(A.D. 1533-1603.)
|Elizabeth was one of the most learned and distinguished queens that
ever lived, and there is no other about whom so many celebrated authors
have written.
[[A.D. 1533.]] She was the daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn, who
were living at Greenwich Palace at the time of her birth. When she
was four days old her christening was conducted with great pomp and
ceremony,--the lord mayor, all the aldermen and council of the city of
London, besides a great number of knights and lords, being present.
Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, stood godfather on that occasion,
the Duchess of Norfolk and the Marchioness of Dorset being godmothers.
The gifts to the little princess consisted of costly gold cups, bowls,
and salvers.
Elizabeth did not remain with her parents; for the royal nursery was at
Hunsdon, where, surrounded by every comfort and luxury that an infant
could possibly need, she was lovingly tended by Lady Margaret Bryan.
This lady had also taken charge of the Princess Mary, and had proved
herself to be a woman of such rare sense and excellent qualities
that she was eminently fitted for her post as superintendent of the
household. While Anne Boleyn lived King Henry fondled and petted her
little daughter; but after her head was cut off and her place supplied
by another.
[Illustration: 0063]
[Illustration: 0065]
She was just four years of age, and the Earl of Hertford carried her in
his arms to the font; but when the procession left the chapel the two
Princesses, Mary and Elizabeth, walked out hand in hand, their trains
being supported by noble ladies, who followed close behind.
Fortunately for Elizabeth her early youth was passed in seclusion, which
afforded opportunity for the cultivation of her mind, and thus prepared
her for the exalted position she was to occupy later. {059}other wife,
his petting was succeeded by neglect and even cruelty, that must have
been a sore trial to the child as well as to faithful Lady Bryan.
[[A.D. 1537.]] Elizabeth was seen in public for the first time when her
little brother, Edward VI., was christened. {060}She and Prince Edward
were warmly attached to each other, and he, at least, was never happier
than while they were permitted to live together. It was she who gave him
his earliest instruction in walking and talking, and it was to her that
he turned for comfort in all his childish sorrows.
[[A.D. 1539.]] When only six years of age Elizabeth presented her little
brother with a shirt made entirely by her own hands; which proves that
she must have learned to handle her needle at a very early age.
As they grew older these children played and studied together, and
Edward relied for advice on "his sweetest sister," as he loved to call
her, until he was separated from her. It was their custom to rise at
daylight and devote a couple of hours to religious exercises and the
reading of Scripture. After breakfast they studied languages, science,
and the works of the best authors; then Edward would seek exercise
in the open air, while his sister occupied herself with her music or
needlework.
Edward's first real source of grief was his separation from this beloved
sister when he ascended the throne. It was his desire to have her with
him even then; but his selfish councillors, being jealous of any outside
influence, interposed to prevent it.
His devotion to Elizabeth lasted until death: she had been his earliest
playmate, and no difference in religious views had ever risen to
interfere with the congeniality that marked their intercourse. It was
different with Mary, who was a rigid Roman Catholic, and always opposed
the Protestant tendencies of her brother and sister.
When Henry VIII. married Anne of Cleves, Elizabeth wrote her stepmother
a most dutiful, affectionate letter, in which she expressed desire to
make her acquaintance. An opportunity soon offered, when the queen was
so charmed {061}with the wit and beauty of the young princess that at
the time of her divorce she requested that they might be permitted the
interchange of visits, which was granted.
The next stepmother, Katherine Howard, loved Elizabeth too, and treated
her with marked tenderness and consideration, giving her the place of
honor near the throne at all public entertainments.
With a view to strengthening the friendly relations between England and
other countries, King Henry tried at various times to form an alliance
for his daughter with several powerful princes; but fortunately for her
all his plans fell through.
Under the guidance of her fourth stepmother, Katherine Parr, who was a
very learned woman, Elizabeth pursued her studies uninterrupted by any
thought of matrimony, which at so early an age, and planned for state
purposes, must have proved a misfortune.
She lived in retirement with her father's widow for a year after his
death; and though she set up an independent establishment of her own
when she was fifteen years old, she and Katherine Parr continued to be
fast friends as long as that lady lived.
[[A.D. 1545.]] Even at that early age, Elizabeth was well-informed in
geography, architecture, mathematics, and astronomy, besides being
an accomplished Latin and Greek scholar. She spoke and wrote French,
Italian, Spanish, and Flemish; but her favorite study was history, to
which she devoted three hours a day.
[[A.D. 1553.]] She displayed no small amount of shrewdness when her
brother died, which was remarkable in so young a woman. Edward's illness
had been concealed from his sisters by the wily statesmen who kept
strict guard over him, and who had used every effort to foster the
ill-feeling that existed between him and his relations. As {062}soon as
his death occured they wrote Mary and Elizabeth that he was seriously
ill, and desired their presence at his bedside. The object was to secure
the two princesses, lock them up in prison, and proclaim Lady Jane Grey
successor to the crown of England; but Elizabeth, suspecting some
plot, took not the slightest notice of the letters. When the Duke of
Northumberland offered her a liberal sum of money, besides a tract of
land, providing she would resign her right of succession in favor of
Lady Jane Grey, she replied, "that an agreement must first be made
with her elder sister, during whose life she had no right nor title to
resign."
It was not without a difficult struggle that Mary got possession of the
crown, and while it was going on Elizabeth pretended to be desperately
ill and remained quietly at home. No sooner was it assured than she
recovered and went in state, at the head of a large retinue, to
welcome the new queen. Then the two sisters rode side by side, in grand
procession through London, and were, apparently, on the best of terms.
Nobody who witnessed that procession could fail to observe the contrast
between the two royal ladies. Poor Mary, whose life had thus far been
one of sadness, anxiety, and ill-health, sat on her horse almost bent
double, and looking like a woman of middle age, although she was only
twenty. Elizabeth, on the other hand, whose fine, majestic form and
gracious manners won every heart as she smilingly bowed to the right and
left, looked every inch a queen, and Mary sank into insignificance by
her side. Her face, though not handsome, was pleasing, and her dark eyes
shone with gratification at the attention she attracted. Throughout her
life Elizabeth's delicate, well-formed hands were a source of pride to
her, and she never lost an opportunity of displaying them to the best
advantage. {063}Within a month the affection that the two sisters
entertained for each other was seriously impaired on account of their
difference in religion, which created a great deal of ill-feeling.
Elizabeth refused to attend mass, which, though gratifying to the
Protestants, deeply grieved and offended Mary.
The state councillors regarded Elizabeth's conduct in this matter as
a mark of disrespect, and wanted to have her arrested; but the queen
refused at first to take any extreme measures, and contented herself by
turns with threats and persuasion.
Elizabeth remained firm in her desire to appear as the heroine of the
Reformers, though for the sake of policy she consented to read several
religious books recommended by the queen, and even accompanied her
once or twice to church. As a reward Mary bestowed many favors on the
princess, and placed her in prominent positions on state occasions. This
was just what Elizabeth sought; for she knew the importance of keeping
herself before the nation, and never lost an opportunity of appearing as
Mary's successor. Her manners were so gracious that she became a great
favorite among the court ladies, and thus excited her sister's jealousy
to such a degree that when a charge of treason was brought against
her Mary lent a willing ear to it. Elizabeth was able to prove her
innocence; but she felt so indignant at having been suspected that she
requested permission to retire to the country and thus rid herself of
court intrigue.
She took up her abode in her own house at Ashbridge; but even there she
was not left in peace, for the queen was anxious to have her marry
the Spanish Prince, Philibert of Savoy, and the King of France was
constantly making her offers of protection and aid if she would only
assert her claim to the throne. He even proceeded so far as to advise
{064}her to go to France, which would have been a most unwise move
on her part, and wrote her letters in a secret language. This had the
effect of rendering her position extremely critical; but fortunately
Elizabeth's judgment was so excellent that she knew how to save herself
from the friends who would unintentionally have done her more harm, had
she taken their advice, than her enemies.
[[A.D. 1554.]] She was recalled to court at the time of the insurrection
under Wyatt, because she and Courtenay were accused of having urged it
with a view to getting the Protestant party into power. She was quite
ill when the summons reached her, but obeyed it as soon as possible,
and chanced to arrive in London on the very day of the execution of Lady
Jane Grey. No doubt she trembled for the safety of her own head while
the queen was daily signing the death-warrants of those who really had
turned against her or appeared to have done so. The public mind was in
such a state of excitement on account of the numerous executions that
were taking place, that many wept as the young princess rode through the
streets attended by a guard of honor, consisting of a hundred gentlemen,
for they supposed that she was being led to the block. Dressed in a robe
of pure white, Elizabeth sat up in a litter and looked around with a
proud, lofty air. Her youthful appearance touched many a heart; but not
one arm or voice, in all the multitude that had assembled to gaze upon
her, was raised in her defence.
With a retinue of six of her ladies, two gentlemen, and four servants,
she was lodged in a wing of Westminster Palace; and although she
knew that the privy council were debating as to whether she should be
executed or no, she was unable to get sight of her sister or to plead
her cause in any way.
{065}
[Illustration: 0071]
{067}Many charges were brought against the princess, but Mary's
conscience forbade the shedding of her sister's blood; so, after a few
weeks' deliberation, she shut her up in the Tower.
Elizabeth's letters to the queen, asserting her innocence, were
unnoticed. She was forbidden to use English prayer-books, and compelled
to hear mass. Two of her ladies who objected to this were dismissed by
the queen's orders and replaced by Catholics. At first she was kept in
close confinement, but after a while her health began to suffer, and she
was permitted to take exercise in a little enclosed garden.
The officers and servants about the prison were respectful and attentive
to the royal lady, and their children would bring her flowers from time
to time. Her love of children was great throughout her whole life, and
their ready sympathy during her imprisonment was most pleasing to her.
One day a little four-year-old child picked up a bunch of keys and
carried them to her in the garden, saying:
"I have brought you the keys now, so you need not always stay here. You
can unlock the gates and go out whenever you please."
Another child, the son of one of the soldiers, received so many tokens
of reward from the royal prisoner in return for the bouquets he carried
her, that he was, before long, suspected of acting as messenger between
her and her fellow-prisoners, Courtenay and Lord Robert Dudley. Such may
not have been the case; but the boy was prevented from again seeing the
princess, and his father was severely reprimanded.
Elizabeth could not have regarded Lord Robert Dudley in the light of
a friend when she was sent to the Tower, because she knew that he had
favored Lady Jane Grey's cause; therefore, the fact that he was in her
good graces {068}immediately upon her accession to the throne, proves
that he must, in the interval, have found some means of seeking and
obtaining her pardon. Whether or no notes and messages passed between
them within the walls of the gloomy Tower can only be conjectured.
At the expiration of a couple of months, Elizabeth was removed to
Woodstock, where her life was less painful, though she was never allowed
to forget that she was a prisoner under close surveillance. A band of
armed men kept watch around the walls of the palace night and day, and
she was allowed no visitors.
She passed many hours at her needlework, and composed several pieces of
poetry, which are scarcely worthy of being repeated. But her time hung
heavily on her hands, and she was tortured by constant dread of her life
being in danger. One day when sitting in her garden she heard a milkmaid
merrily singing at her work, and said with a weary sigh: "Ah! her case
is better, and her life is happier than mine; would I were a milkmaid,
too!"
With the hope of softening her sister's heart towards her, Elizabeth
attended mass, went to confession, and, with the advice of Cardinal
Pole, even proclaimed herself a Roman Catholic. She displayed a
great deal of self-possession, when the queen, who still doubted her
sincerity, notwithstanding her professions of religion, caused her to be
questioned as to her opinion of a real Saviour in the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper. She hesitated for only one moment, then replied in these
extempore lines:--
"Christ was the word that spake it;
He took the bread and brake it,
And what his word did make it,
That I believe, and take it."
Elizabeth's policy had the desired effect, and to her inexpressible
delight she was invited to Hampton Court {069}to spend the Christmas
holidays with her sister, the queen. But a little disappointment
awaited her on her arrival there; for much to her surprise she was
still destined to be treated as a prisoner, and it was a whole fortnight
before any notice was taken of her being at the palace, or before any
one was admitted to visit her.
[[A.D. 1555.]] She kept constantly wondering what this could mean, but
had no opportunity of finding out. Quite unexpectedly one night she was
summoned to the presence of the queen. Trembling with fear, and as to
her fate, she was conducted by torchlight to the royal apartments. On
entering she threw herself at Mary's feet and declared that she was a
most true and loyal subject. In fact, she conducted herself throughout
the interview in so submissive a manner, that at its close she was
dismissed with tokens of affection and a beautiful ring. After that she
was relieved of the presence of the guards and keepers and treated with
marked respect by the principal personages of the realm.
Although Philip, Mary's husband, could never quite forgive Elizabeth
because she had refused to marry his friend, Philibert of Savoy, he was
extremely kind to her, and did his part towards rendering the holidays a
delightful season of enjoyment for her. At one of the grand pageants the
young princess wore a rich white satin dress, embroidered all over
in large pearls; and when she made her appearance in the hall, both
Cardinal Pole and the king kneeled down and kissed her hand.
[[A.D. 1556.]] The following autumn she went to live at Hatfield, where,
surrounded by her old, attached friends, she established her household
to her own liking. Her learned instructor, Roger Ascham, was one of the
inmates, and under his guidance Elizabeth resumed her study of classical
literature.
[[A.D. 1557.]] {070}In February the queen made her a visit, and
was entertained in a sumptuous manner. There were daily amusements
consisting of performances on the virginals, chorus singing, acting, and
sumptuous banquets, as well as hunting parties, in which both the royal
ladies took part.
[Illustration: 0076]
During the next summer the queen invited Elizabeth to an entertainment
at Richmond. She was conveyed there in her majesty's own barge, which
was richly decorated with garlands of artificial flowers, and covered
with a green silk canopy embroidered in gold. Four ladies accompanied
{071}her, and six boats, containing her retinue, followed. The queen
received her in a magnificent pavilion in her garden. This pavilion was
made in the form of a castle and covered with purple velvet and cloth
of gold, on which appeared the Spanish coat of arms, in honor of King
Philip. A fine feast was served to the royal ladies, after which a
number of minstrels performed. The next day Elizabeth returned to
Hatfield, where she remained quietly until the following November, when
Queen Mary died, and she was proclaimed her successor.
[[A.D. 1558.]] Heralds, stationed at the grand door of Westminster
Palace, as well as at other public places, announced the new sovereign
with the sound of trumpets, while bells were rung, bonfires lighted,
and ale and wine generously dealt out to the populace by the wealthy
citizens.
All exhibitions of mourning for the dead queen were quickly replaced by
celebrations in honor of the living one, whose accession was regarded
with the keenest interest by the whole nation.
Elizabeth's first public act, after receiving the privy council, was
to appoint her principal secretary of state. Her choice was Sir William
Cecil, who not only proved himself a great statesman, but remained
Elizabeth's staunch friend to the day of his death.
On the twenty-eighth day of November the new queen entered the city
of London, attended by a train of about a thousand nobles, knights,
gentlemen, and ladies, and proceeded to the Charter-house. Next, in
accordance with an ancient custom, she proceeded to the Tower. On that
occasion the streets through which she passed were spread with fine
gravel. The public buildings were hung with rich tapestry, and guns were
fired at regular intervals. The queen was mounted on her palfry, richly
attired in purple {072}velvet: a vast concourse of people had gathered
to greet her, and as she approached, preceded by her heralds and great
officers, joyful shouts and acclamations filled the air, while she
gracefully returned the salutations of even the humblest of her
subjects.
At various points the procession halted while the queen was welcomed
with music, speeches, or a chorus of children. She seemed pleased with
everything, replied to the addresses, noticed everybody, and frankly
expressed her gratification at the honors that were showered upon
her. Her early misfortunes had taught her a wholesome lesson, and in
adversity she had learned the worth of Wordsworth's immortal words:--
"Of friends, however humble, scorn not one."
Attended by Lord Robert Dudley, who had already been appointed to the
lofty position of master of the house, Elizabeth entered the Tower, once
her dungeon, now her palace, and proceeded straight to her former prison
apartment, where falling on her knees she offered up a loud, fervent
prayer of thanksgiving.
While passing through the court of the Tower she turned to those near
her, and said: "Some have fallen from being princes in this land to be
prisoners in this place; I am raised from being a prisoner in this place
to be prince of this land, so I must bear myself thankful to God and
merciful to men."
After a few days in the Tower the queen went to Somerset House for
a fortnight, and then to the palace of Westminster, where she spent
Christmas.
The next matter of importance that occupied Elizabeth's attention was
her coronation, for which preparations were already going forward in
London. It seems strange that so learned a woman as Queen Elizabeth
should have been {073}superstitious, but such was indeed the case, and
she scarcely ever took an important step without previously consulting
Doctor Dee, the well-known conjuror.
Consequently Robert Dudley was sent to request this humbug to appoint
a lucky day for the coronation. After consulting the stars and other
heavenly bodies he decided upon Sunday, January 15.
All the favorite summer residences of the Tudor princes stood on the
banks of the Thames. Therefore, as the streets of London were narrow
and badly paved, it was the custom of the court to pass from one to the
other by water. The nobility owned their own barges, and the rowers wore
liveries distinguished by the crests and badges of their employers.
Three days before the solemn and imposing coronation ceremony was to
take place, a grand procession of boats was arranged for the purpose of
conducting her majesty from Westminster to the royal apartments in the
Tower.
Rich tapestries, hangings of silk and velvet, gorgeously embroidered
in gold and silver, hung from the balconies of the houses all along the
route, while gay banners, pennons, and flags floated from the roofs. All
the public and private barges were drawn forth in grand array,
festooned with garlands of flowers and bright new flags. Bands of music
accompanied the procession, and cannons were fired during its entire
progress.
On the 14th the queen's passage through the city took place. She
appeared in a superb chariot, preceded by trumpeters and heralds in
armor, and drawn by richly caparisoned horses. A retinue of lords and
ladies followed on horseback, the latter wearing crimson velvet habits.
The gentlemen wore gowns of velvet or satin richly trimmed with fur or
gold lace, costly gold chains, and caps or hoods {074}of material to
match the gown, adorned with feathers and jewels.
Elizabeth did not sit quietly back in her chariot as other sovereigns
did; she kept constantly acting--making speeches, smiling, pressing her
hand to her heart, and raising her eyes to heaven as occasion seemed
to demand. This peculiar behavior delighted the populace, who showered
their sovereign with nosegays and rent the air with shouts and cheers.
Several times she stopped the procession to say a few pleasant words
to some particularly poor-looking individual, and a branch of rosemary
presented by a shabbily-dressed old woman occupied a prominent place in
the royal chariot until its arrival at Westminster.
By such trifling actions Elizabeth won the hearts of even the lowest of
her subjects. It was her policy to please, and no woman was ever more
perfect in the art. She listened with profound attention to the poems
and speeches that accompanied the pageants arranged at different points
along Cheapside, where every house was decorated and rich carpets
covered the path. The pageants were similar to the triumphal arches
of the present day. They were erected of wood, and had appropriate
sentences in Latin and English inscribed upon them. At each one a child
was stationed to explain to the queen in English verse the meaning of
the device.
One pageant represented an allegory of Time and Truth. "Who is that old
man with the scythe and hour-glass?" asked Elizabeth. "Time," was the
reply. "Time has brought me here," she returned. Truth held a Bible
which, at the recital of a particular part of the verse, was let down
by a silken cord into the queen's chariot. She received the volume with
both hands, and reverently pressed it to her heart and lips, declaring
in a loud tone that she thanked the city more for that gift than any
other, and {075}added that she would read it diligently. Equal attention
was bestowed on the other pageants; and just as she passed through
Temple Bar Elizabeth stood up, and, facing the crowd, exclaimed in
farewell: "Be ye well assured, I will stand your good queen."
The shouts that arose in response sounded above the report of the guns.
Next morning the queen appeared at Westminster, attired in a mantle of
crimson velvet, lined and trimmed with ermine and fastened with cords,
tassels, and buttons of silk and gold. Her jacket and train were also
of crimson velvet, and gold lace adorned her head-dress. She wore
no jewels, and her coronation was remarkable for its simplicity. The
Episcopal bishop, Oglethorpe, performed the ceremony, but he followed
the Roman Catholic ritual without the slightest change. Though Elizabeth
was a Protestant, she raised no objection to the Catholic service
until the following Christmas, when just at the moment for making her
offerings she arose abruptly, and, followed by her whole retinue, left
the chapel. Had any objection been made to this proceeding she would
have pleaded sudden illness, but finding it universally approved, she
ordered the service to be for the future performed in English, which was
never done in the Catholic church.
The learned Doctor Parker was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, and
it was through his influence that the Church of England was established
nearly in its present state.
One of the queen's earliest acts was to send friendly messages to all
the Protestant princes of Europe; at the same time she assured the pope
that she would not interfere with the religious views of any of her
subjects. Thus she hoped to conciliate both parties. As a rule, she
was gracious to her former persecutors; but to one member of {076}Queen
Mary's household who had been impertinent to her, and who hastened to
throw himself at her feet as soon as she was raised to power, she said:
"Fear not; we are of the nature of the lion, and cannot descend to the
destruction of mice and such small beasts."
Queen Elizabeth made an enemy of Philip, her sister's widower, by
refusing his hand when she was twenty-five years of age; but in doing so
she announced her determination never to marry at all.
Her popularity increased to such an extent that the lower classes
idolized her, and the nobles and gentlemen of her realm were thirsting
for an opportunity to risk their lives in her service.
She appeared in public very frequently, and when her rowing parties took
place crowds flocked to the river banks to welcome her with music
and fireworks. When she went to Greenwich for the summer all sorts of
exhibitions were planned to furnish an excuse for Londoners to flock
there.
Much of Elizabeth's popularity was due to the fact that she spared no
pains to render the national holidays enjoyable to every class of her
subjects. Though she, too, enjoyed the festivities with all the zest
of a young, sprightly, healthy woman, her pleasure was not by any means
unalloyed.
One serious cause of anxiety was the knowledge that Henry II. of France
was constantly trying to place his daughter-in-law, Mary Stuart, on the
throne of England, and there was a powerful Catholic party who felt
her claim to be a just one. But death soon put an end to the king's
interference, and calmed Elizabeth's fears from that source.
Then Mary Stuart's husband, Francis II., threatened to assert her
rights; but he was too sickly and insignificant a {077}person to take
the stand his father had done, and death removed him also out of the
way.
So many suitors sought the young queen's hand that we are reminded of
what Shakspeare says of Portia in "The Merchant of Venice": "While we
shut the gate on a wooer, another knocks at the door."
[[A.D 1559.]] Elizabeth coquetted with them, accepted their numerous
and costly presents, made use of them to further her plans or carry
some point with her council, but never with the slightest intention of
marrying any one of them.
When at last Philip II. married she pretended to feel dreadfully
mortified, and told the Spanish ambassador "that his king was very
inconstant, since he could not wait four short months to see whether she
would change her mind."
The person most favored by Queen Elizabeth at that time was Robert
Dudley, who afterwards became Earl of Leicester, and much jealousy was
aroused among the members of the council on account of it. Dudley was
married to Amy Robsart, a beautiful and wealthy heiress, who never
appeared at court. For some reason or other she resided in a solitary
country mansion, where she died quite suddenly. It was given out that
an accidental fall had caused it, but there were strong suspicions of
murder, and Robert Dudley was not held entirely innocent of it. However,
no inquiry was instituted, and the queen would hear no complaints of her
favorite. She took occasion to remark publicly that as Dudley was at the
palace when his wife died she was convinced of his innocence.
[[A.D. 1560.]] In 1560 Mistress Montague, her majesty's silk woman,
presented her with a pair of knitted silk stockings, which pleased her
so much that she laid aside forever the cloth kind she had always worn.
{078}A decided change had taken place in the queen's wardrobe, for in
her youth she was noted for the extreme simplicity of her attire; but no
sooner did she ascend the throne than she gave full swing to her vanity,
and purchased more finery than any Queen of England had ever done.
She had three thousand dresses and eighty wigs of different styles and
colors. She was positively loaded down with pearls, jewels, velvets,
furs, and embroidery. Her costumes were neither pretty nor tasteful;
for their object seemed to be nothing but a display of gaudy colors and
showy jewelry.
Elizabeth's court was conducted with great magnificence, and those whose
duty it was to supply the royal household were often guilty of robbing
and imposing upon the farmers. Complaints were made to her majesty, who
always lent a willing ear to her subjects, and invariably compensated
them for their loss. One day, when she was walking in the fields with
her lords and ladies, a sturdy countryman placed himself in her path,
and as she approached called out in a rude, coarse tone: "Which is the
queen?" She turned towards him with an encouraging smile; he repeated
the question, looking from one lady to another, until Elizabeth stepped
forward and said: "I am thy queen; what wouldst thou have with me?"
"You!" exclaimed the man with a look of surprise and admiration. "You
are one of the rarest women I ever saw, and can eat no more than my
daughter Madge, who is thought the finest lass in our parish, though
short of you; but the Queen Elizabeth I look for devours so many of my
hens, ducks, and capons that I am not able to live."
Now Elizabeth was always indulgent to any one who paid her compliments,
but upon inquiry she found this man to be both unjust and dishonest, so
she had him severely punished.
{079}
[Illustration: 0085]
{081}Among the preparations for Easter it was the queen's custom to wash
the feet of twenty poor women, to each of whom she gave a new gown and
the white cup from which she had drank to them. The same afternoon she
appeared in St. James's Park and distributed two thousand silver coins,
valued at eight pence each, among as many poor men, women, and children.
These public acts of charity endeared the sovereign to her people,
for they were always the occasion of a holiday, and gave the humblest
citizens an opportunity of speaking to her. The coins thus bestowed were
worn by the recipients as precious amulets, and handed down in their
families as heirlooms in memory of the gracious queen.
Nobody ever visited the palace on any errand whatsoever without being
invited, according to his station in life, to partake of a meal at one
of the tables. No wonder that Elizabeth was a popular sovereign, and
that her's was called a "golden reign."
In 1560, at great loss to her treasury, she called in all the base coin
that Henry VIII. had caused to be made, and returned to every person the
full value in new sterling silver and gold.
[[A.D. 1561.]] Late in the summer of 1561 Elizabeth made a journey
through her kingdom, and was received with public rejoicings and
displays wherever she went. These _progresses_, as they were called,
occurred several times during Elizabeth's reign, when she was
magnificently entertained at the various mansions of the nobles whom she
honored with her visit.
Queen Elizabeth was so skilled in the art of ruling that she knew a
country was never so sure of enjoying the blessing of peace as when
prepared for war, so she took pains to provide her's with ample means of
defence. She gave orders for gunpowder that had been purchased in other
{082}countries to be manufactured in England. Engineers and arsenals
were furnished for all the fortified towns along the coast and the
Scottish borders; forts were built, garrisons increased, and the wages
of sailors and soldiers doubled. So many ships-of-war were built, and
the navy was increased to such an extent, that after a reign of four
years England could command a fleet with twenty thousand men at arms.
Strangers called Elizabeth "Queen of the Sea;" her own subjects proudly
styled her the restorer of naval glory. {083}