Ralegh; his exploits and voyages

Preface

Sir Walter Ralegh was famous in several fields of action. His younfrer manhood was spent in the midst of the most briUiant royal court which English palaces ever held. Later, he proved his courage and military prowess in more than one bitterly contested battle-field and naval conflict. In middle life, and again in old age, he braved the great deep and the perils of savage lands, in the sturdy attempt to make discoveries, and to settle English colonies in the new world. His love of his own land, and his hatred of her enemies, were always ardent ; nor did he permit the harsh illtreatment to which he was subjected by the hostility of his rivals, the intrigues of Spain, the caprices of Queen Elizabeth, and the insurmountable dislike of King James, to dampen or dull the fire of his patriotism.

Ralegh was the wittiest man. and one of the most scholarly men of Elizabeth's court. He was fond of books ; and as an author, he took rank

PREFACE.

with the great literary lights of the Elizabethan age. Chivalrous in feeling, brave in action, courtly in manner, handsome in person, a faithful husband, a devoted father, a valiant soldier, a vigorous and persevering explorer, and a wise and statesmanlike thinker, his career was full of absorbing and often exciting interest, as the pages which follow will doubtless prove it to have been, to those who read them.

CHAPTER I. Ralegh's Boyhood and Youth ..•••!

CHAPTER IT- Ralegh a Soldier i6

CHAPTEP JIT Ralegh a Courtier 32

CHAPTER IV. / Ralegh as a Colonizer 48

CHAPTER V.

The Invincible Armada 64

CHAPTER VL Ralegh a Prisoner 79

CHAPTER VII. / Ralegh's First Voyage ., 96

CHAPTER VIII.

Adventures on the Orinoco . • • • • 113

CHAPTER IX.

Ralegh's Return Home 130

CHAPTER X.

Sea-fights with the Spaniards . • • • I47

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.

The Essex Conspiracy ...,,, 165

CHAPTER XII.

Ralegh Charged with Treason . • • . 182

CHAPTER XIII.

Tried for his Life 195

CHAPTER XIV.

Twelve Years in thil 'Lower 212

CHAPTER XV.

Ralegh's Second Voi^Gh. 227

CHAPTER XVI.

Ralegh's Return 243

CHAPTER XVII.

The Final Scene 257

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Ralegh spreading his Cloak before the Queen .... 35 Ralegh's Servant attempts to put out the Fire . . .60

Ralegh showing the Portkait of Queen Elizabeth . . . 12a, ( X

Ralegh Urging and Encouraging his Men iS" ^

Ralegh's Narrow Escape • • ^73

Ralegh in Prison 221

Death of Ralegh's Son .•• 337

The Final Scene a?*

HIS EXPLOITS AND VOYAGES.

CHAPTER I.

RALEGH'S BOYHOOD AND YOUTH.

N the south of England, bordering upon the British Channel, lies the pleasant and picturesque county of Devon. The gentle beauties of its landscape, and its mild and healthy climate ; its vales, and downs, and woodlands ; its lofty cliffs stretching along the coast ; its pretty bays, inlets, and rivers, winding amid rich meadows and sloping hills ; its fine farms and dainty dairies ; and its quaint old cities and towns, snug villages, and hoary manor-houses, have long been noted, and are described in glowing colors by travellers and poets.

Not the least picturesque of the Devon rivers is the Otter, which flows into the Channel at the eastern end of the county. The Otter runs through a country of prosperous farms and ancient settlements ; and along its banks nestle many cottages and hamlets centuries old.

Close to the Otter, just outside the village of Budleigh, there still stands, where it has stood for at least four centuries, a plain and now halfruined farmhouse, snugly settled beneath lofty oaks and amid thrifty apple orchards. The Otter flows in full sight of the small-paned, irregular windows. Behind the old house, the hills rise to thickly-wooded summits.

The venerable homestead has, no doubt, seen many changes in the progress of four hundred years ; nor would those who dwelt within its walls in the time of bluff Henry the Eighth, probably recognize it, could they come to life again, and revisit the once familiar scene. Yet some vestiges of its ancient condition remain.

A table, clumsily carved and worn with age, still stands in the spacious sitting-room, where, it is said, it has stood for at least three centuries. Should you visit the house, its good dame would eagerly lead you up the narrow staircase, and, conducting you into a musty, low-ceilinged chamber, would proudly tell you that it was in this room that the famous Sir Walter Ralegh was born.

A short distance from the house, too, stands a curious church, older even than the house itself; and in this church may be seen a quaint oaken pew, richly carved with a family coat-of-arms, where, for centuries, the Raleghs sat and worshipped. As each master of Hayes — this was the name of the house and farm which have been described — passed away from earth, he was solemnly borne into the church of All Saints, and thence to the ancient family tomb near by.

At the modest farmhouse of Hayes there lived, about the middle of the sixteenth century, a poor gentleman named Walter Ralegh. But though poor, he w^as a man of high breeding and of noble blood, and belonged to a family which had long been rich and powerful. He was nearly related to many of the nobility and great landlords of his neighborhood, and often received visits from them at his modest homestead of Hayes. Mr. Ralegh was a quiet gentleman, who took little part in the stirring events of his time, and preferred living in his rustic retreat at Hayes, to plunging into the excitements and pleasures of London life. He is therefore little heard of in history ; further than that he was a man of gentle manners and an amiable nature, we hear nothing of him.

His wife, however, was a person of marked traits, and of many noble virtues. She was a lady of very high degree, the daughter of Sir Philip Champernon, a proud Norman squire, and a descendant of the Courtenays, the famous English emperors of Constantinople. She had first wedded, when a fair and haughty young girl, a valiant knight named Sir Otho Gilbert, and had given birth to three stalwart sons — John, Humphrey, and Adrian Gilbert — all of whom played an heroic part in the events of their time, and attained, by their valorous deeds, the dignity of knighthood.

After Sir Otho's death, his beautiful wife had been won by the modest and gentle Walter Ralegh, and had been content to leave the proud social circles of which she was a brilliant ornament, and to share with her impoverished second husband his rustic abode and his scanty fortune. Four sons were the issue of this singular but happy lovematch. With the three elder, this story has little or nothing to do.

The fourth, who first saw the light in the very year that Queen Mary ascended the throne of Britain — ■ 1552 — was named after his father, Walter Ralegh.

In his very babyhood, this boy was noted through the country around Hayes for his exceeding beauty. His regular features, his rosy complexion, his big, bright, brown eyes, and his quick precocity, were the talk of the farmers and their dames. His father and mother were wondrously proud of him, and fairly doted on him ; he was the favorite and the pet of the household, from the day he was born to that on which he left Hayes to seek adventure and fame in the wide world beyond.

The good father and the ambitious mother mourned that they were too poor to give him such an education as was due to the son of an ancient English family, and the descendant of imperial ancestors. Walter Ralegh received his early education at his mother's knees ; and was brought up in the homely, simple, high-bred fashion of the English country-houses as they were in the days of the Tudor kings and queens.

Very early in his boyhood, Walter Ralegh showed a high spirit of courage, a fondness for the lusty sports of the Devon country side, a love of out-door recreations and trials of physical strength, and a fondness for the excitements and dangers of the chase. As soon as he could mount a horse, he was seen galloping about the rustic roads, where he outrode all his comrades, and became the unquestioned leader of their pastimes. He was a muscular as well as a handsome young fellow, tall, well-formed, and manly for his age, full of courtesy, and pleasant, engaging ways, which made him a hero among the lads who shared his sturdy sports.

There was no rural recreation, indeed, in which he did not take part with keenest ardor, and did not soon become an adept. On many an early summer day, he was wont to follow the shady streams which wound through the forests in his neighborhood, with angler's hook and line ; and as he cast his line for the wary trout, dreamed, no doubt, many a dream of the adventures and ambitions he would have one day in the big, bustUng world far beyond his rural home. There were other days on which, in company with his sportloving father, he galloped over the breezy hills of Dartmoor, his packs of hounds running and yelping at his side, and followed the flying deer across dell and down, and through the cool thickets, rejoicing mightily when at last the victim of the chase was brought down, and the hunting-horns, echoing from hill to hill, announced the result of the chase to all the country round.

About thirty miles from Hayes, in the midst of dense forests, varied, here and there, by blooming apple orchards, there stood a grim and hoary cas~ tie, whose lofty towers rose above the trees amid which it was nestled. It was, even in those days, an ancient edifice. Its walls were thickly clothed with sturdy ivies ; some portions of it were already uninhabitable from decay ; and rooks made their nests, and cawed and fluttered in the now deserted halls of this ruined part. Just behind the castle, a noble park stretched out, with its rich, turfy lawns, and its grass-grown and much-neglected avenues ; while beyond, the woods were full of deer and other game, and offered fine hunting-grounds for the occupants of the gloomy old place.

In this ancient and remote castle, which was known as Compton Castle, lived two brothers, who had already become noted for their spirit, valor, and love of adventure. They were Humphrey and Adrian Gilbert, the half-brothers of young Walter

S RALEGH :

Ralegh. Although still young, Humphrey and Adrian had been much abroad in the world, and had seen some military service. Both of them were fond of dangerous expeditions, and were expert navigators ; and they liked to talk of the many exciting scenes which they had witnessed, and in which they had taken an active and sometimes an heroic part.

They both had a warm affection for their young half-brother, who was always welcomed to Compton Castle with open arms. The Gilberts, no doubt, perceived in him a spirit of enthusiasm and adventure akin to their own ; and encouraged him by their stories and their praise to look eagerly forward to a stirring career in the bustling world.

The happiest days of Walter Ralegh's boyhood, indeed, were spent in the quaint halls and forests of Compton. He would often gallop over there on his favorite horse, and remain for weeks at a time in the congenial companionship of the two young soldiers. He never tired of sitting by the big fireplace, on a winter's night, and, as the huge logs blazed, hearing them relate their adventures till long after midnight ; and he never was so joyous as when following them to the hunt.

So spirited and imaginative a boy was not likely to neglect the hardy pleasures of the seaside, near which he lived. It was but a short ride from Hayes to the stormy coast of the British Channel ; and many a long day did Walter spend in sight of its angry waters, and of the sturdy craft which constantly came and went. That part of the coast, in those days, was studded with humble cottages, the homes of a colony of sailors, who hastened thither, after a voyage, to seek rest and recreation in the midst of their families. These sailors were a very talkative set ; they were only too glad if they could find any one to listen to their thrilling narratives of battle, shipwreck, and discovery. • Walter's intimacy with his half-brothers, Humphrey and Adrian Gilbert, had given him an ardent taste for the sea, and for the adventures which those who follow the sea are sure to encounter. His fancy had been fired by their enthusiasm for discovery, and he already began to long to take part in those voyages to seek out new lands, which, in his time, had become more frequent than formerly.

He eagerly, therefore, scraped acquaintance with the scarred and weather-beaten sailors who, ever lO RALEGH :

and anon, made their appearance at the cottages on the coast near Hayes. These rough men took a fancy to the bright-eyed, inquisitive lad, who plied them with innumerable questions, and listened with open mouth and dilated pupils to their homely tales and rude descriptions. He would sit for hours on the benches just outside the cottages ; and having driink in a succession of exciting stories, would gallop back to Hayes, to pass a sleepless night, or to dream of being himself the hero of battles with savages, or of obstinate conflicts with Spanish galleons ; or of gazing, rapt in wonder, on the tropical splendors of America and the Indies.

Walter's ambition to become an adventurer was still further fed by what he read and heard about the daring voyages and conquests of his time. Already, there had sprung up in his heart a warm love of, and pride in, his native England. He eagerly devoured the accounts of the glorious achievements of the Spaniards and the Portuguese in the field of discovery. He read with breathless interest the thrilling and inspiring stories of Vasco da Gama, of Columbus, of Pizarro and Cortez, of Magellan and Albuquerque, and fancied himself the future hero of similar exploits. The English had grown very jealous of the success of the Spaniards and Portuguese. They prided themselves on being the masters of the sea, and of the art of navigation ; nor did they yield to the Spaniards in courage, enterprise, and contempt of danger. They were resolved to become the rivals of Spain in discovery ; and they coveted the possession of the rich, distant lands which yet remained to be conquered and colonized by European valor.

In Ralegh's boyhood, several English navigators had already won glory and renown by their successful voyages and conquests. Stout old John Hawkins had made his voyage to Africa ; and Drake, although only six years older than Ralegh, had become famous in Devonshire as a voyager to the West Indies, and had engaged in many sea-fights with Spanish cruisers.

It is very likely that, in these early days, young Ralegh saw and talked with Drake and Hawkins ; for both lived at no great distance from him. At all events, their example filled him with ardor and impatience. He learned to hate the Spaniards with all the warmth and spirit of boyish hatred ;

and was eager to take his part in the fierce rivalry and hostility which now raged between Spain and England. His blood boiled when he heard of an English ship being taken by a Spanish cruiser ; and thrilled with delight when the news came that a Spanish merchantman, with its rich cargo from the Eastern seas, had been gallantly attacked and brought into port by an English privateer.

His father and mother did not fail to encourage his adventurous disposition. They saw that he was made of heroic stuff, and his mother was too proud of her famous sons, Humphrey and Adrian Gilbert, not to be ambitious of the future of her youngest boy. She indulged in fond dreams of his coming greatness and fame ; and was too sure of his courage and intelligence, to fear to trust him amid the perilous conflicts of the world. Meanwhile she directed his studies, and persuaded him to work as hard as possible with his books, that he might be the sooner prepared to enter upon the stirring career to which he looked forward so eagerly. With his sturdy recreations and his books, his gallops over to Compton Castle, and his afternoon visits to the sailors' cots, time sped rapidly with young Walter Ralegh ; and almost before he knew it, the day arrived when he was to leave his pretty rustic home on the banks of the Otter, and to go up to Oxford to enter the University.

He was scarcely fifteen when this important change in his life took place ; but his quickness to learn had enabled him, even at that age, to become fully qualified to enter college. We may well believe that it was not without many a sigh of regret that he left the quiet and beloved scenes of his home, and that his parting from father and mother, brothers and boon companions, brought a pang to his warm boyish heart.

But he was a brave young fellow, and his ambition had grown with his years ; and he looked eagerly forward to a career in Oxford, the prizes of which glittered before his fancy, and the selfdependent life at which appealed strongly to his manly nature.

An autumn day in 1567, then, found him with his good father, seated in a quaint little room at Oriel College, which is still pointed out to the modern visitor as that once occupied by the great Sir Walter. It looked out upon the ivy-grown quadrangle, with its jutting windows and its broad stone pavement ; and Walter watched the students in their hats and gowns, as they passed to and fro, with great interest.

He soon found himself the centre of a large circle of gay college youths, into whose pleasures and frolics he entered with as much ardor as he had done into the pastimes of his Devon home. He was, at Oriel, as in Devon, the hero and leader of his companions, the foremost in their sports and escapades, as well as the rival of the first in scholarship. The students liked the frank, graceful, courtly, and good-natured youth ; and he quite as quickly attracted the attention of the more sober dons and professors. It was not long before Walter Ralegh was known as one of the brilliant lights of Oriel, the pride alike of his classmates and his instructors. Sometimes the University was visited by great nobles, and men of high distinction ; and young Walter Ralegh thus made the acquaintance of many statesmen and soldiers, who inspired his ambition, and deeply interested him with their conversation and comments on the events of the time.

The great Lord Bacon, who, in after years knew Ralegh well, tells us a little anecdote of Ralegh's college life, which shows that even thus early his soldierly qualities were well developed. " Whilst Ralegh was a scholar at Oxford," relates Lord Bacon, " there was a cowardly fellow, who hap' pened to be a very good archer ; but having been grossly abused by another, he bemoaned himself to Ralegh, and asked his advice what he should do to repair the wrong that had been offered to him. * Why,' promptly answered Ralegh, ' challenge him to a match of shooting ! ' "

These happy and triumphant college days, however, came suddenly to an end. A temptation was offered to Ralegh to set out suddenly upon a stirring career of war and adventure, which his spirited and ambitious nature could not resist ; and before he had been at Oriel three years, he one day bade adieu to its tranquil cloisters, embraced his young friends, and throwing himself upon his horse, galloped away to London. There he would meet his valiant cousin, Henry Champernon, and, with him, would depart for far different scenes from those of ancient and scholastic Oxford,

Chapter II. Ralegh A Soldier

T happened that, at this time, a bitter conflict was going on in France, between the persecuted Huguenots, or Protestants, and the cruel government of the Catholic King Charles the Ninth. The poor Huguenots had long been down-trodden, and visited with the most relentless tyranny. But they had survived all these injuries, and now included in their number many of the ablest and noblest men in France. Among these were the great Prince of Conde and Admiral Coligny. At the head of the Huguenot party was the brave and brilliant Queen of Navarre.

Of course the English, who had now become ardent Protestants, warmly sympathized with the cause of the Huguenots. Queen Elizabeth, who had succeeded her sister Mary on the English throne, did not dare to openly espouse the Huguenot side; but she connived at the expeditions which were formed by spirited young Englishmen, and which repaired to France to join their arms with those of the valiant Conde and Coligny.

One of the most active young cavaliers, who saw in the Huguenot conflict an opportunity to engage in an exciting enterprise, and to win the laurels of war, was Henry Champernon, Walter Ralegh's cousin. Champernon gathered about him a force of one hundred ambitious youths, the flower of English blood and chivalry ; many of them the sons of noblemen of high rank. The skilful fingers of fair maidens worked for them a richly-embroidered banner, on which their motto, *^Finem det mihi virtusl' was emblazoned in gold and silver thread. Their costumes were costly and brilliant ; and four vessels were anchored in the Thames, ready to speed them to the shores of France when the appointed hour came.

Walter Ralegh hastened up to London with high hopes and fluttering heart. His cousin Champernon greeted him, on his arrival at the quaint old inn which was the rendezvous of the band of adventurers, with a warm embrace ; and Ralegh was soon " hail fellow well met " with all l8 RALEGH :

the young cavaliers who were to be his comrades in the approaching voyage and adventures. He hastened to make every necessary preparation ; and ere long found himself fully equipped with a bran-new suit of military clothes, and armed with the best weapons that London afforded.

It was on a hazy, September day, in 1569, that the band of youthful warriors went on board the vessels, and the little fleet, with colors flying and the voyagers gathered on the decks, floated down the Thames toward the sea. As the white cliffs of England faded from the view, the more level and inviting coast of France appeared in the horizon ; and the next morning the fleet had lost sight of land altogether.

After a smooth passage, unbroken by any noteworthy incident, though the voyagers kept an anxious lookout for French and Spanish cruisers, the towers and spires of La Rochelle, the headquarters of the Huguenot forces, appeared beyond the boisterous waves of the Bay of Biscay. The port was soon reached, and the four vessels anchored at the dock.

A great multitude of the inhabitants were gathered on the wharves to welcome the brave young

Englishmen, who formed in line and marched through the crowd to their quarters in the fortress, their embroidered banner waving in the sunlight at their head. After resting and refreshing themselves, they repaired to the Queen of Navarre, who, with the young princess, greeted them with tearful gratitude, and encouraged them with eloquent words and brilliant promises of renown. It was not without a thrill of satisfaction that Champernon and his companions learned that they would not be compelled to lie idle long at La Rochelle, but would at once proceed to the battle-field and enter upon active service.

A few days after their arrival the young cavaliers set out to join the Huguenot army under Coligny. Their first experience, however, was an untoward one ; for, as they were advancing to join their arms with those of the French rebels, they met the retreating forces of the Count of Nassau. But the English band had, soon after, occasion to show their valor and mettle at the famous battle of Moncontour.

Walter Ralegh's career in the conflicts of France remains to this day shrouded in obscurity ; for no account remains of his exploits, or those of his

20 RALEGH t

comrades. But we may well believe that they proved themselves valiant and sturdy, and that they shared the laurels of the self-devoted Huguenots in their struggle for their religious liberties.

It is, however, probable that Walter Ralegh was in Paris when the dreadful massacre of St. Bartholomew .took place, in 1572 ; and that he, with the chivalrous Sir Philip Sidney and other English knights, took refuge in the house of the English ambassador, to escape the fury of the myrmidons of the French king. He remained in France about six years, and during that long period, not only engaged in the civil war, but took careful note of all he saw and heard. He had an inquiring mind, and was eager to store it with knowledge; and it was in France, too, that he undoubtedly acquired that ripe polish and courtliness of bearing which were in years to come to so well serve his fortunes at home.

He afterwards wrote accounts of some of the curious things which he observed in France. One of these curiosities he thus describes : " I saw certain caves in Languedoc which had but one entrance, and that very narrow, cut out in the midway of high rocks, which we knew not how to enter by any ladder or engine ; till, at last, by certain bundles of straw, let down by an iron chain, and a weighty stone in the midst, those that defended it were so smothered that they rendered themselves prisoners, with their plate, money, and other goods therein hidden."

At last Walter Ralegh returned home to England. He had gone forth a slim and ruddy-cheeked youth of seventeen. When he once more trod his native ground, he was a tall, broad-shouldered, bronzefeatured young man of twenty-four ; his rich, brown hair fell in long, curly locks to his shoulders ; his lip and chin were covered with a glossy beard. He was conspicuous for his manly beauty, and his soldier-like, yet refined and graceful manners.

After paying a visit to his parents in Devon, he returned to London, there to pursue his fortunes in the great urban world. He took rooms in the Middle Temple, a building for the most part occupied by lawyers ; but Ralegh had other and more stirring ambitions than to become an advocate. At this time he led a life of pleasure, awaiting the course of events, confident that new fields of adventure and action would soon stretch out before him.

Such an opportunity soon occurred. A war broke out in Holland, where the proud Don John of Austria, the brother of the King of Spain, was striving to subject the brave Dutch to his despotic rule. Queen Elizabeth hastened to send aid to the oppressed people. An expedition, under the command of Sir John Norris, set out for Holland, and in this Walter Ralegh eagerly sought and readily obtained a command.'

This adventure was a brief but brilliant one. Norris met the forces of Don John at Rinemant, and by a shrewd stratagem succeeded in routing the haughty Spaniard and his troops. In this achievement Ralegh took a conspicuous and heroic part. His long and perilous service in France had trained him into a daring, accomplished, and skilful warrior. He had learned to love the din of the battle-field, the stirring sound of trumpet and drum, the impetuous onset, and the desperate encounter arm to arm. It was sweet to him to follow, with clattering hoof and hoarse voice, the fast-retreating foe ; to mount the deserted citadel, and plant the victorious banner on its summit.

He was not a little disappointed, therefore, to find the campaign in Holland so brief. But on returning once more to London, he found a new and very different sort of adventure ready for his undertaking.

His half brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, whose ambition had long been excited by voyages of discovery, had made up his mind to set out upon such a voyage himself. His destination was the still mysterious continent of America. He busied himself getting together and fitting up a small squadron of vessels, of which he himself proposed to take the command ; and Walter Ralegh reached London just in time to enter with eager delight into Sir Humphrey's plans. Sir Humphrey was only too glad to assent to his brave young brother's prayer that he might go on the expedition, too; and Walter made all haste to complete his preparations for the voyage.

In due time the squadron dropped down the English Channel, and put to sea. Walter was on the flag-ship with Sir Humphrey. It was his first experience of '' life on the ocean wave," and he took the keenest interest in all that went forward on shipboard. He watched the various operations of the seamen ; the methods of ascertaining the longitude and latitude of the ship's position ; the various arrangements and management of the sails ; and the discipline which was imposed on the crew. As his own duties were light, he spent much of his time while on board in study. He made it a rule only to allo^y five hours for sleep ; and to devote at least four hours a day to his books. Meanwhile, he shared the rough life of the sailors, and endured the same hardships of sea life to which the humblest of the men were subjected. He treated them, moreover, as his equals, and was never tired of listening to their yarns of the perils they had witnessed and the strange lands they had seen.