Shorter Notices
Sir Waiter Raleigh. By Milton Waldman. (Collins. I2S. 6d.) SEPARATE monographs could be, and possibly have been, written on some half-dozen d:fferent aspects of Raleigh's life. In addition, the inconsistencies of his character and activities exceed even those of his contemporaries, and it must therefore be extremely difficult to epitomise his career in 250 pages. The man who wrote:
"Say to the court, it glows And shines like rotten wood ;" was also one of the most unscrupulous intriguers in that somewhat shady age. The Puritan who described his soul as a "quiet partner" travelling towards the land of heaven was passionately concerned about his posthumous reputation, and, worse still, was charged with belonging to the atheistic "School of the Night" and corrupting youths by free-thought. Mt. Waldman has steered clear of both spite and hagiography ; he has also made good use of the State Calendars and the Acts of the Privy Council. Perhaps the most vivid chapter is the account of Raleigh's unjust trial for complicity in the Arabella Stuart plot—the irrelevant evidence and disagreeable personalities put forward as sanctioned by the great Attorney- General, Sir Edward Coke, have to be seen to be believed. For this and for the well-balanced treatment of Raleigh's Irish exploits, the expedition to Guiana and the long imprisonment in the Tower, Mr. Waldman's competent biography, first published in 1928, has well earned this new edition.
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