1593]

SHERBORNE CASTLE.

85

promise from the new bishop that he would convey over to the Queen, for the benefit of Ralegh, the estate of Sherborne. The first man to whom the see was offered on these terms refused it; but it was accepted by Dr. Henry Cotton, Prebendary of Winchester, in 1598, and the estate of Sherborne was granted to Ralegh. In return, an annuity of £260 was granted to the see of Salisbury in perpetuity. From this and suchlike proceedings of Elizabeth towards the church, we may see that the royal supremacy was in its way as oppressive to the clergy as the pope's supremacy had been.

Ralegh made Sherborne his chief residence, and did much to improve it. He shared the taste of the age for building and gardening. A great improvement was made in those days in the homes of the gentry. The days of civil war were past and forgotten. The fortified castles of former times were no longer needed. Men wanted comfort for their daily life, and a new style of domestic architecture sprung up, which has since borne the name of Elizabethan architecture. It was a combination of the old Gothic with classical architecture, the taste for which had been called out by the revival of classical learning, and it was admirably fitted for domestic purposes. The comfort of the houses inside was also greatly increased. The walls were covered with tapestry, or wainscoted with oak. Feather-beds were in common use. Stoves began to be used in the houses of the gentry; cupboards full of silver

adorned the walls; china dishes and plates and rare Venetian glass were favourite articles of luxury. We read in the Dorsetshire County History that Ralegh first began to build on to the castle at Sherborne "very fairly; but altering his purpose, he built in the park adjoining a most fine house, which he beautified with orchards, gardens, and groves of much variety and great delight; so that whether you consider the pleasantness of the seat, the goodness of the soil, or the other delicacies belonging to it, it rests unparalleled by any in that part of the country." In his present retirement at Sherborne he probably enjoyed the society of his wife, and the amusement of planning and laying out his gardens. But he was not a man to delight in leisure. Shut out for a time from any chance of gaining power or influence at Court or in the government, his busy mind turned to other schemes.

The wealth which Spain was believed to gain from her colonies and conquests in South America filled the English with envy. They saw their own country poor, their Queen obliged to be parsimonious, unable to engage in war from the want of the necessary money. To enrich England by founding colonies was, as we have seen, Ralegh's dream. The stories of the conquests of Peru and Mexico by Pizarro and Cortez had filled Europe with wonder and admiration. To gain a like rich kingdom for his Queen, to fill her exchequer, to extend her power, was Ralegh's ambition. But

1593]

GUIANA.

87

he wished to do it in a different way from the Spaniards. He did not wish to imitate their cruelty to the natives. Instead of making the natives bitter enemies, he wished to make them friends; to bring their kings to seek the alliance and protection of England; and by gaining a mighty subject kingdom for Elizabeth, to set her resources on a level with those which the Spanish King was supposed to have.

With these thoughts in his mind, Ralegh turned his attention to Guiana. He seems to have laid aside his plans for colonizing Virginia, being dazzled by the wondrous tales that he heard about Guiana. Since the early days of Spanish discovery in America, the natives had poured into the ears of the eager and wondering foreigners tales of the untold wealth of Guiana, the country that lay round the great river Orinoco. Fables of the vast city of Manoa and of El Dorado passed from mouth to mouth. The name of El Dorado was first given to the King of this wondrous city, afterwards to the city itself. The empire of Guiana had greater abundance of gold than any part of Peru. Manoa, for greatness, riches, and its excellent situation, far surpassed any city in the world. To this city it was supposed that all the treasure which had been saved from the hands of the Spaniards at the time of the conquests of Mexico and Peru had been carried. Gold was thought to be so plentiful there that "the very boxes and troughs were made of gold

and silver, and billets of gold lay about in heaps." The men of the country were said to adorn their bodies by powdering them with gold.

The Spaniards had spared no pains to explore and gain possession of this land of promise. Between 1530 and 1560 seven or eight Spanish expeditions had attempted to penetrate into it; but the expeditions were unfortunate, and thousands of Spaniards perished in the attempt. Ralegh hoped to succeed where they had failed; and he hoped to succeed, not by conquering the natives, but by making friends of them. In Guiana he could best find the wealth which England needed; and in no way could he better aim a blow at Spain than by snatching from her the rich prize which she so coveted.

So, in retirement at Sherborne, Ralegh planned his first expedition to Guiana. It was a splendid dream for a private individual to cherish, and its difficulties did not daunt Ralegh. His wife however was terrified at the thought of the danger which he might run, and she wrote to Sir Robert Cecil, whom she looked upon as a firm friend, begging him to dissuade Ralegh from his undertaking. "Now, sir," she wrote, in February, 1593, "for the rest I hope, for my sake, you will rather draw water (Sir Walter Ralegh) from the east than help him towards the sunset, if any respect to me or love to him be not forgotten. . We poor souls that have bought sorrow at a high price, desire, and can be pleased with, the same alterations

...

1595] RALEGH'S FIRST VOYAGE TO GUIANA.

89

that we hold, fearing alterations will but multiply miseries." But Ralegh was not to be dissuaded. Neither indeed was Cecil very anxious to dissuade him; for he himself contributed to the expense of fitting out the expedition. The Lord High Admiral Howard lent a ship, and numbers of gentlemen volunteered on the expedition.

In 1594 Ralegh sent Captain Whiddon as a pioneer to explore the mouths of the river Orinoco. But Whiddon learnt little that was new, having met with many difficulties, and returned to England towards the end of the year. Ralegh was now busy with preparations for his own voyage, and on the 6th February, 1595, he sailed from Plymouth with a squadron of five ships. He has himself written an account of his voyage, so that we are able accurately to follow his steps. He reached the island of Trinidad on the 22nd of March. Coasting round it, he came to Puerto de los Espannoles, where some Spaniards came on board to trade with the crew, "all which," he says, "I entertained kindly and feasted after our manner, by means whereof I learnt of one and another as much of the estate of Guiana as I could." Ralegh was anxious to make himself master of Trinidad before going further; had he not done so, he says, "he would have savoured very much of the ass." He took the Spanish city of St. Joseph, and made its governor, Don Antonio Berreo, prisoner. He then did his utmost to make friends with the Indians on the island,