the
Queen. She received him very graciously, and immediately authorised him
to resume his office of Captain of the Guard. Without loss of time,
Raleigh filled up the vacancies in the Guard that very day, and spent
the evening riding with her Majesty. Next morning he made his appearance
in the Privy Chamber as he had been wont to do, and his return to favour
was complete. Essex showed, and apparently felt, no very acute chagrin.
He was busy in planning another expedition against Spain, and he needed
Raleigh's help in arranging for the victualling of the land forces. In
July all jealousies seemed laid aside, and the gossips of the Court
reported, 'None but Cecil and Raleigh enjoy the Earl of Essex, they
carry him away as they list.'

It lies far beyond the scope of the present biography to discuss the
obscure question of 'the conceit of _Richard the Second_' with which
these three amused themselves just before the Islands Voyage began. The
bare facts are these. On July 6, 1597, Raleigh wrote to Cecil from
Weymouth about the preparations for the expedition, and added: 'I
acquainted the Lord General [Essex] with your letter to me, and your
kind acceptance of your entertainment; he was also wonderful merry at
your conceit of _Richard the Second_. I hope it shall never alter, and
whereof I shall be most glad of, as the true way to all our good, quiet,
and advancement, and most of all for His sake whose affairs shall
thereby find better progression.' From this it would seem as though
Cecil had offered a dramatic entertainment to Essex and Raleigh on their
leaving town. This entertainment evidently consisted of Shakespeare's
new tragedy, then being performed at the Globe Theatre and to be entered
for publication just a month later. When this play was printed it did
not contain what is called the 'Deposition Scene,' but it would appear
that this was given on the boards at the time when Raleigh refers to it.
It will be remembered that in 1601 the lawyers accused Essex of having
feasted his eyes beforehand with a show of the dethronement of his
liege; but Raleigh's words do not suggest any direct disloyalty.

Raleigh was in a state of considerable excitement at the prospect of the
new expedition. Cecil wrote, 'Good Mr. Raleigh wonders at his own
diligence, as if diligence and he were not familiars;' and the fact that
Raleigh would sometimes write twice and thrice to him in one day, and on
a single occasion at least, four times,