Chap. XV.

from the I. of James I, to the

1618. an Effect upon him, that it threw himinto Despair, and a few Days after, hemade away with himself. Some lay,he retired immediately into his Cabbin,and shot himself with a Pistol into theBody; But, that being too slow for hisFury, desperately thrust a large Knifej nto t j ie same Wound up to the Haft. ( h )knd These Accounts may in Reality be saidboth to be true ; For, after Sir Waltersfirst Reproof, he went away discon-tented, and continued so several Days.He came then, a second Time, with hisExcuses, and shewed him a Letterwhich he had written to the Earl ofArundel, in his own justification, pray-ing Sir Walter to allow of his Reasons,which he refusing, and telling him hewould not favour or colour his Folly ;Upon that he retired into his Cabbin,and immediately committed the Fact.she Fleet Th e Design being thus broken, theHperses ; Ships leaky, Victuals failing, and, aboveall, having missed those Golden Showersthey gaped after, some of the Men be-gan to mutiny against their General,while others were for him: Some wouldhave him go Home, others would havehim stay. The major Part forced himto swear not to go Home but with theirConsent; And yet his Ships dwindled a-way, one after another, ’till from tenthey were reduced to four, and theywould do just what they list. Somewould go for Italy, some for France,and some few for England. When theyarrived at Kingsale, in Ireland, Sir Wal-ter, it is said, would have persuadedthem to go with him to France : But in-stead of listening to his Proposal, they^ n dreturns, carried him against his Will to Plymouth,where he was arrested, by Sir LewisStukeler, his Kinsman, by the King’s

, persecutes' Raleigh.,

Endeavoursto evade it.

Order, and conveyed to the Tower of 1618.London.

The Spanish Ambassador so aggra- The Spanishvated Matters to the King, as a Breach dmhafadmirof the Peace and Amity between the-two Crowns, that this brave but unfor-tunate Commander was called up, inOhlober, 1618. to the King’s Bench Barat Wejhninjler, to the former Sentenceof Death pasted upon him, fourteen ^ sYears before, for the aforesaid Conspi- former Sen-racy ; And Demand made why Execu- te?ice ■,tion should not be done upon him, pur-suant thereunto. In Answer to this, hebegan to justify himself in the Proceed-ings in the late Voyage ; But the LordChief Justice desired him to spare thatTrouble; For there was no other Mat-ter in Question, but the former Judg-ment, which the King would have exe-cuted upon him, unless he could shewgood Cause to the contrary.

Sir Walter then pleaded, that his His Plea,Commission was equivalent to a Pardon,being address’d from the King to Histrufly and well-heloved, &c. and since itgave him Power of Life and Death overthose who were under his Command, aPower inconsistent with the Circumstan-ces of a Person under Sentence of Deathhimself: But the Judges had Law forhim, and could tell him ; that expressWords only could pardon ‘Treason. He ruled:then desired that some reasonable Timemight be allowed him to prepare for

Is over-

Death j But it was answered, That theTime appointed was the next Morning,and it was not to be doubted but he hadprepared himself for Death long since.

We have in the Cottonian Library,a Manuscript Copy of a Letter from SirWalter to the Lord Carew, containinghis Apology for this Voyage, and his

5 Y Conduct,

The Execu-tion of theSentence or-dered.

ti) It was laid to Sir Walter’ s Charge, by hisEnemies, that he had deluded Keymis into thispretended Knowledge of a Gold Mine, purely toobtain his Liberty; But that Keymis, finding byExperience he was cozened by Raleigh, cameback from the Mine ; And that Raleigh knowingnone but he could accuse him, made away withhim. All Circumstances, however, concur toprove this Report improbable and malicious. I shallmention a Couple, one to prove, that there wereGold Mines in the Country, and the orther, thatSir/Lz/twwas, at least, convinced ofit, and there-fore hadnopremeditate Design to deceive any Man.My first Circumstance is, that when the Ships werecome down the River as far as Carapana s Coun-try,he who was one of the natural Lords ofit, andhad reserved that Part of Guiana for Queen Eli-zabeth, sent a Canoe after them, cifering thema rich Gold-Mine in his own Country, andif they would fend one to view it, to leave suf-ficient Pledges for his Return; Withal adding, that

ifthey would stay but two Days he would come tothem, and bring a Sample of the Ore with him:

But the Ships being under Sail, no Ear was orwould be given to the Proposal. The other Cir-cumstance I shall give in Sir Walters own Words: Raleigh’s" A strange Fancy (fays he) it had been in me Apology.

“ to have persuaded my Son, whom I have lost,

“ and to have persuaded my Wife to have adven-“ tured the eight Thousand Pounds, which His" Majesty gave them for Sherbone , and when“ that was spent, to perswade my Wife to sell“ her House at Micham, in Hopes of enriching“ them, by the Gold Mines of Guiana, if I? niy-“ self, had no^ seen them, with my own Eyes..

At my Age, distempered as I was, aster so long an" Imprisonment, what Madness could have made“ made me undertake this Voyage, but the Assu-“ ranee of the Mine, thereby to have done His“ Majesty Service, to have bettered my Coun-ts try, by Trade, and to have restored roy Wife“ and Children their Estates ;