persons monopolies, that is, the exclusive right of dealing in some particular article. Thus Essex had had a monopoly of sweet wines, from which he drew the greater part of his income; and he had been driven nearly desperate when, during his disgrace, the Queen refused to continue it to him, saying that "a restive horse must be broken into the ring by stinting him of his provender." In 1601 a list of these monopolies was read out in Parliament. "Is not bread among the number?" said a member, adding a prediction that at any rate it would be there soon. Elizabeth, though imperious, knew how to yield gracefully, and seeing what a ferment was being raised, she sent word that she would revoke or suspend her obnoxious patents. A deputation was sent from the Commons to convey their thanks to the Queen, who made a speech in answer. Though," she wound up, "you have had, or may have, many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had, or shall have, any that will be more careful and loving." 7. Death of Elizabeth.-Queen Elizabeth died at Richmond, in the seventieth year of her age, March 24, 1603. Robert Cecil, her chief minister, affirmed that she declared by signs that King James VI. of Scotland should succeed her. This is not certain, but at any rate James was proclaimed King of England. 8. The East India Company.-On the 31st December, 1600, a charter of privileges was granted to a recently formed company of London merchants trading to the East Indies. This was the famous East India Company, and from this sprang the British dominion in India. CHAPTER XXXII. JAMES I. James I. (1)-Ralegh sentenced to death; imprisonment and death of Arabella Stuart (2)—Puritans; Roman Catholics; the Gunpowder Plot (3)-James's favourites; beheading of Ralegh; strife between King and Parliament; Bacon; the proposed Spanish marriage (4)-death of James; his children; Great Britain (5)-plantation of Ulster; baronets (6)—colonies and voyages (7)—translations of the Bible (8)-learning and literature (9)-poetry and the drama (10). 1. House of Stuart. James I., 1603-1625. -According to the will of Henry VIII. the crown should have gone to the descendants of Mary, Duchess of Suffolk; but James VI. of Scotland, son of Mary Stuart and her second husband Lord Darnley, was the nearest heir by birth, the nation was willing to accept him, and after his coronation an Act of Parliament was passed declaring his right. His birth being the strongest point in his favour, it became his interest to encourage the new doctrine of "divine right," that is, the belief that an hereditary prince derives his authority from Heaven alone, and that therefore no laws can limit it, or take it from him. These dignified pretensions accorded little with the character and appearance of James; for he was ungainly in person, unkingly in bearing, so timorous that he shuddered at a drawn sword; and though good-natured and well-meaning, he had few qualities of a ruler. Yet he was clever in his own way, and his learning-especially in theology-was considerable. He had been brought up in the Reformed Church of Scotland, which in T 1592 had been placed under the Presbyterian system, that is, it was governed by courts of ministers and elders, who were called presbyters. James however was already working for the restoration in his own country of episcopacy, and he grew attached to the English Church on finding that its clergy treated him more respectfully than the Scots ministers had ever done. "No bishop, no King," became his maxim, and he soon learned to hate the English Puritans, thinking that he should find them as troublesome as their Scottish brethren. 2. Arabella Stuart.-In the first year of this reign, Sir Walter Ralegh was condemned to death on a charge of having conspired to raise to the throne, by the help of Spain, Arabella Stuart, first cousin of James. He was however reprieved, and spent thirteen years as a prisoner in the Tower. Arabella, having had no share in the plot, was unmolested until eight years later, when she had privately married William Seymour, a descendant of the Duchess of Suffolk. This union of two possible pretenders to the throne gave alarm; and Arabella was arbitrarily shut up in the Tower, where she became insane and died. 3. Puritans and Roman Catholics. The Gunpowder Plot.-Early in 1604, a conference between dignitaries of the Church and leading Puritan divines was held before the King at Hampton Court. Some slight alterations were made in the Prayer-book, and a new translation of the Bible was ordered. This was finished in 1611, and is still our "Authorized Version." The Puritans were not satisfied, for, with a few exceptions, the practices to which they objected were retained, and no deviation from the established order was tolerated. Nothing short of excluding from the Church all doctrines but their own would have fully satisfied the Puritans; but the way in which they were rebuked and browbeaten by the King and the bishops was not likely to soothe them. James felt proud of having argued them down. "If this be all they have to say," he observed triumphantly, "I shall make them conform themselves, or I will harry them out of the land." And in fact about three hundred refractory clergymen were turned out of their livings. As for the Roman Catholics, who had been led to form hopes of some indulgence from James, they were embittered by a proclamation banishing their priests. For this a fearful vengeance was devised. Robert Catesby, a Roman Catholic gentleman, proposed to a few trusty friends to blow up the Parliament House with gunpowder on the day the King was to open the session. King, Lords, and Commons thus disposed of, some of the confederates were to raise the Roman Catholic gentry, and proclaim one of the King's younger children as the new sovereign; for the eldest, Prince Henry, would, it was expected, accompany his father and perish with him. Before the scheme was complete, James had the laws against "Popish recusants" (that is, those who refused to come to church) enforced in all their harshness; and these severities only spurred on the plotters. A cellar under the House of Lords was hired, and barrels of gunpowder there laid under faggots and coals. The task of firing the mine was deputed to Guy or Guido Faukes, an Englishman who had served on the Spanish side in the Netherlands. The number of the conspirators was gradually raised to thirteen; their last ally, Francis Tresham, seems to have been the cause of their ruin. Everything was ready against the opening of the session, which was fixed for the 5th November, 1605, when Tresham's brother-in-law Lord Mounteagle, also a Roman Catholic, was warned by an anonymous letter to keep away from Parliament. This he showed to Cecil, Earl of Salisbury; investigation followed, and about midnight, on the eve of the 5th November, Faukes was seized in the cellar. On hearing of this, the chief conspirators fled, but were soon killed or taken. Catesby was among the slain; Tresham died in prison; and the survivors, including Faukes, were put to a traitor's death. Catesby's intended crime bore bitter fruit for those he had hoped to serve, as the "Gunpowder Treason" deepened the hatred felt by the English in general for the Church of Rome, and put an end for centuries to come to any chance of relief for the Roman Catholics. New and more severe laws were made against "Popish recusants," and a new oath of allegiance was imposed, renouncing in the strongest terms the doctrine that princes excommunicated by the Pope might be deposed or murdered by their subjects or others. This oath caused a division among the Roman Catholics, some taking it, others, at the bidding of Pope Paul V., refusing to do so. As James was not disposed to persecution, the laws against the Roman Catholics were, much to the dissatisfaction of the Puritans, not always fully executed. 4. Government of James.-After the death of Salisbury in 1612, King James gave his confidence to a young Scottish favourite, Robert Carr, whom he afterwards created Earl of Somerset. Somerset mixed himself up in scandalous and criminal doings, which not only led to his own ruin, but reflected discredit upon his master. After Somerset's disgrace, the royal favour passed to George Villiers, created successively Earl, Marquess, and Duke of Buckingham, a handsome young Englishman, whom James nicknamed "Steenie," and by whom he allowed himself to be treated with rude familiarity. Meanwhile the King's rule did not please his subjects. His foreign policy was unpopular; for, instead of placing himself at the head of the Protestant party throughout Europe, he sought the alliance of Spain; and this leaning to the great Roman Catholic power soon began to rouse discontent. In 1616 Ralegh was let out of prison, and got leave to |