CHAPTER XIV.

QUEEN ELIZABETH.--1558 TO 1603.

1. Elizabeth is one of the most celebrated of our sovereigns, for she was a remarkably clever woman, although, like her father, she was harsh and tyrannical.

2. It was a merry day in England when she was crowned, for great numbers of the people had not liked queen Mary. The citizens of London testified their joy by decorating the outsides of their houses with draperies of silk and satin; and by having shows and pageants in the streets, as was customary, at that time, on all joyful occasions.

3. In one place, a fountain ran with wine; in another, a boy, dressed to represent an angel with wings, descended from the top of an arch, as the queen’s chariot was passing under, and presented her with a bible; then was drawn up again by a cord, to look as if he flew away; and there were many other things of the same kind, which I have not room to tell of.

4. The ladies and gentlemen who attended the queeen rode on horseback, for coaches were not used in England till some years afterwards, when a gentleman, from Holland, brought a carriage over here, and then the English soon began to build coaches, and ladies of rank left off riding on horses, as they used to do, seated on a pillion, behind their husbands.

5. Elizabeth was a good queen in many respects, for she was a friend to learning, commerce, and all useful arts; and she chose able ministers, who ruled the country with wisdom and prudence; but she behaved very cruelly about religion, for although numbers of the people were still Catholics, she made a law that everybody should go to Protestant churches; and those who did not were put in prison, or made to pay such large sums of money, that they were quite ruined.

6. In other countries, particularly the Netherlands, the Protestants were as ill-treated as the Catholics were here, so that a great many of them came to England, and were very useful in teaching the English several arts and manufactures they did not know before.

7. Pins, needles, and paper, were now first made in England, and the cotton and other factories were greatly improved, so that there was more employment for the working classes.

8. Then workhouses were established for the destitute, and all householders, for the first time, were obliged to pay a tax, called the poor rate, to support and find the poor in food and clothes, so that they might not be driven, by want, to beg or steal.

9. The middle classes became more wealthy, and lived in better style than at any former period, especially the citizens of London, many of whom were rich merchants, living like noblemen, and among these was Sir Thomas Gresham, who built the first Royal Exchange, at his own expense, and gave a grand dinner there to the queen, in the year 1570.

10. English merchants now began to think of trading to the East Indies: but as it required a great deal of money to fit out ships, to make so long a voyage, for it took about four times as long then as it does now, a number of rich merchants joined together, and for a sum of money, obtained a charter from the queen, which made it unlawful for any other persons to carry on any trade with that part of the world.

11. It is very interesting to read how this East India Company first were only permitted just to land in India, and buy and sell a few goods; then, how they obtained permission of the emperor, for there was an emperor of India then, to build some warehouses on the sea coast, and form a little settlement, called a factory; then how they gradually established more factories, and took soldiers to protect them, and gained possession of lands, where they built towns, so that many English families went to live there.

12. Such was the beginning of the British empire in India; and, I dare say, that if the emperor could have foreseen the consequences, he would not have consented to have an English factory built on his coast.

13. In the reign of Elizabeth, Captain Francis Drake made a voyage all round the world, though he was not the first navigator who did so, but he was the first English one.

14. This was a grand exploit, as few people had believed, then, that it was possible, or that the world was really a round body; so you see how these voyages tended to increase knowledge, as well as to improve commerce.

15. When Drake returned, the queen went to dine with him on board his ship, and made him a knight, after which he was called Sir Francis Drake, and he soon became an admiral.

16. In the mean time, several voyages had been made to America, and Sir Walter Raleigh, who was one of the great men of the time, had taken possession of a tract of land for the queen of England, which he called Virginia, and it still bears that name.

17. The Europeans behaved very unjustly about America, for although the natives were savages, they had no right to take away their lands.

18. But they did so in every place they went to; and if they were Spaniards, they set up the Spanish flag, and the commander of the ship said, “I take this country for the king of Spain;” and then would fight with the poor natives, and kill them or drive them away; and, I am sorry to say, the English used to act much in the same manner.

19. The Spaniards who had taken some of the West India Islands, and settled colonies in South America, wanted slaves to work in the gold mines, and their sugar plantations; so an English captain took out some ships to Africa, and carried off a great many negroes, whom he sold in the West Indies, for a large price; and from that time this trade was carried on to a great extent, and was permitted, by government, until the beginning of the present century.

20. But we must now think of what was going on in England. Elizabeth had a cousin, named Mary, who was queen of Scotland, and was next heir to the English crown.

21. She was young and beautiful, and had been married to the king of France, who was now dead; so she had returned to Scotland, and, after a time, married lord Darnley, and had a son, who was our king James the First.

22. Lord Darnley was murdered, and Mary married another lord, who was disliked by the Scots, so that there was a civil war, and she was obliged to resign the crown, and after much ill-treatment, escaped to England, and begged the protection of queen Elizabeth.

23. Now the queen had always been jealous of her, and she was now cruel enough to shut her up in a castle, and, after keeping her a prisoner for eighteen years, in different places, gave orders for her execution, and the unfortunate queen of Scots was beheaded in Fotheringay castle.

24. Soon after this event, news arrived that a large fleet was coming to invade England. The king of Spain, Philip the Second, had been married to our queen Mary; and had offered his hand to queen Elizabeth, but she had resolved not to marry at all, and at any rate, she would not have had Philip, for she did not like him.

25. He was, therefore, offended; and was also angry because the queen had been kind to the Protestants who had fled to England from the Netherlands, for he was king of those countries as well as of Spain; and her admirals having attacked some of his settlements in America, he determined to invade England, and make himself king there too, if he could.

26. He got ready the largest fleet that was ever known, and called it the Invincible Armada; but it did not prove to be invincible, although the English had but a very small navy at that time, not more than fifteen ships of war; but the merchants lent their ships, and manned them at their own expense; and people of all classes gave money to pay soldiers, to defend the country, in case the Spaniards should effect a landing.

27. But they never did land; for the English vessels, though so much smaller than Spanish ships, were lighter, and more manageable, and kept them from coming near the shore; and when they anchored off Calais, the English admiral sent fire ships among them, and burnt some of them, which created such terror, that they sailed away as fast as they could, some one way and some another, and the English ships chased them and disabled a great many; while others were wrecked by a violent storm; and thus the Armada was nearly destroyed.

28. Small handbills were printed and sent about the country, to let the people know that the danger was over.

29. Many more books were now published, and there were many clever authors in this reign, especially Shakespeare, who wrote a number of beautiful plays.

30. The queen was a great admirer of Shakespeare’s plays, and used to go to see them acted; but the theatres were then not much better than the shows at a country fair, and the performance was in the day time.

31. People of fashion, in those days, dined at eleven o’clock; the merchants and tradespeople, at twelve; and laborers, at one; and all public amusements were between dinner and supper, which was taken about six.

32. These amusements did not show very good taste, for gentlemen and ladies of rank used to go and see cock fighting, and bull and bear baiting, which are cruel disgusting exhibitions, and I only mention them to show you the difference between the manners at that time and this.

33. I will now give you an idea what kind of dress people used to wear in the time of queen Elizabeth. The gowns were open before, with a stiff bodice, just like a pair of stays, laced in front, and a large ruff round the neck.

34. In the street, most ladies used to wear a little black velvet mask, and shoes with such high heels they could scarcely walk in them. Gentlemen wore short jackets, reaching a little below the waist, with a belt and sword, a cloak, and a high-crowned hat.

35. One great improvement was made in dress in this reign, by the invention of stockings, which, for a long time, were all knitted; but they were found much more convenient than the cloth hose, that everybody used to wear, till then.

36. Queen Elizabeth died, after a long, prosperous and peaceful reign, of forty-five years, in 1603, having named for her successor, her cousin, James Stuart, king of Scotland: and thus the two kingdoms of England and Scotland came to be united, and took the name of Great Britain.

QUESTIONS.

1. What was the character of queen Elizabeth?

4. What was the fashion of riding at this period?

5. Mention the good and bad features of Elizabeth’s government.

6. How were new manufactures brought into England, and what were they?

8. What provision was made for the poor?

9. When was the Royal Exchange built, and by whom?

10. What was the origin of the East India Company?

13. Who was the first English captain that sailed round the world?

15. What honors were bestowed on him on his return?

19. How was the slave trade begun?

26. What was the Spanish Armada?

29. What celebrated author lived in this reign?

36. When did Elizabeth die?