he refolved to pass through that town, and offer him combat; and accordingly at the town's end met Barry with his forces, whom he charged with prodigious bravery, and put to flight; as he purfued his journey, he overtook another company of the enemy in a plain by a wood fide, whom be likewife attacked, though he had only fix horfemen with him, expecting probably that his company would. foon join him. But the rebels, who had greatly the advantage of numbers, being cut off from the wood, and having no other relief, faced about, and fought very defperately, killing five of the horfes belonging to Raleigh's company, and amongft thefe his own; and he was in extreme danger himself of being overpowered by numbers, if his fervant Nicholas Wright had not interpofed; who perceiving his master's horse mortally wounded with darts, encountered fix of the enemy at once, and killed one of them; while Patric Fagaw refcued Raleigh, after it had been unfuccefsfully attempted by James Fitz Richard, who was then ready to perish; which Raleigh feeing, would not now fuffer Wright to fight by him any longer; but ordered him to affift Fitz-Richard, which he immediately did, by rufhiug into the throng of the enemy, and dispatching him who preffed upon Fitz-Richard, refcuing the latter from the most imminent danger. In this fharp kirmish many of the reblels perifhed, and two were carried prifoners to Cork, where Raleigh performed feveral other fervices, till the rebels being

C 5

being reduced, he returned to England, where his eminent accomplishments foon introduced him to the notice of the court, and her majefty's favour. In February 1581-2, he was one of thofe perfons of diftinction, who by the queen's command accompanied the duke of Anjou to the Netherlands; and in 1582, on his return, brought letters from the prince of Orange to her majefty. In 1583, he engaged in a fecond expedition with his brother Sir Humphry Gilbert, to Newfoundland; but having been two or three days at sea, a contagious diftemper feized his whole crew, and he was obliged to return to port; however, by this accident, he escaped the misfortunes of that expedition, in which Sir Humphry, after having taken poffeffion of Newfound land in the right of the crown of England, in his return home, unfortunately perished: but ill fuccefs could not divert Raleigh from a fcheme, which he thought was of fuch importance to his country; he therefore drew up an account of its advantages, and laid it before the queen and council, who were fo well fatisfied with it, that her majefty granted him letters patent in favour of his project; taining free liberty to discover such remote heathenish and barbarous lands, as were not actually poffeffed by any Chriftian, or inhabited by Chriftian people.'

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Immediately upon this grant, captain Raleigh fitted out two veffels, which reached the gulf of Florida the second of July: they

failed

failed along the fhore about one hundred and twenty miles, and at lalt debarked, on a low land, which proved to be an inland called Wokoken. After taking a formal poffeffion of this country in the name of the queen, he carried on a friendly correfpondence with the natives, who fupplied them with provisions, and gave them furs and deer skins in exchange for trifles; thus encouraged, eight of their crew went twenty miles up the river Occam, and next day came to an island called Roanok, the refidence of the Indian chief, whose house was built of cedar, and fortified round with sharp pieces of timber. His wife came out to them, and ordered her people to carry them from the boat on their backs, and fhewed them many civilities to express her friendly intentions towards them, in the abfence of her husband. After having gained the best information they could of the ftrength of the Indian nations, and of their connections, alliances, and contests with each other, they returned to England, and made fuch an advantageous report of the fertility of the foil, and healthfulness of the climate, that the queen favoured the defign of fettling a colony in that country, to which he gave the name of Virginia.

About two months after captain Raleigh's return, he was chofen knight of the fhire for his own county of Devon, and the fame feffion received the honour of knighthood, a diftinction the more honourable to him, as

the queen was extremely cautious and frugal in bestowing of honours; fhe at the fame time granted him a patent to licence the vending of wines throughout the kingdom; which was, in all probability, a very lucrative one.

Sir Walter was fo intent upon planting his new colony in Virginia, that, in 1585, he fent out a fleet of feven fail, under the command of his coufin, Sir Richard Grenvile, general of the expedition, who came to an anchor at Wokoken, from whence they fent. their compliments to king Wingina, at Roanok; after which the general, and a felect company, vifited many Indian towns, at one of which the Indians having ftolen a filver cup, the English burnt the town, and deftroyed the corn fields. An act which they had. afterwards fufficient reafon to repent. The general at laft returning to his fleet, thought fit to weigh anchor, and fet fail for England; when he took in his paffage a Spanish prize worth fifty thousand pounds, with which they arrived at Plymouth; having left behind, in Virginia, one hundred and feven perfons.

The Spanish prize above mentioned was not the only circumftance of good fortune which happened to Sir Walter this year; the rebellion in Ireland being now totally fuppreffed, her majefty granted him twelve thousand acres of the forfeited lands; and this great effate he planted at his own expence.

Sir Walter, encouraged by this noble grant, fitted out a third fleet for Virginia; where the

colony,

colony, having fuffered great diftreffes, had procured a paffage into England from Sir Francis Drake, who had vifited it in his return from his conqueft of St. Domingo, Carthagena, and St. Auguftine. Raleigh had, in the spring of that year, fent a ship of one hundred tons for the fuccour of that colony; but not arriving before the people had left that country, the returned with all her lading to England.

About fifteen days after, Sir Richard Gren ville arrived at Virginia with three ships more,. well ftored, for the company of planters which he had left there in 1585; but, finding neither them, nor the laft-mentioned fhip, Sir Richard, unwilling to lofe the poffeffion of fo fine a country, landed fifteen men on the sifland of Roanok, leaving them provision for two years, fet fail for England, and, in his return, took fome Spanish prizes.

The latter end of the year 1586, her ma. jefty made Sir Walter Raleigh fenefchall of the duties of Cornwall and Exeter, and lord-warden of the ftannaries in Devonshire and Corn-. wall; but these preferments expofed him to the envy of those who were much his inferiors in merit; and even the earl of Leicester, who had once been his friend, grew jealous of him, and fet up, in oppofition to him, his nephew, the young earl of Effex ; but neither the factions of the court, nor the afperfions of the people, whom Raleigh could never conde

fcend