says, "the floors are commonly of clay, strewed with rushes, under which lies unmolested an ancient collection of beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrements of dogs and cats, and every thing that is nasty." And according to Hollingshed there was scarely a chimney to the houses, even in the most considerable towns. The fire was kindled by the wall, and the smoke sought its way out of the roof, or door, or windows. The houses were nothing but watling plaistered over with clay; the people slept on straw pallets, and had a good round log under their head for a pillow, while the furniture and utensils were generally of wood.

TH

CHAP. XII.

The Reign of Elizabeth.

HE prudence which Elizabeth had displayed during the reign of her sanguinary and bigotted sister, rendered her accession the A. D. subject of general joy and congratulation; and the magnanimity she shewed 1558. in burying past offences in oblivion confirmed the favourable opinion which her subjects had entertained of her. When the bishops, however, came to make obeisance to her, she turned from Bonner as from a man polluted with blood; and this sufficiently declared the religious principles which she meant to adopt.

away

In notifying her accession to Philip, she expressed herself gratefully for the protection he had afforded her; and that monarch, availing himself of the incident, returned her proposals of marriage, which she prudently waved, without absolutely refusing him.

By education and conviction she was a protestant, and it was her first object to restore that religion; but, by the advice of sir William Cecil, she proceeded with cautious steps. She re

called those who had fled, she set at liberty those who had been confined on account of religion, and ordered the service to be read in English. By her affability and address, she accomplished these changes without any commotion; and before she proceeded farther, she called a parliament to sanction and confirm her designs.

The election of members was entirely in favour of the protestant interest, and both houses met in the best disposition to gratify the queen. By an unanimous vote, they declared, " that Elizabeth was and ought to be, as well by the word of God as the common and statute laws of the realm, the lawful, undoubted, and true heir to the crown, lawfully descended from the blood royal, according to the order of succession settled in the 35th of Henry VIII." This act of recognition, as it embraced every object, put an end to every dispute, and the queen seems to have had no wish to move the subject of the validity of her mother's marriage.

The first bill brought into parliament was for suppressing the newly erected monasteries, and for restoring the tenths and first fruits to the queen; and this point gained, a bill was next passed for annexing the supremacy to the crown,

VOL. XX.

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under

under several pains and penalties to recusants and gainsayers.

After this, a solemn and public disputation was held between the champions of the old and the reformed religions, in which, it may easily be supposed, the adherents of the latter were triumphant. Emboldened by this victory, the protestants ventured on bringing a bill into par liament for abolishing mass, and for re-estab lishing the liturgy of king Edward. Thus, in one session, without violence or tumult, the whole system of religion was changed, and placed on a permanent foundation.

The commons also voted the queen a liberal subsidy; but when, in a respectful address, they invited her to fix on a husband, she declined the proposal, alleging that England was her hus band, and its natives her children; adding, that she had no ambition to have any other monumental inscription, than," Here lies Elizabeth, who lived and died a maiden queen."

After the prorogation of parliament, the oath of supremacy was tendered to the clergy, when all the bishops, except Landaff, refused compliance; but of the inferior clergy only eighty rectors and vicars, fifty prebendaries, fifteen heads of colleges, twelve archdeacons, and as many deans, sacrificed their livings to their religious principles.

Meanwhile, negotiations for peace were carried on between the ministers of France, Spain, and England. As long as Philip entertained hopes of espousing the queen, he employed his utmost efforts to procure her the restitution of Calais; but as she was rather inclined to come to an accommodation with France, which included

cluded Scotland, Calais was abandoned on certain future conditions, and these probably were never expected to be complied with.

But, though peace was concluded between France and England, there soon appeared serious grounds for misunderstanding. The king of France ordered his son and daughter-inlaw, the young queen of Scots, to quarter the arms of England; and, as she was the next heir to that throne, acknowledged by the see of Rome, this gave Elizabeth just reason to suppose that it was intended to dispute her legitimacy and her title, whenever a favourable opportunity occurred. Soon after, Francis II. succeeded to the crown of France, and still continuing to assume without reserve the title of king of England, Elizabeth began to consider him and his queen Mary of Scotland as her mortal enemies, and the jealousy thus excited did not die but with the life of Mary.

Elizabeth, however, finding the affairs of Scotland in great confusion, was determined to take present revenge, and to provide against future danger. Though popery was still the religion of the state in that country, the prin ciples of the reformation had made considerable progress, and the arm of power had been stretched to suppress them, which, in fact, had only given them new strength.

About this critical period, when the queen. regent had been proceeding with rigour against the protestants, John Knox arrived from Geneva; where in his commerce with Calvin, he had imbibed the highest fanaticism of his sect, augmented by the native ferocity of his own character. This man, who soon became the 12

apostle

apostle of Scotland, having united the former friends of reformation, and made many new converts by his inflammatory harangues, incited them to violence against the adherents of the church of Rome. The fury of a religious mob soon spread desolation through that kingdom, and the fairest monuments of religious zeal fell beneath the despoiling hand of fanati

cism.

For a time the queen regent was obliged to retire from the storm, and, at last, was glad to come to terms with the reformers, who had assumed the title of the congregation; but as force, not inclination, had dictated her compliance, she only waited till she received reinforcements from France, to violate her engagements.

Conscious that their safety depended on the decision of their measures, the congregation passed an act depriving the queen dowager of the regency; and, to enable them to make effectual resistance, they dispatched two of their leaders to solicit the assistance of Elizabeth.

The opportunity was too favourable to be neglected by that politic princess. She dispatched a small fleet, and sent an army of eight thousand men to support the congregation. The court of France, alarmed at her interposition, now offered the immediate restitution of Calais, on condition of her withdrawing her forces and countenance from the insurgents; but she declared that she would never put an inconsiderable fishing town in competition with the safety of her dominions. Accordingly she concluded a treaty of mutual defence with the congregation, and receiving six hostages from the Scots for the performance of articles, immediately gave

order