SIB WALTER RALEIGH. 



299 



through tubes, till they were completely incrusted with gold. 

 This attire was naturally considered sumptuous, and, in connec- 

 tion with the abundance of precious metals afforded by the 

 country, may have given rise to the title of El Dorado. The 

 legend, in either case, is a worthy companion to Ponce de Leon's 

 Fountain of Youth. 



No geographical fiction ever caused such an expenditure of 

 blood and treasure as this. The Spaniards alone lost, in their 

 attempts to discover the city of Manoa, more lives and money 

 than in effecting any of their permanent conquests. New ad- 

 venturers were always ready to start,, upon the discomfiture or 

 destruction of those who had gone before ; and no disappoint- 

 ment suffered by the latter could daunt the hopes of those who 

 believed the discovery reserved for them. The Spanish priests 

 regarded the mania as a device of the Evil One to lure mankind 

 to perdition. 



The greater portion of these persons were adventurers, 

 soldiers of fortune, and Quixotic knights-errant. The most 

 distinguished of the converts to a belief in the existence of an 

 El Dorado, however, it would be unjust to class among them. 

 Sir Walter Raleigh, an Englishman of the highest talent and 

 character, after having enjoyed the favor of Queen Elizabeth 

 for twenty years, lost it by an intrigue with a lady of the 

 palace. Though he repaired the injury by marrying the lady, 

 lie found he could not expect to be restored to grace except by 

 performing some exploit which should add new lustre to his 

 name. He had long been filled with admiration at the courage 

 and perseverance exhibited by the Spaniards in the pursuit of 

 their romantic and brilliant chimera. As he himself firmly be- 

 lieved it to be a reality, he determined to make an attempt him- 

 self. A part of his design was to colonize Guiana, and thus to 

 extend the sphere of the industrial and commercial arts of 

 England. He was familiar with the sea, as he had already 



