The New Student's Reference Work/Raleigh, Sir Walter

Raleigh, Sir Walter, was born at Hayes, Devonshire, England, in 1552. He entered Oriel College, Oxford, in 1566 but left in 1569, without taking a degree, to serve in the Huguenot cause in France. In 1580 he distinguished himself in the suppression of the Irish rebellion in Cork, and two or three years afterward was introduced to court and became a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. Raleigh's tall and handsome figure, his dark hair, lofty forehead, resolute bearing, alert expression and spirited wit combined to form an imposing personality, and all the advantages that nature had given him were heightened by a gorgeous splendor in dress and jewels. But, as he was proud, haughty and impatient, he made hosts of enemies and was never fully admitted to the queen's counsels in reference to matters of state. The playful name of Water, which she applied to him, would indicate that she appreciated that instability of character which was his great fault and in the end worked his ruin. She, however, lavished numerous favors upon him throughout her reign, permitting him to send out and command various expeditions to the New World. His vessels scoured the seas in privateering enterprises, which at once gratified his inborn hatred of Spain and helped to provide the means for his various ventures in Virginia. Raleigh was in Ireland when the Armada (1588) appeared in English waters; but he hastened to the south of England to superintend the coast defense, and was present with the fleet throughout that week of toil and triumph. In June, 1596, he sailed in the expedition under Howard and Essex to Cadiz, and it was his counsels that governed the whole plan of action that for a second time shattered the naval power of Spain. Raleigh continued to enjoy the favor of Elizabeth until her death in 1603; but James I came to the throne with deep-seated prejudices against the gallant courtier, and in a short time stripped him of his offices. Raleigh was also arrested and tried for taking part in a conspiracy against the king's life, the only witness against him being the miserable Lord Cobham, who made and unmade his eight different charges with such facility as to make them of no value at all. "But one thing," says Kingsley, "comes out of the infinite confusion and mystery of this dark Cobham plot, and that is Raleigh's innocence." He was, however, condemned to death, and only on the scaffold was his sentence commuted to imprisonment for life. After remaining in London Tower for 13 years Raleigh was released for the purpose of leading an expedition to the Orinoco River, in search of a gold-mine, which, he said, existed there. He pledged himself not to come into collision with Spain; but some of his men, while he was sick aboard his ship, attacked a Spanish village and burned it to the ground. Raleigh returned to England without finding the mine, and was rearrested and executed under the sentence which had never been revoked. The speech he made on the scaffold was a masterpiece of eloquence. "As he stood there in the cold morning air," says Mr. Gosse, "he foiled James and Philip at one thrust, and conquered the esteem of all posterity." He asked to see the axe, and, touching the edge, said: "This is a sharp medicine, but it is a sure cure for all diseases." His History of the World, written during imprisonment, was a monumental work. He was executed at London, Oct. 29, 1618.