Of such a nature, each in his own way, were King Alfred, King John, Richard III, and Henry VII, but greater than any of these was Sir Walter Raleigh, whose visions in the days of Elizabeth and James I ran so clearly and so far that even now we cannot be said to have left him behind where “principles” are concerned. Drake was the national hero of Elizabethan days, but in utility to the future, Raleigh was a greater than he, albeit his best service was of the “armchair” kind. The following extracts from Raleigh’s writings, except for geographical and political differences, stand as true to-day as when he wrote them about 300 years ago. The idea of a main fleet, backed up by smaller vessels, the idea of meeting the enemy on the water and so forth, are commonplaces now, but in Raleigh’s time they were quite otherwise. The italicised portions in particular indicate quite clearly in Elizabethan words the naval policy of to-day. “Another benefit which we received by this preparation was, that _our men were now taught suddenly to arm, every man knowing his command, and how to be commanded_, which before they were ignorant of; and who knows not that sudden and false alarms in any army are sometimes necessary? To say the truth, the expedition which was then used in drawing together so great an army by land, and rigging so great and royal a navy to sea, in so little a space of time, was so admirable in other countries, that they received a terror by it; and many that came from beyond the seas said _the Queen was never more dreaded abroad for anything she ever did_. “Frenchmen that came aboard our ships did wonder (as at a thing incredible) that Her Majesty had rigged, victualled, and furnished her royal ships to sea in twelve days’ time; and Spain, as an enemy, had reason to fear and grieve to see this sudden preparation. “It is not the meanest mischief we shall do to the King of Spain, if we thus war upon him, to force him to keep his shores still armed and guarded, to the infinite vexation, charge and discontent of his subjects; for no time or place can secure them so long as they see or know us to be upon that coast. “The sequel of all these actions being duly considered, we may be confident that _whilst we busy the Spaniard at home, they dare not think of invading England or Ireland_; for by their absence their fleet from the Indies may be endangered[12] and in their attempts they have as little hope of prevailing.