cture of the vigorous and brilliant soldier-poet, we must
add that he spoke to the end of his life with that strong Devonshire
accent which was never displeasing to the ears of Elizabeth.

The Muse of History is surely now-a-days too disdainful of all
information that does not reach her signed and countersigned. In
biography, at least, it must be a mistake to accept none but documentary
evidence, since tradition, if it does not give us truth of fact, gives
us what is often at least as valuable, truth of impression. The later
biographers of Raleigh have scorned even to repeat those anecdotes that
are the best known to the public of all which cluster around his
personality. It is true that they rest on no earlier testimony than that
of Fuller, who, writing in the lifetime of men who knew Raleigh, gives
the following account of his introduction to Elizabeth: 'Her Majesty,
meeting with a plashy place, made some scruple to go on; when Raleigh
(dressed in the gay and genteel habit of those times) presently cast off
and spread his new plush cloak on the ground, whereon the queen trod
gently over, rewarding him afterwards with many suits for his so free
and seasonable tender of so fair a footcloth.' The only point about this
story which is incredible is that this act was Raleigh's introduction to
the Queen. Regarded as a fantastic incident of their later attachment,
the anecdote is in the highest degree characteristic of the readiness of
the one and the romantic sentiment of the other.

Not less entertaining is Fuller's other story, that at the full tide of
Raleigh's fortunes with the Queen, he wrote on a pane of glass with his
diamond ring:--

Fain would I climb, but that I fear to fall,

whereupon Elizabeth replied,

If thy heart fail thee, then climb not at all.

Of these tales we can only assert that they reflect the popular and
doubtless faithful impression of Raleigh's mother-wit and audacious
alacrity.

If he did not go back to fight in Ireland, his experience of Irish
affairs was made use of by the Government. He showed a considerable
pliancy in giving his counsel. In May 1581 he had denounced Ormond and
even Grey for not being severe enough, but in June 1582 he had veered
round to Burghley's opinion that it was time to moderate English tyranny
in Ireland. A paper written partly by Burghley and partly by Raleigh,
but entitled _The Opinion of Mr. Rawley_, still exists among the Irish
Correspondence, and i