During his seclusion lord Burghley died, and Elizabeth is said to have wept bitterly at his death. About the same time, however, she was comforted by the demise of her arch enemy, Philip of Spain; and upon the accession of his son, Philip III., the war was allowed to languish.

A gloom was thrown over the last years of Elizabeth's reign by persecutions, state trials, and sanguinary executions. That which more nearly concerned the queen was the trial and execution of her favourite, Essex. In the year 1599 an insurrection broke out in Ireland, which was headed by Hugh, son of a baron of Duncannon, who had been exalted by the queen to the earldom of Tyrone, and who had exalted himself to be the O'Neil, and rightful Irish sovereign of Ulster. The earl of Tyrone defeated the English troops at Tyrone with great slaughter, and was proclaimed by the Irish the saviour of his country. By the particular request of the queen, the earl of Essex was appointed to measure swords with this rebel chieftain; and he left London for Ireland, surrounded with the flower of the English nobility. This appointment had been made at the suggestion of the Cecils, sons of lord Burghley, who wished to remove him from court, in the hope that it would involve his disgrace if not his death in that hope they were not disappointed. On reaching Ireland he appointed the earl of Southampton to be general of the horse; but the queen compelled him to revoke it. Shortly after, having done nothing to put an end to the insurrection, he was accused of wasting time and money; and the queen broadly stated that she had great cause to think that his purpose was to prolong the war. In the month of August he marched for the first time into Ulster, the centre of the rebellion, where he met the earl of Tyrone; but instead of fighting with him he concluded an armistice, and then returned to England.

On the return of Essex from Ireland, the anger of Elizabeth knew no bounds. He was placed under restraint; and this restraint drove him into rebellion. In the year 1600 he made a touching appeal to the queen; but, though he was shortly after released from custody, he was told that he was not to appear at court. This touched his pride to the quick, and a few days after, the queen having refused to continue him in possession of a valuable patent for the monopoly of sweet wines, he became desperate. Unfortunately, there was one in his service, Cuffe, his secretary, who fomented the dis

position for rebellion, which the queen's slight of him had induced. It was suggested by Cuffe, that he might recover his ascendency by the removal of sir Robert Cecil, sir Walter Raleigh, and others from court; and, relying on his popularity with the Londoners, he resolved to carry this plan into effect. He was joined by some noblemen, gentlemen, and others, and the attempt was made early in the year 1601; but the good citizens of London, on whose aid he had relied, did not respond to his call, and he, with the earl of Southampton, were taken and committed to the Tower, while others of his followers were lodged in various gaols in London and Westminster.

Essex and Southampton were tried by the peers on the 19th of February. Among these peers were Cobham, Grey, and other enemies of Essex; men whom he had recently accused of seeking his life. His case seems to have been prejudged; but that he was guilty there could be no doubt. The proofs of his sedition and treason were considered all-sufficient; and he, with his friend Southampton, was pronounced guilty. He was advised to submit, and implore the queen's mercy by acknowledging and confessing all his offences; but he replied that he could not ask for mercy in that way, though, with all humility, he prayed her majesty's forgiveness. Subsequently, it is said, Essex made an ample confession, which implicated several individuals, and among others, James, king of Scotland. This confession filled four sheets ; but its accuracy may be doubted, as may, also, the story of the queen's reluctance to sign his death-warrant, and the romantic incident of the ring, said to have been given him by Elizabeth for the purpose of insuring his safety from her anger in any emergency of this nature. Her regard for Essex had been extinguished for some time; and there are letters and documents in the State-Paper Office which prove that, as soon as his confession was obtained, his execution was prepared by the full consent of the queen. He was beheaded in an inner court of the Tower, on the 25th of February, and his death was followed by those of Cuffe, his secretary; Merrick, his steward; sir Charles Danvers; and sir Christopher Blount, his 'step-father. The earl of Southampton was kept close prisoner in the Tower; and others suffered imprisonment, or paid large sums of money for their pardon.

In the meantime the lord Mountjoy, who succeeded Essex in the command of Ireland, had to maintain a desperate

struggle with the earl of Tyrone. In 1601, Don Juan D'Aguilar landed at Kinsale, with four thousand insurgents, to aid the Irish; but Mountjoy collected all the forces he could and shut up the Spaniards within their lines. The earl of Tyrone advanced to the assistance of his friends with an army of six thousand Irish and four hundred foreigners; but he was defeated with great loss, on which D'Aguilar capitulated, and was permitted to return to Spain. Tyrone was subsequently compelled to capitulate; and, upon promise of life and lands, he surrendered to Mountjoy. A.D. 1602.

The warlike operations of this long reign were closed by some minor naval conflicts on the coast of Spain and in the British Channel. At this time Elizabeth was fast approaching the grave. By some, her illness was supposed to have been brought on by her displeasure touching the succession; by others, that it had been caused by the affairs of Ireland, her council having constrained her to pardon the earl of Tyrone; and, by others, that it was induced by the death of Essex. She became very melancholy; but it seems probable that the sufferings incident to her age, and the fear of death, were the chief causes of that melancholy. For two days she sat on cushions on the floor, neither rising nor lying down, her finger being almost always in her mouth, and her eyes open and fixed on the ground. She took to her bed on the 21st of March, 1603, partly by force; after which she listened attentively to the prayers and discourses of the bishops of Chichester and London, and archbishop Whitgift, of Canterbury. On her dying bed she was entreated to name her successor, on which she exclaimed, that her seat had been the seat of kings, and that she would have "no rascal" to succeed her. The lords not understanding, she was asked what she meant by the words "no rascal?" when she replied, that a king should succeed her; and who could that be but her cousin of Scotland? She died on the 24th of March, in the seventieth year of her age, and the forty-fifth of her reign.

Elizabeth understood the art of reigning in an eminent degree. Her wise ministers, and her brave warriors, share the praise of her success; but they owed their advancement to her choice, were supported by her constancy, and, with all their abilities, could never obtain an undue ascendency over her. In her family, and in her court, she remained equally mistress. She reigned alone; and, like her father, Henry VIII., reigned absolutely. The force of her affections was

great over her; but the force of her mind was still superior. In many respects her character was unfeminine; but this may be attributed chiefly to the age in which she lived, and to the circumstances by which she was surrounded.

Perhaps a mind less stern than that of Elizabeth would never have been able to control the courtiers and subjects of that age; and if at times she appeared to be too severe, it must be recollected that events called forth her severity. One thing, at least, is certain, that the reign of Elizabeth was a happy one, not only for her subjects but for posterity.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE RELIGION, GOVERNMENT AND LAWS, COMMERCE, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, ARTS AND LITERATURE OF THIS PERIOD.

FOR more than a third of the present period the ancient Romish faith was almost the universal belief of the people: this was the age of Wolsey, the most gorgeous and powerful prelate that had arisen since the days of Becket. In no period, indeed, did the church enjoy more authority than it now enjoyed. All the highest and most influential offices in the state were in the hands of churchmen, and the management of ecclesiastical and civil affairs were under their control. Their power and authority were so great that they were lea to persecute those who adopted the opinions of Wiclif. In the year 1494, the first English female martyr, Jane Boughton, suffered martyrdom for holding these opinions, and her death was followed by numerous others throughout the country. But the barbarities of the Romish clergy acted otherwise than was intended: instead of moving the people to a horror of the new opinions, they moved them to a horror of the Romish church. This horror was increased by the dissolute lives of the clergy; their profligacy being such as to prove to all around that they were not the servants of Christ. An impulse was also given to the coming storm of the Reformation in the reign of Henry VII., by the revival of learning and by the printing of books, which tended to increase the knowledge of the people. The works of Martin Luther, who in this period wrote and preached against the

abuses and errors of the church of Rome, greatly enlightened the public mind, not only in Germany, the scene of his labours, but over all the Continent and in England. The principles of Luther were similar to those of Wiclif, and they were eagerly adopted by the people. Henry VIII. opposed his authority against the new tenets; but Henry soon after opposed his authority also to the Romish church. It was his ambition to become supreme head of the church, and when this power was conferred upon him by parliament, he took means to destroy the power of the pope and the clergy. Monasteries were suppressed, and their revenues applied to other purposes. At the same time the doctrines and ceremonies of Rome were in a great measure retained. Henry was in heart attached to those doctrines and ceremonies; and hence while he executed Papists for denying his supremacy, he executed Protestants for not holding the faith of the Romish church. In his time the great Wolsey threw a temporary protection over the church: in reality he was king of England, and his greatness was linked to the ascendancy of the ancient religion. But his greatness in the end contributed to its downfall: when he fell, that fell likewise. It was after his death that Henry dealt such mortal blows at the power of the church of Rome, and took the first great steps in the work of the Reformation. No praise is due to him for the measures he pursued, as they emanated from ambitious and corrupt motives; but God overruled these motives for the salvation of England. Among the blessings which arose out of his antagonism to the pope, was the destruction of the monasteries, which were for the most part dens of infamy; and the translation, printing, and promulgation of the Holy Scriptures. This latter measure spread a light throughout the nation, which has burned brighter and brighter through every succeeding generation. The people were enjoined to read the word of God, as that which every Christian man was bound to embrace, believe, and follow, if he expected to be saved. Among the advisers of Henry were men, as Cranmer and Cromwell, who were from principle attached to the work of the Reformation; and it was to them that its success in the reign of Henry must be chiefly attributed. But at the close of this reign the Church of England, although it had cast off the Roman supremacy, was still, according to its public formalities and the law of the land, one with the church of Rome, in all the fundamental points of doctrine and belief.