London with the intention of seizing upon the Queen. Mary rallied the wavering Londoners to her causeunless her marriage, she said, was approved by Lords and Commons in Parliament, she would never marry. "Wherefore stand fast against these rebels, your enemies and mine; fear them not, for I assure you I fear them nothing at all." The next morning more than 20,000 men had enrolled themselves to protect the city. Wyatt's army fell off as he advanced; and though he made his way into London, no one joined him, and at Temple Bar he gave himself up. The first to suffer for this rebellion were two captives who had had no part in it. Mary, being persuaded that her former lenity had encouraged rebellion, ordered the execution of Lady Jane and her young husband Guilford Dudley, who were accordingly beheaded Feb. 12, 1554. Jane, her faith unshaken by the priest whom the Queen sent to convert her, died with gentle firmness. With more justice, Wyatt, as well as the Duke of Suffolk, who had been concerned in a similar attempt at insurrection, were put to death, and many other rebels shared their fate. The real design of the conspirators, it was believed, had been to raise to the throne the Lady Elizabeth with Courtenay as her husband; both therefore were sent to the Tower. Renard, truly considering Elizabeth to be a dangerous rival, urged that she should be put to death; but as there was no evidence against her, she was only placed for a time in ward at Woodstock. Courtenay was afterwards ordered abroad, and died in Italy. Philip of Spain came over in July, and the marriage took place. Nature and education had made him stiff and ungracious; but he tried hard to be conciliatory, requesting his attendants, on his arrival, to conform to the manners of the country, and setting the example by drinking off a tankard of ale. He was called King of England so long as the Queen lived; but, to the great vexation of himself and his wife,

T

N

Parliament would not consent that he should be crowned, or that he should succeed Mary if she died childless. The next step after the marriage was to bring about a reconciliation with Rome. On the 30th November, 1554, the Lords and Commons met at Whitehall, went on their knees, and were absolved, together with the whole realm, from heresy and schism, by Cardinal Reginald Pole, who had come over as the Pope's Legate. Yet the triumph was not so complete as it seemed. The Lollard statutes indeed were revived, the statutes against the supremacy of the See of Rome were swept away; but the Pope had to consent that the holders of lands and goods taken from the Church should remain in possession. Mary, more zealous than her subjects, restored the Church revenues which were in the hands of the Crown, and re-established some of the old religious houses.

In

3. The Persecution.-The statutes against heretics were not revived for nothing. The fire was first kindled for John Rogers, a canon of St. Paul's, who had worked upon the translation of the Bible; and, by the end of the reign, two hundred persons or more, men and women, had died at the stake. justice, it must be said that most men then believed it right to punish erroneous opinions-a belief which the Roman Catholics had the opportunity of fully carrying out. The people, sickened by the wholesale slaughter, and touched by the courage of the sufferers, were more won to the Protestant cause by these spectacles than by any arguments. It had been thought by many that the men of the new doctrines had no sincere belief; but proving staunch on trial, they called forth a burst of admiration; while Mary has come down to posterity with the epithet of "bloody" fixed upon her. The same fearful word cleaves to Bishop Bonner, to whose lot it fell to try and condemn a large number of the victims a task for which he seems in truth to have had no

great liking. John Hooper, late Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, was burned in his episcopal city of Gloucester. On the same day was burned Rowland Taylor, the parish priest of Hadleigh, whose tender parting with his wife and daughters drew tears from the sheriff and the men who guarded him. Ridley, late Bishop of London, who had preached in defence of the Lady Jane's claim to the crown, and the aged Latimer, bound to one stake, were burned together at Oxford, Oct. 16, 1555. "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley," said Latimer, as the first lighted faggot was laid at his companion's feet, "and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shail never be put out." Cranmer, of less firm mould than the others, recanted; but this humiliation did not save his life. Being brought to the stake, he abjured his recantation, and, as an evidence of repentance, thrust the hand that had written it first into the flame, crying, "This hand hath offended." These were leading men, but among the laity the persecution did not strike high, labourers, artisans, tradesmen, private gentlemen at the most, being the usual victims.

4. Loss of Calais.-The marriage of Philip and Mary was unhappy. They were childless, and though Mary doted on her husband, he did not care for her; she was a small, haggard, sickly woman, eleven years older than himself; and he had married her only to suit his father's policy. England, where he was regarded with suspicion and hatred, offered him no attractions; and when he left it to become, by the abdication of his father, sovereign of the Netherlands and King of Spain, he had little inducement to return. After this he only came over once for a few months to urge the Queen to join him in war against France; she consented, and the result was disastrous. The government had neglected to repair the defences of Calais, or to keep a sufficient garrison in it; and in

January 1558 it was taken by the French. It was no real loss; but it was a terrible blow to English pride, and the Queen is reported to have said, "When I die, Calais will be found written on my heart." The unfortunate Mary, neglected by her husband, broken down in health, and having lost the love of her people, died November 17, 1558. Cardinal Pole, who had succeeded Cranmer in the archbishopric of Canterbury, survived the Queen only twenty-two hours. From that time the power of Rome in England was at an end.

CHAPTER XXXI.

ELIZABETH.

Elizabeth (1)-the Reformed Church; Roman Catholics and Puritans; Ireland (2)-flight of the Queen of Scots to England; her captivity and execution (3) the struggle with Spain; Sir Philip Sidney; naval adventurers; Walter Ralegh; Francis Drake; defeat of the Armada (4)—the Earl of Essex; rebellion of Tyrone (5)-monopolies (6)—death of Elizabeth (7)— East India Company (8).

1. Elizabeth, 1558-1603.-Elizabeth was welcomed by all when, in her twenty-sixth year, she succeeded to the crown. She had conformed first to the religion of Edward VI., and then, though unwillingly, to that of Mary, and her own opinions were vague; but it soon appeared that she intended to support a moderate Reformation, although Philip of Spain, not long after her accession, offered her his hand on condition that she would profess and uphold his creed. After some delay she refused him, as in the end she did every one of her suitors, although she gave hopes to many, and

was earnestly pressed by Parliament to marry. She loved her country, although she had inherited her father's imperious and despotic nature; her chief faults as a ruler were irresolution and want of openness ; her private weaknesses-personal vanity and a love of flattery-might afford food for the ridicule of her enemies, but they did not prevent her from being a great sovereign. She had the art of choosing sagacious advisers, and to the wise counsels of her chief minister, William Cecil, afterwards Baron Burghley and Lord High Treasurer, much of the success of her reign is to be attributed. Sir Francis Walsingham, and Robert Cecil, second son of Lord Burghley, and afterwards created Earl of Salisbury, are also notable among her advisers. She had also favourites, often clever men, but owing their influence to their courtierlike qualities, their accomplishments, their good mien, and their professed devotion to her. Sometimes these men had considerable power, but none ever gained complete mastery over her. Foremost among them was the handsome, polished, but worthless Lord Robert Dudley, younger son of the late Duke of Northumberland, and created Earl of Leicester. He was unpopular, and evil tales were told of him; but he won the Queen's liking, though he failed to obtain her hand. Elizabeth loved pomp and show, and to be surrounded by a gallant train of nobles and gentlemen vying for her favour. It was the fashion to address extravagant compliments to sovereigns and to ladies; and thus the Queen received a double portion of flattery. But her fearless spirit, her royal bearing, her shrewd and ready wit, won genuine admiration from the great mass of her subjects.

2. Religious Affairs. In religion Elizabeth's plan was to hold a middle course, and so to shape the Church that it should content moderate men of both parties. But willing or unwilling, all must accept her system; for to her, as to most statesmen, it seemed