CHAPTER XVII.

REIGN OF JAMES I.

The Stuart Dynasty--Hopes and Fears caused by the Accession of James--The King enters England--His Progress to London--Lavish Creation of Peers and Knights--The Royal Entrance into the Metropolis--The Coronation--Popularity of Queen Anne--Ravages of the Plague--The King Receives Foreign Embassies--Rivalry of the Diplomatists of France and Spain--Discontent of Raleigh, Northumberland, and Cobham--Conspiracies against James--"The Main" and "The Bye"--Trials of the Conspirators--The Sentences--Conference with Puritans--Parliament of 1604--Persecution of Catholics and Puritans--Gunpowder Plot--Admission of Fresh Members--Delays and Devices--The Letter to Lord Mounteagle--Discovery of the Plot--Flight of the Conspirators--Their Capture and Execution--New Penal Code--James's Correspondence with Bellarmine--Cecil's attempts to get Money--Project of Union between England and Scotland--The King's Collisions with Parliament--Insurrection of the Levellers--Royal Extravagance and Impecuniosity--Fresh Disputes with Parliament and Assertions of the Prerogative--Death of Cecil--Story of Arabella Stuart--Death of Prince Henry 404