fcend to court, could deter him from attending the duties of his feveral employments.

In the year 1587, Raleigh prepared a new colony of one hundred and fifty men for Virginia; appointing Mr. John White governor, and with him twelve affitants; and incorporated them by the name of the governor and affiftants of the city of Raleigh in Virginia.

On their arrival at Hattarafs, the governor difpatched a strong party to Roanok, expecting to find the fifteen men that were left there; but they fought them in vain. They afterwards found that feveral of them had been murdered by the favages, and the reft driven to a remote part of the country. This new colony having entered into an alliance with the natives, confidered that they should want fresh fupplies of provifions; and, wanting an agent to go to England, prevailed on their governor to undertake that office, who returned with his fhips in the latter end of the year.

Sir Walter, follicitous for the fafety of the colony, prepared a fleet to affift them; but the apprehenfions of the nation of an invafion from Spain, in 1588, prevented their failing; fo that governor White could only obtain two small pinnaces, which had the miffortune to be fo thoroughly rifled by the enemy, that they were obliged to return back without performing the voyage, to the distress of the planters abroad, and the regret of their . patron at home.

About

About this time, he was advanced to the post of captain of her majesty's guard, and was one of the council of war appointed to confider of the most effectual methods for the fecurity of the nation; upon which occafion he drew up a scheme which is a proof of his judgment and abilities. But he did not confine himself to the mere office of giving advice; he raised and difciplined the militia of Cornwall; and, having performed all poffible fervices at land, joined the fleet with a fquadron of volunteers, and had a confiderable fhare in the total defeat of the Spanish armada; when his merit, upon fo important a crifis, juftly raised him ftill higher in the queen's favour, who now made him gentleman of her privy-chamber, and granted him fome additional advantages to his wine office.

Don Antonio, king of Portugal, being expelled from his dominions by Philip II. of Spain, queen Elizabeth contributed fix men of war, and threefcore thoufand pounds, in or der to reinftate him, and encouraged her fubjects to concur in that defign. Sir Walter Raleigh, with Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Norris, accompanied that prince to Portugal; and, in this expedition, took a great number of hulks belonging to the Hans-towns, laden with Spanish goods, provifions, and ammunition, for a new invafion of England: and his conduct in the whole affair was fo pleafing to her majesty, that the honoured him, as well as the other commanders, with a gold chain.

In his return home, he touched on the coast of Ireland: here he visited Spencer, the poet, who mentions the circumftance of this vifit in a paftoral, entitled, Collin Clout's come home again. And this poet he brought with him to England, and introduced him to the queen. But this is not to be wondered at, fince Raleigh himself had an excellent genius, as well as pafte for poetry.

Raleigh had now formed a defign against the Spaniards in the Weft-Indies, in order to intercept the plate-fleet, and fitted out a maritime force for that purpose, confifting of thirteen fhips of his own and fellow-adventurers; to which the queen added two men of war, the Garland and Forefight, giving him a commiffion as general of the fleet, the post of Lieutenant-general being conferred on Sir John Burgh.

He fet fail in February, 1591-2; but the winds proved fo contrary, that he could not leave the coaft of England till the fixth of May; and the next day Sir Martin Forbisher followed and overtook him with the queen's letters to recall him; but, imagining his ho-nour engaged in the undertaking, he pursued his courfe, though he was informed that the king of Spain had ordered that no fhips fhould fail that year, nor any treasure be brought from the Weft-Indies. But, on the eleventh of May, meeting with a ftorm off Cape Finifterre, he divided his fleet into two fquadrons, committing one to Sir John Burgh, and the

other

other to Sir Martin Forbisher, with orders to the latter to lie off the fouth cape, to keep in and terrify the Spaniards on their coafts, while the former lay at the Azores for the caracs from the Eaft-Indies.

The fuccefs of thefe directions was answer. able to the excellent judgment that formed. them; for the Spanish admiral, collecting his whole naval power to watch Forbifher, left the caracs unguarded, and the Madre de Dios, then efteemed the richeft prize ever brought to England, was feized by Sir John Burgh.

But, in the heighth of Sir Walter Raleigh's favour with the queen, he fell under her majefty's difpleasure for being in love with the daughter of Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, one of the queen's maids of honour; and the confequence of the amour difcovering the intrigue, her majefty ordered him to be confined for feveral months, and difmiffed the lady from her attendance; to whom he afterwards. made the most honourable reparation he could by marriage; in which they were both examples of conjugal affection and fidelity.

While Sir Walter Raleigh was under her majefty's difpleafure, he projected the difcovery of the extenfive empire of Guiana, in South-America, which the Spaniards had then only vifited, and to this day have never conquered. Sir Walter having provided a squadron of ships, at a very great expence, the lord high-admiral Howard, and Sir Robert

Cecil, conceived fo good an opinion of the defign, that they both concurred in it.

He fet fail on the twenty fixth of February, 1594-5, and arrived at the ifle of Trinidad on the twenty-fecond of March; where he made himself master of St. Jofeph, a fmall city, and made the Spanish governor prifoner. He then, leaving his fhips at Curiapan, with an hundred men, in feveral little barks failed four hundred miles up the river Oronoque, in fearch of Guiana; but the heat of the weather, and the torrents, obliged him to return; which he did the latter end of the fummer, 1595.

In the year following, he was fo far restored to favour, that he was engaged in the important expedition to Cadiz; wherein the earl of Effex, and the lord high-admiral Howard, were joint commanders. On the twentieth of June they arrived before Cadiz. The lord high-admiral was of opinion that the landforces fhould attack the town firft, that the fleet might not be expofed to the fire of the fhips, of the city, and forts adjacent; and the council of war concurred in this opinion: but, as the earl of Effex was putting his men into boats, in order to land them, Sir Walter, not happening to have been prefent at the council of war, went directly to the earl, and offered fuch convincing reafons againft it, and for their firft falling upon the galleons, and fhips in the harbours, that the earl faw the neceffity of altering his fcheme, and defired Sir Walter to

diffuade