altered, and its
outward appearance was probably almost the same in Sir Walter's boyhood
as it is to-day.

In front of Hayes Barton is a hill covered with oak-woods, and to the
west the ground begins to slope upwards to the high moorland of Woodbury
Common. Sir Walter had a great affection for his boyhood's home, and
later, in trying to buy it back, he wrote to the then owner: 'I will
most willingly give you whatsoever in your conscience you shall deem it
worth; ... for ye naturall disposition I have to that place, being borne
in that house, I had rather seat myself there, than anywhere else.'

To realize Sir Walter at all adequately, he must be contemplated as
soldier, sailor, statesman, courtier, explorer, poet, historian,
Governor of colonies abroad and of very important offices at home--most
of all as a seer, for his eyes discerned a light that did not dawn on
his contemporaries. He and his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert,
foresaw 'that colonization, trade, and the enlargement of empire, were
all more important for the welfare of England than the discovery of
gold.' Major Hume, who is by no means over-prejudiced in Raleigh's
favour, has said in his 'Life of Sir Walter Raleigh': 'To him is due the
undying glory of having made the great northern continent of America an
English-speaking country. With him it was no accident. The plan sprang
fully formed from his great brain. He was greedy of gain, but he spent
his money like water in this great project. He knew full well that there
was no gold to reward him; that the profit, if any, must be slow, and
must accrue mainly to the nation, and not to an individual; and yet he
laboured on for thirty years in the face of defeat, disaster, contumely,
and disgrace, in full faith and confidence that the great continent was
by God's providence reserved for England.'

Raleigh's biographers have wondered at his immense knowledge of naval
matters, and particularly of naval warfare, for the _Ark Raleigh_, which
he had built after his own plans, was admitted to be the best ship in
the fleet at the time of the Armada. Perhaps his genius for absorbing
information developed very early, and Sir John Millais's picture of the
two little boys, fascinated by the words of the sailor speaking to them
of the breathless adventures he had fought through, the gorgeous sights
that he had seen in the lands overseas, helps to explain it. Most
West-Countrymen can tell a tale dramatically, as the sai