STRAY LEAVES FROM THE WEED 157 



whereas to this day it could never be knowne that there 

 ever was such treason, but a mere trick of State to remove 

 some blotches out of the way.' When Raleigh's fate drew 

 nigh, ' he took a pipe of tobacco a little before he went to 

 the scaffolde,' says Aubrey, ' which some female persons 

 were scandalised at ; but I think 'twas well and properly 

 donne to settle his spirits.' 



Speaking of this noble victim of James I., Sir Walter 

 Besant, in his handsome volume on Westminster, says, 

 ' Raleigh was brought to Old Palauce Yard to die. The 

 day chosen for his execution was Lord Mayor's Day, so 

 that the crowd should be drawn to the pageant rather than 

 to his execution.' The body lies buried in the chancel of 

 St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, where, near by, a 

 tablet informs the visitor that 



Within the walls of this church was deposited the body of the 

 great Sir Walter Raleigh, Knt, on the day he was beheaded 

 in Old Palace Yard, Westminster, 29 October, Ann. Dom. 1618. 



Reader, should you reflect on his errors. 



Remember his many virtues. 



And that he was a mortal. 



Considering the deep sympathy the nation has always 

 evinced for the ill-fated yet illustrious knight, it is almost 

 incredible that no monument has ever been erected to his 

 memory. Raleigh was truly great in all those things which 

 mankind loves to honour and perpetuate. In him 

 patriotism, valour, and magnanimity stand out con- 

 spicuously in an age of heroes. Though endowed with a 

 glowing, wildly-romantic imagination, he has left in his 

 various writings evidence of extensive reading, keen insight, 

 and sound judgment. The improvements he effected in 

 naval architecture alone entitle him to the lasting gratitude 

 of his country. The concluding lines of his History of 



