y. Admiral of De im to the b at sea-port, he had ret and Arundel er now atten oh his indes the faithles the coast t eing locked who both to tain King near Tilt c, the Fread and gave bi with letters nce. On th the Thame to the lis him throug don, and s ere he h as soon s Mr. Tytler's cellor Bacon, Sir Edward Coke, and some other members of the privy council. He was charged, first, with having fraudulently pretended that his expedition was to discover a mine, while his real object was to recover his liberty, and commence pirate; secondly, that he intended to excite a war with Spain; thirdly, that he barbarously abandoned his ships' companies, and exposed them unnecessarily to extreme danger; fourthly, that he had spoken disrespectfully of the king's majesty; that he had imposed upon the king by feigning sickness and madness; and lastly, had attempted to escape in contempt of his authority. Raleigh replied that his sincerity as to the gold mine was proved by his taking out refiners and tools, at his own expense, "of not less than 20007.;" that the affair of St. Thomas was contrary to his orders; that he never abandoned his men, or exposed them to more danger than he underwent himself; that all that he had said of the king was, that he was undone by the confidence he had placed in his majesty, and that he knew his life would be sacrificed to state purposes. As to his feigning sickness and attempting to escape, it was true, but natural and justifiable. As the commissioners could gain no advantage over him in these interrogatories, it was resolved to place a familiar or spy over him who might ensnare him into admissions and dangerous correspondence. The person chosen for this detestable but at that time not uncommon office was Sir Thomas Wilson, Keeper of the State Paper Office, a learned, ingenious, base scoundrel. If this Wilson is to be credited, Raleigh acknowledged that, had he fallen in with the treasure-ships, he would have made a prize of them according to the old principles which he had learned in the school of Drake and Cavendish. which Το Lord Chancellor said, "Why, you would have my 99 been a pirate.' "Oh!" quoth he, "did you ever know of any that were pirates for millions? They that work for small things are pirates."* Bacon's palm must have *Sir Thomas Wilson's own MS. in the State Paper Office, as quoted by Mr. Tytler, Life of Raleigh. It appears F 2 itched as he thought of all this gold, and spite of James's fears, Raleigh's fate would somewhat different if he had returned with lions." But as things were, there was no capital crime of an intention; nor could all th and zeal, and perseverance of Sir Thomas Wil or detect anything of the least consequence. fully resolved that he should lose his head ordered his council to devise some other mean the 18th of October, Bacon and Coke and commissioners who had examined him pres forms of proceeding for his majesty's consider one was to send his death-warrant at once to t only accompanying it with a narrative of Ra offences, to be printed and published; the oth which they said they rather inclined, as bein legal proceedings, was "that the prisoner called before a council of state, at which the several of the nobility and gentlemen of qua be present; that some of the privy council s declare that this form of proceeding was adopt he was already civilly dead (in consequence tence pronounced at Winchester fifteen year that, after that, the king's council should cha of hostility, depredation, abuse of the king sion, and of his subjects under his charge, attempts to escape, and other his misdemea they recommended that, after this charge, th nations should be read, and Sir Walter heard persons' confronted against him, if need were he was to be withdrawn and sent back, beca tence could by law be given against him; an was gone, the lords of the privy council and should give their advice whether upon these that the Spanish ambassador expressly charged I "propounding to his fleet to go and intercept Plate galleons."-Howell, Letters. *"Gondomar will never give him over till head off his shoulders."-Howell, Letters. and perhaps all the cu means: and the o presented Raleigh's other form nearer he judges large his the "exam d, and s e; and the ause no nd, after I the judge subseque aleigh wi some of th he hath b offences, the king might not, with justice and honour, give warrant for his execution."* For reasons not explained this latter form was rejected, and the former alternative, somewhat modified, was adopted; and a privy seal was sent to the judges of the Court of King's Bench, directing them to order immediate execution of the old sentence upon Sir Walter Raleigh. The judges, cowardly and corrupt as they were, were startled with the novelty and injustice of the case, and a consultation of all the twelve judges was held, wherein it was determined that neither a writ of privy seal, nor a warrant under the great seal, would be a sufficient authority, after so great a lapse of time, to order execution without calling upon the party to show cause against it; and, in the end, they unanimously resolved that the legal course would be to bring the prisoner to the bar by a writ of habeas corpus. Accordingly, such a writ was issued to the lieutenant of the Tower, who, upon the 28th of October, at an early hour of the morning, made Raleigh, who was suffering from fever and ague (this time his maladies were not feigned), rise from his bed and dress himself. As soon as he was brought to the bar of the Court of King's Bench at Westminster, Sir Henry Yelverton, the attorney-general, said, "My Lords, Sir Walter Raleigh, the prisoner at the bar, was fifteen years since convicted of high treason at Winchester; then he received judgment to be hanged, drawn, and quartered; but his majesty, of his abundant grace, hath been pleased to show mercy unto him till now, when justice calls upon him for execution. Sir Walter Raleigh hath been a statesman and a man who, in respect 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 *Cayley, Life of Raleigh. +"For, it was said, among other reasons, that the original judgment being of so long standing, the party might have a pardon to show, or he might plead that he was not the same person." Hutton's Reports, as quoted by Mr. Jardine, Crim. Trials. pleasure now to call for execution of the for ment, and I now require your lordships' orde same." Then, the clerk of the crown having the old conviction and judgment, the prisoner why execution should not be awarded. "M replied Raleigh, "my voice is grown weak by sickness." Montague, the chief justice, told voice was audible enough. "Then, my lords," Raleigh, with admirable composure, "all I ha is this: I hope that the judgment which I re die so long since cannot now be strained to ta my life; for since that judgment was passed, i majesty's pleasure to grant me a commission to in a voyage beyond the seas, wherein I had marshal, over the life and death of others; s favour, I presume I am discharged of that judgn that commission I gained new life and vigour that hath power over the lives of others, must master of his own . . . . Under my commiss parted the land, and undertook a journey, to h Sovereign and to enrich his kingdom with gold whereof this hand hath found and taken in Gui the voyage, notwithstanding my endeavour, had event but what was fatal to me-the loss of my the wasting of my whole estate." The chief ju him that he spoke not to the purpose; that hi had nothing to do with the judgment of death given against him, which judgment it was now t pleasure, upon certain occasions best known to to have executed; that the commission giver could in no way help him, for by that he pardoned, nor was there any word tending t him in all that commission ;* that in cases o there must be a pardon by express words. *The old sentence," says Howell, "still lies against him, which he could never get off by pa withstanding that he mainly laboured in it before but his majesty could never be brought to it; for] would keep this as a curb to hold him within the his commission, and of good behaviour."- Letters. former ja order for th aving first read oner was asked My lords by reasona told him bi s," continue I have to I received o take a ed, it was n to procee ad power, ; so, unda dgment. B for be your; ist surely b mission Ide honour my old, the or Guiana; but ad no other my son and justice told his voyage h formerly the king's to himself en to him was not to pardon of treason To this s dormant rdon, nothe went; said he bounds of Raleigh replied, that, if such was the law, he must put himself on the mercy of the king, and hope that he would be pleased to have compassion. He then said, "Concerning that judgment at Winchester passed so long ago, I presume that most of you that hear me know how that was obtained; nay, I know that his majesty was of opinion that I had hard measure therein, and was so resolved touching that trial; and if he had not been anew exasperated against me, certain I am, I might, if I could by nature, have lived a thousand and a thousand years before he would have taken advantage thereof." The chief justice told him that he had had an honourable trial at Winchester (and honourable it was to Raleigh!); that for fifteen years he had been as a dead man in the law, and might at any minute have been cut off, had not the king, in mercy, spared him. "You might justly think it heavy," he continued, "if you were now called to execution in cold blood; but it is not so; for new offences have stirred up his majesty's justice to revive what the law hath formerly granted." (This was admitting what Raleigh said, and what all the world knew.) And after praying God to have mercy on his soul, he ended with the fatal words-"Execution is granted." The undaunted victim then begged for a short respite to settle his affairs, and for the use of pen, ink, and paper to "express something," and to discharge himself of " some worldly trust;" "and I beseech you," he said, "not to think that I crave this to gain one minute of life; for now, being old, sickly, disgraced, and certain to go to death, life is wearisome unto me.' The gentle James had the barbarity to refuse the brief respite; but pen, ink, and paper were allowed, or procured from the humanity of the gaoler. Sir Walter, instead of being carried back to the Tower, was conveyed to the GateHouse at Westminster, where, in the evening, his affectionate wife took her last farewell. At an early hour on the following morning (October the 29th) he was waited upon by Dr. Tounson, dean of Westminster, appointed by the court to give him ghostly consolation; for he was |