antism in her kingdom. At length, in the year 1586, a formidable conspiracy for the invasion of England by the Spaniards, the restoration of the Roman Catholic religion, and the murder of Elizabeth, was brought to light. It had been concerted mainly between English Jesuit priests, and the Spanish ambassador in behalf of his master. The Pope had given his full sanction to the enterprise, and the Queen of Scots had written explicit directions to one of the principal conspirators. The plot was betrayed to Walsingham, then secretary of state, and the government having in their hands full proof of Mary Stuart's complicity, determined to arraign her for high treason.

She was brought to trial before a commission consisting of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the chief judges of the law-courts, and thirty-seven peers and knights of the realm. On the 25th of October, being convicted of "conspiracy and imagining the death of the queen," she was sentenced to the scaffold. Elizabeth evinced great reluctance to issue the warrant for her execution, and during the three months of delay which ensued, fresh plots of assassination and conspiracy were discovered. At length the peril had grown too great to be further suffered, and on the 3d of February Elizabeth signed the warrant. The council, fearing that she might retract, immediately dispatched the order to Mary's last prison-house at Fotheringay Castle. On the 8th of the same month, Mary Stuart, with a tranquility of mind and majesty of demeanor worthy of a better cause, calmly laid her head upon the block.

1587.

QUESTIONS. Of which of the wives of Henry VIII. was Elizabeth the daughter? What did the mother say when warned against marrying Henry VIII.?-How was the announcement of Elizabeth's accession received?—What curious petition was presented to the queen the day following her coronation ?—What was required of English subjects by the Act of Supremacy?-What was the effect of this act upon Roman Catholics? By whom was the queen sought in marriage?-What announcement did she make on this occasion?-Who was her secretary

of state?-Mention the instances of good government afforded in this reign.

State Mary Stuart's claim to the English throne.-By whom was she regarded as the only lawful sovereign of the realm ?-Where had Mary been educated ?-Whom did she marry?--To what did she lay claim? -Describe the religious parties which at this time divided Scotland.Mention the terms of the treaty of Edinburgh.-Describe Mary's conduct towards Elizabeth.-With what designs did she return to Scotland?-Describe the effect of her presence there.-What did she demand of the English parliament ?-Why could not this be granted? -Whom did Mary marry?-Relate her subsequent conduct.-Relate the story of Rizzio?-Describe the queen's subsequent conduct.-What conspiracy was planned in December of 1566?-Relate the circumstances preceding Darnley's death.-Why was not Bothwell punished? -Relate briefly the events which followed?-How did Elizabeth treat the Queen of Scots at this time?-To what did this lead?-What withheld Elizabeth's countenance from her?-Why could she not restore her to Scotland ?-Relate the events which led to Murray's execution. -When did it take place?

CHAPTER XXXVI.

QUEEN ELIZABETH—THE LAST SIXTEEN YEARS OF HER REIGN.

1587.

THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA-LEICESTER ESSEX AND HIS ENEMIES.

MARY'S son, James, was king in Scotland when his mother was put to death. He pretended great sorrow and indignation on receiving the news, but Elizabeth found means to pacify him. The fear of losing the succession to the English crown, of which he was now the direct heir, kept him quiet. Not thus was conciliated another monarch, Philip of Spain, who had less personal grounds than James for revenging the death of Queen Mary. He had, however, his own reasons for enmity to

the English queen. Elizabeth had aided, at first, secretly, but afterwards openly, Philip's Protestant subjects in the . Netherlands, who had revolted from him.

Nearly two years before the execution of Mary, Elizabeth had sent her court favorite, the Earl of Leicester, into Holland. Leicester was not capable of doing much for the cause which he had undertaken, and his expedition is only memorable for the death of the accomplished Sir Philip Sidney, one of the brightest ornaments of the court of the English queen. He perished in an attack on the town of Zutphen. Whilst lying wounded on the field of battle, a soldier brought to him some water in a helmet. As the dying nobleman put the cooling draught to his lips to quench his intolerable thirst, his eye caught the longing look of a wounded soldier who lay near him. "Friend, thy necessity is greater than mine!" exclaimed the noble Sidney, and passed the cooling beverage to his dying comrade's lips! At the siege of Zutphen, another young and gallant favorite of the queen distinguished himself. This was Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, then a youth of nineteen, full of military ardor, frank, and accomplished.

Philip, in revenge of the part which Elizabeth had taken in the affairs of the Netherlands, retaliated by engaging in many of the plots made to release Mary of Scotland and overturn the throne of the English queen. On the death of Mary he threw off all disguise, openly declared war against Elizabeth, and made formidable preparations for the invasion of England. Besides a large army, he equipped a fleet of one hundred and thirty vessels, proudly styled the "Invincible Armada." The death of the admiral, and storms, detained the vessels in the Tagus, and it was not until nearly a year after war had been proclaimed that the mighty armament left the shores of Spain.

Meanwhile Elizabeth had not been idle. Her kingdom resounded with preparations to repel the formidable invasion. The English queen, who certainly had "the genius to be

1588.

loved," as well as feared, by her subjects, never awakened greater enthusiasm among them than on this occasion. She appeared before her troops on horseback in the camp at Tilbury, and with cheerful voice and animated countenance, told them that, if need were, she herself would lead them against their enemies. "I know," she added, "I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England too; and think foul scorn that Parma, or Spain, or any prince in Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm." The royal navy at this critical time was increased by the voluntary contributions of nobles and people, who at their own cost fitted and manned merchant vessels, which were commanded by the most noted and skilful seamen of the age-such famous navigators as Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher.

On the 20th July, 1588, the "Invincible Armada," in the form of a crescent, stretching seven miles from horn to horn, bore proudly up the Channel. The lighter English ships poured in their fire, and escaped from the heavy Spanish vessels before the latter could return it. The English avoided coming too near the enemy's ships, and their skilful tacking and playing amid the Spanish fleet, sailing away before their fire could be returned, resembled, says one who saw it, "a morris-dance upon the waters." Many ships were taken, many others sunk, but the Armada still remained formidable until the night of the 27th July, when fire-ships were floated into its midst by the English. These caused great destruction, and, in a few days, the Spanish fleet became so disabled, that the commanders were obliged to abandon the enterprise. Many of the vessels, in trying to pass round the coast of Scotland, perished in a dreadful storm off the Orkney Islands. When at last sixty shattered vessels, the sole remnant of the "Invincible Armada," returned to Spain, the mariners told fearful tales of the valor of English seamen and the terrors of English seas.

In the year 1570, the Duke of Anjou, brother to the king

of France, sought, through political motives, to obtain the hand of Elizabeth. For a time it was supposed that the English queen would yield to his suit. But, after some wavering, the young and agreeable French duke was dismissed, and the queen again declared to her parliament her intention to live unmarried. At a much earlier period in

her reign, so great was the favor shown by Elizabeth towards the Earl of Leicester, that fears were awakened that she would condescend to bestow her hand upon the haughty favorite. Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was son of the Earl of Northumberland, whose wicked and ambitious machinations had brought Lady Jane Grey to the block. His grandfather was the unscrupulous lawyer who, together with Empson, had committed such wrongs and robberies in Henry VII.'s reign.

The Earl of Leicester, though young, handsome, and agreeable, showed a want of principle worthy of such ancestry. In the year 1560 he entertained Elizabeth at his castle of Kenilworth, with great magnificence, and when her evident partiality had inspired him with the hope that he might one day share the crown, he is said to have caused the death of his lovely and attached wife, Amy Robsart, that there might be no impediment to the royal marriage. But whatever may have been Elizabeth's personal feelings towards Leicester, she was too politic a sovereign to contract a marriage so distasteful to her people. After a time Leicester's popularity declined, and he was succeeded in the queen's favor by a very different man—the frank and impetuous Earl of Essex.

In the early part of this reign, when a mere youth, Essex had distinguished himself, both by sea and land, in the wars with Spain, and the queen had delighted in the high spirit and noble bearing of the young earl. But he was too opentempered to be a courtier, and, as years wore on, he declined in favor, and made himself powerful enemies at court. The chief of these were Lord Burleigh and Sir Walter Raleigh. In the year 1598, an insurrection having broken out in Ireland, the queen sent Essex thither to put it down.