o possession of the Crown late in the reign of
Henry VIII. Elizabeth herself had occupied it during the lifetime of her
brother, and she had recovered it again after the death of Mary.
Retaining certain rooms, she now relinquished it to her favourite, and
in this stately mansion as his town house Raleigh lived from 1584 to
1603. In spite of his uncertain tenure, he spent very large sums in
repairing 'this rotten house,' as Lady Raleigh afterwards called it.

Some time between December 14, 1584, and February 24, 1585, Raleigh was
knighted. On the latter date we find him first styled Sir Walter, in an
order from Burghley to report on the force of the Devonshire Stannaries.
His activities were now concentrated from several points upon the West
of England, and he became once more identified with the only race that
ever really loved him, the men of his native Devonshire. In July he
succeeded the Earl of Bedford as Lord Warden of the Stannaries; in
September he was appointed Lieutenant of the County of Cornwall; in
November, Vice-Admiral of the two counties. He, appointed Lord Beauchamp
his deputy in Cornwall, and his own eldest half-brother, Sir John
Gilbert of Greenway, his deputy in Devonshire. In the same year, 1585,
he entered Parliament as one of the two county members for Devonshire.
As Warden of the Stannaries he introduced reforms which greatly
mitigated the hardships of the miners.

It is pleasanter to think of Raleigh administering rough justice from
the granite judgment-seat on some windy tor of Dartmoor, than to picture
him squabbling for rooms at Court with 'Pecora Campi,' or ogling a
captious royal beauty of some fifty summers, Raleigh's work in the West
has made little noise in history; but it was as wholesome and capable as
the most famous of his exploits.

In March, 1586, Leicester found himself in disgrace with Elizabeth, and
so openly attributed it to Raleigh that the Queen ordered Walsingham to
deny that the latter had ceased to plead for his former patron. Raleigh
himself sent Leicester a band of Devonshire miners to serve in the
Netherlands, and comforted him at the same time by adding, 'The Queen is
in very good terms with you, and, thanks be to God, well pacified. You
are again her "Sweet Robin."' It seems that the strange accusation had
been made against Raleigh that he desired to favour Spain. This was
calculated to vex him to the quick, and we find him protesting (March
29, 1586): 'I have consume