BIB FRANCIS DRAKE. flDafeers of Distort Queen Elizabeth BY JACOB ABBOTT WITH ENGRAVINGS NEW YORK AND LONDON HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 1904 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. Copyright, 1876, by JACOB ABBOTT. PREFACE. THE author of this series has made it his spe- cial object to confine himself very strictly, even in the most minute details which he records, to historic truth. The narratives are not tales founded upon history, but history itself, with- out any embellishment or any deviations from the strict truth, so far as it can now be discov- ered by an attentive examination of the annals written at the time when the events them- selves occurred. In writing the narratives, the author has endeavored to avail himself of the best sources of information which this country affords ; and though, of course, there must be in these volumes, as in all historical accounts, more or less of imperfection and er- ror, there is no intentional embellishment. Nothing is stated, not even the most minute Till P B E F A B. and apparently imaginary details, without what was deemed good historical authority. The readers, therefore, may rely upon the record as the truth, and nothing but the truth, so far as an honest purpose and a careful examina tion have been effectual in ascertaining it. CONTENTS. Cuptcr Fig* i. ELIZABETH'S MOTHER 13 II. THE CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS 39 III. LADY JANE GREY 57 IV. THE SPANISH MATCH 81 V. ELIZABETH IN THE TOWER 100 VI. ACCESSION TO THE THRONE 120 VII. THE WAR IN SCOTLAND 141 viii. ELIZABETH'S LOVERS 161 IX. PERSONAL CHARACTER 187 X. THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA 208 XI. THE EARL OF ESSEX 232 XII. THE CONCLUSION . . . 260 ENGRAVINGS. PORTRAIT OF DRAKE... Ft oritl.vpiece. PORTRAIT OF HENRY VIII 16 PORTRAIT OF ANNE BOLE YN 20 GROUP OF CHRISTENING GIFTS 25 TOWER OF LONDON 31 PORTRAIT OK KDWARD VI. 44 LADY JANE GREY AT STUDY 63 PORTRAIT OP PHILIP OF SPAIN 84 ELIZABETH IN THE TOWER 112 ELIZABETH'S PROGRESS TO LONDON 135 THE FRITH OF FORTH, WITH LEITH AND EDINBURGH IN THE DISTANCE 156 LEICESTER 169 THE BARGES ON THE RIVER. 182 PORTRAIT OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 203 THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA 229 THE HOUSE OF THE EARL OF ESSEX 242 ELIZABETH IN HER LAST HOURS 270 BEAD OF JAMES I 275 ELIZABETH'S TOMB.. . 279 QflEEN ELIZABETH CHAPTER I. ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. areenwich. The hospital FT1RAVELERS, in ascending the Thames -*- by the steamboat from Rotterdam, on their return from an excursion to the Rhine, have often their attention strongly attracted by what appears to be a splendid palace on the banks of the river at Greenwich. The edifice is not a palace, however, but a hospital, or, rather, a retreat where the worn out, maimed, and crippled veterans of the English navy spend the remnant of their days in comfort and peace, on pensions allowed them by the government in whose service they have spent their strength or lost their limbs. The magnificent buildings of the hospital stand on level land near the river. Behind them there is a beautiful park, which extends over the undulating and rising ground in the rear ; and on the summit of one of the eminence? there is the Camous Greenwich Ob> 14 QUBBN ELIZABKTH [153A ttroeowich OtMerratory. Mmnnr of taking ttm* Borvatory, on the precision of whose quadrant* and micrometers depend those calculations by which the navigation of the world is guided. The most unconcerned and careless spectator w interested in the manner in which the ships which throng the river all the way from G reen- wich to London, " take their time" from this observatory before setting sail for distant seas. From the top of a cupola surmounting the edi- fice, a slender pole ascends, with a black ball upon it, so constructed as to slide up and down for a few feet upon the pole. When the hour of 12 M. approaches, the ball slowly rises to within a few inches of the top, warning the ship-masters in the river to be ready with their chronometers, to observe and note the precise instant of its fall. When a few seconds only remain of the time, the ball ascends the remainder of the dis- tance by a very deliberate motion, and then drops suddenly when the instant arrives. The ihips depart on their several destinations, and or months afterward whun thousands of miiee iway they depend for their safety in dark and stormy nights, and among dangerous reefs and rocky shores, on the nice approximation to oor reotness in the note of time which this descend ing ball had given them. POMRATT OF HEN** VIII. 1533.] ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. 17 Henry the Eighth. Hi* character. His six wtra*. This is Greenwich, as it exists at the present Jay. At the time when the events occurred which are to be related in this narrative, it was most known on account of a royal palace which was situated there. This palace was the resi- dence of the then queen consort of England. The king reigning at that time was Henry the Eighth. He was an unprincipled -^d cruel tyrant, and the chief business of his mo seem- ed to be selecting and marrying new queens, making room for each succeeding one by dis- carding, divorcing, or beheading her predeces- sor. There were six of them in all, and, with one exception, the history of each one is a dis- tinct and separate, but dreadful tragedy. A* there were so many of them, and they figured as queens each for so short a period, they are commonly designated in history by their per- sonal family names, and even in these names there is a great similarity. There were three Catharines, two Annes, and a Jane. The only one who lived and died in peace, respected and beloved to the end, was the Jane. Queen Elizabeth, the subject of this narra- tive, was the daughter of the second wife in thi* ftrange succession, and her mother was one of th Annes. Her name in full was Anne Bs>- 262 18 QUEEN ELIZABETH. Anne Boleyn. Catharine of Aragon. Henry discard* bar leyn. She was young and very beautiful, and Henry, to prepare the way for making her his wife, divorced his first queen, or rather declared ins marriage with her null and void, because he had been, before he married her, the wife of his brother. Her name was Catharine of Aragon. She was, while connected with him, a faithful, true, and affectionate wife. She was a Catholic. The Catholic rules are very strict in respect to the marriage of relatives, and a special dispensation from the pope was neces- sary to authorize marriage in such a case as that of Henry and Catharine. This dispensa- tion had, however, been obtained, and Catharine had, in reliance upon it, consented to become Henry's wife. When, however, she was no longer young and beautiful, and Henry had be- come enamored of Anne Boleyn, who was so, he discarded Catharine, and espoused the beau- tiful girl in her stead. He wished the pope to annul his dispensation, which would, of course, annul the marriage ; and because the pontiff refused, and all the efforts of Henry's govern- ment were unavailing to move him, he aban- doned the Catholic faith, and established an in- dependent Protestant church in England, whose supreme authority would annul the marriaga PORTRAIT OF ANNE HOLEYN. 1533.] ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. 21 Origin of the Engfoh Church. Henry marie* Anna Boleyn Thus, in a great measure, came the Reforma tion in England. The Catholics reproach u, and, it must be confessed, with some justice, with the ignominiousness of its origin. The course which things thus took created a great deal of delay in the formal annulling of the marriage with Catharine, which Henry was too impatient and imperious to bear. He would not wait for the decree of divorce, but took Anne Boleyn for his wife before his previous connec- tion was made void. He said he was privately married to her. This he had, as he maintained, a right to do, for he considered his first mar- riage as void, absolutely and of itself, without any decree. When, at length, the decree was finally passed, he brought Anne Boleyn forward as his queen, and introduced her as such to En- gland and to the world by a genuine marriage and a most magnificent coronation. The peo- ple of England pitied poor Catharine, but they joined very cordially, notwithstanding, in wel- coming the youthful and beautiful lady who was to take her place. All London gave itself up to festivities and rejoicings on the occasion of these nuptials. Immediately after this th young queen retired to her palace in Greenwich, and in two or three months afterward bttla 22 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1533 Blrtk of Ellbcih. Ceremony of chrijtenin$ Elizabeth was born. Her birth-day was the 7th of September, 1533. The mother may have loved the babe, but Henry himself was sadly disappointed that his child was not a son. Notwithstanding her sex, however, she was a personage of great distinc- tion from her very birth, as all the realm looked upon her as heir to the crown. Henry was himself, at this time, very fond of Anne Bo- leyn, though his. feelings afterward were entire- ly changed. He determined on giving to the infant a very splendid christening. The usage hi the Church of England is to make the chris- tening of a child not merely a solemn religious ceremony, but a great festive occasion of con- gratulations and rejoicing. The unconscious subject of the ceremony is taken to the church. Certain near and distinguished friends, gentle- men and ladies, appear as godfathers and god- mothers, as they are termed, to the child. They, in the ceremony, are considered as presenting tho infant for consecration to Christ, and as be. coming responsible for its future initiation into tho Christian faith. They are hence sometimes called sponsors. These sponsors are supposed to take, from the time of the baptism forward, * strong interest in all that pertains to the wo* 1533.] ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. 23 Baptism of Elizabeth. fare of their little oharge, and they usually man- ifest this interest by presents -on the day of the christening. These things are all conducted with considerable ceremony and parade in ordi- nary oases, occurring in private life ; and when a princess is to be baptized, all, even the most minute details of the ceremony, assume a great importance, and the whole soene becomes one of great pomp and splendor. The babe, in this case, was conveyed to the church in a grand procession. The mayor and other 3ivio authorities in London came down to Greenwich in barges, tastefully ornamented, to join in the ceremony The lords and ladies of King Henry's court were also there, in at- tendance at the palace. When all were assem- bled, and every thing was ready, the procession moved from the palace to the church with great pomp. The road, all the way, was carpeted with green rushes, spread upon the ground. Over this road the little infant was borne by ne of her godmothers. She was wrapped in a mantle of purple velvet, with a long train aj> pended to it, which was trimmed with ermine, a very costly kind of fur, used in England as a badge of authority. This train was borne by lords and ladies of high rank, who were appoint- 94 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1533 Tr*im-bearer. The church. The rilTor fom cd for the purpose by the king, and who deemed their office a very distinguished honor. Besides these train-bearers, there were four lords, who walked two on each side of tne child, and who held over her a magnificent canopy. Other per- sonages of high rank and station followed, bear- ing various insignia and emblems, such as by the ancient customs of England are employed on these occasions, and all dressed sumptuous- ly in gorgeous robes, and wearing the badges* and decorations pertaining to their rank or the offices they held. Vast crowds of spectators lined the way, and gazed upon the scene. On arriving at the church, they found the in- terior splendidly decorated for the occasion. Its walls were lined throughout with tapestry, and in the center was a crimson canopy, under which was placed a large silver font, containing the water with which the child was to be baptized. The ceremony was performed by Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, which is the office of the highest dignitary of the English Church After it was performed, the procession returned as it came, only now there was an addition of four persons of high rank, who followed the child with the presents intended for her by the god- fathers and godmothers. These presents con- 1533.J ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. 27 rhe presonte. Name of the Infant princeM isted of cups and bowls, of beautiful workman- hip, some of silver gilt, and some of solid gold. They were very costly, though not prized much yet by the unconscious infant for whom they were intended. She went and came, in the midst of this gay and joyous procession, little imagining into what a restless and unsatisfying life all this pageantry and splendor were usher- ing her. They named the child Elizabeth, from her grandmother. There have been many queens of that name, but Queen Elizabeth of England became so much more distinguished than any other, that that name alone has become her usu- al designation. Her family name was Tudor. As she was never married for, though her life was one perpetual scene of matrimonial scheme* and negotiations, she lived and died a maiden lady she has been sometimes called the Virgin Queen, and one of the states of this Union, Vir- ginia, receives its name from this designation of Elizabeth. She is also often familiarly called Queen Bess. Making little Elizabeth presents of go.d and silver plate, and arranging splendid pageants for her, were not the only plans for her aggran- dizement which were formed during the period 28 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1536 DiMbeth made Prince** of Wale*. Matrimonial scheme* of her infantile unconsciousness. The king, her father, first had an act of Parliament passed. solemnly recognizing and confirming her claim as heir to the crown, and the title of Princess of Wales was formally conferred upon her. When these things were done, Henry began to consid- er how he could best promote his own political schemes by forming an engagement of marriage for her, and, when she was only about two years of age, he offered her to the King of France as the future wife of one of his sons, on certain conditions of political service which he wished him to perform. But the King of France would not accede to the terms, and so this plan was abandoned. Elizabeth was, however, notwith- standing this failure, an object of universal in- terest and attention, as the daughter of a very powerful monarch, and the heir to his crown. Her life opened with very bright and serene prospects of future greatness ; but all these pros- pects were soon apparently cut off by a very heavy cloud which arose to darken her sky. This cloud was the sudden and dreadful fall and ruin of her mother. Queen Anne Boleyn was originally a maid of honor to Quoen Catharine, and became ac- quainted with King Henry and gained his af- 1536.] ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. US Jane DUJMMM The toanuunmt The klng'i tuip toot fections while she was acting in that capacity When she became queen herself, she had, of course, her own maids of honor, and among them was one named Jane Seymour. Jane was a beautiful and accomplished lady, and in the end she supplanted her mistress and queen in Henry's affections, just as Anne herself had supplanted Catharine. The king had removed Catharine to make way for Anne, by annulling his marriage with her on account of their rela- tionship: what way could he contrive now to remove Anne, so as to make way for Jane ? He began to entertain, or to pretend to en- tertain, feelings of jealousy and suspicion that Anne was unfaithful to him. One day, at a sort of tournament in the park of the royal pal- ace at Greenwich, when a great crowd of gayly- dressed ladies and gentlemen were assembled to witness the spectacle, the queen dropped her handkerchief. A gentleman whom the king had suspected of being one of her favorites picked it p. He did not immediately restore it to her There was, besides, something in the air and manner of the gentleman, and in the attendant circumstances of the case, which the king's mind seized upon as evidence of criminal gallantry between the parties. He was, or at least 30 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1536. Qmeen Anne arrested. She U *nt to the Towe*. tended to be, in a great rage. He left the field immediately and went to London. The tour* naraent was broken up in confusion, the queen was seized by the king's orders, conveyed to her palace in Greenwich, and shut up in her cham- ber, with a lady who had always been her rival and enemy to guard her. She was in great consternation and sorrow, but she declared most solemnly that she was innocent of any crime, and had always been true and faithful to the king. The next day she was taken from her palace at Greenwich up the river, probably in a barge well guarded by armed men, to the Tower of London. The Tower is an ancient and very ex- tensive castle, consisting of a great number of buildings inclosed within a high wall. It is in the lower part of London, on the bank of the Thames, with a flight of stairs leading down to the river from a great postern gate. The un- happy queen was landed at these stairs and con- veyed into the castle, and shut up in a gloomy apartment, with walls of stone and windowt barricaded with strong bars of iron. There were four or five gentlemen, attendants upon the queen in her palace at Greenwich, whore the king suspected, or pretended to suspect, r.f 1536.J ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. 33 Bufferiag8 of the queen. Her mental di*tre* being her accomplices in crime, that were ar- rested at the same time with her and closely confined. When the poor queen was introduced into her dungeon, she fell on her knees, and, in an agony of terror and despair, she implored God to help her in this hour of her extremity, and most solemnly called him to witness that she was innocent of the crime imputed to her charge Seeking thus a refuge in God calmed and com- posed her in some small degree ; but when, again, thoughts of the imperious and implacable temper of her husband came over her, of the impetuousness of his passions, of the certainty that he wished her removed out of the way in order that room might be made for her rival, and then, when her distracted mind turned to the forlorn and helpless condition of her little daughter Elizabeth, now scarcely three years old, her fortitude and self-possession forsook her entirely ; she sank half insane upon her bed, in long and uncontrollable paroxysms of sobs and tears, alternating with still more uncontroJL* able and frightful bursts of hysterical laugh- ter. The king sent a commission to take her ax- tminatkm. At the same time, he ureed her. 263 34 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1536 on of Anne. Her letter to the Ua by the persons whom he sent, to confess hot guilt, promising her that, if she did so, her life should be spared. She, however, protested her innocence with the utmost firmness and con- rtancy . She begged earnestly to be allowed tt see the king, and, when this was refused, she wrote a letter to him, which still remains, and which expresses very strongly the acuteness >f her mental sufferings. In this letter, she said that she was so dis- tressed and bewildered by the king's displeas- ure and her imprisonment, that she hardly knew what to think or to say. She assured him that she had always been faithful and true to him, and begged that he would not cast an indelible stain upon her own fair fame and that of her innocent and helpless child by such un- just and groundless imputations. She begged him to let her have a fair trial by impartial per- sons, who would weigh the evidence against her in a just and equitable manner. She was sure that by this course her innocence would be es- tablished, and he himself, and all mankind, would see that she had been most unjustly ac- cused. But if, on the other hand, she added, the king had determined on her destruction, in order t* 1536.] ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. 35 Aaoe't tHo w-prLsonr. They re executed. remove an obstacle in the way of his possession of a new object of love, she prayed that God would forgive him and all her enemies for BO great a sin, and not call him to account for it at the last day. She urged him, at all events, to spare the lives of the four gentlemen who d been accused, as she assured him they were oily innocent of the crime laid to their charge, begging him, if he had ever loved the name of Anne Boleyn, to grant this her last request. She signed her letter his " most loyal and ever faithful wife," and dated it from her " doleful prison in the Tower." The four gentlemen were promised that their lives should be spared if they would confess their guilt. One of them did, accordingly, admit his guilt, and the others persisted to the end in firm- ly denying it. They who think Anne Boleyn was innocent, suppose that the one who con- fessed did it as the most likely mode of avert- ing destruction, as men have often been known, under the influence of fear, to confess crimes of which it was afterward proved they could not have been guilty. If this was his motive, it was of no avail. The four persons accused, after a very informal trial, in which nothing waa really proved against tbem, were condemned. 36 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1536 Anna tried and condemned. She protects her innoceno* apparently to please the king, and were execu- ted together. Three days after this the queen herself wa brought to trial before the peers. The number of peers of the realm in England at this time was fifty-three. Only twenty-six were present at the trial. The king is charged with making such arrangements as to prevent the attendance of those who would be unwilling to pass sen- tence of condemnation. At any rate, those who did attend professed to be satisfied of the guilt of the accused, and they sentenced her to be burned, or to be beheaded, at the pleasure of the king. He decided that she should be beheaded. The execution was to take place in a little green area within the Tower. The platform was erected here, and the block placed upon it, the whole being covered with a black cloth, as usual on such occasions. On the morning of the fatal day, Anne sent for the constable of the Tower to come in and receive her dying protestations that she was innocent of the crimed alleged against her. She told him that she un- derstood that she was not to die until 12 o'clock, and that she was sorry for it, for she wished to have it over. The constable told her the pain would be very slight and momentary. " Yes," 1536.] -ELIZABETH'S MOTHER. 37 lime's execution. Disposition of the body he rejoined, " I am told that a very skillful executioner is provided, and my neck is very slender." At the appointed hour she was led out into the court-yard where the execution was to take place. There were about twenty persons pres- ent, all officers of state or of the city of London. The bodily suffering attendant upon the execu- tion was very soon over, for the slender neck was severed at a single blow, and probably all sensibility to pain immediately ceased. Stiil, the lips and the eyes were observed to move and quiver for a few seconds after the separa- tion of the head from the body. It was a relief, however, to the spectators when this strange and unnatural prolongation of the mysterious functions of life came to an end. No coffin had been provided. They found, however, an old wooden chest, made to contain arrows, lying in one of the apartments of the tower, which they used instead. They first laid the decapitated trunk within it, and then adjusted the dissevered head to its place, as if vainly attempting to repair the irretrievable in- jury they had done. They hurried the body, thus enshrined, to its burial in a chapel, which was al*o within the tower, doing all with snob 38 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1536 The king's brutality. Elizabeth'! forlorn eondltkn. dispatch that the whole was finished before the clock struck twelve ; and the next day the un feeling monster who was the author oTthis dread- ful deed was publicly married to his new favor- ite, Jane Seymour. The king had not merely procured Anne's personal condemnation ; he had also obtained a decree annulling his marriage with her, on the ground of her having been, as he attempted to prove, previously affianced to another man This was, obviously, a mere pretense. The ob- ject was to cut off Elizabeth's rights to inherit the crown, by making his marriage with her mother void. Thus was the little princess left motherless and friendless when only three years old. 1536.] CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 39 Oinbetb'i condition at the death of her mother. Her rddeno CHAPTER IL THE CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 71 LIZ ABE TH was about three years old at ^ the death of her mother. She was a prin- cess, but she was left in a very forlorn and des- olate condition. She was not, however, entirely abandoned. Her claims to inherit the crown had been set aside, but then she was, as all ad- mitted, the daughter of the king, and she must, of course, be the object of a certain degree of consideration and ceremony. It would be en- tirely inconsistent with the notions of royal dig- nity which then prevailed to have her treated like an ordinary child. She had a residence assigned her at a place called Hunsdon, and was put under the charge of a governess whose name was Lady Bryan. There is an ancient letter from Lady Bryan, still extant, which was written to one of the king's officers about Elizabeth, explaining her destitute condition, and asking for a more suit- able supply for her wants. It may entertain the reader to see this relic, which not only Ulan- 40 qi KEN ELIZABETH. [1536 Letter of Lady Bryan, Elizabeth'* goremeM. trates our little heroine's condition, but also shows how great the changes are which our lan- guage has undergone within the last three hund red years. The letter, as here given, is abridg- >i a little from the original : f H n Z.orti : tSSJbeit rout Jlortislfp teas last firre, ft pleaseo jicu to ai? tbat I- sljoulti not be mfstrustful of tbe HI fug's Grace, not of ijour JLovtisfjfp, U)ljicj) tuorti tons of great com- fort to me, anU emboltienetb me noto to speak m% poor mfnti. Xuto so (t fs, mi> Horti, tbat mi; Hatij Elijabttf) fs put from ttje tiegree sbe teas afore, anti tobat tJegree ste (s at noto* fi fenoto not but bj? bearsap. Cberefore K fenoto not boto to orUer ter, nor mjself, nor none of bers tbat t babt tbe rule of tbat fs, ber toomen anti ber grooms. But fi be* seecb pott to be goot), mn Uorti, to ber anti to all bers, anti to let ber babe some ragment ; for sbe bas neftber goton, not kfrtle, nor no manner of Ifnen, nor foresmocfes, nor feerctfefs, nor sleebes, nor rafls, nor botijstftcbets, nor mufflers, nor dfggfns. &ll tbese ber (Grace's toants S babe tirfben off as long as 5 can, bj m trotb, but JJ can not am? longer. 33e seecbfng von, mn Horti, tbat ijou tufll see tijat l)er (T.ract mag tabe tbat fs neetiful for ber, anti tbat 5 maj fenoto from gou, fn torftfng, boto I- sljall ortier mrself totoartis ber, anti tobateber fs tte ISfng's race's pleasure anti jours, fn eberj ttfng, tbat fi sball tio. ffSLy lorti ^Hr. Sbelton tooulti babe mg Hatip fSlfjabtt| to tifne anti sup at tbe boarti of estate. Silas, mn Horti, ft (s not meet for a cbflti of ber age to keep sucb rule j?et. X pronxfse 500, mv Horti, S tiare not tafee upon me to fteej * Tbat is, in what light the king and the government wish to have her regarded, and how they wish her to be treated 1536] CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 41 Conclusion of letter. Tremble* and trial* of lufanej tier (n Dealt!) anti stoe fteep tfcat role ; for tbere sbe *tiall stt Others meats, ant) fruits, anD tufnes, tobfci) tooulti be bart tor me to restrain ber Cfrace from ft You fenoto, mj ILottJ, tbere Is no place of correction* tbere, anti stoe (s net too gating to correct greatlj. B knoin toell, anti stos be tfcere, X fcall ntbrr bring ber up to tj>e Sing's Grace's bonor nor hers, nor to ber bcaltlj, nor HIP poor bonestg. SJt'ljeretore. X beseecb vu, mv HorO, tbat mr ILaDi) maij tabe a mess of meat to ber oturt lotiglng, biltb a gooD titsb or Uno tbat Is meet for ber (Grace to eat of. fH HaUj batb Itfeetolse great pain toftft ber teetft, anD tbcij come berg slotoln fovti), anti tbls causetl) me to suffer ber (Grace to babe ber tofll more tban 5 tooulTi. 5 trust to ffioD, anti ber teetb toere toell graft, to tate ber 5race after anotber fasbfou tfian ste Is jet, so as trust tbe Sing's Grace stall babe great comfort (n ber Grace ; for sbe Is as totoarH a cbflU, anti as gentle of eon&Ittons, as eber 5 fcneto an? In ms life. JJesu preserbe feer race. Gooti mi; Hort), babe m Hatn/s Grace, anti us ttiat be Drr poor servants, In your remembrance. This letter evinces that strange mixture of state and splendor with discomfort and destitu- tion, which prevailed very extensively in royal households in those early times. A part of the privation which Elizabeth seems, from this let ter, to have endured, was doubtless owing to the rough manners of the day ; but there is no doubt that she was also, at least for a time, in a neg lected and forsaken condition. The new queen, Jane Seymour, who succeeded Elizabeth's moth- That is, opportunity for correction 42 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1540 BMh at Kdwwd. The king reconciled to hi* daughter* er, had a son a year or two after her marriage. He was named Edward. Thus Henry had three children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward, each one the child of a different wife ; and the last of them, the son, appears to have monopo- lized, for a time, the king's affection and care. Still, the hostility which the king had felt for these queens in succession was owing, as has been already said, to his desire to remove them out of his way, that he might be at liberty to marry again; and so, after the mothers were, one after another, removed, the hostility itself, 00 far as the children were concerned, gradually subsided, and the king began to look both upon Mary and Elizabeth with favor again. He even formed plans for marrying Elizabeth to persons of distinction in foreign countries, and he entered into some negotiations for this pur- pose. He had a decree passed, too, at last, re- versing the sentence by which the two princess- 9A were cut off from an inheritance of the crown. Thus they were restored, during their father 7 ! life, to their proper rank as royal princesses. At last the king died in 1547, leaving only these three children, each one the child of a dif- ferent wife. Mary was a maiden lady, of about thirty-one years of age. She was a stern, an* PORTRAIT OF EDWARD VI. 1545.] CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 44 Death of King Henry. HU children tere, hard-hearted woman, whom nobody loved She was the daughter of King Henry's first wife, Catharine of Aragon, and, like her mother, wa* i decided Catholic. Next came Elizabeth, who was about four- teen years of age. She was the daughter of the king's second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn. She had been educated a Protestant. She waa not pretty, but was a very lively and sprightly child, altogether different in her cast of charac- ter and in her manners from her sister Mary. Then, lastly, there was Edward, the son of Jane Seymour, the third queen. He was about nine years of age at his father's death. He was a boy of good character, mild and gentle in his disposition, fond of study and reflection, and a general favorite with all who knew him. It was considered in those days that a king might, in some sense, dispose of his crown by will, just as, at the present time, a man may bequeath his house or his farm. Of course, there were some limits to this power, and the concurrence of Parliament seems to have leen required to the complete validity of such a set- tlement. King Henry the E ighth , however, h ad little difficulty in carrying any law through Par. liament which he desire 1 to have enacted. It 46 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1547. KlBf Heaiys Tioleoee. The order of iocMuwio* Is said that, on one occasion, when there was some delay about passing a bill of his, he sent for one of the most influential of the members f the House of Commons to come into his pres- ence The member came and kneeled before him. " Ho, man !" said the king, " and will they not suffer my bill to pass ?" He then came up and put his hand upon the kneeling legisla- tor's head, and added, " Get my bill passed to- morrow, or else by to-morrow this head of yours shall be off." The next day the bill was passed accordingly. King Henry, before he died, arranged the or- der of succession to the throne as follows : Ed- ward was to succeed him ; but, as he was a mi- nor, being then only nine years of age, a great council of state, consisting of sixteen persons of the highest rank, was appointed to govern the kingdom in his name until he should be eight- een years of age, when he was to become king in reality as well as in name. In case he should die without heirs, then Mary, his old- est sister, was to succeed him ; and if she died without heirs, then Elizabeth was to succeed her. This arrangement went into full effect. The council governed the kingdom in Edward'i name until he was sixteen years of age, when 1547.J CHILDHOOD OK A PRINCESS. 4? Elizabeth's trouble* The two Sejmocm he died. Then Mary followed, and reigned as queen five years longer, and died without chil- dren, and during all this time Elizabeth held the rank of a princess, exposed to a thousand iifficnlties and dangers from the plots, intrigues, and conspiracies of those about her, in which, on account of her peculiar position and pros pects, she was necessarily involved. One of the worst of these cases occurred soon after her father's death. There were two broth- ers of Jane Seymour, who were high in King Henry's favor at the time of his decease The oldest is known in history by his title of the Earl of Hertford at first, and afterward by that of Duke of Somerset. The youngest was called Sir Thomas Seymour. They were both made members of the government which was to administer the affairs of state during young Edward's minority. They were not, however satisfied with any moderate degree of power. Being brothers of Jane Seymour, who was Ed- ward's mother, they were his uncles, of course, and the oldest one soon succeeded in causing himself to be appointed protector. By this of- fice he was, in fact, king, all except in name. The younger brother, who was an agreeable and accomplished man, paid his addresses to thf 48 QUEEN ELI&IBETH. [1547 The qufwa dowager 1 marrfage. The Seymour* quamn queen dowager, that is, to the widow whom King Henry left, for the last of his wives was living at the time of his death. She consented to marry him, and the marriage took place al- most immediately after the king's death so won in fact, that it was considered extremely hasty and unbecoming. This queen dowager had two houses left to her, one at Chelsea, and the other at Hanworth, towns some little dis- tance up the river from London. Here she re- sided with her new husband, sometimes at one of the houses, and sometimes at the other. The king had also directed, in his will, that the Prin- cess Elizabeth should be under her care, so that Elizabeth, immediately after her father's death, lived at one or the other of these two houses un- der the care of Seymour, who, from having been her uncle, became now, in some sense, her fa- ther. He was a sort of uncle, for he was the brother of one of her father's wives. He was a sort of father, for he was the husband of anoth- er of them. Yet, really, by blood, there was DO relation between them. The two brothers, Somerset and Seymour, quarreled. Each was very ambitious, and rery jealous of the other. Somerset, in addition to being appointed protector by the council, got t 1547.J CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 49 Somerset'! power and influence. Jealonole* and quarrel* grant of power from the young king called a patent. This commission was executed with great formality, and was sealed with the great seal of state, and it made Somerset, in some measure independent of the other nobles whom King Henry had associated with him in the gov- ernment. By this patent he was placed in su- preme command of all the forces by land and sea. He had a seat on the right hand of the throne, under the great canopy of state, and whenever he went abroad on public occasions, he assumed all the pomp and parade which would have been expected in a real king. Young Edward was wholly under his influence, and did always whatever Somerset recommended him to do. Seymour was very jealous ol all this great- ness, and was contriving every means in his power to circumvent and supersede his brother. The wives, too, of these great statesmen quar- reled. The Duchess of Somerset thought she was entitled to the precedence, because she was the wife of the protector, who, being a kind of regent, ^ thought he was entitled to have hi wife considered as a sort of queen. The wife of Seymour, on the other hand, contended that she was entitled to the precedence as a real queen, having been herself the actual consort 264 50 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1547 Mary Queen of Scot* Marriage tcheme* of a reigning monarch. The two ladies disput- ed perpetually on this point, which, of course, could never be settled. They enlisted, howev- er, en their respective sides various partisans, producing a grat deal of jealousy and ill will, and increasing the animosity of their husbands. All this time the celebrated Mary Queen of Scots was an Infant in Janet Sinclair's arms, at the castle of Stirling, in Scotland. King Henry, during his life, had made a treaty with tho government of Scotland, by which it was agreed that Mary rhculd be married to his son Edward as soon as the two children should have grown to maturity ; but afterward, the govern- ment of Scotland having faMen from Protestant into Catholic hands, they determined that thia match must be given up. The English author- ities were very much incensed. They wished to have the marriage take effect, as it would end in uniting the Scotch and English king- doms ; and the protector, when a time arrived which he thought was favorable for his purpos i, raised an army and marched northward to make war upon Scotland, and compel the Soots fcc fulfill the contract of marriage. While his brother was gone to the northward, Sevmoor remained at home, and endeavored, bt 1547.] CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 51 Seymour's promotion. Jane Grey. Family quarrel* every means within his reach, to strengthen his own influence and increase his power. He con- trived to obtain from the council of government the office of lord high admiral, which gave him the command of the fleet, and made him, next to his brother, the most powerful and important personage in the realm. He had, besides, as has already been stated, the custody and care of Elizabeth, who lived in his house ; though, as he was a profligate and unprincipled man, this position for the princess, now fast growing up to womanhood, was considered by many per- sons as of doubtful propriety. Still, she was at present only fourteen years old. There was another young lady likewise in his family, a niece of King Henry, and, of course, a second cousin of Elizabeth. Her name was Jane Grey. It was a very unhappy family. The manners and habits of all the members of it, excepting Jane Grey, seem to have been very rude and irregular. The admiral quarreled with his wife ; and was jealous of the very servants who wait* ed upon her. The queen observed somsthirg in the manners of her husband toward the young princess which made her angry both with him and her. Elizabeth resented this, and a violent quarrel ensued, which ended in their separation 02 C^UEEN ELIZABETH. [1548 Death of the queen dowager. Seymour's chained Elizabeth went away, and resided afterward at a place called Hatfield. Very soon after this, the queen dowager died uddenly. People accused Seymour, her hus- band, of having poisoned her, in order to make way for the Princess Elizabeth to be his wife. He denied this, but he immediately began to lay his plans for securing the hand of Elizabeth. There was a probability that she might, at some future time, succeed to the crown, and then, if ^e were her husband, he thought he should be the real sovereign, reigning in her name. Elizabeth had in her household two persons, a certain Mrs. Ashley, who was then her gov- erness, and a 'man named Parry, who was a sort of treasurer. He was called the cofferer. The admiral gained these persons over to his inter- ests, and, through them, attempted to open communications with Elizabeth, and persuade her to enter into his designs. Of course, the "Whole affair was managed with great secrecy They were all liable to a charge of treason against the government of Edward oy such plots, as his ministers and counselors might maintain that their design was to overthrow Ed- ward's government and make Elizabeth queen They, therefore, were all banded together te 1548] CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 53 Bevmour'e arrest Hia trial and attainder. keep their councils secret, and Elizabeth was drawn, in some degree, into the scheme, though precisely how far was never fully known. It was supposed that she began to love Seymour, although he was very much older than herself, and to be willing to become his wife. It is not surprising that, neglected and forsaken as she had been, she should have been inclined to re- gard with favor an agreeable and influential man, who expressed a strong affection for her, and a warm interest in her welfare. However this may be, Elizabeth was one day struck with consternation at hearing that Seymour was arrested by order of his brother, who had returned from Scotland and had re- ceived information of his designs, and that he had been committed to the Tower. He had a hurried and irregular trial, or what, in those days, was called a trial. The council went them- selves to the Tower, and had him brought before them and examined. He demanded to have the charges made out in form, and the witnesses confronted with him, but the council were sati. fied of his guilt without these formalities. The Parliament immediately afterward passed a bill of attainder against him, by which he was sen. tenoed to death. His brother, the protector 54 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [154ft eyiaov behetded. EUztbetii't trtik signed the warrant for his execution, and he was beheaded on Tower Hill. The protector sent two messengers in the eonrse of this affair to Elizabeth, to see what fcney could ascertain from her about it. Sir Robert Tyrwhitt was the name of the principal one of these messengers. When the cofferer learned that they were at the gate, he went in great terror into his chamber, and said that he was undone. At the same time, he pulled off a chain from his neck, and the rings from his fin- gers, and threw them away from him with ges- ticulations of despair. The messengers then came to Elizabeth, and told her, falsely as it seems, with a view to frighten her into confes- sions, that Mrs. Ashley and the cofferer were both secured and sent to the Tower. She seem- ed very much alarmed ; she wept bitterly, and it was a long time before she regained her com- posure. She wanted to know whether they had confessed any thing. The protector's mes- sengers would not tell her this, but they urged her to confess herself all that had occurred ; for, whatever it was, they said that the evil and shame would all be ascribed to the other per- sons concerned, and not to her, on account of her youth and inexperience. Bat Elizabeth 1548.] CHILDHOOD OF A PRINCESS. 55 Elizabeth's firmness. Lady Tyrwhttk would confess nothing. The messengers wen* away, convinced, as they said, that she was guilty ; they could see that in her countenance ; fend that her silence was owing to her firm de- termination not to betray her lover. They sent word to the protector that they did not believe that any body would succeed in drawing the least information from her, unless it was the protector, or young King Edward himself These mysterious circumstances produced a *omewhat unfavorable impression in regard to Elizabeth, and there were some instances, it was said, of light and trifling behavior between Eliz- abeth and Seymour, while she was in his house during the life-time of his wife. They took place in the presence of Seymour's wife, and seem of no consequence, except to show that dukes and princesses got into frolics sometimes in those days as well as other mortals. People censured Mrs. Ashley for not enjoining a great- er dignity and propriety of demeanor in her young charge, and the government removed her from her place. Lady Tyrwhitt, who was the wife of the messenger referred to above that was sent to examine Elizabeth, was appointed to succeed Mrs. Ashley. Elizabeth was very much dis- leased at this change. She toJd Lady Tyr- 56 QUKEN ELIZABETH. dtoblh'( rafferlnfi. Her fidelity to her Mead* whitt that Mrs. Ashley was her mistress, and that she had not done a ay thing to make it nec- essary for the council to put more mistresse* >ver her. Sir Robert wrote to the protector tha* she took the affair so heavily that she " wept all night, and lowered all the next day." He said that her attachment to Mrs. Ashley was very strong ; and that, if any thing were said against the lord admiral, she could not bear to hear it, but took up his defense in the most prompt and eager manner. How far it is true that Elizabeth loved the unfortunate Seymour can now never be known There is no doubt, however, but that this whole affair was a very severe trial and affliction to her. It came upon her when she was but four- teen or fifteen years of age, and when she was in a position, as well of an age, which ren- ders the heart acutely sensitive both to the ef- fect of kindness and of injuries. Seymour, by his death, was lost to her forever, and Elizabeth lived in great retirement and seclusion during the remainder of her brother's reign. She did not, however, forget Mrs. Ashley and Parry On her accession to the throne, many years af- terward, she gave them offices very valuable, considering their station in life, and was a trat friend to them both to the end of their days. I550.J LADYJANEGREY. 57 Lady JM Grey. Her disposition and character CHAPTER III. LADY JANE GREY. AMONG Elizabeth's companions and play- mates in her early years was a young lady, her cousin, as she was often called, though she was really the daughter of her cousin, named Jane Grey, commonly called in history Lady J ane Grey. Her mother was the Marchioness of Dorset, and was the daughter of one of King Henry the Eighth's sisters. King Henry had named her as the next in the order of succession after his own children, that is, after Edward his son, and Mary and Elizabeth his two daughters ; and, consequently, though she was very young, yet, as she might one day be Queen of England, she was a personage of considerable importance. She was, accordingly, kept near the court, and shared, in some respects, the education and the studies of the two princesses. Lady Jane was about four years younger than the Princess Elizabeth, and the sweetnes* of her disposition, united with an extraordinary intellectual superiority, which showed itself at 58 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1550 Ldy Jaae'i parent*. Keetralnti put upon bar a very early period, made her a universal favor- ite. Her father and mocher, the Marquis and Marchioness of Dorset, lived at an estate they possessed, called Broadgate, in Leicestershire, which is in the central part of England, although they took their title from the county of Dorset, which is on the southwestern coast. They were very proud of their daughter, and attached in- finite importance to her descent from Henry VII., and to the possibility that she might one day succeed to the English throne. They were very strict and severe in their manners, and paid great attention to etiquette and punctilio, as persons who are ambitious of rising in the world are very apt to do. In all ages of the world, and among all nations, those who have long been accustomed to a high position are easy and unconstrained in their manners and demeanor, while those who have been newly mdvanccd from a lower station, or who are an- ticipating or aspiring to such an advance, make themselves slaves to the rules of etiquette and oererrony. It was thus that the father and mother of Lady Jane, anticipating that she might one day become a queen, watched and guarded her incessantly, subjected her to a thormand unwelcome restraints, and repressed 1550.] LADY JANE GREY. 59 Lady June's attainments. Character of her teacher, all the spontaneous and natural gayety and sprightliness which belongs properly to such a child She became, however, a very excellent schol ir ir consequence of this state of things. She had a private teacher, a man of great eminence for his learning and abilities, and yet of a very kind and gentle spirit, which enabled him to gain a strong hold on his pupil's affection and regard. His name was John Aylmer. The Marquis of Dorset, Lady Jane's father, became acquainted with Mr. Aylmer when he was quite young, and appointed him, when he had finished his education, to come and reside in his family as chaplain and tutor to his children. Aylmer afterward became a distinguished man, was made Bishop of London, and held many high offices of state under Queen Elizabeth, when she came to reign. He became very much at- tached to Queen Elizabeth in the middle and latter part of his life, as he had been to Lady Jane in the early part of it. A curious incident occurred during the time that he was in the enrice of Elizabeth, which illustrates the char- acter of the man. The queen was suffering from the toothache, and it was necessary that the tooth should be extracted. The sursreoa 60 QUEHJI ELIZABETH. [1560 Anecdote of Elizabeth and Aylroer. I.ndy Jane'i ttclinvw* to Ay liner was ready with his instruments, and several ladies and gentlemen of the royal household were in the queen's room commiserating her offerings ; but the queen dreaded the operation o excessively that she could not summon for- titude enough to submit to it Aylmer, after trying some time in vain to encourage her, took his seat in the chair instead of her, and said to the surgeon, " I am an old man, and have but few teeth to lose ; but come, draw this one, and let her majesty see how light a matter it is." One would not have supposed that Elizabeth would have allowed this to be done ; but she did , and, finding that Aylmer made so light of the operation, she submitted to have it performed upon herself. But to return to Lady Jane. She was very strongly attached to her teacher, and made great progress in the studies which he arranged for her. Ladies of high rank, in those days, were accustomed to devote great attention to the an- oient and modern languages. There was, in (act, a great necessity then, as indeed there ia tow, for a European princess to be acquainted with the principal languages of Europe ; for the various royal families were continually inter- marrying with each other, which led to a great 1550. Cizabeth's studies. Roger Ajcbam. many visits, and other intercourse between the different courts. There was also a great deal of intercourse with the pope, in which the Latin language was the medium of communication. Lady Jane devoted a great deal of time to all these studies, and made rapid proficiency in them all. The Princess Elizabeth was also an excellent scholai Her teacher was a very learned and celebrated ma a, named Roger Ascham. She spoke French and Italian as fluently as she did English. She also wrote and spoke Latin with correctness and readiness. She made con- siderable progress in Greek too. She could write the Greek character very beautifully, and could express herself tolerably well in conversa- tion in that language. One of her companions, a young lady of the name of Cecil, is said to have spoken Greek as well as English. Roger Ascham took great interest in advancing the princess in these studies, and in the course of these his instructions he became acquainted with Lady Jane, and he praises very highly, in his letters, the industry and assiduity of Lady Jane in similar pursuits. One day Roger Ascham, being on a journey from the north of England to London, stopped 02 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1550 Lady Jane't acquirements in Greek. Her Interview with Aieham to make a call at the mansion of the Marquis of Dorset. He found that the family were all iway ; they had gone off upon a hunting ex- onrsion in the park. Lady Jane, however, had been left at home, and Ascham went in to see her. He found her in the library reading Greek. Ascham examined her a little, and was very much surprised to find how well acquainted with the language she had become, although she was then only about fifteen years old. He told her that he should like very much to have her write him a letter in Greek, and this she readily promised to do. He asked her, also, how it happened that, at her age, she had made such advances in learning. " I will tell you," said she, "how it has happened. One of the greatest benefits that God ever conferred upon me was in giving me so sharp and severe par- ents and so gentle a teacher : for, when I am in the presence of either my father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand, or go ; eat, drink, be merry or sad ; be sewing, play- ing, dancing, or doing any thing else, I must do it t as it were, in just such weight, measure, and number, as perfectly as possible, or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, vea, presently , sometimes with pinches, nips, and J.550.] LADY JANE GREY. 65 Lady Jane'i intimacy with Edward. The Earl of NortintmbertanA bobs, and other ways, which I will not name for the honor I bear my parents, that I am con- tinually teased and tormented. And then, when the time comes for me to go to Mr. Elsmer, he teaches no so gently, so pleasantly, and with Fusli fail allurements to learning, that I think all the time nothing while I am with him ; and I am always sorry to go away from him, be- cause whatsoever else I do but learning is fuE f grief, trouble, fear, and suffering." Lady Jane Grey was an intimate friend and companion of the young King Edward as long as he lived. Edward died when he was sixteen years of age, so that he did not reach the period which his father had assigned for his reigning in his own name. One of King Edward's most prominent and powerful ministers during the latter part of his life was the Earl of Northum- berland. The original name of the Earl of Northumberland was John Dudley. He wa one of the train who came in the procession at the close of the baptism of Elizabeth, carrying the presents. He was a .Protestant, and waa rery friendly to Edward and to Lady Jane Grey, for they were Protestants too. But hia feelings and policy were hostile to Mary, for she was a Catholic. Mary was sometimes treated 265 66 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1550 Htrah treatment of Mary. Decline of Edwtrd'i health. very harshly by him, and she was subjected t many privations and hardships on account of her religious faith. The government of Ed- ward justified these measures, on account of the necessity of promoting the Reformation, and discouraging popery by every means in their power. Northumberland supposed, too, that it was safe to do this, for Edward being very young, it \vas probable that he would live and reign a long time. It is true that Mary waa named, in her father's will, as his successor, if she outlived him, but then it was highly prob- able that she would not outlive him, for she waa several years older than he. All these calculations, however, were spoiled by the sudden failure of Edward's health when he was sixteen years old. Northumberland was much alarmed at this. He knew at once that if Edward should die, and Mary succeed him, all his power would be gone, and he determined to make desperate efforts to prevent such a result It must not be understood, however, that in Doming to this resolution, Northumberland con- sidered himself as intending and planning a de- liberate usurpation of power. There was a real uncertainty in respect to the question who wai the true and rightful heir to the crown. Nor- 1550.] LAbY JANELTREI. 07 Uncertainty In respect to the succession. Struggle! for power thumberland was, undoubtedly, strongly biased by his interest, but he may have been uncon- scious of the bias, and in advocating the mode of succession on which the continuance of hit own power depended, he may have really be- lieved that he was only maintaining what was in itself rightful and just. In fact, there is no mode which human inge- nuity has ever yet devised for determining the hands in which the supreme executive of a na- tion shall be lodged, which will always avoid doubt and contention. If this power devolves by hereditary descent, no rules can be made so minute and full as that cases will not some- times occur that will transcend them. If, on the other hand, the plan of election be adopted, there will often be technical doubts about a por- tion of the votes, and cases will sometimes occur where the result will depend upon this doubtful portion. Thus there will be disputes under any system, and ambitious men will seize such oc- casions to struggle for power. In order that our readers may clearly under- stand the nature of the plan which Northum- berland adopted, we present, on the following page, a sort of genealogical table of the roya, family of England in the days of Elizabeth. QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1660 Queen Elizabeth's family connection*. s f 3 O j k| "Si a i s a i ! . ^ o "* m J s f, I II B p < * e K > C S o ^ v T3 h 1 1 1 H "'I |l & x 5 80 8 -S Q s || S i 5 * 1 s 8 *3 "3 S o 1 I 2 i III 5 s> i j i g 1|I c ill 5! tu U II II le i A c S _5 V B ** i I 5 fe ? g H H o > "& or cr S go I si!- 1 irf ri ^3 j II II U M 1 0) 5! *J g K 1 t 1 1 "o j h 4 a c s JJJ > ! V lll a ^^ c DD 5 r* v^. ^ " C e ^ ci o S ^ S 5 5 ^ S * O w i ilUiii i u * a ti Iff & II R n l-a s 3 | 1} I III PI 1 1550.1 LiDY JANE (iREY 89 Explanation of the table. King lluury'i wlQ By examination of this table, it will be seen fchat King Henry VII. left a son and two daugh- ters. The son was King Henry VIIL, and he had three children. His third child was King Edward VI., who was now about to die. The other two were the Princesses Mary and Eliza- beth, who would naturally be considered the next heirs after Edward ; and besides, King Henry had left a will, as has been already ex- plained, confirming their rights to the succes- sion. This will he had made near the time of his death ; but it will be recollected that, dur- ing his life-time, both the marriages from which these princesses had sprung had been formally annulled. His marriage with Catharine of Ar agon had been annulled on one plea, and that of Anne Boleyn on another. Both these decrees of annulment had afterward been revoked, and the right of the princesses to succeed had been restored, or attempted to be restored, by the will Still, it admitted of a question, after all, whether Mary and Elizabeth were to be considered as the children of true and lawful wives or not. If they were not, then Lady Jane Grey was the next heir, for she was placed next to the princesses by King Henry the Eighth's wilJ This will, for some reason or other, set aside a 70 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1550. Varlou "laimnnta for the threne. Perplexing qnnitlnaa the descendants of Margaret, who went to Soot- land as the wife of James IV. of that country. What right the king had thus to disinherit the children of his sister Margaret was a great question. Among her descendants was Mary Qneen of Soots, as will be seen by the table, and she was, at this time, the representative of that branch of the family. The friends of Mary Queen of Scots claimed that she was the law- ful heir to the English throne after Edward They maintained that the marriage of Catha- rine, the Princess Mary's mother, and also that of Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth's mother, had both been annulled, and that the will could not re- store them. They maintained, also, that the will was equally powerless in setting aside the claims of Margaret, her grandmother. Mary Queen of Scots, though silent now, advanced her claim subsequently, and made Elizabeth a great deal of trouble. Then there was, besides these, a third party, who maintained that King Henry the Eighth's will was not effectual in legalizing again the annulled marriages, but that it was sufficient to set aside the claims of Margaret. Of course, with them, Lady Jane Grey, who, as will be seen by the table, was the representative of th i553.j LADYJANEGREY. 71 Power of Northumberland. Hi* scheme* second sister of Henry VIII., was the only heir. The Earl of Northumberland embraced thia view. His motive was to raise Lady Jane Grey to the throne, in order to exclude the Princess Mary, whose accession he knew very well wonld bring all his greatness to a very sudden end. The Earl of Northumberland was at this time the principal minister of the young king. The protector Somerset had fallen long ago. Northumberland, whose name was then John Dudley, had supplanted him, and had acquired BO great influence and power at court that al- most every thing seemed to be at his disposal. He was, however, generally hated by the other courtiers and by the nation. Men who gain the confidence of a young or feeble-minded prince, so as to wield a great power not properly theii own, are almost always odious. It was expected, however, that his career would be soon brought to an end, as all knew that King Edward must die, and it was generally understood that Mary was to succeed him. Northumberland, however, was very anxloui to devise some scheme to continue his power, and in revolving the subject in his mind, he conceived of plans which seemed to promise not wily to continue, but also greatly to increase it 72 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1553 Marriage of Lady Jane. Feelings of the peopl* His scheme was to have the princesses' claims set aside, and Lady Jane Grey raised to the throne. He had several sons. One of them was young, handsome, and accomplished. He thought of proposing him to Lady Jane's father as the husband of Lady Jane, and, to induce the marquis to consent to this plan, he promised to obtain a dukedom for him by means of his influence with the king. The marquis agreed to the proposal. Lady Jane did not object to the husband they offered her. The dukedom was obtained, and the marriage, together with two others which Northumberland had arrang- ed to strengthen his influence, were celebrated, all on the same day, with great festivities and rejoicings. The people looked on moodily, jeal- ous and displeased, though they had no open ground of displeasure, except that it was un- suitable to have such scenes of gayety and re joicing among the high officers of the court while the young monarch himself was lying upon his dying bed. They did not yet know tha. it was Northumberland's plan to raise his cew daughter-in-law to the throne. Northumberland thought it would greatly in- crease his prospect of success if he could ob- tain some act of acknowledgment of Lady Jaua'v 1553.1 L A D Y J A N E G R E V. 73 Efforts to let Mary aside. Northumberland work* on the young king claims to the orown before Edward died. AB opportunity soon occurred for effecting this pur pose. One day, as he was sitting by young Ed- ward's bedside, he turned the conversation to ihe subject of the Reformation, which had made preat progress during Edward's reign, and he led Edward on in the conversation, until he re- marked that it was a great pity to have the work all undone by Mary's accession, for she was a Catholic, and would, of course, endeavor to bring the country back again under the spir- itual dominion of Rome. Northumberland then told him that there was one way, and one way only, to avert such a calamity, and that was to make Lady Jane his heir instead of Mary. King Edward was a very thoughtful, consid- erate, and conscientious boy, and was very de- sirous of doing what he considered his duty. He thought it was his duty to do all in his power to sustain the Reformation, and to prevent the Catholic power from gaining ascendency in En- gland again. He was, therefore, easily persua- ded to accede to Northumberland's plan, espe- cially as he was himself strongly attached to Lady Jane, who had often been his playmate and companion. The king accordingly sent for three judges 74 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1553 Conduct of the Judge* . Pardon by nticiptio of the realm, and directed them to draw up a deed of assignment, by which the crown was to be conveyed to Lady Jane on the young king'f death, Mary and Elizabeth being alike exclu- ded. The judges were afraid to do this ; for, by King Henry the Eighth's settlement of the crown, all those persons who should do any thing to disturb the succession as he arranged it were declared to be guilty of high treason. The judges knew very well, therefore, that if they should do what the king required of them, and then, if the friends of Lady Jane should fail of establishing her upon the throne, the end of the affair would be the cutting off of their own heads in the Tower. They represented this to the king, and begged to be excused from the duty that he required of them. Northumber- land was in a great rage at this, and seemed almost ready to break out against the judges in open violence. They, however, persisted in their refusal to do what they well knew would sub- ject them to the pains and penalties of treason. Northumberland, finding that threats and vi- eionce would not succeed, contrived another mode of obviating the difficulty. He proposed to protect the judges from any possible evil con- nequenoe* of their act by a formal pardon for it L553.J LADY JANE GREY. 75 Edward' deed of Mttleneat Flan to entrap the prtnoeMe* signed by the king, and sealed with the great leal, so that, in case they were ever charged with treason, the pardon would save them from punishment. This plan succeeded. The par- ion was made out, being written with great formality upon a parchment roll, and sealed with the great seal. The judges then prepared and signed the deed of settlement by which the crown was given to Lady Jane, though, after all) they did it with much reluctance and many forebodings. Northumberland next wanted to contrive some plan for getting the princesses into hi* power, in order to prevent their heading anv movement in behalf of their own claims at the death of the king. He was also desirous of making such arrangements as to conceal the death of the king for a few days after it should take place, in order that he might get Lady Jane and her officers in complete possession of the kingdom before the demise of the crown should be generally known. For this purpose he dismissed the regular physicians who had at- tended upon the king, and put him under the charge of a woman, who pretended that she had a medicine that would certainly cure him. He sent, also, messengers to the princesses, who 76 QUEEN ELIZAHKTH [1553 DmtL of Edward. E*cap of the prlneeMW* were then in the country north of London, re- questing that they would come to Greenwich, ^o be near the sick chamber where their broth- cr was lying, that they might cheer and com- fort him in his sickness and pain. The princesses obeyed the summons. They aach sat out immediately on the journey, and moved toward London on their way to Green- wich. In the mean time, Edward was rapidly declining. The change in the treatment which took place when his physicians left him, made him worse instead of better. His cough in- creased, his breathing became more labored and difficult ; in a word, his case presented all the symptoms of approaching dissolution. At length he died. Northumberland attempted to keep the fact concealed until after the princesses should arrive, that he might get them into his power. Some faithful friend, however, made all haste to meet them, in order to inform them what was going on. In this way Mary received Intelligence of her brother's death when she hac. almost reached London, and was informed, also, f the plans of Northumberland for raising Lady Jane to the throne. The two princesses were extremely alarmed, and both turned back at onoe toward the northward again Mary stopped L553.] LAY JANE GREY. 77 Precaution! of Wary. Ldy Jane proclaimed qoeat tc write a letter to the council, remonstrating against their delay in proclaiming her queen, End then proceeded rapidly to a strong castle it a place called gharn, in the county of Suffolk, on the eastern coast of England. She made this her head-quarters, because she supposed that the people of that county were particularly friendly to her ; and then, besides, it was near the sea, and, in case the course of events should turn against her, she could make her escape to foreign lands. It is true that the prospect of being fugitive and an exile wa* very dark and gloomy, but it was not so terrible as the idea of being shut up a prisoner in th Tower, or being beheaded on a block for treason. In the mean time, Northumberland went, at the head of a troop of his adherents, to the res- idence of Lady Jane Grey, informed her of the death of Edward, and announced to her their determination to proclaim her queen. Lady Jane was very much astonished at this newa. At first she absolutely refused the offered hon- ?r; but the solicitations and urgency of Nor- thumberland, and of her father and her young husband, at length prevailed. She was con- ducted to London, and instated in at least tht semblance of power QUEEN ELIZABETH [155.4 tflccitement Public opinion to faror of Mary As tfce news of these transactions spread chroughout the land, a universal and strong ex- citement was produced, every body at once tak- ing sides either for Mary or Lady Jane. Band* of armed men began to assemble. It soon be- came apparent, however, that, beyond the imme diate precincts of London, the country was al- most unanimous for Mary. They dreaded, it \M true, the danger which they anticipated from her Catholic faith, but still they had all consid- ered it a settled point, since the death of Henry the Eighth, that Mary was to reign whenever Edward should die ; and this general expecta- tion that she would be queen had passed in- en4ibly into an opinion tht she ought to be. Considered strictly as a legal question, it was certainly doubtful which of the four claimants to the throne had the strongest title ; but the public were not disposed so to regard it. They chose, on the whole, that Mary should reign. Large military masses consequently flocked to her standard. Elizabeth took sides with her, and as it was important to give as much pub- lio effect to her adhesion as possible, they fur- nished Elizabeth with a troop of a thousand horsemen, at the head of which she rode to meel Mary and tender her aid. 1553.] LADY JANE GREY. 79 V ortbumbcrland taken prisoner. He U beheaded Northumberland went forth at the head of such forces as he could collect, but he soon found that tFfe attempt was vain. His troops forsook him. The castles which had at first been under his command surrendered themselves to Mary. The Tower of London went over to her side. Finally, all being lost, Northumberland himself was taken prisoner, and all his influential friends with him, and were committed to the Tower. Lady Jane herself too, together with her hus- band and father, were seized and sent to prison Northumberland was immediately put upon his trial for treason. He was condemned, and brought at once to the block. In fact, the whole affair moved very promptly and rapidly on, from its commencement to its consummation. Ed- ward the Sixth died on the 5th of July, and it was only the 22d of August when Northumber- land was beheaded. The period for which the unhappy Lady Jane enjoyed the honor of being called a queen was nine days. It was about a month after this that Mary passed from the Tower through the city of Lon- don in a grand triumphal procession to be crowned. The royal chariot, covered with cloth of golden tissue, was drawn by six horses most splendidly caparisoned. Elizabeth, who had aid- 80 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1553 Mary's triumphal procecdon. Shared by E&mboth d her sister, so far as she could, in the strug- gle, was admitted to share the triumph. She had a carriage drawn by six horses too, with cloth and decorations of silver. They proceed- ed in this manner, attended and followed by a great cavalcade of nobles and soldiery, to West- minster Abbey, where Mary took her seat with great formality upon her father's throne. 1553.] THE ^I-AMSH MATCE. 83 Mary't character. CHAPTER IV. . THE SPANISH MATCH. " HEN Queen Mary ascended the throne, she was a maiden lady not far from thir- ty-five years of age. She was cold, austere, and forbidding in her appearance and manners, though probably conscientious and honest in her convictions of duty. She was a very firm and decided Catholic, or, rather, she evinced a certain strict adherence to the principles of her religious faith, which we generally mil firmness when it is exhibited by those whose opinions agree with our own, though we are very apt to name it bigotry in those who differ from ns. For instance, when the body of young Ed- ward, her brother, after his death, was to be deposited in the last home of the English kingh in Westminster Abbey, which is a very mag- nificent cathedral a little way up the river front London, the services were, of course, conducted according to the ritual of the English Church, which was then Protestant. Mary, however, oould not con-oientiously countenance such ae* 266 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1553 Anuew. ftdtora for Queen lUry'i knd ioe even by being present at them; She ac- cordingly assembled her immediate attendants and personal friends in her own private chape], and celebrated the interment there, with Cath- olic priests, by a service conformed to the Cath olio ritual. Was it a bigoted, or only a firm and proper, attachment to her own faith, which forbade her joining in the national commemo- ration ? The reader must decide ; but, in de- ciding, he is bound to render the same verdict that he would have given if it had been a case of a Protestant withdrawing thus from Catho- lic forms. At all events, whether bigoted or not, Mary was doubtless si^sere; but she was so cold, and stern, and nucitere in her character, that she was very little likely to be loved. There were a great many persons who wished to become hei husband, but their motives were to share hei grandeur and power. Among these persons, the most prominent one, and the one apparently most likely to succeed, was a prince of Spain His name was Philip. It was his father's plan, and not his own, that he should marry Queen Mary. His father was at this time the most wealthy and powerfu monarch in Europe. His name was CharJes* PORTRAIT OF PHILIP OF SPAIN. 1553.] THE SPINISH MATCIL 86 Emperor CTbar lea the Fifth. Character of hi* Mm PhflJp He is commonly called in history Charles V of Spain. He was not only King of Spain, but Emperor of Germany. He resided sometimes at Madrid, and sometimes at Brussels in Flan- ders. His son Philip had been married to a Portuguese princess, but his wife had died, and thus Philip was a widower. Still, he was only twenty-seven years of age, but he was as stem, severe, and repulsive in his manners as Mary. His personal appearance, too, corresponded with his character. He was a very decided Catholic also, and in his natural spirit, haughty, ambi- tious, and domineering. The Emperor Charles, as soon as he heard of young Edward's death and of Mary's acces- sion to the English throne, conceived the plan of proposing to her his son Philip for a husband. He sent over a wise and sagacious statesman from his court to make the proposition, and to wrge it by such reasons as would be most likely to influence Mary's mind, and the minds of the great officers of her government. The embas- sador managed the affair well. In fact, it wai probably easy to manage it. Mary would nat- urally be pleased with the idea of such a young husband, who, besides being young and accom- plished, was the son of the greatest potentate io 86 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1553 Tb* emperor propose! hU ion. Mary pleud with the propol Europe, and likely one day to take his father's place tn that lofty elevation. Besides, Mary Queen of Scots, who had rival claims to Queen Mary's throne, had married, or was about to marry, the son of the King of France, and there was a little glory in outshining her, by having for a husband a son of the King of Spain. It might, however, perhaps, be a question which was the greatest match ; for, though the court of Paris was the most brilliant, Spain, being at that time possessed of the gold and silver mines of its American colonies, was at least the rich- est country in the world. Mary's ministers, when they found that Mary herself liked the plan, fell in with it too. Mary had been beginning, very quietly indeed, but very efficiently, her measures for bringing back the English government and nation to the Cath- olic faith. Her ministers told her now, howev- er, that if she wished to succeed in effecting this match, she must suspend all these plant mntii the match was consummated. The peo- ple of England were generally of the Protestant faith. They had been very uneasy and restles* under the progress which the queen had been making in silencing Protestant preachers, and bringing back Catholic rites and ceremonies; 1/533.J THE SPANISH MATCH. 87 Plan* of the ministers The people tanned and E.3W, if they found that their qneen wa* going to marry so rigid and uncompromising a Catholic as Philip of Spain, they would be doubly alarmed. She must suspend, therefore, for a time, her measures for restoring papacy, unless she was willing to give up her husband. The queen saw that this was the alternative, and she decided on following her ministers' ad- vice. She did all in her power to quiet and calm the public mind, in order to prepare the way for announcing the proposed connection. Rumors, however, began to be spread abroad that such a design was entertained before Mary was .fully prepared to promulgate it. These rumors produced great excitement, and awak- ened strong opposition. The people knew Phil- ip's ambitious and overbearing character, and they believed that if he were to come to En- gland as the husband of the queen, the whole government would pass into hi* hands, and, a* he would naturally be very much under the in- fluence of his father, the connection was likely to result in making England a mere appendage to the already vast dominions of the emperor. The House of Commons appointed a committee of twenty members, and sent them to the queen, with a h unable petition that she would not mar- 88 QUKEN ELIZABETH. [1553 Oppodtion to the match. The emperor fomlihe* money ry a foreigner. The queen was much displeased at receiving such a petition, and she dissolved the Parliament. The members dispersed, car- rying with them every where expressions of their dissatisfaction and fear. England, they said, was about to become a province of Spam, and the prospect of such a consummation, wher- ever the tidings went, filled the people of the country with great alarm. Queen Mary's principal minister of state at this time was a crafty politician, whose name was Gardiner. Gardiner sent word to the em- peror that there was great opposition to his son's marriage in England, and that he feared that he should not be able to accomplish it, unless the terms of the contract of marriage were made very favorable to the queen and to England, and unless the emperor could furnish him with a large sum of money to use as a means of bringing influential persons of the realm to fa- vor it. Charles decided to send the money He borrowed it of some of the rich cities of Germany, making his son Philip give his bond to repay it as soon as he should get possession of his bride, and of the rich and powerful coun- try over which she reigned. The amount thus remitted to England is said by the historian* 1554.] THE SPANISH MATCH. 89 TVs emperor's embassy. Treaty of marriage of those days to have been a sum equal to two millions of dollars. The bribery was certainly a very respectable scale. The emperor also sent a very magnificent / mbassy to London, with a distinguished noble- man at its head, to arrange the terms and con- tracts of the marriage. This embassy came in great state, and, during their residence in lx>n- don, were the objects of great attention and pa- rade. The eclat of their reception, and the in- fluence of the bribes, seemed to silence opposi- tion to the scheme. Open opposition ceased to be expressed, though a strong and inveterate 'determination against the measure was secret- ly extending itself throughout the realm. This, however, did not prevent the negotiations from going on. The terms were probably all fully understood and agreed upon before the embassy came, so that nothing remained but the formal- ities of writing and signing the articles. Some of the principal stipulations of these ar- ticles were, that Philip was to have the title of King of England jointly with Mary's title of queen. Mary was also to share with him, in the same way, his titles hi Spain. It was agreed that Mary should have the exclusive power of the appointment of officers of government in 90 C^UEEN ELIZABETH. [1554 Stipulation* of the treaty of marriage. England, and that no Spaniards should be eli- gible at all. Particular provisions were made in respect to the children which might result from the marriage, as to how they should inherit rights of government in the two countries. Philip had one son already, by his former wife. This son was to succeed his father in the king- dom of Spain, but the other dominions of Philip on the Continent were to descend to the offspring of this new marriage, in modes minutely spec- ified to fit all possible cases which might occur The making of all these specifications, however, turned out to be labor lost, as Mary never had children. It was also specially agreed that Philip should not bring Spanish or foreign domestics into the realm, to give uneasiness to the English peo- ple ; that he would never take the queen out of England, nor carry any of the children away, without the consent of the English nobility; ind that, if the queen were to die before him, til his rights and claims of every sort, in re- gpect to England, should forever cease. He also agreed that he would never carry away any of the jewels or other property of the crown, nor suffer any other person to do so. These stipulations, guarding so carefully th 1554. j THE SPANISH MATCH. 91 WjratTi rebellion. DukeofSuffofc rights of Mary and of England, were intended to satisfy the English people, and remove their objections to the match. They produced some effect, but the hostility was too deeply seated to be so easily allayed. It grew, on the contrary, more and more threatening, until at length a conspiracy was formed by a number of influen- tial and powerful men, and a plan of open re- bellion organized. The leader in this plan was Sir Thomas Wy- att, and the outbreak which followed is known in history as Wyatt's rebellion. Another of the leaders was the Duke of Suffolk, who, it will be recollected, was the father of Lady Jane Grey. This led people to suppose that the plan of thf conspirators was not merely to prevent the con summation of the Spanish match, but to depose Queen Mary entirely, and to raise the Lady Jane to the throne. However this may be, an extensive and formidable conspiracy was form- ed. There were to have been several risings in different parts of the kingdom. They all failed except the one which Wyatt himself was to head, which was in Kent, in the southeastern part of the country. This succeeded so far, at least, that a considerable force waa> collected, and began to advance toward London from th innthern side 92 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [ 1554 Wyatt advance* toward London. The queen retreat* Into the rlty Queen Mary was very much alarmed. She had no armed force in readiness to encounter this danger. She sent messengers across th Thames and down the river to meet Wyatt, who was ad\anoing at the head of four thou- sand men, to ask what it was that he demand- ed He replied that the queen must be deliv- ered up as his prisoner, and also the Tower of London be surrendered to him. This showed that his plan was to depose the queen. Mary rejected these proposals at once, and, having n force* to meet this new enemy, she-had to re- treat from Westminster into the city of London and here sne took refuge in the city hall, called the Guildhall, and put herself under the protec- tion of the city authorities. Some of her friends urged her to take shelter in the Tower ; but she had more confidence, she said, in the faithfulness and loyalty of her subjects than in castle walls. Wyatt continued to advance He was still upon the south side of the river. There wa* but one bridge across the Thames, at London, in those days, though there are half a dozen now, and this one was so strongly barricaded and guarded that Wyatt did not dare to attempt to cross it He went up the river, therefore, to cross at a higher point; and this 1654.] THE SPANISH MATCH. 93 IVjratt carrenden Tb Duke of Suffolk tent to thn Towr evera accidental circumstances which occur- red, detained him so long that a considerable force had been got together to receive him when ie was ready to enter the city. He pushed bold- y on into the narrow streets, which received him like a trap or a snare. The city troops hemmed ap his way after he had entered. They barri- caded the streets, they shut the gates, and arm- ed men poured in to take possession of all the av- enues. Wyatt depended upon finding the peo- ple of London on his side. They turned, in- stead, against him. All hope of success in his enterprise, and all possibility of escape from his own awful danger, disappeared together. A herald came from the queen's officer calling upon him to surrender himself quietly, and save the effusion of blood. He surrendered in an agony of terror and despair. The Duke of Suffolk learned these facts in another county, where he was endeavoring to raise a force to aid Wyatt. He immediately fled, and hid himself in the house of one of nil domestics. He was betrayed, however, seized, and sent to the Tower. Many other promi- nent actors in the insurrection were arrested, and the others fled in all directions, wherevai they could find concealment or safety. 94 (-IUEEN ELIZABETH. [1554 Beheading of Ldy Jane Grey. Her heroic fortitude. Lady Jane's life had been spared thus far, al- though she had been, in fact, guilty of treason against Mary by the former attempt to take the crown. She now, however, two days aftei the capture of Wyatt, received word that she must prepare to die. She was, of course, sur- prised and shocked at the suddenness of this an- nouncement; but she soon regained her com- posure, and passed through the awful scenes preceding her death with a fortitude amounting to heroism, which was very astonishing in one so young. Her husband was to die too. He was beheaded first, and she saw the headless body, as it was brought back from the place of execution, before her turn came. She acknowl- edged her guilt in having attempted to seize her cousin's crown. As the attempt to seize this crown failed^ mankind consider her technically guilty. If it had succeeded, Mary, instead of Jane, would have been the traitor who would have died for attempting criminally to usurp t throne. In the mean time Wyatt and Suffolk re. mained prisoners in the Tower. Suffolk wa* overwhelmed with remorse and sorrow at hav- ing been the means, by his selfish ambition, of the cruel death of so innocent and lovelv a child 1554.] THE SPANISH MATCH, 9fl Death of Suffolk. Imprisonment of Ell*beth. Execution of Wy*L He did not suffer this anguish long, however, for five days after his son and Lady Jano were executed, his head fell too from the block. Wyatt was reserved a little longer. He was more formally tried, and in his ex- amination he asserted that the Princess Eliza- beth was involved in the conspiracy. Officers were immediately sent to arrest Elizabeth. She was taken to a royal palace at Westmin- ster, just above London, called Whitehall, and shut up there in close confinement, and no one was allowed to visit her or speak to her. The particulars of this imprisonment will be de- scribed more fully in the next chapter. Fifty or sixty common conspirators, not worthy of being beheaded with an ax, were hanged, and a company of six hundred more were brought, their hands tied, and halters about their necks, a miserable gang, into Mary's presence, before her palace, to be pardoned. Wyatt was then executed. When he came to die, however, he retracted what he had alleged of Elizabeth. He declared that she was entirely innocent oi any participation in the scheme of rebellion. Eliza- beth's friends believe that he accused her be- cause he supposed that such a charge would be agreeable to Mary, and that he should himself 96 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1554 The wedding plan proceed*. Hostility of the lallur* be more leniently treated in consequence of it, bat that when at last he found that sacrificing her would not save him, his guilty conscience scourged him into doing her justice in his last hours. All obstacles to the wedding were now appa rently removed ; for, after the failure of Wyatt's rebellion, nobody dared to make any open oppo- sition to the plans of the queen, though there was still abundance of secret dissatisfaction. Mary was now very impatient to have the mar- riage carried into effect. A new Parliament was called, and its concurrence in the plan ob tained. Mary ordered a squadron of ships tc be fitted out and sent to Spain, to convey the bridegroom to England. The admiral who had command of this fleet wrote to her that the sailors were so hostile to Philip that he did not think it was safe for her to intrust him to their hands. Mary then commanded this force to be dismissed, in order to arrange some other way to bring Philip over. She was then full of anx- iety and apprehension lest some accident might befall him. His ship might be wrecked, or he might fall into the hands of the Frencn, who were not at all well disposed toward the match, Her thoughts and her conversation were run- 1554.) THE SPANISH MATCH. 97 Mary's fears nod complainings. Philip lands at Southampton ning upon this topio all the time. She restless by day and sleepless by night, until her health was at last seriously impaired, j,nd her friends began really to fear that she might lose her reason. She was very anxious, too, lest Philip should find her beauty so impaired by her years, and by the state of her health, that bhe should fail, when Le arrived, of becoming <*he object of his lo> e. In fact, she complained .il, eady that Philip neglected her. He did not \vrite to her, or ex press in any way the interest and affection which she thought ought to be awakened in his mind by a bride who, as she expressed it, was go- ing to bring a kingdom for a dowry. This sort f cold and haughty demeanor was, however, in keeping with the self-importance and the pride which then often marked the Spanish charac- ter, and which, in Philip particularly, always seemed to be extreme. At length the time arrived for his embarka- tion. He sailed across the Bay of Biscay, and ip the English Channel until he reached South arr.pton, a famous port on the southern coast t f England. There he landed with great pomp and parade. He assumed a very proud and stately bearing, which made a very anfavorable 267 96 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1555. Ptft Jjr'i proud and haughty demeanor. The marriage ceremony. impression upon the English people who had been sent by Queen Mary to receive him. He drew his sword when he landed, and walked about with it, for a time, in a very pompouf manner, holding the sword unsheathed in hi* hand, the crowd of by-standers that had collect- ed to witness the spectacle of the landing look- ing on all the time, and wondering what such an action could be intended to intimate. It was probably intended simply to make them wonder. The authorities of Southampton had arranged it to come in procession to meet Philip, and present him with the keys of the gates, an em- blem of an honorable reception into the city. Philip received the keys, but did not deign a word of reply. The distance and reserve which it had been customary to maintain between the English sovereigns and their people was always pretty strongly marked, but Philip's loftiness and grandeur seemed to surpass all bounds. Mary went two thirds of the way from Lon- don to the coast to meet the bridegroom. Here the marriage ceremony was performed, and the whole party came, with great; parade and re- joicings, back to London, and Mary, satisfied *nd happy, took up her abode with her new lord in Windsor Castle 1555.] THE SPANISH MATCH. 99 Philip aband >ns Mary. Her replningB. Her dnadr. The poor queen was, however, in the end, sad- ly disappointed in her husband. He felt no love for her ; he was probably, in fact, incapable of love. He remained in England a year, and then, growing weary of his wife and of his adopted country, he went back to Spain again, greatly to Queen Mary's vexation and chagrin. They were both extremely disappointed in not hav- ing children. Philip's motive for marrying Mary was ambition wholly, and not love ; and when he found that an heir to inherit the two kingdoms was not to be expected, he treated hia unhappy wife with great neglect and cruelty and finally went away from her altogether. He oame back again, it is true, a year afterward, but it was only to compel Mary to join with him in a war against France. He told her that, if she would not do this, he would go away from England and never see her again. Mary yield- ed ; but at length, harassed and worn down with useless regrets and repinings, her mental suf ferings are supposed to have shortened her days She died miserably a few years after her mar- riage, and thus the Spanish match turned out to be a very unfortunate match indeed. lOO QUEEN LLIZABETR. [1554 ilHlnlfi position. LHitimacy of Mary and EUaabeth'i Mrtk CHAPTER V. ELIZABETH IN THE TOWEK. fflHE imprisonment 01 l^ueen Elizabeth in L the Tower, which was briefly alluded to in the last chapter, deserves a more full narration than was possible to give to it there. She had re- tired from court some time before the difficulties about the Spanish match arose. It is true that she took sides with Mary in the contest with Northumberland and the friends of Jane Grey, and she shared her royal sister's triumph in the pomp and parade of the coronation ; but, after all, she and Mary could not pos^ioly be very good friends. The marriages of their respective moth ere could not both have been valid. Henry the Eighth was so impatient that he could not wail for a divorce from Catharine before he married Anne Boleyn. The only way to make the lat- ter marriage legal, therefore, was to consider th* former one null and void from the beginning , and if the former one was not thus null and void, the latter must be so. If Henry had waited for a divorce, then both marriages might have been 554. t KLIZABETH IN THE Towen. 101 Vary and Elizabeth'* difference*. Courteney's long Imprisonment valid, each for the time of its own continuance, end both the princesses might have been lawful heirs ; but as it was, neither of them could maintain her own claims to be considered a law- fa! daughter, without denying, by implication at least, those of the other. They were there- fore, as it were, natural enemies. Though they might be outwardly civil to each other, it was not possible that there could be any true har- mony or frnnlship between them. A circumstance occurred, too, soon after Mary's accession to the throne, which result- ed in openly alienating the feelings of the two ladies from each other. There was a certain prisoner in the Tower of London, a gentleman of high rank and great consideration, named Courteney, now about twenty-six years of age, who had been imprisoned in the Tower by King Henry the Eighth when he was only twelve fears old, on account of some political offenses f his father ! He had thus been a close pii*. *ner for fourteen years at Mary's accession ; but Mary released him. It was found, when he re- turned to society again, that he had employed his solitary hours in cultivating his mind, ac- quiring knowledge, and availing himself of all the opportunities for improvement which hi* 102 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1554. Mary 's attentions to Courteney. Courteney's attentions to Elizabeth. situation afforded, and that lie came forth an intelligent, accomplished, and very agreeable man. The interest which his appearance and manners excited was increased by the sympa- thy naturally felt for the sufferings that he had endured. In a word, he became a general favor- ite. The rank of his family was high enough for Mary to think of him for her husband, for this was before the Spanish match was thought of. Mary granted him a title, and large estates, and showed him many other favors, and, as every body supposed, tried very hard to make an impression on his heart. Her efforts were, however, vain. Courteney gave an obvious pref- erence to Elizabeth, who was young then, at least, if not beautiful. This successful rivalry on the part of her sister filled the queen's heart with resentment and envy, and she exhibited her chagrin by so many little marks of neglect and incivility, that Elizabeth's resentment was roused in its turn, and she asked permission to retire from court to her residence in the coun- try. Mary readily gave the permission, and thus it happened that when Wyatt's rebellion first broke out, as described in the last chapter, Elizabeth was living in retirement and seclu- sion at Ashridge, an estate of hers at some dis- 1554.] ELIZABETH IN THE TOWER. 103 Mary's plan to get Elizabeth In her power. Elizabeth'* warlneM. tance west of London. As to Courteney, Mar? found some pretext or other foi sending him back again to his prison in the Tower. Mary was immediately afraid that the mal- eontents would join with Elizabeth and attempt to put forward her name and her claims to the crown, which, if they were to do, it would make their movement very formidable. She was im- pressed immediately with the idea that it was of great importance to get Elizabeth back again into her power. The most probable way of succeeding in doing this, she thought, was to write her a kind and friendly letter, inviting her to return. She accordingly wrote such a letter She said in it that certain evil-disposed persons were plotting some disturbances in the kingdom, and that she thought that Elizabeth was not safe where she was. She urged her, therefore, to return, saying that she should be truly wel- come, and should be protected against all dan- ger if she would come. An invitation from a queen is a command, ind Elizabeth would have felt bound to obey this summons, but she was sick when it came. At least she was not well, and she was not much disposed to underrate her sickness for th take of being able to travel on this occasion. 104 <4,UEEN ELIZABETH. [I.' ... Wymtt MCMM EtiMbeth. HOT wixmr*. The officers of her household made out a formal certificate to the effect that Elizabeth was not able to undertake such a journey. In the mean time Wyatt's rebellion broke oot; he marched to London, was entrapped there and taken prisoner, as is related at length in the last chapter. In his confessions he im- plicated the Princess Elizabeth, and also Courte- ney, and Mary's government then determined that they must sec 'lie Elizabeth's person at all events, sick or well. They sent, therefore, three gentlemen as commissioners, with a troop of horse to attend them, to bring her to London. They Berried the queen's litter with them, to bring tho princess upon it in case she should be f and unable to travel in any other way. Thr party arrived at Ashridge at ten o'clock at night They insisted on being admitted at on5e into the chamber of Elizabeth, and there thy made known their errand. Elizabeth wa te; :< ied; she begged not to be moved, as she *ra really too sick to go. They called in seme :i ysioians, who certified that she could be moved wi hout danger to her life. The next morning th< v ut her upon the litter, a sort of covered bed, formed like a palanquin, and borne, like a palanquin, by men. It was twenty-nine miles 1654.] ELIZABETH lit THE TOWER. 105 Elizabeth borne in a Utter. She it examined end reloMed. to London, and it took the party four days to reach the city, they moved so slowly. This cir- cumstance is mentioned sometimes as showing how sick Elizabeth must have been. But the feet is, there was no reason whatever for any haste. Elizabeth was now completely in Mary's power, and it could make no possible difference how long she was upon the road. The litter cassed along the roads in great state. Jt was a princess that they were bear- ing. As they approached London, a hundred men in handsome uniforms went before, and an equal number followed. A great many people came out from the city to meet the princess, as a token of respect. This displeased Mary, but it could not well be prevented or punished. On their arrival they took Elizabeth to one of the palaces at Westminster, called Whitehall. She was examined by Mary's privy council. Noth- ing was proved against her, and, as the rebellion seemed now wholly at an end, she was at length released, and thus ended her first durance as a political prisoner. It happened, however, that other persons im- plicated in Wyatt's plot, when examined, made charges against Elizabeth in respect to it, and Queen Mary sent ancther force and arrested 106 QCEEN ELIZABETH. [1554 EliMbeth #*! arrectad. Bar tatter to Mry her again. She was taken now to a famoua royal palace, called Hampton Court, which Ls situated on the Thames, a few miles above the city. She brought many of the officers of her household and of her personal attendants with her ; but one of the queen's ministers, accom- panied by two other officers, came soon after, and dismissed all her own attendants, and placed persons in the service of the queen in their place. They also set a guard around the palace, and then left the princess, for the night, a close prisoner, and yet without any visible signs of coercion, for all these guards might be guards of honor. The next day some officers came again, and told her that it had been decided to send her to the Tower, and that a barge was ready at the river to convey her. She was very muoh agi- tated and alarmed, and begged to be allowed to serd a letter to her sister before they took her a^ay. One of the officers insisted that she ahould have the privilege, and the other that she shiiuld not. The former conquered in the contest, and Elizabeth wrote the letter and sent it. It contained an earnest and solemn disavow- al of all participation in the plots which she had been charged with encouraging, and begged 1554.] ELIZABETH IN THE TOWER. 107 Situation of the Tower. The Traitors' Gate. Mary to believe that she was innocent, and al- low her to be released. The letter did no good. Elizabeth was tak- en into the barge and conveyed in a very pri- vate manner down the river. Hampton Court is above London, several miles, and the Tower is just below the city. There are several en- trances to this vast castle, some of them by stairs from the river. Among these is one by which prisoners accused of great political crimes were usually taken in, and which is called the Traitors' Gate. There was another entrance, also, from the river, by which a more honorable admission to the fortress might be attained. The Tower was not solely a prison. It was often a place of retreat for kings and queens from any sudden danger, and was frequently occupied by them as a somewhat permanent residence. There were a great number of structures with- in the walls, in some of which royal apartments were fitted up with great splendor. Elizabeth had often been in the Tower as a resident or a visitor, and thus far there was nothing in the circumstances of the case to forbid the supposi- tion that they might be taking her there as a guest or resident now. She was anxious and uneasy, it is true, but she was not certain that she was regarded as a prisoner. 108 t^uEEN ELIZABETH. (1&54 CttMbeth cooTeyed to the Tower. She la landed at the Traitors' Gate In the mean time, the barge, with the otnei boats in attendance, passed down the river in the rain, for it was a stormy day, a circum- stance which aided the authorities in their ef- fort to convey their captive to her gloomy pris- n without attracting the attention of the pop- ulace. Besides, it was the day of some great religious festival, when the people were gener- ally in the churches. This day had been cho- sen on that very account. The barge and the boats came down the river, therefore, without attracting much attention ; they approached the landing-place at last, and stopped at the flight of steps leading up from the water to the Trai- tors' Irate. Elizabeth declared that she was no traitor, and that she would not be landed there. Th nobleman who had charge of her told her sim- ply, in reply, that she could not have her choice of a place to land. At the same time, he offered hei his cloak to protect her from the rain in pass- bag from the barge to the castle gate. Umbrel- las had not been invented in those days. Elia- abeth threw the cloak away from her in vexa- tion and anger. She found, however, that it wa* of no use to resist. She could not choose. &he stepped from the barge out upon the stain 1554.] ELIZABETH iff THE TOWEF 109 KBnbrth't reception &t the Tower. Her vnwilliagneM to en*> in the rain, saying, as she did so, " Here landi as true and faithful a subject as ever landed prisoner at these stairs. Before thee, O God, I speak it, having now no friends but thee alone." A large company of the warders and keepers of the castle had been drawn up at the Traitors' Gate to receive her, as was customary on occa- sions when prisoners of high rank were to en- ter the Tower. As these men were always dressed in uniform of a peculiar antique char- acter, such a parade of them made quite an im- posing appearance. Elizabeth asked what it meant. Tht>y told her that that was the cu- tomary mode ol receiving a prisoner. She said that if it was, she hoped that they would dis- pense with the ceremony in her case, and ask- ed that, for her sake, the men might be dismiss- ed from such attendance in so inclement a sea- son. The men blessed her for her goodness, and kneeled down and prayed that God would pre terve her. She was extremely unwilling to go into tb prison. As they approached the part of the ed- ifice where she was to be confined, through the court-yard of the Tower, she stopped and sat down upon a stone, perhaps a step, or the curb tone of a walk. The lieutenant urged her to 110 QUEEN ELIZABETH [1554. EUttbodTi ln Keconcilatlon between Eliaabeth and Mary. Elizabeth'* releue. renewal of friendship, and soon afterward the long period of restraint and confinement was ended, and the princess returned to her own es- tate at Hatfield in Hertfordshire, where she lived some time in seclusion, devoting herself, ir. a great measure, to the study of Latin and Greek, under the instructions of Roger Ascham. 120 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [556 Miry uuluppy rein. Unrequited IOT CHAPTER VI. ACCESSION TO THE THRONE TF it were the story of Mary instead of that " of Elizabeth that we were following, we should have now to pause and draw a very melancholy pioture of the scenes which dark- ened the close of the queen's unfortunate and unnappy history. Mary loved her husband, but she could not secure his love in return. He treated her with supercilious coldness and neg- lect, and evinced, from time to time, a degree of interest in other ladies which awakened her jealousy and anger. Of all the terrible convul- sions to which the human soul is subject, there is not one wb'ch agitates it more deeply than the tumult of feeling produced by the mingling of resentment and love. Such a mingling, or, rather, such a conflict, between passions appa- lently inconsistent with each other, is generally considered not possible by those who have nevei experienced it. But it is possible. It is possi ble to be stung with a sense of the ingratitude, and selfishness, and cruelty of an object, which, 1555.] ACCESSION TO THE THRONE. 121 Vary's suffering*. Her religions principle*. after all, the heart will persist in clinging to with the fondest affection. Vexation and anger, a burning sense of injury, and desire for revenge, on the one hand, and feelings of love, resistless and uncontrollable, and bearing, in their turn, all before them, alternately get possession of the soul, harrowing and devastating it in their aw- ful conflict, and even sometimes reigning over it, for a time, in a temporary but dreadful calm, like that of two wrestlers who pause a moment, exhausted in a mortal combat, but grappling each other with deadly energy all the time, while they are taking breath for a renewal of the conflict. Queen Mary, in one of these par- oxysms, seized a portrait of her husband and tore it into shreds. The reader, who has his or her experience in affairs of the heart yet to come, will say, perhaps, her love for him then must have been all gone. No ; it was at its h sight. We do not tear the portraits of those who are indifferent to us. At the beginning of her reign, and, in fact, during all the previous periods of her life, Mary had been an honest and conscientious Catholic. She undoubtedly truly believed that the Chris- tian Church ought to be banded together in one great communion, with the Pope of Rome as its 122 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1555 riugiMi of Maiy*! Ctholie ieL Her moderation at ftnt spiritual head, and that her father had broken away from this communion which was, in fact, strictly true merely to obtain a pretext for get- ting released from her mother. How naturaJ, under such circumstances, that she should have desired to return. She commenced, immediately on her accession, a course of measures to bring the nation back to the Roman Catholic com- munion. She managed very prudently and cautiously at first especially while the affair of her marriage was pending seemingly very ^irous of doing nothing to exasperate those nrho were of the Protestant faith, or even to awaken their opposition. After she was mar- ried, however, her desire to please her Catholic husband, and his widely-extended and influential circle of Catholic friends on the Continent, made her more eager to press forward the work of putting down the Reformation in England ; and as her marriage was now effected, she was less concerned about the consequences of any oppo- sition which she might excite. Then, besides, her temper, never very sweet, was sadly soured by her husband's treatment of her. She vent- ed her ill will upon those who would not yield to her wishes in respect to their religious faith. She caused more and more severe laws to be 123 Mary*! terrible persecution of the Protestants. Burning at the itekd. passed, and enforced them by more and more severe penalties. The more she pressed these violent measures, the more the fortitude and res- guidon of those who suffered from them were aroused. And, on the other hand, the more they resisted, the more determined she became that she would compel them to submit. She went on from one mode of coercion to another, until she reached the last possible point, and inflicted the most dreadful physical suffering which it is possible for man to inflict upon his fellow-man. This worst and most terrible injury is to burn the living victim in a fire. That a woman could ever order this to be done would seem to be in- credible. Queen Mary, however, and her gov- ernment, were so determined to put down, at all hazards, all open disaffection to the Catho- lic cause, that they did not give up the contest until they had burned nearly three hundred per- sons by fire, of whom more than fifty were wom- en, and four were children I This horrible per- secution was, however, of no avail. Dissen- tients increased faster than they could be burn- ed ; and such dreadful punishments became at last so intolerably udious to the nation that they were obliged to desist, and then the various 124 QCEEN ELIZABETH. [1537 The tttto of Moody (Iren to tiu-j. Mary and Elizabeth reooMOMi ministers of state concerned in them attempt- ed to throw off the blame upon each other. The English nation have never forgiven Mary foi these atrocities. They gave her the name of Bloody Mary at the time, and she has retained it to the present day. In one of the ancient hi- tories of the realm, at the head of the chapter devoted to Mary, there is placed, as an appro- priate emblem of the character of her reign, the picture of a man writhing helplessly at a stake, with the flames curling around him, and a fe- rocious-looking soldier standing by, stirring up the fire. The various disappointments, vexations, and trials which Mary endured toward the close of her life, had one good effect ; they softened the animosity which she had felt toward Elizabeth, and in the end something like a friendship seem- ad to spring up between the sisters. Abandon- ed by her husband, and looked upon with dis- like or hatred by her subjects, and disappointed in all her plans, she seemed to turn at last to Elizabeth for companionship and comfort. The sisters visited each other. First Elizabeth went to London to visit the queen, and was received with great ceremony and parade. Then the queen went to Hatfield to visit the princess, at- 1557.] ACCESSION TO THE THRSNE. 125 Bceoea of fertiTfty. The wv with Fnao tended by a large company of ladies and gentle- men of the court, and several day* were spent there in festivities and rejoicings. There were plays in the palace, and a bear-bailing in the *>urt-yard, and hunting in the park, and many uthcr schemes of pleasure. This renewal of friendly intercourse between the queen and the princess brought the latter gradually out of her retirement Now that the queen began to evince a friendly spirit toward her, it was safe for oth- ers to show her kindness and to pay her atten tion. The disposition tc do this increased rap- idly as Mary's health gradually declined, and it began to be understood that she would not live long, and that, consequently, Elizabeth would soon be called to the throne. The war which Mary had been drawn into with France, by Philip's threat that he would never see her again, proved very disastrous. The town of Calais, which is opposite to Dover, across the straits, and, of course, on the French wde of the channel, had been in the possession of the English for two hundred years. It was very gratifying to English pride to hold posses- sion of such a stronghold on the French shore; but now every thing seemed to go against Mary, was defended by a citadel nearly as large 126 <4uEEN ELIZABETH. [1558 L ef CalaU. Murmur* at the EtgBak as the town itself, and was deemed impregna- ble. In addition to this, an enormous English force was concentrated there. The French gen eral, however, contrived, partly by stratagem, and partly by overpowering numbers of troops, and ships, and batteries of cannon, to get pos- session of the whole. The English nation were indignant at this result. Their queen and her government, so energetic in imprisoning and burning her own subjects at home, were pow- erless, it seemed, in coping with their enemies abroad. Murmurs of dissatisfaction were heard every where, and Mary sank down upon her sick bed overwhelmed with disappointment, vex- ation, and chagrin. She said that she should die, and that if, after her death, they examined her body, they would find Calais like a loatf upon her heart In the mean time, it must have been Eliza- beth's secret wish that she would die, sinoe her death would release the princess from all the embarrassments and restraints of her position, and raise her at once to the highest pinnacle of honor and power. She remained, now ever, quietly at Hatfield, acting in all things in a very discreet and cautious manner. At one time she received proposals from the King o 1557.] ACCESSION TO THE THRONE. 127 Ung of Swedan'i propoasl to Elisabeth. Marjr't energy Sweden that she would accept of his son as her husband. She asked the embassador if he had communicated the affair to Mary. On his re- plying that he had not, EJbzabeth said that she could not entertain at all any such question, unless her sister were first consulted and should give her approbation. She acted on the same principles in every thing, being very cautious to give Mary a'nd her government no cause of complaint against her, and willing to wait pa- tiently until her own time should come. Though Mary's disappointments and losses filled her mind with anguish and suffering, they did not soften her heart. She seemed to grow more cruel and vindictive the more her plans and projects failed. Adversity vexed and irri- tated, instead of calming and subduing her She revived her persecutions of the Protest- ants. She fitted out a fleet of a hundred and twenty ships to make a descent upon the French coast, and attempt to retrieve her fallen fortunes there. She called Parliament together and ask- ed for more supplies. All this time she was confined to her sick chamber, but not considered in danger. The Parliament were debating the question of supplies. Her privy council were holding daily meetings to carry out the plant 128 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1558 Mary'i prlrj council alarmed Their perplexity and schemes which she still continued to form, and all was excitement and bustle in and around the court, when one day the council was thun- derstruck by an announcement that she wa dying. They knew very well that her death would be a terrible blow to them. They were all Catholics, and had been Mary's instruments in the terrible persecutions with which she had oppressed the Protestant faith. With Mary's death, of course they would fall. A Protestant princess was ready, at HatfielJ, to ascend the throne. Every thing would be changed, and there was even danger that they might, in their turn, be sent to the stake, in retaliation for the cruelties which they had caused others to suffer. They made arrangements to have Mary's death, whenever it should take place, concealed for a few hours, till they could consider what they should do. There was nothing that they could do. There Was now no other considerable claimant to the throne but Elizabeth, except Mary Queen of Soot*, who was far away in France. She was a Catholic, it was true ; but to bring her into the country and place her upon the throne eemed to be a hopeless undertaking. Queen 1558.] ACCESSION TO THE THRONE. CaeerUintj about Klixabeth's future course. Her canflon* policy Mary's counselors soon found that they must give up their cause in despair. Any attempt to resist Elizabeth's claims would be high trea- son, and, of course, if unsuccessful, would bring the heads of all concerned in it to the block. Besides, it was not certain that Elizabeth wauld act decidedly as a Protestant. She had been very prudent and cautious during Mary's reign, and had been very careful never to man- ifest any hostility to the Catholics. She never had acted as Mary had done on the occasion of her brother's funeral, when she refused even to countenance with her presence the national service because it was under Protestant forms. Elizabeth had always accompanied Mary to mass whenever occasion required ; she had al- ways spoken respectfully of the Catholic faith ; and once she asked Mary to lend her some Cath- olic books, in order that she might inform her- self more fully on the subject of the principles of the Roman faith. It is true, she acted thus not because there was any real leaning in hei mind toward the Catholic religion ; it was all merely a wise and sagao ous policy. Surround- ed by difficulties and dangers as she was dur- ing Mary's reign, her only hope of safety was in passing as quietly as possible along, and man* 269 130 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1558. Death of Mary. Announcement to Parliament aging warily, so as to keep the hostility which was burning secretly against her, from break ng out into an open flame. This was her ob- ct in retiring so much from the court and from *U participation in public affairs, in avoiding all religions and political contests, and spending her time in the study of Greek, and Latin, and philosophy. The consequence was, that when Mary died, nobody knew certainly what course Elizabeth would pursue. Nobody had any strong motive for opposing her succession. The council, therefore, after a short consultation, con- cluded to do nothing but simply to send a mes- sage to the House of Lords, announcing to them the unexpected death of the queen. The House of Lords, on receiving this intel- ligence, sent for the Commons to come into their hall, as is usual when any important commu- nication is to be made to them either by the Lords themselves or by the sovereign. The chancellor, who is the highest civil officer of the kingdnm in respect to rank, and who p esidet ! n the House of Lords, clothed in a magnificent intique costume, then rose and announced to the Commons, standing before him, the death Df the sovereign. There was a moment's sol- emn pause, such as propriety on the occasion of 1558.J ACCESSION TO THE THRONE. 131 Elizabeth proclaimed. Joy of the people. an announcement like this required, all thought* being, too, for a moment turned to the chambei where the body of the departed queen was ly- ing. But the sovereignty was no longer there The mysterious principle had fled with the part- Jng breath, and Elizabeth, though wholly un- conscious of it, had been for several hours the queen. The thoughts, therefore, of the august and solemn assembly lingered but for a moment in the royal palace, which had now lost all its glory ; they soon turned spontaneously, and with eager haste, to the new sovereign at Hatfield, and the lofty arches of the Parliament hall rung with loud acclamations, " God save Queen Eliz- abeth, and grant her a long and happy reign." The members of the Parliament went forth immediately to proclaim the new queen. There are two principal places where it was then cus- tomary to proclaim the English sovereigns. One if these was before the royal palace at West- minster, and the other in the city of London, it a very public place called the Great Cross it Cheapside. The people assembled in great crowds at these points to witness the ceremony, and received the announcement which the her- aids made, with the most ardent expressions of y. The bells w b ratified by th 1560.] THE WAR IN SCOTLAND. 159 Stipulations of the treaty. Mary refuses to ratify U. respective queen*. Queen Elizabeth's forces and the French forces were then both, as the treaty provided, immediately withdrawn. The lispute, too, between the Protestants and the Catholics in Scotland was also settled, though rt is not necessary for our purpose in this nar- rative to explain particularly in what way. There was one point, however, in the stipula- tions of this treaty which is of essential import- ance in this narrative, and that is, that it waa agreed that Mary should relinquish all claims whatever to the English crown so long as Eliz- abeth lived. This, in fact, was the essential point in the whole transaction. Mary, it is true, was not present to agree to it; but the commissioners agreed to it in her name, and it was stipulated that Mary should solemnly ratify the treaty as soon as it could be sent to her. But Mary would not ratify it at least so far as this last article was concerned. She said that she had no intention of doing any thing to moiest Elizabeth in her possession of the throne, but that as to herself, whatever rights might legally and justly belong to her, she could not consent to sign them away. The other articles of the treaty had, however, in the mean time, brought the vrar to a close, and both the Frenck 160 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560 Death of Miry'i hu*band. She retumi to Scotland and English armies were withdrawn. Neithei party had any inclination to renew the conflict ; but yet, so far as the great question between Mary and Elizabeth was concerned, the diffi- unlty was as far from being settled as ever. In feet, it was in a worse position than before ; for, in addition to her other grounds of complaint against Mary, Elizabeth now charged her with dishonorably refusing to be bound by a compact which had been solemnly made in her name, by agents whom she had fully authorized to make it It was about this time that Mary's husband, the King of France, died, and, after enduring various trials and troubles in France, Mary con- cluded to return to her own realm. She sent to Elizabeth to get a safe-conduct a sort of permission allowing her to pass unmolested through the English seas. Elizabeth refused to grant it unless Mary would first ratify the treaty of Edinburgh. This Mary would not do, but undertook, rather, to get home without the permission. Elizabeth sent ships to intercept her ; but Mary's little squadron, when they ap- proached the shore, were hidden by a fog, and o she got safe to land. After this there was quiet between Mary and Elizabeth for many rears, but no peace. 1560.] ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. 161 Clitmanti to tb* throoe. General chancier of EHs*beth'i raifa CHAPTER VIII. ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. j^LIZABETH was now securely establisheo -^ upon her throne. It is true that Mary Queen of Scots had not renounced her preten- sions, but there was no immediate prospect of her making any attempt to realize them, and very little hope for her that she would be suc- cessful, if she were to undertake it. There were other claimants, it is true, but their claims were more remote and doubtful than Mary's. These conflicting pretensions were likely to make the country some trouble after Elizabeth's death, but there was very slight probability that they would sensibly molest Elizabeth's possession of the throne during her lifetime, though they caused her no little anxiety. The reign which Elizabeth thus commenced was one of the longest, most brilliant, and, n many respects, the most prosperous in the whole series presented to our view in the long succes- sion of English sovereigns. Elizabeth contin Mod a queen for forty-five years, during all which 2611 162 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560 Elisabeth i miton. Their motto* time she remained a single lady ; and she died, %t last, a venerable maiden, seventy years of age, It was not for want of lovers, or, rather, of admirers and suitors, that Elizabeth lived single all her days. During the first twenty years of her reign, one half of her history is a history of matrimonial schemes and negotiations. It seem- ed as if all the marriageable princes and poten- tates of Europe were seized, one after another, with a desire to share her seat upon the English throne. They tried every possible means to win her consent. They dispatched embassa- dors ; they opened long negotiations ; they sent her ship-loads of the most expensive presents : some of the nobles of high rank in her own realm expended their vast estates, and reduced them- selves to poverty, in vain attempts to please her. Elizabeth, like any other woman, loved these attentions They pleased her vanity, and grat- ttted those instinctive impulses of the female heart by which woman is fitted for happiness and love. Elizabeth encouraged the hopes of those who addressed her sufficiently to keef them from giving up in despair and abandoning her And in one or two cases she seemed tr oorue very near yielding. But it always hap pened that, when the time arrived in which 1560.] ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. 163 Philip of Spain proposes. HU strange conduct final decision must be made, ambition and de- sire of power proved stronger than love, and she preferred continuing to occupy her lofty position lay herself, alone. Philip of Spain, the husband of her sistei Mary, was the first of these suitors. He had seen Elizabeth a good deal in England during his residence there, and had even taken her part in her difficulties with Mary, and had ex- erted his influence to have her released from her confinement. As soon as Mary died and Elizabeth was proclaimed, one of her first acts was, as was very proper, to send an embassa- dor to Flanders to inform the bereaved husband of his loss. It is a curious illustration of the degree and kind of affection that Philip had borne to his departed wife, that immediately on receiving intelligence of her death by Elizabeth's embassador, he sent a special dispatch to his own embassador in London to make a proposal to Elizabeth to take him for her husband ! Elizabeth decided very soon to decline this proposal. She had ostensible reasons, and real reasons for this. The chief ostensible reason was, that Philip was so inveterately hated by all the English people, and Elizabeth was ex* tremely desirous of being popular. She relied 164 QL-KKN ELIZABKTH. [1560 Kttubeth deelinet Phlllp'i prepoML Her reMoo* for *o doinfl solely on the loyalty and faithfulness of her Prot- estant subjects to maintain her rights to the sue- cession, and she knew that if she displeased them by such an unpopular Catholic marriage, ker reliance upon them must be very much weakened. They might even abandon her en- tirely. The reason, therefore, that she assigned publicly was, that Philip was a Catholic, and that the connection could not, on that account, be agreeable to the English people. Among the real reasons was one of a very peculiar nature. It happened that there was an objection to her marriage with Philip simi- lar to the one urged against that of Henry with Catharine of Aragon. Catharine had been tho wife of Henry's brother. Philip had been tho husband of Elizabeth's sister. Now Philip had offered to procure the pope's dispensation, by which means this difficulty would be surmount- ed. But then all the world would say, that if this dispensation could legalize the latter mar- riage, the former must have been legalized by it, and this would destroy the marriage of Anne Boleyn, and with it all Elizabeth's claims to the ftuooession. She could not, then, marry Philip, without, by the very act, effectually undermin- ing all her own rights to the throne. She wa 1500.] ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. 166 The English people wiah Elizabeth to bo married. far too subtle and wary to stumble into such a pitfat as that. Elizabeth rejected this and some other offers, aud one or two years passed away. In the mean time, the people of the country, though they had no wish to have her marry such a stern and heartless tyrant as Philip of Spain, were very uneasy at the idea of her not being married at all. Her life would, of course, in due time, come to an end, and it was of im- mense importance to the peace and happiness of the realm that, after her death, there should be no doubt about the succession. If she were to be married and leave children, they would succeed to the throne without question ; but if she were to die single and childless, the result would be, they feared, that the Catholics would espouse the cause of Mary Queen of Scots, and the Protestants that of some Protestant descend- ant of Henry VII., and thus the country be in- volved in all the horrors of a protracted civil war. The House of Commons in those days was a very humble council, convened to discuss and settle mere internal and domestic affairs, and standing at a vast distance from the splendoi and power of royalty, to which it looked up with the profoundest reverence and awe. The Com- 166 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560 Ncttkm of the ParlluMt ElUmbeth'i " fndont" reply monv, at the close of one of their sessions, ven- tured, in a very timid and cautious manner, to end a petition to the queen, urging her to con- sent, for the sake of the future peace of the realm, and th" welfare of her subjects, to accept of a husband. Few single persons are offended at a recommendation of marriage, if properly offered, from whatever quarter it may come. The queen, in this instance, returned what was called a very gracious reply. She, however, very decidedly refused the request. She said that, as they had been very respectful in the form of their petition, and as they had confined it to general terms, without presuming to sug- gest either a person or a time, she would not take offense at their well-intended suggestion, but that she had no design of ever being mar- ried. At her coronation, she was married, she said, to her people, and the wedding ring was upon her finger still. Her people were the ob- jects of all her affection and regard. She should never have any other spouse. She said she honld be well contented to have it engraved upon her tomb-stone, " Here lies a qn^en wtv> lived and died a virgin." This answer silenced the Common*, but it did not settle the question in the public mind 1560.] ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. 16? BUabeth attacked with the nnafl-pox Aim at the enatry Cases often oootir of ladies saying very positive- ly that they shall never consent to be married, and yet afterward altering their minds; and many ladies, knowing how frequently this takes place, sagaciously conclude that, whatever se- cret resolutions they may form, they will be si- lent about them, lest they get into a position from which it will be afterward awkward to re- treat. The princes of the Continent and the nobles of England paid no regard to Elizabeth's declaration, but continued to do all in their pow- er to obtain her hand. One or two years afterward Elizabeth was attacked with the small-pox, and for a time was dangerously sick, in iact, for some days her life was despaired of, and the country was thrown into a great state of confusion and dismay. Par- ties began to form the Catholics for Mary Queen of Soots, and the Protestants for the fam- ily of Jane Grey. Every thing portended a dreadful contest Elizabeth, however, recov- ered ; but the country had been so much alarm* ed at their narrow escape, that Parliament ven- tured once more to address the queen on the subject of her marriage. They begged that she would either consent to that measure, or, if she was finally determined not to do that, that shr 168 QuBKif ELIZABETH. [1560 Tto E*rt of LekMtoi. HU ehanetnr would cause a law to be passed, or an edict to oe promulgated, deciding beforehand who was really to succeed to the throne in the event of ner deooase. Elizabeth would not do either. Historian* have speculated a great deal upon her motives ; all that is certain is the fact, she would not do jither. But, though Elizabeth thus resisted all the plans formed for giving her a husband, she had, in her own court, a famous personal favorite, who has always been considered as in some ense her lover. His name was originally Rob- ert Dudley, though she made him Earl of Lei- cester, and he is commonly designated in histo- ry by this latter name. He was a son of the Duke of Northumberland, who was the leader of the plot for placing Lady Jane Grey upon the throne in the time of Mary. He was a very elegant and accomplished man, and young, though already married. Elizabeth advanced him to high offices and honors very early in her reign, and kept him much at court She made him her Master of Horse, but she did not be- stow upon him much real power. Cecil waa ner great counselor and minister of state. Ho was a oool, sagacious, wary man, entirely de- POBTBAIT OF TH* E*.L OF LBIOBSTBB. 1560.] ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. of Ocll EUaaiMth'i attachment to Leicester voted to Elizabeth's interests, and to the glory and prosperity of the realm. He was at this time, as has already been stated, forty years of age, thirteen or fourteen years older than Eliz- abeth. Elizabeth showed great sagacity in se- lecting such a minister, and great wisdom in keeping him in power so long. He remained in her service all his life, and died at last, only a few years before Elizabeth, when he was near- ly eighty years of age. Dudley, on the other hand, was just about Elizabeth's own age. In fact, it is said by some of the chronicles of the times that he was born on the same day and hour with her. However this may be, he became a great personal favor- ite, and Elizabeth evinced a degree and kind of attachment to him which subjected her to a great deal of censure and reproach. She could not be thinking of him for her hus- band, it would seem, for he was already mar- ried. Just about this time, however, a myste- rious circumstance occurred, which produced a great deal of excitement, and has ever since marked a very important era in the history of Leicester and Elizabeth's attachment. It was the sudden and rery singular death of Leices- ter's wife. 172 (^UBEN ELIZABETH. [1560 ' wife. Her AjntarioM death. Leicester had, among his other estates, a lonely mansion in Berkshire, about fifty miles jrest of London. It was called Cumnor House. Leicester's wife was sent there, no one knew why; she went under the charge of a gentle- man who was one of Leicester's dependents, and entirely devoted to his will. The house, too, was occupied by a man who had the character of being ready for any deed which might be re quired of him by his master. The name of Leicester's wife was Amy Robesart. In a short time news came to London that the unhappy woman was killed by a fall down stairs ! The instantaneous suspicion darted at once into every one's mind that she had been murdered. Rumors circulated all around the place where the death had occurred that she had been murdered. A conscientious clergy- man of the neighborhood sent an account of the case to London, to the queen's ministers, star ing the facts, and urging the queen to order ai investigation of the affair, but nothing was ever done. It has accordingly been the general be lief of mankind since that time, that the un- principled courtier destroyed his wife in the *ain hope of becoming afterward the husband o' the queen 1560.] ELIZABKTH'S LOVBRS. 173 Leicester hated by the people. Variotu nnnon. The people of England were greatly incensed at this transaction. They had hated Leicester before, and they hated him now more inveterate- ly still. Favorites are very generally hated ; royal favorites always. He, however, grew more and more intimate with the queen, and every body feared that he was going to be her hus- band. Their conduct was watched very close- ly by all the great world,, and, as is usual in such cases, a thousand circumstances and oc- currences were reported busily from tongue to tongue, which the actors in them doubtless sup- posed passed unobserved or were forgotten. One night, for instance, Queen Elizabeth, having supped with Dudley, was going home in her chair, lighted by torch - bearers. At the present day, all London is lighted brilliantly at midnight with gas, and ladies go home from their convivial and pleasure assemblies in lux- urious carriages, in which they are rocked gen- tly along through broad and magnificent ave- nues, as bright, almost, as day. Then, how- ever, it was very different. The lady was borne slowly along through narrow, and dingy, and dangerous streets, witJr % train of torches before and behind her, dispelling the darkness a moment with their glare, and then leaving it x74 QJKKN ELIZABETH. [1560. fb torch-light conrrMtlon. The orrmnU qnarntl more deep and somber than ever. On the night of which we are speaking, Elizabeth, feeling in good humor, began to talk with some of the torch-bearers on the way. They were Dudley's men, and Elizabeth began to praise their mas- ter. She said to one of them, among other things, that she was going to raise him to a higher position than an} of his name had ever borne before. Now, as Dudley's father was a duke, which title denotes the highest rank of the English nobility, the man inferred that the queen's meaning was that she intended to mar- ry him, and thus make him a sort of king. The man told the story boastingly to one of" the servants of Lord Arundel, who was also a suit- or of the queen's. The servants, each taking the part of his master in the rivalry, quarreled. Lord Arundel's man said that he wished that Dudley had been hung witn nis father, or else that somebody would shoot him in the street arith a dag. A dag was, in the language of those days, the name for a pistol. Time moved on, and though Leicester seem- ed to become more and more a favorite, the }oian of his being married to Elizabeth, if any uoh were entertained by either paity, appeared *o oome no nearer to an aocommishment. Eli* 1561.] ELIZABETH'S LOVBRS. 175 pUadid style of Byte*. PwhUc m*mmti* abeth lived in great state and splendor, some* times residing in ner palaces in or near London, and sometimes making royal progresses about her dominions. Dudley, together with the other prominent members of her court, accompanied her on these excursions, and obviously enjoyed a very high degree of personal favor. She en- couraged, at the same time, her other suitors, so that on all the great public occasions of state, at the tilts and tournaments, at the plays which, by-the-way, in those days were perform- ed in the churches on all the royal progresses and grand receptions at cities, castles, and uni- versities, the lady queen was surrounded al- ways by royal or noble beaux, who made her presents, and paid her a thousand compliments, and offered her gallant attentions without num- ber all prompted by ambition in the guise of love. They smiled upon the queen with a per- petual sycophancy, and gnashed their teeth se- cretly upon each other with a hatred which, unlike the pretended love, was at least honest and sincere. Leicester was the gayest, most accomplished, and most favored of them all, and the rest accordingly combined and agreed in hating him more than they did each other. Queen Elizabeth, however, never really aV 176 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1561 Eiiabcfh reeommendj Leicester to Mary Qnaea of Scott. mitted that she had any design of making Lei- oester, or Dudley, as he is indiscriminately call- ed, her husband. In fact, at one time she rec- ommended him to Mary Queen of Soots for husband. After Mary returned to Scotland, the two queens were, for a time, on good terms, as professed friends, though they were, in fact, all the time, most inveterate and implacable foes ; but each, knowing how much injury the other might do her, wished to avoid exciting any unnecessary hostility. Mary, particularly, as she found she could not get possession of the English throne during Elizabeth's life-time, concluded to try to conciliate her, in hopes to persuade her to acknowledge, by act of Parlia- ment, her right to the succession after her death. So she used to confer with Elizabeth on the subject of her own marriage, and to ask her advice about it. Elizabeth did not wish to have Mary married at all, and so she always proposed somebody who she knew would be out of the question. She at one time proposed Lei- oeater, and for a time seemed quite in earnest about it, especially so long as Mary seemed averse to it. At length, however, when Mary, in order to test her sincerity, seemed inclined to yield, Elizabeth retreated in her turn, and 1562.] ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. 177 Mary marrUi Dtnley. . Kttiabeth'i rUit to BJwfl wor*. withdrew her proposals. Mary then gave np th hope of satisfying Elizabeth in any way and married Lord Darnley without her consent Elizabeth's regard for Dudley, however, still sun tinned. She made him Earl of Leicester, ml granted him the magnificent castle of Ken- ilworth, with a large estate adjoining and sur- rounding it ; the rents of the lands giving him & princely income, and enabling him to live in almost royal state. Queen Elizabeth visited him frequently in this castle. One of these vis- its is very minutely described by the chroniclers of the times. The earl made the most expens- ive and extraordinary preparations for the re- ception and entertainment of the qusen and her retinue on this occasion. The moat which is a broad canal filled with water surrounding the castle had a floating island upon it, with a fictitious personage whom they called the lady of the lake upon the island, who sung a song in praise of Elizabetn as she passed the bridge. There was also an artificial dolphin swimming upon the water, with a band of musicians with- in it. As the queen advanced across the park, men and women, in strange disguises, came out to meet her, and to offer her salutations and praises. One was dressed as a sibyl, another 2612 178 CiuEEN ELIZABETH. t 1577 L*of*tcr't marriage. EUMbeth (and* him to prlxm like an American savage, and a third, who wai concealed, represented an echo. This visit was continued for nineteen days, and the stories of the splendid entertainments provided foi the company the plays, the bear-baitings, the fire- works, the huntings, the mock rights, the feast- ings and revelries filled all Europe at the time, and have been celebrated by historians and story-tellers ever since. The Castle of Kenilworth is now a very magnificent heap of ruins, and is explored every year by thousand* of visitors from every quarter of the globe. Leicester, if he ever really entertained any serious designs of being Elizabeth's husband at last gave up his hopes, and married anothat woman. This lady had been the wife of tho Earl of Essex. Her husband died very sud- denly and mysteriously just before Leicester married her. Leicester kept the marriage se- cret for some time, and when it came at last to the queen's knowledge she was exceedingly an- gry. She had him arrested and sent to prison. However, she gradually recovered from her fit of resentment, and by degrees restored him to her favor again. Twenty years of Elizabeth's reign thus pass- ed away, and no one of all her suitors had sue* 1577.] ELIZABETH'S LOVEEB. 179 PnprUy of HlMbeth'i relfa. Tta Duke f Aajou eeeded in obtaining her hand. All this time her government had been administered with much sffioiency and power. All Europe had been in great commotion during almost the whole pe- riod, on account of the terrible conflicts which were raging between the Catholics and the Protestants, each party having been doing its utmost to exterminate and destroy the other Elizabeth and her government took part, very frequently, hi these contests ; sometimes by ne- gotiations, and sometimes by fleets and armies, but always sagaciously and cautiously, and gen- erally with great effect. In the mean time, however, the queen, being now forty-five years of age, was rapidly approaching the tune when questions of marriage could no longer be enter- tained. Her lovers, or, rather, her suitors, had, one after another, given up the pursuit, and disappeared from the field. One only seemed at length to remain, on the decision of whose fate the final result of the great question of the queen's marriage seemed to be pending. It was the Duke of Anjou. Ho was a French prince. His brother, who had been the Duke of Anjou before him, was now King Henry HI. of France. His own name was Francis. He was twenty five years younger than Elizabeth, 180 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1581 QKhiriM da MwML 8b propoM* kw MM to KlU.b^b. and he was only seventeen years of age when It was first proposed that he should marry her. Be was then Duke of Alenpon. It was hi* mother's plan. She was the great Catharine ie Medioi, queen of France, and one of the most extraordinary women, for her talents, her man- agement, and her power, that ever lived. Hav- ing one son upon the throne of France, she want- ed the throne of England for the other. The negotiation had been pending fruitlessly for many years, and now, in 1581, it was vigorous- ly renewed. The duke himself, who was at this time a young man of twenty-four or five, began to be impatient and earnest in his suit. There was, in fact, one good reason why he should be so. Elizabeth was forty-eight, and, un- less the match were soon concluded, the time for effecting it would be obviously forever gone by. He had never had an interview with the queen. He had seen pictures of her, however, and he sent an embassador ovei to England to irge his suit; and to convince Elizabeth how umoh he was in love with her charms The aame of this agent was Simier. He was a very polite and accomplished man, and soon earned the art of winning his way to Eliza- beth's favor. Leicester was very jealous of hi* . | ELIZABETH'S LOVERS. 183 HMITI* of the ftrorttef. The bo* success. The two favorites soon imbibed a ter rible enmity for each other. They filled th sourt with their quarrels. The progress of the negotiation, however, went on, the people tak- ing sides very violently, some for and some against the projected marriage. The animosi- ties became exceedingly virulent, until at length Simier's life seemed to be in danger. He said that Leicester had hired one of the guards to assassinate him ; and it is a fact, that one day, as he and the queen, with other attendants, were making an excursion upon the river, a shod, was tired from the shore into the barga The shot did no injury except to wound one of the oarsmen, and frighten all the party pretty thor- oughly. Some thought the shot was aimed at Simier, and others at the queen herself. It was afterward proved, or supposed to be proved, that this shot was the accidental discharge of a gun, without any evil intention whatever. In the mean time, Elizabeth grew more and more interested in the idea of having the young duke for her husband ; and it seemed as if th maidenly resolutions, which had stood then ground so firmly for twenty years, were to be conquered at last. The more, however, she eemed to approach toward a consent to the 194 QVKKII BLIZABKTK. [158L TW poopl* oppOM Ik* mttek The rrngnisnt ooerjpkdod measure, the more did all the officers of her gor- ernment, and the nation at large, oppose it There were, in their minds, two insuperable ob jeotions to tha match. The candidate was i Frenchman, and he was a papist. The coun- cil interceded. Friends remonstrated. The na- tion murmured and threatened. A book was published entitled " The Discovery of a gaping Gulf wherein England is like to be swallowed up by another French marriage, unless the Lord forbid the Bans by letting her see the Sin and Punishment thereof." The author cf it haJ his right hand cut oflj for his punishment. At length, after a series of most extraordi- nary discussions, negotiations, and occurrences, which kept the whole country in a state of great excitement for a long time, the affair was at last all settled. The marriage articles, both political and personal, were all arranged. The nuptials were to be celebrated in six weeks. The duke came over in great state and waa received with all possible pomp and parade Festivals and banquets were arranged without number, and in the most magnificent style, tr do him and his attendants honor. At one cf them, the queen took off a ring from her finger, and put it upon his, in the presence of a gre1 1581.] ELIZABETH'S LOVERS 185 n match brokra C The dake 1 . raff*. assembly, which was the first announcement to the publio that the affair was finally settled. The news spread every where with great rapid* Hy. It produced in England great consterna- tion and distress, but on the Continent it was welcomed with joy, and the great English alli- ance, now so obviously approaching, was cele- brated with ringing of bells, bonfires, and grand illuminations. And yet, notwithstanding all this, as soon aa the obstacles were all removed, and there waa no longer opposition to stimulate the determi- nation of the queen, her heart failed her at last, and she finally concluded that she would not be married, after all She sent for the duke one morning to come and see her. What takes place precisely between ladies and gentlemen when they break off their engagements is not gener ally very publicly known, but the duke came out from this interview in a fit of great vexation and anger. He pullsd off the queen's ring and threw it from him. muttering curses upon the fickleness and faithlessness of women. Still Elizabeth would not admit that the match was broken off. She continued to treat the duke with civility and to pay him many honors. He decided, however, to return to tha 196 QuEEri ELIZABETH. [1581 fbe dak*'* deputu*. Continent. She accompanied him a part of the way to the coast, and took leave of him with many professions of sorrow at the parting, and begged him to come back soon. This he prom- ised to do. but he never returned. He lived ome time afterward in comparative neglect and obscurity, and mankind considered the question of the marriage of Elizabeth as now, at last settled forever. /560-80., PERSONAL CHARACTER. 187 Opinion* of Elizabeth 1 ! character Th* Catholics and Protowtante CHAPTER IX. PERSONAL CHARACTER. "VCANKIND have always been very mneJi *-- divided in opinion in respect to the per- sonal character of Queen Elizabeth, but in one point all have agreed, and that is, that in the management of public affairs she was a wom- an of extraordinary talent and sagacity, com- bining, in a very remarkable degree, a certain cautious good sense and prudence with the most determined resolution and energy. She reigned about forty years, and during almost all that time the whole western part of the Continent of Europe was convulsed with the most terrible conflicts between the Protestant and Catholic parties. The predominance of power was with the Catholics, and was, of course, hostile to Elizabeth. She had, more- over, in the field a very prominent competitor for her throne in Mary Queen of Scots. The foreign Protestant powers were ready to aid thia claimant, and there was, besides, in her own dominions a very powerful interest in her favor 188 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560-80 Partial in England. Klibeth'i wise adminictntlaai The great divisions of sentiment in England, and the energy with which each party struggled against its opponents, produced, at all times, prodigious pressure of opposing forces, which bore heavily upon the safety of the state and of Elizabeth's government, and threatened them with continual danger. The administration of public affairs moved on, during all this time, trembling continually under the heavy shocks it was constantly receiving, like a ship staggering on in a storm, its safety depending on the nice equilibrium between the shocks of the seas, tho pressure of the wind upon the sails, and the weight and steadiness of the ballast below. During all this forty years it is admitted thai Elizabeth and her wise and sagacious minis- ters managed very admirably. They main- tained the position and honor of England, as a Protestant power, with great success ; and the country, during the whole period, made great progress in the arts, in commerce, and in im- provements of every kind. Elizabeth's great* est danger, and her greatest source of solicitude during her whole reign, was from the claims of Mary Queen of Scots. We have already de- scribed the energetic measures which she took at the commencement of her reign to counter 1560-80.] PERSONAL CHARACTER Mary fjimf the English throne. Sho 1< made prisoner by Elizabeth. act and head off, at the outset, these dangerous pretensions. Though these efforts were tri- umphantly successful at the time, still the vic- tory was not final. It postponed, but did not destroy, the danger. Mary continued to claim the English throne. Innumerable plots were oeginning to be formed among the Catholics, in Elizabeth's own dominions, for making her queen. Foreign potentates and powers were watching an opportunity to assist in these plans. At last Mary, on account of internal difficulties in her own land, fled across the frontier into England to save her life, and Elizabeth made her prisoner. In England, to plan or design the dethrone- ment of a monarch is, in a subject, high trea- son. Mary had undoubtedly designed the de- thronement of Elizabeth, and was waiting only an opportunity to accomplish it. Elizabeth, consequently, condemned her as guilty of trea- son, in effect ; and Mary's sole defense against this charge was that she was not a subject. Elizabeth yielded to this plea, when she first found Mary in her power, so far as not to take her life, but she consigned her to a long and w^ary captivity. This, however, onlv made the matter worm 190 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1586 Varloiu plot*. Enentkm of Mary It stimulated the enthusiasm and zeal of all the Catholics in England, to have their leader, and as they believed, their rightful queen, a oaptiv* in the midst of them, and they formed contin- ually the most extensive and most dangerous plots. These plots were discovered and sup- pressed, one after another, each one producing more anxiety and alarm than the preceding. For a time Mary suffered no evil consequences from these discoveries further than an increase of the rigors of her confinement. At last the patience of the queen and of her government was exhausted. A law was passed against treason, expressed in such terms as to include Mary in the liability for its dreadful penalties although she was not a subject, in case of any new transgression ; and when the next case oc- curred, they brought her to trial and condemn- ed her to death. The sentence was executed in the gloomy castle of Fotheringay, where she was then confined. As to the question whether Mary or Eliza- beth had the rightful title to the English crown, it has not only never been settled, but from ita very nature it can not be settled. It is one of those oases in which a peculiar contingency oc- ean which runs beyond the doone and reach 1 586.] PERSONAL CHARACTER. 191 Tha Un possibility of tettling the claim* of Mary and ElUmbeth. all the ordinary principles by which analogous oases are tried, and leads to questions which oan not be decided. As long as a hereditary gnccession goes smoothly on, like a river keep- Ing within its banks, we can decide subordinate and incidental questions which may arise ; but when a case occurs in which we have the om- nipotence of Parliament to set off against the infallibility of the pope the sacred obligations of a will against the equally sacred principles of hereditary succession and when we have, at last, two contradictory actions of the same ul- timate umpire, we find all technical grounds of coming to a conclusion gone. We then, aban- doning these, seek for some higher and more universal principles essential in the nature of things, and thus independent of the will and ac- tion of man to see if they will throw any light on the subject. But we soon find oursel\s a? much perplexed and confounded in this inquiry as we were before. We ask, in beginning th* investigation, What is the ground and nature of the right by which any king or queen suo- oeeds to the power possessed by his ancestors f And we give up in despair, not being able to answer even this first preliminary inquiry. Mankind have not, in their estimate of Bill- 192 QUEEN ELIZABETH 1586 CUMbeth'i duplicity. Her Mhemir^ tr entrap Mary abeth's character, condemned so decidedly the substantial acts which she performed, as the duplicity, the false-heartedness, and the false pretensions which she manifested in perform- ing them. Had she said frankly and openly to Mary before the world, If these schemes for rev- olntionizing England and placing yourself upor the throne continue, your life must be forfeited j my own safety and the safety of the realm ab solutely demand it; and then had fairly, and openly, and honestly executed her threat, man- kind would have been silent on the subject, if they had not been satisfied. But if she had really acted thus, she would not have been Elizabeth. She, in fact, pursued a very differ- ent course. She maneuvered, schemed, and planned ; she pretended to be full of the warm- est affection for her cousin ; she contrived plot after plot, and scheme after scheme, to ensnare her ; and when, at last, the execution took place, in obedience to her own formal and written au- thority, she pretended to great astonishment and ige. She never meant that the sentence should take effect. She filled England, France, and Scotland with the loud expressions of her re- gret, and she punished the agents who had ex- ranted her will. This management was 1560-80-] PJZBSONAL CHABACTEB. 193 lfldn ladle*. Their benevolent spirit. vent the friends of Mary from forming plans of revenge. This was her character in all things. She was famous for her false pretensions and double dealings, and jet, with all her talents and sa- gacity, the disguise she assumed was sometimes so thin and transparent that her assuming it was simply ridiculous. Maiden ladies, who spend their lives, in some respects, alone, often become deeply imbued with a kind and benevolent spirit, which seeks its gratification in relieving the pains and pro- moting tho happiness of all around them. Con- scious that the circumstances which have caused them to lead a single life would secure for them the sincere sympathy and the increased esteem of all who know them, if delicacy and proprie- ty allowed them to be expressed, they feel a strong degree of self-respect, they live happily, and are a continual means of comfort and joy to all around them. This was not so, however, with Elizabeth. She was jealous, petulant, ir- ritable. She envied others the love and the do- mestic enjoyments which ambition forbade her to share, and she seemed to take great pleasure in thwarting and interfering with the plans of others for securing this happins*' 2613 194 quEEN ELIZABETH. (1560-8Q EUaabetb'i MlflihneM and jealousy The maid* of honor. One remarkable instance of this kind occur- red. It seems she was sometimes accustomed to ask the young ladies of the court her maid* of honor if they ever thought about being mar- ried, and they, being cunning enough to know what sort of an answer would please the queen always promptly denied that they did so. Oh no ! they never thought about being married at all. There was one young lady, however, art- less and sincere, who, when questioned in thin way, answered, in her simplicity, that she often thought of it, and that she should like to bo married very much, if her father would only consent to her union with a certain gentleman whom she loved. "Ah!" said Elizabeth; "well, I will speak to your father about it, and see what I can do." Not long after this the father of the young lady came to court, and the queen proposed the subject to him. The father said that he had not been aware that his daughter had formed such an attachment, but that he should certainly give his consent, without any hesitation, to any arrangement of that kind which the queen desired and advised. " That JB all, then," said the queen ; " I will do the rest." So she called the young lady into her presence, and told her that her father bad given his fre 1560-80.] PERSONAL CHARACTER. 195 (stance of Elizabeth's cruelty. Her irritable temper. consent. The maiden's heart bounded with joy, and she began to express her happiness and her gratitude to the queen, promising to do every thing in her power to please her, when Eliza- beth interrupted her, saying, "Yes, you will act so as to please me, I have no doubt, but you are not going to be a fool and get married. Your father has given his consent to me, aid not to you, and you may rely upon it you will never get it out of my possession. You were pretty bold to acknowledge your foolishness to me so readily." Elizabeth was very irritable, and could never bear any contradiction. In the case even of Leicester, who had such an unbounded influ, ence over her, if he presumed a little too much he would meet sometimes a very severe rebuff such as nobody but a courtier would endure; but courtiers, haughty and arrogant as they are in their bearing toward inferiors, are generally (awning sycophants toward those above them, and they will submit to any thing imaginable from a queen. It was the custom in Elizabeth's days, as it is now among the great in European countries, to have a series or suite of rooms, one beyond the other, the inner one being the presence 196 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560-80 Leicester* friend and the gentleman of the blaek rod. chamber, and the others being occupied by at- tendants and servants of various grades, to reg- ulate and control the admission of company. Some of these officers were styled gentlemen of the black rod, that name being derived from peculiar badge of authority which they were accustomed to carry. It happened, one day, that a certain gay captain, a follower of Leices- ter's, and a sort of favorite of his, was stopped in the antechamber by one of the gentlemen of the black rod, named Bowyer, the queen hav- ing ordered him to be more careful and partic- ular in respect to the admission of company. The captain, who was proud of the favor which he enjoyed with Leicester, resented this affront, and threatened the officer, and he was engaged in an altercation with him on the subject when Leicester came in. Leicester took his favor- ite's part, and told the gentleman usher that he was a knave, and that he would have him turn- ed out of office. Leicester was accustomed te feel so much confidence in his power over Eliz- abeth, that his manner toward all beneath him had become exceedingly haughty and overbear- ing. He supposed, probably, that the officer would humble himself at once before his re- bukeft 1560-80.] PKRSONAL CHARACTER. 197 ntmabath in rage. Her InTectirei glnst I-eieerte* The officer, however, instead of this, steppeo directly in before Leicester, who was then go- ing in himself to the presence of the queen ; kneeled before her majesty, related the facts of the case, and humbly asked what it was her pleasure that he should do. He had obeyed her majesty's orders, he said, and had been called imperiously to account for it, and threatened violently by Leicester, and he wished now to know whether Leicester was king or her maj- esty queen. Elizabeth was very much dis- pleased with the conduct of her favorite. She turned to him, and, beginning with a sort of oath which she was accustomed to use when irritated and angry, she addressed him in in- vectives and reproaches the most severe. She gave him, in a word, what would be called a scolding, were it not that scolding is a term not sufficiently dignified for history, even for such humble history as this. She told him that she had indeed shown him favor, but her favo* was not so fixed and settled upon him that no* body else was to have any share, and that if he imagined that he could lord it over her hous*- hold, she would contrive a way very soon to convince him of his mistake. There was one mifttress to rule there, she said, hu* no maste> 198 QTKKN ELIZABETH. [1560-80 Llter'i chagrin. Elizabeth's powers of tlre She then dismissed Bowyer, telling Leicester that, if any evil happened to him, she should hold him, that is, Leicester, to a strict account for it, as she should be convinced it would have oome through his means. Leicester was exceedingly chagrined at thi* result of the difficulty. Of course he dared not defend himself or reply. All the other courtiers enjoyed his confusion very highly, and one of them, in giving an account of the affair, said, in conclusion, that " the queen's words so quell, ed him, that, for some time after, his feigned humility was one of his best virtues." Queen Elizabeth very evidently possessed that peculiar combination of quickness of Intel- lect and readiness of tongue which enables those who possess it to say very sharp and bit- ing things, when vexed or out of humor. It is a brilliant talent, though it always makes those who possess it hated and feared. Elizabeth was often wantonly cruel in the exercise of this satirical power, considering very little as if usually the case with such persons the justice of her invectives, but obeying blindly the im- pulses of the ill nature which prompted her t utter them. We have already said that she seemed always to have a special feeling of il] 1560--80.J PERSONAL CHARACTER. 199 KBsabeth's rlewi of mwrlagB. Her intmltlng eondunt will against marriage and every thing that per- tained to it, and she had, particularly, a theory Shat the bishops and the clergy ought not to be married. She could not absolutely prohibit their marrying, but she did issue an injunction forbidding any of the heads of the colleges or cathedrals to take their wives into the same, or any of their precincts. At one time, in one of her royal progresses through the country, she was received, and very magnificently and hos- pitably entertained, by the Archbishop of Can- terbury, at his palace. The archbishop's wife exerted herself very particularly to please the queen and to do her honor. Elizabeth evinced her gratitude by turning to her, as she was about to take her leave, and saying that she could not call her the archbishop's wife, and did not like to call her his mistress, and so she did not know what to call her; but that, at all events, she was very much obliged to her for her hospitality. Elizabeth's highest officers of state were con- Anually exposed to her sharp and sudden re* preaches, and they often incurred them by sin- cere and honest efforts to gratify and serve her. She had made an arrangement, one day, to go into the city of London to St Paul's Church, ta 800 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560-80. The Dean of Chrtrt Church and the Prayer Book. hear the Dean of Christ Churoh, a distinguish- ed clergyman, preach. The dean procured a copy of the Prayer Book, and had it splendidly bound, with a great number of beautiful and costly prints interleaved in it. These prints were all of a religious character, being repre- sentations of sacred history, or of scenes in the lives of the saints. The volume, thus prepared, was very beautiful, and it was placed, when the Sabbath morning arrived, upon the queen's cushion at the church, ready for her use. The queen entered in great state, and took her seat in the midst of all the parade and ceremony customary on such occasions As soon, how- ever, as she opened the book and saw the pic- tures, she frowned, and seemed to be much dis- pleased. She shut the book and put it away, and called for her own ; and, after the service, she sent for the dean, and asked him who brought that book there. He replied, in a very humble and submissive manner, that he had procured it himself, having intended it as a present for hsr majesty. This only produced fresh expres- sions of displeasure. She proceeded to rebuke him severely for countenancing such a popish practice as the introduction of pictures in the ehurohes All this time Elizabeth had herself 1560-80.] PERSONAL CHARACTER. 201 BttMbetii'i food qMllttM. Her oov*fl A crucifix in her own private chapel, and the dean himself, on the other hand, was a firm and consistent Protestant, entirely opposed to the Catholic system of images and pictures, as Eli* abeth very well knew. This sort of roughness was a somewhat mas- culine trait of character for a lady, it must be acknowledged, and not a very agreeable one, even in man ; but with some of the bad qual- ities of the other sex, Elizabeth possessed, also, some that were good. She was courageous, and she evinced her courage sometimes in a very noble manner. At one time, when political ex- citement ran very high, her friends thought that there was serious danger in her appearing open- ly in public, and they urged her not to do it, but to confine herself within her palaces for a time, until the excitement should pass away. But no; the representations made to her pro duoed no effect. She said she would continue to go out just as freely as ever. She did not think that there was really any danger; and beside*, if there was, she did not care ; she would rather take her chance of being killed than to be kept shut up like a prisoner. At the time, too, when the shot was fired at f he barge in which she was going down the 202 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560-80 TV> *ot U * brf8. Ellttbeth'i rutty Thames, many of her ministers thought it was aimed at her. They endeavored to convince her of this, and urged her not to expose herself to such dangers. She replied that she did not believe that the shot was aimed at her ; and that, in fact, she would not believe any thing of her subjects which a father would not be willing to believe of his own children. So she went on sailing in her barge just as before. Elizabeth was very vain of her beauty, though, unfortunately, she had very little beau- ty to be vain of. Nothing pleased her so much as compliments. She sometimes almost exact- ed them. At one time, when a distinguished ambassador from Mary Queen of Scots was at her court, she insisted on his telling her wheth- er she or Mary was the most beautiful. When we consider that Elizabeth was at this time over thirty years of age, and Mary only twenty-two, and that the fame of Mary's loveliness had filled the world, it must be admitted that this ques- tion indicated a considerable degree of self-com- placency. The embassador had the prudence to attempt to evade the inquiry. He said at first that they were both beautiful enough. But Elizabeth wanted to know, she said, which was most beautiful The embassador then said tha* POBTRAIT OF QtJKEN ELIZABETH. 1560-80.] PERSONAL CHARACTER. 205 Bttcabetii and the emouMdor. The pictures. his queen was the most beautiful queen in Soot- land and Elizabeth in England. Elizabeth was not satisfied with this, but insisted on a definite mnswer to her question; and the embassador aid at last that Elizabeth had the fairest com- plexion, thongh Mary was considered a very lovely woman. Elizabeth then wanted to know which was the tallest of the two. The embas- eador said that Mary was. " Then," said Eliz- abeth, " she is too tall, for I am just of the right height myself." At one time during Elizabeth's reign, the people took a fancy to engrave and print por- traits of her, which, being perhaps tolerably faithful to the original, were not very alluring. The queen was much vexed at the circulation of these prints, and finally she caused a grave and formal proclamation to be issued against them. In this proclamation it was stated that !t was the intention of the queen, at some fu- ture time, to have a proper artist employed to execute a correct and true portrait of herself, which should then be published; and, in the mean time, all persons were forbidden tc make or sell any representations of her whatever. Elizabeth was extremely fond of pomp and parade. The magnificence and splendor of the 206 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1560-80. EHiabeth fondness for pomp and ptraito. celebrations and festivities which characterized her reign have scarcely ever been surpassed in any country or in any age. She once went to attend Church, on a particular occasion, ac- companied by a thousand men in full armot of steel, and ten pieces of cannon, with drums and trumpets sounding. She received her for- eign embassadors with military spectacles and shows, and with banquets and parties of pleas- ure, which for many days kept all London in a fever of excitement. Sometimes she made excursions on the river, with whole fleets of boats and barges in her train ; the shores, on such occasions, swarming with spectators, and waving with flags and banners. Sometimes she would make grand progresses through her dominions, followed by an army of attendants lords and ladies dressed and mounted in the most costly manner and putting the noblea whose seats she visited to a vast expense in en- tertaining such a crowd of visitors. Being very saving of her own means, she generally con- trived to bring the expense of this magnificence upon others. The honor was a sufficient equiv- alent Or, if it was not, nobody dared to com- plain. To sum up all, Elizabeth was very great, 1560-80.] PERSONAL CHARACTER. 207 Summary of Elizabeth'* character. and she was, at the same time, very little. Lit- tleness and greatness mingled in her character in a manner which has scarcely ever been par- alleled, except by the equally singular mixture of admiration and contempt frith which man- kind have always regarded her 208 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1558 i betwoM Catholic* and FrotecUnU. PUttp'i cruelly CHAPTER X. THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA nriHHlTY years of Queen Elizabeth's reign -* passed away. During all this time the murderous contests between the Catholic gov- ernments of France and Spain and their Prot- estant subjects went on with terrible energy. Philip of Spain was the great leader and head of the Catholic powers, and he prosecuted his work of exterminating heresy with the stern- est and most merciless determination. Obsti- nate and protracted wars, cruel tortures, and imprisonments and executions without number, marked his reign. Notwithstanding all this, however, strange as it may seem, the country increased in pop- ulation, wealth, and prosperity. It is, after all, but a very small proportion of fifty millions f people which the most cruel monster of a ty- rant can kill, even if he devotes himself fully to the work. The natural deaths among the vast population within the reach of Philip's power amounted, probably, to two million* every year; 1585.] THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 209 MWti of War. Hapoleoa tad Xnrxe*. and if he destroyed ten thousand every year, ft was only adding one death by violence to two hundred produced by accidents, disaster!, or age. Dreadful as are the atrocities of per- secution and war, and vast and incalculable at are the encroachments on human happiness which they produce, we are often led to over- rate their relative importance, compared with the aggregate value of the interests and pur- suits which are left unharmed by them, by not sufficiently appreciating the enormous extent and magnitude of these interests and pursuit* in such communities as England, Franca, and Spain. Sometimes, it is true, the operations of mil itary heroes have been on such a prodigious scale as to make very serious inroads on the population of the greatest states. Napoleon for instance, on one occasion took five hundred thousand men out of France for his expedition to Russia. The campaign destroyed nearly all of them. It was only a very insignificant frac- tion of the vast army that ever returned. By this transaction, Napoleon thus just about doub led the annual mortality in France at a single blow. Xerxes enjoys the glory of having de- Hroyd about a million of men and these, not 2614 210 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [J55 March of improrement Spanish armada* enemies, but countrymen, followers, and friend* in the same way, on a single expedition. Such vast results, however, were not attained in the conflicts which marked the reigns of Elizabeth and Philip of Spain. Notwithstand- ing the long-protracted international wars, and dreadful civil commotions of the period, the world went on increasing in wealth and popu- lation, and all the arts and improvements of life made very rapid progress. America had been discovered, and the way to the East In- dies had been opened to European ships, and the Spaniards, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the English, and the French, had fleets of merchant vessels and ships of war in every sea. The . Spaniards, particularly, had acquired great pos- sessions in America, which contained very rich mines of gold and silver, and there was a par- ticular kind of vessels called galleons, which went regularly once a year, under a strong con- voy, to bring home the treasure. They used ta call these fleets armada, which is the Spanish word denoting an armed squadron. Nation? at war with Spain always made great efforts to intercept and seize these ships on their home- ward voyages, when, being laden with gold and silver, they became prizes of the highest value 1585.] THE IMTINOIBLE ARMADA 211 tte Low Countries Their situation and eoadtUc* Things were in this state about the year 1585, when Queen Elizabeth received a propo Jtion from the Continent of Europe which threw her into great perplexity. Among the other dominions of Philip of Spain, there were certain rtates situated in the broad tract of low, level land which lies northeast of France, and which constitutes, at the present day, the countries of Holland and Belgium. This territory was then divided into several provinces, which were call- ed, usually, the Low Countries, on account of the low and level situation of the land. In fact, there are vast tracts of land bordering the shore, which lie so low that dikes have to be built to keep out the sea. In these oases, there are lines of windmills, of great size and power, all along the coast, whose vast wings are always slowly revolving, to pump out the water which percolates through the dikes, or which flows from the water-courses after showers of rain. The Low Countries were very unwilling to submit to the tyrannical government which Philip exercised over them. The inhabitants were generally Protestants, and Philip perse- cuted them era ally. They were, in consequence of this, continually rebelling against his author- ity, and Elizabeth, secretly akl>d them in the*** 212 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1585 tftm tW Low CoMlrtM. struggles, though she would not openly assist them, as she did not wish to provoke Philip to open war. She wished them success, however for she knew very well that if Philip oould onoe subdue his Protestant subjects at home, ha would immediately turn his attention to En- gland, and perhaps undertake to depose Eliza- beth, and place some Catholic prince or prin- cess upon the throne in her stead. Things were in this state in 1585, when the confederate provinces of the Low Countries sent an embassage to Elizabeth, offering her the government of the country as sovereign queen, if she would openly espouse their cause and protect them from Philip's power. This proposition called for very serious and anxious consideration. Elizabeth felt very desirous to make this addition to her dominions on its own account, and besides, she saw at onoe that such an acquisition would give her a great advant- age in her future contests with Philip, if actual war must come. But then, on the otner hand, by accepting the proposition, war must neoessa rily be brought on at onoe. Philip would, in fact, consider her espousing the cause of hi* re- bellious subjects as an actua declaration of wai n her part, so that making such a league with 1585] THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 213 Ellaabeth decision. Leicettcr and Dnh these countries would plunge her at once into hostilities with the greatest and most extended i^ower on the globe. Elizabeth was very un- willing thus to precipitate the contest; bit, then, on the other hand, she wished very much to avoid the danger that threatened, of Philip's first subduing his own dominions, and then ad- vancing to the invasion of England with his mi- divided strength. She finally concluded not to accept the sovereignty of the countries, but to make a league, offensive and defensive, with the governments, and to send out a fleet and am army to aid them. This, as she had expected, brought on a general war. The queen commissioned Leicester to take command of the forces which were to proceed to Holland and the Netherlands ; she also equip- ped a fleet, and placed it under the command of Sir Francis Drake, a very celebrated naval captain, to proceed across the Atlantic and at- tack the Spanish possessions on the American bores. Leicester was extremely elated with bis appointment, and set off on his expedition with great pomp and parade. He had not gen- erally, during his life, held stations of any great trust or responsibility. The queen had confer- red upon him high titles and vast estates, but 214 Q.UEEN ELIZABETH. Ixaocrter tete oat for the Low Coantrte*. she had confided all real power to far more oa pable and trustworthy hands. She thought however, perhaps, that Leicester would answer for her allies ; so she gave him his commission and sent him forth, charging him, with many injunctions, as he went away, to be discreet and faithful, and to do nothing which should compromise, in any way, her interests or honor. It will, perhaps, he recollected that Leicester's wife had been, before her marriage with him, the wife of a nobleman named the Earl of Es- sex. She had a son, who, at his father's death, succeeded to the title. This young Essex ao- oompanied Leicester on this occasion. His sub- sequent adventures, which were romantic and extraordinary, will be narrated in the next chapter. The people of the Netherlands, being extreme- ly desirous to please Elizabeth, their new ally, thought that they could not honor the great general she had sent them too highly. The; received him with most magnificent military parades, and passed a vote in their assembly in- vesting him with absolute authority as head of the government, thus putting him, in fact, in the very position which Elizabeth had herself ieoUned receiving. Leicester was extremely 1585.J THE INVICIBLB ARMADA. 215 LeicaMw'* ektiM. EUaabetfa'i dlipleiurero. pleased and elated with these honors. He was king all but in name. He provided himself with a noble life-guard, in imitation of royalty, and assumed all the state and airs of a monarch. Things went on so very prosperously with him for a short time, until he was one day thunder- struck by the appearance at his palace of a no- bleman from the queen's court, named Hene- age, who brought him a letter from Elizabeth which was in substance as follows : " How foolishly, and with what contempt of my authority, I think you have acted, the mea aenger I now send to you will explain. I little imagined that a man whom I had raised from the dust, and treated with so much favor, would have forgotten all his obligations, and acted in moh a manner. I command you now to put yourself entirely under the direction of this mes- senger, to do in all things precisely as he re- quires, upon pain of further periL w Leicester humbled himself immediately der this rebuke, sent home most ample apolo- gies and prayers for forgiveness, and, after a time, gradually recovered the favor of the queen. He soon, however, became very unpopular in QUEEN ELIZABETH. J1377 ttnkrt MMM* HU feed* of crafty the Netherlands. Grievous complaints were made against him, and he was at length recalled. Drake was mora successful. He was a bold, ndaunted, and energetic seaman, but unprin- cipled and merciless. He manned and equipped his fleet, and set sail toward the Spanish pos- sessions in America. He attacked the colonies, acked the towns, plundered the inhabitants, intercepted the ships, and searched them for sil- Yer and gold. In a word, he did exactly what pirates are hung for doing, and execrated aft- erward by all mankind. But, as Queen Eliz- abeth gave him permission to perform these ex- ploits, he has always been applauded by man- kind as a hero. We would not be understood as denying that there is any difference between burning and plundering innocent towns and robbing ships, whether there is or is not a gov- ernmental permission to commit these crimes. There certainly is a difference. It only seem* to us surprising that there should be so great a difference as is made by the general estimation of mankind. Drake, in fact, had acquired a great and hon- orable celebrity for such deeds before this time, by a similar expedition, several years before, in which he had been driven to make the oiroum- 1578. j THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. Drake's expedition tai 1577. Execution of Dxtraordinary contest, half flight and half bat- tlej continued, every promontory on the shores covered all the time with spectators, who list- tned to the distant booming of the guns, and watched the smokes which arose from the can- nonading and the conflagrations. One great galleon after another fell a prey. Some were burned, some taken as prizes, borne driven 1558.J THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 231 Defeat of the armada. A remnant eteapei ashore; and finally, one dark night, the En* glish sent a fleet of fire-ships, ail in flames, into the midst of the anchorage to which the Span* lards had retired, which scattered them in ter- ror and dismay, and completed the discomfiture of the squadron. The result was, that by the time the invin- cible armada had made its way through the Channel, and had passed the Straits of Dover, it was so dispersed, and shattered, and broken, that its commanders, far from feeling any dis- position to sail up the Thames, were only anx- ious to make good their escape from their inde- fatigable and tormenting foes. They did not dare, in attempting to make this escape, to re- turn through the Channel, so they pushed north- ward into the German Ocean. Their only course for getting back to Spain again was to pass found the northern side of England, among the oold and stormy seas that are rolling in contin- ually among the ragged rooks and gloomy inl- ands which darken the ocean there. At last a miserable remnant of the fleet less than half- made their way back to Spain again. 232 Q.UEEN ELIZABETH. [1588 Character of EMOX. D gpair. The brilliant prospects which were no recently before him were all forever gone, leav- ing nothing in their place but the grim phan- tom of an executioner, standing with an ax by the side of a dreadful platform, with a block upon it, half revealed and half hidden by the Slack cloth which covered it like a pall 256 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1600 EUxabetii'f dbtreM. The ring not iwt Elizabeth, in her palace, was in a state of mind scarcely less distressing than that of the wretched prisoner in his cell. The old conflict was renewed pride and resentment on the one side, and love which would not be extinguished on the other. If Essex would sue for pardon, she would remit his sentence and allow him to live. Why would he not do it ? If he would send her the ring which she had given him for exactly such an emergency, he might be saved. Why did he not send it? The courtiers and statesmen about her urged her to sign the war rant ; the peace of the country demanded the execution of the laws in a case of such unquee tionable guilt. They told her, too, that Essex wished to die, that he knew that he was hope- lessly and irretrievably ruined, and that life, if granted to him, was a boon which would com- promise her own safety and confer no benefit on him. Still Elizabeth waited and waited in an agony of suspense, in hopes that the ring would come ; the sending of it would be so far an act of submission on his part as would put it in hei power to do the rest. Her love could bend her pride, indomitable as it usually was, almost tc the whole concession, but it would not give up quite all. It demanded some sacrifice on hi* 1600.] THE EARL OP ESSEX 257 The warrant signed. Th platfoim part, which sacrifice the sending of the ring would have rendered. The ring did not come, nor any petition for mercy, and at length the fatal warrant was signed. What the courtiers said about Essex's desire to die was doubtless true. Like every other person involved in irretrievable sufferings and sorrows, he wanted to live, and he wanted to die. The two contradictory desires shared do- minion in his heart, sometimes struggling to- gether in a tumultuous conflict, and sometimes reigning in alternation, in calms more terrible, in fact, than the tempests which preceded and followed them. At the appointed time the unhappy man was led out to the court-yard in the Tower where (he last scene was to be enacted. The lieuten- ant of the Tower presided, dressed in a black velvet gown, over a suit of black satin. The " scaffold" was a platform about twelve feet quare and four feet high, with a railing around it, and steps by which to ascend. The block was in the center of it, covered, as well as the platform itself, with black cloth. There were eat* erected near for those who were appointed to be present at the execution. Essex ascend- *d the platform with a firm step, and, survey* 2617 258 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1600 Ewex'g Ust word*. Hie clodng eema ing the solemn scene aronnd him with calmness and composure, he began to speak. He asked the forgiveness of God, of the spec- tators present, and of the queen, for the crimes for which he was about to suffer. He acknowl- edged his guilt, and the justice of his condem- nation. His mind seemed deeply imbued with a sense of his accountability to God, and he expressed a strong desire to be forgiven, for Christ's sake, for all the sins which he had com- mitted, which had been, he said, most numer- ous and aggravated from his earliest years. He asked the spectators present to join him in his devotions, and he then proceeded to offer a short prayer, in which he implored pardon for his sins, and a long life and happy reign for the queen. The prayer ended, all was ready. The execu- tioner, according to the strange custom on such occasions, then asked his pardon for the violence which he was about to commit, which Essex readily granted. Essex laid his head upon the block, and it required three blows to complete its severance from the body. When the deed was done, the executioner took up the bleeding head, saying solemnly, as he held it, " God save the queen." There were but few spectators present at thi 1600.] THE EARL OF ESSEX. 259 The courtier. Hli tttmAimk pleasure dreadful scene, and they were chiefly persona required to attend in the discharge of their offi oial duties. There was, however, one excep- tion ; it was that of a courtier of high rank. rho had long been Essex's inveterate enemy, and who could not deny himself the savage pleasure of witnessing his rival's destruction. But even the stern and iron-hearted officers of the Tower were shocked at his appearing at the scaffold. They urged him to go away, and not distress the dying man by his presence at such an hour The courtier yielded so far as to withdraw from the scaffold ; but he could not go far away. He found a place where he could stand unobserved to witness the scene, at the window of a turret which overlooked the court-yard. 260 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1600 of E*MX'I guilt General opinion of mank.'id, CHAPTER XII. THE CONCLUSION. , F11HERE can be no doubt that Essex was -*- really guilty of the treason for which he was condemned, but mankind have generally been inclined to consider Elizabeth rather than him as the one really accountable, both for the crime and its consequences. To elate and intoxicate, in the first place, an ardent and ambitious boy, by flattery and favors, and then, in the end, on the occurrence of real or fancied causes of dis- pleasure, to tease and torment so sensitive and impetuous a spirit to absolute madness and phrensy, was to take the responsibility, in a great measure, for all the effects which might follow. At least so it has generally been re- garded By almost all the readers of the story, Essex is pitied and mourned it is Elizabeth that is condemned. It is a melancholy story ; but scenes exactly parallel to this case are con- tinually occurring in private life all around na where sorrows and sufferings which are, so faf AM the heart is concerned, precisely the same 1601.] THE CONCLUSION. 261 Bibeth'i dlrtroM. Fall of-fMX* party result from the combined action, or rather, per. haps, the alternating and contending action, of fondness, passion, and obstinacy. The results are always, in their own nature, the same, though not often on so great a scale as to make the wrong which follows treason against a realm, and the consequences a beheading in the Tower. There must have been some vague conscious- ness of this her share in the guilt of the trans- action in Elizabeth's mind, even while the trial of Essex was going on. We know that she was harassed by the most tormenting suspense and perplexity while the question of the execu- tion of his sentence was pending. Of course, when the plot was discovered, Essex's party and all his friends fell immediately from all in- fluence and consideration at court. Many of them were arrested and imprisoned, and foui were executed, as he had been. The party which had been opposed to him acquired at once the entire ascendency, and they all, judges, counselors, statesmen, and generals, combined their influence to press upon the queen the ne- cessity of his execution. She signed one war- rant and delivered it to the officer ; but then, as soon as the deed was done, she was so over- whelmed with distress and anguish that she 262 QUEEN ELIZABETH. [1601 Wound* of the heart Elizabeth's efforts to reoorer her iplrlta sent to recall it, and had it canceled. Finally she signed another, and the sentence was exe- crated. Time will cure, in our earlier years, most of the sufferings, and calm most of the agitations of the soul, however incurable and uncontrolla- ble they may at first appear to the sufferer. But in the later periods of life, when severe shocks strike very heavily upon the soul, there is found far less of buoyancy and recovering power to meet the blow. In such oases the stunned and bewildered spirit moves on, after receiving its wound, staggering, as it were, with faintness and pain, and leaving it for a long time uncer- tain whether it will ultimately rise and recover, or sink down and die. Dreadfully wounded as Elizabeth was, in all the inmost feelings and affections of her heart, by the execution of her beloved favorite, she was a woman of far too much spirit and ener- gy to yield without a struggle. She made the greatest efforts possible after his death to ban- jsh the subject from her mind, and to recover her wonted spirits. She went on hunting ex- cursions and parties of pleasure. She prosecu- ted with great energy her war with the Span- iards, and tried to interest herself in the siege I602.J THE CONCLUSION. 26S EmbMnga from Fnme*. A oonremtka and defense of Continental cities. She receiv- ed an embassage from the court of France with great pomp and parade, and made a grand prog* ress through a part of her dominions, with a long train of attendants, to the house of a no- bleman, where she entertained the embassador many days in magnificent state, at her own expense, with plate and furniture brought from her own palaces for the purpose. She even planned an interview between herself and the King of France, and went to Dover to effect it. But all would not do. Nothing could drive the thoughts of Essex from her mind, or dispel the dejection with which the recollection of her love for him, and of his unhappy fate, oppressed her spirit. A year or two passed away, but time brought no relief. Sometimes she was fretful and peevish, and sometimes hopelessly dejected and sad. She told the French embas- sador one day that she was weary of her life, and when she attempted to speak of Essex at the cause of her grief, she sighed bitterly and ourst into tears. When she recovered her composure, she tod the embassador that she had always been un- easy about Essex while he lived, and, knowing ois impetuosity of spirit and his ambition, she 264 <4vBE* ELIZABETH. [1602 Tkoifhti of IMX. had been afraid that he would one day attempt something which would compromise his life, and she had warned and entreated him not to b led into any snob designs, for, if he did so, his fate would have to be decided by the stern authority of law, and not by her own indulgent feelings but that all her earnest warnings had been in- sufficient to save him. It was the same whenever any thing occurred which recalled thoughts of Essex to her mind ; it almost always brought tears to her eyes. When Essex was commanding in Ireland, it will be recollected that he had, on one occasion, oome to a parley with Tyrone, the rebel leader, across the current of a stream. An officer in his army, named Harrington, had been with him on this occasion, and present, though at a little distance, during the interview. After Es- sex had left Ireland, another lord-deputy had been appointed ; but the rebellion continued to give the government a great deal of trouble. The Spaniards came over to Tyrone's assist- ance, and Elizabeth's mind was much occupied with plans for subduing him. One day Har- rington was at court in the presence of the queen, and she asked him if he had ever seen Tyrone. Harrington replied that he had. The 1602.] THE CONCLUSION. 265 n OvntoM of NottfafhML queen then recollected the former intenriew which Harrington had had with him, and she said, ' Oh, now I recollect that yon have seen him before !" This thought recalled Essex so forcibly to her mind, and filled her with such painful emotions, that she looked np to Har- rington with a countenance mil of grief: tears came to her eyes, and she beat her breast with every indication of extreme mental suffering. Things went on in this way until toward the close of 1602, when an incident occurred which seemed to strike down at once and forever what little strength and spirit the queen had remain- ing. The Countess of Nottingham, a celebra- ted lady of the court, was dangerously sick, and had sent for the queen to come and see her, saying that she had a communication to make to her majesty herself, personally, which she was very anxious to make to her before she died The queen went accordingly to see her. When she arrived at the bedside the count- US showed her a ring. Elizabeth immediately reoogniied it as the ring which she had given to Essex, and which she had promised to con- sider a special pledge of her protection, and which was to be sent to her by him whenever he found himself in any extremity of danger 266 QUEKN ELIZABETH [1602 eofeoiaa. The queen't todlfBtto and distress. The queen eagerly demanded where it came from. The countess replied thai Essex had sent the ring to her during his im- prisonment in the Tower, and after his con- damnation, with an earnest request that she would deliver it to the queen as the token of her promise of protection, and of his own sup- plication for mercy. The countess added that the had intended to deliver the ring according to Essex's request, but her husband, who was the unhappy prisoner's enemy, forbade her to do it ; that ever since the execution of Essex he had been greatly distressed at the conse- quences of her having withheld the ring ; and that now, as she was about to leave the world herself, she felt that she could not die in peace without first seeing the queen, and acknowl- edging fully what she had done, and imploring her forgiveness. The queen was thrown into a state of ex- treme indignation and displeasure by this state- ment She reproached the dying countess in the bitterest terms, and shook her as she lay helpless in her bed, saying, " God may forgive you if he pleases, but /never will !" She then went away in a rage. Her exasperation, however, against the count- 1603.] THE CONCLUSION. 307 Sitter nTt*)?***** The quaea ramoTM to BttBMai ess was Boon succeeded by bursts of inconsola- ble grief at the recollection of the hopeless and irretrievable loss of the object of her affection, whose image the ring called back so forcibly to her mind. Her imagination wandered in wretch- edness and despair to the gloomy dungeon in the Tower where Essex had been confined, and painted him pining there, day after day, in dreadful suspense and anxiety, waiting for her to redeem the solemn pledge by which she had bound herself in giving him the ring. All the sorrow which she had felt at his untimely and cruel fate was awakened afresh, and became more poignant than ever. She made them place cushions for her upon the floor, in the most inner and secluded of her apartments, and there she would lie all the day long, her hair disheveled, her dress neglected, her food refused, and her mind a prey to almost uninterrupted anguish and grief. In January, 1603, she felt that she was drawing toward her end, and she decided to be removed from Westminster to Richmond, bo- cause there was there an arrangement of closets communicating with her chamber, in whiftV she could easily and conveniently attend divin service. She felt that she had now done wit 268 QUKBH ELIZABETH. [1603 TTlaihrtfc grow* worm Tte prints chapel and tha eloMta the world, and all the relief and comfort which he oould find at all from the pressure of her distress was in that sense of protection and safe- ty which she experienced when in the presence f God and listening to the exercises of devotion It was a cold and stormy day in January when she went to Richmond ; but, being rest- lees and ill at ease, she would not be deterred by that circumstance from making the journey. She became worse after this removal. She made them put cushions again for her upon the floor, and she would lie upon them all the day, refusing to go to her bed. There was a com- munication from her chamber to closets con- nected with a chapel, where she had been ac- customed to sit and hear divine service. These closets were of the form of small galleries, where the queen and her immediate attendants oould sit. There was one open and public ; another a smaller one was private, with curtains which oould be drawn before it, so as to screen those within from the notice of the congrega- tion. The queen intended, first, to go into the great closet ; but, feeling too weak for this, she changed her mind, and ordered the private one to be prepared. At last she decided not to at- tempt to make even this effort, but ordered the 1603.J THB CONCLUSION. 271 Tb iHto| ring. tt qncra'i frlead* abandon W cushions to be put down upon the floor, near the entrance, in hr own room, and she laj there while the prayers were read, listening to the Toioe of the clergyman as it came in to her through the open door. One day she asked them to take off the wed- ding ring with which she had commemorated her espousal to her kingdom and her people on the day of her coronation. The flesh had swoll- en around it so that it could not be removed. The attendants procured an instrument and oat it in two, and so relieved the finger from the pressure. The work was done in silence and solemnity, the queen herself, as well as the at- tendants, regarding it as a symbol that the un- ion, of which the ring had been the pledge, wa about to be sundered forever. She sunk rapidly day by day, and, as it be- came more and more probable that she would soon cease to live, the nobles and statesmen who had been attendants at her court for so mamy years withdrew one after another from the palace, and left London secretly, but with eager dispatch, to make their way to Scotland, in order to be the first to hail King James, the moment they should learn that Elizabeth had eeaned to breathe. 272 QUBBN ELIZABETH. [1603 fh* qm*-m i Toio* Ml*. She call* her conmrtl together Her being abandoned thus by these heartiest friends did not escape the notice of the dying queen. Though her strength of body was al- most gone, the soul was as active and busy as erer withir. its failing tenement. She watched every thing noticed every thing, growing more and more jealous and irritable just in propor- tion as her situation became helpless and for- .orn. Every thing seemed to conspire to deep- en the despondency and gloom which darkened her dying hours. Her strength rapidly declined. Her voice grew fainter and fainter, until, on the 23d of March, she could no longer speak. In the after- noon of that day she aroused herself a little, and contrived to make signs to have her coun- cil called to her bedside. Those who had not gone to Scotland came They asked her whom she wished to have succeed her on the throne. She could not answer, but when they named King James of Scot and, she made a sign of as- ent. After a time the counselors went away. At six o'clock in the evening she made signs for the archbishop and her chaplains to some to her. They were sent 'for and came. When they came in, they approached her bedside ana kneeled. The patient was lying upon her back TFK CONCLUSION. 273 T"he chaplains. The prayer* peeohless, bat her eye, still moving- watchfully and observing every thing, showed that the fac- ulties of the soul were unimpaired. One of the clergymen asked her questions respecting her faith. Of course, she could not answer in words. She made signs, however, with her eyes and her hands, which seemed to prove that she had full possession of all her faculties. The by- standers looked on with breathless attention. The aged bishop, who had asked the questions, then began to pray for her. He continued his prayer a long time, and then pronouncing a benediction upon her, he was about to rise, but she made a sign. The bishop did not under- stand what she meant, but a lady present said that she wished the bishop to continue his de- votions. The bishop, though weary with kneel- ing, continued his prayer half an hour longer. He then closed again, but she repeated the sign. Thd bishop, finding thus that his ministrations gave her so much comfort, renewed them with greater fervency than before, and continued hia supplications for a long time so long, that those who had been present at the commencement of the service went away softly, one after another, to that when at last the bishop retired, the queen was left with her nurses and her women alone 2618 274 QUEER ELIZABETH. [1603 The queen's death. King Jame* proclaimed These attendants remained at their dying sov- ereign's bedside for a few hours longer, watch- ing the failing pulse, the quickened breathing, and all the other indications of approaching dis- solution. As hour after hour thus passed on, they wished that their weary task was done, and that both their patient and themselves were at rest. This lasted till midnight, and then the intelligence was communicated about the pal- ace that Elizabeth was no more. In the mean time all the roads to Scotland were covered, as it were, with eager aspirants for the favor of the distinguished personage there, who, from the instant Elizabeth ceased to breathe, became King of England. They Booked into Scotland by sea and by land, urg- ing theur way as rapidly as possible, each eager to be foremost in paying his homage to the ris- ing sun. The council assembled and proclaim- ed King James. Elizabeth lay neglected and forgotten. The interest she had inspired was awakened only by her power, and that being gone, nobody mourned for her, or lamented her death. The attention of the kingdom was soon universally absorbed in the plans for receiving and proclaiming the new monarch froM the North, and in anticipations of the splendid pa 1603.1 CONCL,UIOM. 272 Portrait of June* the First Burial of the qiwea geantry which was to signalize his taking hv seat upon the English throne. Kiwo JAKKS L In due time the body of the deceased queen fras deposited with those of its progenitors, in the ancient place of sepulture of the English kings. Westminster Abbey. Westminster Ab- 27(5 UEEN ELIZ \BKTH. Wertmimter Abbey. IU hlMory bey, in the sense in which that term is used in history, is not to be oonoeived of as a building, nor even as a group of buildings, but rather an a long succession of buildings like a dynasty, following each other in a line, the various struc- tures having been renewed and rebuilt con- stantly, as parts or wholes decayed, from cen- tury to century, for twelve or fifteen hundred years. The spot received its consecration at a very early day. It was then an island formed by the waters of a little tributary to the Thames, which has long since entirely disap- peared. Written records of its sacredness, and of the sacred structures which have occupied it, go back more than a thousand years, and be- yond that time tradition mounts' still further, carrying the consecration of the spot almost to the Christian era, by telling us that the Apostle Peter himself, in his missionary wanderings, had a chapel or an oratory there. The spot has been, in all ages, the great bur* ial-place of the English kings, whose monn* ments and effigies adorn its walls and aisles in endless variety. A vast number, too, of the statesmen, generals, and naval heroes of the British empire have been admitted to the hon- or of having their remains deposited under Hi I603J THB CONCLUSIOH. 877 The PotU? Corner. Henrv (be Berenth'i Chcpel marble floor. Even literary genius has a lit- tle corner assigned it the mighty aristocracy whose mortal remains it is the main functioD of the building to protect having so far conde- scended toward intellectual greatness as to al- low to Milton, Addison, and Shakspeare mod- est monuments behind a door. The place is called the Poets' Corner ; and so famed and cel- ebrated is this vast edifice every where, that the phrase by which even this obscure and insig- nificant portion of it is known is familiar to every ear and every tongue throughout the English world. The body of Elizabeth was interred in a part of the edifice called Henry the Seventh's Chap- el. The word chapel, in the European sense, denotes ordinarily a subordinate edifice connect- ed with the main body of a church, and open- ing into it. Most frequently, in fact, a chapel is a mere recess or alcove, separated from the area of the church by a small screen or gilded iron railing. In the Catholic churches these chapels are ornamented with sculptures and paintings, with altars and crucifixes, and other uch furniture. Sometimes they are built ex- pressly as monumental structures, in which ease they are often of considerable size, and arc 278 QUEBN ELIZABETH. [1603 ornamented with great magnificence and splen- dor. This was the case with Henry the Sev- enth's Chapel. The whole building is, in fact, his tomb. Vast sums were expended in th construction of it, the work of which extended through two reigns. It is now one of the most attractive portions of the great pile which it adorns. Elizabeth's, body was deposited here, and here her monument was erected. It will be recollected that James, who now succeeded Elizabeth, was the son of Mary Queen *f Scots. Soon after his accession to the throne, he removed the remains of his mother from their place of sepulture near the scene of her execu- tion, and interred them in the south aisle of Henry the Seventh's Chapel, while the body of Elizabeth occupied the northern one.* He placed, also, over Mary's remains, a tomb Tory similar in its plan and design to that by which the memory of Elizabeth was honored ; and there the rival queens have since reposed in silence and peace under the same paved floor And though the monuments do not materially * Bee our history of Mary Queen of Scots, near the close Aisle* in English Cathedral churches are colonnade*, at pace* between columns on an open floor, and not passage* between pews, aa with a*. In monumental church** tike Westminster Abbey there are no pern ELIZABETH'.^ TOMB IN WESTMINSTER ABBKT 1603.1 THE CONCLUSION 281 f eeting* of rUiton. Summary of Elizabeth's character differ in their architectural forms, it is found that the visitors who go continually to the spot gaze with a brief though lively interest at the >ne, while they linger long and mournfully over the other. The character of Elizabeth has not generally awakened among mankind much commendation or sympathy. They who censure or condemn her should, however, reflect how very conspicu- ous was the stage on which she acted, and how minutely all her faults have been paraded to the world. That she deserved the reproaches which have been so freely cast upon her mem- ory can not be denied. It will moderate, how- ever, any tendency to censoriousness in our mode of uttering them, if we consider to how little advantage we should ourselves appear, if all the words of fretfulness and irritability which we have ever spoken, all our insincerity and double-dealing, our selfishness, our pride, oui petty resentments, our caprice, and our count* less follies, were exposed as fully to the public gaze as were those of this renowned and glori- ous, but unhappy queen. THE END. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. DEC 1 6 1997 S $l 2 WEEK LOAN NUV o 2 000 879 1 544 fniv S( 1