THE LAST JOURNEY
Ralegh's influence with Queen and Prince Henry--Death
of Robert Cecil--Rise of Villiers--Liberty--The undying
endeavour--Anecdote--Preparations for expedition--Delays
and uncertainty--The King's treachery--The expedition
starts--Further delays--Storms--Captain Bailey--Ralegh's
illness--At Terra de Bri--His son's death--Return of
Keymis--Suicide of Keymis--Mutiny--The return.
Ralegh in the Tower managed to gain influence of a remarkable nature
over the Queen and over Prince Henry, who was the idol of the nation. It
availed him not, however. James was jealous of the immense popularity of
his son, and feared his high spirit. Gradually the tall white-haired man
in the Tower became the most talked of man in London. Round him centred
the tradition of Elizabeth, which was looked back upon with vain regret.
Men did not like the deference that was paid to Gondomar, the Spanish
ambassador; they did not like the rise and supremacy of Car. They looked
askance at Cecil. But Cecil and Car did not for many years lose their
hold on the King, whom they treated adroitly. Nor were James's fear and
hatred of Ralegh allowed by them to abate. Whenever the Queen or the
Prince sued for favour towards Ralegh, they would not fail to point out
the power and influence which caused such appeals to be made, and to
play on the King's timidity. Moreover, in spite of Lady Ralegh's
supplications and Prince Henry's frequent entreaties, the Sherborne
estates were handed over to Car at a price.
The position, however, suddenly changed. Cecil died. Car was sent to the
Tower for complicity in the poisoning of Overbury. Henry Howard, Earl of
Northampton died, the bitterest of Ralegh's enemies. Sir Ralph Winwood,
who was kindly disposed towards Ralegh and an honest man, became
Secretary of State. A new favourite of the same stamp as Car, one George
Villiers rose to power, and he, for his own reasons, hated the Howards.
Ralegh approached him in the usual way. He gave L750 each to his
brothers, and obtained in consequence the regard of George Villiers.
Through all the years of his imprisonment Ralegh had continued quietly
to urge--through the Prince, through the Queen, through Cecil--how
foolish it was to keep imprisoned a man like himself, who could fill the
treasury of England with gold from a mine in Guiana, of which he alone
knew the site. He persisted always upon the wealth of Guiana, so that
little by little it grew to be common talk. To Ralegh, as to Cecil
Rhodes, gold meant power; but, more than gold, he desired the sensation
of freedom on the wide sea, and the long journey to the unknown land.
More than gold, he desired the attainment of the great dream which had
become inextricably part of his life. That was his life's object, and
nothing could keep him from any possible means of its fulfilment. The
quiet labour in the Tower at his history and in the little laboratory
only served to lull the pain of captivity, and gave scope to but a part
of his great nature, though many men, and many by no means inferior men,
have spent their lives in doing work less excellent and less valuable
than Ralegh packed into the years of his imprisonment.
[Illustration: HENRY PRINCE OF WALES]
For twelve years Ralegh had been in prison. He was sixty-three years
old when he regained his liberty. Most men would have been content to
continue the quiet habit of work formed during his long imprisonment.
Ralegh's spirit was, however, undaunted; not even habit could deaden his
unconquerable vitality. His release had been gained that he might
arrange and lead an expedition to Guiana. Indeed, he was still under the
charge of a keeper, and his sole permitted business was to arrange the
detail for the fitting out of the expedition--ships, men, supplies and
so forth.
It would throw a light on all life if we could know what were Ralegh's
feelings as he left the Tower; if we could know how long the first
exhilaration of freedom held him, and when that exhilaration yielded to
intense unutterable consciousness of the stress and the pain of life;
for he must surely have felt as if he were beginning the whole business
of life again, and many moments must have come even to Ralegh when he
asked himself, "_Is_ it _good_ enough?" and looked back to the quiet of
his room in the Tower with active regret--the room where he had dreamed
and worked, had had the satisfaction of a persistent desire, and from
which he had watched great ships making their way down the Thames to the
sea. The same detail of his old life awaited him, in transacting the
manifold business which he knew so well--countless interviews with
innumerable men, endowed with the same amount of ignorance, or
astuteness, or malice, or knowledge, or good-will. In some ways the
world must have appeared to him to have remained very dully the same;
but its aspect must have changed amazingly. Different fashions were in
vogue; different favourites caught the public eye; new faces showed
everywhere. The streets had been widened; many were better paved. They
were more crowded with carriages than they were twelve years before. New
buildings had arisen, among which the New Exchange, close to Durham
House, and the Banqueting House at Whitehall were the most notable. The
first thing Ralegh did was to walk round London. In the twentieth
century, an active man might, by clever arrangement of train and tube
and electric tram, traverse the extent of London in a day without seeing
any of the sights, and but few of the streets. Ralegh could see
everything in London, poor walker as he was, in three or four hours,
less than three hundred years ago. For London clung to the banks of the
river which was the main way, and by which watermen thronged at
countless landing-stages with innumerable boats and barges. It must have
been a strange experience for Ralegh to notice the new fashions of the
Court, to pass among men unknown, himself almost unheeded, who had been
the great Queen's lover, and to see faces of new favourites, acclaimed
at their passing through the streets. For he had become to the people
little more than a name and a tradition; he would be recognizable at his
window in the Tower, but in the ordinary surroundings of life he would
be regarded with surprise rather than recognition. And men who
recognized would hesitate to notice his presence, not knowing whether
suspicion might not cling to them of treasonable intentions if they
appeared too glad at his release.
To this time belongs probably a story which Aubrey tells, and which,
like other stories of that inimitable gossip, bears the stamp of truth.
Its telling lightens the gloom that these first months of freedom, with
their terrible realization of time gone, inevitably raise. Aubrey had it
from his old friend, James Harrington, who was well acquainted with Sir
Benjamin Ruddyer, a friend of Ralegh's. In Aubrey's own delightful words
the story runs as follows: "Sir Walter Ralegh, being invited to dinner
to some great person where his son was to go with him, he sayd to his
son 'Thou art expected to-day at dinner to goe along with me, but thou
art such a quarrelsome affronting ... (Aubrey has forgotten the exact
word) that I am ashamed to have such a beare in my company.' Mr. Walter
humbled himself to his father and promised he would behave himself
mighty mannerly. So away they went, and Sir Benjamin I think with them.
He sate next to his father and was very demure at least halfe dinner
time. Then sayd he 'I this morning not having the feare of God before my
eyes but by the instigation of the devil went....' Sir Walter being
strangely surprised and put out of countenance at so great a table gives
his son a damned blow over the face. His son, as rude as he was, would
not strike his father, but strikes over the face the gentleman that sate
next him, and sayd 'Box about; it will come to my father anon.' Tis now
a common proverb."
The story is far too good to be false. Gossip needs no verification. It
stands or falls unsupported by the props which the stern matter of
history demands, like an authentic relic which has survived to please.
Meanwhile the business of the expedition went on apace. Ralegh had from
King James a commission which empowered him to voyage "to places in
South America, or elsewhere, inhabited by heathen and savage people,
etc." The commission was very similarly worded to others which he had
had from Queen Elizabeth, and Ralegh set no greater store by the clause
which forbade him to attack the subjects of any European king,
especially of the King of Spain, than he had done before. Ralegh did not
realize how much things had changed since his Queen ruled. He knew as
well as every one else that the Spaniards in Guiana would not allow him
to land and proceed quietly to the mine without a determined effort to
stop his progress. But he did not know what a hold Sarmiento, the
Spanish ambassador, had acquired over James, and how well-disposed James
had become towards Spain. He did not understand that he was the last man
in England who upheld the Elizabethan tradition, and that therefore he
was the man whom Spain best hated.
One month after Ralegh's release Sarmiento wrote to the King of Spain
warning him that another company was being prepared "for Guiana and the
river Orinoco, which is near Trinidad, the prime promoter and originator
of which is Sir Walter Ralegh, a great seaman.... I am informed that he
will sail in the month of October with six or eight ships of 200 to 500
tons, some belonging to himself, some to his companions, all well
provided. He will also take with him launches in which to ascend the
Orinoco, and he is trying to get two ships of very light draught to take
them as high up the river as possible. He has already been in the
country and assures people here that he knows of a mine that will swell
all England with gold." He urges the King of Spain to increase the navy
and not to allow any merchant to sail without a proper convoy; and
assures him that he in England will do all in his power to prevent the
expedition. Sarmiento's power was very great.
Sir Ralph Winwood, the Secretary of State, was the only man in authority
who was not in favour of a Spanish alliance. The King, as Major Martin
Hume points out, "was besotted with Gondomar and the Spanish power;
Digby and Cottington were humbly negotiating in Madrid for the marriage
of the Prince of Wales with the Infanta, and greedy Buckingham was
bribed by the Spaniards to his heart's content."
King James played with Ralegh. The King wanted money, and wanted the
friendship of Spain. There was a remote chance that Ralegh might obtain
the money. In that case the money would be useful and Ralegh could be
disposed of at his convenience, as an atonement to Spain. On the other
hand, if the expedition failed, Ralegh could even more easily be
disposed of, and his sacrifice would strengthen the tie between Spain
and England. In either case James saw carefully to it that he should
lose nothing and Ralegh everything.
The King's treatment of Ralegh is absolutely typical of him, and
illustrates his treacherous weak nature with decision.
Men did not believe that Guiana was the object of Ralegh's journey. The
whole scheme seemed incredible as affairs then stood. The general
opinion was that the mine was the merest blind; for how could a sane man
give, or a sane man accept, the conditions under which the search was to
be carried out? Some thought that Ralegh was taking any opportunity that
might lead to his freedom; that once he found the wide sea round him he
would not again return to England where he had been so badly handled.
Some thought that the expedition was intended not for Guiana but for a
sudden raid on Genoa; others thought that Ralegh was going to succour
the Huguenots at the King's wish. All the foreign ambassadors were
uneasy as to the real intent of the voyage, and had long conferences
with Ralegh and wrote long letters to their powers at home. Ralegh
alone, loyal to his traditions of Elizabeth, remained steadfast in his
purpose.
James demanded from Ralegh the details of the expedition, the number of
ships and men and arms, promising on his honour as a king (what more
fragile pledge could he find?) not to divulge the secrets to any man.
But Sarmiento, the Spanish ambassador, had the exact measure of James.
He laughed at the story of the mine, and laughed at James for his
childishness in thinking that a man who was no fool would be gulled by
such a child's tale. The real motive of the expedition, Sarmiento
assured James with laughing suavity, he and all the world knew very well
was nothing else than to rob Spain at the distant source of her wealth
while keeping her off her guard by the show of friendliness at home.
James could not bear his ridicule and his assurance. He swore to
Sarmiento that if a hair on the head of one Spanish subject were
touched, Ralegh should be sent to Madrid in chains to be hanged in
Madrid's chief square. That was not all. To prove that Ralegh's end was
the mine, he handed over to Sarmiento all the secret papers of the
expedition. So Sarmiento gained his purpose; he had the papers carefully
copied and a special messenger was soon on his way to Spain bearing the
copy to the Spanish king, as has been seen.
James was friendly with Sarmiento. A weak man likes to deceive himself.
James wanted to be friendly with Spain, from fear of Spain's power. But
if Ralegh could break Spain's power at the risk only of his life, James
was quite content to accept the first place in Europe and then dispose
of Ralegh. It was not his nature, however, to face anything and strike
boldly. He kept up the illusion in his own mind that the mine was all he
wanted, and all that Ralegh intended to make for and, like the weak
creature he was, he allowed his personal dislike of Ralegh to hinder his
plan, and his fear of ridicule to render the whole scheme ridiculous.
[Illustration: PHILIP III. OF SPAIN]
Meanwhile Ralegh's arrangements were proceeding, and gradually the new
ship, the _Destiny_, which he had built, became a fashionable resort,
even as his destination was the common talk not only of the Court in
London, but also of many foreign Courts. Did England intend to support
Spain and the Catholics, or the Protestant cause? The diplomacy of James
was even more intricate and twisted than diplomacy is wont to be.
At length, at the beginning of April, Ralegh's small fleet of seven
vessels weighed anchor, and sailed down the Thames. Even at the very
moment of his sailing his purpose was not credited. Lionello, a Venetian
resident, wrote to the Senate of Venice, "I know very well that Sir
Walter Ralegh's only object in embarking in this enterprise was to free
himself from his imprisonment. He would gladly change this scheme for
any other. Many people know the fact as well as I."
But Ralegh was firm in his purpose. He was now an old man, if age be
counted in years; he was still vigorous and alert, if age be counted by
the measure of a man's vitality. Now, at the age when most men take to
the fireside and friendly counsel, Ralegh was glad to undertake a
desperate venture to win freedom and wealth for himself and for his
family, prosperity and greatness for his country.
The seven ships in the Thames weighed anchor. They were: the _Destiny_,
of 440 tons, carrying 36 pieces of ordnance; the _Jason_, of 240 tons,
carrying 25 pieces of ordnance, of which the commander was John
Pennington, "of whom to do him right," as Ralegh wrote, "I dare say he
is one of the sufficientest gentlemen for the sea that England hath";
the _Encounter_, of 160 tons, commanded at first by Edward Hastings and
afterwards by Whitney, carrying 17 pieces; the _Thunder_, of 180 tons,
commanded by Sir Warham St. Leger, carrying 20 pieces; the _Flying
Joan_, the _Husband_, alias the _Southampton_, and the _Page_, all
smaller vessels of 120, 80, and 25 tons respectively. The fleet was
joined before it left the coast of England by Keymis in the Convertine,
Wollaston in the _Confidence_, and Sir John Ferne in the _Flying Hart_.
The _Destiny_ was the flagship. It had been built at Sir Walter's own
charge, and his son Walter was placed in the position of captain. Of the
two hundred men on board, eighty were gentlemen volunteers, who were for
the most part friends or relations of Sir Walter.
But months of valuable summer weather elapsed before the fleet left the
coast of England. From the outset evil chance brooded over the
expedition. Captain Pennington put in to the Isle of Wight with the
_Jason_ to obtain provisions, and had not the needful money. He
accordingly was obliged to ride post haste to Lady Ralegh in London and
wait while she went through the business of a bond, on which the money
was raised. At Plymouth Captain Whitney had the same experience, and
Ralegh was obliged to sell his plate to the silversmith; Sir John Ferne
was also insufficiently supplied with money, and Ralegh borrowed L200
from two friends. The men began to feel that the expedition found no
favour, and that their commanders were not trusted. In consequence, they
grew uneasy and discontented. The delay lasted nearly three months,
their enthusiasm began to abate, their resolution to weaken. The proper
time of the year was passing.
While the fleet lay in Plymouth harbour Ralegh issued orders for the
conduct of his men to be observed by the Commanders of the Fleet and
Land Companies. He ordained that divine service should be read in every
ship twice every day: in the morning before dinner and at night before
supper; or at least, if there be interruption by foul weather, once the
day, praising God every night with singing of a psalm at the setting of
the watch. He ordained special care to be taken that God be not
blasphemed in the ships. The offender is to be admonished and then fined
out of his adventures, and then if no amendment be found the matter is
to be reported to Ralegh himself. For if it be threatened in the
Scriptures that the curse shall not depart from the house of the
swearer, much less shall it depart from the ship of the swearer. Two
captains of the watch must be chosen, and they shall pick two soldiers
every night to search between the decks that no fire nor candle-light be
carried about the ship, nor that any candles be burning in any cabin
without a lanthorn. "For there is no danger so inevitable as the ship's
firing which may as well happen by taking of tobacco between the decks,
and therefore forbidden to all men but aloft the upper deck."
The landsmen must be taught the names and places of the ropes in order
that they may assist the sailors in their labours upon the decks, though
they cannot go up to the tops and yards. And the sailors must learn the
art of land-fighting, otherwise the troops will be very weak when they
come to land without the assistance of the sea-faring men. No vessel
should be pursued or disfurnished in any way, except under compulsion of
absolute necessity, and then bonds shall be entered into for the repayal
of what was taken. "You shall every night fall astern the general's
ship, and follow his light, receiving instructions in the morning what
course to hold, and if you shall at any time be separated by foul
weather, you shall receive certain billets sealed up, the first to be
opened on this side of North Cape, if there be cause; the second to be
opened at the South Cape; the third after you shall pass twenty-three
degrees; and the fourth from the height of Cape de Verd." Minute
instructions were given for signalling in case of distress or attack, or
the sighting of a foreign vessel. In foul weather every man shall fit
his sails to keep company with the rest of the fleet and not run so far
ahead by day but that he may fall astern the admiral before night. He
gave full instructions to the captains how to fight their ships. They
are of exceptional interest. "In case we should be set upon by sea the
captain will appoint a sufficient company to assist the gunners, after
which if the fight require it, the cabins between the decks shall be
taken down, and all beds and sacks employed for bulwarks. The gunners
shall not shoot any great ordnance at other distance than point blank.
An officer or two shall be appointed to take care that no loose powder
be carried between the decks, or near any linstock or match in hand. You
shall saw divers hogheads in two parts and filled with water set them
aloft the decks. You shall divide your carpenters, some in the hold, if
any shot come between wind and water, and the rest between the decks,
with plates of lead, plugs, and all things necessary laid by them. The
master and boatswain shall appoint a certain number of sailors to every
sail, and to every such company a master's mate, boatswain, mate, or
quarter-master, so as when every man knows his charge and place, things
may be done without noise or confusion, and no man to speak but the
officers.... You shall take a special care for the keeping of the ship
clean between the decks, to have your ordnance in order, and not cloyed
with trunks and chests."
Then follow further instructions as to conduct, which forbid any man to
play at cards or dice, either for his apparel or arms, upon pain of
being disarmed and made a swabber. And whosoever shall show himself a
coward upon any landing or otherwise, he shall be disarmed and made a
labourer and carrier of victuals for the rest.
And finally a few essential points are mentioned for all fully to
realize when God shall suffer them to land in the Indies, namely, the
danger of sleeping on the ground, of eating unknown fruits, or any flesh
until it be salted, of bathing in rivers. Especial stress is laid upon
the necessity of treating the Indians with courtesy in order to win
their help and friendship. "For other orders on the land we will
establish them (when God shall send us thither) by general consent. In
the mean time I will value every man's honour according to their degree
and valour, and taking care for the service of God and prosperity of our
enterprise."
On the 12th of June the fleet at last set sail. But as in the Islands
voyage, just twenty years before, a great storm broke upon the ships and
drove some back to Falmouth harbour. The bad weather raged for weeks and
ended in a tempest that scattered the fleet and wrought fearful havoc
among all.
Ralegh was forced to take refuge with his fleet in Cork harbour, where
another long delay ensued. Delay was disastrous. It meant lack of
confidence among the men. And well Ralegh knew that his authority had
been lessened by the reports which had been industriously spread among
his company that his commission being granted to a man _non ens_ in law,
took from him both arms and actions: "it gave boldness to every petty
companion to spread rumours to my defamation and the wounding of my
reputation in all places where I could not be present to make them
knaves and liars."
Delay meant expenditure of money which was desperately wanted; and what
was most serious of all, delay meant loss of time, for only at the most
favourable season of the year could these heavily equipped vessels hope
to make their voyage with any likelihood of success, and only at the
most favourable season could they hope to carry out the great task which
awaited them at the end of their long voyage.
Ralegh was once again in Ireland, where he had started his career.
Thirty-six years before he had written to Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester, now long dead, "I have spent some time here under the Deputy
in such poore place and charge, as were it not that I knew him to be one
of yours, I would disdayne it as much as to keepe sheepe." Here, too, he
had spent those quiet months with Edmund Spenser, his friend, by Mulla's
shore; nearly twenty years had passed since rebels burned Spenser's
house to the ground and Spenser himself died of very grief. And here was
Ralegh still living, still in quest of the dream's fulfilment, of which
he had talked with the poet who was at rest, and still fretting at this
last delay which was quietly ravelling away the fabric of all his hopes.
Spenser had given the world his vision of the fairy realm into which his
spirit had now passed; Ralegh had written the first half of his great
History of the World, over which he desired to extend his country's
dominion.
Richard Boyle was still at Cork. Boyle had bought Ralegh's estates in
Ireland and they were flourishing under his direction. Here as
elsewhere Ralegh broke the ground from which others reaped a rich
harvest. One Henry Pine of Mogelie was vexing Boyle as grievously as he
had in years gone by vexed Ralegh with whom he was connected in
industrial enterprises. So Boyle took advantage of Ralegh's visit to
Cork to question him concerning the terms of a lease, and Ralegh spoke
vigorously against the claims of Henry Pine, remembering well Pine's
former bad treatment of him. He spoke so vigorously that in the
following year, when he was reviewing all the many events of his great
life, his words came back to him. He was then on the threshold of
departure, and not wishing to think that any man had been harmed by him
unjustly, he expressed a strong desire that the terms of this lease
might be examined closely again. The action witnesses Ralegh's attention
to justice and to detail.
But at last a favourable wind sprang up, and on the 19th of August,
though late in the year for its enterprise, the fleet set sail from Cork
harbour. Nothing could deter Ralegh from his last venture. The wide sea
opened out before him once again, and far away the rich land of his
dreams, where wealth was waiting for him and greatness for his country.
Behind him he left his adventurous past life, and his soul was inclined
towards this new adventure.
From Cork they set sail for Cape St. Vincent, and presently four ships
hove in sight, to which Ralegh at once gave chase. The long delay made
it dangerous to allow ships to pass unheeded, for by this time Ralegh
must have known to some extent how much the Spaniards knew. Neither he
nor any man could have suspected the scope of King James's treachery.
The pursuit was long and stirring. Eventually the strange vessels were
overhauled. Their leader said that they were French vessels bound for
Seville. His tale bore small signs of truth. His vessels were so heavily
armed, their cut so questionable, that Ralegh's men affirmed that they
were merely pirates, and should be treated as pirates. But Ralegh was
not in a position to run any risk, which might bring down upon him the
King's anger afresh. Accordingly he took the four ships with him for a
length of time, sufficient to ensure the harmlessness of any
intelligence which they might carry, and treated them with courtesy. The
men grumbled. Why should they be expected to believe in a trumped-up
story, when the vessels were full of Spanish apparel and Spanish
merchandise and unmistakable pirates, and why should they be deprived of
their proper spoil? To them Ralegh answered that it was lawful for the
French to make prize of the Spaniards to south of the Canaries and to
west of the Azores. "And if it were not so, it is no business of mine to
examine the subjects of the French King." He bought commodities from
them--oil, a pinnace, a fishing-net--to the value of sixty crowns, and
let them go on their way. His scruples were well considered, but they
did not tend to mollify the feeling of discontent which the untoward
delays at the outset of the voyage had brought into existence among the
men. The ill-feeling was increased when a little afterwards a Spanish
vessel was encountered which had been pillaged by them.
On September 7 the fleet reaching the Canary Islands anchored off
Lanzarote, and at Lanzarote an event of importance occurred which
exposed the full treachery that was lying hid in the expedition, as well
as in its false launching. There is small doubt that the Spaniards on
the island had received news of the fleet, and had been advised as to
its proper treatment by Gondomar, the ambassador in London.
Circumstances lent a specious cover to their conduct. For a band of
Moorish pirates was known to be in the proximity of the Canaries, and
their presence justified the hostile reception which awaited Ralegh's
fleet. Nor would they easily believe that the vessels were English. They
demanded that two officers should land unarmed, except with rapiers, and
unaccompanied. Ralegh and an officer named Bradshaw landed and conferred
with them in a plain, sufficiently open to prevent any secret treachery.
Ralegh's demands were simple. All he desired was fresh water and food
for his company. The governor of the island consented to supply him, and
agreed to sell him the provisions by means of an English merchant, whose
ship was at anchor in the harbour. "I sent the English factor according
to our agreement, but the governor put it off from one morning to
another, and in the end sent me word that except I would embark my men
who lay on the seaside, the islanders were so jealous as they durst not
sever themselves to make our provisions. I did so: but when the one half
were gotten aboard two of our sentinels were forced, one slain, and the
English factor sent to tell me that he had nothing for us, whom he still
believed to be a fleet of the Turks who had lately taken and destroyed
Puerto Sancto. Hereupon all the companies would have marched toward the
town and have sacked it, but I knew it would not only dislike his
Majesty, but that our merchants having a continual trade with these
islands that their goods would have been stayed, and among the rest the
poor Englishman riding in the road having all that he brought thither
ashore, would have been utterly undone."
But sufficient had happened for the spy, Captain Bailey. He needed
little evidence for his pretty tale, and having asked and obtained from
Ralegh some ordnance and some ironbound casks, he weighed anchor in the
night, and set all sail for England, where his employers would listen
eagerly to his pretty tale, and pay him for it. It is sad to read all
that Ralegh could write of him afterwards in his apology, "what should
move Bailey to leave me as he did at the Canaries, from whence he might
have departed with my love and leave, and at his return to do me all the
wrong he could devise, I cannot conceive.... I never gave him
ill-language, nor offered him the least unkindness to my knowledge."
When the spy, Captain Bailey, arrived in England he despatched his
account of the proceedings at Lanzarote to Buckingham, and Buckingham
lost no time in acquainting King James. On October 22 Gondomar wrote
fully to the King of Spain about the expedition, and Philip was more
urgent than ever in pressing Sir John Digby and Lord Cottington and Lord
Roos, who had been sent to Madrid by James to arrange the terms of the
marriage between the Infanta and Prince Charles, that Ralegh might be
immediately recalled and punished. King James was abject in his apology,
and became more and more inclined to the sacrifice of Ralegh. But the
spy Captain Bailey's account was too carelessly prepared; Cottington
discovered divergences; Lord Carew, Master of the Ordnance, declared
"those who malice Sir Walter boldly affirm him to be a pirate, which for
my part I will never believe." Moreover "the poor Englishman riding in
the road," whose name was Reeks, arrived on the scene and told a
different story of the event. It was most unfortunate for the spy,
Captain Bailey, who was sent to the Gatehouse at Westminster.
[Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEGH]
His pretty story was proved to be an invention, but that mattered
little subsequently; the invention served its purpose.
Meanwhile Ralegh's fleet had arrived at Gomera, "one of the strongest
and best defenced places of all the islands, and the best port; the town
being seated upon the very wash of the sea." Guns were fired at the
ships at their first approach, and the ships answered. But as soon as
Ralegh came up in the _Destiny_ he gave orders that the firing should
immediately cease, and sent a Spaniard, whom he had taken on a bark
which came from Cape Blanc, to assure the governor of the town that he
intended no harm of any kind to the subjects of the Spanish King. The
governor replied that he had mistaken the fleet for the Turks who had
sacked Puerto Sancto, "but being resolved by the messenger that we were
Christians and English, and sought nothing but water, he would willingly
afford us as much as we were pleased to take, if he might be assured
that we would not attempt his town houses nor destroy his gardens and
fruits." Ralegh gave full assurance, vowing to hang up in the
market-place any man of his who should lay marauding hands on so much as
one orange or a grape. Their courtesies did not end here. The governor's
wife happened to be an English gentlewoman, and she sent Ralegh gifts of
fruits, of sugar, of rusks, and saw to it that his stay at the island
was agreeable. Sir Walter sent her presents of gloves and scent, and a
picture of Mary Magdalen which hung in his cabin. These days which he
spent at Gomera could have been the only time in this last great
adventure of which he could have a pleasant memory.
The governor too was kindly disposed towards Ralegh, and not realizing
how deeply his guest was disliked and feared by the authorities at
home, he sent a letter to Gondomar, the ambassador in London, in which
he stated how exemplary had been the conduct of Ralegh's men.
The respite from the stress of the voyage was short. On September 24,
three days after they left the Canary Islands, the sickness which had
been prevalent among the men during their fortnight's stay, broke out
with fury. On the evening of the 24th fifty men lay helpless on the
_Destiny_. The other ships were not exempt. Two captains and a
provost-marshal died on them. The chief surgeon and several officers
followed on the 31st. As the plague-stricken ships made for the Brava
roads a hurricane burst over them; the hurricane sank one ship and
inflicted terrible damage upon the others. The storm abated, but the
sickness continued. Four more officers died, and most of Ralegh's
personal servants, so that, though he was himself suffering from a
severe calenture, he was attended only by pages. The death of John
Talbot grieved him sorely. John Talbot was one of those completely
trustworthy old servants that a man of Ralegh's calibre is wont to have.
"He was my honest friend," wrote Ralegh, "an excellent general scholar
and as faithful and true a man as lived. I lost him to my inestimable
grief." John Talbot had shared Ralegh's imprisonment of his own free
will. He was as devoted to Ralegh as Keymis even himself. Pigott, the
Lieutenant-General of the land service, died on October 13.
It is finely typical of Ralegh that in spite of the calamities which
fell thickly upon him, the plague, the tempest, his own illness--he made
and recorded observations which, as Edwards points out, furthered
nautical science considerably.
On November 11 the fleet arrived at Cape Orange, which was then called
Cape Wiapoco, and on the 14th they sailed into the harbour, made by the
River Cayenne, which Ralegh calls Caliana. On this voyage every possible
disaster had fallen upon the fleet, and yet the full business of the
expedition had only now begun. Ralegh lay on a sick-bed, an old man, but
he did not falter, though all the weight of arrangement was upon him. As
soon as he arrived he wrote to Lady Ralegh. The bearer of the letter was
one Captain Alley, who was suffering from an infirmity in his head, and
obliged on that account to return home with all speed--"an honest,
valiant man," according to Ralegh's description.
"Sweetheart, I can write unto you but with a weak hand, for I have
suffered the most violent calenture for fifteen days that ever man did
and lived. But God, that gave me a strong heart in all my adversities,
hath also now strengthened it in the hell-fire of heat.... We are yet
two hundred men, and the rest of our fleet are reasonable strong. Strong
enough, I hope, to perform what we have undertaken, if the diligent care
at London to make our strength known to the Spanish King by his
ambassador have not taught the Spanish King to fortify all the entrances
against us." He tells her that their son is in excellent health, "having
had no distemper in all the heat under the line," and after recording
the names of those who had died, and the disasters which had fallen upon
the survivors, he ends the letter with this characteristic sentence: "To
tell you that I might be here King of the Indians were a vanity. But my
name hath still lived among them here. They feed me with fresh meat and
all that the country yields; all offer to obey me." He would always
rather be King even of the Indians than king only of his griefs.
The ship remained at anchor in the harbour of the river Cayenne until
December 4. The sick men were landed, the ships were washed, fresh water
was taken in; the barges and shallops which were brought out of England
in quarters were put together, ready for the inland voyage to the mine.
Ralegh reaped the full benefit of his courtesy to the Indians on his
previous visit. Well they remembered him, as he wrote to his wife, and
without their kindness it would have fared ill with the plague-stricken,
tempest-tossed company. As it was, the Indians tended the sick with
every attention possible, and helped the expedition by every means in
their power. Ralegh was still too ill to walk. He was carried about in a
chair, and in a condition in which most men would need all their
strength to fight disease and death, he superintended the arrangements
for the five ships which were to make their way up the great river to
the mine under Captain Keymis.
In the five ships were five companies, each of fifty men. The
Lieutenant-General of the land force, John Piggot, had died of fever on
the way out; Sir Warham St. Leger lay sick without hope of life; and
accordingly the command of the whole expedition was entrusted to
Ralegh's nephew, George Ralegh, "who had served long with infinite
commendation," but who was somewhat too young to have over the men the
absolute authority which his position required. The five companies were
separately commanded by Captain Parker and Captain North, "brethren to
the Lord Mounteagle and the Lord North, valiant gentlemen, and of
infinite patience for the labour, hunger and heat which they have
endured;" by Ralegh's son, Walter; by Captain Thornhurst of Kent, and by
Captain Chudleigh's lieutenant.
Ralegh himself stayed with the five larger ships at Puncto Gallo by
Trinidad. He was constrained to do so, partly because his health would
not allow him to undergo the hardships of the inland voyage, but
principally because, a Spanish fleet being expected, no one would
venture to pass up the river unless one whom they could trust remained
at the base in charge of the big ships. Ralegh vowed that they should
find him at Puncto Gallo on their return, dead or alive: "and if you
find not my ships there yet you shall find their ashes. For I will fire
with the galleons if it come to extremity, but run away will I never."
At last, on December 10, the five ships set sail, and Ralegh moved away
with the main fleet. They made Point Barimy on December 15; on the 17th
Point Hicacos, which is at the extreme south-west of the island of
Trinidad; and on the last day of the year 1617 they anchored at Terra de
Bri.
At Terra de Bri Ralegh began his slow period of suspense. The success of
the whole scheme was hanging in the balance, the scheme which had been
his life's chief business to fulfil, and he was doomed to inaction--to
wait while others sought the final prize. Bitter must have been this
waiting for Ralegh, bitter all the reasons that combined to keep him
back, each in themselves paltry, and united, irresistible. For the first
time a bodily ailment hindered him; old age was creeping on. For the
first time the great commander found a lack of loyalty in his men; and
that lack of loyalty had been generated and nourished by the treachery
of his King. How could any man gain the confidence of his men, and have
power over them, when he was still under sentence of death for treason?
The men who served him were the scum of the earth, bent only on
plunder, such, verily, as an unpardoned man would attract to his
service. But Keymis, Keymis and his own son--and the few valiant
gentlemen--his heart lightened as he thought of them; they were brave
and greathearted; they were loyal and steadfast. And George Ralegh, he
was young, but nothing would turn him back. Still Ralegh waited. There
was no sign of the Spanish fleet, which was expected, and for which he
kept ever on the alert. Ah! why had His Majesty been pleased to hold
them at so little value as to command him upon his allegiance to set
down under his hand the country of his destination and the very river of
entry; to set down the number of his men, the burthen of his ships, and
the ordnance each ship was bearing! Why had it pleased His Majesty to
hand over the document to the Spanish ambassador and break his royal
oath?
Still Ralegh waited. No news came from the land force. He tried to break
the monotony of suspense by searching out botanical specimens, and
examining the chemical properties of the plants; he busied himself with
the preparing of balsams, he who pined to be exploring the wealth of the
land of his dreams. How could he trust any man's judgment but his own in
such an enterprise, at such a time, when success meant prosperity for
his country, wealth and freedom for himself and his family; when failure
meant ruin, disgrace, and death? Yet Keymis, Keymis was faithful, and
young Wat had his father's blood in him.
Still Ralegh waited. At length one day a little boat came in sight, and
as it drew nearer it was seen to contain an Indian pilot and a sailor,
who had been with the land force. His name was Peter Andrews. A letter
was handed to Ralegh, a letter from Keymis. He broke the seal and
read--
"All things that appertain to human condition, in that proper nature
and sense that of fate and necessity belongeth unto them, being now
over with your son, maketh me chuse rather with grief to let you
know from the certain truth, than uncertainties from others. Which
is, viz. that had not his extraordinary valour and forwardness
(which with constant vigour of mind, being in the hands of death,
his last breath expressed in these words, _Lord have mercy upon me
and prosper your enterprise_) led them all on, when some began to
pause and recoil shamefully, this action had neither been attempted
as it was, nor performed as it is, with this surviving honour....
We have the governor's servant prisoner that waited on him in his
bedchamber and knows all things that concerned his master. We find
there are four refiners' houses in the town; the best houses in the
town. I have not seen one piece of coin or bullion, neither gold or
silver; a small deal of plate only excepted.
"Captain Whitney and Wollaston are but now come to us and now I
purpose (God willing) without delay to visit the mine, which is not
eight miles from the town. Sooner I could not go by reason of the
murmurings, the discords and vexations, wherewith the sergeant major
is perpetually tormented and tired, having no man to assist him but
myself only. Things are now in some reasonable order, and so soon as
I have made trial of the mine I will seek to come to Your Lordship
by way of the river Macario.... I have sent Your Lordship a parcel
of scattered papers (I reserve a cart-load), one roll of tobacco,
one tortoise, and some oranges and lemons. Praying God to give you
strength and health of body and a mind armed against all
extremities, I rest ever to be commanded this 8th day of January
1617-1618.
"Your Lordship's
"KEYMIS"
His son was dead. His men were unruly and murmuring ... but yet the four
refiners' houses, and they were the best houses. Keymis had the
governor's servant in his hands, Keymis was within eight miles of the
mine: gallant was the death his son had died.... (Would God he were
there in person within eight miles of the mine!) He turned to Peter
Andrews and the Indian pilot and began to question them eagerly. From
them he learned the details of the expedition, since their start on the
10th of December. They came in sight of Point Araya on New Year's Day,
and soldiers were landed before sunset. Ralegh frowned to hear that the
Spaniards at the newly raised village--San Thome they called it,--were
in readiness, and that an ambuscade had been prepared. Palomeque de
Acuna had been forewarned by despatch from Madrid--Ah! the accursed
delay and the still more accursed disloyalty of his King--Ralegh learned
of the treachery and the disaster--slowly, for his heart and mind were
heavy at the bad news of his son's death, and Peter Andrews was often
interrupted in his confused story by the impatience of his admiral. But
this is the gist of what had happened.
The Englishmen had encamped by the river bank. As soon as night fell on
the land, Geronimo de Grados led his men from their ambuscade in front
of the village down upon the English, who were taken completely at
unawares. The common sort were panic-stricken, and had not the captains
and some valiant gentlemen, among whom was one John Hampden (a staunch
admirer of Ralegh and famous in history), set a valiant example, the
whole company would have been cut to pieces. As it was, the Spaniards
were at last driven back. They were driven right back to the village of
St. Thomas, the position of which was not known. There the retreating
men of Geronimo de Grados were joined by a fresh force under Diego
Palomeque, the governor, and then the English were checked in their
pursuit. They began to waver. But young Walter Ralegh cried out
cheerily to the pikemen, who were ahead of the musketeers, to advance
after him, and waving his sword he led them to the fight afresh.
Straight for Palomeque, the governor, he dashed and slew him. A hand to
hand jabbing fight ensued, and muskets were fired at very close
quarters. Young Ralegh was wounded. He paid no heed to his wound; with
blood streaming from his wound he advanced against a Spaniard named
Erinetta. But his quickness had lessened, as his strength ebbed from
him. Erinetta swung his musket and the stock crashed on young Ralegh's
skull: but Erinetta could not recover himself and he was immediately
beaten to the ground. The Spaniards began to give way again. They fled.
They fled for refuge to a monastery of St. Francis; the soldiers under
George Ralegh and Keymis stormed the monastery and drove the Spaniards
into the woods, and finally for refuge into their last stronghold where
the women and children had been taken from St. Thomas. The battle was at
an end. But the new governor, Garcia de Aguilar, was a man of resource.
He gave orders that the survivors should form themselves into small
bands, should harass the English whenever an opportunity offered, and
fall upon all stragglers. While the funeral ceremony was being conducted
over the body of young Walter, Captains Whitney and Wollaston arrived,
and Peter Andrews and the Indian pilot were sent back, bearing their
tidings to the main body at Terra de Bri.
That was all Ralegh could learn. That his son was dead; that the
Spaniards were forewarned and keenly hostile; that his men were shaken.
The suspense became well-nigh intolerable for him as he settled to
endure the second long period of inaction--of waiting whilst with
others lay the excitement of finishing for good or ill the scheme of his
life's imagining. His son was dead. He could not bring himself to write
the bitter news to his wife. He himself, an old man, still lived--and
waited on the threshold of discovery. Keymis, however, was a trusted
man, and nothing would hinder George Ralegh from his purpose. Keymis
wrote that he was within some few hours of the mine. Perhaps even now
Keymis was on his way back again, his ships laden with gold--and if gold
were once found, there would be little difficulty in founding the colony
which would become England's great empire across the seas. No old man
could live to see that, but his son might ... if his son were not
already dead. He would wait to tell the bad news to his wife until he
had some good news--the news of prosperity--that she might know his
other son, Carew, though not of young Walter's mettle, would be able to
continue his father's tradition.
Still he waited--day after day, week after week, month after month, but
no fresh news came from Keymis, and no signs were anywhere apparent of a
Spanish fleet. He went on with his botanical studies as much as his
enfeebled strength would allow him. He studied the little plants that
renew their life each year.
Bow down and worship; more than we
Is the least flower whose life returns
Least weed renascent in the sea.
For Ralegh was a poet and so lost his personal sense of loss in the
great mystery of things, which his personal griefs made more vivid to
his mind. He was a poet and saw much that he could not express. The idea
of Death fascinated him always. Death had slain the young Prince, the
hope of the nation; his friend, who would have helped him in his
project; had left untouched the father, King James, who had betrayed
him. And now Death had taken his son, who had only lived twenty-three
years, and left him an old man--once again waiting, as he waited those
long years in the Tower, waiting whilst others made or marred the
fulfilment of his dream. Why was he thus often doomed to inactivity?
Still he waited.... At twenty-three, the age at which his son met death
in a Spanish ambuscade on the eve of a great discovery, with a shining
future before him, he himself was fighting in Ireland, an obscure
soldier of fortune. The days of his past life appeared before him, his
Queen's favour, his Queen's displeasure, the high mark which he had
touched, the low place to which he had sunk, his captivity, his renewal
of hope through the gallant Prince who was dead, his freedom, and this
last tremendous effort to bring greatness to his country, prosperity to
his family; and he was still waiting, while Keymis and George Ralegh
took the last great step. He would tell his wife of their son's death
when he could console her with the knowledge of what he had himself
achieved. But no news came from Keymis. He could trust Keymis. He knew
the man well and cared for him. All through his captivity who had served
him as faithfully as Keymis? Who had believed in him so staunchly as
Keymis? Who had helped him even so well? Perhaps Keymis and all his men
were slain, or lost, or drowned.
Just before the middle of March Keymis returned. There was gladness on
his face to see his master alive, but the gladness did not continue. He
brought bad news. The faces of his men showed anger and discontent.
Keymis brought the worst news that any man could have brought to Ralegh
after his long days of waiting. The scheme had failed, failed beyond all
hope of recovery, and there was nothing to show for all the lives that
had been thrown away, all the dangers and difficulties that had been
surmounted.
For this is what had happened.
After the reinforcement of Captains Whitney and Wollaston, Captain
Keymis took two boats further up the Orinoco in search of the mine,
leaving the remainder of the company near St. Thomas. Their destination
was Seiba, a village on the banks of the river within a two hours' march
of the mine. The party made their way without mishap to the creek by the
landing-place. But there, too, the Spaniards were in readiness. As the
first boat neared the shore, a volley was fired, and nearly all the men
in the boat were hit. His force thus enfeebled, Captain Keymis decided
to return to St. Thomas for fresh soldiers. He found the company at St.
Thomas harassed by sickness and continual attacks of the Spaniards; but
they still had spirit enough to make one further effort. This time
George Ralegh with three boats made his way right up the Orinoco to
inspect the country from the point of view of colonization. He, too, was
struck by its richness and beauty. He returned and found the company
still more weakened by sickness and assault. The Spaniards made an
attempt to burn the English camp. This so infuriated the men that they
set upon St. Thomas and razed it to the ground. Captain Keymis
discovered from the Indians that in the neighbourhood of St. Thomas also
there were rich mines, which lack of labour alone prevented the
Spaniards from working; but no other attempt was made to locate them or
to test their richness. Then the whole expedition returned. The one
actual sign of their toils which they brought, were papers taken from
the governor at the sack of St. Thomas, and these papers were documents
from Madrid, proving how falsely King James had dealt with Ralegh.
Such was the report which Keymis gave to Ralegh. Ralegh was silent as he
listened to the account of the overthrow of all his hopes. When the sad
tale was finished, he asked Keymis why he had not obeyed his
instructions, why he had not opened the mine and brought back some
visible sign of its existence. Keymis gave his reasons at full length.
There were not enough men to hold the mine; young Ralegh was dead; his
master was ill, dying, nay, for all Keymis knew, he was dead. Why should
the mine be opened that others might reap the benefit? But still Ralegh
insisted, unwavering in dreadful firmness, on his question, Why had not
instructions been obeyed? There were many interviews; there were long
discussions that day and the next. Still Ralegh answered, "You should
have obeyed instructions." "When I was resolved to write unto your
Honour (wrote Ralegh to Sir Ralph Winwood, not knowing that his friend,
the Secretary of State, had been dead for five months) he prayed me to
joyne with him in excusing his not going to the mine. I answered him, I
would not doe it; that if himself could satisfy the King and the State
that he had reason not to open it, I should be glad of it; but for my
part, I must avow it that he knew it and that he might with little losse
have done it; other excuse I would not frame."
The position was a terrible one. Ralegh had been waiting for months,
trusting to the loyalty of Keymis to execute his great enterprise; and
it was Keymis's very loyalty to Ralegh which was the real cause of his
failure; for he would not open the mine unless he was quite sure that
his master alone should benefit. Keymis was wrong. But he could not bear
Ralegh to think that his conduct had been remiss; he could not bear to
think that he had injured the master for whom he would gladly have given
his life. Nor could he make Ralegh understand even the reason of his
action. "I know then, sir, what course to take," said Keymis, when he
found he could not move Ralegh from his attitude of censure, and he went
away "out of my cabin into his own, in which he was no sooner entered,
but I heard a pistol go off. I sent up to know who had shot a pistol.
Keymis himself made answer, lying on his bed, that he had shot it off
because it had long been charged, with which I was satisfied. Some
half-hour after this, the boy going into his cabin found him dead,
having a long knife thrust under his left pap through his heart, and his
pistol lying by him, with which it appeared that he had shot himself,
but the bullet lighting upon a rib, had but broken the rib, and went no
farther."
Such was the end of Ralegh's long period of waiting. The tragedy is
great and real. He had trusted to Captain Keymis implicitly; and Keymis,
through excess of loyalty, had failed him. The only fault in either is
that each was a little too true to his own character. Keymis's death
shook Ralegh to the depths of his nature. Now more than ever he had need
of men staunch as the dead Keymis.
For mutiny broke out among the men. Captains Whitney and Wollaston
deserted. The men declared that they had joined the expedition merely to
loot the Spaniards and plunder they would have. The mine had failed.
Well, they would turn pirates and attack the Spanish fleet on its way
home. They threatened to throw Ralegh into the sea if he persisted in
his resolution to return. He quieted them as much as lay in his power;
but at last his great power was shaken and enfeebled, by imprisonment,
by long sickness, by age, by the King's treachery, by disaster on
disaster. He had still sufficient power to keep to his resolution and to
force his men to some semblance of obedience, but in the old days no
mutiny would have happened. Sulkily the men set sail for home, and
Ralegh knew from the letters which Keymis had brought him from St.
Thomas, that he was returning to disgrace and death.
From St. Christopher's, on this sad journey back, he forced himself to
tell his wife the bad news of their son's death. He had no comfort for
her. He was inured to grief. "God knows I never knewe what sorrow meant
till now," he writes. "My braines are broken, and it is a torment for me
to write, and especially of misery." And in a postscript, "I protest
before the Majesty of God that as Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins
died hart broken when they failed of their enterprize, I could willingly
doe the like did I not contend against sorrow for your sake in hope to
provide somewhat for you, and to comfort and relieve you."
The remainder of the voyage back was as disastrous as had been the
outward voyage. Storms broke upon the ships and separated them. Some put
in at Ireland; Captain Pennington, who had ridden back at the last
moment to obtain money for supplies from Lady Ralegh, put in at Kinsale,
and his ship was immediately seized. The _Destiny_ arrived at Plymouth
on June 21 alone; and at Plymouth Ralegh met his wife, and there he
stayed until the second week of July.
In his last great enterprize he had failed, and he returned to give an
account of his failure, and to face the ignominy which his failure
entailed. He was resolved, however, to make one last effort to clear his
name, and to reinstate his family in some semblance of prosperity. He
was an old man now, and one who had been buffeted by misfortune, but the
spirit of life was still strong in him.