 
 collected round her those wise ministers and brave com- 
 manders who had been bred in her councils, and had 
 gained knowledge and renown in her service. Amongst 
 these one of the most distinguished was Raleigh ; and in 
 the consultations, as well as in the active duties of this 
 
 MSS. at Hatfield House. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 71 
 
 season of trial, he bore no inconsiderable part. It is 
 apparent from his writings that he had long studied the 
 question relative to the best means of opposing the power 
 of Spain ; he was acquainted, better perhaps than any 
 man in England, with the strength and resources of that 
 kingdom ; he was an excellent soldier, and intimately 
 conversant with naval subjects ; whilst his zeal for the 
 honour of the queen and the glory of his country was 
 not behind that of any of her servants. 
 
 It was with good reason, therefore, that he was chosen 
 one of the council of war, held on the 27th of November. 
 Its object was to prepare an immediate scheme of defence ; 
 and along with Raleigh sat Lord Grey, Sir Francis 
 Knolles, Sir Thomas Leighton, Sir John Norris, Sir 
 Richard Grenville, Sir Richard Bingham, Sir Roger 
 Williams, and Ralph Lane, Esq. These councillors were 
 chosen by the queen, as being not only men bred to arms, 
 and some of them, as Grey, Norris, Bingham, and Gren- 
 ville, of high military talents, but of grave experience 
 in affairs of state and in the civil government of provinces, 
 — qualities by no means unimportant, when the debate 
 referred not merely to the leading of an army or the plan 
 of a campaign, but to the organization of a militia, and 
 the communication with the magistrates for arming the 
 peasantry, and encouraging them to a resolute and simul- 
 taneous resistance. From some private papers of Lord 
 Burleigh it appears that Sir Walter took a principal 
 share in these deliberations ; and the abstract of their 
 proceedings, a document still preserved, is supposed to 
 have been drawn up by him. They first prepared a list 
 of places where it was likely the Spanish army might 
 attempt a descent, as well as of those which lay most 
 exposed to the force under the Duke of Parma. They 
 next considered the speediest and most effectual means 
 of defence, whether by fortification or the muster of a 
 military array ; and, lastly, deliberated on the course to 
 be taken for fighting the enemy if he should land. 
 
 When the lords-lieutenant of the different counties 
 returned their numbers, it was found that the total 
 
72 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 military force raised for defence of the kingdom amounted 
 to 182,689 men, exclusive of the levies furnished by 
 the city of London.* From this mass troops were 
 drafted according to exigencies. It was determined that 
 at Milford, whose haven afforded the best opportunity 
 of disembarking, there should he assembled 2000 foot 
 and 200 horse. Plymouth was still more anxiously pro- 
 vided with the means of defence, its proximity to Spain 
 rendering it likely to be selected. There, accordingly, 
 were stationed 5000 men of Devon and Cornwall, besides 
 the force of the Stanneries, which Raleighs commanded 
 as lord- warden. It was probably at this crisis that the 
 queen conferred upon Sir Walter the office of lieutenant- 
 general of the county of Cornwall ; and it was recom- 
 mended by the commissioners that the utmost assiduity 
 should be employed in disciplining these troops, — one- 
 half of the expense to be defrayed by the queen and the 
 other by the country. Portland, of which Raleigh had 
 the charge, was armed both by fortification and with the 
 troops from Dorsetshire and Wiltshire ; and the same 
 order of defence was carried into effect in the Isle of 
 Wight and Somerset, and upon the coasts of Kent and 
 
 * Original document in the State-paper Office. In the year 1798 
 the late John Bruce Esq. of Falkland, keeper of the State-paper 
 Office, was directed by the Right Honourable Henry Dundas, 
 at that time secretary at war, to make a search into the original 
 documents under his charge, for the purpose of discovering what 
 arrangements were made in 1588 for the internal defence of the 
 country, when Spain by its Armada projected the invasion and 
 conquest of England. Mr Bruce accordingly drew up a fyll and 
 excellent report upon this question, illustrated by an appendix 
 containing apparently the most valuable of the contemporary 
 documents relative to the Armada which are preserved in the 
 State-paper Office ; the original lists of the army and navy ; and 
 the correspondence of Howard, Hawkins, Drake, and Seymour, 
 with the queen and her ministers. It is from this report, of 
 which a very few copies were printed for the members of the 
 Cabinet, but which was never published, that the principal parts 
 of this history of the Armada are derived . — Note to Edition. 
 
 Recently, however, the author, in his researches in the State- 
 paper Office, discovered some additional original letters of Drake 
 and Howard, written during the action with the Armada, and 
 hitherto unknown. — These have been used in this edition. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 73 
 
 Sussex, Norfolk and Suffolk. In the event of the Spanish 
 army landing, the order of battle was left to the discretion 
 of the general ; only it was advised, if the enemy’s ad- 
 vance into the interior could not be prevented, that the 
 country should be driven and wasted, and the invaders 
 harassed by perpetual alarms. Nor was any serious 
 opposition to be risked until the presence of a strong 
 army should make the chance of victory more certain. 
 
 The best measures for training the infantry and horse- 
 men, for providing amis for the pikemen and billmen, 
 for transporting ordnance, provisioning garrisons, and 
 ensuring the rapid communication of intelligence, were 
 also recommended ; and, in addition to this, Raleigh in a 
 private correspondence directed the thoughts of the lord- 
 treasurer to some more minute precautions, which had 
 probably escaped the attention of the general council.'^' 
 
 In consequence of these able arrangements, seconded 
 by the spirit of the queen and the energy of the people, 
 the kingdom soon presented an aspect which might have 
 convinced Philip of the extreme temerity of his attempt. 
 In a pretended intercepted letter written from England 
 by a contemporary and eyewitness, it is stated, “ that 
 within a short time the whole of England rose simulta- 
 neously and in arms. There was not a corner of the land 
 which did not ring with preparation and muster its 
 armed force ; and especially,” says this eyewitness, the 
 maritime counties from Cornwall all along southward 
 to Kent, and thence eastward to Lincolnshire, were so 
 furnished with soldiers, both of themselves and witli 
 resort from their next shires, as there was no place to be 
 doubted for landing of any foreign forces, but there were 
 within forty-eight hours to come to the place above 
 20,000 fighting men on horseback and on foot, with all 
 manner of ammunition, provision, and carriages, under 
 the principal nobles of the counties, and captains of the 
 greatest knowledge.”t 
 
 * Strype’s Annals, vol. iii. pp. 452, 453. 
 f Oldys’ Life of Raleigh, p. 101. 
 
74 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 In addition to these preparations, in which every man 
 able to bear a weapon was eager to act his part, the queen 
 directed two armies to be raised, — one, consisting of 
 22,000 foot and 2000 horse, encamped at Tilbury in 
 Essex, under the Earl of Leicester ; the other, which 
 mustered 28,900 men, levied for the protection of her 
 majesty’s person, was commanded by Lord Hunsdon, her 
 near kinsman, and a nobleman in whom she had a perfect 
 confidence.* The city of London raised 10,000 men, 
 which were exercised in the presence of Elizabeth ; and 
 in case of a more pressing emergency, they had a reserve 
 in readiness.f Thus the whole island, without exagge- 
 ration or metaphor, might be said, at this imperious 
 challenge of Spain, to have stood up sword in hand, 
 sheathed in complete steel. 
 
 All this, however, against the overwhelming naval 
 force of Philip might have proved insufficient. Some 
 indeed thought the kingdom strong enough to cut any 
 army to pieces the moment of its landing, and underrated 
 the necessity of any great effort at sea ; but the prime mi- 
 nister was aware that such an idea was not to be followed. 
 Raleigh in particular, if we may be allowed to judge 
 from his opinions given in the “ History of the World,” 
 must have deprecated so presumptuous a notion. ‘‘Making 
 the question general and positive,” says he, in an admir- 
 able passage of this work, “ whether England, without 
 help of her fleet, be able to debar an enemy from landing, 
 I hold that it is unable so to do ; and therefore I think 
 it most dangerous to make the adventure : for the en- 
 couragement of a first victory to an enemy, and the 
 discouragement of being beaten to the invaded, may draw 
 after it a most perilous consequence.” J He proceeds to 
 demonstrate the weakness of any argument drawn from 
 France, or any other European countries, possessed of 
 
 * Original documents in the State-paper Office, 
 f The supplies furnished by the city of London, and by the 
 other parts of the kingdom, are minutely detailed in original 
 Reports still preserved amongst the MSS. at Hatfield House. 
 
 4; Hist, ot the W orld, book v. cap. i. § ix. W orks, vol. vi. p. 100. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 7*^ 
 
 many fortified places ; whereas the ramparts of England 
 consist only of the bodies of men. There is a difference, 
 he remarks, between an invasion by land and one by 
 sea, where the choice of the place of debarkation remains 
 with the enemy ; and he arrives at the conclusion, that 
 such an attempt cannot be successfully resisted on the 
 coast of England without a fleet. ‘‘ There is no man 
 ignorant,” says he, that ships, without putting them- 
 selves out of breath, will easily outrun the soldiers that 
 coast them. ‘ Les armees ne volent poynt en poste 
 ‘ Armies neither fly nor run post,’ saith a marshal of 
 France. And I know it to be true, that a fleet of ships 
 may be seen at sunset, and after it, at the Lizard ; yet 
 by the next morning they may recover Portland ; whereas 
 an army of foot shall not be able to march it in six days. 
 Again, when those troops, lodged on the seashores, 
 shall be forced to run from place to place in vain, after 
 a fleet of ships, they will at length sit down in the mid- 
 w^ay, and leave all at adventure.” He maintains, there- 
 fore, “ that a strong army, in a good fleet, which neither 
 foot nor horse is able to follow, cannot be denied to land 
 where it list in England, France, or elsewhere, unless it 
 be hindered, encountered, and shuffled together by a fleet 
 of equal or answerable strength.”* 
 
 These views, founded on a practical acquaintance with 
 the comparative powers of a land and naval force, were 
 adopted, and led to the equipment of a fleet suitable to 
 the emergency. At this time the navy of England in- 
 cluded among its commanders some of the greatest names 
 in our history. Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, the 
 most intrepid and accomplished sea-officers in Europe, 
 were in the vigour of their abilities. Lord Howard of 
 Effingham, high-admiral of England, assumed the chief 
 command, and Drake, Hawkins, Lord Henry Seymour, 
 and Frobisher, were vice-admirals ; whilst there also 
 served under them such experienced captains as the Earl 
 of Cumberland, Sir William Winter, Fenner, and many 
 
 Works, vol. vi. pp. 102, 103. 
 
76 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 others. Howard’s division amounted to sixty-six, in- 
 cluding the merchantmen by which he was reinforced ; 
 Lord Henry Seymour commanded a squadron of thirty- 
 three sail : and these fleets were joined by eighteen 
 merchant-adventurers from the river Thames ; making 
 in all a force of Il7 ships, having on board 11,120 men.* 
 The lord-admiral, who guarded the west coast, divided 
 his force into three parts, himself commanding the cen- 
 tre, in which were the largest vessels. On the side of 
 Ushant he stationed Drake, with twenty ships and five 
 pinnaces, to give the earliest notice of the enemy’s ap- 
 proach ; whilst Hawkins took a position between the 
 admiral and the Scilly Islands. In this manner the 
 wliole line of the west was covered against attack. It 
 was possible, however, that the Armada might make 
 Cape Clear, double Dungsby Head, and join the arma- 
 ment of the Duke of Parma in the Narrow Seas. To 
 provide against this Lord Henry Seymour and Count 
 Justin of Navarre, admiral of Zealand, were stationed 
 off Dunkirk, with orders to cruise along the coast of 
 Flanders, block up its ports, watch the approach of the 
 Spaniards by the Channel, and maintain a constant 
 communication with Lord Howard. 
 
 Elizabeth, at this trying crisis, experienced the fidelity 
 of the great body of her Roman Catholic subjects ; though 
 on one side the Protestants assaulted them with sus- 
 picion and odium, and on the other they were invited 
 by the Pope to throw off their allegiance, and combine 
 in a general insurrection. But bred up as they had been 
 in the errors of their fathers, these brave and honourable 
 men were still devotedly attached to the land of their 
 birth ; and hence many nobles of that faith served as 
 volunteers in the fleet and army. Some fitted out ves- 
 sels at their own expense, intrusting the command to 
 Protestant officers ; while others encouraged their de- 
 pendants to neglect at such a moment the distinctions 
 
 Original List in the State-paper Office. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 77 
 
 of politics and religion, and to unite in the efforts to repel 
 an act of unprincipled aggression.'^ 
 
 The queen, meanwhile, omitted nothing which might 
 encourage her army and increase her popularity. Of 
 her feelings in this great crisis a memorable record has 
 been preserved. It is a private prayer or meditation, 
 which having met the eye of Sir R. Cecil was sent by 
 him to the generals of her army at Portsmouth. — 
 ‘‘ Most Omnipotent, and Guider of all our world’s masse, 
 that only searchest and fadomest the bottom of all hearts’ 
 conceits, and in them seest the true original of all actions 
 intended ; how no malice of revenge, nor quittance of 
 injury, nor desire of bloodshed, nor greediness of lucre, 
 hath bred the resolution of our now set out army ; but 
 a heedful care, and wary watch, that no neglect of foes, 
 nor over surety of harm, might breed either danger to 
 us, or glory to them. These being grounds. Thou that 
 didst inspire the mind, we humbly beseech, with bended 
 knees, prosper the work, and with the best forewinds 
 guide the journey, speed the victory, and make the re- 
 turn the advancement of thy glory, the triumph of thy 
 fame, and surety to the realm, with the least loss of Eng- 
 lish blood. To these devout petitions. Lord, give thou 
 thy blessed graunt. Amen.”f Meanwhile, the camp at 
 Tilbury, where the queen’s favourite the Earl of Lei- 
 cester commanded, exhibited the appearance of a con- 
 tinual fete. She resided in the neighbourhood, frequently 
 visited and held conferences with the officers, and when 
 the arrival of the Armada began to be daily expected, 
 reviewed the army in person. On this occasion Eliza- 
 beth appeared in armour, holding a marshal’s truncheon 
 in her hand, and riding a war-horse. Essex and Lei- 
 cester held her bridle-rein, whilst the lord-marshal, Sir 
 
 * Kent, Memoirs of Illustrious Seamen, p. 275. Stowe, 
 p. 747. 
 
 f MS. British Museum, Otho, E. ix. f. 183 ; dorso — Her 
 Majestie’s private meditation upon the present expedition, sent 
 from Sir Robert Cecil to the generals of her highness’ army, 
 at Plemouth— enclosed in this letter here underwritten.” There 
 is no letter enclosing it. 
 
78 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 John Norris, attended on foot ; and placing herself at 
 their head, she made this memorahle oration to her sol- 
 diers : — My loving people,” said the lion-hearted prin- 
 cess, we have been persuaded by some that are careful 
 of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to 
 armed multitudes, for fear of treachery ; but I assure 
 you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and 
 loving people. Let tyrants fear ! I have always so behaved 
 myself, that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength 
 and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my 
 subjects ; and therefore, I am come amongst you, as you 
 see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but 
 being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to 
 live or die amongst you all ; to lay down for my God, 
 and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honour and 
 my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body 
 but of a weak and feeble woman ; but I have the heart 
 and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, 
 and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince 
 of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my 
 realm ! To which, rather than any dishonour shall grow 
 by me, I myself will take up arms, — I myself will be 
 your general, judge, and re warder of every one of your 
 virtues in the field. I know already, for your forward- 
 ness, you have deserved rewards and crowns ; and we 
 do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be 
 duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant-general 
 shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded 
 a more noble or worthy subject ; not doubting but, by 
 your obedience to my general, by your concord in the 
 camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have 
 a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my 
 kingdoms, and of my people.”* 
 
 On the 20th of May,t the Armada sailed from the 
 
 \ 
 
 * Cabala, p. 373. 
 
 f Substance of certain Mariners’ Report touching the Spa- 
 nish Fleet, in State-paper Office. A transcript of the original 
 plan for the Armada, drawn up in Spanish, is amongst the 
 MSS. at Hatfield. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 79 
 
 Tagus, the decks crowded with an array of chivaliy such 
 as had seldom before been mustered, and amidst the 
 shouts of a multitude which believed that the doom of 
 England was sealed. From the instructions of the Spa- 
 nish commander-in-chief, preserved in the State-paper 
 Office, it appears that the fleet was to rendezvous first 
 off Cape Finisterre ; but in case of separation they were 
 to make for the Groyne. Thence they were to stretch 
 for England, the point of meeting being the south side 
 of the Scilly Islands ; or, if this should be impracticable, 
 to anchor in Mounts Bay on the coast of Cornwall. 
 Preparations had been hastened in Flanders to facilitate 
 a co-operation with the Armada; and a flotilla was 
 equipped to receive troops, which were to sail for the 
 opposite shore on receiving intelligence that the great 
 fleet had arrived on the western coast. To ensure suc- 
 cess, a squadron of large Portuguese galleasses were 
 directed to separate from the Duke of Medina Sidonia 
 the moment he reached his destination, for the purpose 
 of supportmg the Duke of Parma. 
 
 These arrangements were unexpectedly disconcerted. 
 Steering to the northward, within a league of Cape Fi- 
 nisterre the fleet was attacked by a violent storm, which 
 dispersed the greater ships, sunk some of the smaller, 
 and drove others for shelter to the neighbouring harbours. 
 It was soon after confidently reported in England that 
 the whole had been destroyed ; and the queen, with too 
 hasty economy, ordered the high-admiral to lay up four 
 of the largest vessels. To this he returned the noble 
 answer, that rather than dismantle them at a moment 
 of such danger, he would take upon him to disobey his 
 mistress, and keep them at his own charges. Howard 
 now called a council, in which it was determined to sail 
 towards Spain, to complete the destruction of the Armada 
 if disabled, or to ascertain if it had been refitted and was 
 again at sea ; but though chase was given to fourteen 
 ships, descried between Ushant and Scilly, they, as well 
 as the great body of the fleet, escaped the English, and 
 arrived in a shattered condition at the Groyne. Upon 
 
80 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 this the high-admiral, becoming afraid lest in his absence 
 they might reach Plymouth, returned thither with ex- 
 pedition ; and, having discovered that all was still safe, 
 allowed his men a short period of relaxation on shore. 
 
 It was fortunate he did so return ; for on the very 
 day of his arrival, being the 12th July, the Duke de 
 Medina Sidonia once more stood out to sea and sailed 
 for England, having been informed by a fisherman that 
 Howard had laid up his ships, and considered the danger 
 over for that year. The Armada had a slow and peril- 
 ous passage through the Bay of Biscay, at times becalmed, 
 or involved in thick fogs ; but, on the 19th of July it 
 entered the British Channel, and at sunset was observed 
 off the Lizard by Fleming, a Scottish pirate or rover, 
 who brought the intelligence to Plymouth. At the 
 moment this notice was given, the captains and com- 
 manders were engaged in playing howls on the Hoe ; 
 and Sir Francis Drake, it is said, insisted, in the true 
 spirit of a sailor, that the match must he played out, as 
 there was ample time both to win the game and beat the 
 Spaniards. All was now hustle and preparation, and 
 the wind blowing stiffly in from the south-west, the 
 ships were warped out, a difficult task, but performed 
 with great activity and skill. The object of the Spanish 
 admiral was to make his way through the Channel to 
 Calais, there to meet the squadron under the Duke of 
 Parma. 
 
 It was on the evening of Saturday, the 20th of July, 
 that the English first descried the enemy. The Armada 
 came majestically on, the vessels being drawn up in a 
 semicircle, which from horn to horn covered an extent 
 of seven miles.* Their appearance, owing to their height 
 and hulk, though imposing to an inexperienced eye, in- 
 spired confidence in Drake and the best officers, who 
 reckoned upon having the advantage in tacking, and 
 knew that, from the light build and better management 
 of their own ships, they could out-manoeuvre them. 
 
 * Camden, in Rennet, vol. ii. p. 546. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 81 
 
 Howard accordingly suffered the whole to pass, and 
 doubling upon their rear, followed for some time without 
 coming to close action. The Defiance, a pinnace, com- 
 manded by Captain Jonas Bradbury, was, in the feudal 
 spirit of the times, despatched to carry a defiance to the 
 enemy, and commence the battle by discharging her 
 ordnance against the first antagonist she might approach. 
 Immediately after this the English admiral, in his own 
 ship, the Ark Royal, engaged a Spanish galleon com- 
 manded by Don Alphonso de Leva, into which he poured 
 a well-directed broadside. At the same moment Drake 
 in the Revenge, Hawkins in the Victory, and Frobisher 
 in the Triumph, the largest vessel in the English fleet, 
 brought to action the galleons which were astern under 
 Rear-admiral Juan de Recaldo, a veteran of great cour- 
 age and experience. His abilities, however, were unequal 
 to this contest ; and, after an obstinate resistance, his 
 squadron was dispersed, one ship burnt, the flag-ship of 
 Pedro de Valdez, leader of the Andalusian division, taken 
 by Drake, with 55,000 ducats aboard (which were im- 
 mediately distributed amongst the sailors), and the rest 
 compelled to seek shelter under the main body of the 
 fleet. The Duke de Medina Sidonia, however, held on 
 his course, throwing out signals, and crowding all sail ; 
 whilst Howard, satisfied with the advantage, intermitted 
 the cannonade till he should be joined by forty vessels 
 which had been detained at Plymouth : so ended the 
 first engagement of the 21st July. 
 
 At this crisis the following characteristic letter was 
 written by the lord-admiral to Sir F rancis W alsingham : — 
 
 Sir, — I will not trouble you with any long letter ; 
 we are at this present otherwise occupied than with 
 writing. Upon Friday, at Plymouth, I received intel- 
 ligence that there were a great number of ships descried 
 ofF the Lizard ; whereupon, although the wind was very 
 skant, we first warped out of harbour that night, and 
 upon Saturday it turned out rain, hard by, the wind 
 being at south-west, and about three of the clock in the 
 
 E 
 
82 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 afternoon descried the Spanish fleet, and we did what 
 we could to work for the wind, which by this morning 
 we had recovered, descrying their fleet to consist of 160 
 sail, whereof there are four galleasses and many ships of 
 great burden. At nine of the clock we gave them fight, 
 which continued until one. In the fight we made some 
 of them to bear down to stop their leak, notwithstanding 
 we durst not adventure to put in amongst them, their 
 fleet being so strong. But there shall nothing be either 
 neglected or unhazarded that may work their overthrow. 
 Sir, the captains in her majesty’s ships have behaved 
 themselves most bravely and like men hitherto, and I 
 doubt not will continue to their great commendation. 
 And so, recommending our good success to your godly 
 prayers, I bid you heartily farewell. From aboard the 
 Ark, the coast of Plymouth, the 21st of July, 1588. — 
 Your very loving friend, “ C. Howard.”* 
 
 The orders of the Spanish commander to pass Plymouth 
 and join Parma being peremptory, he held on his course, 
 despatching at the same time a pinnace to hasten the duke 
 and inform him of the loss already sustained. Hitherto 
 the action had continued in a succession of skirmishes, 
 the English avoiding a close engagement till their enemy 
 should get farther into the Channel.+ Raleigh in the 
 mean while, afraid that the principal fight might take 
 place without his presence, left his charge by land to 
 proper officers, and, with a company of nobles and gentle- 
 men in a small squadron, joined the fleet on the morning 
 of the 23d of July. 
 
 By this time the Armada had advanced opposite to 
 Portland, and the battle which ensued occupied the whole 
 day. The younger and more ardent officers were anxious 
 to board the enemy. But Howard, by the counsel of 
 
 * This letter is published from the original in the State-paper 
 Office : the old spelling has been altered. — Bruce’s Report, Ap. 
 No. 54. 
 
 t Substance of certain Mariners’ Report. Original in State- 
 paper Office. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 83 
 
 his more experienced captains, had resolved upon a con- 
 trary course ; and from the published writings of Raleigh 
 we may infer that he was a principal adviser on this 
 subject. He was aware of the superiority which would 
 be acquired by the lighter and less numerous vessels of 
 the English over the unwieldy galleons of the enemy, 
 provided the admiral avoided coming to close quarters. 
 He had observed, that their own ships might approach 
 near enough to give a broadside in which every shot did 
 damage, while it was almost impossible for the Spaniards 
 to bring their great ordnance to bear. He knew, to use 
 his own words, that “ he that will happily peiform a 
 tight at sea, must be skilful in making choice of vessels 
 to fight in ; he must believe that there is more belonging 
 to a good man of war upon the waters than great daring ; 
 and must know, that there is a great deal of difference 
 between fighting loose or at large, and grappling. The 
 guns of a slow ship pierce as well and make as great 
 holes as those in a swift. To clap ships together with- 
 out consideration belongs rather to a madman than to 
 a man of war.”* The tactics therefore adopted were 
 wisely suited to the comparative powers of the two fleets. 
 Howard’s squadron, which consisted of nearly 100 ships, 
 kept loose and separate, ever asunder but always in 
 motion, and taking advantage of the wind to tack when 
 they could most annoy the enemy, pouring in a broad- 
 side and then sheering out of range of the Spanish guns, 
 returning before the latter had time to reload, and giving 
 them another discharge, succeeded by as speedy a retreat ; 
 so that Sir Henry Wotton has compared it to a morris- 
 dance upon the waters.t 
 
 At first the whole Spanish fleet bore down upon their 
 antagonists, anxious to bring them to a close action, 
 which these dexterous combatants avoided by separating 
 into small divisions. One of these, however, consisting 
 of six ships, led by the Triumph, Sir Martin Frobisher, 
 and the Golden Lion, Lord Thomas Howard, was so far 
 
 * History of the World. Works, vol. vi. p. 81. 
 
 L Oldys’s Life of Raleigh, p. 107. 
 
84 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 disjoined from the rest, that the galleasses, getting ad- 
 vantage of the wind, came close abreast, and began an 
 engagement, which lasted two hours with the most unre- 
 mitting obstinacy. At the same time one of the English 
 squadrons attacked the division of the Armada stationed 
 to the westward, and disabled every ship in the line ; but 
 before this success could be followed up signals were made 
 for the victors to join the Ark Royal, and proceed to the 
 assistance of Frobisher and his five merchantmen, who 
 fought with undiminished resolution against a far superior 
 force. Orders were given at the same time, that not a 
 single shot should be fired before coming withiu musket- 
 range. The Spanish admiral, anticipating the intention 
 of Howard, attempted to intercept him by sixteen of his 
 best-equipped galleons, which brought on a sanguinary 
 conflict. The invaders fought with resolution ; but their 
 ships were sluggish ; when they gave a broadside, a great 
 part of their shot, from their height above the water, 
 passed over the heads of their opponents, and at last they 
 were completely broken, and forced to sheer ofi*. Fro- 
 bisher also repulsed the squadron that attacked him ; 
 and the battle, which had continued from morning, was 
 only broken off by night, — a large Venetian ship and 
 several transports having been taken by the English.”* 
 
 Next day, the Spaniards showed little inclination to 
 renew the action ; and by a mismanagement, strongly 
 animadverted upon by Raleigh, their antagonists had run 
 short of ammunition. Howard despatched some barks 
 and pinnaces, which soon rejoined him with a supply ; 
 but in consequence of this circumstance operations were 
 suspended during the whole of the 24th. 
 
 On the morning of the 25th, the Armada being along- 
 side of the Isle of Wight, a large Poifuguese galleon, 
 which had probably been disabled in the fight of the 23d, 
 dropped astern, and was, without much resistance, taken 
 by Captain Hawkins. Three galleasses, indeed, under 
 Alphonso de Leva and Tellez Enriquez, attempted a 
 
 * Kent, p. 288-290. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 85 
 
 rescue, but were themselves severely handled, and with 
 difficulty escaped ; whilst the remainder, alarmed by the 
 evident superiority of their enemy, kept aloof, and the 
 wind falling, their ships lay becalmed and completely 
 inactive upon the waters. It was one great advantage 
 that the English vessels, from their light build, could be 
 towed near the Spaniards by the long-boats, — an oper- 
 ation which the huge dimensions of the latter rendered 
 impracticable. The Triumph, Captain Frobisher, at this 
 moment, from being the largest in the fleet, had fallen 
 to leeward, and a breeze springing up, some galleons 
 prepared to attack her ; but before they could gain the 
 weather-gage, she was taken in tow by a small vessel, 
 and recovered the wind, while the White Bear and 
 Elizabeth Jonas bore up to her relief in the face of a 
 numerous squadron. During the action, which now 
 became general, the Spanish admiral’s ship, San Martin, 
 had her mainmast shot away, and was otherwise so 
 shattered, that according to their own account he must 
 have struck, had he not been rescued by his vice-admirals 
 Recaldo and Mecia, with whose assistance he renewed the 
 fight ; when the English, again in want of ammunition, 
 availed themselves of a shift of the wind, and bore away 
 out of range of shot. 
 
 On the 26th, after the high-admiral had conferred the 
 honour of knighthood upon Lord Thomas Howard and 
 Lord Edmund Sheffield, along with Captains Townsend, 
 Hawkins, and Frobisher, he held a council of war, in 
 which it was resolved not to renew hostilities till the 
 enemy reached the Straits of Dover, where the squadron 
 under Lord Henry Seymour and Sir Thomas Winter 
 waited to intercept them ; before that time it was hoped 
 ammunition would arrive from the neighbouring ports. 
 The Spaniards, accordingly, sailing up the Channel with 
 a fair breeze from the south-west, made an imposing 
 appearance ; and as the enemy hung on their rear, 
 occasionally approaching, and for want of supplies only 
 able to keep up a feeble fire, the alarm became universal 
 throughout the maritime counties. 
 
86 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 It was probably at this time, when the whole continent 
 of Europe was intent on the progress of this immense 
 armament, and eager for the first news from England, 
 that the premature report was carried abroad of the com- 
 plete success of the Armada. The news flew from France 
 to Rome and Madrid. At Paris the Spanish ambassador 
 Mendoza entered the church of Notre Dame, flourishing 
 his naked sword above his head and shouting “ Victoria !” 
 while Cardinal Allen made a great feast at Rome, and 
 invited to it all the English, Scotch, and Irish Roman 
 Catholics, to commemorate the captivity of Elizabeth 
 and the entire subjugation of her kingdom. Far other 
 events, however, were passing in the Channel. As the 
 Spanish fleet proceeded in its course crowds flocked to 
 the beach ; and vessels, pinnaces, and small boats, shot 
 out from every harbour, eager to share in the glory of 
 the battle. With these came many volunteers of high 
 birth, the Earls of Oxford, Northumberland, and Cum- 
 berland, Sir Thomas and Sir Robert Cecil, sons of Lord 
 Burleigh, Sir Henry Brook, Sir Charles Blunt, Sir 
 William Hatton, and many others.* 
 
 The Armada came to anchor before Calais on the 27th, 
 and the generalissimo despatched an express to the Duke 
 of Parma, requesting a reinforcement of forty fly-boats, 
 without which he could not cope with the light and 
 active ships of the enemy ; and urging him to embark 
 his army, which, under cover of his fire, might effect a 
 landing. Had this message arrived a month earlier, as it 
 would have done if the Spanish admiral had succeeded 
 in his first attempt to reach the coast of England, an 
 immediate movement would have taken place, and the 
 consequence might have been fatal. But now the duke 
 could not obey the orders. His boats, ill constructed at 
 first, and of bad wood, were warped, leaky, and not sea- 
 worthy ; his provisions were nearly exhausted ; his troops 
 weakened by desertion ; whilst the fleet of Count J ustin 
 of Nassau blockaded Dunkirk and Nieuport, the only 
 harbours from which he could put to sea. 
 
 • * Camden, in Kennet, vol. ii. p. 547. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 87 
 
 Disappointed of this assistance, Medina Sidonia still 
 lay at anchor off Calais, where, watched by the English, 
 he stationed his larger vessels so skilfully as to render it 
 extremely difficult to throw them into confusion. But 
 a stratagem of Howard deprived him of this advantage. 
 Selecting eight of his smallest and least useful craft, they 
 were stowed with combustibles ; and two experienced 
 officers. Captains Young and Browse, conducted them at 
 midnight to within a short distance of the Armada, fired 
 the trains, and taking to their boats, left the blazing 
 ships, which drifted straight down upon the enemy. The 
 Spaniards were seized with terror, and conceiving they 
 were of the same construction as one. employed against 
 them with dreadful effect during the siege of Antwerp, 
 cut their cables, hoisted sail, and fled in confusion. The 
 largest of the galleasses, having lost her rudder, was 
 stranded near the town ; and after a resolute defence, in 
 which the captain and 400 men were slain, she was 
 taken by the assailants, the rest of the vessels meanwhile 
 escaping in every direction. 
 
 It was at this moment that Howard addressed the 
 following letter to Walsingham, earnestly requesting 
 more powder and shot : — 
 
 Sir, — I have received your letter, wherein you 
 desire a proportion of shot and powder to be set down 
 by me, and sent unto you, which, by reason of the un- 
 certainty of the service, no man can do ; therefore I pray 
 you to send with all speed as much as you can. And, 
 because some of our ships are victualled but for a very 
 short time, and my Lord Henry Seymour with his com- 
 pany not for one day, in like to pray you to despatch 
 away our victuals with all possible speed ; because we 
 know not whether we shall be driven to pursue the 
 Spanish fleet. This morning we drave a galleas ashore 
 before Calais, whither I sent my long-boat to board her, 
 where divers of my men were slain and my lieutenant 
 sore hurt in the taking of her. Ever since, we have 
 chased them in fight so, until this evening late, and dis- 
 
88 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 tressed them much ; hut their fleet consisteth of mighty 
 ships and great strength, yet we doubt not by God’s 
 good assistance to oppress them. — And so I hid you 
 heartily farewell. From aboard her majesty’s good ship 
 Ark, the 29th of July 1588. Your very loving friend, 
 
 T. Howard.'"^ 
 
 Sir, — I will not write unto her majesty before more 
 be done. Their force is wonderful great and strong, and 
 yet we pluck their feathers by little and little. I pray 
 to God that the forces on the land be strong enough to 
 answer so puissant a force. There is not one Flushinger 
 nor Hollander at the seas.”t 
 
 After the fire-ships exploded, the Spanish admiral 
 made a signal for the fleet to resume their station ; his 
 own and a few others regained their places ; hut the 
 greater number were so dispersed, that the officers could 
 not even see the signals. Some lay near Gravelines ; 
 others had run ashore on the coast of Flanders ; and to 
 complete their disasters, the English, gaining the weather- 
 gage, excluded them from Calais Road, and were able, at 
 the same time, to intercept any succours from Dunkirk. 
 When the next morning broke they renewed the attack 
 on the scattered squadrons, and were every where suc- 
 cessful. Drake, Hawkins, Fenton, Raleigh, and soon 
 afterwards the high-admiral, the Earl of Cumberland, 
 Lord Henry Seymour, and Sir Martin Frobisher, all 
 brought their ships to bear with dreadful effect on the 
 dispersed fragments of this gigantic force. A large 
 galleon of Biscay and two ketches were sunk ; the 
 Saint Matthew, commanded by Diego Piemontelli, in 
 attempting to cover the San Philip, which was raked by 
 the Rainbow and Vanguard, received a broadside from 
 Peter Banderdue, a Dutchman, and immediately sur- 
 rendered. Another vessel of the first class was stranded 
 on the coast of Flanders ; and the San Philip, which had 
 
 * Signed by himself. The body of the letter in a clerk’s hand, 
 t This last is in Howard’s own hand. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 89 
 
 been so vigorously assailed, having drifted in a disabled 
 state as far as Ostend, was boarded and taken by the 
 mariners of Flushing. 
 
 Every hour now increased the fury of the attack, and 
 brought new courage to the English, who became assured 
 of victory ; whilst the Spaniards, having abandoned all 
 hope of landing, looked for their only safety in flight. 
 This they attempted on the 29th, steering southward to 
 the Straits of Calais ; but the wind shifting to the north- 
 west, threatened to drive them on the coast of Zealand, 
 where the sands and shallows would have proved worse 
 enemies than even the warlike subjects of Elizabeth. 
 The breeze, however, again suddenly veered to south- 
 west, and enabled them to tack and regain the open sea. 
 
 At night, the Duke de Medina Sidonia called a council ; 
 and on considering the state of the fleet, the inactivity 
 of the Duke of Parma, and the superiority of their anta- 
 gonists, who had yet lost only one small vessel, it w’as 
 unanimously resolved to sail round Scotland, and return 
 to Spain by the Orkneys and Ireland.* At this period, 
 after their last encounter on the 29th, Sir Francis Drake 
 addressed the following spirited letter to Secretary Wal- 
 singham, directing his Spanish prisoners, Don Pedro de 
 Valdez and other officers taken in action, to be presented 
 to the queen ; — 
 
 Most Honourable, — I am commanded to send 
 these prisoners ashore by my lord-admiral, which had 
 ere this been long done, but that I thought their being 
 here might have done something, which is not thought 
 meet now. Let me beseech your honour that they may 
 be presented unto her Majesty, either by your honour 
 or my honourable good lord my lord-chancellor, or both 
 of ye. Their Don Pedro is a man of great estimation 
 with the King of Spayne, and thought next in his army 
 to the Duke of Sidonia. That they should be given 
 
 * Sir William Monson’s True and Exact Account of the 
 Wars with Spain, p. 14, in Townshend’s Historical Collections. 
 
90 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 from me unto anv other, it would be some grief to my 
 friends. If her majesty will have them, God defend 
 but I should think it happy. We have the army of 
 Spayne before us, and mind, with the grace of God, to 
 wrestle a fail with them. There was never any thing 
 pleased me better than the seeing the enemy flying with 
 a south wind to the northwards. God grant Oiey have 
 a good eye to the Duke of Parma ; for with the grace 
 of God, if we live, I doubt it not hut ere it he long so 
 to handle the matter with the Duke of Sidonia as he 
 shall wish himself at St Marie among his orange-trees. 
 God give us grace to depend upon Him, so shall we not 
 doubt victory, for our cause is good. — Humbly taking 
 my leave, this last of July 1588, your honour’s faith- 
 fully to be commanded ever, Fra. Drake. 
 
 P. S. I crave pardon of your honour for my haste, 
 for that I had to watch this last night upon the enemy.”* 
 
 The Spanish admiral now retreated by the north, 
 the hostile squadrons hanging upon his rear, sometimes 
 engaging in close action, at others seizing disabled ves- 
 sels, sinking the smaller craft, towing off those driven 
 ashore, and dividing the spoil amongst their crews. 
 But at the moment when the total destruction of the 
 enemy appeared inevitable, the English ships again fell 
 short of ammunition, and were obliged to abandon the 
 chase. This untoward circumstance was occasioned 
 partly by the ill-judged economy of the queen’s minis- 
 ter, and partly also by the neglect of the coast counties 
 in sending deficient supplies for their own ships. The 
 opportunity was lost,” says Sir William Monson, not 
 through the negligence or backwardness of the lord- 
 admiral, but merely through the want of providence in 
 those that had the charge of furnishing and providing 
 for the fleet ; for, at that time of so great advantage, 
 when they came to examine their provisions, they found 
 
 * This characteristic letter is now correctly published for 
 the first time. The original is in the State-paper Ofiice. It is 
 to be found, but incorrectly given, in Hardwicke’s State Papers. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 91 
 
 a general scarcity of powder and shot, for want of which 
 they were forced to return home.” Scarcely, however, 
 had the Spaniards got rid of one enemy before they 
 were attacked by another still more irresistible ; — a 
 violent hurricane, the frequent visitant of these northern 
 seas, drove them upon the neighbouring coasts. Many 
 were wrecked on the shores of Ireland ; many on the 
 Orkneys, the coasts of Galloway, Argyle, or the Western 
 Islands ; whilst a division, driven back into the English 
 Channel, fell into the hands of the queen’s cruisers or 
 those of her allies. Of 182 ships only 53 returned to 
 Spain, and these so shattered and cut to pieces, with 
 crews so worn out with cold, hunger, and sickness, that 
 the impression made by their appearance was almost as 
 great a calamity as the defeat. 
 
 Such was the fate of the memorable Armada, — a 
 fleet of which the Spaniards proudly predicted ‘‘ that 
 victory must attend it whithersoever it turned its course, 
 and that no English ships would ever dare to intercept 
 it.” Its discomfiture was in every respect important ; 
 hut chiefly so on account of the triumph it secured for 
 the Protestant faith over the tyranny of the Church of 
 Pome. Under God, England and its high-minded queen 
 were at that moment the great bulwarks of liberty of 
 conscience and liberty of person in Europe. To crush 
 these, Philip concentrated his utmost powers; assembled 
 armies ; impressed seamen ; put every vessel belonging to 
 himself or liis allies into requisition ; exhausted his ex- 
 chequer ; drew upon the private fortunes of his nobles ; 
 and wearied his wisest counsellors in devising the best 
 way of attack. At last, after three years of incessant 
 activity, he despatched that prodigious armament, which 
 was to sweep his enemies from the seas ; to reduce Bri- 
 tain to the state of a conquered province ; and to esta- 
 blish on its ruins the tribunal of the Inquisition, and 
 the iron fabric of a despotic government. We have seen 
 the issue of these schemes : They were defeated by that 
 Almighty arm which in an instant can bring confusion 
 upon the wisest plans and the most formidable prepara- 
 
92 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 tions of mortal ambition. Any one who patiently ex- 
 amines the history of this great enterprise, — not in the 
 abstract given by popular historians, but in the more 
 minute details of contemporary chroniclers, — will dis- 
 cern many circumstances in which the hand of God, at 
 all times overruling the springs of human action, comes 
 out as it were from behind the cloudy curtain that con- 
 ceals him from his creatures. The sudden death of the 
 Marquis of Santa Cruz, whose naval talents were of the 
 highest order, after he had been nominated to the com- 
 mand, led to the appointment of Medina Sidonia, a 
 nobleman totally unfitted for such a post ; the circum- 
 stance of Philip’s original orders being departed from ; 
 the intelligence carried by Fleming the pirate ; the 
 insufficiency of Parma’s boats and the weakness of his 
 army ; the calms which paralyzed the heav\^ vessels of 
 the Armada but gave little impediment to the manoeu- 
 vres of their lighter enemies ; the extraordinary changes 
 of wind during the battle, and the dreadful storms which 
 completed their destruction, — all were manifestly pro- 
 vidential ; and amidst the excitement of victory and the 
 universal joy with which it was welcomed by the na- 
 tion, the queen herself and her renowned captains were 
 not backward to acknowledge the overruling might of 
 God, and to ascribe the whole triumph to Him alone. 
 A medal was struck by Elizabeth’s orders, with the 
 inscription Afflavit Deus et dissipantur and a form 
 of prayer and thanksgiving for the occasion appointed 
 to be used throughout the kingdom. It was,” says 
 Sir William Monson, one of the queen’s ablest com- 
 manders, “the will of Him that directs all men and 
 their actions, that the fleets should meet and the enemy 
 be beaten as they were ; that they should be put from 
 their anchorage in Calais road whilst the Prince of 
 Parma was beleaguered at sea, and their navy driven 
 about Scotland and Ireland with great hazard and loss ; 
 which showeth how God did marvellously defend us 
 against their dangerous designs. By this, too, we may 
 discern how weak and feeble are the schemes of man in 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 93 
 
 respect of the Creator of man, and how impartially he 
 dealt between the two nations, sometimes giving to the 
 one sometimes to the other the advantage, yet so that 
 He alone supereminently ordered the battle.”* 
 
 The rejoicings for so signal a victory were interrupted 
 by the royal grief for the death of the Earl of Leicester ; 
 and although the people beheld his obsequies with little 
 regret, respect for the queen kept them silent. On the 
 8th of September eleven banners taken from the Spa- 
 nish navy were publicly displayed, and afterwards hung 
 over London Bridge ; but it was not till the 24th of 
 November that Elizabeth exhibited herself to her faith- 
 ful subjects in the garb of festivity and joy. On this 
 day, being Sunday, attended by her privy -council, sur- 
 rounded by a brilliant concourse of nobility, with the 
 foreign ambassadors, the judges and bishops, she made 
 a procession to St Paul’s, seated in a magnificent chariot- 
 throne, raised on four pillars, and surmounted by a 
 canopy, with an imperial crown on the top. It was 
 drawn by two white horses, and ornamented by a lion 
 and a dragon supporting the arms of England. Around 
 it marched the queen’s footmen and pensioners, after 
 whom came the Earl of Essex leading her horse of state 
 richly caparisoned, followed by the ladies of honour, 
 and on each side the royal guard, commanded by Sir 
 Walter Raleigh sumptuously apparelled and armed. 
 At Temple Bar she was received by the lord-mayor and 
 aldermen ; and amid the sounds of martial music and 
 the shouts of the companies and trade-corporations, mar- 
 shalled under their various banners, she proceeded to 
 St Paul’s. Elizabeth now, falling on her knees, re- 
 turned thanks to the God of battles who had so signally 
 blest her arms with victory ; after which the litany 
 was sung by the whole body of clergy. She then drove 
 hack in the same state to her palace at Somerset House 
 by torch-light, amid the acclamations of her suhjects.t 
 
 * Sir Wm. Monson’s True Account of the Wars in Spain, p. 14. 
 + Nichol’s Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. p. 63-65. 
 
94 
 
 PROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 Raleigh’s services at this time were rewarded by an 
 augmentation to his patent of wines, which gave him the 
 right to levy tonnage and poundage upon these liquors, — 
 one of the most profitable favours ever conferred on him. 
 
 The mind of this singular person appears to have 
 been in a state of perpetual activity, and occupied by a 
 variety of projects. Amid the vicissitudes of naval 
 enterprise, the anxieties of foreign invasion, and a con- 
 stant attendance at court, he found time to attend to the 
 interests of science, and to frame the outline of a plan 
 for a more extensive correspondence among literary 
 men. This is shown by his setting up what he termed 
 an office of address,” in which, even through the ob- 
 scure and imperfect hints preserved by Lloyd, we may 
 perhaps detect the first germ of those societies which 
 have since become so common throughout Europe. Of 
 such an association the original idea had been given by 
 Montaigne. In a letter of Evelyn’s we find the project 
 described, as that long-dried fountain of communication 
 which Montaigne first proposed. Sir Walter Raleigh 
 put in practice, and Mr Hartlib endeavoured to revive.” 
 It appears, to employ the words of Sir William Petty 
 in a communication to this last, to have been a plan 
 whereby the wants and designs of all may be made 
 known to all. Where men may know what is already 
 done in the business of learning ; what is at present 
 in doing, and what is intended to be done ; to the end, 
 that by such a general communication of designs and 
 mutual assistance, the wits and endeavours of the world 
 may no longer be as so many scattered coals, which, 
 for want of union are soon quenched ; whereas, being 
 but laid together, they would have yielded a comfortable 
 light and heat. For, methinks, the present condition 
 of men,” continues this writer, is like a field where, a 
 battle having been lately fought, we see many legs, 
 arms, and organs of sense, l}fing here arid there, which, 
 for want of conjunction, and a soul to quicken and en- 
 liven them, are fit for nothing but to feed the ravens 
 and infect the air : so we see many wits and ingenuities 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 95 
 
 dispersed up and down the world, whereof some are now 
 labouring to do what is already done, and puzzling 
 themselves to reinvent what is already invented ; others 
 we see quite stuck fast in difficulties for want of a few 
 directions, which some other man, might he be met 
 withal, both could and would most easily give him. 
 Again, one man wants a small sum of money to carry 
 on some design that requires it ; and there is perhaps 
 another, who has twice as much ready to bestow upon 
 the same design ; but, these two having no means ever 
 to hear the one of the other, the good work intended 
 and desired by both parties does utterly perish and 
 come to nothing.”* From these expressions we may 
 gather that Raleigh had felt, and even attempted to 
 correct, the great inconvenience under which science 
 laboured, from the Avant of that universal mode of com- 
 munication which has been supplied in later times by 
 the institution of societies of learned men in every country 
 in Europe, and by the wide diffusion of their discoveries 
 through the medium of the press. 
 
 From the contemplation of schemes for the improve 
 ment of science his thoughts were diverted to a service 
 of a very opposite description. Antonio, king of Portu- 
 gal, who had been deprived of his crowm by Philip of 
 Spain, was a refiTgee at the court of Elizabeth ; and 
 this princess, after the destruction of the Armada, de- 
 termined to retaliate upon the Spaniards, and replace 
 that monarch upon his throne. Economy, hoAvever, in 
 her military undertakings Avas Avith her a distinguishing 
 characteristic ; and she was seldom inclined to draw 
 heavily upon her exchequer when she could accomplish 
 her object by the contributions of her subjects. At this 
 moment the military spirit of the nation Avas so highly 
 excited, that the call was readily answered ; and the 
 queen soon saw an army of volunteers 16,000 strong, with 
 a formidable fleet provided at the expense of private 
 gentlemen, many of whom personally embarked in the 
 
 Oldys’s Life, pp. 115, 116. 
 
96 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 service. Amongst these adventurers was Raleigh, who 
 has left us in his History of the World some interesting 
 particulars of the enterprise. To this force Elizabeth 
 added six of her own men -of- war, and contributed a sum 
 of £60,000. The command of the fleet being intrusted 
 to Drake, and of the land-forces to Norris, the expedition 
 sailed on the 14th of April 1589, looking forward to no- 
 thing less than the conquest of the kingdom of Portugal. 
 
 A difference of opinion took place in the outset be- 
 tween these veterans, who were both of the highest skill 
 in their own peculiar department, but too equal in power, 
 and too confident in their own judgment, to act well 
 together. Norris insisted that they should first attempt 
 a descent at the Groyne (Corunna), where Spain was 
 preparing a new armament for the invasion of England ; 
 after which he purposed to march to Lisbon, whilst the 
 fleet was to sail up the river, and second the operations 
 of the land-force. Against this Drake strongly remon- 
 strated, his plan being to proceed directly to Lisbon, and 
 attack the enemy before they had time to prepare them- 
 selves, — an advice which, had it been followed, would in 
 all probability have led to complete success. But the 
 obstinacy of Norris carried the day, and at first every 
 thing appeared to favour his design. The army landed 
 in the Bay of Ferrol, took the lower town of Corunna, 
 defeated the Spaniards at Puente de Burgos, and invested 
 the higher town. From this moment, however, all went 
 against them. He had no heavy artillery to effect a 
 breach ; the rocky foundation of the city defied the 
 efforts of the miners ; a pestilential disorder broke out 
 in the camp, which thinned the ranks and dispirited the 
 soldiers ; and after some time the army re-embarked, 
 and directed their course towards Portugal. 
 
 But it was now too late. The Spaniards, as Drake 
 had anticipated, availing themselves of the delay, had 
 fortified the capital, and defended the entrance of the 
 river by so strong a battery, that the admiral considered 
 it madness to attempt the passage. In these circum- 
 stances nothing remained but to re-embark the army. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 97 
 
 after they had partially occupied the suburbs ; and the 
 expedition returned to England with the loss of 6000 
 men by sickness. If we may believe Birch, of 1100 
 gentlemen who embarked, only 350 survived to reach 
 their native country.* The enterprise, however, was 
 not wholly unproductive ; for on their homeward voyage 
 they took sixty vessels bound for Lisbon, laden with 
 stores. Raleigh and other private adventurers also made 
 prizes of many Easterling hulks, which it was regretted 
 that for want of men they could not carry home. On 
 his return the queen was so highly satisfied with his 
 conduct, that she presented him, in common with others 
 who had distinguished themselves, with a gold chain. t 
 Amongst some unarranged manuscripts in the State- 
 paper Office, I found, some time since, two characteristic 
 letters of Sir Francis Drake, Avritten to England during 
 this expedition. The first was addressed from the Groyne 
 to Mr Wooley. It is brief and blunt : — 
 
 I have neither matter nor leisure to write long. We 
 saw Spain the 23d of April. We landed at Groyne the 
 24th. We took the lower town of Groyne the 25th with 
 four great ships, divers barks, and 150 pieces of ordnance. 
 The 6th day of May we gave the enemy a great overthrow, 
 wherein were slain near a thousand Spaniards. W e have 
 done the King of Spain many pretty services here at this 
 place, yet I believe he will not thank us. I desire of God 
 that the want of meat and powder be not urgent. Five 
 thousand pound in victual before our going out of Eng- 
 land to that in hand, and two thousand pounds in powder, 
 surely would have yielded her majesty and country much 
 greatness. The King of Spain spareth not, nor wanteth 
 no will to do us hurt. God grant we may prevent him ! 
 Humbly taking leave, I beseech God to bless us all and 
 give us grace to live in his fear. From the Groyne, this 
 8th May 1589. Your honour’s faithfully, 
 
 Francis Drake.” 
 
 * Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth, vol. i. p. 61. 
 f Birch’s Life of Raleigh, p. 589. 
 
 F 
 
98 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 The second to Secretary Walsingham is more detailed 
 and not less spirited : — 
 
 Most Honourable, — The best I can write is, that 
 I presently believe the enemy will not trouble England 
 suddenly. For first, we have destroyed very many of 
 his provisions at Groyne, and so have we done at Lisbon ; 
 and what we ourselves could not well destroy, that hath 
 the enemy burnt himself, as corn, wine, rusk, oil, flesh, 
 and fish, and many other provisions which the king had 
 caused to be provided for some new army. The taking 
 of this their store, and all sails of hulks, fly -boats, and 
 burthens laden with corn and other provisions, will be a 
 great hindrance to his purposes. There is a great want 
 of corn generally among the people, yet had the king 
 great store of all provisions in his storehouses. If we had 
 not been commanded to the contrary, but had first landed 
 at Lisbon, all had been as we would have desired it ; but 
 God thought it not meet. I assure your honour our 
 sickness is very much, both of our soldiers and mariners. 
 God mitigate it according to his good will and pleasure ! 
 We are not yet thoroughly resolved what service we 
 shall next take in hand : and for that there is as yet no 
 supplies come out of England, it causeth our men to 
 droop, and desire much to go for England ; but if God 
 will bless us with some little comfortable dew, realen 
 some crowns, or some seasonable bounty for our 
 soldiers and mariners, all will take good heart again 
 although they were half dead. To want meat, munition, 
 and liberty, is too heavy a burthen for a soldier to bear ; 
 specially when they must command their people living 
 far from their own country. Thus humbly taking my 
 leave, desiring pardon for my plainness of your honour, 
 praying unto God we may have all power to live in his 
 fear. W ritten this 2d of J une 1589. With yours humbly 
 to be commanded, 
 
 Francis Drake. 
 
 To the Right Honourable Sir Francis Walsingham, 
 Knight, Principal Secretary to her Majesty.” 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 99 
 
 Many years after, during his captivity in the Tower, 
 Raleigh, in writing his History of the World, drew from 
 the fortunes of this expedition some excellent conclusions 
 regarding the precautions to be taken by Britain against 
 foreign invasion. And to say the truth,” he observes, 
 it is impossible for any maritime country, not having 
 the coasts admirably fortified, to defend itself against a 
 powerful enemy that is master of the sea. Hereof I had 
 rather that Spain than England should be an example. 
 Let it therefore be suppose d that Philip the Second had 
 fully resolved to hinder Sir John Norris, in the year 
 1589, from presenting Don Antonio, king of Portugal, 
 before the gates of Lisbon ; and that he would have kept 
 off the English by power of his land-forces, as being too 
 weak at sea, through the great overthrow of his mighty 
 Armada by the fleet of Queen Elizabeth in the year 
 foregoing. Surely it had not been hard for him to pre- 
 pare an army that should be able to resist our 11,000. 
 But where should this his army have been bestowed I If 
 about Lisbon, then would it have been easy unto the 
 English to take, ransack, and burn the town of Groyne, 
 and to waste the country round about it ; for the great 
 and threatening preparations of the Earl of Altemira, the 
 Marquis of Seralba, and others, did not hinder them from 
 performing all this. Neither did the hasty levy of 8000, 
 under the Earl of Andrada, serve to more effect than the 
 increase of honour to Sir John Norris and his associates ; 
 considering, that the English charged these at Puente 
 de Burgos, and passing the great bridge behind which 
 they lay, that was flanked with shot and barricadoed at 
 the further end, routed them, took their camp, took their 
 generaFs standard with the king’s arms, and pursued 
 them over all the country, which they fired. If a royal 
 army, and not, as this was, a company of private adven- 
 turers, had thus begun the war in Galicia, I think it 
 would have made the Spaniards to quit the guard of 
 Portugal, and make haste to the defence of their Saint 
 Jago, whose temple was not far from the danger. But, 
 had they held their first resolution, as knowing that Sir 
 
100 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 John Norris’s main intent was to bring Don Antonio 
 with an army into his kingdom, whither coming strong, 
 he expected to be readily and joyfully welcomed, could 
 they have hindered his landing in Portugal 1 Did he not 
 land at Penicha, and march over the country to Lisbon, 
 six days’ journey 1 Did not he, when all Don Antonio’s 
 promises failed, pass along by the river of Lisbon to Cas- 
 caliz, and there, having won the fort, quietly embark his 
 men and depart So ably, we see, did this remarkable 
 man, out of the fruits of former experience, extract the 
 spirit of counsel and wisdom against parallel difficulties. 
 
 When Norris was on his way from Corunna to Por- 
 tugal, he was joined by the Earl of Essex, who, unknown 
 to the queen, of whom he was then the reigning favour- 
 ite, had stolen from England, with the ardour of a young 
 knight eager to share in the dangers of the enterprise. 
 With him came his tried follower Sir Roger Williams, 
 a veteran bred in Germany under the great Conde, and 
 who afterwards served in Spain with much credit. Be- 
 tween this soldier, whose manners, if we may judge from 
 his style of writing, were blunt and overbearing, and the 
 ambitious and courteous Raleigh, there occurred a differ- 
 ence which brought down upon him the enmity of the earl, 
 who warmly espoused the quarrel of his friend. t Had 
 this animosity continued, it might have drawn after it con- 
 sequences fatal to Sir Walter. But it seems at this time 
 to have been of short duration, although afterwards they 
 were thrown by the course of events into rival factions. 
 
 Essex was in truth an extraordinary man ; and it is 
 
 * History of the World, vol. vi. pp. 98, 99. 
 i* We have seen, however (supra, p. 62), that the enmity of 
 Essex was of older standing ; and although it is difficult to 
 trace the early rivalry of courtiers, it is not unlikely that, as 
 some authors of the time conjecture, Leicester, getting jealous 
 of the rising fortunes of Raleigh, brought Essex, his stepson, to 
 court, that he might draw off from Sir Walter the excessive 
 partiality of the queen. The event showed Leicester’s know- 
 ledge of the character of his mistress ; for, from the moment of 
 his arrival at court, Essex became the pre-eminent favourite. It 
 is certain, however, that any animosity which existed between 
 him and Raleigh was soon, at least apparently, composed. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 101 
 
 easy to conceive that, not only from his influence over 
 the queen but his own excellent qualities, Sir Walter 
 should, notwithstanding the disparity of their years, have 
 been desirous of his friendship. Introduced at court 
 when only seventeen, and executed in his thirty-fourth 
 year, it is impossible, when we consider how much great- 
 ness was crowded into this brief space, to withhold from 
 him our pity and admiration. His fortune and patronage 
 were lavished upon his friends with unexampled gene- 
 rosity. He was an accomplished scholar and an excellent 
 commander, though he sometimes forgot the prudence of 
 the general in the ardour of the knight ; and, young as 
 he was, he had studied the foreign policy of England 
 with an acuteness which, in regard to the expediency of 
 a war with Spain, led him to a more judicious conclusion 
 than was suggested even by the matured experience of 
 Burleigh. His few state-papers are written with an 
 elegance far superior to his age ; and the scheme of 
 government which he had adopted for Ireland, instead 
 of meriting that burst of indignation which refused to be 
 satisfied with any thing short of his disgrace, is marked 
 by a deep and intimate knowledge of the real interests 
 of that misgoverned country. There was even some- 
 thing great in the qualities which hastened his fall. 
 Had he compromised his own dignity and uprightness, 
 by humouring the foibles and flattering the vanity of the 
 queen, he might have retained his influence and defied 
 his enemies ; but while she treated him alternately with 
 the fondness of a love-sick mistress and the rage of a 
 royal tyrant ; whilst at the venerable age of sixty-eight 
 she exhibited all the phases of the tender passion, — 
 smiling, weeping, caressing, reproaching, now admitting 
 him to her bedside, and next moment fulminating a sen- 
 tence of perpetual banishment, he grew tired of such 
 absurdity, and disdained to continue the slave of so strange 
 and imperious a passion. Some writers have given them- 
 selves much trouble in forming theories to account for 
 the sudden rise of Essex at court. Born, as he was, to 
 greatness, it would have been far more extraordinary 
 
102 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 had he not risen. He was by his mother related to the 
 queen, besides being of noble lineage by the father, — 
 circumstances which Elizabeth never overlooked. His 
 guardian was her great minister Burleigh ; his tutor the 
 famous Whitgift, afterwards primate of England ; and 
 at ten years old, soon after his father’s death, it was said of 
 him by Waterhouse, who was no mean judge, that there 
 was then no man so strong in friends as the little Earl of 
 Essex. The principal cause, no doubt, of his rapid exalta- 
 tion to power, greater than any former favourite possessed, 
 was the romantic partiality of his royal mistress ; but, 
 independently of this, his own abilities, fortune, and 
 station must have brought him into notice. At the time 
 of which we now write (the expedition to Lisbon) his age 
 was not above twenty-two, and Elizabeth had already 
 loaded him with favours, created him general of horse in 
 the camp at Tilbury, and given him the order of the Garter. 
 
 To return to Raleigh : It Is the opinion of some authors, 
 that about this time a coolness, perhaps an actual quarrel, 
 had occurred between him and Essex ; and there is a 
 contemporary letter preserved by Birch, which affirms 
 that My Lord of Essex had chased Raleigh from court 
 but the whole story is obscure. It is certain that, whether 
 from necessity or convenience, he repaired to Ireland, 
 and after examining his estates there, visited Spenser at 
 Kilcolman, where the poet then resided. Amid all his 
 cares and ambition. Sir Walter had never deserted the 
 muses ; and he now renewed with ardour his friendship 
 with their favourite son. He and the bard had become 
 acquainted during the havoc and tumult of war. But 
 the country was now at peace ; and in the romantic 
 castle, which the royal bounty had made the property 
 of the poet, their literary studies were pursued with 
 mutual profit and delight. Of this meeting Spenser, in 
 his beautiful pastoral, entitled Colin Clout’s come 
 Home again,” has left an account, disguised indeed by the 
 colouring of a poetical imagination, but “ agreeing,” he 
 informs us, “ with the truth in circumstance and matter.”* 
 
 * Dedication of Colin Clout to Sir Walter Raleigh. 
 
Edmund Spenser. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 105 
 
 He represents himself, while seated under the green 
 alders by the romantic river Mulla meditating his rural 
 minstrelsy, as suddenly addressed by a stranger who calls 
 himself the Shepherd of the Ocean , — describing Raleigh 
 under this fanciful appellation. 
 
 “ One day (quoth he) I sat, as was my trade, 
 
 Under the foot of Mole, that mountain hore. 
 
 Keeping my sheep amongst the cooly shade 
 Of the green alders by the Mulla’s shore ; 
 
 There a strange shepherd chanced to find me out,— 
 Whether allured with my pipe’s delight. 
 
 Whose pleasing sound yshrilled far about. 
 
 Or thither led by chance, I knew not right, — 
 
 Whom, when I asked from what place he came. 
 
 And how he hight ? himself he did ycleep 
 The Shepherd of the Ocean by name. 
 
 And said, he came far from the main sea deep. 
 
 He, sitting me beside in that same shade. 
 
 Provoked me to play some pleasant fit ; 
 
 And when he heard the musick which I made. 
 
 He found himself full greatly pleased at it.”* 
 
 The stranger soon after borrows the pastoral reed of 
 Colin Clout, and in tuneful rivalry displays his cunning 
 in the art : — 
 
 “ Yet, semuling my pipe, he took in bond 
 My pipe, before that aemuled of many. 
 
 And played thereon, (for well that skill he conn’d,) 
 Himself as skilful in that art as any. 
 
 He piped, I sung ; and, when he sung, I piped ; 
 
 By change of turns, each making other merry ; 
 
 Neither envying other, nor envied : 
 
 So piped we, until we both were weary.”f 
 
 Thestylis, one of the “swains that did about him 
 play,” inquires what was the ditty sung by Raleigh ; 
 and Spenser’s answer, making allowance for its poetical 
 drapery, corroborates the idea that he was suffering 
 under the temporary displeasure of Elizabeth, whom he 
 styles Cynthia the Lady of the Sea : — 
 
 “ That shall I eke (quoth he) to you declare, — 
 
 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 debarr’d : 
 
 Todd’s Spenser, vol. viii. p. 8. 
 
 t Ibid. p. 9. 
 
103 
 
 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 And ever and anon with singulfs rife, 
 
 He cried out, to make his undersong, — 
 
 Ah ! my love’s queen, and goddess of my life ! 
 
 Who shall me pity when thou dost me vrrong 
 
 The Shepherd of the Ocean, pitying that luckless lot 
 which had banished Colin into a waste where he was 
 forgotten, persuaded this tuneful wight to wend with 
 him to behold his Cynthia, — in plain prose, Raleigh 
 invited Spenser to court, that he might be introduced 
 to the queen. The voyage to England, the wonders of 
 the deep, and the noble description of the vessel huge 
 “ that danced upon the waters back to lond,” must be 
 familiar to all the lovers of English poetry in its best 
 days. The description of the happiness of his country 
 under the maiden queen, as contrasted with the miseries 
 which the poet had lately witnessed, is striking and 
 beautiful : — 
 
 “ Both heaven and heavenly graces do much more 
 (Q,uoth he) abound in that same land than this ; 
 
 For there all happy peace and plenteous store 
 Conspire in one to make contented bliss. 
 
 No wailing there — nor wretchedness is heard ; 
 
 No bloody issues — nor no leprosies ; 
 
 No griesly famine — -nor no raging sweard ; 
 
 No nightly bordragsf — -nor no hue and cries. 
 
 The shepherds there abroad may safely lie 
 
 On hills and downs, withouten dread or danger. 
 
 No ravenous wolves the good man’s hope destroy ; 
 
 No outlaws fell affray the forest ranger ; 
 
 There learned arts do flourish in great honour ; 
 
 And poets’ wits are had in peerless price ; 
 
 Religion hath lay power to rest upon her. 
 
 Advancing virtue and suppressing vice. 
 
 For end, all good, all grace there freely grows. 
 
 Had people grace it gratefully to use ; 
 
 For God his gifts there plenteously bestows. 
 
 But graceless men them greatly do abuse.” J 
 
 But the visit of Raleigh had more important conse- 
 quences. During his residence at Kilcolman, Spenser 
 submitted to him the three first cantos of his Fairy 
 Queen, then in an unfinished state. It is a common 
 
 * Todd’s Spenser, vol. viii. p. 13. f Bordrags^ border ravages. 
 X Todd’s Spenser, vol. viii. p! 20. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 107 
 
 opinion that the poet was encouraged to commence this 
 great work by the patronage of Sir Philip Sidney.* It 
 appears to have been the reverse. The knight, with 
 Dyer, a youthful critic of those times, and a fantastic 
 person named Gabriel Harvey, employed every effort 
 to dissuade this great writer from attempting any com- 
 position in rhyme ; and I strongly suspect that it is to 
 the discernment of Raleigh we owe the first publication 
 of his noble work. There are extant repeated letters 
 from Harvey, in which he congratulates Spenser, who 
 had begun hut thrown aside his romantic poem, on be- 
 coming a convert to a capricious scheme for the expul- 
 sion of rhyme from English literature, and reducing the 
 structure of our versification within the rules of Latin 
 prosody. Of this project Sidney and Dyer were the 
 chief promoters ; and, instead of applauding the Knight 
 of Penshurst as the patron of the Fairy Queen, it is 
 difficult, without some indignation, to read his frigid 
 criticism upon its author,f and his good friend Master 
 Gabriel Harvey’s ridiculous and tasteless remarks upon 
 the portion which had been submitted to him, without 
 trembling for the probable consequences. Had this 
 delightful poet listened to their pedantic dogmatism, 
 the shades of Penshurst might have become the grave 
 of the Fairy Queen. The reader is perhaps not aware 
 how nearly this catastrophe had happened: — ‘‘And 
 now,” says Spenser, in one of his early letters to Harvey, 
 “ they (Sidney and Dyer) have proclaimed in their 
 Areopago a general surceasing and silence of hald rhymers, 
 and also of the very best too ; instead whereof they have, 
 by authority of their whole senate, prescribed certain 
 laws and rules of quantities of English syllables for 
 English verse, having had thereof already great prac- 
 tice, and drawn me to their faction^X And in the same 
 letter, a little after, he observes, “ But I am of late 
 
 * Oldys’s Life, p. 125. Cayley’s Life, p. 113. Todd’s Life of 
 Spenser, p. liii. 
 
 f Defence of Poesy, p. 513. 
 
 X Todd’s Life, vol. i. p. xx. 
 
108 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 more in love with my English versifying than with 
 rhyming, which I should have done long since, if I 
 would then have followed your counsel.” Happily his 
 adoption of these opinions only made him abandon for 
 a time his great work, which he probably did not resume 
 till some years after. On being visited, however, by 
 Raleigh, his ardour for the new scheme of poetical re- 
 formation had cooled, and he produced the unfinished 
 cantos. The effect seems to have been immediate. 
 With the intuition of real genius, the Shepherd of the 
 Ocean at once detected the pure ore of heavenly poesy. 
 He was no adept in the new school of taste.* He 
 thought probably, with the witty satirist Nash, that the 
 “ Hexameter Verse, though granted to be a gentleman 
 of ancient house, yet was not likely to thrive in this 
 clime of ours, the soil being too craggy for him to set 
 his plough in.” He had himself in his youthful days 
 written some beautiful pieces. One stanza of his reply 
 to the Passionate Shepherdess is worth the united lucu- 
 brations of Sidney, Dyer, and Gabriel Harvey. He 
 invited Spenser to accompany him to England ; the 
 consequence was, the poet’s introduction to Q,ueen 
 Elizabeth, and the publication of the first three books 
 of the Fairy Queen, dedicated, in the first instance, 
 ‘‘ To the Most High, Mightie, and Magnificent Em- 
 presse Elizabeth,” and introduced to the reader’s notice 
 and better understanding” by a letter to Raleigh, ex- 
 plaining the intention of the author in the course of his 
 work, which he describes as a continued allegory or 
 dark conceit. 
 
 From all this we see that Sir Walter fully appreciated 
 the pre-eminent merit of his friend ; whilst Sidney, 
 Dyer, and Harvey, would have turned him from the 
 field where he was destined to acquire such glory, and 
 persuaded him, with perverted taste, to devote himself 
 
 * Zouch, in his Life of Sidney, p. 153, without any authority, 
 enlists Raleigh as a follower of the new school. Every evi- 
 dence that remains shows the reverse. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 109 
 
 to their fantastic projects. Raleigh however anticipated 
 the judgment of Milton and Dry den, and the sentence 
 pronounced by every succeeding age of English literature. 
 In his introductory stanzas to the poet, he does not 
 hesitate to prefer the music of his sweet shell to that of 
 every other native author and in a beautiful sonnet, 
 which we cannot refrain from quoting, he assigns to him 
 a higher rank than Petrarch, predicting the triumph of 
 the Fairy Queen over the spotless mistress of the Italian 
 bard : — 
 
 Methought I saw the grave where Laura lay, 
 
 Within that temple where the vestal flame 
 Was wont to burn ; and passing by that way 
 To see that buried dust of living fame, 
 
 Whose tomb fair Love and fairer Virtue kept : 
 
 All suddenly I saw the Fairy Queen ; 
 
 At whose approach the soul of Petrarch wept, 
 
 And, from thenceforth, those Graces were not seen : 
 
 For they this queen attended, in whose stead 
 Oblivion laid him down on Laura’s hearse ; 
 
 Hereat the hardest stones were seen to bleed, 
 
 And groans of buried ghosts the heavens did pierce ; 
 Where Homer’s spright did tremble all for griefe. 
 
 And cursed th’ access of that celestial thiefe.” 
 
 To Raleigh, on the other hand, whose tuneful numbers 
 had thus shadowed out his coming fame, Spenser ad- 
 dressed a sonnet, which, with many others now little 
 read but worthy of all praise, is prefixed to his poem : — 
 
 “ To thee, that art the summer’s nightingale. 
 
 Thy soveraine goddess’s most dear delight. 
 
 Why do I send this rustick madrigale, 
 
 That may thy tuneful ear unseason quite ? 
 
 Thou only fit this argument to write. 
 
 In whose high thoughts Pleasure hath built her boure. 
 
 And dainty Love learned sweetly to indite : 
 
 My rhimes I know unsav’ry are and soure. 
 
 To taste the streames which, like a golden shoure, 
 
 Flow from thy fruitful head, of thy love’s praise. 
 
 Fitter perhaps to thunder martial stoure. 
 
 When so thee list thy lofty muse to raise : 
 
 Yet till that thou thy poeme wilt make knowne. 
 
 Let thy faire Cynthia’s praises be thus rudely showne.” 
 
 * “ Of me no lines are loved, nor letters are of price, 
 
 Of all that speak our English tongue, but those of thy device.” 
 
110 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 It appears from this sonnet, and from Spenser’s letters, 
 that the Ocean Shepherd had written a poem in praise 
 of Elizabeth under the name of Cynthia. In two fine 
 stanzas of the introduction to the third hook of the 
 Fairy Queen, containing the Legend of Britomartis or 
 Chastity, allusion is again made to the poem of Raleigh; — 
 
 “ But if in living colours and right hue 
 Thyself thou covet to see pictured, 
 
 Who can it do more lively, or more true. 
 
 Than that sweet verse, with nectar sprinkeled. 
 
 In which a gracious servant pictured 
 His Cynthia, his heaven’s fairest light ? 
 
 That with his melting sweetness ravished, 
 
 And with the wonder of her beames bright. 
 
 My senses lulled are in slumber of delight. 
 
 But let that same delicious poet lend 
 A little leave unto a rustick muse 
 To sing his mistress’ praise ; and let him mend. 
 
 If aught amiss her liking may abuse : 
 
 Ne let his fairest Cynthia refuse 
 In mirrours more than one herself to see ; 
 
 But either Gloriana let her choose. 
 
 Or in Belphoebe fashioned to be ; 
 
 In th’ one her rule, in th’ other her rare chastitie.” 
 
 Fairy Queen, b. hi. Introd. §§ 4, 5. 
 
 The work thus highly praised by Spenser, — the sweet 
 verse with nectar sprinkeled,” — has perished ; yet 
 enough of his poetry remains to iustify the encomium 
 of Colin Clout.* 
 
 But though I have ventured to maintain that the 
 common opinion, which connects the Fairy Queen with 
 the patronage of Sidney, is erroneous, and that to Ra- 
 leigh’s enthusiastic praise is to he ascribed the first 
 appearance of that delightful poem, it is far from my 
 wish to depreciate the real merits of the Knight of Pens- 
 hurst. Of this jewel of his time Horace Walpole’s 
 character is too severe, and that of his biographer Zouch 
 too encomiastic. Respecting his universality of talent 
 some remarks have been already given ; and there is a 
 unity and propriety about him which provoked Walpole, 
 
 * Another allusion to Raleigh will be found in the fourth 
 book of the Fairy Queen, canto vii. § 36. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 Ill 
 
 who delighted in detecting foibles. That he possessed 
 high or original genius, no one who has lulled himself 
 asleep over his interminable Arcadia will hastily affirm. 
 His patronage of the poet was kind, and the latter im- 
 measurably repaid it by embalming his memory in his 
 “ Astrophel,” one of the most finished and beautiful 
 elegies in the English language ; but it is evident his 
 taste was vitiated, and that he failed to appreciate the 
 true excellence of Spenser’s genius. The lowly lays 
 which Sidney encouraged him to sing, were probably 
 the uncouth attempts of their new school of poetry to 
 destroy the lofty fabric of English rhyme. It is to 
 Raleigh, if to any one, we owe the restoration of the 
 bard to the regions where he could soar freely with his 
 singing-robes about him, — a service to the literature of 
 his country which ought not soon to be forgotten. 
 
 How long Sir Walter remained in Ireland is uncer- 
 tain ; but from the following letter to his kinsman Sir 
 George Carew, dated December 1589, the displeasure of 
 the queen seems to have been of short continuance : — 
 
 CousEN George, — For my retreat from the court 
 it was upon good cause, to take order for my prize. If 
 in Ireland they think that I am not worth the respect- 
 ing, they shall much deceive themselves. I am in place 
 to be believed not inferior to any man, to pleasure or 
 displeasure the greatest, and my opinion is so received 
 and believed as I can anger the best of them ; and there- 
 fore, if the Deputy be not as ready to stead me as I have 
 been to defend him, be as it may. When Sir William 
 Fitzwilliams shall be in England, I take myself far his 
 betters by the honourable offices I hold, as also by that 
 nighness to her majesty, which still I enjoy, and never 
 more. I am willing to continue towards him all friendly 
 offices, and I doubt not of the like from him, as well 
 towards me as my friends.”* 
 
 * Published by Todd, Life of Spenser, vol. i. p. xciv. from the 
 original in the Carew MS. in the Lambeth Palace, No. 605. 
 
112 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 Raleigh’s reviving influence, however proudly it is 
 asserted in this letter, was benevolently employed. It 
 saved from death Mr John Udall, a pious minister, whose 
 zeal for the reformation of Episcopacy had offended the 
 queen, and brought down upon him the vengeance of 
 her bishops and judges. He also interceded in behalf 
 of a brave officer named Spring, to whom the govern- 
 ment owed a large sum, which was unjustly withheld, 
 although the veteran had received many wounds in her 
 majesty’s service. It is reported that Elizabeth, some- 
 what irritated at these and similar applications for the 
 unfortunate, on his telling her one day he had a favour 
 to ask, impatiently exclaimed, When, Sir Walter, will 
 you cease to be a beggar f’ To which he made the 
 noted answer, When your gracious majesty ceases to 
 be a benefactor.”* 
 
 It was about this time he published a vindication of 
 the memory of Sir Richard Grenville, a brave and able 
 naval commander during the reign of Elizabeth. This 
 officer had been blamed for his conduct in the expedition 
 against the Spanish Plate-fleet at the Azores, — an enter- 
 prise projected by Sir Walter, and in which the other 
 lost his life under circumstances that not only shield 
 him from censure, but entitle him to the highest praise. 
 The action was so extraordinary, that it well merits re- 
 cital : Its object w^as to surprise the Spanish fleet when 
 it rendezvoused at the Azores on its return from Ame- 
 rica. For this purpose Lord Thomas Howard sailed 
 from England with six of the queen’s ships, six victual- 
 lers, and some pinnaces ; Sir Richard Grenville being 
 vice-admiral in the Revenge. Having set out in the 
 spring of 1591, they waited six months at Flores in expec- 
 tation of their prize. Philip, however, obtaining intel- 
 ligence of their design, despatched Don Alphonso Bacan 
 with fifty-three ships of war to act as convoy. So secure 
 had the English become by protracted delay, that this 
 armament was bearing down upon them before they had 
 
 Oldys’s Life, pp. 137, 142. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 113 
 
 the least suspicion of its approach. Most of the crews 
 were on shore providing water, ballast, and other neces- 
 saries, and many were disabled by sickness. To hurry 
 on board, weigh anchor, and leave the place with the 
 utmost speed, was their only safety ; and Grenville, upon 
 whom the charge of the details at this pressing crisis was 
 imposed, was the last upon the spot, superintending the 
 embarkation, and receiving his men on board, which, ow- 
 ing to the great number of his sick required a long time. 
 Thus detained, he found it impossible to recover the 
 wind, and there was no alternative but either to cut his 
 mainsail, tack about, and flee with all speed, or remain 
 and fight it out single-handed. It was to this desperate 
 resolution that he adhered. Through the greatness 
 of his spirit,” says Raleigh, he utterly refused to turn 
 from the enemy, protesting he would rather die than be 
 guilty of such dishonour to himself, his country, and 
 her majesty’s ship. His design was to force the squa- 
 dron of Seville, which was on his weather-bow, to give 
 way ; and such was the impetuosity of his attack that 
 it was on the point of being successful. Divers of the 
 Spaniards, springing their loof, as the sailors of those 
 times termed it, brought their ships’ heads nearer the 
 wind, during which manoeuvre the Saint Philip, a gal- 
 leon of 1500 tons, coming down on the Revenge, be- 
 calmed her sails so completely that she could neither 
 make way nor obey the helm. The enemy carried three 
 tier of guns on each side, and discharged eight foreright 
 from her chase, besides those of her stern-ports. At the 
 moment Sir Richard was thus entangled, four other 
 galleons bore up and boarded him, two on his larboard 
 and two on his starboard. The close fight began at three 
 in the afternoon and continued with some slight inter- 
 mission for fifteen hours, during which time Grenville, 
 unsupported, sustained the reiterated attack of fifteen 
 Spanish ships, the rest not being able to engage in close 
 fire. The unwieldy Saint Philip, having received a 
 broadside from the lower tier of the Revenge, shifted 
 with all speed, and avoided the repetition of such a 
 
 G 
 
114 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 salute ; but still as one was beaten off another supplied 
 the vacant place. Two galleons were sunk, and two 
 others so handled as to lie complete wrecks upon the 
 water ; yet it was evident no human power could save 
 Sir Richard’s vessel. Although wounded in the begin- 
 ning of the action, its brave commander for eight hours 
 refused to leave the upper-deck. He was then shot 
 through the body, and as his wound was dressing he 
 received another musket-ball, and saw the surgeon slain 
 at his side. Such was the state of things during the 
 night ; but the darkness concealed the full extent of 
 the calamity. As the light broke, a melancholy spec- 
 tacle presented itself. Now,” says Raleigh, “ was to 
 be seen nothing but the naked hull of a ship, and that 
 almost a skeleton, having received eight hundred shot 
 of great artillery, and some under water ; her deck 
 covered with the limbs and carcasses of forty valiant 
 men, the rest all wounded, and weltering in or covered 
 with their own blood ; her masts all beaten overboard, 
 all her tackle cut asunder, her upper- works rased, and 
 all in effect levelled with the water ; incapable of any 
 further management or motion but what the billows 
 gave her.” At this moment Grenville proposed to sink 
 the vessel, and trust to the mercy of God, rather than 
 fall into the hands of the Spaniards, — a resolution in 
 which he was joined by the master-gunner and a part 
 of the crew ; but the rest refused to consent, and per- 
 suaded their commander to surrender. Faint with loss 
 of blood, and like his ship shattered by repeated wounds, 
 this brave man soon after expired, with these remark- 
 able words : — “ Here die I, Richard Grenville, with a 
 joyful and quiet mind, having ended my life like a true 
 soldier, that has fought for his country, queen, religion, 
 and honour.” 
 
 To defend the memory of this officer, which had been 
 unjustly aspersed. Sir Walter drew up his report of the 
 action ; nor could the vindication of his kinsman’s fame 
 have fallen into better hands. In the conclusion he 
 enlarges on the ambitious character and policy of the 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 115 
 
 Spaniards in a strain of impetuous declamation, which 
 we quote as a specimen of the superiority of his prose 
 to the writers of his time : — “ For matter of religion, it 
 would require a particular volume to set down how irre- 
 ligiously they cover their greedy and ambitious practices 
 with that veil of piety ; for, sure I am, there is no 
 kingdom or commonwealth in all Europe but, if re- 
 formed, they invade it for religion sake : if it be, as they 
 term. Catholic, they pretend title ; as if the kings of 
 Castile were the natural heirs of all the world : and so, 
 between both, no kingdom is unsought. Where they 
 dare not with their own forces invade, they basely en- 
 tertain the traitors and vagabonds of all nations ; seeking 
 by those and their renegade Jesuits to win parts ; and 
 have by that means ruined many noble houses and others 
 in this land, and have extinguished both their lives and 
 families. What good, honour, or fortune, ever man yet 
 by them achieved, is yet unheard of, or unwritten. 
 And if our English Papists do but look into Portugal, 
 against which they have no pretence of religion ; how 
 the nobility are put to death, imprisoned ; their rich 
 men made a prey, and all sorts of people captived ; they 
 shall find that the obedience even of the Turk is easy, 
 and a liberty, in respect of the slavery and tyranny of 
 Spain. What have they done in Sicily, Naples, Milan, 
 and the Low Countries I Who hath there been spared 
 for religion at all « * * * Who would therefore repose 
 trust in such a nation of ravenous strangers ; and espe- 
 cially in those Spaniards, who more greedily thirst after 
 English blood, than after the lives of any other people 
 in Europe, for the many overthrows and dishonours they 
 have received at our hands, whose weakness we have 
 discovered to the world, and whose forces at home, 
 abroad, in Europe, in India, by sea and land, we have, 
 even with handfuls of men and ships, overthrown and 
 dishonoured ? * To conclude : it hath ever to this 
 day pleased God to prosper and defend her majesty, to 
 break the purposes of malicious enemies, of forsworn 
 traitors, and of unjust practices and invasions. She hath 
 
116 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 ever been honoured of the worthiest kings ; served hy 
 faithful subjects ; and shall, by the favour of God, resist, 
 repel, and confound all whatsoever attempts against her 
 sacred person or kingdom. In the mean time, let the 
 Spaniards and traitors vaunt of their success ; and we, 
 her true and obedient vassals, guided hy the shining light 
 of her virtues, shall always love her, serve her, and obey 
 her to the end of our lives.”* 
 
 Such a spirited detection of the treacherous policy of 
 Elizabeth’s great enemy, with the attachment to her 
 person and government which it displays, was highly 
 acceptable to the queen, and disposed her to lend a 
 favourable ear to a proposal of Raleigh for an expedition 
 against Panama, combined with a second scheme for 
 intercepting the Plate-fleet. In this enterprise he im- 
 prudently invested his whole private fortune, and engaged 
 many of his friends ; whilst his royal mistress, guided 
 by her own judgment and the counsels of Burleigh, 
 assisted them sparingly. The ships of the gentlemen 
 adventurers were thirteen, well manned and provisioned ; 
 those of the crown, only two men of war, — the Garland 
 and the Foresight. Raleigh was appointed admiral, and 
 Sir John Burgh vice-admiral. But, though they sailed 
 in February, they were long detained by contrary winds, 
 as well as by the rigid and cautious economy of the 
 sovereign. Nothing indeed can be more remarkable than 
 the popularity of this princess, and the ardour with which 
 she was served hy men whom she treated with undue 
 suspicion and severity. This is evident from Raleigh’s 
 letter to Sir Robert Cecil, in which the queen is ex- 
 hibited insisting on as hard a bargain as possible with 
 a subject who was venturing life and fortune in her 
 service : — 
 
 Sir, — I received your letters this present day at 
 Chatham, concerning the wages of the mariners and 
 others. For mine own part, I am very willing to enter 
 
 Report of the Truth of the Fight about the Isles of the 
 Azores, 4to, 1591. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 117 
 
 bond, as you persuaded me, so as the privy seal be first 
 sent for my enjoying the third. But, I pray, consider 
 that I have laid all that I am worth, and must do, ere I 
 depart on this voyage. If it fall not out well, I can but 
 lose all ; and if nothing be remaining, wherewith should 
 I pay the wages I Besides, her majesty told me herself 
 that she was contented to pay her part, and my lord- 
 admiral his, and I should but discharge for mine own ships. 
 And further, I have promised her majesty, that if I can 
 persuade the companies to follow Sir Martin Frobisher, 
 I will, without fail, return and bring them out into the 
 sea but some fifty or threescore leagues, for which pur- 
 pose my lord-admiral hath lent me the Disdain ; which 
 to do, her majesty many times, with great grace, bade 
 me remember, and sent me the same message by Will. 
 Killigrew, which, God willing, if I can persuade the 
 companies, I mean to perform, though I dare not be 
 acknown thereof to any creature. But, sir, for me then 
 to be bound for so great a sum upon the hope of another 
 man’s fortune, I will be loath ; and, besides, if I were 
 able, I see no privy seal for my thirds. I mean not to 
 come away, as they say I will, for fear of a marriage, 
 and I know not what. If any such thing were, I would 
 have imparted it unto yourself before any man living ; 
 and therefore, I pray, believe it not, and I beseech you 
 to suppress what you can any such malicious report. 
 For, I protest before God, there is none on the face of 
 the earth that I would be fastened unto. — And so in 
 haste I take my leave of your honour. From Chatham, 
 the 10th of March.”* 
 
 The report, to which allusion is made in this letter, 
 of his having come away for fear of a marriage, arose 
 out of an intrigue he had carried on with Elizabeth 
 Throgmorton, one of the queen’s maids of honour, — a 
 lady of great beauty and accomplishments, to whom he 
 
 Raleigh’s Miscellaneous Works, vol. viii. p. 658. 
 
J 18 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 was soon after united.* On discovering the story, the 
 queen was highly incensed both at the frailty of her 
 female attendant and the temerity of her favourite Ra- 
 leigh, in presuming to fall in love and marry without 
 her consent. It Avas one of the foibles of this great prin- 
 cess to insist that the whole admiration of her courtiers 
 should he concentrated upon herself; and if, in this 
 royal monopoly of gallantry, any lady of her court, or 
 officer of her household, ventured to interfere, the cer- 
 tain consequence was her severest displeasure. The 
 anecdote of her striking the beautiful Mrs Bridges, be- 
 cause Essex had shown her some attention, is well 
 known ;t and it is evident that Raleigh had already 
 felt the malice of his enemies in turning this story of the 
 fair Throgmorton to his prejudice. In the mean time 
 he sailed ; hut had scarcely reached the open sea, when 
 Sir Martin Frobisher overtook him with orders for his 
 return. These, however, he chose to overlook, until he 
 became certain, by speaking a vessel from the Azores, 
 that there was no chance of success ; as Philip, aware 
 of the expedition, had countermanded the departure of 
 the fleet. He then put about his ship, having first 
 stationed Sir John Burgh with one squadron at those 
 islands ; whilst Sir Martin Frobisher with the other was 
 directed to cruise near the South Cape and watch the 
 Spanish coast. 
 
 His arrangements were croAvned with success ; for 
 whilst the latter kept the Spaniards at home, dreading 
 a descent, the Indian carracks Avere allowed to fall into 
 the hands of Burgh. One of these, the Madre de Dios, 
 1600 tons, was the largest prize at that time ever brought 
 to England, and valued by Raleigh and Sir John Haw- 
 kins, the principal adventurers in the expedition, at 
 £500,000. J The sailors, soldiers, and officers, however. 
 
 * The letter may have been Avritten after a private marriage 
 had taken place, 
 f Sidney Letters, vol. ii. p. 38. 
 
 X Amongst the Hatfield MSS. are some papers, showing the 
 w^ealth of this prize. 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 
 
 119 
 
 having embezzled the richest part of the cargo, consisting 
 of jewels, she ultimately fell far short of this estimate. 
 By this time the royal anger on account of the amour 
 with Miss Throgmorton had risen to a high pitch ; and 
 the moment Sir Walter set his foot ashore, he and his 
 mistress were committed to the Tower. Not content 
 with this, Elizabeth claimed the largest share of the 
 prize, on the ground that one of her ships was present 
 at the capture ; and appeared so determined upon severe 
 measures, that the enemies of the prisoner thought they 
 might safely treat him with the insolence so soon assumed 
 by the minions of a court towards a fallen favourite. 
 
 Raleigh, however, knew the queen’s weakness. He 
 had always addressed her not only as his sovereign, but 
 as the mistress of his heart, the beautiful arbitress of 
 his affections ; and a scene which Avas acted in his 
 prison gives us a graphic though somewhat degrading 
 account of a courtier’s stratagem to obtain his release. 
 It is described in the following letter of Sir Arthur 
 Gorges to Sir Robert Cecil : — 
 
 “ Honourable Sir, — I cannot choose but advertise 
 you of a strange tragedy that this day had like to have 
 fallen out between the captain of the guard. Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, and the lieutenant of the ordnance, if I had not 
 by great chance come at the very instant to have turned 
 it into a comedy. For upon the report of her majesty’s 
 being at Sir George Carey’s, Sir Walter Raleigh having 
 gazed and sighed a long time at his study- window, from 
 whence he might discern the barges and boats about the 
 Blackfriars’ Stairs, suddenly he brake out into a great 
 distemper, and sware that his enemies had on purpose 
 brought her majesty thither to break his gall in sunder 
 with Tantalus’ torment, that when she went away, he 
 might gaze his death before his eyes ; with many such 
 like conceits. And as a man transported with passion, 
 he sware to Sir George Carew, that he would disguise 
 himself, and get into a pair of oars, to ease his mind but 
 with a sight of the queen, or else he protested his heart 
 
120 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA 
 
 would break. But the trusty jailor would none of that, 
 for displeasing the higher powers as he said, which he 
 more respected than the feeding of his humour ; and so 
 flatly refused to permit him. But, in conclusion, upon 
 this dispute, they fell flat out to choleric outrageous 
 words, with straining and struggling at the doors, that 
 all lameness was forgotten, and in the fury of the con- 
 flict, the jailor he had his new periwig torn off his crown, 
 and yet here the battle ended not, for at last they had 
 gotten out their daggers, which, when I saw, I played 
 the stickler between them, and so purchased such a rap 
 on the knuckles that I wished both their pates broken ; 
 and so with much ado they stayed their brawl to see my 
 bloody fingers. At the first I was ready to break with 
 laughing to see them two scramble and brawl like mad- 
 men, until I saw the iron walking, and then I did my 
 best to appease the fury. As yet I cannot reconcile them 
 by any persuasions, for Sir Walter swears, that he shall 
 hate him for so restraining him from the sight of his 
 mistress, while he lives ; for that he knows not, as he 
 said, whether ever he shall see her again, when she has 
 gone the progress. And Sir George, on his side, swears, 
 that he had rather he should lose his longing, than 
 that he would draw on him her majesty’s displeasure 
 b}^ such liberty. Thus they continue in malice and 
 snarling, but I am sure all the smart lighted on me. I 
 cannot tell whether I should more allow of the passion- 
 ate lover, or the trusty jailor. But if yourself had seen 
 it as I did, you would have been as heartily merry and 
 sorry as ever you were in all your life for so short a 
 time. I pray you pardon my hasty- written narration, 
 which I acquaint you with, hoping you will be the 
 peace-maker. But, good sir, let nobody know thereof, 
 for I fear Sir Walter Raleigh will shortly grow to be 
 Orlando Furioso, if the bright Angelica persevere against 
 him a little longer. — Your honour’s,” &c. To this 
 amusing letter Gorges added this postcript : “ If you let 
 the queen’s majesty know hereof, as you think good 
 be it ; but otherwise, good sir, keep it secret for their 
 
TO Raleigh’s imprisonment. 121 
 
 credits : for they know not of my discourse, which I 
 could wish her majesty knew.” 
 
 These paroxysms of despairing love — these torments 
 of Tantalus and extravagancies of Orlando, shut out from 
 the sight of his charming but inexorable Angelica — 
 were intended by Raleigh to be reported to the queen ; 
 and soon after he addressed from the Tower the following 
 extraordinary epistle to Cecil : — 
 
 ‘‘ Sir, — I pray be a mean to her majesty for the 
 signing of the bills for the guards’ coats, which are to he 
 made now for the progress, and which the clerk of the 
 check hath importuned me to write for. My heart was 
 never broken, ’till this day, that I hear the queen goes 
 away so far off, whom I have followed so many years 
 with so great love and desire in so many journeys, and 
 am now left behind her in a dark prison, all alone. 
 While she was yet near at hand that I might hear of 
 her once in two or three days, my sorrows were the less, 
 but even now my heart is cast into the depth of all 
 misery. I that was wont to behold her riding like 
 Alexander, hunting like Diana, walking like Venus, the 
 gentle wind blowing her fair hair about her pure cheeks 
 like a nymph, sometime sitting in the shade like a 
 goddess, sometime singing like an angel, sometime play- 
 ing like Orpheus ; behold the sorrow of this world I 
 once amiss hath bereaved me of all. 0 glory, that only 
 shineth in misfortune ! what is become of thine assurance ? 
 All wounds have scars but that of fantasy ; all affections 
 their relenting but that of womankind. Who is the 
 judge of friendship but adversity, or when is grace wit- 
 nessed but in offences I There were no divinity but by 
 reason of compassion, for revenges are brutish and mortal. 
 All those times past, the loves, the sighs, the sorrows, the 
 desires, can they not weigh down one frail misfortune I 
 Cannot one drop of gall be hidden in so great heaps of 
 sweetness ? I may then conclude, Spes et fortuna, mlete ! 
 — she is gone in whom I trusted, and of me hath not one 
 
122 FROM THE DEFEAT OF THE ARMADA, &c. 
 
 thought of mercy, nor any respect of that that was. Do 
 with me now, therefore, what you list. I am more 
 weary of life than they are desirous I should perish ; 
 which if it had been for her, as it is by her, I had been 
 too happily born. — Yours not worthy any name or title. 
 — W. R.” 
 
 This elegant but Quixotic piece of extravagance had 
 the desired effect. She who was ridiculously described 
 as uniting in her own matchless person the horsemanship 
 of Alexander, the chastity of Diana, the graceful motion 
 of the goddess of beauty, and the bloom of a tender 
 nymph, with her golden tresses wantoning in the amorous 
 wind, was now treading on the borders of sixty ; yet the 
 cup of flattery was neither too full nor too luscious for 
 the palate of the queen, and the impassioned grief of 
 Raleigh was rewarded by his enlargement. But Eliza- 
 beth was often as chary of her mercy as of her money. 
 Though no longer a prisoner. Sir Walter was for some 
 time treated as a state criminal, and attended by a keeper. 
 A letter of the times describes him as heart-broken and 
 pensive ; and when congratulated on his liberty, he 
 would reply, ‘‘ I am still the Queen of England’s poor 
 captive.”* Yet notwithstanding this partial eclipse of 
 his fortunes, he was returned to parliament, and made 
 himself conspicuous as a speaker in the session which 
 terminated in April 1593. 
 
 * See Mrs Thomson’s valuable Appendix to her Life of Ra- 
 leigh, letter C. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 123 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Discovery of Guiana by Raleigh, 
 
 Raleigh chosen a Member of the Parliament — Importance of 
 the Period — Philip resolves to make a second Attempt for 
 the Destruction of England — Speech of Lord Burleigh — Ra- 
 leigh’s Plans for the Defence of England — He obtains a Grant 
 of Sherborne in Dorsetshire — Becomes a Planter and Horti- 
 culturist — His Project for the Discovery and Conquest of 
 Guiana — -Resolves to conduct the Enterprise in Person — Fits 
 out a Fleet — Sails from Plymouth in 1595 — Arrives at Trini- 
 dad — Expedition up the Orinoco — Description of the People 
 and the Country — They enter the Plains of Saima — Penetrate 
 to the Province of Aromaia — Forced to return — Arrive at 
 Wincapora — Return to Trinidad — Description of the Country 
 — Ungenerously treated — Raleigh’s Dedication of his Discov- 
 ery of Guiana to the Lord-admiral Howard and Secretary 
 Cecil — Second Voyage under Captain Keymis — Researches 
 into the Country, and Return to England — He finds Raleigh 
 absent on the Cadiz Expedition — Account of this Enterprise 
 — -Return of the Fleet — Encomiums on the Ability of Raleigh 
 — The Queen retains her Resentment — Essex’s Displeasure at 
 the Preferment of Sir Robert Cecil — Character of Elizabeth — 
 Character of Cecil — Raleigh sends Captain Berrie in a Ship 
 of his own to Guiana — His Return to England. 
 
 The period at which Raleigh became a member of the 
 House of Commons was remarkable ; and the debates 
 involved subjects of deep interest and importance. 
 Elizabeth’s great enemy was Spain ; and the efforts of 
 this power against England, the bulwark of the Protest- 
 ant faith, were unremitting. Enraged but not subdued 
 by the destruction of his Armada, Philip adopted what 
 
124 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 he considered a more certain mode of accomplishing the 
 ruin of his enemy. He proposed to attack her on every 
 quarter where she was most vulnerable, — on the side of 
 France, Holland, Ireland, and Scotland ; and aware, 
 from experience, that his ships were too unwieldy for 
 service in the Narrow Seas, he constructed vessels similar 
 to those used in the Channel.. To quote the language of 
 Sir John Puckering in his address on the opening of 
 parliament : “ The high and mighty ships that then [in 
 the year 1588] he prepared and sent for that purpose 
 [invasion], because he found them not fit for our seas 
 and such an attempt, he is building ships of a less 
 hulk, after another fashion ; some like French ships, 
 some like the shipping of England, and many hath he 
 gotten out of the Low Countries.” These words of warn- 
 ing were enforced by the venerable Burleigh, whose 
 speech in this parliament has been preserved by Strype. 
 He entreated the Commons to suffer an old man weighed 
 down with years, and decayed in his spirits with sick- 
 ness, to declare some part of the dangers then imminent 
 upon the kingdom ; and after a masterly sketch of the 
 condition of the country under the alarm of invasion in 
 1588, he remarked that the case was now greatly altered : 
 The King of Spain,” said he, maketh these his mighty 
 wars by means only of his Indies ; not purposely to burn 
 a town in France or England, but to conquer all France, 
 England, and Ireland. And for proof hereof : first, for 
 France, — he hath invaded Brittany, taken the port, 
 huilded his fortresses, carried in his army, waged a navy 
 in Brittany, received into wages a great number of his 
 subjects, as rebels to France. And there he keepeth a 
 navy armed to impede all trade from England to Gas- 
 cony and Guyenne. * * Besides this, his possessing 
 a great part of Brittany towards Spain, he hath at his 
 commandment all the best ports of Brittany towards 
 England, so as now he is become as a frontier enemy to 
 all the west of England. And, by his commandment, 
 and his waged troops in Newhaven, he hath enlarged his 
 frontiers now against all the south parts of England, as 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 125 
 
 Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight.” Lord Burleigh 
 farther pointed out the iniquitous policy of Spain in 
 attacking France both by invasion and intrigue, — the 
 warm co-operation of the Pope, — and, lastly, Philip’s 
 success in corrupting the Hollanders, and in securing a 
 party amongst the Scottish nobility, who meditated 
 nothing less than a war with England. 
 
 A large subsidy was then proposed in the Commons ; 
 and some members being of opinion, that its purpose to 
 maintain the contest against Spain ought to be publicly 
 stated, Raleigh took occasion strongly to recommend 
 such a course. He knew many persons,” he said, 
 that held it not lawful in conscience, as the time is, to 
 take from the Spaniards : and he knew, that if it might 
 be lawful and open war, there would be more voluntary 
 hands to fight against the Spaniard, than the queen 
 should stand in need of to send to sea.” As for the sub- 
 sidy, he declared he would vote for it not only to please 
 the queen, to whom he was infinitely bound above his 
 deserts, but from the imminent necessity of the case, the 
 bitter enmity of Philip being evident by his complicated 
 preparations against England. He directed the attention 
 of the house to the strength and warlike resources of 
 Spain. In Denmark, the king being young, he had 
 corrupted the council and nobility, so as he was very 
 like to speed himself of shipping from thence. In the 
 marine towns of the Low Countries and in Norway he 
 had laid in great store of shipping. In France he had 
 the parliamentary towns at his command. In Brittany 
 he had all the best havens. And in Scotland he had so 
 corrupted the nobility, that he had promised them forces 
 to re-establish Papistry. * In his own country there is 
 all possible repairing, and he is coming with sixty galleys, 
 besides other shipping, with purpose to annoy us. 
 
 At his coming he fully determineth to get Plymouth ; 
 * * and Plymouth is a place of most danger, for no 
 
 ordnance can be carried thither to remove him ; the 
 passages will not give leave.” Raleigh concluded this 
 speech by pointing out the best method of warding off 
 
126 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH* 
 
 these dangers. Now the way to defeat him is this : to 
 send a royal army to supplant him in Brittany, and to 
 possess ourselves there and to send a strong navy to sea, 
 and to lie with it upon the Cape,"^ and such places as his 
 ships bring his riches to, that they may set upon all that 
 come. This we are able to do, and undoubtedly with 
 fortunate success, if we undertake it. I see no reason 
 that the suspicion of discontentment should cross the 
 provision for the present danger. The time is now more 
 hazardous than it was in eighty-eight ; for then the 
 Spaniard which came from Spain had to pass dangerous 
 seas, and if he failed there was no place of retreat ; hut 
 now he hath in Brittany great store of shipping, a land- 
 ing-place in Scotland, and men and horses there as good 
 as we have in our own country.” t 
 
 The high prerogative of the queen, and the slavish 
 humility of some members, were strikingly exemplified 
 in this parliament. The famous Coke was chosen speaker, 
 and his address to her majesty contains the following 
 passage : — ‘‘ This nomination is, only as yet, a nomination 
 and no election until your majesty giveth allowance and 
 approbation. For, as in the heavens, a star is but opacum 
 corpus until it have received light from the sun ; so 
 stand I corpus opacum^ a mute body, until your highness’ 
 bright shining wisdom hath looked upon me, and allowed 
 me. * * * But how unable I am to do this office, 
 
 my present speech doth tell, that, of a number in this 
 house, I am most unfit. For amongst them are many 
 grave, many learned, many deep wise men, and those of 
 ripe judgments. But I am untimely fruit, not yet ripe ; 
 but a bud scarcely blossomed ; so, as I iear me, your 
 majesty will say, neglect d fruge^ eliguntur folia ^ — amongst 
 so many fair fruit ye have plucked a shaking leaf.” 
 Elizabeth assuring him that his corpus opacum should be 
 illuminated by her princely virtue and wisdom. Coke 
 made the usual demands of liberty of speech, freedom 
 from arrest, and free access to the royal person ; and 
 
 * He means the Cape de Verde. 
 
 t Parliamentary History, vol. iv. pp. 343, 359, 380, 385. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 127 
 
 some idea may be formed, from the lord- keeper’s an- 
 swer, of the extent to which this princess carried the 
 regal power : To your three demands, the queen an- 
 
 swereth : liberty of speech is granted you ; but how far 
 this is to be thought on, there be two things of most 
 necessity, and those two do most harm, which are wit 
 and speech. * * Privilege of speech is granted ; but 
 
 you must know what privilege you have. Not to speak 
 every one what he listeth, or what cometh into his brain 
 to utter that, — but your privilege is Aye or no. Where- 
 fore, Mr Speaker, her majesty’s pleasure is, that if you 
 perceive any idle heads, which will not stick to hazard 
 their own estates ; which will meddle with reforming 
 the church, and transforming the commonwealth ; and 
 do exhibit any bills to such purpose, that you receive 
 them not, until they be viewed and considered by those, 
 who it is fitter should consider of such things, and can 
 better judge of them.”* 
 
 A complaint was made that certain Dutch manufac- 
 turers, settling in London, had undersold the queen’s 
 liege subjects, and it was proposed to bring in a bill for- 
 bidding the retail of foreign wares by aliens. Raleigh’s 
 speech on this subject evinced his intimate knowledge 
 of the trade of the country. It had been argued that 
 charity, honour, and good policy, forbade these artisans 
 to be expelled. ‘‘ In my opinion,” said he, ‘‘ it is no 
 matter of charity to relieve them. For first, such as fly 
 hither have forsaken their own king. And religion is 
 no pretext for them ; for we have no Dutchmen here 
 but such as come from those provinces where the gospel 
 is preached, yet here they live disliking our church. For 
 honour; it is honour to use strangers as we be used 
 among strangers ; and it is a lightness in a commonwealth, 
 yea, a baseness in a nation, to give a liberty to another 
 nation which we cannot receive again. In Antwerp, 
 where our intercourse was most, we were never suffered 
 to have a tailor or shoemaker to dwell there. Nay, at 
 
 Parliamentary History, vol. iv. pp. 345, 346, 349. 
 
128 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 Milan, where there are three hundred pound English- 
 men, they cannot have so much as a barber among them. 
 And for profit ; they are all of the house of Almoigne, 
 who pay nothing, yea, eat out our profits and supplant 
 our nation. * The nature of the Dutchman is to fly 
 to no man hut for his profit ; and they will obey no man 
 long, — now under Spain, now under Mountfort, now 
 under the Prince of Orange ; hut under no governor 
 long. The Dutchman by his policy hath gotten trading 
 with all the world into his hands ; yea, he is now enter- 
 ing into the trade of Scarborough fishing, and the fishing 
 of the Newfoundlands, which is the stay of the west 
 countries. They are the people that maintain the King 
 of Spain in his greatness ; were it not for them he were 
 never able to make out such armies and navies by sea. 
 It cost her majesty £16,000 a-year to maintain these 
 countries, and yet for all this they arm her enemies 
 against her. Therefore I see no reason that such respect 
 should be given to them ; and, to conclude, in the whole, 
 no matter of honour, no matter of charity, no profit in 
 relieving them.”'^* 
 
 That Raleigh’s efforts in parliament procured his par- 
 tial restoration to the royal favour is evident, from his 
 obtaining at this time a grant of the manor of Sherborne 
 in Dorsetshire, which he embellished magnificently. 
 These improvements when still fresh were seen by Coker, 
 author of the Survey of that county. The place was 
 beautified, he declares, “ with orchards, gardens, and 
 groves of much variety and great delight ; so that, 
 whether you consider the pleasantness of the seat, the 
 goodness of the soil, or the other delicacies belonging to 
 it, Sherborne rests unparalleled by any in these parts.” t 
 Sir Walter was a rural improver and horticulturist ; and 
 a tradition is mentioned by Fuller, that at Beddington, 
 near Croydon in Surrey, the first orange-trees that ever 
 grew in England were planted by him ; for which, says 
 this writer, “ he deserves no less commendation than 
 
 * D’Ewes’ Journal, pp. 508, 509. 
 
 t Coker’s Survey of Dorsetshire, p. 124. Oldys’s Life, p. 175. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 129 
 
 Lucullus met with for bringing cherry and filberd trees 
 out of Pontus into Italy.”* Carew, the proprietor of 
 Beddington and kinsman of Raleigh, was himself addicted 
 to experiments in horticulture ; and on occasion of a visit 
 from the queen gave an example of his skilfulness in 
 such matters, much thought of in those days, although 
 in our own it would be lightly regarded. After a splen- 
 did entertainment he led her majesty to a cherry-tree 
 in his garden, which had on it fruit in their prime above 
 a month after all cherries had taken their farewell of 
 England. This retardation had been performed by strain- 
 ing a canvass cover over the tree, and wetting it as the 
 weather required ; so by obstructing the sunbeams they 
 grew both great, and were very long before they gained 
 their perfect cherry colour, and when he was assured of 
 the time her majesty would come he removed the tent, 
 and a few sunny days brought them to their maturity.t 
 
 Being still interdicted from court, Raleigh employed 
 himself in drawing up a paper upon “ the dangers which 
 might grow by a Spanish faction in Scotland,” — a subject 
 which had lately occupied the attention of the govern- 
 ment. This he communicated to the queen ; but from 
 the following letter, addressed by him to his sovereign, 
 little notice appears to have been taken of his labours : — 
 
 I presumed to present your majesty with a paper, 
 containing the dangers which might grow by the Spanish 
 faction in Scotland : How it pleased your majesty to 
 accept thereof I know not. I have since heard, that divers 
 ill-disposed have a purpose to speak of succession. If 
 the same be suppressed I am glad of it ; yet, fearing the 
 worst, I set down some reasons to prove the motive 
 
 * In Fuller’s time the famous orange-trees were 100 years 
 old ; and even when Oldys wrote, several trees of the ancient 
 orangery were the stateliest and most perfect bearers in England. 
 Raleigh was related through his wife to Sir Francis Carew ; 
 and in Beddington House, in the time of Oldys, was preserved 
 a splendid bed said to be his, with furniture of green silk, legs 
 carved in the shape of dolphins and richly gilded. 
 
 t Plat’s Garden of Eden, p. 165. 
 
 H 
 
130 DISCOVERY OP GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 merely vain, dangerous, and unnecessary. And because 
 I durst not myself speak in any matter without warrant, 
 I have sent your majesty these arguments, which may 
 perchance put others in mind of somewhat not imper- 
 tinent, and who, being graced by your majesty’s favour, 
 may, if need require, use them among others more worthy. 
 Without glory I speak it, that I durst either by writing 
 or speech satisfy the world in that point, and in every 
 part of their foolish conceits, which, for shortness of time 
 I could not so amply insert. This being upon one hour’s 
 warning, but one hour’s work, I humbly beseech your 
 majesty not to acquaint any withal, unless occasion be 
 offered to use them. Your majesty may perchance speak 
 hereof to those seeming my great friends ; but I find 
 poor effects of that or any other supposed amity ; for your 
 majesty having left me, I am left all alone in the world, 
 and am sorry that ever I was at all. What I have done 
 is out of zeal and love, and not by any encouragement ; 
 for I am only forgotten in all rights and in all affairs, 
 and mine enemies have their wills and desires over me. 
 There are many other things concerning your majesty’s 
 present service, which methinks are not as they ought 
 remembered, and the times pass away unmeasured of 
 which more profit might be taken. But I fear I have 
 already presumed too much, which love stronger than 
 reason hath encouraged ; for my errors are eternal, and 
 those of others mortal, and my labours thankless, I mean 
 unacceptable, for that too belongeth not to vassals. If 
 your majesty pardon it, it is more than too great a re- 
 ward. And so most humbly embracing and admiring 
 the memory of the celestial beauties (which with the 
 people is denied me to view), I pray God your majesty 
 may be eternal in joys and happiness. Your majesty’s 
 most humble slave. — W. R.”* 
 
 About the same time, in a letter to Sir Robert Cecil, 
 Raleigh evinces his intimate acquaintance with the con- 
 
 Caylcy’s Life of Raleigh, vol. i. p. 134. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 131 
 
 dition of Ireland, — then on the eve of a dangerous rebel- 
 lion, — and exposes the ambitious policy of Spain. Of 
 this Irish combination,” he observes, her majesty shall 
 find it remembered to herself not long since ; but the 
 Trojan soothsayer cast his spear against the wooden horse, 
 hut was not believed. * * I had been able myself to 
 
 have raised two or three bands of English well armed, till 
 I was driven to relinquish and recall my people, of which 
 the loss shall not be alone to me ; howsoever I am tum- 
 bled down the hill by every practice. We are so busied 
 and dandled in these French wars, which ai*e endless, as 
 we forget the defence next the heart. Her majesty hath 
 good cause to remember that £1,000,000 hath been spent 
 in Ireland not many years since. A better kingdom 
 might have been purchased at a less price, and that same 
 defended with as many pence if good order had been 
 taken. * * The King of Spain seeketh not Ireland 
 
 for Ireland ; but, having raised up troops of beggars in 
 our back, shall be able to enforce us to cast our e^^es 
 over our shoulders, while those before us strike us on 
 the brains.” In the same letter Sir Walter entreats the 
 good offices of Cecil, as his enemies would not even allow 
 him to rest in his rural banishment. “ I am myself here, 
 at Sherborne, hi my fortune’s fold. Wherever I be, and 
 while I am, you shall command me. I think I shall 
 need your further favour for the little park ; for law and 
 conscience is not sufficient in these days to uphold me. 
 Every fool knoweth that hatred are the cinders of affec- 
 tion, and, therefore, to make me a sacrifice shall be 
 thank worthy.” * 
 
 But, although thus complaining, it was not the nature 
 of Raleigh to sink into indolent despondency : He was 
 denied indeed all access to court ; but in his seclusion 
 at Sherborne, his inventive genius projected the conquest 
 of Guiana, — a scheme which forms an interesting episode 
 in his life. His youthful imagination had caught fire 
 from the perusal of the romantic adventures of the Spa- 
 
 Cayley’s Life of Raleigh, vol. i. pp. 135, 136. 
 
132 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 niards in the New World ; and although a determined 
 enemy to these rivals of his country, he eloquently ex- 
 tols their perseverance in the career of navigation. “ I 
 cannot forbear,” says he, “ to commend the patient vir- 
 tue of the Spaniards. We seldom or never find that 
 any nation hath endured so many misadventures and 
 miseries as that people have done in their Indian dis- 
 coveries ; yet, persisting in their enterprises with an 
 invincible constancy, they have annexed to their king- 
 dom so many goodly provinces as to bury the remem- 
 brance of all dangers past. Tempests and shipwrecks, 
 famine, overthrows, mutinies, heat and cold, pestilence, 
 and all manner of diseases, both old and new, together 
 with extreme poverty and want of all things needful, 
 have been the enemies wherewith every one of their 
 most noble discoverers at one time or other hath en- 
 countered. Many years have passed over some of their 
 heads in the search of not so many leagues ; yea, more 
 than one or two have spent their labour, their wealth, 
 and their lives, in search of a golden kingdom, without 
 getting further notice of it than what they had at their 
 first setting forth.”'^ 
 
 It was to this golden kingdom, the fabled El Dorado 
 of the Spaniards, that the thoughts of Raleigh were 
 now turned ; and before much is said against his credu- 
 lity in giving heed to the extraordinary reports regarding 
 it, we must consider the circumstances of the age, and 
 the ardent and romantic temperament of the man. It 
 is not to he forgotten, that the first information given 
 by the Indians regarding Mexico and Peru, which Cortes 
 believed and Pizarro unhesitatingly embraced, appeared 
 to graver and cooler heads as only the idle dreams of 
 barbarians and enthusiasts ; and when we look to the 
 evidence contained in the Spanish historians, regarding 
 the wonderful city of Manoa and the riches of this ex- 
 tensive country, it is easy to perceive, that the task of 
 
 History of the World. Works, vol. vi. pp. 113, 114. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 133 
 
 achieving its discovery and completing its conquest was 
 one of those grand designs peculiarly suited to such a 
 mind as that of Raleigh. Eager to engage in an enter- 
 prise which had baffled so many brave spirits, he in 
 1594 despatched Jacob Whiddon, an officer Avho had 
 been long in his service, to explore the territory and 
 decide upon the likelihood of success. His account made 
 known the difficulty of approaching this kingdom, but 
 in nowise shook the resolution of the projector. Sir 
 Walter’s description of it, derived partly from the hearsay 
 testimony of Whiddon and partly from the reports of 
 Spanish writers, was calculated to excite the highest 
 hopes. In this new empire he was assured there was 
 more abundance of gold, and greater and richer cities, 
 than Peru could boast even in its most brilliant days ; 
 and he had been informed by such Spaniards as had 
 seen Manoa, the imperial city, that for size and wealth 
 it far exceeded any in the world. To corroborate this 
 account, he referred to Lopez’s General History of the 
 Indies, where this writer, describing the court of Guana- 
 capa, ancestor to the emperor of Guiana, has this highly 
 coloured passage : — “ All the vessels of his house, table, 
 and kitchen, were of gold and silver, and the meanest 
 of silver and copper, for strength and hardness of the 
 metal. He had in his wardrobe hollow statues of gold, 
 which seemed giants ; and the figures, in proportion 
 and bigness, of all the beasts, birds, trees, and herbs 
 which the earth bringeth forth ; and of all the fishes 
 that the sea or waters of his kingdom hreedeth. He 
 had also ropes, budgets, chests, and troughs of gold and 
 silver, heaps of billets of gold, that seemed wood marked 
 out to burn. Finally, there was nothing in his country 
 whereof he had not the counterfeit in gold. Yea, and 
 they say the Yncas had a garden of pleasure in an island 
 near Puna, where they went to recreate themselves when 
 they would take the air of the sea, which had all kind 
 of garden-herbs, flowers, and trees of gold and silver, — 
 an invention and magnificence till then never seen. 
 Besides all this, he had an infinite quantity of silver and 
 
134 DISCO VEllY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 gold unwrought in Cuzco, which was lost by the death 
 of Guascar ; for the Indians hid it, seeing that the Spa- 
 niards took it and sent it to Spain.”* 
 
 The Spaniards had repeatedly attempted to find 
 Guiana, but invariably failed, till a singular accident 
 was said to have disclosed its situation : One John Mar- 
 tinez, master of the ordnance in the second army that 
 endeavoured to penetrate to this rich country, was con- 
 demned to be executed at Morequito, a port on the river 
 Orinoco. His life, however, was spared, and he was 
 thrown alone, with nothing but his arms, into a canoe, 
 and set adrift. The barge floated down the stream, and 
 after some time was descried by the Guianians, who drew 
 it ashore, astonished to see in it a being whose uncom- 
 mon appearance made them believe him to be the in- 
 habitant of another world. They received him with 
 respect, and led him to Manoa, the residence of Inga, 
 their emperor, who at once knew him to be a Christian, 
 and lodged him in the palace. He lived,” says Ra- 
 leigh, in his Discovery of Guiana, “ seven months in 
 Manoa, but was not suffered to wander into the country ; 
 and the Indians who at first conducted him to the capital 
 took the precaution of blindfolding him, not removing 
 the veil from his eyes till he was ready to enter the city. 
 It was at noon that he passed the gates, and it took him 
 all that day and the next, walking from sunrise to sun- 
 set, before he arrived at the palace of Inga, where he 
 resided for seven months, till he had made himself 
 master of the language of the country.” 
 
 Martinez expressing his wish to return, was dis- 
 missed ; a party of natives being sent to conduct him 
 to the Orinoco, with a present from the emperor of as 
 much gold as they could carry. On the borders of the 
 kingdom, a nation at war with Guiana attacked and 
 plundered them, leaving only two gourds filled with 
 gold beads curiously wrought, but supposed by their 
 assailants to contain provisions. He then proceeded 
 down the Orinoco to Saint Juan de Puerto Rico, where 
 
 * Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. pp. 398 , 399 . 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 135 
 
 lie died. In his last illness, after receiving the sacrament, 
 he related his travels to the priest, and presented the 
 gold beads to the Church, requesting the usual prayers. 
 Martinez first gave Manoa the far-travelled name of El 
 Dorado, for reasons which are thus stated by Raleigh: — 
 
 Those Guianians are marvellous great drunkards ; and 
 at the times of their solemn feasts, when the emperor 
 carouseth with his captains, tributaries, and governors, 
 the manner is thus, — all those that pledge him are first 
 stript naked, and their bodies anointed all over with a 
 kind of white balsamum, by them called curcai, 
 
 When they are anointed all over, certain servants of the 
 emperor having prepared gold made into fine powder, 
 blow it through hollow canes upon their naked bodies, 
 until they are all shining from the foot to the head ; and 
 in this sort they sit drinking by twenties and hundreds, 
 and continue in drunkenness sometimes six or seven days 
 together. * * * Upon this sight, and for the abund- 
 ance of gold which he saw in the city, the images of 
 gold in their temples, the plates, armours, and shields 
 of gold which they use in the wars, he called the city 
 El Dorado.”^ 
 
 After the death of this adventurer, various Spanish 
 captains attempted, but without success, to reach that 
 golden region. It was necessary to penetrate forests and 
 deserts, where it was difficult to find means of transport 
 or subsistence for troops ; and the fierce tribes on its 
 borders bade defiance even to the disciplined valour of 
 the Christians. The last who had engaged in the enter- 
 prise, and with whom the English came afterwards into 
 contact, was Bereo, an officer of skill and courage, who 
 had served in Italy, Naples, and the Low Countries, 
 before he tried his fortune in Spain. 
 
 Satisfied with the practicability of discovering this 
 unknown country, Raleigh fitted out a considerable fleet, 
 of which he took the command, and sailed from Ply- 
 mouth on the 6th of February 1595. The expedition 
 
 * Discovery of Guiana, p. 403. See Remarks in Appendix. 
 
136 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 was favoured by Sir Robert Cecil, and the lord-high- 
 admiral, who sent a ship of his own, named the Lion’s 
 Whelp. The squadron consisted of five vessels, with 
 barges, wherries, and tenders, for coasting and inland 
 navigation. Besides mariners, the officers, gentlemen 
 adventurers, and soldiers, amounted to 100. Having 
 reached Trinidad on the 22d March, the admiral surveyed 
 the coast and opened a communication with the gover- 
 nor, Antonio de Bereo, above mentioned. In the pre- 
 ceding year this man had behaved with great cruelty 
 and treachery to Captain Whiddon, when sent to explore 
 the Orinoco ; and it was soon discovered that he had 
 adopted secret measures to put the navigators to the 
 sword. But before his plot was ripe. Sir Walter attacked 
 the settlement, rased the new city of San Joseph, liber- 
 ated five Indian caciques whom he found bound in one 
 chain, and imprisoned Bereo himself, who had treated 
 these unhappy princes with horrible cruelty, basting 
 their naked bodies with burning bacon to force a dis- 
 covery of their treasures. Nothing could exceed the 
 gratitude of those poor creatures on their delivery ; and 
 several years after, when some English adventurers in 
 Guiana mentioned the circumstance, it was still remem- 
 bered by the Indians to Raleigh’s honour. 
 
 Sir Walter now assembled the chiefs, and informed 
 them that he was the servant of a virgin queen, the 
 great Cacique of the North, who had more leaders under 
 her than there were trees in the island ; and who hated 
 the Castilians on account of their tyranny and oppression. 
 He explained to them that, having rescued from Spanish 
 servitude all the coast of the northern world, she had sent 
 him to free them also, and to defend the country of 
 Guiana from invasion. He then showed them her ma- 
 jesty’s picture ; and the simple natives almost worshipped 
 it, calling Elizabeta, Cassipuna, Aquere wana, — Elizabeth 
 the mighty princess, or greatest commander!* 
 
 So far all had succeeded to his wishes ; but still the 
 
 * Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p. 396. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 137 
 
 enterprise was attended with much difficulty. He now 
 learned that the distance of Guiana from the coast was 
 greater by 600 miles than he at first imagined. This he 
 concealed from his men, and resolved to proceed. He 
 gives a striking picture of their hardships in the voyage. 
 
 Of this 600 miles,” says he, “ I passed 400, leaving 
 my ships so far from me at anchor in the sea, which was 
 more of desire to perform that discovery than of reason, 
 especially having such poor and weak vessels to transport 
 ourselves in ; for in the bottom of an old gallego which I 
 caused to be fashioned like a galley, and in one barge, 
 two wherries, and a ship-boat of the Lion’s Whelp, we 
 carried 100 persons and their victuals for a month in the 
 same, being all driven to lie in the rain and weather in 
 the open air, in the burning sun, and upon the hard 
 boards ; and to dress our meat, and to carry all manner 
 of furniture in them ; wherewith they were so pestered 
 and unsavoury, that what with victuals, being most fish, 
 with the wet clothes of so many men thrust together, 
 and the heat of the sun, I will undertake there was never 
 any prison in England that could be found more unsa- 
 voury and loathsome, especially to myself, who had for 
 many years before been dieted and cared for in a soi*t 
 far differing.”'"^ 
 
 The Orinoco, at the mouth of which the ships were 
 left at anchor, makes its way into the ocean by innume- 
 rable channels, and during the rainy season inundates 
 the plains, sometimes to the distance of eighty or ninety 
 miles on each side. The hanks were covered with gloomy 
 forests, in such luxuriance that they overarched the 
 stream, shutting out the sky, and confining the view to 
 the dim perspective formed by the interminable avenue 
 along which the adventurers guided their frail barges. 
 Through this labyrinth they pursued their course many 
 days, till on the 22d May they entered a river which they 
 named the Redcross, being the first Christians who had 
 navigated it. Ferdinando, their Indian interpreter, hav- 
 
 Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p. 397. 
 
138 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 ing gone ashore, was suddenly attacked by the natives, 
 and huntfed through the woods with deer-dogs, who ran 
 him so close, that he was forced to throw himself into 
 the river and swim hack to his friends. This inhospitable 
 people, of whom Raleigh has left a minute account, 
 were the inhabitants of that insular or broken world,” 
 formed by the branches of the Orinoco. ‘‘ In the sum- 
 mer,” says he, they have houses on the ground ; hut 
 in winter they dwell upon the trees, where they build 
 very'artificial towns and villages ; for between May and 
 September the river of Orinoco riseth thirty foot upright, 
 and then are those islands overflown twenty foot high 
 above the level of the ground, saving some few raised 
 grounds in the middle of them, and for this cause they 
 are enforced to live in this manner. They never eat of 
 any thing that is set or sown, and as at home they use 
 neither planting nor other manurance, so when they 
 come abroad they refuse to feed of ought but of that 
 which nature without labour hringeth forth. They use 
 the tops of palmetos for bread, and kill deer, fish, and 
 porks, for the rest of their sustenance, having also many 
 sorts of fruits that grow in the woods, and great variety 
 of birds and fowl. * They were wont to make war 
 upon all nations ; hut of late they are at peace with their 
 neighbours, all holding the Spaniards for a common 
 enemy. When their commanders die they use great 
 lamentation, and when they think the flesh of their 
 bodies is putrefied and fallen from their bones, then they 
 take up the carcass again, and hang it in the cacique’s 
 house that died, and deck his skull with feathers of all 
 colours, and hang all his gold plates about the hones of 
 his arms, thighs, and legs. Those nations which are 
 called Arwacas, which dwell on the south of Orinoco, 
 are dispersed in many other places, and do use to beat 
 the bones of their lords into powder, and their wives and 
 friends drink it all in their several sorts of drinks.”* 
 
 Sir Walter continued his voyage, passing up the river 
 
 * Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p. 424. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. J 39 
 
 in the flood, and coming to anchor in the ebb ; but his 
 galley ran aground, and was only got afloat with great 
 labour ; after which he turned into the Amana, a branch 
 of the Orinoco. Here the tide left him, and the crew 
 being compelled to row against a rapid current, and 
 under a scorching sun, began to sink with fatigue, and 
 to languish from the failure of provisions. Their com- 
 mander, however, displayed a cheerful countenance, 
 willingly sharing in every privation, and holding out 
 the hope of speedy success. As if to reward his confi- 
 dence, a new reach of the river shifted the scene from 
 desolate prospects to one of the most beautiful landscapes 
 they had ever beheld. There opened upon them an 
 amphitheatre of mountains, crowned with noble trees, 
 while at their bottom verdant plains extended many 
 miles, thickly interspersed with flowers of sweet odour. 
 Unknown birds of rich colours sported in the groves, 
 and fishes of various kinds were caught in great numbers 
 with the net or rod. Nothing could exceed the amenity 
 of the scene ; but their feelings of enjoyment were dis- 
 turbed by multitudes of ravenous creatures, called by the 
 natives lagartos, and apparently of the shark or crocodile 
 genus, which abounded in the river, and in their sight 
 devoured a negro servant of the admiral’s, who had gone 
 into the water to bathe. “ On the banks,” says Raleigh, 
 were divers sorts of fruits good to eat, flowers and trees 
 of that variety as were sufficient to make ten volumes 
 of herbals. We relieved ourselves many times with the 
 fruits of the country, and sometimes with fowl and fish ; 
 we saw birds of all colours, — some carnation, some crim- 
 son, tawny, purple, green, watchet, and of all other sorts, 
 both simple and mixed ; as it was unto us a great good 
 passing of the time to behold them, besides the relief we 
 found by killing some store of them with our fowling- 
 pieces ; without which, having little or no bread, and 
 less drink, but only the thick and troubled water of the 
 river, we had been in a very hard case.”'^ 
 
 Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p. 425. 
 
140 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 Beginning to suffer from want of provisions, they 
 captured two canoes laden with excellent bread, which 
 were run ashore the moment the natives discerned the 
 English. The Indians fled to the woods ; but one of 
 them was seized and compelled to act as a pilot. In 
 chasing him through the underwood, Sir Walter found 
 a refiner’s basket, in which were quicksilver, saltpetre, 
 and other materials for trying metals, which made him 
 suspect the Spaniards had been there before him. In this 
 idea he was confirmed by the pilot, who pointed out places 
 where the white people had laboured for gold. Aware 
 of the imprudence of delay, he pushed forward whilst 
 the season permitted ; and, on the fifteenth day after 
 leaving the ships, discovered in the distance the moun- 
 tains of Guiana. In the evening, a northerly gale spring- 
 ing up, they entered the Orinoco, running east and west 
 from the sea to Quito in Peru. Their sensations on 
 launching their feeble craft upon this vast body of waters, 
 whose tributaries were equal to the greatest rivers of the 
 Old World, may be easily imagined. 
 
 Anchoring near a sandy neck of land, where they 
 found a rich feast of tortoise-eggs, they were visited by 
 Toparimaca, a powerful prince of the country, who 
 brought with him two other caciques, and engaged m a 
 friendly intercourse with the strangers. The wife of one 
 of these chiefs was a beautiful woman, with dark eyes, 
 excellent proportions, and tresses reaching almost to the 
 ground. Her manners were graceful ; and, though 
 modest, she sipped a cup of wine and conversed, taking 
 great pride in her own comeliness."' 
 
 Pursuing their voyage westward, a spacious cham- 
 paign country opened, where the banks assumed a deep 
 red colour. Raleigh sent a party to examine the pro- 
 spect from some neighbouring heights. They found it 
 a level of immense extent ; which their pilot stated to 
 be the plains of Sayma, reaching to Cumana and Caraccas 
 in the West Indies, and inhabited by four great nations. 
 
 Discoyery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p. 433. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 141 
 
 Of these the first are the Sayma ; the next the Assawai ; 
 the third and greatest the Wikiri, by whom Pedro de 
 Serpa, one of the adventurers who attempted to reach 
 Guiana, was overthrown ; and the last are the Aroras, 
 a race like negroes, but having smooth hair. This people, 
 it was said, possessed the secret of concocting ‘Hhe strong- 
 est, deadliest, and most speedy poison in the world,” and 
 the slightest scratch from their arrows produced a very 
 fearful death. 
 
 The expedition now anchored at the port of More- 
 quito in Aromaia, and despatched a messenger to To- 
 piawari, the venerable sovereign of the district, who, 
 although 110 years of age, was so stout that he walked 
 twenty-eight miles to have an interview with the Eng- 
 lish. A tent was pitched for him ; and Sir W alter 
 explained the object of his voyage. Topiawari listened 
 with attention to the interpreter ; and in his reply gave 
 so distinct and accurate an account of the country, that 
 Raleigh marvelled to find a man of such judgment and 
 good discourse, without the help of learning and breed- 
 ing.”* From Morequito they sailed westward, with the 
 desire of exploring the river Caroli, of which they had 
 been told many marvels, as also that it led to some of 
 the strongest nations on the frontiers. When yet at a 
 great distance, the roar of its cataracts was distinctly 
 heard. The stream was as broad as the Thames at 
 Woolwich, and the current ran so violently that an 
 eight-oared wherry hardly advanced a stonecast in an 
 hour. Raleigh, therefore, abandoned the idea of reach- 
 ing the Cassipagalos, whose territories were forty miles 
 distant ; and encamping upon the banks of the Caroli, 
 opened an intercourse with the natives, who were the 
 inveterate enemies of the Spaniards. While waiting the 
 return of his messengers from the town of Capurepana, 
 he visited the waterfalls, and examined the province of 
 Canari, through which the river runs. He has given an 
 animated picture of its remarkable scenery. ‘‘ When 
 
 Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p. 440. 
 
142 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 we ascended,” says he, to the tops of the first hills of 
 the plains adjoining to the river, we beheld that wonder- 
 ful breach of waters which ran down Caroli, and might 
 from that mountain see the river how it ran in three 
 parts above twenty miles off ; and there appeared some 
 ten or twelve overfalls in sight, every one as high over 
 the other as a church-tower, which fell with that fury 
 that the rebound of waters made it seem as if it had been 
 all covered over with a great shower of rain, and in some 
 places we took it at the first for a smoke that had risen 
 over some great town. For mine own part I was well 
 persuaded from thence to have returned, being a very ill 
 footman ; but the rest were all so desirous to go near the 
 said strange thunder of waters, as they drew me on by 
 little and little, till we came into the next valley. * 
 
 I never,” he continues, saw a more beautiful country, 
 nor more lively prospects : hills so raised here and 
 there over the valleys ; the river winding into divers 
 branches ; the plains adjoining, without bush or stubble, 
 all fair green grass ; the ground of hard sand, easy to 
 march on either for horse or foot ; the deer crossing in 
 every path ; the birds towards the evening singing on 
 every tree with a thousand several tunes ; cranes and 
 herons, of white, crimson, and carnation, perching on the 
 river’s side ; the air fresh, with a gentle easterly wind ; 
 and every stone that we stopped to take up promising 
 either gold or silver by his complexion.”* 
 
 Beyond this river they met some caciques, who seemed 
 determined to work on their credulity ; affirming that 
 in the adjacent parts there dwelt a people called Ewai- 
 panoma, whose heads did not appear above their shoulders, 
 in which their eyes were seated, whilst their mouth was 
 placed in the breast. They were described as the most 
 mighty men of all the land, having bows, arrows, and 
 clubs, thrice as big as any of Guiana. This extravagant 
 idea may possibly have arisen, as in the case of the 
 Samoieds,t from their costume. 
 
 * Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p. 442. 
 
 f The garments of these Muscovite savages are made open 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 143 
 
 They were now 400 miles distant from their ships, 
 their clothes were almost worn off their bodies, and 
 they were warned by unequivocal indications of the 
 approach of winter, which here consists not so much in 
 any decided change from heat to cold, as in heavy rains 
 and inundations, with frequent hurricanes, thunder, and 
 lightning. Soon after the Orinoco rose with a sudden 
 and awful swell, which dismayed the soldiers ; the rain 
 descended in torrents ; and every day they were drenched 
 to the skin ; so that it was judged absolutely necessary 
 to return. Sailing with the stream, their progress was 
 as rapid as the ascent had been tedious ; even against 
 the wind they made little less than 100 miles a-day. 
 At Morequito they were visited a second time by Topia- 
 wari, who brought a number of men loaded with presents. 
 At this interview Raleigh collected much valuable in- 
 telligence relative to the best method of obtaining the 
 co-operation of the bordering nations, and of conquering 
 Guiana. He inquired minutely into the geography of 
 the neighbouring provinces, the habits of the people, 
 their arts, and mode of working gold, their dispositions 
 towards the Spaniards, their friendships or enmities with 
 eacli other. Before his departure the venerable cacique, 
 besides promising to become the servant of the queen, 
 delivered his son Cay woraco to the admiral, who brought 
 him to England, and christened him Gualtero. In re- 
 turn, an English sailor named Sparrow, and a boy of the 
 admiral’s household, were left with the Indian king, to 
 be taught the language of the country. 
 
 Resuming their voyage, they entered a branch of the 
 Orinoco called Wincapora, near which there was said to 
 be a mountain of crystal. Owing to the inclemency of the 
 season they were unable to penetrate so far ; but saw it 
 in the distance, exceedingly high, and glittering like a 
 
 only at the neck, and when the cold is extreme they put thep 
 cosaques over their heads, the sleeves hanging down, and their 
 faces not being visible except at the cleft which is at the neck ; 
 whence some credulous writers have said these northern people 
 are without heads, and have their faces in their breasts. 
 
144 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 marble church-tower. There falleth over it,” in the 
 words of the Discovery of Guiana, “a mighty river, which 
 toucheth no part of the side of the mountain, but rusheth 
 over the top of it, and falleth to the ground with a terrible 
 noise and clamour, as if a thousand great bells were 
 knocked one against another.” Upon this river is situated 
 a town of the same name, where they were received by 
 Timitwara, the chief of the place, with much kindness. 
 His subjects, however, were not in a state to second his 
 hospitable endeavours ; ‘‘ for it happened,” says Raleigh, 
 
 to be one of their feast-days, and we found them all as 
 drunk as beggars, the pots walking from one to another 
 without rest : we, that were weary and hot with march- 
 ing, were glad of the plenty.” Their delicate “ wine of 
 pinas” proved very strong and heady ; and without ex- 
 posing his men to the temptation of a second Indian 
 carouse, the commander pressed forward, finding it a 
 difficult task, amid torrents of rain and storms of thunder 
 and hghtning, to regain their galley. On embarking, 
 the water had risen, and the strength of the current 
 threatened to dash their frail barge to pieces. 
 
 The main stream of the Orinoco now raged with a 
 fury which made their hearts cold to behold it ;” but, 
 striking into a smaller branch, they at last reached the 
 sea. A dreadful storm coming on, their galley had much 
 difficulty to live, and was so leaky that the admiral 
 thought it better to remove to the barge. “ After,” to 
 use his own words, it had cleared up, they committed 
 themselves to God’s keeping, and thrust out into the 
 sea ;” and so, being all very melancholy, one faintly 
 cheering another to show courage, it pleased God that 
 next day they descried Trinidad, and soon after reached 
 the port of Curiapan, where to their great joy and grati- 
 tude they found their ships at anchor. 
 
 Raleigh, in his interesting history of this discovery, 
 which it appears to me has been treated by later writers 
 with no little injustice,"^* enumerates the various nations. 
 
 See Remarks in Appendix at the end of the volume. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 145 
 
 describes their customs, and afterwards, in some passages 
 of great vigour and beauty, though tinctured with 
 credulity, details the advantages of a conquest of the 
 country : ‘‘ I will enter no further,” says he, “ into dis- 
 course of their manners, laws, and customs ; and because 
 I have not myself seen the cities of Inga I cannot avow 
 on my credit what I have heard, although it be very 
 likely that the Emperor Inga hath built and erected as 
 magnificent palaces in Guiana as his ancestors did in 
 Peru, which were, for their riches and rareness, most 
 marvellous, and exceeding all in Europe. * * For 
 
 the rest which myself have seen, I will promise these 
 things that follow and know to be true. Those that are 
 desirous to discover and to see many nations may be 
 satisfied within this river, which bringeth forth so many 
 arms and branches, leading to several countries and pro- 
 vinces, above 2000 miles east and west, and 800 miles 
 south and north, and of these, the most either rich in 
 gold or in other merchandises. * * There is no 
 
 country which yieldeth more pleasure to the inhabitants 
 either for those common delights of hunting, hawking, 
 fishing, fowling, and the rest, than Guiana doth ; it hath 
 so many plains, clear rivers, abundance of pheasants, 
 partridges, quails, rails, cranes, herons, and all other fowl, 
 deer of all sorts, porkers, hares, lions, tigers, leopards, 
 and divers other sorts of beasts either for chase or food. 
 * * To conclude, Guiana is a country as yet untouched 
 by the natives of the Old World : never sacked, turned, 
 or wrought ; the face of the earth hath not been torn, 
 nor the virtue and salt of the soil spent by manurance ; 
 the graves have not been opened for gold ; the mines not 
 broken with sledges, nor their images pulled down out of 
 their temples. It hath never been entered by any army 
 of strength, and never conquered or possessed by any 
 Christian prince ; it is besides so defensible, that if two 
 forts be built in one of the provinces which I have seen, 
 the flood setteth in so near the bank where the channel 
 also lieth, that no ship can pass up but within a pike’s 
 length of the artillery, first of the one, and afterwards of 
 
146 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 the other : which two forts will be a sufficient guard 
 both to the empire of Inga, and to a hundred other several 
 kingdoms lying within the said river, even to the city 
 of Quito in Peru.”* 
 
 On his return Sir Walter found his enemies had availed 
 themselves of his absence to influence the queen’s mind 
 against him ; and instead of being welcomed as a dis- 
 coverer, his descriptions were received with coldness and 
 suspicion. A contemporary letter, indeed, informs us 
 that he lived about London very gallant, while great 
 interest was made for his being again received at court. 
 But Elizabeth for the present was inexorable ; and the 
 dedication of the Discovery of Guiana to the lord-high- 
 admiral and Sir Robert Cecil plainly alludes to his having 
 fallen on evil days and evil tongues : “ The trial,” says 
 he, that I had of both your loves, when I was left of 
 all but of malice and revenge, makes me still presume 
 that you will still be pleased to answer that out of know- 
 ledge, which others shall but object out of malice. In 
 my more happy times, as I did especially honour you 
 both, so I found that your loves sought me out in the 
 darkest shadow of adversity, and that the same affection 
 which accompanied my better fortune soared not. away 
 from me in my many miseries ; all which, though I can- 
 not requite, yet I shall ever acknowledge. * * Of the 
 little remaining fortune I had, I have wasted, in effect, 
 all herein. I have undergone many constructions ; I 
 have been accompanied with many sorrows — with labour, 
 hunger, heat, sickness, and peril. * * From myself 
 
 I have deserved no thanks, for I am returned a beggar 
 and withered. But that I might have bettered my poor 
 estate, it shall appear by the following discourse, if I 
 had not only respected her majesty’s future honour and 
 riches. It became not the former fortune in which I 
 once lived to go journeys of piccory ; and it had sorted 
 ill with the offices of honour which, by her majesty’s 
 grace, I hold this day in England, to run from cape to 
 
 Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. pp. 462, 464. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 147 
 
 cape, and place to place, for the pillage of ordinary 
 prizes.”* 
 
 But although detraction was thus busy at the court, 
 the muses espoused the cause of Raleigh. In an heroic 
 poem, ascribed on good grounds to Chapman, the gifted 
 translator of Homer, the enterprise is commemorated in 
 no ignoble strains. The poet having declared the subject 
 of his song to be riches with honour, and conquest with- 
 out blood, describes Guiana bowing in submission to that 
 sovereign princess, whose younger sister she is anxious 
 to become : — 
 
 ‘‘ Guiana, whose rich feet are mines of gold, 
 
 Whose forehead knocks against the roof of stars. 
 
 Stands on her tiptoe at fair England looking, 
 
 Kissing her hand, bowing her mighty breast. 
 
 And every sign of all submission making, 
 
 To be her sister and the daughter both 
 Of our most sacred maid.” 
 
 He then apostrophizes Elizabeth in some spirited lines, 
 alludes to the incredulity with which Raleigh’s reports 
 were received, and introduces a picture of the prosperity 
 of the British colonies cradled in this golden country, 
 which is highly poetical, although it proved any thing 
 but prophetic : — 
 
 ‘‘ And now a wind, as forward as their spirits. 
 
 Sets their glad feet on smooth Guiana’s breast ; 
 
 Where, as if each man were an Orpheus, 
 
 A world of savages fall tame before them. ; 
 
 And there doth plenty crown their wealthy fields ; 
 
 And all our youth take Hymen’s lights in hand. 
 
 And fill each roof with honoured progeny. 
 
 There healthful recreations strew the meads. 
 
 And make their mansions dance with neighbourhood, 
 Which here were drown’d in churlish avarice. 
 
 And there do palaces and temples rise 
 Out of the earth and kiss th’ enamoured skies, 
 
 Where new Britannia humbly kneels to Heaven, 
 
 The world to her, and both at her blest feet 
 In whom the circles of all empire meet.” 
 
 The parsimony of the queen and the malice of Sir 
 Walter’s enemies proved too powerful on this occasion ; 
 and instead of seeing his project embraced by his sove- 
 
 * Discovery of Guiana. Works, vol. viii. p, 379-381. 
 
1 48 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RAUEIGH. 
 
 reign, and the promised country reduced and colonized, 
 he found that he was defamed and distrusted, except by 
 a few who appreciated his plans. Yet his spirit rose 
 under his calamities. He detemiined, if not to prosecute 
 the discovery, at least to keep up an intercourse with 
 the natives ; and accordingly, using the remains of his 
 private fortune, and aided by Sir Robert Cecil and 
 Howard, about six months after his return, he despatched 
 the Darling and the Discoverer, under Captain Keymis, 
 who had served in the first expedition.* 
 
 On reaching Guiana, this officer found his friends much 
 dispersed, hut eagerly inquiring for Sir Walter, and ready 
 to join his armament. They were disappointed that a 
 larger fleet had not been sent ; hut the object of Raleigh 
 was to continue the correspondence and peaceful traffic 
 with the Indians, not to engage in warlike adventure ; 
 and this Keymis ably accomplished. The Cacique of 
 Carapana, indeed, afraid of the hostility of the Spaniards, 
 avoided a personal interview ; but others, loudly exe- 
 crating their cruelties, compared their tyrannical conduct 
 with the humanity and respect to individual rights 
 exhibited by the English and their commander. He 
 examined some parts of the country which had escaped 
 attention on the former voyage — ascertained the strength 
 of the nations which promised their assistance, and the 
 best access to the interior ; after which he collected 
 some farther reports respecting the wealth which might 
 he expected from the adventure, and sailing for England, 
 arrived in the end of June 1596. 
 
 During his absence, his indefatigable employer had 
 engaged in the celebrated enterprise against Spain, known 
 by the name of the Cadiz Expedition, in which he held 
 a principal command. 
 
 When Spain meditated the invasion in 1588, Raleigh 
 had urged the practicability of burning the formidable 
 fleet of Philip in his own harbour. These views were 
 not then adopted ; but after an interval of eight years 
 
 * Some ori^nal letters of Keymis are preserved amongst the 
 MSS. at Hatfield. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 149 
 
 the queen had become convinced of their soundness. 
 The seizure of Calais by the Spaniards, the disordered 
 condition of Ireland, the disaffection of a large party 
 in Scotland, — all arising out of Spanish intrigue, — and 
 the failure in the Portuguese expedition, had greatly 
 strengthened the interest of that monarch, and rendered 
 it necessary for the English ministry to make a vigorous 
 effort against him. The plan, therefore, which had been 
 rejected in 1588, was revived by Elizabeth in 1596, and 
 its execution intrusted to her four best officers, Essex, 
 the lord-high-admiral. Sir Walter Raleigh, and Lord 
 Thomas Howard, — the veterans Drake and Hawkins 
 being now no more. 
 
 One hundred and fifty vessels were equipped at Ply- 
 mouth, seventeen of them first-rates, twenty-two ships 
 of war furnished by the Dutch, and the rest being tenders 
 and small craft. The English fleet contained about 
 14,000 men, including 1000 gentlemen volunteers ; “ for 
 as yet,” says Oldys, “ the English nobles and gentry had 
 not learnt to live lazily and loosely at home, while their 
 countrymen were fighting abroad for the safety and glory 
 of the nation.” The number aboard the Dutch division 
 is not certain ; but it was calculated that there might be 
 spared from it 10,000 men to land on the Spanish coast. 
 Although the chief command was intrusfed to the high- 
 admiral and the Earl of Essex, yet the queen, dreading 
 the collision between “ an old head and a young one,” 
 appointed them a council of five, to keep them in 
 due temper and harmony.” These were Lord Thomas 
 Howard, Raleigh, Sir Francis Vere, Sir Conyers Clifford, 
 and Sir George Carew ; a control and division of authority 
 resented by the proud spirit of Essex, but to which a 
 sharp letter from his royal mistress compelled him to 
 submit. 
 
 From the first every thing favoured the expedition. 
 They had a rapid run to the Spanish coast ; every vessel 
 which could have carried intelligence to the enemy was 
 intercepted ; and the ships anchored in St Sebastian’s 
 Bay on the 20th June, only half a league short of Cadiz, 
 
150 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 when the Spaniards believed themselves in perfect 
 security. The lord-admiral resolved that a descent 
 should he made first by the land-army upon the town, 
 — a measure which Essex, their commander, although he 
 perceived its danger, did not choose, from some chivalrous 
 punctilio, to oppose. He proceeded, accordingly, to em- 
 bark his forces in the boats, the surf being so tremendous, 
 that every moment they were in danger of swamping. 
 
 Whilst this was going on, Raleigh, who had been 
 absent on some necessary duties, arrived in the bay ; and 
 perceiving the error of Howard, in not at once running 
 his ships into the harbour and attacking the fleet, hast- 
 ened on board to Essex, and conjured him to stop the 
 embarkation, which would, if continued, utterly defeat 
 the enterprise. His remonstrance was most acceptable to 
 the earl, who threw the responsibility upon the admiral, 
 and requested Sir Walter to interfere and induce him to 
 recall the orders. This he immediately did, and Howard, 
 becoming convinced of his mistake, consented to enter 
 the harbour. V»^ith this news Raleigh returned to Essex, 
 and calling out “ Entramos! Entramosl” the young 
 earl, for joy, cast his hat into the sea, and gave instant 
 orders to weigh anchor, — a precipitancy which might 
 again have ruined all. The day was far spent ; time 
 was necessary to remove the soldiers on board from the 
 boats ; no plan of attack had been agreed on ; none 
 knew who was to lead, or who was to be second. Sir 
 Walter once more represented the danger of such intem- 
 perate haste, and by his advice the fleet again anchored. 
 At night he wrote to the high-admiral, proposing that 
 they should first run in and cannonade the enemy’s ships 
 with their great ordnance ; after which two flyboats 
 should board each of the great Spanish galleons ; for it 
 was expected that the San Philip and the rest of the 
 men-of-war would burn and not yield ; in which case 
 the queen’s ships might be much endangered. All this 
 was agreed to ; and, at his own request, he had the lead- 
 ing of the van, whilst Howard and Essex commanded 
 the great body of the fleet. 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 151 
 
 The success with which this plan was executed reflects 
 great credit on the gallantry of the assailants. With 
 the first dawn of day, Raleigh in the Warspite weighed 
 anchor, and taking the start of the rest bore in upon the 
 enemy. He was supported by Sir George Carew in the 
 Mary Rose, Sir Robert Southwell in the Lion, Sir 
 Francis Vere in the Rainbow, Captain Cross in the 
 Swiftsure, Sir Conyers and Alexander Clifford in the 
 Dreadnought, and Captain Robert Dudley in the Non- 
 pareil, besides some Londoners and flyboats adapted for 
 boarding. The disposition of the Spaniards rendered the 
 attack both difficult and hazardous. Under the walls 
 of Cadiz seventeen galleys were so ranged as to flank 
 the entrance. The harbour was commanded by Fort 
 St Philip, and by the ordnance along the curtain upon the 
 rampart tov^ards the sea, besides other pieces of culverin 
 which raked the channel. Although thus strongly 
 guarded, the moment the San Philip perceived the 
 hostile fleet, she crowded all sail, and was followed by 
 the San Matthew, San Thomas, San Andrew, two great 
 Portuguese galleons, three frigates, two argosies armed 
 to the teeth, and forty other great ships bound for 
 Mexico, on board which were the admiral and vice- 
 admiral of New Spain. Of these who thus scoured away 
 at the first wave of the English flag, four of the largest 
 galleons, the San Philip, Matthew, Andrew, and Thomas, 
 anchored again under the guns of the fort of Puntal, 
 a strait of the harbour leading towards Puerto Real. 
 On their right they placed the three frigates, at their 
 back the two Portuguese galleons and argosies ; the 
 seventeen galle^^-s were reserved to occupy the intervals 
 by three and three as occasion might require. The 
 admiral of New Spain with the body of the fleet was 
 stationed behind them to defend the entrance, which 
 was of that moderate breadth that their line stretched 
 across like a bridge, having the fort just mentioned to 
 guard it. 
 
 Such being the order of the enemy, Raleigh, leadmg 
 the van, was first saluted by the garrison, next by the 
 cannon on the curtain, and lastly, in good order, by the 
 
152 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 seventeen galleys. To these, as, to use his own expres- 
 sion, he considered them but as “ wasps” in comparison 
 with the San Philip and the other galleons, he only 
 replied by a flourish of trumpets, reserving his ordnance 
 for higher game. He now directed his course against 
 the great vessels in the deepest part of the river, drawing 
 on the rest of the ships, which so battered the Spaniards 
 that they soon began to ply their oars and take to flight. 
 By this time Sir Walter had anchored beside the Philip 
 and Andrew, and poured broadsides into them without 
 intermission, trusting that the flyboats would speedily 
 come up and enable him to board. The fight soon be- 
 came very hot. Lord Thomas Howard, in the Lion, drew 
 up on one side of the Warspite, and Carew, in the Mary 
 Pose, on the other, whilst Sir Francis Vere pushed on 
 towards the side of Puntal ; and Essex, who was still at 
 a distance, hearing the thunder of the ordnance, thrust 
 up through the fleet and anchored next Raleigh on the 
 left hand. In this way the action continued for three 
 hours ; the volleys of cannon and culverin coming as 
 thick as in a skirmish of musqueteers. By this raking 
 fire. Sir Walter’s ship was so dreadfully shattered that, 
 fearing she could not float much longer, he went aboard 
 and assured Essex, that if the flyboats could not instantly 
 be brought up he would board from the Warspite at all 
 risks. The earl, with his accustomed gallantry, replied, 
 that whatever Raleigh did, he would, on his honour, 
 second. The other, throwing himself into his boat, rowed 
 back to his ship with all expedition, — an action which 
 seemed to be a signal to the fleet who should be the first 
 to run in on the great galleons. The high-admiral, 
 finding the river so choked up that he could not pass in 
 the Ark, joined his brother, in the Nonpareil. Vere, 
 thinking it hard to be so far behind, got ahead of the 
 Warspite with the Rainbow ; and he again, in this race 
 of valour, was headed by Lord Thomas Howard. All 
 this passed in the fifteen minutes during which Raleigh 
 was absent. The moment he returned, finding that, 
 instead of being first he was only third, he slipped his 
 anchor, and pushing between Lord Thomas and Vere, 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 153 
 
 went ahead of both, and anchored within twenty yards 
 of the San Philip, athwart the channel, so as to prevent 
 any ship from again passing him. Vere, upon this, 
 fastened a rope to the side of the Warspite, in order to 
 draw himself up alongside ; but one of the crew cut it 
 asunder, and the Rainbow fell back into its old place. 
 
 Having no hopes of the flyboats, and prevented by the 
 wind from running close up and boarding the San Philip, 
 Sir Walter laid out a warp to shake hands with her 
 and Lord Thomas with other ships imitating his example, 
 the Spanish galleons in the utmost haste slipped anchor 
 and ran aground, “ tumbling into the sea heaps of soldiers 
 like coals out of a sack,” some drowning, some choking 
 in the mud, and others mortally wounded. In the midst 
 of this tumult a negro fired the powder in the San Phi- 
 lip, which blew up with a tremendous noise, the main- 
 mast shooting into the air like an arrow. The flames 
 catching hold of the San Thomas at the same moment, 
 she exploded and covered the sea with burning fragments. 
 Raleigh, however, was too rapid in his movements to 
 allow the San Matthew and San Andrew to follow their 
 example ; he took them before they could run aground 
 or be burnt by their crews. The picture he draws of 
 the scene, in his relation of the Cadiz action, is striking : 
 “ The spectacle was very lamentable on their side ; for 
 many drowned themselves, many, half-burnt, leaped 
 into the water ; very many hanging by the ropes’ ends, 
 by the ships’ sides, under the water even to the lips ; 
 many swimming with grievous wounds, strucken under 
 water, and put out of pain ; and withal so huge a fire, 
 and such tearing of the ordnance in the great Philip and 
 the rest, when the fire came to them, as, if any man had 
 a desire to see hell itself, it was there most lively figured. 
 Ourselves spared the lives of all after the victory ; but 
 the Flemings, who did little or nothing in the fight, 
 used merciless slaughter, till they were, by myself, and 
 afterwards by the lord -admiral, beaten off.”* 
 
 The action continued from ten in the morning till late 
 
 * Relation of the Cadiz Action. Raleigh’s Works, vol. viii. 
 
 p. 672. 
 
154 
 
 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 in the afternoon ; by which time the hay was cleared 
 and entirely resigned to the English. The victory was 
 justly described by Sir William Monson, one of the 
 officers engaged, as the most disgraceful overthrow ever 
 given to the majesty of Spain, the battle being at his 
 own home, in his port which he thought as safe as his 
 chamber ; and it was particularly glorious to the English, 
 when the great inequality of numbers was considered, — 
 seven ships destroying the Spanish fleet, including six 
 galleons, three frigates, seventeen galleys, and the Mexi- 
 can squadron, in all fifty-five, backed by the fort of 
 Puntal, and moored under their batteries. 
 
 After this success the army landed, and, led by the 
 Earl of Essex, carried the town by a coup de main^ 
 although 5000 foot and 800 horse, including the cavaliers 
 of Xeres, made an attempt at resistance. Raleigh, during 
 the seafight, had been hurt in the leg by a splinter. But 
 his anxiety would not suffer him to be absent from the 
 army, and having been carried ashore he mounted his 
 horse, and charging along with the rest entered the city. 
 The pain of his shattered limb, however, became intoler- 
 able ; there was great danger of his being trodden down 
 by the English soldiers, who abandoned themselves to 
 pillage, and after an hour he returned to the fleet. 
 
 At this moment, although grievously incommoded and 
 smarting under his wound, his great object was to cap- 
 ture the Mexican fleet, which had taken refuge in the 
 roads of Puerto Real, where, had they been instantly 
 followed, it would have been impossible for them to 
 escape. With this view he sent repeated messages to 
 obtain the admiral’s consent. But owing to the confusion 
 incident to the sacking of the town, and some jealousies 
 between the seamen and the land-forces, Raleigh could 
 not obtain any answer to his desire.” Before next morn- 
 ing the Duke of Medina Sidonia, apprehensive lest this 
 inestimable prize should fall into the enemy’s hand, 
 ordered them to be burnt. So as now,” says he in his 
 account of the action, both galleons, frigates, argosies, 
 and all other ships of war, together with the fleet of 
 Nueva Espana, were all converted into ashes ; only the 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 155 
 
 San Matthew and the San Andrew were in our possession.” 
 Having destroyed the fortifications and city, the army 
 re-embarked on the 5th of July ; and Essex’s design of 
 continuing at sea to intercept the West Indian fleet 
 having been overruled, the victorious squadron directed 
 their course homeward. On their way they sacked the 
 town of Faro in Portugal, from which they carried off* 
 the famous library of Osorius ; and laden with bales of 
 philosophy and literature, as well as with the rich plun- 
 der of Cadiz, they arrived at Plymouth on the 10th of 
 August, from which Essex immediately posted to court. 
 
 There can be little doubt that this great victory is 
 mainly to be attributed to Raleigh. It was at his earnest 
 entreaty that the absurd design of first attacking with 
 the land-forces was abandoned ; it was he who drew up 
 the plan of the action ; and to him the command of the 
 van was intrusted. Many officers, who were present 
 and nowise favourably disposed to him, bore in their 
 private letters the warmest testimony to his ability and 
 gallantry ; books were dedicated to him, in which the 
 glory he had acquired was commemorated ; portraits 
 engraved or painted, in which the action was introduced 
 as the most appropriate background ; and all seemed 
 anxious that the cloud under which his merit had been 
 lately obscured should be dispelled by the returning 
 favour of his royal mistress. 
 
 Yet, in spite of these testimonies, Elizabeth did not 
 immediately recall him to court, or permit him to resume 
 his offices. Aware of the influence of Essex, he had 
 been careful to treat the favourite during the voyage 
 with that courtesy to which his great bravery and talents 
 entitled him ; and those who knew the secret enmity 
 between them ascribed this change to interested motives : 
 — ‘‘ Sir Walter’s carriage,” says Standen, who was pre- 
 sent, to my lord of Essex is with the cunningest respect 
 and deepest humility that ever I saw or have trowed.” 
 But the same writer, after the action, confesses, that 
 among many excellent qualities his behaviour to the 
 earl deserved high praise.'^ To secure the favour of one 
 
 Oldys, p. 254. 
 
156 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 SO powerful as his rival, provided it were done by no 
 sacrifice of honour, was, to a man labouring under the 
 displeasure of his sovereign, no improper object ; and 
 when engaged in such a service as the attack on the 
 Spanish fleet, he must have been convinced it was their 
 duty to forget private animosities. But Sir Walter’s 
 malignant star was still in the ascendant. Incapacitated 
 by his wounds from sharing in the sack of Cadiz, the 
 rich booty fell into the hands of others whom he taught 
 to win the victory. Nor does it appear that he had 
 gained the friendship of Essex, who, with all his noble- 
 ness of nature, perhaps felt hurt at the glory acquired 
 by his inferior in command. 
 
 The favourite, indeed, had himself cause for dissatis- 
 faction, and began to feel the insecurity of his giddy 
 elevation. Before leaving court he had recommended 
 his friend Sir Thomas Bodley for the vacant post of 
 Secretary of State, On his return he found that Eliza- 
 beth had preferred Sir Robert Cecil, Burleigh’s second 
 son ; and the indignation which he imprudently exhibited 
 on this occasion seems to have been the first cause of 
 that decline of his influence which began soon after to be 
 apparent. He was too open, generous, and independent, 
 for a professional courtier. He presumed upon his royal 
 mistress’s passion for him ; and that she really felt as 
 much love as could take possession of a heart on the 
 borders of sixty-four is not to be doubted. But he for- 
 got that the queen, however weak and capricious on 
 some occasions, possessed a remarkable skill in selecting 
 men fit for high offices, and that no considerations of 
 personal attachment had ever been sufficient to blind 
 her discernment. It is this faculty of discriminating true 
 genius, and attaching to her service the greatest talents 
 in England, which is the peculiar feature in Elizabeth’s 
 character. To deny, as has lately been done, that she was 
 a woman of high and commanding powers, is a refine- 
 ment of modern ingenuity, — an opinion begot apparently 
 between prejudice and paradox, and contradicted by the 
 whole history of her reign. That she had weaknesses, 
 all will allow. She was vain ; and, although of homely 
 
DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 157 
 
 features, desired to be thought beautiful ; she affected at 
 sixty the romantic feelings, the sighs, loves, tears, and 
 tastes, of a girl of sixteen ; she danced high and dis- 
 posedly” before Secretary Melville ; and simpered and 
 frowned, and permitted the gallant and handsome cava- 
 liers of her court to feed her with flatteries, and to 
 celebrate her celestial graces, when time had blanched 
 her tresses with snow and shrivelled her ordinary counte- 
 nance into unnumbered wrinkles. But when seated at 
 her council-table these foibles were in an instant aban- 
 doned. In no single instance did she permit them to 
 influence the conduct of her government, or to weaken 
 the grasp of her masculine judgment. Where did she 
 ever select a mere courtier, or an empty and gilded 
 appendage of her processions, to execute a difficult ser- 
 vice I How firmly did she cling through her long reign 
 to Burleigh ! How uninterrupted was her favour to the 
 brave Sir Francis Drake, — to the veteran Vere, to How- 
 ard, and Gilbert, and Sidney, and Sussex, and, after a 
 partial eclipse, to Raleigh ! When did she ever permit a 
 fool to have a word to say when an important enterprise 
 was in agitation? When did she ever select a weak 
 person for her favourite ? and how completely at this 
 moment did she convince her beloved Essex, that to be 
 her secretary of state something more was required than 
 his favour, when he found that Sir Robert Cecil had 
 been preferred to the man of his choice. 
 
 Cecil was the friend of Raleigh ; as much so at least 
 as the marked difference of their characters permitted. 
 Under the eye of his grave and judicious father he had 
 been bred a courtier. His person, indeed, was little 
 calculated to adorn a masque or a festival, for it was 
 deformed ; but in this respect he only added another to 
 the many examples of intellect being spurred on by this 
 painful peculiarity to achieve distinction ; nor is it per- 
 haps too refined or ingenious to trace to the same source 
 the coldness of his heart, his sarcastic temper, and the 
 caution, dissimulation, and passion for political intrigue, 
 which formed the leading features of his character. 
 Little else could be expected from the sickly and favourite 
 
158 DISCOVERY OF GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 
 
 child of Burleigh, educated in the severe school of Wal- 
 singham. His talents for business were high, though 
 not equal to his father’s ; hut his application was as in- 
 tense, and he had carried the system of private agency 
 and secret information at home and abroad to greater 
 perfection than even the old treasurer himself. His zeal 
 in the service of his royal mistress was neither enthusi- 
 astic nor disinterested, but it was constant and sincere ; 
 he knew his own greatness to he involved in the success 
 of his public measures, and appreciated that discernment 
 by which the queen could detect, and the rigour with 
 which she would punish, any disposition to prefer himself 
 or his friends to the good of the state. Such a person 
 was well qualified for the office of secretary, at a time 
 when Elizabeth required the assistance, not only of the 
 bravest hearts, hut of the best heads among her subjects. 
 Yet, however able as a statesman, Cecil was proportion- 
 ably dangerous as a friend, — subtle and insinuating, he 
 esteemed men principally as tools to advance his own 
 interests, and was ready to cast them away, or even to 
 break them to pieces, should they interfere with his 
 policy, or cross the path of his ambition. Such was the 
 person upon whom Essex, still in his palmy state of 
 favour, did not scruple to let loose his resentment, and 
 to whom Raleigh, having already experienced his patron- 
 age, attached himself with the earnestness of a man who, 
 cut off from the good graces of his sovereign, caught at 
 any prospect of a restoration. But both were deceived. 
 The noble, open, and fearless earl fell at length into the 
 toils of the little crafty politician whom he had despised ; 
 and the other, after he had served Cecil’s private pur- 
 poses, and co-operated in the overthrow of his enemies, 
 was first coldly thrown aside, and then all but destroyed 
 by the hand which he had trusted. 
 
 About two months after his return from the Cadiz 
 action. Sir Walter fitted out a ship, called after himself 
 the Wat, for a third voyage to Guiana. The command 
 was intrusted to Captain Leonard Berrie, who sailed from 
 Weymouth in the end of December, and discovered the 
 coast in the beginning of March. The crew came to 
 
DISCOVERY OP GUIANA BY RALEIGH. 159 
 
 anchor in a bay at the mouth of the Wiapoucow, 4° 
 north of the line. The falls in the river did not permit 
 their pinnace to proceed far inland ; and, regaining the 
 coast, they visited Aramatto, where the natives supplied 
 them liberally with provisions, and besought them to 
 come and kill the Spaniards. Thence they passed to the 
 Cooshipwinee, which flows through Amano, and reach- 
 ing Marrac found the people ‘‘something pleasant, having 
 drunk much that day,” but withal humane, and anxious 
 to furnish them with every thing required. In their 
 passage up the river, being the first Christians seen in 
 this province, they were received with much reverence, 
 and treated with uniform kindness. They found the 
 country rich, the climate temperate, and the natives of 
 extraordinary stature, and carrying bows with golden 
 handles. The remainder of the voyage was deficient in 
 novelty ; and, after a fruitless attempt to penetrate to 
 the Lake Perima, upon which Manoa was supposed to be 
 situated. Captain Berrie returned to Plymouth on the 
 28th of June. 
 
160 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 CHAPTER IV, 
 
 From Raleigh’s Restoration to Favour to the Fall of 
 Essex. 
 
 Raleigh effects a Reconciliation between Cecil and Essex, and 
 is himself restored to Favour — Designs of Philip II. — Eliza- 
 beth’s Preparations against him — The Island-voyage — Ra- 
 leigh appointed Rear-admiral — He takes Eayal— Disputes 
 with Essex — Their Reconciliation — Inexperience of Essex — 
 A large Carrack destroyed by Raleigh — Philip’s third Fleet 
 intended for the Invasion of England is dispersed by a Storm 
 — Essex returns to England' — Elizabeth receives him with 
 Reproaches — Decline of his Favour — Critical Circumstances 
 of the Country — Cecil’s Mission to France — Cecil and Lord 
 Burleigh advise a Peace with Spain — Essex violently opposes 
 it — Rivalry of Raleigh and Essex — Their Splendour — ^State 
 of Ireland — Essex’s Quarrel with the Queen — Plot of Cecil 
 — Essex appointed to the Government of Ireland — His In- 
 activity — His Letters — The Queen’s severe Answers — Essex’s 
 sudden Return to England — His Reception — Trial and Con- 
 demnation-Relative Position of Cecil and Raleigh — Contrast 
 between their Characters — Superior Address of Cecil — His 
 Correspondence with James, King of Scots — Raleigh retires 
 for a short Season to Sherborne — His Employments — Mission 
 to Boulogne — Elizabeth’s Passion for tall and handsome Ser- 
 vants — Anecdote illustrative of this — Raleigh’s magnificent 
 Taste in Dress and Equipage — Queen’s Progresses — Taste of 
 the Times for solemn Masques and Pageants — Elizabeth’s 
 Passion for Hunting — Her Love of Display — -Elizabeth’s Re- 
 ception of the Marshal Biron at Basing. 
 
 On reaching England Berrie found Raleigh too much 
 engrossed with very different matters to attend to schemes 
 of discovery. His whole mind was occupied by two 
 projects, — the first relating to another great naval expe- 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 161 
 
 dition against Spain ; the second, an affair perhaps more 
 arduous although of a pacific nature, an attempt to effect 
 a reconciliation between Essex and Cecil ; in which, to 
 the surprise of all, he at length succeeded. He was in- 
 duced to make an effort to bring these two powerful 
 rivals together, from a conviction that till this were 
 effected his own restoration to the queen’s good graces 
 was impossible. He possessed, indeed, the interest of 
 the secretary ; but for this very reason the favourite 
 opposed him ; — and he, though not so omnipotent as 
 before, was still too strong for them. To make himself 
 acceptable to this great man, who had hitherto treated 
 him with jealousy and distrust, and to bring about a 
 union between two minds which cherished a deep-rooted 
 hostility to each other, was no easy task. But Raleigh 
 brought to it an intimate knowledge of their characters ; 
 and the courtiers saw with astonishment not only the 
 progress of the reconciliation, but its consequence in the 
 re-admission of its author to court. On the 4th March 
 1596-7, Roland Whyte writes to Sir Robert Sidney, 
 — “ Sir Walter Raleigh hath been very often very 
 private with the Earl of Essex, and is the mediator of a 
 peace between him and Sir Robert Cecil, who likewise 
 hath been private with him. He [Sir Walter Raleigh] 
 alleges how much g-ood may grow by it. The queen’s 
 continual unquietness will turn to contentments.”'^* 
 
 Mr Whyte writes, on the 9th April, 1597, — “ Sir 
 Walter is daily in court ; and hope is had he shall be 
 admitted to the execution of his office, as captain of the 
 guard, before his going to sea. His friends you know 
 are of greatest authority and power here ; and the Earl 
 of Essex gives it no opposition, his mind being full, and 
 only carried away with the business he hath in his head, 
 of conquering and overcoming the enemy.” f The final 
 reconciliation is thus described in a letter dated the 2d 
 June, where we find Raleigh completely restored to 
 favour, and once more officiating as captain of the guard 
 
 Sidney Letters, vol. ii. p. 24. 
 
 t Ibid. p. 37. 
 
162 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 to the sovereign : — Yesterday my lord of Essex rid to 
 Chatham ; in his absence Sir Walter Raleigh was brought 
 to the queen by Sir Robert Cecil, who used him very 
 graciously, and gave him full authority to execute his 
 place as captain of the guard, which immediately he 
 undertook, and swore many men into the places void. In 
 the evening he rid abroad with the queen, and had pri- 
 vate conference with her ; and now he comes boldly to 
 the privy-chamber as he was wont. Though this was 
 done in the absence of the earl, yet is it known that it 
 was done with his liking and furtherance. * * * 
 
 Your lordship knows that Sir Walter Raleigh had the 
 victualling of the land-forces : I hear it is very well done, 
 and that he hath let the Earl of Essex have much for 
 his private provision ; they are grown exceeding great, 
 and often goes the earl to Sir Robert Cecil’s house very 
 private, where they meet.”* 
 
 This first difficulty being overcome, Raleigh had lei- 
 sure to prepare for the expedition against Spain ; and 
 the danger with which the country was once more 
 threatened from that great power rendered it necessary 
 to adopt decisive measures. Philip II., incensed by the 
 severe loss sustained at Cadiz, concentrated his naval 
 strength at Lisbon with the resolution of invading Eng- 
 land ; but the elements once more arrayed themselves 
 against him : in a few hours his boasted strength was 
 laid prostrate, and thirty-six sail wrecked and dashed to 
 pieces. The determined resolution of the king, however, 
 was unsubdued : such of his sliips as had escaped were 
 repaired ; the whole maritime resources of the kingdom 
 again collected ; the wealth of the Indies profusely 
 lavished ; and a few months had not elapsed, when a 
 third armament rode proudly in the ports of Ferrol and 
 the Groyne, destined, as it was aftirmed, to make a 
 simultaneous descent upon England and Ireland. 
 
 It was to meet these formidable preparations that 
 Elizabeth fitted out that naval expedition which has been 
 
 Sidney Letters, vol. ii. pp. 54, 55. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 163 
 
 called the Island- voyage. The force consisted of 120 
 sail, seventeen being her own ships, forty-three smaller 
 vessels, and the rest tenders and victuallers. In this 
 fleet were embarked 5000 newly levied troops, and 1000 
 veterans from the Netherlands under Sir Francis Vere ; 
 but the lord-high-admiral, Howard, having from indis- 
 position declined the chief command, it was unfortunately 
 given to Essex, whose talents for the sea-service were 
 inferior to his abilities as a statesman and soldier. U nder 
 him Lord Thomas Howard was appointed vice-admiral, 
 and Sir Walter Raleigh rear-admiral ; whilst the ships 
 were commanded by the most experienced captains in 
 England, amongst whom was Sir William Monson, Sir 
 George Carew^, Sir Richard Lewson, and Sir Thomas 
 Vavasour. — Before they were ready to put to sea, it was 
 resolved to dismiss the whole of the land-forces excepting 
 the veterans under Sir Francis, and to aim principally at 
 intercepting the Indian fleet. 
 
 They sailed on the l7th August ; but Raleigh’s ship, 
 the Warspite, had her mainyard broken by an accident ; 
 and being obliged to lie behind for repair, she parted 
 company from the commander. On arriving at Lisbon, 
 he found a number of smaller vessels and tenders be- 
 longing to the fleet, and, in company with these, joined 
 the main armament at the Azores. All this happened 
 only in the ordinary course of events. But the creatures 
 of Essex represented it as an intentional disrespect ; and 
 the earl, jealous of his dignity, and unacquainted with 
 the sea-service and its casualties, was with difficulty re- 
 conciled to the rear-admhal. The Isle of Flores was 
 appointed for the general rendezvous ; and here, the 
 fleet being at last assembled, they found to their morti- 
 fication that the secret intelligence, which had represented 
 the Spanish Armada to be stationed at the islands for 
 the protection of the Indian merchantmen, was false. 
 
 It was now necessary to determine upon the order of 
 their proceedings ; and Essex, who fully appreciated 
 the naval experience of Raleigh, requested his counsels, 
 to the surprise of those who had attempted to sow dis- 
 
164 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 sension between them. In this consultation it was re - 
 solved that they themselves should attack Fayal, whilst 
 Howard and Vere should carry Graciosa ; Lord Mount- 
 joy and Sir Christopher Blount, St Michaels ; and the 
 Netherland forces, Pico ; and, last of all, they were to 
 unite and storm Terceira. Matters being thus arranged. 
 Sir Walter had scarcely begun to wood and water, when 
 Captain Champernon arrived to bid him follow the ad- 
 miral, who had borne away for Fayal, — an order which 
 he instantly obeyed ; but although he made all sail, it 
 was found impossible to overtake his leader. In these 
 circumstances nothing was left for Raleigh but to steer 
 the straightest course for Fayal, of which he got sight 
 by next morning. To his astonishment he found the 
 road empty, and no news of the commander-in-chief. 
 In this perplexity there was a division of opinion : Him- 
 self and the veterans of his own squadron. Brook, Gorges, 
 and Harvey, aware that every hour’s delay was so much 
 gained by the enemy, who were busy fortifying the coast 
 and town, earnestly advised an immediate descent ; but 
 others who were dependants of Essex strongly opposed 
 any landing without his knowledge and presence ; and 
 Sir Walter, willing not to irritate the earl, agreed to 
 postpone the enterprise for a short time. 
 
 Scarcely had this been determined when the wind 
 tacked about, and Raleigh with part of the fleet coasted 
 round the point, and dropped anchor in a better road 
 than the first they occupied, having an inviting and 
 beautiful view of the island, which appeared sprinkled 
 with little villages and pleasant fields. Such a sight 
 increased the appetite for landing ; and taking his barge, 
 longboat, and pinnace, with threescore muskets and forty 
 pikes, he resolved at least that they should have the 
 comfort of filling their water-casks. The moment, how- 
 ever, they were ready to push off, a strong party of 
 Spaniards were seen hastening to meet them, and, pre- 
 occupying the trenches, stood waving their colours, 
 brandishing their weapons, and daring the English to 
 the attack. Observing this, Raleigh augmented his force 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 165 
 
 to the number of 260 men, all drawn from his own squa- 
 dron, and rowing along the line, was warmly greeted by 
 the Low Country captains, who begged him to accept a 
 reinforcement from their companies. This he refused ; 
 and having ordered the pinnaces, with some heavy ord- 
 nance in them, to play upon the trenches, whilst he and 
 his men pulled to the landing-place as fast as oars could 
 carry them, he leapt on shore, and heading his party 
 made good his ground, although it was fortified by a 
 barricade of earth and stone, which left only a narrow 
 lane, completely raked by the enemy’s guns. It had 
 been always a principle of his, that it was more difficult 
 to defend a coast than to invade it the truth of which 
 he now established by a practical example under circum- 
 stances which any eyewitness would have pronounced 
 desperate. Leading in his own barge amid showers of 
 shot, he waded through the water, and clambering up 
 the rocks, cut his way at the head of his men through 
 the narrow entrance, attacking the enemy with such 
 resolution that they threw away their weajDons and fled. 
 In this service two longboats were sunk and a few sol- 
 diers slain or drowned, yet the loss was trifling in com- 
 parison with the advantage ; and when the officers of the 
 Low Countries came on shore and examined the trenches, 
 they paid the highest compliment to the skill and cour- 
 age of the rear-admiral. 
 
 Having completed the landing, and reduced the for- 
 tifications, the next object was to make themselves 
 masters of the town. Raleigh sent forward some ser- 
 geants and musketeers to reconnoitre the enemy’s lines ; 
 but intimidated by the formidable appearance of the 
 batteries, one commanding the road and the other placed 
 on a hill behind the town, they declined the service. 
 The admiral upon this, observing that these foreign 
 troops, whose exploits they had heard so vaunted, were 
 likely to prove but commonplace warriors, declared that 
 he would perform the duty himself, although it belonged 
 rather to a common soldier than a commander. This 
 * History of the World, b. v. c. i. § 9 ; vol. vi. p. 104, 
 
166 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 was at first taken for jest ; but he called for his casque 
 and cuirass, and in spite of remonstrances, placing him- 
 self at the head of his men, proceeded to reconnoitre the 
 town, and ascertain the approaches of the hill. In the 
 midst of this service the cannon-shot and stones from the 
 battered walls flew thick about him. Sir Arthur Gorges 
 was wounded, two of the soldiers had their heads carried 
 away, and the admiral was shot through the clothes in 
 different places, yet without having the skin broken. 
 Having completed his observations he was joined by 
 Captain Berrie, and despatched orders for Captain Bret 
 and the rest of the companies to come up, as he expected 
 the fort, which seemed a complete military work, with 
 curtain, ditch, and flankers, would give some trouble. 
 All these precautions proved unnecessary ; for the first 
 spirited attack had so disheartened the Spaniards, that 
 they abandoned the post without firing a shot. They 
 next marched against the tovm, and found it also deserted. 
 In this manner, with the loss of about ten men killed 
 and twenty wounded. Sir Walter rendered himself mas- 
 ter of the whole island. 
 
 The town thus easily occupied was called Villa Dorta, 
 being somewhat similar to Dover in situation, and about 
 the size of Plymouth or Yarmouth as they Avere in 
 Elizabeth’s time. It was built of stone, divided into 
 spacious streets, interspersed with gardens, and contamed 
 a handsome church, nunnery, and monastery ; its in- 
 habitants were mostly of Dutch descent, though speak- 
 ing Portuguese. As it Avas unwalled, Raleigh dreaded 
 a surprise whilst his soldiers were scattered about in 
 search of plunder or provisions ; for Avhich reason he 
 raised some strong barricades, planted a AA^atch at inter- 
 A^als, ordered a guard to remain under arms in the mar- 
 ket-place, and prohibited the men from straggling 
 “ tAventy score yards” without the consent of an officer. 
 
 Having adopted these precautions, they reposed during 
 the night, and before daybreak Essex’s fleet AA^as dis- 
 covered bearing in full sail to Fayal roads. We may 
 easily conceive the disappointment of this high-spirited 
 
TO THE FAXL OF ESSEX. 
 
 167 
 
 leader, when he found the victory gained, and his rear- 
 admiral in possession of the island. No one was ever 
 more jealous than Essex of any intrusion upon his com- 
 mand, or the slightest taint upon his honour ; and, un- 
 fortunately, as had already been shown at Flores, there 
 were many of his flatterers in the fleet, who scrupled 
 not to represent the whole conduct of the rear-admiral 
 as an insolent contempt of discipline, a marked disobe- 
 dience of his superior in command, for which he might 
 be called to answer at the risk of his head. Thus exas- 
 perated, the earl in the first ebullition of resentment laid 
 all the officers who had engaged in the action under 
 arrest ; and when Sir Walter arrived on board to wel- 
 come and conduct him to the town, he openly accused 
 him of a breach of orders, there being an article in the 
 instructions, that none should land any of the troops 
 without the general’s presence. Raleigh admitted the 
 order ; but, craving leave to defend himself, explained 
 in a temperate tone that it regarded captains and inferior 
 officers, whilst he was a principal commander, and not 
 subject to any such restriction, being nominated by her 
 majesty’s letters to take the guidance of the whole fleet, 
 failing the earl and Lord Thomas Howard. To this, as 
 it was true, Essex had no reply to offer ; and when made 
 aware that they had waited for his arrival, and that at 
 first there was no serious intention of attacking the town, 
 he became pacified, and by the kindly offices of Lord 
 Thomas Howard, matters were brought to an amicable 
 conclusion. 
 
 Although too facile and apt to be abused by flatterers, 
 the earl’s disposition was noble and generous ; and find- 
 ing himself in the wrong he was as quick to turn his 
 anger against those who had deceived him, as he was 
 anxious to offer reparation to all whom he had injured. 
 His greatest failing was an excessive ambition for indi- 
 vidual glory, and a desire to be universally popular, — 
 qualities which sometimes caused him to think more of 
 himself than of the queen’s service, and from which his 
 present discontent arose. 
 
]68 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 Every thing, however, was now settled ; and having 
 reduced the town to ashes, they proceeded to Graciosa. 
 Here Essex suffered himself to be so completely gained 
 over by the chiefs of the island, who brought good store 
 of provisions, that he gave up all thoughts of an assault, 
 and steered for St Michaels, where the fleet encountered 
 and took three Spanish vessels, the greatest of which, of 
 400 tons, richly freighted with goods and passengers, 
 was captured by Raleigh. On examination the prizes 
 were found to be worth 400,000 ducats, being laden with 
 cochineal, silver, gold, pearls, civet, musk, ambergris, 
 and other profitable merchandise. Sir Arthur Gorges, 
 who was Sir Walter’s captain, and writes an account of 
 this voyage, has here mentioned an amiable trait of his 
 commander : On hearing from those who had examined 
 it the richness of the Spanish cargoes, the rear-admiral 
 said privately to this officer, “ Although we shall he little 
 the better for these rich prizes, yet I am heartily glad 
 for our general’s sake ; because they will, in great mea- 
 sure, give content to her majesty ; so that there may be 
 no repining against this poor lord for the expense of the 
 voyage.”* 
 
 These kind anticipations might have proved true, had 
 the commandant behaved with firmness, and followed 
 the advice of the veteran seamen ; but he listened to the 
 suggestions of parasites, who possessed neither skill nor 
 honesty, and there followed only a series of failures and 
 mortifications. On departing from Graciosa four sail 
 were descried ; one of which, from its size, was supposed 
 to be a carrack belonging to the Plate-fleet. Upon this 
 the earl divided his force into three squadrons, commanded 
 by himself, Howard, and Raleigh, ordering Captain 
 Monson to steer southward, and make signals to the rest 
 if he overtook the enemy. While concerting this a bark, 
 which had passed the suspected vessels, assured him 
 they were part of his own ships. The orders were then 
 recalled. However, Monson was already out of sight, 
 
 Oldys, p. 297. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 J69 
 
 and within three hours he descried the whole Spanish 
 fleet, fired guns, hung out lights, and made every signal ; 
 but Essex, in pursuit of some new fancy, had altered his 
 course, and stood for St Michaels. Even here his want 
 of naval skill proved ruinous, for he chose the course by 
 the north of Terceira ; whereas, if he had taken the 
 shortest by Angra, he must have met the rich flotilla. 
 “We may say, and that truly, there was never that 
 possibility to have undone the state of Spain as now ; 
 for every royal of plate we had taken in this fleet had 
 been two to them, by our converting it by war upon them. 
 None of the captains could be blamed in this business ; 
 all is to be attributed to the want of experience in my 
 lord [of Essex], and his flexible nature to he overruled : 
 for the first hour he anchored at Flores, and called a 
 council. Sir William Monson advised him to run west, 
 spreading his fleet north and south, so far as the eastern 
 wind that then blew would carry them. * This 
 
 advice my lord seemed to embrace ; but was diverted 
 by divers gentlemen, who, coming principally for land 
 service, found themselves tired by the tediousness of the 
 sea. * * * Certain it is, if my lord had followed his 
 advice, within less than forty hours he had made the 
 queen owner of that fleet.”'“ 
 
 Meanwhile the English steered for St Michaels ; and 
 as Raleigh lay there waiting the arrival of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, who was again running after some 
 fruitless enterprise, a carrack of 1800 tons, loaded with 
 treasure, bore in with all sail amongst his ships, mistaking 
 them for Spaniards, at which sight he gave orders to haul 
 down every flag, and that no one should, at the highest 
 peril, either fire a gun, or put off a boat. All lay quietly 
 at anchor eyeing their golden victim, which without 
 suspicion was proudly advancing, and in a few minutes 
 retreat would have been impossible, when a loggerheaded 
 Hollander, either neglecting or mistaking the signals, 
 
 * Monson’s Naval Tracts in Churchill’s Voyages, vol. iii. 
 pp. 190, 191. 
 
IJO FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 discharged a shot at the stranger, who, perceiving her 
 error, changed her course as nimbly as a frightened dove ; 
 but at the same moment the wind chopped about, and 
 she ran aground under the town and fort. “We hasted 
 all we could,” says Gorges in his animated and beautiful 
 description of this incident, “ when we saw her aground, 
 tottering and reeling, with those few boats we had left, 
 to have entered her. But before we could make us 
 ready, or come near her, being three miles off, she was 
 on light fire in many places, her ordnance thundering 
 off apace, and too hot to be approached, much less to be 
 entered at that time, without inevitable destruction. 
 And yet such haste was made to have prevented tliis 
 mischief, that divers had like, by overcharging boats and 
 pinnaces, to have foundered in the seas, the billows going 
 very high. And in that case was our rear-admiral 
 amongst others, who, for haste to this banquet, took his 
 row barge, and was so ill able in her to endure the seas 
 that were rough, and went high at that time, as that I, 
 by chance, seeing him so ill bested and in danger, was 
 fain to clap him aboard with a good stout shipboat that 
 I was in, having made haste also to that feast as fast as 
 I could. But, in conclusion, we came all too late, for 
 the broth was grown too hot for our supping. To be- 
 hold her thus flaming was a grievous sight to us, but a 
 most wretched spectacle for the Portugals, so to see their 
 goods, by their own deeds and fury, to perish by fire and 
 water in a goodly vessel, judged to be 1800 tons at the 
 least. She was a whole night and all the next day in 
 burning ; and, in beholding her, you might have seen 
 the very shape, cordage, masts, and furniture of a ship 
 to perfectly in fire, as no painter could have half so well 
 resembled it with art or colours. And when she was 
 clean consumed to the water, there arose still a great 
 smoke out of the sea for many hours after, by reason of 
 some close decks full of spices and sugar under water, 
 which the fire had taken hold of.”* 
 
 * Relation of Sir Arthur Gorges, in Purchas’s Pilgrimes, 
 vol. V. p. 1965. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 171 
 
 Having lost this opportunity of humbling the power 
 of Spain by the capture of their treasure-fleet, Essex 
 committed another error in delaying his return home, 
 when assured by his best officers that nothing more at 
 that season remained to he done. The time was vainly 
 spent in attempts to repair his own glory by some ex- 
 ploit, whilst the armada of Philip sailed from the Groyne 
 and Ferrol, and, finding the coast of England undefended, 
 contemplated an easy landing, and a sanguinary reckon- 
 ing for the disasters of 1588. But at the moment when 
 human help seemed vain, the elements were once more 
 let loose, and the fleet of Philip for the third time was 
 scattered in a thousand fragments upon the ocean. INIean- 
 while Essex, after encountering the same storms, made 
 the western coast late in October, and posted to London, 
 whilst Raleigh went to Plymouth. The object of the 
 earl was to obtain the queen’s ear to his own story first ; 
 that of his rear-admiral to provide for the disembarkation 
 and payment of the troops, for repairing the ships 
 damaged in the late gales, and for distributing the Low 
 Country regiments along the coast of Cornwall, as a pro- 
 tection against any renewed attempt of the Spaniards. 
 Both acted in conformity to their ruling dispositions, — 
 Essex with a single eye to the defence of his own honour, 
 which he felt was tarnished by his late eiTors, and Sir 
 Walter with that strict attention to his duty, which 
 became a commander of integrity and experience. 
 
 The earl’s reception at court was mortifying in the 
 extreme. Instead of welcome the queen met him with 
 reproaches ; accused him of misconduct ; proudly de- 
 manded why he had neither burnt nor taken the Ferrol 
 fleet ; blamed the escape of the Indian carracks ; and 
 drove him by her anger to shut himself up in his house 
 at Wanstead. In his absence, too, she had promoted 
 his rival Cecil to the post of Master of the Wards, and 
 had raised the Lord- admiral Howard to the peerage by 
 the title of Earl of Nottingham, mentioning in his patent 
 that the reward was conferred for his services against the 
 Armada, and his conduct in the attack at Cadiz. This 
 
172 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 last circumstance was deeply resented by Essex. He 
 had himself been commander-in-chief in that action, and 
 considering Howard’s promotion as a direct impeachment 
 of his honour, sent him a challenge. In a letter from 
 Roland Whyte, who was then at court, to Sir Robert 
 Sidney, the earl’s displeasure is strongly painted : I 
 
 hear my lord Essex desires to have right done him, either 
 by a commission to examine it, or by combat, either 
 against the Earl of Nottingham himself, or any of his 
 sons, or of his name, that will defend it. Or that her 
 majesty will please to see the wrong done unto him. 
 And so will he suffer himself to be commanded by her 
 as she please herself. Here is such ado about it, as it 
 troubles this place and all other proceedings. Sir Walter 
 Raleigh is employed by the queen to end this quarrel, 
 and to make an atonement between them. But this is 
 the resolution of Lord Essex, not to yield but with 
 altering the patent, which cannot be done, but by per- 
 suasion to bring the Earl of Nottingham unto it.”'^ 
 
 These court broils, which so disquieted the queen, 
 were not easily allayed. On the first mention of altering 
 his patent, old Howard pretended sickness, and shut 
 himself up in his house at Chelsea ; whilst Elizabeth, 
 tormented betwixt her regard for her favourite and her 
 desire to be just, accused Burleigh and Secretary Cecil 
 of bringing her into the dilemma, who defended them- 
 selves with infinite protestations, execrations, and vows.” 
 Sir Walter, however, at length effected an amicable 
 arrangement : Nottingham kept his patent, Essex was 
 made earl-marshal, the queen was contented to forget his 
 failures, and the courtiers wondered to observe the great 
 familiarity which again grew up between him, Cecil, and 
 Raleigh. 
 
 Having succeeded thus far, and wearied with his con- 
 stant hard service. Sir Walter retired to his seat at Sher- 
 borne, expecting that some honour would be conferred 
 upon him ; yet the place of vice-chamberlain, which 
 
 Sidney Letters, vol. ii. p. 77 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 173 
 
 about this time became vacant, was carried off by superior 
 interest, and given to Sir Robert Sidney. But although 
 disappointed in this object of his ambition, he found 
 many resources in the useful, learned, or elegant studies, 
 to which he devoted these brief intervals of leisure. 
 With ordinary minds universality of pursuit is generally 
 the grave of excellence, as it too commonly dilutes and 
 destroys all original talent ; but the case was different 
 with this remarkable man, whose genius was as varied 
 and discursive as it was powerful. He could turn him- 
 self with surprising facility from mathematics to poetry, 
 from cosmographical speculations or metaphysical dis- 
 quisitions on the nature of the soul to the ligliter subjects 
 of music,* ornamental gardening or painting, to historical 
 or antiquarian researches ; and all the while, instead of 
 sinking, as others similarly occupied would have done, 
 into a dreaming philosopher, or a mere literary recluse, 
 he kept up his intercourse with the world, maintained 
 his connexions with the court, had a vigilant eye upon 
 the politics of England and the continent, and was ready 
 to avail himself of any new avenue which opened to his 
 ambition or his love of glory. As a mathematician, his 
 chief friends were Hariot, Dee, and the Earl of North- 
 umberland. In the study of antiquities, we find him an 
 original member of the earliest society established in 
 England for the cultivation of this useful and interesting 
 branch of knowledge ; an institution which reckoned 
 amongst its numbers the celebrated names of Spelman, 
 Selden, Cotton, Camden, Saville, Stow, and many others, 
 — honoured by some of the greatest men in the country 
 during the time of Elizabeth, but suffered to fall into 
 neglect by her successor. t Upon the same subjects he 
 appears to have corresponded with Selden and Cotton, 
 availing himself of their collections of manuscripts, and 
 communicating to the former of these authors some of 
 his own rarer pieces. 
 
 But there was another and a more interesting asso- 
 
 Oldys, p. 81. 
 
 MS. quoted by Oldys, p. 317. 
 
174 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 elation, of which Sir Walter is said to have been the 
 founder, known in the dramatic history of the times as 
 the Mermaid Club, which had its meetings at the tavern 
 of this name in Fleet Street. Shakspeare, Ben Jonson, 
 Fletcher, Beaumont, Carew, Donne, and other geniuses 
 of that brilliant period, were numbered amongst its 
 members and the poems of Beaumont contain allusions 
 to those encounters of nimble wit, those rare tales and 
 jests of subtle flame,” in which he bore a part on such 
 occasions. Pity it is that no record of these poetical 
 symposia has been left, if we except an allusion of Fuller, 
 which is obscure and somewhat apocryphal. t 
 
 In the mean time, while Raleigh enjoyed a temporary 
 retirement at Sherborne, or passed his social and literary 
 hours in the conversation of the choicest spirits of the 
 time, the circumstances of the country became in no 
 small degree critical. Spain, harassed by her double 
 war with France and England, was solicitous for peace, 
 and made overtures to Henry IV., who, before proceeding 
 to negotiate, communicated with Elizabeth and the States. 
 The queen resolved to despatch Cecil to the French court 
 to watch the conferences, and induce the monarch to 
 adopt the course most favourable to the Protestant cause, 
 of which she had so long been the champion. But this 
 wary minister was reluctant to leave England, dreading 
 the machinations of his enemies. ‘‘ His fear was that 
 some might be advanced in his absence whom he could 
 not like of;” and the entertainments, which we find 
 given him at this time by Raleigh and his other friends, 
 were probably artfully contrived to delay his voyage 
 and afford time to arrange a secret correspondence, and 
 set his spies and posts in training, who brought him 
 letters of every thing that should be done. These singu- 
 lar particulars, which throw so strong a light upon the 
 
 * Gifford’s Life of Jonson, pp. 65, 66. Weber’s Introduction 
 to Beaumont and Fletcher, Seward’s Preface, p. 158. None of 
 these authors give their authority for this curious piece of lite- 
 rary history. The reader will find a short note on the subject 
 at the end of the volume. 
 
 t Worthies, vol. ii. p. 414. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 175 
 
 policy of this noted minister, appear in the Sidney Letters. 
 On the 30th January, Mr Whyte, then at court, informs 
 Sir Robert Sidney, “ that my Lord Compton, Lord Cob- 
 ham, Sir Walter Raleigh, and my Lord Southampton, 
 do severally feast Mr Secretary before he depart, and 
 have plays and banquets ; my Lady Darby, my Lady 
 Walsingham, Mrs Anne Russel, are of the company, and 
 my Lady Raleigh.” On the 11th February he sends 
 word, that Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Walter, and divers 
 others had accompanied Cecil to Dover ; and adds this 
 little piece of private information regarding the dislike 
 of his foreign embassy : — I heard it said in very great 
 secret, that this employment much troubled him, and 
 that within these very few days past he had no fancy to 
 go, till Essex did assure him that in his absence nothing 
 should be done here that might be disagreeable unto 
 him.” On the 15th of February, believing he had pro- 
 vided against intrigues during his absence, Cecil departed. 
 
 Mr Secretary,” so Whyte writes, is embarked and 
 gone, unless these contrary winds drive him hack again. 
 I am credibly informed, that before he went away, Essex 
 and he agreed upon the bringing in of your lordship and 
 Sir W alter Raleigh into council. During Mr Secretary’s 
 being at Dover, he had every day posts sent unto him 
 of all things done, were they never so private ; surely 
 he hath great and inward and assured friends about the 
 queen.”^^ 
 
 To remonstrate with Henry IV. against his intention 
 of concludmg a peace, without the concurrence of Eliza- 
 beth and the States, formed the main object of the 
 mission ; but on the secretary’s arrival he had the mor- 
 tification to find that the French king had already com- 
 mitted himself, and that every attempt to break off the 
 truce was vain. The treaty of Vervins was accordingly 
 signed between France and Spain on the 2d of May 1598 ; 
 and the favourable terms granted to Henry IV. appear 
 to have changed the mind of the minister regarding the 
 
 Sidney Letters, vol. ii. pp. 86, 89, 90. 
 
176 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 policy to be adopted by England. The queen had lost 
 her French ally ; Spain was so weakened by repeated 
 reverses that it was conjectured her monarch, who was 
 languishing under the disease of which he soon after died, 
 w'ould not be difficult to deal with in a negotiation ; and 
 the secretary, on considering these circumstances, recom- 
 mended pacific measures, in which opinion he was con- 
 firmed by the experience of his father. When he returned 
 from France, the subject w^as brought before the privy- 
 council and keenly debated. On this occasion the Lord- 
 treasurer Burleigh appeared for the last time in public, 
 and in vain attempted to convince Essex, who strongly 
 opposed a peace, that this obstinate desire for an inter- 
 minable and sanguinary contest was alike impolitic and 
 unchristian. The earl, however, was immovable, and the 
 venerable statesman concluded the debate in a singular 
 manner ; for, pulling a prayer-book from his pocket, he 
 opened it at the Psalms, and placing it before Essex, 
 silently pointed to these words : Men of blood shall 
 
 not live out half their days — a warning which, consi- 
 dering the near and sudden fall of that nobleman, might 
 to superstitious minds appear almost prophetic. 
 
 While such was the difference of opinion amongst the 
 ministers, Raleigh continued to possess the favour of the 
 queen, and to exert his influence for the good of the 
 country. His time appears to have been divided between 
 his seat at Sherborne and his attendance at court, where 
 he vied in his taste for magnificence with the greatest 
 lords, and even with the favourite Essex. 
 
 A singular instance of this species of rivalry has been 
 commemorated, though somewhat obscurely, by Lord 
 Clarendon. No sovereign of England ever took greater 
 delight, or boasted of having a more discerning taste in 
 the masques, tournaments, pageants, and martial games 
 of her court, than Elizabeth. Great rejoicings were 
 usually held upon her birthday ; on which occasion, 
 surrounded by the fair and noble, and attended by her 
 gravest counsellors, by foreign ambassadors and illustrious 
 strangers, the queen presided in the tilt-yard, commending 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 1 77 
 
 the combatants and adjudging the prize to the most 
 worthy knight. In such exhibitions, Raleigh, a man of 
 fine figure, skilful in the use of his weapons, and of an 
 ingenious fancy in the various dresses and devices then 
 in vogue, made a striking appearance. He carried off 
 the victory, and wore the favour of his royal mistress — 
 a jewel, or a scarf, or some such brilliant trifle — with 
 as much display of devotion as if it had been a first gift 
 from the lady of his affections. All this moved the 
 jealousy of Essex ; and one birthday, having learnt that 
 Sir Walter had prepared a pageant in which he and his 
 company were to wear plumes of orange-tawny feathers, 
 he chose to enter the barriers at the same moment, lead- 
 ing a troop of 200 cavaliers, sumptuously accoutred, and 
 every one having an orange plume ; so that Raleigh and 
 his followers were scarcely observed, but seemed merely 
 to follow the banner of this nobler assembly. The tri- 
 umph, however, was short ; for when it came to the 
 tilting, the earl, who was no great adept, ran so ill that 
 his remarkable appearance only attracted all eyes to his 
 failure. Sir Walter’s victory was complete, and he saw 
 his rival renounce the orange-tawny, in which he had 
 gained little honour, and reappear in a green suit. It 
 was on this occasion, as we learn from Lord Bacon in his 
 Apothegms, that nne of the spectators asking why this 
 filter, who seemed to be known in both habits, had 
 changed his colours, another ironically answered, ‘ Surely 
 because it may be reported that there was one in green 
 who ran worse than he in orange colour.’ ” 
 
 From these splendid yet trifling scenes of feudal dis- 
 play, the attention of the queen and her ministers was 
 called to the alarming state of Ireland, and the necessity 
 of determining on the policy to be pursued towards 
 Spain, The rebellion which had broken out under 
 Tyrone required the presence of some experienced 
 ruler, who might hold the reins with a firm hand and 
 humane spirit. The government of that island had 
 hitherto been too fluctuating, either unscrupulously 
 cruel and severe, or exceedingly indulgent and lenient. 
 
 L 
 
178 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 Attached to Spain by the ties of a common faith, the 
 Roman Catholics were swayed by the emissaries of 
 Philip ; and the Earl of Tyrone, whose first insurrection 
 had been subdued by Sir John Norris, again organized 
 an extensive conspiracy ; three Spanish ships landed 
 ammunition on the northern coast ; and the council of 
 Elizabeth had no softer terms to describe the disturb- 
 ances, than that it was a universal rebellion to shake 
 off the English government.” Raleigh had already 
 served in Ireland ; and, anxious to profit by his expe- 
 rience, the privy-council sent for him to deliver his 
 opinion ; hut the original letters which inform us of 
 this circumstance do not describe the policy he recom- 
 mended, though it may he gathered that he was averse 
 to accepting the situation of lord-deputy. 
 
 It was necessary, however, to recall the Earl of Or- 
 mond, with whose proceedings the queen was dissatisfied, 
 and to fix upon his successor. Elizabeth had selected 
 Sir Robert Knolles for the charge ; whilst his nephew, 
 Essex, presumed to differ from her majesty, and earnestly 
 recommended Sir George Carew. On this occasion that 
 extraordinary scene took place at the council-table, from 
 which the favourite’s downfal is commonly dated. The 
 earl argued keenly for Carew, the queen pleaded as 
 strongly for Knolles ; and Essex, unable to command 
 his temper, abruptly and contemptuously turned his back 
 upon his mistress, who bestowed upon him a smart box 
 on the ear. At this his fury knew no bounds, and, clap- 
 ping his hand on his sword, he swore loudly, that he 
 would not have borne such an indignity from her father, 
 Henry VIII.” Elizabeth, who inherited not a little of 
 her parent’s temper and spirit, upbraided him with his 
 insolence, and dismissed him from her presence : upon 
 which the spoiled child of fortune instantly retired from 
 court, and shut himself up in one of his houses. In vain 
 did the Lord-keeper Egerton remonstrate against this 
 foolish conduct, and point out, that it gave a dangerous 
 id vantage to his enemies, and rendered useless the ser- 
 vice of his friends. Essex returned a passionate but 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 17^ 
 
 eloquent answer : — Let Solomon’s fool laugh when he 
 is stricken ; let those who mean to make their profit of 
 princes show no sense of princes’ injuries ; let them ac- 
 knowledge an infinite absoluteness on earth, who do not 
 believe an absolute infiniteness in heaven. — In this course 
 do I any thing for mine enemies \ When I was present 
 I found them absolute, and therefore I had rather they 
 triumph alone than have me attendant upon then cha- 
 riots. Or do I leave my friends \ When I was a courtier, 
 I could sell them no fruit of my love ; and now I am a 
 hermit, they shall bear no envy for their love to me.”* 
 
 Nothing could be more judicious than the keeper’s 
 advice in this matter, and it would have been happy for 
 this unfortunate nobleman if he had condescended to 
 follow it ; but he persisted in his retirement, — he pressed 
 his own ideas regarding the proper mode of governing 
 Ireland, — ^he exposed the errors of the late rulers, and 
 still represented Carew as the only man able to reduce 
 it to order and obedience. This overbearing conduct 
 was not lost upon the enemies of the earl. His behaviour 
 to Raleigh, who was now restored to a higher share of 
 the queen’s favour than he had ever enjoyed, had been 
 repeatedly unjust and insulting ; and he appears to have 
 come to the conclusion, that he and Essex could not both 
 remain upon the dangerous height to which they had 
 been raised. From this moment there seems reason to 
 believe that Sir Walter became Devereux’s avowed 
 enemy. 
 
 Wearied at length by the insolence of her favourite, 
 Elizabeth, after a partial reconciliation, availed herself of 
 a hint given by Cecil or Raleigh, and nominated Essex 
 himself for the government of Ireland. That this was 
 a snare on their part to bring about his disgrace cannot 
 be doubted. They were aware of many impediments to 
 the execution of his schemes for the pacification of that 
 country, which had not presented themselves to his 
 sanguine temper. The queen had been recently much 
 
 Oldys’s Life, p. 319, 
 
180 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 incensed against him, and was yet hardly reconciled. 
 She had not forgotten the disasters of the Island- voyage 
 and the escape of the Plate-fleet ; and any failure in Ire- 
 land, they knew, would he fatal to him. Whilst Cecil 
 had her majesty’s ear at home, and could raise her ex- 
 pectations as to what Essex might accomplish with the 
 forces intrusted to him, he could also, as secretary of 
 state, exercise a control over those details which render 
 an army efficient or otherwise, and might, if he chose to 
 avail himself of this ungenerous advantage, at once 
 abridge his power, and blame him for not bringing the 
 rebellion to a speedier termination. 
 
 The favourite himself considered the government of 
 Ireland as little else than an honourable exile, and went 
 with an avowed reluctance to that ill-fated country 
 which had been the grave of his father’s fortunes. But, 
 hy his late discourses, he had committed himself too far 
 to recede ; his pride would not allow any triumph to his 
 enemies ; and his ardent temper perhaps anticipated a 
 speedy reduction of that island, and a brilliant return to 
 court. The letter of farewell which he wrote to Eliza- 
 beth upon his departure is too extraordinary to be omit- 
 ted. It is eloquent, desponding, and amorous, breathing 
 the reproaches of a lover whose fate had been as cruel 
 as his constancy was undying ; and this to a mistress 
 who was then in her sixty-fifth year ! 
 
 To THE Queen. — From a mind delighting in sorrow, 
 from spirits wasted with passion, from a heart torn in 
 pieces with care, grief, and travel, from a man that hateth 
 himself, and all things else that keep him alive ; what 
 service can your majesty expect, since any service past 
 deserves no more than banishment and proscription into 
 the cursedest of all islands I It is your rebels’ pride and 
 succession must give me leave to ransom myself out of 
 this hateful prison, out of my loathed body ; which, if 
 it happen so, your majesty shall have no cause to mislike 
 the fashion of my death, since the course of my life could 
 never please you. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 181 
 
 “ Happy is he could finish forth his fate 
 In some unhaunted desert, most obscure 
 From all society, from love and hate 
 Of worldly folk ; then should he sleep secure, 
 
 Then wake again, and yield God ever praise : 
 
 Content with hips, and haws, and bramhleberry, 
 
 — In contemplation passing out his days. 
 
 And change of holy thoughts to make him merry. 
 
 Who, when he dies, his tomb may be a bush 
 Where harmless Robin dwells with gentle thrush. 
 
 Your majesty’s exiled servant, 
 
 Robert Essex.” 
 
 The events which took place after the departure of 
 Essex were of a nature as remarkable as their causes 
 were obscure. He had been in his new government 
 scarcely four months, during which hostilities against 
 the rebels had rather been protracted than prosecuted, 
 when Elizabeth, without any apparent reason, threw 
 herself into a warlike attitude. Eighteen ships were 
 fitted out with the utmost expedition under Lord Thomas 
 Howard and Sir Walter Raleigh ; 6000 soldiers were 
 raised to guard the city and the queen’s person ; chains 
 drawn across the streets of London, watches set, lights 
 hung out at the doors, and every defence^ adopted against 
 foreign invasion or domestic insurrection. But from 
 what quarter the danger was apprehended none distinctly 
 knew. Spain, after concluding a peace with France, 
 was undoubtedly preparing a fleet at the Groyne. Yet, 
 although its destination was mysterious, there seemed 
 no reason to doubt that towards England the policy of 
 this great power was pacific. Some fanciful speculators 
 have imagined that this alarm had its rise in a suspicion 
 of the Earl of Essex, whose inactivity had deeply in- 
 censed the queen, and enabled his enemies to possess her 
 with the idea that he meditated an attack on his native 
 country, and a subversion of the government.* But 
 whatever the causes might be, they ceased to operate 
 
 * It was rumoured at court that Essex intended to land his 
 army at Milford Haven and march to London. There are some 
 papers on this subject amongst the Hatfield MSS. 
 
182 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 within a short time ; for the fleet was ordered home 
 before it had been a month at sea, whilst the rapidity 
 with which the queen could assume a complete panoply, 
 and make her people spring up in arms, astonished the 
 foreigners then in London, and produced a happy effect 
 in preparing the way for peace. 
 
 Essex in the mean time had grievously disappointed 
 Elizabeth by his conduct in Ireland. He discovered, 
 when it was too late to retract, that to put down the 
 rebellion with speed and facility was impossible. His 
 fault lay not so much in the measures he adopted ; for, 
 considering the circumstances of the country, there can 
 be little doubt that they were judicious and humane, 
 but in having so severely and ignorantly condemned the 
 same policy in his predecessors, and in promising a change 
 before he knew that it was practicable. Of all this Cecil 
 and Raleigh, who watched every opportunity to shake his 
 power, availed themselves ; and there seems reason to 
 believe they had a willing coadjutor in the Earl of Not- 
 tingham. To their royal mistress, no longer under the 
 influence of the favourite’s presence, which never failed 
 to revive her attachment and admiration, they exaggerated 
 his delays and expenses ; to himself they used expressions 
 of resentment more bitter than she probably would have 
 sanctioned ; and, aware of the violent and haughty spirit 
 upon which they worked, ungenerously anticipated the 
 result which so soon took place. 
 
 We have the testimony of an eyewitness. Sir W. 
 Knolles, that the queen’s temper with regard to Essex 
 had become so exceedingly variable and distracted that 
 he knew not what to advise. At one time she was dis- 
 posed to melt into tenderness, and to consider herself 
 and sweet Robin in the sole light of a mistress and her 
 lover ; at another, when pressed by Cecil or by Raleigh 
 with his increasing haughtiness, his demands for troops 
 and money, the inactivity of the brave army he com- 
 manded, the spreading of the rebellion, and the repeated 
 truces made with Tyrone, she became furious and abusive. 
 She even upbraided him with having betrayed her in- 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 183 
 
 terests ; and she listened to suspicions of his intentions, 
 to dark hints of his dangerous popularity, and the pro- 
 bability of his attempting some enterprise against the 
 government. An interesting letter, written about this 
 time by Essex to Elizabeth, shows how soon he detected 
 all this, and how boldly he could reply to it. 
 
 May it please your Majesty, — Although I see 
 your style already changed, and nothing but gathering 
 clouds and foul weather after me, yet my duty, faith, 
 and industry, shall never alter. Let me fall as low and 
 as soon as destiny and yourself have decreed. I am pre- 
 pared for all things. But, dear sovereign, when you are 
 weary of me, let me die as a private man. Take care of 
 your honour ; take pity of your brave army, whereof, 
 for the time, I am the head and soul ; and take to heart, 
 that our success imports your estate. Value such honest 
 men as we, that undergo all hazards and miseries for 
 your safety and greatness ; and cherish such gallant and 
 worthy servants as this bearer, who will take it for as 
 great happiness to be sacrificed for you, as others, whom 
 you favour most, will be to be made great and happy 
 by you. Cherish them, I humbly beseech you upon the 
 knees of my heart ; for they must sweat and bleed for 
 you, when a crew of those, which now more delight you, 
 will prove but unprofitable servants. And if your ma- 
 jesty, if you, I say, whose parting with me so pierced 
 my very soul, can be transformed by those Sirens that 
 are about you, then think, that you shall quickly hear, 
 that a brave death shall ransom from scorn and misery 
 your majesty’s humblest servant, Essex.” 
 
 These sirens about the queen were undoubtedly of 
 the male gender ; and had the earl signed himself her 
 majesty’s proudest lover,instead of her humblest servant, 
 it would have been more in character. But in this 
 instance Essex, himself open and forgiving, presumed too 
 much on her partiality, and without proceeding against 
 Tyrone, made a new demand for 2000 men. That these 
 
184 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 levies were necessary, and that the earl had embraced a 
 policy which in the end would have reduced the country 
 more effectually than a war of extermination, is now 
 apparent. But in the mean time he had belied his pro- 
 mises ; and his enemies triumphantly compared his 
 present delay with his bold censures of former governors. 
 This produced a letter from the queen, dated at Nonsuch, 
 in which she assumed a tone of the utmost severity and 
 bitterness ; observing that the manner of his proceedings 
 had little accorded either with her directions or the 
 world’s expectation ; and accusing him of filling her with 
 high hopes of the great things he would accomplish, which 
 were overthrown by his actions, though he took care 
 she should have no time to countermand them. She then 
 broke out into reproaches which must have galled him 
 to the quick : Who doth not see, that if this course 
 
 he continued, the wars are like to spend us and our king- 
 dom beyond all moderation, as well as the report of the 
 [rebels’] success in all parts hath blemished our honour, 
 and encouraged others to no small proportion ! We know 
 you cannot so much fail in judgment as not to understand, 
 that all the world seeth, how time is dallied, though you 
 think the allowance of that council, whose subscriptions 
 are your echo, should serve and satisfy us. How would 
 you have derided any man else that should have followed 
 your steps ! How often have you told us that others, 
 which preceded you, had no intent to end the war ! 
 How often have you resolved us, that until Loughfoyle 
 and Ballyshannon were planted, there could be no hope 
 of doing service upon the capital rebels! We must 
 therefore let you know, that as it cannot be ignorance, 
 so it cannot be want of means ; for you had your asking, 
 you had choice of times, you had power and authority 
 more ample than ever any had, or any shall have.” The 
 queen concluded in a strain which adds suspicion to 
 reproach ; as if Essex had held out threats, and intended 
 to intimidate by the strength of his party rather than 
 convince by the soundness of his arguments : “ We have 
 seen a writing hi the form of a cartel, full of challenges 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 185 
 
 that are impertinent, and of comparisons that are need- 
 less, such as hath not been before this time presented to 
 a state, except it be done now with a hope to terrify all 
 men from censuring your proceedings. Had it not been 
 enough to have sent us the testimony of the council, 
 but you must call so many of those that are of slender 
 experience, and none of our council, to such a form of 
 subscription! Surely, howsoever you may have war- 
 ranted them, we doubt not but to let them know what 
 belongs to us, to you, and to themselves.”'^* 
 
 This letter, in which I suspect the cold and piquant 
 sarcasm of Cecil was mingled with the personal resent- 
 ment of the queen, produced the intended catastrophe, 
 goading the impetuous Essex to that excitement which 
 blinds the understanding. His best friends had assured 
 him his absence would give his enemies opportunities 
 which might be fatal ; that they would exasperate the 
 queen’s mind, teach her to expect impossibilities, and 
 infuse suspicions of his loyalty and affection, which they 
 dared not breathe while he was present to confront them. 
 All this it was now his lot to experience ; and he was 
 aware, as his letters abundantly show, who they were 
 that plotted against him. Is it not,” says he, believed 
 by the rebels, that those, whom you favour most, do 
 more hate me out of faction, than them out of duty and 
 conscience ! Is it not lamented of your majesty’s faith- 
 fullest subjects, both there and here, that a Cobham or 
 a Raleigh (I will forbear others for their places’ sake) 
 should have such credit and favour with your majesty, 
 when they wish the ill success of your majesty’s most 
 important action, the decay of your greatest strength, 
 and the destruction of your faithfullest servants. Yes, 
 yes ; I see both my own destiny and your majesty’s 
 decree ; and do willingly embrace the one and obey the 
 other. Let me honestly and zealously end a wearisome 
 life. Let others live in deceitful and inconstant pleasures : 
 let me bear the brunt and die meritoriously. Let others 
 
 * Birch’s Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. 
 pp. 431, 432. 
 
186 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 achieve and finish the work, and live to erect trophies. 
 But my prayer shall he, that when my sovereign loseth 
 me, her army may not lose courage, or this kingdom 
 want physic, or her dearest self miss Essex ; and then I 
 can never go in a better time, nor in a fairer way.”* 
 But even allowing for the highest resentment, and his 
 assurance of the power he yet possessed over Elizabeth’s 
 affections, Essex’s resolution to abandon his government 
 without leave, and to travel post to court, before the 
 queen had received the slightest intimation of his design, 
 is much too desperate and abrupt to have sprung from 
 the ordinary motives assigned by our popular historians. 
 It is for this reason I am disposed to credit a story 
 repeatedly treated as fabulous ; hut corroborated both by 
 the character of its author and the circumstances under 
 which it took place. Secretary Cecil, it is said, contrived 
 that a report should reach Essex of the desperate illness 
 of his royal mistress, all ships being stopped hut what 
 carried that false intelligence.” This news, which came 
 suddenly upon him, had the effect anticipated. Forget- 
 ting her reproaches, and actuated only by his attachment, 
 the earl committed his government to Sir George Carey, 
 and sailing straight for England, arrived at the court at 
 Nonsuch early in the morning, while the queen was yet 
 in her bedchamber. Although in his riding-dress, and 
 covered with mud, he made haste up stairs, and boldly 
 entered the bedroom, where he found her majesty, who 
 had just risen, sitting in a loose wrapper, with her hair 
 about her face. She screamed at the suddenness of the 
 apparition, and the maids of honour ran about in confu- 
 sion ; but Essex knelt. The sight of a lover at her feet 
 brought back all Elizabeth’s tenderness ; she stretched 
 out her hand, which he passionately kissed ; and after 
 some private talk with her, coming from the chamber to 
 retire and change his dress, he showed great contentment, 
 thanking God that, although he had suffered much 
 
 * Birch’s Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. 
 p. 418. 
 

Earl of Essex. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. ]89 
 
 trouble and storms abroad, he had found a sweet calm 
 at home. 
 
 Yet these happy expectations were blasted in a few 
 hours. When he went up again after dinner to see the 
 queen, her manner was entirely changed. Indeed, from 
 the moment of his arrival, the secretary and his party, 
 one of the chief of whom was Raleigh, looked coldly on 
 him ; and it may be suspected Cecil and Sir Walter had 
 in the interval inflamed her mind against him. Raleigh, 
 indeed, who avowed himself his enemy, on finding that 
 Elizabeth showed some disposition to relent, either felt 
 or affected so much chagrin that he took to his bed, 
 which occasioned her majesty to send for him ; but 
 Cecil, more cautious and refined, pretended pity, whilst 
 he really studied to exasperate the royal resentment. 
 
 All things ^now hurried on the fate of Essex : He was 
 examined and arraigned before the council ; confined to 
 his chamber ; cut off from intercourse with his family 
 and friends ; and treated with a rigour for which it is 
 difficult to account. One of the letters he at this time 
 addressed to Elizabeth is striking ; and it says little 
 certainly for the heart that could resist it : — 
 
 My dear, my gracious, and my admired Sovereign 
 is semper eadem. It cannot be, but that she will hear 
 the sighs and groans, and read the lamentations and 
 humble petitions of the afflicted. Therefore, 0 paper, 
 whensoever her eyes vouchsafe to behold thee, say, that 
 death is the end of all worldly misery, but continual in- 
 dignation makes misery perpetual ; that present misery 
 is never intolerable to them that are stayed by future 
 hope, but affliction that is unseen is commanded to 
 despair ; that nature, youth, and physic, have had many 
 strong encounters ; but if my sovereign will forget me, 
 I have nourished these contentions too long ; for in this 
 exile of mine eyes, if mine humble letters find not access, 
 no death can be so speedy as it shall be welcome to me, 
 your majesty’s humblest vassal, Essex.”'^ 
 
 * Birch’s Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. p. 436. 
 
190 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 Another of his letters ends with this affecting sentence : 
 
 What therefore remaineth for me I Only this, to be- 
 seech your majesty, on the knees of my heart, to conclude 
 my punishment with misery, and my life together ; that 
 I may go to my Saviour who hath paid himself a ransom 
 for me, and whom methinks I still hear calling me out 
 of this unkind world, in which I have lived too long, 
 and once thought myself too happy.” 
 
 That the queen retained an affection for Essex cannot 
 be doubted. She wept when informed that his anxiety 
 had thrown him into a fever, from which he was hardly 
 expected to recover ; ordered eight physicians of the 
 greatest experience to consult upon his case ; and sent 
 Dr James with some broth, and a message that slie 
 would visit him if she might with her honour.” But 
 some unknown malignant influence counteracted every 
 disposition to relent ; and this I suspect may be traced 
 to Cecil, though his habitual caution and love of working- 
 in the dark withheld him from coming forward as an 
 open foe. He even professed neutrality ; yet, when the 
 earl and his friends requested a personal reconciliation, 
 he steadily refused it, because there was no constancy 
 in his lordship’s love,”'^ — an accusation disproved by the 
 w’hole tenor of Essex’s life. Yet though he declined a 
 reconciliation, we find, by a remarkable letter written 
 by Raleigh to Cecil, that the Secretary was disposed to 
 relent towards Essex. It is painful to read this epistle, 
 which presents its author in an attitude of the deepest 
 unforgivingness and revenge; but by omitting it we 
 should lose, in the insipid generalities of indiscriminate 
 eulogy, those minute touches which impart its value to 
 biography. The letter is as follows 
 
 Sir, — I am not wise enough to give you advice ; but 
 if you take it for a good counsel to relent towards this 
 tyrant, you will repent when it shall be too late. His 
 malice is fixed, and will not evaporate by any of your 
 
 Birch’s Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. p. 437. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 191 
 
 mild courses ; for he Avill ascribe the alteration to her 
 majesty’s pusillanimity and not to your good nature, 
 knowing that you work but upon her humour, and not 
 out of any love toward him. The less you make him, 
 the less he shall be able to harm you and yours ; and if 
 her majesty’s favour fail him, he will again decline to a 
 common person. For after-revenges, fear them not ; 
 for your own father was esteemed to be the contriver of 
 Norfolk’s ruin, yet his son followeth your father’s son, 
 and loveth him. Humours of men succeed not, but 
 grow by occasions and accidents of time and power. 
 Somerset made no revenge on the Duke of Northumber- 
 land’s heirs ; Northumberland that now is, thinks not 
 of Hatton’s issue ; Kelloway lives that murdered the 
 brother of Horsey ; and Horsey let him go-by all his 
 lifetime. I could name you a thousand of those ; and 
 therefore after-fears are but prophecies or rather conjec- 
 tures from causes remote : look to the present, and you 
 do wisely. His son shall be the youngest earl of Eng- 
 land but one ; and if his father be now kept down. Will 
 Cecil shall be able to keep as many men at his heels as 
 he, and more too. He may also match in a better house 
 than his ; and so that fear is not worth the fearing. 
 But if the father continue, he will be able to break the 
 branches, and pull up the tree root and all. Lose not 
 your advantage ; if you do, I read your destiny. Let 
 the queen hold Bothwell ; while she hath him he will 
 ever be the canker of her estate and safety. Princes are 
 lost by security, and preserved by prevention. I have 
 seen the last of her good days, and all ours, after his 
 liberty. — Yours, W. R.”* 
 
 That this letter was ^vritten by Raleigh, though only 
 marked with his initials, cannot be doubted. It was 
 evidently composed under the conviction that the struggle 
 between Essex and his opponents was one for life or 
 death. His argument to Cecil is, keep uppermost when 
 
 Murdin’s State-papers, p. 811. 
 
192 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 you have the advantage : If you relent and the favourite 
 regain the ascendancy, you, and your house, and your 
 friends, tree, root, and all, will be pulled up. If you let 
 him rise, he knows it is not because you love him, but 
 only to humour the queen. F ear no after-revenges ; keep 
 him down, and your son will rise upon his ruins. If the 
 father continue, I read your destiny. We see then that 
 Essex’s most bitter enemy at this moment was Raleigh. 
 No defence can be offered for the letter, full, as it is, of 
 revenge, selfishness, and craft ; but we have no reason to 
 believe that it had much effect on Cecil. He had already 
 chosen his course, and resisted any reconciliation with the 
 fallen earl ; whilst Elizabeth, whose temper was imbittered 
 by age, allowed herself to be worked upon by his enemies 
 till she could be satisfied with nothing short of the earl’s 
 ruin. At this time the queen often consulted Mr Francis 
 Bacon, afterwards the great chancellor, and then in esteem 
 at court on account of his talents as well as of his 
 relationship to Burleigh. To his honour, he invariably 
 spoke in favour of mild measures towards Essex ; and he 
 was in consequence treated coldly by the Cecils. There 
 were faults and contempts in the case, he admitted ; but 
 might not his lordship defend himself by the greatness 
 of his place, the amplitude of his commission, the nature 
 of the business, being action of war, not tied to strictness 
 of instructions I For all which reasons he earnestly 
 advised that the matter should not be brought before 
 the public. None could answer, he maintained, what 
 effect might be produced by the eloquence and popularity 
 of the accused, and to his judgment the best method 
 would be for her highness to come to an agreement with 
 her noble subject in private ; after which he should be 
 allowed to resume his attendance “ with some addition 
 of honour to take away discontent.” On one of these 
 occasions Elizabeth made a violent attack upon the de- 
 dication of Hayward’s Life of Henry IV. to the earl, 
 and imprisoned the author for the praise bestowed on 
 him ; imagining that, as the book related to the deposi- 
 tion of Richard II., the object was to excite her subjects 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 193 
 
 to faction and sedition. “ There is treason in the work,” 
 said she, Mr Bacon, do you not see it V’ Nay, may 
 it please your majesty,” was the answer ; ‘‘ I see no 
 treason, hut very much felony ; every second sentence 
 is an impudent theft from Tacitus.” “ But Hayward is 
 not the author,” replied Elizabeth ; ‘‘ he hath had other 
 assistance. ITl have him wrack’d to produce his writer,” 
 — insinuating by this that it might be brought nearer to 
 Essex. ‘‘ Wrack him not, your highness,” said Bacon, 
 — “ torture not the man but the matter ; shut him up 
 with no witnesses hut pen, ink, and paper, and let him 
 continue the story ; and I will undertake, by collating 
 the styles, to judge if he he the author or no.” Another 
 time Bacon alluded to the possibility of Essex being 
 again sent to Ireland, when Elizabeth passionately in- 
 terrupted him. ‘‘ Essex ! whensoever I send Essex hack 
 again into Ireland, I will marry you. Claim it of me.” 
 Bacon replied, — ‘‘ Well, madam, I will release that con- 
 tract, if his going be for the good of the state.” 
 
 Meanwhile the fever, into which her harsh treatment 
 had thrown the unfortunate earl, continued so violent 
 that it brought him to the brink of the grave, and the 
 queen appeared to have relented. But her resentment 
 returned with his reviving health ; and when he was 
 able for it, it was determined to have him tried before 
 the privy-council. The remainder of the story is well 
 known. Weakened with disease and misfortune, the 
 once potent favourite was received with studied indignity, 
 and arraigned by Coke, the willing tool of his mistress’s 
 tyranny, with unusual bitterness. “ At his coming in 
 none of the commissioners stirred his cap, or gave any 
 other sign of courtesy. He kneeled at the upper end of 
 the table, and for a good while without a cushion. At 
 length the archbishop moved the treasurer, and they 
 jointly the lord-keeper and lord-admiral, who sat over 
 against them ; and then he was allowed a cushion, yet 
 still was suffered to kneel, till the end of the queen’s 
 sergeant’s speech, when, by the consent of the lords, he 
 was permitted to stand up, and afterwards, upon the 
 
 M 
 
194 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 archbishop’s motion, to have a stool.”* Under every 
 disadvantage he made a noble defence ; and nothing can 
 be more affecting than the patience and gentleness with 
 which he bore the envenomed accusations preferred 
 against him. It is mortifying to find Bacon’s name 
 amongst those whom the queen commanded to conduct 
 the prosecution ; but however sincere in his wish to 
 avert it, this great man was not of a temper, when the 
 resolution was taken, to sacrifice his hopes of preferment 
 to his affection for his friend. Cecil when called upon 
 to deliver his opinion absolved the earl from all thoughts 
 of disloyalty, and treated him with more courtesy than 
 the rest of his judges ; but he declared that the queen 
 had presented to him the only way to save Ireland, and 
 that his quitting that kingdom and refusal to adopt the 
 queen’s advice had been the only cause of the ruin of 
 the royal army. There is every reason to believe that 
 the fate of the prisoner had been determined before he 
 entered the council-room. His sentence, as pronounced 
 by the lord-keeper, was degradation from his station as 
 a councillor of state, deprivation of his offices of earl- 
 marshal of England and master of the ordnance, and 
 imprisonment in his own house till her majesty’s pleasure 
 should be known.”t 
 
 All trusted this sentence would satisfy the queen, and 
 believed that they would soon see him restored, if not 
 to his former power, at least to a share of her favour. 
 But there is something in the conduct of Elizabeth 
 throughout this whole affair, which proves that age had 
 rendered her more tyrannical and revengeful, or that 
 she was exposed to the constant influence of the secret 
 enemies of the condemned lord. The earl had hitherto 
 restrained the haughtiness of his temper ; he had borne 
 studied indignities not only with patience, but so humbly 
 and sorrowfully, that it drew tears from many of the 
 council. As he had been severely reduced by sickness 
 he retired to the country, and calmly awaited the return 
 
 Birch’s Memoirs, vol. ii. pp. 439, 440-447. + Ibid. p. 454. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 195 
 
 of health, and some token of the queen’s reviving kind- 
 ness ; but none arrived. He addressed to herself, and to 
 some of his friends at court, those pathetic letters which 
 still remain models of natural eloquence. But no hopes 
 of a mitigation were held out ; and when, as a criterion 
 whether he was to entertain any expectation of mercy 
 or to consider himself a broken man, he applied to have 
 his patent of sweet wines renewed, it was contemptuously 
 refused ; the queen observing, that the unmanageable 
 steed must yet be stinted in his provender.” This last 
 indignity produced a revulsion of feeling ; and in bitter- 
 ness of heart that speech escaped him, which Avas reported 
 to Elizabeth and never forgiven : — “ The queen grows 
 old ; her mind has become as crooked as her carcass.” 
 All circumspection was now thrown to the winds ; and 
 Essex fell upon desperate courses, involving that wild 
 scheme for the removal of his enemies and new-model- 
 ling the government, which hurried him to ruin. He 
 placed himself at the head of the Puritans ; entered into 
 a correspondence with the Scottish king, which there is 
 a strong presumption that monarch revealed to Eliza- 
 beth ; denounced his own enemies to James as those 
 who favoured the title of the Infanta of Spain ; made an 
 insane attempt to raise the citizens of London and to 
 seize upon the court ; and, after retreating to Essex 
 House, was there arrested by the Earl of Nottingham 
 and sent to the Tower. 
 
 It is unnecessary to pursue farther the well-known 
 story of the trial and execution of this noble and unfor- 
 tunate person, or to describe the pious resignation with 
 which he met his death ; but it is well worthy of notice, 
 as it appears by the examination of one of the principal 
 conspirators with Essex, Sir Ferdinand Gorges, that they 
 had determined to cut off Raleigh, — a circumstance 
 which, proving the inveteracy of their rancour against 
 him, accounts for the bitter and unforgiving spirit ex- 
 hibited in the letter to Cecil already quoted. That 
 document, as we have seen, advises that every effort 
 should be used to prevent Essex from regaining his in- 
 
196 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 fluence, “ so that he should again decline into a common 
 person.” A late writer* has asserted that it proves him 
 to have thirsted for the blood of the earl ; but much as 
 I have blamed him for the letter, it does not contain any 
 expression which may not fairly be construed into a re- 
 commendation that he should be sequestrated from power 
 and liberty. 
 
 Essex, the great and powerful rival of Cecil and Ra- 
 leigh, was now no more, and it is curious to examine 
 the relative position of these two candidates for the 
 favour of the queen, whom circumstances rather than 
 any mutual love or confidence had thrown into the same 
 party. At this moment Sir Walter stood so high in re- 
 putation, that the wary secretary might well begin to 
 tremble for his own power. It has been stated, that 
 
 he was flattered by Cecil with moderate favours, and 
 cajoled by splendid hopes.” But the task of managing 
 the House of Commons, the grant of the pre-emption of 
 
 * Mr Lodge, in his Character of Raleigh. Since writing this 
 Life, I have met with the very interesting volume of Mr Jar- 
 dine, being the first of a collection of Criminal Trials, published 
 by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, and I am 
 happy to find the opinion I had formed regarding this letter of 
 Raleigh’s confirmed by the following note : — “ A letter from 
 Raleigh to Cecil, published in Murdin’s State-papers, p. 811, 
 has been generally supposed to fix upon Raleigh’s character 
 the disgrace of having urged the execution of the Earl of Essex. 
 The letter is without a date, except that it is indorsed ‘ Sir 
 Walter Raleigh, 1601.’ This indorsement was probably made 
 some time after the letter was written, and must necessarily be 
 a mistake ; for as Essex was executed on the 25th of February 
 1600-1, no English writer at that time could have given the date 
 of 1601 to a letter obviously written in the lifetime of Essex. 
 There is nothing, therefore, to fix the date of the letter with 
 certainty ; nor is there any thing in its contents inconsistent 
 with the supposition that it was written before the trial of 
 Essex, and during his imprisonment and exclusion from court 
 on his return from Ireland. Some of the expressions in the 
 letter may refer to the earl’s execution : — ^but not necessarily 
 so ; and others expressly refer to the restraint of his liberty, 
 and the continuance of his disgrace. Upon the whole, we think 
 it very doubtful whether the letter is not to be referred to an 
 earlier period than that which is usually ascribed to it ; and 
 therefore that it furnishes no proof that Raleigh urged the ex- 
 ecution of the Earl of Essex.” ’-Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 507. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 197 
 
 Cornish tin, the post of ambassador to Flanders, and the 
 government of Jersey, can scarcely come under the de- 
 scription of moderate favours ; and if his hopes were 
 splendid, he had every reason to believe that the kind- 
 ness of his sovereign, assisted by his own uncommon 
 abilities, would soon convert them into realities. Am- 
 bitious, proud, brave, and conscious of intellectual en- 
 dowments, which in strength, readiness, and variety, 
 excelled those of his competitor, he could not consent 
 to act an inferior part, and accept that patronage which 
 he imagined himself entitled rather to bestow. All this 
 soon became apparent to Cecil, who concealed his con- 
 sciousness of it under a veil of profound dissimulation. 
 Undiverted from his great object by any variety of pur- 
 suits, this statesman had concentrated the whole strength 
 of his mind upon the preservation of his power ; and, 
 more prospective in his plans than his ally, he anticipated 
 the speedy death of the queen, and carefully sketched 
 the outline of his subsequent intrigues. It was with this 
 view that he had entered into that correspondence with 
 her successor in which he laid the foundation of his 
 future influence, and imparted to James’s mind a pre- 
 judice against Raleigh, which undoubtedly proved the 
 commencement of this great man’s misfortunes. 
 
 From the moment, therefore, of Essex’s death, how- 
 ever open and amicable the world might think them, 
 there was a dangerous opposition between Raleigh and 
 Cecil. Both were too powerful to continue long together 
 in the management of affairs, both too proud to give way; 
 their intercourse had by circumstances been driven into 
 confidence before it had ripened into friendship ; they 
 knew too well each other’s character and designs, and 
 had arrived at that critical point in the intimacy of 
 statesmen, when it became necessary for one to sacrifice 
 his ambition to the other, — when they must be generous 
 and open, or must pass in rapid succession through the 
 degrees of coldness and suspicion till they arrive at ab- 
 solute enmity. In watching the progress of these changes, 
 and taking advantage of them, Raleigh was inferior to 
 
198 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 Cecil, a master in the management of intrigue. In the 
 mean time, there appeared nothing but cordiality between 
 them ; and whilst the secretary silently worked the 
 meshes of the net in which his dangerous opponent was 
 to meet his destruction, he permitted him to enjoy the 
 sunshine of the court, and to rise daily m the graces of 
 his royal mistress. These remarks, however, have led 
 us slightly to anticipate the course of events ; and we 
 now resume our story. 
 
 During Essex’s confinement. Sir Walter, having failed 
 in his desire of being appointed one of the commissioners 
 for settling the treaty of Boulogne between England, 
 Spain, and the Archduke Albert, retired for some months 
 to his residence at Sherborne. Accompanied by his fa- 
 mily and the son of Secretary Cecil, a youth of great 
 hopes, he there followed at leisure the tranquil studies 
 and pursuits in which he so much delighted. Books, 
 poetry, planting, gardening, and other rural amusements 
 or occupations, filled up the hours borrowed from am- 
 bition ; and it was probably at this time that some of 
 those beautiful verses were written, of which the date 
 is not certainly known. One of these, entitled the 
 Country’s Recreations, may challenge comparison with 
 either Carew or Suckling : 
 
 ‘‘ Quivering fears, heart-tearing cares. 
 
 Anxious sighs, untimely tears, 
 
 Fly, fly to courts. 
 
 Fly to fond worldlings’ sports ; 
 
 Where strain’d sardonic smiles are glosing still. 
 
 And Grief is forced to laugh against her will ; 
 
 Where mirth’s but mummery. 
 
 And sorrows only real be ! 
 
 “ Fly from our country pastimes, fly. 
 
 Sad troop of human misery ! 
 
 Come, serene looks, 
 
 Clear as the crystal brooks. 
 
 Or the pure azured heaven that smiles to see 
 The rich attendance of our poverty. 
 
 Peace and a secure mind. 
 
 Which all men seek, we only find. 
 
 “ Abused mortals ! did you know 
 Where joy, heart’s-ease, and comforts grow, 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 199 
 
 You’d scorn proud towers, 
 
 And seek them in these bowers ; 
 
 Where winds sometimes our woods perhaps may shake, 
 But blustering care could never tempest make, 
 
 Nor murmurs e’er come nigh us, 
 
 Saving of fountains that glide by us.” 
 
 The following comparison, between the masques and 
 tournaments of the court and the harmless gambols of 
 the sheepfold, presents a pastoral scene worthy of the 
 pencil of Berghem : — 
 
 ‘‘ Here’s no fantastic masque, nor dance. 
 
 But of our kids that frisk and prance : 
 
 Nor vt^ars are seen. 
 
 Unless upon the green 
 
 Two harmless lambs are hutting one another. 
 
 Which done, both bleating run, each to his mother ; 
 
 And wounds are never found. 
 
 Save what the ploughshare gives the ground. 
 
 “ Here are no false entrapping baits, 
 
 To hasten too too hasty fates ; 
 
 Unless it be 
 The fond credulity 
 
 Of silly fish, which, worldling-like, still look 
 Upon the bait, but never on the hook ; 
 
 Nor envy, unless among 
 
 The birds, for prize of their sweet song.” 
 
 The transition from this description, which brings before 
 us the contemplative angler plying his patient occupation 
 and listening to the free birds carolling in their leafy 
 chambers, to the transatlantic picture of the poor negro 
 condemned to dive for gems and pearls, is conceived in 
 the true spirit of poetry. 
 
 Go ! let the diving negro seek 
 For gems hid in some forlorn creek : 
 
 We all pearls scorn. 
 
 Save what the dewy morn 
 Congeals upon each little spire of grass, 
 
 Which careless shepherds beat down as they pass ; 
 
 And gold ne’er here appears 
 Save what the yellow Ceres bears.” 
 
 And then let, us listen to the serenity which breathes in 
 the concluding stanza. 
 
 ‘‘ Blest silent groves ! O may ye be 
 For ever mirth’s best nursery ! 
 
 May pure contents 
 For ever pitch their tents 
 
200 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 Upon these downs, these meads, these rocks, these mountains. 
 
 And peace still slumber by these purling fountains. 
 
 Which we may every year 
 
 Find when we come a-fishing here.” 
 
 Happy had it been for him who so sweetly describes 
 such delights, had he really preferred them to the court 
 where strained sardonic smiles were glosing still !” 
 But though endowed with a taste which enjoyed for a 
 while the silent groves, the best nursery of mirth, and 
 the fountains beside which rural peace passes a slumber- 
 ous existence, ambition was his ruling passion ; and 
 probably the high zest with which he partook of these 
 simple pleasures arose more from contrast than conge- 
 niality. After a few months spent at Sherborne, he was 
 recalled to court to undertake, in company with Lord 
 Cobham, a secret mission to Flanders. In Win wood’s 
 Memorials, Sir Henry Neville, one of Elizabeth’s com- 
 missioners at Boulogne, in a letter dated 18 th July, 
 informs us that “ Sir Walter Raleigh and my Lord 
 Cobham are reported to have gone over upon pretence 
 to see the camp and siege of Fort Isabella, near Ostend.” 
 The writer, however, conjectures that their errand had 
 some relation to the proceedings of Prince Maurice, and 
 afterwards informs us they carried a message which did 
 no harm, — though Cecil concealed his diplomatic trans- 
 actions with such care, that the nature of the embassy 
 was then unknown, and cannot now be discovered. 
 
 On his return, Raleigh was promoted to the govern- 
 ment of Jersey, a post apparently not incompatible with 
 his attendance on the queen, during which, being captain 
 of her guard, his communication with his royal mistress 
 was frequent and intimate. Of his minute attention to 
 her prevailing tastes in discharging the duties of his office, 
 Aubrey has preserved a characteristic anecdote. “ Queen 
 Elizabeth loved to have all the servants of her court 
 proper men ; and, (as before said. Sir Walter Raleigh’s 
 graceful presence was no mean recommendation to him,) 
 I think, his first preferment at court was captain of her 
 majestie’s guard. There came a country gentleman (a 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 201 
 
 sufficient yeoman) up to town, who had several sons, but 
 one an extraordinary proper handsome fellow, whom he 
 did hope to have preferred to be yeoman of the guard. 
 The father (a goodly man himself) comes to Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, a stranger to him, and told him that he had 
 brought up a hoy that he would desire (having many 
 children) should be one of her majestie’s guard. Quoth 
 Sir Walter, ^ Had you spake for yourself, I should readily 
 have granted your desire, for your person deserves it ; 
 but I put in no hoys.’ Said the father, ‘ Boy, come in.’ 
 The son enters, about eighteen or nineteen, but such a 
 goodly proper young fellow as Sir Walter had never seen 
 the like ; he was the tallest of all the guard. Sir Walter 
 swears him immediately ; and ordered him to carry up 
 the first dish at dinner, where the queen beheld him 
 with admiration, as if a beautiful young giant, like Saul, 
 taller by the head and shoulders than other men, had 
 stalked in with the service.”* 
 
 Raleigh’s magnificence in dress was carried to excess, 
 probably as much to gratify Elizabeth, who had a passion 
 for finery and loved to be surrounded by a brilliant court, 
 as from personal predilection. He wore a suit of silver 
 armour at the tournays, his sword-hilt and belt were 
 studded with diamonds, pearls, and rubies, his court-dress 
 on occasions of state was said to be covered with jewels 
 to the value of £60,000, and even his shoes glittered with 
 precious stones. It was in this splendid apparel that he 
 waited on his royal mistress as captain of her guard during 
 those visits to the houses of her nobility, known by the 
 name of Progresses. In a work which professes to be 
 something more than a mere biography, it may not he 
 improper to make a short digression upon these magni- 
 ficent tours, so strongly characteristic of the spirit and 
 manners of the times. 
 
 It has been alleged against the queen, that such 
 excursions impoverished the peerage ; and, under the 
 
 * Aubrey’s MS. in the Ashmolean Museum. Works, vol. 
 viii. pp. 741, 742. 
 
202 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 pretence of conferring an envied distinction, were really 
 intended to check the overgrown wealth of the aristocracy, 
 whilst they enriched the royal household. But this is 
 considering the matter too deepl}^. Her object was in 
 the first instance to become acquainted with her kingdom, 
 to confirm and increase her popularity by travelling 
 amongst her people, exhibiting her glory to them, accept- 
 ing with condescension and delight their homage, and 
 repaying it with offices of trust and emolument. When 
 Cecil entertained her at Theobalds in 1591, it was in 
 expectation of being promoted to the secretaryship, 
 though he was then only gratified with the honour of 
 knighthood. When the Earl of Hertford received his 
 royal mistress at Elvetham, the magnificence he displayed 
 was not thought by him too high a price to regain her 
 favour, which had been long withdrawn. It was the 
 age of solemn pageantry and splendid devices. Masques, 
 triumphs, and dramatic exhibitions, in which there was a 
 singular combination of Pagan imagery and mythology 
 with Gothic romances, were the chief amusements of the 
 period. The business, as Bishop Hurd has well described 
 it, was to welcome the queen to the palaces of her nobles, 
 and at the same time to celebrate the glory of her govern- 
 ment ; and what more elegant way of complimenting a 
 great prince than through the veil of fiction, or how 
 could they better entertain a learned one than by having 
 recourse to the old poetical story ! Nor are the masque- 
 makers to be lightly censured for intermixing classical 
 fable with Gothic fancies, — a practice sanctioned by the 
 authority of Chaucer, Spenser, and Milton, and often ac- 
 complished with much grace and ingenuity . Elizabeth was 
 in no usual degree acquainted with the writers of Greece 
 and Rome, and well able to appreciate such allusions. 
 She took delight in music, and loved the studied magni- 
 ficence of those pageants, their intricate mechanism, their 
 lofty conceits, and the incense of high-flown adulation 
 addressed to her. Marlowe’s excellent description of the 
 fondness of Edward II. for such exhibitions might with 
 equal propriety be applied to this princess. 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 203 
 
 “ Music and poetry are her delight, 
 
 Therefore I’ll have Italian masques by night, 
 
 Sweet speeches, comedies, and pleasing shows ; 
 
 And, in the day, when she shall walk abroad, 
 
 Like sylvan nymphs my pages shall be clad, 
 
 My men like satyrs, gazing on the lawns. 
 
 Shall with their goat-feet dance the antic hay. 
 
 Sometimes a lovely boy in Dian’s shape. 
 
 With hair that gilds the water as it glides, 
 
 Crownets of pearl about his naked arms, 
 
 And in his sportful hands an olive-tree. 
 
 Shall bathe him in a spring ; and there, hard by. 
 
 One like Actsoon peeping through the grove 
 Shall by the angry goddess be transformed, — 
 
 Such things as these best please her majesty.”* 
 
 The taste of the gravest men of the times gave a 
 countenance to such pastimes. Sir Thomas More did 
 not think it beneath him to compose pageants ; and a 
 letter of Lord Bacon is preserved, in which this philo- 
 sopher appears as the representative of a dozen young 
 gentlemen of Gray’s Inn, who declare their willingness 
 to furnish a masque, since the proposal of a joint one by 
 the four inns of court had failed. Some idea of the 
 magnificence of the presents made on such occasions may 
 he formed from an account in the Sidney Letters of the 
 queen’s dining at Kew, the seat of Sir John Puckering, 
 lord-keeper. Her entertainment for that meal was 
 great and exceeding costly. At her first lighting, she 
 had a fine fanne with a handle garnished with diamonds. 
 When she was in the middle way between the garden- 
 gate and the house, there came running towards her one 
 with a nosegay in his hand, and delivered it unto her, 
 with a short well-penned speech : it had in it a very rich 
 jewel, with many pendants of unfirled diamonds, valued 
 at £400 at least. After dinner, in her privy-chamber, 
 he gave her a fair pair of virginals. In her bed-chamber, 
 presented her with a fine gown and a juppin, which 
 things were pleasing to her highness ; and, to grace his 
 lordship the more, she, of herself, took from him a salt, 
 a spoon, and a fork, of fair agate.”t 
 
 * Marlowe’s Edward II. Nichol’s Progresses, Preface, p. 15. 
 t Sidney Letters, vol. i. p. 376. 
 
204 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 During her reign she visited Secretary Cecil at Theo- 
 balds twelve times : each of these royal favours cost him 
 from £2000 to £3000 ; nor did she hesitate to remain a 
 month or six weeks, receiving strangers and ambassadors, 
 and entertained as bountifully as if she had been in one 
 of her own palaces. 
 
 In her early years the queen had devoted much time 
 to study. She was deeply read in classical literature, 
 as well as in the romances of her own age ; and her 
 excessive vanity delighted to display itself in quoting 
 Greek, extemporizing in Latin, and replying to the 
 foreign knight, the far-travelled pilgrim, or the Graces 
 and goddesses of the pageant, in the same language used 
 in addressing her. It was the wish to afford Elizabeth 
 an opportunity of evincing her erudition that gave rise 
 to the uncouth mixture of dead and living languages 
 which distinguishes the masque of the period ; to the 
 hermits who discourse in Latin, and the Cupids who 
 chatter in French and Spanish, and the noble knights or 
 ermined sages who pour out at such interminable length 
 their hexameters and pentameters ; as well as to the 
 far-fetched allegories, abstruse classical allusions, and 
 mythological devices so constantly introduced. 
 
 In all the qualifications which fitted him to judge of 
 a masque or to take part in its performance, Raleigh 
 yielded to no one at court. A scholar, a poet, a universal 
 reader, possessing a noble person, rich in his attire, an 
 eloquent speaker, far-travelled both by land and sea, hav- 
 ing an imagination fraught with the wonders of the New 
 World and the wisdom of the Old, scarcely any subject, 
 character, or sentiment, could be introduced whieh, if he 
 was a spectator, he could not illustrate by his powers of 
 conversation, or to which he could not impart new fife, 
 strength, and spirit as an actor. As the queen in her 
 progresses was attended by the yeomen of her guard, his 
 office of captain kept him near her person ; and availing 
 himself of these opportunities, he rose into greater favour 
 during the last years of her life than at any former period. 
 Some months after the death of Essex, Lord Herbert 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 
 
 205 
 
 married Mrs Anne Russel, on which occasion there were 
 great rejoicings, the queen honouring the solemnity with, 
 her presence. Of these the Sidney Letters give an account 
 which, in its own antique language, will present a better 
 picture of the times than if diluted into a more modern 
 style. “ Her majesty is in very good health, and pur- 
 poses to honour Mrs Anne Russel’s marriage with her 
 presence. * * My Lord Cohham prepares his house 
 
 for her majesty to lie in, because it is near the bride 
 house. There is to be a memorable masque of eight 
 ladies, and they have a strange dance newly invented. 
 Their attire is this : — Each hath a skirt of cloth of silver, 
 a rich waistcoat wrought with silks, and gold and silver, 
 a mantle of carnation- taffeta cast under the arm, and 
 their hair loose about their shoulders, curiously knotted 
 and interlaced. These are the masquers : — My Lady 
 Doritye, Mrs Fitton, Mrs Carey, Mrs Onslow, Mrs 
 Southwell, Mrs Bess Russel, Mrs Darcy, and my Lady 
 Blanche Somerset!. Those eight dance to the music 
 Apollo brings ; and there is a fine speech that makes 
 mention of a ninth, much to her honour and praise. The 
 preparation for this feast is sumptuous and great ; hut it 
 is feared that the house in Blackfriars will be too little for 
 such a company.” The apprehensions which distracted 
 the hospitable heart of Lady Russel, and no doubt shook 
 the nerves of the fair masquers, were destined to vanish ; 
 and the entertainment, as we learn from a subsequent 
 letter, passed off admirably. This day se’ennight [June 
 16 th] her majesty was at Blackfriars to grace the mar- 
 riage of the Lord Herbert and his wife. The bride met 
 the queen at the water side, where my Lord Cohham 
 had provided a lectica, made like half a litter, wherein 
 she was carried to my Lady Russel’s by six knights. 
 Her majesty dined there, and at night went through Dr 
 Puddin’s house (who gave the queen a fan), to my Lord 
 Cohham’s, where she supped. After supper the masque 
 came in, as I writ in my last ; and delicate it was, to see 
 eight ladies so prettily and richly attired. Mrs Fitton 
 led ; and after they had done all their own ceremonies, 
 
206 FROM Raleigh’s restoration to favour 
 
 these eight lady masquers chose eight ladies more to 
 dance the measures. Mrs Fitton went to the queen, 
 and wooed her to dance. Her majesty asked what she 
 was. ‘ Affection,’ she said. ^ Affection !’ said the queen, 
 
 ‘ Affection is false.’ Yet her majesty rose and danced ; 
 so did my Lady Marquis of Winchester. The bride was 
 led to the church by the Lord Herbert of Cardiff and 
 my Lord Cobham, and from the church by the Earls of 
 Rutland and Cumberland. The gifts given that day 
 were valued at £1000 in plate and jewels at least.” 
 After the marriage Elizabeth returned to court, and 
 thence, attended by a splendid retinue, proceeded on her 
 progress. 
 
 On this occasion Sir Walter accompanied the queen. 
 During August and September her majesty was at Oat- 
 lands. ‘‘The court,” says Rowland Whyte, “is now 
 given to hunting and sports. Upon Thursday her ma- 
 jesty dines and hunts at Han worth Park ; upon Tuesday 
 she dines at Mr Drake’s, and this day she hunts in the 
 New Lodge in the Forest.” In September, the same 
 minute recorder of manners declares that his mistress is 
 “ excellently disposed to hunting, for every second day 
 she is on horseback, and continues the sport long. * * 
 Mrs Mary, upon St Stephen’s day in the afternoon, 
 danced before the queen two gullards, with one Mr 
 Palmer, the admirablest dancer of this time.” The 
 exhibition was attended with a remarkable display of 
 Elizabeth’s ruling passion. She was then in her sixty- 
 ninth year ; yet the sight of Mrs Mary executing a gul~ 
 lard with the inimitable Palmer wounded her vanity, 
 and awoke her desire of admiration. “ Both were much 
 commended by her majesty; then she danced with 
 him a corantor The gullard probably required consid- 
 erable agility, whilst the other, a slower movement 
 like the modern minuet, was better adapted to the sub- 
 dued saltatory powers of the royal performer. 
 
 In September 1600, the Duke de Biron, marshal of 
 France, with a splendid retinue of twenty noblemen and 
 nearly 400 attendants, arrived on an embassy from Henry 
 
TO THE FALL OF ESSEX. 207 
 
 IV., when the queen was still continuing her progress. 
 When he disembarked, her majesty was in Hampshire, at 
 Basing, a seat of the Marquis of Hertford, where she ‘‘ took 
 such great content” that she staid thirteen days. In the 
 mean time the Sheriff of the shire was commanded to con- 
 duct the French duke with his train to the Vine, “ a fair 
 and large house of the Lord Sandy s,” which had been 
 furnished with hangings and plate from the Tower, and 
 provided with seven score beds and furniture, contributed 
 by the gentry of the county of Southampton. Here he 
 abode four or five days, being entertained at the public 
 expense ; and during this time her majesty went to 
 visit him at the Vine, and he paid his respects to her 
 at Basing. 
 
 The first interview presents a trait in which the pride 
 and dignity of the sovereign is amusingly mingled with 
 the coquetry of the woman. The scene took place in the 
 open air, in the park where Biron had gone to attend the 
 queen in her hunting. When she came to the place 
 where the duke staid,” says the faithful historian of her 
 progress, “ the sheriff, being bareheaded and riding next 
 before her, stayed his horse, thinking the queen would 
 then have saluted the duke ; whereat the queen being 
 much offended, commanded the sheriff to go on. The 
 duke followed her very humbly, bowing low towards 
 his horse’s mane, with his cap off, about twenty yards ; 
 her majesty on the sudden took off her mask, looked 
 hack upon him, and most graciously and courteously 
 saluted him ; as holding it not beseeming so mighty a 
 prince as she was, and who so well knew all kingly ma- 
 jesty, to make her stay directly against a subject, before 
 he had showed his obedience in following after her.”* 
 A French historian, in his account of this celebrated 
 embassy, indulges a taste for a singular species of em- 
 bellishment by informing us that Elizabeth favoured the 
 duke with a sight of the skull of Essex, which she kept 
 in her closet ; — ^a story as false as it is ridiculous, and 
 
 Nicholas Progresses, vol. ii. Queen’s Progress in 1601. 
 
208 FROAI RALEIGH’S RESTORATION TO FAVOUR, &c. 
 
 confuted by the fact that the earl’s head was ^ with 
 his body* So much was she delighted ^ith her st^ 
 at Basing, that at her departure she made ten knig , 
 the greatest number ever created at one time during 
 reign,-and amongst these Sir Walter had the pleasure 
 to see included his brother Carew Raleigh. 
 
 * Camden’s Annals of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament, &c. 209 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 From Elizabeth’s last Parliament to the Trial of Raleigh. 
 
 Elizabeth opens her last Parliament — Raleigh returned a Mem- 
 ber — His Conduct in Parliament — Opposes the Bill making 
 it compulsory to sow Hemp — Debate on voting a Subsidy — 
 Subserviency of Cecil and Bacon — Raleigh’s Reply to their 
 Speeches — Great Debate on Monopolies — Singular Speech of 
 Secretary Cecil — His Condemnation of all Discussion without 
 the Walls of Parliament — Pirates of Dunkirk — Debate on 
 the Transport of Ordnance without the Kingdom — Raleigh’s 
 excellent Observations upon this Subject — Debates on the 
 Statute of Tillage — Raleigh argues for the Removal of all 
 Restrictions on Agriculture — Evident Decay of the Intimacy 
 between Cecil and Raleigh — Amusing Parliamentary Anec- 
 dote — A “ No” pulled out by the Sleeve — Style of Parliament- 
 ary Speaking^ — Elizabeth’s last Speech to the Deputation of 
 the House of Commons — Raleigh sells his Irish Estate to the 
 Earl of Cork — Character of this remarkable Man — Last Ill- 
 ness of Elizabeth — Her Death — Accession of James— Raleigh 
 treated with Coldness and Neglect — Contrast between the 
 Character of the King and that of Raleigh — Cecil’s secret 
 Correspondence with James — He is appointed his Secretary 
 and Prime Minister — Raleigh deprived of his Office of Captain 
 of the King’s Guard, and of his Patent of Wines — Involved 
 in an Accusation of Treason — History of this mysterious 
 Transaction — Raleigh’s Trial — Observations upon it — The 
 whole Conspiracy regarding Arabella Stewart a Fiction — 
 The Plot against Raleigh to be traced to Secretary Cecil. 
 
 Some time after returning from her progress, Elizabeth, 
 who began to feel the approaches of that disease which 
 put a period to her long and glorious reign, opened, on 
 the 27th October, her last parliament, in which Raleigh 
 
 N 
 
210 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 sat as one of the knights for Cornwall. The session was 
 occupied by many important matters ; and Sir Walter’s 
 speeches, which have been preserved at considerable 
 length in the journals of the house, are remarkable for 
 an originality and freedom of thought much in advance 
 of the times. An attempt having been made by govern- 
 ment to introduce a hill to compel husbandmen to sow 
 a certain portion of hemp, Raleigh opposed it on the 
 ground of its retarding agricultural improvement. For 
 my part,” said he, I do not like this constraining of 
 men to manure, or use their grounds at our wills ; hut 
 rather, let every man use his ground to that which it is 
 most fit for, and therein use his own discretion. For 
 halsars, cables, cordage, and the like, we have plentifully 
 enough from foreign nations ; and we have divers coun- 
 ties here in England make thereof in great abundance ; 
 and the bill of tillage may be a sufficient motive to us 
 in this case, not to take the course that this hill intend- 
 eth.” Mr Comptroller replied and maintained the ne- 
 cessity of the measure ; but on a division the proposal 
 was rejected.'^ 
 
 Upon a subsidy being moved in a committee, a debate 
 ensued, in which the principal speakers were Raleigh, 
 Cecil, Sergeant Hale, and Mr Francis Bacon, still a 
 commoner. Raleigh entreated them to remember that 
 in the last parliament only three subsidies were granted 
 upon an alarm that the Spaniards were coming. But 
 now, as they had actually set foot in the queen’s terri- 
 tories, the case required immediate attention ; especially 
 as her majesty had parted with her jewels, borrowed 
 great sums which were unpaid, sold her lands, abridged 
 her apparel and expenses, and was therefore obliged to 
 call upon parliament for assistance. “I wish,” said 
 he, for my own part, as a particular member of this 
 commonwealth, that we may not do less than we did 
 before ; and that we also would bountifully, according 
 to our estates, contribute to her majesty’s necessities, 
 as now they stand.” 
 
 * Townshend’s Historical Collections, p. 188. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 211 
 
 This appeared to meet the feelings of the house ; but 
 on the manner of raising the subsidy arose a difference 
 of opinion ; and Sir Walter opposed with great freedom 
 the somewhat slavish principles of Cecil and Bacon. It 
 was moved by Sir Francis Hastings, that the three-pound 
 men should be exempted ; but the secretary contended 
 that separation might breed emulation, and suspicion of 
 partiality. Sergeant Hale marvelled much that the 
 house demurred upon the subject, “ when,” said he, all 
 we have is her majesty’s, and she may lawfully at her 
 pleasure take it from us ; yea, she hath as much right 
 to all our lands and goods as to any revenue of her crown.” 
 At this the house hummed and laughed. “ Well,” said 
 the subservient orator, in the words used by Townshend, 
 “all yourhumming shallnot put me out of countenance;” 
 and so he told them he could prove his former position 
 in the time of Henry III., King John, King Stephen, 
 &c., at which the house was louder than before, till they 
 hummed the sergeant into his seat. Upon this Cecil 
 launched out and carried the matter very high, observ- 
 ing, that “ neither pots nor pans, nor dish nor spoon, 
 should be spared when danger is at our elbows. * * 
 
 But by no means I would have the three-pound men 
 exempted ; because I would have the King of Spam 
 know how willing we are to sell all in defence of God's 
 religion, our prince, and country.” Mr Francis Bacon 
 then spoke, and concluded by observing, that when all 
 contributed alike it was “ dulcis tr actus pari jiigo,” To 
 these obsequious statesmen Raleigh answered, “ I like 
 it not that the Spaniards our enemies should know of 
 our selling our pots and pans to pay subsidies. Well 
 may you call it policy, as an honourable person alleged ; 
 but I am sure it argues poverty in the state. And for 
 the motion that was last made, dulcis tractus pari jugo : 
 call you this par jugum when a poor man pays as much 
 as a rich, and peradventure his estate is no better than 
 it is set at, or but little better, when our estates that are 
 three or four pounds in the queen’s books, it is not the 
 hundredth part of our wealth I Therefore it is neither 
 dulcis nor par.” 
 
212 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 Another great question argued in this parliament 
 touched Sir Walter more nearly, — that of the mischiefs 
 produced by the monstrous and unconscionable mono- 
 polies of starch, tin, fish, cloth, and other necessaries of 
 life.” As Lord Warden of the Stanneries he enjoyed a 
 monopoly of the second article ; hut he defended himself 
 successfully, though with some heat. He showed that, 
 being one of the principal commodities in the kingdom, 
 and the product of Cornwall, it had in ancient times 
 belonged to the dukes of that county by special patents, 
 and had now been granted to him. No one, however, 
 could affirm, that the monopoly pressed hard upon the 
 poor, so long as it was known that the workmen formerly 
 could never earn more than two shillings a- week, how- 
 ever high was the demand, whereas now every labourer 
 willing to work was certain of employment, and had 
 four shillings a- week truly paid, whatever might he the 
 price of tin. At the same time Raleigh professed his 
 willingness to vote for its repeal, provided the house 
 agreed that all the rest should fall along with it. 
 
 The queen, having been informed of the universal 
 discontent on account of these grievances, and the dis- 
 tress which they occasioned amongst the poorer classes, 
 directed the speaker to inform the house that she 
 would take immediate steps for their removal. This 
 he did, and then requested some one of the ministers, 
 who had been present at the interview, and had a better 
 memory than himself, to detail it ; upon which Cecil 
 delivered a speech, the peroration of which is a curiosity 
 in the annals of parliament. After explaining that it 
 was not the rich man, but the desolate widow, the sim- 
 ple cottager, the poor and ignorant husbandman, who 
 groaned under the oppression, he proceeds : — I say, 
 therefore, there shall be a proclamation granted through 
 the realm, to notify her majesty’s resolution in this be- 
 half. And because you may eat your meats more 
 savourly than you have done ; every man shall have 
 salt as cheap as he can buy it or make it, freely without 
 danger of that patent, which shall be presently revoked. 
 The same benefit shall they have which have cold 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 213 
 
 stomachs, both for aquavitae and the like : and they 
 which have weak stomachs, shall have vinegar and 
 aleagar set at liberty. Train oil shall go the same way ; 
 oil of blubber shall march in the same rank ; brushes 
 and bottles endure the like judgment ; the patent for 
 pouldavy,* if it be not called in, it shall be. * * 
 
 Those that desire to go sprucely in their ruffs, may, with 
 less charge than accustomed, obtain their wish ; for starch, 
 which hath so much been prosecuted, shall now be re- 
 pealed ,”t The learned secretary concluded with a caution 
 which in these days appears strange to our ears. This 
 repeal of the monopolies so deeply interested the nation, 
 that the subject had been canvassed without the walls of 
 parliament ; and against this abuse Cecil raises his voice. 
 “ I must needs give you this for a future caution : that 
 whatsoever is subject to a public expectation cannot be 
 good. Why, parliament matters are ordinarily talked 
 of in the streets. I have heard myself, being in my 
 coach, these words spoken aloud : ‘ God prosper those 
 that further the overthrow of these monopolies !’ ‘ God 
 
 send the prerogative touch not our liberty !’ I will not 
 wrong any so much as to imagine he was of this house ; 
 yet let me give you this note : that the time was never 
 more apt to disorder, or make ill interpretations of good 
 meanings. I think those persons would be glad that all 
 sovereignty were converted into popularity.” J 
 
 Another subject on which the superior knowledge of 
 Raleigh came out with effect, was the best means of 
 suppressing the pirates of Dunkirk. For this end it had 
 been proposed to restrain the exportation of ordnance 
 then carried on by patent, and which had raised the 
 queen’s duties to £3000 a-year. This profit, it was con- 
 tended, in nowise balanced the inconveniences ; for in 
 Spain cannon were now so plenty as to be sold for seven 
 ducats a-hundred weight. On this point Sir W alter spoke 
 with great spirit. I am sure,” said he, “ heretofore one 
 ship of her majesty’s was able to beat twenty Spaniards ; 
 but now, by reason of our own ordnance, we are hardly 
 
 * Sailcloth, f Townshend’s Coll., p. 250. J Ibid. 251. 
 
214 FROM ELIZABETH’S LAST PARLIAMENT 
 
 matched one to one. And if the Low Countries should 
 either be subdued by the Spaniard, or yield unto him 
 upon a conditional peace, or shall join in amity with the 
 French, as we see them daily inclining, I say there is 
 nothing so much threatens the conquest of this kingdom, 
 or more, than the transportation of ordnance.”* 
 
 The bill at this time was thrown out ; but Raleigh 
 did not lose sight of the subject, which appeared to him 
 to be one of the first importance. In his Discourse upon 
 a War with Spain, and the protection of the Netherlands, 
 written not long after, he points out to King James, in 
 the strongest terms, the great diminution of national 
 strength which had been the consequence of exporting 
 ordnance. ^‘Now-a-days,” says he, “the Netherlands have 
 as many ships of their own as any Christian prince hath ; 
 their ships are of one fashion, conduct, and swiftness ; 
 their mariners of their own nation and language, valiant 
 and well-ordered men ; and so near us, as they will be 
 in our ports in the course of a summer’s day.” To this 
 it might possibly be objected, he observes, that during 
 the wars of Henry VIII. with Charles V., who then 
 possessed the Low Countries, their largest ships did no 
 prejudice to England. But the reason was to be found in 
 their inferior strength : — “ I myself,” says he, “ remem- 
 ber, that within these thirty years two of her majesty’s 
 ships would have commanded 100 sail of theirs. I 
 remember also, when myself was a captain in Ireland, 
 that 100 foot and 100 horse would have beaten all the 
 force of the strongest provinces. But of late, I have 
 known an Easterling fight hand to hand with one of her 
 majesty’s ships ; and that the Irish have, in this last war, 
 been overthrown with an even, or a far less number. 
 The Netherlands, in those days, had wooden guns, and 
 the Irish had darts ; but the one is now furnished with as 
 great a number of English ordnance as ourselves, and the 
 other with as good pikes and muskets as England hath.”f 
 
 * Townshend’s Collections, p. 293. 
 
 f Discourse touching a War with Spain. Miscellaneous 
 Works, vol. viii. pp. 304, 305. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 215 
 
 Keen debates again took place in this parliament 
 regarding the statute of tillage ; and it is curious to 
 observe the prospective sagacity of Raleigh, who spoke 
 for the removal of all restrictions. “ I think this law,” 
 said he, fit to be repealed ; for many poor men are not 
 able to find seed to sow so much ground as they are bound 
 to plough, which they must do, or mcur the penalty 
 of the statute. Besides, all nations abound with corn. 
 France offered the queen to serve Ireland with corn at 
 sixteen shillings a-quarter, which is but two shillings 
 a-bushel ; if we should sell it so here, the ploughman 
 would be beggared. The Low Country man and the 
 Hollander, who never sow corn, have by their industry 
 such plenty, that they will serve other nations. The 
 Spaniard, that often wanteth corn, had we never so much 
 plenty, would never be beholden to the Englishman for 
 it, neither to the Low Country man, nor to France, but 
 will fetch it even of the very barbarian. And that which 
 the barbarian hath been suing for these two hundred 
 years, — I mean for traffic of corn into Spain, — this king in 
 policy hath set at liberty of himself, because he will not 
 be beholden unto other nations. And therefore I think 
 the best course is, to set it at liberty, and leave every 
 man free ; which is the desire of a true Englishman.”* 
 These views were vehemently opposed by Cecil, upon 
 the ground that the bill was for the support and benefit 
 of the ploughmen. “ If we debar tillage,” said he, “ we 
 give scope to the depopulator ; and then if the poor, 
 being thrust out of their houses, go to dwell with others, 
 straight we catch them with the statute of inmates. If 
 they wander abroad and be stubborn, they are within 
 the danger of the statute of rogues. If they be more 
 humble and urgent beggars, then they are within the 
 statute of the poor to be whipt or tormented. So by 
 this means, undo this statute, and you endanger many 
 thousands. Posterior dies discipulus priorisP His argu- 
 ments, however, prevailed, and the bill rendering tillage 
 compulsory was continued in force. 
 
 * Townshend’s Collections, p. 299. 
 
216 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 Upon other subjects Raleigh delivered his opinion with 
 equal freedom and knowledge ; and he not only often 
 opposed the ministerial measures, hut on more than one 
 occasion there was an evident rivalry between him and 
 Cecil, which perhaps indicated the decay of their confi- 
 dence. In the confusion which took place in voting on 
 the hill to enforce the diligent repairing to church, it was 
 directed that the Ayes should go out of the house ; and 
 a gentleman complained that one of them when going out 
 had been pulled back by the sleeve ; upon which Raleigh 
 observed, Why, if it please you, it is a small matter to 
 pull one by the sleeve, for so have I done myself often- 
 times.” This remark, intended as a piece of humour, 
 was magnified by the comptroller into a grievous offence : 
 “ And for the other gentleman,” observed he, referring 
 to Raleigh, that said he had often done the like, I 
 think he may be ashamed of it ; for large is his conscience, 
 that in a matter of this consequence will be drawn either 
 forward or backward by the sleeve.” This absurd speech 
 was echoed by the secretary, who was pleased to give it 
 as his opinion, that the offence committed by any who 
 pulled another member by the sleeve was great and 
 punishable. And this,” said he, ‘‘ I wish may be in- 
 flicted on him ; that he whose voice may be drawn either 
 forward or backward by the sleeves, like a dog in a string, 
 may no more he of this house ; and I wish for his credit’s 
 sake he would not.”'^' These attacks Sir Walter heard in 
 silence, aware that their futility and injustice were pal- 
 pable to all. Neither did such accusations proceed with 
 peculiarly good grace from Cecil, whose own voice” 
 was not very difficult to he pulled by the sleeve, when- 
 ever the queen chose to stretch out her hand, intimating 
 her royal pleasure. Townshend concludes his account 
 of the discussion with this quaint note : — There was 
 another gentleman (a No) pulled out, as well as the 
 other was kept in ; and, therefore, it had happened even 
 as before : howsoever Mr Edward Johns and Mr Barker 
 pulled Mr Lionel Ducket out.”t 
 
 * Townshend’s Collections, pp. 321, 322, f Ibid. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 217 
 
 It is interesting to compare the manner of debate in 
 this parliament with the usages of the present day. The 
 style of speaking is brief and epigrammatic, — and on 
 some occasions the dialogue becomes as spirited as a scene 
 in a comedy. Let us, for example, look to the delibera- 
 tions on the first reading of the bill to prevent double 
 payment of debts, as reported by To\\mshend, who was 
 at that time in the house. The subject was, the abuses 
 of merchants’ books in bringing up long bills, — a matter 
 to which every senator seemed feelingly alive. The 
 agitation of the first member who rose entirely overcame 
 his powers of utterance. “ Mr Zaeharias Locke,” says 
 Townshend, ‘‘ began to speak ; but for very fear shook, 
 so that he could not proceed, but stood still awhile, and 
 at length sat down.” Mr Francis Bacon next observed, 
 that “ the merchants’ hooks were springing books ; every 
 year they would increase.” — Mr Sergeant Harris said, 
 evidently arguing under the irritation of personal expe- 
 rience, These merchants’ hooks are like Aaron’s rod, 
 always budding ; and like Basingstock reckonings, over- 
 night five shillings sixpence, — if you pay it not, it is 
 grown in the morning to a just noble. This debt is a 
 sleeping debt, and it will lull young gentlemen into 
 merchant books, with the golden hooks of being trusted. 
 * * * These are matters dangerous, and, I think, 
 
 hurtful.” Upon this Mr Thomas Jones rose, and de- 
 livered an oration which reminds us of the proverbial 
 responses of Sancho Panza. It is now,” said he, “ my 
 chance to speak something, and that without humming 
 or hawing. I think this law is a good law. Even 
 reckoning makes long friends ; as far goes the penny as 
 the penny’s master. Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura 
 subveniunt. Pay the reckoning overnight and you shall 
 not he troubled in the morning. If ready money he men- 
 sura publica, let every man cut his coat according to his 
 cloth. When his old suit is in the wane, let him stay 
 till that his money bring a new suit in the increase. 
 Therefore I think the law to he good, and I wish it a 
 good passage.” Mr Hackwell, of Lincoln’s Inn, next 
 
218 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 presented himself ; his exordium is amusing : I am a 
 
 man of that rank and condition [it is evident he was an 
 artificer, grown rich on the very abuse complained of], 
 that I never sell, and seldom buy, and pay ready money ; 
 and the safest course this bill offers to me for my parti- 
 cular ; but the great mischief that will redound by it to 
 the commons is that which makes me speak. ^ This 
 bill hath a good face but an ill body. * If I may 
 pray you to put on a great deal of patience for a little 
 time, I will make it somewhat plain.”* We shall not, 
 however, inflict upon our reader Mr Hackwell’s exposi- 
 tion, which does not possess even the moderate perspicuity 
 he claims for it. 
 
 The abolition of monopolies by the queen gave so much 
 satisfaction, that the house appointed the speaker, with 
 a large deputation, to wait upon her and express the 
 inestimable joy and comfort which they had received 
 from her gracious message. She received them in the 
 great chamber before the council-room, and the speaker, 
 walking in at the head of seven score members, declared 
 their determination to spend every drop of blood in their 
 hearts, and the last spirit of breath in their nostrils, to 
 be poured out and breathed up for the safety of their 
 sovereign. Elizabeth’s reply was her farewell public 
 address to parliament, and the conclusion is striking and 
 characteristic of this great princess : I do assure you, 
 
 there is no prince that loveth his subjects better, or 
 whose love can countervail our love. * * And though 
 God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of 
 my crown, that I have reigned with your loves. This 
 makes me that I do not so much rejoice that God hath 
 made me to be a queen, as to be a queen over so thank- 
 ful a people. To be a king and wear a crown is a thing 
 more glorious to them that see it, than it is pleasant to 
 them that bear it. Ijpr myself, I was never so much 
 enticed with the glorious name of a king, or royal au- 
 thority of a queen, as delighted that God had made me 
 
 * Townshend, pp. 282, 283. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 219 
 
 his instrument to maintain his truth and gloiy, and to 
 defend this kingdom from peril, dishonour, tyranny, and 
 oppression. There will never queen sit in my seat, with 
 more zeal to my country, care for my subjects, and that 
 sooner with willingness will venture her life for your 
 good and safety than myself. For it is not my desire to 
 live nor reign longer than my life and reign shall be for 
 your good. And though you have had, and may have, 
 many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this state, 
 yet you never had, nor shall have, any that will be more 
 careful and loving. Shall I ascribe any thing to myself 
 and my sexly weakness I I were not worthy to live then ; 
 and of all, most unworthy of the great mercies I have 
 had from God, who hath ever yet given me a heart which 
 never yet feared foreign or home enemy. I speak it to 
 give God the praise, as a testimony before you, and not 
 to attribute any thing to myself. For I, 0 Lord, what 
 am I, whom practices and perils past should not fear I 
 Or, what can I do ? These words she spake,’ says 
 Townshend, ^ with a great emphasis.’] That I should 
 speak for any glory, God forbid.”'^ 
 
 It was not long after this that Raleigh sold his estates 
 in Ireland to Mr Richard Boyle, afterwards the great 
 Earl of Cork, who had been sent from that country by 
 Sir George Carew with a message to the queen and a 
 letter to his kinsman, strongly advising him to dispose of 
 his land to so good a purchaser. It is asserted by Boyle, 
 in the Memoirs of his own life, that these extensive 
 tracts of country, of which he had become proprietor, 
 were in many places in a barren condition ; and from 
 Sir Walter’s constant employment in England it was 
 scarcely to be expected that he could personally devote 
 much time to their improvement. Yet it is a remarkable 
 point about this eminent man, that wherever he had 
 settled, or his influence extended even for a short period, 
 he has left some traces of his usefulness and activity. At 
 Youghall, in the county of Cork, of which town he was 
 
 * Townshend, pp. 263, 266. 
 
220 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 mayor, and where his house and gardens are still seen, 
 the first potatoes ever planted m Ireland Avere introduced 
 by Raleigh, who had brought them from Virginia ; and 
 he is also said to have been the first propagator of the 
 cherry in that island, which was imported by him from 
 the Canaries. At Lismore, which formed part of the 
 extensive grant made to him by Elizabeth, we find a 
 still more interesting memorial in a Free School which 
 he founded ; and the large and beautiful myrtles in his 
 garden at Youghall, some of them twenty feet high, are 
 associated with that love of shrubs and sweet-smelling 
 plants, and that elegance of taste in his rural occupations, 
 which remarkably distinguished him.* His Irish estates, 
 however, cost him so large an annual sum to keep them 
 up, that he did not think it prudent to retain them. He 
 accordingly closed with the offer of Boyle ; and the per- 
 son who managed the bargain was Sir Robert Cecil, — 
 a proof that Raleigh was not yet fully aware of the secret 
 arts already employed to undermine his power. 
 
 He was now about to lose his best friend. Early in 
 January 1602, the queen, who for some time had been 
 in a declining state, was seized with a severe cold. She 
 had been forewarned by Dr Dee, the famous astrologer 
 and mathematician, whom she highly esteemed, to be- 
 ware of Whitehall, and accordingly removed to Rich- 
 mond, calling it the warm box to which she could best 
 trust her sickly old age.” The air of the country seemed 
 to revive her, and for some weeks her health improved ; 
 but the malady returned in the end of February, and on 
 the 15th of March she was so ill that the lords of council 
 were sent for. They found her sunk in a deep melan- 
 choly, in which no entreaties could persuade her to take 
 food or medicine. At this sad moment Sir Robert Carey, 
 her Avarden on the borders, to whom she was much 
 attached, arrived ; and, though very weak, the queen 
 requested to see him. ‘‘ I found her,” says he, in his 
 Memoirs, “ in one of her withdrawing chambers sitting 
 
 * Smith’s History of Cork, vol. i. p. 128. Croker’s Researches 
 in the South of Ireland, pp. 124, 127, 152. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 221 
 
 low upon her cushions. She called me to her ; I kist 
 her hand, and told her it was my chiefest happiness to see 
 her in safety and in health, which I wished might long 
 continue. She took me by the hand and wrung it hard, 
 and said, ^ No, Robin ; I am not well and then dis- 
 coursed with me of her indisposition, and that her heart 
 had been sad and heavy for ten or twelve days, and in 
 her discourse she fetched not so few as forty or fifty great 
 sighs. * * I used the best words I could to persuade 
 her from this melancholy humour, but I found by her 
 it w’^as too deep rooted in her heart, and hardly to be 
 removed.”"^ 
 
 She soon became obstinately silent ; and not only 
 rejected nourishment, but forbore her sleep, refusing to 
 go to bed, being persuaded if she once lay down, she 
 should never rise again. The cushions were laid on the 
 floor of her chamber ; and there she sat a week, day 
 and night, showing an utter carelessness of all that was 
 passing around her. On the 28d of March, the day 
 before she died, the chief members of her council thought 
 it right to introduce that subject to which the queen had 
 invariably shown a great aversion, the succession to the 
 throne ; and their interrogations brought out from the 
 expiring princess a flash of her wonted spirit and severity : 
 — I told you,” said she to the lord-high-admiral, who 
 occupied the right side of the bed, whilst Cecil stood at 
 the foot, that my seat had been the seat of kings ; and 
 I will have no rascal to succeed me ! Trouble me no 
 more. — He who comes after me must be a king. I will 
 have none but our cousin of Scotland.”f 
 
 Soon after this she became speechless, but made signs 
 that her chaplains and the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 should pray with her. Sir Robert Carey, who went 
 into the chamber with them, has left us an affecting 
 account of her behaviour. I sat upon my knees,” says 
 
 * Nichol’s Progresses, vol. ii. 
 
 t Character of Elizabeth, by Edward Bohun. Nichol’s Pro- 
 gresses, vol. ii. Queen’s last Sickness and Death, Cotton MS. 
 Titus, c. vii. fol. 46, printed in Nichol’s Progresses, vol. ii. 
 
222 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 he, full of tears to see that heavy sight. The bishop 
 kneeled down by her, and examined her first of her 
 faith ; and she so punctually answered all his several 
 questions by lifting up her eyes and holding up her hand, 
 as it was a comfort to all the beholders. Then the good 
 man told her plainly what she was, and what she was to 
 come to ; and though she had been long a great queen 
 here upon earth, yet shortly she was to yield an account 
 of her stewardship to the King of kings. After this he 
 began to pray, and all that were by did answer him. 
 After he had continued long in prayer, ’till the old man’s 
 knees were weary, he blessed her, and meant to rise and 
 leave her. The queen made a sign wuth her hand. My 
 sister Scroope, knowing her meaning, told the bishop the 
 queen desired he Avould pray still. He did so for a long 
 half hour after, and then thought to leave her. The 
 second time she made a sign to have him continue in 
 prayer. He did so for half an hour more, with earnest 
 cries to God for her soul’s health, which he uttered wdth 
 that fervency of spirit, as the queen to all our sight much 
 rejoiced thereat, and gave testimony to us all of her 
 Christian and comfortable end. By this time it grew 
 late, and every one departed, all but her women that 
 attended her.”* She expired about three in the morning 
 on Thursday the 24th of March, in the same chamber 
 where her grandfather Henry VII. breathed his last. 
 
 Carey, whose affection was balanced by a considerable 
 share of worldly wisdom, now slipped out of the palace, 
 and took horse for Scotland. Riding post, he arrived at 
 Edinburgh on Saturday night, and proceeding to the 
 palace of Holyrood, found that the king had gone to 
 bed. His errand, however, gained him instant admit- 
 tance ; and, kneeling by the bedside, he saluted James 
 King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland. The 
 happy monarch gave the messenger his hand to kiss, and 
 after making many inquiries regarding the queen’s sick- 
 ness, asked what letters he brought from the council. 
 
 * Nichol’s Progresses, vol. ii. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 223 
 
 He answered none, and explained with what difficulty 
 he had escaped being detained ; but added, that he had 
 brought a blue ring from a fair lady to assure him of the 
 truth of his intelligence. On presenting this, the king 
 replied, It is enough. I know by this you are a true 
 messenger.”* 
 
 King James’s magnificent progress to his new domi- 
 nions, and the unanimity of affection and loyalty with 
 which he was received, are well known. It would per- 
 haps have been better for Raleigh had he accommodated 
 himself to the character of the Scottish sovereign ; though 
 even this prudence might have faded ; for the king’s 
 mind had been artfully prejudiced against him. His 
 fortunes now experienced a reverse ; and that royal 
 sunshine wffiich he had enjoyed under Elizabeth was 
 exchanged, even at the very commencement of the reign 
 of her successor, for coldness, suspicion, and neglect. 
 
 That we are to trace a great portion of James’s conduct 
 to the early dislike of Raleigh insinuated by Essex, and 
 latterly by Cecil, cannot be doubted. But much is also 
 to be ascribed to the strong contrast between the char- 
 acter of the king and the eminent man upon whom he 
 now looked with distrust. James was pacific even to 
 timidity. The other, who had been bred in the lap of 
 war, entertained a strong feeling for the martial glory of 
 England. He was actuated, besides, by a jealousy of 
 Spain, being convinced of the necessity of keeping under 
 that proud power, and preserving the ascendency created 
 by the energy and arms of Elizabeth. Here, at the out- 
 set, was an obvious cause of disunion. Again, Raleigh’s 
 mind was full of ambition for foreign adventure and dis- 
 covery ; James was jealous of every thing that inter- 
 rupted his repose, or drove him into action. The former 
 thought England ought to divide with Spain the rich 
 provinces of the New World ; the latter could have 
 listened to any scheme for supplying his exchequer, 
 provided it involved neither danger nor enterprise. 
 
 * Nichol’s Progresses, vol. ii. See Carey’s Memoirs. 
 
224 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 Raleigh’s policy was animated by the principle since so 
 fully developed, that the strength of Britain rests in her 
 ships and sailors ; James, from the moment he came to 
 the crown, showed no pride in the naval glory of the 
 country, nor had he the penetration to perceive that 
 attention to the resources of war is the best method of 
 securing the continuance of peace. Even literature, — 
 the tie which we might expect would have produced a 
 sympathy between Sir Walter and his new sovereign, — 
 was insufficient, and, indeed, did not form an exception 
 to this intellectual contrast. The learning of James was 
 various, but pedantic, superficial, and full of pretension. 
 He talked like a cloistered schoolman ; and his inordinate 
 vanity mistook the syllogistic exhibitions with which he 
 astonished the council-table for the deepest wisdom of 
 state. For such displays, we may believe, Raleigh did 
 not at all times conceal his contempt. His erudition was 
 as various as that of his royal master, but it was eminently 
 practical and deep. His philosophy was that of observa- 
 tion and experience. With eyes ever intent upon human 
 character and the course of events in Europe, he had 
 elicited the maxims of his policy from the actual con- 
 dition of society. He was a scholar, but no schoolman ; 
 a versifier lil^e his royal master, but unlike him he was 
 touched with the inspiration of true genius ; no cold 
 and correct fabricator of sonnets, which, like the essays of 
 the Royal Prentise, possessing every requisite of rhyme 
 and quantity, were yet jejune and unpoetical. He knew, 
 on the contrary, what poetry ought to be, and in his 
 lighter hours he had swept the lyre with no unpractised 
 fingers. His prose partook of the character of his mind, 
 — original, vigorous, and imaginative. 
 
 Between two such modes of learning there could be 
 no congenial feeling, but rather a repulsion ; and yet, if 
 Raleigh had paid his court with his usual care and dis- 
 crimination, this discrepancy might have been concealed. 
 To whatever cause we are to attribute it, there can be 
 no doubt that the monarch disliked Sir Walter ; and the 
 rivalry between him and Cecil also, which for some time 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 225 
 
 had been smouldering under apparent courtesy, broke 
 out soon after the accession of James into active and 
 declared hostility. This crafty politician possessed tlie 
 power as well as the inclination to hurt him. He had 
 carried on a secret correspondence with the king before 
 the death of Elizabeth, by which he was enabled' to 
 create prepossessions against those whose interest he 
 thought it necessary to undermine ; and from the letters 
 of his agent. Lord Henry Howard, which, notwithstand- 
 ing all his caution, have been preserved, we know that 
 Sir Walter was among the number. He had acquainted 
 himself with James’s minutest peculiarities, and carefully 
 accommodated his opinions to them all. The principles 
 of his policy under Elizabeth, with slight exceptions, 
 had been the same as those of Raleigh ; but the pliant 
 minister was careful to modify and alter them in con- 
 formity with the feeble and temporizing character of her 
 successor. When the king was on his way to his new 
 dominions the secretary met him at York, where he lay 
 ‘‘ close and unseen,” till he had secured the interest of 
 the royal favourite. Sir George Hume, with whom he 
 had many secret meetings. It was known that James 
 had expressed the strongest antipathy to all connected 
 with the conspiracy against Essex, and as Cecil was one 
 of his chief enemies, his immediate removal from power 
 was anticipated. But so cautiously had he provided 
 against this, so ably had he employed his ‘‘ purse and 
 his wit” in securing the friendship of those who had most 
 influence with his new master, that after his short incog- 
 nito at York, he, says Weldon, to the admiration of 
 all, did appear, and come out of his chamber, like a giant, 
 to run his race for honour and fortune ; and who in such 
 dearness and privacy with the king as Sir Robert Cecil, 
 as if he had been his faithful servant many years before !” "* 
 By these means he was continued in his office of 
 
 * Weldon. Court and Character of King Janies, pp. 10, 11 
 But compare this with the Tract in Nichol’s Progresses, vol. 
 hi., entitled. King James’s Entertainment from Scotland to 
 London, p. 20. 
 
 o 
 
226 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 principal secretary of state, equivalent to that of prime 
 minister, whilst Raleigh was regarded with coldness and 
 suspicion. We are informed by an author who has pre- 
 served some remarkable anecdotes of the court of King 
 James, that Sir Walter was one of those who advised 
 that his majesty should he hound by articles before being 
 called to the government. It has also been conjectured 
 that offence was taken at a proposed alliance between 
 his son and the daughter and heiress of Basset of Umber- 
 leigh, a family descended from the Plantagenets, as if 
 he had meant to support their claim to the throne. 
 This last pretence is ridiculous, and the former does not 
 rest on satisfactory evidence ; but whatever was the 
 cause he soon found, that to he merely neglected was 
 considered too easy a fall for one who had soared so high. 
 He held lucrative offices, and the king had needy favour- 
 ites. He was deprived of the honourable post of captain 
 of the guard, which was conferred on Sir Thomas Ers- 
 kine. His wine-patent was withdrawn, and though 
 some compensation was granted by a pension of £800 
 a-year, and by striking off an arrear of debt, the equi- 
 valent was of little moment, for in less than three months 
 after James’s arrival, he was involved by his enemies in 
 a charge of treason. Of this unfounded and mysterious 
 accusation, — the commencement of the saddest portion 
 of Raleigh’s history, — which has left so deep a stain upon 
 the government of James, we shall give a general sketch, 
 previous to a more minute exposition of the complicated 
 scene of injustice and persecution presented by his trial. 
 
 One of Sir Walter’s friends, or rather acquaintances, 
 was Lord Cohham, brother-in-law of Secretary Cecil, a 
 vain weak man, who, on James coming to the crown, 
 having been disappointed of preferment, courted the 
 society of the discontented, and talked foolishly against 
 the government. Even in the time of Elizabeth he had 
 secretly negotiated with the Count Aremberg, a Flemish 
 nobleman in the service of Spain. When this foreigner, 
 after James’s accession, came into England as ambassador 
 from the Archduke of Austria, he renewed his intimacy 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 227 
 
 with Cohham, and engaged his influence to further a 
 peace with his Catholic majesty. One of the great ene- 
 mies of such a measure was Raleigh, whose whole life 
 had been signalized by a devoted hostility to Philip ; he 
 had recently written against his successor, and proposed 
 to raise 2000 men at his own charges for the invasion of 
 his kingdom. Aware of this, Cobham suggested to 
 Aremberg that Sir Walter should have a pension, pro- 
 vided he consented to withdraw his opposition and pro- 
 mote their views. It was shown upon his trial, that his 
 lordship offered him 8000 crowns, to which, considering 
 it one of his idle conceits, he made no serious reply, but 
 lightly answered he would tell him more when he saw 
 the money. Such was the whole matter proved against 
 Raleigh ; and as it was notorious that the king was as 
 anxious for peace as Aremberg could be as it was 
 certain that this Austrian grandee and the Spanish am- 
 bassador had been lavish of both money and presents 
 amongst the courtiers to further their master’s interest ; 
 and as Cecil himself with ready pliability had adopted 
 the opinion of James, it might have been expected that 
 no great objection would be made to a proposal which 
 was never carried into effect. It happened, however, 
 that nearly at the same time in which this transaction 
 took place, the secretary had discovered a plot concerted 
 by a few Popish priests against the king and royal family, 
 in which one of the principal conspirators was Mr Brooke, 
 brother to Cobham. With some of these traitors this 
 nobleman had at various times held intercourse, though 
 on the scaffold his relative absolved him from all know- 
 ledge of their designs. But this was enough for Cecil 
 to work on. Brooke was no sooner implicated than his 
 kinsman became suspected ; and the latter was no sooner 
 tainted with distrust than the enemies of Raleigh began 
 to hint their doubts of him also. At this moment Sir 
 Walter had followed the court to Windsor, and the 
 secretary, accosting him on the terrace, requested his 
 
 ^ Lodge’s Illustrations, vol. iii. p. 181. 
 
228 FROM Elizabeth’s last parlia3ient 
 
 attendance at a private meeting of the lords of the coun- 
 cil. Obeying with readiness, he was examined regarding 
 Cohham’s intercourse with Aremberg, and declared his 
 reasons for disbelieving any unwarrantable practices. On 
 bemg farther questioned he added, that La Rensy, the 
 servant of that ambassador, might be better able to ex- 
 plain the correspondence ; and the same advice he after- 
 wards gave in a letter to Cecil. All this he did with 
 the conviction that nothing treasonable had passed be- 
 tween the principal parties. Immediately after, however, 
 Raleigh received orders to remain a prisoner in his own 
 house ; and his lordship, who had also been apprehended, 
 having sent to know what had taken place at the council, 
 he informed him by his servant Captain Keymis, that 
 he had cleared him of all suspicion. Cobham was next 
 examined at Richmond, and at first exculpated both 
 himself and his friend from the charge of any improper 
 correspondence. When it was found nothing could be 
 drawn from him in this way, a device of a base and crafty 
 description was emplo^^ed. Raleigh’s letter to Cecil re- 
 commending that La Rensy should be interrogated, was 
 shown to him ; and the effect being artfully heightened 
 by suggestions that he had been betrayed, he broke into 
 a furious passion, and accused Sir Walter, who had 
 written it, of being privy to a conspiracy against the 
 government. He declared that “ having a passport to 
 go to the King of Spain, he intended first to confer with 
 the archduke ; from thence to proceed to Spain to solicit 
 the king for 600,000 crowns ; thence to return by Jer- 
 sey, and take Raleigh’s advice regarding the distribution 
 of the money to the discontented in England.” Various 
 other accusations were thrown out during this fit of 
 excitement ; yet he wavered and retracted them all on 
 leaving the council-room, and before he reached the foot 
 of the stair was seized with such remorse that he con- 
 fessed he had falsely accused his friend. With the 
 conferences between this nobleman and Aremberg there 
 was afterwards blended the ridiculous charge against 
 Raleigh, of a design to place the crown on the head of ^ 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 229 
 
 Arabella Stewart ; but it proved so absurd and contra- 
 dictory that even liis enemies appeared ashamed of it. 
 
 Such is an impartial outline of the whole circum- 
 stances which could be brought against Sir Walter ; and 
 at first tliey seem to have been considered too trivial to 
 be exaggerated into a serious accusation even by the 
 obsequiousness of the judges and the inventive capacity 
 of Cecil.* Efforts were therefore made to collect some 
 more substantial proof against him ; and in the mean 
 time he was confined to the Tower, and plied with pri- 
 vate examinations. It is at this period that, in the diary 
 of his enemy just named, and in a letter of one of the 
 creatures of this minister, we find it asserted that Ra- 
 leigh, in a fit of remorse or passionate carelessness of life, 
 had attempted to stab himself in prison. t During this 
 time Cobham, v/hose character seems to have been a 
 compound of fear, weakness, and falsehood, was worked 
 upon to reiterate the charges which he had retracted ; 
 and his brother, a much abler man but of equally loose 
 principles, was flattered by Cecil, who, holding out the 
 promises of pardon, induced him to act in conformity 
 with his wishes, and to perform any ‘‘ services” required 
 of him. Such is Brooke’s own account in a letter ad- 
 dressed to the secretary, J and it may be suspected that 
 the services” to which he alludes were some disclosures 
 of secret practices which it was believed might connect 
 Raleigh with the conspiracy of Brooke and the priests. 
 Little more, however, of any consequence was brought 
 to light against the prisoner. Captain Keymis, an officer 
 in his confidence, and Lord Grey of Wilton, who was a 
 party to the conspiracy of the priests, discovered nothing 
 which could be turned to his crimination. Yet on the 
 vague and inconclusive circumstances which have been 
 already detailed was Sir Walter indicted at Staines, on 
 
 * Letter of Sir T. Edmondes, in Lodge’s Illustrations, vol. 
 iii. p. 172. 
 
 t See Remarks at the end of this volume. Note C. 
 
 X Published for the first time from a MS. in the State-paper 
 Office, by Mrs Thomson in her Appendix to the Life of Ra- 
 leigh, Note P. 
 
230 FROM ELIZABETH’S LAST PARLIAMENT 
 
 the 21st September ; a true bill was found by the grand 
 jury ; he was appointed to take his trial for treason, and 
 in the mean time remanded to the Tower. 
 
 Raleigh was too well acquainted with the power of 
 his enemies, and with the injustice and rigour of the 
 English law of treason as it then stood, not to perceive 
 the imminent risk which he now ran. The enmity of 
 Cecil, the skill and virulence of Coke, the attorney- 
 general, and the timidity of a jury acting under their 
 influence, were all taken into his calculation ; and he felt 
 that his fate was almost already decided. Under these 
 circumstances it was right that he should neglect no 
 opportunity to save himself from destruction ; and accord- 
 ingly he made a last attempt to obtain from his accuser 
 a declaration of his innocence^ When the lieutenant of 
 the Tower was at supper, he got a poor man to cast in 
 at the window where Cobham was confined an apple to 
 which he had fastened a letter, beseeching him for God’s 
 sake to do him justice ; and this unhappy person, whose 
 mind seems to have been in a perpetual vacillation be- 
 tween remorse and terror, was so far overcome by this 
 appeal, that he returned an answer, afterwards produced 
 at the trial, in which he cleared him of all treason in the 
 most solemn manner. About the same time Raleigh 
 addressed a supplication to the king, in which he adverted 
 to the cruelty of a law which compounded treasons out 
 of presumptions and circumstances ; and after asserting 
 his innocence, besought him to temper its severity with 
 the highest attribute of a sovereign, — mercy. He directed 
 also an able letter to the Lords Cecil, Henry Howard, 
 and Sir Edward Coke, in which he established the ab- 
 surdity and groundlessness of the charges brought against 
 him, by arguments which to this day have never been 
 answered. But it does not appear that either of these 
 attempts produced the least effect ; and he saw the day 
 of trial arrive with the conviction that the heart of the 
 king was too cold and indifferent, and those of the cour- 
 tiers too cautious, to afford him the prospect of relief or 
 even of justice. Weighed down as he must have been 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 231 
 
 by these depressing circumstances, it is impossible not 
 to admire the vigour, courage, and ability with which 
 he conducted his defence. 
 
 The plague at this time raging in London, the term 
 was held at Winchester on the I7th November 1603. 
 The principal commissioners were Howard, earl of Suf- 
 folk and lord -chamberlain ; Charles Blunt, earl of Devon ; 
 Lord Henry Howard; Cecil himself; Lord Wotton of 
 Morley ; Sir John Stanhope, vice-chamberlain ; and 
 Popham, the lord- chief-justice. Some of these were 
 Raleigh’s determined enemies, and had conducted^ the 
 examinations against him ; others cared little whether 
 he rose or fell ; and the rest were probably the subser- 
 vient tools of government.'^' The prisoner might well 
 wonder at the multiplicity and weight of the charges. 
 He was accused of conspiring to dethrone the king ; of 
 an attempt to raise sedition and to bring in the Roman 
 superstition by means of a foreign invasion ; of consult- 
 ing with Lord Cobham at Durham House to place the 
 crown on the head of Arabella Stewart, for which end 
 600,000 crowns were to be solicited from Aremberg, and 
 a correspondence opened by his lordship with the Spanish 
 government. Peace with Spain and the establishment 
 of Popery were to be secured by the new princess ; and 
 to further their designs, the peer just named, on his re- 
 turn from Spain, was to have visited Raleigh at his 
 government in Jersey, to settle the best mode of em- 
 ploying the money in raising a rebellion. Other par- 
 ticulars were added : It was alleged that Cobham had 
 communicated these treasons to his brother, who readily 
 joined in them ; and that in a conversation it had been 
 stated there would never be a good world in England 
 till the king and his cubs were taken away.” Raleigh, 
 it was lastly said, had given the same nobleman a book 
 against the king’s title ; and for his assistance in manag- 
 
 * It is stated by a contemporary author, that the jury first 
 appointed being suspected of two much independence, a list of 
 more obsequious persons was substituted the night before the 
 trial. 
 
232 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 ing the correspondence with Aremberg was to receive 
 8000 crowns. 
 
 This indictment having been read, the jury was sworn, 
 and Sir Edward Coke commenced his charge ; but in- 
 stead of confining himself to the real point at issue, he 
 contrived to bring in a detailed account of the treason 
 of Lord Grey, Brooke, and Markham, enlarging upon 
 its baseness. He was interrupted by Sir Walter, who 
 calmly entreated him to remember that all this was 
 matter introduced to create a prepossession against him, 
 and related to a separate crime, not even alluded to in 
 the indictment. Recalled in this manner to his subject. 
 Coke proceeded ; but we shall give his charge, and the 
 extraordinary scene of violence and abuse to which it 
 led, in the original words of the trial. 
 
 Now I come to your charge, my masters of the jury : 
 The greatness of treason is to be considered in two things, 
 — determinatione finis, et electione mediorum. This treason 
 excelleth in both ; for that it was to destroy the king 
 and his progeny. These treasons are said to be crimen 
 l(BscB majestatis ; this goeth farther, and may be termed 
 crimen eoctirpandcB regice majestatis et totius progeniei suo'» 
 I shall not need, my lords, to speak any thing concerning 
 the king, nor of the bounty and sweetness of his nature, 
 whose thoughts are innocent, whose words are full of 
 wisdom and learning, and whose works are full of honour ; 
 although it be a true saying, Nunquam nimis, quod nun- 
 quam satis. But to whom do you bear malice I to the 
 children I 
 
 “ Raleigh , — To whom speak you this \ You tell me 
 news I never heard of. 
 
 “ Attorney, — Oh, sir, do I ? I will prove you the no- 
 toriousest traitor that ever came to the bar. After you 
 have taken away the king, you would alter religion ; as 
 you. Sir Walter Raleigh, have followed them of the 
 Bye'^ in imitation ; for I will charge you with the words. 
 
 * The name of the “ Bye” had been given by some of the 
 conspirators themselves to the treason of Brooke and the priests. 
 The plot which Raleigh was accused of instigating was called 
 the “ Main.” 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 233 
 
 Baleigh, — Your words cannot condemn me ; my 
 innocency is my defence. Prove one of these things 
 wherewith you have charged me, and I will confess the 
 whole indictment ; and that I am the horriblcst traitor 
 that ever lived, and worthy to be crucified with a thou- 
 sand torments. 
 
 “ Attorney, — Nay, I will prove all : thou art a mon- 
 ster ; thou hast an English face but a Spanish heart. 
 Now you must have money : Aremberg was no sooner 
 in England (I charge thee, Raleigh) but thou incitedst 
 Cobham to go unto him, and to deal with him for money 
 to bestow on discontented persons to raise rebellion in 
 the kingdom. 
 
 Baleigh, — Let me answer for myself. 
 
 Attorney. — Thou shalt not. 
 
 Baleigh. — It concerncth my life. 
 
 “ Attorney. — Oh ! do I touch you V’ 
 
 After this Coke enumerated the charges contained in 
 the indictment. “ I do not hear yet,” said Raleigh, 
 “ that you have spoken one word against me. * * 
 
 If my Lord Cobham be a traitor, what is that to me T’ 
 Coke’s answer was so remarkable that it passed into a 
 proverb, and furnished Shakspeare with one of his amus- 
 ing satirical touches in the character of Sir Toby Belch. 
 
 Attorney. — All that he did was by thy instigation, 
 thou viper ! for I thou thee, thou traitor !* 
 
 Baleigh. — It becometh not a man of quality and 
 virtue to call me so ; but I take comfort in it ; it is all 
 you can do. 
 
 ‘‘ Attorney. — Have I angered you ? 
 
 Baleigh. — I am in no case to be angry.” 
 
 * Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Will either of you bear me a 
 challenge to him ? 
 
 “ Sir Toby Belch. Go, write it in a martial hand ; be curst and 
 brief ; it is no matter how witty, so it be eloquent, and full of 
 invention : taunt him with the license of ink : if thou thou' at 
 hiin some thrice, it shall not be amiss ; and as many lies as will 
 lie in thy sheet of paper, although the sheet were big enough 
 for the bed of Ware in England, set ’em down.” 
 
 Twelfth Night, Act iii. Sc. 2. 
 
234 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 This singular dialogue, in which the temper and dig- 
 nity of the accused are finely contrasted with the scur- 
 rility of the crown-counsel, was brought to a conclusion 
 by the Chief-justice Pophain. ‘‘ Sir Walter Raleigh,” 
 said he, Mr Attorney speaketh out of the zeal of his 
 duty for the service of the king, and you for your life : 
 be patient on both sides.” 
 
 The clerk now read the proofs, the first being the 
 examination of Cohham, with the heads of which we 
 are already acquainted. It is to be regretted that only 
 an abstract of it appeal's on the record. One sentence 
 is worthy of notice, as indicating the temper in which 
 the accusation was made. “ At the first beginning, he 
 breathed out oaths and exclamations against Raleigh, 
 calling him villain and traitor, saying, he had never en- 
 tered into these courses but by his instigation, and that 
 he would never let him alone. Besides, he spake of 
 plots and invasions ; of the particulars whereof he could 
 give no account, though Raleigh and he had conferred 
 of them.” When it is remembered that this was, by 
 the admission of the worst enemies of the accused, the 
 solitary proof which could be brought against him ; that 
 Cohham afterwards solemnly retracted it ; and that these 
 absurd speeches of plots and invasions, of which his lord- 
 ship could furnish no particulars, constituted the whole 
 examination, it is difficult to reprobate in terms suffi- 
 ciently strong a jury who convicted upon such evidence. 
 
 We are now arrived at the period of the trial where 
 Raleigh was permitted to address the jury in his de- 
 fence ; and brief and garbled as his speech appears, it 
 still gives some idea of the eloquence with which he re- 
 pelled the charges. On the examination being read, he 
 broke out into an exclamation of natural and unfeigned 
 astonishment. “ And this,” said he, “ is absolutely all 
 the evidence which can be brought against me ; poor 
 shifts ! Gentlemen of the jury, I pray you understand 
 this : This is that which must either condemn or give 
 me life — which must free me or send my wife and chil- 
 dren to beg their bread about the streets : this is that 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 235 
 
 must prove me a notorious traitor or a true subject to 
 the king. But first let me see my accusation, that I 
 may make my answer.” The declaration of Lord Cob- 
 ham was then shown ; after which he thus proceeded : 
 — ‘‘ I will show you my answer to this, and how this ac- 
 cusation of my Lord Cobham arises. I was examined 
 before my lords of the privy-council at Windsor touching 
 the Surprising Treason,* and also of the Lord Cobham’s 
 practices with Aremberg, from all which God knows I 
 was free, for I never was privy to any of them ; and as 
 concerning plotting for the Lady Arabella, I protest 
 before God, at that time I never heard one word of 
 it ! It is true that in my examination I told the lords 
 I knew of no plots between Aremberg and Cobham ; 
 but afterwards I wrote to my Lord Cecil that 1 sus- 
 pected Lord Cobham had intelligence with Aremberg. 
 * * I suspected his visiting of him from this : that 
 
 after he departed from me at Durham House, I saw 
 him pass by his own stairs and cross over to St Mary 
 Saviour’s, where I knew La Rensy, a merchant and 
 follower of Aremberg, lay. I gave intimation of this 
 by letter to the lords ; but I was requested by Lord 
 Cecil not to speak of this, because the king at the first 
 coming of Count Aremberg would not give him occasion 
 of suspicion. Wherefore I wrote to the Lord Cecil that 
 if La Rensy were not secured the matter would not be 
 discovered, for he would fly ; yet if he were then appre- 
 hended, it would give matter of suspicion to my Lord 
 Cobham. This letter of mine being afterwards shown 
 to the Lord Cobham, he thought I had discovered (and 
 betrayed) his dealing with Aremberg, and immediately 
 entered into a rage against me, and accused me ; but 
 before he came to the stair-foot he repented, and as I 
 heard, acknowledged he had done me wrong. When he 
 came to the end of his accusation, he added, that if he 
 had brought this money to Jersey, he feared I would 
 
 * The plot of Brooke, Grey, Markham, and the priests, to 
 surprise the king, went by this name. It was also sometimes 
 called the Bye. 
 
236 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 have delivered him and the money to the king. Mr 
 Attorney, you said, ‘ this never came out of Cobham’s 
 quiver — he is a simple man.’ Is he so simple I No ; he 
 hath a disposition of his own, he will not easily be guided 
 by others ; but when he has once taken head in a matter 
 he is not easily drawn from it ; he Ls no babe. But it 
 is strange for me to devise with Cobham, that he should 
 go to Spain, to persuade the king to disburse so much 
 money, he being a man of no love nor following in Eng- 
 land, and I having resigned my room of chiefest command, 
 the wardenship of the Stanneries. Moreover, I was not 
 so bare of sense but I saw, that if ever this state was 
 strong and able to defend itself it was now : I knew the 
 kingdom of Scotland united, whence we were wont to 
 fear all our troubles ; Ireland quieted, where our forces 
 were wont to be divided ; Denmark assured, which be- 
 fore was suspected ; the Low Countries, our nearest 
 neighbours, at peace with us. I knew that, having lost 
 a lady whom time had surprised, we had now an active 
 king, a lawful successor, who would himself be present 
 in all his affairs. I was not such a madman as to make 
 myself, in this time, a Robin Hood, a Wat Tyler, or a 
 Jack Cade. I knew also the state of Spain well ; his 
 weakness, and poorness, and humbleness at this time. 
 I knew that he was discouraged and dishonoured. I 
 knew that six times we had repulsed his forces, — thrice 
 in Ireland, and thrice at sea, — once at Cadiz, on his own 
 coast. Thrice had I served against hun myself at sea, 
 wherein, for my country’s sake, I had expended of my 
 own property £4000. I knew the King of Spain to be 
 the proudest prince in Christendom ; but now that he 
 came creeping to the king, my master, for peace. I 
 knew, whereas before he had in his port six or seven 
 score sail of ships, he hath now but six or seven. I knew, 
 of twenty-five millions he had from his Indies he hath 
 scarce one left. I knew him to be so poor that the 
 Jesuits, his imps, who were wont to have such large al- 
 lowance, were fain to beg at the church-doors. Then, 
 was it ever read or heard that any prince should disburse 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 237 
 
 SO mucli money without a sufficient pawn? Whoso 
 knows what great assurances the King of Spain stood 
 upon wdth other states for smaller sums, will not think 
 that he would so freely disburse to my Lord Cobham 
 600,000 crowns. And if I had minded to set the Lord 
 Cobham to work in such a case, 1 should surely have 
 given him some instructions how he should persuade the 
 King of Spain and answer his objections ; for I know 
 Cobham to be no such minion as could persuade a king 
 who was in want, to advance so great a sum of money 
 without reason, and some assurance for it. I knew her 
 own subjects, the citizens of London, would not lend her 
 late majesty money without lands in mortgage. I knew 
 the queen did not lend the States money without Flush- 
 ing, Brill, and other towns, for a pawn ; and can it be 
 thought that he would let Cobham have so great a sum ? 
 What pawn had we to give the King of Spain I What 
 did we offer him ? And to show I was not Spanish, as 
 you term me, I had written at this time a treatise to the 
 king’s majesty of the present state of Spain, and the 
 reasons against the peace. For my inwardness with the 
 Lord Cobham, it was only in matters of private estate, 
 wffierein he communicated often with me, and I lent 
 him my best advice. * Whether he intended to 
 travel to Spain or no, God in heaven knoweth. But for 
 my knowing that he had conspired all those things wdth 
 Spain for Arabella against the king, I protest before 
 Almighty God, I am as clear as whoever here is freest.” 
 When Cobham’s second declaration was read, the 
 accused vehemently objected to it, on the ground that 
 the examination had been conducted in the most partial 
 manner ; that his passion had been roused by the ex- 
 hibition of the letter to Cecil ; that the declaration had 
 not been read over to him, and that he had refused to 
 subscribe it till compelled by the lord-chief-justice. Tlie 
 foreman of the jury requested to be informed regarding 
 this letter, said to have been addressed by Raleigh to 
 Cecil, and whether it was written before the time of the 
 Lord Cobham’s accusation ; and the wary secretary thus 
 
238 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 replied, with an apparent tenderness to one who had in 
 former years been his friend : — ‘‘ I am in great dispute 
 with myself how to speak in the case of this gentleman ; 
 a former dearness between me and him tied so firm a 
 knot of my conceit of his virtues, now broken by a dis- 
 covery of his imperfections. I protest, did I serve a 
 king that I knew would be displeased with me for speak- 
 ing, in this case I would speak, whatever came of it ; 
 but seeing he is compacted of piety and justice, and one 
 that will not mislike any man for speaking a truth, — I 
 will answer your question. Sir Walter Raleigh was 
 staid by me at Windsor, upon the first news of Copley, 
 that the king’s person should be surprised by my Lord 
 Grey and Mr George Brooke. When I found Brooke 
 was in, I suspected Cobham ; then I doubted Raleigh 
 to be a partaker. I speak not this that it should be 
 thought I had greater judgment than the rest of my 
 lords, in making this haste to have him examined. Ra- 
 leigh following to Windsor, I met with him upon the 
 terrace, and willed him, as from the king, to stay, saying, 
 the lords had something to say to him : he was then 
 examined, but not concerning my Lord Cobham, but of 
 the Surprising Treason. My Lord Grey was appre- 
 hended, and likewise Brooke. By Brooke we found, that 
 he had given notice to Cobham of the Surprising Treason 
 as he delivered it to us ; but with as much sparingness 
 of a brother as he might. We sent for my Lord Cobham 
 to Richmond, where he stood upon his justification and 
 his quality : sometimes being fro ward, he said he was 
 not bound to subscribe [his examination], wherewith 
 we made the king acquainted. Cobham said. If my 
 lord-chief-justice would say it were a contempt, he would 
 subscribe ; whereof being resolved, he subscribed. For 
 Sir Walter Raleigh I must say, that there was a light 
 given by him to me, that La Rensy had dealt betwixt 
 Count Aremberg and the Lord Cobham ; but that Sir 
 W. Raleigh knew at that time of Lord Cobliam’s accu- 
 sation I cannot say.”* 
 
 * In this reply the reader will observe the dexterity with 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 239 
 
 In reply to the allegation of Raleigh, that Cohham 
 had accused him in a fit of passion, the attorney brought 
 forward a circumstance afterwards shown to be false, 
 and at the time unsupported by proof, but which, there 
 can he little doubt, had its effect on the jury. “ It hath 
 been argued,” said he, “ that Cobham acted under a par- 
 oxysm of resentment. Yet it was no sudden ebullition, 
 for at least two months before he had said to his brother 
 Brooke, ^ You are fools, you are in the Bye. Raleigh and 
 I are on the Main. We mean to take away the king and 
 his cubs.’ ” This speech, which was afterwards proved 
 never to have been uttered, roused the indignation of 
 the accused, who earnestly besought the court and the 
 jury to have it investigated. I beseech you, my lords,” 
 said he, “ let it be proved that Cobham so expressed 
 himself. You try me by the Spanish Inquisition if you 
 proceed only by the circumstances without two witnesses. 
 Good my lords, let it be proved, either by the laws of 
 the land or the laws of God, that there ought not to be 
 two witnesses appointed. * * It is no rare thing for 
 
 a man to be falsely accused. A judge condemned a 
 woman in Sarum for killing her husband, on the testi- 
 
 which Cecil evades the important question put to him by the 
 juryman. The object of the question was evident. Raleigh 
 had asserted that his letter to Cecil had been shown to Cobham, 
 and that this circumstance had stimulated that nobleman to 
 accuse him. The juryman wished to find out if this was true, 
 and requested to know the time or date of this letter, and 
 whether it preceded Cobham’s accusation. Nothing can be 
 plainer than the question, — and Cecil had only to give the date, 
 —to say yes or no. But mark the crafty obscurity of his an- 
 swer. “ For Sir W. Raleigh, I must say, that there was a light 
 given by him to me, that La Rensy had dealt betwixt Count 
 Aremberg and the Lord Cobham ; hut that Sir Walter at that 
 time knew of the Lord Cobham"’ s accusation, I cannot say; for I 
 think he was not then examined touching any matter concern- 
 ing my Lord Cobham, — ^for only the Surprising Treason was 
 then in suspicion.” The truth was, that Sir Walter could not 
 possibly have then knovm of Lord Cobham’s accusation, because 
 that accusation had not then been made, — a fact perfectly un- 
 derstood by Cecil, but which he did not choose to mention, be- 
 cause it corroborated Raleigh’s defence.* 
 
 * Trial as printed by Oldys, p. 665. Jardine’s Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 416. 
 
240 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 inony of one witness. Afterward, when she was executed, 
 the real murderer confessed. What said the judge to 
 Fortescue, touching the remorse of his conscience for 
 proceeding upon such slender proof I ^ That so long as 
 he lived he would never purge his conscience of that 
 deed.* I may be told, that the statutes I have before 
 named are repealed. Yet the equity and reason of those 
 laws remain : and at all events the law of God remaineth 
 for ever ; and the canon of God saith, ‘ At the mouth of 
 two or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death 
 be put to death — but at the mouth of one witness he 
 shall not be put to death.’ If then, by the statute law, 
 by the civil law, and by God’s word, it be required that 
 there must be two witnesses at the least, bear with me 
 if I desire one. Let Cobham be here ; let him speak it. 
 Call my accuser before my face, and I have done. All 
 is but his accusation. No other thing hath been brought 
 against me ; and yet this accusation he never subscribed, 
 — he never avouched. I beseech you, my lords, let this 
 lord be sent for. Charge him on his soul, — on his alle- 
 giance to the king. If he affirm it I am content to be 
 found guilty.” 
 
 It was the observation of James himself, — that weak 
 monarch, under whose authority this scene of judicial 
 severity was transacted, — that if Cobham could have 
 spoken one word against Raleigh, his enemies would 
 have brought him from Constantinople."^* Cecil dreaded 
 nothing more than the producing of the accuser. He knew 
 that the whole of Cobham’s evidence would break down 
 under the cross-examination of Sir Walter, and trembled 
 lest his searching interrogations should bring to light his 
 own courses and the plot he had laid for his victim. 
 Determined, therefore, that the prisoner’s entreaty should 
 not be listened to, he did not reject it himself, but with 
 his usual art made the refusal come from the judges. 
 They readily repelled every argument, and declared that 
 it was illegal to grant a request which would promote 
 
 Cayley, vol. ii. p. 77. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 241 
 
 the growth of treasons, and open a door for the destruc- 
 tion of the king. 
 
 Driven from this just ground, the trial proceeded, and 
 an attempt was made to prejudice the jury by implicat- 
 ing the prisoner in the crime of Clark, Watson, and the 
 priests : — Now,” said Coke, “ let us come to those 
 words of Brooke regarding the destruction of the king 
 and his cubs.” These expressions, all knowledge of which 
 Raleigh indignantly denied, were afterwards retracted 
 by the accuser on the scaffold ; and yet an effort was now 
 made to connect them with a circumstance stated in the 
 indictment, that Cobham had received from Sir Walter 
 a book written against the king’s title to the throne. 
 
 Nothing could more strongly demonstrate the cruel 
 and unjust manner in which every trifle was wrested 
 than this circumstance. The book was found among 
 Lord Burleigh’s papers, which Raleigh had examined 
 with the permission of that nobleman’s son. It had been 
 by mistake carried to his house ; it was taken off his 
 table by Cobham, who declared that Sir Walter had said 
 it was foolishly written : yet the attorney exaggerated 
 the affair into a premeditated attempt to sow discontent 
 and treason. 
 
 The lord-high-admiral seized this moment of the trial 
 to bring in his sister-in-law, the lady Arabella Stewart, 
 who protested she never had dealt in these things, though 
 Cobham had written to her affirming that some about 
 the king laboured to disgrace her. This letter she con- 
 sidered a foolish trick, and immediately sent it to his 
 majesty. Nothing, indeed, could be more ridiculous than 
 the whole story, — nothing more completely established 
 by the evidence, than that no conspiracy to place this 
 lady on the throne existed any where except perhaps in 
 the idle brain of Cobham. Raleigh knew this well ; and, 
 confident of a successful issue were he permitted to 
 cross-examine that peer, made another struggle to be 
 confronted with him : The Lord Cobham,” said he, 
 
 hath accused me — you see in what manner he hath 
 forsworn it. Were it not for his accusation, all this were 
 
 p 
 
242 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 nothing. Let him he asked if I knew of the letter which 
 La Rensy brought to him from Aremherg. Let me speak 
 for my life ; it can be no hurt for him to be brought — 
 he dares not accuse me. If you grant me not this favour 
 I am strangely used. Campion was not denied to have 
 his accusers face to face.” To this the lord-chief-justice 
 remarked, that Cohham could not be brought, because 
 the acquitting of his old friend might move him to speak 
 otherwise than the truth. Raleigh’s reply was perfectly 
 convincing : — ‘‘ If,” said he, “ I had been the infuser of 
 all these treasons into him, — you, gentlemen of the jury, 
 mark this, — if I have been, as he is made to say, the 
 cause of all his miseries and the destruction of his house, 
 and that all evil hath happened unto him by my wicked 
 counsel, if this be true, whom hath he cause to accuse 
 and to be revenged on but me 1 — and I know him to be 
 as revengeful as any man on earth. 
 
 At this critical moment Cecil again introduced one of 
 his artful speeches : — “ I am afraid,” said he, “ my oft 
 speaking (who am inferior to my lords here present) will 
 make the world think I delight to hear myself talk. 
 My affection to you. Sir Walter Raleigh, was not ex- 
 tinguished but slaked, in regard of your deserts. You 
 know the law of the realm (which your mind doth not 
 contest), that my Lord Cohham cannot be brought. Yet 
 let me ask you this — If my Lord Cohham should he 
 brought, and were we to ask him whether you were his 
 only instigator to proceed in the treasons, dare you put 
 yourself on his answer V’ This appeal was met by Ra- 
 leigh with the promptitude and confidence of innocence. 
 
 I do dare it,” said he. If Cohham will declare before 
 God and the king, that ever I knew of Arabella’s matter, 
 or of the money out of Spain, or of the Surprising Trea- 
 son, I put myself upon it, — let me at once he pronounced 
 guilty.” Then,” said Cecil, ‘‘ Sir Walter Raleigh, 
 call upon Heaven, and prepare yourself ; for I do verily 
 believe my lords will prove this. Excepting your faults 
 (I call them no worse), by God I am your friend ! The 
 heat and passion in you, and the attorney’s zeal in the 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 243 
 
 king’s service, makes me speak this. You argue that 
 Cobham must have acquainted you with his conferences 
 with Aremherg. That does not follow. If I set you on 
 work, and you give me no account, — does that make 
 me innocent V’ To this the reply of the accused con- 
 veyed more than met the ear. “ Whoever,” said he, “ is 
 the workman, it is reason he should give an account to 
 the workmaster. But let it be proved that he gave me 
 any account of his conferences with Aremherg.” 
 
 The reader will observe the courage with which Ra- 
 leigh perils the whole case upon his being confronted 
 with his accuser, and the subterfuge by which Cecil, who 
 was not prepared for such boldness, slides out of the 
 dilemma. Who does not expect, after this strong denun- 
 ciation, Then, Sir Walter Raleigh, call upon Heaven 
 and prepare yourself!” that Cobham is to he brought in 
 to prove the whole 1 Yet all that follows is the verily 
 believe” of this crafty politician, that the lords are to 
 make out their case. A more impotent conclusion could 
 not he imagined. That this statesman was Raleigh’s 
 enemy, and even before the king’s accession had done 
 every thing to prejudice the royal mind against him, is 
 proved by his own letters to James. What then are we 
 to think of this obtestation of the great name of God in 
 connexion with so gross a falsehood as the assurance that 
 he still continued his friend I But the Secretary, who 
 had been bred, as his biographers tell us, a courtier from 
 his cradle, early acquired, in its highest perfection, that 
 most courtier-like quality — hypocrisy. In the last words, 
 as to the workmaster” or contriver of the accusation, 
 it is difficult to resist the inference that Raleigh points 
 to Cecil himself. 
 
 The attorney next called a low witness, one Dyer a 
 pilot, to prove an idle speech of some nameless Portu- 
 guese who, at Lisbon, had said to him, “ Don Cobham 
 and Don Raleigh would cut the king’s throat before he 
 was crowned.” On this Sir Walter convincingly argued, 
 that if Cobham was in correspondence with Aremherg, 
 which he had no intention to deny, it must necessarily 
 
244 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 be known in Spain. Why,” said he, did they name 
 the Duke of Buckingham with Jack Straw’s treason, 
 and the Duke of York with Jack Cade, but to counte- 
 nance his treason 1 Consider you, gentlemen of the jury, 
 there is no cause so doubtful which the king’s council 
 cannot make good against the law. Consider my dis- 
 ability and their ability. They prove nothing against 
 me ; and they bring the accusation of my Lord Cobham, 
 which he hath lamented and repented as heartily as if it 
 had been for a horrible murder. For he knew that all 
 this sorrow which should come to me is by his means. 
 Presumptions must proceed from precedent of subsequent 
 facts. I have spent 40,000 crowns against the Spaniards. 
 If I had died in Guiana, I had not left 800 marks a-year 
 to my wife and son. I that have always condemned the 
 Spanish faction — methinks it is a strange thing that nov/ 
 I should affect it ! Remember what St Austin says, ‘ So 
 judge as if you were about to be judged yourselves ; for 
 in the end there is but one judge, but one tribunal for all 
 men.’ Now, if you yourselves would like to be hazarded 
 in your lives and disabled in your descendants, — if you 
 would be content to be delivered up to be slaughtered ; 
 to have your wives and children turned into the street to 
 beg their bread — if you would be content all this should 
 befall you upon a trial by suspicions and presumptions, 
 upon an accusation not subscribed by your accuser, — 
 without the open testimony of a single witness, — then so 
 judge me as you would yourselves be judged.” 
 
 A singular interruption now took place. The attorney, 
 having failed again in the proof, launched forth into 
 abuse, and was exhorted by Cecil to be less impatient ; 
 
 upon which,” says the record, Mr Attorney sat down 
 in a chafe, and would speak no more until the commis- 
 sioners urged and entreated him to proceed.” He then, 
 after much persuasion, arose and broke out into still 
 more violent invective, — but we shall present the dia- 
 logue which ensued in the words of the trial : — 
 
 Attorney , — Thou art the most vile and execrable 
 traitor that ever lived. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 245 
 
 " Raleigh, — You speak indiscreetly, barbarously, and 
 uncivilly. 
 
 ‘‘ Attorney, — I want words sufficient to express thy 
 viperous treasons. 
 
 Raleigh, — I think you want words indeed, for you 
 have spoken one thing half a dozen times. 
 
 Attorney, — Thou art an odious fellow ; thy name is 
 hateful to all the realm of England for thy pride. 
 
 Raleigh, — It will go near to prove a measuring-cast 
 between you and me, Mr Attorney. 
 
 ‘‘ Attorney, — Well, now will I make it appear to the 
 world that there never lived a viler viper upon the face 
 of the earth than thou.” (In saying this he drew a letter 
 from his pocket, and continued.) My Lords, you shall 
 see. This is an agent who hath writ a treatise against 
 the Spaniard, and hath ever so detested him I this is he 
 that hath spent so much money against him in service ! 
 and yet you shall see whether his heart be not wholly 
 Spanish. The Lord Cobham, who of his nature was a 
 good and honourable gentleman till overtaken by this 
 wretch, now finding his conscience heavily burdened with 
 some of the courses which the subtilty of this traitor 
 had drawn him into, he could be at no rest in himself, 
 nor quiet in his thoughts, until he was eased of that 
 heavy w'eight. Out of which passion of his mind, and 
 discharge of his duty to his prince and his conscience to 
 God, taking it upon his salvation that he wrote nothing 
 but the truth, with his own hands he wrote this letter : 
 — ^ I have thought it fit to set down this to my lords, 
 wherein I protest on my soul to write nothing but the 
 truth. I am come now near to the period of my time, 
 therefore I confess the whole truth before God and his 
 angels. Raleigh, four days before I came from the 
 Tower, caused an apple to be thrown in at my chamber- 
 window ; the effect of it was to entreat me to right the 
 wrong that I had done him in saying that I should come 
 home by Jersey ; which, under my hand, I have re- 
 tracted. His first letter I answered not, which was 
 thrown in the same manner ; wherein he prayed me to 
 
246 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 write him a letter, which I did. He sent me word that 
 the judges had met at Mr Attorney’s house, and that 
 there was good hope the proceedings against us would be 
 staid. He sent me another time a little tobacco. At 
 Aremberg’s coming Raleigh was to have procured a pen- 
 sion of £1500 a-year ; for which he promised that no 
 action should be against Spain, the Low Countries, or the 
 Indies, but he would give knowledge beforehand. He 
 told me the States had audience with the king. He 
 hath been the original cause of my ruin ; for I had no 
 dealing with Aremberg but by his instigation. He hath 
 also been the cause of my discontentment. He advised 
 me not to be overtaken with preachers as Essex was ; 
 and that the king would better allow of a constant denial 
 than to accuse any.’ ” On this letter Mr Attorney 
 resumed his commentary and pleading : — ‘‘ Oh damnable 
 atheist !” said he, ‘‘ he hath learnt some text of Scrip- 
 ture to serve his own purpose, hut falsely alleged. He 
 counselled him not to he counselled by preachers as Essex 
 was. Essex died the child of God ; God honoured him 
 at his death ; thou [Raleigh] wast present when he died. 
 Et lupus et turpes instant morientibus ursce, * * j 
 
 doubt not but this day God shall have as great a conquest 
 by this traitor, and the Son of God shall be as much 
 glorified as when it was said Vicistiy GalilcBe, You know 
 my meaning.” 
 
 It will be remarked by the reader, that this second 
 declaration of Cobham contains nothing new against Ra- 
 leigh. He had never denied the offer of money or a 
 pension from Spain, — made to him, as it had been to 
 many others, that he might use his influence to procure 
 a peace, — but that he had accepted the offer was no- 
 where shown ; and his reply to the tissue of abuse and 
 slander brought against him by Coke was calm and 
 noble : — “ You have heard,” said he, a strange tale of a 
 strange man. Now, Mr Attorney thinks he hath matter 
 enough to destroy me. But the king and all of you shall 
 witness by our deaths which of us was the ruin of the 
 other. I bid a poor fellow throw in the letter at Cob- 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 247 
 
 ham’s window, written to this purpose : — ^ You know 
 you have undone me ; now write three lines to justify 
 me.’ In this I will die that he hath done me wrong. 
 Why did he not acquaint me with his treasons if I did ac- 
 quaint him with my dispositions Sir Walter was here 
 interrupted by the chief-justice, who asked, “ But what 
 say you now of the letter, and the pension of £1500 per 
 annum f “ I say,” he replied, that Cobllam is a base, 
 dishonourable, poor soul ; as this will show.” He then 
 produced a letter and requested Cecil to read it ; as he 
 only of the commissioners knew the hand. It contained 
 a complete exculpation, and made a great impression in 
 the court. Its terms were these : — “ Seeing myself so 
 near my end, for the discharge of my own conscience, 
 and freeing myself from your blood, which else will cry 
 vengeance against me ; I protest upon my salvation I 
 never practised with Spain by your procurement. God 
 so comfort me in this my affliction, as you are a true 
 subject for any thing I know ! I will say as Daniel,'^' — 
 Purus sum a sanguine hujus. So God have mercy upon 
 my soul as I know no treason by you I” 
 
 This was the last piece of evidence adduced, — a marshal 
 was then sworn to keep the court, and the jury being 
 shut up, deliberated for a quarter of an hour, and returned 
 a verdict of Guilty. Raleigh was now asked in the usual 
 form, whether he had any thing to say why judgment 
 and execution of death should not pass against him. 
 To which, standing up, he answered with perfect equa- 
 nimity, — 
 
 My Lords, — The jury have found me guilty. They 
 must do as they are directed. I can say nothing why 
 judgment should not proceed. You see whereof Cobham 
 hath accused me. You remember his protestations that 
 I was never guilty. I desire the king should know of 
 the wrongs done me since I came hither b}^ Mr Attorney. 
 I desire my lords to remember three things to the king. 
 
 * It is evident that Cobham here substitutes Daniel for Pilate, 
 
248 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 1st, I was accused to be a practiser for Spain. I never 
 knew that my Lord Cobliam meant to go thither. I will 
 ask no mercy at the king’s hand if he will affirm it. 2d, 
 I never knew of the practice with Arabella. 3d, I never 
 knew of my Lord Cobham’s practice with Aremberg, 
 nor of the Surprising Treason. I submit myself to the 
 king’s mercy. I know his mercy is greater than my 
 offence. I recommend my wife, and son of tender years 
 unbrought up, to his compassion.” 
 
 The chief-justice now pronounced the sentence of death; 
 and when, according to the form in cases of treason, he 
 detailed with horrible minuteness the manner of execu- 
 tion, Sir Walter requested the lords-commissioners to 
 entreat the king, in consideration of the honourable places 
 he had held, that the extreme rigour of his sentence 
 might be qualified — that his death should not be igno- 
 minious. The court then broke up, and Raleigh accom- 
 panied the sheriff to the prison ; all being struck with 
 his noble demeanour, which it was observed became 
 a man conscious of innocence, and yet not insensible 
 to his situation as being condemned by the laws of his 
 country.* 
 
 In the Hardwicke Papers there is an interesting letter 
 from Sir Dudley Carleton, who was present at the trial, 
 which describes the impression made by the defence. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh,” sa}^s he, served for a whole act, 
 and played all the parts himself. His cause was disjoined 
 from the priests, as being a practice only between himself 
 and the Lord Cobham to have brought in the Spaniard, 
 to have raised rebellion in the realm by fastening money 
 upon discontents ; to have set up the Lady Arabella, and 
 to have tied her to certain conditions. * * The evidence 
 against him was only Cobham’s confession, which was 
 judged sufficient to condemn him ; and a letter was pro- 
 duced, written by Cobham the day before, by which 
 he accused Raleigh as the first practiser of the treason 
 
 Cayley, vol. ii. p. 79. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 249 
 
 betwixt them, which served to turn against him ; though 
 he showed, to countervail this, a letter written by Cob- 
 ham, and delivered to him in the Tower, by which he 
 was clearly acquitted. After sentence given, his request 
 was to have his answers related to the king, and pardon 
 begged ; of which if there were no hope, then that Cob- 
 ham might die first. He answered with that temper, wit, 
 learning, courage, and judgment, that, save that it went 
 with the hazard of his life, it was the happiest day he 
 ever spent. And so well he shifted all advantages that 
 were taken against him, that were not famamalum gravius 
 quam res, and an ill name half hanged, in the opinion of 
 all men, he had been acquitted. The two first that 
 brought the news to the king were Roger Ashton, and 
 a Scotsman, whereof one affirmed, ‘ That never any man 
 spoke so well in times past, nor would do in the world 
 to come and the other said, ‘ That whereas when he 
 saw him first, he was so led with the common hatred, 
 that he would have gone a hundred miles to have seen 
 him hanged, he would, ere he parted, have gone a thou- 
 sand to have saved his life:’ ” 
 
 To clear up the mystery with which this extraordinary 
 trial has hitherto been covered, it will not be uninterest- 
 ing to offer a few remarks ; and, first, I would observe, 
 that Raleigh’s innocence of any treasonable practices 
 may be established almost to a demonstration. The only 
 circumstance to connect him with the plot by Brooke 
 and the priests, which in the trial is called the Surprising 
 Treason, was the declaration stated to be made by Cob- 
 ham to his brother, that “ there never would be peace 
 in England till the fox and his cubs were taken off,” 
 meaning the king. Now we have Cecil’s evidence, the 
 most unsuspected on this point certainly which could be 
 given, that Brooke recalled to the bishop, on receiving 
 the sacrament, that accusation which he had made of his 
 brother concerning those odious words supposed to be 
 uttered by the Lord Cobham (meaning thereby our 
 gracious sovereign and his issue), that ‘ it never would 
 be well until the fox and cubs were taken away.’ ” 
 
250 FROM ELIZABETH’S LAST PARLIAMENT 
 
 This charge, therefore, must be dismissed as unfounded ; 
 and it is to be observed, that neither Brooke, nor Grey, 
 nor any of the others who suffered, uttered a word which 
 could involve Sir Walter in any knowledge of the Sur- 
 prising Treason.* * * § 
 
 In the next place, as to Cobham’s accusation, it con- 
 sisted of two parts, the plan for setting up the Lady 
 Arabella Stewart, and the receiving a pension from Spain. 
 The first scarcely deserves a moment’s consideration ; for 
 it is impossible that any one should attentively read 
 the evidence, garbled and partial as it is, without being 
 convinced that the whole story is idle and ridiculous. 
 A late author, in his character of Raleigh, has loosely 
 asserted, “ that he had certainly, in some measure, en- 
 gaged in that conspiracy to place Arabella Stewart on 
 the throne, the singular extravagance of which is well 
 known to all readers of English history.”t That no such 
 plot existed may be satisfactorily demonstrated. There 
 is no mention of any design to set up that lady in Cecil’s 
 first account of the conspiracies of Brooke and Grey, and 
 of Cobham and Raleigh, which he conveys in a letter to 
 Sir Thomas Parry, ambassador in France. J There is no 
 allusion to such a plot in a letter from the same politician 
 to Mr Winwood, dated 3d October,§ where he gives a 
 sketch of both. In the first examination of Cobham 
 there is not a word of Lady Arabella, though he was 
 questioned as to plots and invasions of which he could 
 give no particular account. || In his second examination 
 he is equally silent. When we look at the evidence on the 
 trial, we find that none of the conspirators in the Surpris- 
 ing Treason, neither Brooke, Grey, Watson, nor Copley, 
 say one word regarding that scheme. In the last letter 
 written by Cobham accusing Raleigh, upon which the 
 attorney-general founded his main proof, there is nothing 
 
 * See the Remarks at the end of this volume, on the errors 
 committed by Hume, Carte, and other writers, in their account 
 
 of this trial. 
 
 f Lodge’s Portraits and Memoirs, t Cayley, vol. ii. p. 6. 
 
 § Ibid. p. 13. 11 Ibid. p. 27. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 251 
 
 said respecting it. On that nobleman’s own trial we find 
 it stated by Sir Dudley Carleton, that for any thing 
 that belonged to the Lady Arabella, he [Cobham] denied 
 the whole accusation and, lastly, we have, in Cecil’s 
 letter to Sir Thomas Parry, written after the conclusion 
 of all the trials, when he had acquired the fullest infor- 
 mation, this remarkable sentence : — There remaineth 
 now, that I do resolve you of some doubts which you 
 might conceive concerning Lady Arabella, Count Arem- 
 berg, and other persons named in the Lord Cobham’s and 
 Sir Walter Raleigh’s indictment, how far they are to be 
 touched with it or not. And therefore you shall under- 
 stand, that as that practice was discovered in the very 
 infancy of it, before it was either put in action or imparted 
 to any, so far the Lady Arabella, the archduke, and King 
 of Spain, they were merely ignorant of any such thing, 
 which these men had but conceived in their minds and dis- 
 coursed of among themselves. But for the Count of Arem- 
 berg, with whom the Lord Cobham had had private 
 meetings, and intercourse of letters, it was always pre- 
 tended to him, howsoever it might he intended by the 
 Lord Cobham, to be for the advancement of the peace ; and 
 that the money which the count was contented to promise, 
 should be bestowed only for gaining of friends to stand 
 for the treaty.”f 
 
 It is impossible to desire more convincing evidence 
 that the plot existed nowhere but in the indictment. 
 When we find Cecil declaring that the parties had dis- 
 coursed of it among themselves, it gives us a poor opinion 
 of the veracity of this statesman, to know that he was 
 asserting what he must have been aware had been con- 
 tradicted by the whole evidence on the trial. Whether 
 Cobham had ever conceived such an idea cannot now be 
 discovered. In his last letter and on his trial he denied 
 the whole story and exculpated the accused ; and assuredly 
 no one can maintain that such a conceit, imparted neither 
 to Sir Walter, to the other conspirators, to the lady her- 
 
 Cayley, vol. ii. p. 67. 
 
 + Ibid. pp. 63, 64. 
 
252 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 self, nor to Aremberg, who was to advance the money? 
 but kept entirely to himself, is for an instant entitled to 
 the name of a conspiracy. 
 
 Having established Raleigh’s innocence with regard to 
 the treason of Brooke, and the imaginary plot concerning 
 the Lady Arabella, it will require very few words to 
 show that, so far as he was involved in the matter of 
 Count Aremberg, he entertained no treasonable designs. 
 All that was proved regarded the offer by Cobham of a 
 sum of money or a pension, on condition of his promoting 
 the peace with Spain, and giving intelligence to that 
 government. On this point, from the first moment when 
 he was examined to the last when he imagined he was 
 preparing for death, he gave the same account. Being 
 kno\vn to all England, to Europe, and indeed to the New 
 World, as well as the Old, to be one of the ablest and 
 most determined enemies of Spain, it was considered 
 material to induce him to withdraw his opposition to a 
 peace ; and he readily acknowledged that Cobham had 
 talked to him of 8000 crowns or of a pension, adding, 
 that he would get the promised bribe within three days. 
 This last circumstance was so improbable, that Raleigh 
 thought the whole was one of his lordship’s idle conceits, 
 and answered lightly, that when he saw the money he 
 would be ready to talk more on the subject.* At the 
 same time he confessed, that he was to blame for con- 
 cealing this offer which he never meant to accept. Such 
 was the declaration to which Sm Walter adhered with 
 the constancy that belongs to truth. It is also material 
 to observe, that Cobham corroborated tliis account in his 
 examinations, in his last letter regarding Raleigh, and 
 on his trial ; whilst Cecil, in a paper already quoted, 
 strikingly confirms it.t That such a proposal should be 
 idly made by such a man, was nothing extraordinary. 
 There would have been guilt in accepting it, or seriously 
 entertaining it, or receiving the money ; but of this, no 
 
 * Tnal, p. 425. New Edition. f Cayley, vol. ii. p. 63. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 253 
 
 proof whatever, either by witnesses or documents, was 
 produced. 
 
 From an impartial view of the whole evidence we 
 arrive at these conclusions : — That Raleigh was in no 
 way connected with the treason of Brooke and Grey ; 
 that there was no plot regarding the Lady Arabella, and, 
 of course, that he could not be involved in it ; and lastly, 
 that his sole offence lay in his discontent wdth the go- 
 vernment, and in his having listened to Cobham while 
 talking in a cursory manner of procuring him a sum of 
 money provided he would further the peace wdth Spain. 
 
 We have now ascertained, on what appears to be 
 strong and sufficient grounds, the amount of Raleigh’s 
 guilt, if it deserve so grave a name, and it cannot be 
 better described than in his own words in a letter to the 
 king : — ‘‘ Lost I am for hearing a vain man ; for hearing 
 only, and never believing or approving. And so little ac- 
 count I made of that speech of his which was my condem- 
 nation (as the living God doth truly witness !) [meaning 
 Cobham’s proposal of the pension], that I never remem- 
 bered any such thing till it was at my trial objected 
 against me.” An interesting question yet remains, which, 
 considering the historical importance of this trial, it is 
 singular should not have been proposed for investigation 
 by any of the numerous writers who have alluded to it. 
 To whom are we to trace the invention of the charges 
 against him 1 by whose ingenuity was the net prepared 
 in which he was irrecoverably entangled 1 There is, I 
 think, strong circumstantial evidence to show that the 
 author of the whole was no other than Cecil. On the 
 trial we have twice found him calling God to witness, 
 in the most solemn manner, that he had a sincere friend- 
 ship for Raleigh ; yet it can be shown that the very 
 reverse was the case. In that remarkable correspondence 
 which this minister, by means of his crafty agent. Lord 
 Henry Howard, carried on with James VI. anterior to 
 his accession to the English throne, it is completely es- 
 tablished that, for a considerable time before the death 
 of Elizabeth, although he preserved towards Sir Walter 
 
254 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 the appearance of confidence, he was his bitter political 
 enemy, and had determined on his ruin/^ The discovery 
 of these practices naturally incensed the latter ; and 
 soon after James’s accession, it is said he defended him- 
 self in a memorial, and accused Cecil not only of being 
 a chief instrument in the fall of Essex, but of having 
 a principal hand in the death of the Queen of- Scots.t 
 James took little notice of this ; but the offence must 
 have been a mortal one to such a man as Cecil, and from 
 that moment he probably determined to get rid of his 
 rival. Yet so covertly did he for the most part proceed 
 in his state intrigues, that it is sometimes difficult to trace 
 his hand. In the instance before us, however, it may 
 be detected pretty clearly : To begin, we have his own 
 admission upon the trial, that he was the first who threw 
 suspicion upon the prisoner. “ When I found Brooke 
 was in,” says he, I suspected Cobham ; then I doubted 
 Baleigh to be a partaker.” In the next place, he was 
 the person who recommended that Raleigh should be 
 detained and examined before the lords of the council. 
 ‘‘ Sir Walter,” says he on the trial, was staid by me at 
 Windsor, upon the first news of Copley, that the king’s 
 person should be surprised by my Lord Grey and Mr 
 George Brooke. I speak not this that it should be 
 thought I had greater judgment than the rest of my 
 lords in. making this haste to have him examined.” This 
 sentence, under an affected modesty, shows the important 
 fact, that he alone among the members of the council 
 intimated suspicions of Raleigh, and made haste to have 
 him examined. It was found that he could not pos- 
 sibly be connected with the plot just mentioned; the 
 declarations of the conspirators completely exculpated 
 him ; but Cobham, Brooke’s brother, was engaged in a 
 correspondence with Aremberg. Sir Walter was inti- 
 mately acquainted with his lordship ; and, as shown 
 above, a base but ingenious device” was fallen upon 
 to induce this nobleman to criminate Raleigh. The 
 
 * See Remarks at the end of the volume. 
 
 f Camden, in Kennet’s Hist, of England, vol. ii. pp. 663, 664. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 255 
 
 reader already knows the manner in which this was 
 accomplished.* The secretary was in possession of an 
 epistle, addressed by Raleigh to himself, about the cor- 
 respondence with Aremberg, which Sir Walter believed 
 to relate to the Spanish peace. When Cobham came 
 to be examined, this letter was handed to him, accom- 
 panied 1^ the observation, that Raleigh had accused him. 
 The success of the scheme was complete ; for the baron, 
 a violent and unprincipled man, broke into a furious 
 passion, and in his turn denounced his supposed accuser 
 as guilty of a treasonable correspondence with Spain, t 
 We need not hesitate, therefore, to pronounce the evi- 
 dence nearly complete, which shows Cecil to have been 
 the principal inventor of that contrivance by which a 
 man, whom he knew to be innocent, was involved in a 
 charge which ultimately cost him his life. Raleigh was 
 well aware of this. In a letter written, previous to his 
 trial, to the Earls of Nottingham, Suffolk, Devonshire, 
 and Cecil himself, there is this sentence : By what 
 
 means that revengeful accusation was stirred, you, my 
 Lord Cecil, know right well that it was my letter about 
 Keymis ; and your lordships all know, whether it be 
 maintained, or whether, out of truth and out of a Chris- 
 tian consideration, it be revoked.” j 
 
 The enmity of the secretary is fully established by 
 the despatches of the French ambassador De Beaumont, 
 then in England, who declares that he was violently 
 set upon the prosecution, acting more from interest and 
 passion than from any zeal for the public good.”§ The 
 same enmity was exhibited during the trial. Had he 
 been the prisoner’s friend, which he declares before God 
 he was, his influence was so great, that he might by 
 dwelling on alleviating circumstances have disposed the 
 jury to acquit him : This is shown by a remarkable 
 
 * Supra, p. 235. 
 
 + This fact is established by a contemporary letter in Sir 
 Toby Mathews’ Collection, p. 281. 
 t Cayley, vol. ii. p. 12. 
 
2.56 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 passage in a letter of Sir Dudley Carleton, describing the 
 trial of Brooke, and other conspirators. Parham was 
 acquitted ; * * yet had he gone the same way as the 
 rest (as it is thought) save for a word the Lord Cecil cast 
 in the way as the cause was in handling, ^ That the 
 king’s glory consisted as much in freeing the innocent 
 as condemning the guilty.’” Yet every word cast in 
 by Cecil in Raleigh’s trial was unfavourable to the ac- 
 cused ; and the reader is already aware how steadily he 
 opposed the viva voce examination of Cobham, — the last 
 solitary hope left to Raleigh of establishing his innocence. 
 In his letters written after the trial, the secretary gives 
 a garbled representation of the grounds upon which Sir 
 Walter was found guilty ; and in his anxiety to account 
 for the inconsistencies in the story of Cobham’s plot, he 
 contradicts himself on a material point, which is worthy 
 of notice. In a note, addressed to Sir Thomas Parry, 
 previous to the trial but after the examinations had been 
 taken, he accuses Cobham of a scheme to obtain money 
 from Aremberg 7iot to procure a peace, but for some 
 other design by which he would prosper better than by 
 peace f In a second communication, written after the 
 trial to the same person, then ambassador in France, he 
 as positively asserts a totally different story, namely, 
 that “ for the Count of Aremberg, with whom the Lord 
 Cobham had private meetings, and intercourse of letters, 
 it was always pretended to him, howsoever it might be 
 intended by the Lord Cobham to be for the advancement 
 of the peace, and that the money which the count was 
 contented to promise, should be bestowed only for gain- 
 ing of friends to stand for the treaty, without any farther 
 referencer\ It is not difficult to detect the cause of this 
 discrepancy : When the first letter was VTitten, Cecil 
 hoped to make something of the pretended plot in favour 
 of the Lady Arabella ; and, in speaking of the correspond- 
 ence, it was necessary to throw out hints of an ulterior 
 scheme, distinct from the negotiation of a treaty : this 
 
 Cayley, vol. ii. pp. 8, 9. 
 
 f Ibid. p. 64. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 257 
 
 is what we are to understand by another design by 
 which he might prosper better than by the peace.” It 
 was soon discovered, liowever, that all hopes of dressing 
 up this conspiracy were vain. The charge was indeed 
 retained in the indictment, hut the reader has seen that 
 no proof whatever could be elicited : the whole attempt 
 failed signally, and it exceeded the wit of this accom- 
 plished politician to make out a plot, — of which the 
 principals declared their innocence, and of which the lady 
 who was to profit by it, and the agent who was said to 
 have advanced money for its accomplishment, knew no- 
 thing. In his second note to Parry, therefore, the secre- 
 tary, in describing the intercourse between Cobham and 
 Aremberg, finds it necessary to change his statement, and 
 not only distinctly admits, but asserts in the most posi- 
 tive manner, that the latter was never allowed to sup- 
 pose that the money was intended for any other purpose 
 than the advancement of the peace. 
 
 Through the confusion and mystery which has so long 
 surrounded this trial,* the plot against Raleigh may 
 thus, I think, be traced to its real author in the secretary ; 
 and we have seen that the character of this statesman 
 was every way conformable to such a mode of proceeding. 
 It has been said of him by Lord Clarendon, that it was 
 as necessary for Cecil there should be treasons as for the 
 state they should be prevented.” He seemed only to 
 breathe when surrounded by the air of suspicion ; and 
 although there are many instances of his reconciliation 
 with his rivals in power where interest demanded it, 
 there are none where such reconciliation prevented his 
 pulling them down : the moment they crossed the path 
 of his ambition, he had sufficiently prepared the means 
 of their ruin. To his own creatures he proved faithful 
 so long as they were servile, and did not scan his policy” 
 
 * Rushworth has pronounced the conspiracy of which Ra- 
 leigh was accused “a riddle of state , andevery subsequent writer 
 has contented himself with reiterating the expression without 
 making any serious attempt to solve the mystery. See Remarks 
 at the end of this volume. 
 
 Q 
 
258 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 too nearly ; but against others who were too proud to 
 court him, and dared to thwart his measures, he cherished 
 a tenacious enmity which brooded over its purpose, and 
 waited calmly for the day of reckoning. Alluding to 
 his skill in the pursuit and unravelling of plots the 
 king used playfully to call him his Little Beagle 
 and, in the trial of Raleigh, he clung to his victim with 
 something of the untiring instinct of the creature to 
 which his master compared him ; yet all was done so 
 temperately, with such finished dissembling, such pro- 
 testations of justice and affected regret, that, to those 
 unacquainted with his real disposition, he appears an ami- 
 able martyr to a sense of public duty. “ Cecil,” says 
 Oldys, with great happiness of expression, ^‘played a 
 smooth edge upon Raleigh throughout the trial ; his blade 
 seemed ever anointed with the balsam of compliment or 
 apology, whereby he gave not such rough and smarting 
 wounds [as Coke], though they were as deep and fatal 
 as the other.” 
 
 There is a letter from the secretary to Sir John Har- 
 rington written in this year, and probably about the very 
 time when he had accomplished the overthrow of his 
 enemy, in which we have a remarkable picture of a mind 
 distracted by a struggle between its desire to be honest, 
 and its determination not to spoil its fortune. 
 
 “ Good Knight, — Rest content and give heed to one 
 that hath sorrowed in the bright lustre of a court, and 
 gone heavily even on the best seeming fair ground. ^Tis 
 a great task to prove one^s honesty^ and yet not spoil one^s 
 fortune. You have tasted a little hereof in our blessed 
 queen’s time, who was more than a man, and in troth 
 somewhat less than a woman. I wish I waited now in 
 your presence-chamber with ease at my food and rest in 
 my bed. I am pushed from the shore of comfort, and 
 know not where the winds and waves of a court will 
 bear me. I know it bringeth little comfort on earth, 
 
 * Life, p. 384. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 259 
 
 and he is, I reckon, no wise man that looketh that way 
 to heaven.” 
 
 Perhaps it may be pronounced too conjectural, yet I 
 am inclined to attribute to Cecil’s conduct to Raleigh 
 some portion of the feelings so eloquently described m 
 this letter. The anticipated shipwreck of honesty ; the 
 sorrow which clouded the fictitious lustre that surrounded 
 him ; the heavy heart under his seeming fortune ; the 
 sighs for a tranquil meal and a quiet sleep ; the complaint 
 that he had been pushed from the shore of comfort ; and 
 the dread with which he contemplated the loss of all 
 happiness on earth and his hope of heaven, present in few 
 words a picture of deep meaning. From his influence 
 over the character of his master, he was at that moment 
 perhaps the most powerful man in England ; who would 
 purchase such power at such a sacrifice ! 
 
 But though we trace to Cecil the invention and exe- 
 cution of the plot to which Raleigh fell a victim, all who 
 peruse the trial will admit that he had willing assistants 
 in Coke and Lord Henry Howard. The attorney-general 
 was undoubtedly the ablest lawyer at that period in 
 England ; his acuteness must have detected the device 
 by which Sir Walter was implicated, and the total want 
 of proof against him. What are we then to think of the 
 readiness with which he lent himself to overwhelm an 
 innocent man I To what cause are we to attribute his 
 bitter abuse, the brutality of his manner, his torturing of 
 the evidence, his overbearing conduct to the jury, which 
 has to this day left a stain upon his memory ? I fear we 
 must impute his behaviour to his desire of ingratiating 
 himself with James, who from the first had shown a dis- 
 taste to Raleigh, and with that powerful minister whom 
 he regarded as the dispenser of those professional honours 
 which formed the highest object of his ambition. Aware 
 that a conviction would be grateful both to James and to 
 Cecil, his sense of public virtue was too weak to support 
 him in the path of duty. The same remarks, however, 
 do not apply to the Cliief-justice Popham, whose conduct 
 
260 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament 
 
 upon the trial is more to be ascribed to the defective 
 state of the law of treason, which, as it then stood, was 
 unreasonable and unjust, than to any strong or improper 
 bias against the accused. It has been well remarked, 
 that we must be careful to distinguish between a system 
 which is imperfect and partial in its operations, but which 
 a judge is bound to administer, and a system changed or 
 perverted for political ends by the iniquity of its adminis- 
 trators.* An able lawyer, the Solicitor-general Hawles, 
 draws an interesting parallel between this case and that 
 of Lord Russel : The circumstances of his [Raleigh’s] 
 
 trial,” says he, “ in which the court always overruled 
 the prisoner, were somewhat like the Lord Russel’s : he 
 complained of the ill usage of the king’s counsel, as well 
 as the Lord Russel ; and both had reason so to do. Hear- 
 say was admitted to be given in evidence against both ; 
 all that either of them said for themselves, though very 
 material, was slighted. The one was put in mind at his 
 trial of the death of the Earl of Essex, as the other was 
 of the death of the Viscount Stafford ; both in their 
 dying speeches vindicated themselves of those aspersions. 
 The principal witnesses in both cases had, before the 
 trials, aflftrmed they knew nothing against them ; they 
 were both accused with having heard what other persons 
 had said in their company, and had not discovered it ; 
 they both gave the same answer, that they could not help 
 other men’s talk.” The concluding remark of Hawles 
 is material, as corroborating the opinion at which, from 
 an impartial examination of the circumstances of this trial, 
 we have arrived, — that the whole accusation brought 
 against Raleigh was a pretended charge which had no 
 foundation in reality : “ I think,” says he, “ it is plain, at 
 this day, that of Sir Walter Raleigh is thought a sham plot; 
 what the Lord Russel’s is thought, let the author say.”t 
 
 Another of Raleigh’s enemies, who sat on the trial as 
 one of the commissioners, was Lord Henry Howard, son 
 
 * See the excellent observations of Mr Jardine, in the first 
 volume of Criminal Trials, p. 513. 
 
 f Oldys’s Life, p. 385. 
 
TO THE TRIAL OF RALEIGH. 
 
 261 
 
 of the accomplished Earl of Surrey ; a favourite instru- 
 ment of Cecil, and employed by him, as we have seen, 
 in the correspondence he carried on with James before 
 the death of Elizabeth. His nature was composed of 
 singular contradictions. He inherited the talents, the 
 taste, and accomplishments of his father ; his manners 
 were amiable ; his powers of flattery and insinuation 
 refined ; his conversation captivating ; and in the midst 
 of a brilliant and corrupted society his piety appeared so 
 sincere, and his charities so noble and extensive, that he 
 might almost have passed for the model of a virtuous 
 courtier. Yet this same person was in reality a monster 
 of wickedness and hypocrisy ; he assisted the infamous 
 Rochester in the murder of Overbury ; his letters, which 
 completely established his share in this dark transaction, 
 contained such a mixture of ferocity and obscenity, that 
 the chief-justice could not read them entire to the court. 
 His religion, notwithstanding his endowment of alms- 
 houses and his waitings on devotional subjects, was as 
 vacillating as his ideas of self-interest. He was bred a 
 Papist ; became a Protestant under Elizabeth ; reverted 
 to Popery on the death of the queen ; to please the king 
 again declared himself a member of the reformed church ; 
 and died professing himself a Roman Catholic. Under 
 these circumstances it is certainly difficult to say what 
 Lord Henry was in his religious belief. When a man 
 changes four times, we may, without any great breach 
 of charity, doubt whether his last metamorphosis, if he 
 had lived, would have been more permanent than those 
 which preceded it. But it is certain that he was the 
 determined enemy of the accused ; and even in the 
 garbled report of the proceedings which has come down 
 to us, enough of his malevolence appears to show that 
 there was a sufficient reason for selecting him as a com- 
 missioner. 
 
 The conduct of Raleigh on the trial excited great 
 admiration. He appears, probably from the share he 
 had taken in the prosecution of Essex, to have been ex- 
 tremely unpopular at the time ; but, judging from the 
 
262 FROM Elizabeth’s last parliament, &c. 
 
 letters of those who were present, a remarkable change 
 was produced in his favour by the ability, courage, and 
 temper with which he conducted his defence. One writer 
 declares that he behaved himself so worthily, so wisely, 
 and so temperately, that in half a day the mind of all 
 the company was changed from the extremest hate to 
 the extremest pity.” Another, who speaks also from 
 personal observation, remarks that his manner and car- 
 riage upon the trial were worthy of all praise, — “ to the 
 lords humble, yet not prostrate ; towards the jury affable, 
 but not fawning, rather showing love of life than fear 
 of death ; towards the king’s counsel patient, but not 
 insensibly neglectmg ; not yielding to imputations laid 
 against him in words : and it was wondered that a man 
 of his heroic spirit could be so valiant in suffering.” 
 
FROM Raleigh’s first confinement, &c. 263 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 From BaleigK s first Confinement in the Tower to his 
 Execution, 
 
 Extraordinary Pageant of an Execution in the Case of Mark- 
 ham and the Lords Grey and Cobham— Said to be the In- 
 vention of the King — Raleigh is reprieved and confined in the 
 Tower — Reflections on his Character at this Period — His 
 Pursuits in the Tower — His History of the World — His 
 Chemical Studies — Lady Raleigh shares his Confinement — 
 His Son Carew born in the Tower — His Estate of Sherborne 
 given to the Favourite Carr, Earl of Somerset — Raleigh’s 
 Correspondence and Friendship with Prince Henry — His 
 various Writings addressed to this Prince — On War — On 
 the Naval Power of England — On the Match with Savoy — 
 Death of Prince Henry — Raleigh’s Sorrow at this Event — 
 His History of the World — •Criticism upon this great Work 
 — Death of Secretary Cecil — Raleigh’s Epitaph on this States- 
 man — He regains his Liberty — Scheme for the Settlement of 
 Guiana — Remonstrances of the Spanish Court — Character of 
 Gondomar — Account of the Expedition— Its unfortunate Is- 
 sue — Raleigh’s Return to England — Proclamation against 
 him — Inveteracy of the Spanish Government — James’s Re- 
 solution to sacrifice him — Raleigh’s Attempt to Escape — 
 Betrayed by Stukely .and Manourie — Recommitted to the 
 Tower — His Examination by the Commissioners — His Em- 
 ployments in Prison — Difficulties attending the Mode of ex- 
 ecuting the former Sentence — His Behaviour on the Scaffold 
 — His Death — Reflections on his Character. 
 
 After his condemnation Raleigh was kept nearly a 
 month at Winchester, in the constant expectation of 
 death. But the king, who thought highly of his own 
 superior acuteness, had privately resolved on a singular 
 
264 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 mode of discovering the more minute details of this sup- 
 posed conspiracy, which the skill of his prime minister 
 and attorney-general had failed to develop. He signed 
 the warrants for the execution of Lords Cohham and 
 Grey, and their accomplice Sir Griffin Markham, omit- 
 ting Sir Walter for the present, but directing that he also 
 should he informed that the warrant had been prepared."^ 
 
 * It seems to have been at this period that Raleigh’s quaint 
 but in some places beautiful little poem was written, entitled 
 
 THE PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 Give me my scallop-shell of quiet. 
 
 My staff of faith to walk upon, 
 
 My scrip of joy, immortal diet. 
 
 My bottle of salvation, 
 
 My gown of glory (hope’s true gage ) ; 
 
 And thus I’ll take my Pilgrimage. 
 
 “ Blood must be my body’s balmer, — 
 
 No other balm will here be given ; 
 
 Whilst my soul, like quiet palmer, 
 
 Travels to the land of heaven. 
 
 Over all the silver mountains. 
 
 Where do spring those nectar fountains : 
 
 “ And I there will sweetly kiss 
 The happy bowl of peaceful bliss. 
 
 Drinking mine eternal fill. 
 
 Flowing on each milky hill. 
 
 My soul will be a-dry before ; 
 
 But after, it will thirst no more. 
 
 “ In that happy blissful day 
 More peaceful pilgrims I shall see. 
 
 That have doft their rags of clay. 
 
 And walk apparell’d fresh like me. 
 
 I’ll take them first 
 To slake their thirst, 
 
 And then taste of nectar suckets. 
 
 At those clear wells 
 Where sweetness dwells. 
 
 Drawn up by saints in crystal buckets. 
 
 “ And when our bottles, and all we 
 Are fill’d with immortality. 
 
 Then those holy paths we’ll travel, 
 
 Strew’d with rubies thick as gravel ; 
 
 Ceilings of diamonds, sapphire floors. 
 
 High walls of coral, and pearly bowers. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 265 
 
 The three first were ordered to be executed on Friday ; 
 Raleigh on Monday ; and, judging from the description 
 of this tragi-comedy in a letter of Sir Dudley Carleton, 
 who was a spectator, the scene must have been extra- 
 ordinary. Markham came first on the scaffold, and after 
 a few complaints of his hard fate, hade^ farewell to his 
 friends, betook himself to his devotions, and was about 
 to lay his neck upon the block, when a bustle was seen 
 in the crowd, and John Gib, a Scotch groom of the bed- 
 chamber, pressing forward, called out to stay the execution 
 by the king’s command. The prisoner was accordingly 
 withdrawn, and locked up in an adjoining hall. “ The 
 Lord Grey,” says the same writer, whose turn was 
 next, was led to the scaffold by a troop of the young 
 courtiers, and was supported on both sides by two of his 
 best friends ; and, coming in such equipage, had such 
 gayety and cheer in his countenance, that he seemed a 
 dapper young bridegroom.” Having confessed his fault, 
 and asked pardon of the king, he knelt down and prayed 
 with much fervency ; after which he was about to 
 
 From thence to Heaven’s bribeless hall, 
 
 Where no corrupted voices brawl, — 
 
 No conscience molten into gold ; 
 
 No forged accuser bought or sold ; 
 
 No cause deferr’d, no vain-spent journey. 
 
 For there Christ is the king’s attorney ; 
 
 Who pleads for all without degrees, — ■ 
 
 And he hath angels — but no fees. 
 
 And when the grand twelve-million jury 
 Of our sins, with direful fury, 
 
 ’Gainst our souls black verdicts give, 
 
 Christ pleads his death ; and then we live. 
 
 Be Thou my speaker, taintless pleader. 
 
 Unblotted lawyer, true proceeder ! 
 
 Thou givest salvation even for alms. 
 
 Not with a bribed lawyer’s palms. 
 
 Then this is mine eternal plea. 
 
 To him that made heaven, earth, and sea ; 
 
 Seeing my flesh must die so soon. 
 
 And want a head to dine next noon. 
 
 Just at the stroke of death, my arms being spread. 
 
 Set on my soul an everlasting head. 
 
 So shall I ready, hke a palmer fit. 
 
 Tread those blessed paths shown in thy Holy Writ.” 
 
2(i6 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 undress, and the executioner deemed it was his time to 
 begin, when the sheriff opportunely interposed ; and, 
 waving off the last officer of the law, informed his lord- 
 ship that it was the king’s desire he should step aside for 
 an hour into the same hall where Markham was shut up, 
 and give precedence to Cohham. This prisoner came 
 now upon the stage with good assurance. His former 
 conduct had been so contemptible and abject, that all 
 were surprised to see his present firmness ; but Cecil 
 had undertaken to stand his friend, and he had probably 
 some idea that this was not his last act.* Be this as it 
 may, he briefly declared that what he said of Raleigh 
 was true, — an assertion which, as his stories had been 
 various and contradictory, did not go for much ; and 
 having shortly bade the world adieu, he was about to 
 unbutton his doublet, when the sheriff once more inter- 
 fered, and bade him defer a while, for something else yet 
 remained to be done. Grey and Markham were then 
 brought back to the scaffold, all looking strange upon 
 one another, like men behea*ded and met again in the 
 other world.” A short speech was next addressed to 
 them on the heinousness of their offences, and the law- 
 fulness of their condemnation. To this they bowed in 
 token of assent. Now,” said the sheriff, “ see the 
 mercy of your prince, who of himself hath sent hither 
 to countermand, and given you your lives.” “ There was 
 then no need,” says Dudley, “ to beg a plaudite of the 
 audience, for it was given with such hues and cries, that 
 it went from the castle into the tower, and there began 
 afresh.” 
 
 It is easy to imagine the delight which the king expe- 
 rienced in the invention and evolution of this stratagem, 
 though it failed in its main object, the eliciting of addi- 
 tional evidence against Raleigh. Sir Dudley Carle ton’s 
 observations are so characteristic of James’s manner, and 
 his style of eloquence, when the British Solomon, as he 
 delighted to hear himself called, communicated it to his 
 
 See Remarks at the end of the volume. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 267 
 
 courtiers, that we make no apology for transcribing them. 
 “ This resolution was taken by the king without man’s 
 help, and no man can rob him of the praise of yesterday’s 
 action ; for the lords knew no other, but that execution 
 was to go forward, till the very hour it should be per- 
 formed ; and then, calling them before him, he told 
 them how much he had been troubled to resolve in this 
 business ; for to execute Grey, who was a noble young 
 spirited fellow, and save Cohham, who was as base and 
 unworthy, were a manner of injustice. To save Grey, 
 who was of a proud insolent nature, and execute Cohham, 
 who had shown great tokens of humility and repentance, 
 were as great a solecism ; and so went on with Plutarch’s 
 comparisons in the rest, still travelling in contrarieties, 
 but holding the conclusion in so different a balance, that 
 the lords knew not what to look for till the end came 
 out, — ‘ And therefore I have saved them all.’ The mi- 
 racle was as great there as with us at Winchester, and 
 it took like effect ; for the applause that began about the 
 king, went from thence into the presence [chamber], 
 and so round about the court.”* 
 
 Raleigh had been warned, as we have seen, to prepare 
 for execution ; and, at the king’s desire, he was visited 
 by the Bishop of Winchester, who found him exceedingly 
 calm, and in a Christian frame of mind. On being pressed, 
 however, by this prelate, to make his confession, he 
 strongly asserted his innocence of all the charges urged 
 by Cobham, only excepting the pension, which he 
 said was once mentioned, but never proceeded in and 
 having in vain made another appeal to the king, petition- 
 ing for mercy, he resigned himself to the expectation of 
 death.f It was under these circumstances that he ad- 
 dressed the following beautiful letter to his wife : — 
 
 You shall now receive, my dear wife, my last words, 
 in these my last lines. My love I send ^mu, that you 
 
 * Hardwicke’s State Papers, vol. i. p. 377. Cayley,, vol. ii. 
 p. 75. 
 
 t Cayley, vol. ii. p. 71. 
 
268 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 may keep it when I am dead ; and my counsel, that you 
 may remember it when I am no more. I would not, by 
 my will, present you with sorrow^s, dear Bess, — let them 
 go into the grave with me, and be buried in the dust. 
 And seeing that it is not the will of God that ever I shall 
 see you more in this life, hear it patiently, and with a 
 heart like thyself. 
 
 “ First, I send you all the thanks which my heart can 
 conceive, or my w^ords can express, for your many tra- 
 vails and care taken for me ; which, though they have 
 not taken effect as you wished, yet my debt to you is 
 not the less. But pay it I never shall in this world. 
 Secondly, I beseech you for the love you hear me living, 
 do not hide yourself many days after my death ; but by 
 your travail seek to help your miserable fortunes, and 
 the right of your poor child. Thy mournings cannot 
 avail me, — I am but dust. Thirdly, You shall under- 
 stand that my land was conveyed bona fide to my child. 
 The writings were drawn at midsummer was twelve- 
 months, — my honest cousin, Brett, can testify so much, 
 and Dalberrie, too, can remember somewhat therein ; 
 and I trust my blood will quench their malice that have 
 thus cruelly murdered me, and that they will not seek 
 also to kill thee and thine with extreme poverty. To 
 what friend to direct thee I know not, for all mine have 
 left me in the true time of trial ; and I plainly perceive 
 that my death was determined from the first day. jMost 
 sorry I am, God knows, that being thus surprised wuth 
 death, I can leave you in no better estate. God is my 
 witness I meant you all my office of wines, or all that I 
 could have purchased by selling it : half my stuff and all 
 my jewels, — hut [except] some one for the hoy. But 
 God hath prevented all my resolutions, even that great 
 God that ruleth all in all. But if you can live free from 
 w^ant care for no more — the rest is but vanity. Love 
 God, and begin betimes to repose yourself on him ; and 
 therein shall you find true and lasting riches, and endless 
 comfort. For the rest, when you have travailed and 
 wearied your thoughts over all sorts of worldly cogi- 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 269 
 
 tations, you shall but sit down by sorrow in the end. 
 Teach your son also to love and fear God while he is yet 
 young, that the fear of God may grow up with him, and 
 then God will be a husband to you, and a father to him, 
 — a husband and a father that cannot be taken from you. 
 Bayley oweth me £200, and Adrian Gilbert £600. In 
 Jersey, also, I have much money owing me. Besides, 
 the arrearages of the wines will pay my debts ; and how- 
 soever you do, for my soul’s sake, pay all poor men. 
 
 When I am gone no doubt you shall be sought to 
 by many, for the world thinks that I was very rich. 
 But take heed of the pretences of men, and their affec- 
 tions, for they last not but in honest and worthy men ; 
 and no greater misery can befall you in this life than to 
 become a prey, and afterwards to be despised. I speak 
 not this, God knows, to dissuade you from marriage ; for 
 it will be best for you both in respect of the world and 
 of God. As for me, I am no more yours, nor you mine. 
 Death has cut us asunder, and God hath divided me from 
 the world, and you from me. Remember your poor 
 child for his father’s sake, who chose you and loved you 
 in his haj)piest time. Get those letters, if it be possible, 
 which I writ to the lords, wherein I sued for my life. 
 God is my witness, it was for you and yours that I 
 desired life. But it is true that I disdain myself for 
 begging it ; for know it, dear wife, that your son is the 
 son of a true man, and one who in his own respect de- 
 spiseth death, and all his misshapen and ugly forms. I 
 cannot write much. God he knoweth how hardly I 
 steal this time while others sleep ; and it is also high 
 time that I should separate my thoughts from the world. 
 Beg my dead body, which living was denied thee, and 
 either lay it at Sherborne, if the land continue, or in 
 Exeter church, by my father and mother. I can say no 
 more, — time and death call me away. 
 
 The everlasting, powerful, infinite, and omnipotent 
 God, who is goodness itself, the true life and true light, 
 keep thee and thine, have mercy on me, and teach me to 
 forgive my persecutors and accusers, and send us to meet 
 
270 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 in his glorious kingdom. My dear wife, farewell ! Bless 
 my poor boy ; pray for me, and let my good God hold 
 you both in his arms! Written with the dying hand 
 of some time thy husband, but now, alas ! overthrown. 
 — Yours that was, but now not my own, — 
 
 Walter Raleigh.” 
 
 This letter, of which the manliness, the simplicity, and 
 pathos, are so deeply affecting, furnishes, perhaps, the 
 best reply to the coarse and cruel accusations thrown out 
 against him by Coke and Popham, as if he had been a 
 bold disbeliever in the being and attributes of God. 
 
 Its exact date does not appear ; but it was probably 
 written a short time before the extraordinary melodrama 
 at Winchester, which has been just described. Raleigh 
 looked from a window wliich commanded a view of the 
 scaffold, and we may easily conceive his astonishment 
 when one victim was removed at the moment the axe 
 was about to descend, and another substituted, who, 
 after certain ceremonies, was as quickly withdrawn. 
 The shouts, however, which accompanied the reprieve 
 must have inspired him with hope ; and this was soon 
 realized by an intimation that he had been mcluded in 
 it with the other prisoners. On the 15th of December 
 he was remanded, along with Cobham, Grey, and Mark- 
 ham, to the Tower.* * At the earnest solicitation of his 
 wife, she and her son were permitted to remain with 
 him in prison ; and so faithfully did this affectionate 
 woman continue her attendance, that their youngest 
 child, Carew, was born within the walls of the fortress. 
 He was allowed also to have two servants and a boy ; 
 whilst Mr Hawthorn, a preacher, his physician. Dr Tur- 
 ner, the steward of Sherborne, and Mr Thomas Hariot, 
 
 * The fate of Cobham, whose falsehood was the cause of all 
 Raleigh’s calamities, was peculiarly miserable. After being 
 confined many years, he was enlarged only to die of starvation 
 in a garret where he was harboured by a poor man who had 
 formerly been his servant at court.* 
 
 * Weldon’s Court and Character of King James, p. 37« 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 271 
 
 were not excluded, at convenient times when he wished 
 to consult them.* 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh had now to commence his life as a 
 prisoner. The Tower was to be his home ; and in some 
 respects he was the best, in others the worst fitted man 
 for such a habitation. His love of study, his varied 
 mental resources, the stores of observation he had laid 
 up in his travels, and his experience of the vanity and 
 fickleness of the world, — all prepared him to enjoy retire- 
 ment and contemplation. “ His mind to him a kingdom 
 was,” — a noble possession, stored with moral and intel- 
 lectual riches, which rendered him to a great degree 
 independent of society and liberty. Those hours which 
 before he had to steal from business or sleep, to enjoy his 
 hooks, or his studies, were now all his own ; no court 
 intrigues ; no unseasonable interruptions ; no summonses 
 from royalty ; no busy progresses or brilliant pageants ; 
 no deliberations at the council or discussions in the par- 
 liament ; nothing of the excitement of war, or discovery, 
 or peril, broke the even and tranquil tenor of his exist- 
 ence. As he was permitted the company of his wife and 
 children, with the occasional visits of a few friends, he 
 might almost have forgotten that he was a prisoner. But 
 the mind of this remarkable man was so constituted as 
 to render restraint peculiarly irksome. It was indeed 
 full of profound thought : but this thought had been 
 cultivated during forty years of incessant activity ; and 
 the habits of so long a period could not be easily changed 
 for almost perfect solitude. He had read more than 
 most students ; his books had been carried with him on 
 his campaigns and voyages, — they were his companions 
 in the tent and in the cabin. And the friends with 
 whom one may pass a delightful hour, snatched with 
 difficulty from public duties, may become fatiguing when 
 circumstances deprive us of other companions. He had 
 written much, and his love of literature was ardent. But 
 the subjects of his writings were his own adventures ; he 
 
 Cayley’s Life, vol. ii. p. 85. 
 
272 FROM RALEIGH'S FIRST CONFINEMENT 
 
 had been, as he himself expressed it, a soldier, a sea- 
 captain, and a courtier,” he might have added, an active 
 politician at home, an envoy to foreign courts, a discoverer 
 of new countries, a planter of colonies ; and, though now 
 fifty-one, his constitution both of mind and body were 
 uncommonly strong and vigorous. Ambition, against 
 which he had written so eloquently when death was 
 near, began to beat high when he saw himself once more 
 restored to hope. He trusted that, if liberated, his ser- 
 vices might yet procure pardon ; and his inventive mind 
 was occupied with schemes to recommend himself to his 
 sovereign, and by which he might ultimately obtain 
 restoration to his fortunes. 
 
 In the mean time it became necessary to reconcile 
 himself to the change in his situation ; and he did so 
 with his accustomed manly and cheerful disposition. 
 He began his History of the World, — that great work 
 which will be as permanent as the English language, — 
 he amused himself in transforming a small house in the 
 Tower garden into a laboratory. There he carried on 
 his chemical experiments, and, as we read in one of Sir 
 William Wade’s Letters, “spent all the day in distilla- 
 tions.” His efforts were unremitting to arrange his 
 affairs, which had fallen into disorder from his late 
 troubles. By his attainder his moveable estate was for- 
 feited ; but through the favour of the king, who, at the 
 commencement of his imprisonment, seems to have treat- 
 ed him with lenity, it was consigned to trustees appointed 
 by himself for the benefit of his family and creditors.* 
 Unfortunately, Wade, the Lieutenant of the Tower, was 
 a creature of Cecil, and of course nowise disposed to grant 
 his prisoner any particular indulgence ; but for a consi- 
 derable period he lived as comfortably as was compatible 
 with the loss of freedom. Between his family, his books, 
 his experiments, and the occasional visits of his friends, 
 time glided on in progressive knowledge and content- 
 
 Rymer’s Foedera, vol. xvi. p. 569. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 273 
 
 ment.* But this bright season was soon destined to he 
 overclouded. His enemies, not contented with the evil 
 they had already brought upon him, renewed their efforts 
 to complete his ruin ; and unhappily the king’s mind 
 was of that w^eak and capricious cast which received an 
 easy bias from interested persons. The first indication 
 of change seems to have been conveyed to him when 
 James sent for the seal of the high public offices he had 
 held under Elizabeth, as warden of the Stanneries, cap- 
 tain of her guard, and governor of Jersey. This he 
 immediately returned, accompanied by a letter, in which 
 he strongly protested his innocence, and besought the 
 king for a favourable consideration of his case. “ If,” said 
 he, I be here restrained till the powers both of my 
 body and mind shall be so enfeebled, as I cannot hope to 
 do your ma,jesty some acceptable and extraordinary ser- 
 vice, whereby I may truly approve my faith and inten- 
 tions to my sovereign. Lord God doth know that then 
 it had been happiest for me to have died long since.” f So 
 little impression was made by this affecting appeal, that 
 it was followed by a far more severe blow. His estate 
 of Sherborne, which, in his prosperous days, he had taken 
 so much delight in improving, had been settled by him, 
 in the close of Elizabeth’s reign, on his eldest son, and 
 the king, notwithstanding his attainder, had granted him 
 a liferent interest in it. The conveyance of this property 
 was now scrutinized with eyes sharpened by avarice and 
 malignity. The deed was referred for examination to 
 the same chief-justice who sat on the trial ; and this 
 dignitary decided that, from the clerk having omitted 
 some words, it was invalid. Robert Carr, the king’s new 
 favourite, afterwards the notorious Earl of Somerset, was 
 
 * Sir John Harrington’s Brief View of the State of the 
 Church of England, pp. 93, 94. 
 
 t See the letter, printed for the first time from the original 
 in the State-paper Office, by Mrs Thomson, Appendix, letter 
 R. Raleigh’s seal I had the good fortune to meet with in the 
 collection of ancient seals made by an ingenious artist in Edin- 
 burgh, Mr Laing. He had taken an impression from a cast, 
 communicated to him by Mr Cayley ; and a fac-simile of it 
 has been engraved for the title-page of this work. 
 
 R 
 
274 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 easily persuaded to take advantage of this legal flaw, and 
 to solicit the estate ; and so infatuated was James’s at- 
 tachment to this weak courtier, that Raleigh, from the 
 moment he heard the circumstances,, knew he had only 
 to expect spoliation. This, however, did not prevent 
 him from attempting to avert the calamity by a letter 
 of remonstrance to the favourite : It is written in a tone 
 of manly expostulation. 
 
 Sir, — After some great losses and many years’ sor- 
 rows (of both which I have cause to fear I was mistaken 
 in the end), it is come to my knowledge that yourself, 
 Avhom I know not but by an honourable fame, hath been 
 persuaded to give me and mine our last fatal blow, by 
 obtaining from his majesty the inheritance of my chil- 
 dren and nephews, lost in the law for want of a word. 
 This done, there remaineth nothing with me but the 
 name of life ; despoiled of all else hut the title and sor- 
 row thereof. His majesty, whom I never offended (for I 
 hold it unnatural and unmanlike to hate goodness), stayed 
 me at the grave’s brink, not, as I hope, that he thought 
 me worthy of many deaths, and to behold all mine cast 
 out of the world with myself ; but as a king who, judg- 
 ing the poor in truth, hath received a promise from God 
 that his throne shall be established for ever. 
 
 “ And for yourself, sir, seeing your fair day is hut 
 now in the dawn, and mine drawn to the evening, your 
 own vhtues and the king’s grace assuring you of many 
 favours and much honour, I beseech you not to begin your 
 first building upon the ruins of the innocent, and that 
 their sorrows with mine may not attend your first plan- 
 tation. I have been ever bound to your nation, as well 
 for many other graces as for the true report of my trial 
 to the king’s majesty, against whom, had I been found 
 malignant, the hearing of my cause would not have 
 changed enemies into friends, malice into compassion, 
 and the minds of the greatest number then present into 
 the commiseration of mine estate. It is not the nature 
 of foul treason to beget such fair passions ; neither could 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 275 
 
 it agree with the duty and love of faithful subjects, 
 especially of your nation, to bewail his overthrow who 
 had conspired against their most natural and liberal lord. 
 I therefore trust, sir, that you will not be the first who 
 shall kill us outright, cut down the tree with the fruit, 
 and undergo the curse of them that enter the fields of 
 the fatherless, — which, if it pleases you to know the 
 truth, is far less in value than in fame, — but that so 
 worthy a gentleman as yourself will rather bind us to 
 you (being, sir, gentlemen not base in birth and alliance), 
 who have interest therein. And myself, with my utter- 
 most thankfulness, will ever remain ready to obey your 
 commands. Walter Raleigh.”* 
 
 This letter produced no effect on the profligate Somer- 
 set ; nor was its tone suited to move a monarch like 
 James, if indeed it ever came under his eye. The case 
 was brought on, and Sherborne forfeited to the crown, — 
 a judgment easily foreseen, as the law then stood, and 
 considering the parties were a friendless prisoner and 
 the King of England.t On this occasion Lady Raleigh, 
 a woman of high spirit and unchangeable affection, who 
 had laboured in every way to alleviate her husband’s 
 misfortunes, threw herself on her knees before his ma- 
 jesty, attended by her children, and with tears implored 
 him not to forget his most glorious attribute of mercy. 
 James received her coldly, and gave no other answer than 
 
 I maun have the land — I maun have it for Carr.” On 
 this she prayed in bitterness of soul, that God would 
 punish those cruel and imjust persons who had brought 
 ruin on her husband and his house. So little, indeed, 
 did intercession avail, that not only was Sherborne given 
 to the favourite, but Pinford, Primesly, and Barton, lands 
 which Sir Walter had purchased, were escheated and 
 bestowed in the same quarter. 
 
 * Cayley, vol. ii. pp. 87, 88. 
 
 + Carew Raleigh’s Brief Relation of his Father’s Troubles. 
 Miscellaneous Works of Raleigh, vol. viii. p. 788. 
 
276 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 Against this undeserved severity Henry, James’s el- 
 dest son, and heir-apparent to the throne, strongly re- 
 monstrated, interceding for the illustrious prisoner, in 
 whose talents and misfortunes he had become much 
 interested. This prince, from the contrast presented, by 
 his excellent dispositions, to the character of his father, 
 and the burst of national regret that followed his death, 
 has perhaps been the subject of exaggerated panegyric. 
 But making every allowance for the praises which a 
 generous people lavish under such circumstances, Henry 
 must still have been a youth of uncommon talents and 
 promise. He was well able to appreciate the tyranny 
 to which Raleigh had fallen a victim. Acute in the de- 
 tection and indignant at the triumph of hypocrisy, he 
 had imbibed an early aversion to Cecil, which not all 
 the insinuating flattery of that pliant statesman was able 
 to remove.* Not contented with censuring the conduct 
 of those concerned in the trial, he endeavoured to soften 
 the cruelty of the sentence. He corresponded with the 
 condemned, expressed a desire to profit by his experience 
 in civil and military policy, and courted his instructions 
 regarding the maintenance and due regulation of the 
 navy. Navigation was one of the prince’s favourite 
 studies; the building, rigging, sailing, and fighting of 
 ships formed with him a subject of diligent inquiry and 
 experiment. Unlike his timid father, Henry esteemed a 
 readiness for war and a jealousy of national honour the 
 best preservative of peace ; and, contemplating hostilities 
 with Spain, he meditated great designs against the West 
 Indies, and the mother country itself, for executing 
 which a powerful fleet would be required. These opin- 
 ions entirely coincided with those of Sir Walter, who, 
 in his discourses on such subjects addressed to his youth- 
 ful patron, eloquently answers the objections to the sup- 
 port of a warlike fleet in time of peace. Though the 
 sword,” says he, “ is put into the sheath, we must not 
 suffer it to rust, or stick so fast that we shall not be able 
 
 Birch’s Life of Prince Henry, pp. 76, 109, 138. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 277 
 
 to draw it readily when need requires. * * We may 
 be assured, that if those powerful means whereby we 
 reduced our enemies to the courtesy of seeking peace of 
 us were neglected, so as we could not again, upon occa- 
 sion, readily assume the use and benefit of them as we 
 have done ; those proud mastering spirits, finding us at 
 such advantage, would be more willing to shake us by 
 the ears as enemies than to take us by the hands as friends. 
 Therefore, far be it from our hearts to trust more to that 
 friendship of strangers, which is but dissembled upon 
 policy and necessity, than to the strength of our own 
 forces, which has been experienced with so happy suc- 
 cess. I confess that peace is a blessing of God, and 
 blessed are the peacemakers ; therefore, doubtless, blessed 
 are those means whereby peace is gained and maintained : 
 * the which means of our defence and safety, being 
 shipping and sea-forces, are to be esteemed as His gifts, 
 and then only available and beneficial when he withal 
 vouchsafes his grace to use them aright.”* 
 
 Raleigh was no advocate for war in general ; his am- 
 bition was not for conquest but security : all wanton 
 outrage, or unnecessary invasions on the territories of 
 another power, he proscribes as idle and wicked. It 
 may be affirmed,” says he, “ the number of those that 
 have been slaughtered by their fellow-creatures exceeds 
 the number of all the inhabitants that ever were at one 
 time living upon the face of the earth ; yet very few of 
 this infinite number, thus untimely slain, were ever 
 masters of the grounds of the disputes for which they 
 suffered, or the true reason of their being led to the bat- 
 tle ; the truth, with much artifice, being kept from all 
 but what were parties to the design resolved on. What 
 deluded wretches, then, have a great part of mankind 
 been, who have either yielded themselves to be slain in 
 causes which, if truly known, their hearts would abhor, 
 or been the bloody executioners of other men’s ambition ! 
 It is a hard fate to be slain for what a man should never 
 
 Raleigh’s Essays, p. 44. 
 
278 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 willingly fight ; yet few soldiers have laid themselves 
 down in the bed of honour under better circumstances.”^ 
 In another Essay the true security of a monarch is 
 shown to rest on three great grounds, — the love of his 
 subjects, the justice of his administration, and lastly, the 
 perfection of his martial discipline. The sentence in 
 which this is laid down is a fine specimen of a masculine 
 and pure English style : — ‘‘ They say, that the goodliest 
 cedars, which grow on the high mountains of Libanus, 
 thrust their roots between the clefts of hard rocks, the 
 better to bear themselves against the strong storms that 
 blow there. As nature has instructed those kings of 
 trees, so has reason taught the kings of men to root them- 
 selves in the hardy hearts of their faithful subjects. 
 And as those kings of trees have large tops, so have the 
 kings of men large crowns ; whereof, as the first would 
 soon be broken from their bodies were they not under- 
 borne by many branches, so would the other easily totter 
 were they not fastened on their heads with the strong 
 chains of civil justice and of martial discipline.”t 
 About this time the prince determined to build a ship 
 at his own expense, and consulted Raleigh, who replied 
 in a letter which proves how closely he had studied the 
 minutest parts of the subject. He first recommends that 
 the intended vessel should be of smaller dimensions than 
 the Victory, in which case the timber of the old ship 
 would serve for the new. If she be bigger,” says he, 
 she will be of less use, go very deep to water, and of 
 mighty charge, our channels decaying every year ; less 
 nimble, less manageable, and seldom to be used : Ch'ande 
 navio, grande fatica, saith the Spaniard.” He then points 
 out the requisites of a “ well-conditioned ship.” First, 
 it is necessary that she be strong built ; 2d, Swift in 
 sail ; 3d, Stout-sided ; 4th, Her ports ought to be so laid 
 that she m.ay carry out her guns all weathers ; 5th, She 
 ought to hull well ; 6th, She should stay well when 
 boarding or turning on a wind is required. On these 
 
 * Three Discourses, p. 110. f Raleigh’s Remains, p. 116. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO IIIS EXECUTION. 279 
 
 heads he dilates at great length. One short passage will 
 show the precision of his remarks : — It is to be noted, 
 that all ships sharp before, not having a long floor, will 
 fall rough into the sea from a billow, and take in water 
 over head and ears ; and the same quality have all nar- 
 row-quartered ships to sink after the tail. The high 
 charging of ships is that that brings many ill qualities : 
 it makes them extreme leeward, makes them sink deep 
 into the seas, makes them labour sore in foul weather, 
 and ofttimes overset. Safety is more to be respected 
 than shows, or niceness for ease ; in sea-journeys both 
 cannot well stand together, and therefore the most ne- 
 cessary is to be chosen. Two decks and a half is enough, 
 and no building at all above that but a low master’s 
 cabin. Our masters and mariners will say, that the 
 ships will bear more well enough ; and true it is, if none 
 but ordinary mariners served in them. But men of 
 better sort, unused to such a life, cannot so well endure 
 the rolling and tumbling from side to side, where the 
 seas are never so little grown, which comes by high 
 charging. Besides, those high cabin- works aloft are very 
 dangerous in fight, to tear men with their splinters. 
 Above all other things, have care that the great guns 
 be four feet clear above water when all lading is in, or 
 else those best pieces are idle at sea : for if the ports lie 
 lower and be open, it is dangerous ; and by that default 
 was a goodly ship and many gallant gentlemen lost in 
 the days of Henry VIII. before the Isle of Wight, in a 
 ship called by the name of Mary Rose.”* 
 
 These directions are given in a more enlarged form 
 in a discourse entitled Observations concerning the 
 Royal Navy and Sea Service,” from the first sentence 
 of which it appears that he had addressed to his royal 
 pupil an Essay on a Maritimal Voyage, and the Pas- 
 sages and Incidents therein,” which is unfortunately lost. 
 The observations display the accuracy and confidence 
 
 * Letter to Prince Henry, touching the model of a Ship. 
 Miscellaneous Works, vol. viii. p. 627. 
 
280 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 of an experienced sailor ; and to those curious in the 
 antiquities of our naval history, who would compare the 
 tactics under Elizabeth and James with those of the 
 present day, the remarks on shipbuilding, selecting 
 officers, harbouring the navy, on the ordnance, on caulk- 
 ing and sheathing, victualling, placing of the cook-rooms 
 in the forecastles, on arms and munition, and on the 
 system of pressing able mariners, must be valuable in no 
 common degree. To the general reader the subject is 
 not particularly attractive. 
 
 About the same time Raleigh appears to have been 
 consulted on the expediency of a double matrimonial 
 alliance, proposed by the ambassador of the Duke of Sa- 
 voy. As a consort for the Prince of Wales this potentate 
 offered his eldest daughter, and solicited the hand of the 
 Princess Elizabeth, James’s only daughter, for his son 
 the Prince of Piedmont. Against both matches he 
 strongly protested in two Discourses written by com- 
 mand of Henry, in which he proves that such an alliance 
 would he either totally useless or extremely hazardous 
 and expensive. All the good,” says he, our King of 
 England can expect from Savoy is, that he must either 
 abandon his son-in-law, if either France or Spain oppress 
 him, which were too great a dishonour, or he must en- 
 ter into a war for his defence, which were too great a 
 charge. And his majesty doth well know, that while 
 the league stands between him and the Low Countries, 
 that he is invincible by them, and they by him ; and that 
 ail other petty combinations will be rather chargeable 
 than profitable.”* 
 
 Touching the dignity of the English princess, Raleigh 
 esteems her rank too high for the wife of a duke of 
 Savoy ; being “ born the eldest, and now the only daugh- 
 ter of one of the mightiest kings of Christendom ; * * 
 and by nature and education endowed with such princely 
 perfections both of body and mind, as that she may well 
 deserve to be reputed a worthy spouse for the greatest 
 
 * Miscellaneous Works, vol viii. p. 226. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 281 
 
 monarch. * * And, therefore,” says he, “for his 
 
 majesty of England to match his eldest and only daugh- 
 ter with a prince which hath his dependence upon other 
 kings, — a prince jesuited^ which can neither stead us in 
 time of war, nor trade with us in time of peace, — a 
 prince, by the situation of his country, every way un- 
 profitable unto us, and no less perilous for his child to 
 live in ; I resolve myself, that his majesty is of too ex- 
 cellent a judgment ever to accept of it, and his honour- 
 able council too wise and prudent to advise the prosecu- 
 tion thereof.”^ 
 
 The Discourse on the marriage of the prince is the 
 more powerfully written of the two, and contains a 
 detection of the ambitious policy of Spain ; the broad 
 principle being first laid down, that the interests of his 
 Catholic majesty and the duke are inseparable, and that 
 the latter dare not offend the pope nor the emperor. 
 
 There is,” says Raleigh, “ a kind of noble and royal 
 deceiving in marriages between kings and princes ; yea, 
 and it is of all others the fairest and most unsuspected 
 trade of betraying. It has been as ordinary amongst 
 them to adventure or cast away a daughter to bring some 
 purpose to pass, as at other times for saving of charges 
 to make them nuns. I speak not this to prejudice or 
 forejudge so worthy a prince as the Duke of Savoy. * * 
 He cannot betray us till we trust him. There is nothing 
 of ours near him, nor of his near us. It is the Spaniard 
 that is to be feared, — the Spaniard who layeth his pre- 
 tences and practices with a long hand. In which re- 
 spect it were not amiss to consider of the plots of our 
 English priests, who, not long since, have published and 
 printed certain far-fetched titles, both of the king of 
 Spain and of the infanta his daughter ; for it were a 
 horrible dishonour to be overreached by any of those 
 dry and subtle-headed Spaniards.” t Into this examina- 
 tion we shall not follow our author ; but in his observa- 
 tions on the national strength of Spain one sentence 
 
 * Miscellaneous Works, vol. viii. pp. 234, 236. f Ibid. p. 239. 
 
282 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 strikingly illustrates the errors into which Elizabeth 
 was led by the parsimony of her ministers. For Spain, 
 it is a proverb of their own, that the lion is not so fierce 
 as he is painted. His forces in all parts of the world 
 (but the Low Countries), are far under the fame : and 
 if the late queen would have believed her men of war 
 as she did her scribes, we had in her time beaten that 
 great empire in pieces, and made their kings kings of 
 figs and oranges, as in old times. But her majesty did 
 all by halves, and by petty invasions taught the Spaniard 
 how to defend himself, and to see his own weakness. 
 * * Four thousand men would have taken from him 
 
 all the ports of his Indies : I mean all his ports by which 
 his treasure doth or can pass. He is more hated in that 
 part of the world by the sons of the conquered than the 
 English are by the Irish, We were too strong for him 
 at sea, and had the Hollanders to help us, who are now 
 strongest of all. Yea, in eighty-eight, when he made 
 his great and fearful fleet, if the queen would have 
 hearkened to reason, we had burnt all his ships and 
 preparations in his own ports as we did afterwards upon 
 the same intelligence and doubt in Cadiz. He that 
 knows him not, fears him ; but, excepting his Low 
 Country army, which hath been continued and disciplined 
 since Charles V.’s time, he is nowhere strong. They are 
 but fables spoken of him elsewhere ; and what can the 
 Low Country’s army do if the Indies pay them not, but 
 mutiny and spoil his own territories T’* 
 
 Raleigh finds a strong argument against the alliance 
 with Savoy, in the effects it must have in increasing the 
 jealousies between this country and the Netherlands. 
 These last had cooled towards England, as was natural, 
 since she had made peace without them ; and though the 
 latest to lay down arms, they obtained terms far more 
 noble and honourable. Since that time,” says he, 
 ‘‘ they have neglected us by degrees. Let us look to it 
 with all the eyes we have ; for to which of the three 
 
 * Miscellaneous Works, vol. viii. pp. 246, 247. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 283 
 
 those people fasten themselves, to England, France, or 
 Spain, he that hath them will become the greatest, and 
 give the law to the rest. If any man doubt it, he knows 
 not much ; but this hath been our own fault, and the 
 detested covetousness of some great ones of ours. For 
 whereas, in my time, I have known one of her majesty’s 
 ships command forty of theirs to strike sail, they will 
 now take us one to one and not give us a good-morrow ; 
 they master us both in their number and in their mari- 
 ners ; and they have our own ordnance to break our 
 own bones withal. We had good reason to help them, 
 but not to set them up to that height, as to make them 
 able to tread upon our own heads.”* In objecting to 
 an alliance with Florence as strongly as to that with 
 Savoy, he derides the argument against a marriage with 
 the house of Medici, as if it were of mean descent. 
 “ The Medici,” says he, were ancient — ancient in vir- 
 tue and in fame. It is true, that long agone they were 
 merchants ; and so was King Solomon too. The kings 
 in old times had their herdsmen, their shepherds, and 
 their ploughmen ; they traded with nature and with 
 the earth, — a, trade by which all that breathe upon the 
 earth live. All the nobility and gentry in Europe trade 
 their grass, and corn, and cattle, their vines, and their 
 fruits : they trade them to their tenants at home, and 
 other merchants adventure them abroad. The king of 
 Spain is now the greatest merchant : the King of Por- 
 tugal was.”+ 
 
 The Discourse, which displays great abilities in this 
 species of composition, concludes with an advice to the 
 prince to keep in view a union with a daughter of France, 
 as by far the wisest and most politic connexion. “ Now,” 
 says he, if, by these dislikes of the former alliances, 
 you make judgment that it is my desire that the prince 
 should not marry at all ; I say, my desire is not, that 
 he should not marry at all, but not as yet ; and I am 
 exceeding sorry the prince hath not the same desire. 
 
 * Works, vol. viii. p. 248. 
 
 t Ibid. p. 249. 
 
284 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 For, seeing his majesty is yet but young, and by God’s 
 favour like to live very many years ; and that his high- 
 ness, if he should now marry, may have many children 
 horn unto him before he be thirty years old ; and seeing 
 all his children shall be princes, and must be provided for 
 as princes ; I think it will much perplex him to find 
 himself so environed, till his majesty have somewhat 
 repaired his estate, and provided beautiful gardens fit to 
 plant these olive branches in.”* In recommending such 
 a wife to Henry, Raleigh, in a passage of uncommon 
 vigour, points out the causes of enmity between France 
 and Spain, and the certain claim which an alliance with 
 the former country will give England to the friendship 
 of the Low Countries. “ There was,” says he, never a 
 nation had so much cause to hate another as France hath 
 to hate Spain. They hold from him the kingdom of 
 Navarre, without so much as the colour of a title ; they 
 betrayed him in Naples, and did not overcome their army 
 there, but murdered it after a peace proclaimed. They 
 hold Milan from them by strong hand ; and after that 
 Charles V. (to have leave to pass through France into 
 Flanders to pacify the tumults of Ghent) had promised 
 the French king to restore it, the emperor derided him, 
 and said he promised him milan^ which is the French 
 word for a kite. They have betrayed them in many 
 offers of marriages ; they poisoned the dauphin at Vien- 
 noys ; they have murdered their ambassadors ; they dis- 
 planted them in Florida, and contrary to faith, killed 
 the possessors in cold blood. They tore Strozza in pieces 
 at Terceres ; they set the subjects of Henry III. and 
 Henry IV. against them ; they invaded France, possessed 
 Paris and most of the cities of France, and, in conclusion, 
 practised to murder both these kings. Now, if these 
 injuries be not far more memorable than marriageable, 
 let the world judge.” t At the moment when this was 
 written a matrimonial alliance was about to be formed 
 between France and Spain, which explains this last 
 
 Works, vol. viii. p. 250. 
 
 f Ibid. p. 251, 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 285 
 
 observation, By holding France,” he concludes, we 
 hold the Low Countries, which will make us invincible ; 
 for they dare not abandon us both. On the contrary, 
 although these princes apart and disunited are not (as 
 before is said) to be feared, yet were it a needless hazard 
 to neglect the love of France, and to sustain the hatred 
 of the archduke, of the pope, and of the King of Spain, 
 — a hatred more than immortal (if more can be) to our 
 nation and state.”* 
 
 In these Discourses Raleigh exhibits an accurate es- 
 timate of the true sources of the greatness of England ; 
 a deep practical knowledge of the history of Europe ; 
 and a masterly sagacity in unfolding the aggrandizing 
 schemes of Spain. 
 
 At this period, when his life as a prisoner in the Tower 
 gave him a full command of time, his pursuits were 
 various; politics, philosophy, history, chemistry, poetry, 
 all shared his attention, and to all he brought an ori- 
 ginal and inventive mind. Nor did this gloomy abode 
 altogether want society, some of its inmates being men 
 of rank and genius. The eccentric Earl of Northumber- 
 land was imprisoned there at the same time with Raleigh, 
 and continued within its walls for fifteen years — during 
 which period he established a literary and philosophical 
 society in his apartments, and diverted the melancholy 
 confinement by keeping an open table for such men of 
 learning and ingenuity as were permitted to visit him. 
 Piercy, who had been shut up on a suspicion of having 
 some concern in the Gunpowder Treason,t was a ma- 
 thematician, a chemist, an astrologer, and a humorist. 
 Splendid in his entertainments, and lavish of his immense 
 wealth, he was ready to pay any sum for the company 
 and conversation of men of genius. Hariot, Raleigh’s 
 master in the mathematics, Hughes, who wrote on the 
 globes, and Warner, a scholar addicted to the same 
 studies, received pensions from the earl, and from the 
 constancy with which they assisted their noble patron in 
 
 * Works, vol. viii. p. 252. 
 
 t Kennet’s History of England, vol. ii. p. 719. 
 
286 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 his chemical experiments and astronomical calculations, 
 received the names of his Three Magi."^ Sergeant Hos- 
 kins the poet, whom Ben Jonson mentions as the per- 
 son who had polished him,” was confined in the Tower 
 about the same time, and whilst Sir Walter pursued his 
 chemical researches with Northumberland and the Magi, 
 he conversed on poetry, philosophy, and literature, with 
 Hoskins. He had transformed, as we have seen, a small 
 house in the garden into a laboratory, where he devoted 
 many of his hours to chemistry, and in the course of his 
 experiments prepared that cordial which enjoyed so high 
 a reputation in the time of Charles II., that he not only 
 commanded his apothecary, Nicholas le Febure, to com- 
 pound a quantity of this precious remedy,” but to 
 write and publish a treatise concerning it, which was 
 entitled Discours sur le Grand Cordial de Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, Some ingredients were afterwards added by 
 Sir Kenelm Digby, and it was used with good effect by 
 Boyle. Febure appears to have been little better than 
 a quack, if we may judge from his hyperbolical compli- 
 ments. Sir Walter, he says, being a worthy successor 
 of Mithridates, Matheolus, B. Valentine, Paracelsus, and 
 others, has, he affirms, selected all that is choicest in the 
 animal, vegetable, and mineral world, and moreover 
 manifested so much art and experience in the preparation 
 of this great and admirable cordial as will of itself render 
 him immortal.t Notwithstanding this flight of the king’s 
 druggist, Raleigh was probably an accomplished chemist 
 in those days when the science was in its infancy ; and 
 in the British Museum is preserved a MS. of various 
 processes and recipes, which amply prove the care he 
 had bestowed on such investigations. Nor did his severer 
 studies prevent his being visited in the durance of the 
 Tower by the muses, who taught their votary how to 
 find a consolation for some of his dark and melancholy 
 prison-hours. His subjects were graver and holier than 
 
 * Biographia Britannica, article Hariot. 
 f Oldys’s Life, p. 414. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 287 
 
 the songs of his freedom, but his lyre had lost nothing 
 of its sweetness. It was probably about the same time 
 that this fine hymn was composed : — 
 
 “ Rise, 0 my soul, with thy desires to Heaven, 
 
 And with divinest contemplation use 
 Thy time, where time’s eternity is given, 
 
 And let vain thoughts no more thy thoughts abuse ; 
 
 But down in darkness let them lie ; 
 
 So live thy better, let thy worse thoughts die. 
 
 “ And thou, my soul, inspired with holy flame. 
 
 View and review, with most regardful eye. 
 
 That holy cross, whence thy salvation came. 
 
 On which thy Saviour and thy sin did die ! 
 
 For in that sacred object is much pleasure. 
 
 And in that Saviour is my life, my treasure. 
 
 “ To thee, 0 Jesu ! I direct my eye. 
 
 To thee my hands, to thee my humble knees. 
 
 To thee my heart shall offer sacrifice. 
 
 To thee my thoughts, who my thoughts only sees : 
 
 To thee myself, myself and all I give. 
 
 To thee I die, to thee I only live !” 
 
 Making allowance for their occasional quaintness, the 
 fault not of the writer but of the age, there are few who 
 will not in these small pieces recognise that fiery stamp 
 which marks the true gold of the imagination from its 
 counterfeit. 
 
 It is said to have been an observation of Prince Henry, 
 that none but his father would keep such a bird in a 
 cage. In return for this generous opinion, Sir Walter 
 was deeply interested in all that concerned the prince’s 
 welfare. He had detected in him a love of popularity, 
 — a thirst of praise, — which presented to the parasites of 
 a court a dangerous weakness. He knew the principles 
 of arbitrary rule, those dogmas regarding the divine right 
 of kings, which were the favourite talk of his father, and 
 his penetration discerned those notions of liberty with 
 which the Puritans were preparing to discuss the origin 
 of government and the privileges of the people. Aware 
 of this, he is said to have warned the future heir of the 
 crown against any overstrained exercise of the royal 
 prerogative ; and Sir Richard Steele has preserved, and 
 unhesitatingly ascribes to Raleigh, a letter to the prince 
 
288 
 
 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 on this subject.* It is a spirited production, but evi- 
 dently a fabrication of this lively Avriter. Its sentiments 
 
 * Sir Richard Steele’s Englishman, p. 9. — The merit of this 
 letter is so great, that the reader may be pleased to see it intro- 
 duced here : — 
 
 May it please your Highness, — 'The following sheets are 
 addressed to your highness from a man who values his liberty 
 and a very small fortune in a remote part of this island, under 
 the present constitution, above all the riches and honours that 
 he could any where enjoy under any other establishment. You 
 see, sir, the doctrines that are lately come into the world, and 
 how far the phrase has obtained of calling your royal father 
 God’s Vicegerent, which ill men have turned both to the dis- 
 honour of God and the impeachment of his majesty’s goodness. 
 They adjoin the vicegerency to the idea of being all powerful, 
 and not to that of being all good. His majesty’s wisdom, it is 
 to be hoped, will save him from the snare that may lie under 
 gross adulations ; but your youth, and the thirst of praise which 
 I have observed in you, may possibly mislead you to hearken 
 to these charmers who would conduct your noble nature into 
 tyranny. Be careful, O my prince ! hear them not ; fly from 
 their deceits. You are in the succession to a throne from whence 
 no evil can be imputed to you, but all good must be conveyed by 
 you. Your father is called the Vicegerent of Heaven. While 
 he is good he is the Vicegerent of Heaven. Shall man have 
 authority from the fountain of good to do evil ? No, my prince ! 
 Let mean and degenerate spirits, which want benevolence, 
 suppose their power impaired by a disability of doing injuries. 
 If want of power to do ill be an incapacity in a prince, with 
 reverence be it spoken, it is an incapacity he has in common 
 with the Deity. 
 
 “ Let me not doubt but all plans which do not carry in them 
 the mutual happiness of prince and people, will appear as ab- 
 surd to your great understanding as disagreeable to your noble 
 nature. Exert yourself, O generous prince ! against such syco- 
 phants in the glorious cause of liberty, and assume an ambition 
 worthy of you, to secure your fello-w-creatures from slavery, — 
 from a condition as much below that of brutes, as to act without 
 reason is less miserable than to act against it. Preserve to your 
 future subjects the divine right of being free agents, and to your 
 ovni royal house the divine right of being their benefactors. 
 Believe me, my prince, there is no other right can flow from 
 God. While your highness is forming yourself for a throne, 
 consider the laws as so many commonplaces in your study of 
 the science of government. When vou mean nothing but justice 
 they are an ease and help to you. 'this way of thinking is what 
 gave men the glorious appellatives of deliverers and fathers of 
 their country. This made the sight of them rouse their beholders 
 4nto acclamations, and made mankind incapable of bearing their 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 289 
 
 and style are both much in advance of the period to 
 which he refers it. 
 
 Raleigh’s greatest work, written during his imprison- 
 ment and published in 1614, was the History of the 
 World, — an extraordinary monument of human labour 
 and genius, and which, in the vastness of its subject, its 
 research and learning, the wisdom of its political reflec- 
 tions, and the beauties of its style, has not been equalled 
 by any writer of this, or perhaps of any other country. 
 This will appear the more wonderful if we recollect the 
 circumstances under which it was completed, — not in the 
 luxury of lettered and philosophic ease, which has been 
 the lot of some historians, surrounded by books and 
 friends, but in imprisonment, solitude, and sorrow, under 
 the disadvantage of finding with difficulty the necessary 
 materials ; not in the enthusiastic consciousness of unim- 
 paired powers, but with a mind which had been harassed 
 by a cruel persecution, and sickened by hope deferred. 
 To give any thing like a satisfactory criticism or analysis 
 of this history within the limits of a volume like this is 
 impossible ; and, perhaps, in these days of abridgments 
 and epitomes, any recommendation of a work so vast may 
 be considered ridiculous. Yet let us hear the eloquent 
 author plead his own apology : — “ How unfit and how 
 unworthy a choice I have made of myself, to undertake 
 a work of this mixture, mine own reason, though ex- 
 ceeding weak, hath sufficiently resolved me. For had 
 
 very appearance without applauding it as a benefit. Consider 
 the inexpressible advantages which will ever attend your high- 
 ness, when you make the power of rendering men happy the mea- 
 sure of your actions. While this is your impulse, how easily 
 will that power be extended ! The glance of your eye will give 
 gladness, and your every sentence have the force of a bounty. 
 Whatever some men would insinuate, you have lost your subject 
 when you have lost his inclination ; you are to preside over the 
 minds, not the bodies of men. The soul is the essence of a man ; 
 and you cannot have the true man against his inclination. 
 Choose therefore to be the king or the conqueror of your people ; 
 it may be submission, but it cannot be obedience that is passive. 
 I am, sir, your highness’s most faithful servant, 
 
 “ Walter Raleigh.” 
 
 s 
 
290 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 it been begotten then, with my first dawn of day, when 
 the light of common knowledge began to open itself to 
 my younger years, and before any wound received either 
 from fortune or time, I might yet well have doubted, 
 that the darkness of age and death would have covered 
 over both it and me long before the performance. For, 
 beginning with the creation, I have proceeded with the 
 History of the World ; and I lastly purposed (some few 
 sallies excepted) to confine my discourse within this our 
 renowned Island of Great Britain. I confess that it had 
 better sorted with my disability, the better part of whose 
 times are run out in other travels, to have set together 
 (as I could) the unjointed and scattered frame of our 
 English affairs, than of the universal : in whom had 
 there been no other defect (who am all defect) than the 
 time of the day, it were enough ; the day of a tempes- 
 tuous life, drawn on to the very evening ere I began. 
 But those inmost and soul-piercing wounds, which are 
 ever aching while uncured, with the desire to satisfy those 
 few friends which I have tried by the fire of adversity — 
 the former enforcing, the latter persuading — have caused 
 me to make my thoughts legible, and myself the subject 
 of every opinion, wise or weak.”*^' 
 
 The conclusion of the preface affords a specimen of the 
 beauties as well as the defects of Raleigh’s style : I 
 
 know that it will be said by many, that I might have 
 been more pleasing to the reader if I had written the 
 story of mine own times, having been permitted to draw 
 water as near the well-head as another. To this I an- 
 swer, that whosoever, in writing a modern history, shall 
 follow truth too near the heels, it may happily strike out 
 his teeth. There is no mistress or guide that hath led 
 her followers and servants into greater miseries. He 
 that goes after her too far off, loseth her sight, and 
 loseth himself ; and he that walks after her at a middle 
 distance, I know not whether I should call that kind 
 of course temper or baseness. It is true, that I never 
 
 * Preface, p. i. See Remarks at the end of this volume. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 201 
 
 travelled after men’s opinions when I might have made the 
 best use of them ; and I have now too few days remaining 
 to imitate those that, either out of extreme ambition or 
 extreme cowardice, or both, do yet (when death hath 
 them on his shoulders) flatter the world between the 
 bed and the grave. It is enough for me (being in that 
 state I am) to write of the eldest times ; wherein also, 
 why may it not be said, that, in speaking of the past, I 
 point at the present, and tax the vices of those that are 
 yet living, in their persons that are long since dead ; and 
 have it laid to my charge. But this I cannot help, 
 though innocent. And certainly, if there be any, that, 
 finding themselves spotted like the tigers of old time, 
 shall find fault with me for painting them over anew, they 
 shall therein accuse themselves justly, and me falsely. 
 For I protest before the majesty of God that I malice no 
 man under the sun. Impossible I know it is to please 
 all, seeing few or none are so pleased with themselves, or 
 so assured of themselves, by reason of their subjection 
 to their private passions, but that they seem diverse 
 persons in one and the same day. Seneca hath said it, 
 and so do I : Unus mihi pro populo erat ; and to the same 
 effect Epicurus, Hoc ego non multis^ sed tibi; or (as it 
 hath since lamentably fallen out) I may borrow the 
 resolution of an ancient philosopher. Satis est unus^ satis 
 est nullus. For it was for the service of that inestimable 
 Prince Henry, the successive hope, and one of the greatest 
 of the Christian world, that I undertook this work. It 
 pleased him to peruse some part thereof, and to pardon 
 what was amiss. It is now left to the world without a 
 master ; from which all that is presented hath received 
 both blows and thanks. * But these discourses are 
 idle. I know that as the charitable will judge charitably, 
 so against those qui gloriantur in malitia, my present 
 adversity hath disarmed me. I am on the ground 
 already, and therefore have not far to fall. * * For 
 
 conclusion ; all the hope I have lies in this, that I have 
 already found more ungentle and uncourteous readers of 
 my love towards them, and well-deserving, than ever I 
 
292 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 shall do again. For had it been otherwise, I should 
 hardly have had this leisure to have made myself a fool 
 in print.” In a man who for many years had been the 
 victim of an unjust sentence, this tone of resignation is 
 infinitely more affecting than the language of indignant 
 remonstrance. 
 
 From this preface I am tempted to extract another 
 sentence, on the dignity and use of history, which is 
 finely written. It hath triumphed,” says he, over 
 time, which, besides it, nothing but eternity hath tri- 
 umphed over ; for it hath carried our knowledge over 
 the vast and devouring space of so many thousands of 
 years, and given so fair and piercing eyes to our mind, 
 that we plainly behold living now, as if we had lived 
 then, that great world, Magni Dei sapiens opus ^ — ^ the 
 wise work,’ says Hermes, ‘ of a Great God,’ as it was then, 
 when but new to itself. By it, I say, it is that we live 
 in the very time when it was created ; we behold how 
 it was governed ; how it was covered with waters, and 
 again repeopled ; how kings and kingdoms have flourished 
 and fallen ; and for what virtue and piety God made 
 prosperous, and for what vice and deformity he made 
 wretched, both the one and the other. And it is not the 
 least debt which we owe unto history, that it hath made 
 us acquainted with our dead ancestors ; and, out of the 
 depth and darkness of the earth delivered us their me- 
 mory and fame. In a word, we may gather out of history 
 a policy no less wise than eternal, by the comparison and 
 apphcation of other men’s forepast miseries with our own 
 like errors and ill-deservings.”* 
 
 To proceed now from the preface to the work itself, — 
 from the porch into that spacious and noble bufldmg to 
 which it conducts, — we find that it embraces the annals 
 of the world, from the creation to the termination of the 
 Second Macedonian War, giving the flower of recorded 
 story” through the three first great monarchies, and con- 
 cluding with Rome triumphant in the fourth, about a 
 
 * Preface, p. v. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 293 
 
 century and a half before the birth of our Saviour, com- 
 prehending a period of nearly 4000 years. In the first 
 book, which is rather theological and philosophical than 
 strictly historical, he discourses of the being and attributes 
 of God, and of the exhibition of his power and goodness 
 in the work of creation. God,” says he, whom the 
 wisest men acknowledge to be a power uneffable, and 
 virtue infinite ; a light, by abundant clarity invisible ; 
 an understanding which itself can only comprehend ; an 
 essence eternal and spiritual, of absolute pureness and 
 simplicity, was and is pleased to make himself known 
 by the work of the world : in the wonderful magnitude 
 whereof (all which he embraceth, filleth, and sustaineth) 
 we behold the image of that glory which cannot be meas- 
 ured, and withal, that one, and yet universal nature 
 which cannot be defined. In the glorious lights of heaven 
 we perceive a shadow of his Divine countenance ; in his 
 merciful provision for all that live, his manifold goodness ; 
 and lastly, in creating and making existent the world 
 universal by the absolute act of his own word, his power, 
 and almightiness ; which power, light, virtue, wisdom, 
 and goodness, being all but attributes of one simple 
 essence and one God, we in all admire, and in part dis- 
 cern, per speculum creaturarum ; that is, in the disposi- 
 tion, order, and variety of celestial and terrestrial bodies. 
 * * By these potent effects we approach to the know- 
 ledge of the Omnipotent Cause, and by these motions 
 their Almighty Mover. * * * By his own Word, and 
 by this visible world, is God perceived of men, which is 
 also the understood language of the Almighty vouchsafed 
 to all his creatures, whose hieroglyphical characters are 
 the unnumbered stars, the sun, and moon, written on 
 these large volumes of the firmament, written also on 
 the earth and the seas, by the letters of all those living 
 creatures and plants which inhabit and reside therein. 
 Therefore, said that learned Cusanus, Mundus universus 
 nihil aliud est quam Deus eocplicatus^ — the world universal 
 is nothing else but God exprest. And ‘ the invisible 
 things of God,’ says St Paul, ^ are seen by his creation of 
 
294 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 the world, being considered in his creatures.’ Of all 
 which there was no other cause preceding than his own 
 will ; no other matter than his own power ; no other 
 workman than his own Word ; no other consideration 
 than his own infinite goodness. The example and pattern 
 of these his creatures, as he beheld the same in all eter- 
 nity in the abundance of his own love, so was it at length 
 in the most wise order by his unchanged will moved, by 
 his high wisdom disposed, and by his Almighty power 
 perfected and made visible.”* This is excellent writing, 
 — noble and just ideas upon the highest theme which 
 can employ the human intellect, — expressed with great 
 strength and dignity of language ; and yet the author of 
 it has been arraigned by critics, who have chosen rather 
 to copy the scurrility of Coke than to examine his 
 own opinions, as a ‘‘ notorious unbeliever suspected of 
 atheism.”f Here, and throughout the work, the style 
 partakes of the fault of the age, being rather stiff and 
 cumbrous ; yet it is vigorous, purely English, and pos- 
 sesses an antique richness of ornament, similar to what 
 pleases us when we see some ancient priory or stately 
 manor-house, and compare it with our more modern 
 mansions. In his first book, which embraces the period 
 from the creation to the building of Nineveh, and more 
 especially in the early portion of it, Raleigh displays an 
 intimate acquaintance with Scripture, and with the 
 writings of the Fathers. He shows, at the same time, 
 that he had studied the works of the most celebrated 
 schoolmen with that freedom of thought which, emanci- 
 pating itself from the prejudices of the age, rejected the 
 errors of their philosophy, whilst it admitted their refined 
 dexterity of intellect. Most of these authors, says he, 
 “ were rather curious in the nature of terms, and more 
 subtile in distinguishing upon the parts of doctrine al- 
 ready laid down, than discoverers of any thing hidden, 
 either in philosophy or divinity : of whom it may be 
 
 * History of the World, vol. ii. pp. 1, 2, 3. 
 
 f Lodge’s Illustrations, vol. iii. p. 216. See Remarks on 
 Hume’s character of Raleigh, at the end of this volume. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 295 
 
 truly said, Nihil sapienticc odiosius acumine nimio ^ — 
 
 ‘ Nothing is more odious to true wisdom than too acute 
 sharpness.’ ”* 
 
 One of the most remarkable features in this work, 
 especially in the first book, is that fine poetical imagina- 
 tion, which irradiates the most abstruse discussions, and 
 gives a bright colouring to subjects, which in the hands 
 of other writers become cold and forbidding. In his 
 chapter on Fate, for example, wliat can be more beauti- 
 ful than the mode in which he introduces his belief in 
 the uses and influences of the stars \ “ And certainly it 
 
 cannot be doubted,” says he, ‘‘ but the stars are instru- 
 ments of far greater use than to give an obscure light, 
 and for men to gaze on after sunset. * * And if we 
 
 cannot deny but that God hath given virtues to springs 
 and fountains, to cold earth, to plants and stones, mine- 
 rals, and to the vilest parts of the basest living creatures, 
 why should we rob the beautiful stars of their working 
 powers^ for seeing they are many in number, and of 
 eminent beauty and magnitude, we may not think that, 
 in the treasury of his wisdom, who is infinite, there can 
 be wanting (even for every star) a peculiar virtue and 
 operation, as every herb, plant, fruit, and flower, adorning 
 the face of tlie earth, hath the like. For as these were 
 not created to beautify the earth alone, and to cover and 
 shadow her dusty face, but otherwise for the use of man 
 and beast, to feed them and cure them ; so were not those 
 mysterious and glorious bodies set in the firmament to 
 no other end than to adorn it, but for instruments and 
 organs of his Divine Providence, so far as it hath pleased 
 his just will to determine. Origen, upon this place of 
 Genesis, ^ Let there be light in the firmament,’ &c., 
 affirmeth, that the stars are not causes (meaning per- 
 chance binding causes), but are as open books, wherein 
 are contained and set down all things whatsoever to come ; 
 but not to be read by the eyes of human wisdom. ^ * 
 And though, for the capacity of men, we know somewhat, 
 
 History of the World, vol. ii. pp. 16, 17, 44. 
 
296 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 yet in the true and uttermost virtues of plants and herbs, 
 which ourselves sow and set, and which grow under our 
 feet, we are in effect ignorant ; much more in the powers 
 and working of the celestial bodies. ‘ For hardly,’ saith 
 Solomon, ‘ can we discern the things that are upon the 
 earth, and with great labour find we out those things 
 which are before us, who can then investigate the things 
 that are in heaven f * * But in this question of fate, 
 the middle course is to be followed : that, as with the 
 heathen, we do not bind God to his creatures in this 
 supposed necessity of destiny ; so, on the contrary, we 
 do not rob those beautiful creatures of their powers and 
 offices.”* 
 
 Some striking examples of this pleasing manner of 
 blending together the philosophy of the Fathers with 
 his own rich imagination are to be found in his chapter 
 entitled, That Man is, as it were, a little World.” 
 “ ^ Man,’ says Gregory Nanzianzene, ^ is the bond and 
 chain which tieth together both natures ;’ and because in 
 the little frame of man’s body there is a representation of 
 the universal, and (by allusion) a kind of participation of 
 all the parts thereof, therefore was man called Microcos- 
 mos, or the little world ; * * for out of the earth and 
 
 dust was formed the flesh of man, and therefore heavy and 
 lumpish ; the bones of his body we may compare to the 
 hard rocks and stones, and therefore strong and durable ; 
 his blood, which disperseth itself by the branches of veins 
 through all the body, may be resembled to those waters 
 which are carried by brooks and rivers over all the earth ; 
 his breath to the air ; his natural heat to the enclosed 
 warmth which the earth hath in itself, which, stirred up 
 by the heat of the sun, assisteth nature in the speedier 
 procreation of those varieties which the earth bringeth 
 forth ; our radical moisture, oil, or balsamum (whereon 
 the natural heat feedeth and is maintained), is resembled 
 to the fat and fertility of the earth ; the hairs of man’s 
 body, which adorns or overshadows it, to the grass which 
 
 History of the World, vol. ii. pp. 28, 29. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 297 
 
 covereth the upper face and skin of the earth ; * * our 
 determinations, to the light, wandering, and unstable 
 clouds, carried every where with uncertain winds ; our 
 eyes, to the light of the sun and moon, and the beauty 
 of our youth to the flowers of the spring, which either in 
 a very short time, or with the sun’s heat, dry up and 
 wither away, or the fierce puffs of wind blow them from 
 the stalks ; the thoughts of our mind, to the motions of 
 angels ; and our pure understanding (formerly called 
 menSy and that which always looketh upwards), to those 
 intellectual natures which are always present with God ; 
 and lastly, our immortal souls (while they are righteous) 
 are by God himself beautified with the title of his own 
 image and similitude. And although in respect of God 
 there is no man just, or good, or righteous, ‘ for behold 
 he found folly in his angels,’ saith Job, yet with such a 
 kind of difference as there is between the substance and 
 the shadow, there may he found a goodness in man.” 
 From this Raleigh proceeds to the opinion of Aristotle 
 and Pythagoras, Homo est mensura omnium rerum^ the 
 four complexions resembling the four elements, and the 
 seven ages of man the seven planets ; a fanciful idea, 
 upon, which he dilates with much beauty. “ Our infancy 
 is compared to the moon, in which we seem only to live 
 and grow as plants ; the second age to Mercury, wherein 
 we are taught and instructed ; our third age to Venus, 
 the days of love, desire, and vanity ; the fourth to the 
 sun, the strong, flourishing, and beautiful age of man’s 
 life ; the fifth to Mars, in which we seek honour and 
 victory, and in which our thoughts travel to ambitious 
 ends ; the sixth age is ascribed to Jupiter, in which we 
 begin to take account of our times, judge of ourselves, 
 and grow to the perfection of our understanding ; the 
 last and seventh to Saturn, wherein our days are sad and 
 overcast, and in which we find, by dear and lamentable 
 experience, and by the loss which can never be repaired, 
 that of all our vain passions and affections past, the sor- 
 row only ahideth. * For this tide of man’s life, 
 after it once turneth and declineth, ever runneth with a 
 
298 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 perpetual ebb and falling stream, but never floweth again; 
 our leaf once fallen springetli no more, neither doth the 
 sun or the summer adorn us again with the garments of 
 new leaves and flowers. 
 
 “ ‘ Redditur arboribus florens revirentibus setas, 
 
 Ergo non homini quod fuit ante, redit.’ 
 
 To which I give this sense : — 
 
 The plants and trees, made poor and old 
 By winter envious, 
 
 The spring-time bounteous 
 Covers again from shame and cold ; 
 
 But never man repaired again 
 His youth and beauty lost, 
 
 Though art, and care, and cost. 
 
 Do promise Nature’s help in vain.’ ” 
 
 The conclusion deduced in a former chapter from these 
 premises, namely, that considering the baseness and 
 frailty of our bodies we should prefer to them the care 
 of the soul, is in the highest strain of Christian philoso- 
 phy : In this time it is, when we for the most part, and 
 
 never before, prepare for our eteraal habitation, which 
 we pass on unto with many sighs, groans, and sad 
 thoughts. And though our own eyes do every 
 
 where behold the sudden and resistless assaults of death, 
 and nature assureth us by never-failing experience, and 
 reason by infallible demonstration, that our times upon 
 the earth have neither certainty nor durability ; that our 
 bodies are but the anvils of pain and diseases, and our 
 minds the hives of unnumbered cares, sorrows, and pas- 
 sions ; * * yet such is the true unhappiness of our 
 
 condition, and the dark ignorance which covereth the 
 eyes of our understanding, that we only prize, pamper, 
 and exalt this vassal and slave of death, and forget alto- 
 gether (or only remember at our cast-away leisure) the 
 imprisoned immortal soul, which can neither die with the 
 reprobate, nor perish with the mortal parts of virtuous 
 men, seeing God’s justice in the one, and his goodness in 
 the other, is exercised for evermore as the ever-living 
 subjects of his reward and punishment. But when is it 
 that we examine this great account I Never while we 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 299 
 
 have one vanity left us to spend. We plead for titles, 
 till our breath fail us ; dig for riches, while our strength 
 enahleth us ; exercise malice, while we can revenge ; 
 and then, when time hath beaten from us both youth, 
 pleasure, and health, and that nature itself hateth the 
 house of old age, we remember with Job, ^ that we must 
 go the way from whence we shall not return, and that 
 our bed is made ready for us in the dark,’ and then, I 
 say, looking over-late into the bottom of our conscience, 
 (which pleasure and ambition had locked up from us 
 all our lives,) we behold therein the fearful images of 
 our actions past, and withal this terrible inscription, 
 ‘ That God will bring every work into judgment that 
 man hath done under the sun.’ * But let us not 
 flatter our immortal souls herein ; for to neglect God 
 all our lives, and know that we neglect him, — to offend 
 God voluntarily, and know that we offend him, — (cast- 
 ing our hopes on the peace which we trust to make at 
 parting), is no other than a rebellious presumption, and 
 (that which is worst of all), even a contemptuous laugh- 
 ing to scorn and deriding of God, his lavrs, and precepts. 
 Frustra sperant qui sic de misericordia Dei sibi blandiun- 
 tuTy — ‘ They hope in vain,’ saith Bernard, ‘ which in 
 this sort flatter themselves with God’s mercy.’ 
 
 In his translations of the poetical passages, quoted in 
 the earlier part of his history, Raleigh is often very 
 happy, keeping close to the original, and giving both the 
 spirit and meaning with much brevity and elegance. 
 Thus in those fine lines of Virgil — 
 
 Principio coelum, ac terras, camposque liquentes, 
 Lucentemque globum lunse, Titaniaque astra, 
 
 Spiritus intus alit ; totamque infusa per artus, 
 
 Mens agitat molem, et magno se corpore miscet.” 
 
 The heaven, the earth, and all the liquid main, — 
 
 The moon’s bright globe, and stars Titanian, 
 
 A spirit within maintains ; and their whole mass, — 
 
 A mind, which through each part infused doth pass, 
 Fashions and works, and wholly doth transpierce 
 AW this great body of the universe.”f 
 
 Hist. World, vol. ii. pp. 58-61, 54-56. f Ibid. pp. 13, 14. 
 
300 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 Another example is to be found in his translation of 
 the following verses of Lucan ; — 
 
 Primum cana salix, madefacto vimine, parvam 
 Texitur in puppim, csesoque induta juvenco, 
 
 Vectoris patiens tumidum supernatat amnem. 
 
 Sic Venetus stagnante Pado, fusoque Britannus 
 Navigat oceano.” 
 
 The moisten’d osier of the hoary willow 
 Is woven first into a little boat, 
 
 Then, clothed in bullock’s hide, upon the billow 
 Of a proud river lightly doth it float 
 Under the waterman : 
 
 So on the lakes of overswelling Po 
 Sails the Venetian ; and the Briton so 
 On the outspread ocean.”* 
 
 From these remarks, supported by the extracts we 
 have given, some idea may be formed of the style and 
 execution of this great work. To pursue the criticism 
 further, or to attempt to follow the author into the wide 
 ocean of Assyrian, Grecian, and Roman history, would 
 carry us much beyond our limits. To characterize, in 
 a few sentences, so extensive a performance, so diversified 
 in its subjects, and presenting so many features of excel- 
 lence, is impossible. It is laborious without being heavy, 
 learned without being dry, acute and ingenious without 
 degenerating into the subtile but trivial distinctions of 
 the schoolmen. Its narrative is clear and spirited, and 
 the matter collected from the most authentic sources 
 which were then accessible. The opinions given on state 
 policy, on the causes of great events, on the different 
 forms of government, on naval or military tactics, on 
 agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and other sources 
 of national greatness, are not the mere echo of other 
 minds, they are results drawn from the experience of a 
 long life spent in constant action and vicissitude in va- 
 rious climates and countries, and from personal observa- 
 tion in offices of high trust and responsibility. But 
 perhaps its most striking feature is the sweet tone of 
 
 History of the World, vol. ii. p. 259. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 301 
 
 philosophic melancholy which pervades the whole. 
 Written in prison during the quiet evening of a tempes- 
 tuous life, we feel, in its perusal, that we are the com- 
 panions of a superior mind, nursed in contemplation, 
 and chastened and improved by sorrow, in which the 
 bitter recollection of injury, and the asperity of resent- 
 ment, have passed away, leaving only the heavenly 
 lesson, that all is vanity. It may be remarked, lastly, 
 that the work contains the most complete and satisfactory 
 evidence of the absolute groundlessness of the charges of 
 infidelity brought against Sir Walter at his trial, and 
 since countenanced by the authority of Hume. That 
 distinguished writer could not have advanced this opin- 
 ion had he consulted the History of the World, through- 
 out which runs a uniform strain of Christian faith and 
 Christian doctrine, evinced by a learned reference to the 
 Scriptures as the Word of God, and an unhesitating 
 condemnation of all those ingenious but mischievous 
 inventions of ancient or of modern philosophy, which 
 would allegorize their meaning, circumscribe their in- 
 spiration, or impair their authority. Had this been 
 otherwise. Bishop Hall, an author as eminent for piety 
 as for eloquence, would not have commended the work 
 so highly in his treatise entitled, Balm of Gilead, or 
 Comforts for the Distrest,” with whose eulogium we 
 shall conclude these remarks. A wise man, as Lau- 
 rentius, the presbyter, observed well, does much in soli- 
 tude. So mayst thou employ the hours of thy close 
 retiredness, and bless God for so happy an opportunity. 
 How memorable an instance has our age afforded us of 
 an eminent person, to whose imprisonment we are all 
 obliged, besides many philosophical experiments, for 
 that noble History of the World now in our hands. The 
 court had his youthful and freer years, and the Tower 
 his latter age ; the Tower reformed the courtier in him, 
 and produced those worthy monuments of art and in- 
 dustry, which we should have in vain expected from his 
 freedom and jollity. It is observed that shining wood, 
 when it is kept within doors, loses its light ; it is other- 
 
302 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 wise with this and many other active wits, which had 
 never shined so much if not for closeness.” 
 
 During these literary occupations Raleigh never in- 
 termitted his efforts to recover his liberty ; but the 
 animosity of Cecil, the indifference of the king, and the 
 influence of Somerset, who enjoyed the spoils of the 
 captive, rendered all ineffectual. Under this severe 
 disappointment, aggravated by the strictness with which 
 he was guarded, and the cold and discomfort of his 
 apartments, his health became seriously affected ; his 
 breathing began to be short and laboured ; and in an 
 affecting letter to the queen, he complains, that after 
 eight years he was as straitly locked up as on the first 
 day ; that he had in vain petitioned for so much grace 
 as to walk with his keeper up the hill within the Tower. 
 These symptoms soon grew more alarming. The whole 
 of his left side was seized with a partial paralysis, his 
 speech was perceptibly affected, and his physician. Dr 
 Turner, sent a statement of his case to Cecil, entreating 
 that he might have the accommodation of a warmer 
 room, which, when permitted more liberty, he had built 
 near his laboratory in the garden. The proof of this is 
 contained in a curious document preserved in the State- 
 paper Office, which exhibits the secretary in the character 
 of' a jailor, heartlessly weighing the sufferings of his 
 prisoner, and considering whether his illness demanded 
 a little more indulgence. It is addressed to the Earl of 
 Salisbury, being indorsed in his own handwritmg, ‘‘ The 
 Judgment of Sir W. Raleigh’s Case and is evidently 
 an abridgment of the physician’s memorial, which, after 
 detailing the symptoms, prays that Raleigh should be 
 removed from his cold lodging, “ if it might stand with 
 his honour’s lyking.”* 
 
 Whether this miserable favour was granted does not 
 appear ; but it was evident, that so long as Cecil retained 
 his power there was no liberty for his victim. By the 
 death of this minister, however, which happened soon 
 
 * Mrs Thomson, Life of Raleigh, Appendix, letter U. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 303 
 
 after, one great obstacle to his enlargement was with- 
 drawn. 
 
 Raleigh conld not refrain fi-oni commemorating his 
 feelings on this occasion in a satirical epitaph, less severe, 
 however, than the strictures on the character of the 
 same person by Osborne and Weldon. 
 
 “ Here lies Hobbinol, our pastor while ere, 
 
 That once in a quarter our fleeces did shear. 
 
 To please us, his cur he kept under a clog. 
 
 And was ever after both shepherd and dog. 
 
 For oblation to Pan, his custom was thus, — • 
 
 He first gave a trifle, then offer’d up us ; 
 
 And through his false worship such power he did gain. 
 
 As kept him o’ th’ mountain and us on the plain ; 
 
 Where many a hornpipe he tuned to his Phillis, 
 
 And sweetly sung Walsingham to’s Amaryllis; 
 
 Till Atropos snapt him, the envious drab. 
 
 For, spite of his tar-box, he died of the scab.” 
 
 Who the Phillis here alluded to was does not appear, 
 unless we are to believe it to have been the Countess of 
 Suffolk ; the mistress, as Weldon informs us, of that 
 “ little great secretary, — little in body and stature, but 
 great in wit and policy.”* , 
 
 Raleigh touches on Cecil’s power of fleecing the people 
 and enriching himself. The last line refers to a story 
 told by Sir Anthony Weldon, that he died of a very 
 loathsome disease (the Herodian), which is confirmed 
 by the statement of Osborne, though the' evidence of 
 both is to be received with caution. Yet even by his 
 eulogists, Salisbury’s illness, for which the use of the 
 Bath hot- wells was recommended, is said to have been 
 a complication of dropsy and scurvy. The general feel- 
 ing on his death is probably described with hnpartiality 
 in a letter of the Earl of Dorset to Sir Thomas Edmondes : 
 — ‘‘ When great men die, such is either their desert or 
 the malice of the people, or both together, as commonly 
 they are ill spoken of ; and so is one that died but lately, 
 — more, I think, than ever any one was, and in more 
 several kinds ; and his death hath wiped away the me- 
 mory of others’ misdeeds, and as it were extinguished 
 
 Weldon, p. 338. Osborne, pp. 236, 237. 
 
304 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 their faults, — ^his being, if not greater, yet fresher in 
 every man’s mouth and memory.”* * * § In his illness Cecil 
 thus addressed Sir Walter Cope, one of his most favour- 
 ite and intimate servants : “ Ease and pleasure quake to 
 hear of death ; hut my life, full of cares and miseries, 
 desire th to be dissolved,” t — a sentence which might be 
 a warning to ambition, if such were ever heeded. 
 
 The death of his enemy the Earl of Salisbury, and the 
 continued friendship of the Prince of Wales, promised 
 some alleviation to Raleigh’s misfortunes ; hut unhappily, 
 before the generosity of Henry could take advantage 
 of the change, and move the king for the liberation of 
 his friend, he was himself seized with the malignant 
 fever of which he died. The illness of this youth assumed 
 from the first an alarming appearance, but .was evidently 
 aggravated by the ignorance of his physicians. One of 
 them, Sir Theodore Mayerne, possessed of somewhat 
 greater skill than the rest, urged the immediate necessity 
 of bleeding, hut was outvoted by his brethren, who ad- 
 ministered restoratives, and greatly aggravated the fury 
 of the disease. At length, on Sunday, 1st November, 
 seven or eight ounces of blood were permitted to be taken, 
 and nature seemed to point out the excellence of the 
 remedy, and to chide the ignorance of the physicians ; 
 for the poor sufferer did not cease desiring and calling on 
 them to take more, as they were about to stop the same, 
 finding some ease as it were upon the instant. J 
 
 The fall of the pulse, the cessation of delirium, and 
 evident symptoms of convalescence, demonstrated the 
 wisdom of Mayerne’s opinion. On 3d November, in 
 order to ease the prince’s pain in the head, his hair was 
 shaven away, and pigeons and cupping-glasses applied, 
 * * but without any relief except for the present.” § 
 
 On the following day the wretched quacks by whom he 
 
 * Birch’s Historical View, p. 347. 
 
 + Biographia Britannica, art. Cecil (Robert). 
 
 Birch’s Life of Henry Prince of Wales, compiled from his 
 own Papers, pp. 345, 346. 
 
 § Ibid, p, 348. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 305 
 
 was surrounded applied to the soles of his feet a cock 
 cloven by the back and the queen obtained some of 
 Raleigh’s cordial, which was given among other remedies 
 without the slightest success. The fever had now re- 
 curred with a force which defied all human skill ; and 
 the prince expired on the 6th of November, to the sincere 
 grief of the whole nation, whose good-will his virtues 
 and excellent qualities had entirely gained. The passage 
 in Wei wood which refers to Sir Walter’s drug is curious, 
 as containing the probable ground- work of the absurd 
 but general suspicion that the royal patient died of poison. 
 
 When the prince,” says this author, fell into his last 
 illness, the queen sent to Sir Walter Raleigh for some of 
 his cordial, which she herself had taken in a fever some 
 time before, with remarkable success. Raleigh sent it, 
 together with a letter, to the queen, wherein he expressed 
 a tender concern for the prince ; and, boasting of his 
 medicine, stumbled unluckily upon an expression to this 
 purpose, that it would certainly cure him, or any other, 
 of a fever, except in case of poison. The prince dying, 
 though he took it, the queen in the agony of her grief 
 showed Raleigh’s letter, and laid so much weight on the 
 expression about poison, that to her dying day she could 
 never be dissuaded from the opinion, that her beloved 
 son had had foul play done him.”* 
 
 The feelings with which Raleigh received this blow, 
 one of the severest which could have befallen him, were 
 not those of unavailing complaint, but of deep and manly 
 sorrow. During the tedious years of his imprisonment 
 he had been cheered by the correspondence of this ta- 
 lented youth. At his request, and for his instruction, 
 he engaged in that great work of which we have spoken ; 
 and with such enthusiasm did the prince embrace the 
 interests of his friend, that shortly before his death he 
 solicited the Sherborne estate from his father, with the 
 purpose of restoring it to its former master. To have 
 
 * Welwood’s Notes on Wilson’s History of King James. 
 Kennet, vol. ii. p. 714. 
 
306 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 owed to him his liberty and the reinstatement of his 
 fortunes, and to have devoted the rest of his life and the 
 treasures of his long experience to so generous a patron, 
 was a prospect he had often indulged with the sanguine 
 hope that formed part of his character ; but it was now' 
 withered for ever. ‘‘Of the art of war by sea,” says he 
 in his History, “I had written a treatise for the Lord Hen- 
 ry, Prince of Wales, — a subject to my knowledge never 
 handled by any man, ancient or modern. But God hath 
 spared me the labour of finishing it by his loss, — by the 
 loss of that brave prince, of which, like an eclipse of the 
 sun, we shall find the effects hereafter. Impossible it 
 is to equal words and sorrows ; I wdll therefore leave 
 him in the hands of God that hath him : Gutcb leves 
 loquuntur^ ingentes stupent.^^"^ With the same brief but 
 profound sorrow he thus concludes his history : — “ Lastly, 
 whereas this book, by the title it hath, calls itself the 
 First Pai't of the General History of the World, im- 
 plying a second and third volume, w^hich I also intended 
 and have hewn out. Besides many other discourage- 
 ments persuading my silence, it hath pleased God to take 
 that glorious prince out of the world to whom they were 
 directed, whose unspeakable and never-enough-lamented 
 loss hath taught me to say with Job, Versa est in luctum 
 cithara mea, et organum meum in vocemflentium’’f 
 Yet although again cast down by this grievous loss, it 
 was not in the nature of Raleigh’s mind to sink into 
 despair ; and in the rise of a new favourite, Villiers, 
 duke of Buckingham, which also diminished tlie powder 
 of Somerset, he perceived a revival of hope. By the 
 influence of some friends wflth the duke, the liberty of 
 the Tower was allowed him ; and the subsequent dis- 
 covery of the murder of Overbury by the Earl of Somer- 
 set and his infamous countess, whilst it led to their con- 
 demnation and disgrace, encouraged Sir Walter to redouble 
 his exertions to obtain a release. He addressed a petition 
 to the queen, who was favourably disposed towards him, 
 and both to her and to Sir Ralph Win wood, secretary 
 
 * Hist, of the World, b. v. c. 1. § 6. f Ibid. b. v. c. 6. § 12. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 30 ? 
 
 of state, renewed his proposal for the settlement of Gui- 
 ana, and the working of a gold mine, of which in his 
 former voyages he had ascertained the existence. The 
 scheme which Cecil had refused to countenance was re- 
 commended to the king by Win wood, and as the expense 
 came out of the private fortunes of Raleigh, and those 
 who embarked in the speculation, whilst his majesty was 
 to receive a fifth part of the bullion imported, no stretch 
 of generosity was required for the royal consent to an 
 adventure by which he could lose nothing, and might 
 be a gainer to a high amount. The remonstrances, how- 
 ever, of Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador, who was 
 jealous of any expedition to that part of America, and 
 represented the whole affair as an intended attack upon 
 the possessions of his master, shook the resolution of 
 James, and would probably have put a stop to the en- 
 terprise, had not Raleigh adopted a more efficacious mode 
 of forwarding it by paying £1500 to Sir William St John 
 and Sir Edward Villiers, the uncles of Buckingham. 
 It affords a striking proof of the corruption of the court, 
 that in this way success was at length obtained, and the 
 monarch, who had for twelve years steeled his heart 
 against all the demands of truth and justice, yielded at 
 once to the desires of a capricious and venal favourite. 
 
 Early in March 1615, the prisoner was informed of 
 the success of his suit, and wrote to Villiers this brief 
 and dignified letter. 
 
 Sir, — You have, by your mediation, put me again 
 into the world. I can but acknowledge it ; for to pay 
 any part of your favour by any service of mine as yet, 
 it is not in my power. If it succeed well, a good part 
 of the honour shall be yours ; and if I do not also make 
 it profitable unto you, I shall show myself exceeding 
 ungrateful. In the mean while, and till God discover 
 the success, I beseech you to reckon me among the num- 
 ber of your faithful servants, though the least able. 
 
 «W. Raleigh.”'^ 
 
 Oldys’s Life, p. 468. 
 
308 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 Three days after the date of this letter Sir Walter 
 was liberated from confinement. When expressing his 
 reflections to some friends on the extraordinary dealings 
 of Providence with regard to himself and Somerset, he 
 remarked that the whole history of the world did not 
 furnish a similar example, where freedom came to a 
 royal prisoner, and a halter to the bosom favourite of 
 the monarch, except in the instance of Mordecai and 
 Haman. This was by some officious talebearer repeated 
 to the king. His answer was remarkable ; Raleigh,” 
 said he, ‘‘may die in that deceit — an observation which, 
 escaping by chance from the royal bosom, showed its 
 deep unforgivingness. Too weak to resist the importu- 
 nity of Buckingham, whom he both feared and loved, 
 James gave a partial liberty to the object of his resent- 
 ment ; hut he retained the power of punishing, and felt 
 an ungenerous satisfaction in contemplating the probabi- 
 lity of bringing him one day to a sanguinary reckoning. 
 
 The moment Sir Walter regained his freedom, he 
 embarked with ardour in his schemes of colonizing Gui- 
 ana, and working the gold mine from which he looked 
 for so rich a return. Whatever may have been his cre- 
 dulity as to the wealth to he derived from this source, or 
 however slight the grounds of his expectations of success, 
 to doubt his sincerity seems unreasonable. During his 
 long imprisonment he had never intermitted his plans, 
 and the wreck of his fortune was employed in despatch- 
 ing agents, who kept up among the natives, and the few 
 remaining English settlers, the hopes of relief from Span- 
 ish tyranny. Almost every second year an intercourse 
 of this nature took place.* Some of the Indians arrived 
 in England, and had interviews with him in the Tower ; 
 and an epistle to the queen is preserved in the State-paper 
 Office,f in which he describes the great riches which 
 might be derived from this province, and laments that 
 malice had hitherto prevailed over wisdom so far as to 
 
 * Apology. Works, vol. viii. p. 500. 
 t Appendix to Thomson’s Life of Raleigh, letter S. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 309 
 
 prevent its colonization. So soon as he became certain 
 that he was to be restored to freedom, he addressed this 
 letter to Secretary Win wood, — a man in every respect 
 the opposite of Cecil, — far his inferior in ability, but 
 plain, honest, intelligent, and of the old English school 
 in regard to his jealousy of Spain. 
 
 Honoured Sir, — I was lately persuaded by two 
 gentlemen, my ancient friends, to acquaint your honour, 
 with some offers of mine, made heretofore for a journey 
 to Guiana, who were of opinion, that it would be better 
 understood now than when it was first propounded. 
 Which advice having surmounted my despair, I have 
 presumed to send unto your honour the copies of those 
 letters which I then wrote, both to his majesty and to 
 the Treasurer Cecil ; wherein, as well the reasons that 
 first moved me are remembered, as the objections by 
 him made are briefly answered. 
 
 What I know of the riches of that place, not by 
 hearsay, but what mine eyes have seen,* I have said it 
 often ; but it was then to no end, because those that had 
 the greatest trust were resolved not to believe it. Not 
 because they doubted the truth, but because they doubted 
 my disposition towards themselves ; where, if God had 
 blessed me in the enterprise, I had recovered his majes- 
 ty’s favour and good opinion. Other cause than this, or 
 other suspicion, they never had any. Our late worthy 
 Prince of Wales was extreme curious in searching out 
 the nature of my offences. The queen’s majesty hath 
 informed herself from the beginning. The King of 
 Denmark, at both times of his being here, was thoroughly 
 satisfied of my innocency. They would otherv/ise never 
 have moved his majesty on my behalf. The wife, the 
 brother, and the son of a king, do not use to sue for men 
 suspect. But, sir, since they all have done it out of 
 their charity, and but with references to me alone, your 
 honour, whose respect hath only relation to his majesty’s 
 
 Oldys’s Life, pp. 209, 221. 
 
310 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 service, and strengthened by the example of those princes, 
 may with the more hardiness do the like ; being princes 
 to whom his majesty’s good estate is no less dear, and 
 all men that shall oppugn it is no less hateful, than to 
 the king himself. 
 
 It is true, sir, that his majesty hath sometimes 
 answered, that his council knew me better than he did ; 
 meaning some two or three of them. And it was indeed 
 my infelicity. For, had his majesty known me, I had 
 never been here where I now am ; or, had I known his 
 majesty, they had never been so long there where they 
 now are. His majesty not knowing of me hath been 
 my ruin ; and his majesty misknowing of them hath 
 been the ruin of a goodly part of his estate. But they 
 are all of them now, some living and some dying, come 
 to his majesty’s knowledge. But, sir, how little soever 
 his majesty knew me, and how much soever he believed 
 them, yet have I been hound to his majesty both for my 
 life and all that remains ; of which, but for his majesty, 
 nor life nor aught else had remained. In this respect, 
 sir, I am bound to yield up the same life, and all I 
 have, for his majesty’s service. To die for the king, 
 and not by the king, is all the ambition I have in the 
 world.” 
 
 This letter was followed by James’s permission to 
 engage in the adventure ; and this once obtained, the 
 preparations were conducted on a scale which completely 
 refutes the suggestion of Hume, that Raleigh’s object 
 was plunder and not settlement. He called in the £8000 
 he had lent to the Countess of Bedford, — a sum given 
 him by the king as a competent satisfaction” for his 
 estate of Sherborne, though that property brought an 
 annual income of £5000. Finding this insufficient, he 
 prevailed on Lady Raleigh to sell her estate of Micham, 
 for which he received £2500. Private merchants and 
 adventurers, both English and foreign, took a share in 
 the undertaking ; and as settlement in the new country 
 was the main design, many volunteers, with small sums. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 311 
 
 joined the fleet, whose services Sir Walter did not think 
 it right to refuse, though they afterwards gave more 
 trouble than assistance. 
 
 It has been already seen that these preparations, and 
 the knowledge of their destination, had roused the 
 jealousy of the Spanish court ; and, as they proceeded, 
 Count Gondomar remonstrated more violently than be- 
 fore. This ambassador was a politician of consummate 
 address. His manners had nothing of the stiffness or 
 saturnine gravity of the Spaniard, but were light and 
 agreeable. He appeared to talk on every subject with 
 thoughtless and unhesitating boldness, — delighted in 
 gayety and good fellowship, and scattered presents and 
 wit with equal liberality amongst the courtiers. Yet, 
 under this gay exterior was concealed a dark and power- 
 ful character : the cunning and pliant morality of the 
 Jesuit, — a pride, cruelty, and tenacity of purpose, truly 
 Castilian, — and a penetration which discerned every 
 thing, whilst it seemed to observe nothing. 
 
 On his first arrival in England the count applied him- 
 self to study the character of the king ; and the result 
 was his gaining an influence over James, which was only 
 the more powerful because it was most artfully concealed. 
 Against the projected expedition we have the evidence 
 of the monarch himself that Gondomar protested in the 
 strongest manner : He took great alarm, and repre- 
 
 sented unto his majesty by loud and vehement assertions, 
 upon iterated audiences, that he knew and had discovered 
 the intention and enterprise of Sir Walter Raleigh to be 
 but hostile and piratical, and tending to the breach of 
 the peace between the two crowns.”* To all this Raleigh 
 answered, that he meant to sail for Guiana, a country 
 belonging to England both by right of discovery and by 
 the consent of the natives ; that he had no intention to 
 invade any part of the dominions of Spain nor to at- 
 tack her fleets ; that the arms and soldiers he took with 
 him were for self-defence and the strength necessary in 
 
 * James’s Declaration, p. 84, printed in Appendix to Cayley. ’ 
 
312 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 such an enterprise ; and that to the truth of all this he 
 had set his hand in a letter to his majesty. Affecting to 
 be satisfied, Gondomaf withdrew his opposition. He 
 observed to Winwood, that if the design was solely to 
 settle Guiana, no resistance should be made, and the 
 adventurer might without molestation work any mines 
 he pleased.* The preparations therefore proceeded. He 
 obtained the royal sanction ; a commission under the 
 privy-seal constituted him general and commander-in- 
 chief of the expedition, and governor of the new country. 
 Some friends wished him to procure a pardon under the 
 great seal, but Haleigh unfortunately neglected it, rely- 
 ing, as is said, on the opinion of Sir Francis Bacon, who 
 assured him that the ample words of the commission 
 making him admiral of the fleet, and giving him the 
 power of martial law, necessarily included a remission of 
 all past offences, t Satisfied, therefore, on this point, Sir 
 Walter assembled his fleet, consisting of fourteen sail. 
 He himself hoisted his flag in the Destiny, a ship built 
 at his own expense, and commanded by his son, who 
 bore his name. She carried thirty-six pieces of ordnance, 
 and had on board 200 men, including eighty gentlemen 
 volunteers, amongst whom were many of the admiral’s 
 relations. On the 28th of March 1617, they dropt down 
 the Thames ; and in the May following Raleigh published 
 his general orders to the commanders and land-companies. 
 They are drawn up with admirable clearness and good 
 sense ; and as we have already seen that some authors 
 have accused him of atheism and profanity, we shall give 
 the two first heads : — First, because no action nor en- 
 terprise can prosper (be it by sea or land) without the 
 favour and assistance of Almighty God, the Lord and 
 Strength of hosts and armies, you shall not fail to cause 
 divine service to be read in your ship morning and even- 
 ing ; * * or, at least (if there be interruption by foul 
 weather), once the day, praising God every night, with 
 
 * Apology. Works, vol. viii. p. 499. 
 
 + This, however, is very doubtful, as the words of James’s de- 
 claration describe Raleigh as being still under peril of the law. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 313 
 
 singing of a psalm at the setting of the watch. Secondly, 
 you shall take especial care that God be not blasphemed 
 in your ship, but that, after admonition given, if the 
 offenders do not refrain themselves, you shall cause them 
 of the better sort to be fined out of their adventures ; 
 by which course if no amendment be found, you shall 
 acquaint me withal. For if it be threatened in the 
 Scriptures, that ‘ the curse shall not depart from the 
 house of the swearer,’ much less from the ship of the 
 swearer.”^' 
 
 The squadron was forced by stress of weather to put 
 into Cork, where Raleigh was generously entertained by 
 Boyle, who had purchased his Irish estates, and had been 
 lately raised to the peerage. By the same nobleman he 
 was supplied with a large quantity of stores and neces- 
 saries,t and having completely refitted the fleet, late in 
 the month of August, stood out for the New World. In 
 September they made the Canaries, in October the Cape 
 de Verd Islands, and in the beginning of November the 
 continent of South America. It appears from the follow- 
 ing letter to his wife, that the outward voyage was one 
 of extreme sickness and suffering : — 
 
 Sweet Heart, — I can write you but with a weak 
 hand, for I have suffered the most violent calenture, for 
 fifteen days, that ever man did and lived. But God, that 
 gave me a strong heart in all my adversities, hath also 
 now strengthened it in the hell -fire of heat. We have 
 had two most grievous sicknesses in our ship, of which 
 forty-two have died, and there are yet many sick. But 
 having recovered the land of Guiana this 1 2th of Novem- 
 ber, I hope we shall recover them. We are yet two 
 hundred men, and the rest of our fleet are reasonable 
 strong — strong enough I hope to perform what we have 
 undertaken, if the diligent care at London, to make our 
 strength known to the Spanish king by his ambassador, 
 have not taught the Spanish king to fortify all the 
 
 * Appendix to Cayley, No. xiv. p. 70. 
 
 t Smith’s History of Cork, vol. i. p. 128. 
 
314 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 entrances against us. Howsoever we must make the 
 adventure ; and, if we perish, it shall he no honour for 
 England, nor gain for his majesty, to lose, among many 
 other, one hundred as valiant gentlemen as England hath 
 in it. * In my passage to the Canaries I stayed at 
 Gomera, where I took water in peace, because the country 
 durst not deny it me. I received there, of an English race, 
 a present of oranges, lemons, quinces, and pomegranates, 
 without which I could not have lived. Those I preserved 
 in fresh sands, and I have of them yet to my great 
 refreshing. 
 
 “ Your son had never so good health, having no dis- 
 temper in all the heat under the line. All my servants 
 have escaped, hut Crab and my cook ; yet all have had 
 the sickness. * * Remember my service to my Lord 
 Carew and Mr Secretary Win wood. I write not to them, 
 for I can write of nought hut miseries. * * By the 
 
 next I trust you shall hear better of us ; in God’s hands 
 we were, and in Him we trust. The bearer. Captain 
 Alley, for his infirmity of his head, I have sent back ; 
 an honest valiant man ; he can deliver you all that is 
 past. Commend me to my worthy friends at Lothbury. 
 * * And my most devoted and humble service to her 
 majesty. 
 
 To tell you that I might he here king of the Indians 
 were a vanity. But my name hath still lived among 
 them here. They feed me with fresh meat, and all that 
 the country yields. All offer to obey me. Commend 
 me to poor Carew my son. From Caliana in Guiana 
 the 14th of November.” 
 
 It is evident from this letter that Raleigh had been 
 enthusiastically received by the Indians, and that, not- 
 withstanding the distresses of the voyage, he confidently 
 anticipated success. He was partially informed of the 
 betrayal of his plans to the Spanish king ; but he had 
 just arrived, and was not yet aware of the full extent of 
 the treachery to which he had been made the victim. 
 On this subject it is painful to discover the weakness or 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 315 
 
 duplicity of James. He had pretended a deep interest 
 in his plans, and, for the purpose of more fully considering 
 them, procured from him a minute written description 
 of the country, and the very river by which he was to 
 enter, besides a statement of the number of men, with 
 the burden of each ship. These papers were delivered 
 to Gondomar, who forwarded them to Madrid ; and 
 despatches were immediately sent to the West Indies 
 disclosing the whole design to the Spaniards in Guiana. 
 On his first arrival, Raleigh, with the sanguine temper 
 which had survived the attacks of misfortune and disease, 
 trusted his enemies had only obtained a general idea of 
 what was intended, and that all would still go -well. 
 But he was miserably deceived. He found the minutest 
 secrets of his expedition were known ; even his own 
 private letter to the king was in the hands of the Spa- 
 niards ; and instead of the free passage he had been 
 promised, the country was fortified against him in the 
 very places where he had intended to commence opera- 
 tions. But he felt that his honour, and perhaps his life, 
 depended on success, and the measures he adopted were 
 those best calculated to secure it. Being so weak from 
 sickness that he was carried in a litter, he directed five 
 ships under Captain Keymis, the same officer who in 
 1596 had explored the country, to sail up the Orinoco 
 towards the mine ; while he himself with the other 
 vessels, commanded by his vice-admiral Captain John 
 Pennington, Captain Sir John Feme, and Sir Warham 
 Saintleger, remained at Trinidad, for the double purpose 
 of awaiting the attack of the Spanish fleet which had 
 been sent against them, and of providing a retreat for his 
 companions should they be repulsed. 
 
 The ships sent up the river were the Encounter, Cap- 
 tain Whitney ; the Confidence, Woolaston ; the Supply, 
 King ; with a pink and a caravel under Captains Smith 
 and Hall. They carried Captains Parker and North, 
 young Raleigh, and other experienced officers, with five 
 foot- companies of fifty men each. Keymis had formed a 
 plan for opening a passage to the mine ; but the admiral. 
 
316 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 not approving of it, furnished him with minute written 
 instructions to lead the soldiers westward of the moun- 
 tain Aio, to a spot only three miles from it, and having 
 encamped there to proceed with a small party to ascertain 
 its depth and breadth. If he found it royal, and should 
 the Spaniards attack him, he was to repel force by force ; 
 but if it did not promise to be so rich as was expected, he 
 was to bring a basket or two of ore to convince the king 
 that the design was not imaginary, as had been insinuated. 
 If Spanish troops, as was reported, had been recently 
 sent up the Orinoco, and had occupied the passes, Keymis 
 was to be careful before venturing to land, lest the com- 
 mon soldiers, who were not of a respectable description, 
 should desert and dishonour the nation. 
 
 With these orders the squadron sailed on the 10th of 
 December, and after a short progress discovered the town 
 of Santa Thome, erected by the Spaniards on the right 
 bank of the river. It consisted only of about 140 houses, 
 but was garrisoned. Ke^unis, afraid if he followed his 
 instructions that he might throw this place between his 
 party and the boats, landed during the night, and took 
 up a position between the mine and the town, trusting 
 to repose in security till morning. On a sudden the 
 Spaniards broke in upon his encampment, and finding 
 many of the companies unprepared, made a pitiless 
 slaughter. The officers, however, fought with desperate 
 resolution, and gave the soldiers time to recover from 
 their panic, after which they charged the assailants, drove 
 them off the field, and pursued them to the town. The 
 Spaniards being here reinforced by the Governor Pala- 
 me^a, the battle was renewed with the utmost obstinacy. 
 Young Raleigh at the head of his company of pikemen 
 was slain, after cutting down a leader of rank. His 
 death infuriated his companions. They fought with a 
 valour which nothing could resist, — put their opponents 
 to flight, killed the governor, and possessed themselves 
 of the place. Their victory, however, was but half com- 
 pleted, for the enemy, taking shelter in the houses and the 
 market-place, kept up a destructive fire ; and the English, 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 31 7 
 
 finding it impossible to dislodge them, burnt the town ; 
 which compelled its defenders to escape to the woods, 
 where they still continued to make a partial resistance. 
 
 In this establishment were found four refining houses ; 
 but with the exception of two ingots of gold* the coin 
 and bullion had been removed, and the passes to the 
 mine were defended. Keymis determined, however, to 
 endeavour to reach the spot, with the situation of which 
 he was best acquainted, and set forward with Sir John 
 Hampden, Captain Thornhurst, and a small party. He 
 had not proceeded far when they received a volley from 
 an ambuscade, which wounded six, killed two, and so 
 staggered the resolution of the commander and the officers 
 that they instantly retreated. They soon after evacuated 
 the town, and rejoined Raleigh at Punta de Gallo. 
 
 On hearing the result of the expedition. Sir Walter 
 indignantly rejected every excuse pleaded by Captain 
 Keymis, openly asserting that he had undone him, and 
 ruined his credit with the king past recovery. In justice 
 to this unfortunate man we must observe, that some of 
 the grounds which he stated in defence of his conduct 
 are neither slight nor inconclusive. But his master 
 knew the temper of the monarch : he had undertaken 
 to bring back such a quantity of ore as would remove all 
 suspicion that his enterprise was illusive or chimerical ; 
 and when his officer returned repulsed and empty-handed, 
 he at once foresaw the fatal use to which such a catas- 
 trophe might be turned by his enemies. We cannot, 
 therefore, wonder that his remonstrances were loud ; and 
 they sunk deep into the mind of Keymis. After some 
 days he entered Raleigh’s cabin, having in his hand a 
 letter to the Earl of Arundel, containing an elaborate 
 defence of his conduct, and requested Sir Walter to ap- 
 prove of it. This he declined ; and indeed under the 
 circumstances consent was impossible ; but the refusal 
 was fatal to the other, for, retiring to his cabin, he put a 
 period to his existence. 
 
 Weakened by disease, almost broken-hearted by dis- 
 
 Birch’s Life, p. 641. 
 
318 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 appointment, conscious that he had been betrayed by his 
 sovereign, and sorrowing for the death of his brave son, 
 the feelings of Raleigh at this moment cannot be easily 
 described. They will be best understood by the follow- 
 ing affecting letter to his wife : — 
 
 “ I was loath to write, because I know not how to 
 comfort you, and God knows I never knew what sorrow 
 meant till now. All that I can say to you is, that you 
 must obey the will and providence of God ; and remember 
 that the queen’s majesty bare the loss of Prince Henry 
 with a magnanimous heart, and the Lady Harrington of 
 her only son. Comfort your heart, dearest Bess, I shall 
 sorrow for us both. And I shall sorrow the less, because 
 I have not long to sorrow, because not long to live. I 
 refer you to Mr Secretary Win wood’s letter, who will 
 give you a copy of it if you send for it. Therein you 
 shall know what hath passed, which I have written by 
 that letter ; for my brains are broken, and it is a torment 
 to me to write, especially of misery, I have deshed Mr 
 Secretary to give my Lord Carew a copy of his letter. 
 I have cleansed my ship of sick men, and sent them 
 home, and hope that God will send us somewhat before 
 we return. Commend me to all at Lothbury. You shall 
 hear from me, if I live, from Newfoundland, where I 
 mean to clean my ships and revictual, for I have tobacco 
 enough to pay for it. The Lord bless and comfort you, 
 that you may bear patiently the death of your most 
 valiant son ! This 22d of March from the Isle of St 
 Christophers. ‘‘ Yours, W. Raleigh. 
 
 Postscript , — I protest before the majesty of God, 
 that as Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins died 
 heart-broken when they failed of their enterprise, I could 
 willingly do the like did I not contend against sorrow 
 for your sake, in hope to provide somewhat for you to 
 comfort and relieve you. If I live to return, resolve 
 yourself that it is the care for you that hath strengthened 
 my heart. It is true that Keymis might have gone 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 319 
 
 directly to the mine, and meant it. But after my son’s 
 death, he made them believe that he knew not the way, 
 and excused himself upon the want of water in the 
 river ; and counterfeiting many impediments, left it un- 
 found. When he came back I told him he had undone 
 me, and that my credit was lost for ever. He answered 
 that when my son was lost, and that he left me so weak 
 that he thought not to find me alive, he had no reason 
 to enrich a company of rascals, who, after my son’s death, 
 made no account of him. He farther told me that the 
 English sent up into Guiana could hardly defend the 
 Spanish town of St Thome which they had taken ; and 
 therefore for them to pass through thick woods it was 
 impossible, and more impossible to have victuals brought 
 them into the mountains. And it is true that the gover- 
 nor, Diego Palame(^a, and other four captains being slain, 
 — whereof my son Wat slew one, Pleasington (Wat’s 
 sergeant), and John of Moroccoes (one of his men), slew 
 two, — I say five of them slain in the entrance to the 
 town, the rest went off in a whole body. And each took 
 more care to defend the passages to their mines (of which 
 they had three within a league of the town, beside a 
 mine that was about five miles off) than they did of the 
 town itself. 
 
 Yet Keymis, at the first, was resolved to go to the 
 mine. But, when he came to the bank-side to land, he 
 had two men of his slain outright from the bank, and six 
 others hurt ; and Captain Thornhurst shot in the head, 
 of which wound, and the accident thereof, he hath pined 
 away these twelve weeks. Now, when Keymis came 
 back and gave me the former reasons which moved him 
 not to open the mine (the one the death of my son, a 
 second the weakness of the English, and their impossi- 
 bilities to work it, and to be victualled, a third that it 
 were a folly to discover it for the Spaniards, and, lastly, 
 my weakness, and being unpardoned), and that I rejected 
 all these his arguments, and told him that I must leave 
 him to himself to answer it to the king and state, he shut 
 himself into his cabin and shot himself with a pocket- 
 
320 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 pistol, which broke one of his ribs ; and finding that he 
 had not prevailed, he thrust a long knife under his short 
 ribs, up to the handle, and died. 
 
 “ Thus much I have written to Mr Secretary, to whose 
 letters I refer you. But because I think my friends will 
 rather hearken after you than any other to know the 
 truth, I did after the sealing break open the letter again, 
 to let you know in brief the state of that business ; which 
 I pray you impart to my Lord of Northumberland, and 
 Silvanus Scorie, and to Sir John Leigh. 
 
 For the rest there was never poor man so exposed 
 to the slaughter as I was : For being commanded upon 
 my allegiance to set down, not only the country, but the 
 very river by which I was to enter it, to name my ships’ 
 number, men, and my artillery ; this was sent by the 
 Spanish ambassador to his master the King of Spain. The 
 king wrote his letters to all parts of the Indies, especially 
 to the Governor Palame^a of Guiana, El Dorado, and 
 Trinidado. Of which the first letter bore date March 
 the 19, 1617, at Madrid, and when I had not yet left the 
 Thames ; which letter I have sent to Mr Secretary : I 
 have also two other letters of the king’s, which I reserve, 
 and one of the council’s. The king also sent a commis- 
 sion to levy three hundred soldiers out of his garrisons 
 of Nuevo Regno de Granada, and Porto Rico, with ten 
 pieces of brass ordnance to entertain us. He also pre- 
 pared an armada by sea to set upon us. It were too long 
 to tell you how we were preserved. If I live I shall 
 make it known. My brains are broken, and I cannot 
 write much. I live yet, and I told you why. 
 
 ‘^Whitney, for whom I sold all my plate at Ply- 
 mouth, and to whom I gave more credit and countenance « 
 than to all the captains of my fleet, ran from me at the 
 Granadoes, and Woolaston with him. So as I have now 
 but five ships, and one of those I have sent home ; and 
 in my fly-boat a rabble of idle rascals, which I know 
 will not spare to wound me, but I care not. I am sure 
 there is never a base slave in all the fleet hath taken the 
 pains and care that I have done ; that hath slept so little 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 321 
 
 and travelled so much. My friends will not believe 
 them, and for the rest I care not. God in heaven bless you 
 and strengthen your heart. Yours, W. Raleigh.” 
 
 Having despatched his letters, Raleigh, who was so 
 enfeebled by sickness as to be unable to prosecute his 
 enterprise, conducted the fleet to Newfoundland. At 
 this place the crew of his ship, the Destiny, became mu- 
 tinous ; and the vessels in the squadron were on the 
 point of separating to pursue each its own course of 
 adventure, when Raleigh and Sir John Feme prevailed 
 on them to continue together, holding out, as a stratagem 
 to induce them to obey, the hope of their intercepting 
 the Mexican treasure-fleet ; but having thus succeeded 
 in quelling the mutiny, the admiral, notwithstanding 
 the personal danger in which it placed him, insisted on 
 sailing for England.* Previous to his departure, the 
 Earls of Pembroke and Arundel had pledged their honour 
 for his return, and Raleigh determined to vindicate their 
 good opinion. On his arrival off the coast of Ireland, 
 he found that the news of his disaster had preceded him : 
 the capture of Santa Thome, his failing to reach the 
 mine, the slaughter of the Spaniards, and the dispersion 
 of his fleet, were all exaggerated by his enemies. Gon- 
 domar the ambassador passionately demanded an audience 
 of the king, promising that all he had to say should be 
 
 * It was afterwards asserted by Wilson, but his evidence is 
 more than suspicious, that Raleigh acknowledged that, had he 
 fallen in with the treasure-ships, he would have been tempted 
 to make a prize of them, according to the old principles which 
 he had learnt in the school of Drake and Cavendish. The pas- 
 sage which is contained in Wilson’s MS. Notes in the State- 
 paper Office is characteristic : — “ 26th September. — This day he 
 (Raleigh) fell of himself into discourse in telling me what the 
 lords asked him yesterday, and what he answered ; * * also 
 what discourse he and my Lord Chancellor had about taking the 
 Plate-fleet, which he confest he would have taken had he lighted 
 on it ; to which my Lord Chancellor said, ‘Why, you would have 
 been a pirate.’ ‘ Oh,’ quoth he, ‘ did you ever know of any that 
 were pirates for millions ? They that work for small things are 
 pirates.’ ” 
 
 u 
 
322 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 included in one word. When admitted to the royal 
 presence he vociferated, “Piratas! Piratas ! Piratas.!” 
 and well aware how such conduct was calculated to work 
 on the timid temper of this monarch abruptly left the 
 apartment without awaiting explanation. The governor 
 who had fallen at St Thome being his near kinsman, it 
 is likely he was actuated by personal feelings ; hut it is 
 sufficient to account for the deep animosity with which 
 the Spaniards regarded Sir Walter Raleigh, that they 
 knew him to have curbed their power, exposed their 
 insidious policy, and shown himself on all occasions their 
 most able and inveterate enemy. 
 
 The moment at which he arrived was especially in- 
 auspicious to any one unfriendly to Philip, the mind of 
 James being blindly bent on an alliance between Charles, 
 prince of Wales, and the Infanta. We know from him- 
 self that the English king appreciated the great abilities 
 of Raleigh, and felt that his condemnation would be pe- 
 culiarly unpopular and odious ; yet he meanly determined 
 to bring him to the scaffold, not as a victim to public 
 justice, but as a sacrifice to the offended majesty of Spain!* 
 Such being his resolution, on the 11th of June a procla- 
 mation was published in which James assumed a tone 
 of high indignation towards him and his companions. 
 He declared that he had been expressly prohibited from 
 every hostile act against any territories of his allies ; 
 accused them of scandalous outrages ui infringing the 
 royal commission ; and invited all who could give in- 
 formation to repair to the privy-council, that the delin- 
 quents might he brought to punishment.t He at the 
 same time directed Buckingham to address a letter to 
 Philip, in which he declared his intention punctually to 
 perform his promise to that prince, by sending the of- 
 fender to he dealt with in Spain, unless it would be more 
 satisfactory to his Castilian Majesty that he should 
 receive in England the punishment due to his crimes.;}; 
 
 * Rushworth’s Histor. Collect, i. 9. Ca}dey, vol. ii. p. 181. 
 
 f Rymer, Foedera, vol. xvii. p. 92. 
 
 X In ]\Ir Jardine’s Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 483, is the sub- 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 323 
 
 When Sir Walter arrived at Plymouth and became 
 aware of the proclamation, he moored his ship, sent his 
 sails on shore, and resolved to surrender. In the mean 
 time Gondomar, having obtained the royal consent to 
 his death, set out for Spain,* * while James commissioned 
 Sir Lewis Stukely, vice-admiral of Devon, a near kins- 
 man of Raleigh, to arrest him and convey him to Lon- 
 don. It seems to have been at this moment that he wrote 
 the following spirited remonstrance to the king : — 
 
 May it please your Most Excellent Majesty, 
 — If in my journey outward-bound I had my men 
 murdered at the islands, and yet spared to take revenge ; 
 if I did discharge some Spanish barks taken, without 
 spoil ; if I forbore all parts of the Spanish Indies, wherein 
 I might have taken twenty of their towns on the sea- 
 coasts, and did only follow the enterprise I undertook 
 for Guiana (where, without any directions from me, a 
 Spanish village was burnt, which was new set up within 
 three miles of the mine) by your majesty’s favour, I find 
 no reason why the Spanish ambassador should complain 
 of me. 
 
 “ If it were lawful for the Spaniards to murder 
 twenty-six Englishmen, tying them back to back and 
 then cutting their throats, when they had traded with 
 them a whole month, and came to them on the land 
 without so much as one sword ; and it may not be law- 
 ful for your majesty’s subjects, being charged first by 
 them, to repel force by force, — we may justly say, 0 
 miserable English ! If Parker and Mecham took Cam- 
 peachy and other places in the Honduras, seated in the 
 heart of the Spanisli Indies, burnt towns, and killed the 
 Spaniards, and had nothing said to them at their return ; 
 and myself, who forbore to look into the Indies because 
 
 stance of this unpublished letter of the Duke of Buckingham, 
 written by the king’s direction. The original is preserved in 
 the State-paper Office. 
 
 * Toby Matthews’ Letter to Lord Bacon. Cayley, vol. ii. 
 p. 157. 
 
324 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 I would not offend, must be accused, — I may as justly 
 say, 0 miserable Raleigh ! If I have spent my poor 
 estate, lost my son, suffered by sickness and otherwise 
 a world of hardships ; if I have resisted, with manifest 
 hazard of my life, the robberies and spoils with which 
 my companions would have made me rich ; if when I 
 was poor, I could have made myself rich ; if when I 
 had gotten my liberty, which all men, and nature itself, 
 do much prize, I voluntarily lost it ; if when I was sure 
 of my life I rendered it again ; if I might elsewhere have 
 sold my ship and goods, and put £5000 or £6000 in my 
 purse, and yet brought her into England, — I beseech 
 your majesty to believe that all this I have done, be- 
 cause it should not be said that your majesty had given 
 liberty and trust to a man whose end was but the re- 
 covery of his liberty, and who had betrayed your ma- 
 jesty’s trust. 
 
 “ My mutineers told me that if I returned for England 
 I should be undone ! But I believed in your majesty’s 
 goodness more than all their arguments. Sure, I am 
 the first, that being free and able to enrich myself, yet 
 hath embraced poverty and peril, — and as sure I am 
 that my example shall make me the last. But your 
 majesty’s wisdom and goodness I have made my judges, 
 who have ever been, and shall ever be, your majesty’s 
 most humble vassal. W. Raleigh.” 
 
 After a brief delay, necessary for settling his affairs. 
 Sir Walter set out on his journey to London ; but be- 
 fore he had proceeded twenty miles he was met by 
 Stukely, who informed him that he had orders to arrest 
 his person and his ship. Raleigh answered quietly, that 
 he had already saved him the trouble ; after which they 
 travelled in company back to Plymouth, and took up 
 their residence at the house of Sir Christopher Harris, 
 where they remained eight or ten days. 
 
 During this interval, with what object does not clearly 
 appear, Raleigh was left much at liberty by Sir Lewis. 
 He was also joined by his affectionate wife, who actively 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 325 
 
 laboured for his interests ; and, availing himself of these 
 opportunities, he acquired secret information of the in- 
 veteracy of the royal mind against him, and the resolu- 
 tion which had been taken to sacrifice him to Spain. 
 The love of life — the hope, as he himself tells us, that 
 he might yet be able to achieve the adventure to Guiana, 
 and justify his conduct in the eyes of his sovereign, 
 effected a change in his resolution, and he determined to 
 attempt his escape to France. Captain King, an old 
 officer who had sailed in the expedition, and was much 
 attached to him, procured a bark to lie off the shore at 
 a certain spot beyond the command of the fort ; and 
 Raleigh and he having taken boat in a dark night, pulled 
 away for the vessel, when suddenly altering his purpose, 
 and commanding them to put about, he returned secretly 
 to his lodging. Next day he sent money to the master 
 of the bark, requesting him to stay another evening ; 
 and yet, though both wind and tide were fair, he once 
 more gave up the design and remained under the charge 
 of Stukely. 
 
 At this moment this artful agent of the government 
 was joined by one Manourie, a French physician, who 
 insinuated himself into the confidence of Raleigh, and 
 afterwards betrayed him. Stukely took to his assistance 
 one Manourie, a French quack ; “ upon what occasion,” 
 says King, I here willingly omit, as well because I 
 would not meddle with any instrument of state, as 
 because I, little suspecting what followed, was somewhat 
 careless in the observance of their carriage.”* 
 
 When we consider the circumstances in which he was 
 placed we cannot wonder that there was in Raleigh’s 
 mind a conflict of feelings which kept it in painful un- 
 certainty. Clinging to the consciousness of innocence, he 
 at one time trusted that, if he could obtain but a short 
 respite in London before being thrown into the Tower, 
 he might vindicate his conduct effectually in the eyes of 
 the king. Again, awakening to a sense of the virulence 
 
 Oldys’s Life, p. 521. 
 
326 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 of James’s antipathy, the malice and power of his enemies, 
 and the irresistible influence of the Spanish court, he felt 
 that in proceeding on his journey he was only delivering 
 himself to inevitable destruction. The shameless manner 
 also in which his plans had already been betrayed, and 
 his former experience of the partiality of a jury, left him 
 little to hope from the law ; while the persuasion that 
 he might without any disloyalty retire to an asylum in 
 France till the violence of the king’s resentment should 
 subside, prompted him at least to lend an ear to the 
 suggestions of Manourie, who hinted the possibility of 
 an escape.* 
 
 Under these agitating and opposite feelings he embraced 
 a middle course, — the worst which in any imminent peril 
 can be adopted. He determined to feign sickness, in 
 order to move the king not to send him instantly to the 
 Tower, and at the same time so to arrange matters, that 
 if this failed he should be able to escape before it came 
 to the worst. 
 
 With this object, having arrived at Salisbury, he com- 
 plained of being slightly indisposed, and sent Captain 
 King and Lady Raleigh forward to London along with 
 his servants. On their departure he pretended that his 
 malady increased, and procured some drugs from Ma- 
 nourie, which occasioned violent retching. Availing 
 himself also of his chemical knowledge, he rubbed his 
 face and body with a preparation which produced red 
 pustules and discoloured spots, not unlike the symptoms 
 of the plague. It must be allowed, that having resolved 
 to counterfeit disease, Raleigh carried through his pur- 
 pose with an ingenuity not a little amusing. When 
 Stukely and Manourie were sitting together, Robin, Sir 
 Walter’s servant, rushed in and told them his master 
 was out of his wits, that he had leaped out of bed in his 
 shirt, and was scratching and biting the rushes upon the 
 planks. On coming into the apartment after this fit was 
 over, Stukely, perceiving the skin covered with blisters. 
 
 Raleigh’s Speech on the Scaffold. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 327 
 
 having a purple tinge round the extremities, and a spot 
 of yellow in the middle, was instantly struck with dread 
 of contagion, and hastened to communicate his suspicions 
 to Bishop Andrews, by whose advice two doctors and a 
 bachelor of physic visited the patient. 
 
 Whilst these grave gentlemen were at his bedside, the 
 dose which Raleigh had administered began to operate, 
 and so minutely had he prepared every thing, that the 
 basins in the room, having been previously drugged, 
 whatever was poured into them became black and earthy- 
 coloured, and emitted an unpleasant smell. This com- 
 plication of symptoms puzzled the doctors, who, after a 
 consultation of great length, declared that the patient 
 could not, without the manifest peril of his life, be ex- 
 posed to the air, though they cautiously abstained from 
 delivering an opinion on the exact nature of the disease. 
 The success, however, of the stratagem was complete ; 
 and Sir Walter, being confined to his sick-room, and 
 attended by Manourie, who was in the secret, gained time 
 to write that apology for his conduct, which he addressed 
 to the king, — a discourse, considering the circumstances 
 under which it was composed, of singular eloquence and 
 ability. 
 
 Thus far his scheme had prospered, and his spirits were 
 so good that he declared himself highly pleased with the 
 deception he had practised, and anticipated a favourable 
 conclusion to all his distresses. It was his misfortune 
 not to be aware of the utter baseness of Sir Lewis and 
 Manourie, both his determined enemies, and employed 
 by the king to lead him into such courses as might form 
 a plausible pretext for his condemnation. 
 
 Misled by their apparent friendliness, he became 
 inclined to treat the Frenchman with still higher confi- 
 dence, and when he repeated his proposals for an escape, 
 and suggested the likeliest method of accomplishing it. 
 Sir Walter not only agreed to attempt it, but informed 
 him that he had sent Captain King to procure a boat to 
 wait at Gravesend, in order to carry him out of the 
 country. This intelligence the spy instantly disclosed 
 
328 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 to his confederate, and so strict a watch was kept as to 
 render impossible the execution of the project. In this 
 difficulty Raleigh determined to offer a bribe to Stukely 
 for his connivance. He accordingly sent Manourie with a 
 rich jewel, and a promise of £50, if he would intermit his 
 vigilance and allow him to save himself. It is impossible 
 not to see that this was exactly the snare into which 
 it was desired that their victim should be led, and the 
 purpose for which such persons were placed about him ; 
 and we are not therefore to wonder that Sir Lewis agreed 
 not only to accept the money, but to accompany the 
 prisoner in his flight. Their plan being settled, Manourie 
 pushed forward to London, having concluded his treach- 
 erous part, whilst the royal emissary and Sir Walter 
 followed by slower stages. On reaching the capital he 
 was joined by his faithful friend. King, who informed 
 him that every thing was ready ; that Cotterel, an old 
 servant of the admiral, and Hart, a seaman, who was 
 believed to be trustworthy, were to have a boat in waiting 
 at Tilbury ; and that it would be best to go aboard 
 that very evening. This, however, was declared by Sir 
 Walter to be impossible ; he observed there would be 
 no getting away without Stukely, but hoped to prevail 
 with him to accompany him, and promised to meet King 
 the following night without fail at the Tower Dock. 
 
 Every thing seemed now to prosper according to his 
 wishes, and Raleigh’s spirits were still farther raised by 
 a visit, on the evening of his arrival iii London, from Le 
 Clerc, the agent of the French king, who offered a bark 
 to convey him to Calais, and letters of safe conduct to 
 the governor.* This friendly proposal he declined, as 
 his own bark was already prepared ; but he professed 
 
 * It was this visit which appears principally to have alarmed 
 King James, whose timid and suspicious temper converted it 
 into a plot and treasonable correspondence with the French 
 government. This is apparent from the MS. papers of Sir 
 Thomas Wilson, preserved in the State-paper Office ; and the 
 same documents completely prove that the visit was unpreme- 
 ditated, and related solely to Le Clerc’s wish to favour Raleigh’s 
 escape. See Appendix. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 329 
 
 his readiness to receive any letters of introduction, as his 
 acquaintance with that country was worn out. This was 
 on a Saturday evening ; and on Sunday morning, having 
 disguised himself with a false beard. Sir Walter, his page, 
 and Stukely, joined King at the place appointed. They 
 found the wherries waiting, and Raleigh, Stukely, and 
 the page leapt into one, whilst King and Hart the boat- 
 swain occupied the other. At this moment Sir Lewis 
 asked King, whether “ thus far he had not proved him- 
 self an honest man I ” to which he answered, “ That he 
 hoped he would continue so.” Raleigh appeared confi- 
 dent and cheerful till the bargemen remarked that Mr 
 Herbert, whom he knew to be his enemy, had lately 
 taken boat as if he would have shot the bridge, instead 
 of which he had suddenly changed his direction, and 
 followed them down the river. This raised Sir Walter’s 
 apprehensions, and not long after a wherry crossed their 
 course, which he declared was a spy, and hesitated to 
 proceed. Stukely, however, appeared so zealous for 
 their escape, that even King became assured of his sin- 
 cerity, and they continued their course beyond Woolwich 
 to a reach of the river near Plumstead, where Hart’s 
 vessel was expected. 
 
 On approaching the place, three ketches were seen at 
 anchor, and Hart, with well-acted disappointment, cried 
 out that none of them was his. Raleigh, calmly remark- 
 ing that they were betrayed, commanded the boatmen to 
 row back, hoping still to regain his own house. They 
 had made little way on their return before the strange 
 wherry again met them, manned by Herbert’s servants. 
 Fearful of falling into their hands. Sir Walter made a 
 last attempt to secure Stukely’s friendship. They talked 
 aside ; Raleigh was observed to give him something which 
 he drew from his pocket, and he was overheard to make 
 reiterated protestations of fidelity. It was agreed that 
 he and King should pretend they had inveigled their 
 prisoner so far only to betray him, and discover his 
 intentions ; and thus retaining the custody of Raleigh, 
 Sir Lewis held out hopes that some better means of escape 
 
330 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 might be devised. It is evident this was the only plan 
 which gave the probability of escape, whether Stukely 
 was true or false. Had Sir Walter been delivered up to 
 Herbert, he knew he must go instantly to the Tower. 
 If Stukely were true, this was the only pretence on which 
 he could have been suffered to retain charge of his pri- 
 soner ; if he were false, still an additional bribe was the 
 single chance left ; but it failed, and whilst he took the 
 money, he remained the traitor. The blunt honesty of 
 Captain King, however, precipitated the discovery of his 
 thorough baseness. 
 
 On landing, the other wherry, which had dogged them 
 all the way, followed their example ; and as the crew, 
 consisting of Mr Herbert’s men, were coming forward, 
 Stukely, taking King aside, said it would serve Sir Walter 
 if he would pretend to be his accomplice in betraying 
 his master. The captain’s honest heart rose against the 
 deceit, and he positively refused ; upon which the former, 
 dreading his discoveries if allowed to remain at large, 
 threw off the mask, arrested King, and handed him over 
 to Herbert’s people, commanding them to keep him apart 
 from Sir Walter. He then carried the whole party to 
 a tavern, and made preparations for conducting them to 
 the Tower next morning, it being too late to reach it 
 that day. At this moment, when the baseness of this 
 profligate agent of government must have been com- 
 pletely revealed, Raleigh’s equanimity did not forsake 
 him. He only remarked, Sir Lewis, these actions will 
 not turn out to your credit and on the succeeding day, 
 exulting, as appears from his own description, that lie 
 had deceived so able a man, he conveyed them to the 
 state prison. On entering the gateway of this gloomy 
 and fatal abode, where he had already spent thirteen 
 melancholy years, Raleigh said to King, Stukely and 
 Cotterel have betrayed me ; for your part you need 
 be in fear of no danger ; but as for me, it is I am the 
 mark that is shot at.” He was then shut in, and his 
 old friend bade him farewell, recommending him to God’s 
 keeping. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 331 
 
 In reflecting on the misfortunes with which Raleigh 
 was now pursued, it is evident that he was entrapped 
 into this attempt to escape by the government, Avho 
 worked through their agents, Stukely and Manourie, 
 and wished to employ the circumstance as a handle 
 against him. Since James’s promise to Gondomar, that 
 the great enemy of Spain should he sacrificed, it had been 
 the study of the king to accomplish this with some show 
 of justice. Before Sir Walter’s arrival some of his crews 
 had deserted, and others, for misconduct, he had sent 
 home. Many of these men were privately examined, 
 and evidence anxiously sought to convict him either of 
 piracy or some other crimes worthy of death. The de- 
 positions of the Spanish merchants who had been plun- 
 dered were carefully taken ; but the suppression of this 
 evidence, and the determination not to bring him to trial 
 on any of the charges, seem to prove that government 
 were convinced the Spaniards had been the aggressors. 
 On this ground, therefore, it was impossible to convict 
 him ; yet the Spanish match depended on it, and Ra- 
 leigh’s life must be given as a bribe to obtain the Infanta. 
 It was the parting warning of Gondomar, that should 
 there be any slackness in this, it would serve as ground 
 for future and final discontent and the only method 
 that remained was to induce him to attempt his escape ; 
 to engage in a correspondence with the French govern- 
 ment, which might be construed into treason ; or to 
 commit some outrage. 
 
 When it was found that he had at first no intention 
 of flight ; that his prudence declined the assistance of 
 the French agent ; and that he stood upon the conscious- 
 ness of his innocence, the persons placed about him 
 talked of the promise made to the Spanish ambassador, 
 of the unforgiving temper of the king, and of the power 
 of his enemies ; orders for his stricter restraint were 
 intimated to him ; the Tower was hinted at ; and the 
 
 * Bacon’s Letters, by Birch, p. 178. 
 
332 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 sentence of death, which still hung over his head, was 
 recalled to his recollection. These arts, as we have seen, 
 prevailed ; the love of life, and the hope that he might 
 3^et vindicate his character and the practicability of his 
 project by another voyage, induced him to listen to the 
 suggestions of his betrayers, and he became a victim to 
 the cunning of the government, and the treachery of its 
 instruments. 
 
 The truth of these observations is strikingly demon- 
 strated by the proceedings which followed his return to 
 the Tower. A commission composed of some members 
 of the privy-council, amongst whom we find Abbot, 
 archbishop of Canterbury, Lord-chancellor Bacon, and 
 Sir Edward Coke, of w’hose unfavourable opinions he 
 had already had severe experience, was appointed to 
 examine the prisoner. Before these dignitaries he was 
 accused of having fraudulently pretended that he went 
 to discover a mine, when his real object was to recover 
 his liberty, and commence his career as a pirate ; he 
 was charged with a design to plunge the country into a 
 war with Spain ; . with having abandoned his ship’s com- 
 pany, and expressed himself disrespectfully of the king ; 
 with having feigned madness to excite the royal com- 
 passion ; and with an attempt to escape. The two last 
 charges Raleigh admitted, justifying them by the natural 
 desire felt by every man to preserve his life. On none 
 of the other points could the ingenuity of his judges and 
 the pains taken to collect evidence prove the slightest 
 matter against him. He answered them all, and de- 
 monstrated that they were frivolous and absurd. For 
 the mine, the sincerity of his intentions was, he said, 
 amply proved by his taking out a company of miners, 
 and their tools and apparatus, which cost him £2000. 
 As to the attack upon the Spaniards, it was accidental 
 and against his orders. He repelled with indignation 
 the charge of either leaving his men or exposmg tliem 
 to greater danger than he himself had shared ; and he 
 declared that all he had ever said toucliing the king was, 
 “ that he was undone by the confidence he had placed 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 333 
 
 in Ills majesty, and that he knew his life would he sacri- 
 ficed to state purposes.’'* 
 
 During these proceedings the attorney-general having 
 alluded to the royal clemency which had so long spared 
 his life after his condemnation at Winchester, Raleigh 
 protested that he believed the king did in his conscience 
 clear him from all guiltiness of the fact then charged 
 against him ; and indeed, added he, I know that his 
 majesty hath been heard to say, with reference to these 
 proceedings, that he would not wish to he tried by a 
 Middlesex jury.” He stated also, that Dr Turner, his 
 physician in the Tower, had informed him Sir Francis 
 Gawdy, one of the judges who sat on the trial, had de- 
 clared on his deathbed, that the justice of England had 
 never been so degraded and injured as by the condemna- 
 tion of Sir Walter Raleigh.” These particulars appear 
 in a manuscript note preserved in the State-paper Office, 
 from which some interesting extracts have lately been 
 given to the public ; and it is evident that Raleigh 
 evinced during the examinations the same spirit, acute- 
 ness, eloquence, and command of temper, which had 
 distinguished him on his trial.t The only result of this 
 investigation was the admission of his attempt to escape. 
 That this was only a natural impulse in the circumstances 
 under which he was placed, all will readily admit ; some 
 may even be disposed to regard it as a necessary duty ; 
 and in a letter without date, addressed about this time 
 to the Duke of Buckingham, Sir Walter vindicates him- 
 self in this striking manner : — 
 
 * -55- TPat which doth comfort my soul in this 
 offence is, that even in the offence itself I had no other 
 intent than his majesty’s service, and to make his ma- 
 jesty know that my late enterprise was grounded upon 
 a truth ; and which, with one ship speedily set out, I 
 meant to have assured, or to have died ; being resolved, 
 as it is well known, to have done it from Plymouth, had 
 
 * Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 487. t Ibid. p. 488. 
 
334 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 I not been restrained. Hereby I hoped not only to re- 
 cover his majesty’s gracious opinion, but have destroyed 
 all those malignant reports which had been spread of 
 me. That this is true, that gentleman whom I so much 
 trusted (my keeper), and to whom I opened my heart, 
 cannot but testify ; and wherein, if I cannot be believed 
 living, my death shall witness. Yea, that gentleman 
 cannot but avow it, that when we came back toward 
 London, I desired to save no other treasure than the 
 exact description of those places in the Indies.* That I 
 meant to go hence as a discontented man, God, I trust, 
 and mine own actions will dissuade his majesty (whom 
 neither the loss of my estate, thirteen years’ imprison- 
 ment, and the denial of my pardon, could beat from his 
 service ; and the opinion of being accounted a fool or 
 rather distract, by returning as I did unpardoned, balanced 
 with my love to his majesty’s person and estate) had no 
 place at all in my heart. 
 
 It was the last severe letter from my lords for the 
 speedy bringing of me up, and the impatience of dis- 
 honour, that first put me in fear of my life, or enjoying 
 it in a perpetual imprisonment, never to recover my re- 
 putation lost, which strengthened me in my late, and 
 too-late-lamented resolution if his majesty’s mercy do 
 not abound, — if his majesty do not pity my age, and 
 scorn to take the extremest and utmost advantage of my 
 errors, — if his majesty, in his great charity, do not make 
 a difference between offences proceeding from a life-saving 
 natural impulsion without all ill intent, and those of an 
 ill heart, — and that your lordship, remarkable in the 
 world for the nobleness of your disposition, do not vouch- 
 safe to become my intercessor. Whereby your lordship 
 shall bind a hundred gentlemen of my kindred to honour 
 
 * There is preserved in the State-paper Office, an “ Inventary 
 of such Things as were found on the Body of Sir Walter Raw- 
 leigh, Knycht, the 15 day of August 1618.” Among the dif- 
 ferent items are “ One Plott of Guiana and the River Orenoque,” 
 ‘‘ The Description of the River Orenoque,” and “ A Plott of 
 Panama.” See p. 344. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 335 
 
 your memory, and bind me, for all the time of that life 
 which your lordship shall beg for me, to pray to God 
 that you may ever prosper ; and ever bind me to remain 
 your most humble servant, “ W. Raleigh.” 
 
 This letter produced no effect. The king had deter- 
 mined that Raleigh should die, and the only question 
 was, in what manner the sacrifice should be accomplished. 
 His commissioners had been baffled ; but it was still 
 hoped something might be discovered to constitute the 
 subject of a second trial, or at least justify the execution 
 of the old sentence. It was suspected that he still com- 
 municated secretly with the French agent, who had 
 already offered to assist his escape ; but as his prudence 
 was found equal to defeat any public examination, it 
 was determined to subject him to a vigilant system of 
 superintendence, by employing as his keeper an emissary 
 of government, who should gain his confidence and in- 
 duce him to discover enough to form ground for his 
 condemnation. The lieutenant of the Tower, under 
 wdiose charge Sir Walter had hitherto remained, was 
 Sir Allen Apsley, the father of the celebrated Mrs Lucy 
 Hutchinson, who has left in her Memoirs this amiable 
 character of him : “ He was the father of all his prisoners, 
 sweetening with such compassionate kindness their re- 
 straint, that the affliction of a prison was not felt in those 
 days ; he had also a singular kindness for all persons who 
 were eminent in learning or in arms.” So excellent a 
 person was not fitted for the office of a spy ; and accord- 
 ingly the king, with the advice of Secretary Naunton, 
 selected Sir Thomas W ilson, whose qualifications promised 
 more success. He was a man of learning and refinement, 
 but of great cunning ; and under tlie specious mask of 
 religion and benevolence he concealed, as his letters 
 abundantly demonstrate, a mean and cruel disposition. 
 “ His instructions were to take the exclusive charge of 
 Raleigh m the Tower, ^ to keep him safe, to suffer no 
 persons to come at him except such as were necessary for 
 his diet, &c. ; ’ and he was directed to draw from him 
 
336 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 such information, either with respect to his communica- 
 tion with the French ambassador or his Guiana expedi- 
 tion in general, as might conduce to the object which 
 the government had in view ; ” namely, the speedy con- 
 demnation of the prisoner. Sir Thomas Wilson,” says 
 Mr Jardine, was at this time keeper of the state-papers, 
 and there are preserved in the office over which he pre- 
 sided his own original minutes of the conversation and 
 conduct of Sir Walter Raleigh whilst under his charge 
 in the Tower. On the perusal of these papers, it is diffi- 
 cult to say whether the preponderating feeling is sym- 
 pathy for the captive, or disgust and indignation for his 
 unfeeling and treacherous keeper. Sir Thomas Wilson 
 entered upon his charge on the 11th of September, and 
 from that time until the loth of October, when he was 
 withdrawn from the Tower, his minutes and daily reports 
 to Secretary Naunton show a system of rigid observation 
 and of artful ensnaring espionage on his part, which was 
 never for a moment relaxed. Raleigh’s own servant was 
 immediately dismissed, and a man appointed by Wilson 
 took his place. Lady Raleigh and her son were excluded 
 from the Tower ; but she was allowed, and even invited 
 to correspond freely with her husband ; and then the 
 notes which she sent, as well as Raleigh’s answers, were 
 intercepted by Sir Thomas Wilson’s man, and sent to 
 the king and council for their perusal before they were 
 delivered. Sir Thomas Wilson himself never stirred 
 from his prisoner from the time he opened his lodging 
 in the morning, till with his own hand he locked him 
 up for the night : at his meals, at his devotions, and 
 during the attendance of his physician and surgeon, this 
 persevering keeper never quitted his apartment. His 
 own feeling towards his unhappy prisoner, and his zeal 
 in the unworthy task in which he was employed, are 
 manifested by the language which he constantly uses 
 respecting him in his reports and letters : he calls him 
 ‘ hypocrite’ and ‘ arch impostor,’ with other terms of 
 reproach ; and says he never dealt with one ^ tam in- 
 geniose nequam^ ^ The king of Heaven preserve your 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 337 
 
 majesty from having many such dangerous subjects!’ 
 Having removed his prisoner into apartments of greater 
 security than those in which he had been placed by Sir 
 Allen Apsley, Sir Thomas Wilson writes to Sir Robert 
 Naunton, one of the secretaries of state, thus : ^ I have 
 removed this man into a safer and higher lodging, which, 
 though it seemeth nearer heaven, yet there is there no 
 means to escape but into hell.’ Again, in a letter to the 
 king, he says, — ^ I hope, by such means as I shall use, 
 to work out more than Ivhave yet done ; if not, I know 
 no other means hut a rack or a halter It is morti- 
 fying to observe the degrading discoveries which these 
 papers make of the feelings and disposition of the king. 
 James acted as principal inquisitor over Raleigh ; he 
 personally directed the strictest seclusion and superin- 
 tendence, suggested the mode of examination, inspected 
 the intercepted letters, and exhibited much disappoint- 
 ment that his own ingenuity and that of his assistants 
 should be in the end entirely baffled, t At the same time 
 when Wilson was appointed to take the place of Apsley 
 and to wait upon Raleigh, this unfortunate man was com- 
 pletely broken in health. He had been afflicted during 
 the whole period of his imprisonment by an intermitting 
 fever and ague ; his body was covered with painful im- 
 posthumes ; his left side so much swollen as to occasion 
 perpetual uneasiness ; and he was still lame from the 
 wound received in the Cadiz expedition. Wilson was 
 first introduced to him by Apsley as he lay in bed ; and 
 Raleigh, after bidding him welcome, and hearing that he 
 was appointed to take charge of him, dejectedly ex- 
 claimed, “ Let the king do with me what he will ; for 
 never man was more desirous to die This speech 
 
 * Jardine’s Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 489-491. 
 
 f By the favour of Lord Melbourne I have been permitted 
 to examine and make extracts from the papers relative to Sir 
 Walter Raleigh, preserved in the State-paper Office ; and 
 whilst I avail myself of the very interesting passages derived 
 from the same source by Mr Jar dine, I am thus able to add 
 some other particulars not published by that gentleman. 
 
 X See Extracts from Wilson’s first Letter to Secretary 
 Naunton, Appendix. 
 
 X 
 
338 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 and other particulars were reported to Naunton ; and 
 the following note, written by that minister in reply, 
 evinces the temper in which the communication was 
 received : — 
 
 Sir, — I read most of both your letters to his majesty, 
 who allows well of your care and discretion. I hope 
 you will every day get ground of that hypocrite that 
 is so desirous to die, mortified man that he is ! His 
 majesty was well pleased with your past services ; he 
 will think long for the ripening and mellowing of the 
 observations and conferences by which you are to work 
 upon that cripple. The best comfort I can give you is, 
 I hope you shall not long he troubled with him : Proin 
 tUy quod facturus es,fac citoy etfrontem occasionis arripOy 
 et preme quantum potes ; potes ewim, et sane vis. Vale ! 
 
 If any thing were wanting to prove the king’s animo- 
 sity against Raleigh, this letter would amply supply the 
 defect ; whilst it exposes at the same time the unwoi*thi- 
 ness of the artifices and instruments employed by the 
 royal inquisitor. There is preserved in the State-paper 
 Office an original document of Wilson’s, entitled, “ A 
 Relation of wffiat hath passed and been observed by me, 
 since my coming to Sir Walter Raleigh, upon Friday 
 the 11th of September,” which throws a clear light on 
 the conferences between this spy of government and the 
 prisoner. After alluding to the disease and debility 
 under which he found him labouring, Wilson describes 
 the manner in which he proceeded to fulfil his instruc- 
 tions. Having introduced himself “ as sent by the king 
 out of his majesty’s gracious and princely goodness, 
 because he knew him to be a man of more honesty than 
 cunning,” he urged Raleigh to disclose whatever he knew 
 might be of importance to the public service, in which 
 
 * ‘‘ Therefore do quickly what you have to do ; seize oppor- 
 tunity by the forehead, and press as much as you can : I know 
 you both can and will. Farewell ! ’—Criminal Trials, vol. i. 
 p. 492. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION, 
 
 339 
 
 case there was no doubt he would experience the royal 
 clemency. To this Sir W alter answered with the greatest 
 earnestness, that if he were aware of any such thing, he 
 would, sick as he was, write it that very night to his 
 majesty, — an asseveration which had little effect, for his 
 keeper proceeded to charge him with a treasonable cor- 
 respondence with France. With much cunning he 
 attempted to persuade him that it would be as well to 
 reveal what had been already confessed by others : his 
 conference with the French agent on coming home, and 
 his interview with the ambassador of the same nation 
 before setting out, were, he hinted, already well known. 
 He pressed him to acknowledge his real purpose in 
 escaping to that country ; what promises were made to 
 him ; what employment he was to receive there ; and 
 what plots and designs were thereupon depending.” 
 The craft and duplicity of Wilson is strongly depicted in 
 this sentence of his journal, sent to Secretary Naunton : 
 Thus far I went with him ; but yesternight, having 
 before let out some pieces of these things, that he might 
 think it came hardly from me as from myself, he made 
 me a long answer, and told me in gross what he had done 
 before in retail : saying, ^ Whatsoever is confessed by 
 others, sure I am there is nothing can touch my fidelity 
 to the king nor my country.’ ” He affirmed that the only 
 conference he had with the French agent was merely 
 compliment, and sought by that gentleman with whom 
 he had no intimate acquaintance. With regard to the 
 French ambassador, it was true, indeed, that before his 
 voyage he had come to see his ship ; but it was a visit, 
 he said, simply of curiosity, and he was influenced by 
 the same motives which had brought on the same errand 
 the ambassadors of Venice and Savoy, and even some of 
 the Spaniards. His own purpose, he affirmed, in escaping 
 to France, was solely to shelter himself from danger until 
 the storm blew over, and he might have an opportunity, 
 either through the influence of the queen or of his other 
 friends, to recover favour. As to promises made him, 
 he protested he had none ; but for employment he had 
 
340 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 hoped he might he able to do some service against the 
 Spaniard, seeing he was acquainted as well with the 
 nature of his resources as with the weak points upon 
 which he might be attacked. With regard to messages, 
 letters, or plots, his only plot, he declared, was to save 
 his life by an escape somewhere, being alarmed by the 
 letters which he had received from some lords, his friends, 
 which informed him that the king was determined to 
 have strict justice inflicted on his person ; and, having 
 once determined to fly, he knew no fitter place than 
 France. 
 
 Such were Raleigh’s answers ; and although nothing 
 could be more clear and ingenuous, Wilson was by no 
 means satisfied with them. “ After,” says he in his notes, 
 
 he had made me answer in this fashion, I told him I 
 saw I had no ground in his affection and confidence, for 
 he would intrust no more to me than to others ; ‘ but, sir,’ 
 said I, ^ if you would have opened unto me the closets of 
 your heart, and faithfully let me know what is there, I 
 would have engaged myself for you as far as my life and 
 poor estate would reach, in an assurance of your life, 
 safety, and recovery of his majesty’s favour.’ ‘ Oh sir,’ 
 quoth he, ^ how should a man be assured of that I — the 
 king will say when all is told, if a man could tell any 
 thing more, Why, the knave was afraid of his life, else 
 I should never have known it ; and therefore no, God-a- 
 mercy.” ’ — Then I fell again,” continues Wilson, into 
 the true common-place of the actions and example of his 
 majesty ; how there never was a better king since King 
 David, nor before ; and put him in mind how mercifully 
 he did by Joab, Abiathar, Shemei, and others, who had 
 so grievously offended him, yet would he not suffer them 
 to be put to death in his time. ^ No,’ quoth he, ^ but 
 he left commission to his son to do it, and so did Henry 
 the Seventh by Pole, that w*as sent unto him by the 
 emperor. But — ’ saith he, and there made a stop, pausing 
 a while as if he had some great matter to say, with an 
 assured contemplative countenance ; and as he was about 
 to speak, supper came in ; and because I would not have 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 341 
 
 him forget, I staid and supt with him, and after supper 
 would have drawn him into that mind where I left him 
 before, but he had gotten hard. What he feareth most 
 seems to be, that if the match with Spain hold, the 
 Spaniard will pursue him to death or worse punishment ; 
 and if it break off, then we must needs couple with 
 France, and he shall mar his market by betraying the 
 trust which perhaps they have put in him.”* 
 
 The use of the word perhaps” in this sentence 
 proves how completely conjectural was the opinion re- 
 garding the treasonable intercourse of Raleigh with 
 Prance ; whilst at the same time Wilson did not scruple 
 to assert a direct falsehood, — viz. that the king had 
 acquired complete proof of it. The great matter of sus- 
 picion, upon which the king’s agent never ceased to 
 interrogate Raleigh, was his interview with the French 
 agent ; but upon this point his prisoner invariably ad- 
 hered to the same account, which he confirmed on the 
 scaffold, that the object of Le Clerc’s visit was simply to 
 facilitate his escape to France ; that he had no corre- 
 spondence with that government, treasonable or other- 
 wise ; that he had no commission whatever from the 
 French king, — a point upon which immediate proof might 
 be procured, as such commissions were all upon record, 
 and might be seen for a French crown ; and that his real 
 intention in the voyage to Guiana was the working of a 
 gold mine, which was situated near the town, as could 
 be proved by the most satisfactory evidence. 
 
 Disappointed in his main object, Wilson appears to 
 have been driven to the system of exaggerating trifles, 
 and discovering, or rather inventing, contradictions and 
 incongruities in Raleigh’s discourse, of which he sent a 
 daily report to the king and Secretary Naunton. Un- 
 important and often ridiculous as these memorials are, 
 they contain some interesting particulars of the last days 
 of this illustrious man. On the 12th September, at 
 night, Wilson’s Journal contains this remarkable passage : 
 
 * Notes by Sir Thomas Wilson, in the State-paper Office. 
 
342 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 “ This evening, finding him reading the Psalms, I told 
 him that there he had the best comfort ; that there he 
 had a man and a king, and the best man and the best 
 king that ever was, who had as great affliction as ever 
 any had ; and yet by his constancy and faithfulness he 
 overcame all ; and so might he. Hereupon he began 
 and told me from the beginning to the end all his mis- 
 fortunes; how first, at his majesty’s coming in, North- 
 ampton, Suffolk, Salisbury, and the rest, plotted to get 
 him and Cobham out of favour, and to get every thing 
 into their own hands ; then he went to the arraignment 
 at Winchester, and said, ‘ it was as unjust a condemna- 
 tion, without proof and testimony, as ever was known.’ 
 So went he along his thirteen years’ imprisonment, and 
 the means he took to procure liberty for his voyage ; his 
 disasters there, and all the tedious circumstances ; and 
 then the betraying of him by Sir Lewis Stukely on his 
 return. After this I told him, if he would but disclose 
 what he knew, the kmg would forgive him, and do him 
 all favour. ^ Aye,’ quoth he, ^ how should I be assured of 
 that ? The king will say, when it is told, The craven was 
 afraid of his life, else he would not have told it.” ’ * * 
 l^th September , — This day, upon his complaint of 
 his misery, I gave him counsel and comfort to bear his 
 affliction with patience, upon the assurance of God’s 
 mercy, and the example of such as God had suffered to 
 be as grievously afflicted as flesh and blood could bear, 
 and yet had restored them to as great felicity as ever. 
 He took occasion thereupon to commend the magnani- 
 mity of the Romans, who would rather have their deaths 
 by their own hands, than endure any that was base or 
 reproachful. To which I answered, that ^ they were 
 such as knew not God, nor the danger of their souls to 
 be damned to perpetual torment of hell for destroying 
 their bodies, which God had made a temple for the Holy 
 Ghost to dwell.’ To which he said, ‘ it was a disputable 
 question ; for divers did hold opinion that a man may 
 do it, and yet not desperately despair of God’s mercy, 
 but die in God’s favour.’ Whereto this discourse of his 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 343 
 
 tended it is easily seen ; but I think he hath no such 
 Roman courage. Mr Lieutenant tells me he hath had 
 like discourse with him heretofore, who charged him 
 with such intent upon occasion of having so many apo- 
 thecary’s drugs, and such like, ‘ which it were well,’ 
 saith he, ^ were not suffered to be here.’ ‘ Why,’ saith 
 Raleigh, ‘ if you take away all these means from me, 
 yet, if I had such a mind, I could run my head against' 
 a post and kill myself.’ After, he fell into discourse of 
 the three last kings that were killed in France. * * 
 
 He hath often tried me, by introductions, to discourse of 
 matters on which he might have gathered more out of 
 my answers than I wished, to which I have used either 
 diversions or such answers as I thought fit or safe, or at 
 least silence, or pleading ignorance, which I hold to be 
 the surest armour of proof for those that are to converse 
 with cunning.” 
 
 Soon after this it appears that Raleigh had earnestly 
 requested permission to write to the king ; and his keeper, 
 at the same time that he made this request known at 
 court, suggested that his own wife. Lady Wilson, should 
 repair to the Tower to watch his prisoner at any moment 
 when he was absent. This produced a letter from Naun- 
 ton, proving the minuteness with which every particular 
 connected with Raleigh was personally superintended by 
 James. It commences thus : — 
 
 Sir, — I have acquainted his majesty with your 
 desire to have your lady with you to attend carefully in 
 your absence, which she is fitter to do than any servant, 
 which his majesty willingly condescended unto. I told 
 him further of Sir Walter Raleigh’s desire of leave to 
 write to him, which first he seemed to take amiss from 
 me ; but after I acquainted him with his cautious diplo- 
 matique not to offend France, in case the match should 
 not proceed with Spain, at length I obtained his answer 
 that he was content to vouchsafe him leave to write to 
 himself, with this charge that he should unfold all the 
 truth sincerely, without respect of satisfying or unsatis- 
 
344 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 fying any but his majesty, to whom only he oweth alle- 
 giance, and without playing [dissembling] as he had done 
 with the lords of the council, and if he should fail in 
 either of these two conditions, he should but augment 
 his fault and contumation both.” 
 
 The letter, from which this is an extract, is dated 
 September 16th, at Whitehall. On the following day, 
 the I7th, Raleigh was removed by Sir Thomas Wilson 
 
 into a safer and higher lodging. I have by this means,” 
 so he writes to Naunton, seen all his trinkets that he 
 hath with him, and taken an inventory of every thing 
 he hath, because I would not have myself or servants 
 charged with what is not there, which is nothing of value, 
 as your honour may see by this copy enclosed.* As for 
 the diamond which is spoken of, he saith he had never 
 any such of Queen Elizabeth’s giving ; all that he had 
 Sir Lewis Stukely took from him, save only a sapphire 
 ring, which is his seal, which he showed me. But to the 
 matter, for these are ^a^spya : — I remember that among 
 other passages of our speeches and divers questions, one 
 was, what kind of man the French agent was 1 I replied, 
 ^ Sir, why do you ask me this question I you know him 
 better than I ;’ which he protested he did not. How- 
 beit, I wrought it out of him yesternight, that the agent 
 was with him at his house on the Sunday morning, 
 brought by De Chesne, whom he asking what gentleman 
 it was in the white feather, he answered, ^ C’est monsieur 
 I’agent.’ Then I pressed him to know what conference 
 they had ; he said he would write it to the king if he 
 might have leave. I told him he should know that 
 shortly, for I had written to that purpose to the court. 
 This passed yesternight ; after which Mr Lieutenant 
 came from the court, and sent out to speak with me, 
 
 * The inventory taken by Wilson does not exist in the State- 
 paper Office, but there is there preserved an original paper 
 docqueted on the back, Inventary of Sir Walter Rawleigh 
 his jewells and things delivered to Sir Lewis Stukely.” It is a 
 curious paper, and some extracts from it will be found in the 
 Appendix. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 345 
 
 telling me he had a message to deliver to Sir Walter 
 Raleigh from the king, which he would do in my hear- 
 ing. The substance was, that his majesty was pleased, 
 upon my motion, to give him leave to write unto him, 
 provided that he wrote no trivial, nor delusory, nor 
 dilatory things ; for if he did, assuredly he must look 
 for no favour, but for death, as he had deserved ; to 
 which Sir Walter answered he would write nothing to 
 his majesty but truth, and such things as should be ma- 
 terial ; after which I had a long discourse with him to 
 that purpose, charging him to give his majesty satisfac- 
 tion, as he tendered his own life and the reputation of 
 his friends, which he promised to do.” 
 
 The letter to the king has been lost ; or perhaps it 
 may have been destroyed, as not giving full satisfaction 
 to his majesty, containing too bold a defence of his own 
 conduct, and too much truth with regard to the aggression 
 of the Spaniards ; thus confuting James’s preconceived 
 notions, and setting at fault his boasted ingenuity in the 
 detection of plots and the examination of evidence."^ The 
 letter of Wilson, however, enclosing that of Raleigh, 
 remains. It is as follows : — 
 
 Most Gratious Sovereign, — According to your 
 majesty’s commandment, I have employed the uttermost 
 of my poor discretion to work out what I could from 
 this arch-hypocrite committed to my charge, of which 
 I have given a journal account to Mr Secretary, and in 
 letters, with which I doubt not your majesty hath been 
 acquainted ; wherein any defect that hath been shown, 
 
 * Mr Jardine, in his late work, the Criminal Trials, vol. i. 
 p. 494, considers it probable that the letter from Raleigh to the 
 king, published by Cayley, vol. ii. p. 153, is the same letter as 
 that alluded to in the above notes of Wilson, which was sent, 
 as we know, on the 18th of September. In this I cannot agree 
 with him. The letter sent by Raleigh on the 18th of September 
 contained, as we know from the MS. notes of Wilson, two points 
 amongst others ; the one an explanation of his interview with 
 Re Chesne, the other an allusion to a promise made by Wilson 
 of the king’s mercy. Now the letter in Cayley has not the 
 slightest allusion either to Re Chesne or to this promise. 
 
346 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 I trust your majesty will impute it to want of cunning, 
 not want of faithfulness, it being the first part that ever 
 I acted with a man tarn ingeniose nequam^ Your majesty 
 may be pleased to receive herewith his letter, wherein 
 he voweth to me that he hath laid open all the secret 
 closets of his heart and knowledge ; whereof he offered 
 to show me some part, hut I told him I durst not presume 
 to see it before your majesty, to whom, by your gracious 
 leave, it was to be written. The king of heaven pre- 
 serve your majesty from having many such dangerous 
 subjects I” 
 
 This letter of Wilson’s, which is a scroll of that sent 
 to the king, is dated from the Tower 18th September 
 1618 ; and on the back is this important memorandum. 
 
 \Qth September, — Mem. — To certify what Sir W. R. 
 saitli of one Christofero that he brought home with him 
 now, who was the governor’s man of Guiana, who will 
 take it on his life that he is able to show and say how 
 there are seven or eight several mines of gold that are 
 there ; and wisheth this man may be entertained in some 
 nobleman’s service, for occasion that may ensue.” The 
 circumstance here stated is corroborated by Keymis in 
 his letter to Raleigh. ‘‘We have,” says he, “ the go- 
 vernor’s servant prisoner, that waited on him in his 
 bedchamber, and knows all things that concerned his 
 master and Raleigh himself, in his apology, alludes 
 to the same person when he says, “ Had the companies’ 
 commanders but pinched the governor’s man whom they 
 had in their possession, he could have told them of two 
 or three gold mines and a silver mine, not above four 
 miles from the town, and given them the names of their 
 possessors.* Yet although Raleigh thus entreated the 
 government to convince themselves of the reality of these 
 gold mines, by the evidence of an unexceptionable wit- 
 ness who had the best opportunity of being informed 
 upon the subject, it did not suit the purposes of the king 
 
 Raleigh’s Apology. Works, vol. viii. pp. 492, 496. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 347 
 
 to investigate the matter ; and we shall afterwards find 
 the monarch asserting, in the face of the most direct 
 evidence to the contrary, that no such mine existed. 
 
 Having despatched his letter, Raleigh awaited with 
 natural anxiety its effect on the royal mind, whilst at 
 the same time he contemplated the probability of death 
 with equanimity and cheerfulness. “This day [21st 
 September],” says Wilson, “I was sitting by him while 
 the barber was trimming and keeming my head. He 
 told me he was wont to keem his head a whole hour 
 every day before he came into the Tower. Asking him 
 why he did not so still, he said, ‘ he would know first 
 who should have it ; he would not bestow so much cost 
 of it for the hangman.’ ”* It appears that Wilson had 
 held out a promise of the king’s mercy, and that Raleigh 
 pleaded this in his letter. With such conduct James 
 was deeply offended, and it required an humble and ear- 
 nest letter from Wilson to make his peace with his 
 master, who dreaded lest his determination to sacrifice 
 Sir Walter to the indignation of Spain should he ren- 
 dered nugatory by any stipulations of pardon. “ I must 
 not deny,” says Wilson in his letter to Naunton, “ that 
 I have done so divers times (that is, pleaded the king’s 
 mercy), finding hope to work more with him than fear ; 
 but I did it as Mr Lieutenant, and Sir Walter Raleigh 
 could not but think it to come of myself, without in- 
 structions from any, or any way engaging his majesty.” 
 It is thus evident that Raleigh was induced by a promise 
 of the king’s pardon to disclose faithfully all he knew ; 
 having done so, James was disappointed that his confes- 
 sion contained nothing which could be turned against 
 him, and refused to extend his forgiveness, on the ground 
 that Wilson had acted without any authority from the 
 king. Such a manner of proceeding is perfectly consistent 
 with all that we know of the character of this prince. 
 
 Having thus entirely failed in their examination of 
 the prisoner, Wilson and Naunton, under the directions 
 
 MS. Journal of Wilson in the State-paper Office. 
 
348 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 of the king, endeavoured by various other methods to 
 extract matter of condemnation against him. Lady 
 Carew, a connexion of Raleigh, who was supposed to 
 enjoy much of his confidence, was strictly interrogated 
 regarding his intercourse with the French agent ; his 
 own wife and household servants were rigidly examined ; 
 the private letters which passed between that faithful 
 and affectionate woman and her husband were intercepted 
 and opened. But in this complicated process of inquiry 
 nothing was discovered that did not corroborate the 
 simple story which Raleigh himself had previously given. 
 
 Finding at last that all hopes of mercy were vain. Sir 
 Walter tranquilly resigned himself to the contemplation 
 of the near approach of death. This night,” says 
 Wilson in his journal, dated 26th September 1618, 
 “ upon occasion of my saying I hoped I had not long to 
 stay here, he said, ‘ When you are gone I shall he de- 
 livered to the secular power, as they call it ; and yet,’ 
 said he, ‘ if the Spanish match hold, it were no policy 
 to have me put to death ; for,’ saith he, ^ I have a great 
 store of friends in England, and m}^ death will hut pre- 
 serve envy.’ I marvelled at this discourse ; but, con- 
 sidering farther of it, I remembered it had agreement 
 with his former discourse in the afternoon, telling what 
 great kindred he had, naming the greatest and almost 
 all in the west country. 
 
 2!lth September , — This night after supper Mr Lieu- 
 tenant’s man coming home, told me that his master could 
 not arrive to-night. I going up to see him [Raleigh] 
 before his going to bed, and telling him, he presently 
 fell in doubt that his staying was about a resolution for 
 his death. Soon after he fell into a discourse how Stuke- 
 ly would have no means left him to kill himself, and 
 therefore would have all his drugs, knives, and other 
 things taken from him ; hut thereupon said, that he 
 would sure desire to die in the light, not in darkness, 
 that he might make some be known what they were.”* 
 
 * MS. Journal of Wilson in the State-paper Office. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 349 
 
 The next passage of the journal proves strikingly the 
 inveteracy of the king against Raleigh in resisting the 
 entreaties of the queen, and the dying request of the 
 Earl of Winchester. “ It is reported that the queen 
 hath begged his life by means of his lady, who is great 
 with her ; and here it is held that the late Earl of Win- 
 chester, deceast, at the time when the king came to visit 
 him, a little before his death, told the king that he never 
 looked to see his majesty more, and therefore he would 
 beg but one thing of him, and that was the life of an old 
 servant that had incurred his majestie’s grievous indig- 
 nation ; yet because he had been so dearly respected of 
 that noble queen, his predecessor, that he would save his 
 life and let him die in peace, and not come to an un- 
 timely end. This he meant by Sir Walter Raleigh ; 
 but whether the king did grant it or no, the party could 
 not tell.” "* 
 
 Not long after this, Wilson, afraid lest his enemies 
 should represent to the king, that after all his promises 
 he had failed in extracting any thing to form the ground 
 of Raleigh’s condemnation, employed himself in drawing 
 up for the royal inspection, a paper, entitled, Observa- 
 tions of Contrarieties in Sir Walter Raleigh’s Speeches 
 or Discourses, delivered to his Majesty in his Council 
 Chamber in Whitehall ; which, he adds, the Lords told 
 me he read unto them the next day.” This memorial 
 is introduced by a letter from Wilson to the king, and 
 the first sentence sufficiently explains its object : — 
 
 Most Gratious Sovereign, — Seeing it hath pleased 
 your majesty to confront the carriage of this arch-im- 
 postor with my simplicity and plainness, whereby some 
 have been apt to conceive that I have not in all points 
 taken the discreetest course in dealing with him, I will 
 be bold to relate unto your majesty how, out of the in- 
 ferences of his repugnant answers at divers times, I have 
 pressed from him all those things which he hath con- 
 fessed to your majesty by his letters, and to myself by 
 
 MS. Journal of Wilson in the State-paper Office. 
 
350 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 words, which he ever impudently and confidently denied 
 to the lords-commissioners.” The memorial, in which 
 Wilson’s ingenuity, sharpened by malignity and self- 
 interest, is exerted to detect contradictions in the state- 
 ments made at different times by Raleigh, is perhaps one 
 of the best evidences which could he adduced of his in- 
 nocence. The discrepancies and presumptions of guilt 
 upon which he insists are so trivial as to corroborate the 
 prisoner’s repeated declarations that his intentions were 
 sincere and loyal. The evidence of a friend may he 
 liable to suspicion, but that of a declared enemy is above 
 all challenge. 
 
 The papers of Sir Thomas Wilson furnish us with the 
 concluding scene of this inquisitorial drama. On the 
 4th of October Naunton directed a letter to him, enclos- 
 ing, as returned by the king, Lady Raleigh’s communi- 
 cation, with directions from his majesty to deliver it to 
 Sir Walter, in order that they might discover what they 
 could by his answer. It is not easy to conceive meaner 
 conduct than this of James. By his directions, this 
 faithful and affectionate woman was confined a prisoner 
 in her o^vn house, and encouraged to correspond with 
 her unfortunate husband in the Tower. Her letters 
 were intercepted and read by the king, they were then 
 sent to Sir Walter ; his replies, in their turn, were opened, 
 and their contents, after having been duly weighed by 
 his majesty, were communicated to his council for their 
 consideration.* Yet after all, they could find no new 
 ground of accusation, and were compelled to have re- 
 course to the old sentence passed upon him fifteen years 
 before. 
 
 * ‘‘ Mr Secretary to me, 4th October, with my Lady Raleigh’s 
 letter returned from the king.” Such is the docquet by Sir 
 Thomas Wilson on the back of an original letter of Secretary 
 Naunton, dated at Whitehall, 4th October 1618. The letter 
 commences thus : — Sir, — His majesty would have you deliver 
 this to Sir Walter Raleigh;” and it goes on to direct Wilson 
 to discover what he can by his answer, “ which I pray you send 
 me back as soon as you can, that I may acquaint the lords vnth 
 it. So, in haste, I bid you and your lady farewell. Your as- 
 sured R. Naunton.” — MS. Papers in the State-paper Office. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 351 
 
 But although foiled in his attempts, James’s resolu- 
 tion to sacrifice Raleigh underwent no change. He had 
 already written to the Spanish court, expressing his 
 willingness, either that the prisoner should be executed 
 in his own country, or, if it was more agreeable to the 
 majesty of Castile, be sent to suffer death in Spain ; and 
 about the 15th of October, the orders, for so they may 
 be called, of Philip were received in England. They 
 were couched in the form of a despatch, addressed to Don 
 Sanchez de Ulloa, the Spanish agent, dated at San Lo- 
 renzo, on the 5th of October, and signed by the king. 
 It states briefly ‘Hhat having received King James’s 
 letter through Gondomar, he did not delay to intimate, 
 that it would be more agreeable to him that the punish- 
 ment of Raleigh should take place in England ; and as 
 the offence was notorious, that its chastisement should 
 be exemplary and immediate.” This last injunction 
 appears to have been strictly fulfilled. Sir Thomas 
 Wilson was hastily recalled from the Tower, and com- 
 manded once more to deliver his prisoner into the charge 
 of Sir Allen Apsley, the lieutenant. Raleigh received 
 this as an intimation that his immediate execution was 
 resolved on, and expressed no regret. My age,” said 
 he, is fit for the grave. What have I to do with life ! 
 My reputation is lost, my body weak and full of pain. 
 Nothing can be more welcome to me than death.” 
 Lady Raleigh was set at liberty, and the lords-commis- 
 sioners, by whom Sir Walter had been already examined, 
 were required instantly to report upon the proper mode 
 of proceeding against him. 
 
 To these learned persons the case presented great 
 difficulties ; and there is something very revolting in the 
 fixed resolution, on the one hand, that whatever pro- 
 ceeding was adopted should lead to death, and the tedious 
 discussions, on the other, regarding the most legal mode 
 of accomplishing this purpose. After many consulta- 
 tions, the commissioners delivered their opinion, that the 
 prisoner, having been attainted of high treason, could 
 not be judicially called to account for any crime since 
 
352 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 committed. In this dilemma they recommended that 
 the king, with the warrant for his execution addressed to 
 the Lieutenant of the Tower, should publish a narrative 
 of his late offences ; and a writ of privy-seal was im- 
 mediately despatched to the judges, directing them to 
 order the execution of the sentence. But these grave 
 persons were thrown into new difficulties by the singu- 
 larity of the case, and its manifest injustice. They 
 declared that neither a writ of privy-seal, nor even a 
 w^arrant under the great seal to the judges of the King’s 
 Bench, could entitle them, after so long an interval, to 
 pronounce sentence of execution against any prisoner 
 without giving him an opportunity of pleading in person 
 against it. It was said, he might have a pardon to show, 
 or might urge that he was a different person ; and to get 
 rid of these difficulties they resolved to bring him to the 
 bar by a writ of habeas corpus^ and demand what reasons 
 he had to give why execution should not be awarded. 
 The king approved of this method, and having deliv- 
 ered his final orders to the judges, and signed the war- 
 rant for execution, he commanded Sir Walter to be 
 informed that it was his pleasure he should prepare for 
 death. 
 
 This was on the 24th of October, and on the 28th, 
 though Baleigh lay sick of a fever, he was raised from 
 bed at eight in the morning, with an ague fit upon him, 
 and conveyed to the King’s Bench at Westminster. 
 Being placed at the bar, the attorney-general, Yelverton, 
 observed, that the prisoner fifteen years ago had been 
 found guilty of high treason, since which time his majesty 
 had mercifully abstained from the infliction of punish- 
 ment ; but it was now his royal pleasure that the former 
 judgment should be earned into effect. The record of 
 conviction was then read ; and Raleigh being asked the 
 usual question, what he could say why execution should 
 not pass against him, requested indulgence, since his 
 voice was weak from his late sickness. On being told 
 his voice was audible enough, he summoned his remain- 
 ing strength, and proceeded ; My Lord, all I can say is 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 353 
 
 this ; that the judgment I received to die so long since, 
 cannot now, I hope, be strained to take away my life ; 
 for since it was his majesty’s pleasure to grant me a 
 Commission to proceed on a voyage beyond the seas, 
 wherein I had power, as marshal, on the life and death 
 of others ; so, under favour I presume I am discharged 
 of that judgment. By that commission I gained new 
 life and vigour ; for he that hath power over the lives of 
 others, must surely be master of his own. Under my 
 commission I departed the land, and undertook a voyage 
 to honour my sovereign, and to enrich his kingdom with 
 gold, of the ore whereof this hand hath found and taken 
 in Guiana ; but the voyage, notwithstanding my endea- 
 vour, had no other success than what was fatal to me ; — 
 the loss of my son and the wasting of my whole estate.” 
 He was now about to enter upon an explanation of the 
 causes of his failure, but was interrupted by the chief- 
 justice, who informed him that all such matter was 
 foreign to the purpose, and that the commission did not 
 infer a pardon, treason being a crime which must be 
 pardoned by words of a special nature, and not by impli- 
 cation. Unless, therefore, he could make good some 
 other plea in defence, execution, it was observed, must 
 be awarded. Sir Walter replied, that since such was his 
 lordship’s opinion, he could only put himself under the 
 mercy of the king ; his majesty himself, as well as some 
 others who were now present, having been of opinion 
 that in his former trial he had received but hard measure. 
 
 Had he not been anew exasperated against me,” said 
 he, certain I am I might have lived a thousand years 
 before he would have taken advantage thereof.” At this 
 time the lord-chief-justice was Sir Henry Montague, a 
 man in temper and disposition very different from Coke ; 
 and the manner in which he pronounced sentence was 
 full of sympathy and good feeling. On his concluding 
 wdth the usual words, Execution is granted,” Raleigh 
 addressed the court with the calmness which had never 
 forsaken him. “ My Lords,’' said he, ‘‘ I desire this 
 much favour, that I may not be cut off suddenly ; but 
 
 Y 
 
354 FROM Raleigh’s, first confinement 
 
 may be granted some time before my execution, to settle 
 my affairs and my mind more than they yet are ; for I 
 have something to do in discharge of my reputation and 
 my conscience, and somewhat to satisfy his majesty in. 
 I would beseech the favour of pen, ink, and paper, thereby 
 to discharge myself of some trusts of a worldly nature, 
 that were put upon me. I crave not this to gain one 
 minute of life, for now being old, sickly, disgraced, and 
 certain to go to death, life is wearisome unto me. And 
 now I beseech your lordships that when I come to die I 
 may have leave to speak freely at my farewell. And 
 here,” said he, with great solemnity, I take God to be 
 my judge, before whom I shall shortly appear, that I 
 was never disloyal to his majesty, which I shall justify 
 w^here I shall not fear the face of any king on earth ; 
 and so I beseech you all to pray for me.”* Sir Walter 
 was then removed to the Gatehouse. The warrant for 
 execution dispensed with the more ignominious death by 
 hanging, and ordered him to be beheaded. 
 
 It had been his only request that he should be allowed 
 a short interval to settle his earthly concerns and provide 
 for his soul ; but with this the king did not think proper 
 to comply. He had been brought up to receive sentence 
 on the 28th of October, and on returning to prison he 
 was informed that the execution must take place next 
 morning at nine o’clock, — an indecent haste which we 
 are scarcely prepared to expect even from so heartless a 
 prince as James. Yet the cruelty of the monarch only 
 served to bring out in finer relief the character of his 
 victim ; and though it is evident that the accounts of his 
 behaviour are imperfect in some respects, and in others 
 exaggerated, enough remains to prove that he died with 
 Christian faith and simplicity. 
 
 On his way from the court to prison, he observed to 
 some friends who deplored his misfortunes, that the 
 world itself was but a larger prison, out of which some 
 
 * Hargrave, State Trials, vol. viii. App. No. iv. Jardiiie’s 
 Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 500. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 355 
 
 are daily selected for execution ; and on hearing that 
 the king had peremptorily rejected all petitions in his 
 favour, even that of the queen, he expressed no disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 To him death seemed divested of all that was gloomy 
 and terrific. Raleigh had never been pardoned ; he was 
 liable during the long period of his confinement to be 
 called away any day or any hour to execution ; and it 
 is probable that this circumstance had rendered the con- 
 templation of sudden dissolution, — an idea so appalling to 
 an ordinary mind, — to him the subject of quiet, natural, 
 and frequent thought. His firm belief in divine revela- 
 tion, in the mercy of God to a penitent soul which rested 
 on its Saviour, invested his meditations on this last scene 
 with a glow of cheerfulness and hope. To others Death 
 might be the king of terrors, — to him he was a familiar 
 and not repulsive companion, the thoughts of whom had 
 been so long the inmates of his cell that when he met 
 him on the scaffold it was almost as an old friend. 
 
 His last interview with his wife was simple but deeply 
 affecting. It took place on Thursday night (he was to 
 suffer on Friday morning), and it was midnight before 
 she left the prison. He said he meant to leave with her 
 a paper to acquaint the world with his sentiments, in 
 case they refused him liberty to speak on the scaffold ; 
 and fearful lest his feelings in talking of his little son 
 should be too distressing, he avoided the subject and 
 affectionately entreated her to leave him. Raleigh had 
 yet much to do, and a few brief hours to accomplish his 
 task, and they who know any thing of human affection, 
 and of the distracting effects of sorrow, will not wonder 
 that he should desire to be spared the agony which might 
 have unfitted him for his duty. On parting, his wife in 
 a flood of tears informed him that she had obtained the 
 favour of disposing of his body. “ It is well, Bess,” said 
 he, smiling, that thou mayst dispose of that dead thou 
 hadst not always the disposing of when alive.” When 
 alone he sat down and wrote the following paper, which 
 he entitled. 
 
356 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 AN ANSWER TO SOME THINGS AT MY DEATH. 
 
 1. I did never receive any direction from my Lord 
 Carew to make my escape, nor did I ever tell Stukely 
 any such thing. 2. I did never name my Lord Hay and 
 my Lord Carew to Stukely in other words or sense, than 
 as my honourable friends, among other lords. 3. I did 
 never show unto Stukely any letter wherein there was 
 £10,000 named, or any one pound ; only I told him, 
 that I hoped to procure the payment of his debts in his 
 absence. 4. I never had commission from the French 
 king. 5. I never saw the French king’s hand or seal in 
 my life. 6. I never had any plot or practice with the 
 French, directly or indirectly, — nor with any other prince 
 or state unknown to the king. 7 . My true intent w^as 
 to go to a mine of gold in Guiana ; it was not feigned, 
 but it is true, that such a mine there is, within three 
 miles of St Thome. 8. I never had in my thought to go 
 from Trinidado and leave my companies to come after to 
 the Savage Island, as Hathy Fearh hath falsely reported. 
 
 9. I did not carry with me 100 pieces : I had with me 
 about sixty, and brought back nearly the same number. 
 
 10. I never spake to the French Manourie any one dis- 
 loyal word or dishonourable speech of the king : Nay, 
 if I had not loved the king truly, and trusted in his 
 goodness somewhat too much, I know that I had not 
 now suffered death. These things are most true, as there 
 is a God, and as I am now to appear before his tribunal- 
 seat, where I renounce all mercy and salvation if this be 
 not truth. At my death, “ Walter Raleigh.”* 
 
 Having finished this, he seems to have drawn up a 
 few additional notes of remembrance, containing heads 
 of the different subjects upon which, if permitted to 
 
 * Birch’s Works of Raleigh, vol. ii. p. 280. — In the State- 
 paper Office is a MS. of this same paper, entitled, “ Accusations 
 against Sir Walter Raleigh, cleared by him at his death.” It 
 is written in a contemporary hand, and on the back of the paper 
 are the lines, “ Even such is time,” &c. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO IIIS EXECUTION. .357 
 
 speak on the scaffold, he meant to address the people ; 
 and taking his Bible he wrote on a blank leaf these few 
 lines : — 
 
 “ E’en such is time ! who takes in trust 
 Our youth, our joys, and all we have. 
 
 And pays us hut with age and dust : 
 
 Who, in the dark and silent grave, 
 
 When we have wander’d all our ways, 
 
 Shuts up the story of our days ! 
 
 But from this earth, this grave, this dust, 
 
 The Lord will raise me up, I trust.” 
 
 It may appear singular to some that we find him so 
 employed at such a moment, hut from his early youth 
 Raleigh had been accustomed to throw his feelings into 
 numbers. His last thoughts are solemn and full of 
 immortality ; and their poetical dress indicates a rare 
 tranquOlity of mind. 
 
 He was not permitted to choose his own clergyman ; 
 but Dr Tounson, at that time Dean of Westminster, 
 received orders from the government to be with him in 
 his religious services both in prison and on the scaffold. 
 This divine afterwards drew up a relation of his death, 
 which was probably suppressed by the king, and a letter 
 of the same person, which has been published, is evidently 
 written under the fear of saying any thing that might be 
 disagreeable to a monarch, who was wont to stretch his 
 prerogative over the most secret communications and 
 private thoughts of his subjects. Yet incomplete as is 
 the only evidence which has been permitted to reach us, 
 the history of the last hours of Raleigh is interesting and 
 affecting. 
 
 Early in the morning the dean administered to him the 
 holy Eucharist, which he received with deep reverence, 
 pleading the assurance he had of the love and favour of 
 God ; forgiving all men, and specially in this act declar- 
 ing that he forgave Sir Lewis Stukely and Manourie, 
 who had betrayed him. He expressed great fearlessness 
 of death, and appeared to make light of it ; observing to 
 Dr Tounson, that though to many the manner in which 
 he was to die might appear grievous, he would rather end 
 
358 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 his days so than by a burning fever. When cautioned 
 not to be too hardy, and reminded that some of the dearest 
 servants of God had shrunk hack and trembled a little, 
 “ he acknowledged it to he true, expressing himself very 
 Christianly,” but giving thanks to the Almighty who 
 had imparted to him the strength of mind never to fear 
 death. He was persuaded, he said, that no man who 
 knew God and feared him, could die with cheerfulness 
 and courage unless he were assured of his love and fa- 
 vour ; and it was evident to the pious man to whom he 
 addressed himself, that it was from this assurance and no 
 false ground or any principle of vain or foolish ostenta- 
 tion that Raleigh derived this remarkable courage. 
 There was evidently within him a source of tranquillity 
 and joy. He was happy to leave that world whicli had 
 for many years brought to him nothing hut ingratitude 
 and disappointment ; his mind was full of sweetness and 
 forgiveness ; he had been treated with signal injustice 
 by the king, by his judges, by the jury which condemned 
 him, by the pretended friends and kinsmen who betrayed 
 him ; yet he simply asserted his innocence, declared his 
 unshaken loyalty to his prince, and indulged in no re- 
 flections upon the law or the government. By the 
 course of the law,” said he, “ I must die, yet leave must 
 he given me to stand upon my innocency of the fact.” 
 After having received the sacrament his cheerfulness 
 increased, and he again expressed his confidence tliat he 
 would convince the world that he was guiltless of the 
 charges against him. He then took breakfast heartily, 
 smoked, as was his practice, a pipe of tobacco, and took 
 a cup of sack ; on being asked if it pleased him, “ Aye,” 
 said he, ’tis good drink, if a man might tarry by it.” 
 After this he retired for a short time to arrange his 
 dress, in which he was usually very splendid. On this 
 occasion it was a plain mourning suit. Under his hat 
 was a rich-wrought nightcap. His doublet, waistcoat, 
 and breeches were of black satin, — and over all was 
 thrown a black wrought- velvet nightgown. Raleigh had 
 been, in his best days, a remarkably handsome man ; 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 359 
 
 and at this moment, although enfeebled by sickness, his 
 appearance was peculiarly striking and noble. 
 
 It was now near nine, and having declared himself 
 ready he was led to the place of execution, in the Old 
 Palace Yard, by the Sheriffs of London and the Dean of 
 Westminster. A great crowd had assembled, and as 
 many pushed forward to gaze on him, among the rest 
 one venerable old man, whose head was quite bald, came 
 so near that Sir Walter noticed him and inquired if he 
 wanted ought with him ; the old man answered, that 
 his only desire was to see him, and to pray God for him : 
 “ I thank thee, my good friend,” said Raleigh, and am 
 sorry I am in no case to return thee any thing for thy 
 good-will. But,” added he, looking at his bald head, 
 “here, take this nightcap,” removing that which he 
 wore beneath his hat, “ thou liast more need of it now 
 than I.”* 
 
 The people pressed him so much that, faint from sick- 
 ness, he had nearly swooned away before he reached the 
 scaffold, which was erected in front of the parliament- 
 house. Amongst the spectators were the Earls of 
 Arundel, Oxford, and Northampton, the Lords Doncas- 
 ter, Sheffield, and Percy, and other knights and gentle- 
 men. On coming to the steps he recovered, mounted 
 them easily, and saluted those who stood near with the 
 same graceful courtesy which usually distinguished his 
 manners. Proclamation w^as then made for silence, and 
 Raleigh standing up, although very feeble, addressed 
 those around him. His last words have been trans- 
 mitted to us by several persons who were present, and 
 we read them almost exactly as he delivered them. 
 
 “ I have had,” said he, “ for these two days past, two 
 fits of an ague. Yesterday I was, notwithstanding, taken 
 out of my bed in one of my fits, and whether I shall 
 escape it this day or not I cannot tell. If therefore, you 
 perceive any weakness in me, I beseech you ascribe it to 
 my sickness rather than to myself. I thank God of his 
 infinite goodness that he hath vouchsafed me to die 
 
 * DTsraeli, Curiosities of Literature, vol. ii. p. 133. 
 
360 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 in the sight of so noble an assembly, and not in darkness, 
 neither in the Tower, where I have suffered so much 
 adversity, and a long sickness. And I thank God that 
 my fever hath not taken me at this time, as I prayed 
 God it might not.” 
 
 His weakness was now so great that he was compelled 
 to sit down. After a short pause he again began to 
 speak, and turning to the lords who sat in Sir Randal 
 Crues’s window, he expressed a fear lest they should 
 not distinguish what he said, but he added that he would 
 strain his voice that they might hear him ; upon which 
 Lord Arundel replied that they would rather come 
 down to him, w^hich he immediately did, along with the 
 Earl of Northampton and the Viscount Doncaster. Sir 
 Walter then continued as follows, looking occasionally 
 at the paper of notes which he held in his hand : — 
 There are two main points which, as I conceive, 
 have hastened my coming hither, of which his majesty 
 hath been informed against me. The first, tliat I had some 
 practice with France, — and the reason which his majesty 
 hath to believe so was, that when I first arrived at Ply- 
 mouth I had a desire, in a small hark, to have passed to 
 Rochelle ; and afterwards, because the French agent 
 came to my house in London. Now, my lords, for a man 
 at any time to call God to witness a falsehood is a sin, a 
 greater than which cannot well be imagined ; but for a 
 man to do so at the hour of death, when he hath no time 
 to repent, is still more grievous and impious. Yet I do 
 now call that great God to witness, before whom I am 
 presently to render an account of what I say, that as I 
 hope to see God, or to live in the world to come, or to 
 have any comfort or benefit by the passion of my Sa- 
 viour, I did never entertain any conspiracy, nor never 
 had any plot or intelligence with the French king, his 
 ambassador, or agent, neither did I ever see the French 
 king’s hand or seal, as some reported I had a commission 
 from him at sea. Neither, as I have a soul to save, did 
 I know of the French agent’s coming to my house till 
 I saw him in the gallery. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 361 
 
 The other matter alleged against me was, that I 
 had spoken dishonourably and disloyally of the king. 
 But my accuser was a base Frenchman, a runagate fel- 
 low, one who had no dwelling, a kind of chemical im- 
 postor, whom I afterwards knew to be perfidious. For 
 being drawn by him into the attempt of escaping at 
 Winchester, in which I confess my hand was touched, 
 he being sworn to secrecy over night revealed it the 
 next morning. It is now no time to fear or to flatter 
 kings. I am now a subject of death, and have only to 
 do with my God, in whose presence I stand ; and I do 
 now here solemnly declare I never spake disloyally or 
 dishonestly of the king, either to this Frenchman or to 
 any other. And it seemeth somewhat unjust that such 
 a base fellow should be credited so far as he hath been. 
 
 I confess I did attempt to escape, but it was only 
 to save my life. I likewise confess that I feigned my- 
 self to be indisposed at Salisbury, but I hope it was no 
 sin ; for the prophet David did make himself a fool, and 
 suffered spittle to fall upon his beard to escape from 
 the hands of his enemies, and it was not imputed unto 
 him as a sin : What I did was to prolong time till his 
 majesty came, in hopes of some commiseration from 
 him. 
 
 “ I forgive that Frenchman, and Sir Lewis Stukely 
 also, the wrongs he hath done me with all my heart, 
 for I have received the sacrament this morning of Mr 
 Dean, and I have forgiven all men : But that these two 
 men are perfidious, I am bound in charity to speak, that 
 all men may take heed of them. Sir Lewis, my keeper 
 and kinsman, hath affirmed that I told him my Lord 
 Carew and my Lord Doncaster here had advised me to 
 escape ; but I protest before God I never told him any 
 such thing, neither did these lords advise me to any such 
 matter. It is not likely I should acquaint two privy 
 councillors of my plan of escape, nor that I should tell 
 him — my keeper — it was their advice ; neither was 
 there any reason to tell it to him, or that he should re- 
 port it, for it is well known he left me six, eight, or ten 
 
362 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 days together alone, to go where I chose, whilst he rode 
 about the country. 
 
 He further accused me of having shown him a letter 
 in which I promised him ten thousand pounds if he as- 
 sisted me to escape. But this is another falsehood ; had 
 I then been possessed of ten, or even of one thousand 
 pounds, I could have made my peace better than by be- 
 stowing it on Stukely. The only thing I showed him 
 was a letter, wherein it was promised that order should 
 be taken for the payment of his debts should he consent 
 to accompany me. One further injury he did me which, 
 although it may appear a slight one, affects me sensibly. 
 In our journey to London we lodged at Sir Edward 
 Parham’s, an ancient friend of mine, whose lady is my 
 cousin-german ; and there he not only gave out, but 
 himself told me he thought I had some dram of poison 
 given me, to which I answered that I feared no such 
 thing, and bade him dismiss the thought, as I was well 
 assured of those in the house. Thus far have I said 
 on this matter, because I know it grieves the gentleman 
 that such a conceit should be held ; and now I take my 
 leave of Sir Lewis. God is not only a God of revenge, 
 but also of mercy ; and I pray God to forgive him as I 
 myself hope to be forgiven.” 
 
 Sir Walter then cast his eye for a moment over his 
 note of remembrance, and proceeded : 
 
 It was told the king that I was brought by force 
 into England ; and that when the voyage miscarried I 
 had no intention to return again ; yet Captain Parker, 
 Mr Tresham, Mr Leak, and divers others who knew 
 how I was treated, can give witness to the contrary. 
 
 It was reported also that I meant not to go to 
 Guiana at all, and that I knew not of any mine, nor 
 intended any such matter ; but only to get my liberty, 
 which I had not the good sense to keep. But I solemnly 
 declare it was my full intent to go for gold, for the bene- 
 fit of his majesty, myself, and those who went with 
 me ; but all was crossed and undone by Keymis, who, 
 seeing my son slain, and myself unpardoned, would not 
 
IN THE TOWER TO IIIS EXECUTION. 363 
 
 discover the head of the mine, but afterwards slew 
 himself.” 
 
 At this moment, turning to the Earl of Arundel, 
 Raleigh said, ‘‘ My Lord, you being in the gallery of 
 iny ship at my departure, I remember you took me by 
 the hand, and said you would request one thing of me, 
 which was, whether I made a good voyage or a bad, that 
 I would return again into England, which I then pro- 
 mised ; — I gave you my faith I would ; and so I have.” 
 
 You did so,” said his lordship ; “ it is true ; and they 
 were the last words I spoke to you.” It is enough,” 
 said Raleigh ; “ I am glad your lordship is here to justify 
 my words.” 
 
 Another slander was raised against me, that I had 
 a design to go away from my company, and leave them 
 at Guiana ; but there are a great many worthy men who 
 were always with me, as my sergeant-major (and divers 
 others whom he named), that knew such was never my 
 intention. It was said too that I stinted them of fresh 
 water ; to which I answer, that every one was then, as 
 they always must be in a ship, served by measure, and 
 not according to their appetite, a course which all sea- 
 men know must be used amongst them ; and to this 
 strait we were then driven. 
 
 “ These are the principal things upon which I thought 
 it good to speak. Yet before I make an end, let me 
 borrow yet further a little time of Mr Sheriff, to answer 
 an imputation laid against me, through the jealousy of 
 the people, which hath made my heart bleed. It is said 
 that I was a prosecutor of the death of the Earl of Essex, 
 and stood in a window over against him when he suf- 
 fered, and puffed out tobacco in disdain of him. But I 
 take God to witness that I had no hand in his blood, and 
 was none of those that procured his death. My Lord 
 of Essex did not see my face at the time of his death, 
 for I had retired far off into the armoury, where I indeed 
 saw him, and shed tears for him ; but he saw not me. 
 It is most true I was of a contrary faction, and helped 
 to pluck him down ; but I knew my Lord of Essex to 
 
364 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 be a noble gentleman, and always believed it wonid have 
 been better for me that his life had been preserved ; for 
 after his fall I got the hatred of those who wished me 
 well before ; and those who set me against him, set 
 themselves afterwards against me, and were my greatest 
 enemies. Nay, I will further say that my soul hath 
 many times grieved that I was not nearer to him when 
 he suffered ; because, as I understood afterwards, he 
 asked for me at his death, and desired to have been re- 
 conciled to me. 
 
 And now I entreat that you all will join with me 
 in prayer to that great God of heaven whom I have 
 grievously offended, that he will of his almighty good- 
 ness extend to me forgiveness ; being a man full of all 
 vanity, and one who hath lived a sinful life in such 
 callings as have been most inducing to it ; for I have 
 been a soldier, a sailor, and a courtier, all of them courses 
 of wickedness and vice ; but I trust he will not only 
 cast away my sins from me, but will receive me into 
 everlasting life, — and so, having made my peace with 
 God, I bid you all heartily farewell.” 
 
 Raleigh, though weak, delivered this address witli 
 gracefulness and animation. He then embraced the 
 lords, and others of his friends who were present ; and 
 turning himself in particular to my Lord Arundel, en- 
 treated him to use his influence with the king, that no 
 defamatory writings against him might be published 
 after his death. The Dean of Westminster then asked 
 him in what faith or religion he meant to die, to which 
 he answered, — In the faith professed by the Church 
 of England adding that he hoped to be saved and 
 to have his sins washed away by the precious blood and 
 merits of our Saviour Christ.” The morning being 
 sharp, the sheriff offered to bring him down off the 
 scaffold to warm himself by the fire before he sliould 
 say his prayers ; “No, good Mr Sheriff,” said he, “ let 
 us despatch, for within this quarter of an hour my ague 
 will come upon me, and if I be not dead before that, 
 mine enemies will say I quake for fear.” He then, to 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 365 
 
 use the words of a contemporary and eyewitness, made 
 a most divine and admirable prayer : after which, rising 
 up and clasping his hands together, he exclaimed, Now 
 I am going to God !” The scaffold was soon cleared ; 
 and having thrown off his gown and doublet, he bid the 
 executioner show him the axe, which not being done 
 immediately, he was urgent in his request. “ I prithee,” 
 said he, let me see it. Dost thou think I am afraid 
 of it r’ Taking it in his hand he kissed the blade, and 
 passing his finger slightly along the edge, observed to 
 the sheriff, ’Tis a sharp medicine, but a sound cure 
 for all diseases.” He then walked to the corner of the 
 scaffold, and kneeling down-, requested the people to pray 
 for him, and for a considerable time remained on his knees 
 engaged in silent devotion ; after which he rose and 
 carefully examined the block, laying himself down to fit 
 it to his neck, and to choose the easiest and most de- 
 cent attitude. In all this he would receive no assistance ; 
 and having satisfied himself, he rose and declared he was 
 ready. The executioner now came forward, and kneel- 
 ing, asked his forgiveness, upon which Raleigh laid his 
 hand smilingly on his shoulder, and bade him be satisfied, 
 for he most cheerfully forgave him, only entreating him 
 not to strike till he himself gave the signal, and then to 
 fear nothing and strike home. Saying this, he lay down 
 on the block, and on being directed to place himself so 
 that his face should look to the east, he answered It 
 mattered little how the head lay provided the heart was 
 right.” After a little while, during which it was ob- 
 served, by the motion of his lips and hands, that he was 
 occupied in prayer, he gave the signal ; but, whether 
 from awkwardness or agitation, the executioner delayed ; 
 upon which, after waiting for a short time, he partially 
 raised his head and said aloud, What dost thou fear ? 
 strike, man I”* The axe then descended, and at two 
 strokes the head was severed from the body, which 
 
 * MS. Letter in Harleian Collection, printed by Cayley, 
 Appendix, No. xvii. Mr Thomas Lorkin to Sir Thomas 
 Puckering, vol. ii. 
 
366 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 never shrunk or altered its position, whilst the extraor- 
 dinary effusion of blood evinced an unusual strength and 
 vigour of constitution, though when he suffered Sir 
 Walter was in his sixty-sixth year. The head, after 
 being as usual held up to the view of the people on 
 either side of the scaffold, was put into a red hag, over 
 which his velvet nightgown was thrown and the whole 
 immediately carried to a mourning-coach which was in 
 waiting, and conveyed to Lady Raleigh. This faithful 
 and affectionate woman, who never married again, 
 though she survived him twenty-nine years, had it 
 embalmed and preserved in a case, which she kept with 
 pious solicitude till her death. 
 
 The body was buried privately near the high altar of 
 St Margaret’s Church, in Westminster, close beside the 
 spot where Harrington, the author of “ Oceana,” was 
 afterwards interred.'^ No stone or memorial marks the 
 place, — a circumstance to he ascribed to the destitution 
 in which Lady Raleigh and her son were left, or to the 
 fear they felt of drawing down the further indignation 
 of the monarch. His head, after the death of his widow, 
 was preserved by his son, with whom it was buried at 
 his seat of West Horsley, in Surrey. Such at least was 
 the tradition of the neighbourhood in the time of Oldys ; 
 and it is certain that more than eighty years after, when 
 the grave of a Carew Raleigh was laid open, two skulls 
 were found in it, one of which was supposed to he his 
 father’s.f 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh belongs to that class of great men 
 who may he said rather to fashion or create than to re- 
 flect the character of their age. His individual story is 
 indissolubly linked with the annals of his country ; and 
 he who reads of the danger and the glory of England 
 during the reign of Elizabeth ; of the humiliation of 
 Spain, the independence of Holland, the discovery and 
 wonders of the New World, and the progress of our 
 naval and commercial prosperity, must meet with his 
 
 Raleigh’s Works, vol. viii. p. 744. f Oldys, p. 565. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 367 
 
 name in every part of the record. If required to describe 
 ill a few words the most prominent features in his mind, 
 I would say they were his universality and originality. 
 A warrior both by sea and land, — a statesman, a navi- 
 gator, and discoverer of new countries, an accomplished 
 courtier, a scholar, and eloquent writer ; a sweet and 
 true poet, and a munificent patron of letters, — there is 
 scarcely one of the aspects in which we view him where 
 he does not shine with a remarkable brightness. In 
 some of the pursuits indeed in which he attained dis- 
 tinction, he has been excelled by other eminent men of 
 his time ; but where do we find such a combination as 
 in Raleigh^ They were satisfied with the glory of 
 being great in one department ; he aimed at an almost 
 universal excellence. They wisely concentrated their 
 efforts on the cultivation of a single insulated branch of 
 human knowledge ; his discursive and vigorous mind 
 was not contented till it had made an inroad and achieved 
 a triumph in them all ; and it may be certainly affirmed, 
 that upon every thing which he undertook he has left 
 that stamp of power and originality which belongs to 
 the man of genius. 
 
 As to his faults there was nothing little in the char- 
 acter of Raleigh — his errors and his weaknesses stand 
 forward as prominently as the higher qualities of his 
 mind. It will be found indeed that in most cases they 
 grew out of them. His credulity was a weed thrown 
 up by the strength and ardour of his imagination ; his 
 love of riches, which has been called his avarice, was 
 not so much the sordid lust of gain, for he was no hoarder, 
 as a shoot from that old buccaneering spirit Avhich he 
 had acquired in the school of Drake and Hawkins. His 
 fancy had caught fire at first in the perusal of the his- 
 tories of Cortes and Pizarro. His royal mistress delighted 
 to see the pearl-laden and golden caracks of the Span- 
 iard brought into her ports ; and if Raleigh loved the 
 Spanish plunder, he loved still more the danger and the 
 enterprise with which it was connected. His ambition 
 was restless in its ends, and sometimes ruinous in its 
 
368 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 results, — but it was not a selfish ambition ; it arose out 
 of his love for his country, his zeal for its pre-eminence 
 and glory. He entertained the grand idea, and undoubt- 
 edly believed it practicable, that England might erect 
 in America a greater or richer empire than that of Mex- 
 ico or Peru ; and however absurd to our advanced know- 
 ledge this project may now appear, no one who has 
 studied the earliest Spanish accounts of Guiana will 
 deny that he had good grounds on which to found his 
 opinion. 
 
 As to the charge of his being a deist, an atheist, or a 
 freethinker, for it has been advanced under all these 
 variations, it in all probability arose out of a youthful 
 fault, exaggerated or misconceived. In his early days 
 of vanity and ambition, Raleigh was a bold and reckless 
 disputant on most subjects, not excluding religion, and 
 he probably had the weakness to court discussion rather 
 for the purposes of display than for the discovery of 
 truth ; he laughed at the boasted infallibility of human 
 reason, and in his ingenious little essay entitled the 
 Sceptic, demonstrated the uncertainty of those deduc- 
 tions which are based on a limited experience and super- 
 ficial observation ; he professed an early contempt for 
 the dogmatism of the Aristotelian philosophy ; he re- 
 garded with little respect the system of scholastic 
 theology ; and out of these materials the noted jesuit. 
 Father Parsons, manufactured a charge of atheism, whilst 
 Hume, Carte, and some more modern writers, have not 
 scrupled to pronounce him a deist or a freethinker. 
 How wide both aspersions are from the truth, has been 
 already shown. The foibles of his youth passed away ; 
 the pride of intellect — the vanity of display — was sub- 
 dued by affliction ; and his profound and contemplative 
 mind, instructed by the heavenly lesson, was brought to 
 rest on that only stay for the broken and wounded spirit, 
 the blessed hopes and promises of Revelation. 
 
 Such is Raleigh’s general character ; but where shall 
 we look for the minuter touches, which give freshness, 
 prominence, and individuality to the picture 1 Here, 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 
 
 369 
 
 alas ! his biography, in common with that of other great 
 men, is lamentably defective. How often have we to 
 regret that of those whose genius stimulates our curiosity, 
 and reflects an interest even on their daily dress and 
 most ordinary habits of life, we know little or nothing. 
 How fondly would we collect and prize the most com- 
 mon particulars which should introduce us into the 
 familiar presence of Shakspeare, or Spenser, or Milton, or 
 Bacon ; and yet of the every-day life of these master- 
 spirits of their time, so little is known, that the imagina- 
 tion, eager to lay hold on some visible personification of 
 its favourite, is impelled to form a picture for itself. It is 
 much the same with the illustrious man whose history 
 we have been writing ; yet one or two pleasing and 
 characteristic touches have been preserved. Although 
 his person was noble and manly, his voice was weak and 
 somewhat shrill ; his long residence at court could not 
 conquer his strong Devonshire accent, which, with all the 
 power of a youthful habit, clung to him to the last. His 
 conversation and social qualities were eminently attrac- 
 tive ; and whether he sat smoking his long silver pipe 
 amongst his literary friends at the Mermaid, or talked 
 with his royal mistress when she admitted him to the 
 privy chamber, or assisted with his advice and experience 
 at the council table, he swayed and delighted the intel- 
 lects of all who came into contact with him. We know 
 from one who was no partial judge,'^ that the queen loved 
 his company, and esteemed his judgment as highly as his 
 wdt. In his youth he was violent and hasty, and did not 
 scruple to beat at a tavern Charles Chester, a loquacious 
 and insolent fellow, who had annoyed him by his re- 
 marks ; after which he laid him on his back and sealed 
 up his upper and nether beard with hard wax.t These 
 were youthful follies. As he advanced in life he became 
 an indefatigable student, and, in the judgment of Secretary 
 Cecil, himself one of the most laborious men of his age, 
 could toil terribly when he was busy.” Not content 
 
 * Naunton, Fragmenta Regalia, p. 109. 
 
 f Aubrey MS. Raleigh’s Works, vol. viii. p. 740. 
 
 z 
 
370 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement 
 
 with his reading on shore, he carried with him a col- 
 lection of books on his voyages, and strictly economized 
 his time. His love of science and experiment was so 
 ardent, that his chemical pursuits and his study of natural 
 history were enthusiastically pursued at sea. What- 
 ever corner of the world he sought, his curiosity was 
 active, and his observation unremitting. In his last fatal 
 voyage, when broken by disease and disappointment, his 
 Manuscript Journal, which is preserved in the British 
 Museum, shows the same unwearied love of science. He 
 goes ashore with his Indian guide, “ to discover the trees 
 which yield balsamum, of which he had found a nut 
 smelling like angelica, and exceeding pretious and on 
 one of its blank leaves he has sketched a representation 
 of some of the fruits of the country. Shortly before 
 his death, in one of his conversations with Sir Thomas 
 Wilson in the Tower, he alludes to a machine which he 
 had invented for turning sea water into fresh ; and even 
 in those melancholy hours he took pleasure in explain- 
 ing to him a theory he had formed to account for the 
 saltness of the ocean. His knowledge of chemistry and 
 medicine seems to have led him into that unhappy prac- 
 tice of almost daily drugging himself, which is so common 
 a weakness amongst literary and sedentary men. In his 
 letters to his wife from the Tower, he asks her in the 
 same sentence, to send him his manuscripts, and “his 
 powder of steel and dumex, with some more bitony.” 
 He was fond of music, and it seems to have been an 
 hereditary taste in his family, for his brother. Sir Carew 
 Raleigh, performed delicately on the olpharion, an in- 
 strument probably similar to the lute ; and his grand- 
 nephews, Walter and Tom, had delicate tunable voices, 
 and played well on the violin.* In the productions of 
 the sister art of painting he took much delight, carrying 
 his favourite pictures with him even on his voyages, and 
 extending his patronage to the best artists of his time, by 
 sitting to them himself, and employing them to paint his 
 
 Aubrey, Raleigh’s Works, vol. viii. p. 737. 
 
IN THE TOWER TO HIS EXECUTION. 371 
 
 wife and children.* * * § He was fond also of antiquarian 
 studies, + a purchaser of ancient records and rare charts, 
 and not only prided himself upon the rich inlaid coat of 
 silver mail which he wore on gala days, but had collected 
 .a fine armoury. ;{: In architecture his taste was sump- 
 
 tuous. Durham House, where he lived during his great- 
 ness, is described by Aubrey as a noble palace ; yet he 
 left the spacious apartments to his famil}^, and for him- 
 self preferred a small library which enjoyed an extensive 
 view over the river. ‘‘ I well remember his study,” says 
 this amusing and garrulous author ; “ which was on a 
 little turret that looked into and over the Thames, and 
 had the prospect, which is pleasant perhaps as any in the 
 world, and which not only refreshes the eyesight, but 
 cheers the spirits.” In his best time there was an air of 
 dignity and command about him, an awfnlness and 
 ascendency,” as it is well expressed by Aubrey, above 
 other mortals,” which was displeasing to many, and par- 
 ticularly to the king ; yet by his sailors and ships’ crews, 
 as we learn from Cecil, he was wonderfully beloved. 
 The interior of his palace was magnificent, his taste in 
 furniture being marked by the same love of splendour 
 which appeared in his dress. He delighted in richly- 
 carved panels, in antique chimney pieces, in decorating 
 the walls and ceilings of his apartments with his armorial 
 bearings, in beds with green silk hangings, and legs like 
 dolphins, overlaid with gold. His splendid dress, his 
 shoes and doublet studded with precious stones, have 
 been already described. § Perhaps he indulged in it to a 
 weakness ; but it was an age of magnificence, and it is to 
 be remembered that this wealth in jewels was in Raleigh 
 the result, not of/ extravagance, but of the rich prizes 
 which he had taken from the Spaniards. He glittered 
 with the spoils of the New World ; but his jewels were 
 the insignia of his skill and bravery, the fruits not of 
 purchase but of honourable conquest. 
 
 * See Note on the Portrait of Raleigh engraved for this W ork. 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 t Oldys, p. 317. t Raleigh’s Ghost, p. 10. Oldys, p. 321. 
 
 § Supra, p. 201. 
 
372 FROM Raleigh’s first confinement, &c. 
 
 It is the privilege of great men to reflect an importance 
 and interest upon the history of their descendants, and 
 the mind feels a pleasing curiosity in the inquiry how 
 much or how little of the father’s genius has been trans- 
 mitted to his children. But in the present case we are 
 staid on the very threshold of the question. The fiery 
 and ambitious spirit of Raleigh’s early years is discernible 
 in his eldest son, Walter ; hut it was suddenly extin- 
 guished in this brave youth, who fell at Santa Thome, 
 in his twenty-third year. Of Carew Raleigh, his only 
 surviving son, the character seems to have been moulded 
 by the melancholy circumstances under which he grew 
 up. Born in the Tower, he opened his eyes only to 
 see his father a prisoner ; his boyhood was clouded by 
 the melancholy circumstances under which that father’s 
 life was cruelly cut off. When introduced at court his 
 likeness to Raleigh awoke a pang of remorse in the 
 bosom of the monarch, and James, turning away from 
 him, observed, that he looked like his father’s ghost.” 
 Warned by this, Carew took the advice of his kinsman, 
 the Earl of Pembroke, and retired to the Continent till 
 the beginning of a new reign. On his return, after this 
 event, he petitioned parliament for his restoration in 
 blood, upon which the king informed him that when 
 Prince of Wales, he had pledged his word to secure 
 Sherborne to the Earl of Bristol against the heirs of Sir 
 Walter Raleigh, and that having received, in consequence 
 of this stipulation, ten thousand pounds from that noble- 
 man, he must adhere to his engagement. “ The first 
 step, therefore,” said Charles, “ to your restoration, must 
 be your renouncing all title to your father’s property.” 
 Against this cruel and unjust condition, Carew strongly 
 remonstrated ; but the sovereign resolutely refused to 
 pass the bill unless it was fulfilled ; and young Raleigh, 
 who was promised promotion at court, purchased the 
 reversal of his attainder at the price of the estate of Sher- 
 borne, which was settled on the earl just mentioned, and 
 yet remains in the possession of his descendants. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 A. Raleigh’s Account of Guiana defended — B. Club at the Mermaid— 
 C. Raleigh’s alleged Attempt to stab himself — D. Hume’s Errors in his 
 Account of Raleigh— E. Cecil’s Enmity to Raleigh— F. Raleigh’s Plot 
 — Its Origin and Secret History — G. Errors of Mr D’Israeli — H. Raleigh 
 and the French Agent — Extracts from the Manuscripts in the State-paper 
 Office — I. Raleigh in the Tower — His Unpublished Manuscripts — Hamp- 
 den — K. Inventory of Raleigh’s Jewels ahd Trinkets, from State-paper 
 Office— L. Portrait of Raleigh. 
 
 A. — Page 134 — 145. 
 
 Raleigh'* s Account of Guiana defended, 
 
 Hume has attacked Raleigh’s Account of Guiana in a manner 
 which evinces clearly that, with his constitutional indolence, 
 he had scarcely dipped into it. He accuses him of having 
 published an account of the country, on his return from his 
 expedition up the Orinoco, ‘‘full of the grossest and most 
 palpable lies that were ever attempted to be imposed on the 
 credulity of mankind.” For this sentence he quotes the respect- 
 able authority of Camden ; but in turning to that writer (Life 
 and Reign of Elizabeth, in Rennet, vol. ii. p. 584), the reader 
 will be surprised to find how completely the historian has mis- 
 taken, or, through carelessness, perverted his meaning. The 
 passage in Camden, relative to Raleigh’s account of Guiana, is 
 this : — “ He that would know more of this expedition may con- 
 sult an ingenious book of his relating to it ; wherein he gives 
 a most accurate description of the countries, as if he had been 
 born and bred there ; and concludes that Guiana must needs 
 be a wealthy country, not only from the beautiful marcasites 
 found there, but from the writings of the Spaniards, and upon 
 the credit and report of the barbarians ; of whom yet he could 
 but have little knowledge ; but, indeed, chiefly from the san- 
 guine complexion of his own hopes and desires. He likewise 
 relates some things which appear fabulous enough, viz. of the 
 Amazons, and a certain nation of people whose shoulders are 
 so high that their face is placed in their breast ; a secret which 
 poets and travellers had never before discovered.” 
 
374 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The reader will at once perceive the difference between the 
 careful and candid observations of Camden, — in which he cer- 
 tainly reflects upon the two sanguine and credulous tempera- 
 ment of Raleigh, — and the sweeping and coarse accusation of 
 Hume, who ascribes to him a premeditated plan of imposition 
 and falsehood. Within the limits of a short note, it is im- 
 possible to analyze Raleigh’s account of Guiana ; but any one 
 who will peruse it with common attention, will be satisfied of 
 the extreme injustice and the unfounded aspersions now alluded 
 to. Raleigh takes the utmost pains to state what he saw with 
 his own eyes, what he was told by the Spaniards or by the 
 natives of the country, and what he inferred of the great riches 
 of Guiana from their accounts compared with his own obser- 
 vations. The truth seems to have been, that Hume, glancing 
 over this “ Account of the Discovery of Guiana” with the same 
 indolent rapidity which has elsewhere led him into material 
 errors, found stories of the Amazons, of a nation called Ewai- 
 pona, whose heads appear not above their shoulders, and who 
 are reported to have their eyes placed there ; of a cacique, 
 who he was informed had had buried with him a chair of gold 
 most curiously wrought, and of the wonderful city of Manoa, 
 and its astonishing riches and extent; and finding all this, 
 which is related by Raleigh from the Spanish historians and 
 the narratives of the natives, he was little careful to examine 
 farther, and at once threw aside the book as a tissue of lies and 
 imposture. It is extraordinary that this historian, who is often 
 so acute, and so fair in weighing the conduct and appreciating 
 the motives of other men, should appear to see every thing re- 
 garding Raleigh through a false and distorting medium, — that 
 he should not have asked himself the question. What possible 
 object could this able man have gained by losing his fortune, 
 his health, and latterly his life, in attempting the discovery 
 and conquest of Guiana, had he not believed in the picture 
 which he has drawn of it, and the riches which it would bring 
 to himself and to his country ? But upon this subject the 
 reader is referred to the observations already made in the text, 
 pp. 132, 134, and to another article of this Appendix, D. 
 
 B. — Page 173 . 
 
 Club at the Mermaid, 
 
 In Gifford’s Life of Jonson,pp. 65, 66, is this passage, — Sir 
 Walter Raleigh, previously to his unfortunate engagement with 
 the wretched Cobham and others, had instituted a meeting of 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 375 
 
 at the Mermaid, a celebrated tavern in Friday Street. 
 Of this club, which combined more talent and genius perhaps 
 than ever met together, before or since, our author [Jonson] 
 was a member ; and here for many years he regularly repaired 
 with Shakspeare, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Cotton, Carew, 
 Martin, Donne, and many others, whose names, even at this dis- 
 tant period, call up a mingled feeling of reverence and respect. 
 Here, in the full flow and confidence of friendship, the lively and 
 interesting ‘ wit-combats’ took place between Shakspeare and 
 our author ; and hither, in probable allusion to them, Beaumont 
 fondly lets his thoughts wander, in his letter to Jonson from the 
 country, — 
 
 “ What things have we seen 
 
 Done at the Mermaid! heard words that have been 
 So nimble, and so full of subtle flame, 
 
 As if that every one from whom they came 
 Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest.” 
 
 In a tract, by Thomas IMiddleton, quoted by Mr Collier in 
 his History of English Dramatic Poetry, and entitled the Ant 
 and the Nightingale, we have this description of a court-gal- 
 lant of those days (1604), in which we find that the Horn, the 
 Mitre, and the Mermaid, were the principal taverns in vogue; 
 — His eating must be in some famous tavern, the Horn, the 
 Mitre, or the Mermaid ; and then, after dinner, he must ven- 
 ture beyond sea, that is, in a choice pair of noblemen’s oars to 
 the Bank-side, where he must sit out the breaking up of a 
 comedy, or the first act of a tragedy.” 
 
 Mr Collier, in a note on this passage, informs us, that jMr 
 Thorpe, the enterprising bookseller of Bedford Street, is in pos- 
 session of a manuscript full of songs and poems, in the hand- 
 writing of a person of the name of Richard J ackson, all copied 
 prior to the year 1631, and including many unpublished pieces, 
 by a variety of celebrated poets. One of the most curious is a 
 song in five seven-line stanzas, which is thus headed, Shake- 
 speare’s Rime, which he made at the Mytre in Fleete Streete.” 
 It begins, 
 
 ‘‘ From the rich Lavinian shore 
 and a few of the lines were published by Playford, and set as 
 a catch. Another shorter piece is called, in the margin, 
 
 Shakespeare's Rime. 
 
 “ Give me a cup of rich Canary wine, 
 
 Which was the Mitre’s {drinks), and now is mine. 
 
 Of which had Horace and Anacreon tasted, 
 
 Their lives, as well as lines, ’tiU now had lasted.” 
 
376 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I have little doubt/’ adds Mr Collier, that the lines are 
 genuine, as well as many other songs and poems attributed to 
 Ben Jonson, Sir W. Raleigh, H. Constable, Dr Donne, J. 
 Sylvester, and others.” If, however, the rest of the poems are 
 not more genuine than these lines attributed to Shakspeare, it 
 says little for them, — for the lines are Jonson’s, which Mr 
 Collier will discover, if he turns to his Works, vol. viii. p. 213, 
 with this difference, that Ben writes “Mermaid,” for which 
 Mr Thorpe’s MS. substitutes “Mitre.” 
 
 “ But that -which most doth take my Muse and me. 
 
 Is a pure cup of rich Canary -wine, 
 
 Which is the Mermaid’s now — but shall be mine : 
 
 Of which had Horace or Anacreon tasted, 
 
 Their lives, as do their lines, till now had lasted.” 
 
 C.— Page 229. 
 
 Raleigh'* s alleged Attempt to stab Himself. 
 
 Had Raleigh really attempted to kill himself in the Tower, 
 it seems to me impossible that Coke, who, at the trial, travel- 
 led out of his way to load him with every species of vituperation, 
 and even exaggerated and invented subjects of attack, should 
 have passed over altogether a topic which might have afforded 
 him, not only a point of censure, but a presumption of guilt. A 
 strong corroboration of this view is to be found in Wilson’s 
 Notes in the State-paper Office, where this person repeatedly 
 relates the conversations and arguments which he had with Ra- 
 leigh upon the subject of Roman deaths, and yet makes not the 
 slightest allusion to his attempt to stab himself in the Tower- 
 But whilst, from such omissions by Coke and Wilson, there 
 is a presumption against the truth of the story, in the strong 
 sense in which it has been represented by Cecil, and taken up 
 by Cayley and Mrs Thomson, — the direct evidence in Cecil’s 
 letter to Sir Thomas Parry (Cayley, vol. ii. p. 9), in his Diary, 
 preserved in the Hatfield Collection, and in the letter of the 
 lieutenant of the Tower, given in Mrs Thomson’s Appendix 
 (p. 488), is too decided to allow us to doubt that Raleigh in a 
 moment of passionate irritation had inflicted on himself a slight 
 wound. The whole matter is obscure, and it is unfortunate 
 that we have no account of it, except from the secretary, who, 
 to use the words of an impartial and honest judge. Sir John 
 Harrington,* “ bore no love to Raleigh.”'!* — This note was 
 
 * Mrs Thomson’s Life, p. 234. 
 
 t In a letter from Sir Toby Matthews’ Collection, published 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 377 
 
 written previous to the publication of a late interesting book, 
 Bishop Goodman’s Memoirs of his own Time. Its learned 
 editor, Mr Brewer, has enriched the Appendix with many ori- 
 ginal letters, amongst which we find an affecting letter addressed 
 by Raleigh to his wife, immediately after he had given himself 
 the wound in the Tower. 
 
 D.— Page 250—294. 
 
 Hume's Errors in his Account of Raleigh, 
 
 There are few men whose character has been more mis- 
 represented than Sir Walter Raleigh ; and this too both in his 
 own time and by some modern writers. That he should have 
 been exposed to calumny during his life is by no means sur- 
 prising. A man who like him mingled in the politics of the 
 long and eventful reign of Elizabeth ; who held high oflfices 
 and was opposed by powerful rivals for the favour of his sove- 
 reign, must have been fortunate indeed had he escaped mis- 
 construction. The attacks upon his memory by more modern 
 writers are as easily accounted for. They have arisen out of the 
 haste and superficiality with which a great portion of the modern 
 history of England has been written. Had those writers who 
 have spoken with such decision against him first investigated 
 his life with due care and impartiality ; had they studied his 
 actions or consulted his works, they would have been convinced 
 of their misapprehension ; but it is rare to meet with any one 
 who will take the trouble to arrive at the truth upon points 
 which require research ; and yet without this, what is all his- 
 tory and biography but a mass of elegant error ? 
 
 Hume, as his authority is the highest, is entitled to the first 
 place amongst the modern detractors of Raleigh. The beset- 
 ting sin of this delightful historian was indolence, and in the 
 instance before us it has conducted him into an extraordinary 
 tissue of blunders. He has unhesitatingly pronounced Raleigh 
 guilty of the treason laid to his charge in 1603; and yet it 
 will scarcely be believed, that so slightly has he examined the 
 subject, that he confounds two things which were perfectly 
 distinct, namely, the plot of Brooke, Markham, Grey, and the 
 priests, called the Bye” or Surprising Treason, with the al- 
 leged conspiracy of Cobham and Raleigh, called the Main.” 
 For the first, the Bye,” Raleigh was not tried. Had Hume 
 read Coke’s speeches, or Cecil’s letters, or Markham’s confes- 
 
 by Mr Jardine (Crim. Trials, p. 464), the writer refers to ‘‘ the 
 guilty blow he gave himself in the Tower.” 
 
378 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 sion, and those of the other conspirators in the Bye,” he 
 must have found that Raleigh was not accused of being par- 
 ticipant, or even in the knowledge of it ; and yet in the con- 
 fused account given by this historian (who proposes, as he ex- 
 presses it, to clear up the story of Sir Walter Raleigh, hitherto 
 much misunderstood) the two plots are amalgamated into one, 
 which is denominated Raleigh’s Conspiracy. I need hardly 
 say that this error vitiates the whole narrative. Speaking of 
 Watson, Clarke, Brooke, Markham, Lord Grey, and Raleigh, 
 as fellow-conspirators^ this author exclaims, — ‘‘ What cement 
 could unite men of such discordant principles in so dangerous 
 a combination ; what end they proposed, or what means pro- 
 portioned to an undertaking of this nature, has never yet been 
 explained.” So far as regarded Raleigh it need not be ex- 
 plained ; for between him and them there was no combination. 
 
 Hume commits another error in stating that the object of 
 the conspiracy was the placing of Arabella Stewart on the 
 throne, — yet any one who will study in authentic documents 
 the history of the Bye,” will find that Watson, Clarke, and 
 their associates, were not accused of an intention to set up 
 Arabella, but simply of a design to surprise the king. The 
 contemporary letters of Sir Robert Cecil, and Sir Dudley Carle- 
 ton, prove this beyond all doubt. Again, it is stated by the 
 historian, that it appears from Sully ’s Memoirs that Raleigh 
 secretly offered his services to the French ambassador ; and we 
 may thence presume, that, meeting with a repulse from that 
 quarter, he had recourse for the same unwarrantable purposes 
 to the Flemish minister.” Here again is a series of very pal- 
 pable misstatements. On consulting Sully it will be found 
 that Raleigh made no proposals, warrantable or unwarrantable, 
 to the French minister. Of course he could not meet with a 
 repulse ; and had he afterwards submitted any proposals to the 
 Flemish minister (he means Aremberg, the envoy of the arch- 
 duke), they could not possibly have been for the same” pur- 
 poses as those submitted to France ; for the interests of the 
 two courts were opposed to each other, — Aremberg being in- 
 terested to further a peace with Spain, and the flench minister 
 to procure an offensive league between his own court and Eng- 
 land against that power. The passage in Sully, which Hume 
 had probably only cursorily glanced at, occurs in his Memoirs 
 (vol. ii. p. 200, 4 to edition), where he merely states, that the 
 information which he had received from Cobham and Raleigh 
 confirmed him in the idea that Spain at* this time meditated 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 379 
 
 some great design against France, for the furtherance of which 
 Aremberg, the Austrian ambassador, was charged to excite, 
 in the mind of the King of England, a suspicion of the sincerity 
 of Henry IV. and his ambassador Sully. At the moment 
 when this able minister of Henry visited England, it was his 
 object to collect from every quarter information relative to the 
 mutual political interests of England, Spain, and the Nether- 
 lands. Cecil, Northumberland, Cobham, Raleigh, and many 
 others, in the course of the conversations which they held with 
 him, contributed their share ; but in the Memoirs there is not 
 an atom of evidence to show that Raleigh made any treasonable 
 or unwarrantable proposals to Sully. 
 
 Having connected Raleigh with a conspiracy of which he 
 was not accused, and declared that the confession of the pris- 
 oners left no doubt of their guilt, Hume proceeds, with some 
 inconsistency, to observe, that at his trial no circumstance was 
 proved sufficient to justify his condemnation, and that he was 
 found guilty contrary to all law and equity. Again, Raleigh 
 is represented by Hume as at the time of his trial, 1603, “ ex- 
 tremely odious in England” (p. 551) ; and afterwards (p. 571), 
 as of so violent and haughty a temper,” when he was first 
 confined in the Tower, as rendered him the most unpopular 
 man in England,” his condemnation being ^‘chiefly owing to 
 that public odium under which he laboured.” Nothing can be 
 more loose or inaccurate than this last statement. Instead of 
 being the most unpopular man in England at the time of his 
 confinement in the Tower, the conduct of Raleigh on his trial 
 had worked an immediate and remarkable change in his fa- 
 vour. Never,” says Sir Dudley Carleton, who was present 
 at the trial, was man so hated and so popular in so short a 
 time.”* Another of the spectators declared, as we know from 
 this same person, “ that whereas when he saw him [Raleigh] 
 first he was so led with the common hatred, that he would have 
 gone a hundred miles to have seen him hanged, he would, ere 
 he parted, have gone a thousand to have saved his life.”t 
 That the share he had in accomplishing the downfal of Essex, 
 the favourite of the people, procured him much odium at the 
 time, cannot be doubted ; but the violent and haughty temper 
 ascribed by Hume, in common with other writers, to Raleigh, 
 seems to me to be much exaggerated. He did not perhaps court 
 popularity, the great failing of Essex ; and it is quite possible 
 
 Cayley, vol. ii. p. 66. 
 
 t Ibid. 
 
380 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 that he rather despised it, — giving the people occasion to pro- 
 nounce him proud ; but as to violence or haughtiness it is cer- 
 tainly remarkable, that even the authors who ascribe to him this 
 disposition, on those occasions where we might have expected 
 that it would have made its appearance agree in painting him 
 as remarkably patient and temperate. Thus Hume declares, 
 that when Coke poured all sort of abuse upon him, calling him 
 traitor, monster, viper, and spider of hell, he defended him- 
 self with temper^ eloquence, and courage.”* On the Fayal 
 Expedition, or Island Voyage, when the violence of Essex, in 
 putting Raleigh’s officers under arrest, and accusing him of a 
 breach of orders, might have betrayed a proud or violent man 
 into some heat, we find Raleigh overcoming the earl by the 
 temperate and judicious nature of his defence. After his last 
 fatal expedition, when brought before the Commissioners in the 
 Tower, and overwhelmed with accusations of the most injurious 
 description, the eloquence with which he defended himself was 
 not more worthy of praise than his moderation and temper. f 
 Lastly, in that last melancholy interval between his examina- 
 tion and execution, when he was separated from his wife and 
 family, shut up in the Tower, bowed to the earth by sickness 
 and hope deferred, and strictly watched by eyes sharpened by 
 malignity and eager to seize on every fault or weakness, it is 
 certainly remarkable (and seems to me decisive upon the point) 
 that we find no one instance of pride or passion recorded. On 
 the contrary, the perusal of the Notes and Minutes of Sir 
 Thomas Wilson justifies completely the assertion, that cool- 
 ness, temper, and a self-possession, which this person denomi- 
 nates wariness and cunning, were, at this period at least, very 
 striking features in the disposition of his prisoner. 
 
 I had intended to proceed from this to point out the errors 
 committed by the same historian in his account of Raleigh’s 
 last expedition, where hastily adopting data, the fallacy of 
 which a little care would have detected, and neglecting other 
 sources which, before he formed his judgment, ought to have 
 been consulted, he has pronounced upon Raleigh’s conduct 
 and character an opinion widely at variance with the facts. 
 The limits, however, to which I must confine this Appendix, 
 render this impossible at present ; and I will only remark, that 
 an anxiety to tell the story favourably for James and to com- 
 municate an exaggerated picture of the faults and failures of 
 
 * Hume, History of England, p. 551. 
 t Jardine’s Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 488. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 381 
 
 Raleigh, seems to run through the whole narrative. The 
 motives by which he was actuated, the manner in which he 
 proceeded, the facts as to the existence of the mine, the con- 
 duct of his fellow-adventurers, the policy of Gondomar, and 
 the behaviour of Raleigh on the scaffold, are all so garbled, 
 suppressed, or distorted, that were the reader to form his opin- 
 ion from the pages of this historian, he would not make even 
 an approximation to the truth. I may observe, that Rapin 
 and Carte have both committed the same mistake as Hume, in 
 mixing up together the conspiracy of the Priests, and the al- 
 leged plot of Cobham and Raleigh. 
 
 E. — Page 253. 
 
 Cecil's Enmity to Raleigh, 
 
 The curious and interesting little volume, published by Lord 
 Hailes, entitled the Secret Correspondence of Sir Robert Cecil 
 with James VI. of Scotland, establishes the point of Cecil’s 
 enmity to Raleigh on satisfactory evidence. Referring generally 
 to the correspondence, we may quote a few passages in support 
 of this. In the third letter from Lord Henry Howard to Mr 
 Edward Bruce, King James’s confidential agent in the manage- 
 ment of the correspondence with Cecil, there is this sentence, — 
 
 You must persuade the king, in his next despatch, to direct 
 you to thank Cecil, in the letter which you write to me, for the 
 light he receives of Cobham and Raleigh by this advertisement ; 
 and if it please his Majesty to speak of them suitably to the 
 concert which Cecil holds, it will be better ; for Cecil sware to 
 me this day, that Duo Erinacii, that is, he and they, would 
 never live under one apple-tree,"* Again, in the same letter, 
 Howard, Cecil’s agent, thus speaks of Raleigh, — “ You must 
 remember also that I gave you notice of the diabolical triplicity, 
 that is, Cobham, Raleigh, and Northumberland, that met every 
 day at Durham House, where Raleigh lies in consultation, 
 which awaked aU the best wits of the town, out of suspicions 
 of sundry kinds, to watch what chickens they could hatch 
 out of these cockatrice-eggs, that were daily and nightly sitten 
 on.”-|- Again, in p. 88, Howard describes Cobham and Ra- 
 leigh as those “ who hover in the air for an advantage, as kites 
 do for carrion and in p. 126, there is a sentence, in which, 
 by the direction of Cecil (for Howard represents himself as 
 nothing more than his agent in managing this correspondence, 
 
 * Hailes’s Secret Correspondence, p. 52. f Ibid. p. 29. 
 
382 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 see p. 19), the king is instructed to look upon Raleigh as the 
 person who would willingly give the stab to James’s hope of 
 succession. Of this procedure it is probable that Raleigh was 
 not then aware, and it affords a mortifying picture of the dupli- 
 city and hollowness of Cecil’s character. Thus, as late as 
 September 6, 1600, we have, in the Sidney Letters (ii. 210, 
 212, 214), this curious passage, proving that Cecil’s son was 
 brought up at Sherborne under the care of Raleigh, and that 
 the secretary, when he could steal a moment from his public 
 duties, made a party with Lord Cobham to take a journey there 
 and enjoy himself at Raleigh’s country-seat. Mr Secretary 
 hath picked out this time to be away, and to take some pleasure 
 abroad, from the infinite pains and care he takes in the despatch 
 of her Majesty’s service when he is at court. It is said he is 
 gone with my Lord Cobham to see Sir Walter Raleigh at 
 Sherborne, where young Mr Cecil, his son, is brought up.” 
 Nay, it can be proved from a minute circumstance, of no value 
 otherwise than as affording a link in the evidence which settles 
 this question, that, at the very time the secretary was secretly 
 representing Raleigh in the worst light to James, he was living 
 with Sir Walter on terms of the kindest intimacy. Early in 
 the year 1602, Mr Boyle, afterwards the celebrated Earl of 
 Cork, came over to England with the intention of purchasing 
 Sir Walter Raleigh’s large Irish estate. He brought with him 
 letters of introduction from Sir George Carew to the chief men 
 about court ; and one of these was a letter to Secretary Cecil, 
 requesting this minister to introduce Boyle to Raleigh, and to 
 recommend him to Sir Walter as a proper purchaser of his lands. 
 Cecil did so accordingly, and managed the sale for Raleigh.* 
 This was early in the year 1602, probably in May or June, 
 and let the reader remark in what terms at this same time 
 Lord Henry Howard, Cecil’s agent, writing under the instruc- 
 tions of his master, speaks of Raleigh and Cobham, the latter 
 being the secretary’s brother-in-law, and Raleigh the friend to 
 whom he had intrusted the charge of his son ; Your lordship 
 may believe, that hell did never spew up such a couple [Raleigh 
 and Cobham] when it cast up Cerberus and Phlegethon. They 
 are now set on the pin of making tragedies, by meddling in 
 your affairs. * * For my lord -admiral, the other day, wished 
 from his soul, that he had but the same commission to carry 
 the cannon to Durham House [Raleigh’s residence] that he had 
 
 Oldys’s Life, p. 358. Cayley, vol. i. p. 320. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 383 
 
 this time twelvemonth to carry it to Essex House, to prove 
 what sport he could make in that fellowship.”* 
 
 F Page 257—266. 
 
 Raleigh's Plot — Its Origin and Secret History. 
 
 In addition to the observations made in the text (p. 249-253), 
 I am now able, in consequence of some further researches, 
 to throw a clearer light upon this alleged conspiracy, which 
 has, by all former historians and biographers, been pronounced 
 so obscure as to be perfectly inexplicable. *|* This is chiefly 
 derived from a remarkable letter published, I believe for the 
 first time, in the Oxford edition of the Works of Raleigh, to 
 which no attention has been paid, and upon which no observa- 
 tions have been made by its anonymous editor. The circum- 
 stance is by no means extraordinary, as the letter is without 
 date, without signature, and without address ; written in a 
 dark enigmatical style, with initials sometimes used instead of 
 names, and altogether so obscure, that unless studied with 
 reference to a particular line of research, and with a minute 
 attention to the state of the parties and intrigues of the court 
 of Elizabeth immediately previous to the death of the queen 
 and the accession of James, it is quite impossible to make any 
 thing out of it. The editor states that it is taken from the 
 Burleigh Papers, and was probably written by Lord Henry 
 Howard to Secretary Cecil. The conjecture was superfluous, 
 for the letter itself contains distinct internal evidence that this 
 was the case, — the writer styling the Duke of Norfolk, who 
 was executed by Elizabeth for his intrigues with Queen Mary, 
 his brother^" a designation which could come from no one 
 but Lord Henry Howard. J That it was addressed to Secretary 
 Cecil is not absolutely certain, but nearly so, if we consider 
 
 * Cecil’s Secret Correspondence, pp. 132, 133. 
 t “ The conspiracy,” says Cayley (vol. ii. p. 5), ‘‘ to which I 
 allude, is a riddle of state, which has never been solved, and the 
 speculations that have been formed on it would fill a moderate 
 volume. Our own writers afibrd us little satisfaction on the 
 subject ; while the account of it given by Thuanus is founded 
 on the gross misrepresentations of his countryman, Victor Cayet, 
 and is truly unworthy of a place in his history.” “ Every thing,” 
 says Hume, “ remains still mysterious in this conspiracy, and 
 history can give us no clue to unravel it.” 
 
 X The Earl of Surrey left only two sons, the Duke of Norfolk 
 and Lord Henry Howard. 
 
384 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the deep confidential intimacy which subsisted between Howard 
 and that statesman, — the circumstance that the letter was found 
 amongst the Burleigh Papers, — and the fact, completely estab- 
 lished by other evidence, that Howard and Cecil were the 
 chief instruments in the downfal of Raleigh and Cobham.* * 
 Keeping these circumstahces in mind, let us come to the let- 
 ter, which, as it is very long, I regret I cannot give entire. 
 The reader will find it in the 8th vol. of the Oxford edition of 
 Raleigh’s Works, p. 756. As already observed it is without 
 date ; but it must have been written shortly before the death 
 of Elizabeth. All these, however, are minor matters in com- 
 parison with the singular fact, that it contains an exact out- 
 line of the plan afterwards put in execution for the destruction 
 of Cobham and Raleigh, by entrapping them in a charge of 
 treason. We have in the first place this sentence : — The 
 way that Cobham hath elected to endear himself is by peace 
 with Spain ; which hath so many difficulties, as will rather 
 
 * The two great supporters of James’s government at the 
 period of his accession were Lord Henry Howard and Secretary 
 Cecil. Of these statesmen Wilson (see Kennet, vol. ii. p. 680) 
 thus speaks : — This man (Secretary Cecil) the king found 
 secretary and master of the wards, and to these he added the 
 treasurer’s staff, knowing him to be the staff of his treasury. 
 
 * * The Earl of Northampton he made lord privy seal ; and 
 these were the two prime wheels of his triumphant chariot. 
 The Earl of Suffolk was made lord chamberlain before ; but he 
 came far behind in the management of the king’s affairs, being 
 a spirit of a more grosser temper. * * Upon the shoulders of 
 the two first the king laid the burthen of his business.” Now 
 we know from Raleigh himself that the three men who set 
 themselves against him, and to whom he traced his ruin, were 
 Northampton (Lord Henry Howard), Salisbury (Cecil), and 
 Suffolk. The letter could only, from its confidential nature, be 
 written either to Cecil or Suffolk ; but whether to the one or to 
 the other is not very material, — ^inasmuch as a confidential com- 
 munication, addressed to one member of a plot, may be looked 
 on without injustice as addressed to all. In one part Howard 
 advises the person to whom he addresses himself, to “ hold back 
 correspondences with neighbour states.’’^ Could this have been 
 done by any one but the secretary of state, who manages these 
 correspondences ? whereas Suffolk’s office of chamberlain had 
 nothing to do with them. With regard to the date of the letter 
 I am inclined to believe, from a passage which occurs in it 
 relative to the correspondence of Cobham and Raleigh with 
 Scotland, that it was written in May 1602. It is indeed true 
 that Howard, in the letter, speaks of ‘‘ the Secretary ” in the 
 third person ; but this was probably a blind. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 385 
 
 confound his dizziness than reward his industry. But as my 
 lord of Leicester dealt with my brother, finding his humour 
 apt to deal with Scotland, when he thrust him into a treaty 
 about those affairs, assuring himself, that either he should lose 
 the Q. [queen] for the present, or the other Q. for the future; 
 so must you embark this y allant Cobham^ by your wit or interest, 
 in some course of the Spanish way, as either may reveal his 
 weakness or snare his ambition.'*'' The practice of Leicester 
 with the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Henry Howard’s brother, 
 and the subsequent ruin of that noble person, are matters of 
 familiar history ; and we see that Howard here recommends 
 Cecil in like manner to inveigle Cobham into some intrigue 
 with Spain, by which his ambition might be ensnared, and not 
 only his ruin but that of his friend Raleigh effected ; for it is 
 to be observed, that throughout the letter, alth’ough Cobham 
 is frequently spoken of in the singular number, as the person 
 to be worked upon, yet it is always, that it may bring about 
 the'xr ruin; that is, as the letter most fully shows, the ruin of 
 him and Raleigh. The reader need not be told how completely 
 this sentence sketches out the very plan which was adopted. 
 Cobham was induced to engage in an intrigue with .'•pain ; in 
 that intrigue his enemies attempted to involve Raleigh, and 
 they thus accomplished the ruin of both. But this is only the 
 plot in its infancy or most general form. The particular mode 
 in which such a project may be executed is next pointed out by 
 Lord Henry. ‘^Be not unwilling,” says he, to engage him 
 [Cobham] in the trafficke w'lth suspected ministers, and upon 
 the first occasion of false treaty to make him the minister.”* 
 How completely this was followed may be seen in the trial. 
 Cobham did engage in a traffic, or secret correspondence with 
 Aremberg, the minister of the archduke, who was in the interest 
 of Spain, and so much suspected, that Coke at the trial did not 
 scruple to affirm he had evidence enough to convict this foreign 
 ambassador of treason ;t and it was out of this secret corre- 
 spondence that his enemies spun the net which ultimately caught 
 both Cobham and Raleigh, /ifter this, Howard proceeds, in 
 his lengthy and obscure style, to give many advices, and re- 
 commends extreme measures to be pursued against Cobham 
 and Raleigh. Follow them not. * * The best course 
 
 were, in all respects, to be rid of them. * * * It is better 
 
 to crush their edges than to neglect jeopardy. * * * The 
 
 * Raleigh’s Works, vol. viii. p. 759. f Jardine’s Trials, p. 397. 
 
 2 A 
 
386 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 means to cut them off must be either occasional or violent. 
 * * In all occasions, both public and private, it were good 
 
 to gain the start ; and cut down the thorn before the time come 
 wherein it can make account to take hold of you.”* That 
 this advice was also scrupulously pursued, the reader need not 
 be told. There follows a very singular passage, too long to be 
 extracted, in which Howard draws a parallel between Cobham 
 and Raleigh. It is clever and amusing but the important 
 fact to be derived from it is, that Raleigh, in his political 
 opinions, with regard to peace with Spain, and other public 
 measures, was directly opposed to Cobham ; a circumstance 
 resting on most unsuspected evidence, since it comes from his 
 bitter enemy, — and wholly subversive of the theory attempted 
 to be made out in his trial, that he and this nobleman were 
 embarked in the same treasonable intercourse with Spain. 
 
 So far all is clear and certain ; and no one who reads these 
 passages, and compares them with the course afterwards pur- 
 sued by Howard and Cecil, will hesitate to confess, that the 
 plan here recommended was that afterwards followed. Some 
 of our historians have expressed their astonishment that the 
 conspiracy, which they have hastily and ignorantly denomi- 
 nated Raleigh’s Plot, should have broken out so suddenly after 
 the king’s accession. They wondered that it should have been 
 so rapidly concocted, and so speedily brought to light, almost 
 before the monarch was seated on his English throne. The 
 letter which we have just quoted explains the mystery. The 
 conspiracy was an invention of Howard’s, sketched out during 
 the lifetime of Elizabeth, and for which the materials were pre- 
 pared before the accession of J ames. The train was laid ; it 
 needed only the match to inflame it. 
 
 But a little research will enable us to proceed from this 
 general outline of their future operations, given by Lord Henry 
 Howard, to the particular mode in which Cobham was first in- 
 volved and Raleigh afterwards drawn in. Secretary Cecil had 
 married Elizabeth Brooke, a sister of Lord Cobham’s ; and 
 there was in the family another brother, George Brooke, an 
 ambiftous, unprincipled man, but possessed of considerable 
 talents, with a great passion for political intrigue. This George 
 Brooke had become engaged in the conspiracy of the Catholic 
 priests, Watson and Clarke, for the seizure of the king’s person, 
 
 * Raleigh’s Works, vol. \ui. pp. 7G4, 765, 768. 
 f Ibid. pp. 766, 767. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 387 
 
 which was denominated the Bye.” Brooke’s motive for 
 joining the conspiracy,” says Mr Jardine (Criminal Trials, p. 
 390), it is difficult to ascertain, though it would appear from 
 the statements of some of his confederates, as well as his own, 
 that he was actuated neither by religious nor political considera- 
 tions, but merely by a sordid view to his own aggrandizement.” 
 It appears to me extremely probable that Cecil, aware of the 
 intrigues of the Catholic priests, and the conspiracy which they 
 were hatching, engaged Brooke, his brother-in-law, to become 
 a party to their discontents, that he might discover and betray 
 their secrets. I state this only as a conjecture ; but there are 
 two circumstances upon which a presumption of its truth may 
 be founded. The first of these is Brooke’s declaration on the 
 scaffold as given by an eyewitness. Sir Dudley Carleton : — 
 
 He did somewhat extenuate his offences, both in the treasons 
 and in the course of his life, — naming these [the treasons] 
 rather errors than capital crimes, and his former faults sins, 
 but not so heinous as they were traduced, which he referred to 
 the God of truth and time to discover, and so left it, as if some- 
 what lay yet hid, which would one day appear for his justifi- 
 cation.'*'* I would ask, is this not very like the language of 
 one who felt he had been unfairly dealt with ; who wished to 
 avoid the disgraceful acknowledgment that he had submitted 
 to be employed as a spy and a base informer, yet repelled the 
 idea that he was a traitor, and left his justification to the God 
 of truth and to time ? But this is not all. We have the fol- 
 lowing remarkable letter, or rather fragment of a letter, from 
 Brooke to Cecil, which proves a very intimate interchange of 
 services on the part of his brother-in-law, and promises of 
 rewards from the Secretary. The allusion in the first sentence 
 is to Cecil’s deceased wife, Brooke’s sister ; — 
 
 a * ^ loved me, and whose memory you yet love, 
 
 beholding from heaven the extreme calamity of her father’s 
 house. Shall I need say any more after this? ’Tis all but 
 weak if I pray you to cancel injuries past, you have promised 
 to do so ; and I believe if I promise you any thing of myself, 
 you may truly say you need it not nor care for it : therefore 
 I must stand only upon your free disposition, and shall be so 
 much the more assured, because nothing binds you. Leave 
 now, I beseech your lordship, to be nice, — and sticke not to 
 dissever yourself in my relief. But above all give me leave to 
 conjure you to deal directly with me, what I am to eocpecty 
 
388 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 after so many promises received, and so much conformity and 
 accepted service performed on my part to you. Your lord- 
 ship’s brother-in-law to command, — G. Brooke.” 
 
 This letter is dated November 18, 1603, the day after 
 Raleigh’s trial, and four days before that of Brooke’s brother, 
 Lord Cobham.* It proves that Brooke had received many 
 promises of reward from Cecil, many directions with regard to 
 what the secretary wished him to do, — that he had conformed 
 his proceeding to these injunctions, — that his services had been 
 accepted and acknowledged by Cecil, — and that, after all, the 
 promises made to him had not been kept ; so that he found 
 himself indirectly dealt with, and knew not what he was to 
 expect. Does not this letter raise a strong presumption that 
 Brooke, whose motives for entering into the conspiracy are 
 proved to have been neither of a religious nor political nature, 
 was employed by Cecil as a spy upon his brother-conspirators ? 
 At all events, one fact is certain from the letter, — that, after 
 the conspiracy was discovered, Cecil had employed Brooke in 
 matters of a very secret and confidential nature, and that, having 
 performed the services required of him, Brooke expected from 
 Cecil the fulfilment of his promises. 
 
 The question next occurs. What were these services ? and 
 this will lead us on to the development of the plot against 
 Cobham and Raleigh. Having discovered the Treason of the 
 Priests, and found, either that Brooke was really an accomplice 
 in it, or that he had involved himself so far that he might be 
 treated as an accomplice, the next object of Howard and Cecil 
 seems to have been to prevail upon him to implicate his brother 
 and Raleigh by declaring that he was privy to the said treason. 
 How completely this was accomplished appears by an extract 
 from Brooke’s examination : — “ Being asked what was meant 
 by this jargon, the Bye and the Main ? he said, that the Lord 
 Cobham told him that Grey and others were but upon the Bye, 
 but he and Raleigh were upon the Main. Being asked what 
 exposition his brother made of these words ? he saith, he is 
 loath to repeat it ; and after saith, by the Main was meant the 
 taking away of the king and his issue ; and thinks, on his con- 
 science, it was infused into his brother’s head by Kaleigh.”t 
 
 * The original is in the State-paper Office, from which it 
 was published by Mrs Thomson in her Appendix to the Life of 
 Raleigh. 
 
 t Jardine’s Trials, p. 429. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 389 
 
 There is a letter in the State-paper Office from Sir William 
 W^aad to Cecil, dated August 3, IG03, in which the secretary’s 
 anxiety to connect Brooke, Cobham, and Raleigh, in the same 
 treason, is very apparent. Waad sends him information regard- 
 ing the examination of the parties in the Priests’ Treason^ and 
 says: — My Lord (irey is now confest. Sir Walter Rawley 
 was ordinarily thrice a-wetk with the Lord Cobham : what 
 their conferences were none but themselves do know. But Mr 
 Brooke confidently thinketh what his brother knows was known 
 to the other.''* 
 
 So far, then, all had succeeded. Brooke had been induced 
 to accuse his brother of being acquainted with the conspiracy 
 for the surprise of the king ; and Lord Cobham, who had been 
 intriguing with Aremberg, and engaging “ in the traffick with 
 suspected ministers,” found himself involved in a charge of 
 treason which might bring his head into jeopardy. Howard 
 and Cecil had thus a complete power over him ; and their next 
 step was to get Cobham to accuse and implicate Raleigh. Here, 
 however, they experienced more difficulty, from the weak, false, 
 and vacillating character of the one, and the talent and upright- 
 ness of the other. Mr Brooke, we see, had informed Cecil, 
 through Waad, that he confidently thought Raleigh knew all 
 that C'obham knew. But this was no evidence ; it became 
 necessary to extract proofs of Raleigh’s guilt from (’obham's 
 own lips ; and well was he plied upon the point. Taking into 
 account his various examinations, declarations, and letters ad- 
 dressed to the council, he appears, previous to his last declara- 
 tion on the scaffold, to have disburdened his breast of its secret 
 knowledge no less than nine times. On all occasions Cecil and 
 liord Henry Howard, with the assistance of Sir Edward Coke, 
 were the principal persons before whom the examinations were 
 conducted ; and it appears of the greatest consequence in the 
 development of this plot to attend to the various and contra- 
 dictory accounts of Cobham. In doing this I entreat the 
 reader to keep in mind the fact, that the hopes of Cecil and 
 Lord Henry Howard, in their plan for fixing treason upon 
 Raleigh, rested principally if not solely on the evidence to be 
 extracted from Cobham. 
 
 This nobleman was examined first on the 16th July, again 
 on the 19th, and once more on the 20th of the same month. 
 
 * That is, Brooke is pretty certain that his brother had im- 
 parted the Priests’ Treason to Raleigh. 
 
390 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The examinations of the 16th and the 19th are preserved in 
 the State-paper Office, and in both of them ( I use the words 
 of Mr Jardine, for I have not myself seen them) Cobham 
 denies all knowledge of plots or treasonable designs of any 
 kind'''* * * § Of course he then entirely exculpated Raleigh. ‘‘On 
 the 20th of J uly he appears to have been again examined ; and 
 being then shown the letter from Raleigh to Lord Cecil, in- 
 forming him of the suspicions he [Raleigh] entertained of 
 Cobham’s intrigues with Count Aremberg, he bursts out into 
 vehement exclamations against Raleigh, and then makes a 
 statement, the substance of which is very imperfectly given in 
 the reports of the trial.”'!' This examination or declaration 
 of the 20th of J uly, although it is stated to have been read at 
 the trial, is not to be found in the State-paper Office ; but 
 there is no doubt that it completely implicated Raleigh, ac- 
 cusing him of treasonable “ plots and invasions.” From a 
 letter of Secretary Cecil’s, dated 4th August, addressed to Sir 
 Thomas Parry, and first printed by Cayley (vol. ii. p. 6), we 
 are enabled to add the material fact, that although Cobham 
 had thus, on the 20th of July^ accused Raleigh “ before eleven 
 councillors, to be privy to his Spanish course, * * * yet 
 
 being newly examined [this is his fourth examination^], he 
 seemeth now to clear Sir Walter in most things, and to take 
 all the burthen to himself.” Cecil goes on to observe in the 
 same letter, that “ no severity shall be used toward him 
 [Raleigh], for which there shall not be sufficient proof ; which 
 is very like there will be, notwithstanding this retractation ; 
 because it is confessed, that since their being in the Tower, 
 intelligence hath passed from one to another, wherein Raleigh 
 expostulated his unkind using of him.”§ 
 
 * Criminal Trials, pp. 410, 411. f Ibid. p. 411. 
 
 X This fourth examination seems to have taken place on the 
 29th July (Jardine’s Trials, p. 422), and it was followed by 
 Cobham’s writing a letter to the Lords, which was quoted at 
 the trial. Its contents exculpate both himself and Raleigh from 
 all treasonable intentions, and prove, what seems to have been 
 the whole truth, that Cobham had engaged in a correspondence 
 with Aremberg, the minister of the archduke, to further the 
 peace with Spain. The reader will remember Lord Henry 
 
 Howard’s directions, that Cobham (in order to accomplish his 
 and Raleigh’s ruin) must be first drawn into a traffic with sus- 
 pected ministers regarding peace with Spain. In the letter we 
 had the plot laid down — here we see how completely it had been 
 carried into effect. 
 
 § Cayley, vol. ii. p. 10. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 301 
 
 Cobham was again examined on the 13th August,* before 
 Lord Henry Howard, and his declarations, which are not 
 quoted fully on the trial, appear to have been exculpatory of 
 Raleigh. He refused to say any thing, although pressed on the 
 point, which should connect him with the treasonable speech 
 about cutting off’ the king and his cubs. This was his fifth exa- 
 mination. On the 13th October he was examined for the sixth 
 time, without any thing conclusive as to Raleigh’s guilt being 
 extracted from him ;t and it was probably not long after this, 
 certainly in the same month, that Cobham, worked upon by some 
 means or other, once more changed, and addressed to Cecil, 
 Nottingham, and Suffolk lord chamberlain, this epistle : — 
 
 very Good Lords, — So low is my poor estate at 
 this present, that no requital for your favours can I promise ; 
 but while I breathe will pray for God ever to assist you and 
 keep you from all affliction, which my soul in the highest 
 degree is moved of. Out of charity this I humbly pray of 
 your lordships, that I might speak with you ail three ; you 
 shall be a means thereby to send me in peace to the grave. 
 The bottom of my heart I will disclose unto you, which to no 
 living creature but to yourselves I will do. God send you all 
 as great comfort as my affliction is great; and so to God’s 
 protection do I wish you. — From my prison in the Tower, this 
 Tuesday morning, your lordships’ poor afflicted friend, 
 
 Oc/. 1603. Henry Cobham.” 
 
 This letter, as it will be perceived, invited another interview 
 with Cecil, and his confederates Suffolk and Nottingham; but 
 what immediate steps they adopted, does not appear. In the 
 mean time Raleigh, on the 31st October, contrived to convey 
 a letter to Cobham in the manner already explained (pp. 246, 
 247), to which that nobleman replied, on the 1st of November,:); 
 by that remarkable epistle in which, in the most solemn and 
 .awful manner, he cleared him of all the things of which he had 
 heretofore accused him. The enemies of Sir W alter, however. 
 
 * Jardine’s Trials, p. 429. f Ibid. p. 432. 
 
 t These dates do not appear in the letters as given in the trial 
 (Jardine, pp. 445, 448), but may be- fixed thus : — Cobham says 
 Sir Walter wrote to him/owr nights before he left the Tower. 
 Now we know Cobham left the Tower on the 4th of November. — 
 (Oldys’s Life, p. 375.) He says also that he replied to Raleigh’s 
 letter the day after he received it. 
 
392 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 were not to be so easily defeated. They procured Cobham’s 
 wife, the Lady Kildare, a Howard, and daughter of Notting- 
 ham, the high-admiral, to write to her husband that there was 
 no way to save his life but to accuse Raleigh. And this mean 
 and wavering person once more directed a letter to the lords of 
 the council on the 16th of November,* a day before Raleigh’s 
 trial, in which he again departed from his former examinations, 
 and criminated his friend. 
 
 Before proceeding farther, let us for a moment rapidly run 
 over these various examinations and letters of Cobham, in or- 
 der to ascertain how much weight is to be attached to the evi- 
 dence of such a person. In his first examination he excul- 
 pates Raleigh ; in his second he adheres to his first ; in his 
 third he is inveigled by a device (explained above, p. 390) 
 into an accusation of him ; in his fourth he again exculpates 
 him of any treasonable designs ; in his fifth he adheres to this ; 
 in his sixth he follows the same course ; in his letter to Ra- 
 leigh, on the 1st of November, he again, in the most solemn 
 manner, exculpates him of all guilt ; and once more, on the 
 16th of November, he is prevailed on to alter his story, and to 
 accuse him. We have thus eight examinations or declarations 
 of Lord Cobham, and out of these, six are in favour of Raleigh, 
 whilst two, including the last on the 16th of November, were 
 against him. 
 
 But we have not yet done with the extraordinary vacillations 
 of this lord, and the base dexterity by which he was worked 
 upon by the enemies of Raleigh. His last letter, accusing this 
 unfortunate man, being procured on the \Gth November, not 
 a moment was lost, Raleigh was tried, and, on the evidence of 
 this letter, found guilty on the l^th of the same month: This 
 evidence, however, was of such a kind as could not possibly be 
 satisfactory,!* and indeed, setting aside the fact that the witness 
 had six successive times contradicted it, thfe accusation in the 
 letter itself did not amount to treason : Accordingly, the object 
 of Raleigh’s enemies was to procure a still stronger declaration 
 from Cobham, and this they extracted from him on the 22d 
 
 * Jardine’s Trials, p. 444. 
 
 f A contemporary and eyewitness of the trial thus character- 
 izes it — The main evidence was Cobham’s accusation, which, 
 all things considered, was no more to be weighed than the bark- 
 ing of a dog. I would not for much have been of the jury to 
 have found him guilty.” — Letter in Sir Toby Matthews’ Collec- 
 tion, Jardine, p. 463. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 3y3 
 
 November, the very day of his own trial. There is,” says Mr 
 Jardine, “ an examination of Lord Cobham, taken before seve- 
 ral Lords of the Council on the 22d November 1G93, in which 
 he fully and circumstantially repeats his former accusation of 
 Raleigh, adding several circumstances which he had not men- 
 tioned before. This examination is signed by Cobham.”* The 
 same day, however, came on his own trial, and he again vaiied 
 in his story; for although he criminated Raleigh in one part of 
 his defence, he appears to have completely contradicted his for- 
 mer letter of accusation. Of this we have the best possible 
 evidence in Cecil’s letter to Sir Thomas Parry, dated 1st De- 
 cember, where there is this passage : — “ The Friday after, the 
 Lord Cobham was arraigned before thirty. one of the peers, the 
 Lord Chancellor sitting as High Steward. lie denied then 
 that Raleigh was privy to his purpose to go into Spain. And 
 for the matter of money to be gotten for discontented persons, 
 he confessed that it was a conceit of his own thoughts, never 
 communicated to any, but died in him almost as soon as it 
 was harboured in his mind ; though he did reveal it to the 
 Lords of the Council when they examined him about other 
 matters. Concerning the setting up of the I^ady Arabella, he 
 fastened it upon his brother, George Brooke. And for Sir 
 Walter Raleigh, though he confessed that in many things he 
 had done him wrong, yet he maintained still the pension sought 
 for by him ; and withal that Sir Walter moved to solicit Ar- 
 emberg to persuade the King of Spain to send an army into 
 Milford Haven. ”t 
 
 Thus, for the tenth time, Cobham at his trial appears to have 
 varied in his story generally; to have rather exculpated Raleigh 
 than corroborated his former accusations; and to have added a 
 new circumstance against him to which no one was likely to 
 affix any credit. Such being the state of things, he was found 
 guilty, his brother, George Brooke’s confession being the chief 
 evidence against him. His conduct and behaviour on the trial 
 are minutely described by Sir Dudley Carleton, and the reader’s 
 attention is particularly requested to the passage, as it will be 
 afterwards shown to be of importance. “ Cobham led the way 
 on Friday, and made such a fasting- day’s piece of work of it, 
 that he discredited the place to which he was called ; never 
 was seen so poor and abject a spirit. He heard his indictment 
 with much fear and trembling. * * * After sentence of 
 
 Jardine’s Trials, p. 445. 
 
 t Cayley, vol. ii. p. 63. 
 
394 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 condemnation given, he begged a great while for life and fa^ 
 vour^ alleging his confession as a meritorious act.”*** Another 
 observation of Carleton in the same letter is material to be 
 noticed. “ We cannot,” says he, yet judge what will be- 
 come of him I^Cobham] or the rest ; for all are not like to go 
 one way. Cobham is of the surest side ; for he is thought least 
 dangerous, and the Lord Cecil undertakes to be his friend^ 
 Wt have now analyzed the confessions and character of liord 
 Cobham with perhaps a tedious minuteness. It is to be re- 
 collected, however, that he constitutes the single witness 
 against Sir Walter Raleigh, and that our object is completely 
 to develop the plot to which this illustrious man was m*ade 
 a sacrifice, and which has hitherto been considered, from its 
 obscurity, so inexplicable. The reader will now be able to 
 appreciate the mixture of fear, weakness, and falsehood, which 
 composed the character of Cobham. Keeping all this in view, 
 we shall next follow him to the scaffold. He had been con- 
 demned on the 22d November; he was brought out for execu- 
 tion on the 10th of December ; and now let us hear the account 
 of an eyewitness. Sir Dudley Carleton ; “ The Lord Cobham, 
 who was now to play his part, and by his former actions pro- 
 mised nothing but matiere pour rire^ did much cozen the 
 world ; for he came to the scaffold with good assurance and 
 contempt of death. He said some short prayers after his 
 minister, and so out-prayed the company that helped to pray 
 with him, that a stander by said ^ He had a good mouth in a 
 cry, but was nothing single.’ Some few words he used, to 
 express his sorrow for his offence to the king, and craved par- 
 don of him and the world ; for Sir Walter Raleigh, he took it^ 
 upon the hope of his souPs resurrection^ that what he had 
 said of him was true ; and with those words would have taken 
 a short farewell of the world, with that constancy and boldness 
 that we might see by him it is an easier matter to die well than 
 live well. — He was stayed by the sheriff.” So far Sir Dudley. 
 The reader is already acquainted (supra, p. 2G6) with the ter- 
 mination of this extraordinary farce, by his lordship receiving 
 a reprieve, when, as all the bystanders expected, he was to be 
 instantly beheaded. But what I would here remark, is the 
 strong presumption (amounting, I think, when all the circum- 
 stances are taken together, almost to proof) that Cobham was 
 perfectly aware before he came to the scaftbld that he was not 
 
 Jardine’s Trials, pp. 466, 468. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 3D5 
 
 to die, and that the piice of this pardon was to be his solemn, 
 and as it would then appear to the world, his dying accusation 
 of Raleigh. When we compare the passage quoted above, 
 describing his conduct on his trial (supra, p. 393), his poor 
 and abject spirit^ his fear and trembling^ his long begging for 
 life and favour, with this extraordinary metamorphosis into a 
 courageous contempt of death, into a boldness and constancy 
 of demeanour entirely foreign to his character, — and with his 
 fervent asserting of Raleigh’s guilt upon his soul’s resurrection, 
 the inference can scarcely be resisted — that this whole scene 
 was got up — that it was a piece of acting, the object of which 
 was to convince the world, by the declaration of a dying asso- 
 ciate, that Raleigh was really guilty — and that Cobham’s won- 
 derful courage and contempt of death, which so perplexed and 
 astonished the world, arose simply out of the circumstance that 
 he knew beforehand he was not to die. 
 
 It is possible that, in the private correspondence of Secretary 
 Cecil preserved at Hatfield, as well as in the examinations and 
 declarations of the priests, of Brooke, Grey, Cobham, and 
 Markham, many links in the history of this extraordinary plot 
 for the ruin of Raleigh might be supplied, and the exact mode^ 
 by which Brooke became associated with the priests, Cobham 
 entangled by Brooke, and Raleigh implicated by Cobham, 
 traced step by step. It is a tantalizing reflection that stores 
 exist in this country, both in public and in private repositories, 
 from which, if opened up, a flood of light might be poured on 
 some of the obscurest periods of our history. But they are 
 locked up and inaccessible — as useless as a lamp in a sepulchre. 
 In the present investigation, I have been cramped by the paucity 
 of original and authentic materials : garbled examinations — 
 anonymous letters without date or address, and insulated frag- 
 ments and extracts, have been my only guides — yet, followed 
 with the patience and earnestness absolutely necessary for the 
 elucidation of historical truth, they have led to two interesting 
 results : First, A portion of English history, hitherto pronounced 
 hy every preceding writer inexplicably and hopelessly obscure, 
 has been rendered comparatively clear, consistent, and intelli- 
 gible. We have seen the plot in its infancy, in its progress, 
 and in its termination — and no doubt, I apprehend, can re- 
 main, that its authors were Howard and Cecil. Secondly, The 
 fact that Raleigh was the victim of a conspiracy or state plot, 
 and guiltless of the treason for which he suffered, has, I trust, 
 been satisfactorily established. His real crime was, that he 
 
396 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 and Cobham were plotting, not against the king or the state, 
 hut against Cecil’s power as a minister ; and I may remark, 
 that whilst he was guilty of only entertaining the proposal of 
 a pension, or present of money from a foreign statesman, it 
 can be proved that the ministers and courtiers of James had 
 unblushingly received bribes from the French ambassador and 
 also from the Spanish envoy. 
 
 G. — Page 290. 
 
 Errors of Mr D'^IsraelL 
 
 In Mr D’Israeli’s Second Series of his Curiosities of Litera- 
 ture is an article entitled “ Literary Unions,” where we find 
 this passage : — “ There is a large work which is still cele- 
 brated, of which the composition has excited the astonishment 
 even of the philosophic Hume, but whose secret history re- 
 mains yet to be disclosed. This extraordinary volume is the 
 History of the World by Rawleigh. * * Now,” he adds, 
 
 “ when the truth is known, the wonderful in this literary 
 mystery will disappear, except in the eloquent, the grand, and 
 the pathetic passages interspersed in that venerable volume. 
 We may indeed pardon the astonishment of our calm philos- 
 opher when we consider the recondite matter contained in 
 this work, and recollect the little time which this adventurous 
 spirit, whose life was passed in fabricating his own fortune 
 and in perpetual enterprise, could allow to such erudite pur- 
 suits. Where could Rawleigh obtain that familiar acquaint- 
 ance with the Rabbins, of whose language he was probably 
 entirely ignorant ? His numerous publications, the effusions 
 of a most active mind, though excellent in their kind, were 
 evidently composed by one who was not abstracted in curious 
 and remote inquiries, but full of the daily business and the 
 wisdom of human life. His confinement in the Tower, which 
 lasted several years, was indeed sufficient to the composition 
 of this folio volume, and of a second which appears to have 
 occupied him. But in that imprisonment it singularly hap- 
 pened that he lived among literary characters with the most 
 intimate friendship. There he joined the Earl of Northum- 
 berland, the patron of the philosophers of his age, and with 
 whom Rawleigh pursued his chemical studies, and Sergeant 
 Hoskins, a poet and a wit, and the poetical ‘ father’ of Ben 
 Jonson, who acknowledged that ‘ it was Hoskins who had 
 polished him and that Rawleigh often consulted Hoskins in 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 397 
 
 his literary works, I learn from a manuscript. But however 
 literary the atmosphere of the Tower proved to Rawleigh, no 
 particle of Hebrew, and perhaps little of Grecian lore, floated 
 from a chemist and a poet. The truth is, that the collection 
 of the materials of this history was the labour of several 
 persons, who have not all been discovered. It has been as- 
 certained that Ben Jonson was a considerable contributor; 
 and there was an English philosopher, from whom Descartes, 
 it is said even by his own countrymen, borrowed largely, — 
 Thomas Hariot, — whom Anthony Wood charges with infusing 
 into Rawleigh’s volume philosophical notions, while Rawleigh 
 was composing his History of the W’orld. But if Rawleigh’s 
 pursuits surpassed even those of the most recluse and seden- 
 tary lives, as Hume observed, we must attribute this to a ‘Dr 
 Robert Burrel, rector of North wald in the county of Norfolk, 
 v/ho was a great favourite of Sir Walter Rawleigh, and had 
 been his chaplain. All or the greatest part of the drudgery of 
 Sir Vl'alter’s History, for criticisms, chronology, and reading 
 Greek and Hebrew authors, were performed by him for Sir 
 Walter.’ Thus a simple fact, when discovered^ clears up the 
 whole mystery.”* 
 
 I have given this extract at full length, as it seems to me to 
 present a remarkable example how certainly superficial research 
 leads to error, and error to injustice. Mr D’Israeli calls upon 
 us to believe that Raleigh’s History of the W’orld is not his 
 own work, but a compilation by Sergeant Hoskins, Ben Jonson, 
 Thomas Hariot, and Dr Robert Burrel, in which the author 
 merely interspersed the eloquent, the grand, and the pathetic 
 passages. And on what proofs is this extravagant assertion^ 
 this remarkable discovery (so the author repeatedly announces 
 it) — founded ? The reader has seen these proofs : they exist in 
 the extract from the Curiosities of Literature already quoted, 
 the information in which is a mere transcript from an interesting 
 passage in Oldys’s Life of Raleigh (p. 449-453), which we have 
 printed below with the important difference that this excel- 
 
 * Curiosities of Literature, vol, ii. (2d Series) p. 140-143. 
 f “ He took no ordinary care to deserve these encomiums, for 
 besides his own learning, knowledge, and judgment, which many 
 would have thought sufficient for any undertaking, he, with 
 that caution wherewith we have beheld so many others of his 
 great enterprises tempered, would suffer no part of this history 
 to pass his own hand before some of the most able scholars, 
 whom he assembled, it seems, for this purpose, had debated the 
 
398 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 lent writer dreams not for a moment of making it the founda- 
 tion of any charge against Raleigh. Now let us mark the 
 facilis descensus ” of error down which Mr D’Israeli hurries 
 to his conclusions. He finds it stated by Oldys, that Raleigh 
 in any difficulties as to phrase and diction consulted Sergeant 
 Hoskins ; therefore Sergeant Hoskins wrote part of the History 
 of the World. He finds Ben Jonson, after he had probably 
 put two or three bottles of the Hawthornden claret under his 
 belt, informing Drummond, in conversation^ that he had 
 written for Raleigh a piece of the Punic War, which Sir 
 Walter altered and placed in his History; therefore he at once 
 assents to the conclusion, “ that the best wits in England were 
 employed in making this History.” He had read in Oldys, 
 that in the Mosaic or Oriental Antiquities, Raleigh would 
 sometimes consult his friend Dr Robert Burrel ; therefore to 
 Burrel we owe all the Rabbinical lore, all the Jewish, and all 
 the Grecian History. He knew from the same source that in 
 chronology, geography, and other branches of mathematical 
 science, Raleigh took the opinion of the learned Hariot, and 
 the Earl of Northumberland’s three Magi ; and therefore, when 
 the truth is known, all that has been thought wonderful in this 
 literary mystery disappears. These men were amongst the 
 best wits who composed the History, and instead of being, 
 what the world has believed for so long a time, the author of 
 this great work, Raleigh can only lay claim to the eloquent 
 and pathetic passages interspersed in the volume. And this 
 is the Secret History of the History of the World,” and we 
 are called upon not only to assent to it, but to hail it as a 
 discovery. To answer it seriously is impossible. Upon the 
 
 parts he was most doubtful of, and they most conversant in, 
 before him. Thus in the Mosaic and Oriental Antiquities, or 
 fainter and more remote footsteps of time, he would sometimes 
 consult the learned Dr Robert Burhill. In all parts of chronol- 
 ogy, geography, and other branches of mathematical science, he 
 wanted not the opinions of the learned Hariot^ and the Earl of 
 Northumberland’s three Magi, long his neighbours in the Tower ; 
 and wherever he scrupled any thing in the phrase or diction, he 
 would hear the acute and ingenious Sir John Iloskyns^ some 
 time also resident in these confines, who viewed and reviewed 
 the said History, as we are told, before it went to the press, and 
 whom Ben Johnson, proud of calling others his sons, could 
 gratify that humour in calling father.” As his authority for 
 this passage Oldys cites Anthony Wood’s Account of Dr Robert 
 Burrel and the lives of T. Hariot and Sir John Hoskins, all 
 which are to be found in the Athenoe Oxoniemes. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 39D 
 
 same, or rather on far more plausible grounds, might Pope be 
 deprived of his fame as the translator of Homer; and every 
 author who has availed himself of the assistance of his literary 
 friends, might have his well-earned bays torn from his brows, 
 and trampled in the dust. 
 
 But I am sorry to accuse Mr D’ Israeli not only of injustice 
 to Raleigh, but of some little disingenuousness. The whole 
 of this secret history, as it is termed (with the exception of 
 Ben Jonson’s eloge upon himself), is, as we see, to be found 
 in Oldys’s Life of Raleigh, a work with which we know Mr 
 DTsraeli is intimately acquainted. Why then does he claim it 
 as a discovery of his own ? I shall give,” says he (Curiosities 
 of Literature, 2d Series, vol. ii. p. 102), ‘^in the article Lite- 
 rary Unions, a curious account how Rawleigh’s History of the 
 World was composed ; which has hitherto escaped discovery.'"* 
 In a note indeed on the passage regarding the assistance given 
 to Raleigh by Dr Burrel, he tells us that it is taken from a 
 singular manuscript in the Lansdowne Collection, consisting, 
 as he thinks, of extracts from those papers of Anthony W^ood 
 which this honest antiquary desired to be burned before his 
 death. This little circumstance not only vindicates Raleigh, 
 but exposes in a strong light the injustice with which both he 
 and Anthony Wood have been treated by DTsraeli. Wood 
 had patiently investigated the history of Raleigh’s great work ; 
 and having weighed and digested his materials, he not only 
 published in his A thence Oxonienses a life of Raleigh, but lives 
 of Burrel, Hoskins, and Hariot. Before his death, however, 
 he dreads that some portions of his manuscript materials which 
 he had probably discovered to contain errors, and laid aside on 
 this account, might mislead others ; and he commands them to 
 be burnt. Mr D’Israeli, however, finds a transcript of them ; 
 and in it is this passage relative to Dr Burrel, upon which he 
 builds part of his secret history of Raleigh’s great work. Thus 
 poor Wood’s dying request is defeated ; that which he had 
 probably detected to be error is repeated as truth ; and Raleigh’s 
 fair fame is to be sacrificed to the vanity of being able to satisfy 
 a passing wonder of the philosophic Hume. To render his 
 conclusions more probable, he talks of the little time which 
 Raleigh could allow to such erudite pursuits : Does he forget 
 that this remarkable man, even in the most active period of his 
 life, read four hours a-day, and carried his books with him on 
 his voyages ? He speaks of his published works being little 
 connected with curious and remote inquiries : Does he lemem- 
 
400 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ber Raleigh's Discourse on the Tenures before the Conquest, 
 — his request to Sir Robert Cotton for Sigebert's Chronicle, 
 Gervase of Tilbury, and any manuscripts which illustrate 
 British Antiquities ? He alludes to the several years he spent 
 in the Tower : Is this an expression to be applied to an impri- 
 sonment of thirteen years ? But it is ever thus with an anxiety 
 to support a favourite hypothesis ; it induces us either to forget 
 or to disregard every fact with which it is incompatible. Mr 
 D’Israeli is an agreeable writer, but subject to fits of affectation. 
 He somewhat ungallantly goes out of his way to inform Miss 
 Aikin tliat her Memoirs of James I. had been of no use to him, 
 adding, that secret history is rarely to be found in printed 
 books.” Yet assuredly he ought to be the last person to express 
 contempt for printed books as ^‘rarely containing secret history 
 seeing that the whole of his secret history of Raleigh, which he 
 describes as culled from manuscript sources, had, with two or 
 three exceptions scarcely worthy of notice, been already given 
 at full length in the printed works of Oldys, Cayley, and Birch. 
 With an infirmity very incident to the antiquary, he has been 
 working in the wake of these writers, referring to letters as 
 manuscript which they had already published, and assuming in 
 rather too complacent terms the tone of an original discoverer, 
 whilst he was nothing more than an unconscious copyist. Did 
 the limits of this note permit, it would be easy, not only to sub- 
 stantiate these charges, but also to show that in his estimate of 
 Raleigh’s character there is both injustice and exaggeration. 
 The reader is here referred to a spirited and learned vindication 
 of Raleigh’s right to be considered the author of his own history, 
 which will be found in Mr Bolton Corney’s Illustrations of the 
 Curiosities of Literature. 
 
 H.~ Page 328. 
 
 Raleigh and the French Agent — Extracts from the Manu- 
 scripts in the State-paper Office* 
 
 The nervous anxiety of the king to sift to the bottom tne whole 
 correspondence between Raleigh and the French agent, is ap- 
 parent from Sir Thomas Wilson’s Notes in the State-paper 
 Office. Sir Walter constantly affirmed, what even the king, 
 with all his suspicion, seems at last to have been convinced 
 was the truth, that the offer of the French agent to favour his 
 escape was voluntary^ and unsought for on his part. The 
 French government were aware of Raleigh’s great talents, and 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 401 
 
 of his determined enmity to Spain. They knew that he was 
 better acquainted than perhaps any other man in Europe with 
 the weak points where that kingdom might be attacked, and 
 they were anxious to secure for him an asylum in France. In 
 Wilson’s MS. Notes of one of his first conversations with Ra- 
 leigh, preserved in the State-paper Office, and entitled “ A 
 relation of what hath passed and been observed by me since my 
 coming to Sir Walter Rawley upon Friday, 1 1th of September.” 
 there is this passage : “ Yesternight, having before upon many 
 occasions let out some pieces of these things, that he might 
 think it came hardly from me as from myself, * * he made 
 me a long answer, and told me in gross what he had done 
 before in retail : saying, ‘ Whatsoever is confessed by others, 
 sure I am there is nothing can touch my fidelity to the king 
 nor my country affirmed he never had any conference with 
 the Frenchman but complimental ; knew not his name, nor the 
 cause of his coming, — much less with the French agent, whom 
 he knows not what man he is. Nor was it likely he could con- 
 fer on any matters of secrecy, he being at all times under such 
 watchful guard. 
 
 2. As to the French ambassador before the voyage, ’twas 
 true he came to see his ship, as other ambassadors, Venetian, 
 and Savoyard, and the Spaniard also, came and rowed about 
 it, — all being from pure curiosity. 
 
 3. That as to his purpose of going into France, it was solely 
 to shelter himself from danger, understanding the Spaniard did 
 so press for his life, until the storm blew over, and either by 
 the queen’s majesty’s means, or by that of his other friends, he 
 might recover favour.” 
 
 “ 5. For employment when he was there, he hoped he might 
 do some service against the Spaniard if there were need, for 
 that he knows him, and his force, and his weakness, and what 
 not, as much as any man. And no man can know the Spaniard 
 well but he must know his Indies well ; and on this he would 
 have run out at great length ; but,” says Wilson, “ I drew 
 him with the best unsuspected discretion I could to the points 
 in hand; so he went forward alleging, that as to letters or 
 messages about his escape, he never received any with any 
 Frenchman or other, except Mannering (Manourie), brought 
 by Stukely, to consent to his escape, and tormented him by 
 sprinkling him with aquafortis, to make him seem diseased, that 
 he might not be sent for to the court, and win time, who at last 
 betrayed him, as all the world knows. 
 
 2 B 
 
402 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 “ 6 . That for plots or designs he had none, but to save his 
 life by escaping somewhere : being alarmed by letters from some 
 lords his friends, who wrote that the king would have strict 
 justice upon his person. This made him plot a design to fly, 
 and he knew no fitter place than France.” 
 
 Such are all Raleigh’s answers, as reported by Sir Thomas 
 Wilson, and nothing can appear more clear, open, or ingenuous. 
 It did not, however, satisfy the king ; and it appears that Lady 
 Carew was afterwards employed to interrogate Raleigh on the 
 point without eliciting any thing farther. This lady’s deposi- 
 tion is ludicrous enough. She saith that the agent informed 
 her, if Sir Walter Raleigh would go into France he should be 
 welcome. She asking what he should do there, he answered, 
 II mangera, il boyera, il fera bien.” — Wilson's MS, Notes 
 in State-paper Office, 
 
 L— Page 337. 
 
 Raleigh in the Tower — His Unpublished Manuscripts — 
 Hampden, 
 
 Some interesting particulars are to be gleaned from Sir Thomas 
 Wilson’s MS. Notes and Letters, preserved in the State-paper 
 Office. 
 
 My first coming,” says Wilson, in a letter to Secretary 
 Naunton, as Sir Robert Johnson, one of the officers of the 
 Tower, told me by next morning, bredd a wonderment amongst 
 them, some saying thereupon that now they thought Sir Walter 
 Rawley’s dayes would be short, as if I had been sent as a mes- 
 senger of death. Himself, after a little speech had with him, 
 told me that he doubted not but that I knew that his dayes 
 were not long ; to which I protested the contrary, as well I might. 
 
 Upon his groaning and grievous complaining of his con- 
 tinual paines and infirmities, I enquired the causes. Raleigh 
 then described his diseased state of body, arising, as he said, out 
 of the applications of his physitian. Dr Guyn, and his brother, 
 the king’s apothecary, to remove a stich under his right side, 
 which excoriated, exulcerated, and made holes in his side, 
 which being at length closed, there remained in his side an 
 exceeding swelling, which beginneth to imposthumate, and ere 
 long, as he thinks, will break; besides which, his liver doth swell, 
 which will soon cause that he shall need no other death. * * 
 “ Thus much,” he remarks, ‘‘ of the state of his body ; and 
 why he may be thought to make it seem worse than it is, may 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 403 
 
 be easily gathered, that he would not be thought in his health 
 10 enterprise any such matter as perhaps he designeth.” 
 
 In a letter of Raleigh’s to his wife, which had been sent to 
 Secretary Naunton for his perusal before it reached Lady 
 Kaleigh, there is this postscript, valuable as it relates to that 
 treatise on the Art of War by Sea, which, in the wreck of his 
 fortunes and of his personal property, has unfortunately been 
 lost. 
 
 “ There is in the bottom of the sedar-chest some paper books 
 of mine. I pray make them up altogether, and send them me. 
 The title of one of them is the Art of War by Sea. The rest 
 are notes belonging unto it.” 
 
 From a pathetic letter of Lady Raleigh’s, written after her 
 husband’s death, to I.ady Carew, it appears that Wilson, with 
 much baseness, had continued his persecution against the 
 family of this illustrious man, and had seized his books, manu- 
 scripts, and mathematical instruments. ‘‘ I beseech your lady- 
 ship,” says Lady Raleigh (Jardine, p. 496), “ that you will 
 do me the favor to intreat Sir Thomas Wilson to surcease the 
 pursuit of my husband’s books and library ; they being all the 
 land and living which he left to his poor child ; hoping that 
 he would inherit him in these only, and that he would apply 
 himself to learning, to be fit for them : which request I hope I 
 shall fulfil as far as in me lieth; Sir Thomas Wilson hath 
 already fetched away all his mathematical instruments ; one 
 of which cost £100 when it was made. I was promised them 
 all again, but 1 have not received one back. If there were any 
 of these books not to be had elsewhere, God forbid that Sir 
 Thomas Wilson should not have them for his Majesty’s use ; 
 but they tell me that Byll the bookseller hath the very same.” 
 
 We thus find that the dispersion and subsequent disappear- 
 ance of Raleigh’s manuscripts, which were very voluminous, 
 is to be attributed to Sir Thomas Wilson, either pretending to 
 act, or in reality acting, under the king’s directions. As Wil- 
 son was at this time keeper of the State-paper Office, there is 
 still a hope that the manuscripts of Raleigh may be found 
 amongst some of the yet unexplored treasures of that great 
 national collection. A fragment of his treatise on the Art of 
 W ar by Sea is preserved in the British Museum, Titus, viii. 24, 
 f. 217 , which has hitherto escaped the research of any of his 
 biographers. It is a skeleton autograph sketch of the treatise 
 referred to in his letter to Lady Raleigh as lying in the sedar- 
 chest.” Raleigh appears to have divided his subject into the 
 
404 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Art of War by Sea, as practised by the nations of antiquity and 
 in modern times. His outline commences thus : 
 
 The antiquitie of sea-fights, and in what vessels. Of bat- 
 tles by sea in elder times, and of the admirals and commanders. 
 
 The sea-laws of the Rhodians, who were some time the 
 masters of the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 The dominion of the Tyrians and Carthaginians by sea. 
 
 The sea-fights of the Grecians and Carthaginians. 
 
 “ The sea-laws of the Romans, and their marine policies. 
 
 The laws of Oleron and of the admirals of France. 
 
 “ The admirals of England and Scotland. 
 
 “ The battles at sea between the English and French, and 
 their manner of fight. 
 
 That the commodious and capable ports belonging to any 
 prince or state give them the means to be masters of the sea. 
 
 ‘‘ The decay of ports in England and France. 
 
 “ What ports the King of Spain hath. How many of them 
 are capable of good ships, and how many are bad. 
 
 “ Of the art of war by sea ; wherein is taught the advantage 
 of fight, from the single fight of one ship with one, of two ships 
 with one, of small fleets, of great fights, of the fight of gallies, 
 of boarding and fighting with large [galleons]. What ships 
 are fittest for fight, of what burden, and what quantity of orde- 
 nance, with all other things appertaining to that war. 
 
 Of the times of the yeare fit for invasions by sea. 
 
 Of the King of Spain’s weakness in the West Indies, and 
 how that rich mine may be taken from him. 
 
 Of his weakness in the East Indies, and what places he 
 holds in both. 
 
 ‘‘ That the English, in the late war with Spain, have rather 
 taught them than impoverished them ; and that all petty inva- 
 sions are more profitable to the invaded than to the invader. 
 
 That the Turks may be easily beaten in the Mediterranean 
 Sea, and that his force is far inferior to the force of the Christ- 
 ians, and that the Christians have been many times beaten by 
 them, by their ignorance in sea-fight. 
 
 That it is not the trade which the English and Hollanders 
 have that makes us and them so powerful by sea ; but it is our 
 forcible trades that have enabled us, and which force the Hol- 
 landers have attained by the English ordenance. How trade 
 and mariners may be maintained. 
 
 That there is nothing so much discovers the judgment of 
 a prince as his enterprises. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 405 
 
 That all wisedom, endeavour, and valour of private men, 
 is without success where God takes wisdom from the magis- 
 trate.” 
 
 This is the end of the paper. Then on another sheet are 
 marked the chapters of the intended work from 1 to 15, which 
 merely embrace the above matter somewhat differently divided. 
 
 I have been the more solicitous to give this sketch, under 
 the author’s own hand, of one of his greatest works now lost, 
 as it has not been alluded to by any former biographer. 
 
 It is singular, also, that in the Oxford edition of his Works 
 his journal of his last voyage has not been printed. It is 
 quoted by Oldys, p. 500, and exists in Raleigh’s handwriting 
 in the British Museum. — Titus, viii. 24. 
 
 But what is most to be regretted is the loss of the notes and 
 collections for the second and third unfinished volumes of his 
 , History of the World, to which he alludes in his preface as 
 ^‘hewn out,” but suddenly interrupted by the death of his patron. 
 Prince Henry. There is a singular story told by Lloyd, in his 
 Observations on the Life of Raleigh, which proves, if we may 
 credit it, that the celebrated Hampden was in possession of an 
 immense collection of Raleigh’s manuscripts. “ Master Ham- 
 den,” says this author, ‘‘ a little before the wars, was at the 
 charge of transcribing 3452 sheets of his [Raleigh’s] manu- 
 scripts, as the amanuensis himself told me, who had his close 
 chamber, his fire and candle, with an attendant to deliver him 
 the originals, and take his copies, as fast as he could write 
 them.”* 
 
 The positive and minute terms in which this tale is told 
 make it difficult for any one to disbelieve it ; yet the total dis- 
 appearance of these manuscripts renders it improl&able. 
 
 K. — Page 344. 
 
 Inventory of Raleigh's Jewels and Trinkets from the State- 
 paper Office. 
 
 Inventary of such things as were found on the body of Sir 
 
 Walter Rawleigh, Knycht, the 15 day of August 1618.” 
 
 This curious paper was sent to Sir Thomas Wilson, with 
 the following note from Sir R. Naunton, Secretary of State : — 
 
 I thought fit to send you this note of such things as were 
 left in his hands, that you might see whether he has used them 
 
 Lloyd’s State Worthies p. 675. 
 
406 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 in way of subornation, by your own discreet observation and 
 right examination.” 
 
 “ Imprimis, in gould about I*'"- in his purse and own custody. 
 
 Item, a Guiana idol of gold. 
 
 Item, a jacint seale set in gold, with a Neptune cut in it, with 
 certain Guiana tyed to it. 
 
 Item, a crymson ston set in gold. 
 
 Item, a loadstone in a scarlet purse. 
 
 Item, an auncient seale of his own armes in silver. 
 
 Item, one ounce of ambergris, left with him for his own use. 
 
 Item, a spleen stone, left with him for his own use. 
 
 Item, one wedge of fine gold at 22 carratts. 
 
 Item, one other stob of coarser gold. 
 
 Item, 63 gold buttons with sparkes of dimonds. 
 
 Item, a chain of gold with sparkes of dimonds. 
 
 Item, one diamond ring of nine sparkes. 
 
 Item, one gold whistle set with small diamonds. 
 
 Item, one ring with a diamond, which he weareth on his fin- 
 ger. (Then to this is added, in Secretary Naunton’s hand, 
 ^Given him by the late Queen.’) 
 
 /Item, one plott of Guiana and Nova (R ) and another of 
 
 ) the river of Orenoque. 
 
 I The descri^ion of the river Orenoque. 
 
 VA plott of Panama, 
 
 A tryal of Guiana ore, with a description thereof. 
 
 A sprig jewel, &c. 
 
 Five assays of the silver myne.” 
 
 On the side of the inventory is this note of Sir Allen Apsley, 
 Lieutenant of the Tower: — 
 
 ‘‘ All these particulars, noted with 5, and the rest crossed, 
 excepting the picture, were delivered to Sir Lewis Stukely, 
 sealed in a bagg, by the hands of Allen Apsley. 
 
 “ Item, one gold case of a picture, set with diamonds, which, 
 according to Sir Walter’s desire, is left apart with Mr Lieu- 
 tenant.” 
 
 L. — Page 371 . 
 
 Portrait of Raleigh. 
 
 The portrait of Raleigh which faces the vignette to this volume, 
 and does so much credit to the clear and spirited graver of Mr 
 Horsburgh, is taken from an early impression of that exquisite 
 print by Houbraken, in Dr Birch’s Illustrious Heads. The 
 original picture from which this artist took his engraving was, 
 in Dr Granger’s time (Biographical History of England, vol. 
 ii. p. 25), in the possession of Miss Lennard of West Wick- 
 ham, in Kent ; but Houbraken only copied the head and bust. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 407 
 
 It is a family piece, and belonged to the Carews of Beddington 
 in Surrey, whence, by marriage with a daughter of the late Sir 
 Stephen Lennard, Bart., it was removed to West Wickham. 
 
 By the inscription thereon,” says Oldys, page 352, partly 
 still legible, it appears that the picture was painted in this last 
 year of the queen above mentioned [when Raleigh was made 
 governor of Jersey]; and that his son Walter, who is likewise 
 here drawn by him, was then eight years of age. Further, in 
 this picture, the stature of Sir Walter measures about six feet, 
 is well shaped, and not too slender : he is apparelled in a white 
 satin pinked vest, close-sleeved to the wrist, and over the body 
 of it a brown doublet, finely flowered and embroidered with 
 pearl; his belt of the same colour and ornament, in which hangs 
 his sword ; and on the other side, over the right hip, is seen 
 the pommel of his dagger. In his hat, which he has on, is a 
 little black feather, with a large ruby and pearl-drop at the 
 bottom of the sprig in place of the button. His trunks or 
 breeches, with his stockings and ribbon-garters, fringed at the 
 end, are all white , and buff shoes tied with white ribbons. His 
 son, standing under his left elbow, is fair and prettily featured, 
 dressed in a blue silk jacket and trousers, guarded down with 
 narrow silver galoon ; stockings blue, and white shoes ; gloves 
 in the right hand, hat or cap in the left, and a silver sword by 
 his side.” How much is it to be regretted that Houbraken 
 was not induced to engrave the whole picture ! Another very 
 interesting portrait of Raleigh has been engraved by Vertue, 
 and is prefixed to Mr Oldys’s edition of his History of the 
 World. It is taken from an undoubted original preserved at 
 that time (1736) in the family of Captain William Elwes, 
 nephew of the Lady Elwes, who was the great-granddaughter 
 of Sir Walter, and represents him in the famous suit of silver 
 armour mentioned in the text, p. 201. In the collection of the 
 same gentleman there is also an interesting picture of Lady 
 Raleigh. It is a half-length,” says Oldys, p. 353, painted 
 on board ; a high finished piece, in the laboured manner of 
 those times, by some masterly hand ; has been well kept, and 
 is doubtless an original. It represents her a fair handsome 
 woman, turned perhaps of thirty. She has on a dark-coloured 
 hanging-sleeve robe, tufted on the arms ; and under it a close- 
 bodied gown of white satin flowered with black, with close 
 sleeves down to her wrist ; has a rich ruby in her ear, be- 
 dropt with large pearls, and a laced whisk rising above the 
 shoulders : — her bosom uncovered, and a jewel hanging there- 
 
408 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 on ; with a large chain of pearl round her neck, down to her 
 waist.” 
 
 Where this picture is now preserved I am not able to say ; 
 but if known, it is to be wished that Mr Lodge would add it 
 to his great collection. I widely, indeed, differ from this au- 
 thor in his estimate of many of his historical characters ; but 
 all must allow that, in its exquisite engravings, and in the 
 authenticity of the originals from which they are taken, his 
 work is unrivalled. 
 
INDEX 
 
 A. 
 
 Anjou, Duke of, projected match of 
 Queen Elizabeth with, p. 39. 
 
 Apsley, Sir Allen, lieutenant of the 
 Tower, 335. 
 
 Areniberg, Count, ambassador from 
 the Archduke of Austria, 226, 385. 
 
 Armada, Spanish ; see Spanish Ar- 
 mada. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bacon, Francis, recommends mild 
 measures towards Essex, 192. 
 
 Biron, Duke de, marshal of France, 
 his reception by Queen Elizabeth, 
 206. 
 
 Brooke, George, one of the principal 
 conspirators against the king and 
 royal family, 227, 386. 
 
 Buckingham, Duke of, effects the 
 liberation of Raleigh, 308. Letter 
 of Raleigh to, 333. 
 
 Burleigh, Lord, the favourite minis- 
 ter of Queen Elizabeth, his cha- 
 racter and policy, 31-34. His 
 speech on the conduct of Spain , 124. 
 His last appearance in public, 176. 
 
 C. 
 
 Cadiz, English expedition against, 
 148. Account of the enterprise, 
 150-154. 
 
 Carey, Sir Robert, his account of 
 Queen Elizabeth’s last illness and 
 death, 220-222. Carries the tidings 
 of her death to King James, 222. 
 
 Carleton, Sir Dudley, his letter on 
 Raleigh’s trial, 248. His account 
 of the pageant of an execution in 
 the case of Markham, and Lords 
 Grey andCobham,265-267, 393.394. 
 
 Carolina, North, arrival of Raleigh’s 
 expedition under Amadis and Bar- 
 low at, 44. Traffic with the na- 
 tives, 46. Description of the coun- 
 try, 47. 
 
 Cecil, Sir Robert, appointed secre- 
 tary of state to Queen Elizabeth, 
 156. His character, 157, 257. Mis- 
 sion to France, 174. Plot against 
 Essex, 179, 182, 185, 190. Relative 
 position of him and Raleigh, 196. 
 His r^orrespondence with James, 
 king of Scots, 197, 225. His sin- 
 gular speech on monopolies, 212. 
 His crafty policy, 225. His enmity 
 to Raleigh, 230, 381, and conduct 
 
 on Raleigh’s trial, 237-243. His let- 
 ter to Sir Thomas Parry, 251. The 
 chief author of the plot against 
 Raleigh, 253-257, 384. Letter to 
 Sir John Harrington, 258. His 
 death, 302. See also Raleigh, Sir 
 Walter, and Howard, Lord Henry. 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, his character of 
 Sir Robert Cecil, 257. 
 
 Clifford, earl of Cumberland, sends 
 an expedition to the South Seas, 5(). 
 
 Cobham, Lord, implicated in 
 Brooke’s Conspiracy, 226. Ilis 
 examinations and declarations on 
 Raleigh’s trial, 234, 245, 389. His 
 behaviour on his trial and after- 
 wards, 393-395. 
 
 Coke, Sir Edward, chosen speaker 
 of the House of Commons, 126. 
 His charge to the jury, as attorney- 
 general, on Raleigh’s trial, 232. 
 His violent invectives, 244. Re- 
 marks on his conduct, 259. 
 
 Conde, Prince of, made prisoner in 
 the battle of Jarnac, 20. 
 
 D. 
 
 Desmond , Earl of, raises the standard 
 of revolt in Ireland, 26. Division 
 of his forfeited principality, 59. 
 
 D’Israeli, Mr, his errors regarding 
 Raleigh’s History of the World, 
 396-400. 
 
 Drake, Sir Francis, arrival of his 
 squadron at Virginia, 54. One of 
 the vice-admirals of the fleet 
 against the Spanish Armada, 75. 
 Commands the fleet in the Portu- 
 guese expedition, 96-98. 
 
 E 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, supports the 
 French Huguenots, 19. Espouses 
 thocause of the Protestants against 
 Spain, 22. Concludes a treaty with 
 the States of Holland, 23. Splen- 
 dour of her court, 31-38. Projected 
 match with the Duke of Anjou, 39. 
 Countenances and supports Ra- 
 leigh’s schemes of colonization, 41, 
 49. Raleigh’s advance in her favour, 
 61. Conduct on the threatened 
 invasion by the Spanish Armada, 
 70. Reviews the army in the 
 j camp at Tilbury, 77* Procession 
 
 to St Paul’s, 93. Her character, 
 I 156. Progresses, 201-204. Love 
 
410 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 of display, 201, 203-200. Passion 
 for hunting, 200. Opens her last 
 parliament, 209. ileply to the 
 deputation of the House of Com- 
 mons, 218. Last illness and death, 
 220-222. See Esse:^, Earl of. 
 England, expected invasion of, by 
 the Spanish Armada, 07-70. Pre- 
 parationsfordefence, 71. Strength, 
 numbers, and disposition of the 
 army, 7-; of the navy, 73-76. 
 Rejoicings for the defeat of the 
 Spanish Armada, 92, 
 
 Essex, Earl of, his jealousy of Ra- 
 leigh, 62, 176. Character of, 100. 
 Commands the army in the Cadiz 
 expedition, 149. Commands the 
 naval expedition against Spain, 
 163. His return, and decline in 
 royal favour, 171. Violently op- 
 poses a peace with Spain, 176. 
 His quarrel with the queen, 178. 
 Is appointed to the government 
 of Ireland, 179; his inactivity 
 there, 182. Letters to the queen, 
 180, 183, 185, 189. Sudden return 
 to England, 186. Trial and con- 
 demnation, 193-195. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fayal, one of the Azores, capture 
 of, by Raleigh, 165, 166. 
 
 France, state of, in the civil wars, 
 20, 23. 
 
 G. 
 
 .Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, his expedi- 
 tion to America ; its disastrous 
 termination, 25. His second voy- 
 age of discovery, 40. Its fatal 
 issue, 42, 43. 
 
 Gondomar, Count, Spanish ambas- 
 sador, his remonstrances against 
 Raleigh’s expedition to Guiana, 
 307. His character, 311. 
 Grenville, Sir Richard, commands 
 Raleigh’s fleet for Virginia, 50. 
 His return to England, 51. Second 
 voyage to V irginia, 55. Character 
 and fate, 113, 114. 
 
 Grey, Lord-deputy, his cruelty at 
 the surrender of Rakele, 27. 
 Guiana, its discovery and conquest 
 projected by Raleigh, 131 ; his 
 voyage and adventures, 135-144. 
 Captain Berrie’s voyage to, 158. 
 Raleigh’s schemes to colonize, 308. 
 Account of his expedition ; its un- 
 fortunate issue, 312-322. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hall, Bishop, his eulogium of Ra- 
 leigh’s History of the World, 301. 
 Hariot, Tnomas, inventor of the 
 
 theory of equations, 58. His de- 
 scription of the tobacco plant, ib. 
 
 Ilawles, Solicitor-general, his paral- 
 
 . iel between the case of Raleigh and 
 that of Lord Russel, 260. 
 
 Henry, Prince of Wales, befriends 
 Raleigh, 276. His character, ib. 
 Various writings of Raleigh ad- 
 dressed to him, 276-285. Letter 
 to him ascribed to Raleigh, 288. 
 His death, 304. 
 
 Howard, Lord, of Effingham, high 
 admiral of England, 75. His en- 
 gagement with the Spanish Ar- 
 mada, 81-85 ; final victory, 87-89. 
 
 Howard, Lord Henry, a favourite 
 instrument of Sir Robert Cecil’s, 
 his character, 260, 261. Corre- 
 spondence with Cecil, 381. Cecil 
 and he chief authors in the 
 downfal of Raleigh and Cobham, 
 .384. 
 
 Huguenots, contests between them 
 and the Roman Catholics, 19-21. 
 
 Hume, David, hisattack of Raleigh’s 
 account of Guiana, 373. His errors 
 exposed, 377-381. 
 
 I. J. 
 
 Ireland, civil war in, fomented by 
 Spain, 26 ; its suppression, 31. 
 Rebellion under Tyrone, 177. 
 
 James, King, his accession to the 
 English throne, 22.3. His dislike 
 of Raleigh, 223, 224. Anecdotes 
 of his court, 2i6. Grants permis- 
 sion to Kaleigh to engage in the 
 Guiana adventure, 310. His ani- 
 mosity to Raleigh, 337, *338, 347 ; 
 his resolution to sacrifice him, 
 322, 351. 
 
 K. 
 
 Keymis, Captain, his voj'age to 
 Guiana, 148. Return to England, 
 ib. Expedition up the Orinoco ; 
 its unfortunate issue, 315. Puts 
 a period to his existence, 317. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lane, Ralph, first governor of Vir- 
 ginia, 51. Conspiracy of the na- 
 tives defeated by, 54. His return 
 to England, 55. 
 
 Leicester, Earl of, his character, 34 ; 
 his death, 93. 
 
 M. 
 
 Manourie, a French physician, in- 
 gratiates himself with Raleigh, and 
 betrays him, 325-328. 
 
 Masques and pageants, taste of the 
 times for, 202, 206. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 411 
 
 N. 
 
 Naunton, Sir Robert, character of 
 Raleigh by, 40. II is letters to Sir 
 Thomas Wilson, 338 , 343, 350. 
 
 Newfoundland, taken possession of 
 by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 42. Ra- 
 leigh’s arrival at, 321. 
 
 Norris, Sir John, commands the 
 English force in the Netherlands, 
 23. Commands the land-forces in 
 the Portuguese expedition, tJO. 
 
 North-west Passage, company form- 
 ed for the discovery of, 50. 
 
 O. 
 
 Orinoco, Raleigh’s voyage up that 
 river, 137-144. His second voyage, 
 315-317. 
 
 Ormond, Earl of, commands the 
 royal army in the Irish civil war, 
 20 . 
 
 P. 
 
 Parliament, debates in, and anec- 
 dotes of, 216-218. 
 
 Philip II., king of Spain, his designs 
 against England and Ireland, 162. 
 His fleet intended for the invasion 
 of England dispersed in a storm, 17 J. 
 
 Popham, chief-justice on Raleigh’s 
 trial, 259. 
 
 Portuguese expedition, to replace 
 Antonio on the throne, 95. Its 
 unsuccessful issue, 97. 
 
 Potato, introduction of, into Ireland, 
 by Raleigh, 220. 
 
 R. 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, his birth and 
 early education, 18. Sent to Oriel 
 College, Oxford,19. Entersinto pub- 
 lic life and passes over to France, 
 ib. Joins the Huguenot army, 20. 
 Serves as a volunteer in the Nether- 
 lands, 22. His enthusiasm for ma- 
 ritime discovery and adventure, 
 2-1. Embarks in the expedition of 
 Sir Humphrey Gilbert to America, 
 25. Engages in the war in Ireland, 
 26 ; his eminent services there. 27, 
 28. His first introduction to Queen 
 Elizabeth, 38. Accompanies the 
 Duke of Anjou to Antwerp, 39. 
 His deep interest in Sir H. Gilbert’s 
 second expedition, 40. Voyage of 
 discovery to the coast of North 
 Carolina, 45-48. Sends a fleet to 
 Virginia under Sir Richard Gren- 
 ville, 50. Settlement of Virginia, 
 51. Introduction of tobacco into 
 England, 57. His rise at court, 60. 
 Sends a new fleet under Governor 
 White to Virginia, 64. Consulta- 
 tions with, on the threatened in- 
 
 vasion by the Spanish Armada, 71* 
 His services rewarded by the queen, 
 94. Sails with Drake and Norris 
 in the Portuguese expedition, 96. 
 Visits Edmund Spenser, 102. His 
 defence of Sir Richard Grenville, 
 112. Specimen of his prose, 115. 
 Expedition to intercept the Plate 
 fleet, 116. Intrigue with Eliza- 
 beth Throgmorton, 117. His dis- 
 grace with the queen, 118. Is sent 
 to the Tower, 119. Recovers his 
 liberty, 122. His speech on the 
 policy of Spain, 125. Projected 
 discovery and conquest of Guiana, 
 131. Arrives at Trinidad, 136. 
 Voyage up the Orinoco; adven- 
 tures, 137144. He returns to Eng- 
 land, and is ungenerously treated, 
 146. Holds a princip.il command 
 in the Cadiz expedition, 148. Ef- 
 fects a reconciliation between Cecil 
 and Essex ; is himself restored to 
 favour at court, 161. Appointed 
 rear-admiral in the Island Voy- 
 age, 163. Takes Fayal, 165, 166. 
 Disputes with Essex ; their recon- 
 ciliation, 167. Letter to Cecil, 190. 
 Opposition between him and Cecil, 
 197, 198. Mission, to Flanders, 200. 
 His magnificent taste in dress and 
 equipage, 176,201. His speeches In 
 parliament, 210. Debate on voting 
 a subsidy, 210, 211. Great debate 
 on monopolies, 212, 213. Argues 
 for the removal of all restrictions 
 on agriculture, 215. Is treated with 
 coldness and neglect by King 
 James, 223. Deprived of his offi- 
 ces, 226. Accused of treason ; his- 
 tory of this mysterious transaction, 
 226-229. Confined in the Tower,229. 
 His trial, 231 ; and able defence, 
 234-248. Sentence, 248. Remarks 
 on his trial, and establishment of 
 his innocence, 249-253. Letter to 
 Lady Raleigh, 267-270. Is re- 
 prieved, and confined in theTower, 
 2’70. Reflections on his character 
 at this period, 271. His estate of 
 Sherborne given to Carr, earl of 
 Somerset, 273-275. His correspond- 
 ence and friendship with Prince 
 Henry, 276-287 ; his writings ad- 
 dressed to this prince ; on war, 
 276 ; on the naval power of Eng- 
 land, 279 ; on the match with Sa- 
 v(w, 280-285. His History of the 
 World, 289 ; criticism upon this 
 great work, 292-302. His sorrow 
 for the death of Prince Henry, 
 305, 306. He regains his liberty ; 
 scheme for the settlement of Gui- 
 ana, 308. Account of the expedi- 
 
412 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 tion, 312-322. His return to Eng- 
 land; proclamation against him, 
 322. Attempts to escape, 327. 
 Recommitted to the Tower, 330. 
 His examination by th« commis- 
 sioners, 332. Relation of his con- 
 versations with Sir Robert Wil- 
 son, 338-347. The queen entreats 
 for his pardon, 349. Warrant for 
 his execution, 352. His last inter- 
 view with Lady Raleigh, 355. His 
 behaviour on the scaffold, 359-365. 
 His execution, 365. Reflections on 
 his character, 366-372. 
 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, his Account of 
 Guiana defended against Hume’s 
 attack (Appendix), 373. He insti- 
 tutes a club at the Mermaid, 374- 
 376. Alleged attempt to stab him- 
 self, 376. Hume’s errors in his 
 account of, 377-381 . Cecil’s enmity 
 to, 381. Plotagainst — itsoriginand 
 secret history, 383-396. Errors of 
 Mr D’Israeli regarding his History 
 of the World, 396-400. Wilson’s 
 notes of his conversations, pre- 
 served in the State-paper Office, 
 400. Confinement in the Tower— 
 His unpublished manuscripts, 402- 
 405. Inventory of his jewels and 
 trinkets, 405. His portrait, 406. 
 
 Roanoak, island of. North America, 
 52, 54, 64. 
 
 Roch, Lord, capture of, in the Irish 
 civil war, 31. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sarmiento, Pedro, Spanish governor 
 of the Straits of Magellan, anec- 
 dote of, 56. 
 
 Sidney, Sir Philip, his character, 
 36, 111. 
 
 Spanish Armada, for the invasion of 
 England, 67-70. Sails from the 
 Tagus, 78. Dispersed and driven 
 back, 79- Sails the second time ; 
 its arrival off the Lizard, 80. En- 
 gaged by the English fleet, 81-85. 
 Anchors before Calais, 86. Its 
 discomfiture, 87-89, and wreck in 
 the North Seas, 90, 91. 
 
 Spenser, Edmund, is present at the 
 siege of Rakele, 27. His share of 
 the Earl of Desmond’s domains, 60. 
 
 Is visited by Raleigh ; their friend- 
 ship, 102-106. Is introduced to 
 Queen Elizabeth, 108. 
 
 Stanneries, warden of, nature of the 
 office ; Raleigh’s appointment, 60. 
 
 Stewart, Arabella, conspiracy re- 
 garding, a fiction, 229, 241. 
 
 Stuart, Sir Robert, commands a 
 Scottish force at the battle of 
 Rimenant, 24. 
 
 Stukely, Sir Lewis, commissioned 
 to arrest Sir Walter Raleigh, 323, 
 324. His treacherous conduct, 329. 
 
 Sully, Duke of, passage from his 
 Memoirs regarding Raleigh, 378. 
 
 Sussex, Earl of, his character, 35. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tobacco, its first introduction into 
 England by Raleigh, 57. Hariot’s 
 description of, 58. 
 
 Tounson, Dr, dean of Westminster, 
 his account of the last hours of Sir 
 Walter Raleigh, 357-366. 
 
 Trinidad visited by Raleigh, 136. 
 
 Tyrone, Earl of, heads the rebellion 
 in Ireland, 177. 
 
 V. 
 
 Virginia, so named by command of 
 Queen Elizabeth, 49. Settlement 
 of, 51. Difficulties of the infant 
 colony, 52-55. Second settlement 
 of, 64. 
 
 W. 
 
 White, John, appointed governor 
 of Virginia, 64. His return to 
 England, 66. 
 
 Wilson, Sir Thomas, appointed to 
 the charge of Sir Walter Raleigh 
 in the Tower. 335. Conduct to 
 his prisoner, 336. His relation of 
 conversations with Sir Walter, 
 338-347, of which he sends a daily 
 report to the king and Secretary 
 Naunton, 341. Letter to the king, 
 enclosing one from Raleigh, 345. 
 Second letter to the king, 349. Is 
 recalled from the Tower, 351. 
 Notes of conversations with Ra- 
 leigh, preserved in the State-paper 
 Office (Appendix), 400-402. 
 
 Winwood, Secretary, Raleigh’s let- 
 ter to, 309. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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 Tweeddale Court, High Street, Edinburgh. 
 
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6 
 
 EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY. 
 
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 OP 
 
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EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY. 
 
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 ALEXANDEE YON HUMBOLDT : 
 
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 THIRD EDITION, IMPROVED. ONE VOLUME. 
 
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8 
 
 EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY, 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 NUBIA AND ABYSSINIA : 
 
 COMPREHENDING THEIR 
 
 CIVIL HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, ARTS, RELIGION, LITERATURE, 
 AND NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 By the Right Rev. Michael Russell, LL.D. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. ONE VOLUME. 
 
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 A Description of the Country— an Account of its Inhabitants, Antiquities, 
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10 
 
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12 
 
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 LIFE OF 
 
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 SCANDINAVIA, 
 
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 BEITISH AMERICA; 
 
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 THREE YOLUiVIES. 
 
 The Author, deeply impressed with the importance of his task, has anxiously 
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 tracing the condition and history of the aboriginal tribes, he has had access to 
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 have been strangers. He has devoted much attention to the statistics and pre- 
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 on account of the recent changes, which have rendered all previous information 
 in a great measure useless. Hence, besides the works of Bouchette, M‘Gregor, 
 and others, it was necessary to examine the tables published by the Board of 
 Trade, the voluminous reports laid before Parliament, and to compare them 
 with the narratives of the latest travellers and residents. 
 
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 tion complete, without many personal communications. Particular acknowledg- 
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 Hudson’s Bay Establishment, who has furnished a large store of original inform- 
 ation respecting their trade, and the general state of the fur countries. A gentle- 
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 An intelligent friend, filling an important situation at St John, Newfoundland, 
 
u 
 
 EDINBUEGII CABINET LIBRARY. 
 
 transmitted full and recent statistical details relative to that colony. Respecting 
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 gentleman deeply concerned there both as proprietor and manager. To Mr 
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 the Author is indebted for several important communications. From other 
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 information, otherwise inaccessible, has been obtained. 
 
 Emigration, the most important light under which British America can be 
 viewed, will be found to have occupied a very prominent place in the writer’s 
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 former map, have been carefully marked. To the Third Volume is annexed a 
 delineation of the whole of the Northern and Western Regions which form the 
 theatre of the fur trade, and of those recent expeditions which had for their 
 object an extended knowledge of the remote shores and neighbouring seas. 
 
 No. XXVIII. 
 
 AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT 
 
 OF 
 
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 AND 
 
 THE FAROE ISLANDS; 
 
 WITH 
 
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EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY. 
 
 15 
 
 Nos. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. 
 
 ITALY 
 
 AND 
 
 THE ITALIAN ISLANDS: 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 By william SPALDING, Esq., 
 
 Professor of Rhetoric in the University of Edinburgh. 
 
 THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 This work, like its predecessors in the same department of the series, is 
 designed for delineating, in a shape adapted to popular use, all the most 
 important features of the beautiful and interesting country to which it refers. 
 It comprehends the History of its Politics, Literature, and Art, with copious 
 Illustrations of its Statistics, Geography, and Natural Science. The political, 
 social, and intellectual revolutions which have been undergone by the inhabit- 
 ants, are related in connexion with the antiquities, the scenery, and the physical 
 peculiarities, of the several States. There does not exist, in the English lan- 
 guage, any publication that attempts, in regard to Italy, a survey so extensive. 
 
 The First Volume, except the General Introduction with which it opens, is 
 devoted exclusively to Ancient Times. It unfolds, in succession, the History 
 of the Roman Republic and Empire, the Literature, Art, and Topography of 
 those ages, as also the Character and Habits of the Heathen Nation. 
 
 The Second Volume, after completing the survey of the ancient world by 
 an outline of Early Christian Antiquities, reviews the period which elapsed 
 between the Fall of the Western Empire and the French Revolution in 1789. 
 The most prominent characteristics of the Dark Ages are presented in one 
 combined picture. For the Middle Ages, Political History and the State of 
 Society are treated in two successive stages : after which Literature and Art are 
 depicted separately. The Political History of the first three centuries of Modern 
 Times, is followed by a review of Literature and Art during the same period. 
 
 The Third Volume embraces the History of Italy during the early Revolu- 
 tionary Era, as it existed under the Government of Napoleon, and as it has 
 appeared since the Restoration. Modem Topography, Recent Literature and 
 Art, occupy the next place : the Character and Habits of the Modern Nation 
 are investigated at great length : the Natural History and Resources of the 
 country are reviewed ; and a Statistical Summary closes the work. 
 
EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY, 
 
 16 . 
 
 No. XXXIT. 
 
 MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA: 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 WITH 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THEIR NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 By J. BAILLIE FRASER, Esq., 
 
 Author of An Historical and Descriptive Account of Persia,” &c. 
 
 ONE VOLUME. JUST PUBLISHED. 
 
 In the work now presented to the public, the Author has endeavoured to 
 bring under one view all that is known of the history and aspect, moral, physi- 
 cal, and political, of the provinces of Mesopotamia and Assyria ; and to give at 
 the same time a sketch of the causes that have produced the revolutions of 
 which they have been the theatre. The subject is extensive and complicated ; 
 and the diflBculty of compressing the matter which it embraces into one volume 
 was proportionally great. The Author, however, can safely affirm, that no 
 pains have been spared in collecting the most suitable materials to be found in 
 the writings of others, as well as in applying such as have been furnished by his 
 own acquaintance with those interesting countries. 
 
 The geographical account which has been given will be found at once entirely 
 accurate, and as particular, too, as the limits of such a work will permit. In 
 this description may be included the characteristic details of manners and cus- 
 toms of the Arab and Kurdish tribes, which, derived chiefly from actual ob- 
 servation, have been confirmed by various persons, whose opinions, from their 
 opportunities of judging, are entitled to the highest credit. 
 
 The sketch of the natural history of these provinces has likewise been drawn 
 up with an anxious desire to afford a summary of whatever valuable information 
 has been collected upon the subject. 
 
 Of the decorations of this volume the Author has only to observe, that they 
 are all engraved from drawings made by himself upon the spot ; and that he can 
 vouch at least for their accuracy, nothing having been added to the original 
 sketch except the particular effect which was deemed appropriate to the subject. 
 
 The utmost care has been bestowed on the construction of the Map, which 
 will be found to contain all the additions made by recent travellers to our geo- 
 graphical knowledge of the interesting country which occupies the basin of the 
 Tigris and Euphrates. 
 
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