and vegetables. Their object was to form a settlement or colony, and when the trees and plants grew up it was hoped that the landscape of Virginia would look like that of England. 5. Raleigh provided the ships and bore the expense, but did not accompany his cousin. He had made many such voyages, and in after years was destined to make many more. When Sir Richard Grenville's fleet sailed, moreover, it was impossible for Raleigh to go with them, as he had been promoted by the Queen to be her 'Captain of the Guard.' From this small beginning sprang the United States of America. 6. There were also two things brought back by the English sailors when they returned. You have all heard of them and seen them hundreds of times; so often, indeed, that you will wonder how the world. must have looked without them. Those two things were tobacco and potatoes. Only think of sitting down to dinner without pota toes! Yet until the time of the expedition to Virginia this is what English people did every day of their lives. When you eat your next potato, therefore, you must remember that you owe it to Sir Walter Raleigh. As to tobacco, I am afraid that was not quite such a useful thing to introduce; yet I will tell you a story of Sir Walter Raleigh and his pipe, which will show you how clever and thoughtful a man he was TOBACCO PLANT. 7. One day he was smoking his great silver pipe, and the Queen and many of her attendants were looking on, not without astonishment indeed, for it was considered an extraordinary sight. The Queen turned to him and said, jokingly, that, clever as he was, he could not tell the weight of the smoke. 8. 'Your Majesty must excuse me,' was Raleigh's answer, 'for the thing is quite easy.' 9. The Queen could not believe such a thing, and laid a bet that he could not do it. 10. 'Your Majesty shall be the judge,' he said. He then took a little tobacco and had it carefully weighed, the Queen looking on all the time. He then filled his pipe with it and smoked it. When he had finished he carefully emptied the ashes out of the pipe into the scales and weighed them. Of course the ashes were much the lighter; the difference between the two weights represented the weight of the smoke. The Queen paid the bet with a laugh, and told him that he had turned smoke into gold. II. I have not time to tell you now how bravely and skilfully he fought against the great Spanish Armada. There was one long battle in the Channel between the English and Spanish fleets which lasted nine days, and ended in the total defeat of the Spaniards. Then tremendous gales of wind sprang up, and such of the Spanish ships as had escaped the English fled round the north of Scotland, and in fact, right round England, and so into the open sea and back to Spain. Nor can I tell you now very much about the great attack upon the Spanish city of Cadiz. In this battle, Raleigh's ship, the Warspite, led the attack, and did the hardest fighting of the whole fleet; and here, too, he was very badly wounded by a cannon-shot. 12. And after all these services to his country what do you think became of him? I will tell you. After Queen Elizabeth's death the King of Scotland succeeded her as James I. He had none of Elizabeth's great qualities, and instead of choosing great men to serve him, his Ministers were worthless favourites, who flattered him and encouraged him —for he was as vain as a peacock—to believe that he was the wisest and greatest king in the world. On a false charge of treason Raleigh was tried and ordered to be imprisoned in the Tower of London, and there he remained for twelve long years. 13. But even in the Tower he retained his cheerfulness and did not give way to despair; and it was there that he wrote a magnificent book, entitled 'The History of the World.' He also wrote an essay on shipbuilding, and another on the art of war. At last he was set at liberty, and once more set to work to found fresh colonies, this time in Guiana. As soon as his fleet entered the river Orinoco Raleigh fell ill, and the expedition failed. As it was altogether opposed to Spanish interests the Spaniards were full of rage against England, and the Spanish Ambassador began to use threatening language. Instead of answering him as Elizabeth would have done, James, like the mean coward that he was, tried to propitiate the Spaniards by sacrificing Sir Walter Raleigh. After all that he had done for England and for the world, he was put to death as a traitor on October 29, 1618. He was sixty-six years old. But you see that since then right has prevailed, and while the whole world recognises James I. as a coward and a tyrant, it has given Walter Raleigh a place as one of the greatest Englishmen that ever lived. found, plant. opposed, against. landscape, appearance of the sacrificing, giving up to be executed. propitiate, make friends. traitor, a betrayer of his country. prevailed, been victorious. recognises, considers. Expedition-An army or company of men sent forth for a certain purpose. A city built of gold-This city they called the El Dorado, and supposed it to be somewhere along the banks of the Orinoco. Orinoco and Amazon-Two very large rivers in South America. Virginia-The first colony founded in North America, and called Virginia after Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. The Invincible Armada-Sent by Philip of Spain to conquer and crush England. Cadiz-In the south of Spain, near the mouth of the Guadalquivir. Elizabeth's great qualities-Couage, statecraft, insight into character. Wisest and greatest king – James I. liked to be looked upon as a second Solomon. Guiana-A province in South America, lying between the mouths of the Orinoco and Amazon. Spanish Ambassador- The person appointed to represent the interests of Spain in this country. |