diffuade the admiral from that of landing. He did fo, the admiral was convinced; and, by Sir Walter's advice, deferred the attack till the next day.

For the particulars of this attack, in which Sir Walter Raleigh diftinguished himself by his bravery and his prudence, and which was attended with such wonderful fuccefs, we muft refer our readers to Mr. Birch's account of it. It is fufficient for us to fay, that the city was taken and plundered; many of the principal fhips belonging to the Spaniards were run afhore; and the galleons, with all their treafure, burnt, to prevent their falling into the hands of the English.

Sir Walter continued in this ftate of banishment from the queen till 1597, and then was restored to favour, and performed feveral other fignal fervices. In 1601 he attended the queen in her progrefs: but the death of this princefs proved a great misfortune to Sir Walter; for her fucceffor king James I. had been greatly prejudiced against him by the earl of Effex; yet he did not difcover his diflike for fome time, but treated him with great kindnefs: however, his majefty's pacific genius could not relish a man of fo martial a fpirit. He had not been long upon the throne before Sir Walter was difmiffed from his poft of captain of the guards; and, foon after, was charged with being engaged in a plot against the king, and with carrying on a fecret correfpondence with the king of Spain; but no

clear

clear evidence has yet been produced of his having any concern in it, though he was brought in guilty, and fentenced to die. As to the trial, we refer our readers to the particular account given by our author, and shall only add, that it appeared to Sir John Haws, follicitor-general to king William, in fo bad a light, that he pronounces it very irregular throughout, and that the accufations did not amount to a legal proof. I would know, fays he, by what law is the depofition of a person who might be brought face to face to the prisoner, read as evidence? I would know by what law it is forbidden that the accufer fhould be brought face to face to the accufed? I would know by what law Brook's depofition of what the lord Cobham told him of Raleigh was cvidence against Raleigh? I would know by what law the flory Dyer told of what an unknown man faid to him at Lifbon of Don Raleigh, was evidence against Raleigh? I would know by what ftatute the ftatutes of the 25th of Edward III. and 5th of Edward VI. were repealed."

Sir Walter, not long after his confinement in the Tower, upon the unwearied follicitations of his lady, who petitioned the king that she might be prifoner with him, was allowed the confolation of her company, and his younger fon Carew was born there in 1604.

The February following his majefty made him a grant of his forfeited eftate, for the benefit of his wife and children; but this was only for his own life, for he had, on his refolving to accept of a challenge from Sir Amias Pref

ton

ton fome years before, made it over to his eldest fon. But he did not long enjoy it; for Car, the king's new favourite, having no fortune of his own, looking out for one, difcovered a flaw in the conveyance, upon which an information being exhibited in the exchequer, judgment was given for the crown, and Sherborne, and other of his eftates, were given to Car in 1609, the king being inflexible to all the petitions of the lady Raleigh for herself and her children.

This great man foftened the rigours of his long confinement in an application to various kinds of studies. And though he had the queen's protection, and prince Henry for his patron, during the height of the earl of Somerfet's favour, yet he could not obtain his liberty till after the condemnation of that favourite for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury: but at laft, by means of fifteen hundred pounds given to a relation of the new favourite Sir George Villers, he procured his liberty, after above twelve years confinement in the Tower.

Sir Walter being now at large, had the means of profecuting his old fcheme of Guiana, and his majesty granted him a patent for that purpofe, at least under the privy-feal, if not under the great feal of England; which Sir Francis Bacon, on being applied to, affured him was a fufficient pardon for all that was past, as the king had made him admiral of his

fleet,

1

fleet, and given him the power of martial law over his officers and foldiers.

The whole expence of this expedition was defrayed by Sir Walter Raleigh and his friends. In their paffage, they met with various difappointments; however, in November, they came in fight of Guiana, and anchored five degrees off the river Caliana.

Here Raleigh was received with the ut moft joy by the Indians, who offered him the fovereignty of the country, which he declined. His extreme fickness preventing his attempting the discovery of the mines in perfon, he deputed captain Keymis to that fervice, ordering five fhips to fail into the river Oronoque; but, three weeks after, landing by night nearer a Spanish town than they expected, they were fet upon by the Spanish troops, who were fore-armed for their coming.

This unexpected attack foon threw them into confufion; and, had not fome of the leaders animated the reft, they had all been cut to pieces but the others, by their example, foon rallying, they made fuch a vigorous oppofition, that they forced the Spaniards to

retreat.

In the warmth of the purfuit, the English found themselves at the Spanish town before they knew where they were. Here the battle was renewed, and they were affaulted by the governor himself, and four or five captains, at the head of their companies, when captain Ra

leigh,

leigh, the eldeft fon of Sir Walter, hurried on by the heat and impatience of youth, not waiting for the musketeers, rushed forward, at the head of a company of pikes, and, having killed one of the Spanish captains, was fhot by another; but, preffing ftill forward with his fword, upon the captain who had shot him, the Spaniard, with the butt end of his mufket, felled him to the ground, and put an end to his life; when his ferjeant immediately thruft the Spanish captain through the body with his halbert. Two other captains, and the governor himself, fell in this engagement.

The Spanish leaders being all thus difpatched, the reft fled; fome took shelter about the market-place, from whence they killed and wounded the English at pleasure ; fo that there was no way left for fafety but by firing the town, and driving the enemy to the woods and mountains.

Captain Keymis had now an opportunity of vifiting the mine, which he attempted with captain Thornhurft, Mr. W. Herbert, Sir John Hamden, and others; but, upon their falling into an ambuscade, in which they loft many of their men, they returned to Sir Walter, without discovering the mine, alledging the reafon mentioned above.

As fome mitigation of their ill fuccefs, and as an inducement to further hopes, Keymis produced two ingots of gold, which they had found in the town, together with a large quantity of papers found in the governor's study.

Among