The Queen's real ability lay in her instinctive perception of the
needs of the age, and in her power of self-adjustment to them.
Elizabeth never made public opinion, but watched it and followed it.
She knew an able man at sight, and had the happy faculty of attaching
such men to her service. By nature she was both irresolute and
impulsive; but her sense was good and her judgment clear. She could
tell when she was well advised, and although she fumed and blustered,
she yielded.
It has been said that the next best thing to having a good rule is to
know when to break it. Elizabeth always knew when to change her
policy. No matter how obstinate she was, she saw the point where
obstinacy became dangerous. In order to enrich Raleigh and her
numerous other favorites, she granted them the exclusive right to deal
in certain articles. These privileges were called "monopolies."
They finally came to comprise almost everything that could be bought
or sold, from French wines to secondhand shoes. The effect was to
raise prices so as to make even the common necessaries of life
excessively dear. A great outcry finally arose; Parliament requested
the Queen to abolish the "monopolies"; she hesitated, but when she saw
their determined attitude she gracefully granted the ptition (S433).