posed that extraordinary History of the World,' which was looked upon as a model of the English language, unparalleled at the time for conciseness and perspicuity of style; superior even to that of Bacon, being free from the overwhelming verbosity of this great man, by which the sense is sometimes obscured. Raleigh was a good scholar, no mean linguist, and a practical chemist, for the pursuit of which he constructed a laboratory within the precincts of his prison. The various subjects that occupied his attention, and the numerous volumes, pamphlets, discourses, and tracts which he wrote in his long confinement, must have left him little leisure to dwell on the melancholy state to which he was so unjustly and inhumanly doomed. His capacious mind, indeed, embraced all subjectshistory, philosophy, politics, astronomy, geography, naval architecture, and navigation, with many others -to all which may be added a taste for poetry, painting, and music.

Raleigh was an eloquent speaker as well as writer, and his speeches in Parliament are always to the purpose. His personal accomplishments were striking, and his fine figure attracted the more notice, by being tastefully and often splendidly dressed. Among his misfortunes may be reckoned the loss he sustained in the death of the amiable Prince Henry, a youth of extraordinary merit and acquirements, which occurred in the eighteenth year of his age.

He was frequent in his visits to the Tower, and had conceived great affection and esteem for the brave Sir Walter Raleigh, of whom he was frequently heard to say, "Sure no king but my father would keep such a bird in a cage." He had good reason to hope that this considerate young prince would, in time, overcome his father's obstinacy, and pro-cure his release; but neither the son nor his mother, the Queen, could prevail, by their united attempts, in softening the obdurate heart of James, who appeared to have resolved to pursue his inveterate hatred of Raleigh, even to death. The fate of Essex might have served as a beacon to warn Raleigh against the breakers, on which favourites but too often are doomed to suffer shipwreck. Essex had numerous friends, whose indiscreet zeal hastened. his destruction; Raleigh had numerous enemies, whose hatred succeeded in accomplishing his. Essex had a kind mistress, against whom he was enticed to commit treason and rebellion; Raleigh offended a callous master without gratitude, without feeling, without humanity, by whom he was most unjustly and vindictively consigned to the scaffold. It is said that James, however, did exhibit a pang of remorse when his surviving son, Carew Raleigh, was introduced at court, by observing, when he turned away from him, that "he looked like his father's ghost." Warned by this remark, Carew took the advice of his kinsman, the

Earl of Pembroke, and retired to the Continent till the beginning of a new reign.

The fate which had attended royal favouritism, at the courts of Elizabeth and James, however fascinating for a time to those who held it, was sufficiently discouraging to others in possession of or seeking after that species of ambition. Essex and Raleigh perished on the public scaffold-the minion Carr (created Earl of Somerset), together with his infamous Countess, were tried for secret murder, convicted, banished, and disgraced-and Buckingham fell by the dagger of an assassin.

LORD THOMAS HOWARD, EARL OF SUFFOLK.

1585 TO 1618.

THIS nobleman was the eldest son of Thomas, fourth Duke of Norfolk, by his second wife Margaret, daughter and sole heiress to Thomas, Lord Audley of Walden. He was born in 1561, and, in his eleventh year, succeeded to the inheritance of his mother's estates. Having reached the age of twenty-four, that is to say in 1585, Elizabeth was pleased to recommend to the parliament of that year to release him from the attainder in which, by his father's conspiracy in the affair of Mary Queen of Scots, he and his family, after the trial and execution of the Duke of Norfolk, were involved. The Queen also created him Baron of Audley, and conferred on him the Order of the Garter. Thus freed and promoted, he forthwith embraced the profession of arms, and adopted that of the naval service; probably under the patronage of his namesake and kinsman, Charles Howard of Effingham, who, in the year above mentioned, had been created Lord High Admiral of England. This is the more

probable as, in the memorable year of 1588, we find Lord Thomas in command of the Golden Lion, and highly spoken of for his activity and gallantry in chasing, attacking, and dispersing the Spanish Armada. On the occasion of the accident, by which the large ship of Biscay, 800 tons, under the Admiral De Oquendo, had taken fire, and was so much damaged that the Spanish Admiral, after the officers, men, and treasure had been removed, ordered her to be set adrift, Lord Thomas Howard and Captain Hawkins went in a skiff on board her, and reported her as follows:-"Her decks had fallen in, her steerage ruined, the stern blown out, and about fifty poor wretches burnt in a most miserable manner: the stench horrible." They, however, took possession of her, and she was towed into Weymouth.

Three of the great Spanish galliasses, in attempting to rescue a large Portuguese galleon, that had been captured by Hawkins, were so warmly engaged by the Lord High Admiral in the Ark, and Lord Thomas Howard in the Golden Lion, that they were disabled, and their boats were put out to take possession of them, when the whole Spanish fleet, observing this, came down to their rescue, and to carry them off; but it is said, however, that none of these galliasses ventured to engage our ships ever after.

After a general fight on the 25th of July, being