Three days after the date of this letter Sir Walter was liberated from confinement. When expressing his reflections to some friends on the extraordinary dealings of Providence with regard to himself and Somerset, he remarked that the whole history of the world did not furnish a similar example, where freedom came to a royal prisoner, and a halter to the bosom favourite of the monarch, except in the instance of Mordecai and Haman. This was by some officious talebearer repeated to the king. His answer was remarkable; “Raleigh,” said he, "may die in that deceit ;"—an observation which, escaping by chance from the royal bosom, showed its deep unforgivingness. Too weak to resist the importunity of Buckingham, whom he both feared and loved, James gave a partial liberty to the object of his resentment; but he retained the power of punishing, and felt an ungenerous satisfaction in contemplating the probability of bringing him one day to a sanguinary reckoning. The moment Sir Walter regained his freedom, he embarked with ardour in his schemes of colonizing Guiana, and working the gold mine from which he looked for so rich a return. Whatever may have been his credulity as to the wealth to be derived from this source, or however slight the grounds of his expectations of success, to doubt his sincerity seems unreasonable. During his long imprisonment he had never intermitted his plans, and the wreck of his fortune was employed in despatching agents, who kept up among the natives, and the few remaining English settlers, the hopes of relief from Spanish tyranny. Almost every second year an intercourse of this nature took place.* Some of the Indians arrived in England, and had interviews with him in the Tower; and an epistle to the queen is preserved in the State-paper Office,† in which he describes the great riches which might be derived from this province, and laments that malice had hitherto prevailed over wisdom so far as to * Apology. Works, vol. viii. p. 500. + Appendix to Thomson's Life of Raleigh, letter S. prevent its colonization. So soon as he became certain that he was to be restored to freedom, he addressed this letter to Secretary Winwood,-a man in every respect the opposite of Cecil,-far his inferior in ability, but plain, honest, intelligent, and of the old English school in regard to his jealousy of Spain. "HONOURED SIR,-I was lately persuaded by two gentlemen, my ancient friends, to acquaint your honour, with some offers of mine, made heretofore for a journey to Guiana, who were of opinion, that it would be better understood now than when it was first propounded. Which advice having surmounted my despair, I have presumed to send unto your honour the copies of those letters which I then wrote, both to his majesty and to the Treasurer Cecil; wherein, as well the reasons that first moved me are remembered, as the objections by him made are briefly answered. "What I know of the riches of that place, not by hearsay, but what mine eyes have seen,* I have said it often; but it was then to no end, because those that had the greatest trust were resolved not to believe it. Not because they doubted the truth, but because they doubted my disposition towards themselves; where, if God had blessed me in the enterprise, I had recovered his majesty's favour and good opinion. Other cause than this, or other suspicion, they never had any. Our late worthy Prince of Wales was extreme curious in searching out the nature of my offences. The queen's majesty hath informed herself from the beginning. The King of Denmark, at both times of his being here, was thoroughly satisfied of my innocency. They would otherwise never have moved his majesty on my behalf. The wife, the brother, and the son of a king, do not use to sue for men suspect. But, sir, since they all have done it out of their charity, and but with references to me alone, your honour, whose respect hath only relation to his majesty's * Oldys's Life, pp. 209, 221. service, and strengthened by the example of those princes, may with the more hardiness do the like; being princes to whom his majesty's good estate is no less dear, and all men that shall oppugn it is no less hateful, than to the king himself. “It is true, sir, that his majesty hath sometimes answered, that his council knew me better than he did; meaning some two or three of them. And it was indeed my infelicity. For, had his majesty known me, I had never been here where I now am; or, had I known his majesty, they had never been so long there where they now are. His majesty not knowing of me hath been my ruin; and his majesty misknowing of them hath been the ruin of a goodly part of his estate. But they are all of them now, some living and some dying, come to his majesty's knowledge. But, sir, how little soever his majesty knew me, and how much soever he believed them, yet have I been bound to his majesty both for my life and all that remains; of which, but for his majesty, nor life nor aught else had remained. In this respect, sir, I am bound to yield up the same life, and all I have, for his majesty's service. To die for the king, and not by the king, is all the ambition I have in the world." This letter was followed by James's permission to engage in the adventure; and this once obtained, the preparations were conducted on a scale which completely refutes the suggestion of Hume, that Raleigh's object was plunder and not settlement. He called in the £8000 he had lent to the Countess of Bedford,—a sum given him by the king as a "competent satisfaction" for his estate of Sherborne, though that property brought an annual income of £5000. Finding this insufficient, he prevailed on Lady Raleigh to sell her estate of Micham, for which he received £2500. Private merchants and adventurers, both English and foreign, took a share in the undertaking; and as settlement in the new country was the main design, many volunteers, with small sums, joined the fleet, whose services Sir Walter did not think it right to refuse, though they afterwards gave more trouble than assistance. It has been already seen that these preparations, and the knowledge of their destination, had roused the jealousy of the Spanish court; and, as they proceeded, Count Gondomar remonstrated more violently than before. This ambassador was a politician of consummate address. His manners had nothing of the stiffness or saturnine gravity of the Spaniard, but were light and agreeable. He appeared to talk on every subject with thoughtless and unhesitating boldness,-delighted in gayety and good fellowship, and scattered presents and wit with equal liberality amongst the courtiers. Yet, under this gay exterior was concealed a dark and powerful character: the cunning and pliant morality of the Jesuit,-a pride, cruelty, and tenacity of purpose, truly Castilian,—and a penetration which discerned every thing, whilst it seemed to observe nothing. On his first arrival in England the count applied himself to study the character of the king; and the result was his gaining an influence over James, which was only the more powerful because it was most artfully concealed. Against the projected expedition we have the evidence of the monarch himself that Gondomar protested in the strongest manner: "He took great alarm, and represented unto his majesty by loud and vehement assertions, upon iterated audiences, that he knew and had discovered the intention and enterprise of Sir Walter Raleigh to be but hostile and piratical, and tending to the breach of the peace between the two crowns."* To all this Raleigh answered, that he meant to sail for Guiana, a country belonging to England both by right of discovery and by the consent of the natives; that he had no intention to invade any part of the dominions of Spain nor to attack her fleets; that the arms and soldiers he took with him were for self-defence and the strength necessary in * James's Declaration, p. 84, printed in Appendix to Cayley. such an enterprise; and that to the truth of all this he had set his hand in a letter to his majesty. Affecting to be satisfied, Gondomar withdrew his opposition. He observed to Winwood, that if the design was solely to settle Guiana, no resistance should be made, and the adventurer might without molestation work any mines he pleased.* The preparations therefore proceeded. He obtained the royal sanction; a commission under the privy-seal constituted him general and commander-inchief of the expedition, and governor of the new country. Some friends wished him to procure a pardon under the great seal, but Raleigh unfortunately neglected it, relying, as is said, on the opinion of Sir Francis Bacon, who assured him that the ample words of the commission making him admiral of the fleet, and giving him the power of martial law, necessarily included a remission of all past offences.† Satisfied, therefore, on this point, Sir Walter assembled his fleet, consisting of fourteen sail. He himself hoisted his flag in the Destiny, a ship built at his own expense, and commanded by his son, who bore his name. She carried thirty-six pieces of ordnance, and had on board 200 men, including eighty gentlemen volunteers, amongst whom were many of the admiral's relations. On the 28th of March 1617, they dropt down the Thames; and in the May following Raleigh published his general orders to the commanders and land-companies. They are drawn up with admirable clearness and good sense; and as we have already seen that some authors have accused him of atheism and profanity, we shall give the two first heads :-" First, because no action nor enterprise can prosper (be it by sea or land) without the favour and assistance of Almighty God, the Lord and Strength of hosts and armies, you shall not fail to cause divine service to be read in your ship morning and evening; or, at least (if there be interruption by foul weather), once the day, praising God every night, with * * * Apology. Works, vol. viii. P., 499. This, however, is very doubtful, as the words of James's declaration describe Raleigh as being still under peril of the law. |