The Life of Sir Walter Ralegh, Knt

The celebrated Mr. Gibbon, however, is the only person I am acquainted with, who ever seriously contemplated the design; and, as he hath himself informed us, he soon relinquished Sir Walter's Life for a more extensive theme.

. THE knight's biography thus neglected, a wish that the deficiency should be supplied, aided by an opinion that I might employ the leisure which I occasionally enjoy from avocations of superior claim, less agreeably, and not more innocently, than in collecting and arranging the scattered parts of Sir Walter's story, induced me, in the want of an abler hand, to undertake the task. The living are perhaps seldom more worthily employed than in tracing the characters of the deserving dead with a faithful hand; especially when, as in the case of Sir Walter Ralegh, their actions have suffered, by misrepresentation, in the eye of posterity.

THE disposition which I think I have remarked in the present age, to discountenance false refinement in writing, induced me to hope that a simple, unadorned narrative (the only one for which I had

See Lord Sheffield's publication.

capability, leisure, or inclination) would be no dis paragement to a work, whose design should be otherwise approved. No story stands less in need of eloquence than Sir Walter's, though few deserve it more; and the humblest narrative will raise, if it can gratify, curiosity. The lover of those fanciful speculations which modern times have denominated philosophical history, will not find his account in perusing these volumes.

THE plan adopted in the first instance with regard to the narratives of voyages, hath been as much altered in the present edition as it could be with propriety, and consistently with the material object of allowing Sir Walter to be the narrator of his own story, wherever he hath given us an opportunity. ONCE FOR ALL, I beg leave to remark, that I write for such readers only, as wish a book to be as complete in itself, without reference to others, as possible; and who will desire the FULLEST information I can afford them relative to my hero.

Of the labours of my predecessors I have made free use, and deem no other apology necess * for

so doing, than that my own would have been less worthy without such assistance.

ON dismissing the work, I solicit indulgence for such errors as I may occasionally have fallen into, though hitherto undetected by myself; and that candour to which every writer, hath, in my opinion, a claim, whose chief endeavour is truth.

A. C.

CONTENTS

OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

Different families of the name.... Seat of Sir Walter's family.... Hooker allies it to the kings of England.... Sir Walter's parentage.... Sale of estates.... Birth-place.... When born. ... Educated at Oxford.... Anecdote of his youth.... Did not study the law, as hath been supposed State of politics.... His expedition to France. Reception and improvement. land. ... Juvenile poetry. the Netherlands. . .