Raleigh had thoughtfully provided, and was disappointed to find the place deserted. He left fifteen men, well supplied for two years, to form the nucleus of another colony; and in May, 1587, a hundred and fifty emigrants sailed from Plymouth, under the leadership of Captain John White, who, with twelve others, constituted the incorporation of "Governors and Assistants of the city of Raleigh, in Virginia." The fifteen men left by Grenville had perished—massacred, perhaps, by the Indians; and White's party endured great hardships. The leader returned to England for supplies, but it was difficult to forward them, as, in consequence of the threatening aspect of Spain, ships were forbidden to leave English ports. Raleigh, however, had influence enough to obtain permission for three vessels to take out supplies and new colonists. They were attacked on the way, and compelled to return.

We anticipate events by saying that, between 1587 and 1602, Raleigh fitted out, at his own charge, five Virginian expeditions, for the purpose of relieving, and if need be rescuing, the settlers, -unsuccessfully, it may be added, for the whites were massacred by the Indians; and, in the words of one of his biographers, " Virginia only lost his care and labour when he had himself lost his liberty." At one time he leased his patent to a company of merchants, but they were unsuccessful; and in a letter to Sir Robert Cecil, just before his own fortunes failed, he said, "I shall yet live to see it [Virginia] an English nation." It is estimated that he expended £40,000, an immense fortune in those days, in his various attempts to colonize Virginia.

Raleigh retained the favour of Elizabeth, and took an active part in parliamentary business (representing Devonshire in Parliament), and in many naval enterprises and privateering expeditions. In 1588, being then a member of the Council of War, and commander of the forces in Cornwall, of which county he was lieutenantgeneral, he furnished a ship and men to the fleet assembled to repel the Armada, for which he was rewarded by an augmentation of his patent on wines, and the right to levy tonnage and poundage on them. In 1589, he accompanied the expedition of Drake and Norris to Lisbon, and on his return made a visit to Ireland, where he associated in intimate friendship with Edmund Spenser, whom he had known when previously in that country, and who commemorated Raleigh's return from Lisbon in the well-known poem, "Colin Clout's come home again." In 1592, he sailed with fifteen ships to intercept the Spanish fleet, but was recalled by the Queen.

MARRIAGE, AND DISGRACE AT COURT.

The hitherto unclouded fortunes of Sir Walter were about this time doomed to experience a reverse. We have mentioned in Spenser's poetry an allusion to "Amoret," and by that name was intended Elizabeth Throgmorton, or Throck morton, daughter of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, who had been ambassador to France. The young lady was one of the Queen's maids of honour; and her beauty-she was tall, with fine features and large blue eyes-attracted the attention of Raleigh. An illicit amour was the result, followed in 1593 by marriage. When the Queen became aware of what had occurred, she gave way to an ungovernable fit of rage. Not only had Sir Walter presumed to discover somebody whom he thought more attractive than herself-an offence for which she could scarcely inflict a legal punishment-but he, a gentleman of the Court, had dared to marry without royal permission; and for that offence he and his wife were committed to the Tower, and several of his offices were taken from him. It is lamentable that a man of Raleigh's greatness should have condescended to the ignoble course he then pursued to obtain forgiveness. He knew well the weakness of Elizabeth, and proffered the most abject flattery. In a letter to Cecil, which it was arranged should be shown to the Queen, he complained that he endured intense agonies by being deprived of the opportunity of seeing her, whom he had been "wont to behold riding like Alexander, hunting like Diana, walking like Venus-the gentle wind blowing her fair hair about her pure checks like a nymph; sometimes sitting in the shade like a goddess, some. times playing on the lute like Orpheus." This fulsome adulation so far influenced the Queen, that after two months she gave him his liberty, but forbade him to approach the Court.

About two years previously, the Queen had conferred on him the castle and manor of Sherborne, in Dorsetshire, formerly the property of the bishops of Salisbury, and obtained by the Crown by the strong if not very fair pressure the Queen so well knew how to exert. Thither Sir Walter and his fair and loving wife retired, and for a time he occupied himself with tranquil pursuits, without, however, neglecting his duties in Parliament, where he supported the Crown in its application for subsidies, a loyal course which considerably mollified the arbitrary Queen. Under his management, the Sherborne estate assumed a new aspect. The old castle was repaired, a magnificent mansion erected, and the extensive grounds laid out with exquisite skill and taste.

iar lens and orchards were planted; a river was. made to wind, with cascades and numerous brooks drivalets, among luxuriant plantations.

EXPEDITION TO GUIANA.

Raleigh's active mind, however, could not be ted with such calm pleasures as garden and rra senes afford, or with such recreations as eng pastoral and amatory poems. He loved tas place, however, and in later life spoke with a warm remembrance of the domestic happiness ai enjoyed there. His brilliant Court life vas pr bably ended, but there remained the ad seas and the mysterious lands of the en continent to be explored. While in the 7 ver, he had heard of the capture of the Great

rk, the richest Spanish treasure-ship which Tsed the ocean. It was brought into PlySata, and even, after a vast amount of the

e had been carried away surreptitiously ↑ertan dignified persons who had access, and 7th officers and crew who captured it, the ad the contents realized about half a million Day. He pined for the opportunity of nga similar prize; and his old plans for shing colonies were more ardently cheed than ever. From boyhood he had been fa with the history of the Spanish con

He had read with avidity every availarrative since published, and had heard, i to a great extent, believed in, the existence El Dorado in the interior of the vast region by the Orinoco and the great rivers of zat His imagination was fired by the exTag stories told of palaces with golden roofs,

vers washing down golden sands. The of the Spanish explorers to reach these erful regions, in the existence of which

firmly believed, Raleigh attributed to want of knowledge and endurance rather to a mistaken pursuit of a glittering

Early in 1595 be bade farewell to Sherborne the pleasures of domestic life, and prepared fa voyage which he hoped would result in a ataon of the visions he had indulged in.

months previously he had sent a ship anded by an experienced sailor, Captain dd, to Trinidad, to obtain information ting the entrance to the Orinoco; but the sh governor of the island, Don Antonio de a, had himself made an attempt to reach thantom El Dorado, and not only impeded don in his inquiries, but seized and im

ined some of his men.

Un the 9th of February, Raleigh, who had

made great preparations and been assisted in the necessary expenses by the Lord High Admiral Howard and Sir Robert Cecil, sailed from Plymouth with five vessels, having on board about a hundred soldiers, hardy sailors, and a few gentlemer. volunteers. Towards the end of March he reached Trinidad, and with characteristic vigour took by surprise possession of the town of San Josef, and made prisoner the governor, De Berio. Finding him to be a “gentleman of great assuredness and of a great heart," Raleigh treated him with considerable respect; and on his part, the governor, supposing that Sir Walter's real destination was Virginia, imparted to his captor a great amount of information respecting the attempts to reach the "golden land," and related many marvellous statements made by persons who professed to have visited it and seen some of its wonders. He showed him his own plans for another expedition, and told him he had sent one of his principal officers to Spain to make preparations. Then Raleigh disclosed his own projects, and De Berio saw to his chagrin how he had been deceived; was, says Raleigh, "struck with a great melancholy and sadness, and used all the arguments he could to dissuade me," representing the dangers and miseries certain to be encountered.

Nothing daunted, but rather animated, for his was one of those brave natures which delight in difficulties, Sir Walter set sail for the month of the Orinoco. His ship was too deep in draught for the shallow channels, and boats were employed. In these frail vessels, exposed without shelter to burning sun and torrents of rain, the expedition navigated, for a month, the labyrinth of streams, and at last was rewarded by a sight of the majestic river. It was ascended for about sixty leagues, and then the rapid rise of the waters rendered further progress impossible. No golden city was seen, and no glimpse afforded of the "Amazons," or female warriors, of whom the early Spanish explorers had heard so much, and who gave a name to the great river of South America. Raleigh made friends of some native caciques and chiefs whom he met, and produced a very favourable impression. Another explorer, Leigh, nine years afterwards, met with a chief who came to him from a long distance to inquire about Raleigh, who was well remembered.

On Sir Walter's return, he published a finely written account of "The Discovery of the Large Rich, and Beautiful Empire of Guiana," in which he expressed his assurance "that the sun covereth not so much riches in any part of the world.

Hume and some others have characterized the narrative as "full of the grossest and most palpable lies." Raleigh appears to have believed implicitly in the stories of golden cities, and amazonian warriors, and even of the savage people who had "eyes in their shoulders and mouths in their breasts."

A map of the regions visited, prepared by Raleigh himself, and signed by him, is preserved in the archives of Salamanca; and he brought home some pieces of quartz, which were assayed in the mint of London, and found to contain gold. He thus describes the beauty of the country over the great fells of the Caroni, or Caroli:

"I never saw a more beautiful country, nor more lovely prospects; hills so raised, here and there, over the valleys; the rivers winding into divers branches, the plains adjoining all fair green grass, without bushes or stubble; the ground of hard sand, easy to march on, either for horse or foot; the deer crossing on every path; the birds towards evening singing on every tree with a thousand several tunes; cranes and herons, of white, crimson, and carnation, perching on the river-side; the air fresh with a gentle easterly wind; and every stone that we stooped to take up promising either gold or silver, by its complexion."

It is scarcely to be wondered at that Raleigh, with whom the idea of colonization and extension of the empire was a passion, cherished the idea of leading a large army sufficient to conquer the country, and establish commercial companies which would develope a trade by which London would far surpass in wealth the proud city of Seville itself.

His report of the results of his expedition, and perhaps a little of the adroit flattery in which he was so great an adept—such as relating how some of the native chiefs had been struck with admiration when he showed them a portrait of Elizabeth-restored him to Court favour. He was reinstated in his position as Captain of the Guard, and was besides appointed to the lucrative governorship of Jersey; and we are told in the "Sidney Papers" that he rode abroad with the Queen, and frequented the privy chamber 66 as boldly as he was wont to do before."

THE CADIZ AND AZORES EXPEDITIONS. In June, 1596, an expedition was sent to attack Cadiz. Lord Howard of Effingham, the admiral who had struck such a brave blow at the great Armada, commanded the fleet; and the forces to be employed on land were under the leadership of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex,

who was then the prime favourite of the Queen, Raleigh was selected with Sir George Carew and other officers of experience to form a council, tc whose consideration Essex (whose tendency to rashness was mistrusted) was directed to submit all important operations. The fleet got within the harbour, notwithstanding a vigorous fire from the forts and fifteen Spanish men-of-war, three of which were captured. Essex then landed part of his forces, and the city capitalated, the inhabitants paying a heavy ransom (about four millions sterling) for their lives. The fortifications were razed, and the greater part of the houses burned. In the action Raleigh received a wound in the leg. On his return, he wrote a very animated account of the capture of the city.

Essex and Raleigh were rivals, and on the side of the former especially there was great ani. mosity; but Raleigh generously bore testimony to the great merits of his leader. In a letter to Cecil, written immediately after the action, and still existing in the British Museum, he said. "The Earl has behaved himself both valiantly and advisedly in the highest degree, without pride and without cruelty, and hath gotten great honour and much love of all."

A year afterwards, June, 1597, Essex was appointed to the command of another expedition, in which also Raleigh took part, with the rank of rear-admiral. The fleet sailed from Ply. mouth, but was driven back by a storm, and it did not make a successful start until August 17. The destination was the Azores, and three Spanish ships were captured, and the islands Fayal, Graciosa and Flores taken possession of. Fayal was taken by a division of the squadron commanded by Raleigh, and his brilliant conduct on that occasion aroused a spirit of jealousy on the part of Essex, who, after his appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in 1599, wrote to the Queen in terms of strong hostility to Raleigh. We need not enter into the details of the fall of Essex, and the rash resistance he made to the Queen's authority, for which he was convicted of high treason and beheaded. Raleigh certainly showed no friendship towards him, and has been accused of writing a letter to Cecil, urging the execution of his former friend and associate. The letter, however, may bear a more favourable construction, as only advising the policy of reducing Essex to such a condition that he should be unable further to disturb the State. In his official capacity as Captain of the Guard, Raleigh was present at the execution of the brave, but too reckless, Earl. It is certainly not

WORK IN PARLIAMENT,

About this time he took an active part in ariamentary work, especially in advocating the freedom of capital and labour, anticipating me of the most valuable doctrines of modern

cal economy. He earnestly opposed the estrictions on cultivation and the compulsory production of certain crops, which were so highly apped by Bacon and other great authorities. *I do not like," he said, "this conspiring of en to misuse or use their grounds at our wills; but rather wish to let every man use his ground fx that which it is most fit, and therein follow Lawn discretion." He also strongly advocated the policy of setting free the trade in corn. "The Hollanders," he urged, "who never sow

have by their industry such plenty that by can serve other nations; and it is the best ry to set tillage at liberty, and leave every man free, which is the desire of a true English

In the popular mind the fame of Raleigh is iated with the introduction of tobacco and the potato plant; but it is well to remember that was not only the first Englishman who prolonization and foresaw the greatness of the English race on American soil, but he was the earliest English free trader.

DEATH OF ELIZABETH.

On the 24th of March, 1603, the great Queen abeth died at Richmond Palace, and with er faded the star of Raleigh's fortunes. Her pang admiration of the handsome figure and plant bearing of the man, her womanish weaktem which led her to accept flatteries from him and indulge in fantastic gallantries, had long sone been forgotten; bat to the last the greatkarted and energetic queen appreciated his talents, acquirements, and courage, and no doubt gapathized with the largeness of his political Te and ambition. She had rewarded him with hon urs and emoluments; and, remembering

werve adulation he had stooped to, it is rather painful to read Raleigh's estimate of his almistress. He might have remembered that, f he knew more of her womanly weaknesses tan ethers, she was in her public capacity a

sagacious, energetic, and courageous sovereign, who maintained, as it had scarcely ever been maintained before, the reputation of England. After her death he said, "that, however, she seemed a great and good mistress to him in the eyes of the world, yet she was unjust and tyrannous enough to him to lay many of her oppressions on him, besides seizing on the best part of everything he took at sea for herself; that she took a whole cabinet of great pearls for herself, which he had captured in a Spanish ship, without giving bim so much as one pearl."

There is a lamentable alloy of meanness in the composition of some great men; and Raleigh was an instance. He stooped to petty acts to obtain influence and wealth, even if he spent his riches magnificently; and had little scruple in neglecting or even vilifying those who had befriended him most. He strangely united cold, economical reasoning with the glow of a vigorous and exalted imagination; ambitious alike of scraping up wealth and of risking it, and life too, in splendid enterprises. His characteristic love of wealth and power, and the selfishness and "worldly wisdom" which that love engenders even in noble natures, caused him to write in "Instructions to his Son and Posterity":

"Believe thy father in this, and print it in thy thought, that what virtue soever thou hast, be it never so manifold, if thou be poor withal, thou and thy qualities shall be despised. Besides, poverty is ofttimes sent as a curse of God; it is a shame amongst men, an imprisonment of the mind, a vexation of every worthy spirit; thou shalt neither help thyself nor others; thou shalt drown thee in all thy virtues, having no means to shun them; thou shalt be a burden and an eyesore to thy friends; every man will fear thy company; thou shalt be driven basely to beg and depend on others, to flatter unworthy men, to make dishonest shifts; and, to conclude, poverty provokes a man to do infamous and detested deeds. Let not vanity therefore, or persuasion, draw thee to that waste of worldly miseries. If thou be rich, it will give thee pleasure and health; keep thy mind and body free, save thee from many perils, relieve thee in thy elder years, relieve the poor and thy honest friends, and give means to thy posterity to live and defend themselves and thine own fame."

CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY.

Raleigh was one of the leading public men who met at Whitehall for the purpose of proclaiming James of Scotland successor to Eliza beth, and he assented to a strongly expressed

opinion that James's power of appointing his countrymen to places of trust and emolument in his English dominion ought to be subjected to some limitation. Indeed, Aubrey, the gossiping chronicler of historical small-beer, asserts that Sir Walter boldly proposed to establish a republic, and said at the meeting, "Let us keep the staff in our own hand, and set up a commonwealth, and not remain subject to a mean and beggarly nation." There is a ring of Raleigh's courage, but very little of his sagacity and caution, in these words; and as Aubrey's statement is unsupported by any more competent authority, we may safely reject it. It is, however, quite possible that similar stories were carefully transmitted to the new king; for Cecil and others, long jealous of Raleigh, hitherto supported by the Queen's friendship, lost no opportunity of discrediting him. Sir Walter tried his old method of ingratiation, flattery, but it was far less effective with James than with Elizabeth. The meanness and conceit of the Scotch king prepared him to dislike the brilliant scholar, adventurer, and courtier. He received with delight, and magnificently rewarded (at the cost of others), the abject adulation of the mean creatures who thronged his Court; but in Raleigh he felt the presence of a master-mind, and was shrewd enough to suspect that considerable contempt was mingled with the flattering words. Raleigh no doubt smiled cynically when writing as he did to James, "I took it as a great comfort to behold your Majesty; always learning some good, and bettering my knowledge by hearing your Majesty discourse."

Cecil, eager to be among the first to welcome James, met him at York, on the progress to London, and lost no time in disparaging Sir Walter, who, as an early mark of royal disfavour, was deprived of the distinguished and lucrative office of Captain of the Guard, to make room for the appointment of a Scotch favourite.

Raleigh soon saw that, in presence of the opposition of Cecil and others, and the swarm of northern place-hunters, he had little chance at home of repairing his fortune, seriously impaired by the money he had expended on the various expeditions and the loss of office; and he applied to the king to countenance an attack on the Spanish possessions in America, offering to raise two thousand men, at his own cost, for the purpose. James, however, was not to be interested in the design; and then Raleigh published a tract, remarkable for statesmanship, foresight, and vigour of illustration, on the policy of continuing the protection of England to the United Pro

vinces of Holland; but this project, too, received no encouragement from the king.

James had been only about three months on the throne when two conspiracies were said to be discovered. Cne, known as the "Bye Plot," in which Raleigh was not implicated, was to seize the person of the king, carry him to the Tower, and there imprison him until he should swear to reconstruct his ministry, and grant a full toleration of religion. The second, or "Main Plot," originated with Lord Cobham, whose brother-in-law, George Brooke, was deeply concerned in the other project. Cobham applied, through the Spanish ambassador, to the King of Spain for money; and the proposition was to depose James by force of arms, and put on the throne his cousin, Lady Arabella Stuart, daughter of the brother of James's father, Lord Darnley, and equally descended from the royal line of England. Raleigh was an intimate friend of Cobham, and that intimacy was ground enough for Cecil and others to assert that he was concerned in the scheme.

The allegation was that Cobham intended to go to the King of Spain and the Archduke of Austria, and having obtained money for the purpose of bribing public men in England, then to meet Raleigh at Jersey, of which the latter was governor, and concert the means of action. On the 27th of July, 1603, Cobham and Raleigh were arrested and committed to the Tower, where, it is said, the latter attempted to commit suicide. There is some support.for this statement in the fact that in a letter from Raleigh to his wife, written at the time, he said, "I cannot live to think how I shall be derided, to think of the expectations of my enemies, the scorn I shall receive, the cruel words of lawyers, the infamous taunts and despites, to be made a wonder and a spectacle. I know," he added, "that it is forbidden to destroy our-clves; but that it is. forbidden in this sort, that we destroy not ourselves despairing of God's mercy." He counselled his wife to marry again, “to avoid poverty."

As the plague was raging in London, the trial took place at Winchester in the following September. The indictment against Sir Walter was that "he, with other persons, had conspired to kill the king, to raise a rebellion, with intent to change religion and subvert the government, and for that purpose to encourage and incite the king's enemies to invade the realm." It seems strange to us that anybody should suspect Raleigh, always a consistent Protestant, of a staunch Protestant stock, and always exhibiting an intense hatred of Spain and Spanish influence, of a