from the intolerable bondage of catholic usurpation. Had other sovereigns adopted the wise and beneficent policy of this wonderful princess, the amount of good produced would be incalculable; but unhappily not even the people who have most profited by her administration have duly followed her bright example. For her great enterprises, Elizabeth was justly styled the restorer of naval glory, and the queen of the northern seas. May she not with justice be styled the founder of the naval glory of England?

In compliance with popular prejudices, Elizabeth has been accused of great parsimony; but it may be asked, for whom or for what purpose was she parsimonious? She amassed, we are assured, no riches, and even sold the crown jewels, and part of the royal demesnes, rather than burden her subjects. She also refused to receive subsidies when offered, when she had no immediate use for them, declaring the money was as safe in the hands of her people, as in her own possession. With the like perversity, Elizabeth has been charged with unrelenting severity and jealousy. On one occasion, when the queen was sailing on the Thames, with the French ambassador and others, a shot was fired into the boat; as this was deemed to be accidental, the queen insisted that no one should be punished, saying, 'I will not believe any thing of my subjects, which a parent would not believe of his children.'

On the detection of Babington's conspiracy, the papers of Mary had been seized, sealed up, and conveyed to Elizabeth. Amongst them were letters from a large number of the nobility, and other leading charac.

ters of the English court, filled with expressions of attachment to the queen of Scots, and sympathy in her misfortunes, not unmixed, in all probability, with severe reflections on Elizabeth. All these the queen perused, and no doubt stored in her memory; but her good sense and magnanimity induced her to bury in lasting silence all the discoveries which had reached her through this channel. From instances of this kind, no doubt can be had that the regard and confidence she ever expressed for her people were most sincere, and the devoted attachment manifested by all ranks of her subjects leaves no room to doubt of the love and admiration she inspired.

We have previously remarked, that in most instances, whatever was deemed severe or capricious, may be attributed to the peculiar embarrassments with which Elizabeth had to contend, although we do not insist she was exempt from human frailties.

The queen of Scots, from the time when Elizabeth first ascended the throne to the period of her condemnation, was a perpetual source of trouble and disquietude to the queen of England, and to all her faithful subjects. Not satisfied with her acknowledged right to the crown of Scotland, and her marriage with the heir apparent of France, Mary assumed the title of queen of England, and her title was supported by the pope, who issued a bull declaring the birth of Elizabeth to be illegitimate, and after, one of excommunication against Elizabeth, as has been seen, &c.

Mary was entirely devoted to the Romish church, and appears to have deemed no sacrifice too great, which would sustain and propagate that faith. When

therefore she solemnly denied having any knowledge of the plot to assassinate Elizabeth and place the crown on her own head, she had previously received absolution for all her sins, and was assured, that nothing could be more meritorious in the sight of heaven, than to destroy the prevailing heresy. Fully impressed with this belief, she determined to entitle herself to the crown of martyrdom, should she lose the earthly crown for which she had so long contended. Mary scrupled not to declare her innocence even at the scaffold, and she died, rather with the triumphant air of a martyr to her religion, the character she falsely assumed, than with the meekness of a victim, or the penitence of a culprit.' She had obtained from Pope Pius a consecrated host, and had reserved the use of it to the last period of her life.

Mary bade Melvil tell her son that she had done nothing injurious to his rights or honor, though she was actually in treaty to disinherit him, and had also consented to a nefarious plot for carrying him off prisoner to Rome; and she denied to the last the charge of conspiring the death of Elizabeth, though by her will, written the day before her death, she rewarded, as faithful servants, the two secretaries who had borne this testimony against her. A spirit of self-justification so haughty and so unprincipled, a perseverance in deliberate falsehood so resolute and so shameless, ought, under no circumstances, not even in a captive beauty, or an unfortunate queen, to be confounded with genuine religion, true fortitude, or the dignity which renders misfortune respectable.'

Previous to the condemnation of Mary, and while she was endeavoring to gain a greater degree of freedom, under articles guaranteed by the principal powers of Europe, even while these terms were under discussion, a letter was intercepted, addressed by the queen of Scots to Sir Francis Englefield, an English pensioner and exile in Spain, in which she thus wrote: 'Whatsoever shall become of me, by whatsoever change of my state and condition, let the execution of the Great Plot go forward, without any respect of peril or danger to me. For I will account my life very happily bestowed, if I may with the same, help and relieve so great a number of the oppressed children of the church. And further, I pray you use all possible diligence, and endeavor to pursue and promote, at the pope's and other kings' hand, such a speedy execution of their former designments, that the same may be effectuated sometime the next spring,' &c.

Elizabeth has been accused of hypocrisy and dissimulation, in pretending to lament the fate of Mary. As it was apparent her own safety and that of her people depended on the event, yet it is natural to suppose she regretted the necessity, thus imposed on her, of sanctioning this deed, and painfully felt the odium to which it subjected her. That Elizabeth had been disposed to favor Mary is proved by her interference to prevent the Scots from forcing her to submit to be tried by her subjects, and insisted on their not declaring she had forfeited her right to the crown of Scotland. Above all, tacitly allowing Mary's title to the English throne, or doing nothing prejudicial to her claim, notwithstanding her incessant plots for the destruction of the Eng

lish queen. Mary had been treated with all due attention while in England. She had retained her people and servants, had enjoyed society and taken such recreation as was agreeable or needful for health, and the canopy over her chair of state was not removed until her guilt had been fully proved.

Had Elizabeth felt any enmity to Mary, she would not have made her son the heir of England's throne ; yet her magnanimity and true greatness of soul made her prefer the claims of justice; and she doubtless perceived the good which would be produced by uniting Scotland with England, thus adding another kingdom to the British empire. Having constantly this in view, she treated with severity every aspirant to the throne. For this Elizabeth has been condemned; but perhaps in no other way could the peace and integrity of the kingdom have been preserved.

Many instances of clemency are recorded, which prove that Elizabeth was not naturally harsh nor unforgiving. She pardoned the first conspiracy of the duke of Norfolk; and even attempted to deter him from prosecuting the enterprise, by privately telling him to beware on what pillow he reposed his head. After the detection of Norfolk's designs, the queen granted his pardon, on his solemn assurance that he would in future abstain from all intercourse with Mary and her party. Nevertheless that nobleman again entered into a deep-laid plot, whose object was to subvert the gov ernment, and place Mary on the throne of England. Had this plot succeeded, Elizabeth must either have been put to death, as had been concerted, or sent