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diff --git a/37080.txt b/37080.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..996fd15 --- /dev/null +++ b/37080.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10173 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Great Ralegh, by Hugh De Selincourt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Great Ralegh + +Author: Hugh De Selincourt + +Release Date: August 14, 2011 [EBook #37080] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT RALEGH *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Katie Hernandez and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + [Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEGH] + + + + + GREAT RALEGH + + BY + HUGH DE SELINCOURT + + WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS + + NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS + LONDON: METHUEN & CO. + 1908 + + + + + + + TO + + MURIEL LEE MATHEWS + + _High Cross_ + + + + + + +PREFACE + + +This book has been written for the general reader. Caveat scholasticus. +My aim has been to make the character of Ralegh live again, and to draw +a picture of the times in as lively a manner as I see it. England in +Elizabeth's maturity touched greatness; in Elizabeth's old age and +during the reign of King James, England declined. Ralegh embodied the +greatest qualities of the great days, and survived to carry on the +Elizabethan tradition when the great Elizabethans had passed away. + +The books to which reference has been made are too many to need mention +in a book of this kind: dramatists, poets, pamphleteers, memoirists have +been freely pillaged. But I should like to acknowledge here my extreme +indebtedness to the works of Major Martin Hume, Mr. T. N. Brushfield, +and the late Mr. Edward Edwards, and to thank again Miss Janet Wheeler +for her kind help, notably in that arduous task--the making of an Index. + + H. DE S. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER I + BIRTH PAGE + + The spread of news--Birth--Influence of birthplace--His + father--His mother 1 + + CHAPTER II + EARLY DAYS + + His early going to Oxford--Old Ascham on quick wit and + education--Life at a University--The Queen at Oxford--To + the wars in France--Henry Champernoun--Stories of the wars 11 + + CHAPTER III + TOWARDS MANHOOD + + Friendship with George Gascoyne--Its importance--Ralegh + in London--The arch-gossip Aubrey--Elizabethan London-- + Ralegh and Sir Humfrey Gilbert--The beginning of the great + enterprise 21 + + CHAPTER IV + THE ARRIVAL + + In Ireland--The state of the country--Cruelty of the + wars--At Rakele--Illustrative anecdotes--Smerwick-- + Ralegh's initiative--Lord Grey de Wilton--Exploit at + Bally--In touch with the home authorities 33 + + CHAPTER V + QUEEN'S FAVOURITE + + Court life--The Queen's position--Her character--She takes + notice of Ralegh--Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester--Sir + Philip Sidney--Burghley, the Lord High Treasurer, and + Walsingham--Robert Cecil--The dress of the courtier--The + language of the courtier--The other side, and the other + Queen--Mary, Queen of Scots--The great intrigue--Its + discovery--Death of Queen Mary 44 + + CHAPTER VI + THE GREAT ENTERPRISE + + Scheme of colonization--Preparation--The sailing--Queen's + interest--Death of Sir Humfrey Gilbert--Another charter + obtained--King Wingina--Hospitality--Sir Richard + Grenville--Difficulties of first colonists--Personal + outfit--Misfortune 71 + + CHAPTER VII + BUSINESS MAN + + The Stannaries--His grasp of detail--"Do it with thy + might"--Estimate of squadron--Scheme of coast defence-- + The clash-mills of Mr. Crymes--Irish plans 88 + + CHAPTER VIII + AGAINST SPAIN + + Spain's enmity--The Armada--Ralegh's opinion of tactics-- + With Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys--The privateers 97 + + CHAPTER IX + RALEGH AND SPENSER + + Rise of Essex--Ralegh retires to Ireland--At Kilcolman-- + At Youghal--Friendship with Spenser--Brings Spenser to + Court--Their dreams 106 + + CHAPTER X + EVIL TIMES + + Ralegh and the Puritans--John Udall--Blount--Ralegh's + marriage--Queen's anger--In the Tower--His sincerity--The + Episode in the "Faerie Queene"--_Madre de Dios_--Robert + Cecil--Sherborne 114 + + CHAPTER XI + THE KINGDOM IN GUIANA + + Ralegh leaves England--Arrives at Trinidad--Taking of S. + Joseph--Interviews with Berreo--Dealings with natives-- + Starts up the river in boats--Dangers overcome-- + Adventures--They reach River Amana--Indian village-- + Within sight of Guiana--Toparimaca--Beauty of the land-- + Falls of the Caroli--The return--Voyage home--Arrival in + England 127 + + CHAPTER XII + CADIZ AND FAYAL + + Division of command--Ralegh's delay--Unwillingness of men + to serve--Disputes--Ralegh's wise plan of action--The + attack--The sack--Ralegh wounded--His small share of + spoil--Return home--Sends ship to Guiana--Death of Lady + Cecil--Robert Cecil's policy--Expedition to Azores-- + Fayal--Quarrel with Essex 150 + + CHAPTER XIII + THE UNDERMINING + + Robert Cecil in power--Downfall of Essex--Ralegh's opinion + of Essex--Governor of Jersey--Peril imminent 167 + + CHAPTER XIV + SUCCESSION PLOTS + + Possible successors to Elizabeth--Lord Henry Howard-- + Spies--Ralegh's position--The net is drawn round him-- + Letter of Cecil--Last illness and death of Elizabeth-- + Carey's ride to the North 178 + + CHAPTER XV + THE TRIAL + + Arrival of James VI. of Scotland--Ralegh in immediate + disfavour--Gondomar comments on James--Ralegh accused of + treason--Cobham and Brooke--Ralegh attempts suicide-- + Cobham's retractions--November 17--And the trial's infamy 195 + + CHAPTER XVI + THE KING'S FARCE + + Comments on Ralegh's fall--In the prison at Winchester-- + Ralegh begs mercy--His attitude explained--The King's own + farce--Ralegh removed to London 227 + + CHAPTER XVII + THE LONG IMPRISONMENT + + Ralegh's efforts to avert complete ruin--True greatness-- + Keeps in touch with life--First two years--The history-- + The first sentence--Reasons for incompleteness--James's + dislike of the work--Its greatness 238 + + CHAPTER XVIII + THE LAST JOURNEY + + Ralegh's influence with Queen and Prince Henry--Death of + Robert Cecil--Rise of Villiers--Liberty--The undying + endeavour--Anecdote--Preparations for expedition--Delays + and uncertainty--The King's treachery--The expedition + starts--Further delays--Storms--Captain Bailey--Ralegh's + illness--At Terra de Bri--His son's death--Return of + Keymis--Suicide of Keymis--Mutiny--The return 253 + + CHAPTER XIX + DEATH + + His reception--Arrest--Journey from Plymouth--Stukeley + and Manourie--The final scene 287 + + INDEX 305 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + SIR WALTER RALEGH _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + + THE BIRTHPLACE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH, BUDLEIGH-SALTERTON 6 + _From a Photograph by F. Frith & Co., Ltd._ + + FRANCIS BACON 14 + + MAP OF LONDON 26 + _By kind permission of Dr. F. J. Furnivall_ + + QUEEN ELIZABETH 46 + + WILLIAM CECIL, LORD BURGHLEY 54 + + MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 68 + + A SAILING SHIP IN THE TIME OF RALEGH 78 + + GENERAL VIEW OF LONDON 100 + _From Thornton's "London_," 1784 + + ROBERT CECIL 124 + + KING JAMES I. 195 + + COUNT ARENBERGH 206 + + HENRY PRINCE OF WALES 254 + + PHILIP III. OF SPAIN 260 + + SIR WALTER RALEGH 270 + _From an Engraving by Vaughan_ + + TRAITOR'S GATE 294 + + + + +GREAT RALEGH + + + + +CHAPTER I + +BIRTH + + The spread of news--Birth--Influence of birthplace--His + father--His mother. + + +Life is a series of accidents more or less controlled; the play of +circumstances upon character infinitely various and infinitely involved. +Elizabethan life was superb for the reason that there were fewer men, +and they had the immense advantage of realizing their power and of +possessing scope for their energy. It was the age of discovery, not only +of new lands, but of discovery in every branch of life. Now, a man may +grow old before he has acquired an inkling of what has been found out, +before he has read what has been written finely. The world stands at +ease uneasily, and has time for shuffling and discontent. Vitality and +opportunity then worked in wonderful harmony. We are not less vital, but +our energy is apt to be stifled. Everything is so easy. We read day by +day what has happened throughout the world. There is nothing surprising +except our friends and ourselves--and they are apt to surprise us too +much. Effort begets effort, and effort, strength. The Elizabethan, +without railways, without posts, without telegraphs, was bound to rely +upon himself for everything. + +Man brought news to man by word of mouth, without warning or previous +discussion, or the help of photography. An errand-boy can now know more +easily what is happening in the whole world than a wise man could then +know of what was happening in his county. You did not know of a battle +till you saw the wounded fighters. + +They were shut out from the outside world, and from time to time +dramatically news fired their imagination and minds. And their minds +were trained so that they did not gape and wonder. Their minds were +stored with the wisdom of the Greeks and Romans, and were thrilled as +only trained minds can be thrilled, and roused to a veritable storm of +energy by the huge possibilities of life. The difficulties to be +overcome were material and romantic, and triumphs were more easily +attained. Life was as adventurous as the true tales of adventure that +were circulated at every fireside. + +Nowhere were these tales more frequent or fresher than near the great +sea-ports in Devonshire, where Walter Ralegh was born. The farmhouse +still stands, at Hayes, near Budleigh-Salterton. The country-side has +remained strangely the same in its appearance, a little more populous, +and, after waking to the arrival of trains, has sunk back to its long, +prosperous sleep, contented. No longer do strange ships with stranger +tidings disturb its rest; they are watched for and quietly expected; the +sailors land to learn news, and can tell little but gossip in return. No +longer do horses carry messengers on the Queen's service with packets +marked "_Haste_," "_Post Haste_," "_For Life_," galloping to the Queen's +Chief Secretary, in London. + +News was spread slowly; its effect must have been incredibly impressive. + +In the year 1552 Walter Ralegh was born. He was the second son of his +father's third wife, and so the universal accident of birth seems in his +case to be intensified. It was the sixth year of Edward VI.'s reign, and +an astrologer has noted that year as "a year remarkable in our +chronicles, first, for that strange shoal of the largest sea-fishes +which, quitting their native waters for fresh and untasted streams, +wandered up the Thames so high, till the river no longer retained any +brackishness; and, secondly, for that it is thought to have been +somewhat stained in our annals with the blood of the noble Seymer, Duke +of Somerset--events surprisingly analogous both to the life of this +adventurous voyager, Sir Walter Ralegh, whose delight was in the +hazardous discovery of unfrequented coasts, and also to his unfortunate +death." + +It is not possible to determine exactly the effect of these largest "sea +fishes" on his after-life; their coming may have been mere coincidence, +or it may have been that the same element of an unknown power that sent +the fishes hurrying to untasted streams, made Ralegh restless as the +fish. The point lends itself to straining by its nature, though it is +staidly mentioned by the staid biographer who has been quoted. + +The dominating influence of his life was not the date of his birth, but +his birthplace in the quiet of the country, and yet within the easiest +reach of the fabulous outside world. That influence cannot be +exaggerated. + +Old sailors, who, as young men, had sailed with Jaques Carthier, of St. +Malo, must have stirred the boy's mind with the stories of their +adventures up the river of Canada to Saguenay, where there was gold and +silver and red copper; how they visited the town of Hochelaga, their +captain very gorgeously attired; and how, when their guides had led them +to the midst of the town, they were saluted by the women first and then +by the men; and a comedy was rehearsed for their amusement until, borne +on ten men's shoulders, Agouhanna, the lord and king of the country, +wearing the skins of red hedgehogs in place of a crown, was brought in +and placed by the side of their captain, on a great stag's skin; and how +their captain, seeing the people's misery, read them in a loud, clear +voice the first chapter of St. John's Gospel. Tales, too, young Ralegh +would hear of other wild men and of their prodigious wealth, which they +knew not the value of; of rubies and of pearls bartered for iron and +toys; of the great creatures morses or sea-oxen, "which fish is very +big, and hath two great teeth, and the skinne of them is like Buffe's +leather, and they will not go away from their young ones." And at +Bristol was living Mr. Alexander Woodson, an excellent mathematician and +skilful physician, and he, writes Hakluyt, "shewed me one of these +beast's teeth which were brought from the isle of Ramea in the first +prize, which was half a yard long or very little less; and assured mee +that he had made tryall of it in ministring medicine to his patients, +and had found it as soveraigne against poyson as any Unicornes horne." + +With only a little less eagerness and a wiser discrimination between +fact and fable would the elders of the great Devonshire families, with +many of whom the Raleghs were connected, hear the news and plan schemes +for outwitting their rivals on the sea--the Spaniards--and perhaps +foresee the great part their sons would play in gaining for their +country prestige in this unclosing of the outside world. They would +spare no pains to make the youngsters worthy to carry on the great +tradition of Devonshire gentlemen under the splendid new conditions, +which were daily becoming more apparent. + +A fine stock were the Devonshire gentlemen who watched over the years of +Walter Ralegh's boyhood, whetting no doubt by their interest his +keenness in Latin and Greek, in fencing and riding, and training his +knowledge of men. Among the Gilberts and Champernounes and Raleghs and +Carews, there would be men as skilful in the handling of a ship as in +the proper management of a farm, and to all would young Ralegh listen +with his mind feverishly alert for information, and from all he would +learn what each could teach him. + +Old John Hooker, who lived at Exeter, and helped to write the +continuation of Holinshed's chronicle, knew the boy and took an interest +in him; as is easy to see from his proud reference to the Raleghs' +illustrious descent--royal even he would have it in despite of Sir +William Pole--and from his fine warning to young Ralegh when he was +emerging into distinction to remain worthy of it. "These all," he +writes, "were men of great honour and nobility whose virtues are highly +recorded sparsim in the Chronicles of England. But yet, as nothing is +permanent in this life and all things variable under the sun, and Time +hath devoured and consumed greatest men and mightiest monarchs and most +noble communities in the world--according to the old country saying, 'Be +the day never so long, yet at length it will ring to even-song'--so +this honourable race ... continued in great honour, nobility and +reputation, yet in process of time seemed at length to be buried in +oblivion. + +"Now it hath pleased God to raise the same even from the dead.... And +whereof cometh this that the Lord hath so blessed you, but only that you +should be beneficial and profitable to all men?" And he ends his +discourse, in which a note of almost fatherly concern is heard, with an +apt euphuism about the bee, to clinch his argument and perhaps to show +his knowledge of courtly style (did not he too go to London as member +for Exeter?) "As the bee is no longer suffered to have a place in the +hive than whiles he worketh, no more is that man to have place in the +public weal than whiles he doth some good therein." + +His father, too, was a man to know and appreciate his son's worth. He +had led no uneventful life, though he was, for the most part, +sequestered in the country. He took a leading part in the affairs of the +little town of Budleigh-Salterton. In the great Rising of the West, in +1549, he came perilously near to losing his life. He was riding with +some mariners from Hayes to Exeter, when he came upon an old woman +telling her beads; he stopped to ask her why she defied authority by +telling beads, and the old woman, furious, rushed into the church of +Clyst St. Mary, and inveighed against the gentlemen who would burn the +houses of poor folk over their heads. Ralegh had ridden on towards +Exeter; a body of insurgents overtook him, and he was saved from being +murdered only by hastening into a chapel by the road-side. But he went +on his way again, and again fell into the hands of the rebels; and this +time he did not manage to escape, but was shut up in the tower of a +church at St. Sidwell's--a suburb of Exeter in the hands of the +rebels--until Lord Grey of Wilton won the great battle of Clyst Heath, +in which four thousand perished, and relieved the siege of Exeter. The +incident serves to show the calibre of the father. + +[Illustration: THE BIRTHPLACE OF SIR WALTER RALEGH, BUDLEIGH, SALTERTON] + +But when young Ralegh was a boy, his father's adventurous days were +over; and in 1561 he is mentioned as churchwarden of East Budleigh +parish, and no doubt led his family regularly each Sunday to the family +pew, on which the family arms are still discernible, though much +disfigured--probably too at the command of King James I. of England, who +feared his too ambitious subject even after his death. Little the father +thought of that as he watched the little boy to see that he behaved with +propriety in church and did not sleep or play as little boys are wont to +do during a sermon. Old Ralegh, remembering the terrible reaction during +Mary's reign, would be specially punctilious in such matters; and +fathers then were not lenient to their children. Young Peter Carew, when +he played truant at Exeter Grammar School, was leashed to a great hound +by his father: and we are not told whether Peter and the dog were on +friendly terms. They may have become so; we will hope for Peter's sake +that they did. Certainly, with three young Gilberts, young Walter's +step-brothers--sons of Otho Gilbert--and a family of Raleghs of all +ages, there would be need for stern discipline in church as well as out +of church, and there is little reason for doubting of its existence, +though no account has been handed down of severity as ingenious as that +shown by Peter Carew's honest father. Probably, in young Walter's +upbringing, there was a touch of the ewe lamb, that would account in a +measure for the "naeve of pride" which was such a conspicuous feature of +his developed character. Not that he was spoiled; but his parents had a +soft place in their hearts for him, which he well would know of, and he +was not suppressed so rigorously as he would have been otherwise ... but +this is pleasant conjecture. + +His mother was a woman of character: "a woman of noble wit, and of good +and godly opinions," writes John Foxe of her, and proceeds to tell how +she visited poor Agnes Prest when she was in prison for having +Protestant opinions (that was when Mary was on the throne, and Philip +of Spain was powerful in England), and conversed with her before she was +burned at the stake on Southernhay. "Mistress Ralegh came home to her +husband and declared to him that in her life she never heard any woman, +of such simplicity to see, to talk so godly and so earnestly; insomuch +that if God were not with her she could not speak such things. I was not +able to answer her: I, who can read, and she cannot." + +The story does not relate what answer Mistress Ralegh wanted to give; it +does not necessarily show her a Catholic in sympathy, though she +probably did not sympathize with Agnes Prest's desire for martyrdom, and +wanted to prevent the old woman from losing her life in such a terrible +way. The story illustrates how inextricably religion was bound up with +patriotism, and what a quandary the ordinary peace-loving gentlefolk, +whose wish was to serve God and their country, must have been in, when +the interests of either changed with the sovereign. That was why +Elizabeth, by her policy of gradually cutting the ties that linked +England to the Pope and the countries under his authority, gave such +immense strength to the English; she united, as it were, the strength +drawn from patriotism and the strength drawn from religion, by forcing +England to rely on herself alone; and so she overcame the countries +weakened by the constant antagonism between the welfare of their +religion and the welfare of their state. She saw, as her father Henry +had seen, the value of religion as a political asset; and with cold +common sense she used that asset for all its peculiar worth. Her policy +is more praiseworthy than her religion. Never was woman less religious; +few women have been dowered with her state-craft. Religion and +patriotism became practically identical: their interests were no longer +conflicting. + +The Pope and his followers became, for adventurous Englishmen, +comfortingly akin to the devil and the devil's workers, to have at whom +has always been the privilege of good men since the world began. +Moreover, in this case the powers of evil were wealthy and pompous, but +unwarlike; and wealth is a pleasant perquisite to virtue. + +The time did not lend itself to contemplation. There was too much to be +done. It was a time of action. The material world, with all its +tremendous possibilities, was opening out before the astonished gaze of +Englishmen, and left but little time for the exploration of the +spiritual world. Men of action and men of art passed on their way +triumphantly, "if not to heaven--then hand in hand to hell." + +Young Ralegh would accept his religion from his parents much as he +accepted his sword, resolved to keep both bright and becoming a +gentleman. He was a man of the world; and the world then was boisterous +and unruly. Men revelled in life like boys; their code of honour was as +chivalrous and strange as that of boys. They lived, and they relished +living. + +Into this world young Ralegh went to make his way. He was poor, but had +friends who had caused the spirit of life to thrive in him, who had +nurtured his own belief in himself, and showed him what the world had in +store for the courageous and skilful man. He was proud and ambitious, +and few men have had better reason for pride, or have carried out their +ambition with such success as he. He was always an aristocrat; so +distinguished that ostentation became him, which, on a meaner man, would +have passed into vulgarity. He was the most romantic figure of the most +romantic age in the annals of English history. + +His life was fuller of great accidents than life is wont to be, and all +these accidents of good fortune and of bad he used to the full extent of +a man's power, and by so doing he controlled them and became the master +of his fate. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +EARLY DAYS + + His early going to Oxford--Old Ascham on quick wit and + education--Life at a University--The Queen at Oxford--To + the wars in France--Henry Champernoun--Stories of the wars. + + +Of Ralegh's early education little is known: it is uncertain whether he +was taught at home, or went to one of the Grammar Schools which Stowe +records with pride existed in nearly every country town. When he was +sixteen he went to Oriel College, Oxford, of which his kinsman, C. +Champernoun, was already a commoner, and sixteen was an early age, even +for an Elizabethan to go to the University. + +His kinsman's presence accounts in a measure for this early going (he +started most of his life's enterprises under their shelter, though in +the end he grew to overtop them), but his quick wit was another and the +chief reason. Old Ascham begs the fond schoolmaster to modify his +propensity for caning, and to discriminate between "the harde witte and +the quicke witte. But this I will say, that even the wisest of your +great beaters do as oft punishe nature as they do correcte faultes. Yea, +many times the better nature is sorer punished; for if one by quicknes +of witte take his lesson readelie, another by hardnes of witte taketh it +not speedilie: the first is alwaies commended, the other is commonlie +punished, when a wise schoolmaster should ... not so much wey what +either of them is able to do now, as what either of them is likelie to +do hereafter." He will have none of the quick wit. Slow and sure is his +adage. To him quick wits are "even like over-sharpe tooles whose edges +be verie soone turned." And Ascham was the Queen's tutor, and was +striking out a new line in his theme, in his treatment of it and in his +language. For a scholar of his calibre to write of the education of +little boys, and to write of it in English (fine English it is, too, +with its balanced cadences), demanded profuse apologies, which he is not +slow to offer, and to offer at full length in his preface. No apology +would be necessary now, when Education Bills have been known to overturn +Governments, or even a very few years later than Ascham himself; but in +Ascham's actual day, Latin was regarded as the language of the learned, +and dignity, which Ascham never lost, an attribute of learning. His +remarks are always judicious, and his summing up of the temperament, +which he calls the quick wit, is brilliant if not final. It is in the +nature of generalization to be limited. For there are many wits where +quickness and hardness, which he distinguishes so sharply, are as +memorably, as in the case of young Ralegh, combined--"sharpe tooles" +whose edges be never turned. Such incontestably was Ralegh. His mind and +his character (the motive force) were on the same level of strength; +neither preyed on the other, and he lived in a time when the world +offered scope, as never perhaps in quite the same way before or since, +to the resistless energy of united strength. + +But to return to Ascham, whose little treatise throws an invaluable +quiet light of its own upon the methods of the time, when he was old and +Ralegh was young, and upon the making of great men and the great need +of them--from its conception at the dinner party in the palace at +Windsor, to its finish, years later, when the old man turned once more +to the proper teaching of rudiments, doing his best for the younger +generation whose best would outstrip all that he had ever dreamed of in +his least scholastic moments. There is more than a touch of pathos in +his warnings, for all their staid wisdom, and in his fears lest the +young should be overcome by their "stout wilfulness"; blind as he could +not but be to the goal to which stout wilfulness alone could lead them. + +With a schoolmaster's conscious effort at broad-mindedness he would not +have the young one sit all day at his studies. "To joyne learnyng with +cumlie exercises Conto Baldesoer Castiglione in his booke Cortegiane +doth trimlie teache: which booke advisedlie read and diligentlie +folowed, but one year at home in England would do a yong ientleman more +good, I wisse, then three yeares travell abrode spent in Italie." And he +passes by way of example "two noble Primeroses of nobilitie, the yong +Duke of Suffolk and Lord H. Matrevers" (such a two as "our tyme may +rather wishe than looke for agayne") on to his famous invective against +the Italianating of Englishmen, with that constant note of sadness at +the falling off of the present generation. His ears were deaf to such +names as Sidney, Gilbert, Champernoun, Ralegh, names which time has set +at their proper value, and against which Ascham's noble primroses sink +into their proper insignificance. + +Ralegh was at Oxford only one year, and Anthony Wood writes: "His +natural parts being strangely advanced by academical learning, under the +care of an excellent tutor, he became the ornament of the juniors, and +was worthily esteemed a proficient in Oratory and Philosophy." He +seasoned his primer years at Oxford in knowledge and learning, a good +ground, as Hooker says, and a sure foundation to build thereupon good +actions. + +Only one incident is recorded of that year of his life, and that is +recorded by the illustrious Bacon in his apothegms. "... When Ralegh was +a scholar at Oxford there was a cowardly fellow who happened to be a +very good archer; but having been grossly abused by another, he bemoaned +himself to Ralegh, and asked his advice what he should do to repair the +wrong that had been offered him. Why, challenge him, answered Ralegh, to +a match of shooting." It would be interesting to know how the repartee +came to Lord Bacon's knowledge. + +[Illustration: FRANCIS BACON] + +It is about in the proportion that Ralegh filled his life, compared with +the ordinary way of living, that he took in one year out of Oxford what +most men required seven years to take; for seven years was the usual +time for a full course, and often, as in Germany to-day, men went from +one University to another. + + "Ein jeder lernt das was man lernen kann + Nur wer den Augenblick ergreifft das ist der rechte Mann." + +Not that life at the University was restrained and dull. Far from it. +Listen to Thomas Lever, who spoke of the work some twenty years before +Ralegh's time. "From 5 to 6 a.m. there was common prayer with an +exhortation of God's word in a common chapel, and from 6 to 10 either +private study or common lectures. At 10 o'clock generally came dinner, +most being content with a penny piece of beef amongst four. After this +slender dinner the youths were either teaching or learning until 5 p.m., +when they have a supper not much better than their dinner. Immediately +after they went either to reasoning in problems or unto some other study +until 9 or 10 of the clock, and then being without fire were fain to +walk or run up and down half an hour to get a heat on their feet before +they went to bed." This sounds splendidly strenuous, and shows what was +expected by the authorities, and the standard of the dons to which +doubtless many conformed. From Nash's trenchant pamphlets we see the +other side of the picture. Thomas Lever was a preacher: Thomas Nash was +not. It is while he is engaged in "pouring hot boiling ink on this +contemptible Heggledepeg's barrain scalp" (or as we should put it, +proving in controversy the errors of Gabriel Harvey) that he gives his +sudden glimpses of life and customs in town and university. "What will +you give me when I bring him uppon the Stage in one of the principallest +Colledges in Cambridge? Lay anie wager with me and I will: or if you +laye no wager at all, Ile fetch him aloft in Pedantius, that exquisite +Comedie in Trinitie Colledge: where under the cheife part from which it +tooke his name, as namely the concise and firking finicaldo fine +Schoolmaster, hee was full drawen and delineated from the soale of his +foot to the crowne of his head. The just manner of his phrase in his +Orations and Disputations they stufft his mouth with and no Buffianism +throughout his whole bookes but they bolstered out his part with ... +whereupon Dick came and broke the Colledge glasse windowes and Doctor +Perne (being then either for himself or Deputie Vice Chancellour) caused +him to be fetcht in and set in the Stockes till the Shew was ended and a +great part of the night after." + +This tells a less sombre tale, and when Nash begins to be scurrilous +about John Harvey, the third brother, and records "the olde reakes hee +kept with the wenches in Queenes Colledge Lane" (how strangely places +retain their character!), the tale becomes less sombre still. + +The Queen, too, would make journeys with royal visitors to the +University, as in 1566, when Stowe tells with pride that she made "on +the sodain an oration in Latin to the whole universitie of Oxford in the +presence of the Spanish ambassadors;" so that neither university would +be out of touch with the great world. Nor did the undergraduates keep at +the same respectful distance from royalty that they are wont to now, as +another delightful story of Nash about Harvey shows, who when the Court +was at Audley End came "ruffling it out huffty-tuffty on his suite of +velvet, to doo his countrey more worship and glory." He disputed with +the courtiers and maids of honour, and at last was brought to kiss the +Queen's hand, and the Queen was pleased to say that he looked like an +Italian, a compliment from which he never quite recovered. + +So there would be much to occupy the thoughts and attention of an +ordinary boy of sixteen. But Ralegh in a year was ripe for other things, +and left Oxford for the wars in France. The opportunity came through his +kinsman, Henry Champernoun, son of John Champernoun of Modbury, his +mother's eldest brother, raising a company of gentlemen to fight on the +Huguenot side: and Ralegh took the opportunity of active service. + +Very interesting are the steps in a great man's life. Chance seems to +play so small a part. The instinct to get the most out of his +personality becomes the conscious effort to which perhaps a great man +chiefly owes his greatness. + +Precisely in this way is the boy the father of the man, and Ralegh's +life is a pregnant example of it. He had, of course, no serious motive +for leaving Oxford. He longed for fighting and adventures, and seized +without a thought on the reckless impulse that led him to the wars, +laughing probably at the sad head-shaking of his staid tutors. But he +had learned how to learn: and his passion for life never damped his +passion for knowledge, and impulse led him to the discipline which his +nature demanded. The stern discipline and hardship of war were wanted to +impress him, while still pliant, with the proper value of things by +showing him with war's crude force the bare facts of life and death and +human nature. + +The strength and ability of the body told in those times, when man dealt +directly with man, and encountered nature at closer quarters than he +need now do, when her forces are fended off him and controlled for his +use in ways then only dreamed of. Being weaker, men were rougher and +more cruel. + +That is manifest in the punishments of the Government. Executions were +public. There was no other means for making the punishment known than by +making the punishment visible. A man paid for trespass against the laws +by disfigurement of his body--by branding on the forehead or palm, by +loss of ear or hand: any one dangerous, or who threatened danger to the +order with such difficulty established, was hung and quartered, or +burned, or beheaded, and his execution was public and a sight not to be +missed. The limbs of malefactors were exposed conspicuously at the +Queen's pleasure. + +Cruelty breeds fear, and fear breeds cunning. There was no longer the +shelter of the monastery for the timid or the thoughtful. Accordingly, +craftiness and conspiracy and secrecy prevailed in every corner of the +country. + +But there is the contrary side. The man who was able to be independent +of these circumstances of cruelty, rose above them to heights of +bravery and self-reliance and strength, which are almost unknown in more +peaceful times. There could be no monotony, or slackness of endeavour +when a mistake or a careless word, or even a foolish gesture, might +bring with it the consequence of death. A man was braced to continual +effort and unconquerable control, when a moment's lack of either might +mean life's actual ending, or a lifetime's long disgrace. There was no +place for mediocrity. Those were the days of heroes and nonentities; +soaring heroes, crawling nonentities. + +Thus the chance which led Ralegh to the French wars, and Ralegh's +readiness to seize that chance (chance by itself does little), were +fortunate in the extreme for the best furtherance of his personality's +development. + +In France the religious wars between the Guisards and the Huguenots had +broken out in the year 1562; and as Hayward, a contemporary chronicler, +recounts, "In regarde to her owne person and state the Queen considered +that if the Duke of Guise should prevail these fires of France both +easilie might and readilie would cast dangerous sparkes over the ocean +into England." She could not give aid openly to the Huguenots: but +privately she sanctioned the enterprises of gentlemen who offered their +services in aid of the Huguenots. For the real danger was that if the +Huguenots were wiped out, a formidably close union between France and +Spain might result. It was thus convenient that France should remain in +a state of unrest until England should become properly strengthened and +solidified in her isolated position. Elizabeth's actions were ruled in +this case, as in all cases, not by religious faith or by sympathy with +the people who were suffering death for their faith, but wholly by +political expediency. Religion with her was only a piece in the game, +and she respected it as the most valuable piece. It is easy to cry +"Shame!" and "Treachery!" when modern power over time and space has +modified the rules of the diplomatic game; but game it remains, and +truth in it still plays, and will always play, the subservient part of a +nice convention or a fine pretext. + +So those gallant gentlemen, who longed to fight and could find no more +excellent reason than faith for fighting, went with their companies to +France and fought their fill for the Huguenots. They realized the +unfortunate necessity to which the Queen of England was put in ordaining +that if they were taken prisoners a scroll should be pinned on their +breasts as they dangled from the gallows, on which it was declared that +they met their fate "for having come against the will of the Queen of +England to the help of the Huguenots." That, probably, only lent zest to +their endeavour. They would realize, too, that however the Queen of +England might be forced to act, Elizabeth in her woman's heart +sympathized deeply with the cause for which they fought; and Elizabeth, +be sure, with her woman's wit, did her utmost to encourage them in this +belief, and not without sincerity. + +Henry Champernoun, of whose band of gentlemen volunteers, gathered +mostly from Devonshire, Camden asserts that Ralegh was a member, was +famous among these Huguenot supporters, though not so famous as his +cousin, Gawen Champernoun, a son of Katherine, Ralegh's younger brother, +Sir Arthur. Gawen progressed so far that he became son-in-law to the +celebrated Count of Montgomery. No doubt Ralegh the nephew looked up to +his uncles. + +About his five or six years' absence in France (the date of his return +is uncertain) Ralegh is reticent, partly, as Edwards suggests, in +obedience to the maxim laid down in his "History of the World" which +runs, "Whosoever in writing a Modern Historie shall follow Truth too +near the heels it may haply strike out his teeth;" and partly, too, for +the reason that his experiences as a boy would be adventurous rather +than suggestive. He would have been too young to be enough behind the +scenes to know the motives of movements in which he took part, and the +motives would alone lend a broad or historical value to the adventures. +Among relations, youngness is commonly taken into full account. And +Ralegh, for all his ability, had not probably the opportunity given him +of seeing things other than as isolated incidents. As likely as not, he +was asked to leave the tent or the room when matters of moment were +about to be discussed. + +But certain anecdotes he recalls in his "History of the World," one of +which is well worth telling in his own good words, because it shows the +manner of fighting that prevailed in these wars: "I saw in the third +Civil War of France certain caves in Languedoc which had but 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 +certain bundles of straw, let down by an iron chain, and a weighty stone +in the midst, those that defended it were so smothered as they rendered +themselves with their plate, money and other goods therein hidden." + +He was not, however, always among the caves and hedgerows; almost +certainly he was in Paris in 1572, sheltering with Philip Sidney in the +house of the ambassador, Walsingham, when the terrible and famous +massacre took place during the night of St. Bartholomew's Eve, in which +the friends of the Duke of Guise boasted that more Protestants were +slain than in the whole of the twelve years of the war. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +TOWARDS MANHOOD + + Friendship with George Gascoyne--Its importance--Ralegh in + London--The arch-gossip Aubrey--Elizabethan London--Ralegh and + Sir Humfrey Gilbert--The beginning of the great enterprise. + + +Ralegh returned from France in 1575 or 1576; and there are three years +of his life--important years, from the age of twenty-three to +twenty-six--which contain little or no record of his doings. Some +authors, on the slenderest authority, maintain that he trailed a pike in +the Lowlands, under Sir John Norris. But this is unlikely. The time of +his possible presence there has been adroitly whittled down by William +Oldys to the early part of the year 1578, and quite recently a document +has been discovered bearing his signature, and the date of the deed is +April 11th, 1578. If the signature is genuine, and expert evidence +points to the fact that it is so, this is an additional, almost +conclusive, proof that during these three years he remained in England. + +There is another matter, intrinsically small, but exceedingly important +because it throws a great light on his pursuits at this time. To George +Gascoigne's satirical poem "The Steele Glas" is appended, among other +commendatory verses, a poem by Walter Rawely, of the Middle Temple, +which runs as follows-- + + "Swete were the sauce, would please ech kind of tast + The life likewise, were pure that never swerved + For spyteful tongs, in cankred stomaches plaste, + Deeme worst of things, which best (percase) deserved: + But what for that? this medcine may suffyse, + To scorne the rest, and seke to please the wise. + + "Though sundry mindes in sundry sorte do deeme + Yet worthiest wights yelde praise for every payne, + But envious braynes, do nought (or light) esteeme + Such stately steppes as they cannot attaine. + For who so reapes, renowne above the rest, + With heapes of hate, shal surely be opprest. + + "Wherefore to write, my censure of this booke + This Glasse of Steele impartially doth shewe, + Abuses all, to such as in it looke, + From prince to poore, from high estate to lowe + As for the verse, who lists like trade to trye, + I feare me much, shal hardly reache so high." + +Edwards thinks, and rightly, that the verses show an intimate friendship +with the poet in whose honour they were written; and "the poem itself to +me discovers," writes Oldys, with his own quaint charm, "in the very +first line of it a great air of that solid axiomatical vein which is +observable in other productions of Ralegh's muse. And the whole middle +hexastic is such an indication of his own fortune or fate, such a +caution against that envy of superior merit which he himself ever +struggled with, that it could proceed from no hand more properly than +his own." + +And these conjectures are strengthened into fact when it is remembered +(and this point seems hitherto to have been passed over) that Gascoigne +was a close friend of Sir Humfrey Gilbert, and a kinsman to Martin +Frobisher. "Now it happened," writes Gascoigne ("in a letter from my +lodging, where I march among the Muses for lacke of exercise in martial +exploytes"), "now it happened that my selfe being one (amongst manie) +beholding to the said S. Humfrey Gilbert for sundrie curtesies did come +to visit him in Winter last past at his house in Limehouse, and beeing +verie bolde to demande of him howe he spente his time in this loytering +vacation from martial stratagems: he curteously tooke me up into his +studie and there shewed me sundrie profitable and verie commendable +exercises which he had perfected painefully with his own penne: And +amongst the rest this present Discourse. The which as well because it +was not long, as also because I understoode that M. Fourboiser (a +kinsman of mine) did pretend to travaile in the same Discouverie, I +craved at the said S. Humfreyes handes for two or three dayes to reade +and peruse. And hee verie friendly granted my request, but still seming +to doubt that thereby the same might, contrarie to his former +determination be Imprinted." + +Ralegh would meet Gascoigne often at Sir Humfrey's house, and to +Gascoigne he probably owed his first impulse towards literature. For +George Gascoigne was the most considerable man writing at that time; and +though his work contained no actual greatness, it was very much on the +right lines, that is to say, he was steeped in Chaucer and Gower, and +acknowledged them his masters, rather than classical authors. Not that +he was ignorant of either Latin or Greek; on the contrary, he was +intimate with both, and his "Jocasta," which he adapted from an Italian +translation by Dolce of the "Phoenissae" of Euripides, was not only one +of the first plays in blank verse, but also was the first known attempt +to produce translated tragedy upon the English stage. + +And therein lies Gascoigne's chief quality. He was an innovator and +original, and that bespeaks force of character, a trait which must have +drawn young Ralegh to him. For like attracts like in a mysterious +manner. + +Gascoigne holds an interesting place in the literature of the time. +Since the publication of "Tottel's Miscellany," in 1557, there had, for +some thirty years, been a distinct lull in the output of poetry, and the +work of Gascoigne was a prelude to the revival that came about the years +1579-1582, when Sidney, Spenser, Watson, and Lyly first made their +appearance, the true harbingers of the mighty tempest of song that broke +upon the world in 1590, and continued for some twenty amazing years. + +He tried his hand, diffidently, as became a gentleman, at every form; +realizing and pointing out, as it were, the capacity of the great +instrument of the English language. "It is no mean feat," as an eminent +scholar says, "to rank in history as George Gascoigne ranks with fair +documentary evidence to prove his title as the actual first practitioner +in English of comedy in prose, satire in regular verse, short prose +tales, translated tragedy and literary animadversion" (in which word the +eminent scholar refers to a short technical account of the making of +English verse, prefixed to the "Steele Glas"). + +And apart from his writing, to which he devoted specially the last years +of his life, there would be much that he would have in common with young +Ralegh. Indeed, his life resembles in little the subsequent career of +Ralegh himself, and the device, "Tam Marti quam Mercurio," suited him as +nicely as it suited Ralegh who afterwards, by adopting the device, made +it famous. He was the son of a gentleman of Bedfordshire, Sir John +Gascoigne, and after going to Cambridge and being a member of Grays Inn, +he served in Holland fighting for the Dutch under William, Prince of +Orange, and had many strange adventures. On his return to London he had +some post at Court, the exact nature of which is not known, and he sat +twice as Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire. What is of special +interest is, that he was in close touch with the Earl of Leicester, and +Lord Grey de Wilton; for in 1575, when the Queen made her famous visit +to Kenilworth, it was Gascoigne who was commissioned to devise masks for +her entertainment; and it is Lord Grey de Wilton to whom he dedicates +the chief of his poems. Therefore it is extremely probable that young +Ralegh owed to him, if not his actual introduction to Leicester, at any +rate a great furtherance of Leicester's notice of Ralegh. It is surely +more than coincidence that Gascoigne's chief patrons should have also +been among Ralegh's principal helpers. + +And Gascoigne's early death, at the age of forty, in 1577, would impress +his influence upon his young friend, and that influence is discoverable +in the directness and freedom from literary affectation of any kind, +which is very noticeable in the work of both. And it is interesting to +speculate whether, without Gascoigne, Ralegh would ever have possessed +knowledge and insight enough to realize later Spenser's worth, which the +scholar Harvey (no mean authority at that time) completely failed to +see. Be that as it may, the friendship of Gascoigne and Ralegh +anticipates pregnantly that friendship of his with Spenser which was of +importance to the literature of the world. + +But Ralegh was no paragon of a young man continually engaged in staid +discourse with his elders. It is refreshing to have authority for a +different and delightfully human glimpse of his life. The authority is +Aubrey, and Aubrey loved gossip--and especially scandalous gossip--so +fervidly, that his stories bear the hall-mark of truth, apart from the +fact that they are too ridiculous to be worth even Aubrey's while to +fabricate. This is the tale, which Aubrey is careful to mention (his +solemnity in telling his gossip comes little short of genius), was +recounted to him by Dr. John Gell. "In his youthful time was one Charles +Chester, that often kept company in his acquaintance: he was a bold, +impertinent fellow, and they could never be at quiet for him; a +perpetual talker and made a noise like a drumme in a roome. So one time +at a taverne Sir W. R. beates him and seales up his mouthe (_i.e._ his +upper and neather beard) with hard wax." Probably Charles Chester took +this summary Elizabethan hint, but Aubrey throws no light on the hint's +effect. + +[Illustration: MAP OF LONDON] + +The little incident is typical, not so much of Ralegh, though it shows +his swift vigour, as of the times. Such a thing happening now would be +likely to cause a scandal which would be known to most of the civilized +world. Then the continents were being discovered which would now join in +the outcry of amazement or laughter. + +London was small. St. Paul's was the centre of life: Chepeside was the +main and fashionable street; the streets were narrow and the houses were +chiefly built of wood. The Mermaid Tavern was in Friday Street. There +were large residences with gardens in the city, public gardens on Tower +Hill, and green graveyards round the churches. The river, crossed by one +bridge--London Bridge--was in constant use; and a wall ran round the +semicircle of the city. Temple Bar, Holborn Bar, Aldgate, Bishopsgate, +Aldersgate, the bar at Smithfield, the bar on the Whitechapel +highway--the gates and bars tell the city area, and outside the walls +clustered the Liberties, where vagrants had their quarters. + +London was becoming crowded. In 1580 the Lord Burghley took measures to +stop the expansion of the city, and from his table of births and deaths +the population has been estimated at about ninety thousand. That figure +is only approximate. There was no actual census until some eighty years +later, when John Graunt, of Birchin Lane, at length succeeded in his +scheme. + +London was lively. Men lived much more in the streets. Merchants met +customers there, and lawyers conversed with their clients. "Newgate +Market, Cheapeside, Leaden Hall, and Gracechurch Street were +unmeasurably pestered with the unimaginable increase and multiplicity of +Market folkes, as well by carts as otherwise, to the great vexation of +all the inhabitants, annoyance of the streete trouble, and danger to all +passengers as well Coaches, Carts, etc. Horses as otherwise," writes +Howes, giving the reason why magistrates of the City, in 1615, reduced +the rude vast place of Smithfield into comely order for a market, and +the citizens began their new pavement of broad free-stone close to their +shops, and took down all the high causes in the Strand and Holborn. West +Smithfield was called Ruffian's Hall, because there the young men used +to fight with sword and buckler. Duelling was prevalent--one of the +sincerities of human life which bursts through the thickest quilted +formulas, as Carlyle ejaculates. Fighting was as common an amusement and +exercise as cricket and football are now. Every serving man, from the +base to the best, carried a buckler at his back. Rapier and dagger, +however, which began about this time, made fighting less common, for it +was far more dangerous than the manner of fighting with buckler and +sword. "It was usuall to have Frays, Fightes and Quarrels upon the +Sundayes and Holidayes, sometimes twenty, thirty and forty Swords and +Bucklers, halfe against halfe, as well by quarrells of appointment as by +chance: especially from the midst of Aprill untill the end of October by +reason that Smithfield was then free from dirte and plashes. And in the +winter season, all the high streetes were much annoyed and troubled with +hourely frayes of sword and buckler men who took pleasure in that +bragging fight. And although they made great shew of muche furie and +fought often, yet seldom any man hurt, for thrusting was not then in +use; neither would one in twentie strike beneath the waste by reason +that they held it cowardly and beastly." + +Pageants and processions enlivened the streets. The Queen and her +courtiers could not hold aloof, and did not wish to. The Queen shared +her father's liking for being on terms of cheerful repartee with the +people. A courtier's arrival was a small event, for he travelled in +state with a large retinue. Young gentlemen attached themselves to a +great man, and wore his colours. And the great man needed a large number +of followers, for his only means of keeping in touch with affairs and +with friends was by messenger, and such messengers were necessarily +brave and trustworthy men. + +Up the Thames came ships loaded, perhaps, with treasure from foreign +countries, and their men would land and spread news of battles in the +Netherlands or Spain; or they would have strange tales to tell of new +lands which they had found, of the manners of strange new peoples, of +adventures with bears or morses or Spaniards, tales of marvellous wealth +waiting for a daring hand to take, of countries where the sun never +set, of seas where meremaiden swam, and where the sound of the cracking +ice was loud as the crash of artillery. Small wonder that the poets +found inspiration in the London taverns, and that men lived almost in +the streets, where at any moment they might meet some fellow with a new +tale of the world's wonder that might very likely be true. + +London was no place in which a man could easily remain inert. The +unexpected constantly occurred on account of the dramatic way that news +was inevitably brought. News came like vivid flashes of light on +darkness, and these flashes were continual. + +Ralegh's energy had always been conspicuous, even in those times. He was +no slug, as Aubrey pithily puts it. And now it is that one of the great +ideas of his life came to him, perhaps the greatest. We hear of him as +connected with Sir Humfrey Gilbert's enterprise for discovering the +north-west passage. Sir Humfrey was instigated by his navigator's desire +to find a nearer passage to the East. But Ralegh widened in his mind the +scope of the scheme, with him it expanded into something immeasurably +greater. He saw the overcrowding of London beyond the limits of health +and of comfort, and this overcrowding was troubling the level head of +the great Burghley, who tried to cope with it by restricting the +building of new houses. Ralegh was a man whose nature always was "to +turn necessity to glorious gain." He saw the tremendous possibilities of +this superabundance of men, how, if they could be placed in these new +lands, they would prove of infinite value to the old country which, by +their presence, they were annoying. He knew that Spaniards had settled +in wild new lands, and lived there for a time like marauders, and +returned home with wealth which they had wrung from the natives. But his +idea was larger; it was the first proper plan of colonization, for his +imagination carried him far on into the future beyond the time of a +generation or two, beyond the seizing of immediate wealth. The vastness +of the scheme appealed to him; the difficulties he realized to be so +great that they were worth a man's while to grapple with. + +And the scheme held him by its enthralling interest, not only because he +was ambitious (as all men worth anything are), and saw in it a means of +furthering his ambitions; not only because he was patriotic, and saw in +it a means of furthering his country's good, but primarily for the +scheme's own sake. The idea obsessed him as an idea quite apart from its +consequences, and whether the result would be good or bad; that would +only be proved by the event, and that doubtless added enormously to the +interest. But an inventor or a pioneer in any new field, who thinks +chiefly of the consequences, does not get far on his journey. That part +of any action is more profitably left to his friends and his advisers, +and they are never far to seek. + +Those were not the days of specialization. Affairs were not so intricate +that an expert was needed to work out every branch of a subject. Less +was known too; and a man of average intelligence could learn all there +was to learn of most things without the standard of knowledge in each +making him appear ignorant of all. + +In June, 1578, Sir Humfrey Gilbert who, as has been said, had been +busily engaged for many years in the discovery of a north-west passage, +obtained a royal charter for the greater purpose. "Elizabeth by the +grace of God, Queen of England, etc. To all people to whom these +presents shall come, greeting. Know that of our especial grace certaine +science and mere motion we have given and granted and by these presents +for us our heires and successours doe give and grant to our trustie and +well beloved servant Sir Humfrey Gilbert of Compton in our Countie of +Devonshire knight, and to his heires and assignes for ever free libertie +and license from time to time and at all times for ever hereafter to +discover, finde, searche out and view such remote heathen and barbarous +landes countries and territories, not actually possessed of any +Christian prince or people, as to him his heires and assignes and to +every or anie of them shall seem good: and the same to have hold, occupy +and enjoy...." run the letters patent with their royal paraphernalia of +phrase. + +And in September, 1578, Gilbert had overcome the initial difficulty of +collecting provisions sufficient to victual his eleven ships for a year, +and of picking the right men for the enterprise, two matters of enormous +importance. In the latter he was not successful. Sir Francis Knollys +owned some of the ships, and his son went on the expedition. This son +sowed dissension where unity was a vital necessity; he insulted Sir +Humfrey Gilbert, and at length deserted. Contrary winds delayed the +expedition, which became disorganized, and after a fight with the +Spaniards was recalled. Ralegh was captain of a ship named the _Falcon_, +and that was in all probability his first engagement at sea. + +The expedition was on such a large scale that the Spanish authorities in +England clamoured for its recall; and there is ample evidence, as +Edwards remarks, to show that Ralegh was as much feared and hated in +1578 by the Spaniards, as ever he was at any later period of his +career. They tried always to thwart his great scheme of colonization, +the greatness of which they realized, seeing the danger of it to their +own possessions, and for a time they succeeded in their aims. + +It is in connection with this expedition that Ralegh's name first +appears in the Council Book. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE ARRIVAL + + In Ireland--The state of the country--Cruelty of the wars--At + Rakele--Illustrative anecdotes--Smerwick--Ralegh's initiative-- + Lord Grey de Wilton--Exploit at Bally--In touch with the home + authorities. + + +The scene changes to Ireland, where the continual fighting served as a +training-ground--with France and the Netherlands--for the energies of +the young gentleman of the period. Ireland seemed at this time to popish +powers a suitable starting-place from which to overset the rule of the +woman Elizabeth, who dared to establish again a Church independent of +Rome, and to put her woman's self at the head of it. But the popish +powers were mistaken in their choice. It is true that the Irish were +devoutly Catholic; they were better pleased however to fight out their +own feuds than to join together in any way for any cause. They were +lawless and savage; and not even their hatred of the invading English +could serve to concentrate them. They were far too impatient for serious +warfare. They liked to come upon a foe--a Butler on a Geraldine--like a +whirlwind, fight a terrific battle, and make off to their homes to +listen to the songs by their bards, chanted in praise of their undying +prowess, "as those Bardes and rythmers doe for a little reward or a +share of a stolen cow," until the man of prowess praised "waxed most +insolent and halfe madde with the love of himself and his own lewd +deeds. Of a most notorious thiefe ... one of their Bardes will say, That +he was none of the milkesops that was brought up by the fireside, but +that most of his dayes he spent in armes and valiant enterprises, that +he did never eat his meat until it was won by the sword, that he lay not +all night slugging under his mantle but used commonly to keep others +waking to defend their lives, and did light his candle at the flames of +their houses to bade him in the darknesse ... and finally that he died +not bewayled of many, but made many waile when he died, that dearly +bought his death." + +Such men were not ripe for the burden of a great cause. But one Sanders, +an English Jesuit already past middle age, meeting with Fitzmaurice in +Spain, formed a capital project of passing over to Ireland, subduing it, +and passing from Ireland to England and driving out Elizabeth and her +nation of Protestants. + +In May, 1579, they landed at Dingle, after having on their voyage taken +a small Bristol vessel, the sailors and captain of which they pitched +into the sea. The landing at Dingle was impressive as the ceremony, +which inaugurated the coming of the true religion, must needs be. "Two +friars stepped first on shore; a bishop followed, mitre on head and +crosier in hand, then Sanders, with the consecrated banner, and after +him Fitzmaurice." + +But the expedition did not rise to the level of its inauguration. It +served only to stir up a savage rebellion in Munster, and to bring +devastation upon the country. + +It was to help quell the insurrection that Ralegh came to Ireland as +captain of a company of one hundred foot-soldiers at the end of 1579, or +the beginning of 1580. + +The war--if war it can be called--was carried on with savage cruelty on +both sides. Less could not be expected. The times were not gentle, when +little girls in London might see men hung and quartered, and limbs +stared down from the chief gates of most cities. Nor would mercy be +expected from generals who came to Ireland as Pelham came, and as Lord +Grey de Wilton came, regarding Ireland as the grave of reputation. To +Ralegh, too, the service was itself distasteful. He writes with +characteristic vigour of phrase to the Earl of Leicester, "I would +disdayn it as mich to keap sheepe. I will not trouble your honor with +the busyness of this loste land; for that Sir Warram Sentleger can best +of any man deliver unto your lordshipe the good, the bad, the mischief, +the means to amende, and all in all of this common welthe or rather +common woe." + +The English soldiery regarded the Irish as savages who would not live at +peace, and must be exterminated, with the exception of the actual +tillers of the ground or churls as they were called. And this point of +view was encouraged by those in authority, who had neither men nor money +to spare for guarding and feeding prisoners. "Death," as Froude says, +"was the only gaoler their finances could support." Nothing can +extenuate cruelty; but it is well to face the fact that cruelty, and +cruelty not greatly less atrocious than this, was an absolute attribute +of the Elizabethan age. The one quality, which runs through all the +pages of every history of every man and every movement, is +vitality--intense, burning vitality; and this vitality illumined the +literature, chaotic as much of it is, and beat pulsing through the veins +of the nation, explaining its magnificent advance, and enthusiasm and +greatness, even as it explains its brutality. England was like a boy who +is suddenly conscious of being strong and of being free, with all the +capacity of some young Hercules and all his reckless faults. + +When Ralegh joined the Irish service, Lord Justice Pelham was in the +position of Lord Deputy. Soon after his arrival, however, Pelham was +recalled, greatly to his pleasure, and Lord Grey de Wilton, Gascoigne's +patron and general in the Netherlands, undertook the command of the +forces, and the Earl of Ormond, an Irishman, was made Lieutenant of +Munster. These were Ralegh's chiefs; and his criticism of their methods +of management first brought him, as will be seen later, under the direct +notice of the great Burghley. + +As an active soldier, however, his exploits are exciting and +adventurous, and they are not hidden in the obscurity which hid his +exploits in France. The same Hooker who has been already quoted, records +them with pride in his continuation of Holinshed's Chronicles. + +Ralegh was once stationed with a troop of cavalry at Rakele under Lord +Grey. He was always a well-eyed man and observed that the Irish were in +the habit of hurrying down upon an encampment immediately it had been +abandoned. Accordingly, he made a plan to surprise them, and the plan +was successful. He captured a considerable number of prisoners. One of +the Irish carried a bundle of withies, and Ralegh went up to him and +asked him why he carried the withies. "To hang English churls with," was +the blunt answer. "Is that so?" said Ralegh. "They shall now serve for +an Irish kerne." And without more ado he bade his men hang him to the +nearest tree. The repartee was prompt and savage. It is typical of the +time that it should have happened; and intensely typical that a careful +record should have been made in contemporary history. + +Another time we read that Ralegh, on a small expedition to a certain +Lord Barry, of Barry Court, in a fight against great odds, twice at his +own personal peril rescued one Henry Moyle, who twice was caught in the +soft bog. "He was unhorsed, and stood with his pistol and quarter-staff, +one man against twenty." History does not relate what he said to Henry +Moyle on his return to camp. The two stories stand well side by side. At +the tragic sacking of Smerwick Ralegh was one of the captains ordered to +carry out the last desperate instructions: the siege is illustrative not +only of that bad Irish campaign, but also shows what a personal part +high officers used to take in battles. + +A second band of Papal soldiers, comprised of Italians, Spaniards and +Frenchmen, came to Ireland in 1580, and made Smerwick their +headquarters, a fort on the shore fully exposed to the Atlantic winds. +Here Lord Grey came upon them, but was obliged to wait eight days with +his men until Sir William Winter arrived in Ventry harbour with cannon +and ammunition, and at length joined Admiral Bingham in Smerwick Bay. +Lord Grey galloped down over the sands to welcome Winter. Speedily the +cannon were landed and placed in position before the fort, and the +bombardment began. The English crept nearer after the first day, until +the cannon were within a cable's length of the wall, and Sir William +Winter himself taking careful aim, brought down the enemy's chief piece, +and a man appeared on the ramparts waving a white hand-kerchief. The +firing ceased. Then Signor Jeffrey, an Italian, came to entreat grace +from the Lord Deputy, but grace was refused him. "Afterward their +Coronnel Don Sebastian came forth to intreate that they might part with +their armes like souldiers, at the least with their lives according to +the custome of war ... it was strongly denied him and told him by the +Lord Deputie himselfe that they could not justly pleade either custome +of warre or lawe of nations--for that they were not any lawfull +enemies...." The Pope sent them? asked Lord Grey de Wilton, and declared +himself surprised, the bitter old enthusiast, that gentlemen should +undertake a commission from "a detestable shaveling the right antichrist +and patron of the doctrine of devils." He would only agree to wait till +morning. So on the morning of the next November day, the garrison, seven +hundred men, piled their arms, and with a few women and children stood +waiting, while the great Atlantic waves beat coldly, sullenly on the +shore. "Then put I in certain bands who fell straight to execution," +writes Grey, with grim brevity. Six hundred men in all were slain that +November morning, and Grey had the bodies stripped and laid in neat +lines upon the shore, and Grey looked at them without emotion, and +thought them "as gallant and goodly personages as ever I saw." So he +wrote to the Queen, informing her of the victory, and the Queen wrote +back thanking him, adding a postscript in her own hand (a special mark +of honour) warmly approving of his action: and Camden courteously lies +when he says that Grey shed tears and Elizabeth wished the cruelty had +been unnecessary. Captain of one of these "certain bands" was Walter +Ralegh. Edmund Spenser was at this time secretary to Lord Grey de +Wilton, and he writes in that scholarly graphic treatise in dialogue +form, which has been already quoted, namely the "View of the State of +Ireland"--"Whereupon the said Coronell did absolutely yeeld himselfe and +the fort, with all therein, and craved only mercy, which it being not +thought good to shew them, for danger of them, if, being saved they +should afterwards join with the Irish; and also for terrour to the Irish +who are much imboldened by those forraigne succours, and also put in +hope of more ere long: there was no other way, but to make that short +end of them as was made." Thus writes Edmund Spenser, the author of the +"Faerie Queen," a man not famous for his ferity. + +Praise and blame are easy to dispense: but they are dangerous +commodities. They raise too freely the thick white dust of prejudice +which even dims eyes which are anxious to observe a neighbour, and +effectually blinds eyes that wish to peer into the recesses of a bygone +age. Let us be glad if we are more human and more humane, and avoid +hugging ourselves too closely on imagined superiority. Violent death +stalked down every alley of life; and violent death is not more dreadful +than the haggard existence in which millions are nursed to-day. Our +cruelty is a little less apparent, and more respectable. That is at any +rate something. Let us be thankful for that, and let us by all means +subscribe to the Home for Lost Cats. + +But Ralegh was not content with the perils and excitement of active +service. He possessed initiative. He saw the masses of money that were +being spent, and saw that full value was not being obtained. The war in +his opinion was being mismanaged. He did not hesitate to write to the +authorities at home, stating in round terms what his opinion was. It is +not surprising that Lord Grey de Wilton was annoyed by the young man's +audacity. "I neither like his carriage," he writes to Walsingham, "nor +his company: and therefore other than by direction and commandment, and +what his right can require he is not to expect at my hands." Apart from +the administration of the war there was little in common between the two +men. Lord Grey was a staunch Protestant, unwavering in his religious +zeal, and blind in his hatred of Popery. He would have passed through +Ireland, had he had his will, with the sword gripped in one hand and the +Bible and the English Prayer-book clasped tightly in the other. + +Ralegh was not that order of man. There was nothing grim and nothing +austere about him. He was a man of address. Lord Grey was stiff and +blunt, a Puritan a little before his proper time. Very characteristic is +the sentence in his letter to the Queen, telling of the death of young +Cheke. "So wrought in him God's spirit, plainly declaring him a child of +his; elected to be no less comfort of his good and godly friends than +great instruction and manifest motion of every other hearer that stood +by, of whom there was a good troop." He was inclined to regard most +things from the standpoint of religious experience. He was not addicted +to humanity. + +The Irish were not only rebels against his country; they were what was +far worse--rebels against his own faith, and he sullenly objected to any +measures which might serve to bring them into line with English +interests. He wished to force his own salvation upon them rather than to +make them useful subjects of the Queen. + +That must have been where Ralegh chiefly differed from him. And there is +an interesting example of this difference and of one of Ralegh's chief +powers, to wit his influence over men. For Ralegh was wise and politic. +He saw the state of affairs in Ireland and formed in his mind a definite +plan of action--to use Irish factions to English purpose, and not to +allow them to try and join under the cause of another religion. The most +dangerous enemies were the crafty instigators in the background; and one +of the most influential of these was an Anglo-Irish chieftain, named +Lord Roche, who lived at Bally, some twenty miles from Cork where Ralegh +was stationed. Ralegh convinced Lord Grey of the importance of bringing +this feeder of revolt as prisoner to Cork, and undertook to do so +himself with his small band of followers. And this he did by sheer +dexterity and daring in the teeth of overwhelming difficulty. For the +Seneschal of Imokelly, one Fitz-Edmonds, had wind of Ralegh's intention, +and lay in ambush for him with eight hundred men. But Ralegh outwitted +him by his speed and dashed with his small party through the ambuscade. +That was not all. Arrived at Bally, he was met by five hundred townsmen +and tenantry of Lord Roche. These men he held at bay with the larger +part of his band, and himself, with six chosen men, rode on to Lord +Roche's castle. At the gate he called out that he desired to speak with +Lord Roche, and was answered that he would not be permitted to enter +with more than two followers. But while he and the seneschal were +parleying, the six of them slipped into the gate, and gained admission +for another party which Ralegh had bidden follow him at a short +interval, the attention of the warders being engaged by Ralegh, so that +before the Irish knew what had happened, they found the castle courtyard +full of musketeers, armed and standing to attention. Ralegh meanwhile +was in the presence of Lord Roche, who was forced to treat the intruder +as a guest, and sturdily maintaining his loyalty to the Queen, ordered +his servants to bring in a banquet. Ralegh listened with all courtesy; +and said that it was the will of the Lord Deputy of Ireland to hear with +his own ears this noble confession of loyalty, and that he must beg +leave to escort Lord Roche and his family to Cork. Lord Roche demurred. +Ralegh insisted. It is difficult to decide whether the situation +appealed more strongly to his sense of humour or to his sense of power. +The Irish chieftain at his own table in the banqueting-hall of his own +castle, surrounded by his men and the young captain with his two +soldiers inside, some dozen in the courtyard and a few more dozen in the +town, twenty miles from any assistance! "Desperation begetteth courage +but not greater nor so lively as doth assured confidence," he wrote some +thirty years later. Now his courage was certainly backed by both. + +Gradually Lord Roche came to realize the inflexible determination of the +young man; and agreed to what by Ralegh's inevitable personal strength +of will became his only possible course. He consented to go to Cork, and +went. The story does not end here. Not only did he go to Cork, but from +being the Queen's dangerous foe, he became, through Ralegh's influence, +the Queen's loyal supporter and staunch friend, and three of his sons +actually were slain fighting for the Queen's cause in Ireland. That was +one of Ralegh's triumphs. It shows the mettle of the man and his power +over others, and more than that it bears out strikingly a distinct line +of policy, which he formed then and expressed later, in dealing with the +disaffected. Minding these Irish experiences, it is interesting to read +what he says of Amilcar's treatment of the mercenaries in revolt. +"Against these inconveniences, Mercy and Severity, used with due +respect, are the best remedies. In neither of which Amilcar failed. For +as long as these his own soldiours were in any way likely to be +reclaimed by gentle courses, his humanitie was ready to invite them. But +when they were transported with beastly outrage beyond all regard of +honesty and shame, he rewarded their villainie with answerable +vengeance, casting them unto wilde beasts to be devoured." + +Moreover, it is certain that Lord Burghley respected Ralegh's judgment, +for there is a remarkable paper extant written in the handwriting of +both, which shows that Burghley conferred privately with Ralegh about +the Irish rebellion. The document is dated October 25, 1582, and is +inscribed with the words, "The opinion of Mr. Rawley upon motions made +to hym for the meanes of subduyng the Rebellion in Monster." And in it +the point upon which Ralegh chiefly insists is the pressing need to win +over the Irish chieftains to the Queen's cause; as he had himself +already done conspicuously in the case of Lord Roche. + +There is a story that Ralegh owed his first introduction to the Queen's +favour by his address in a conference before her, in which he proved his +opinion, man to man, against Lord Grey de Wilton, his superior; but +whether this story with all its dramatic possibilities is valid or not, +it is certain that his conduct in Ireland brought him into great notice: +and he was not the man easily to slip from any advantage he had gained. +We hear of him joining the Earl of Leicester in a state mission to the +Netherlands, and then he bursts into final brilliant prominence as +courtier and his Queen's favourite. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +QUEEN'S FAVOURITE + + Court life--The Queen's position--Her character--She takes + notice of Ralegh--Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester--Sir Philip + Sidney--Burghley, the Lord High Treasurer, and Walsingham-- + Robert Cecil--The dress of the courtier--The language of the + courtier--The other side, and the other Queen--Mary, Queen of + Scots--The great intrigue--Its discovery--Death of Queen Mary. + + +The Court was the brilliant feature of the time. The Court was not +confined to ceremonial functions and presentations--it was not a bath in +which a man or a woman must be dipped before he or she could lay any +real claim to distinguished respectability. The Court had a vivid +existence of its own. "It was the centre, not of government alone, but +of the fine arts: the exemplar of culture and civilization." The Court +held a lien on the gaiety and life of the time. Courtiers and merchants +(the two chief classes) were as distinct as a little later were town and +gown at the Universities. To be a proper courtier became a cult. + +Three great books, extraordinarily typical of the Renaissance, were +written in almost identical years, books which pointed to new scope for +the State, for the Prince, and for the private man. In 1513 Machiavel +completed _The Prince_, in 1516 Sir Thomas More's _Utopia_ was +published, and in the same year Count Baldassare Castiglione finished +his _Book of the Courtier_. + +The dream of the Utopia may never be realized; but in some seventy-five +years a close example of the Prince and of the Courtier were found in +Queen Elizabeth, and in many of the men who surrounded her. _The Book of +the Courtier_ was translated into all the languages of Europe, and +became the text-book of the cult. Its English translator was Thomas +Hoby, and his work, as has been seen, was commended by the judicious +Ascham. Castiglione was chaffed for moulding his own conduct precisely +on the model of the perfect courtier he portrays in his book; and he +could not but confess that the man of his imagination was the man he +would choose to be. And, indeed, it would be what every courtier would +aspire to be, as Wordsworth's Happy Warrior, + + "This is the happy Warrior, this is he + That every man in arms should wish to be." + +The Courtier must be gallant in the use of arms, proficient in all +exercises of the body, skilled in all exercises of the mind; he must be +ready and witty of tongue; he must be well-born and distinguished. But +his realm is beyond the mere enterprise of accomplishments and birth. +For the book ends with Bembo's great praise of Beauty--that Beauty +"which is the origin of all other beawtye, whiche never encreaseth nor +diminisheth always bewtifull and of itself ... most simple. This is the +beawtye unseperable from the high bountye, whiche with her voyce calleth +and draweth to her all thynges...," and an understanding of this +Heavenly Beauty must be the final trait of the Perfect Courtier. + +And it is well to bear this in mind. For this feeling for beauty existed +in the Elizabethan courtier, just as it gave the finishing touch to +Castiglione's hero; and existed as really as the more conspicuous +qualities of gallantry and strength and intellect. Vitality, as has +been said again and again, was the keynote of the age; and it is +apparent in this aspiration towards beauty, just as it is apparent in +reckless cruelty. The compass of the age was immense. And every +instinct, every tendency of brute or god, raged with intense life, and +was expressed Nothing lay dormant. The centre of all this life, of all +this genius for living was the Court; and the illustrious head of the +Court was Queen Elizabeth. + +Guy de Maupassant has written a story of a small band of French soldiers +who are at the last gasp with hunger and weariness and cold. They cannot +march any further. They are content to lie down in the snow and die. But +two fugitives come running to them, an old man and his grand-daughter, a +young girl. "Allons les camarades," cries the Sergeant Pratique, "faut +porter cette demoiselle-la ou bien nous n' sommes pu Francais, nom d'un +chien." So the worn-out men forget their weariness and carry her; they +dare the cold and strip off their overcoats to keep her warm; they find +new courage and drive back a party of the enemy, and they reach the +French lines in safety. "What's that you're carrying?" asks a soldier. +"Aussitot une petite figure blonde apparut, depeignee et souriante qui +repondit, 'C'est moi, monsieur.' Un rire s'eleva parmi les hommes et une +joie courut dans leurs coeurs. Alors Pratique agita son kepi en +vociferant, 'Vive la France.'" + +There in little is the exact nature of Elizabeth's influence, and her +influence was conscious and acted, not upon the immediate Court alone, +but upon England. De Maupassant does not give any details of the girl, +nothing of her character, not even her name. They are not relevant to +his purpose. She may have as many faults in her small way as Elizabeth +had in her great way. He does not mention them. + +[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH] + +Such a mass of detail, however, is known about Elizabeth, and her +faults have been so relentlessly exposed in the interest of Truth--her +meanness, her avarice, her treachery, her wantonness, and what not--that +the whole picture of the woman who was learned enough to speak in public +impromptu in Latin and could converse in many languages, of the woman +who was great enough to cause her own worship to be the fashion, and the +sincere fashion, of the woman who was sufficiently beautiful and +sufficiently distinguished to shine like a diamond on the forehead of +that resplendent age,--is almost lost to view, so clouded with the dust +of detraction has that picture become. + +She was the very epitome of the time. All the brutality and energy and +brilliance of that brutal, vital age found their counterpart in her. And +she was a woman, a fitting contemporary of Catherine de Medicis. But she +was too much a politician to be a good woman; and too much a woman to be +a good politician. + +To all the power which a beautiful woman, and a woman strong in body and +intellect and passion, always has possessed and always will possess, she +added the prestige of being Queen of England. Whereas the passions of +her father threw Europe into confusion, the love affairs of Elizabeth, +less impetuously managed, often held the balance between nations and +brought every royal prince to England as suitor for her hand, and the +great English courtiers scowled or laughed at them, but were kept in +allegiance by their sovereign. + +Wit, birth, and bearing found favour in her sight. There was no room at +her Court for a fool. She loved wit as she loved splendour. + +The Queen had heard of Humfrey Gilbert's nephew from Humfrey Gilbert's +aunt, one of her intimate attendant women; and when Ralegh first came +into notice by his exploits in Ireland, she was inclined to favour him. +She was interested in his career, as a letter bears witness in which she +writes, "... for that our pleasure is to have our Servaunt Walter Rawley +treyned some longer tyme in that our realme for his better experience in +Martiall affaires, and for the special care we have to doe him good in +respect of his kyndred that have served us some of them (as you knowe) +neer aboute our Parson: theise are to require youe that the leading of +the said bande may be committed to the said Rawley." + +Many stories are extant about his first meeting with Elizabeth. Truth +hides in all of them. Some say that the Queen was present when Lord Grey +de Wilton and young Ralegh were put face to face in a council chamber +before Lord Burghley, and that she was struck by the power and skill +with which he made good his case, proving the lack of judgment Lord Grey +had shown in conducting the affairs of the war. Old Thomas Fuller, that +worthiest of his own worthies (he had an eye for romantic effect, +steadfast as he was for truth in matters of importance), relates that +"Her Majesty, meeting with a plashy place, made some scruple to go on; +when Ralegh (dressed in the gay and genteel habit of those times) +presently cast off and spread his new plush cloak on the ground, whereon +the Queen trod gently over, rewarding him afterwards with many suits for +his so free and seasonable tender of so fair a footcloth. Thus an +advantageous admission into the notice of a prince is more than half a +degree to preferment." Industrious Fuller does not leave it at that; he +proceeds to tell how Ralegh wrote on a window in the Queen's presence, + + "Fain would I climb, but that I fear to fall," + +and how the Queen added with more grace than rhythm, + + "If thy heart fail thee, climb not at all." + +Ralegh's heart did not fail him. He became the Queen's lover; and his +influence over the Queen was so recognized that Tarleton, the famous +comedian, dared, during a performance, to add point to the words, "See, +the knave commands the queen," by stretching out his hand towards +Ralegh, who stood by the Queen. And Elizabeth, it is recorded, frowned. +Swift was his ascent to fortune, came the first step how it may. + +Elizabeth was too clever to try to lay aside her sex, though she was a +skilful markswoman, an able horse-woman. Even her staid Archbishop +Whitgift she used to tease, saying (as Isaac Walton gravely records as a +fair testimony of her piety) that "she would never eat flesh in Lent +without obtaining a License from her little black husband: and that she +pitied him because she trusted him." + +She was so born a Queen that she was able to do and say the most +dangerous things without losing her distinction, or lessening her +dignity. + +And it is small wonder in those days when in England the whole force of +the Renaissance turned as it were to a rapture of patriotism that such a +Queen should be the visible emblem of the country, and be herself +worshipped. Men might rave at her whims, they were driven frantic by +them, but in their hearts they cherished her as Queen of themselves and +Queen of their country. Fortunately for herself, and fortunately for +England, her intellect mastered her passions, though that does not +prove that she was passionless: far from it. There is nothing to justify +that last scandal of a moral age which would damn her as a feelingless +flirt. Lord Bacon, the wise Baron of Verulam, summed the matter up +pithily, attaching its right value to the question, which, after all, is +a paltry one, when, in writing on the Fortunate Memory, he says: "She +suffered herself to be honoured and carressed and celebrated and +extolled with the name of Love; and wished it, and continued it beyond +the suitability of her age. If you take these things more softly, they +may not even be without some admiration, because such things are +commonly found in our fabulous narratives of a Queen in the Islands of +Bliss, with her hall and her institutes, who receives the +administrations of Love, but prohibits its licentiousness. If you judge +them more severely, still they have this admirable circumstance, that +gratifications of this sort did not much hurt her reputation, and not at +all her majesty; nor ever relaxed her government, nor were any notable +impediment to her State affairs." And it must be remembered that the +times were neither fastidious nor gentle, and that when Bacon says +licentiousness (_lasciviam_ is the Latin word he uses) he meant +licentiousness. Elizabeth was too sane, and too clever, and too busy to +have time to be licentious: just as she could not have retained her +control over men and control over herself, seen in the adroit way in +which she managed the foreign princes, if she had remained what is +called pure. + +Masterly was her knowledge and treatment of men. Roughly speaking, they +were divided into two classes; those whom she liked, and those whom she +valued: but she kept them all imperiously to her will. The great +Burghley was her man of business; he and his son Robert Cecil were her +chief statesmen, and well she knew their value: capricious and exacting +as she might be, she respected their advice and gave way to it. +"Burghley," wrote Leicester, at the height of his arrogant power, "could +do more with her in an hour than others in seven years." And he wrote +concerning some political business. Never, when Leicester had most +influence with the Queen, did she ever allow him to control her +political actions, or in any way to supplant Cecil. + +Robert Dudley, born about the year 1532, made Earl of Leicester in 1564, +enjoyed the Queen's good-will more continuously and more to his +advantage than any other of her lovers. He was regarded as the chief man +in England by the ambassadors of foreign princes: he was for a long time +the most magnificent. But Elizabeth kept always to her maxim, that +England should be a country with one mistress and no master; much to +Leicester's displeasure. His desire was to be master. He suggests a +comparison with Milton's Satan, "better to reign in Hell than to serve +in Heav'n," when he tried, and tried with conspicuous ill-success, to +become King of the Netherlands. By the old nobility, staunch Sussex and +proud Norfolk, he was hated. With the Duke of Norfolk, he on one +occasion came to blows, when, during a game of tennis, of which the +Queen was a spectator, he snatched her pocket-hand-kerchief to wipe the +sweat from his forehead. They thought him saucy and overweening. To the +Queen his insolence was not unpleasant. Cecil disliked him (he does not +appear a man to hate any one) and judiciously draws up papers +contrasting Leicester and other suitors, especially the Archduke +Charles, much to Leicester's disadvantage. But for all his glitter and +influence, he was hated by the English people. His name had an ill sound +ever since the untoward death of his wife, Amy Robsart. Though the +pamphlet _Leicester's Commonwealth_ is wholly unreliable, which among +other slanders, states that the Lady Amy was actually murdered at his +command, it is most probable that she committed suicide through misery +at her neglect. Well enough men knew what was meant when the husband in +the _Yorkshire Tragedy_ says, after he has thrown his wife down and +slain her: + + "The surest way to charm a woman's tongue + Is--break her neck: a politician did it." + +They thought of the stone staircase at Cumnor and shuddered. The people +did not like his way of cheapening their Queen's good name: they did not +like the man who caused scandals to arise round her. In 1560 Anne Dowe +of Brentford was imprisoned for asserting that Elizabeth was with child +by Robert Dudley; and she was the first of a long line of offenders who +were punished for the same assertion. + +And just as men hated Dudley for his arrogance, and for his daring to +think even of setting himself beside their Queen, so they loved his +nephew, Sir Philip Sidney, for the grace which his hand brought to +everything which he touched. He fulfilled the ideal of Castiglione's +Courtier. He was the antithesis of the rough, unmannered Dudley. In +Dudley all the cruelty and ostentation and savage power of the time seem +to find expression; whereas in Philip Sidney, all its grace and skill +and poetry were manifest. Men vied with one another in his praises, men +fought for the right to call him friend, and a woman became immortal by +being "Sidney's sister." "Sidney, the Siren of this latter age," writes +Barnefield; "divine Sir Philip," Michael Drayton calls him; and Ben +Jonson, as though in defiance of the charge of exaggeration utters (you +can hear him say it), "the godlike Sidney." Even the ribald Nash lowers +his mad voice to the note of reverence, "Apollo hath resigned his Ivory +Harpe unto Astrophel and he, like Mercury, must lull you a sleep with +his musicke. Sleepe Argus, sleep Ignorance, sleep Impudence, for Mercury +hath Io and onely Io Paean belongeth to Astrophel. Deare Astrophel, that +in the ashes of thy Love livest againe like the Phoenix; o might thy +bodie (as thy name) live againe likewise here amongst us; but the +earthe, the mother of mortality hath snacht thee too soone into her +chilled cold armes, and will not let thee by any meanes be drawne from +her deadly imbrace; and thy divine Soule, carried on an Angels wings to +heaven, is installed in Hermes place sole prolocutor to the Gods." His +life was a poem, which all the men who lived with him, and all the men +who knew his name, were great enough to read and to appreciate; his +death is an example for all time. Fame with its common story cannot +sully the brightness of the superb sacrifice of that superb self. + +Dudley expressed the presumptuous vitality of the Court, and Sidney its +vital poetry. A little aloof from the Court, which he was apt to regard +with kindly disdain at its frivolity, moved the staid figure of +Burghley, the Lord High Treasurer of England, Elizabeth's great man of +business, perhaps the finest political intelligence that has ever +thought out a way for a country through the most complicated +difficulties, at a time when disaster crouched ever ready to spring and +involve that country in ruin. + +William Cecil had an absolute mastery over every detail; he possessed a +genius for arrangement. Nothing escaped his notice. He was a kind of +machine which attracted all the wild impulses of the time; they passed +into the machine's mouth disordered, unarranged; and they passed out +shaped, controlled by his slow inevitable will. As a statesman he +appears hardly human in his freedom from all personality; he seems a +mask hiding the brain of England, and regulating it to the only end +where success could be. Men rose to fame fiercely struggling, and did +brilliant acts or mad acts, and sank again or settled as the case might +be; but always at the supreme head, always alert, always careful, +impassive as some Eastern Buddha, sat the Lord Burghley, managing the +affairs of the state, managing even the state's impulsive, whimsical +mistress. His impassivity afflicted her at times, so that she played +pranks on him, vainly endeavouring to upset his restraint and his +dignity; but her pranks were hardly heeded. He was English to the solid +backbone, and resisted unequivocally the rage of fashion that went out +towards all that was foreign; and yet his foreign policy was unswerving +and level-headed; he looked upon war as the last terrible resource of +state-craft, in an age in which fighting was regarded as the highroad to +glory, and was loved for its own wild sake. Elizabeth showed her +knowledge of the right word when she called him her "spirit" and her +"oracle"; and the courtiers their discernment of the obvious, when they +called him "old fox." Together the two names describe him with some +accuracy. + +At his right hand worked Sir Francis Walsingham, who was more astute, +but lacked Burghley's greatness of mind. Walsingham was an admirable +servant: he would never have been successful under the full weight of +responsibility. It was he who developed the system of espionage through +every country in Europe, and brought it to an uncanny perfection. That +system of secret messages was typical of the day; it was so easy to +keep facts hidden, and to pervert them advantageously when news +travelled so slowly, that it was a necessity to have reliable men on +every spot to check statements and to watch events and tendencies. When +Walsingham died in 1590, Burghley showed his indomitable energy by +mastering the intricate cyphers and details connected with the business; +he was then at the good age of seventy. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM CECIL, LORD BURGHLEY] + +As his health failed, his son, Robert Cecil, took more and more of his +great father's responsibilities upon himself; and "The Little +Secretary," as the queen called him, became gradually the most important +man in the realm. He was craftier than his father, and more adaptable, +but he never rose to the greatness of Lord Burghley. His figure is not +so imposing; there was something under-hand about his conduct, which +does not appear in the slow, diplomatic wisdom of the older man. + +There comes a strange interest in knowing that this great intelligence +of Burghley arranged not only the affairs of the State, but the details +of his household with the same impassive power. His steward writes to +him about a new gown which is wanted for his mother: "The gown that you +would make it must be for every day and yet because it comes from you +(except you write to her to the contrary) she will make it her holiday +gown, whereof she hath great store already, both of silk and cloth. But +I think, sir, if you make her one of cloth with some velvet on it, with +your letter to desire her for your sake to wear it daily, she would +accustom herself to it: so as she would forget to go any longer in such +base apparel as she hath used to have a delight in which is too mean for +one of a lower estate than she is." + +And of Burghley's earlier days, Roger Ascham gives an attractive glimpse +in his introduction to _The Schoolmaster_, where he shows the man's +methodical life and wide interests; for the renewal of learning did not +at all pass Burghley by; he was an enthusiast about the proper +pronunciation of the Greek tongue, and in 1541 was hotly engaged in the +disputes. But to old Ascham: he writes about the important dinner, in +1563, at which the subject of his book was suggested to him: "M. +Secretary hath this accustomed manner though his head be never so full +of most weightie matters of the Realme, yet, at diner time he doth seeme +to lay them alwaies aside; and findeth ever fit occasion to taulke +pleasantly of other matters, but most gladly of some matter of learning: +wherein he will curteslie heare the minde of the meanest at his table." + +It is refreshing to see how in his private life he was a simple-minded +man, who suffered from the gout and was plagued with quack remedies, all +of which he carefully docketed, having no doubt tried their efficacy +before he set them on one side. + +Such were the chief figures when Ralegh came to the Court. + +Nothing illustrates his rapid rise in favour so well as a letter which +Ralegh writes to Lord Burghley from the Court at Greenwich. The letter +shows that Burghley had asked for his help on behalf of his son-in-law, +the Earl of Oxford, who was bitterly hostile to Ralegh and had, as may +be gathered from the letter, gone out of his way to do him an injury. "I +delivered Her Your Lordship's letter. What I said further, how honorable +and profittabell it weare for Her Majestie to have regard to Your +Lordship's healthe and quiett, I leve to the witnesse of God and good +reporte of Her Highnesse. And the more to witnesse how desirous I am of +Your Lordship's favor and good opinion, I am contente, for your sake, to +laye the sarpente before the fire, as miche as in me lieth, that, +having recovered strengthe, myself may be moste in danger of his poyson +and stinge. For answere, Her Majestie would give me none other, but that +she woulde satisfye Your Lordship, of whom she ever had, and would ever +have, special regard.... I humblie take my lave. From Grenewiche this +present Friday, May 12, 1583." + +Here is Lord Burghley using the help of the young man whose valour and +address in Ireland he had observed and whom he had helped to make. +Ralegh is now prominent among the courtiers; he takes a leading part in +the life of the Court, and the life of the Court is brilliant and +occupied. The town was too small and the streets of the town too narrow +for the courtiers to hold themselves aloof, as money allows the +fashionable to do now; no special quarter of the town was assigned to +them. They kept themselves distinct from the townspeople without the +help of locality or space. The laws helped them, however, in the matter +of dress. Curious sumptuary laws were still in force, which forbade any +one under the degree of baron to have more than three linings to his +breeches; which forbade any one whose income was less than L100 a year +to wear satin, damask, silk, camlet, or taffeta, and any one who was not +worth more than L200 to wear velvet or embroidery. "The English," writes +Van Meteron, a Dutch historian and contemporary, "dress in elegant light +and costly garments but they are very inconstant and desirous of +novelties, changing their fashions every year, both men and women. When +they go abroad riding or travelling, they don their best clothes, +contrary to the practice of other nations." And to this craze for +constant novelty in dress a contemporary poem bears amusing witness-- + + "Hees Hatted Spanyard-like, and bearded to, + Ruft Itallyon-like, pac'd like them also; + His hose and doublet Frenche: his boots and shoes + Are fashond Pole in heeles, but French in toes. + Oh! hees complete: what shall I descant on? + A compleate Foole? noe, compleate Englishe mon." + +This fashion of dress lent wide scope to bad taste, and such books as +Dekker's delightful _Guls Hornbook_ show how hard gulls tried to be +gallants and how ridiculously they often failed. And it gave the genuine +courtier full scope for magnificence. Ralegh could wear white satin and +pearls. + +Not only in dress was the courtier distinct, but also in language. +Fashions in speech were constantly in vogue. None was more pronounced +than the fashion set by John Lyly, who wrote elegant court plays and the +novel _Euphues_. Of Euphues with his instructive letters and sound moral +tone Sir Charles Grandison is the direct descendant: Richardson owed as +much to Lyly, as Defoe to Thomas Nash or Fielding to Defoe. But that is +a literary by-path which leads to the history of fiction. His immediate +influence was on the speech of the courtiers and the language of the +Court. "That beautie in Court which could not parley Euphuisme was as +shee which now there speaks not French." John Lyly came to Court about +1577 and was helped by Lord Burghley; perhaps the rage of affectation +which he started, gave the stern Lord Treasurer a distaste for poets and +was one of the reasons which made him disinclined to favour Spenser +afterwards. Probably Lyly seemed innocuous enough at first, with his +modest desire to lie shut in a lady's casket rather than open in a +scholar's library. No one could have foreseen the frenzied fashion which +he inaugurated and which with its stilted periphrases must have been +sorely irritating to the great matter-of-fact man of business. No wonder +he looked askance at poets. Euphuism, as the jargon is called, has been +described many times; it was the first effort in English towards +ornament in speech. In itself it was wholly good; in its excess it was +wholly bad. + +As a fashion of speech it must have been not a little wearisome. And +indeed that proved to be the case; for its place was taken about as soon +as dull people were beginning to obtain the knack of it by another +fashion, no less elaborate, but of a different manner of elaborateness +taken from Sir Philip Sidney's _Arcadia_. Here a jingle on one word was +the effect to be obtained, as for example, "Each senselesse thing had +sense of pity; only they that had sense were senselesse." This fashion +set by a writer upon the speech of the fashionable finds a modern +counterpart in the influence of Oscar Wilde, with this difference that +his pointed epigram becomes feeble nonsense and his genius for using the +right word degenerates into amiable talk about passionate neckties and +purple sin; whereas with Lyly's and Sidney's manner no imitation could +be feebler or more exaggerated than the original often is--not always. +Lyly has real wit and fancy, especially in his charming court plays, as +when he writes, "They give us pap with a spoon before we can speak, and +when we speake for that we love, pap with a hatchet"; there he is +inimitable. + +The common task of dress and language was sufficiently elaborate to keep +a courtier of average intelligence busy. And when he was equipped in +mind and body there were countless ceremonies and functions at which his +presence was expected. The Queen was in continual progress, and every +progress was a pageant, whether by land or river, whether she were +journeying from one palace to another, or visiting a university to +encourage learning, a town or a noble subject to show her gracious +favour and to give her subjects the opportunity of proving by their +hospitality their loyalty. She kept in constant touch with her people. +And on her progresses she was accompanied by her principal courtiers, +who were themselves followed by a suite of gentlemen retainers. In this +excellent display of the superficial side of life--the very panoply of +existence--Ralegh by his wit and by his bearing was conspicuous. He was +as famous for his power of turning a neat phrase as he was famous for +his power of wearing with grace a fortune in one suit. Many men were +obliged to give all their attention to the brilliant outside of things +to keep pace at all with the changes of phrase and habit; and would +never be at ease in either. Ralegh owed his envied distinction in both +chiefly to the reason that he always held them at their proper value. +His nature was magnificent, and instinct led him naturally to a height +which others could not climb to with the greatest conscious effort. In +that he was like his mistress, Queen Elizabeth. + +It is fitting that such life should be gorgeously caparisoned; there was +no homespun in its disposition. + +But there is another side to the picture of this Court, a second party +in the Court and the country. For some fifteen years another woman had +been living under restraint in England--a woman who was the mother of a +king; who had been queen of two kingdoms and aspired to be queen of a +third; she was of great personal power though not so powerful as +Elizabeth. She was a devout Catholic and was called Mary, Queen of +Scots. A large number of gentlemen had remained faithful to their +religion. These Catholics were divided roughly into two classes, those +who were faithful to their religion and to their country, and those who +were primarily faithful to their religion and would stop at nothing to +establish Catholicism again in England They looked on Mary, Queen of +Scots, as their rightful head. The moderate Catholics wanted to make +sure that she would succeed Elizabeth; the fanatical Catholics wanted to +kill the usurper at once and let Mary reign in her stead. + +As years passed by and Elizabeth remained unmarried and averse to the +mention even of a successor, the question became acute, not in England +only but throughout Europe. Spain and France were anxious to have a +Catholic sovereign in England; but neither wanted the other to have the +added strength of England as a dependency. Elizabeth kept playing them +off one against the other with her various matrimonial schemes; and Mary +was in correspondence with them, trying to exact promises of assistance. +Intrigue grew more and more involved. At last matters came to a head. It +became recognized, after the dismissal of the Duc d'Anjou as a suitor, +that Time itself would no longer permit a marriage for Elizabeth. The +Catholics in larger numbers resolved that her death was imperative and +the death of her strong supporters. Elizabeth with the fearlessness of +true strength had allowed Mary great freedom of correspondence in her +confinement. Now she cut her off from the outside world, until a +diplomatic necessity arose to know exactly how far foreign powers were +prepared to support Mary, how far they were speaking their true +intentions in their dealings with Elizabeth. Walsingham had spies in +every influential Catholic household in England, at all the Courts and +even the Jesuitical centres in Spain and France. But the information was +not yet sufficient. Nothing illustrates more effectively the +extraordinary difficulty of obtaining accurate news in those days of +slow travelling and messengers, than the elaborate method which +Walsingham and Elizabeth were obliged to arrange at this juncture. It is +a mistake to suppose it illustrates the treachery and deceitfulness of +the times. The times have changed not in moral tone but in quickness of +transit. Men are very much the same; but steam and electricity, the +telegraph, the telephone, and a postal system have altered the aspect of +affairs and the methods of conducting business or intrigue. + +The plan they contrived was both ingenious and successful. With the help +of one Gilbert Gifford, trained in unscrupulous cunning by the Jesuits, +they encouraged Mary to open a correspondence with her confederates +abroad, and they tapped this correspondence at the fountain-head. Mary +was removed to Chartley, near the home of Gifford, whose family was +staunchly Catholic. A brewer at Burton supplied Chartley with beer. Into +the cask of specially good beer for Mary and her attendants and +secretaries was fitted a water-tight box, and in this box were placed +the letters. With the brewer was staying Walsingham's secretary +Phillipps, a thin red-haired man skilled in cypher, and he transcribed +all the letters at Burton before they were sent through an underground +post, which had been carefully arranged by the young and +innocent-looking Gilbert Gifford, to the Jesuit agency in London. Only +six people knew of the whole scheme. Elizabeth, Walsingham, Gifford, +Phillipps, Paulet, Mary's Puritan keeper, and the brewer of Burton. The +brewer was evidently a man whose business instinct was fully developed. +Not only did he receive large and complicated bribes from Elizabeth and +from Mary, but he demanded also a higher price for his beer. This demand +shocked the good Paulet unspeakably, and throws an interesting sidelight +upon the moral sense of the day, and proves that it worked as subtly +then as it works now. + +From this correspondence Elizabeth learned, what her strange foresight +taught her to expect, that France and Spain were too frightened of each +other to take any resolute step against her in favour of Mary. But it +happened also that she learnt something quite unexpected and of extreme +importance, and that was the plot which is known as the Babington +conspiracy. She was able to thwart a national calamity and to preserve +her own life. + +Among the most fanatical of the Catholic disaffected was a Jesuit, named +John Ballard. He had obtained a private bull from Gregory XIII., +sanctioning the murder of Elizabeth, and was unremitting in his efforts +to find a man daring enough to undertake the task. He travelled through +England, disguised in blue velvet, as Captain Fortescue, rousing all the +Catholic gentlemen to concerted action, and convincing them that +Elizabeth's death was a papal necessity. Lord Arundel vouched that he +could answer for the Tower, though he was a prisoner within its walls; +his uncle, Lord Henry, would raise the eastern counties; Sir William +Courtenay promised to seize Plymouth; Lord Montague, Lord Vaux, Lord +Stourton, Lord Windsor, and many others, whose names on earth are dark, +swore a great oath to stand by the cause and by themselves. Everything +was in readiness for a general rising so soon as the blow should fall +which should rid England of Elizabeth. The letters of Mendoza, the +Spanish ambassador, show how confident he is of a complete revolution. +Certainly Elizabeth had need of staunch friends whom she was wise to +bind to herself by every tie her personality could fashion, and staunch +friends she possessed and held in her possession. + +And now the men were found at last by Ballard who were ready to strike +the blow. They were men who waited upon the Queen's person. The chief +amongst them was Anthony Babington, of Dethick, in Derbyshire. He had +been a page at Sheffield when the Queen of Scots was first in charge of +Lord Shrewsbury, and, like many other men, young and old, who came under +the fascination of her influence, he was passionately devoted to her, +with all the strength of devotion that a beautiful woman in +distress--still more, a beautiful queen--must inevitably arouse. The +spirit of chivalry which the great rival Queens infuse into these plots +takes away the sordidness and pettiness which breathes from mere +political intrigue, and lends a poignant majesty to the terrible +dramatic end of it all. This Anthony Babington obtained the help of +Charles Tilney, one of Elizabeth's gentleman pensioners, of Edward +Abington, the son of her under-treasurer, of Jones, of Dunn, of Robert +Barnwell, who was an Irishman on a visit to the Court, and of other +young men. Walsingham and Elizabeth knew of them all, and watched them +continually. Elizabeth's bravery was magnificent Any moment she might +have met death at the hand of an assassin; but she remained undaunted. +Her fearlessness no doubt affected the conspirators, though quite +unconsciously. They did not know that their every action was watched. +Like many other young enthusiasts, they were reckless and self-confident +to the verge of lunacy, and as soon as they came to realize that their +plot was found out, they lost their heads completely. Abject fear took +the place of their courage. They saw the resistless power that was +ranged against them, waiting. They fled; but it was too late. The plot +was revealed to the public. Ignominy and shameful death awaited the men +who hoped to be welcomed as the saviours of their religion, the daring +knights of their queen-lady. Their names were proclaimed and the nature +of their intentions. Babington had fled to St. John's Wood, which was +then a "forest interspersed with farms," and from there he managed to +make his way to Harrow, where he with four others lay hid on haystacks +and in the straw of barns. But they did not remain long undiscovered. +Amid the ringing of bells and the wildest rejoicings they were taken +back to London. And very soon they were hung, drawn and quartered +publicly. + +How many knew of the Queen's imminent danger is not certain. Probably +she kept it from her most intimate friends. Her strength was equal even +to that. Nor is it known how much Ralegh knew of his mistress's danger; +it is not likely that he was entirely ignorant of it, for to him was +given the whole of Babington's estates, which were large and +remunerative. It is certainly a last proof of Queen Elizabeth's amazing +vitality, that in the midst of this dangerous turmoil of plot and +counterplot which surrounded her, she was able to find occasion for the +display of love and affection. For it was during these last desperate +endeavours of the Catholic party that she first drew Ralegh to herself. +She had seen to his advancement, and taken care that he was provided +with the wealth that he needed for his position at Court and that his +personal taste for magnificence desired. She had given him the Farm of +Wines, which, even allowing for the money that one Richard Browne +tricked him out of, brought him in a good income; and, in 1585, he +succeeded Francis, Earl of Bedford, as Lord Warden of the Stannaries, +and shortly afterwards became Lieutenant of the county of Cornwall, and +Vice-Admiral of the counties of Cornwall and Devon. The Queen had need +of staunch friends around her. And it is not due only to a woman's +whim, at which many have mocked, that she kept these men, her +favourites, at Court even sometimes against their will, as when she +prevented Sidney, in 1585, from heading the Virginian colonists, and, a +year or two later, sent Sir Robert Carey to fetch back the Earl of +Essex. Their presence became a necessity to her, because their presence +helped to vouch for her personal safety. It gave her an assurance of +security to see such men by her side, though doubtless their presence +flattered her vanity as well. Moreover, there seems to be something +exhilarating in a woman who could go in perpetual danger and known +danger of murder, and yet keep to the end her woman's desire for +admiration, which is the producer of many graces, and not at all in +itself a proof of pettiness. It depends upon what she considers to be +admirable. + +The Babington conspiracy by which Ralegh was ultimately enriched brought +about a crisis between the loyal and disaffected. The result of the +ingenuity of Walsingham and Elizabeth in contriving the plan by which +Mary, Queen of Scots betrayed herself, placed her intentions beyond all +question. It was clear that she intended to stop at nothing; that she +was anxious for Elizabeth's murder. It was certainly the easiest +solution to her difficulties, and she was the protectress of the true +religion, the head of which had sanctioned the murder. She was that most +dangerous of enemies, a sincerely religious woman of great cleverness +and no principles. Without discussing the ethics of murder and +execution, it is easy to understand Mary's position; and it is not easy +to understand Elizabeth's conduct. Mary was found guilty of high +treason, and the law of the land assessed the penalty for high treason +at death. But Elizabeth could not bring herself to sign the death +warrant. It is difficult to understand why. She was supported by the +authority of the kingdom, but she tried to avoid this last +responsibility. Her conduct illustrates the peculiar blend of craft and +sensitiveness which circumstances had developed in her character, and +which, be it noted, were conspicuous traits of many other great +characters of the time--conspicuously, for example, of Bacon and of +Ralegh. She tried to make Walsingham incur the responsibility and the +odium of the deed. She abused him when he demurred at her proposal. And +finally, when she had given her signature, she swore that it had been by +a mistake, and Walsingham, for ever impoverished by her displeasure, +retired indignant to his house at Barnelms. He became hateful to her, +and nothing could reinstate him in her favour. It was as though he were +a tool which she had cut herself in using, which she flung from her in +anger and without compunction. + +But at length the day of Mary's death came. That was pre-eminently the +time of pageant and display--the display of gorgeous life in the great +Court functions; the display of dreadful death in the public executions. +Both were combined in dramatic intensity at this last scene of Mary's +life. Hers was a Queen's death. + +In November of the year 1586 her sentence was passed. For three months +Europe was agitated by uncertainty whether the sentence would be carried +out, and what would be the result of her death, if it were. For three +months she held her ground as the martyr of her religion, an +unassailable position. For three months she decked her tragedy with the +robes of majesty and of pathetic grace. When Paulet tore down the regal +hangings from her room, saying that they no longer became a traitress, +she hung the crucifix in their place and pointed to it in silence when +he came to her again. + +The day of her execution was the second Wednesday in February, 1587. +Three hundred knights were assembled in the hall of Fotheringay Castle. +When the Provost-Marshal and the Sheriff came to fetch her from her +room, they found her no longer dressed in the customary grey cloth, but +clothed in a robe of black satin. Her hand on the arm of one of the +guard, she passed tall and erect down the broad oak staircase to the +hall. At the end of the hall loomed the scaffold swathed in black; the +dancing flames of a great crackling wood fire moved light shadows across +its blackness, and flickered on the bright steel of the axe which was +leaning against the block. By the block stood the executioners, masked +and in black. She who was cousin to the Queen of England, who was a +married Queen of France and anointed Queen of Scotland, passed up the +hall, followed by her six friends. Her waiting women tried and tried +vainly to keep back their sobs--Elizabeth Kennedy and Barbara Mowbray. +She ascended the black scaffold and sat down--smiling. Beale read aloud +the sentence. + +"Madam," said Lord Shrewsbury, "you hear what we are commanded to do." +"You will do your duty," was her reply. Then the Dean of Peterborough +endeavoured to play his accorded part, but three times he broke down in +addressing her. When he at length began to pray, Mary too prayed in +Latin, and at length her voice alone sounded through the hall. No longer +she prayed in Latin as she had prayed at first, she prayed in English +without a falter in her voice. With sublime audacity she prayed that God +might forgive and bless her son, James VI. of Scotland, and her cousin, +Elizabeth of England, and that He might avert His wrath from Elizabeth's +country. She finished; the black mutes stepped forward. The scaffold +creaked under their movement. They asked her forgiveness for what they +were going to do, according to the custom; and forgiveness was granted +them. "I forgive you," she said, "because now I hope that you will end +all my troubles." Her ladies, Elizabeth Kennedy and Barbara Mowbray, +mounted the steps of the black scaffold in order that they might help +her to make ready. They lifted the lawn veil carefully, not to +disarrange her hair. Swiftly they removed the black robe; swiftly they +took her arms from out the black jacket, slashed with velvet, and set +the jacket on one side. Dazzling in crimson satin she stood on the black +scaffold, revealed in red satin between the black mutes, as she drew +over her white arms crimson sleeves, which her ladies, now trembling, +handed to her. But she drew them on as a lady her gloves, without haste. +"Ne criez-vous, j'ai promis pour vous," she turned to them and said. She +knelt and laid her head on the block: it was hard to her soft neck, so +she put her hand underneath, murmuring the Psalm "In Te, Domine, +confido." But the headsman moved her hand away, fearing its softness +might hinder his business. Then he struck, but the blow fell lightly, +and fell on the knot of the hand-kerchief with which her eyes were +bound. He struck again, and had only to move the axe across the block to +cut the last shred of skin. "So perish all the enemies of the Queen," +called out the Dean of Peterborough, as the executioner held out the +head at his arm's length. Only the strength of her vitality and her +cleverness had kept beauty in her face. The head that was thus held up +at arm's length was the head of an old and wrinkled woman. Death +grinned. + +[Illustration: MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS] + +As they set about stripping the body, a lap-dog, hidden in her clothes, +howled and lay down crying out by the neck from which the blood was +flowing. It was carried away. + +Then all her things--dress, beads, Paternoster, hand-kerchief--were +taken to the great wood fire which still burned merrily, and burned +before all the people. No relics must be left. + +Henry Talbot, son of Lord Shrewsbury, was given the account of the +proceedings, and rode off with them post-haste from Fotheringay along +the bad roads to London. + +So died Mary, Queen of Scots, and her death was one of the surest, most +definite steps that was ever taken towards cutting England off from +papal authority. Henceforward, England stood alone. Henceforward, the +force of patriotism and of religion were to be combined. + +Such things happened in the time of Walter Ralegh. He may have been +present. If he were, the memory of it must have come to his mind some +thirty years later, when he touched the edge of another axe with his +thumb and approved of its sharpness. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE GREAT ENTERPRISE + + Scheme of colonization--Preparation--The sailing--Queen's + interest--Death of Sir Humfrey Gilbert--Another charter + obtained--King Wingina--Hospitality--Sir Richard + Grenville--Difficulties of first colonists--Personal + outfit--Misfortune. + + +Court life, for all its brilliance and excitement, did not monopolize +Ralegh's attention. He had gained wealth and position: he was near the +Queen. That did not suffice him. He was a man of imagination, who could +never rest content with the attainment which, as man of action, he had +achieved. Rarely have the two qualities been so often combined as they +were in the Elizabethan times, and rarely, even then, were they combined +with such force and in so high a degree as they were in great Ralegh. He +bent his energies on the scheme for colonization. The old idea was that +Paradise lay somewhere on the surface of the world; all through the +Middle Ages the dream existed. Columbus thought that the earth was +probably shaped like a pear, not spherical but elongated, and "on the +summit of the protuberance was situated the earthly Paradise, 'whither +no one can go but by God's permission.'" + +That dream continued. It came to Marlowe and obsessed him. But Marlowe +dreamed of no mediaeval Paradise. + + "Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed + In one self-place; for where we are is hell + And where hell is there must we ever be." + +And his god was power; his demi-god, the man who, like Scythian +Tamburlaine, lived-- + + "Threatening the world with high astounding terms + And scourging kingdoms with his conquering sword." + +There was no limit set to the enterprise of man's energy; his power was +measureless and divine. Only in the realm of beauty his step might +falter; beyond all achievement, and all the beauty of achievement, there +would always hover-- + + "One thought, one grace, one wonder at the least + Which into words no virtue can digest." + +Marlowe wrote intoxicated with this elixir of infinite possibility. The +sea-dogs, men of action, seemed almost to be realizing his dreams, +fighting the next ship that met them, like Drake always sailing a little +further on, coming home with spoils and tales of wonder, and starting +out in search of fresh adventures; or there were men like Frobisher, who +combined the buccaneer with the spirit of the scientist, and who were +anxious to learn new geographical facts; or men like Gilbert, who were +serious-minded enough to be whole-hearted in the cause of science; or +men like Ralegh, in whom all these elements seem to have been +struggling. This paradise of unknown lands worked in all ways upon his +mind. Not Columbus before him, not Balzac after him, realized more +keenly the power of money. He saw, with Gilbert and the industrious +Hakluyt, the value of geographical knowledge, but what fired his +imagination was the vision of another Empire across the seas, and that +vision he was impatient to realize. He inspired the painstaking Hakluyt, +and he quietly made it his life's purpose to further the project. It was +Ralegh who grasped the true meaning of the vague aspirations and whose +personality was big enough to set the first slow forces at work. His +immediate schemes failed, but without those initial failures Captain +John Smith would never have succeeded, as he did succeed some fifteen +years later, in founding the colony of Virginia, from which has at +length grown, in the space of four hundred years, the present American +nation. So are our dreams of Paradise materialized into fact. + +The attempt which Gilbert and Ralegh had made at colonization in 1578 +had failed. + +But Ralegh, in his influential position, saw a means of turning his +scheme to advantage. As has been seen, the unrest of the Catholic party +was becoming more and more acute, until it reached its climax in the +Babington conspiracy and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Ralegh +saw his opportunity. He knew as well as Walsingham that there were a +large number of Catholic gentlemen who were desirous of remaining loyal +to their country and loyal to their religion. The wish was as sane as it +was difficult to realize. Naturally (and rightly from their point of +view) the Jesuits and other Catholics, whose enthusiasm made them +fanatical, hated these moderate gentlemen, and called them Schismatics. +Ralegh saw how they might be employed to the advantage of his scheme, +just as a few years previously, when the overcrowding of London was +troubling Burghley, that overcrowding suggested the immediate material +of his scheme. He suggested to Walsingham a solution of the difficulty, +that these gentlemen should form a separate kingdom, should found the +colony in Virginia. In June, 1582, Sir George Gerrard and Sir Thomas +Peckham were empowered to do this. The new plan was set in motion in +spite of Papal warnings and even Papal veto. Two ships were sent to spy +out the land that summer, and in the spring of the following year all +was at length in readiness for actual sailing. Ralegh himself intended +to be vice-admiral,[A] but the Queen forbade him to join the expedition. +He had, however, constructed, on plans of his own devising, an immense +sailing-vessel of 200 tons, which was called the _Bark-Ralegh_ (not to +be confused with the flagship of the fleet which repulsed the Armada +five years later, called the _Ark-Ralegh_). The other vessels were the +_Delight_ alias the _George_, of 120 tons, "which was the Admirall;" the +_Golden Hinde_ of 40 tons, "which was the Reare Admirall;" the +_Swallow_, of 40 tons, and the _Squirrill_, of 10 tons. "We were in +number," writes Mr. Edward Hayes, gentleman, who sailed on the _Golden +Hinde_, "in all about 260 men: among whom we had of every faculty good +choice, as Shipwrights, Masons, Carpenters, Smithes and such like, +requisite to such an action: also Minerall men and Refiners. Besides for +solace of our people and allurement of the Savages, we were provided of +Musike in good variety: not omitting the least toyes, as Morris dancers, +Hobby horsse, and Maylike conceits to delight the savage people whom we +intended to winne by all faire meanes possible. And to that end we were +indifferently furnished of all petty haberdasherie wares to barter with +those simple people." + + [A] Professor Raleigh writes: "Ralegh, who never took kindly to + a subordinate command, deserted the expedition for some + reason unknown." But it is not at all probable that he + ever started.--"The English Voyages," p. 58. + +On June 11 the expedition sailed from Causon Bay. The day was Tuesday. +Misfortune came very soon upon them. On Thursday evening the news was +signalled from the _Bark-Ralegh_ that the captain and very many of the +men were fallen sick; and at midnight, "notwithstanding we had the wind +East, faire and good," the vice-admiral forsook them. The reason Mr. +Hayes could never understand, he says in his account, and adds, "Sure I +am, no cost was spared by their owner Master Ralegh in setting them +forth: Therefore I leave it unto God." Sir Humfrey Gilbert was not so +philosophic about the desertion; he wrote to his brother-admiral, Sir +George Peckham, in wrath: "The _Bark-Ralegh_ ran from me in fair and +clear weather, having a large wind. I pray you solicit my brother Ralegh +to make them an example to all knaves." + +After this defection the _Golden Hinde_ took the place of the +Vice-Admiral, and hoisted her flag from the mizzen to the foretop. As +they sailed northward they were "incumbered with much fogge and mists in +maner palpable," so that great difficulty was experienced by the ships +in keeping in touch one with the other. The danger of separation always +threatened sailing vessels, and elaborate devices and instructions were +always prepared to lessen its likelihood and to face the emergency. But +on July 20 the _Swallow_ and the _Squirrill_ became separated from the +company, and were not discovered again until the Newfoundland coast was +reached on August 3. Soon after another misfortune occurred owing to the +unruliness of the men on the _Squirrill_, who could not be restrained +from plundering a fishing-boat. This bad act was sufficient to wreck the +success of the expedition, and caused much dissatisfaction among the +sailors, who were always superstitious. Moreover, the men's unruliness +was a serious danger on such an expedition, apart from the question of +God's wrath, which Mr. Hayes feared, and which fell upon the _Squirrill_ +and requited the ill-doers with death. + +On August 5 Sir Humfrey Gilbert took possession of the harbour of St. +John, and invested the Queen's Majesty with the title and dignity +thereof. The arms of England, engraved in lead, were fixed upon a pillar +of wood and erected. Men were sent to explore the land, and to make maps +of it, while the ships were being overhauled and repaired. The report +only survives; the maps were lost when the general died. + +On August 27 they set sail again, and on the next day a great wind +arose, bringing with it rain and thick mist, and drove the vessels upon +the sands and flats. The _Admirall_ struck; her stern and hinder parts +were broken in pieces by the waves; the men leapt into the sea. "This +was a heavy and grievous event to lose at one blow our chiefe shippe +fraighted with great provision, gathered together with much travell, +care, long time, and difficultie. But more was the losse of our men +which perished to the number almost of a hundreth soules." Among the +drowned was Budaeus, a learned man who was minded to record in the Latin +tongue the gests and things worthy of remembrance; Daniel, a refiner of +metals; and Captain Maurice Brawn, a virtuous, honest, and discreet +gentleman. A few men, however, managed to keep afloat in a small boat +for six days, and though two of them died of starvation, the others were +rescued. This disaster brought dismay to the company and they lost +courage. Winter, too, was drawing on, provisions were becoming scant, +their clothes were worn out. Accordingly, Sir Humfrey Gilbert determined +to make for home. "Be content," he said to the men, "we have seen +enough: and take no care of expence past: I will set you forth royally +the next Spring if God send us safe home. Therefore I pray you let us no +longer strive here, where we fight against the elements." But calamity +did not forsake them. Sir Humfrey Gilbert did not reach home. Before the +expedition sailed in June, Elizabeth for her own reasons had persisted +in denying Sir Humfrey the right to accompany his expedition; but his +step-brother, Sir Walter Ralegh, had continued to use his influence to +obtain permission, and the requisite permission had at last been +granted. + + "BROTHER, + + "I have sent you a token from her Majesty, an ancor guided by + a lady, as you see; and further, her Highness willed me to sende + you worde that she wished you as great good-hap and safty to + your ship, as if her sealf were ther in parson; desiring you to + have care of your sealf as of that which she tendereth; and + therefore for her sake, you must provide for hit accordingly. + + "Farther, she commandeth that you leve your picture with me. + For the rest I leve till our meeting, or to the report of this + bearer, who would needs be the messengre of this good newse. So + I committ you to the will and protection of God, who send us + such life or death as He shall please or hath appointed. + + "Richmonde this Friday morning. + "Your treu brother + "W. RALEGH" + +The letter shows the Queen's interest and concern--her attitude towards +the gentlemen who adventured their lives for the glory of her kingdom. +But good-hap and safety were not vouchsafed to Gilbert's ship. The will +and protection of God did not send life; death had been appointed. + +They reached the Azores without mishap, except that the general caused +himself great pain and inconvenience by treading upon a nail. The last +conference took place on the _Golden Hinde_, on September 3, when he +made merry with the company on board; his hopes of success ran high for +the enterprise, he vowed to undertake once more the next spring. They +were now coming near to England and the end of their distresses. But +they met with foul weather, and terrible seas, breaking short and high, +pyramid-wise. "Men which all their lifetime had occupied the Sea, never +saw more outragious Seas." Upon the main-yard of the _Golden Hinde_ +appeared an apparition of a little fire by night. The little fire is an +evil omen, and is called Castor and Pollux. "Munday the ninth of +September, in the afternoon, the Frigat was neere cast away, oppressed +by waves, yet at that time recovered: and giving forth signes of joy, +the Generall sitting abaft with a book in his hand, cried out unto us in +the Hinde (so oft as we did approach within hearing), 'We are as neare +to Heaven by sea as by land.' Reiterating the same speech, +well-beseeming a souldier, resolute in Jesus Christ, as I can testifie +he was." + +Sir Humfrey Gilbert was seen no more. Sitting abaft with a book in his +hand--that was the last sight of him, and those were his last words, +the great saying of a great sailor. For at midnight the lights of his +vessel suddenly disappeared. The frigate was devoured and swallowed of +the sea. So died Sir Humfrey Gilbert in the prime of his manhood at the +age of forty-four. + +The _Golden Hinde_ managed to reach the coast of England, and brought +the bad news of disaster to Sir Walter Ralegh, his step-brother, and to +Adrian Gilbert, his younger brother. + +They wasted no time in grief or mourning. They paid proper respect to +the memory of the brave dead, and immediately made renewed efforts to +further the enterprise to which their brother had devoted his life. + +[Illustration: A SAILING-SHIP IN THE TIME OF RALEGH] + +Within six months Ralegh obtained another charter from the Queen with +larger powers. He and Adrian Gilbert and John Davies were incorporated +under the new charter as "The College of the Fellowship for the +Discovery of the North-west passage." That was the dream of the dead +navigator. Ralegh always had a greater purpose in view, and the charter +was later extended by clauses giving him powers to colonize. Directly +these first steps were taken, a month after the charter's final signing, +Ralegh despatched two captains, Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlow. + +Captain John Smith gives an account of their voyage in his "History of +Virginia." (John Smith it was who, profiting by initial failures, +succeeded some years later in the fulfilment of the great scheme.) "The +27 of Aprill," he writes, "they set sail from the Thames, the tenth of +May passed the Canaries, and the tenth of June the West Indies: which +unneedful Southerly course (but then no better was knowne) occasioned +them in that season much sicknesse." His interpolation--then no better +was known--is significant. It throws a clear light on the difficulties +with which these early colonizers were called upon to cope; they had not +yet learned the best way even of reaching their destination. + +However, on the 2nd of July the two captains arrived at Florida, "where +they felt a most delicate sweete smell, though they saw no land, which +ere long they espied, _thinking it the Continent: an hundred and twenty +miles they sailed not finding any harbour_." That again is significant, +taking into consideration the limited room on a sailing vessel for food +and other necessaries. When they came to land, they had not yet the +means of knowing anything about that land whatsoever. At length they +discovered that they were upon an island, the island of Wokokon. It was +fertile past all belief. Grapes grew in profusion right down to the +water's edge, that the very surge of the sea sometimes over-flowed them. +In the valleys tall cedars grew, and from the black cedars great cranes +flew in white flocks, when the men discharged their muskets, "with such +a cry as if an army of men had shouted together." The island was thickly +wooded with other trees of excellent smell and quality; and in the woods +there were conies and deere and fowle in incredible abundance. For three +days none of the people were seen. On the third day, in a little boat, +three of them appeared and showed no sign of fear. One of them stopped +and conferred with the sailors, who gave him a shirt and a hat, meat and +wine, which he liked. Then he went away; but soon returned with his boat +quite full of fish, which he gave to the sailors. He had come from the +mainland. + +Next day the king's brother visited the ships, with forty or fifty men, +"proper people and in their behaviour very civill." The king's brother's +name was Granganamen. Soon after the king himself, Wingina, came. A mat +was spread for him on the sea shore, and he sat down upon it. When the +sailors came to him, he stroked his head and breast, and he stroked +their heads and breasts, to express his love. He made a long speech, and +divers toys, "which he kindly accepted," were presented to him. +Especially a pewter pleased the king's fancy. He drilled a hole in it +and hung it round his neck. It made him a capital breastplate, for which +he was ready to give, and gave, twenty skin of deer, worth twenty +crowns. He was so pleased with his bargain and treatment that a few days +later he brought his wife and children on board. During all their stay +in his kingdom, which was called Wingandacoa, King Wingina sent them +almost every day a brace of bucks, conies, hares, fish and vegetables. +The soil was fertile, as the woods were plentifully stocked with +game--for the sailors put some peas in the ground, and in ten days they +had grown to the height of fourteen inches. + +They had, indeed, found the Land of Promise; and the people who +inhabited the land were as friendly as their king. A party went on a +little expedition to the island of Roanoak, which was distant some seven +leagues. There the wife of the chief man, who was absent, welcomed them +with much courtesy. She had their clothes taken off and washed; she had +their feet bathed in warm water, while she herself attended to the +preparation of food. While they were eating, warriors entered the room +armed with bows and arrows. The sailors, fearful of treachery, grasped +their muskets. There was no need for alarm, however. The woman saw their +fear, and ordered the warriors immediately to snap their bows and arrows +across their knees. + +Hospitality could go no farther. The whole account of the land +"luxuriant to the water's edge, and of their joyous reception by the +Indians, makes the dreams of the pastoral poets seem true," as Professor +Raleigh puts it. Indeed, the people were such as live after the manner +of the Golden Age. Such, too, the Burmese were found to be some three +hundred years later; they had the same childlike simplicity, the same +earnest kindliness; they, too, were unspoiled and happy. The Indians +were regarded as savages; they were not closely observed or +sympathetically described by these stout-hearted adventurers, as the +Burmese have been by Fielding Hall in his notable books. Their +subsequent history bears out the resemblance. The Indians, simpler, more +childish people--savages in fact--came into contact with a sterner +younger civilization. Their history is known. The history of the subject +Burmese is still in the making. + +Captain Amadas and Captain Barlow returned in September. They brought +with them two of the natives, many skins, and pearls as big as peas, +which they duly delivered to Sir Walter Ralegh. He was overjoyed with +the success of their voyage, and he obtained permission from the Queen +to call his new land of Wingandacoa, Virginia, in her honour. He ordered +a new seal of his arms to be cut, engraved with the legend, "Propria +insignia Walteri Ralegh, militis, Domini et Gubernatoris Virginiae." + +In the spring of the following year his colonizing fleet was ready. The +command of the expedition was given to Sir Richard Grenville, the +valiant, as John Smith calls him. The colony was to be under the +management of Captain Ralph Lane. Sir Richard Grenville was not the man +for the business, and the expedition would have had a very different +result had Sir Philip Sidney undertaken its command, as it was intended +that he should. Sir Richard was supreme as a fighter: his tactics were +to hit first, and to hit hardest, and never to give way. He was +indomitable, but more than sheer bravery was necessary for the +undertaking, and more than sheer bravery Sir Richard Grenville did not +possess. + +The fleet of seven ships departed from Plymouth in April, and, without +any serious mishap, they arrived on May 12 at the Bay of Moskito in the +island of St. John's, where they cast anchor, and where in seven days +they were joined amidst great rejoicing by Master Candish, captain of +one of the ships which had been separated in a storm. The island of St. +John was in possession of the Spaniards. It is probable that Sir +Richard Grenville hated the Spaniards more than he loved the project of +colonization; for in St. John he stayed till the end of May. He built a +fort, and succeeded in capturing two Spanish frigates, one of which was +well freighted with treasure, and having ransomed the Spaniards of +account for good round sums, he went on his way to Isabella, on the +north side of Hispaniola. Here again they delayed, hoping, as it would +seem, for an opportunity to attack the Spaniards in possession; but the +Spaniards, overawed, as the writer thinks, by their numbers, exhibited +only the greatest courtesy. So they sailed on June 7, and eventually +arrived a fortnight later at Wokokon, after having narrowly escaped +complete shipwreck "on a breach called the Cape of Fear." + +The colony was now on the verge of plantation. But the men did not see +the immense need of living at amity with the natives, that they might +win their support and trust, without which their task would be +insuperable in difficulty. They had hardly lived among them for two days +before strife broke out, in which, of course, the Englishmen were easily +victorious. For it appears that a silver cup was missed, and theft was +suspected. For this trivial reason the town of Aquascogok, which was +supposed to shelter the culprit, was burned, and all the neighbouring +cornfields were laid waste. Enmity was thus kindled, and the fire of +enmity cannot easily be extinguished. + +After that Sir Richard Grenville sailed away with his convoy, and +passing on his way home a richly laden Spanish ship of three hundred +tons, he boarded her (note the prodigious daring of the fellow!) with a +boat made with boards of a chest, "which fell asunder and sunk at the +ship's side as soon as ever he and his men were out of it." That was on +the last day of August: on September 18 he sailed into Plymouth harbour, +well-contented with his prize, "and was courteously received by divers +of his worshipful friends." + +But Ralph Lane was left behind in Virginia with his colonists, to the +number of some hundred house-holders, and the hostile natives. From the +New Fort he writes an enthusiastic letter, on September 3, to Master +Richard Hakluyt. His report of the fertility of the country is more +glowing even than the account of Amadas and Barlow, or than Ralegh +himself could have dared imagine in his brightest dreams. "It is the +goodliest and most pleasing territory of the world; for the continent is +of a huge and unknown greatness, and very well peopled and towned, +though savagely: and the climate is wholesome, that we had not one sick +since we touched the land here." Horses and kine and sufficient +Englishmen are alone needed, and no realm in Christendom would be +comparable with Virginia. The men set to work to build themselves a +settlement, making use of the equipment with which each man was +provided. + +Captain John Smith, who succeeded, some thirty years later, in erecting +the colony on the ruins of these previous failures, gives an exact +outfit, with the cost of each article, which a colonist would require. +He could learn from the experience of others, and was wise enough to +tabulate his own experience in minute lists that others might learn from +him. Lane's colonists could not have been so well provided. They must +have lacked many little necessaries which the wisest forethought could +not have provided, they must have encumbered themselves with much that +was comparatively useless. Here are some articles of personal outfit +which John Smith--and John Smith knew--deemed indispensable. They read +quaintly with their prices:-- + + A Monmouth Cap 1_s._ 10_d._ + Three Shirts 7_s._ 6_d._ + One Waste Coat 2_s._ 2_d._ + One Suit of Canvase 7_s._ 6_d._ + " " Frize 10_s._ 0_d._ + " " Cloth 15_s._ 0_d._ + Three pair of Irish Stockings 4_s._ 0_d._ + Four pair of shoes 8_s._ 8_d._ + One pair of garters 0_s._ 10_d._ + One dozen of points 8_s._ 0_d._ + One pair of Canvase sheets 8_s._ 0_d._ + Seven ells of Canvase to make a bed a + bolster to be filled in Virginia, + serving for two men + Five ells of coarse canvase to make a bed 5_s._ 0_d._ + One Coarse rug to be used at sea for + two men + +Lane's colonists remained exactly one year in Virginia. Their life was +varied and exciting. At first the Indians, in spite of the silver cup +and the summary vengeance for its theft, were still inclined towards +friendliness. Their kings visited New Fort. Menatonou, King of +Chawanook, was especially well-disposed. He was a "man impotent in his +limbs, but otherwise, for a savage, a very grave and wise man, and of a +very singular good discourse in matters concerning the state, not only +of his own country and the disposition of his own men, but also of his +neighbours round about him as well far as near, and of the commodities +that each country yieldeth." Among other things, he told Lane where +pearls in large quantities could be found, and Lane devised a plan for +making an expedition to that river of Moratoc. + +And from this plan, which Lane records in full in a subsequent letter to +Ralegh, peers out the mistake in judgment which brought disaster upon +this first enterprise. These colonists had too much the spirit of Sir +Richard Grenville. They were too adventurous, and esteemed the natives +of too little account. Instead of quietly settling and making their base +secure, while the Indians became gradually used to their presence, they +must needs be hurrying further inland in pursuit of immediate and +enormous wealth. Theirs was too much the spirit of the lion-hearted +freebooter and not enough the spirit of the determined settler. + +Misfortune awaited them. For there lived an old king in this land of +fabulous wealth by the swift river of Moratoc or Moratico. Ensenore was +his name, and he was friendly to the English. Not so his son Pemisapan. +And at this crucial time Ensenore died and Pemisapan took his place at +the head of the province, and immediately began his endeavours to +undermine the little influence which the English had already gained +among the neighbouring peoples. The position of the colonists became one +of extreme danger in consequence. They found that they must not only +struggle against the elements to secure food and shelter, but also fight +for their lives against the inhabitants. They had expected support from +England in the spring, with reinforcements of every kind. None, however, +came, and probably the fear of isolation, brought about by events of +which they had heard nothing, was added to their other fears. Small +wonder then that, when Sir Francis Drake came to them with twenty tall +ships, they should clamour to leave the perilous spot and return to +England. They returned in June, Drake's fleet laden with the spoils he +had garnered from the sack of the Spanish cities, St. Iago, St. Domingo, +Carthagena, St. Anthony, and St. Helens. With them, too, they are said +to have brought, for the first time, specimens of the plant Nicotiana, +of which Ralegh discovered the sovereign virtues, and which, in despite +of King James from Scotland and his counterblast, has soothed many +millions of honest Englishmen. + +A fortnight after the colonists departed, fearing that they were +forsaken, the ship of a hundred tons which Ralegh had stored with +provisions and other necessaries arrived, and a month after Sir Richard +Grenville came with three ships, and found neither colonists nor the +ship which Ralegh had sent out for their relief. Accordingly, after he +had searched long in vain and made certain explorations on his own +initiative, he landed fifteen brave men to retain possession of the +country for England and sailed home. Nothing more was heard of the +fifteen brave men. + +So ended the first series of attempts to found an English colony in +Virginia, doubtless, efforts which themselves just failed of success, +but without which the final colonization of Virginia would have been +impossible. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +BUSINESS MAN + + The Stannaries--His grasp of detail--"Do it with thy + might"--Estimate of squadron--Scheme of coast defence-- + The clash-mills of Mr. Crymes--Irish plans. + + +The Virginian enterprise did not engage all Ralegh's energy in affairs. +Undoubtedly it was his greatest scheme. Its eventual results were of no +less than world-wide importance, for they include the American nation, +they include tobacco; and without either commodity modern civilization +would surely be desolate. Ralegh had a capacity for business which +approached genius; and would have attained to genius had his imagination +not run a little in advance of his power over detail. + +In his hands the posts which he obtained were no sinecures. Proper +arrangement of things in being fascinated him almost as deeply as the +possible development of the embryonic. + +The various expeditions to Virginia involved a vast amount of work. But +during that time he was actively engaged in the management of lesser +matters. + +As Lord Warden of the Stannaries his duties were to look after the +interests of the tin-miners in Devonshire and Cornwall. He was head of +the Stannary Courts in which justice was legally administered to the +tinners; and he would be obliged to see that his substitutes performed +their functions properly. For a privilege was granted to the tin-workers +to have their disputes settled upon the spot in their own court, in +order that they might not be drawn from their business during the long +time that a visit to another court would involve. All through the time +when he was engaged in great things at Court, or in great dreams of an +Eldorado in South America, he always paid proper attention to the +exacting little business of these tinners in Cornwall. In 1600 he writes +a minute account to the Lord Treasurer, Buckhurst, and Secretary, Sir +Robert Cecil, about the abatement of some tax on tin. He kept the +interests of the tinners always in mind. In the same year he enters into +the case of a gentleman, Mr. Crymes, who had erected certain clash-mills +upon Roxburgh Down "to worke the tynn which upon that place is gott with +extreame labour and charge out of the ground." But the townsmen of +Plymouth objected to the mills, because they said that the mills +diverted the course of their water. Ralegh went to view the clash-mills +on Roxburgh Down in person, though it was the autumn of the year, and +decided against the townsmen of Plymouth. If they had their way, as +according to the letter of the law only they should, countless tinners +would be thrown out of work. In reality no harm was done to the course +of the river. + +Accordingly Ralegh asks Secretary Sir Robert Cecil to take the matter +from the Star Chamber, where the townsmen of Plymouth had sent it, and +to let it be tried, as it was fitting that such a matter should be +tried, in the Stannary Courts. "If this be suffered to proceed in the +Starre Chamber it will not be avaylable to speake of her Majesties late +imposicion or encrease of Custom, or to establish good laws among +Tynners; when others who can by a great purse or procuring +extraordinary meanes, diminish to their power her Majesties duties and +the common benefytt of the people." + +_Do it with thy might_ was as sincerely his motto in little things as in +big; and this it is well to remember in protest against those who are +inclined to regard Ralegh merely as an unsuccessful dreamer of great +dreams. + +He was Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Among other duties which the post +entailed, was the important duty of keeping the county ready to ward off +an invasion, which was a very real danger all through his period of +office. His letters to Lord Burghley give ample evidence of his care and +wisdom. In 1587, one year before the Armada, he sent the Lord Treasurer +a letter in which he gave it as his opinion that a company of two +thousand foot and a troop of two hundred should be levied from the +counties of Cornwall and Devon, and should be trained to be ready for +defence at a moment's notice against surprise. The difficulties of his +plan he saw clearly. There was, in the first place, a feeling of rivalry +between the two Duchies which increased the difficulty of combination. +The Lord Lieutenant of Devonshire, the Earl of Bath, was not easily +brought to see the wisdom of the plan, though Sir John Gilbert and Sir +Richard Grenville, staunch Devon men, were its supporters. The merchants +of Exeter were not disposed to bear willingly any additional outlay in +the matter of defence, because they were obliged to pay heavily to +defend their merchandise against Barbary and other pirates. Ralegh +incloses a tabulated list in his letter, showing exactly how these +levies could be raised, and the exact cost of the raising. The payment +of the troop of horse is of much interest. The men were to receive +1_s._ a day (the pay of an infantry man was 8d.). The horsemen were to +be divided into four cornets: that would imply four captains at 5s., +four lieutenants at 3_s._, four guidons at 2_s._ 6_d._, four clerks at +1_s._ 6_d._, four trumpetts at 1_s._ 6_d._ per day. He adds the charge +of ammunition. "There is allowed for each soldier for this service of +sixteen daies, tenn pounde of Powder at 12_d._ the pounde and is L500. +Ther is allowed of matche for each soldier at halfe a pounde the daye, +at 6_d._ the pounde and is L200. Of leade for each mann one pounde at +11/2_d._ the pounde, and is L6 8_s._ + +The whole estimated cost of training and raising came to L2163 5_s._ and +unlike the majority of estimates, the one drawn up by Ralegh is as clear +as it is concise. + +But his best contribution to the problem of defence is a letter, written +in the year 1595 to the Lords of the Council. It had been decided that +"mutual succour be gyven from the Counties of Devon and Cornwall to each +other," and the point of the letter is to show that Devonshire should be +supplied with reinforcements from Somerset rather than from Cornwall. +His reasons are well put and convincing. "If there shall any discent be +made by the enymye in either county by the waie of surprise, and that +the enymye doe but burne or sacke, and departe, then can nether be +releeved as aforesaid, bycause there wilbe no tyme given to unite the +forces of the same shere, where such attempt shalbe offered, much lesse +for the drawing in of any numbers from affarr; and for any such +enterpryze, where there is no purpose to hold and possesse the places +gotten, each shire with 4000 men shalbe able either to repel or to +resiste the same. But if the enymy dispose himself to fortyfye any part +in Cornewall or to strengthen any neck of land of advantage, and thereby +begyne to dryve us to a defensive warr, then there is noe country +adjoyneth to Cornwall but Devon from whence any spedy supplie maie be +had to impeach the begining of such a purpose. And if ought be attempted +in Devon--of which Plymouth is most to be feared, having, in one +indraught, two goodly harboroughes, as Cattwater and Aishewater--then it +is also very likely that the enymye will either assure Cornewall, or +seeke utterly to waste yt, because yt is next his supplies, both from +Spayne and Brittaine (Brittany); and hath divers ports and good rodes to +receive a fleete." + +He proceeds to point out the length and narrowness of Cornwall, and the +extreme difficulty of sending succour to Plymouth. The river can only be +forded in two places, and that by small ferries at Stonehouse and Aishe, +which would be of little use for horses or ammunition. Moreover, the +enemy would bring "gallies" with them, which would enable them to +command the river Tamar. If four thousand men were taken from Cornwall, +the enemy would certainly become cognizant of the fact, and nothing +would be easier for them, in that event, than to lay waste the whole +shire, either by sending round a ship from Plymouth or across from +Brittany. Three hundred soldiers would be sufficient. + +He points out that no county in England is so dangerously situated as +Cornwall, with the sea on both sides of it, and with sparse inhabitants. +It is so narrow that if the enemy were to possess any of two or three +straits, the men of the West would be quite cut off from the men of the +East, for between Mount's Bay and the sea entering within St. Tees, it +is but three miles and a half from sea to sea; between Truro and St. +Pirom but five miles. He concludes the letter by making manifest the +advantages of the position of Somerset, its breadth, its richness, and +lack of separating rivers. + +And he set his mind to these details of his defence at the time when his +mind was eager to bring down to the realm of reality those high dreams +by which Guiana caused him to be obsessed. A few days afterwards he +writes to Sir Robert Cecil: "I beseich you lett us know whether wee +shalbe travelers or tinkers; conquerors or novices. For if the winter +pass without making provision there can be no vitling in the summer; and +if it be now fore-slowed, farewell Guiana for ever.... Honor and gold +and all good, for ever hopeless." + +A great man, this Elizabethan, whose imperial dreams did not prevent him +from mastering the little businesses under his hand! Visions of Eldorado +did not blurr his view of Minnett or lessen his interest in the +clash-mills of Mr. Crymes. + +Not only was Ralegh Lord Warden of the Stannaries and Lord Lieutenant of +Cornwall, but he was also what Edwards calls Captain of Industry in +Ireland. The work connected with these duties was what may be looked +upon as the _business_ of his life. Each entailed work and +responsibility which would suffice the energy of an ordinary man of +business, a little above the modern average of capacity. It was typical +of Ralegh's immense vitality that he dealt with them with as much +thoroughness and ease as he managed his own household, and always he +inspired them with new ideas and new life, even as his garden was the +first in which orange-trees were cultivated. His imagination made him an +originator. He was never content with the old way of doing things--he +found a better. He was always seeing old facts for the first time, as +though he had never seen them before, as all men of vigorous intellect +do. Consequently he trusted his own opinion, and he had good cause to +trust it. + +Ralegh had first become prominent by his actions in Ireland, and very +soon after he had attained to eminence he was employed by the Crown in +their endeavour to bring some kind of prosperity to the country ravaged +to desolation by war. Solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. Six hundred +thousand acres of land had been confiscated from the Earl of Desmond, +and probably at his own suggestion Ralegh undertook to plant an English +colony there. Others joined in the enterprise. Ralegh's share consisted +of some twelve thousand acres in the counties of Cork, Waterford, and +Tipperary, and he rented, in addition, Lismore Castle at the annual +charge of L13 6_s_. 8_d_., from Meyler Magrath, Bishop of the See of +Lismore and Archbishop of Cashel. His tenants he had taken from men of +Devon (the stamp of man he knew and approved), and his land was soon +recognized as the most prosperous among all the estates which these +"gentlemen under-takers," as they were called, were opening out. +Fertility did not satisfy him. His acres were well forested, and an idea +occurred to him by which he could turn the timber to good account. His +scheme was to construct pipe-staves and hogsheads and barrel boards, and +to transport them to the wine growers of Spain and France. It was a good +scheme and practical. But he found the utmost difficulty in obtaining a +licence from the Privy Council for their export. He was not in favour +with Sir William Fitzwilliam, Lord-Deputy of Ireland, nor the deputy's +cousin, one Richard Wingfield. By the time that sanction was obtained, +Ireland was again in too unsettled a state for prosperity in quiet +commerce, and Ralegh sold his estate to Richard Boyle, who afterwards +became Earl of Cork. He had planted many products, which his men had +brought from Virginia, on the land of his Irish estate, and among these +was the potato. He also tried to cultivate tobacco, but with less +success. + +Had Ralegh been supported during the last ten years of the Queen's +reign, he would have benefited Ireland considerably by his activity, +even though he was, at the same time, engaged in many other affairs, +naval, political, and commercial. But he was badly hampered in his +projects by loss of favour. His enemies were many, and they found +pleasure in vexing him in small matters. This enmity, while Elizabeth +lived, did not seriously injure his power or his reputation, but it set +obstacles in the way of his projects which were just sufficient to +thwart them. + +Such were Ralegh's chief business activities, which were the groundwork +of his life, these and the duties of Captain of the Guard, which were +chiefly decorative. It is not easy to realize, in a time of great +splendour, the day to day existence of the men who made that time +splendid. The mind is apt to leap from dramatic moment to dramatic +moment, when mighty exploits mark out a time's history like +stepping-stones. When events are sufficiently great to stand prominently +forth, not only in the history of the reign, but in the history of all +time, the prosaic intervals of dull hard work are apt to be forgotten; +but they are the essential training, without which those events would +not have happened. + +The life of the man is the life of the nation in little. Just as Ralegh +thought nothing beneath his notice, thought nothing to which he put his +hand too insignificant not to be done with his might, so England, under +her great Queen, was working and working to collect her strength, so +that, when the moment at last came to strike, she might strike with +effect. + +Sir Walter Ralegh, Captain of the Guard, superb in pearls and silver, +whom magnificence became, did not disdain on occasion to ride for many +miles through the muddy roads of Devonshire to inspect the river at +Roxburgh Down, and found time to write at length to Secretary Sir Robert +Cecil, his opinion that the clash-mills of Mr. Crymes, the tinner, did +not harm the townsmen of Plymouth. That incident is as significant of +the time's energy as the defeat of the Spanish Armament. + +[Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEIGH + +From an oil-painting made, probably by Federigo Zuccaro, in 1586 + +Copyright, Emery Walker, London, E. C.] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +AGAINST SPAIN + + Spain's enmity--The Armada--Ralegh's opinion of tactics--With + Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys--The privateers. + + +Indeed Ralegh's immense energy is typical of the time. _Do it with thy +might_ could fitly have been the motto of the nation. Their capacity for +hard work was unequalled. The Armada was England's day of triumph. Men +applaud a prima-donna on the night of her success, and are apt to forget +the long years of training and privation and self-control that have +preceded the glory of the moment. It is even so with a nation. The +little hour of triumph is as nothing compared with the long years of +life which made that triumph possible; and only the greatest artist and +the greatest nation can bear the added burthen of success. England +lapsed after the impulse of that great action had died away. The nation +as a whole was too young and too boisterous with youth to support a +victory so overpowering in its magnificence. + +The triumph itself was like few in the history of nations, and events +conspired to lend a vivid dramatic colour to its greatness. + +The time had come when Philip the Second at last decided that the +insolence of England must be punished. The exploits of men like Hawkins +and Drake and Ralegh and Frobisher were becoming intolerable, and +though Elizabeth had at first given no sanction to their enterprises, +treating them much as she had treated the English supporters of the +Protestant cause in France, yet the knighthood of Drake on the deck of +his own ship at length declared the bent of her sympathy. The time had +come for action: and the time seemed specially favourable to Philip. +Sextus the Fifth was Pope, and he had created the league for the +subversion of heresy, and the arch-heretic of Europe must be put away. +The Prince of Parma was in the Netherlands ready to invade England. The +Catholics in England would be united by the execution of Mary, Queen of +Scots, and the Protestants themselves would be averse to the surrender +of the throne to her son and his Scotch followers. So Philip thought, +and slowly set the immense machinery of preparation to work. + +Elizabeth possessed remarkable foresight and a remarkable dislike for +definite action. Her foresight was as uncanny as an instinct, or her +power of dissimulation, which is the art of diplomacy. Accordingly, it +is probable that her efforts for peace, and the treaty which she patched +up with the Prince of Parma, did not arise from any fear of war, but +were a clever design to increase the proud confidence of the enemy by +making him think that England was in reality in a state of panic, quite +unprepared for war. She knew well of the preparations, and of their huge +scale. Drake had sent news to Lord Burghley: "Assuredly," he wrote, +"there never was heard of or known so great preparations as the King of +Spain hath and daily maketh ready for the invasion of England." With +daring he sailed into the very harbour of Cadiz and damaged more than a +hundred tall ships. He was forbidden to do further damage. Spain's +enterprise was not destined to be strangled at home. Elizabeth's fear, +if her fear existed, allowed Philip to spend untold sums of money on his +fleet, and to adorn it with the flower of his nobility, and allowed +England to overcome her enemy in the full ostentation of his display. +Certainly Lord Howard of Effingham, Admiral of the Fleet, knew nothing +of Elizabeth's intentions, nor did Sir John Hawkins, the paymaster. They +wrote angry letters to Walsingham when the movements of their ships were +confined, and some of their men disbanded. "Never," wrote Lord Howard, +"never since England was England was there such a stratagem and mask +made to deceive us as this treaty." And Sir John Hawkins was even more +vehement: "We are wasting money, wasting strength, dishonouring and +discrediting ourselves by our uncertain dallying." Naturally they +desired to repeat Drake's exploit, to run every risk, like brave +Englishmen, and to crush the Spanish fleet in the Spanish harbours. But +they must wait. Elizabeth's fears or Elizabeth's diplomacy (conscious or +unconscious in its working a strange instinct for the good of England +was here) determined another course of action. "The Queen took upon +herself the detailed management of everything. Lord Howard's letters +prove that she and she only was responsible," as Froude, who accepts the +view of her perverseness and levity, declared. + +Meanwhile the King of Spain's preparations were at length completed. The +galleons, "built high like castles," had been baptized each with the +name of a saint, St. Matthew, St. Philip, St. John, ceremonially, as it +was fitting that vessels about to fight for the Catholic cause should be +baptised. The one hundred and twenty-nine vessels of the Armada, +galleons and galleasses, set sail. They were strong only in pride and in +the sense of their cause's sacredness. + +Their vessels were unwieldy and old-fashioned, their ammunition was +insufficient, and their admiral was high-born but incapable. For the +veteran Don Alvarez de Bacan, Marquis of Santa Cruz, had died suddenly, +and his place had been taken by the Duke of Medina Sidonia. On July 19 +the Armada was reported off Plymouth. Beacons lit from hilltop to +hilltop flamed the news to London. + +The English fleet was ready. "Their ships had warped out into the Sound +on the evening of the 19th: on the 20th they had plied out, to windward, +against a fresh south-westerly breeze; and the Armada running to the +eastward all night had, by daybreak on the 21st, given the English the +weather-gage for which they had been working." + +On the afternoon of the 21st the battle began. The _Ark-Ralegh_, built +on Sir Walter's own design, in which was the Lord High Admiral, Howard +of Effingham, and three other ships sailed along the rear of the Spanish +line, sending quick volleys into the great vessels, and sailed back. The +Spaniards vainly tried to grapple with them: the English ships were too +swift and easily manoeuvred. And then, on the very opening of the long +battle, the Spaniards recognized their weakness, that their great +vessels were cumbrous, and so crank that their cannon sent their balls +on the weather side high into space, and on the lee side very nearly +plump into the water. For a week (there was little sleep for the men +during that week) the fleets fought down the Channel till the Spanish +fleet lay at last at Calais, but not for long. The English sent +fire-ships among them and drove them out. "This great preparation," +writes Bacon, "passed away like a dream. The Invincible Navy neither +took any one barque of ours neither yet once offered to land; but after +they had been well beaten and chased, made a perambulation about the +Northern seas, ennobling many coasts with wrecks of mighty ships; and so +returned home with greater derision than they set forth with +expectation." + +[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF LONDON] + +Two things are specially worthy of notice about this great battle. The +first is the continued ignorance of the commanders of various English +ships as to the actual damage which had been inflicted upon the enemy. +They had, of course, only their unaided eyes to trust to, and great +difficulty in announcing news from ship to ship. Lord Howard writes as +late as August 8: "Although we have put the Spanish Fleet past the +Firth, and I think past the Isles, yet God knoweth whether they go to +the Nase of Norway or into Denmark or to the Isles of Orkney to refresh +themselves and so to return." And Drake, too, wrote on the evening of +the battle: "God hath given us so good a day in forcing the enemy so far +to leeward, as I hope in God the Prince of Parma and the Duke of Sidonia +shall not shake hands this few days." + +And the second point is that though the English loss was small during +the actual days of the battle, yet the strain and the food and the +sanitation were such that directly they came to port, a frightful +epidemic broke out among the men, who died, we are told, by hundreds in +consequence. + +In the actual fighting Ralegh probably took no part. When the first news +came of the Armada's approach, he was in Ireland, attending to his +duties as Mayor of Youghal. With the utmost speed at that time possible +he sailed from Ireland and rode to the English coast. Certain it is, +however, that he arrived too late for any official post to be assigned +him, for the battle had been in progress for two days before his +arrival. But many private gentlemen joined the fleet in craft hastily +equipped for warfare, and it would be a thing to wonder at if Ralegh was +behindhand when such doings were happening. No positive information is, +however, forthcoming. Only it is known that the Lord High Admiral's ship +was built from designs which Ralegh had matured, and that he agreed +completely with the plan of the Lord High Admiral's attack. Many an +evening Drake and Effingham and Ralegh would have spent in discussing +the tactics of sea-battles, proud, as they well might be, of the +swiftness and ease with which an English ship could be manoeuvred in +comparison with the large unwieldiness of the carracks of Spain, who +still considered herself (God help her) mistress of the sea. + +In his "History of the World" occurs a passage about the tactics +employed by the English against the Armada. There is a strong element of +pathos in the idea of the man shut up in the little room in the Tower of +London (he could watch the ships making their way down the Thames) +writing of this great action, which he had seen, and writing with +ardour, which nothing could extinguish. He had been recounting a fight +between Roman vessels, heavy and slow, and the swift African galleys. +Then he bursts out into this great paragraph of reminiscence, as though +once again he were convincing some obstinate fellow of the patent +rightness of the plan of attack. + +"Certainly, hee that will happily perform a fight at sea must be skilful +in making choice of vessels to fight in: he must beleeve that there is +more belonging to a good man of war upon the waters, than great during; +and must know that there is a great deale of difference betweene +fighting loose or at large, and grapling. The guns of a slow ship pierce +as well, and make as great holes, as those in a swift. To clap ships +together without consideration, belongs rather to a madman than to a man +of warre: for by such an ignorant braverie was Peter Strozzi lost at the +Azores when he fought against the Marquesse of Santa Cruz. In like sort +had the Lord Charles Howard, Admirall of England beene lost in the year +1588, if he had not been better advised than a great many malignant +fooles were, that found fault with his demeanour. The Spaniards had an +armie aboord them; and he had none; they had more ships than he had and +of higher building and charging; so that had he intangled himself with +those great and powerfull Vessels, he had greatly endangered this +Kingdom of England.... But our Admirall knew his advantage, and held it: +which had he not done, he had not beene worthy to have held his head. +Heere to speake in generall of sea-fight (for particulars are fitter for +private hands than for the Presse) I say, That a fleete of twentie ships +all good sailers and goode ships have the advantage on the open Sea, of +an hundred as good ships, and of slower sayling. For if the fleete of an +hundred saile keep themselves neere together in a grosse squadron: the +twentie ships charging them upon any angle, shall force them to give +ground and to fall back upon their owne next fellowes: of which so many +as intangle, are made unserviceable or lost. Force them they may easily, +because the twentie ships, which give themselves scope, after they have +given one broad side of Artillerie, by clapping into the winde, and +staying, they may give them the other: and so the twentie ships batter +them in pieces with a perpetuall vollie; whereas those, that fight in a +troop, have no roome to turn and can alwaies use but one and the same +beaten side." + +And this is precisely what had taken place in the Armada. It is +interesting to know that there was divergency of opinion about the +proper tactics to follow, and it would be still more interesting to know +who the "malignant fools" were, to whom Ralegh refers. Men who confuse +the strategy of war with their own idea of manliness, are common to all +times, and must indeed be the most desperate fellows for a proper +soldier to convince. You can hear them saying, with that dreadful +assumption of finality with which the pompous imbecile seems gifted, +those runaway tactics may be very well for buccaneers, but are they +seemly for the ships of the navy of England? Small wonder the memory of +them once more exasperated Ralegh in his prison-room to renewed anger. + +Before the Armada there had been many privateering expeditions against +Spain on different waters; after the Armada these expeditions naturally +became even more numerous, when they possessed the prestige of the +Crown's authority. + +Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Norreys were sent with a small fleet to +reinstate Don Antonio on the throne of Portugal which had lapsed into +the possession of Philip of Spain. Ralegh went on that expedition, which +failed to attain its object but captured sixty Hanseatic vessels, laden +with victual and ammunition, which report said, were intended to +provision a new Armada. + +Reprisals against Spain became the vogue, into which Ralegh threw +himself with spirit. Every man whom money and opportunity favoured, +fitted out his ship to spoil the Egyptian. The Queen's person, forsooth, +was not to be harmed: she was to be conveyed to his Holiness the Pope at +Rome? Such things, men knew, were said with happy confidence before the +Armada, and such things, remembered and repeated, spurred Englishmen on +to activity in which the hope of personal gain was small in comparison +with the fury of personal resentment that their Queen should be so +lightly valued and thought to be so sorrily championed. Nor did they +always discriminate nicely between the nationality of ships which they +waylaid. Ralegh, as Vice-Admiral of Devon, often received instructions +to see to the restitution of ships to subjects of the French King; and a +ship of his own had taken "two barks of Cherbourg from two of the French +King's subjects." There is a wild recklessness in the exploits of these +years; these gentlemen of England, whose names sound through history, +exulted: and there is much in their exultation that resembles the +behaviour of schoolboys rejoicing in an unexpected half-holiday in +spring. The grave way in which their doings are recorded heightens by +contrast the similarity. Ralegh and his men are bidden be careful "to +minister no cause of grief unto any of the (French) King's subjects, in +respect of the good amity and correspondence between Her Majesty and the +French King, their realm and subjects." Austerely the records run; +austerely, too, is related her Majesty's desire that a certain perfect +waist-coat, the fame of which had reached her ears, should be put on one +side for her Majesty's personal use. + +They had the godlike capacity of remaining young, these Elizabethans; +they did not outgrow their taste for splendid waistcoats. And the world +found them irresistible. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +RALEGH AND SPENSER + + Rise of Essex--Ralegh retires to Ireland--At Kilcolman--At + Youghal--Friendship with Spenser--Brings Spenser to Court-- + Their dreams. + + +In 1588 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, died. His influence with the +Queen had for some years been decreasing, and there is a report, which +bears the likelihood of truth, that he had summoned to Court his +step-son Robert, the young Earl of Essex, in order that he might +counteract the growing influence of Ralegh. Be that report true or +false, young Essex came to Court about the year 1587, and his youth and +spirit took the Queen's fancy mightily. Essex was as arrogant as his +stepfather. Elizabeth was now an old woman in years and in appearance. +She felt that her power as a woman was leaving her, and that drove her +to make a last effort to regain it, defying age then as she defied death +later. She cared for decorum less than she cared for life. That is the +pathetic side of her immense vitality, if the word pathetic can ever be +used of such a woman. She felt that she could take something of the +youth which had left her, from the boy: he was little more than a boy. +To his natural arrogance was added the arrogance of youth. He, too, was +capricious and wilful, even as the old Queen was capricious; but he +gained charm, and the Queen lost dignity thereby. + +There was rivalry between Essex and Ralegh, who could not endure this +spoiled boy. His impertinence to the Queen was distasteful to one who, +like Ralegh, knew the meaning of reverence, and was able to understand +greatness. This abasement of his sovereign lady hurt him, and he had no +faith in Essex, neither in his character nor in his ability. + +Small wonder, then, that Ralegh fell into disgrace, and in 1589 he went +to Ireland to attend to his Irish estates. Gossip said, My Lord of Essex +had chased him from the Court. The boy took his position with +intolerable seriousness: he had even challenged Ralegh to mortal combat, +and it was necessary to hush the matter up that the Queen might not hear +of it. Ralegh went. Destiny led him to Kilcolman Castle, where Edmund +Spenser was living. + +But first he probably went to the Warden's house of the College of +Youghal: the house was dear to him because it resembled the manor-house +at Budleigh-Salterton, where he was born. The house was long and low; +and the rooms were lined with small panels of Irish oak.[B] A large +dining-room is on the ground floor, from which runs a subterranean +passage connecting the house with the old tower of St. Mary's Church. In +one of the kitchens the ancient wide arched fireplace remains. Sir +Walter Ralegh's study had fine dark wainscot, deep, projecting windows, +and a richly carved oak mantelpiece, which rose to the full height of +the ceiling. The cornice rested upon three figures--of Faith, Hope, and +Charity, and the rest of the structure was covered with dexterous +carving, circular-headed panels, and strangely wrought emblematical +devices. His bedroom adjoined the study: in it, too, was a carved +mantelpiece of oak, and in the fireplace Dutch tiles, four inches +square. Behind the wainscoting of this room was a recess, in which a +part of the old monkish library was hidden at the time of the +Reformation. Here Ralegh worked, taking notes, perhaps, for the great +history which he was to write later: here he read Peter Comestor's +"Historia Scolastica;" and a black-letter book, printed at Mantua in +1479, which tells of the events of the world from the Creation to the +days of the Twelve Apostles. It is pleasant to brood upon the change +from the turbulent Court life to the quiet of this monastic retreat at +Youghal--the little town in Ireland of which the illustrious courtier +was mayor. Not only in black-letter quartos was he interested, but also +in the garden. He planted great yellow wallflowers and cedars and +tobacco and Affane cherry trees: potatoes he introduced, and they were +cultivated all through Munster. You can read, too, in a _Gentleman's +Magazine_ of some ninety years ago: "Potatoes were first planted here +(that is, in Lancashire), having been brought from Ireland to England by +the immortal Ralegh." The writer must have had a tooth for potatoes, he +is spurred to such enthusiasm over the matter. _Il faut cultiver le +jardin._ + + [B] From the description by Rev. Samuel Hayman, historiographer + of Youghal, 1852. + +And at Kilcolman Castle Edmund Spenser was living, conscious of the +loneliness of the country. + + "One day (quoth he) I sat (as was my trade) + Under the foote of Mole, that mountain hore + Keeping my sheepe amongst the cooly shade + Of the greene alders by the Mullaes shore: + There a strange shepheard chaunst to find me out, + Whether allured with my pipes delight, + Whose pleasing sound yshrilled far about + Or thither led by chaunce, I know not right: + Whom when I asked from what place he came, + And how he hight, himself he did ycleepe + The Shepheard of the Ocean by name, + And said he came far from the main-sea deepe. + + He sitting me beside in that same shade, + Provoked me to plaie some pleasant fit; + And when he heard the musicke which I made, + He found himselfe full greatly pleased at it: + Yet, oemuling my pipe, he took in hond + My pipe, before that oemuled of many, + And played thereon; (for well that skill he cond;) + Himself as skilfull in that art as any. + He piped, I sung; and, when he sung, I piped. + By chaunge of turnes, each making other mery; + Neither envying other, nor envied, + So piped we, untill we both were weary." + +That is Spenser's account--a very pretty account--of the time which he +spent with Ralegh. It is written in "Colin Clouts Come Home Againe." +They had, of course, met before, as young men and soldiers by Smerwick, +when Spenser was secretary to Lord Grey of Wilton. But now many years +had passed by: they met again, and knew that they were friends. The +movement of a leaf is enough to show the direction of a large wind: and +a phrase may point the attitude of a friendship between two men. A +sentence thus pregnant occurs in Spenser's dedication to his pastoral +account of his visit to London. With a whimsical humour, which is +characteristic of him, he writes to the right worthy and noble knight, +Sir Walter Ralegh, Captain of her Majesties Guard, Lord Warden of the +Stannaries, and Lieutenant of the County of Cornwall. + + + "SIR, + + "That you may see that I am not alwaies ydle as yee thinke, + though not greatly well occupied, nor altogither undutifull, + though not precisely officious, I make you present of this + simple Pastorall...." + +You can see Spenser smile, as he writes, to think of this "strange +shepheard's" terrific energy: how Ralegh came upon him when he was +oppressed with melancholy and high dreams, which this melancholy did not +allow him to express: how intercourse with Ralegh inspired him with new +life. He would brood, too, of many things, which the memory of those +days stirred up within him. For Ralegh, like Sidney, the friend of +Spenser's earliest youth, was a poet as well as a man of action; and +though Spenser was a bigger poet than either he was not a bigger man. +The poet in Ralegh would draw him in reverence near to Spenser; and then +he would break out into denunciation of the inertia which was inclined +to creep over Spenser, and hold him in its long tentacles. The dreamer +had a certain dependance on others. Yet almost against his will it would +be that he submitted to the journey to Court, catching Ralegh's glow of +admiration for his work--those three books of the "Faerie Queene," which +Gabriel Harvey had told him were rubbish, but which he loved himself. He +was ready to believe in their worth, too, though the dreamer could not +help smiling at his friend's so restless energy, which could not allow +him to sit and dream his life away, but which drove him always on to be +up and doing. Ralegh was the Shepherd of the Ocean, and the Ocean (God +wot) is-- + + "A world of waters heaped up on hie + Rolling like mountaines in wide wildernesse, + Horrible, hideous, roaring with hoarse crie. + And is the sea (quoth Coridon) so fearfull? + Fearfull much more (quoth he) than hart can fear: + Thousand wyld beastes with deep mouthes gaping direfull + Therin stil wait poore passengers to teare." + +And yet it was good for the dreamer to know that the world wanted to +listen to his dreams. The plaintive whimsical humour of his fancy, which +fascinated Ralegh, has fascinated poets down the generations (even old +Ben Jonson, though his honesty forced him to square those shoulders of +his and pronounce--Spenser, in copying the ancients, writ no language), +for any one who has heard the echo even of the music of the spheres, +hears it again as he reads the strange cadence of Spenser's verse. No +one can realize the homeliness of his insight and his boundless +imagination, without coming under the mysterious spell of the +combination: that homeliness indeed gives a magic strength to the wings +of his magic fancy. + +The life of a dreamer is apt to be sad; if the world touches him, he +finds the touch heavy and hurtful. And Spenser could not free himself +from state duties which forced him to live for ever witness of the +misery and savageness of the peasants, and of the country's weird beauty +which made a terrible contrast to their misery. In Ireland he felt +solitary and neglected: but he had time and scope for his dreams. In +England he quickly felt the pettiness of the busy Court life, to which +he could not accustom himself. He never found the life which was most in +harmony with his spirit. He was not the man to grapple effectually with +circumstances: they hurt him. Those must have been halcyon days for him +when he was able to enjoy intercourse with a mind like Ralegh's, in the +peace and beauty of the country. Small wonder that he was encouraged to +proceed with his fairy fashioning of the perfect gentleman, which +Sidney's friendship had encouraged him to begin. + +He went with Ralegh to the Court, and both were well received. Spenser +was given a small pension by Elizabeth. But the ways of the Court did +not please him. He had sat too long dreaming by the green alders of +Mulla's stream to take kindly to the bustle and ceremony and coarseness +of that life. He must have returned with gladness to Kilcolman, and to +the work which he now knew the world deemed excellent. But he ever bore +in mind one side of Court life which he describes with vividness, +remembering probably what Ralegh had told him in their first long talks +together. + + "Cause have I none (quoth he) of cancred will + To quite them ill, that me demeaned so well: + But selfe-regard of private good or ill + Moves me of each, so as I found, to tell + And else to warne young shepheards wandring wit, + Which, through report of that lives painted blisse, + Abandon quiet home, to seeke for it, + And leave their lambes to losse misled amisse. + For sooth to say it is no sort of life + For shepheard fit to lead in that same place, + Where each one seeks with malice, and with strife, + To thrust down other into foule disgrace, + Himself to raise: and he doth soonest rise + That best can handle his deceitful wit + In subtil shifts, and finest sleights devise." + +Ralegh knew this dark side of the Court life as well as Spenser knew it: +he knew how some men were ready to slander a well-deemed name by lies +and by forgery: how some men were pleased to creep into a man's secrecy +and betray him: he knew the frequency of + + "A filed toung furnisht with tearmes of art, + No art of schoole, but courtiers schoolery." + +For there were many impostors at the Court; men eager to touch a great +man's cloak-hem, and still more eager to raise the cry of _Treason_ +which should send that great man to his ruin. Ralegh, when he was well, +was roused by these dangers to grapple with them: it stirred his +fighting instinct and his pride. It proved his knowledge of men and +tested his power of dealing with men. He liked to pass on his way with +his head erect, scorning the clamour of the little men, that he might +stoop the lower in reverence to his great Queen. But Spenser looked +upon this darker side of Court life, and turned away from it in disgust. +He had neither the power nor the instinct to overcome such +circumstances: they merely tired and offended him. He was king of the +land of dreams: a leader of men he could never be. And he did not +complain against his kingdom, though his waking hours were troubled by +care and sorrow. + +It is uncommonly pleasant to linger over these quiet months of Ralegh's +life: it is pleasant to think of Ralegh, one of the greatest men that +have ever lived, finding that Edmund Spenser whom he remembered well +enough, was his friend: hearing him read those three books of the +"Faerie Queene," and finding that his new and gentle friend was a very +great poet. Each man had his dream of a kingdom: Spenser, the realm of +Faerie, where he would fashion the allegory of a perfect chivalry: +Ralegh, the kingdom of Guiana, which was to make his Queen mighty and +his country the greatest in the world. Neither dream was wrought out to +its end. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +EVIL TIMES + + Ralegh and the Puritans--John Udall--Blount--Ralegh's + marriage--Queen's anger--In the Tower--His sincerity--The + Episode in the "Faerie Queene"--_Madre de Dios_--Robert + Cecil--Sherborne. + + +Ralegh returned to Court in 1591, bringing the greatest poet who had yet +come to English literature with him. He was able after his respite to +manage circumstances once more, even that most trying circumstance of +all, young Essex, and joined with him in helping the Puritans who were +at that time being treated more hardly even than they deserved. + +It is unlikely that their views influenced Ralegh in any way. He was +beyond the constraint of any fixed creed. But he saw sincere men and +honest men receiving injuries; and he exerted himself on their behalf. +He was called an atheist, naturally enough; that has always been the cry +against men who dared to think beyond the scope of sects' understanding. +Not even Shelley was less of an atheist, however. + +One, John Udall, who was an eminent Hebrew scholar, had come under +ecclesiastical disgrace (dissenters are apt to be malignant to other +forms of dissent--witness the hues and cries raised lately against a new +Theology) by writing a book in which he pointed out the need of reform +in the reformed church. The book had the portentous name of "The +Demonstration of Discipline which Christ hath prescribed in His Word for +the government of the Church, in all times and places, until the World's +end." The English Church was in too shocking a state to allow such a +book to go quietly on its way. They laid hands on John Udall, put him in +a prison at Southwark, and sentenced him to death. Something about the +man's straightforwardness and sincerity seems to have appealed to +Ralegh. He advised Udall to draw up a schedule of his opinions, which he +promised to show to the Queen. These opinions had been twisted and +exaggerated into treasonable utterances by enemies, who had thus turned +the Queen against Udall; but Ralegh was convinced that he would be able +to change the Queen's mind by his own influence. Essex, too, was in +favour of Udall's release. Their efforts were so far successful that the +sentence was mitigated to one of banishment, but while the exact nature +of the sentence was under discussion, John Udall died in the prison at +Southwark. The bishops could not be hurried in their deliberations. +Rigorous repression begun thus early, strengthened the cause of the +Puritans beyond all reasonable necessity. There is nothing to show that +Ralegh was in any sympathy with their cause or with their hatred of +playhouses and dancing and games. He probably did not take them more +seriously than Spenser when he wrote of the Crab on which jolly June was +riding. + + "And backward yode, as bargemen wont to fare + Bending their force contrary to their face + Like that ungracious crew which faines demurest grace." + +But John Udall was a scholar and an honest man; and Ralegh reverenced +scholarship and honesty, knowing the value of letters and the courage +that honesty required. Moreover he always favoured tolerance in dealing +with those whose consciences gave them peculiar views, as is seen by his +speech in Parliament a few years later, when he opposed the banishment +of the sect called Brownists. + +Meanwhile Essex had not grown in any way less arrogant. About this time +a younger brother of Lord Mountjoy attracted the Queen's notice; his +name was Charles Blount, and Naunton described him as "brown-haired, of +a sweet face, and of a most neat composure tall in his person." The +Queen seeing him at dinner at Whitehall gave him her hand to kiss, and +afterwards a chessman as favour. Blount wore the piece on his sleeve, +and Essex remarking it and being told whose favour it was, said, "Ah! I +see every fool must have a favour now-aday." Blount challenged Essex. +They fought in what is now called Regent's Park, and Essex was wounded +in the thigh. "God's death," cried out Elizabeth when she heard of it, +"it was time that some one or other should take him down and teach him +better manners; otherwise there would be no rule with him." + +And now an event of some importance occurred in the life of Sir Walter +Ralegh--his marriage. His behaviour has called down much censure upon +him. Macaulay invented a phrase which has had potent results, "the +disease of biographers." Every man seems fearful lest he should be +branded with the ignominy of the complaint; yet he must be a strange +fellow who can live again with a man like Ralegh in times like Ralegh's +times and not catch the fire of enthusiasm. But enough. At this point in +his career, writers are wont to show their breadth of judgment: "There +could have been no true nobility in the man ..." writes one of his +letter to the Queen. Fortunately ideas differ as to the nature of true +nobility. Now this is the basis of the censures levelled against him. Of +the facts of his courtship very little is known, and what is known is +strangely mingled with the business of reprisals against Spain, in which +Ralegh was actively engaged. This is the letter which he wrote to Sir +Robert Cecil:-- + + "SIR, + + "I received your letters this present day at Chattame + concerninge the wages of the mariners and others. For myne own + part, I am very willing to enter bonde, as you persuaded me, so + as the Privey Seale be first sente for my injoyinge the third: + but I pray consider that I have layd all that I am worth, and + must do, ere I depart on this voyage. If it fall not out well, + I can but loose all, and if nothinge be remayning, wherewith + shall I pay the wages.... And farther I have promised Her + Majestie that, if I can perswade the Cumpanies to follow Sir + Martin Furbresher, I will without fail returne.... But, Sir, + for mee then to be bounde for so great a sume, uppon the hope + of another man's fortune, I will be loth: and besides, if I + weare able, I see no privy seale for my thirds. I mean not to + cume away, as they say I will, for feare of a marriage and I + know not what. If any such thinge were, I would have imparted + it unto yoursealf before any man livinge: and therefore I pray + believe it not, and I beseich you to suppress, what you can, + any such mallicious report. For I protest before God, ther is + none on the face of the yearth that I would be fastned unto. + And so in haste I take my leave of your Honor. From Chattame, + the 10th of Marche. + + "Your's ever to be commanded, + "W. RALEGH" + +Ralegh was anxious to stop this gossip about the relations between +himself and Elizabeth Throgmorton. What they were, was entirely his own +affair. At any rate he wanted Secretary Cecil to be quite clear that +they would in no way affect his willingness to work as he had always +worked for his country. And so little was he "fastned" to any on the +face of the earth that he relaxed no effort to forward his enterprise of +Guiana, and in three years' time he set sail for Guiana, though his +marriage was then an established fact. + +It was for many reasons advisable to crush, if possible, the spread of +gossip, and especially because the Queen Elizabeth hated her favourites +to marry. As she grew old and began to lose her power as a woman, this +feeling increased in violence. Whether that feeling be good or bad, is +of no importance. It existed, and Ralegh knew well that it existed. Many +consider that his devotion (and that of most of her courtiers) was +merely based upon the advantages which he could get from the old woman: +that he really flattered and despised her; that his conduct was base and +unscrupulous. This view would seem to be at fundamental variance with +the facts of his nature, of the Queen's extraordinary power, and of the +whole tendency of the time. Not for nothing were love-sonnets the +fashion: though there are men who think that fashion sufficient to prove +once for all the coldheartedness and insincerity of the time. + +When Ralegh returned, he was sent to the Tower, avowedly because he had +disobeyed orders in setting sail at all, really because the Queen looked +upon his marriage as a kind of personal treason. She detested marriage, +thinking it did not improve the efficiency of a man. And Ralegh, without +any treachery to his wife, whom he continued to love until the end of +his life, was thrown into misery by the Queen's anger. There are men +whose nature will not admit of more than one call upon their affection, +and that of a limited kind. You will find that they are apt to preen +themselves upon their loyalty, wisely enough. Ralegh was not made on +those lines. His feeling for the Queen was a real and vital feeling, +and was not swayed by every circumstance of his life. She was a woman +whom he had loved, and a great woman for all her caprices: she was his +Queen and an illustrious Queen: she was Queen of England, which under +her rule had crushed Spain's power. It would have been strange if her +fierce resentment of his action had not affected him. As it was he wrote +from the Tower--men, English men, were not then ashamed of their +feelings: they liked to try and express them-- + + "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 nire + at hand, that I might hear of her once in two or three dayes, + 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 siting in the shade like a Goddess; sometime + singing like an angell; sometime playing like Orpheus. Behold + the sorrow of this world! Once amiss, hath bereaved me of all. + O Glory that only shineth in misfortune, what is becum of thy + assurance? Al wounds have skares, but that of fantasie, all + affections their relenting, but that of womankind. Who is the + judge of friendship but adversity? or when is grace witnessed + but in offences? There were no divinety, but by reason of + compassion; for revenges are brutish and mortall. All those + times past,--the loves, the sythes, the sorrows, the desires, + can they not way down one frail misfortune? Cannot one dropp of + gall be hidden in so great heapes of sweetness? I may then + conclude _Spes et fortuna valete_. She is gone in whom I + trusted, and of me hath not one 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. + + "Your's not worthy any name or like, + "W. R." + +There are some who see in this letter merely an artifice to play upon +the senile affections of a doting woman. They write nimbly of true +nobility: they describe the deterioration of an old woman's body; they +ask, could a man care for such a person? and assert that all Ralegh +desired was money and appointments. Their point of view is wearisome and +false: it leaves the bad taste that the report of divorce-court +proceedings leaves--with that pettiness and familiarity, which is +disgusting. + +Meanwhile Ralegh remained in prison: and his enemies triumphed at his +downfall. + +It is refreshing to read Spenser's account of the story, written a +little after the event, as an episode of the "Faerie Queene." It clears +the air with its gentleness and that sweet mingling of humour and +sadness. + +Belphoebe has left the squire with Amoret, and comes back. + + "There she him found by that new lovely Mate + Who lay the whiles in swoune, full sadly set, + From her faire eyes wiping the deawy wet + Which softly stild and kissing them atweene, + And handling soft the hurts which she did get:... + + "Which when she saw with sodaine glauncing eye, + Her noble heart, with sight thereof was fild + With deep disdaine and great indignity, + That in her wrath she thought them both have thrild + With that selfe arrow which the Carle had kild: + Yet held her wrathfull hand from vengeance sore: + But drawing nigh, ere he her well beheld, + 'Is this the paith?' she said--and said no more + But turned her face and fled away for evermore." + +He smiles a little at the intensity of the squire's grief, but makes no +hint at his insincerity, and he could have done so quite easily without +injuring his friend, Ralegh. All through the character of Timias the +Squire, he dwells on the impetuosity of his feeling with kindly humour. +For Spenser must have often teased Ralegh on that terrible restless +energy which drove him from experience to experience, and from the +height of enthusiasm to the depth of despair. "Do it with thy Might" was +a singularly characteristic device. + + "And his faire lockes, that wont with ointment sweet + To be embalm'd, and sweat out dainty dew, + He let to grow and griesly to concrew, + Uncomb'd, uncurl'd, and carelesly unshed." + +His wife was a lady named Elizabeth Throgmorton, daughter of Sir +Nicholas Throgmorton. Much is not known of her: enough, however, is +known to prove that she was a woman of character and attainments. The +marriage, in spite of its inaugural storm, was a success. + +Ralegh's imprisonment occurred when he was busily engaged in fitting out +expeditions against the Spaniards to command the trade-route through the +Azores. In 1591 a rough squadron had been despatched under Lord Howard; +but the enemy had got wind of it, and had sent a powerful fleet to +protect their vessels. Of this Lord Howard heard in time to avoid +disaster; he weighed anchor from Flores where he was anchoring, and +escaped. Sir Richard Grenville, however, refused to fly: with his small +ship the _Revenge_ he awaited the attack, and the full fury of the +Spanish Fleet fell upon him. His resistance was as gallant as his +disobedience had been audacious. Ralegh wrote a superb account of his +friend's undaunted valour, and his friend's death spurred him on to +renewed enterprise against the Spaniards. + +In the following year, 1592, he took the chief part in an expedition +which, under his management, was far more successful. "Sir Walter +Ralegh," writes Hakluyt, "upon commission received from her Majesty for +an expedition to be made to the West Indies, slacked not his uttermost +diligence to make full provision of all things necessary, as both in his +choice of good ships, and sufficient men to performe the action +evidently appeared. For his shippes, which were in number 14 or 15, +those two of her Majesties, the _Garland_ and the _Foresight_ were the +chiefest; the rest either his owne or his good friends or adventurers in +London." Sir John Burrough was in command, and under him was the stern +Sir Martin Frobisher, whose rigour even the hardiest sailors disliked. +Contrary winds prevented the fleet from sailing for some weeks from the +western ports where they were anchored; and the Queen, disliking the +delay, recalled Ralegh. But Ralegh, being deeply involved in the +enterprise, did not obey her first summons. The wind at length became +favourable; and he set sail. But when they were, on May 11th, off Cape +Finisterre, "a tempest of strange and uncouth violence" arose, and Sir +Walter himself in the _Garland_ was in danger of being swallowed up by +the sea. The storm did much damage to the vessels. Moreover, they had +learned from two ships homeward bound for London, that no Spanish vessel +would move that year, and that the hope of plunder in the West Indies +was small. Accordingly, Ralegh determined to divide his fleet into two +squadrons, one under the command of Sir John Burrough, and one under the +command of Sir Martin Frobisher, and to lie in wait, the first at the +Azores, the second by the Spanish coast "to amuse the home fleet." He +himself then returned home, and forthwith on his arrival was imprisoned +in the Tower of London. + +On August 3rd, an immense Spanish galleon, the _Madre de Dios_, was +sighted by Captain Thomson, in _The Dainty_. He immediately attacked, +and was beaten off with some loss, until Sir John Burrough came up with +the _Roebuck_, and the attack was resumed at close range. Still, +however, the galleon held her own: Sir R. Cross then sailed up in the +_Foresight_, and Sir John Burrough conferred with him as to the best +course to pursue. At all costs they must prevent the Portuguese from +taking her to shore and firing her, as they had fired the _Santa Cruz_, +a few months earlier. They decided to board the _Madre de Dios_. Their +first attack was repulsed: the galleon slowly kept on her way to the +island. Then Sir R. Cross encouraged his men to make a final attempt. +For three hours they fought on alone, when two ships of the Earl of +Cumberland arrived, and the galleon was at length taken. + +Naturally there was considerable anger among the men of Ralegh's fleet, +when the Earl of Cumberland's captains demanded their share of the +spoils. Feeling ran high between both parties, and many valuables were +stolen, for the galleon was beyond all belief, rich in treasure. And +when, on the eighth of September, they arrived with the capture at +Dartmouth, and learned that Ralegh was in the Tower, the disorder grew +perilously near to mutiny. Ralegh's presence became a necessity, and he +was released. He went to the West as a State prisoner. Sir Robert Cecil +preceded him. + +News of the treasure on the captured ship had spread far and wide: and a +proclamation was issued throughout the towns in Devon and Cornwall "that +all passengers should be stopped, and that all trunks, carriers, packs, +hampers, cloak-bags, portmanteaus, and fardells, that are likely to have +in them any part of the goods lately arrived in the ports of Dartmouth +or Plymouth in a Spanish carrock ... should be stayed and searched." For +the galleon, besides jewels and bullion, contained spices, drugs, silks, +calicoes, carpets and quilts, to the value of about L150,000. + +So, Cecil writes in a letter to his father, that "Whomsoever I met by +the way within seven miles, that either had anything in cloak-bag, or in +mail, which did but smell of the prizes (for I assure your Lordship I +could smell them almost, such hath been the spoils of amber and musk +amongst them) I did, though he had little about him, return him with me +to the town of Exeter.... I have taken order to search every bag or mail +coming from the West.... My Lord, there never was such spoil! I will +suppress the confluence of these buyers, of which there are above two +thousand. And except they be removed there will be no good.... Fouler +ways, desperater ways, nor more obstinate people did I never meet +with.... Her Majesty's captive comes after, but I have outrid him." + +And in a second letter, written a few days later, he describes Ralegh's +arrival, and the enthusiastic welcome which his men of Devon gave him: +"I assure you, Sir, poor servants to the number of a hundred and forty +goodly men, and all the mariners came to him with such shouts and joy, +as I never saw a man more troubled to quiet them in my life. But his +heart is broken, for he is very extreme pensive longer than he is +busied, in which he can toil terribly." + +[Illustration: ROBERT CECIL] + +Ralegh himself came very badly out of the division (probably through +the cleverness of Robert Cecil), and he did not scruple to write very +frankly to Lord Burghley his opinion of the business. "The Erle of +Cumberland is allowed L36,000, and his accompt came but to L19,000: so +as he hath L17,000 profytt, who adventured for himselfe; and we that +served the Queen and assisted her service, have not our own again. +Besides I gave my ship's sayles and cables to furnish the Caraque and +bring her home, or else she had perished: my ship first bourded her, and +onely staid with her; and brought her into harborough or else she had +perished uppon Silley. I was not present, and therefore had no +extraordinary profytt: I was the cause that all this came to the +Queene.... I that adventured all my estate, lose of my principall and +they have double...." + +Robert Cecil was one of the few Elizabethan men with any pretence to +greatness who was before all else designing and crafty. He had a genius +for cold scheming. About this time he began to realize that Ralegh was +too impetuous, and too great to be a convenient friend. And so he +quietly set about to sap Ralegh's influence, though on the surface he +remained as friendly as he had ever been, and let his son stay with the +Raleghs at Sherborne. Robert Cecil was a politician and nothing else. + +And now Ralegh made Sherborne, in the county of Dorset, his centre, from +which he transacted all the manifold business of his life. Here, as in +Youghal, he planted trees and flowers. He thought with Lord Bacon that +"God Almighty first planted a garden, and indeed, it is the purest of +human pleasures: it is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of a man; +without which buildings and handiworks are but gross handiworks:" even +as he would think with Bacon, "It is a poor centre of a man's actions, +himself. It is right earth; for that only stands fast upon his own +centre, whereas all things that have affinity with the heavens, move +upon the centre of another, which they benefit." For he was working +towards the realization of his great dream, which would bring prosperity +and wealth once for all to England and England's greatest Queen, +Elizabeth. He now had all the things which are wont to make for comfort +and contentment: but he was not a man for whom ease had any attraction. +He strained every effort, even amidst the peace and beauty of the +country which he loved, to the arduous enterprise which he had set +himself--to explore the little-known country of Guiana--an enterprise in +which many brave men were known to have lost their lives. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE KINGDOM IN GUIANA + + Ralegh leaves England--Arrives at Trinidad--Taking of S. + Joseph--Interviews with Berreo--Dealings with natives-- + Starts up the river in boats--Dangers overcome--Adventures-- + They reach River Amana--Indian village--Within sight of + Guiana--Toparimaca--Beauty of the land--Falls of the + Caroli--The return--Voyage home--Arrival in England. + + +Although travel was slow and involved great physical endurance, there +was never a time when men less loved their homes and firesides. The +scene again changes. Many things called Ralegh; the spirit of unrest was +always strong in him; he was always longing to get right away. The +little things of life pressed upon him, and drove him to seek respite +and quiet in the Unknown. And the Unknown held for him immense +possibilities; the kingdom he desired to establish haunted his +imagination more imperiously even than the actual release from the life +and surroundings which quickly to his spirit became dull and +commonplace. His nature was too high bred to endure with patience, until +it was confronted by the inevitable; and there was very little that to +his nature was inevitable. The barriers that would have stopped a +smaller nature were pushed on one side by him, and even when Fate held +him fast, he ultimately triumphed by turning his bondage to magnificent +account. The spirit of life was with him always stronger than his fear +of being called a coward, stronger even than his pride. And always when +he at length realized a thing to be inevitable, he faced it at his full +stature. + +He had lived the life of the courtier, he had fought against Spain, he +had attended to the numberless duties in Devonshire, in Cornwall, in +Ireland; everything was becoming wearisome to him, and while he was +unconsciously losing interest in his life, he was also losing his power +over others. He was in disfavour. He was prouder than the proud men +amongst whom he lived, and in consequence he had many enemies, who +longed to humble his pride. He grew tired of the life; his imagination +moved ever in advance of the present, and kept him ever unsatisfied and +alert. In himself rather than in the influence of others lay the primary +reason for his loss of favour. It is almost invariably so with a great +personality even when he is himself unconscious of the cause. + +He put all his energy into making preparations for carrying out his +project of founding a new kingdom in Guiana. If he were successful, +fortune would be remade, and favour would be regained. The prospect was +exciting, but more alluring than the excitement was the knowledge that +the sea and the unknown would bring to his soul immediate peace; that +new sights, new dangers, and new interests would soothe his mind, +fretted by the immanent pettiness of passing days. Change is the law of +life, and Ralegh was immensely alive. Such a nature as his must always +find expression for itself, must find scope and occupation for its +greatness, or the spirit preys upon itself and pines into uneasiness. +Whatever the force be from which vitality comes, brain or blood or soul, +that force is irresistible. Death alone can free a man from its +tyranny. + +So Ralegh turned towards that kingdom in Guiana, towards "that great and +golden city which the Spaniards call El Dorado," and on Thursday, +February 6, 1595, he left England. The previous year he had sent his +servant, Jacob Whiddon, to get "knowledge of the passages," and he had +"some light from Captain Parker," but yet his journey's end was vaguely +known. Jacob Whiddon and Captain Parker only conjectured that the place +existed somewhere southward of the great bay Charuas, or Guanipa; and +their conjecture was incorrect by some six hundred miles. Information of +the kind was apt then to be inaccurate. Spaniards, indeed, knew +something of this vast empire of Guiana, but naturally they kept such +knowledge to their own use. That this destination was six hundred miles +farther inland than he had been led to believe, Ralegh did not discover +until he arrived at Trinidad, which he reached with no mishap other than +the usual one of separation. + +One of the pieces of gossip which old Aubrey recounts, and which is +pleasant to believe, is that Ralegh was in the habit of taking many +books with him on a voyage, and of reading them assiduously in his +cabin. He knew Spanish well, and was conversant with the travel-lore of +Spain. Among his books would surely be the "large discourses" of Pedro +de Cieza and Francisco Lopez, recounting the marvels of the land to +which he was making and the adventures which the Spaniards endured in +conquering it. + +All the terrible hardships of these first explorers had often fired his +imagination, but never as now, when every movement of the ship brought +him nearer to the actual scene of his endeavour. He would succeed where +they had failed. And his heart must have warmed to these brave +adventurers in spite of the fact that they were his enemies. He +remembered their hardships, and his own, when he wrote in his "History +of the World," "I cannot forbeare to commend the patient virtue of the +Spaniards. We seldome or never finde that any Nation hath endured so +many misadventures and miseries as the Spaniards have done in their +Indian discoveries.... Tempests and shipwrecks, famine, overthrowes, +mutinies, heat and cold, pestilence, and all manner of diseases, both +old and new, together with extreme povertie, and want of all things +needefull, have beene the enemies wherewith every one of their most +noble Discoverers, at one time or other hath encountered. Many yeeres +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. All which, +notwithstanding the third, fourth, and fifth under-takers, have not been +disheartened. Surely they are worthily rewarded with those Treasuries +and Paradises which they enjoy; and well they deserve to hold them +quietly, if they hinder not the like virtue in others, which (perhaps) +will not be found." Men who lived through the same elemental perils have +something in common, and a man like Ralegh is able to realize and to +express the fact; he is able to rise above the claims of nationality at +a time when his nation struggled for its very life, and he with it, +against the rival nation of Spain. + +He arrived at the island of Trinidad, and punished, after the manner of +the time, the treachery of the Spaniards against Jacob Whiddon; for the +year before Berreo, Governor of Trinidad, had broken his word of truce +to Whiddon, and having set an ambuscade for his men when they landed, +slew some eight of them. "So as both to be revenged of this wrong, as +also considering that to enter Guiana by small boats, to depart four or +five hundred miles from my ships and to have a garrison in my back +interested in the same enterprise, who also daily expected supplies out +of Spain, I should have savoured very much of the ass; and therefore, +taking a time of most advantage, I set upon the corp du gard in the +evening, and having put them to the sword, sent Captain Galfield onward +with sixty soldiers, and myself followed with forty more, and so took +their new city, which they called S. Joseph, by break of day; they abode +not any fight after a few shot, and all being dismissed but only Berreo +and his companion. I brought them with me aboard, and at the instance of +the Indians I set their new city of S. Joseph on fire." + +And now Ralegh shows once more his extraordinary power over other men, +and shows it even more vividly than in the case of the Irish chieftain +whom he changed from a leader of rebels to a staunch servant of the +Queen. He wanted all the information he could obtain, and from Berreo he +obtained it, though he was bitterly opposed, as might be expected, to +the English and to Ralegh. A Boswellian record of their conversations +would be of value to all business men. + +"Having Berreo my prisoner, I gathered from him as much of Guiana as he +knew. This Berreo is a gentleman well descended and had long served the +Spanish King in Milan, Naples, the Low Countries, and elsewhere, very +valiant and liberal, and a gentleman of great assuredness, and of a +great heart. I used him according to his estate and worth in all things +I could, according to the small means I had." Berreo well knew the +importance of such knowledge to Ralegh; for he had spread reports far +and wide among the Indians that the English meant them the deadliest +mischief, and he had announced that any native found to have had any +intercourse with the English would be forthwith hanged. But Berreo, an +old man, was constrained to give a full account of his journey; and +Ralegh's narrative of his own expedition is punctuated by what Berreo +saw and heard, and conjectured, and by repeated corroboration of +Berreo's statements. Ralegh must have smiled to himself when the old man +so far relented towards him as even to beg him not to venture his life +and the lives of the company in attempting a task which had proved too +much for his own capability. There must have been a singular mingling of +affection and cunning in the petition. "Berreo," writes Ralegh, "Berreo +was stricken into a great melancholy and sadness, and used all the +arguments he could to dissuade me, and also assured the gentlemen of my +company that it would be labour lost, and that they should suffer many +miseries if they proceeded." And he went on to explain the nature of the +difficulties, how the mouths of the rivers were sandy and full of flats, +which could only be entered in the smallest boats; how the current ran +swift and strong; how the natives were hostile, and how the kings of the +natives had decreed that none should trade with the English for gold, +"because the same would be their own overthrow, and that for the love of +gold the Christians meant to conquer and dispossess them of all +together." To which Ralegh adds drily, "Many and the most of these I +found to be true." + +Naturally he did not let experience alone prove the truth of his valiant +prisoner's statements. He called all the captains of the island together +that were enemies to the Spaniards and conversed with them by means of +an + +Indian interpreter whom he had brought out of England. "I made them +understand that I was the servant of a queen who was the great Cassiqui +of the north, and a virgin, and had more Cassiqui under her than there +were trees in their island; that she was an enemy to the Castellans in +respect of their tyranny and oppression, and that she delivered all such +nations about her as were by them oppressed; and having freed all the +coast of the northern world from their servitude had sent me to free +them also, and withal to defend the country of Guiana from their +invasion and conquest. I showed them Her Majesty's picture, which they +so admired and honoured as it had been easy to have brought them +idolatrous thereof.... They now call her Ezrabeta Cassipuna Aquerewana." + +That was his policy always with the natives. The Spaniards desired +immediate wealth, which they wrung from the Indians by all means in +their power; Ralegh desired a new English kingdom, and knew that for his +purpose the aid of the Indians was invaluable. And accordingly wherever +he went he was always at the utmost pains to conciliate them with +presents and carefully sought expressions of regard and good will. The +Indian chieftains fell under the spell of his personality in the same +way as the Irish rebel and his Spanish prisoner, or, indeed, any one +over whom he sought from the first moment of acquaintance to exercise +influence. + +To estimate at its proper value the gigantic proportions of the task +which Ralegh had sailed some thousand miles to achieve, it is necessary +to remember something of the geography of the country which is now +called Venezuela, and the innumerable rivers which there flow into the +sea, forming a complicated network. + +Having at length discovered from Berreo and the natives as much as he +could about the lie of the land--that is to say, about a quarter of that +which an intelligent Council School teacher could have told him in ten +minutes at the present day--Ralegh started up the river to Guiana, +"resolving," as he puts it, "to make trial of all, whatsoever happened." +He sent ships to reconnoitre and take soundings. Captain Calfield in his +bark and the vice-admiral George Gifford in the _Lion's Whelp_ eastward +to the mouth of the river called Capuri; King, master of the _Lion's +Whelp_ in his ship's boat to try another branch of the river in the +bottom of the bay of Guanipa, and to see if there was water enough to +admit the passage of a small ship. This branch was called the Amana; but +it, like the other, presented the same difficulties. The rush of water +was dangerous for a small boat, and the shallowness prevented the use of +a ship. King could only make hurried investigations, because his Indian +guide assured him that the natives of Guanipa, who were cannibals, might +any moment attack them, and that the attack would be terrible, for they +paddled swiftly in canoes and shot poisoned arrows with deadly effect. + +Nothing could deter Ralegh from his enterprise. He gave instructions to +his carpenters to cut down a gallego-boat, to draw five feet of water, +and to fit her with banks to row on. John Douglas was sent in his barge +to look after King, who had not returned, and to take careful soundings +in the bottom of the bay. For old John Hampton of Plymouth, and others +who had come from Trinidad, had told him dreadful stories of its danger. +"It hath been held for infallible that whatsoever ship or boat shall +fall therein can never disembogue again by reason of the violent current +which setteth into the said bay, as also for that the breeze and +easterly wind bloweth directly into the same." + +John Douglas took with him an old cassique of Trinidad for a pilot, and +was successful. Four goodly entrances were found, whereof the least was +as big as the Thames at Woolwich, but only six feet deep. Ralegh +accordingly gave up hope of finding passage for his ship, and decided to +go on with the boats, and the gallego which he had prepared, and which +held sixty men. In the boat of _Lion's Whelp_ and in its wherry there +was room for twenty men, in Captain Calfield's wherry for ten, and in +Ralegh's barge for ten more. They carried victuals for a month. Among +the gentlemen were Ralegh's cousins Butshead Gorges and John Grenville, +his nephew John Gilbert, Captain Keymis and Captain Clarke. "We had as +much sea to cross over in our wherries as between Dover and Calais, and +in a great billow, the wind and current being both very strong, so as we +were driven to go in those small boats directly before the wind into the +bottom of the bay of Guanipa." Their pilot was an Arwacan, an Indian of +Barema, which is a river to the south of the Orinoco. Ralegh had caught +and pressed him into his service as he was paddling in his canoe to sell +bread at Marquerita; but now the Arwacan confessed himself quite +ignorant of the river up which they were rowing; he told them he had not +been on it for twelve years, "at which time he was very young and of no +judgment." The position of the adventurers was one of extreme danger; +they might have rowed in that labyrinth of rivers for a year without +finding a way either out or in, for they only discovered the Arwacan's +ignorance after four days. Ralegh realized their plight to the full, and +the extraordinary good fortune which drew them out of it. A small canoe +was espied in which three Indians were paddling. Ralegh, in his +eight-oared barge, immediately gave chase, and succeeded in overtaking +the canoe before it crossed the river ("which because it had no name we +called the river of the Red Cross, ourselves being the first Christians +that ever came therein"). Natives on the thickly wooded bank watched the +chase with eagerness, and the captain with anxiety, fearing what might +happen to their fellows. But when they saw that Ralegh treated the three +with deference, the people on the shore made friendly signs and showed +no fear as the eight-oared barge drew in, but offered to traffic in such +commodities as they possessed. + +As the adventurers stopped there for a while at the mouth of a little +creek which came from the Indian village into the river, Ferdinando the +pilot, who came with them originally, and his brother, must needs go to +the village to drink the wine of the place, and upon him the chief men +of the village fell, threatening to punish them with death for having +thus brought white strangers into their midst. But Ferdinando, "being +quick and of a disposed body," escaped to the woods, and his brother +raced back to the barge, where he cried out panting that the Indians had +slain Ferdinando. Ralegh immediately laid hands on a very old man, who +was with him to serve as hostage, and if Ferdinando were indeed dead, to +take his place as pilot. Meanwhile the Indians were pursuing Ferdinando +with deer-dogs, and the woods sounded with their shouts; nor could the +old man stay them, though he called out as loudly as he could the sad +consequences in which they would involve him. At last Ferdinando reached +a part of the shore and climbed a tall tree which hung over the river, +and the barge happening to pass by, he plunged into the water and swam +to it, half dead with fear. "But our good hap was that we kept the other +old Indian, which we hand-fasted to redeem our pilot withal, for being +natural of those rivers we assured ourselves he knew the way better +than any stranger could; and, indeed, but for this chance, I think we +had never found the way either to Guiana or back to our ships; for +Ferdinando, after a few days, knew nothing at all nor which way to turn, +yea and many times the old man himself was in great doubt which river to +take." + +They rowed on through the maze of rivers and islands, which were +inhabited by the Ciawani and the Waraweete, goodly people, carpenters +for the most part of canoes, who dwell in little houses in the summer, +and, when the river rises (and it rises thirty feet, amazingly, as +Ralegh discovered), in the tops of trees. He relates their customs; how +some beat the bones of their chiefs into powder and the wives and +friends drink it all, that the bones may have a kindly resting-place; +how others take up the buried corpse of a dead chieftain, when the flesh +has departed from the bones, and hang the skeleton in his own house, +decking the skull with feathers and fitting his gold plates about the +bones of his arms and thighs and legs. + +On the third day the gallego "came on ground and stuck so fast as we +thought that even there our discovery had ended and that we must have +left sixty of our men to have inhabited like rooks upon trees with those +nations; but the next morning, after we had cast out all her ballast, +with tugging and hauling to and fro we got her afloat." + +Four days more they rowed on until they came into the river Amana, which +ran more directly, without windings and twistings, than the other, and +then a fresh difficulty met them. For the flood of the sea no longer +gave any help and "we were enforced either by main strength to row +against a violent current or to return as wise as we went out." The men +complained that the work was too much for them; but they consented to +pull on when Ralegh and the other captains and gentlemen offered to take +each his turn at the oar. Each spell of rowing lasted one hour. Thus +they proceeded slowly and with tremendous effort for three more days, +when the men began to despair; the current became each day stronger and +the river appeared interminable in length. "But we evermore commanded +our pilots to promise an end by next day, and used it so long as we were +driven to assure them from four reaches of the river to three, and so to +two, and so to the next reach." The men, too, were hungry; food was +giving out; the sun was scorching, and there was nothing to drink but +the thick and troubled water of the river. Sometimes they found fruits +on the trees that were good to eat; sometimes they shot birds. Birds +there were of every brilliant colour, "carnation, crimson, orange-tawny, +purple, green watchet, and of all sorts, both simple and mixt, as it was +unto us a great good passing of the time to behold them." But the men +were hungry and tired. Then a pilot, the very old man, whom they had +hand-fasted, said that he would bring them soon to a town of the +Arwacas, where they would find a store of bread, hens, fish, and the +wine of the country, if they would turn with their barge and wherries +down a branch of the river on the right hand. The men were cheered at +the prospect. Ralegh and Gifford and Calfield determined to make their +way to the town for food; so, leaving the majority of their men at the +river's entrance, they set out. They rowed three hours without seeing a +sign of human life, and they began to suspect that the pilot was playing +them false. It grew towards night, but still he kept assuring them that +the village lay only four reaches farther on. "When we had rowed four +and four we saw no sign, and our poor watermen even, heartbroken and +tired, were ready to give up the ghost; for we had now come from the +galleye near forty miles." + +Then they determined to hang the very old man, their pilot. But the +river began to narrow. It became so narrow that the trees with which +either bank was thickly covered touched branches across the water, and +they were obliged to draw their swords and cut a passage through. "We +were very desirous to find this town, hoping of a feast, because we made +but a short breakfast aboard the galley in the morning, and it was now +eight o'clock at night and our stomachs began to gnaw apace." At last +they saw a light, heard the dogs of the village bark, and one hour after +midnight they arrived. The old pilot had not deceived them in any way. +They found good store of hens, bread, fish, and Indian drink. + +Meanwhile the company which was left behind in the galley, fearing that +some mishap must have come to the wherries, sent out a party after them +in the ship's boat of the _Lion's Whelp_, under Captain Whiddon. But +Ralegh was so pleased with the prospect which the morning light +disclosed to his view, that he had rowed some forty miles farther on. +For no longer was the country beshrubbed with thorns and thickets and +closely growing trees. Great plains, twenty miles in length, covered +with fair green grass spread out before him, "and in divers parts groves +of trees by themselves (he writes with his keen eye for effects of +landscape), as if they had been by all the art and labour in the world +so made of purpose, and still as we rowed the deer came down, feeding by +the water's side, as if they had been used to a keeper's call." But all +was not beautiful and quiet. In the river swam fishes of a monstrous +size, and thousands of ugly serpents, called lagartos. A negro, a very +proper young fellow, leapt from Ralegh's barge to swim to the shore, and +in the sight of all the men, one of these lagartos ate him. Those +monstrous serpents are now called alligators. + +They came back to the great river and resumed their course, pulling ever +with difficulty against the current. And again they were reduced to +hunger, and again they were on the brink of despair, when Captain +Gifford, who was a little in advance of the others seeking a place to +land and make a fire, saw four canoes, and with no small joy he urged +his men to try the uttermost of their strength to come up with them. At +last they overtook them, as they paddled up a creek off the main stream, +and found bread in two canoes, which they captured, and learned that +three Spaniards were in the other canoes, one a cavallero, one a +soldier, and one a refiner of metals. The bread roused the courage of +the hungry men, and "Let us go on!" they cried; "we care not how far!" +as they lit fires for the night's encampment. Immediately Ralegh sent +Captain Thyn and Captain Gifford in one direction, Captain Calfield in +another, to follow the men who had fled away. As he himself was creeping +through the bushes he saw an Indian basket which was insecurely hidden. +In the basket was a refiner's outfit, quicksilver, saltpetre, and other +things to test the quality of minerals, and the dust of ore which had +been refined. They could not, however, catch the Spaniards, but they +discovered some Arwacas concealed in the woods who had acted as pilots +to the Spaniards. Them they questioned, and one they took with them for +their own pilot. + +Ralegh had no mining tools with him, nor had he come for small and +immediate gain. His purpose was no other than to open out the resources +of the whole country for England, not to snatch a cargo load of gold. +Moreover, a month had passed since they had seen the ships. Time was +precious; there was much to be done; "and to stay," he says pithily, "to +dig out gold with our nails had been _opus laboris_ but not _ingenii_." +He stayed only to survey the neighbourhood. During his short stay the +natives came in numbers to him, and with his usual policy he treated +them with elaborate kindness in contrast to the cruelty of the +Spaniards. He paid for everything which he used, and took every means to +prevent violence to their women, and theft. If the offender was +discovered he was punished before the Indians; and, more than that, if +an Indian complained of a theft which could not be laid to any man's +account, he was paid to the full amount of his loss. + +Here Ralegh sent back Ferdinando and the very old man in a canoe with +presents for themselves and a message to deliver to the ships, and the +company rowed on their way, taking with them as pilot, Martin, the +native who was captured from the three Spaniards. But the next day the +galley ran aground, and "we were like to cast her away with all our +victual and provision and so lay on the sand one whole night, and were +far more in despair at this time to free her than before, because we had +no tide of flood to help us; and therefore feared that all our hopes +would have ended in mishaps. But we fastened an anchor upon the land, +and with main strength drew her off." + +Then at last, to their great joy, the mountains of Guiana rose before +them, and in the evening of the same day a fresh northerly wind sprang +up, and before it they passed on till they were brought in sight of the +great river of Orinoco, "out of which the river descended wherein we +were." As their boats entered the Orinoco they espied three canoes +manned by natives, who, when they saw the English, paddled fast away +westward towards Guiana, thinking they were Spaniards. The boats, giving +chase, came up with one of the canoes, and explained by their +interpreter that they were not Spaniards but friends. Thereupon the +natives were cordial, gladly gave them fish and tortoise eggs, and +promised to bring their chief man to the boats in the morning. In the +morning the chief man, whose name was Toparimaca, came with some forty +followers, bringing presents of bread and fruit and wine. With him +Ralegh conferred about the nearest way to Guiana, and he escorted Ralegh +to his own port, and from his port escorted Ralegh and some of his +captains to the town, where the captains caroused until they were +"reasonable pleasant." The name of the town was Arowocai, and in it was +staying a stranger cassique with his wife and retainers. Of this wife +Ralegh gives a characteristic description: "In all my life I have seldom +seen a better favoured woman. She was of good stature, with black eyes, +fat of body, of an excellent countenance, her hair almost as long as +herself, tied up again in pretty knots, and it seemed that she stood not +in that awe of her husband as the rest, for she spake and discoursed and +drank among the gentlemen and captains and was very pleasant, knowing +her own comeliness, and taking great pride therein. I have seen a lady +in England so like her as, but for the difference of colour, I would +have sworn might have been the same." Toparimaca gave them a pilot, an +old man of great experience and travel, who knew his way by day or night +on the river, and they rowed on. Without him, mishap would have befallen +them, because the river is exceedingly broad, at places extending to +twenty miles, and its course is full of wonderful eddies, islands, +shoals, currents, and dangerous rocks. + +They passed up the great river, sailing, for a wind rose up behind them, +along the shore of the island of Assapana, past the river Europa, which +poured its waters into the great river; they sailed on ever westward, +wide green plains spread out on the right hand, and the banks of the +river were a very perfect red. Now they must make all speed possible, +for the time was drawing near when the rain would fall, and the river +rising, would, by the violence of its current, hinder all further +progress. On they sailed, past the high mountains of Aroami and Aio, +past the great island Manoripano, until, on the sixth day, they reached +the land of that Morequito whom Berreo had slain. They anchored in the +port, and Ralegh despatched one of his pilots to the uncle of Morequito, +King of Aromaia. In the morning, before noon, the old king came with his +followers, walking the fourteen miles to the shore; he was one hundred +and ten years old. A little tent had been set up on the shore, and in it +the old king rested. When he was rested, Ralegh conversed with him by +means of an interpreter. He explained how he had been sent out by his +Queen specially to free the land from the tyranny of the Spaniards; he +dilated at large on "Her Majesty's greatness, her justice, her charity +to oppressed nations, with as many of the rest of her beauties and +virtues as either I could express or they conceive, all which being with +great admiration attentively heard and marvellously admired. I began to +sound the old man as touching Guiana." They talked for a long space of +time, the old king relating memories of his youth, how "there came down +into that large valley of Guiana a nation from so far off as the sun +slept (Ralegh liked that phrase and mentions it as the old king's own +expression), with so great a multitude as they could not be numbered nor +resisted; and that they wore large coats and hats of crimson; ... that +they had slain and rooted out so many of the ancient people as there +were leaves in the wood upon all the trees." When the Christians came, +however, they joined forces together and lived at peace, each one +holding the Spaniard as a common enemy. And as the old king talked, +Ralegh marvelled to find a man of such gravity and judgment and of so +good discourse that had no help of learning nor breed. + +Then the old king "desired leave to depart, saying that he had far to +go; that he was old and weak and was every day called for by death." +Ralegh begged him to remain during the night, but he could not prevail +upon him to do so; and, though the weather was hot, the old king walked +back fourteen miles to his town, having promised to wait upon Ralegh on +his return. And that he did not fail to do. It was not for nothing that +he was held to be the proudest and the wisest of all the Oroonokoponi. + +Still they sailed westward, eager to see the famous river Caroli, which +led to the frontiers of the people who were most hostile to Tuga, the +Emperor of Guiana, and anchored by the island Caiama. The next day they +came, after ten miles, to the mouth of the Caroli; when they were yet +far distant they heard the great roar and fall of the river. So violent +was the rush of the current that they were unable to make any headway up +the stream--not a stone's cast in an hour. Accordingly, a halt was made, +and messengers were sent inland to invite the native king to a parley. +The king came, and Ralegh discoursed with him about the purpose of his +coming and his Queen's goodness and beauty; and learned from him about +his people and country. By this time, all the rivers having risen five +feet and more, further progress became impossible; and Ralegh, dividing +his company into bands, sent them inland in every direction to explore. +He himself went to the top of the first hills of the plain adjoining the +river, and in the distance the celebrated falls of the Caroli were +visible. "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 all been covered +over with a great shower of rain; and in some places we took it at the +first for a smoke that had arisen over some great town. For my 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 strange +thunder of waters, as they drew me on by little and little till we came +into the next valley where we might better discern the same." The men of +each band returned and brought with them stones and minerals, lustre, +marquesite crystal, and stones that resembled sapphire. + +Ralegh, as he looked at the stones and heard the reports of the +wonderful fertility and resources of the land which lay in splendid +expanse around him, must have felt within him that his dream of El +Dorado was at last realized. Indeed, it seemed that he had only to come +out and take possession. + +But now "the fury of Oroonoco began daily to threaten us with +dangers ... for no half day passed but the river began to rage and +overflow very fearfully and the rains came down in terrible showers, and +gusts in great abundance, and withal our men began to cry out for want +of shift, for no man had place to bestow any other apparel than that +which he wore upon his back, and that was thoroughly washed on his body +for the most part ten times in one day; and we had now been well near a +month, every day passing to the westward farther and farther from our +ships. We therefore turned towards the east and spent the rest of the +time in discovering the river towards the sea which we had not yet +viewed and which was most material." + +The first day of their return they sped down the stream of the great +river against the wind one hundred miles, and anchored at the port of +Morequito; and immediately a messenger was sent to bid the old king +come. Once more Ralegh had a long conference with him concerning the +kingdom of Guiana, and once more he was impressed by the wisdom of the +old man's replies to his questions. Francis Sparrow and a boy, Harry +Gordon, were left to learn the language till Ralegh came next year, +equipped to conquer the land; and a young native was to go with them to +England. + +On their journey back to the sea they stayed several times to confer +with native kings and find out how they were disposed towards the +Spaniards and towards Tuga, the Emperor of Guiana. At the very end of +their expedition they found the greatest peril awaiting them. "When we +were arrived at the seaside, then grew our greatest doubt and the +bitterest of all our journey fore-passed, for I protest before God we +were in a most desperate estate.... There arose a mighty storm, and the +river's mouth was at least a league broad, so as we ran before night +close under the land with our small boats and brought the galley as near +as we could, but she had as much ado to live as could be, and there +wanted little of her sinking and all those in her.... The longer we +tarried the worse it was, and therefore I took Captain Gifford, Captain +Calfield, and my cousin Grenville into my barge, and after it cleared +up about midnight we put ourselves to God's keeping and thrust out into +the sea, leaving the galley at anchor, who durst not adventure out but +by daylight. And so being all very sober and melancholy, one faintly +cheering another to shew courage, it pleased God that the next day, +about nine of the clock, we descried the island of Trinidado, and +steering for the nearest part of it, we kept the shore until we came to +Curiapan, where we found our ships an anchor, than which there was never +to us a more joyful sight. + +"Now it have pleased God to send us safe to our ships it is time to +leave Guiana to the sun whom they worship, and steer away to the north." + +So Ralegh and his brave men set their sails for England. Many hours in +his cabin he must have enjoyed the luxury of rest, working out in his +mind the time and proper equipment for the great expedition which he +would lead back to the land which he had prospected. His imagination +would picture to him the careful opponents who would be ready to put +forward drawbacks and dangers; and he would answer them with such +conviction that the most careful would gradually catch a part of his +ardour. Guiana would be the topic of all Englishmen, and England's +ultimate glory. He would view again the beauty of the land and its +fertility, the broad plains and the thick woods, where birds of every +brilliant colour flew, he would see the deer coming to drink at the +water's edge, the refiner's basket, and the gold waiting to be worked +out of the ground, and the precious stones waiting to be cut; the +crystal, the sapphire, the lustre. He had his map, he had friends among +the natives, he had made all ready for the great occupation. "The common +soldier shall here fight for gold, and pay himself, instead of pence, +with plates of half-a-foot broad, whereas he breaketh his bones in other +wars for provant and penury. Those commanders and chieftains that shoot +at honour and abundance, shall find there more rich and beautiful +cities, more temples adorned with golden images, more sepulchres filled +with treasure than either Cortez found in Mexico, or Pizzaro in Peru, +and the shining glory of this conquest will eclipse all those so far +extended beams of the Spanish nation." + +He arrived in England in August, 1595, having been absent not quite +seven months. On all sides he met with opposition and disbelief. Some, +the graver sort, considered it better to husband their forces, to repel +the threatened invasion of Philip, who had sworn "to avenge the +destruction of the Armada on Elizabeth, if he were reduced to pawn the +last candlestick on his domestic altar." Others were angry that Ralegh +had brought back no cargoes of gold and precious stones; others, again, +laughed at him, saying that he had never been to Guiana at all, but had +been lurking in Cornwall: that the whole thing was a cock and bull story +to regain favour at Court. He, sneered they, was too easeful and sensual +to endure the discomfort of so long a journey. Where were the riches +which he would have taken, as Drake took, had he really been to Guiana? +To which Ralegh answered proudly, "It became not the former fortune in +which I once lived to go journies of picory: and it had sorted ill with +the offices of honour, which, by her Majestie's grace I hold this day in +England, to run from cape to cape, and from place to place, for the +pillage of ordinary prizes." + +His reception exasperated him; but he did not give way. In five months +he fitted out another expedition under Captain Keymis; and wrote a full +account of the voyage he had himself taken. But this second expedition +was too small to do anything else than keep in touch with the native +friends, and to find fresh information. + +Ralegh's efforts were unavailing. To found the empire in Guiana became +his life's purpose, and he strove to attain it with all the resources of +his energy. But the course of events was too strong for him, and he +could not make men see far enough ahead of immediate gain. Many years +later his scorn at their apathy broke out again, when, in writing his +"History of the World," he is describing Roman energy in the founding of +colonies: "Such an offer, were it made in England, concerning either +Virginia or Guiana, it selfe would not overjoy the multitude. But the +Commonalty of Rome tooke this in so good part, notwithstanding all +danger, joined with the benefit, that Flaminius had ever after their +good will." There is something indescribably pathetic in this personal +touch--of the prisoner recording the fame of a man who had been honoured +for offering less to his people than the prisoner himself had offered, +and at less personal risk--Flaminius supported, Ralegh hindered--each by +the nation which he most desired to serve. + +Edmund Spenser felt for him a friend's sympathy when he wrote in the +_Faerie Queene_-- + + And shame on you, O Men, which boast your strong + And valiant hearts, in thoughts lesse hard and bold, + Yet quaile in conquest of that Land of Gold! + But this to you, O Britons, most pertaines, + To whom the right hereof itselfe hath sold, + The whiche, for sparing little cost or paines, + Loose so immortall glory, and so endless gaines. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +CADIZ AND FAYAL + + Division of command--Ralegh's delay--Unwillingness of men to + serve--Disputes--Ralegh's wise plan of action--The attack-- + The sack--Ralegh wounded--His small share of spoil--Return + home--Sends ship to Guiana--Death of Lady Cecil--Robert Cecil's + policy--expedition to Azores--Fayal--Quarrel with Essex. + + +Ralegh did not long remain inactive. He found that a great adventure was +in course of preparation in which he must needs take his part. A year +before the Armada Sir John Hawkins had planned an attack on Spain's +chief harbour, Cadiz, and in this year of 1596 Lord Howard of Effingham, +High Admiral of England, determined to carry the plan into effect. The +Earl of Essex was put in command of the land forces, Effingham of the +fleet. Elizabeth invariably favoured the dangerous policy of divided +command, which Ralegh in his "History of the World" cannot censure too +strongly. The reason why such a clever woman continued to make this +mistake is not known. Probably she feared that one man by a conspicuous +victory would become too powerful for a subject. If this were the +reason, and it seems likely that it was, her fears would naturally +increase with her age. The same feeling, no doubt, prompted her strange +choice of the inexperienced Essex. He, at any rate, she would think, +would remain her loyal subject, and would not aspire to rebel against +his royal mistress. + +The preparations were on an extensive scale. The fleet was divided into +four squadrons, which were led by Essex, by the Lord Admiral, by Ralegh, +and by Lord Thomas Howard. The total muster numbered seventeen Queen's +ships and seventy-six hired ships, which were chiefly used for +transport, besides pinnaces and small craft. They were assisted by a +Dutch squadron of twenty-four vessels. The men were nearly sixteen +thousand in all, land-soldiers and mariners. + +Essex was waiting with the fleet at Plymouth for Ralegh, who had been +commissioned to find men for the expedition. Ralegh's delay was the +cause of much anxiety, and naturally there were not wanting men ready to +construe that delay into treachery. Gossip Bacon suggests that he was +endeavouring to undermine the position of Essex and get himself +nominated general of the land forces in his stead. The true reason of +his delay is, however, available. On May 4 he writes from Northfleet on +the Thames to Sir Robert Cecil, telling him of the difficulty he +experienced in obtaining ships and men for the service. "Mr. Pope presst +all the ships. Hee can also informe you how little her Majestie's +autoretie is respected. For as fast as wee press men one day they come +away another and say they will not serve." He recommends Mr. Pope to Sir +Robert Cecil for his keenness, and proceeds, "Here are at Gravesend ... +sume 22 saile. Thos above that ar of great draught of water cannot tide +it down, for they must take the high water and dare not make after an +houre ebb untill they be past Barking Shelf. And now the wind is so +strong as it is impossible to turne down, or to warpe down or to tooe +downe. I cannot writ to our generalls all this tyme; for the pursevant +found me in a countre villag, a mile from Gravend honting after runaway +marriners and dragging in the mire from ale-house to ale-house, and +could gett no paper, butt that the pursevant had this peece." + +The unwillingness to serve on a foreign expedition was common in England +then: men began to weary of the hardships of fighting: they knew too +intimately the horrors of a sea-battle. Essex, too, found the men at +Plymouth ready to mutiny and desert. He immediately took stringent +measures: soldiers were tried by martial law, and two were executed +forthwith "on a very fair pleasant green called the Ho." + +On June 1 the fleet at length put out to sea, and came to anchor on June +20 in the bay of St. Sebastians, which is half a league distant from +Cadiz. The voyage had been taken without any mishap, except that the +unwisdom of a divided command soon became apparent. From Dover Lord +Howard of Effingham wrote to Robert Cecil: "My commission in being +joined to the Earl is an idle thing; I am used but as a drag." But the +weather was favourable, and several prizes were taken. From St. +Sebastians Ralegh had instructions to sail with the ships under his +charge and the Dutch squadron to the Main, and to lie just outside the +harbour; he was bidden to take special care that the ships riding near +Cadiz did not escape, but not to fight, except in self-defence, without +further direction. "When I was arrived back again (which was two hours +after the rest) I found the Earl of Essex disembarking his soldiers; and +he had put many companies into boats, purposing to make his descent on +the west side of Cales; but such was the greatness of the billow, by +reason of a forcible southerly wind, as the boats were ready to sink at +the stern of the Earl; and indeed divers did so, and in them some of the +armed men; but because it was formerly resolved (and that to cast +doubts would have been esteemed an effect of fear) the Earl purposed to +go on until such time as I came aboard him, and in the presence of all +the collonels protested against the resolution; giving him reasons and +making apparent demonstrations that he thereby ran the way of our +general ruin, to the utter overthrow of the whole armies, their own +lives, and her Majesty's future safety. The Earl excused himself, and +laid it before the Lord Admiral, who (he said) 'would not consent to +enter with the fleet till the town were first possessed.' All the +commanders and gentlemen present besought me to dissuade the attempt, +for they all perceived the danger, and were resolved that the most part +could not but perish in the sea, ere they came to set foot on ground, +and if any arrived on shoar, yet were they sure to have their boats cast +on their heads; and that twenty men in so desperate a descent would have +defeated them all. The Earl hereupon prayed me to perswade my Lord +Admiral, who, finding a certain destruction by the former resolution, +was content to enter the port. + +"When I brought news of this agreement to the Earl, calling out of my +boat Entramus, he cast his hat into the sea for joy and prepared to +weigh anchor." + +In these words Ralegh tells how he saved England from a great disaster. +It is not known to whom he wrote this account, but it was found and +printed by his grandson, Philip Ralegh, just one hundred and three years +later. Probably Lord Howard took a negative attitude; he found, no +doubt, a grim satisfaction in seeing the impetuous young fool, Essex, +send the land force which he commanded to its inevitable destruction. He +would think that he could easily set matters right again with his fleet, +and Essex would be once for all humiliated, if not slain. Ralegh saved +the situation. He had the moral courage to disdain the charge of +cowardice, and the ability to prove in words the complete wrongness of +the plan of attack. That was not all. The situation was still perilous +to a degree. The day was drawing to a close; boats were filled in +disorder with men from different ships. They were an attacking force +with whom time was of the utmost value, and they were without a plan of +attack. Ralegh was indefatigable. All his powers were called into +play--his influence over men, his capacity of managing affairs, his +knowledge of tactics in sea-fighting and land-fighting--and he mastered +the crisis. + +The men were disposed to their ships, and the ships were anchored at the +very mouth of the harbour, and probably Ralegh was at the pains to prove +to them that this retirement was no disgrace. Order was not restored +until ten o'clock at night, and then Ralegh drew up a full account of +the manner in which the attack should be conducted, full in every detail +of the arrangement of the ships and the precedence of the commanders. +His plan was accepted, and at his own request he was allowed the post of +honour, much coveted, as leader of the van. Lord Thomas Howard +especially coveted the foremost position; "he pressed the Generals to +have the service committed unto him, and left the _Meer Honour_ to Mr. +Dudley, putting himself in the _Nonpareill_. For mine own part, as I was +willing to give honour to my Lord Thomas, having both precedency in the +army, and being a nobleman whom I much honoured, so yet I was resolved +to give and not take example for this service; holding mine own +reputation dearest, and remembering my great duty to her Majesty. With +the first peep of day, therefore, I weighed anchor, and bare with the +Spanish fleet, taking the start of all ours a good distance." + +Within the harbour the enemy were waiting in readiness and in force. +Great galleons and galleys, manned with oarsmen, were drawn up in front +of the forts, which opened fire upon Ralegh's ships; the men in the +galleys gripped their oars in readiness to row out and board any ship +which the cannon from the forts or the galleons might disable. Ralegh +sailed right into the harbour, disdaining to answer the fire from the +forts and the curtain with anything but a contemptuous blare from a +trumpet, and leaving the ships that followed him to scatter with their +fire the galleys. Ralegh sailed right into the harbour; "the _St. +Philip_, the great and famous Admiral of Spain, was the mark I shot at, +esteeming these galleys but as wasps in respect of the powerfulness of +the other; and being resolved to be revenged for the _Revenge_, or to +second her with mine own life." For on the _Revenge_ had perished his +gallant friend and kinsman, Sir Richard Grenville; and many times +through that day Grenville's dying words must have thrilled his mind, +those words that are the most illustrious requiem of a dying soldier, +spoken in the Spanish of his conquerrors, "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, his Queen, his religion, +and his honour." For three hours Ralegh, at anchor, kept up an incessant +cannonade against the galleons and the forts; the volleys of cannon and +culverin came as thick as if it had been a skirmish of musketeers. On +one side lay Lord Thomas Howard's ship, the _Lyon_; on the other lay the +_Mary Rose_ and the _Dreadnaught_. When Essex heard the tremendous roar +of the cannon he could no longer stop outside the harbour, but sailed in +the _Swiftsure_ as far to the van as he was able, regardless of battle +order. But "always I must without glory say for myself that I held +single in the head of all." At last the cannonade became too heavy. +Ralegh had been told not to board until fly-boats came from the fleet; +and no fly-boats came. Accordingly, in a little skiff, he was rowed to +the _Swiftsure_ and besought Essex to let him board with his own +ship--"for it was the same loss to burn or sink, for I must endure the +one." He convinced Essex, who promised upon his honour to second him in +whatsoever he did. Ralegh had been away from his ship for a quarter of +an hour; but during that quarter of an hour Sir Francis Vere, the +Marshal, and Lord Thomas Howard had pushed their ships quietly in front +of the _Warspite_. This Ralegh could not brook. "At my return, finding +myself from being the first to be but the third, I presently let slip +anchor, and thrust in between my Lord Thomas and the Marshal, and went +up further ahead than all them before and thrust myself athwart the +channel, so as I was sure none should outstart me again, for that day." +But though the battle continued to rage furiously and at close quarters, +Sir Francis Vere and Lord Thomas Howard could not rest content with +second places. Sir Francis Vere secretly caused a rope to be fastened to +the _Warspite_ that he might draw his ship ahead of her. But sailors +told Ralegh of this, and he ordered the rope to be severed. + +Then Ralegh started to board. He laid out a warp by the side of the +_Philip_ "to shake hands with her," and the other English ships followed +suit. Fear seized the Spaniards. "They all let slip, and ran aground, +tumbling into the sea heaps of souldiers, so thick as if coals had been +powred out of a sack in many ports at once: some drowned and some +sticking in the mud.... The spectacle was very lamentable on their side; +for many drowned themselves; many, half-burnt, leapt into the water; +very many hanging by the ropes' ends by the ship's side under the water +even to the lips; many swimming with grievous wounds, strucken under +water and put out of their pain: and 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." + +Then followed the capture and sack of Cadiz. In the assault Ralegh +received "a grievous blow in the leg interlaced and deformed with +splinters." But he was carried on shore on men's shoulders until a horse +was forthcoming, when he mounted. For an hour he remained in the town, +but then the pain of the wound became intolerable; the streets were +filled with jostling tumultuous soldiers, and they pressed against his +leg in their disorder, do what he would to prevent them. So he returned +to his ship to rest, while the sack raged in the town. + +The plunder taken was immense in quantity and value: and as was +invariably the case, there was much ill-feeling as to its distribution. +The Queen quarrelled with the generals, thinking that they had much held +back, and the generals with each other, thinking that the share of each +was disproportionate. Ralegh especially fared ill. "For my own part I +have gotten a lame leg and a deformed. For the rest either I spake too +late, or it was otherwise resolved. I have not wanted good words, and +exceeding kind and regardful usance. But I have possession of naught but +poverty and pain." Ralegh was better able to win a first place in the +fighting-line, than in the prize list. This he resented with absolute +candour: but to deduce from his resentment that he cared only for gain +is totally to misunderstand the nature of the man. + +The results of the victory, for which Ralegh was chiefly responsible, +were far-reaching and decisive. It crippled Spain's power more +effectually even than the Armada. Cadiz was razed to the ground; as the +Council of State decided that to raze the town was safer than to +garrison it for English purposes. + +Ralegh gained the respect of his fellow soldiers for his genius and his +bravery; even men who, like Sir Anthony Standen, were hostile to him, +wrote in enthusiastic praise of his conduct. "Sir Walter Ralegh did (in +my judgment) no man better: and his artillery most effect. I never knew +the gentleman till this time, and I am sorry for it, for there are in +him excellent things, beside his valour. And the observation he hath in +this voyage used with my Lord of Essex hath made me love him." But at +the Court little had changed. Essex remained arrogant and hostile, and +for the time his influence appears to have been dominant. + +Immediately on his return Ralegh busied himself in the preparation and +despatch of another ship to Guiana, to keep in touch with the natives +whose alliance he had on his own visit obtained. Mr. Thomas Masham +sailed in a pinnace called the _Wat_ on the 14th of October from +Limehouse upon the Thames. Ralegh never ceased from ardour in this great +enterprise of his; nothing drove it from his mind; he was convinced of +its ultimate success, believing in it as he believed in himself. But he +could not go in person, the time was not yet ripe. So he with his +wounded leg was glad to retire to Sherborne for a season to the quiet of +his Dorsetshire garden. In Sherborne was brought him the news of the +death of Lady Cecil, to whom Sir Robert was much devoted, and Ralegh's +letter of sympathy is beautiful in thought and expression, though, such +is the interesting divergency of human opinion, there are those who +think the letter crude, sententious and laboured. + + "SIR, + + "Because I know not how you dispose of your sealf, I forbeare + to visitt you, preferringe your plesinge before myne owne + desire. I had rather be with you now then att any other tyme, + if I could thereby ether take off frome you the burden of your + sorrows, or lay the greater part thereof on myne owne hart.... + There is no man sorry for death it sealf, butt only for the + tyme of death; every one knowing that it is a bonnd never + forfeted to God.... If then we know the same to be certayne and + inevitable, wee ought withall to take the tyme of his arrivall + in as good part as the knowledge; and not to lament att the + instant of every seeminge adversity, which we ar asured have + byn on ther way towards us from the begininge.... I beleve it + that sorrows are dangerus companions, converting badd into + yevill and yevill into worse, and do no other service then + multeply harms. They ar the treasures of weak harts and of the + foolishe. The minde that entertayneth them is as the yearth and + dust whereon sorrows and adversetes of the world do as the + beasts of the field, tread trample and defile. The minde of man + is that part of God which is in us, which, by how mich it is + subject to passion, by so mich it is farther from Hyme that + gave it us. Sorrows draw not the dead to life, butt the livinge + to deathe...." + +So Ralegh wrote; he was acquainted with grief, and familiar with death +in every horrid guise. Twenty years later he was to prove with his own +example the truth of what he wrote: "It apartayneth to every man of a +wize and worthy spiritt to draw together into sufferance the unknown +future to the known present; lookinge no less with the eyes of the +minde then thos of the body--the one beholdinge afar off and the other +att hand--that thos things of this worlde in which we live be not +strange unto us when they approach...." + +But Sir Robert Cecil was playing a deep and subtle game which was to +make him the chief man in England during the few years that remained to +the Queen of life and after her death. Essex and Ralegh he feared. He +encouraged Essex to pass on his proud way to disaster, using Essex to +thwart the rise of Ralegh. And Essex needed small encouragement. He +coveted the popularity, which was to end in his utter undoing. Meanwhile +his star was in the ascendant. His pride had not yet outgrown his +strength. + +Outwardly Cecil was friendly to Ralegh and hostile to Essex. He hated +Essex; the two men's _natures_ were in fierce opposition. + +Ralegh was still suspended from his post of Captain of the Guard; but in +June he was brought by Cecil to the Queen's presence. The Queen received +him graciously, and reinstated him. Moreover, Ralegh and Essex were no +longer in open enmity. Mr. Rowland Whyte records that "Sir Walter Ralegh +hath been very often very private with the Earl of Essex and is the +mediator of a peace between him and Sir Robert Cecil." And again in a +letter dated April 9: "This day being Monday Sir Robert Cecil went in +coach with the Earl of Essex to his house where Sir Walter Ralegh came, +and they dined there together. After dinner they were very private all +three for two hours, where the treaty of peace was confirmed." Between +Ralegh and Essex there was something in common at certain moments; there +was a gallantry about both men, which, in spite of everything, each +could not fail to recognize in the other. This Sir A. Gorges noticed; +he wrote with much acumen: "Though the Earl had many doubts and +jealousies buzzed into his ears against Sir Walter Ralegh, yet I have +often observed that both in his greatest actions of service, and in the +times of his chiefest recreations, he would ever accept of his counsel +and company before many others who thought themselves more in his +favour." + +Ralegh's rest was brief. Almost immediately after despatching the _Wat_ +to Guiana, he was engaged in raising levies and supplies with Essex for +a new expedition against Spain. For the Spanish king was resolved to +revenge his bad defeat at Cadiz by another invasion of England. Ralegh +always believed that the surest manner of defence against such an +invasion was an immediate attack. And that was the step which the Lords +of the Council determined to take. About the time that Ralegh's ship, +the _Wat_, returned from Guiana with the news which its captain, Mr. +Thomas Masham, brought, the expedition was ready to put out to sea. The +fleet was divided into three squadrons; the first was commanded by the +Earl of Essex, who was Admiral and General-in-Chief; the second by Lord +Thomas Howard; the third by Sir Walter Ralegh, whose position was that +of Rear-Admiral, and in whose squadron sailed the great galleons, the +_St. Andrew_ and the _St. Matthew_, which he had captured at Cadiz. On +Sunday the 10th of July the fleet set sail. Their destination was +Ferroll in the Azores, where the Spanish fleet was reported to be +harbouring. Their instructions were firstly to attack the fleet, and if +it had gone away, to follow in pursuit; secondly, to intercept and +capture the homeward-bound fleets from the East and West Indies. The +expedition has passed into history under the name of the Islands +Voyage. + +The very day after the fleet weighed anchor a storm beat upon the ships +with such violence that they were eventually forced to return to +whatsoever harbour each could make. Many came very near to sinking, so +high was the wind, so strong the waves, and there were sailors who died +of exhaustion on their return to shore. The damage done to the heavy +ships was very great, and time was necessary to refit them for the sea; +the delay involved the necessity of revictualling the ships. On the 26th +of July Ralegh reported from Plymouth, "Wee only attend the winde, +having repayred as much as we can our bruses. Butt we shall not bee in +any great corage for winter weather and longe nights, in thes ships." + +The weather was unpropitious on their second venture, though they were +obliged to wait until the second week in August. Ralegh's squadron was +separated from the fleet, and was forced by the wind into the Bay of +Biscay, out of which he found the greatest difficulty in making his way. +Later in the voyage Sydney's flyboat foundered; but he and all his +soldiers were rescued. "I have notwithstanding," writes Ralegh, +"followed my Lord's order to cum to the Ilands, and I am now this 8 of +September, in sight of Tercera, having chosen rather to perishe than to +relinquishe the enterprize; and, the Lord douth know, in a torne shipp. +Butt her Majestye shall find that I valew not my life; although I hope +that her Majestye would not that I perishe in vayne. I hope after too +dayes to fynde my Lorde Generall and the fleet with whom, I thinke, all +the rest of her Majesties shipps ar, butt the _Mathew_ with poore Georg +Carew. It is a carfull and perelus tyme of the yeare for thes wayghty +shipps. The Lorde of Heaven send us all well to returne, and send us the +good hope to do her Majestie acceptable service; to performe which wee +have already suffered miche. For my particular, I have never dared to +rest since my wreacks, and God doth judge that I never for thes 10 dayes +came so mich as in to bedd or cabbin." + +Ralegh's squadron did not join the fleet until Essex had been ten days +at Flores. Then it was determined to make a joint attack upon Fayal, as +they had heard that it was unlikely the Spanish ships from the Indies +would sail at all that year, and if they did sail, that they would avoid +Flores. Essex sailed first for Fayal, because Ralegh's squadron was +obliged to delay for repairs and revictualling. But Ralegh's squadron +arrived first at Fayal, and, having waited three days for Essex, Ralegh +at length, on the fourth day, attacked and captured Fayal by himself. He +writes in the "History of the World:" "There were indeede some which +were in that voyage who advised me not to undertake it: and I harkened +unto them, somewhat longer than was requisite, especially whilest they +desired me to reserve the title of such an exploit (though it were not +great) for a greater person. But when they began to tell me of +difficulty: I gave them to understand, the same which I now maintaine, +that it was more difficult to defend a coast then to invade it. The +truth is, that I could have landed my men with more ease than I did; yea +without finding any resistance if I would have rowed to another place, +yea even there where I landed if I would have taken more company to +helpe me. But, without fearing any imputation of rashnesse, I may say +that I had more regard of reputation in that businesse, than of safetie. +For I thought it to belong unto the honour of our Prince and Nation, +that a few Ilanders should not thinke any advantage great enough, +against a fleet set forth by Q. Elizabeth: and further I was unwilling +that some Low Countrie Captaines and others, not of mine own squadron, +whose assistance I had refused, should please themselves with a sweet +conceit ... that for want of their helpe I was driven to turne taile." + +The passage is one of interest, larger than the mere description of an +engagement. It shows Ralegh's immense and correct confidence in his +judgment; and how his outlook always embraced much more than the actual +event in hand, though its outline was never blurred for that reason. The +theory he pronounced on the deck of his ship, and proved next day in the +engagement, he reiterates in his History in one of the most notable of +his digressions, that an island's only safe defence is her fleet. He +ends his remarks with the very typical sentence, "I hope that this +question shall never come to triall; his Majesties many moveable Forts +will forbid the experience. And thoughe the Englishe will no lesse +disdaine, than any Nation under heaven can doe, to be beaten upon their +owne ground or elsewhere by a forraigne enemy; yet to entertaine those +that shall assaile us with their own beefe in their bellies, and before +they eate of oure Kentish capons, I take it to be the wisest way. To doe +whiche, his Majesty, after God, will imploy his good ships on the Sea +and not trust to any intrenchment upon the shore." + +But to the actual action. The men who foretold trouble from the greater +man spoke as truly as Ralegh proved his courage and foresight in the +event. The fort on the shore was quickly taken; but behind rose a high +hill, topped by another strong fort, and the men at the sight wavered to +withdraw. None were willing to reconnoitre. Ralegh was furious, and +swore that he would do scout's work himself. Sir Arthur Gorges and some +dozen personal followers would not suffer him to go alone. So they made +their way together up the hill under continual fire from the enemy. +Ralegh's clothes were torn by bullets. Gorges was shot in the leg. The +ascent impressed the enemy. When the final attack was made, the fort was +found to be deserted. + +When Essex arrived, Ralegh was master of the island. Ralegh's enemies (a +great man seldom lacks such enemies) had long been trying to enflame the +antagonism between him and Essex, and now they insisted to Essex that +Ralegh's success was flat disobedience, and warranted a heavy penalty. A +court martial should be called, and should punish him with death. So +when Ralegh visited the Earl's vessel to give an official account of the +victory, he was surprised to meet with angry looks and the charge of a +breach of the orders. But he convinced Essex that he was within his +rights. "None should land any of the troops without the General's +presence or his order," said Essex. "There is an Article," replied +Ralegh, "that no captain of any ship or company, if he be severed from +the fleet shall land anywhere without directions from the General or +some principal commander upon pain of death. But I take upon myself to +be a principal commander under your Lordship, and therefore not subject +to that Article." And he proceeded to explain how the delay of Essex +made him think that he was adventuring upon some other enterprise, and +how his own company began to murmur and hint at fear. Essex was not +easily convinced. Weakness dreads to be slighted, where strength relies +upon its own authority. Monson observes in his narrative of the Island +Voyage, "The act was urged with that vehemency by those that hated Sir +Walter that if my Lord, who by nature was timorous and flexible had not +feared how it would be taken in England, I think Sir Walter had smarted +for it." + +The incident illustrates Ralegh's address, a quality which was essential +at that time for any success in life; that was the time when man dealt +immediately with man. The mind must always be alive and on the alert. +Here was Ralegh, coming to report a successful and daring exploit, +suddenly obliged to defend himself against a trumped-up charge. If he +failed to take in the whole situation in a moment, and to stand his own +ground, death would result from the failure. Nor could he simply rely +upon justice; he must know the man with whom he was dealing, and the men +who were poisoning the General's mind. Ralegh's self-control is as +amazing as his address. He had need of both. + +The General was an arrogant, spoiled youth, angry at the knowledge that +his subordinate was a better man, angry at his renewed success. A rash +word on Ralegh's part would have been his last. And Ralegh had much +cause to hate the young man. They were rivals for the love of a +magnificent woman whom they served; their rivalry would accentuate the +elder man's dislike of the younger's youth. But there is a dignity about +Ralegh's conduct and defence which shows no cringing before the reigning +favourite, but a superiority to all pettiness, a kind of freedom from +what may quickly become the fetters of personality. + +Such was Ralegh's last great enterprise against Spanish power. Hereafter +the policy of England was to undergo a change, and in the new scheme of +things a man like Ralegh could find no place. He was too great to be +used by a small mind; pettiness is always full of fear and distrust and +envy of powers which are not within its little scope of understanding. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE UNDERMINING + + Robert Cecil in power--Downfall of Essex--Ralegh's opinion of + Essex--Governor of Jersey--Peril imminent. + + +With the fall of Fayal the naval war with Spain came to an end, for +Philip II. died in the early autumn of the following year, 1598, which +was the year of the great Lord Treasurer Burghley's death. His son, Sir +Robert Cecil, became the chief man in England. + +Time and experience did not soften the arrogance of Essex. On his return +he set himself more than ever to the task of becoming supreme in the +kingdom. Always there has been a certain rivalry between the statesman +who manages affairs at home, and the successful soldier. Each is +inclined to underrate the value of the other's service. Essex naturally +thought the highest place in the government should be occupied by a +dashing soldier like himself. He had whatever prestige popularity gives, +and he had influence with the Queen, but not so much as he thought. +Robert Cecil knew his man, and quietly determined his downfall. Through +his mediation Lord Howard of Effingham was raised to the earldom of +Nottingham, which, combined with his position of Lord High Admiral, gave +him precedence of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. This Essex, in his +arrogance, could not tolerate. He absented himself from Court, and all +Howard's efforts to pacify his anger were futile. But the Queen began +to weary at his absence. She asked Ralegh to try and make Howard waive +his right of precedence, but this Howard refused to do. Accordingly, +again at Ralegh's suggestion, who valued the Queen's happiness more +highly than his personal likes and dislikes, Essex was created Earl +Marshal of England, and Howard retired in his turn from Court. + +On the return of Essex, Cecil began to play a game at which he was an +adept. He wanted Essex to feel that his importance was properly +recognized without admitting him into any State matters. So he arranged +long conferences with Essex, and with Ralegh, about projects which he +never had the least intention of bringing to any issue; and these +conferences about nothing were carefully attended by all the pomp of +formality. Essex would thereby be flattered, would grow in pride to his +own undoing, and would be likely to reveal the trend of his own scheme. +Essex, in spite of his almost childish arrogance, was a man to be +reckoned with. He had many friends of importance, the most distinguished +of whom was Francis Bacon. By means of his own spies he kept in touch +with foreign affairs that he might criticize the Queen's advisers; he +became friendly with King James of Scotland; he could rely on the help +of every one who was disappointed of office or reward by Burghley or his +son. + +But he was no match for the astute Sir Robert Cecil. And the very year +of Burghley's death, at one of the heated Council meetings, Essex had +weakened by his uncontrolled conduct his influence with the Queen. The +Queen had interfered on Burghley's behalf against Essex; and Essex in a +rage "turned his back on the Queen with a gesture of contempt, muttering +an unpardonable insult," as Mr. Sidney Lee has it. + +He was not a safe person to leave idle. The office of Lord Deputy of +Ireland was vacant; it was offered him, and after some dissent on his +part was accepted. His ruin was now imminent. He felt his power grow +less; and on Ralegh in particular he looked with hatred as upon the +chief cause of his downfall. And small wonder if Ralegh hated the man +who had offered gross insult to the old Queen in public. "Why do I talk +of victory or success?" writes Essex from Ireland to the Queen. "Is it +not known that from England I receive nothing but discomforts and soul's +wounds.... Is it not lamented both there and here that a Cobham and +Ralegh ... should have such credit and favour with your Majesty...." But +without Ralegh, who, as his subordinate, had won him fame at Cadiz and +at Fayal, and warded off disaster, the enterprise of Essex in Ireland +was a failure. He wasted time and money, and achieved nothing. Then +Essex resolved upon an impetuous step characteristic of him. He +determined to return home, and to drive away by force the men who were +keeping him from his proper place of supremacy; he even enlisted the +support of James of Scotland, who was favourable to his scheme, but +temporized, saying that he would send messengers to the Queen to beg her +to restore Essex to her favour. What Essex needed for his mad project, +however, was an army, not messages. Essex returned from Ireland, but +Cecil was perfectly ready for him, and the people of London did not rise +at his protest against the Queen's ministers; they gaped and wondered, +as they would gape and wonder at a madman. Essex was arrested, was +impeached for high treason, and beheaded. + +The impetuousness of Essex approached very near to madness, and a +dangerous form of madness. If any one has ever deserved death for +treason, Essex deserved it. Ralegh wrote his opinion quite frankly to +Sir Robert about him. The letter has raised much feeling against Ralegh. +But he had good reason to know the peril a nature like that of Essex +could bring to a nation or to anything with which he was connected, and +he was perfectly just and honest in the opinion he gave that Essex's +wings should be clipped. The letter runs as follows:-- + + + "SIR, + + "I am not wize enough to geve yow advise; but if you take it + for a good councell to relent towards this tirant, yow will + repent it when it shalbe too late. His mallice is fixt, and + will not evaporate by any your mild courses. For he will + ascribe the alteration to her Majesties pusillanimitye and not + to your good nature; knowing that yow worke but uppon her humor + and not out of any love towards hyme. The less yow make hyme, + the less he shalbe able to harme yow and your's. And if her + Majesties favor faile hyme, hee will agayne decline to a common + parson. For after-revenges, feare them not; for your own father + that was estemed to be the contriver of Norfolk's ruin, yet his + son followeth your father's son and loveth him. Humours of men + succeed not; butt grow by occasions and accidents of tyme and + poure.... I could name you a thowsand of thos; and therefore + after fears are but profesies--or rather conjectures--from + causes remote. Looke to the present, and yow do wisely. His + sonne shalbe the youngest Earle of Ingland butt on, and, if his + father be now keipt down Will Cecill shalbe abell to keip as + many men att his heeles as hee, and more too. Hee may also + mache in a better howse then his; and so that feare is not + worth the fearinge. Butt if the father continew, he wilbe able + to break the branches and pull up the tree; root and all. Lose + not your advantage; if you do, I rede your destiney. + + "Let the Q. hold Bothwell while she hath hyme. Hee will ever be + the canker of her estate and sauftye. Princes are lost by + securetye; and preserved by prevention. I have seen the last of + her good dayes, and all ours, after his libertye." + +It is strange and it is memorable how the sentiment of the last sentence +but one, "Princes are lost by securetye," ran through the minds of men +at this time: again and again it occurs. The witches in Macbeth chant-- + + "Security + Is mortals' chiefest enemy." + +Spenser writes-- + + "Little wist he his fatall future woe + But was secure: the liker he to fall." + +It is more than the turn of phrase (though great expressions were common +enough then--as for example, "millions of mischief" which Ralegh uses in +a letter and which arrests you in Julius Caesar-- + + "Men that smile have in their hearts I fear + Millions of mischiefs.") + +It is the trend of thought. It illustrates a feature of Elizabethan life +that was common to every rank, but most common in the highest. Men were +tremendously vital, but life was not valued for its own sake: life was +not looked upon as sacred; rather life was regarded as a possession to +hold which it was worth while fighting to the death. + +During the rebellion--the word can hardly be applied to such a +ridiculous outburst--Ralegh sent for Sir Ferdinando Gorges at Durham +House. He wanted to warn Gorges, who had served under him, that his +arrest had been ordered. Gorges feared treachery, that their +conversation might be overheard or that he might be suddenly seized, and +consulting Essex, with whom he was staying, at length decided to meet +Ralegh in the one safe place--namely, on the river. They rowed out into +mid-stream, met, and conferred. In mid-stream their words were safe; +their bodies were not. Sir Christopher Blount, who was a partisan of +Essex, heard of the prospective meeting, and urged Gorges to kill Ralegh +and thus to rid the Earl of his chief enemy at a blow. Gorges was a man +of honour and refused. But Blount was strongly in favour of Ralegh's +death. As Ralegh was pulled to the place of conference, Blount fired +with a musket at him four times. Essex, Gorges, Blount, and other brave +men were beheaded, and Ralegh, as Captain of the Guard, was present at +their executions. On the scaffold Blount asked, "Is Sir Walter Ralegh +here?" Ralegh came forward. "Sir Walter Ralegh," said Blount, "I thank +God that you are present. I had an infinite desire to speak with you, to +ask your forgiveness ere I died. Both for the wrong done you and for my +particular ill-intent towards you, I beseech you forgive me." + +"I most willingly," Ralegh replied, "and I beseech God to forgive you, +and to give you His divine comfort." He turned to those standing round: +"I protest before God that whatever Sir Christopher Blount meant towards +me, I, for my part, never bore him any ill-intent." + +After the death of Essex, the boy who had recklessly thrown himself +against the astute Cecil to gain political power, men watched the +demeanour of Ralegh closely; he too was the favourite of his Queen; they +watched him and saw that sadness brooded on his face. There were many +things to create sadness. + +The great Queen was growing old, and in her age had been forced to sign +the death-warrant of the young man who was dear to her and who had +presumed on her affection. The old Lord Treasurer was dead; Burghley, +whom the Queen tended with her own hand in his last illness, knowing the +worth of the man who had served his country well for forty years; his +son, the astute Cecil, had taken his place; but Robert Cecil played his +own game: he was too astute. He desired advantage for his country, but +that advantage must come through himself. + +The great days were passing. Ralegh had seen the Queen ruling the nation +as only a woman and a woman of genius and of beauty could rule it; he +saw her when the power of her womanhood was declining and its weakness +was in evidence. Who could take her place? What man or what woman? And +must not the place itself be changed and its absolute authority be +modified? Time was converting the Queen into her country's encumbrance. +And who would succeed his Queen Elizabeth? Where were the men to carry +on the great traditions of Elizabeth? Robert Cecil was too astute.... + + * * * * * + +Meanwhile Ralegh continued the duties of his own life, at Sherborne and +at Durham House. Lord Cobham's name is often found at this time in +association with Ralegh. Cobham was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and +often on his way to the coast he managed to make a short visit to the +Raleghs at Sherborne. He was a weak man, as the event proved. And Ralegh +liked him; a strong man is often led into liking a weak man, whom he is +able to render pliant to his will. + +About this time, too, Ralegh was made Governor of Jersey, and +immediately he set about his new duties, which were many and various, +with his own energy. There is an interesting letter from Lady Ralegh to +Cecil; it tells not only of her husband's first journey to Jersey but +also of a fire at Durham House, and in the telling shows something of +Lady Ralegh's character. + + + "SUR, + + "Hit tis trew that your packet brought me the newes of the + mischans of feeiar at Durram Houes, wher, I thanke God hit went + noo fardar. Other wies, hit had rid ous of all our poour + substans of plat and other thinges. Unly now the loos is of + your cumpani and my Lord Cobham's wich I thinke by this menes + wee cannot injoy this winter.... + + "I ded heer from Sur Walter within too dayes after he landed at + Jarsi: wher he was safly landed and rioly intertained with + joye. But he was too dayes and too nites on the sea, with + contrari windes, not withstanding hee went from Wamouthe in so + fayer a wind and weether, as littell Wat and myselfe brought + him abord the shipt. Hee writeth to me hee never saw a + plesanttar iland; but protesteth unfannedly hit tis not, in + valew, the veri third part that was reported, or inded hee + beliffed. My cossin Will is heer, very will and louketh will + and fat with his batheinge. This, wishing you all honnar and + the full contentements of your hart, I ever rest + + "Your asured poour frind + "E. RALEGH + + "I am glad this mischans of feeiar cam not by ani neckelegans + of ani sarvant of mine, but by me cossin Darci's sarvant,--a + woman that delleth just under our logging, and anoyeth ous + infenitly. I hope hee will now remoueve heer. I humbelly besuch + you let this lettar heer inclosed be sent." + +The little Will Cecil, who was well, and looked well and fat from his +bathing, grew up into the second Earl of Salisbury. We can only hope +that Darcy's servant, who was evidently a constant thorn in the flesh of +the orderly Lady Ralegh, was removed; no positive facts are known. + +The letter discovers a side of Ralegh's life about which little has been +written, but which is none the less interesting and valuable. Little Wat +and little Will were bathing and getting fat by the sea-side, while +Essex was under sentence of death, while the great Queen was growing +old, and while huge disorders were pending in the kingdom on the event +of the Queen's death. Little things and big are jostled strangely +together in the course of a man's life. + +Meanwhile Ralegh's new duties as Governor of Jersey were occupying his +attention. Always he entered a position untrammelled by what had been +done there before his coming, and determined to do the best possible. It +was so in his Governorship of Jersey. His changes were entirely for the +good. He found a compulsory system of defence which pressed heavily on +the inhabitants in what was called the Corps-de-Garde. He did away with +the Corps-de-Garde. While he pondered on the great issues which were +pending in England, he settled the small disputes of the islanders under +his rule; for he was supreme judge in civil and Crown causes. He was at +the pains to see to the proper fortification of the island, and to all +the many businesses that his office entailed. + +During these years he travelled often backwards and forwards between +Durham House and Sherborne and the island of Jersey. He found on one +occasion that by some curious oversight the Duc de Biron, who had come +on an embassy from Henry of France, was at Crosby Hall, with not one +nobleman or gentleman to accompany or guide him. "I never saw so great +a person neglected," he writes to Sir Robert Cecil. "Wee have caried +them to Westminster to see the monuments; and this Monnday we +entertayned them at the Bear Garden, which they had great pleasure to +see.... I sent to and fro and have labored like a moyle to fashion +things so as on Wensday night they wilbe att Bagshoot and Thursday at +the Vine." The Queen was at this time staying with the Marquis of +Winchester at Basing, and to her the Duc de Biron rode, escorted by +Ralegh. From Basing Ralegh wrote to Lord Cobham telling him of the +Queen's wish for his attendance. He says that the French were only +stopping three days, and were all wearing black. "So as I have only made +mee a black taffeta sute to be in; and leave all my other sutes:" and he +adds to the letter a postscript, which shows how punctilious he was in +matters of dress: "I am yeven now going att night to London to provide +me a playne taffeta sute and a playne black saddell, and wil be here +agayne by Twesday night." He wrote late on Saturday night. + +Little resulted from the Due de Biron's embassy. But he had the audacity +to question Elizabeth about the fate of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, +and to express sympathy for him. Sully, the famous memoirist, reports +their conversation, and points out the singular resemblance between the +characters of Essex and of the Duc de Biron, and between the end each +met. The Duc de Biron was beheaded ten months later for treason. This is +the irony of things. Sully credits Elizabeth with the insight of knowing +how like Biron was to Robert Devereux, that she almost augured his +downfall, and warned him against his rash courses. The parallel between +the two men is remarkable. + +So Ralegh went about his various business as Governor of Jersey, as +Captain of the Guard, transacted, too, the affairs of his own estates in +Munster, Sherborne, and Durham House, while he and every man of +influence in England kept pondering on the great question, vital to the +welfare of the country, vital to the welfare of each man, who should +succeed to the Queen Elizabeth? And Elizabeth was growing old. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +SUCCESSION PLOTS + + Possible successors to Elizabeth--Lord Henry Howard--Spies-- + Ralegh's position--The net is drawn round him--Letter of + Cecil--Last illness and death of Elizabeth--Carey's ride to + the North. + + +The position was one of acute interest. For Elizabeth had maintained her +father's tradition that the sovereign reigned by divine right, and by +her genius made the tradition credible. The responsibility of vesting +any man or any woman with such power was immense. The choice might bring +disaster to the nation, and it might bring disaster upon the men who +opposed the final choice, even upon the men who supported it. And +Elizabeth would not tolerate a mention even of her death, still less +would she help to appoint a successor. Peter Wentworth had proposed to +the House of Lords that a joint petition should be addressed to her, +requesting her humbly to consider the question. Peter Wentworth was +forthwith sent to the Tower, where he died after three years' +imprisonment. All the hints of her higher ministers she treated with +disdain. That she, Elizabeth, must die, it was impossible! But death was +slowly approaching. + +Sir Robert Cecil watched the approach of death, and made his secret +preparations; for the greatest disaster of all would be that death +should find the country unprepared. Mystery, carefully planned against +the unravelling of chance or surprise, shrouds all the correspondence +of the time. No one can properly tell what letters are authentic, what +are written purposely to be discovered and to deceive. It was dangerous +for any man to trust any man with his solution to the great problem. But +Cecil was the political leader; in the Council he was informed of the +undercurrents of opinion at home and abroad. He kept his hold upon that +most important item--news, so difficult to acquire, so hard to test, +that that alone made his position strong; and he determined that King +James VI. of Scotland must succeed to the Crown. The accession of James +would ensure his own prosperity, and James, being manageable, would +ensure the prosperity of the country, for Cecil himself would continue +to govern. He secretly corresponded with James; he explained his +authority, and asserted his zeal on James's behalf. + +Arabella Stuart and William Seymour, both of royal blood, were married +in 1603, and their claim to the throne was strong and supported by those +who desired the reintroduction of the Catholic religion. At one time +Philip of Spain was anxious that the Infanta should become Queen of +England. He thought that the Catholic party in England would welcome +her. But he had neither the money nor the power to enforce such a claim, +and the project was abandoned in favour of Arabella Stuart and William +Seymour, as James VI. of Scotland, though his mother was a Catholic and +he kept hinting that he was himself open to conversion, could not be +trusted. Cecil, however, succeeded in proving to James that only through +his own agency could he hope to wear the crown of England. Cecil's chief +helper in this was Lord Henry Howard. They corresponded at length with +James. Lord Henry Howard was an absolutely unscrupulous man, and he +hated Ralegh. Whether or not he influenced Cecil against Ralegh is not +known. Probably Cecil did not need much influence to see that Ralegh was +too powerful a man to be kept in a properly subordinate place, and to +work his undoing. + +Lord Henry Howard stopped at nothing to poison James's mind against +Ralegh. He always referred to him as the arch-enemy, the most dangerous +man in England. James was ready to believe all that he was told. The +Earl of Essex he had at one time regarded as his chief supporter in +England; after his death James used to refer to him as "my martyr." +Therefore the rival of Essex, whom many men said had brought Essex to +the scaffold, was not one likely to be looked upon with favour by James. + +Cecil saw that Essex and Ralegh were the only men considerable enough to +thwart his own project of supremacy. He had disposed of Essex; he had +urged him on to his ruin by appearing to favour his ambitions. Ralegh +remained. And Ralegh's overthrow was deliberately schemed, and quietly +carried into execution. + +In Cecil's scheme the most unpleasant aspect of the time is apparent. +The acquisition of home and foreign knowledge was necessarily +accompanied by an intricate system of espionage. It was incumbent upon a +man in Cecil's position to use spies and agents at home and abroad, to +check and recheck all information that came to him. He must keep himself +in touch with the under-current of feeling, in order that he might be +prepared for emergency; and to a large extent upon this knowledge, which +he was bound to acquire, was based his own power, and on his power he +was perfectly justified in thinking that the safety of the country +rested. It is for the moralist to decide between what is under-hand and +what is politic. It would seem that the two were inextricably mingled, +not because of the depravity of the men living at that time, but simply +because of the extreme difficulty of acquiring exact information. +Morality has perhaps changed less than appears on the surface. Morality, +however, has been modified by the application of the powers of steam and +of electricity more perceptibly than by the spread of religion. The +character of life has changed rather than the character of men. Deceit +is a confession of weakness, either in the deceiver or in the deceived; +and the range of man's power was then limited by barriers which no +longer exist. + +There was a demand for spies, and therefore, according to an unwritten +law, there was an ample supply. An undesirable class of man was +developed because the weakness of man in grappling with the problems of +time and space made that class a necessity. Continual contact with such +men infected the character of Cecil, as it influenced in a less degree +the character of all the greatest men of the time. Lord Henry Howard, +Cecil's right hand in his secret dealings with James, was the most +complete example of the species. Lord Henry Howard is the type of man on +whom it is pleasant to heap abuse. Abuse is a luxury. It relieves the +feelings. There is no term of abuse which is not applicable to him and +to his methods. But it is well to remember that, without Cecil, this +tool (however sharp) would have been powerless to do mischief. +Mischief--was what these two men accomplished mischievous to the +country? They were scheming primarily to bring in James VI. of Scotland +to the throne of England, and to do so without involving the country in +civil war. And they succeeded. James came to the throne, and civil war +did not break out until some years after their death. It is interesting +to know that the men who, as some think, freed England from tyranny were +deeply influenced by Ralegh's writings, and it is almost certain that +Ralegh was so far ahead of the thought of the time that he foresaw the +disaster that must come to the country if it were hampered by a +sovereign possessed with the prestige of divine right. His idea of +government was far more modern in conception. Rumour, which is apt to be +an exaggeration of the truth, relates that he was in favour of a +republic. Probably he wanted a form of government far nearer to that +which exists at the present day. He wanted a sovereign who was legally +bound to be guided by his Council of State and by the wishes of the +people. The days of Elizabeth's greatness showed the best features of +tyranny, the days of her decline its worst features. And the worst +feature is that undue power was placed in the hands of incompetent +favourites. + +After Elizabeth's death would have been the time to work the change +without bloodshed. But that would have meant for Cecil that he must have +shared his power with others. That was sufficient for Cecil. Always with +Cecil his own prestige came first and blinded him to the ultimate +benefit, which he sincerely wished might come to his country as it came +to him. + +But the warnings of Elizabeth's decline were not taken, and the prestige +of her greatness was sufficient to carry on its tide the weight of her +declining years and the reigns of two incompetent kings. Then matters +came to such a point that only a bloody war could set them right, and +the Puritan element, grown strong by abuses, triumphed, and its triumph +swept away much that was valuable, and much that could ill be spared. + +Sir Robert Cecil, however, and his tool, the Lord Henry Howard, +determined to carry on the old tradition, and to make James VI. of +Scotland King of England; and their scheme, as has been said, entailed +the overthrow of Ralegh. They considered his overthrow necessary to the +safety of their own position, and the safety of their own position was +necessary to the welfare of the country. As a man who sees a little +farther than the majority in matters of religion is apt to be called an +atheist--Ralegh was called an atheist--so a man who sees a little +farther in politics than the majority is apt to be called a +traitor--Ralegh was called a traitor. + +In November, 1601, the Duke of Lennox came into contact with Ralegh and +Cobham. He had been sent by James to Henry IV. of France to win his +support for James's claim to the English throne. Howard was furious that +the Duke should be on terms of friendship with Ralegh; he wrote to the +Earl of Mar suspicions of the Duke's fidelity, and to James that Ralegh +and Cobham were his inveterate enemies. "Hell did never vomit up such a +couple." That was not all. Howard knew that Cobham was weak and +vacillating, he knew that many of Cobham's family were disposed to +favour the Catholic cause. It would be easy to magnify any move of +Cobham's in the Catholic direction into an absolute espousal of the +Catholic claim. And what would be more likely than that the weak Cobham +should be moved by the influence of his strong friend, Ralegh? In that +way Ralegh could easily be caught in the toils of a conspiracy. The +scheme was very subtle. To work its gradual fulfilment the Queen's mind +must be turned against them. So Howard wrote to Cecil: "Hir Majesty must +knowe the rage of their discontent for want of being called to that +height which they affect; and be made to taste the perill that grows out +of discontented minds.... So that roundly Hir Majestie must daily and by +divers meanes be let to know the world's apprehendinge hir deepe wisdome +in discerning the secret flawes of their affections. She must see some +advertisements from forrain parts of the grief which the Queene's +enemies doo take at their (_i.e._ Ralegh and Cobham) sittinge out, +hoping that their placinge in authority would so far alienate the +people's reverent affection as some mischief would succeed of it.... +Rawlie that in pride exceedeth all men alive finds no vent for paradoxis +out of a Council board ... and inspireth Cobham with his own passions. +His wife as furious as Proserpina with failing of that restitution at +Court which flatterie had moved her to expect." Cecil was instructed to +inform the Queen of these things "that she may be more apt to receive +impressions of more important reasons when time serves with +opportunity." And then the crucial point of the deep plot to entrap +Ralegh is clearly stated: "You must embark this gallant Cobham by your +witt and interest, in some course the Spanish way as either may reveale +his weaknesse or snare his ambition.... For my own part I account it +impossible for him to escape the snares which wit may sett and weaknesse +is apt to fall into."[C] + + [C] Major Martin Hume gives an account of the scheme itself + with admirable clearness; his quotations from the letters + of the period I use. + +It is evident that Ralegh had some suspicion of what was being wrought +against him; in sending a paper to the Queen against the proposals to +declare a successor--the paper has unfortunately been lost--he writes a +letter containing the following sentence: + +"Your Majestye may, perchance, speake herof to thos seeminge my great +frinds, but I finde poore effects of that or any other supposed ametye. +For, your Majesty havinge left mee I am left all alone in the worlde, +and am sorry that ever I was att all. What I have donn is oat of zeale +and love, and not by any incorngement: for I am only forgotten in all +rights and in all affaires; and myne enemis have their wills and desires +over mee. Ther ar many other things concerninge your Majesty's present +service, which, meethinks are not, as they ought, remembered, and the +tymes pass away, unmesured, of which more profitt might be taken." + +He may have known that Lord Henry Howard was mischievously inclined +towards him; Howard had always been his enemy. But it is unlikely that +he could have suspected Cecil, for Cecil was at the pains to show all +the appearance of friendship both to him and to Lady Ralegh. + +Yet Cecil was, from the beginning of his own correspondence, working +against his friend. "Your Majestie," he writes to King James, "will +fynde it, in your case that a choyce election of a feaw in the present +wilbe of more use than any general acclamation of many." And in his +third letter he praises Howard for his fidelity, and refers bitterly to +Ralegh. + +"I do profess in the presence of Hym that knoweth and searcheth all +men's harts, that if I dyd not sometyme cast a stone into the mouth of +these gaping crabbs (i.e. Ralegh and Cobham) when they are in their +prodigall humour of discourses, they wold not stick to confess dayly how +contrary it is to their nature to resolve to be under your soverainty; +though they confess--Ralegh especially--that (_rebus sic stantibus_) +naturall pollicy forceth them to keep on foot such a trade against the +great day of mart. In all which light and soddain humours of his, though +I do no way chock him, because he shall not think I reject his freedome +or his affection, but alwaies ... use contestation with him that I +neyther had nor ever wold _in individus_ contemplate future idea, nor +ever hoped for more than justice in time of change; yet under pretext of +extraordinary care of his well-doing, I have seemed to disswade him from +ingaging himself to farr, even for himself; much more therefore to +forbeare to assume for me or my present intentions. Let me, therefore, +presume thus farr upon your Majesties favour that whatsoever he (_i.e._ +Ralegh) shall take uppon him to say for me, uppon any new humor of +kyndnes,--wherof sometime he wilbe replete, uppon the recept of privat +benefite,--you will no more believe it, if it come in other shape, be it +never so much in my commendation--then that his own conscience thoght it +needfull for him to undertake to keep me from any humor of inanity; +when, I, thank God, my greatest adversaries and my owne sowle have ever +acquited me from that, of all other vices. Wold God I were as free from +ofense towards God in seeking for private affection to support a person +whom most religious men do hold _anathema_." + +This is probably one of the most crafty letters that even the astute +Cecil ever wrote. He wants James to think badly of Ralegh, and he has no +reason which he can urge for this. He is afraid that James may suspect +his motives. He is afraid that James may hear from others of the +friendship between him and Ralegh, that Ralegh may speak well of him. So +he warns James against this: he hints that Ralegh will speak well of him +only to gain some private benefit, fearing Cecil's inanity or animosity. +Then, lest James should suspect him of such a defect, he hastens to +explain that animosity is quite foreign to his nature. Only men like +Ralegh would suspect him of it. Indeed, his heart is so kind that he +must needs have affection for Ralegh in spite of all, in spite even (and +this is a touch which would go far with the religious James) of the fact +that many godly men consider Ralegh anathema, indeed, little better than +an atheist. + +On the surface nothing was changed. Ralegh continued to make efforts to +rouse fresh interest in his colonization schemes, both in Virginia and +in Guiana, but without success. He joined with Cecil in organizing +privateering enterprises. He wrote to Cecil about the threatened +invasion of Ireland by Spain, and warned him on no account to put trust +in the friendly protestations of Florence McCarthy, whom he well knew to +be a rebel. He continued to devote much energy to the duties which his +Governorship of Jersey entailed. And all the while Howard and Cecil were +watching him and planning his destruction. They were waiting for him to +fall into one of the snares which were set for him; it mattered not +whether the decoy was Arabella Stuart or the Infanta and her husband, +the Count Arembergh. Cobham about this time was in communication with +the Count, who was Archduke of the Netherlands, and who desired to make +a peace between England and Spain. James and Cecil too desired peace +with Spain, but did not wish it to come through any other channel but +their own. So they watched Cobham that they might surprise him in an +indiscretion, as they had watched him in his dealings with Arabella +Stuart. And once they held him they could easily lay hands on the friend +who had influenced the poor impressionable fellow to take a traitorous +step. It would be incredible to all that such a man as Cobham was known +to be could have taken such a step on his own initiative. + +Failure is the cause of many crimes. While a great financier is +successful, everything is forgotten in the rush to make his acquaintance +and to make money. No one is indiscreet enough to inquire into his +methods. If he should fail to be successful, it fares ill with him. The +rush to leave him is as swift as the previous rush to be near him. His +methods are exposed relentlessly, and men blush with shame to think that +such a scoundrel could have been in their midst. The blush is the token +of innocence (easily paid) to morality. That was recognized to be the +position in all the various projects about the Succession. Whoever +failed became a traitor. Exactly what Ralegh did or did not do, is not +known. It is enough that he eventually got into the power of Cecil. He +failed, that is to say, he was not sufficiently alert to suspect the +intrigues of his friends against him. + +The last years of the Queen's reign are as tragic as the last years of +the woman's life. The strength of the country was in a strange way bound +up with the strength of Elizabeth, and as her strength declined so did +the greatness of the country. Never has a woman used her power with such +magnificent results. England was the husband, for whom her life was +lived, and all the greatest men in England lived fiercely to win glory +and her smile of approval; and they strove the harder because within +them was the knowledge (such knowledge was an inspiration) that their +great Queen could also be a beautiful woman to the man who found favour +in her eyes. She lived greatly, and created almost an age of great men +with such puissance did she employ one side of a woman's creative power. +A child is not the only new life which a woman may produce, if she has +once outgrown the little limits of what is miscalled purity. Coarse, as +in many ways the Elizabethan age undoubtedly was, men did not fall into +the fantastic error of confusing celibacy with chastity. The body had +full scope, and in consequence the spirit throve untrammelled. + +But Elizabeth was growing old. To the end she kept her grip on life; but +effort was necessary. In that effort alone weakness became apparent. +Strength was used not to plunder life as she had plundered it hitherto, +but to withstand its encroachments. She would not yield. There is +something great and yet something infinitely pathetic, childish even, in +her indomitable will to resist the slow inevitable power of Time. + +At last illness, which she had always dreaded with superstitious horror, +and against which she had always defended herself with every charm which +superstition could devise, laid hold on her. + +Sir Robert Carey, who was Lord Warden of the Border, came to the Court, +which was then at Richmond, in March, 1603, to see his friends and to +renew his acquaintance. He found the Queen ill-disposed. "I found her in +one of her withdrawing rooms sitting low upon her cushions. She called +me to her. I kissed her hand, and told her, It was my chiefest happiness +to see her in safety and 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 discoursed 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 was grieved at the first to see her in this plight: for in all my +lifetime before, I never knew her fetch a sigh, but when the Queen of +Scots was beheaded.... I used the best words I could to persuade her +from this melancholy humour; but I found by her, it was too deep rooted +in her heart, and hardly to be removed. This was upon a Saturday night: +and she gave command that the Great Closet should be prepared for her to +go to Chapel the next morning." + +But they waited in vain for her coming, she was not well enough to +attend the service. From that day her body grew weaker and weaker. She +felt that death was approaching, and grimly she welcomed the approach of +death. With a kind of fierce disdain she refused all food, and she +refused to leave the chair in which she sat waiting. Night and day in +silence she sat staring in front of her, face to face with death. Music +was played to her in the hope that it might dispel the black gloom which +had settled upon her. She did not hear the music. She sat motionless in +her chair staring in front of her, greater than Cleopatra, but without +the solace of the asp's quick kiss. Her eyes had no expression in them +now. Her waiting-women were terrified. Cecil came to her and told her +"to content the people she _must_ go to bed." Then she spoke, saying +that "_must_ was not a word fit to be used to princes;" she dismissed +Cecil from her presence, and as he went away she spoke again. "Little +man, little man," she said, "if your father had lived ye durst not have +said so much, but ye know I must die, and that makes ye so +presumptuous." Lord Admiral Howard, Earl of Nottingham, remained with +her. At last she spoke to him. "My lord, I am tied with a chain of iron +about my neck." He bade her have courage, but she answered in a low +voice, "I am tied, I am tied, and the case is altered with me." + +Her waiting women were terrified. The powers of darkness seemed at play +in the Palace at Richmond. Lady Southwell affirms that the queen of +hearts was nailed under the Queen's chair, the nail through the +forehead; "they durst not pull it out remembering that the like thing +was used to the old Countess of Sussex and afterwards proved a +witchcraft for which certain persons were hanged as instruments of the +same." Lady Guildford left the Queen, as she thought, sleeping, but saw +her walking from one room to another; she hurried back, and there she +found the Queen still, as she thought, sleeping. Lady Guildford swore +that it must have been the Queen's ghost which she had seen, while the +Queen was yet living. + +At length, after this long vigil of four days and four nights staring in +the face of death, she was constrained to lie down in her bed. But the +tired old woman might not die in peace; while she breathed she was Queen +of England. + +"By signs she called for her Council: and by putting her hand to her +head," writes Sir Robert Carey, "when the King of Scots was named to +succeed her, they all knew he was the man she desired should reign after +her." It is easy to see how the astute Cecil would construe the dying +Queen's movements into the right meaning for his own schemes. There is +something fantastic in this solemn farce played round the great Queen's +death-bed, made more fantastic and more terrible by the fact that it +sprang from her own strange detestation of naming a successor. "Being +given over by all and at the last gasp keeping still her sense in +everything and giving apt answers, though she spake but seldom, having +then a sore throat, the council required admittance, and she wished to +wash her throat that she might answer freely to what they demanded which +was to know whom she would have for king. Her throat troubling her much +they desired her to hold up her finger when they named who she liked; +whereupon they named the King of France (this was to try her intellect), +she never stirred; the King of Scotland, she made no sign; then they +named Lord Beauchamp--this was the heir of Seymour ... and words came to +the dying lips, 'I will have--no rascal's son--in my seat--but +one--worthy--to be a king,'" The effort of speech convulsed her: she put +her hands to her head: her head was in pain: and Cecil pointed out how +evident it was that she meant, a crowned king should rule in her stead. +That is the irony of things: the State left: the Church entered. + +"About six at night she made signs for the Archbishop, and her Chaplains +to come to her, at which time I went in with them; and sat upon my knees +full of tears to see that heavy sight. + +"Her Majesty lay upon her back; with one hand in the bed, and the other +without. + +"The Archbishop 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 +beholders. + +"Then the good man told her plainly, What she was; and what she was 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 with her hand. + +"My sister Scroope, knowing her meaning, told the Bishop, the Queen +desired he would pray still. + +"He did so for a long half-hour after, and then thought to have left +her. The second time she made 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 with 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." + +That evening Queen Elizabeth died. + +Every precaution had been taken that the news of her death might not +precede the Council's power of action. Every gate was locked; every +approach was guarded. But Sir Robert Carey, the dead Queen's kinsman, +realized, like many another, that all his means of life were now at the +disposal of the new king, whoever he might be, and so he determined to +be the bearer of the tidings to James of Scotland. He had quietly made +his preparations for the emergency, and his sister, Philadelphia Lady +Scroope, had in her possession a ring which would prove to James that +the news of the Queen's death was authentic. It was necessary to take +every precaution against treachery in such a crisis. How far Cecil knew +of Carey's complicity with James is not certain. Probably James had kept +it secret: he was not apt to trust any man wholly. + +Carey found some difficulty in getting away, but he gave money to the +right men and succeeded. Lady Scroope had been unable to give him the +sapphire ring, "but waiting at the window till she saw him at the +outside of the gate she threw it out to him; and he well knew to what +purpose he received it." Efforts were made to detain him, but he managed +to evade them, and next night at ten o'clock he started his great ride +to the north, to bear the tidings to James at Edinburgh. That Thursday +night he rode to Doncaster, which is one hundred and sixty-two miles +from London. + +"The Friday night I came to my own house at Widdrington (298 miles), and +presently took order with my Deputies to see the Borders kept in quiet; +which they had much to do; and gave order, the next morning, the King of +Scotland should be proclaimed King of England and at Morpeth and at +Alnwick. Very early on Saturday I took horse for Edinburgh and came to +Norham (331 miles) about twelve at noon. So that I might well have been +with the King at supper time: but I got a great fall by the way, and my +horse, with one of his heels, gave me a great blow on the head that made +me shed much blood. It made me so weak, that I was forced to ride a soft +pace after: so that the King was newly gone to bed by the time I knocked +at the gate." + +The King received him immediately and at once asked him, on hearing of +the Queen's death, what message he brought from the Council. Sir Robert +Carey bore no message, but he gave the King the blue ring; and the King +said, "It is enough. I know by this that you are a true messenger." + +Every attention was paid to the messenger, worn out by his great ride +and his fall. In four days he recovered and he was sworn one of the +gentlemen of the bedchamber; "and presently I helped to take off his +clothes and stayed till he was in bed. + +"After this, there came, daily, Gentlemen and Noblemen from our Court; +and the King set down a fixed day for his departure towards London." + +The day fixed was April 5th, 1603. + +[Illustration: KING JAMES I.] + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE TRIAL + + Arrival of James VI. of Scotland--Ralegh in immediate + disfavour--Gondomar comments on James--Ralegh accused of + treason--Cobham and Brooke--Ralegh attempts suicide-- + Cobham's retractions--November 17--And the trial's infamy. + + +Slowly King James moved on his royal progress to London to the +acclamation of the people of all the towns through which he passed. "The +Council of State and the Nobility, no doubt assisted with the Spirit of +Truth, considering the infallible right of our Sovereign Lord, King +James, took such order that the news of the Queen's death should no +sooner be spread to deject the hearts of the people, but, at the +instant, they should be comforted with the Proclaiming of the King." The +people were intoxicated with the prospect of the new king coming +peaceably to reign over the kingdom, for the fear of a civil war had +been imminent and universal. The country burst into a salvo of welcome; +a new era of peace and prosperity was to be inaugurated. Scotland now +joined to England lessened the fear of invasion. "They now began duly to +think upon his unmatched virtues, which never the most malicious enemy +could impeach ... they now considered his affability mercy justice and +magnanimity." The hopes of every party ran high. The Catholics knew that +he was inclined towards friendliness; the Churchmen felt sure that they +who had been chief instigators in bringing him to the throne of +England, could rely upon his support. The Puritans had heard of his +godliness and his tolerance to their views. Each vied with the other in +sounding the praises of the new King. "But our King coming through the +North," writes Mr. Arthur Wilson, "(Banquetting and Feasting by the way) +the applause of the people in so obsequious and submissive a manner +(still admiring change) was checkt by an honest plain Scotsman ... with +a propheticall expression. _This people will spoil a gud King._ The King +as unused, so tired with multitudes, especially in his Huntinge (which +he did as he went) caused an inhibition to be published, to restrain his +people from hunting him. Happily being fearful of so great a concourse, +as this novelty produced, the old hatred betwixt the Borderers not yet +forgotten, might make him apprehend it to be of a greater extent: though +it was generally imputed to a desire of enjoying his recreations without +interruption." + +Few kings have received such a welcome; few kings have proved themselves +so unworthy as the event proved James. But the prestige of his welcome +and his rescue from the Gunpowder Plot hid his true character for many +years from the people under the obscuring cloud of sentiment. + + "Now expectation, tickling skittish spirits + Sets all to hazard." + +Every one connected with the Court and Court appointments hastened to +meet him and win his good will: and James was lavish in his treatment. +He created innumerable knights, and raised so many to the peerage that +"some unhappy fancy pasted up a Pasquil in Pauls, wherein he pretended +an art to help weak memories to a competent knowledge of the names of +the Nobility." Sir Robert Cecil was created Baron of Essingdon and soon +after Viscount Cranborn and Earl of Salisbury. Lord Henry Howard was +made Earl of Northampton. + +During the Queen's last illness Ralegh was in Devonshire. Directly he +heard of the news of her death he hastened with Sir Robert Cross to pay +his respects to the new sovereign. Cecil advised him to spare himself +the trouble; but he did not listen to Cecil's advice. He came to the +King at Burghley House, trusting in his power to impress himself +favourably upon the King. But James had been too carefully primed +against him. Old Aubrey's gossip bears the stamp of truth; it is so +characteristic of James, that he should have met the great Ralegh with a +pun upon his name--"I have heard but rawly of thee." Ralegh spoke with +James about business connected with the Duchy of Cornwall; he wanted a +royal letter authorizing the continuance of legal process, and a warrant +to stop "the waste of woods and parks" which he said was due to Lord +Treasurer Buckhurst's heedlessness. James listened, and gave +instructions to his secretary, Sir Thomas Lake, to write the necessary +letters as quickly as possible, that he might be rid of the man whom he +feared and disliked. "Let them be delivered speedily that Ralegh may be +gone again." + +James was not slow in compassing Ralegh's downfall. Two weeks passed by +and Ralegh was summoned to the Council Chamber, where the Lord President +informed him that James no longer desired his services as Captain of the +Guard; that the honour had been conferred upon the King's countryman, +Sir Thomas Erskine, to whom Ralegh was bidden to hand all appurtenances +of the office. + +Ralegh had increased James's dislike of him by suggesting that articles +should be framed which should prevent the King's countrymen from +devouring the kingdom like locusts. The advisability of such a measure +became manifest to all later, when it was too late. Naturally the first +man to suffer was Ralegh himself. But the indignity was glossed +over--not for Ralegh's sake so much as to hinder unpleasant gossip about +the new appointment--by increasing Ralegh's salary as Governor of Jersey +by three hundred pounds per annum. Ralegh's loss was directly due to +Cecil, to whom James had given the disposal of the office, and who +gained new favour with James by electing a Scotchman. For seven weeks +Ralegh enjoyed the added emolument. + +His last interview with James took place at Beddington Park, in Surrey, +which was the seat of his uncle, Sir Nicolas Carew. There Ralegh, +anxious to prove his loyalty to the King, gave him his "Discourse +touching a War with Spain, and of the protecting of the Netherlands," +and offered to carry on his enterprises against Spain (he always had his +great Guiana scheme in the front of his mind) by offering "to carry two +thousand men to invade him without the King's charge." He could not have +made a more inauspicious suggestion to the timorous James; but Ralegh +did not realize how the King was influenced against him to such an +extent that he would be quick to think that the man who could raise so +many men to fight the Spaniard, could at less expense raise them to +fight his own Majesty. Moreover, James, from no high motives, but merely +from terror at the sight even of a drawn sword, hated war and fighting +of any kind, and distrusted, as is shown by his choice of favourites, +the quality of bravery in others. All Ralegh's grip of a situation, his +clearness of exposition, his courage would be against him in a +conference with James. The standard by which a man was judged had +changed, now that the great Queen was in her grave. The clever Gondomar +summed James up to a nicety when he wrote, without any need (for once) +of diplomacy, "James has a vanity so enormous that, in order to make him +play his adversary's game, you have simply to let James believe that it +is from himself that the adversary has learnt to know how to play." His +favourites were men who were more adroit in the use of poison than in +the use of the sword. It is easy to imagine what were the feelings of +James as Ralegh propounded his masterly exposition of the Spanish +situation, and offered his own services. There would be something +burlesque in this interview between the brave man and the coward, if +absolute power of life and death were not in the hands of the coward, +and if the coward had not already determined to use his power to the +detriment of the brave man. + +The carefully planned toils were closing round Ralegh. Copley was +arrested in Sussex, and in consequence of his first examination, which +was dated July 12, George Brooke was arrested two days afterwards, and +orders were given for the arrest of Lord Grey and Sir Griffin Markham. +On the 14th or 15th, Cobham, George Brooke's brother, was examined by +the Council. They were accused of complicity with the "Treason of the +Priests." Now, treason at that time was formidable, and it was necessary +to treat it in a summary fashion. In every nation there must be a large +number of discontented people who would combine if there was a man of +sufficient influence to lead them in any way; very little was known in +spite of spies; man dealt with man; there was no proper way of gauging +public opinion; a spark might set all the disaffected into a dangerous +fire. Now discontent is aired in the newspapers; every one can read +what happens in Parliament. Treason is no longer a thing to dread. But +then it was a constant danger, and the least suspicion of treasonable +practices was sufficient to condemn a man to a death of horrible +ignominy. Justice was swift but not unerring. A man had not only to keep +clear of treason, but must have the wit to avoid even the suspicion. It +is easy to see how the power thus put into the hands of the Government, +though such power was essential to its safety and the welfare of the +citizens, could be abused. And there is probably no instance in history +where its abuse is more conspicuous than in the treatment of Ralegh. +Cecil feared Ralegh; James feared Ralegh. There is nothing so +unscrupulous, nothing so dangerous and so cruel as fear. The world lay +obscured by the dark cloud of Time and of Space; and terrible scope was +given to fear by the insuperable darkness. + +The suspected man was shut up alone, and a Bishop or a Judge or a +Councillor was told off to examine him; and the man knew quite well that +his answers might be made more satisfactory by the help of the rack, and +that his examiner would earn reward and distinction by discovering +treason and his associates in treason. The promise, too, of a pardon was +often dangled before his eyes to loosen his tongue. Such promises were +not often kept. Brooke implicated Cobham, and Cobham implicated Ralegh. + +George Brooke, Cobham's brother, was a light-hearted fellow, who was +drawn into listening to the priest's conspiracy, because he had been +disappointed of some small office upon which he had set his heart. To +Bishop Bancroft was assigned the task of examining him. Large rewards +were offered the Bishop if he were successful in finding out the +details of the conspiracy. "The only way to procure favour is to open +all that possibly you can" were the words with which the good Bishop +began his inquiry. And gradually he played upon the fears and hopes of +the prisoner to such an extent that the wretched man burst into a kind +of rapture of confession, stating all he knew and all he imagined to be +fact, about the treason against King James. Day after day the +examination was continued relentlessly; statements made by other +prisoners, or said to have been made, were told him; lists of written +questions were given him. It would have taken a man of extraordinary +strength and control to have kept his balance under such circumstances. +George Brooke was a very ordinary man. On July 17 he said: "The +conspirators among themselves thought Sir Walter Ralegh a fit man to be +of the action." The good Bishop did not leave such an important +statement undeveloped; under his careful management the statement by the +end of August had grown; Brooke was ready to swear that Ralegh and +Cobham had resolved to kill the King and his cubs. + +Cobham, too, was examined in the same relentless manner. He was a little +stronger than his brother, George Brooke, but no match for the +examiners. He began by steadfastly denying everything; his nerves, +however, could not bear the terrible suspense. He had been suddenly +removed to solitary confinement; the horror of a dreadful death loomed +over him. He did not know who might be arrested, who might desire his +death. At length some of the confessions of his brother were disclosed +to him; but the examiners named Ralegh, not Brooke, as the authority; +and Cobham, knowing that Ralegh must have invented or guessed at such +things, broke into an outcry of disgust (who can blame him!), "Oh +traitor, oh villain! I will now tell you all the truth." And he said +that he had never entered into these courses but by Ralegh's +instigation, and that Ralegh would never let him alone. It was very +cleverly done by the examiner. Cobham was led into confessing, helped by +questions from George Brooke's statements, that "he had conferred with +Arenberg about procuring 500,000 or 600,000 crowns from the King of +Spain; and that nothing should be done with the money until he had +spoken with Sir Walter Ralegh, for distribution of the money to them +which were discontented in England." Then part of a letter from Ralegh +to Cecil--for Cecil knew much of the intercourse between Arenberg and +England in his official capacity--was shown to Cobham, in which it was +written, "If da Renzy were not secured, the matter would not be +discovered, for da Renzy would fly; yet if he were then apprehended, it +would give matter of suspicion to Lord Cobham." Naturally Cobham, +reading such words at the moment when they were shown him, constructed +them into his death sentence, and broke out into fury of denunciation +sufficient for the bad purpose of the examiners--to close the net round +Ralegh. Lord Henry Howard justly remarks in his "Adversaria," "It is an +old observation of jugglers to make others give fire to the piece after +they themselves have charged it, and thereby put them into the peril of +recoil or breaking, if any mischief follow." Lord Henry Howard may be +taken as an authority on this subject. + +Immediately after Cobham's outbreak, Ralegh was arrested and sent to the +Tower, to await the slow, strange process of justice. His arrest took +place at the beginning of August. Almost immediately the Government of +Jersey was transferred to Sir John Peyton, Governor of the Tower. James +in his grant stated that the post was forfeited by Sir Walter Ralegh +through the grievous treason against the Crown. With the King thus +quickly convinced of his guilt, Ralegh knew that he had small chance of +proving his innocence. Dismay came upon him and despair. His hopes fell +from a great height and were broken. Suddenly shut closely in by four +stone walls, he was obliged to wait the slow approach of an ignominious +death--a death which would involve the ruin of his family, and the +immediate disgrace of his name. He was a man of action; he could not sit +and do nothing but think. Despair brought madness to him; he tried to +kill himself in a fit of impotent despair. This is the way in which +Cecil, once Ralegh's friend, writes of it. "Although lodged and attended +as well as in his own house, yet one afternoon, while divers of us were +in the Tower examining these prisoners, Sir Walter Ralegh attempted to +have murdered himself. Whereof, when we were advertised, we came to him +and found him in some agony, seeming to be unable to bear his +misfortune, and protesting innocency, with carelessness of life. In that +humour he had wounded himself under the right pap, but no way mortally; +being in truth rather a cut than a stab." + +On August 13, Ralegh was examined about Cobham's negotiations with +Arenberg. His statement was: "Lord Cobham offered me 10,000 crowns of +the money, for the furthering of the Peace between England and Spain; +and he said that I should have it within three days. I told him, 'When I +see the money I will make you an answer.' For I thought it one of his +ordinary idle conceits, and therefore made no account thereof. But this +was as I think before Count Arenberg's coming over." And in a letter +written to the Lords of the Council a few days after this examination, +in which he proclaims his innocence of any treasonable practice, he +breaks out, after enumerating his exploits against Spain, in bitterness +at the irony of the charge. "Alas, to what end should we live in the +world if all the endeavours of so many testimonies shall be blown off +with one blast of breath, or be prevented by one man's charge." + +Lord Cobham had made several retractions of his outburst against Ralegh, +both at Ralegh's instigation and on his own initiative. Sir George +Harvey, the Governor of the Tower, was discreet enough to keep back the +latter retraction until one month after the trial, when he showed Cecil +a letter in which Cobham wrote of his accusation, "God is my wittness, +it doth troble my contiens." Terror had unhinged Cobham's mind, he +accused Ralegh and retracted his accusations in such a way that one +retraction more or less mattered little; Sir George Harvey's sense of +duty, however, is significant. + +The indictment was drawn up at Staines on the 21st of September. Three +months were allowed to elapse before the trial took place. Meanwhile, +Sir Francis Godolphin, High Sheriff of Cornwall, was authorized to take +the muster of the county, "the Commission of Lieutenancy granted to Sir +Walter Ralegh being become void and determined." In October Arenberg +left England for Flanders, overwhelmed with evidence of the King's +favour. The plague was raging in London, and accordingly the trial was +to be held at Winchester. Sir William Waad was ordered to bring Sir +Walter Ralegh to Wolvesey Castle--the episcopal palace of Winchester. +Waad wrote to Cecil, "It was hob or nob whether Ralegh should have been +brought alive through such multitudes of unruly people as did exclaim +against him. We took the best order we could in setting watches through +the streets, both in London and the suburbs. If one hare-brain fellow +amongst so great multitudes had begun to set upon him--as they were very +near to do it--no entreaty or means could have prevailed; the fury and +tumult of the people was so great." Ralegh was driven in his own +carriage; he faced the mob with disdain. + +On the 17th of November the trial began; and the after comment of one of +"these my judges" was true: "That trial injured and degraded the justice +of England." The Commissioners were eleven in number: Thomas Howard, +Earl of Suffolk, who had fought with Ralegh at Cadiz; Charles Blount, +Earl of Devonshire; Lord Henry Howard; Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury; +Edward, Lord Wotton of Morley; Sir William Waad; Sir John Stanhope, +Vice-Chamberlain; the Lord Chief Justice of England, Popham; the Lord +Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Anderson; Mr. Justice Gawdie and Mr. +Justice Warburton. Coke, as Attorney-General, conducted the prosecution, +and was assisted by Serjeant Hale. The Clerk of the Crown Office, having +read the commission of Oyer and Terminer, the prisoner was bidden to +hold up his hand, and then the indictment was read, the gist of which is +as follows:-- + +That he did conspire and go about to deprive the King of his government, +to raise up sedition within the realm, to alter religion, to bring in +the Roman superstition, and to procure foreign enemies to invade the +kingdom. That the Lord Cobham, the 9th of June last, did meet with the +said Sir Walter Ralegh, in Durham House, and then and there had +conference with him how to advance Arabella Stuart to the crown and +royal throne of this kingdom. And that then and there it was agreed +that Cobham should treat with Arenberg, ambassador from the Archduke of +Austria, to obtain of him 600,000 crowns to bring to pass their intended +treason. It was agreed that Cobham should go to the Archduke Albert to +procure him to advance the pretended title of Arabella. From thence, +knowing that Albert had not sufficient means to maintain his own army in +the Low Countries, Cobham should go to Spain, to procure the king to +assist and further her pretended title. It was agreed, the better to +effect all this conspiracy, that Arabella should write three letters, +one to the Archduke, another to the King of Spain, and a third to the +Duke of Savoy, and promise three things-- + + First.--To establish a firm peace between England and Spain. + + Secondly.--To tolerate the popish and Roman superstition. + + Thirdly.--To be ruled by them in contracting of her marriage. + +And further, that Cobham and his brother Brooke met on the 9th of June +last, and Cobham told Brooke all these treasons; to the which treasons +Brooke gave his assent and did join himself to all these. And after, on +the Thursday following, Cobham and Brooke did speak these words, _that +there would never be a good world in England till the King_ (meaning our +sovereign lord) _and his cubs_ (meaning the royal issue) _were taken +away_. + +And the more to disable and deprive the King of his crown, and to +confirm the said Cobham in his intents Ralegh did publish a book falsely +written against the most just and royal title of the King, which book +Cobham after that received of him, and did deliver unto Brooke. And +further by the traitorous instigation of Ralegh, Cobham did incite +Brooke to move Arabella to write to the three forenamed princes to +procure them to advance her title. Further, Cobham, by the instigation +of Ralegh did write letters to the Count Arenberg for the obtaining of +the 600,000 crowns, which money by other letters Count Arenberg did +promise to perform the payment of. And then did Cobham promise to Ralegh +that when he had received the said money he would deliver 8000 crowns to +him. + +[Illustration: COUNT ARENBERGH] + +To the indictment Sir Walter Ralegh pleaded NOT GUILTY. Sir Walter +Ralegh was then asked whether he would take exception to any of the +jury; and he made answer, "I know none of them; they are all Christians +and honest gentlemen. I except against none." He did not know that the +original jurymen had been changed; he did not know that the names of +three near servants to the Queen Elizabeth had been erased from the +panel overnight, being thought unsuitable for their purpose. + +_Earl Suffolk._--You, gentlemen of the King's learned counsel follow the +same course as you did the other day. + +_Ralegh._--My lord, I pray you I may answer the points particularly as +they are delivered, by reason of the weakness of my memory and sickness. + +_Lord Chief Justice Popham._--After the King's learned counsel have +delivered all the evidence, Sir Walter, you may answer particularly to +what you will. + +Then spake the King's Serjeant at Law, by name Hele; of this man Edwards +points out that "he was more notable as a brawler and a buffoon--and +also as a moneylender, in which capacity he hoped to win a very large +stake by the ruin of Lord Cobham--than as a lawyer." The tone of his +short speech may be gathered from this typical sentence at the +conclusion. "It appears that Cobham took Ralegh to be either a god or +an idol. Cobham endeavours to set up a new king, or governor: God forbid +mine eyes should ever see so unhappy a change! As for the Lady Arabella, +she, upon my conscience hath no more title to the crown than I have, +which before God I utterly renounce. Cobham, a man bred in England, hath +no experience abroad; but Ralegh, a man of great wit, military and a +swordman. Now whether these things were bred in a hollow tree, I leave +to them to speak of, who can speak far better than myself." + +Sir Edward Coke, the King's Attorney, then rose to his feet. It is well +to remember that it was Coke's business, as the King's Attorney, to +prove Ralegh guilty of treason, and that as he had almost no evidence in +his support, his business was one of extreme difficulty. Cobham's +accusation was his only evidence, and that must be used with caution, +owing to Cobham's retractations. The trial was of the utmost importance; +his professional reputation was at stake; the very difficulty put him on +his mettle. He rose magnificently to the occasion. With such evidence at +his disposal he could not quietly prove Ralegh's guilt. His chief +weapons were the appeal to the jury's loyalty and abuse of the +prisoner--especially abuse, by which he hoped to brow-beat him. His +speech was long and learned. He began by dividing the mischief of +treason into three divisions--imitation, supportation, and defence, and +by enlarging upon the main conspiracy of the priests Watson and Copley, +with which, as Ralegh pointed out, he was in no way connected, even in +the indictment. Undeterred, Coke continued his oration. He gave +instances of treason, he defined treason at length, and then he suddenly +began to praise the character of King James, and, turning angrily to +Ralegh, exclaimed: "To whom Sir Walter did you bear malice? To the royal +children?" To which Ralegh answered: "Master Attorney, I pray you to +whom or to what end speak you all this? I protest I do not understand +what a word of this means, except it be to tell me news. What is the +treason of Markham and the priests to me?" + +_Coke._ "I will then come close to you. I will prove you to be the most +notorious traitor that ever came to the bar." + +_Ralegh._ "Your words cannot condemn me; my innocency is my defence. +_Prove_ against me any one thing of the many that you have broken, and I +will confess all the Indictment, and that I am the most horrible traitor +that ever lived." + +_Coke._ "Nay I will prove all. Thou art a monster; thou hast an English +face, but a Spanish heart." + +Then Coke proceeded to give a minute account of Cobham's plots in such a +way that, as Edwards notes, only the most unprejudiced and attentive +listener would fail to be trapped into thinking that he was relating the +plots of Ralegh. The device was clever, but it was unscrupulous. Ralegh, +in spite of his recent imprisonment and his imminent danger, remained +master of himself and of the situation. He withstood Coke's implications +as resolutely as he withstood Coke's abuse. "What is that to me?" he +asked the Court, after Coke had ended his clever recital of Cobham's +practices. "What is that to me? I do not hear yet that you have spoken +one word against _me_. Here is no treason of mine done. If my Lord +Cobham be a traitor, what is that to me?" + +At this the King's Attorney broke into savage abuse. "All that he did +was by thy instigation, thou viper; for I _thou_ thee, thou traitor! I +will prove thee the rankest traitor in all England." + +But Ralegh was not to be inveigled into losing his presence of mind by +Coke's insults, as Coke, of course, knowing Ralegh's temperament, +intended him to do. Never did Ralegh show greater proof of his power +than at this his trial, when circumstances were pressing most hardly +upon him; he answered--there is the suavity of strength in his +answer--"No, no, Master Attorney, I am no traitor. Whether I live or die +I shall stand as true a subject as ever the King hath. _You_ may call me +a traitor, at your pleasure; yet it becomes not a man of quality or +virtue to do so. But I take comfort in it. It is all that you can do, +for I do not yet hear that you charge me with any treason." + +The Lord Chief Justice Popham was here obliged to come to the help of +the King's Attorney, who was finding the case more difficult than he +expected. It was important that the people present, by whom the news of +the trial would be spread through England, should not be impressed in +the prisoner's favour. He said, realizing that Coke's last _coup_ had +been a failure: "Sir Walter Ralegh, Master Attorney speaks out of the +zeal of his duty for the service of the King, and you for your life; be +patient, on both sides." + +Then Coke proceeded: "I charge Sir Walter Ralegh with contriving and +conspiring all this that I have recited. And now I will read my proofs +for it." He did so. That is to say, he read the most incriminating of +the confessions which the distraught Lord Cobham had made. While Coke +read this Declaration, there was silence in the hall--certainly a +haunting silence. Then Ralegh spoke. "This is absolutely all the +evidence that can be brought against me. But now I beseech you, hear +me. I was examined at Windsor touching the Surprising Treason; next of +plotting for Arabella; thirdly of practices with the Lord Cobham. From +all which God knows I was free, for I never was privy to any of them. It +is true that I suspected that the Lord Cobham kept intelligence with +D'Arenberg. For I knew that long since--in the late Queen's time--he +held that course with him in the Low Countries, as was well known to my +Lord Treasurer, and to my Lord Cecil. La Renzi being a man also well +known to me, I, seeing him and the Lord Cobham together, thought that +was the time they both had been to Count D'Arenberg. I gave intimation +thereof. But I was willed by my Lord Cecil not to speak of this; because +the King, at the first coming of D'Arenbergh, would not give him +occasion of suspicion. Wherefore I wrote to the Lord Cecil that if La +Renzi were not taken, the matter would not be discovered. Yet if he were +then apprehended, it would give matter of suspicion to the Lord Cobham. +This letter of mine being presently showed to the Lord Cobham, he +presently entered into a rage against me and spake bitterly and +railingly of me; yet ere he came to the stairs'-foot, he repented him, +and, as I heard, acknowledged that he had done me wrong." + +Ralegh paused: up till now he had been speaking to the Court and to the +jury, quietly replying to the charges that had been brought against him. +Now he turned to Sir Edward Coke, the King's Attorney, and made this +speech, magnificent in its effect even in the version of the reporter, +even after more than three hundred years, now when no one feels anything +but great friendliness towards Spain; you can see the man draw himself +up to his full height, the man who had risked his life for his +country--Spain's most dreadful enemy, as he faced the attorney whose +business it was to brow-beat him to ruin. + +"Master Attorney, whether to favour or to disable my Lord Cobham you +speak as you will of him; yet he is not such a babe as you make him. He +hath dispositions of such violence, which his best friends could never +temper. But it is very strange that I, at this time, should be thought +to plot with the Lord Cobham knowing him a man that hath neither love +nor following; and myself, at this time having resigned a place of my +best command, in an office I had in Cornwall. I was not so bare of sense +but I saw that, if even this State was strong, it was now that we have +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 whom before we were always wont to have in jealousy; the +Low Countries our nearest neighbours. And, instead of a Lady whom Time +had surprised, we had now an active King who would be present at his own +businesses. For me at this time to make myself a Robin Hood, a Watt +Tyler, a Kett, or a Jack Cade! I was not so mad! I knew the state of +Spain well--his weakness, his poorness, his humbleness at this time. I +knew that six times we had repulsed his forces: thrice in Ireland, +thrice at sea--once upon our coast, twice upon his own. Thrice had I +served against him myself at sea, wherein for my Country's sake, I had +expended of my own property forty thousand marks. I knew that where +beforetime he was wont to have forty great sails, at the least, in his +ports, now he hath not past six or seven. But for sending to his Indies, +he was driven to have strange vessels--a thing contrary to the +institutions of his ancestors who straitly forbade that, even in case +of necessity, they should make their necessity known to strangers. I +knew that of twenty-five millions which he had from his Indies, he had +scarce any left. Nay, I knew his poorness to be such at this time, as +that the Jesuits, his imps, begged at his church-doors; his pride so +abated that, notwithstanding his former high terms, he was become glad +to congratulate His Majesty and send unto him. Whoso knew what great +assurances he stood upon with other States, for smaller sums, would not +think he would so freely disburse to my Lord Cobham six hundred thousand +crowns! And, if I had minded to set my Lord Cobham awork in such a case, +I would have given him some instructions how to persuade the King. For I +knew Cobham no such minion that could persuade a King that was in want +to disburse so great a sum, without great reason and some assurance for +his money. I knew the Queen of England lent not her money to the States, +but she had Flushing, Brill, and other towns, in assurance for it. She +lent not money to the King of France without she had Newhaven for it. +Nay, her own subjects, the merchants of London, did not lend her money, +without they had their lands to pawn for it. And to show I am not +Spanish--as you term me--at this time I had writ a treatise to the +King's Majesty of the present state of Spain, and reasons against the +Peace." + +So spake Sir Walter Ralegh, summing up the whole question of policy +which was occupying the minds of all men, and drawing attention to the +great part which he had played in gaining naval supremacy for England. + +He then went on to explain that the business which had brought him of +late years so much in Cobham's company was of a private nature, +concerning the improvement of Cobham's estate, and the purchase of a +fee-farm from the Duke of Lennox. He showed that Cobham was a wealthy +and prosperous man, not one who could easily be moulded to treason from +despair at his poverty. + +Then another examination of Cobham was read, in which a second time he +had exclaimed, "O wretch, O traitor." The trickery is absurdly patent. +It resembles a game of chess in which one player as often as his black +queen is taken, hastily substitutes another black queen in its place. At +this juncture the foreman of the jury, Sir Thomas Fowler, was +ill-advised enough to ask a simple question. "I desire to understand of +the Court the time of Sir Walter Ralegh's first letter, and of the Lord +Cobham's accusation." The Court looked at him in amazement, and Lord +Cecil rose to his feet and immediately began a long and cunning speech. +"I am divided in myself and at great dispute what to say of this +gentleman at the bar. For it is impossible, be the obligations never so +great, but the affections of nature and love will show themselves. A +former dearness betwixt me and this gentleman tied upon the knot of his +virtues, though slacked since by his actions, I cannot but acknowledge; +and the most of you know it." The speech was cunning and involved. He +made no mention of time; he harped upon his personal sorrow in being +obliged to speak against a man whom he once loved; his personal loyalty, +which was stronger than his affection had ever been, alone compelled +him. Two dates were all that were wanted; they could not be given. So +Cecil gave vent to his sorrow. Hypocrisy could go no further. + +Directly that Lord Cecil had finished, Sir Edward Coke, the King's +Attorney, continued his accusation, trying to turn Ralegh's great +outburst about the state of Spain to Ralegh's disadvantage, trying to +prove it only another instance of his treachery. "Methinks it would have +been better for you to have stayed in Guiana than to be so well +acquainted with the state of Spain. As to the six overthrows of the King +of Spain, I answer 'he hath the more malice' because repulses breed +desire of revenge. As for you writing against the Peace with Spain, you +sought but to cloak a Spanish traitor's heart," and more to the same +effect. + +When he had finished Ralegh rose to make his last claim on justice. "My +lords," he said, "I claim to have my accuser brought here to speak face +to face. Though I know not how to make my best defence by law, yet, +since I was a prisoner, I have learned that by the Law and Statutes of +this realm in case of treason a man ought to be convicted by the +testimony of two witnesses. I will not take upon me to defend the matter +upon the Statute of the twenty-fifth of Edward the Third, though that +requires an overt act. But remember I beseech your Lordships, the +Statute of the first of Edward the Sixth which saith: 'No man shall be +condemned of treason, unless he be accused by two lawful accusers.' And +by the Statute of the fifth and sixth of Edward the Sixth, those +accusers must be brought in person before the party accused, at his +arraignment if living!" He continued to instance other laws; he pointed +out that Cobham was not only living but in the same town, in the same +palace. He called to mind the case of Fortescue, who had condemned a +woman to death on the witness of one man for the murder of her husband, +and who could never forgive himself for the injustice when the servant +of the man confessed at length to the murder. He drew instances from the +Bible, and the Canon of God, and concluded with this appeal for +justice: "If then by the Statute Law, by the Civil Law and by God's +Word, it be required that there be two witnesses, at the least, bear +with me if I desire one. Prove me guilty of these things by one witness +only, and I will confess the Indictment, I stand not upon the niceties +of the law. If I have done these things I deserve not to live; whether +they be treasons by the law or no. I beseech you then, my Lords, let +Cobham be sent for. Let him be charged upon his soul, upon his +allegiance to the King; and if he will then maintain his accusation to +my face, I will confess myself guilty." The Court were at first taken +aback by this unexpected knowledge of the law, but not for long. The +Lord Chief Justice Popham, who played the strange triple part of +assistant in the examination, of witness for the prosecution, and of +presiding judge, explained that such a course was quite out of the +question. "The statutes you speak of in cases of treason were found to +be inconvenient and were taken away by another law. Those of Edward the +Sixth are general, but were repealed by the first and second of Philip +and Mary, which you have mentioned, which Statute goes only to the +treasons therein comprised, and also appoints the trial of treasons to +be as before it was at the Common Law. Now the twenty-fifth of Edward +the Third makes declaration what the Common Law was. All is now +therefore put to the Common Law. And by the Common Law one witness is +sufficient and the accusation of confederates or the confession of +others is full proof." And Mr. Justice Warburton went one further in +making this point strong for the prosecution; he added the personal +touch of insult, which is characteristic of the trial. "I marvel, Sir +Walter," he said, "that you, being of such experience and wit, should +stand on this point. For many horse-stealers should escape, if they may +not be condemned without witnesses. By law a man may be condemned upon +presumption and circumstances without any witness to the main fact. As, +if the King, whom God defend, should be slain in his chamber and one be +shown to have come forth of the chamber with his sword drawn and bloody. +Were not this evidence both in law and opinion, without further +inquisition?" + +The point was discussed at some length, and then it became time again to +bring forward accusations of Cobham, which were accordingly read; this +time also depositions of Copley, Watson, and George Brooke were also +read to the effect that somebody had heard from somebody else how Cobham +and Ralegh stood for the Spanish faction. Again Ralegh pointed out that +this had nothing to do with his charge, and again asked, "Good, my +Lords, let my accuser come face to face and be deposed." But that was +not permitted. + +_Coke._ "Now let us come to the words of destroying of the 'King and his +cubs.'" + +_Ralegh._ "O barbarous! if they like unnatural vilains spoke such words, +shall I be charged with them? I will not hear it! I was never false to +the Crown of England. I have spent L40,000 of mine own against the +Spanish faction for the good of my country. Do you bring the words of +those hellish spiders Clarke, Watson, and others against me?" + +_Coke._ "Thou hast a Spanish heart and thyself art a spider of hell. For +thou confessest the King to be a most sweet and gracious prince, and yet +thou hast conspired against him." + +The reading of Cobham's examination was continued, wherein Cobham said +he had a book "written against the title of the king which he had of +Ralegh, and that he gave it to his brother Brooke, and Ralegh said it +was foolishly written. + +_Coke._ "After the king came within twelve miles of London, Cobham never +came to see him; and intended to travel without seeing the queen and the +prince. Now in this discontentment you gave him the book, and he gave it +his brother." + +_Ralegh._ "I never gave it him, he took it off my table. For I well +remember a little before that time I received a challenge from Sir Amias +Preston, and for that I did intend to answer it, I resolved to leave my +estate settled, therefore laid out all my loose papers, among which was +this book." + +_Ld. Howard._ "Where had you this book?" + +_Ralegh._ "In the old Lord-Treasurer's study, after his death." + +_Cecil._ "Did you ever show or make known the book to me?" + +_Ralegh._ "No, my lord." + +_Cecil._ "Was it one of the books which was left to me or my brother?" + +_Ralegh._ "I took it out of the study in my Lord-Treasurer's house in +the Strand." + +Then Cecil explained that after his father's death Ralegh was allowed to +search in the library for cosmo-graphical descriptions of the Indies. +Again he referred to his great love for Ralegh, and said he thought it a +little unkindly done on Sir Walter's part to remove the book without his +knowledge. It was a book in manuscript on which the Lord-Treasurer had +written, "_This is the book of Robert Snagg_." Brooke burned it; the +most was made of this incident. + +Popham asked, "Wherefore should this book be burnt?" + +_Ralegh._ "I burned it not." + +_Serjeant Philips._ "You presented your friend with it when he was +discontented. If it had been before the queen's death it had been a less +matter, but you gave it him presently when he came from the king, which +was the time of his discontentment." + +_Ralegh._ "Here is a book supposed to be treasonable; I never read it, +commended it, or delivered it, nor urged it." + +_Coke._ "Why, this is cunning." + +_Ralegh._ "Everything that doth make for me is cunning, and everything +that maketh against me is probable." + +_The point was then raised_ about Captain Keymis, who had been +rigorously examined. He was well known to be friendly to Ralegh. He +proved, however, a faithful friend. Cobham said that Keymis came to him +with a letter torn. But of this nothing came; Keymis had been too +staunch to add anything to the truth, and the matter was dropped. More +testimony of Cobham was then read concerning letters to Arabella, and +again Ralegh insisted on Cobham's presence. "Let me speak for my life," +cried Ralegh; "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. Campian +was not denied to have his accusers face to face." + +_Popham._ "Since he must needs have justice, the acquitting of his old +friend may move him to speak otherwise than the truth." + +_Ralegh._ "If I had been the infuser of all these treasons into him--you +Gentlemen of the Jury, mark this, he said I have been 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 on me? And I know him to be +as revengeful as any man on earth." + +_Coke._ "He is a party, and may not come; the law is against it." + +_Ralegh._ "It is a toy to tell me of law; I defy such law, I stand on +the fact." + +_Cecil._ "I am afraid my often 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 Ralegh, was not extinguished but slaked +in regard of your deserts. You know the law of the realm (to which your +mind doth not contest) that my Lord Cobham cannot be brought." The +King's Attorney, Sir Edward Coke, took up the thread of his +much-interrupted discourse, and this time he brought forward a witness, +one Dyer, a pilot. Dyer was accordingly sworn, and delivered this +evidence: "I came to a merchant's house in Lisbon to see a boy that I +had there, there came a gentleman into the house, and enquiring what +countryman I was, I said, an Englishman. Whereupon he asked me if the +King was crowned. And I answered, no, but that I hoped he should be so +shortly. Nay, saith he, he shall never be crowned; for Don Ralegh and +Don Cobham will cut his throat ere that day come." + +Ralegh naturally asked, "What infer you from this?" And the King's +Attorney answered him, "That your treason hath wings." Ralegh had a +convincing reply, "Why did they name the Duke of Buckingham with Jack +Straw's treason, and the Duke of York with Jack Cade, but that it was to +countenance his treason?" + +The King's Attorney was worsted in this point; and accordingly Serjeant +Philips came to his assistance by repeating, as usual, the gist of +Cobham's accusations. To which Ralegh answered, "If truth be constant +and constancy be in truth, why hath he forsworn that that he hath said? +You have not proved any one thing against me by direct proofs, but all +by circumstances." + +Coke was becoming more and more impatient. "Have you done?" he cried. +"The King must have the last." + +_Ralegh._ "Nay, Master Attorney, he which speaketh for his life must +speak last. False repetitions and mistakings must not mar my cause." + +_Coke._ "The King's safety and your clearing cannot agree. I protest +before God, I never knew a clearer treason." + +The Attorney's impatience grew so much that, in the words of one report, +he sat down in a chafe and would speak no more, until the commissioners +urged and entreated him. After much ado he went on, and made a long +repetition of all the evidence; and at the repeating of some things Sir +Walter Ralegh interrupted him, and said he did him wrong. + +_Coke._ "Thou art the most vile and execrable traitor that ever lived." + +_Ralegh._ "You speak indiscreetly, barbarously and uncivilly." + +_Coke._ "I want words sufficient to express thy viperous treasons." + +_Ralegh._ "I think you want words indeed, for you have spoken one thing +half a dozen times." + +_Coke._ "Thou art an odious fellow; thy name is hateful to all the realm +of England for thy pride." + +_Ralegh._ "It will go near to prove a measuring cast between you and me, +Master Attorney." + +_Coke._ "Well, I will now make it appear to the world that there never +lived a viler viper upon the face of the world than thou." And he +proceeded to work up his speech to his last chief point of all--that was +the production of a letter from Cobham, which he read. He interspersed +his reading with exclamations of triumph. "I have thought fit to set +down this to My Lords, wherein I protest on my soul to write nothing but +the truth. I am now come near the period of my time, therefore I confess +the whole truth before God and his angels. Ralegh, four days before I +came from the Tower, caused an apple (Eve's apple, cried out the King's +Attorney) to be thrown in at my chamber window; the effect of it was to +entreat me to right the wrong I had done him, in saying, that I should +have come home by Jersey, which under my hand to him I have +retracted.... At Aremberg's coming Ralegh was to have procured a pension +of L1500 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. (Ah! is not this a Spanish heart in an English body?) 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." + +"Oh! damnable atheist!" cried Coke. "He counsels him not to be +counselled by preachers as Essex was; he died the child of God. God +honoured him at his death." + +_Ralegh._ "You have heard a strange tale of a strange man. Now he 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 his window, written to this purpose: +You know you have undone me, now write three lines to justify me. In +this will I die that he hath done me wrong." + +Then Ralegh pulled a letter out of his pocket, which the Lord Cobham had +written to him, and desired my Lord Cecil to read it because he only +knew his hand. Cecil read the letter. "Seeing myself so near my end, for +the discharge of my own conscience, and freeing myself from your blood, +which also will cry vengeance against me, I protest upon my salvation I +never practised with Spain upon your procurement: God so comfort me in +this my affliction, as you are a true subject, for anything that 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!" + +"Now I wonder," said Ralegh, "how many souls this man hath; he damns one +in this letter: another in that." + +Such were Ralegh's last recorded words before the verdict was given. He +had said all that was to be said. He had stood his ground undismayed for +many hours, though the chief men in England and the cleverest lawyers in +England were set against him. He must gradually have realized that all +were resolute to condemn him: he must gradually have realized that all +his efforts were futile against such malignant opposition. + +The King's Attorney alleged that the last letter was politicly and +cunningly urged from the Lord Cobham, and the first was simply the +truth. The Earl of Devonshire assured the Lord Chief Justice that Cobham +had written the first letter of his own free will, uninfluenced by any +hope or promise of pardon. A marshal was sworn to keep the jury private. +The jury retired. In less than a quarter of an hour the jury returned +and gave their verdict. The verdict was _GUILTY_. "Sir Walter Ralegh," +said the Clerk of the Crown, "thou hast been indicted, arraigned, and +pleaded _not guilty_, for all these several treasons and for trial +thereof hast put thyself upon thy country, which country are these who +have found thee guilty. What canst thou say for thyself why judgment and +execution of death should not pass against thee?" + +And Ralegh, now doomed, made answer, "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...." And later he +said, "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." + +And then the Lord Chief Justice Popham rose to deliver judgment, which +he prefaced by a pompous and insulting speech. "I thought I should never +have seen this day, to have stood in this place to give sentence of +death against you; because I thought it impossible that one of so great +parts should have fallen so grievously. God hath bestowed on you many +benefits. You had been a man fit and able to have served the king in +good place--you have brought yourself into a good state of living.... It +is best for man not to seek to climb too high, lest he fall; nor yet to +creep too low lest he be trodden on.... + +"You have been taxed by the world with the defence of the most +heathenish and blasphemous opinions; which I list not to repeat because +Christian ears cannot endure to hear them, nor the authors and +maintainers of them be suffered to live in any Christian +commonwealth.... You shall do well before you go out of the world, to +give satisfaction therein, and not to die with these imputations on you. +Let not any devil persuade you to think there is no eternity in heaven. +For if you think thus you shall find eternity in hell-fire. In the first +accusation of my Lord Cobham I observed his manner of speaking: I +protest before the living God I am persuaded he spoke nothing but the +truth! You wrote that he should not in any case confess anything to a +preacher, telling him an example of my Lord Essex, that noble Earl that +is gone. Who if he had not been carried away with others had lived in +honour to this day among us. He confessed his offences, and obtained +mercy of the Lord; for I am verily persuaded in my heart he died a +worthy servant of God. Your conceit of not confessing anything is very +inhuman and wicked. In this world is the time of confessing that we may +be absolved at the day of judgment. You have shewed a fearful sign of +denying God in advising a man not to confess the truth. It now comes in +my mind why you may not have your accuser come face to face; for such an +one is easily brought to retract, when he seeth there is no hope of his +own life. It is dangerous that any traitors should have access to or +conference with, one another. When they see themselves must die, they +will think it best to have their fellow live that he may commit the like +treason again, and so in some sort seek revenge. + +"Now it resteth to pronounce the judgment which I wish you had not been +this day to have received of me. + +"For if the fear of God in you had been answerable to your other great +parts you might have lived to have been a singular good subject. I never +saw the like trial, and hope I shall never see the like again. + +"But since you have been found guilty of these horrible treasons, the +judgment of this court is, that you shall be had from hence to the place +whence you came, there to remain until the day of execution; and from +thence you shall be drawn upon an hurdle through the open streets to the +place of execution, there to be hanged and cut down alive; and your body +shall be opened, your heart and bowels plucked out, and your privy +members cut off, and thrown into the fire before your eyes; then your +head to be stricken off from your body, and your body shall be divided +into four quarters, to be disposed of at the King's pleasure; and God +have mercy upon your soul!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE KING'S FARCE + + Comments on Ralegh's fall--In the prison at Winchester--Ralegh + begs mercy--His attitude explained--The King's own farce-- + Ralegh removed to London. + + +So ended the worst and greatest day of Ralegh's life. The Lord Cecil was +victorious. Ralegh was overthrown. But from despair so poignant that +reason yielded to its sway and he was driven to attempt madly to make +away with himself, he had risen to make a defence so admirable against +his accusers that men who heard and saw him at the trial, heard him with +wonder and watched him with astonishment. And well they might. The man +whose judgment had saved the situation at Cadiz from the reckless +inexperience of Essex, whose patience and courage had taken an +expedition far up the dangerous unknown rivers to Guiana, whose insight +had discovered the poet Spenser and made him known to the world, showed +the same insight and courage and patience and judgment at this trial +when he was standing for his life against the combined assault of the +cleverest brains in England, combined by the hope of future favours from +a new King to work his overthrow. When one tired or stumbled, another +was prompt to take his place; but always Ralegh remained alert and ready +and steadfast--alone. + +Sir Dudley Carleton was present at the trial and wrote an account of it +to his friend, Mr. John Chamberlain. Carleton was at that time Secretary +to the Earl of Northumberland. This is how he describes Ralegh's +demeanour. "He answered with that temper, wit, learning, courage and +judgment that save it went with the hazard of his life, it was the +happiest day that ever he spent. And so well he shifted all advantages +that were taken against him, that were not _fama malum gravius quam +res_, and an ill-name half hanged, in the opinion of all men, he had +been acquitted." + +Carleton proceeds to tell his friend of two others who were present and +who were the first to bring the news of the trial to the King at Wilton. +One was Roger Ashton. He said that never any one spoke so well in times +past nor would do in the world to come. The other was a Scotchman. He +said that whereas when he saw Ralegh 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. And Carleton comments on this aptly enough: "In one word never was +a man so hated and so popular in so short a time." + +Dudley Carleton was quite right in saying an "ill name is half hanged." +The trial was the merest farce. The judges were determined that Ralegh +must be condemned, as soon as Ralegh was arrested. They knew that such +was the King's will: and Ralegh's condemnation had become the King's +will owing to the astute management of Cecil. There were many reasons +for Cecil's line of action. Both James and he knew that there must be a +large number of people in England disaffected to the new sovereign. It +was advisable to open the reign by an illustrious example. Ralegh was a +powerful man, whose powers Cecil knew and feared. Moreover, Ralegh had +original ideas about government which fitted ill with Cecil's conception +of himself as the chief man in England under an absolute King. So Cecil +for a long time had been playing upon the King's fears, knowing well the +King's timorous nature. And then, when the time came, he showed his zeal +for the King by delivering Ralegh into his power. His known intimacy +with Ralegh, upon which he took every opportunity of harping at the +trial and elsewhere, would lend bright colour to his loyalty to the +King. + +The judges are as little to blame as the system of which they were a +part is much to blame. Here was Ralegh, whom Cecil, his friend and the +first man in England, thought guilty of treason, just at a crucial +moment in the history of the nation, when a new King was coming to the +throne from another country. Naturally they would do their utmost to +show their loyalty. The very vagueness and mystery of the charge +increased their anxiety to condemn him. Fear, too, played a prominent +part. Which of them could tell, if he showed any clemency to the +prisoner, whether it would not be his turn to be charged next for +complicity with the traitor? So they vied with one another in eagerness +to crush Ralegh. Cecil was well aware of this; he had made his +arrangements with infinite precaution. He was the first man in England, +partly because he was his father's son, but chiefly because of his +astuteness. His astuteness touched genius. + +Ralegh was undoubtedly innocent of conspiring against King James. But +that he received money from foreign powers is probable, and so laid +himself open to the charge of treason. It is easy to exclaim against him +for this. But to do so is an error of judgment. It was a common practice +of the time. All the chief men in England were in the pay of some +foreign prince. It was part of an ambassador's duty to spend money in +this way; the custom resembles the custom, prevalent in commerce, of +giving presents to customers at Christmas. Lord Cecil is known to have +received money from Spain during all the years that he held office. The +custom has fallen into abeyance, not so much from the development of +morality, as from the improvements that have come about in the means of +travelling and communication. By knowledge man advances. + +Ralegh was marked down by Cecil, and Ralegh fell. He knew that his +career was at an end, as he passed from the palace at Winchester to the +castle. His last request had been that his death might not be an +ignominious one. His life was filled with great schemes of absorbing +interest; he was at the height of his great powers. He had felt them in +full play as he withstood the charges. Nothing availed him any more. As +he sat in the prison-room of the castle awaiting the news and manner of +his death, a sudden furious passion to continue the life, over which he +had such mastery, seized and took possession of him. He must live. At +any cost he must live. There was so much that he had not yet done. The +immense vitality of the man rose within him and tortured him by its +resistless strength. He must make one last effort for life; and his wife +and child--they would be poor and shamed. He was famous throughout +England for his pride. Pride and vitality fought within him. For now his +only hope of reprieve lay in the King's mercy, and James liked the +consciousness of power that comes from a great man's supplication. +Vitality conquered. He supplicated the King for his life. He, who had +dared death in all death's guises, could not wait for death to come +slowly while still there remained one chance of life. The spirit of +life was too strong in him for that. + +His letters to the King do not, as many have said, point to meanness of +spirit; they bear witness to the indomitable vitality, which was his +characteristic, and which would not allow him to rest. Be sure he knew, +with that amazing intellect, well enough the stress of his future life; +he knew well enough that it was no great boon for which he pleaded. His +youth was gone; his possessions had been taken away; his name was +sullied. He knew that the four walls of a prison would be his probable +horizon, he who desired to explore new countries. But the spirit of +life, which made him a great man, mastered him and forced him now to +plead for his life like a little man, which he could never be. "No +poltroon could have begged for life more abjectly than he did." So they +write of him. But his letters sound the deep note of tragedy. They do +not make Ralegh's name odious, but they stigmatize the name of the King +for whose benefit they could be composed and upon whom they could take +effect. Ralegh at last knew the man with whom he was dealing for his +life, and he brought all his power of intellect to bear upon making use +of the knowledge in this his ultimate emergency. + +"I do therefore most humblie beseich my soverayne Lord not to beleve any +of thos, in my particuler, who under pretence of offences to kings, doe +easily work their particuler revenges. I trust that no man (under the +culler of making examples) shall perswade your Majesty to leve the word +'mercifull' out of your stile; for it will noe less profite your +Majesty; and becume your gretnes, than the word 'invincibell'.... I do +therefore, on the knees of my hart, beseich your Majesty to take +councell from your own sweet and mercifull disposition and to remember +that I have loved your Majesty now twenty yeares for which your Majestie +hath yett geven me no reward. And it is fitter that I should be indebted +to my soverayne Lord, then the King to his poore vassall. Save me, +therefore, most mercifull Prince, that I may owe your Majesty my life +itt sealf; then which ther cannot be a greter dett. Lend it me att lest, +my soverayne Lord that I may pay it agayne for your service when your +Majesty shall pleas." + +Slowly time passed, and little by little all hope of reprieve died in +him. The spirit of life was, as it were, appeased at this his +effort--this supplication--and allowed him rest. He wrote farewell to +his wife. + + "You shall receave, dear wief, my last words in these my last + lynes. My love I send you, that you may keepe it when I am + dead; and my councell, that you may remember it when I am noe + more. I would not with my last will present you with sorrowes, + deare Bess. Lett them goe to the grave with and be buried in + the dust. And seeing it is not the will of God that ever I + shall see you in this lief, beare my destruccion gentlie, and + with a hart like yourself. + + "First I send you all the thanks my hart cann conceive, or my + penn expresse, for your many troubles and cares taken for me, + which--though they may have not taken effect as you wished--yet + my debt is to you never the lesse; and paye it I never shall in + this world. + + "Secondlie, I beseich you, for the love you beare me living, + that you doe not hide yourself many dayes, but by your travell + seeke to help your miserable fortunes and the right of your + poore childe. Your mourning cannot avayle me that am but + dust.... + + "To what frind to direct thee I knowe not, for all mine have + left mee in the true tyme of triall: and I plainly perceive + that my death was determyned from the first day.... But God + hath prevented all my determinations; the great God that + worketh all in all. If you can live free from want, care for no + more; for the rest is but vanity. Love God and beginne betymes + to repose yourself on Him; therein shall you find true and + lastinge ritches, and endles comfort. For the rest when you + have travelled and wearied your thoughts on all sorts of + worldly cogitacions, you shall sit downe by Sorrow in the + end.... + + "When I am gonne no doubt you shalbe sought unto by many, for + the world thinks that I was very ritch; but take heed of the + pretences of men and of their affections; for they last but in + honest and worthy men.... I speak it (God knowes) not to + disswad you from marriage,--for that wilbe best for you--both + in respect of God and the world. As for me I am no more your's + nor you myne. Death hath cutt us asunder; and God hath devided + me from the world, and you from me.... And know itt (deare + wief) that your sonne is the childe of a true man, and who, in + his own respect, despiseth Death, and all his misshapen and + ouglie forms. + + "I cannot wright much, God knowes howe hardlie I stole this + tyme when all sleep; and it is tyme to separate my thoughts + from the world.... I can wright noe more. Tyme and Death call + me awaye.... My true wief, farewell. Blesse my poore boye, pray + for me. My true God hold you both in His armes. + + "Written with the dyeing hand of sometime thy husband, but now + (alasse!) overthrowne. + + "Your's that was; but nowe not my owne + "W. RALEGH" + +It is sad to remember how the thought of some passages in this letter +resembles those in the letter which he had written not quite seven years +before to Lord Cecil on the death of his wife. "I believe it," he wrote +then, "that sorrows are dangerous companions, converting badd unto +yevill and yevill in worse, and do no other service then multeply +harms." + +The first week of December slowly approached. No hope came to the +prisoner. But underneath the windows carpenters began to set up a +scaffold: he was able to watch them at their work. Then he saw the two +priests, Watson and Clarke, led to execution. They were very bloodily +handled, writes an eye-witness; the same Carleton, who had written of +the trial, for they were both cut down alive. He may have heard Clarke's +wild-shouted words after he had been cut down. He saw Brooke beheaded. +When it would be his own turn, he was still ignorant. + +At last the Bishop of Winchester came to him, at the King's express +order. The Bishop found Ralegh well settled for his conscience and +resolved to die a Christian: but resolute in the assurance of his +innocence. He would not yield to Cobham's accusations. The Bishop left +him. Through the rain that was quietly falling Ralegh saw from his +window on Friday morning Markham brought to the scaffold. He watched him +take leave of his friends, watched him at his last devotions. While he +was making ready for the executioner, the Sheriff was drawn aside: a man +was whispering--one John Gib, a Scotchman. The execution was stayed. +Markham was led away from the scaffold, and locked into the great hall +of the castle. Ralegh must have wondered. Then he watched Lord Grey +mount the scaffold, escorted by a troop of young courtiers. He had such +gaiety and cheer in his countenance that he seemed a dapper young +bridegroom. He, too, said farewell to his friends, made confession to +his God, and prepared himself for the executioner. The Sheriff again +came forward. He said it was the King's will for Cobham to die first. +Lord Grey was led away to the great hall of the castle. Cobham was +brought on to the scaffold. "The Lord Cobham, who was now to play his +part (writes the same eye-witness), and by his former actions promised +nothing but _matiere pour rire_, did much cozen the world; for he came +to the scaffold with good assurance and contempt of death." Again, just +as he was about to lay his head on the block, the Sheriff came forward +and stopped the execution. Grey and Markham were brought from the great +hall of the castle back once more to the scaffold. Ralegh, at his +window, must have wondered more than ever. + +On the scaffold the Sheriff harangued the three men on the heinousness +of their crimes, while the rain continued to fall: and he at last +brought his harangue to an end with the words, "Now see the mercy of +your prince, who, of himself hath sent hither a countermand and given +you your lives." + +The shouts of applause that greeted the unexpected finish, must have +revealed the meaning of the strange scene to Ralegh. The shouting was +taken up all through the town. Men loudly rejoiced in the clemency of +the new King. + +So weak men in authority love to display their power. James had +carefully arranged this trivial cat's-play. Nearly it failed of its +effect. He forgot to sign the pardon. In Winchester too the messenger, +John Gib, the Scotchman, could not get near enough to speak with the +Sheriff, but was thrust out among the boys and was forced to call out to +Sir James Hayes or else Markham might have lost his neck. Ralegh was to +have been executed on Monday. News of his reprieve was brought him after +he had witnessed the singular farce on the scaffold, in which the King's +feline cruelty was shown. + +At Wilton too, where the Court was being held (the plague still raged +in London) the new King enacted another farce. He signed the +death-warrants of Cobham, Grey, and Markham: Ralegh's sentence he +withheld in case more light was thrown upon his case by confessions on +the scaffold. He gave special instructions that no hope of pardon should +be given to any of the prisoners. He kept his intentions from his most +intimate ministers. Then he assembled the council, the day after the +execution was to have taken place. He began a complicated speech, which +puzzled his hearers, who were expecting a messenger every moment to +bring news of the execution. "He contrasted the ardent and resolute +spirit of Grey with the base and cowardly nature of Cobham; and then +asked if it were at all consistent with kingly justice to execute the +high-spirited Grey and to spare that pitiful creature, Cobham." He went +on to point out the insolence of Grey who disdained to entreat for his +life; the penitence of Cobham, who begged his life with humility. And so +he continued until the minds of all the men who heard him were +sufficiently muddled, and ended with what Edwards well calls, the +triumphant tag, "So I have saved the lives of them all." + +Again loud applause broke out in recognition of his clemency. But such +applause, though it deafens the ears, does not last on in the hearts of +men. His showily arranged mercy captivated the unthinking multitude. +Wise men were not pleased that a King could stoop to such pettiness. It +boded ill for the country that supreme power should be vested in a man +who could behave in this manner. To them the action bore proof that the +King was a little cruel man. But the people shouted for joy. The action +made him popular: and when the Gunpowder Plot was dramatically +discovered the following year, and the King's life was saved by a +presentiment, his popularity increased a thousand-fold. Who could doubt +that in very truth King James was the Lord's anointed? Only as the years +went by, dark events happened. Why did the Prince die suddenly in the +prime of his vigorous youth? Who was Car that he should enjoy such +favour? Why was Gondomar the Spanish ambassador held in such esteem? +There was the scandal of Overbury's death. Men began to wonder and fear. +Men heard the bitterness spoken in Troilus and Cressida or in Timon, and +the bitterness began to find an answer in their hearts. + +A week after the royal farce at Winchester Ralegh was removed to London: +first to the Tower, then to the Fleet, and finally to the Tower, where +he remained. + +Thus Ralegh was overthrown, who, if the time had been ripe, might have +proved a Mirabeau to England, and saved the country from Civil War and +the destructive power of the Puritans, which eventually became necessary +to purge England from the mischief of weak rulers with absolute power, +kings who could not carry on the tradition of the great Elizabeth. In +very truth, with Elizabeth, as de Thou said of Catherine, not a woman +but royalty died. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE LONG IMPRISONMENT + + Ralegh's efforts to avert complete ruin--True greatness--Keeps + in touch with life--First two years--The history--The first + sentence--Reasons for incompleteness--James's dislike of the + work--Its greatness. + + +Such things happened in actual life at the beginning of the seventeenth +century. There was the same fantastic blending in life of melodrama and +farce and poetry as was shown upon the stage. Beaumont and Fletcher, +wild and exaggerated as they often appear, gave as faithful a picture of +the life around them as Bernard Shaw gives of modern life; and in some +ways they gave a more faithful picture, for they had no principle which +they desired to inculcate, and a principle, though it is a fine +stimulant, is apt to be a sad distortioner. There exactly lies the +salient point of contrast between that century and modern times. Life +then was confined and intense--with limitless possibilities. The pageant +passed compact, and yet in gorgeous disarray. Art was informed by its +positive spirit; glowed with animation at its touch. Life has become +vast and voluminous; its horizon seems limited, as though for a time it +had outgrown its strength, and was sprawling. The pageant crawls by in +its interminable length, and yet in dully determined order. Art lives by +battling against its dreadful hold--the hold that slowly fastens and +stifles with its long, persistent tentacles. The apathy of convention +gradually settled, like an obscuring mist, but new knowledge is +scattering the mist like a wind, and knowledge brings new +responsibilities and fresh life and fresh light. The sun peers through +the clouds, and the sun will lend warmth and colour to the pageant. + +But such things happened at the beginning of the seventeenth century in +actual life. That farce at the scaffold was the first manifestation that +King James gave in England of his royal power. + +Ralegh was taken from Winchester to the Tower on December 16. His future +life was now dreadfully apparent to him. His lot was confinement. But +not yet was his indomitable spirit of life dead. Crushed he felt and +pinioned, but still he was obliged to strain every nerve to force all +that could be forced from the life that henceforward awaited him. He +could not submit in proud, becoming silence, as a fabled hero would +undoubtedly have done, and as the code of present honour would have him +submit--a code which, it is well to remember, is considerably assisted +in its conduct by the press. + +The only possibility of living with any pretence of decency lay in the +favour of other men, who must on no account be permitted to forget him. +It is unwise to praise the work which he accomplished in captivity, and +to censure him for employing the only possible means in his power to get +that work accomplished. + +Again he put all his strength into the only task left him, and he +succeeded in saving something from the ruin of his estates and the +complete curtailment of his liberty, by renewed supplication. Being a +man of vivid imagination, he entered so completely into the part which +was forced upon him--the part of supplicator--that his letters are the +letters of the broken man that he wished to appear, and that his future +work proved conclusively he was not. How little his spirit was broken is +seen from the tremendous work which he undertook, and from the personal +influence which he continued to exercise, and which his imprisonment did +not seem to lessen. The scope of his activity was limited, but his +activity did not abate. + +His letters of supplication throw a light upon the nature of a great +man. They show something of that strange quality which men call +greatness. Ralegh was not a little man magnified by position or +circumstances. He was a great man. Not in success is greatness apparent, +not in attainment, but in effort, in vitality, in power of feeling and +in control--but essentially in power of feeling. That power broke even +the barrier of Ralegh's immense self-control--for a time only. + +A great man does not walk exalted, like some demi-god to whom all things +are easy; he knows dismay, he knows weakness, and all the legion of +infirmities, but in spite of all, he wrests from life what life must +yield him. + +Ralegh had lost the Governorship of Jersey, the Patent of the Wine +Office, the Wardenship of the Stannaries, the Rangership of Gillingham +Forest, and the Lieutenancy of Portland Castle, from which together he +drew an income of L3000 a year; men to whom he owed money fastened upon +his estate at Sherborne. It was to save Sherborne from them that he did +his utmost. Lord Cecil came to his assistance: "A secound effect of your +Lordship's great favor was the preservation of my moveabells, which the +ravenus Sherifs were in hand to have seised, and att my gates to have +rifled, if your Lordship's letters had not then cum to have +countermanded it; which it also pleased yow, soon after, to procure me." + +But Ralegh's possession of Sherborne was temporary and uncertain. He +tried to save it entirely from the ruin of his fortune, that his wife +and children might have a place in which to live. On this subject he +writes continually to Cecil and Lord Cranborne. Sorrow sat by him as he +wrote, and for long and long he could not resign himself to the prospect +of captivity. "If I had a pardon, I may notwithstanding be restraynd or +confined. If I may not be here about London (which God caste my sowle +into hell if I desire, but to do your Lordship some kind of service) I +shalbe most contented to be confined within the Hundred of Sherburn; or +if I cannot be allowed so much I shalbe contented to live in Holland, +wher, I shall perchance gett some imployment uppon the Indies, or else, +if I be apoyncted to any bishope or other gentelman or nobelman, or that +your Lordship would lett me keep but a park of yours--which I will buy +from some one that hath it--your Lordship shalbe sure that I will never +break the order which you shall pleas to undertake for me. And, if I bee +any wher nire yow, yow shall find that in sume kind or other I shall do +your Lordship service. For God douth know that if I cannot go to the +Bathe this fall I am undun, for my health; and shalbe dead, or disabled +for ever." + +He wrote to Viscount Cranborne, imploring his aid to preserve this +remnant of his fortune. "That life which cann be of no use to others and +is now also weery of mee, at parting putts mee in mind of thos whom +Nature and Charetie commands me not to neglect--a wife and a childe, and +a wife with childe, whom, God knowes, have nothing else to inherite then +my shame and ther own misery. How to healp it or to whom to complain, I +know not, whose fortune is over darck for the reason of the world to +peirce.... And while I know that the best of men are but the spoyles of +Tyme and certayne images wherwith childish Fortune useth to play--kisse +them to-day and break them to-morrow--and therefore can lament in my +sealf but a common destiney, yet the pitifull estate of thos who are +altogether healpless and who dayly wound my sowle with the memory of +their miseries, force mee in despite of all resolvednesse, bothe to +bewayle them and labor for them.... For my own tyme, good my Lord +consider that it cannot be calde a life, but only misery drawne out and +spoone into a long thride without all hope of other end then Death shall +provide for mee; who without the healp of kings or frinds, will deliver +me out of prison." + +The humiliation of his position was forced upon his notice, for little +men began to cheat him in little ways, and he could find no redress. The +law knew him but as dead. He writes to Levinus Muncke, secretary to Lord +Cranborne.... "I solde of late two peeces of ordenance to one Mr. +Aloblaster, a marchant, whome you knowe. Hee that made the bargayne +between us was one Thomas Scott, a broker,--one that I have done much +for in my tyme, and one that, since I came back from Winchester, offred +to sell his howse for me, if I wanted, with protestations too shamless +to be dissembled. But having gotten my mony into his hands which Mr. +Aloblaster sent mee and five pound waight of tobacco, hath sold the +tobacco and reteyneth my money; finding mee now fitt for all men to +tread on." + +The man jackal is more impatient than his animal brother. For nearly two +years Ralegh beat against the prison walls, bruising himself, unable to +give up hope that some measure of freedom might be his. His health +failed. The plague broke out in the Tower. A woman with the plague on +her slept in the next room to his eldest son, with only a partition of +paper between them. Every trouble and annoyance fell upon him. +Indifference could not come to him with its peace of apathy. He +continued to live and to resent and to suffer. A weaker man would have +broken down, would have given up this horrible struggle for existence +against such overwhelming odds. Ralegh did not. And slowly he emerged +from the struggle the conqueror even of these circumstances. He found +work and worked. At first he obtained permission to turn a little +disused hen-house that leant against a wall in the Tower into a +laboratory. He made lotions and a medicine, which remained in constant +use for very many years after his death. In modern times that alone +would have been sufficient to give him the prestige of millions, and +probably with a little discreet management, a peerage. + +Few men have turned necessity to gain (that is the quality of the +warrior in life) so greatly as Ralegh, such constricting necessity to +such glorious gain. By sheer will power he kept in touch with the life, +from which he was excluded. He wrote pamphlets on questions that were +paramount in interest. His treatise on _The Prerogative of Parliaments_ +shows him in the vanguard of the fighters for liberty of thought, before +that movement developed into a baser servitude. He wrote arguments +against an alliance by marriage with Spain. He wrote at Prince Henry's +request a treatise on the building and management of ships. In every +sphere his presence was felt. Ladies were eager to use his lotions for +the preservation of beauty. His medicine was famous. The Queen sent an +urgent messenger to the Tower when the Prince was dying, thinking to +save her son's life by its means. But it was too late. The medicine only +served to alleviate the agony of his last moments. + +So Ralegh gradually came to arrange his life according to its new +limitations. And it came about that those years in the Tower were far +from being the unhappiest in his life. Ralegh, like his friend Spenser +who had died tragically a few years before his imprisonment, knew well +the value of Court life; and though he was not cut off from intelligent +society as completely in the Tower as Spenser was in Ireland; yet he was +cut off from much that had no attraction to Spenser. But in spite of his +disgrace, and in spite of the work he desired to do, he must surely have +found something of the same peace that comforted Spenser among the +savage Irish, before their outbreak took from him his wife and home and +all that was dear to him on earth. There is a strange analogy in what +life offered to the two men. Lady Ralegh was allowed to visit and stay +with her husband, until she offended Waad, who had become governor, by +driving into the courtyard of the Tower in her carriage. Then the +privilege was curtailed. Ralegh had many visitors. Men who had returned +from travels came to tell him their experiences; men who were starting +on some voyage, came to ask his advice and listen to his counsel. Ben +Jonson visited him, and other scholars and poets. Certainly gossiping +cheery Coryat, who amused himself by walking through all countries of +the world, would come and recount his experiences. The Odcombian leg +stretcher, as he liked to call himself, was hail-fellow-well-met with +every man in London and in the principal cities of Europe. A sort of +standing amiable joke was Tom of Odcombe. "There is no man but to enjoy +his company would neglect anything but business." + +For two years he turned in prison as in a cage. Then he began to live. +His mind expanded beyond the limits of body and his discomfort and of +himself. Some sort of expression must be found for his mind's activity, +and his means of expression were limited. As health came to him while he +worked in his laboratory the proper expression for his mind's activity +evolved itself. During the months of his retreat in Ireland, in his +cabin as he made his way across the silent sea, he had read deeply and +thought deeply about the past; in his active life at the Court and +elsewhere he had known men who made history, and he had taken part in +events which were history. He had seen and conversed with men whom +civilization had not touched, he had known men of every country whom +civilization had shaped to its culminating point; and now as he lived in +the Tower from which he could see the ships sailing down the Thames to +the unknown lands, from which he could look down upon the busy men of +London, slowly there formed itself in his great mind a project. The +project was to write the history of the whole great world, from which he +was now cut off, from its very beginnings down to the days in which he +was living, aloof from the life around. He determined to write the +History of the World. That was the proper expression for his great +mind's activity. He felt unconsciously that in so doing he could express +himself. He set to work. He felt he had the grip of everything from the +creation of the world to his own birth and tempestuous life of more than +fifty years. We have burrowed more deeply into the mystery of things +than the great Elizabethan, as sublimely unaware of his ignorance, as +we are of ours; he had complete confidence in his knowledge. We +hesitate, we feel always on the brink of some great discovery, to which +acquired knowledge is leading us. He explored continents, feeling +limitless possibilities of the earth; and doubted not about the +spiritual world. We know the limits of the earth; and explore these +spiritual worlds, the mystery of existence. Therein lies the difference +between two ages; therein without a boast, lies the progress, even, +which has happened in the last three hundred years of man's existence. +The adventurous whom the Unknown attracts are not drawn to explore the +earth's surface; they turn towards the mystery of their own souls from +which comes much profitless self-searching and a little eternal gain; +they turn towards the mysteries of life and death and birth; they try to +unravel the skein which men were then living tempestuously to entangle. + +So Ralegh began his great work, greatly conceived and greatly executed, +in the very spirit of the age to which he belonged--the age of +Elizabeth, and to which King James's little favourites, Car and the +rest, could never belong. Shut away from the bustle of the court and its +splendour, now sinking to ignoble display; shut away from the voice of +the nation, singing after the nation's deeds, as it had never sung +before and has not sung since, he dreamed his great dream and found +peace as he forced it to take shape and reality to his vision. From the +creation of the world to the death of his own great Queen +Elizabeth--everything that was--that was his subject; nothing less could +satisfy him. He set the huge machinery of his idea slowly to work. His +authorities were vast in number. He searched them all, and began to +write. As he wrote the first sentences, he felt the world lay before +his ken, outstretched with all its strange happenings, the rise and the +fall of dynasties, the rise and fall of kingdoms and nations. All were +within his knowledge and grip. And above he saw the God, who had called +the world into existence, and man into being. About that God he writes +his first paragraph, untroubled by any simian suspicions. The immense +power of the man overawes you as you begin his tremendous task. That is +the first impression, and the impression thrills, as every supreme +evidence of man's power must. Then you realize that his whole vision of +the world is wrong--is a myth, and you see the futility of man's +power--that is the second impression. The two are singularly vivid; they +clash splendidly--and the issue? You see limitless possibilities of life +for the brave man and the strong man, as they only can be seen, when two +ideas--two sincerities--have clashed splendidly. + + "And on through brave wars waged." + +One is feign to cry out, when the dream of things has passed. + +The first sentence of the History should be read aloud with a great +voice in a cathedral. + +"God, whom the wisest men acknowledge to be a Power uneffable and vertue +infinite, a Light by abundant charitie invisible; an Understanding which +itself can only comprehend, an essence eternal and spiritual, of +absolute purenesse and simplicitie; was and is pleased to make himself +knowne by the work of the World: in the wonderful magnitude whereof (all +which Hee imbraceth, filleth, and sustayneth) we behold the Image of +that glorie which cannot be measured, and withall 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 +mercifull provision for all that live, his manifold goodness, and lastly +in creating and making existent the World universall, by the absolute +Arte of his owne Word, his Power and Almightinesse; which Power Light +Vertue Wisdome and Goodnesse, being all but attributes of one simple +Essence and one God, we in all admire, and in part discern, per speculam +creaturaram, that is in the disposition, order, and varietie of +Celestiall and Terrestriall bodies: Terrestriall, in their strange and +manifold diversities: Celestiall in their beautie and magnitude; which +in their continuall and contrary motions are neither repugnant, +intermixt nor confounded. By these potent effects we approch to the +knowledge of the Omnipotent cause, and by these motions, their Almightie +mover." + +The History is based upon a fallacy; but the History is written in great +prose--the prose of Ralegh. Even when the subject comes from remote +authorities on antedeluvian epochs, it is shaped and filled with +perpetual life by contact with the great living personality of Ralegh. +Error in life or art matters little. It is vitality that matters. + +Mr. Edmund Gosse remarks that "the entire absence of humour is +characteristic.... The story of Periander's burning the clothes of the +women closes with a jest; there is, perhaps, no other occasion on which +the solemn historian is detected with a smile upon his lips." The remark +is almost as astounding as that of Mr. Edwards, who, after a careful +summary of the History, is obliged to say, "The three or four thousand +pages of the _History of the World_ contain, I believe, no line or word +within which there lies the tiniest spark of prurient suggestion." Mr. +Edwards is, of course, pleased at this; but there is no reason for Mr. +Gosse's lament. Ralegh did not write with the continual bubble of +humour which makes the Church History of Great Britain (of all +impossible subjects) endeavoured by that inimitable old Thomas Fuller, +one of the wittiest and most readable books in the language. Humour +constantly occurs. Two instances in one paragraph are quite +unforgetable. It is the fourth paragraph of the twenty-third chapter of +the second book of the first part of the History (what portentous +dimensions the book has!). + +"Touching all that was said before of Phul Belosus, for the proving that +Phul and Belosus were not sundry Kings, Joseph Scaliger pities their +ignorance that have spent their labour to little purpose. Honest and +painefull men he confesseth that they were, who by their diligence might +have won the good liking of their Readers had they not by mentioning +Annius his Authors given such offence that men refused thereupon to +reade their Bookes and Chronologies. A short answere. + +"For mine owne part, howsoever, I believe nothing that Annius his +Berosus, Metasthenes, and others of that stampe affirme, in respect of +their bare authority; yet am I not so squeamish, but that I can well +enough digest a good Booke, though I finde the wordes of one or two of +these good fellows alleaged in it: I have (somewhat peradventure too +often) already spoken my mind of Annius, his Authors.... Neither indeed +are those honest and painfull men (as Scaliger tearmes them, meaning if +I mistake him not; good silly fellowes) who set down the Assyrian Kings +from Pul forwards as Lords also of Babylon, taking Pul for Belosus and +Salmanassar for Nabonassar, such writers as a man should be ashamed or +unwilling to reade." + +In such a passage even a student of Ralegh can see not only his lips +smile, but his eyes twinkle with humour, which is a characteristic of +their solemn historian. And he ends the paragraph by recounting a +singularly pertinent and amusing jest. + +"Therefore the fictions (or let them be called conjectures) painted in +Maps doe serve only to mislead such discoverers as rashly beleeve them; +drawing upon the publishers eyther some angry curses or well deserved +scorne.... To which purpose I remember a pretie jest of Don Pedro de +Sarmiento, a worthy Spanish Gentleman who had been employed by his King +in planting a Colonie upon the Streights of Magellan; for when I asked +him being then my Prisoner, some question about an Island in those +Streights which me thought, might have done eyther benefit or +displeasure to his enterprise, he told me merrily that it was to be +called the Painters Wives Island; saying That whilest the fellow drew +that Map, his Wife sitting by, desired to put in one Countrey for her; +that she, in imagination might have an island of her owne. But in +filling up the blankes of old Histories, wee need not be so scrupulous. +For it is not to be feared that time should runne backward, and by +restoring the things themselves to knowledge, make our conjectures +appeare ridiculous...." + +But the great work was never brought to an end. The first immense half +of it, however, was finished, and that half is equal in bulk to about +thirty modern novels. Many traditions survive as to the reason which +caused Ralegh to discontinue his task. One is that Burr, the publisher, +complained of the loss which the production of the first folio involved, +and that Ralegh instantly laid hands on the heap of manuscript which lay +on the table before him and, laying it on the fire, pushed it deep into +the red embers with his foot, saying that no man should be the loser +through his work. Another is (and this commends itself to the +imagination of M. Anatole France) that Ralegh saw from his window two +men fighting in the courtyard below; that he asked the cause of the +quarrel and that, when two eye-witnesses gave him two essentially +different accounts, he was so overcome with the mystery that must ever +surround all truth, that he thereupon destroyed the remaining manuscript +of his History. These stories are interesting but not authentic enough +to carry any weight against the reason which Ralegh himself gives for +leaving his work unfinished, though they may possibly be reckoned among +the discouragements which he mentions. For these are his words: + +"Lastly whereas this book by the title it hath, calls itselfe, The first +part of Generall Historie of the World, implying a Second and Third +Volume; which I also intended and have hewne out; besides many other +discouragements perswading 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 losse hath taught mee to say with +Job _Versa est in luctum Cithara mea, et Organum meum in vocem +flentium_." + +James did not like the History. He did not consider that Ralegh bated +his breath sufficiently when writing of kings, who obtained their power, +in his opinion, directly from a divine source. And he went farther in +his dislike. For into what Ralegh had written of kings and men, long +dead, he read criticisms against himself and his favourites; and these +he could ill brook. James, like most cruel men, was sensitive, but he +was "sensitive within alone, Inly only thrilling shrewd;" where others +were concerned, he was, as is seen in his treatment of Ralegh, hard, +"scaly as in clefts of pine." + +James had no real cause to do this. Certain it is that Ralegh never +consciously committed the offence. But certain it also is that he, like +any other writer of his calibre, would write with greater feeling the +account of some happening or some character, with which the +circumstances of his own life brought into sympathy. And exactly because +his life and his knowledge of men was profound and varied, his history +gains in vitality. For always he keeps his relation in contact with +life--that is of course to say, his own experience of life--by which +each man is limited--and never does his work degenerate into a mere +recital of facts. Only when he is weighing authority against authority +is he lifeless, and almost necessarily lifeless, but even then--witness +the passage quoted a little earlier in this chapter--he is not often +dull. + +All through the length of the history, passage after passage of deep +wisdom and insight occur, so that his work is still a comment upon that +greatest and most enthralling of all mysteries--life. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE LAST JOURNEY + + Ralegh's influence with Queen and Prince Henry--Death + of Robert Cecil--Rise of Villiers--Liberty--The undying + endeavour--Anecdote--Preparations for expedition--Delays + and uncertainty--The King's treachery--The expedition + starts--Further delays--Storms--Captain Bailey--Ralegh's + illness--At Terra de Bri--His son's death--Return of + Keymis--Suicide of Keymis--Mutiny--The return. + + +Ralegh in the Tower managed to gain influence of a remarkable nature +over the Queen and over Prince Henry, who was the idol of the nation. It +availed him not, however. James was jealous of the immense popularity of +his son, and feared his high spirit. Gradually the tall white-haired man +in the Tower became the most talked of man in London. Round him centred +the tradition of Elizabeth, which was looked back upon with vain regret. +Men did not like the deference that was paid to Gondomar, the Spanish +ambassador; they did not like the rise and supremacy of Car. They looked +askance at Cecil. But Cecil and Car did not for many years lose their +hold on the King, whom they treated adroitly. Nor were James's fear and +hatred of Ralegh allowed by them to abate. Whenever the Queen or the +Prince sued for favour towards Ralegh, they would not fail to point out +the power and influence which caused such appeals to be made, and to +play on the King's timidity. Moreover, in spite of Lady Ralegh's +supplications and Prince Henry's frequent entreaties, the Sherborne +estates were handed over to Car at a price. + +The position, however, suddenly changed. Cecil died. Car was sent to the +Tower for complicity in the poisoning of Overbury. Henry Howard, Earl of +Northampton died, the bitterest of Ralegh's enemies. Sir Ralph Winwood, +who was kindly disposed towards Ralegh and an honest man, became +Secretary of State. A new favourite of the same stamp as Car, one George +Villiers rose to power, and he, for his own reasons, hated the Howards. +Ralegh approached him in the usual way. He gave L750 each to his +brothers, and obtained in consequence the regard of George Villiers. + +Through all the years of his imprisonment Ralegh had continued quietly +to urge--through the Prince, through the Queen, through Cecil--how +foolish it was to keep imprisoned a man like himself, who could fill the +treasury of England with gold from a mine in Guiana, of which he alone +knew the site. He persisted always upon the wealth of Guiana, so that +little by little it grew to be common talk. To Ralegh, as to Cecil +Rhodes, gold meant power; but, more than gold, he desired the sensation +of freedom on the wide sea, and the long journey to the unknown land. +More than gold, he desired the attainment of the great dream which had +become inextricably part of his life. That was his life's object, and +nothing could keep him from any possible means of its fulfilment. The +quiet labour in the Tower at his history and in the little laboratory +only served to lull the pain of captivity, and gave scope to but a part +of his great nature, though many men, and many by no means inferior men, +have spent their lives in doing work less excellent and less valuable +than Ralegh packed into the years of his imprisonment. + +[Illustration: HENRY PRINCE OF WALES] + +For twelve years Ralegh had been in prison. He was sixty-three years +old when he regained his liberty. Most men would have been content to +continue the quiet habit of work formed during his long imprisonment. +Ralegh's spirit was, however, undaunted; not even habit could deaden his +unconquerable vitality. His release had been gained that he might +arrange and lead an expedition to Guiana. Indeed, he was still under the +charge of a keeper, and his sole permitted business was to arrange the +detail for the fitting out of the expedition--ships, men, supplies and +so forth. + +It would throw a light on all life if we could know what were Ralegh's +feelings as he left the Tower; if we could know how long the first +exhilaration of freedom held him, and when that exhilaration yielded to +intense unutterable consciousness of the stress and the pain of life; +for he must surely have felt as if he were beginning the whole business +of life again, and many moments must have come even to Ralegh when he +asked himself, "_Is_ it _good_ enough?" and looked back to the quiet of +his room in the Tower with active regret--the room where he had dreamed +and worked, had had the satisfaction of a persistent desire, and from +which he had watched great ships making their way down the Thames to the +sea. The same detail of his old life awaited him, in transacting the +manifold business which he knew so well--countless interviews with +innumerable men, endowed with the same amount of ignorance, or +astuteness, or malice, or knowledge, or good-will. In some ways the +world must have appeared to him to have remained very dully the same; +but its aspect must have changed amazingly. Different fashions were in +vogue; different favourites caught the public eye; new faces showed +everywhere. The streets had been widened; many were better paved. They +were more crowded with carriages than they were twelve years before. New +buildings had arisen, among which the New Exchange, close to Durham +House, and the Banqueting House at Whitehall were the most notable. The +first thing Ralegh did was to walk round London. In the twentieth +century, an active man might, by clever arrangement of train and tube +and electric tram, traverse the extent of London in a day without seeing +any of the sights, and but few of the streets. Ralegh could see +everything in London, poor walker as he was, in three or four hours, +less than three hundred years ago. For London clung to the banks of the +river which was the main way, and by which watermen thronged at +countless landing-stages with innumerable boats and barges. It must have +been a strange experience for Ralegh to notice the new fashions of the +Court, to pass among men unknown, himself almost unheeded, who had been +the great Queen's lover, and to see faces of new favourites, acclaimed +at their passing through the streets. For he had become to the people +little more than a name and a tradition; he would be recognizable at his +window in the Tower, but in the ordinary surroundings of life he would +be regarded with surprise rather than recognition. And men who +recognized would hesitate to notice his presence, not knowing whether +suspicion might not cling to them of treasonable intentions if they +appeared too glad at his release. + +To this time belongs probably a story which Aubrey tells, and which, +like other stories of that inimitable gossip, bears the stamp of truth. +Its telling lightens the gloom that these first months of freedom, with +their terrible realization of time gone, inevitably raise. Aubrey had it +from his old friend, James Harrington, who was well acquainted with Sir +Benjamin Ruddyer, a friend of Ralegh's. In Aubrey's own delightful words +the story runs as follows: "Sir Walter Ralegh, being invited to dinner +to some great person where his son was to go with him, he sayd to his +son 'Thou art expected to-day at dinner to goe along with me, but thou +art such a quarrelsome affronting ... (Aubrey has forgotten the exact +word) that I am ashamed to have such a beare in my company.' Mr. Walter +humbled himself to his father and promised he would behave himself +mighty mannerly. So away they went, and Sir Benjamin I think with them. +He sate next to his father and was very demure at least halfe dinner +time. Then sayd he 'I this morning not having the feare of God before my +eyes but by the instigation of the devil went....' Sir Walter being +strangely surprised and put out of countenance at so great a table gives +his son a damned blow over the face. His son, as rude as he was, would +not strike his father, but strikes over the face the gentleman that sate +next him, and sayd 'Box about; it will come to my father anon.' Tis now +a common proverb." + +The story is far too good to be false. Gossip needs no verification. It +stands or falls unsupported by the props which the stern matter of +history demands, like an authentic relic which has survived to please. + +Meanwhile the business of the expedition went on apace. Ralegh had from +King James a commission which empowered him to voyage "to places in +South America, or elsewhere, inhabited by heathen and savage people, +etc." The commission was very similarly worded to others which he had +had from Queen Elizabeth, and Ralegh set no greater store by the clause +which forbade him to attack the subjects of any European king, +especially of the King of Spain, than he had done before. Ralegh did not +realize how much things had changed since his Queen ruled. He knew as +well as every one else that the Spaniards in Guiana would not allow him +to land and proceed quietly to the mine without a determined effort to +stop his progress. But he did not know what a hold Sarmiento, the +Spanish ambassador, had acquired over James, and how well-disposed James +had become towards Spain. He did not understand that he was the last man +in England who upheld the Elizabethan tradition, and that therefore he +was the man whom Spain best hated. + +One month after Ralegh's release Sarmiento wrote to the King of Spain +warning him that another company was being prepared "for Guiana and the +river Orinoco, which is near Trinidad, the prime promoter and originator +of which is Sir Walter Ralegh, a great seaman.... I am informed that he +will sail in the month of October with six or eight ships of 200 to 500 +tons, some belonging to himself, some to his companions, all well +provided. He will also take with him launches in which to ascend the +Orinoco, and he is trying to get two ships of very light draught to take +them as high up the river as possible. He has already been in the +country and assures people here that he knows of a mine that will swell +all England with gold." He urges the King of Spain to increase the navy +and not to allow any merchant to sail without a proper convoy; and +assures him that he in England will do all in his power to prevent the +expedition. Sarmiento's power was very great. + +Sir Ralph Winwood, the Secretary of State, was the only man in authority +who was not in favour of a Spanish alliance. The King, as Major Martin +Hume points out, "was besotted with Gondomar and the Spanish power; +Digby and Cottington were humbly negotiating in Madrid for the marriage +of the Prince of Wales with the Infanta, and greedy Buckingham was +bribed by the Spaniards to his heart's content." + +King James played with Ralegh. The King wanted money, and wanted the +friendship of Spain. There was a remote chance that Ralegh might obtain +the money. In that case the money would be useful and Ralegh could be +disposed of at his convenience, as an atonement to Spain. On the other +hand, if the expedition failed, Ralegh could even more easily be +disposed of, and his sacrifice would strengthen the tie between Spain +and England. In either case James saw carefully to it that he should +lose nothing and Ralegh everything. + +The King's treatment of Ralegh is absolutely typical of him, and +illustrates his treacherous weak nature with decision. + +Men did not believe that Guiana was the object of Ralegh's journey. The +whole scheme seemed incredible as affairs then stood. The general +opinion was that the mine was the merest blind; for how could a sane man +give, or a sane man accept, the conditions under which the search was to +be carried out? Some thought that Ralegh was taking any opportunity that +might lead to his freedom; that once he found the wide sea round him he +would not again return to England where he had been so badly handled. +Some thought that the expedition was intended not for Guiana but for a +sudden raid on Genoa; others thought that Ralegh was going to succour +the Huguenots at the King's wish. All the foreign ambassadors were +uneasy as to the real intent of the voyage, and had long conferences +with Ralegh and wrote long letters to their powers at home. Ralegh +alone, loyal to his traditions of Elizabeth, remained steadfast in his +purpose. + +James demanded from Ralegh the details of the expedition, the number of +ships and men and arms, promising on his honour as a king (what more +fragile pledge could he find?) not to divulge the secrets to any man. +But Sarmiento, the Spanish ambassador, had the exact measure of James. +He laughed at the story of the mine, and laughed at James for his +childishness in thinking that a man who was no fool would be gulled by +such a child's tale. The real motive of the expedition, Sarmiento +assured James with laughing suavity, he and all the world knew very well +was nothing else than to rob Spain at the distant source of her wealth +while keeping her off her guard by the show of friendliness at home. +James could not bear his ridicule and his assurance. He swore to +Sarmiento that if a hair on the head of one Spanish subject were +touched, Ralegh should be sent to Madrid in chains to be hanged in +Madrid's chief square. That was not all. To prove that Ralegh's end was +the mine, he handed over to Sarmiento all the secret papers of the +expedition. So Sarmiento gained his purpose; he had the papers carefully +copied and a special messenger was soon on his way to Spain bearing the +copy to the Spanish king, as has been seen. + +James was friendly with Sarmiento. A weak man likes to deceive himself. +James wanted to be friendly with Spain, from fear of Spain's power. But +if Ralegh could break Spain's power at the risk only of his life, James +was quite content to accept the first place in Europe and then dispose +of Ralegh. It was not his nature, however, to face anything and strike +boldly. He kept up the illusion in his own mind that the mine was all he +wanted, and all that Ralegh intended to make for and, like the weak +creature he was, he allowed his personal dislike of Ralegh to hinder his +plan, and his fear of ridicule to render the whole scheme ridiculous. + +[Illustration: PHILIP III. OF SPAIN] + +Meanwhile Ralegh's arrangements were proceeding, and gradually the new +ship, the _Destiny_, which he had built, became a fashionable resort, +even as his destination was the common talk not only of the Court in +London, but also of many foreign Courts. Did England intend to support +Spain and the Catholics, or the Protestant cause? The diplomacy of James +was even more intricate and twisted than diplomacy is wont to be. + +At length, at the beginning of April, Ralegh's small fleet of seven +vessels weighed anchor, and sailed down the Thames. Even at the very +moment of his sailing his purpose was not credited. Lionello, a Venetian +resident, wrote to the Senate of Venice, "I know very well that Sir +Walter Ralegh's only object in embarking in this enterprise was to free +himself from his imprisonment. He would gladly change this scheme for +any other. Many people know the fact as well as I." + +But Ralegh was firm in his purpose. He was now an old man, if age be +counted in years; he was still vigorous and alert, if age be counted by +the measure of a man's vitality. Now, at the age when most men take to +the fireside and friendly counsel, Ralegh was glad to undertake a +desperate venture to win freedom and wealth for himself and for his +family, prosperity and greatness for his country. + +The seven ships in the Thames weighed anchor. They were: the _Destiny_, +of 440 tons, carrying 36 pieces of ordnance; the _Jason_, of 240 tons, +carrying 25 pieces of ordnance, of which the commander was John +Pennington, "of whom to do him right," as Ralegh wrote, "I dare say he +is one of the sufficientest gentlemen for the sea that England hath"; +the _Encounter_, of 160 tons, commanded at first by Edward Hastings and +afterwards by Whitney, carrying 17 pieces; the _Thunder_, of 180 tons, +commanded by Sir Warham St. Leger, carrying 20 pieces; the _Flying +Joan_, the _Husband_, alias the _Southampton_, and the _Page_, all +smaller vessels of 120, 80, and 25 tons respectively. The fleet was +joined before it left the coast of England by Keymis in the Convertine, +Wollaston in the _Confidence_, and Sir John Ferne in the _Flying Hart_. +The _Destiny_ was the flagship. It had been built at Sir Walter's own +charge, and his son Walter was placed in the position of captain. Of the +two hundred men on board, eighty were gentlemen volunteers, who were for +the most part friends or relations of Sir Walter. + +But months of valuable summer weather elapsed before the fleet left the +coast of England. From the outset evil chance brooded over the +expedition. Captain Pennington put in to the Isle of Wight with the +_Jason_ to obtain provisions, and had not the needful money. He +accordingly was obliged to ride post haste to Lady Ralegh in London and +wait while she went through the business of a bond, on which the money +was raised. At Plymouth Captain Whitney had the same experience, and +Ralegh was obliged to sell his plate to the silversmith; Sir John Ferne +was also insufficiently supplied with money, and Ralegh borrowed L200 +from two friends. The men began to feel that the expedition found no +favour, and that their commanders were not trusted. In consequence, they +grew uneasy and discontented. The delay lasted nearly three months, +their enthusiasm began to abate, their resolution to weaken. The proper +time of the year was passing. + +While the fleet lay in Plymouth harbour Ralegh issued orders for the +conduct of his men to be observed by the Commanders of the Fleet and +Land Companies. He ordained that divine service should be read in every +ship twice every day: in the morning before dinner and at night before +supper; or at least, if there be interruption by foul weather, once the +day, praising God every night with singing of a psalm at the setting of +the watch. He ordained special care to be taken that God be not +blasphemed in the ships. The offender is to be admonished and then fined +out of his adventures, and then if no amendment be found the matter is +to be reported to Ralegh himself. For if it be threatened in the +Scriptures that the curse shall not depart from the house of the +swearer, much less shall it depart from the ship of the swearer. Two +captains of the watch must be chosen, and they shall pick two soldiers +every night to search between the decks that no fire nor candle-light be +carried about the ship, nor that any candles be burning in any cabin +without a lanthorn. "For there is no danger so inevitable as the ship's +firing which may as well happen by taking of tobacco between the decks, +and therefore forbidden to all men but aloft the upper deck." + +The landsmen must be taught the names and places of the ropes in order +that they may assist the sailors in their labours upon the decks, though +they cannot go up to the tops and yards. And the sailors must learn the +art of land-fighting, otherwise the troops will be very weak when they +come to land without the assistance of the sea-faring men. No vessel +should be pursued or disfurnished in any way, except under compulsion of +absolute necessity, and then bonds shall be entered into for the repayal +of what was taken. "You shall every night fall astern the general's +ship, and follow his light, receiving instructions in the morning what +course to hold, and if you shall at any time be separated by foul +weather, you shall receive certain billets sealed up, the first to be +opened on this side of North Cape, if there be cause; the second to be +opened at the South Cape; the third after you shall pass twenty-three +degrees; and the fourth from the height of Cape de Verd." Minute +instructions were given for signalling in case of distress or attack, or +the sighting of a foreign vessel. In foul weather every man shall fit +his sails to keep company with the rest of the fleet and not run so far +ahead by day but that he may fall astern the admiral before night. He +gave full instructions to the captains how to fight their ships. They +are of exceptional interest. "In case we should be set upon by sea the +captain will appoint a sufficient company to assist the gunners, after +which if the fight require it, the cabins between the decks shall be +taken down, and all beds and sacks employed for bulwarks. The gunners +shall not shoot any great ordnance at other distance than point blank. +An officer or two shall be appointed to take care that no loose powder +be carried between the decks, or near any linstock or match in hand. You +shall saw divers hogheads in two parts and filled with water set them +aloft the decks. You shall divide your carpenters, some in the hold, if +any shot come between wind and water, and the rest between the decks, +with plates of lead, plugs, and all things necessary laid by them. The +master and boatswain shall appoint a certain number of sailors to every +sail, and to every such company a master's mate, boatswain, mate, or +quarter-master, so as when every man knows his charge and place, things +may be done without noise or confusion, and no man to speak but the +officers.... You shall take a special care for the keeping of the ship +clean between the decks, to have your ordnance in order, and not cloyed +with trunks and chests." + +Then follow further instructions as to conduct, which forbid any man to +play at cards or dice, either for his apparel or arms, upon pain of +being disarmed and made a swabber. And whosoever shall show himself a +coward upon any landing or otherwise, he shall be disarmed and made a +labourer and carrier of victuals for the rest. + +And finally a few essential points are mentioned for all fully to +realize when God shall suffer them to land in the Indies, namely, the +danger of sleeping on the ground, of eating unknown fruits, or any flesh +until it be salted, of bathing in rivers. Especial stress is laid upon +the necessity of treating the Indians with courtesy in order to win +their help and friendship. "For other orders on the land we will +establish them (when God shall send us thither) by general consent. In +the mean time I will value every man's honour according to their degree +and valour, and taking care for the service of God and prosperity of our +enterprise." + +On the 12th of June the fleet at last set sail. But as in the Islands +voyage, just twenty years before, a great storm broke upon the ships and +drove some back to Falmouth harbour. The bad weather raged for weeks and +ended in a tempest that scattered the fleet and wrought fearful havoc +among all. + +Ralegh was forced to take refuge with his fleet in Cork harbour, where +another long delay ensued. Delay was disastrous. It meant lack of +confidence among the men. And well Ralegh knew that his authority had +been lessened by the reports which had been industriously spread among +his company that his commission being granted to a man _non ens_ in law, +took from him both arms and actions: "it gave boldness to every petty +companion to spread rumours to my defamation and the wounding of my +reputation in all places where I could not be present to make them +knaves and liars." + +Delay meant expenditure of money which was desperately wanted; and what +was most serious of all, delay meant loss of time, for only at the most +favourable season of the year could these heavily equipped vessels hope +to make their voyage with any likelihood of success, and only at the +most favourable season could they hope to carry out the great task which +awaited them at the end of their long voyage. + +Ralegh was once again in Ireland, where he had started his career. +Thirty-six years before he had written to Robert Dudley, Earl of +Leicester, now long dead, "I have spent some time here under the Deputy +in such poore place and charge, as were it not that I knew him to be one +of yours, I would disdayne it as much as to keepe sheepe." Here, too, he +had spent those quiet months with Edmund Spenser, his friend, by Mulla's +shore; nearly twenty years had passed since rebels burned Spenser's +house to the ground and Spenser himself died of very grief. And here was +Ralegh still living, still in quest of the dream's fulfilment, of which +he had talked with the poet who was at rest, and still fretting at this +last delay which was quietly ravelling away the fabric of all his hopes. +Spenser had given the world his vision of the fairy realm into which his +spirit had now passed; Ralegh had written the first half of his great +History of the World, over which he desired to extend his country's +dominion. + +Richard Boyle was still at Cork. Boyle had bought Ralegh's estates in +Ireland and they were flourishing under his direction. Here as +elsewhere Ralegh broke the ground from which others reaped a rich +harvest. One Henry Pine of Mogelie was vexing Boyle as grievously as he +had in years gone by vexed Ralegh with whom he was connected in +industrial enterprises. So Boyle took advantage of Ralegh's visit to +Cork to question him concerning the terms of a lease, and Ralegh spoke +vigorously against the claims of Henry Pine, remembering well Pine's +former bad treatment of him. He spoke so vigorously that in the +following year, when he was reviewing all the many events of his great +life, his words came back to him. He was then on the threshold of +departure, and not wishing to think that any man had been harmed by him +unjustly, he expressed a strong desire that the terms of this lease +might be examined closely again. The action witnesses Ralegh's attention +to justice and to detail. + +But at last a favourable wind sprang up, and on the 19th of August, +though late in the year for its enterprise, the fleet set sail from Cork +harbour. Nothing could deter Ralegh from his last venture. The wide sea +opened out before him once again, and far away the rich land of his +dreams, where wealth was waiting for him and greatness for his country. +Behind him he left his adventurous past life, and his soul was inclined +towards this new adventure. + +From Cork they set sail for Cape St. Vincent, and presently four ships +hove in sight, to which Ralegh at once gave chase. The long delay made +it dangerous to allow ships to pass unheeded, for by this time Ralegh +must have known to some extent how much the Spaniards knew. Neither he +nor any man could have suspected the scope of King James's treachery. +The pursuit was long and stirring. Eventually the strange vessels were +overhauled. Their leader said that they were French vessels bound for +Seville. His tale bore small signs of truth. His vessels were so heavily +armed, their cut so questionable, that Ralegh's men affirmed that they +were merely pirates, and should be treated as pirates. But Ralegh was +not in a position to run any risk, which might bring down upon him the +King's anger afresh. Accordingly he took the four ships with him for a +length of time, sufficient to ensure the harmlessness of any +intelligence which they might carry, and treated them with courtesy. The +men grumbled. Why should they be expected to believe in a trumped-up +story, when the vessels were full of Spanish apparel and Spanish +merchandise and unmistakable pirates, and why should they be deprived of +their proper spoil? To them Ralegh answered that it was lawful for the +French to make prize of the Spaniards to south of the Canaries and to +west of the Azores. "And if it were not so, it is no business of mine to +examine the subjects of the French King." He bought commodities from +them--oil, a pinnace, a fishing-net--to the value of sixty crowns, and +let them go on their way. His scruples were well considered, but they +did not tend to mollify the feeling of discontent which the untoward +delays at the outset of the voyage had brought into existence among the +men. The ill-feeling was increased when a little afterwards a Spanish +vessel was encountered which had been pillaged by them. + +On September 7 the fleet reaching the Canary Islands anchored off +Lanzarote, and at Lanzarote an event of importance occurred which +exposed the full treachery that was lying hid in the expedition, as well +as in its false launching. There is small doubt that the Spaniards on +the island had received news of the fleet, and had been advised as to +its proper treatment by Gondomar, the ambassador in London. +Circumstances lent a specious cover to their conduct. For a band of +Moorish pirates was known to be in the proximity of the Canaries, and +their presence justified the hostile reception which awaited Ralegh's +fleet. Nor would they easily believe that the vessels were English. They +demanded that two officers should land unarmed, except with rapiers, and +unaccompanied. Ralegh and an officer named Bradshaw landed and conferred +with them in a plain, sufficiently open to prevent any secret treachery. +Ralegh's demands were simple. All he desired was fresh water and food +for his company. The governor of the island consented to supply him, and +agreed to sell him the provisions by means of an English merchant, whose +ship was at anchor in the harbour. "I sent the English factor according +to our agreement, but the governor put it off from one morning to +another, and in the end sent me word that except I would embark my men +who lay on the seaside, the islanders were so jealous as they durst not +sever themselves to make our provisions. I did so: but when the one half +were gotten aboard two of our sentinels were forced, one slain, and the +English factor sent to tell me that he had nothing for us, whom he still +believed to be a fleet of the Turks who had lately taken and destroyed +Puerto Sancto. Hereupon all the companies would have marched toward the +town and have sacked it, but I knew it would not only dislike his +Majesty, but that our merchants having a continual trade with these +islands that their goods would have been stayed, and among the rest the +poor Englishman riding in the road having all that he brought thither +ashore, would have been utterly undone." + +But sufficient had happened for the spy, Captain Bailey. He needed +little evidence for his pretty tale, and having asked and obtained from +Ralegh some ordnance and some ironbound casks, he weighed anchor in the +night, and set all sail for England, where his employers would listen +eagerly to his pretty tale, and pay him for it. It is sad to read all +that Ralegh could write of him afterwards in his apology, "what should +move Bailey to leave me as he did at the Canaries, from whence he might +have departed with my love and leave, and at his return to do me all the +wrong he could devise, I cannot conceive.... I never gave him +ill-language, nor offered him the least unkindness to my knowledge." + +When the spy, Captain Bailey, arrived in England he despatched his +account of the proceedings at Lanzarote to Buckingham, and Buckingham +lost no time in acquainting King James. On October 22 Gondomar wrote +fully to the King of Spain about the expedition, and Philip was more +urgent than ever in pressing Sir John Digby and Lord Cottington and Lord +Roos, who had been sent to Madrid by James to arrange the terms of the +marriage between the Infanta and Prince Charles, that Ralegh might be +immediately recalled and punished. King James was abject in his apology, +and became more and more inclined to the sacrifice of Ralegh. But the +spy Captain Bailey's account was too carelessly prepared; Cottington +discovered divergences; Lord Carew, Master of the Ordnance, declared +"those who malice Sir Walter boldly affirm him to be a pirate, which for +my part I will never believe." Moreover "the poor Englishman riding in +the road," whose name was Reeks, arrived on the scene and told a +different story of the event. It was most unfortunate for the spy, +Captain Bailey, who was sent to the Gatehouse at Westminster. + +[Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEGH] + +His pretty story was proved to be an invention, but that mattered +little subsequently; the invention served its purpose. + +Meanwhile Ralegh's fleet had arrived at Gomera, "one of the strongest +and best defenced places of all the islands, and the best port; the town +being seated upon the very wash of the sea." Guns were fired at the +ships at their first approach, and the ships answered. But as soon as +Ralegh came up in the _Destiny_ he gave orders that the firing should +immediately cease, and sent a Spaniard, whom he had taken on a bark +which came from Cape Blanc, to assure the governor of the town that he +intended no harm of any kind to the subjects of the Spanish King. The +governor replied that he had mistaken the fleet for the Turks who had +sacked Puerto Sancto, "but being resolved by the messenger that we were +Christians and English, and sought nothing but water, he would willingly +afford us as much as we were pleased to take, if he might be assured +that we would not attempt his town houses nor destroy his gardens and +fruits." Ralegh gave full assurance, vowing to hang up in the +market-place any man of his who should lay marauding hands on so much as +one orange or a grape. Their courtesies did not end here. The governor's +wife happened to be an English gentlewoman, and she sent Ralegh gifts of +fruits, of sugar, of rusks, and saw to it that his stay at the island +was agreeable. Sir Walter sent her presents of gloves and scent, and a +picture of Mary Magdalen which hung in his cabin. These days which he +spent at Gomera could have been the only time in this last great +adventure of which he could have a pleasant memory. + +The governor too was kindly disposed towards Ralegh, and not realizing +how deeply his guest was disliked and feared by the authorities at +home, he sent a letter to Gondomar, the ambassador in London, in which +he stated how exemplary had been the conduct of Ralegh's men. + +The respite from the stress of the voyage was short. On September 24, +three days after they left the Canary Islands, the sickness which had +been prevalent among the men during their fortnight's stay, broke out +with fury. On the evening of the 24th fifty men lay helpless on the +_Destiny_. The other ships were not exempt. Two captains and a +provost-marshal died on them. The chief surgeon and several officers +followed on the 31st. As the plague-stricken ships made for the Brava +roads a hurricane burst over them; the hurricane sank one ship and +inflicted terrible damage upon the others. The storm abated, but the +sickness continued. Four more officers died, and most of Ralegh's +personal servants, so that, though he was himself suffering from a +severe calenture, he was attended only by pages. The death of John +Talbot grieved him sorely. John Talbot was one of those completely +trustworthy old servants that a man of Ralegh's calibre is wont to have. +"He was my honest friend," wrote Ralegh, "an excellent general scholar +and as faithful and true a man as lived. I lost him to my inestimable +grief." John Talbot had shared Ralegh's imprisonment of his own free +will. He was as devoted to Ralegh as Keymis even himself. Pigott, the +Lieutenant-General of the land service, died on October 13. + +It is finely typical of Ralegh that in spite of the calamities which +fell thickly upon him, the plague, the tempest, his own illness--he made +and recorded observations which, as Edwards points out, furthered +nautical science considerably. + +On November 11 the fleet arrived at Cape Orange, which was then called +Cape Wiapoco, and on the 14th they sailed into the harbour, made by the +River Cayenne, which Ralegh calls Caliana. On this voyage every possible +disaster had fallen upon the fleet, and yet the full business of the +expedition had only now begun. Ralegh lay on a sick-bed, an old man, but +he did not falter, though all the weight of arrangement was upon him. As +soon as he arrived he wrote to Lady Ralegh. The bearer of the letter was +one Captain Alley, who was suffering from an infirmity in his head, and +obliged on that account to return home with all speed--"an honest, +valiant man," according to Ralegh's description. + +"Sweetheart, I can write unto 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 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 entrances +against us." He tells her that their son is in excellent health, "having +had no distemper in all the heat under the line," and after recording +the names of those who had died, and the disasters which had fallen upon +the survivors, he ends the letter with this characteristic sentence: "To +tell you that I might be 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." He would always +rather be King even of the Indians than king only of his griefs. + +The ship remained at anchor in the harbour of the river Cayenne until +December 4. The sick men were landed, the ships were washed, fresh water +was taken in; the barges and shallops which were brought out of England +in quarters were put together, ready for the inland voyage to the mine. +Ralegh reaped the full benefit of his courtesy to the Indians on his +previous visit. Well they remembered him, as he wrote to his wife, and +without their kindness it would have fared ill with the plague-stricken, +tempest-tossed company. As it was, the Indians tended the sick with +every attention possible, and helped the expedition by every means in +their power. Ralegh was still too ill to walk. He was carried about in a +chair, and in a condition in which most men would need all their +strength to fight disease and death, he superintended the arrangements +for the five ships which were to make their way up the great river to +the mine under Captain Keymis. + +In the five ships were five companies, each of fifty men. The +Lieutenant-General of the land force, John Piggot, had died of fever on +the way out; Sir Warham St. Leger lay sick without hope of life; and +accordingly the command of the whole expedition was entrusted to +Ralegh's nephew, George Ralegh, "who had served long with infinite +commendation," but who was somewhat too young to have over the men the +absolute authority which his position required. The five companies were +separately commanded by Captain Parker and Captain North, "brethren to +the Lord Mounteagle and the Lord North, valiant gentlemen, and of +infinite patience for the labour, hunger and heat which they have +endured;" by Ralegh's son, Walter; by Captain Thornhurst of Kent, and by +Captain Chudleigh's lieutenant. + +Ralegh himself stayed with the five larger ships at Puncto Gallo by +Trinidad. He was constrained to do so, partly because his health would +not allow him to undergo the hardships of the inland voyage, but +principally because, a Spanish fleet being expected, no one would +venture to pass up the river unless one whom they could trust remained +at the base in charge of the big ships. Ralegh vowed that they should +find him at Puncto Gallo on their return, dead or alive: "and if you +find not my ships there yet you shall find their ashes. For I will fire +with the galleons if it come to extremity, but run away will I never." + +At last, on December 10, the five ships set sail, and Ralegh moved away +with the main fleet. They made Point Barimy on December 15; on the 17th +Point Hicacos, which is at the extreme south-west of the island of +Trinidad; and on the last day of the year 1617 they anchored at Terra de +Bri. + +At Terra de Bri Ralegh began his slow period of suspense. The success of +the whole scheme was hanging in the balance, the scheme which had been +his life's chief business to fulfil, and he was doomed to inaction--to +wait while others sought the final prize. Bitter must have been this +waiting for Ralegh, bitter all the reasons that combined to keep him +back, each in themselves paltry, and united, irresistible. For the first +time a bodily ailment hindered him; old age was creeping on. For the +first time the great commander found a lack of loyalty in his men; and +that lack of loyalty had been generated and nourished by the treachery +of his King. How could any man gain the confidence of his men, and have +power over them, when he was still under sentence of death for treason? +The men who served him were the scum of the earth, bent only on +plunder, such, verily, as an unpardoned man would attract to his +service. But Keymis, Keymis and his own son--and the few valiant +gentlemen--his heart lightened as he thought of them; they were brave +and greathearted; they were loyal and steadfast. And George Ralegh, he +was young, but nothing would turn him back. Still Ralegh waited. There +was no sign of the Spanish fleet, which was expected, and for which he +kept ever on the alert. Ah! why had His Majesty been pleased to hold +them at so little value as to command him upon his allegiance to set +down under his hand the country of his destination and the very river of +entry; to set down the number of his men, the burthen of his ships, and +the ordnance each ship was bearing! Why had it pleased His Majesty to +hand over the document to the Spanish ambassador and break his royal +oath? + +Still Ralegh waited. No news came from the land force. He tried to break +the monotony of suspense by searching out botanical specimens, and +examining the chemical properties of the plants; he busied himself with +the preparing of balsams, he who pined to be exploring the wealth of the +land of his dreams. How could he trust any man's judgment but his own in +such an enterprise, at such a time, when success meant prosperity for +his country, wealth and freedom for himself and his family; when failure +meant ruin, disgrace, and death? Yet Keymis, Keymis was faithful, and +young Wat had his father's blood in him. + +Still Ralegh waited. At length one day a little boat came in sight, and +as it drew nearer it was seen to contain an Indian pilot and a sailor, +who had been with the land force. His name was Peter Andrews. A letter +was handed to Ralegh, a letter from Keymis. He broke the seal and +read-- + + "All things that appertain to human condition, in that proper nature + and sense that of fate and necessity belongeth unto them, being now + over with your son, maketh me chuse rather with grief to let you + know from the certain truth, than uncertainties from others. Which + is, viz. that had not his extraordinary valour and forwardness + (which with constant vigour of mind, being in the hands of death, + his last breath expressed in these words, _Lord have mercy upon me + and prosper your enterprise_) led them all on, when some began to + pause and recoil shamefully, this action had neither been attempted + as it was, nor performed as it is, with this surviving honour.... + We have the governor's servant prisoner that waited on him in his + bedchamber and knows all things that concerned his master. We find + there are four refiners' houses in the town; the best houses in the + town. I have not seen one piece of coin or bullion, neither gold or + silver; a small deal of plate only excepted. + + "Captain Whitney and Wollaston are but now come to us and now I + purpose (God willing) without delay to visit the mine, which is not + eight miles from the town. Sooner I could not go by reason of the + murmurings, the discords and vexations, wherewith the sergeant major + is perpetually tormented and tired, having no man to assist him but + myself only. Things are now in some reasonable order, and so soon as + I have made trial of the mine I will seek to come to Your Lordship + by way of the river Macario.... I have sent Your Lordship a parcel + of scattered papers (I reserve a cart-load), one roll of tobacco, + one tortoise, and some oranges and lemons. Praying God to give you + strength and health of body and a mind armed against all + extremities, I rest ever to be commanded this 8th day of January + 1617-1618. + + "Your Lordship's + "KEYMIS" + +His son was dead. His men were unruly and murmuring ... but yet the four +refiners' houses, and they were the best houses. Keymis had the +governor's servant in his hands, Keymis was within eight miles of the +mine: gallant was the death his son had died.... (Would God he were +there in person within eight miles of the mine!) He turned to Peter +Andrews and the Indian pilot and began to question them eagerly. From +them he learned the details of the expedition, since their start on the +10th of December. They came in sight of Point Araya on New Year's Day, +and soldiers were landed before sunset. Ralegh frowned to hear that the +Spaniards at the newly raised village--San Thome they called it,--were +in readiness, and that an ambuscade had been prepared. Palomeque de +Acuna had been forewarned by despatch from Madrid--Ah! the accursed +delay and the still more accursed disloyalty of his King--Ralegh learned +of the treachery and the disaster--slowly, for his heart and mind were +heavy at the bad news of his son's death, and Peter Andrews was often +interrupted in his confused story by the impatience of his admiral. But +this is the gist of what had happened. + +The Englishmen had encamped by the river bank. As soon as night fell on +the land, Geronimo de Grados led his men from their ambuscade in front +of the village down upon the English, who were taken completely at +unawares. The common sort were panic-stricken, and had not the captains +and some valiant gentlemen, among whom was one John Hampden (a staunch +admirer of Ralegh and famous in history), set a valiant example, the +whole company would have been cut to pieces. As it was, the Spaniards +were at last driven back. They were driven right back to the village of +St. Thomas, the position of which was not known. There the retreating +men of Geronimo de Grados were joined by a fresh force under Diego +Palomeque, the governor, and then the English were checked in their +pursuit. They began to waver. But young Walter Ralegh cried out +cheerily to the pikemen, who were ahead of the musketeers, to advance +after him, and waving his sword he led them to the fight afresh. +Straight for Palomeque, the governor, he dashed and slew him. A hand to +hand jabbing fight ensued, and muskets were fired at very close +quarters. Young Ralegh was wounded. He paid no heed to his wound; with +blood streaming from his wound he advanced against a Spaniard named +Erinetta. But his quickness had lessened, as his strength ebbed from +him. Erinetta swung his musket and the stock crashed on young Ralegh's +skull: but Erinetta could not recover himself and he was immediately +beaten to the ground. The Spaniards began to give way again. They fled. +They fled for refuge to a monastery of St. Francis; the soldiers under +George Ralegh and Keymis stormed the monastery and drove the Spaniards +into the woods, and finally for refuge into their last stronghold where +the women and children had been taken from St. Thomas. The battle was at +an end. But the new governor, Garcia de Aguilar, was a man of resource. +He gave orders that the survivors should form themselves into small +bands, should harass the English whenever an opportunity offered, and +fall upon all stragglers. While the funeral ceremony was being conducted +over the body of young Walter, Captains Whitney and Wollaston arrived, +and Peter Andrews and the Indian pilot were sent back, bearing their +tidings to the main body at Terra de Bri. + +That was all Ralegh could learn. That his son was dead; that the +Spaniards were forewarned and keenly hostile; that his men were shaken. + +The suspense became well-nigh intolerable for him as he settled to +endure the second long period of inaction--of waiting whilst with +others lay the excitement of finishing for good or ill the scheme of his +life's imagining. His son was dead. He could not bring himself to write +the bitter news to his wife. He himself, an old man, still lived--and +waited on the threshold of discovery. Keymis, however, was a trusted +man, and nothing would hinder George Ralegh from his purpose. Keymis +wrote that he was within some few hours of the mine. Perhaps even now +Keymis was on his way back again, his ships laden with gold--and if gold +were once found, there would be little difficulty in founding the colony +which would become England's great empire across the seas. No old man +could live to see that, but his son might ... if his son were not +already dead. He would wait to tell the bad news to his wife until he +had some good news--the news of prosperity--that she might know his +other son, Carew, though not of young Walter's mettle, would be able to +continue his father's tradition. + +Still he waited--day after day, week after week, month after month, but +no fresh news came from Keymis, and no signs were anywhere apparent of a +Spanish fleet. He went on with his botanical studies as much as his +enfeebled strength would allow him. He studied the little plants that +renew their life each year. + + Bow down and worship; more than we + Is the least flower whose life returns + Least weed renascent in the sea. + +For Ralegh was a poet and so lost his personal sense of loss in the +great mystery of things, which his personal griefs made more vivid to +his mind. He was a poet and saw much that he could not express. The idea +of Death fascinated him always. Death had slain the young Prince, the +hope of the nation; his friend, who would have helped him in his +project; had left untouched the father, King James, who had betrayed +him. And now Death had taken his son, who had only lived twenty-three +years, and left him an old man--once again waiting, as he waited those +long years in the Tower, waiting whilst others made or marred the +fulfilment of his dream. Why was he thus often doomed to inactivity? + +Still he waited.... At twenty-three, the age at which his son met death +in a Spanish ambuscade on the eve of a great discovery, with a shining +future before him, he himself was fighting in Ireland, an obscure +soldier of fortune. The days of his past life appeared before him, his +Queen's favour, his Queen's displeasure, the high mark which he had +touched, the low place to which he had sunk, his captivity, his renewal +of hope through the gallant Prince who was dead, his freedom, and this +last tremendous effort to bring greatness to his country, prosperity to +his family; and he was still waiting, while Keymis and George Ralegh +took the last great step. He would tell his wife of their son's death +when he could console her with the knowledge of what he had himself +achieved. But no news came from Keymis. He could trust Keymis. He knew +the man well and cared for him. All through his captivity who had served +him as faithfully as Keymis? Who had believed in him so staunchly as +Keymis? Who had helped him even so well? Perhaps Keymis and all his men +were slain, or lost, or drowned. + +Just before the middle of March Keymis returned. There was gladness on +his face to see his master alive, but the gladness did not continue. He +brought bad news. The faces of his men showed anger and discontent. +Keymis brought the worst news that any man could have brought to Ralegh +after his long days of waiting. The scheme had failed, failed beyond all +hope of recovery, and there was nothing to show for all the lives that +had been thrown away, all the dangers and difficulties that had been +surmounted. + +For this is what had happened. + +After the reinforcement of Captains Whitney and Wollaston, Captain +Keymis took two boats further up the Orinoco in search of the mine, +leaving the remainder of the company near St. Thomas. Their destination +was Seiba, a village on the banks of the river within a two hours' march +of the mine. The party made their way without mishap to the creek by the +landing-place. But there, too, the Spaniards were in readiness. As the +first boat neared the shore, a volley was fired, and nearly all the men +in the boat were hit. His force thus enfeebled, Captain Keymis decided +to return to St. Thomas for fresh soldiers. He found the company at St. +Thomas harassed by sickness and continual attacks of the Spaniards; but +they still had spirit enough to make one further effort. This time +George Ralegh with three boats made his way right up the Orinoco to +inspect the country from the point of view of colonization. He, too, was +struck by its richness and beauty. He returned and found the company +still more weakened by sickness and assault. The Spaniards made an +attempt to burn the English camp. This so infuriated the men that they +set upon St. Thomas and razed it to the ground. Captain Keymis +discovered from the Indians that in the neighbourhood of St. Thomas also +there were rich mines, which lack of labour alone prevented the +Spaniards from working; but no other attempt was made to locate them or +to test their richness. Then the whole expedition returned. The one +actual sign of their toils which they brought, were papers taken from +the governor at the sack of St. Thomas, and these papers were documents +from Madrid, proving how falsely King James had dealt with Ralegh. + +Such was the report which Keymis gave to Ralegh. Ralegh was silent as he +listened to the account of the overthrow of all his hopes. When the sad +tale was finished, he asked Keymis why he had not obeyed his +instructions, why he had not opened the mine and brought back some +visible sign of its existence. Keymis gave his reasons at full length. +There were not enough men to hold the mine; young Ralegh was dead; his +master was ill, dying, nay, for all Keymis knew, he was dead. Why should +the mine be opened that others might reap the benefit? But still Ralegh +insisted, unwavering in dreadful firmness, on his question, Why had not +instructions been obeyed? There were many interviews; there were long +discussions that day and the next. Still Ralegh answered, "You should +have obeyed instructions." "When I was resolved to write unto your +Honour (wrote Ralegh to Sir Ralph Winwood, not knowing that his friend, +the Secretary of State, had been dead for five months) he prayed me to +joyne with him in excusing his not going to the mine. I answered him, I +would not doe it; that if himself could satisfy the King and the State +that he had reason not to open it, I should be glad of it; but for my +part, I must avow it that he knew it and that he might with little losse +have done it; other excuse I would not frame." + +The position was a terrible one. Ralegh had been waiting for months, +trusting to the loyalty of Keymis to execute his great enterprise; and +it was Keymis's very loyalty to Ralegh which was the real cause of his +failure; for he would not open the mine unless he was quite sure that +his master alone should benefit. Keymis was wrong. But he could not bear +Ralegh to think that his conduct had been remiss; he could not bear to +think that he had injured the master for whom he would gladly have given +his life. Nor could he make Ralegh understand even the reason of his +action. "I know then, sir, what course to take," said Keymis, when he +found he could not move Ralegh from his attitude of censure, and he went +away "out of my cabin into his own, in which he was no sooner entered, +but I heard a pistol go off. I sent up to know who had shot a pistol. +Keymis himself made answer, lying on his bed, that he had shot it off +because it had long been charged, with which I was satisfied. Some +half-hour after this, the boy going into his cabin found him dead, +having a long knife thrust under his left pap through his heart, and his +pistol lying by him, with which it appeared that he had shot himself, +but the bullet lighting upon a rib, had but broken the rib, and went no +farther." + +Such was the end of Ralegh's long period of waiting. The tragedy is +great and real. He had trusted to Captain Keymis implicitly; and Keymis, +through excess of loyalty, had failed him. The only fault in either is +that each was a little too true to his own character. Keymis's death +shook Ralegh to the depths of his nature. Now more than ever he had need +of men staunch as the dead Keymis. + +For mutiny broke out among the men. Captains Whitney and Wollaston +deserted. The men declared that they had joined the expedition merely to +loot the Spaniards and plunder they would have. The mine had failed. +Well, they would turn pirates and attack the Spanish fleet on its way +home. They threatened to throw Ralegh into the sea if he persisted in +his resolution to return. He quieted them as much as lay in his power; +but at last his great power was shaken and enfeebled, by imprisonment, +by long sickness, by age, by the King's treachery, by disaster on +disaster. He had still sufficient power to keep to his resolution and to +force his men to some semblance of obedience, but in the old days no +mutiny would have happened. Sulkily the men set sail for home, and +Ralegh knew from the letters which Keymis had brought him from St. +Thomas, that he was returning to disgrace and death. + +From St. Christopher's, on this sad journey back, he forced himself to +tell his wife the bad news of their son's death. He had no comfort for +her. He was inured to grief. "God knows I never knewe what sorrow meant +till now," he writes. "My braines are broken, and it is a torment for me +to write, and especially of misery." And in a postscript, "I protest +before the Majesty of God that as Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins +died hart broken when they failed of their enterprize, I could willingly +doe the like did I not contend against sorrow for your sake in hope to +provide somewhat for you, and to comfort and relieve you." + +The remainder of the voyage back was as disastrous as had been the +outward voyage. Storms broke upon the ships and separated them. Some put +in at Ireland; Captain Pennington, who had ridden back at the last +moment to obtain money for supplies from Lady Ralegh, put in at Kinsale, +and his ship was immediately seized. The _Destiny_ arrived at Plymouth +on June 21 alone; and at Plymouth Ralegh met his wife, and there he +stayed until the second week of July. + +In his last great enterprize he had failed, and he returned to give an +account of his failure, and to face the ignominy which his failure +entailed. He was resolved, however, to make one last effort to clear his +name, and to reinstate his family in some semblance of prosperity. He +was an old man now, and one who had been buffeted by misfortune, but the +spirit of life was still strong in him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +DEATH + + His reception--Arrest--Journey from Plymouth--Stukeley and + Manourie--The final scene. + + +Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador, had been active during Ralegh's +absence to work his complete overthrow, but Ralegh remained some weeks +at Plymouth before he knew the exact nature of the reception which +awaited him. + +Masterly was the way in which Gondomar handled James. He was about to +start for Madrid on leave, when the news arrived from the townspeople of +St. Thomas of the English attack. "Exaggerate as much as you can +Ralegh's guilt and try to get the King to make a great demonstration," +wrote Philip from Madrid. "Do not," he went on, "threaten him; but make +him understand that I am offended, and that if a proper remedy be not +forthcoming at once, we shall make reprisals and seize English property +in Spain." Gondomar set about his task forthwith. He rushed into the +royal presence crying with uplifted hands, "Pirates! pirates! pirates!" +and urged James to remember his promise, that Ralegh should be sent in +chains to Spain to be hanged in the Plaza of Madrid. This was no time +for delay, for judicial examination: Ralegh should be despatched +immediately on his landing, with all his pirate followers. But James +could not, though he would, act thus uncompromisingly. Ralegh was too +considerable a man, and feeling towards him had changed very much since +the time of his first trial when he was hooted through the streets of +London as a traitor. There was a large party in the country who were +averse to James's wish of an alliance by marriage with Spain. For forty +years Spain had tried to humble England, and for forty years England had +more than held her own. And now was the King to be bullied into +sacrificing one of his greatest subjects, unheard, unjudged, at the +bidding of Spain's ambassador? Moreover, James felt that he was losing +the popularity which he had won at the beginning of his reign. His +favourites were disliked. The personal influence of Gondomar over him +was disliked. So James temporised--in his habitual way he temporized--so +that he might, like the weak man he was, enjoy the sense of power which +he felt as he slowly tightened the rope round Ralegh. "James wants peace +and must be frightened," wrote Gondomar. "The English have changed their +tone since I came and I have shown them that I will stand no nonsense." +And his boast was amply justified. + +Sir Lewis Stukeley was sent to Plymouth to arrest Ralegh and take +possession of his ship and cargo. Ralegh had already started from +Plymouth with his wife and Captain King when he met Stukeley, near the +old stannary town of Ashburton on the edge of Dartmoor, twenty miles on +his way to London. Stukeley made him return with him to Plymouth: for +Stukeley was anxious to make as much as possible for himself out of +Ralegh's cargo on board the _Destiny_, for he was vice-admiral of Devon. + +Sir Lewis Stukeley was a Devon man and kinsman of Ralegh, for he was +nephew to the valiant Sir Richard Grenville. He did not maintain the +traditions of his family or of his county. Ralegh stayed in Plymouth +some ten days at the house of Sir Christopher Harris. He was not yet +aware of the fate that awaited him, for Stukeley had only an order from +the King and no warrant from the Lords of the Council. And Stukeley too +was full of friendliness and soft words, partly to put Ralegh off his +guard and partly because it was easier for him to be agreeable to a man +like Ralegh, whom he could not bully. Lady Ralegh and Captain King were +full of grave fears for Sir Walter. They begged him, valuing his life as +they did, before everything else, to escape to France. They made all +necessary preparations: a barque was in readiness just outside the +harbour. Ralegh, still uncertain as to the best way of conducting the +little business of life that remained to him, listened to their +entreaties and actually went out in a small boat almost to the barque. +But he turned back at the last moment, determined to face every danger +that awaited him in order that he might clear his name in the eyes of +posterity from the slur of false charges that he knew would be made +against him. Exactly how that was to be compassed he did not yet know. +Now, as before, in the troubled periods of his life, a kind of apathy, +of weariness of life, closed in upon him; the apathy that comes from +uncertainty, and which in his case preceded a great and definite action. +His powers were slowly collecting for the last great moment of his life. + +Towards the end of July a messenger arrived from the Privy Council, +bearing an urgent summons to Stukeley to bring Ralegh to their presence +without a moment's delay. "We command you," the message ran, "upon your +allegiance, that you do safely and speedily bring hither the person of +Sir Walter Ralegh, to answer before us such matters as shall be objected +against him in His Majesty's behalf." + +The message was sent on July 21, and arrived four days later. On the +same day, July 25, Ralegh began his journey from Plymouth to London, as +Stukeley's prisoner. + +Slowly in Ralegh's mind a plan of action matured. He knew that in London +he had with the King's enmity little hope of life. It remained for him +to clear his name of slander; his own life was now of small consequence +to him: he was considering how best to leave a fair name and some means +of decent living for his family. He saw that time was an essential to +him. He must take care not to be hurried to London, hurried before the +Council, and hurried to the scaffold before men were properly aware of +his presence, and aware of the importance of the event. He must contrive +to die greatly, as acquittal was beyond man's power. He knew that he was +innocent, he knew that James desired his death, and that innocence was +of small account when pitted against a King's wish. He lived long enough +not only to see but to experience the bad consequences which he had +foreseen of absolute monarchy under a weak King. Civil war fell on +England, and the rule of the Puritans before the policy which he had +thought out when Elizabeth was an old woman, became established. He +brooded long over many things on that sad journey from Plymouth--over +the roads which he knew so well. All the country-side was dear to him. +He had done with it all now. + +He passed Sherborne, where he had lived and been happy; he spent the +night quite close to Sherborne at the house of his acquaintance Parham. +It was a melancholy home-coming. What now remained of his great hopes +and his great doings? In the eyes of the world he had failed. But he +must open the world's eyes to see his failure in its proper light. + +At Salisbury, where they arrived the following day, his plan matured. It +would not do to come nearer London and his judges unprepared and +dreaming of his past life. Something still remained to be done. He must +gain time. He must be expected too, that all might be ready to hear what +he had to say. His device was brave and was pathetic. He determined to +feign illness. + +Now, at Plymouth he had met a man named Manourie, a Frenchman who was +interested in chemistry. In Manourie Ralegh had the faith which a man is +inclined to have in a fellow-craftsman on other matters than his craft. +His confidence was unwise. Thinking over great matters, he was not +sufficiently alert and not sufficiently distrustful. Nor is it certain +that Manourie was false from the beginning. It is probable that he came +to realize how dangerous a business he had undertaken, and, becoming +alarmed, fell an easy prey to Stukeley's promises and suggestions. + +Within sight of Salisbury Ralegh asked Manourie for a vomit. "It will be +good," he said, "to evacuate bad humours. And by its means I shall gain +time to work my friends and order my affairs; perhaps even to pacify His +Majesty. Otherwise, as soon as ever I come to London, they will have me +to the Tower, and cut off my head. I cannot escape it without +counterfeiting sickness." + +They arrived in Salisbury a few days before King James and the Court +were expected. Ralegh strung himself to his pathetic part, and played it +so bravely that Stukeley and the whole retinue were convinced that a +deadly sickness was approaching. On entering the house where he was to +be lodged in Salisbury he staggered, as a man staggers who is overcome +by sudden sickness, and fell against a pillar in the doorway, bruising +his head. A delay was ordered. Lady Ralegh, with her retinue of servants +and Captain King, was sent on towards London. Hardly had they started +when a servant came to Stukeley's room, and said he, "My master is out +of his wits. I have just found him in his shirt, upon all fours, gnawing +at the rushes on the floor." Stukeley was amazed and perplexed. King +James and the Court were daily expected at Salisbury, and his special +instructions to hurry on the prisoner could only mean that the King was +anxious not to be in Salisbury at the same time as Ralegh. And yet the +prisoner must not be allowed to die. Moreover, pustules broke out all +over Ralegh's body, and Stukeley could not have then known that they +were produced by a cunning ointment which Manourie had given to Ralegh. +Stukeley went to Bishop Andrewes, the bishop sent physicians to Ralegh, +and they signed a certificate to say that he was not in a fit state of +health to travel further. Ralegh's point was gained. He set to work and +wrote his "Apology for the Voyage to Guiana," in which he stated his +good case to the world. + +It has been remarked, almost with astonishment, by some that Ralegh was +not in the least ashamed of his action. But there was no reason why he +should be ashamed. He decided in his own mind that to gain time was a +necessity to him, and having done so he set about the business in the +only way that he could, and he succeeded. Afterwards he was reproached +for the lack of dignity he showed, and answered, "I hope it was no sin. +The prophet David did make himself a fool, and suffered spittle to fall +upon his beard, that he might escape the hands of his enemies; and to +him it was not imputed as a sin." Men like Ralegh have different values +from the values of ordinary men; in that, perhaps, chiefly lies their +greatness. Dignity is a thing which can very well be left to look after +itself; the dignity which needs any careful bolstering is not in itself +of great value. + +Meanwhile King James and his Court arrived at Salisbury, and orders were +immediately issued that Ralegh should continue his journey to London. It +was probably about this time that Manourie learned the full importance +of the fellow-chemist whom he was assisting, and became afraid. +Hereafter Stukeley was informed of all the things which Ralegh said and +did, and of many things doubtless which he had never said and never +done. + +So Ralegh continued his journey with his two false friends. As they +neared London, the French resident in London, by name Le Clerc, and +David de Novion, Sieur de la Chesnaye, met the party. De Novion was +awaiting Ralegh's arrival at Brentford. He was empowered by the French +minister to offer Ralegh means of escape to France. Men in authority at +the French Court considered that such an enemy of Spain, whose head the +Spanish ambassador desired to fall as a tribute to Spain's power over +James, would be a useful man to save. But Ralegh appears to have +listened with no great eagerness to their proposals. He was no longer +anxious to continue his life in a strange country under a strange king, +to whom he was indebted. He needed all his strength for the last +achievement on which his heart was set--to clear his name from slanders, +and he was not sure that escape was the best means to his end; though +he listened later to the entreaties of his wife and Captain King, to +whom his very life was dear. But Ralegh must have listened with some +pleasure: the anxiety shown on his account, for whatever reason, must +have made it clear to him that now, at any rate, he could not be huddled +away to the Tower and to his death, unheard, as he had feared. He +desired publicity, that he might die, as he had lived--greatly. + +On August 7 Ralegh reached London, and, instead of going to the Tower, +was allowed to go to his own house, which was in Broad Street. Captain +King was waiting for him. He had arrived some days previously, and had +wasted no time. A barque was in readiness at Tilbury to take his master +to France. Had Ralegh's whole mind been centred on escape, there is no +doubt that he could have escaped, in spite of Stukeley's treachery. But +his mind was divided. His own desire was to stay in England, and meet +whatever his fate might be; but his desire was, no doubt, obscured by +his wife's entreaties that he should seize any opportunity of life under +any conditions. He allowed himself to be rowed down the Thames. Stukeley +was actually with him, vowing that he wished his escape. A boat, +however, was seen to be in pursuit. The men at the oars grew suspicious; +they slackened their rowing, and at length turned back. At Greenwich +Stukeley declared himself, and arrested Captain King and his master. +Ralegh turned to Stukeley and said quietly, "Sir Lewis, these actions +will not turn out to your credit," and to Captain King, from whom he +took leave at the Tower gates, "You need be in fear of no danger. It is +I only that am the mark shot at." + +[Illustration: TRAITOR'S GATE] + +Once again Ralegh was in the Tower--the day he entered it was August +10. Manourie received L20 for his part of the treachery, Sir Lewis +Stukeley L965 _6s._ _3d._; the money was made up, for the most part, of +the price of jewels which were taken from Sir Walter's person on this +day of his last entry to the Tower. Among these jewels was the ring he +had always worn since it was put on his finger by Queen Elizabeth. + +The attempt to escape had been encouraged by enemies who wished to +strengthen the case against Ralegh. That was clear enough to him, even +before he was brought face to face with the Lords of the Council at his +trial. They strove again, as they had striven before, to win the King's +favour by maligning him. They affirmed that the whole enterprise to +Guiana was a fraud, which Ralegh had invented to gain his freedom. For +two months they considered the most plausible means of bringing him to +execution. During that time Ralegh wrote letters to those in authority, +and especially a noteworthy letter to the King, thinking that there +might remain some spark of just feeling in him. + + "If it were lawfull," he wrote, "if it were lawfull for the + Spanish to murther 26 Englishmen, tyenge them back to backe and + then to cutt theire throtes, when they had traded with them a + whole moneth, and came to them on the land without so much as + one sword amongst them all; and that it may not be lawfull for + your Majesties subjects, being forced by them, to repel force + by force, we may justly say, 'O miserable English!' + + "If Parker and Mutton took Campeach and other places in the + Honduraes seated in the hart of the Spanish Indies; burnt + townes, killed the Spaniards; and had nothing sayed to them at + their returne--and that my selfe forbore to looke into the + Indies, because I would not offend, I may as justly say, 'O + miserable Sir Walter Ralegh!' + + "If I had spent my poore estate, lost my sonne, suffred by + sicknes and otherwise, a world of miseries; if I had resisted + with the manifest hazard of my life the rebells and spoiles + which my companyes would have made; if when I was poore I could + have made my selfe rich; if when I had gotten my libertye which + all men and Nature it selfe doth so much prise, I voluntarily + lost it; if when I was master of my life, I rendred it again; + if [though] I might elsewhere have sould my shipp and goods and + put five or six thousand pounds in my purse, I have brought her + into England; I beseech your Majestie to beleeve that all this + I have done because it should not be sayed to your Majestie + that your Majestie had given libertie and trust to a man whose + ende was but the recovery of his libertie, and whoe had + betrayed your Majesties trust." + +It was to no purpose. Ralegh well knew by this time of what base fabric +was the King's mind. The Lords in Council only delayed sentence because +they could not determine on what grounds to execute their prisoner. At +last, on October 24, Ralegh was told that sentence of death had been +passed upon him. On October 28 he was summoned to Westminster, from his +room in the Tower. A sharp attack of ague lessened the strength that +still remained to him. He was old now and white haired as he stood +before his judges. The Attorney-General read the writ against him and +said: "My Lords, Sir Walter Ralegh, the prisoner at the bar, was fifteen +years since convicted of high treason, by him committed against the +person of His Majesty and the state of this kingdom, and then received +the judgment of death, to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. His Majesty +of his abundant grace hath been pleased to shew mercy upon him till now, +that justice calls upon him for execution. Sir Walter Ralegh hath been +a statesman, and a man who in regard of his parts and quality is to be +pitied. He hath been as a star at which the world hath gazed; but stars +may fall, nay, they must fall when they trouble the sphere wherein they +abide. It is, therefore, His Majesty's pleasure now to call for +execution of the former judgment, and I now require order for the same." + +Ralegh listened to this pompous mockery and said, when asked what he +could say for himself why execution should not be awarded against him, +"My Lords, my voice is grown weak by reason of my late sickness, and an +ague which I now have; for I was now brought hither out of it." And the +Lord Chief Justice answered: "Sir Walter, your voice is audible enough." + +Indeed, there was little to be said by Ralegh, or any man, against a +charge thus raked up from the past. The affair of this trial was a mere +form, and Ralegh reserved his strength for his last great avowal at the +supreme moment of his life. + +He was taken away to the Gatehouse prison. Immediately the carpenters +set to work to erect the scaffold. His execution was fixed for an early +hour on the following morning. For on that day men's attention would be +turned from the happenings at Westminster; and towards the City where +the Lord Mayor's show would take place. Men's attention was not desired +for the morrow's deed at Westminster. + + * * * * * + +Ralegh was a poet. A man cannot be a poet in his spare time. There is a +realm which Beauty rules--that Beauty which Castiglione celebrated, and +the understanding of which he made the last and chief attribute of his +Courtier, with that realm Ralegh was in communion. From it he drew +strength for his life. Such communion does unfit a man for the business +of life, but gives him power to cope with its difficulties by enabling +him to look a little beyond them. It raises him above the pettiness of +things, and makes him see more clearly because he sees things at their +proper value and in their right proportion. This perception--this +sensitiveness--made him suffer more acutely, but endowed him with the +power of detachment, the power to rise above his personal griefs. + +Ralegh was a poet. He expressed himself in his life in a way strangely +akin to that in which he expressed himself in his actual poetry. He +resembles some knight in a Morris romance in his adoration for his +Queen, and in his love for his wife. + + But true love is a durable fire, + In the mind ever burning, + Never sick, never old, never dead, + From itself never turning. + +That spirit informed his life, and is linked with his every achievement. +"Schoenheit geniessen heiss die Welt verstehn." And one of the most +memorable facts of the Russo-Japanese war was that the invincible +Admiral Togo wrote home asking for plum trees in flower to be sent to +him; he needed the strength which he drew from looking at their beauty. +Castiglione was right. This perception of beauty is the last quality of +the perfect courtier; from that alone can strength be gathered and +stored for this strange struggle of life. + +And now Ralegh had reached the last day of his life. Early next morning +he was destined to solve the mighty problem with which poets and +philosophers have always wrestled in vain--the problem which is the +mightiest in life, which lends life colour and poignancy--the problem +of death. The excitement of knowing that in a few hours he would be +taken into that great mystery must have been overpowering. He no longer +needed consolation: fear was lost in eagerness to know. And a sense of +relief came to him that he would be driven no longer to fight on in the +long battle of life with the fierce energy that mastered him. He had +sufficient experience to be a little weary of life; he had sufficient +vitality to welcome death. He knew that he saw the sun set for the last +time; that for the last time he saw the approach of night, the familiar +faces of men, and all the surroundings of man's life. His consciousness +was coming to an end. "Do not carry it with too much bravery," said his +kinsman, Francis Thynne. "It is my last mirth in this world," answered +Ralegh. "Do not grudge it to me." + +For the last time? Yet who can tell? What is man's knowledge when +confronted by the portentous fact of death? + +Once more Ralegh was about to journey into the unknown, and his spirit +thrilled with excitement at this his last and most adventurous journey. +Dr. Tounson, the worthy Dean of Westminster, came to visit him in the +little room which was allotted to him in the Gatehouse prison. "When I +began to encourage him against the fear of death he seemed to make so +light of it that I wondered at him." + +His body was weak; his spirit was strong. Sorrow he was leaving behind +him. And until the clock struck the hour of midnight he who was to meet +death in the morning of that very day sympathized and strengthened his +wife, who had many days more through which she must live. + +At midnight Lady Ralegh left him, and for the last time he began to set +his affairs in order. He knew now how he could clear his name before the +world. His spirit was so alive that he never doubted his power to die as +he had lived--splendidly. He determined what he would say in the +morning--quietly, resolutely--and having done so, still there was some +time at his disposal. He opened the Bible that lay on the table and upon +the first blank page he wrote-- + + Even such is time! who takes in trust + Our youth, our joys, and all we have, + And pays us but with earth and dust; + Who in the dark and silent grave, + When we have wandered all our ways, + Shuts up the story of our days. + But from that earth, that grave and dust + The Lord shall raise me up, I trust. + +And now the time had come for him to face the high ordeal of public +death, which was to be the last triumph of his great spirit. A goblet of +sack was brought him and he made his way to the scaffold. A crowd was +already assembled--waiting. + +Ralegh walked to the scaffold with head erect, complete master of the +terrible situation. He noticed an old man standing in the front of the +crowd with uncovered head, and taking off the covering he wore under his +hat, he gave it to the old man, saying, "You need this, my friend, more +than I do." The crowd pressed upon Ralegh and the struggle to reach the +scaffold made his body, still weak from the ague, breathless. It is in +accordance with the irony of things that even this last path was not +clear for him. At last he stood upon the scaffold, erect and smiling. +The crowd listened for his death speech. The chief men in England were +there to hear his last words and to witness his death. Ralegh began to +speak. He said-- + +"I have had fits of ague for these two days. If therefore you perceive +any weakness in me, ascribe it to my sickness rather than to myself. I +am infinitely bound to God that He hath vouchsafed me to die in the +sight of so noble an assembly, and not in darkness, in that Tower where +I have suffered so much adversity and a long sickness. I thank God that +my fever hath not taken me at this time, as I prayed to God it might +not." + +His voice grew weak. He feared that the nobles who were in the balconies +would not hear him. So he asked them to come upon the scaffold. They +consented and came. Each shook Ralegh's hand, as he thanked them for +this last courtesy. + +He continued his speech amidst the silence of the crowd. He defended +himself against the charges of complicity with France, of disloyalty to +the King, and then he said-- + +"For my going to Guiana many thought I never intended it, but intended +only to gain my liberty,--which I would I had been so wise as to have +kept. But as I shall answer it before the same God before whom I am +shortly to appear, I endeavoured, and I hoped to have enriched the King, +myself, and my partners. But I was undone by Keymis, a wilful fellow, +who seeing my son slain and myself unpardoned, would not open the mine, +and killed himself. + +"It was also told the King that I was brought by force into England, and +that I did not intend to come back again. I protest that when the voyage +succeeded not, and that I resolved to come home, my company mutinied +against me. They fortified the gun-room against me, and kept me within +my own cabin; and would not be satisfied except I would take a corporal +oath not to bring them into England until I had gotten the pardons of +four of them,--there being four men unpardoned. So I took that oath. And +we came into Ireland, where they would have landed in the north parts. +But I would not, because there the inhabitants were all Redshanks. So we +came to the south, hoping from thence to write to his Majesty for their +pardons. In the meantime I offered to places in Devon and Cornwall, to +lie safe till they had been pardoned." + +Ralegh now turned towards Lord Arundel, who was standing on the +scaffold. "I am glad that my Lord of Arundel is here. For when I went +down to my ship, his Lordship and divers others were with me. At the +parting salutation, his Lordship took me aside and desired me freely and +faithfully to resolve him in one request, which was, 'Whether I made a +good voyage or a bad, yet I should return again into England.' I made +you a promise and gave you my faith that I would." + +Lord Arundel said in a loud voice, "And so you did. It is true that they +were the last words I spake unto you." + +And Ralegh went on: "Other reports are raised of me, touching that +voyage which I value not.... I will yet borrow a little time of Master +Sheriff to speak of one thing more. It doth make my heart bleed to hear +such an imputation laid upon me. It was said that I was a persecutor of +my Lord of Essex, and that I stood in a window over against him when he +suffered, and puffed out tobacco in disdain of him. I take God to +witness that my eyes shed tears for him when he died. And as I hope to +look in the face of God hereafter, my Lord of Essex did not see my face +when he suffered. I was afar off, in the Armoury, where I saw him but he +saw not me. And my soul hath been many times grieved that I was not near +unto him when he died, because I understood that he asked for me, at his +death, to be reconciled to me. I confess I was of a contrary faction. +But I knew that my Lord of Essex was a noble gentleman, and that it +would be worse with me when he was gone. For those that set me up +against him did afterwards set themselves against me." + +Ralegh knelt in prayer, asking the assembled crowd to pray with him. He +rose and the executioner knelt before him to ask his forgiveness. Ralegh +put his hand on the masked figure's two shoulders and said that he +forgave him with all his heart. "Show me the axe," he cried, "show me +the axe." Then he felt the edge with his thumb and approved of its +sharpness. "This gives me no fear. It is a sharp and fair medicine to +cure me of all my diseases." And presently, "When I stretch forth my +hands despatch me." He turned to all the people and said in a loud +voice, "Give me heartily your prayers." + +His velvet cloak was taken off. He knelt in prayer. He laid his neck +upon the block and stretched out his hands. But the masked figure in +black, the executioner, was unmanned by the scene. He could not raise +the axe. Again Ralegh stretched out his hands. The man remained +motionless. Then Ralegh cried out, "What dost thou fear? Strike, man, +strike!" It was necessary for him to give the man courage to kill him. +At last the axe was lifted, and with two swift blows his neck was +severed. + +So lived Sir Walter Ralegh, and so he died. + +"O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could advise, thou hast +persuaded; what none hath dared, thou hast done; and whom all the world +hath flattered, thou only hast cast out of the world and despised: thou +hast drawne together all the farre stretched greatnesse, all the pride, +crueltie, and ambition of man, and covered it all over with these two +narrow words--_Hic jacet_." + + + + +INDEX + + +A + + Abington, Edward, 64 + + Agouhanna, 4 + + Albert, Archduke of Austria, 206 + + Alley, Captain, 273 + + Aloblaster, Mr., 242 + + Amadas, Philip, 79, 82, 84 + + Anderson, Lord Chief Justice, 205 + + Andrewes, Bishop, 292 + + Andrews, Peter, 276, 278, 279 + + Anjou, Duc d', 61 + + Arenbergh, Count, 187, 202, 203, 204, 206, 207, 211, 222 + + Armada, 97, 99, 100, 102, 104, 148 + + Arundel, Lord, 63, 302 + + Ascham, Roger, 11, 13, 55, 56 + + Ashton, Roger, 228 + + Aubrey, 25, 26, 29, 129, 197, 256, 257 + + Azores, 77, 161, 268 + + +B + + Babington, Antony, 63, 64, 65, 66, 73 + + Bacon, Francis, Baron of Verulam, 14, 50, 67, 100, 125, 168 + + Bailey, Captain, 270 + + Ballard, John, 63, 64 + + Balzac, H. de, 72 + + Bancroft, Bishop, 200 + + Barlow, Arthur, 79, 82, 84 + + Barnefield, 52 + + Barnwell, Robert, 64 + + Barry, Lord, 36 + + Bath, Earl of, 90 + + Beale, Bishop, 68, 69 + + Beauchamp, Lord, 192 + + Beaumont, Francis, 238 + + Bedford, Francis Earl of, 65 + + Berreo, 130, 131, 132, 133, 143 + + Bingham, Admiral, 37 + + Biron, Duc de, 175, 176 + + Blount, Charles, 116 + + Blount, Sir Christopher, 172 + + Boyle, Richard, Earl of Cork, 94 + + Bradshaw, Captain, 269 + + Bristol, 4 + + Brooke, George, 199, 200, 201, 202, 206, 207, 217, 218, 234 + + Brown, Richard, 65 + + Brownists, 116 + + Buckhurst, Lord Treasurer, 89, 197 + + Budaeus, 76 + + Budleigh Salterton, 2, 6, 107 + + Burghley. _See_ CECIL, WILLIAM + + Burr, 250 + + Burrough, Sir John, 122, 123 + + Burton, 62 + + +C + + Cadiz, 150, 152, 157, 158, 161, 169, 205, 227 + + Calfield, Captain, 131, 134, 135, 138, 140, 146 + + Camden, 19, 38 + + Campian, 219 + + Carew, George, 162 + + Carew, Sir Nicholas, 198 + + Carew, Peter, 7 + + Carey, Sir Robert, 66, 189, 191, 193, 194 + + Carleton, Sir Dudley, 227, 228, 234 + + Caroli, Falls of, 144, 145 + + Carr, Robert, 237, 246, 253 + + Carthier, Jacques, 3 + + Castiglione, 13, 44, 52, 297, 298 + + Cecil, Lady, 158 + + Cecil, Sir Robert, Earl of Salisbury, 50, 55, 89, 93, 96, 117, 123, + 124, 125, 151, 152, 158, 160, 167, 168, 169, 170, 172, 173, 174, + 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, + 191, 192, 193, 197, 198, 200, 202, 203, 204, 205, 211, 214, 218, + 220, 223, 227, 228, 229, 230, 233, 240, 241 + + Cecil, William (son of Sir Robert), 170, 174, 175 + + Cecil, William, Lord Burghley, 27, 29, 36, 42, 47, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, + 58, 73, 90, 98, 125, 167, 168, 173 + + Chamberlain, John, 228 + + Champernoun, C., 11 + + Champernoun, Gawen, 19 + + Champernoun, Henry, 16, 19 + + Champernoun, John, 16 + + Charles, Archduke, 51 + + Charles, Prince, 270 + + Chartley, 62 + + Chester, Charles, 26 + + Chudleigh, Captain, 274 + + Cieza, Pedro de, 129 + + Clark, Captain, 135 + + Clarke, 217, 234 + + Clyst, St. Mary, 6 + + Cobham, Lord, 169, 173, 174, 176, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 199, 200, + 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, + 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 234, + 235, 236 + + Coke, Attorney-General, 205, 208, 209, 210, 211, 214, 217, 218, 219, + 220, 221, 222, 223 + + Columbus, Christopher, 71, 72 + + Comestor, Peter, 108 + + Copley, 199, 208, 217 + + Cortez, 148 + + Coryat, Thomas, 244, 245 + + Cottington, Lord, 259, 270 + + Courtenay, Sir William, 63 + + Cranbourne, Lord, 241, 242 + + Crosby Hall, 175 + + Cross, Sir Robert, 123, 197 + + Crymes, Mr., 89, 96 + + Cumberland, Earl of, 123, 125 + + +D + + Davis, John, 79 + + Defoe, Daniel, 58 + + Dekker, Thomas, 58 + + Desmond, Earl of, 94 + + De Thou, 237 + + Devereux, Robert, Earl of Essex, 66, 106, 107, 114, 115, 116, 150, + 151, 152, 153, 155, 156, 158, 160, 161, 163, 165, 167, 168, 170, + 172, 175, 176, 180, 225, 227, 302, 303 + + Devonshire, Earl of, 223 + + Digby, Sir John, 259, 270 + + Dingle, 34 + + Douglas, John, 134, 135 + + Dowe, Ann, 52 + + Drake, Sir Francis, 72, 86, 97, 98, 101, 102, 104, 148, 285 + + Drayton, Michael, 52 + + Dudley, Mr., 154 + + Dudley, Robert, Earl of Leicester, 25, 43, 51, 52, 53, 106, 266 + + Dunn, 64 + + Durham House, 171, 173, 174, 175, 177, 205, 256 + + Dyer, 220 + + +E + + Edward VI., 3 + + Edwards, Edward, 19, 22, 31, 93, 207, 209, 236, 248, 272 + + Elizabeth of Austria, 253 + + Elizabeth, Queen of England, 8, 16, 19, 28, 38, 46-7, 52, 54, 60, + etc., 68, 77, 98-9, 107, 111, 115-6, 118-9, 126, 150, 157, 163, + 168-9, 173, 175, etc., 182, 184, 188-9, 191, etc., 207, 237, 246, + 257, 281, 295 + + Elizabethan Life, 1, 9, 17, 27, 44, 99, 245 + + Erinetta, 279 + + Erskine, Sir Thomas, 197 + + Essex, Earl of. _See_ DEVEREUX, ROBERT + + Euphuism, 58, 59 + + Exeter, 5, 6 + + +F + + Fayal, 163, 167, 169 + + Ferdinando, the pilot, 136, 137, 141 + + Ferne, Sir John, 262 + + Fielding, Henry, 58 + + Fitzmaurice, 33 + + Fitzwilliam, Sir W., 94 + + Fletcher, John, 238 + + Flores, 163 + + Florida, 79 + + Fortescue, Justice, 215 + + Fortescue, Captain, 63 + + Fotheringay Castle, 68 + + Fowler, Sir Thomas, 214 + + Foxe, John, 7 + + France, Anatole, 251 + + Frobisher, Martin, 22, 72, 97, 117, 122 + + Froude, J. A., 35, 99 + + Fuller, Thomas, 48, 249 + + +G + + Garcia de Aguilar, 279 + + Gascoyne, George, 21, etc. + + Gascoyne, Sir John, 24 + + Gatehouse, The, 270, 297, 299 + + Gawdy, Justice, 205 + + Gell, John, 26 + + Gerrard, Sir George, 73 + + Gib, John, 234-5 + + Gifford, George, 134, 138, 140, 146 + + Gifford, Gilbert, 62 + + Gilbert, Adrian, 78-9 + + Gilbert, Sir Humfrey, 22-3, 29-30, 72-3, 75, etc. + + Gilbert, Sir John, 90, 135 + + Gilbert, Otho, 7 + + Godolphin, Sir Francis, 204 + + Gomera, 271 + + Gondomar, Count of, Sarmiento de Agunar, 199, 237, 253, 258, 260, + 269-70, 272, 287-8 + + Gordon, Harry, 146 + + Gorges, Sir A., 161, 164-5 + + Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 171-2 + + Gosse, Edmond, 248 + + Granganamen, 80 + + Gaunt, John, 27 + + Gregory XIII., 63 + + Grenville, John, 135, 147 + + Grenville, Sir Richard, 82-3, 86-7, 90, 121, 155, 289 + + Grey, Lord, 199, 234, etc. + + Grey de Wilton, Lord, 6, 25, 35, etc., 48, 109 + + Guiana, 113, 118, 126, 128-9, 131, 133-4, 137, 141, etc., 146, etc., + 158, 161, 187, 198, 215, 227, 254-5, 258-9, 295, 301 + + Guanipa, Bay of, 129, 134-5 + + Guildford, Lady, 191 + + Guise, Duke of, 18, 20 + + +H + + Hakluyt, 4, 72, 84, 122 + + Hale, Serjeant, 205, 207 + + Hall, Fielding, 81 + + Hampden, John, 278 + + Harrington, James, 256 + + Harris, Sir Christopher, 289 + + Harvey, Gabriel, 15-6, 25, 110 + + Harvey, Sir George, 204 + + Harvey, John, 15 + + Harvey, Richard, 15 + + Hastings, Captain Edward, 262 + + Hawkins, Sir John, 97, 99, 150, 285 + + Hayes, 2, 6 + + Hayes, Edward, 74-5 + + Hayes, Sir James, 235 + + Hayman, Samuel, 107 + + Henry IV. of France, 183, 192 + + Henry, Prince, 243, 251, 253-4, 281 + + History of the World, 20, 42, 102, 130, 149-50, 163, 245, 247, 249, + 251 + + Hochelaga, 3 + + Holinshed, 5, 36 + + Hooker, John, 5, 14, 36 + + Howard, Lord Charles, of Effingham, 99, etc., 121, 150, 152, 153, + 167-8, 190 + + Howard, Lord Henry, 179, etc., 183, 185, 187, 197, 202, 205, 218, + 254 + + Howard, Lord Thomas, Earl of Suffolk, 151, 154, etc., 161, 205, 207 + + Howes, 27 + + Huguenots, 16, 18, 259 + + Hume, Major Martin, 184, 258 + + +I + + Infanta, 179, 259, 270 + + Ireland, 33 + + Irish, 33 + + Islands Voyage, 161, 165 + + +J + + James I., King of England, 7, 68, 168-9, 179, etc., 183, etc., 191, + etc., 203, 209, 228, etc., 235-7, 239, 246, 251-2, 259, 261, 267, + 270, 283, 287-8, 290-3, 295-7, 301-2 + + Jersey, 173-4, 177, 187, 198, 203, 240 + + Jones, 64 + + Jonson, Ben, 52, 111, 244 + + +K + + Kennedy, Elizabeth, 68-9 + + Keymis, Captain, 135, 149, 219, 262, 272, 274, 276, 278, 280-2, 284, + 301 + + Kilcolman Castle, 107-8, 111 + + King, Captain, 134, 288-9, 292, 294 + + Knollys, Sir Francis, 31 + + +L + + Lake, Thomas, 197 + + Lane, Captain Ralph, 82, 84-5 + + Languedoc, Caves of, 20 + + La Renzi, 202, 211 + + Le Clerc, 293 + + Lee, Sydney, 168 + + Leicester, Earl of. _See_ DUDLEY, ROBERT + + Lennox, Duke of, 183, 214 + + Lever, Thomas, 14 + + Lionello, 261 + + London, description of, 26-7, 256 + + Lopez, Francisco, 129 + + Lyly, John, 58-9 + + +M + + Macaulay, Lord, 116 + + Manourie, Dr., 291, 295 + + Mar, Earl of, 183 + + Markham, Sir Griffin, 199, 209, 234-6 + + Marlowe, Christopher, 71-2 + + Mary, Queen of Scots, 60-4, 66-8, 70 + + Masham, Thomas, 158, 161 + + Maupassant, Guy de, 46 + + McCarthy, Florence, 187 + + Medicis, Catherine de, 47 + + Medina Sidonia, Duke of, 100-1 + + Menatonon, King, 85 + + Mendoza, 63 + + Meteren, Van, 57 + + Milton, John, 51 + + Mirabeau, 237 + + Modbury, 16 + + Moncke, Levinus, 242 + + Monson, 165 + + Montagu, Lord, 63 + + Morris, William, 298 + + Mountjoy, Lord, 116 + + Mowbray, Barbara, 68-9 + + Moyle, Henry, 37 + + Munster, 34, 36, 177 + + +N + + Nash, Thomas, 15, 53, 58 + + Naunton, Sir T., 116 + + Nicotiana, 87 + + Norris, or Norreys, Sir John, 21, 104 + + North, Captain, 274 + + Novion, David de, 293 + + +O + + Oldys, William, 21-2 + + Orinoco, 141-2, 145, 258, 282 + + Ormond, Earl of, 36 + + Overbury, 237 + + Oxford, 11, 16 + + Oxford, Earl of, 56 + + +P + + Palomeque d'Acuna, 278-9 + + Parker, Captain, 129, 274 + + Parma, Prince of, 98, 101 + + Paulet, 62, 67 + + Peckham, Sir Thomas, 73 + + Pelham, Lord Justice, 35-6 + + Pennington, John, 261, 285 + + Peyton, Sir John, 203 + + Philip II. of Spain, 8, 97-9, 104, 131, 148, 167, 179 + + Phillips, 62 + + Phillips, Serjeant, 219, 220 + + Pigott, Captain John, 272, 274 + + Pine, Henry, 267 + + Pizzaro, 148 + + Plymouth, 63, 151-2, 162, 262, 285, 289, 290-1 + + Pole, Sir William, 5 + + Pope, Mr., 151 + + Popham, Lord Chief Justice, 205, 207, 210, 216, 218-9, 224 + + Prest, Agnes, 7 + + Preston, Sir Amias, 218 + + +R + + Rakele, 36 + + Ralegh, Carew, 280 + + Ralegh, Lady, 174, 185, 253, 273, 285, 289, 292, 299 + + Ralegh, George, 274, 276, 279, 280-2 + + Ralegh, Sir Walter, _passim_. + + Ralegh, Walter (son of Sir Walter), 174-5, 256-7, 276-7, 279-80 + + Raleigh, Professor, 74, 81 + + Ramea, 4 + + Reeks, 270 + + Rhodes, Cecil, 254 + + Richardson, Samuel, 58 + + Roanoak, 81 + + Robsart, Amy, 51-2 + + Roche, Lord, 40-3 + + Roos, Lord, 270 + + Ruddyer, Sir Benjamin, 257 + + +S + + Saguenay, 3 + + St. Bartholomew's Eve, 20 + + St. Leger, Sir Warham, 262, 274 + + St. Thomas, 283, 285 + + Sanders, 34 + + Santa Cruz, Marquis of, 100, 103 + + Sarmiento. _See_ GONDOMAR + + Savoy, Duke of, 206 + + Scott, Thomas, 242 + + Scroope, Lady, 193 + + Sextus V., 98 + + Seymour, William, 179 + + Shaw, Bernard, 238 + + Shelley, P. B., 114 + + Sherborne, 125, 158, 173, 175, 177, 240-1, 290 + + Shrewsbury, Lord, 64, 68 + + Sidney, Sir Philip, 13, 20, 24, 52-3, 59, 66, 82, 110, 111 + + Smerwick, or Smerthwick, 37, 109 + + Smith, Captain John, 73, 79, 84-5 + + Sparrow, Francis, 146 + + Spenser, Edmund, 24-5, 58, 107, etc., 115, 120-1, 149, 171, 227, 244, + 266 + + Standen, Sir Anthony, 158 + + Stanhope, Sir John, 205 + + Stannaries, 88, 93, 109, 240 + + Steele Glas, the, 21, 24 + + Stourton, Lord, 63 + + Stowe, 11, 16 + + Strozzi, Peter, 103 + + Stuart, Arabella, 179, 187, 205-8, 211, 219, 292, 294 + + Stukeley, Sir Lewis, 288, etc., 294 + + Sully, 176 + + Sussex, Duke of, 51 + + +T + + Talbot, Lord, 70 + + Talbot, John, 272 + + Terra de Bri, 275, 279 + + Thames, 3, 28, 245 + + Thomson, Captain, 123 + + Thornhurst, Captain, 274 + + Throgmorton, Elizabeth, 117, 121 + + Throgmorton, Sir Nicholas, 121 + + Thyn, Captain, 140 + + Thynne, Francis, 299 + + Tilney, Charles, 64 + + Togo, Admiral, 298 + + Toparimaca, 142 + + Tounson, Dr., 299 + + Trinidad, 129-30, 134-5, 147, 258, 275 + + Trinity College, Cambridge, 15 + + Tuga, Emperor of Guiana, 144, 146 + + +U + + Udall, John, 114, 115 + + +V + + Vaux, Lord, 63 + + Vere, Sir Francis, 156 + + Villiers, George, Duke of Buckingham, 254, 259, 270 + + Virginia, 73, 80, 82, 87, 149, 187 + + +W + + Waad, Sir William, 204, 205, 244 + + Walsingham, Sir Francis, 20, 39, 54-5, 61-2, 64, 66-7, 73, 99 + + Walton, Isaac, 49 + + Warburton, Justice, 205, 216 + + Watson, 208, 217, 234 + + Wentworth, Peter, 178 + + Whidden, Jacob, 129-30, 139 + + Whitgift, Archbishop, 49 + + Whitney, Captain, 262, 277, 279, 282, 284 + + Whyte, Rowland, 160 + + Wilde, Oscar, 59 + + Wilson, Arthur, 196 + + Winchester, 204, 230, 235, 237, 239, 242 + + Winchester, Marquis of, 176 + + Windsor, Lord, 63 + + Wingandacoa. _See_ VIRGINIA + + Wingina, 80, 81 + + Wingfield, Richard, 94 + + Winter, Sir William, 37 + + Winwood, Sir Ralph, 254, 258 + + Wokokon, 80, 83 + + Wollaston, Captain, 262, 277, 279, 282, 284 + + Wood, Anthony, 13 + + Woodson, Alexander, 4 + + Wotton, Lord, 205 + + +Y + + Yorkshire Tragedy, the, 52 + + Youghal, 101, 108, 125 + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Great Ralegh, by Hugh De Selincourt + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GREAT RALEGH *** + +***** This file should be named 37080.txt or 37080.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/0/8/37080/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Katie Hernandez and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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