that I should be a persecutor of my lord Essex, that I rejoiced in his death, and stood in a window over against him when he suffered, and puffed out tobacco in disdain of him. Whereas, God I take to witness, I shed tears for him when he died! and as I hope to look God in the face hereafter, my lord of Essex did not see my face at the time of his death, for I was afar off in the armory where I saw him, but he saw not me. I confess, indeed, I was of a contrary faction, but I knew my lord of Essex was a noble gentleman, and that it would be worse with me when he was gone; for I got the hate of those who wished me well before, and those that set me against him afterwards set themselves against me, and were my greatest enemies; and my soul hath many times been grieved that I was not nearer to him when he died, because, as I understood afterwards, he asked for me at his death, to be reconciled to me. And now I entreat you all to join with me in prayer to the great God of Heaven, whom I have grievously offended, being a man full of all vanity, and have lived a sinful life in all sinful callings; for I have been a soldier, a captain, a sea-captain, and a courtier, which are courses of wickedness and vice; that God would forgive me, and cast away my sins from me, and that he would receive me into everlasting life: so I take my leave of you all, making my peace with God."

How are these to be reconciled?-The blot upon the moral conduct of Raleigh cannot be obliterated by any efforts of ingenuity, and we must add him to the list of those illustrious men whose brilliant disk is fatally disfigured by the dark spots which there strike us as even doubly hateful.

Still we must admire his behaviour on the scaffold as

the most sedately bold of the many examples of philosophic bravery which English history furnishes. We do not speak of those who, dying for religious opinions, had in the strength of virtuous conscience, or the warm passion of fanatical enthusiasm, the most powerful support which can be given to mortality,-but, even in comparison with these, Sir Walter Raleigh's heroism does not fade. The night before his execution he wrote these lines in his Bible:

Even such is time, that takes on trust,
Our youth, our joys, our all we have,
And pays us but with age and dust;
Who in the dark and silent grave,
When we have wander'd all our ways
Shuts up the story of our days!

But from this earth, this grave, this dust,
My God shall raise me up, I trust!

He prepared himself for the last stroke with unaltered voice and mien,-he calmly examined the axe, calling it "a sharp medicine, but a cure for all diseases," and, when desired to turn his head towards the east, he replied, "so the heart be right, it is no matter which way the head is."-He desired to give the signal, and, after lying for a few minutes in silent prayer, he stretched out his hand, which the executioner not observing, he exclaimed, as if he were giving the word of command for an indifferent occasion, "Strike man!" Like the multitude that surrounded him, our warmest pity and admiration are excited by such conduct, and our detestation is raised against James, for sacrificing to the hatred of Spain this extraordinary man, whose unjust condemnation had been pronounced upon supposed treason in favour of the Spanish court!

With ordinary readers the character of Raleigh is so blighted by the dark shade which Hume casts over his

Dr.

expedition to Guiana, that the iniquity of his suffering on his former sentence fails to produce the effect it is naturally calculated to do. But all Hume's facts and arguments are taken from the king's declaration, which no impartial historian would have blindly adopted. He lays much stress upon the fact of no such mine as Ra-leigh promised having been to this day found. Campbell, however, on the contrary, tells us that Coreal, one of the best Spanish travellers, confirms Raleigh's account of the riches of Guiana; and the circumstance of the Spaniards having built St. Thomas tends to prove their belief in the existence of mines in its vicinity. That the town was plundered, and no mine discovered, is to be imputed entirely to the misconduct of Keymis.—Raleigh was unable, by violent illness, to accompany those who went up the Oroonoko, and indeed as it was requisite that one whom the whole squadron relied upon should remain with the large ships (which could not navigate the river,) to protect them from the Spaniards, Raleigh could not have done better than give the command of the expedition to Keymis, who was acquainted. with the situation of the mine. The king's commission, it is true, empowered him only to settle on a coast "possessed and inhabited by heathen and savage people." But the coast was not possessed by the Spaniards although they had settlements in the country. The title of the English to it, was as good as theirs; indeed better, as the chiefs had in former voyages submitted the sovereignty of their country to Elizabeth, on condition that Raleigh would help them to drive away the Spaniards, whose cruelties and oppressions made them universally detested.

In the treaty of peace between England and Spain, the question of Indian trade was entirely omitted, from the

impossibility of adjusting the conflicting interests and assumed rights of each nation. In fact, war between the Spaniards and English was so much understood to be allowed in the Indies, that it was supposed to be the reason why the king did not attempt to try Raleigh anew, as no sentence could have been pronounced upon him on that head. The conduct of the Spaniards confirms this opinion, for besides murdering all the English that fell into their hands, they even put to death their own countrymen as well as the Indians who ventured to trade "con los Ingleses enemigos." Owing to the treachery of James, or his ministers, who insisted upon being informed of the exact spot where Raleigh intended to land, together with the number and strength of his ships, the Spanish ambassador was able to give early intimation to his court, who transmitted a copy of Raleigh's declaration to America, with instructions for the equipment of an armada to overwhelm his fleet, had they succeeded in opening the mine, where an increased military force was collected to prevent his landing. These papers were found in the governor's cabinet at St. Thomas's, and after the royal word of honour had passed that Raleigh's communication should be kept secret, this might have warned him what to expect upon his return. This unfortunate man had sunk his whole fortune, and even persuaded his wife to sell her house to provide for the expedition, venturing his all upon the prospect of enriching his family and serving his country, in the expectation of returning with fame, and purchasing by his success the tardy favour of his sovereign. What then must have been his anguish upon the failure of his scheme-what must have been his misery when Keymis returned without opening the mine, and brought the tidings of the death of his valiant and beloved son! His fortune lost,

his reputation tarnished, his companions factious and unruly, deserted by part of his squadron, and by the very man whom he had served, even to selling his plate to supply his necessities, and with nothing to look to on his return but enemies too happy to take advantage of his misfortunes-from whom no spark of generosity or mercy could be hoped! His reproaches to Keymis were poignant; and their justice is confirmed by the terrible resolution of putting himself to death, which Keymis executed with so much determination,-for having only broken a rib by his pistol, the report of which made Raleigh send to inquire the cause of the shot, Keymis answered calmly lying on his bed, he had done it to clean the pistol which had been long charged, and a few hours afterwards he was found dead, a long knife thrust into him up to the handle!

The desertion of part of his fleet, and the strength of the Spaniards, prevented Raleigh's attempting himself to open the mine, and after in vain proposing to winter in Virginia in order to return to Guiana in spring, he came back to England and surrendered himself, upon learning the proclamation of the king declaring his detestation of the conduct of the expedition, and requiring all who could give information on the subject to repair to the privy council. On his way to London, he met Sir Lewis Stukely, his relation, with authority to arrest him. He then meditated an escape to France, but, relying on the goodness of his cause, the project was laid aside. When he became better aware, however, of the politics of the court, he regretted he had not availed himself of the opportunity of flight which Plymouth afforded, and again turned his thoughts to the means of escape. Captain King, an old officer of Raleigh's, thus mentions the subject in his narrative :-" He once more employed