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A BRIEF RELATION

OF

SIR WALTER RALEIGH'S TROUBLES.

WITH THE

Taking away the Lands and Castle of Sherburn in Dorset from him and his Heirs, being his indubitable Inheritance.

London, printed for W. T. 1669.

Quarto, containing Eleven Pages.

To the Right Honourable, the Commons of England, assembled in Parliament. The humble Petition of Carew Raleigh, Esq. only Son of Sir Walter Raleigh, late deceased,

Humbly sheweth,

THAT whereas your petitioner conceiveth, that his late father, Sir Walter Raleigh, was most unjustly and illegally condemned and executed; and his lands and castle of Sherburn wrongfully taken from him and his, as may more at large ap pear by this brief narrative hereunto annexed; the particulars whereof your petitioner is, upon due proofs, ready to make good: Your petitioner, therefore, humbly submitting to the great justice and integrity of this house (which is no way more manifested, than by relieving the oppressed) humbly craveth, that he may receive such satisfaction, for these his great oppressions and losses, as to the wisdom and clemency of this honourable house shall seem fit.

And your petitioner shall humbly pray, &c.

HEN King James came into England, he found Sir Walter

Lord Warden of the Stannaries, lord lieutenant of Devonshire and Cornwall, captain of the guard, and governor of the Isle of Jersey; with a large possession of lands both in England and Ireland. The king for some weeks used him with great kindness, and was pleased to acknowledge divers presents, which he had received from him being in Scotland, for which he gave him thanks. But finding him (as he said himself) a martial man, addicted to foreign affairs, and great actions, he feared, lest he should engage him in a war, a thing most hated, and contrary to the king's nature. Wherefore he began to look upon him with a jealous eye, especi ally after he had presented him with a book, wherein, with great animosity, he opposed the peace with Spain, then in treaty, persuading the king rather vigorously to prosecute the war with that prince, then in hand, promising, and that with great probability, within few years to reduce the West-Indies to his obedience. But Sir Walter Raleigh's enemies, soon discovering the king's humour, resolved at once to rid the king of this doubt and trouble, and to

*This is the 100th Number in the Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Harleian Library.

inrich themselves with the lands and offices of Sir Walter Raleigh Wherefore they plotted to accuse him, and the Lord Cobham, a simple passionate man, but of very noble birth and great possessi ons, of high treason. The particulars of their accusation I am utterly ignorant of, and I think all men, both then and now living; only I find in general terms, they were accused for plotting with: the Spaniard, to bring in a foreign army, and proclaim the infanta of Spain, Queen of England; but without any proofs, and the thing itself as ridiculous as impossible. However, Sir Walter Raleigh was condemned without any witness brought in against him, and the Lord Cobham, who was pretended to have accused him? barely in a letter, in another letter to Sir Walter Raleigh, upon his salvation, cleared him of all treason, or treasonable actions. either against king or state to his knowledge; which original letter is now in the hands of Mr. Carew Raleigh, son of Sir Walter, to be produced at any time. Upon this condemnation, all his lands and offices were seized, and himself committed close prisoner' to the Tower; but they found his Castle of Sherburn, and the Jands thereunto belonging, to be long before entailed on his children, so that he could not forfeit it, but during his own life. And the king, finding in himself the iniquity of Sir Walter's condemnation, gave him all what he had forfeited, again, but still kept him close prisoner. Seven years after his imprisonment, he enjoyed Sherburn; at which time it fell out, that one Mr. Robert Car, a young Scotch gentleman, grew in great favour with the king; and having no fortune, they contrived to lay the foundation of his fu. ture greatness upon the ruins of Sir Walter Raleigh. Whereupon they called the conveyance of Sherburn in question, in the Exchequer chamber, and for want of one single word (which word was: found notwithstanding in the paper-book, and was only the oversight of a clerk) they pronounced the conveyance invalid, and Sherburn forfeited to the crown; a judgment easily to be foreseen without witchcraft, since his chiefest judge was his greatest enemy, and the case argued between a poor friendless prisoner, and a king of England.

Thus was Sherburn given to Sir Robert Car (after Earl of Somerset;) the Lady Raleigh* with her children, humbly and earnestly petitioning the king for compassion on her, and her's, could obtain no other answer from him, but that he mun have the land, he mun have it for Car. She being a woman of a very high spirit, and no-' ble birth and breeding, fell down upon her knees, with her hands heaved up to heaven, and in the bitterness of spirit, beseeched God Almighty to look upon the justice of her cause, and punish those who had so wrongfully exposed her, and her poor children, to ruin and beggary. What hath happened since to that royal family, is too sad and disastrous for me to repeat, and yet too visible not to be discerned. But to proceed: Prince Henry, hearing the king had given Sherburn to Sir Robert Car, came with some anger to

She was the only daughter of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, who was arraigned, in Queen Mary's time, and acquitted. See Fox's Acts and Monuments.

his father, desiring he would be pleased to bestow Sherburn upon him, alledging that it was a place of great strength and beauty, which he much liked, but indeed, with an intention to give it back to Sir Walter Raleigh, whom he much esteemed.

The king who was unwilling to refuse any of that prince's de sires, (for indeed, they were most commonly delivered in such language, as sounded rather like a demand than an intreaty) granted his request; and, to satisfy his favourite, gave him five and twentythousand pounds in ready money, so far was the king or crown from gaining by this purchase. But that excellent prince, within a few months, was taken away; how and by what means is suspected by all, and I fear was then too well known by many. After his death, the king gave Sherburn again to Sir Robert Car, who not many years after, by the name of Earl of Somerset, was arraigned and condemned for poisoning Sir Thomas Overbury, and lost all his lands. Then Sir John Digby, now Earl of Bristol begged Sherburn of the king, and had it. Sir Walter Raleigh, being of a vigorous constitution, and perfect health, had now worn out sixteen years imprisonment, and had seen the disastrous end of all his greatest enemies; so that, new persons and new interests now springing up in court, he found means to obtain his liberty, but upon condition, to go a voyage to Guiana, in discovery of a gold mine. That unhappy voyage is well known, almost, to all men, and how he was betrayed from the very beginning, his letters and designs being discovered to Gondamore, the Spanish Ambassador, whereby he found such opposition upon the place, that though he took and fired the town of St. Thoma, yet he lost his eldest son in that service, and being desperately sick himself, was made frustrate of all his hopes.

Immediately upon his return home, he was made prisoner, and by the violent pursuit of Gondamore, and some others, who could not think their estates safe, while his head was upon his shoulders, the king resolved to take advantage of his former condemnation sixteen years past, being not able to take away his life for any new action; and though he had given him a commission under the broad-seal to execute martial law upon his own soldiers, which was conceived, by the best lawyers, a full pardon for any offence committed before that time, without any further trouble of the law, cut off his head.

Here justice was indeed blind, blindly executing one and the same person upon one and the same condemnation, for things contradictory; for Sir Walter Raleigh was condemned for being a friend to the Spaniard, and lost his life for being their utter enemy. Thus kings, when they will do what they please, please not him they should, God, and, having made their power subservient to their will, deprive themselves of that just power whereby others are subservient to them. To proceed: Mr. Carew Raleigh, only son of Sir Walter, being at this time a youth of about thirteen, bred at Oxford, after five years, came to court, and, by the favour of the right honourable William Earl of Pembroke, his noble

kinsman, hoped to obtain some redress in his misfortunes; but the king, not liking his countenance, said, he appeared to him like the . ghost of his father; whereupon the earl advised him to travel, which he did until the death of king James, which happened about a year after. Then coming over, and a parliament sitting, he, ac. cording to the custom of this land, addressed himself to them by petition to be restored in blood, thereby to inable him to inherit such lands, as might come unto him either as heir to his father, or any other way; but, his petition having been twice read in the lords house, King Charles sent Sir James Fullerton (then of the bed-chamber) unto Mr. Raleigh, to command him to come unto him; and, being brought into the king's chamber by the said Sir James, the king, after using him with great civility, notwithstanding told him plainly, that, when he was prince, he had promised the Earl of Bristol to secure his title to Sherburn against the heirs of Sir Walter Raleigh; whereupon the earl had given him, then prince, ten-thousand pounds, that now he was bound to make good his promise, being king; that therefore, unless he would quit all his right and title to Sherbourn, he neither could nor would pass his bill of restoration. Mr. Raleigh urged the justice of his cause; that he desired only the liberty of a subject, and to be left to the law, which was never denied any free-man. Notwithstanding all which allegations, the king was resolute in his denial, and so left him. After which Sir James Fullerton used many arguments to persuade submission to the king's will; as, the impossibility of contesting with kingly power; the not being restored in blood, which brought along with it so many inconveniencies, that it was not possible without it to possess or enjoy any lands or estate in this kingdom; the not being in a condition, if his cloke were taken from his back, or hat from his head, to sue for restitution. All which things being considered, together with splendid promises of great preferment in court, and particular favours from the king not improbable, wrought much in the mind, of young Mr. Raleigh, being a person not full twenty years old, left friendless and fortuneless, and prevailed so far, that he submittted to the king's will.

Whereupon there was an act passed for his restoration, and, together with it, a settlement of Sherburn to the Earl of Bristol; and, in shew of some kind of recompence, four-hundred pounds a year pension, during life, granted to Mr. Raleigh after the death of his mother, who had that sum paid unto her, during life, in lieu of jointure.

Thus have I, with as much brevity, humility, and candour (as the nature of the case will permit) related the pressures, force, and injustice committed upon a poor oppressed, though not undeserv ing, family; and have forborne to specify the names of those,

Sir Walter Raleigh discovered Virginia at his own charge, which cost him forty-thousand pounds. He was the first, of all the English, that discovered Guiana in the West-Indies. He took the Islands of Fayall from the Spaniard, and did most signal and eminent service at the taking of Cadiz. He took from the Spaniard the greatest and richest Carick, that ever came into England: And another ship laden with nothing but gold, pearls, and cochineal.

who were instruments of this evil, lest I should be thought to have an inclination to scandalise particular, and perchance noble families.

Upon the consideration of all which, I humbly submit myself to the commons of England, now represented in parliament; desir. ing, according to their great wisdom and justice, that they will right me and my posterity, according to their own best liking; having, in my own person (though bred at court) never opposed any of their just rights and privileges, and, for the future, being resolved to range myself under the banner of the commons of England; and, so far forth as education and fatherly instruction can prevail, promise the same for two sons whom God hath sent me.

THE

MEMOIRS of MONSIEUR DU VALL,

CONTAINING

THE HISTORY OF HIS LIFE AND DEATH.

Whereunto are annexed his last Speech and Epitaph. Intended as a severe Reflection on the too great Fondness of English Ladies towards French Footmen, which, at that Time of Day, was a too common complaint.

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London: Printed 1670. Quarto, containing nineteen pages.

CLAUDE du Vall was born, anno 1643, at Domfront in Nor

mandy, a place very famous for the excellency and healthfulness of the air, and for the production of mercurial wits. At the time of his birth, (as we have since found, by rectification of his nativity, by accidents) there was a conjunction of Venus and Mercury, certain presages of very good fortune, but of a short continuance. His father was Pierre du Vall, a miller; his mother Marguerite De la Roche, a taylor's daughter. I hear no hurt of his parents, they lived in as much reputation and honesty, as their conditions and occupations would permit.

There are some that confidently aver he was born in Smock-alley without Bishopsgate; that his father was a cook, and sold boiled beef and porridge. But this report is as false as it is defamatory and malicious, and it is easy to disprove it several ways; I will only urge one demonstrative argument against it: If he had been born there, he had been no Frenchman, but if he had been no Frenchman, it is absolutely impossible he should have been so much beloved in his life, and lamented at his death by the English ladies. His father and mother had not been long married, when Margue

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