1 6 1 2. PREFA- NOTE TO LETTER CXLVIII. 1612? PREFATORY NOTE TO LETTER CXLVIII.-PROPOSALS FOR THE original of the letter which follows is not now known to exist. The Harleian copy bears no address; but is headed (with an obvious inaccuracy) "Agreement betwen Sir Walter Raleigh and the Lords for the Journey of Guiana, to be performed by Captain Keemish, in 1611." It is plain, on the face of the document itself, that it is a letter tending towards an agreement' for such a voyage, and that there had been much negotiation about the terms. It is also plain, from subsequent evidence, that the obstacles in the way proved to be, at that time, irremovable, and that no definite agreement was come to. The date assigned to this transaction is also questionable. It appears to have been founded merely upon a misconception of the words "sixteen years since." Those words, however, do not apply to anything that occurred in Ralegh's own voyage of 1595, but to an incident of Keymis' voyage, in 1596. Did no allusion to any date occur in the letter itself, the probabilities of the case would tend to assign to it the date of 1612, rather than that of 1611; inasmuch as there are several expressions in other letters of Ralegh, relating to Guiana, which imply that during the life of the Lord Treasurer Salisbury none of Sir Walter's many attempts to obtain a resumption of the enterprise attained so nearly to apparent success as did that which is the subject of the present letter. Salisbury died in May 1612; just "sixteer years" after that voyage of Keymis to which reference is here made. One or two sentences of the letter may be thought to suggest that it was addressed to certain peers who purposed to be joint-adventurers' in the new enterprise, rather than to the Privy Council collectively. On the other hand, there are also expressions which seem applicable to the Council PREFAalone, in its governing capacity. This letter was, I believe, first referred to by the late Mr. Napier in his article 'Sir Walter Raleigh,' published in the seventy-first volume of the Edinburgh Review. It was first printed, in full, by the late Sir Robert Schomburgk, in an appendix to his excellent edition of Ralegh's Discovery of Guiana, printed in 1848. In Sir Robert's copy there are some slight verbal inaccuracies. The "former letter" addressed to the same Lords, to which Ralegh refers in the last paragraph but one, is not now known to exist in any shape,-original or copy. Elsewhere, there are references to other Guiana letters which are not now discoverable. There is evidence, too, that Sir Joseph Jekyll, Master of the Rolls, once possessed, in his private library, a MS. volume described as containing "Several letters wrote by Sir W. Rawleigh in relation to Guiana, subscribed by his own hand." The volume thus described was sold by auction in London in 1739. It is probable, however,-the Sale Catalogue notwithstanding, that these letters were but copies. Sir Joseph Jekyll would scarcely have left such a volume to the chances of loss, had the documents been really originals. TORY 1612? CXLVIII. TO THE LORDS OF THE COUNCIL? From a nearly contemporaneous transcript in MS. HARL. xxxix. ff. 350, 351 (British Museum). YOUR Lordshipps, as I remember, did offer to be att the charge to transport KEEMISH into Guyana with such a proportion of men in twoe shipps as should be able to defend him against the Spaniards inhabiting upon LETTER CXLVIII. 1612? LETTER CXLVIII. 1612 To the the Council? [From the Tower.] Proposals for a voyage, by Keymis, to Guiana. Orenocke, if they offered to assaile him (not that itt is meant to offend the Spaniards there, or to beginne any quarrell with them, except themselves shall beginne the warre). To knowe what number of men shall be sufficient, may itt please your Lordshipps to informe your selves by Captain MOATE, a servant of Sir JOHN WATTS1 who came from Orenoke this last spring, and was oftentimes ashore att St. Thome, where the Spaniards inhabite, which numbers made knowne to your Lordshipps and to the captaines which you shall please to imploy with KEEMISH, those captaines shall be able to judge with what force they will undertake to secure KEEMISHES passage to the Mine, which is not above five miles from the navigable river, taking the necrest way. Now your Lordshipps doe require of mee that if KEEMISH live to arrive, and shall then faile to bringe into England halfe a tunne, or as much more as he shall be able to take upp of that slate gold ore whereof I gave a sample to my Lord KNEVETT,2 that then all the charge of the journey shall be laid upon mee and by mee to be satisfied, whereto I willingly consent. And though itt be a difficult matter-of exceeding difficulty for any man to find the same acre of ground againe in a country desolate and overgrowne which he hath seene but once, and that sixteene yeares since (which were hard enough to doe upon Salisbury Plaine), yett that your Lordshipps may be satisfied of the truth I am contented to adventure all I have, but my reputacion, upon KEEMISHE'S memory; hoping that itt may be acceptable to the Kings Majestie and to your Lordshipps soe to doe, con 1 A well-known and very enterprising "Merchant Adventurer" of the period. (See LETTER XX. pp. 43, 44.) 2 Thomas Knyvett, Lord Knyvett of Escrick. sidering that if KEEMISH misse of his marks my poore estate is utterly overthrowne, and my wife and children as utterly beggared. Now, that there is noe hope, after this tryall made, to fetch any more riches from thence, I have already given your Lordshipps my reasons in my former letter, and am ready upon a mappe of the country to make demonstracion thereof, if itt shall please your Lordshipps to give me leave. But to the King's Majesties wisdome and your Lordshipps' I submitt my selfe. But that which your Lordshipps doe promise is that halfe a tunne of the former oare being brought home, then I shall have my libertie, and in the meane while my free pardon, under the greate seale, to be left in his Majesties hands till the end of the journey. [Both the subscription and the address are wanting.] LETTER CXLVIII 1612? 1616. CXLIX. TO SECRETARY SIR RALPH WINWOOD. As printed, in 1656-1657, in the Collection entitled Remains of HONOURED SIR, I WAS lately perswaded by two gentlemen, my ancient friends, to acquaint your Honour with some offers of mine made heretofore for a journey to Guiana, who were of opinion, that it would be better understood now, than when it was first propounded; which advice having surmounted my dispair, I have presumed to send unto your Honour the copies of those letters which I then wrote, both to his Majestie and to the Treasurer LETTER 1615-1616? To Sir R. [From the LETTER CXLIX. CECILL, wherein as well the reasons that first moved me are remembered, as the objections by him made are 1615-1616? briefly answered. January? Proposals for the resumption of the Guiana enterprise. What I know of the riches of that place, not by hearsay, but what mine eyes have seen, I have said it often, but it was then to no end: because those that had the greatest trust were resolved not to believe it ;-not because they doubted the truth, but because they doubted my disposition towards themselves, where1 (if God had blessed me in the enterprise) I had recovered his Majesties favour and good opinion. Other cause than this, or other suspicion, they never had any. Our late worthy Prince of WALES was extream curious in searching out the nature of my offences; the Queen's Majesty hath informed her self from the beginning; the King of DENMARK, at both times of his being here, was throughly satisfied of my innocencie; they would otherwise never have moved his Majestie on my behalf. The wife, the brother, and the son of a King do not use to sue for men suspect; but, Sir, since they all have done it out of their charitie, and but with reference to me alone, your Honour (whose respect hath onely relation to his Majesties service), strengthened by the example of those princes, may with the more hardnesse do the like, being princes to whom his Majesty's good estate is no lesse dear, and all men that shall oppugne it no lesse hatefull, then to the King himself. It is true, Sir, that his Majestie hath sometimes answered, that his Councel knew me better than he did; meaning some two or three of them; and it was indeed my infelicitie. For had his Majesty known me, I had never been here where I now am; or had I known his Majestie, they had never been so long there where they 1 Here used in the sense of “in case that,” or “in the event that” |