The Portland daily press., 1883-08-13
Sir Walter Raleigh Before His Exc
cution.

cution.
The eve of the day fixed for his execution
Raleigh had taken a final farewell of his
wife, and the interview between the two had
lasted until the abbey had toIled the hour of
II. Ali business matters had been settled,
and there was nothing, therefore, on the
mind of the condemned man to interfere
with his hopes and thoughts as to the I'M
seen world into which he was about to enter.
The King as last favor had granted the
wife, speedily TO be made widow, permits
sion to bury the body of her husband after
the headsman had done his fell work. 1t
is well, dear Bessie" said Raleigh, pressing
thou mayst dispose of that dead which thou
hadst not always The disposing of when
alive" So those two parted, never more to
meet on this side the ''eternal silence"
"God hold me in my witsr' sighed the poor
dame as she entered her coach, stationed un-
der the very shadow of the scaffold upon
which in a few brief hours the blood of her
husband was to be shed. AS o'clock struck
Raleigh held himself in readiness to leave
the Gate House. A cup of excellent sack
was now brought him, which he drank at
quaff. He was asked how he liked it. s'As
the fellow he replied, sswho. drinking of
st. Giles's bowl on his way TO Tyburn, said
it was good drink if man might tarry by
it, After this refreshment a procession
was made to the scaffold, at the head of
which walked the Dean of Westminster. On
the way to the Old Palace Yard Raleigh met
Sir Hugh Brereton, an old friend, whom he
had especially requested to be present at the
execution. Sir Hugh, to make sure work,
got letter from Secretary Lake to the Sher-
If to see him placed conveniently. and
meeting them 1.-THE proeessionl as they came
near the scaffold, delivered his letter. But
the Sheriff by mishap had left his spectacles
at home, and put the letter in his pocket; in
the meantime, Sir Hugh being thrust aside
by the crowd, Sir Walter babe him farewell,
saying: II know not what shift you will
make, but | am sure to have a place. 1t
was bitterly cold October morning, rem
dered all the more sharp by a cutting east
wind, and as Raleigh assembled the scaffold
and prepared to address the vast mob that
thronged the palace yard his limbs, enfeeb-
led by confinement and iIl-health, trembled
so visibly that he conld scarcely support him
self. The Sheriff, observing this debility, of
fered to help his Inflated charge down from
the scaffold and take him to fire, so that
being warmed he might be the better able
to deliver his dying speech. mo, good Mr..
Sheriff. said Raleigh, ''let us dispatch,
for within this quarter of an hour mine
ague will come upon me, and if 1 be
not dead before then mine enemies will
say that | quake for fear.' Then,
holding on by the rail of the scaffold, he
fsced the crowd and thus began: 81 thank
God heartily that he hath brought me into
the light to die, and that He hath not suf-
fered me to die in the dark prison of the
Tower, where I have suffered great deal of
misery and cruel sickness; and I thank God
that my fever hath not taken me at the time,
/as prayed to God it might not.'' After
this preface he proceeded TO deal with the
charges brought against him. He denied
That he ever entered into any plot with
France, though he admitted, to save his life.
he had attempted to escape into France.
He denied that he had ever been counselled
by Lord Carew and other Lords to fly the
country, or that he had ever offered Sir Lew
is Stukely money to assist him In escaping
'But, iudeed,' he acknowledged, 81 showed
him a letter that if he would 90 with me
there should be order taken for his debts
when he was gone; neither had / $4,000 to
give him, for if | had had so much | could
have made my peace better with it other
ways than in giving it to Stukeley." He de-
clared that his only object in starting for
Guiana was to discover the mine which
really existed there. He denied that he ever
intended to desert his men when at Trini-
dad, as had been alleged, or that he had
been forced to return home by his men
against his will. Nor was it true that he had
carried with him to sea numerous pieces,
and that the only object of his voyage was to
get money into his hands; and such as
he had taken out he had brought back.
"These be the material points, he
he concluded, 81 thought good to
speak of, and / am now at this instant to
render UP an account to COD; and / protest,
as / !shall appear before Him, this that
have spoken is true, and hope l shall be
believed. THE Gentleman's Magazine.