New-York tribune., 1898-01-23

thx
most versatile Of his time. He was dlnlo
mat and chemist. poet and politician. cour,ls,
and tradesman sailor and soldier. and states.
man In whom all these characters were merged
with astonishing results But perhaps the rnos
l negative element over which neither Mah,
HUI ne nor any Other writer grow wholly
, illuminative He did not succeed
Raleigh was hated and adored by the people
we are told by Major Hume. within incred
2 IDLY short space Of time Possibly In this fact
t we may find clew to his curious failure to ac
compllsh what he set out TO do. COntemp0rasy
, evidence teaches US that men passed from loy.
= Ing to hating him within the day They *.
= planned it sometimes by saying ne ins.ncas
} The charge cannot be dismissed yet !, has 70
( De carefully entertained. He could say On,
= thing and mean another. Of that there can b
no doubt but that he was only thinking O.
enriching himself when he advised the Queen
to colonize Guiana. that he talked u the coun.
2 try's welfare Just TO hear himself talk AMI then
squeezed all that he could out Of unjust m0nop).
2 lies may not be assumed. When he bas-d his
l revenues on licenses which were an aict.on to
the people he only did the inevitable thing He
was obliged TO live like a great noble and No
had TO take what the Court gave him. More.
over if he had not taken IL others would soon
have snapped il up. As for The c0l0nzng
schemes ne gave. as we have said. his whole
fortune to push them. His nsincere talk was
a natter Of defence. The diih-ulty would seem
to have been not merely that be ild things 10
offend, not merely that his word was doubted
but that there was something N his nnegm0s
character that corresp)nded 70 the ambiguity
Of his worldly conduct, some imp Of the con-
fused some flaw in his intellect. II not IN his
heart His heart. We are inclined - think, was
sound The flaw was much more likely 10 have
been in his brain IL no; question Of
sIaity Ii was a question Of the extent 10
which his Intellect ruled by 'ae spirit Of his
time There is half truth in the popular con-
caption Of the Elizabethan ela as one Of hard
blows rather than of hard thinking among all
but a small group of writers. Statesmanshp
as an affair Of pure intellect only just De-
ginning to form itself out OF The turOid dplo-
macy Of men who loved to plot. oGt Owed better
to cut a difficult knot with the sword. Cecil.
the cOmrade and false friend Of Raleigh antici'
pated the newer statecratt He proved Il BY
his vile treatment Of Raleigh And IN the des-
picable Gondomar, that Spanish Ambassador
who compassed Raegh's ruin and hum.Aated
the still more despcaDle James there are hints
or the less tOrtuOuS Dut more Skill III ppipH
of a later age. Raleigh himself vas. a. have
indicated one Of the finest diplomats Of MS
day. but he had IMAGINATION which easily
took fire. and he embarked upon Enterprises
without sufficient presclence
The expeditions 70 GuiaHa and the colonial
ton Of Virginia were schemes when u ohe s4ie
exhibited tremendous foresight but IN dA0ther
the most amentaDle incaplciiy. KaeSh Ahe"
that the time had come for England - s'TeIcl
out her hand to the Americas. 20 srize some
of that great store Of gold upon which th. span
iards had 80 long been drawing. 20 d.mhisa
Spanish prestige and cOnsOliate ine SEA power
OF his native land. Thus far he Nas sFea'
captain. Thus IA. he deserves MS place upon
the eminence to which Major Hume and his
previous biographers assign HIM. But ior 'hs
carving out Of such ideas as his were admin
istrative genius Of the highest order was needed
Diplomacy Of the modern sort was essential, and
these things it does not seem to US that fIalesn
possessed Not for nothing had he been born
AID bred on the Devou coast. amid The FioIen'
traditions of the prvateers. He was haoi;uaied
like most Of his contemporaries. 20 drastic ne'h'
OILS. TO grand and often visionary plans. the car
rying OUT Of which was left largely T. ia'e d"'
British muscle Major Hume taciry rather
than by direct expressions. intensiies this oon'
ception OF Ralegh's character. lie looms spe"
dilly on the Elizabethan horizon a. one ol '''
most important Of the builders of The EinpHe
but he mpresses the student. too As man
| whose ideas were always beyond MS o"I
- powers. as one who was in advance d ms tln'
but was retarded by his subjection To many u
, its Influences In the last resort. however h'
70 appeals to us as a man Of striking no".4S' h'
failed yes but it fruitful id4Hfe. ln'
J. 49,, .A. ..., 10, -. ..reh 70,