was at war with France, and consequently in a state of hostility to Scotland. The Spanish alliance had been very disadvantageous to England; but there was no reason to suppose that Philip would long continue on good terms with Elizabeth, unless she consented to marry him, which, he having been her sister's husband, would be more objectionable measure than the union of her father with Catherine of Arragon, while another Spanish match would be hateful to the nation. The Pope and all the European powers under papal influence would become her open enemies, as soon as she ventured to show a decided inclination to favour the reformation. Public affairs were in the utmost disorder: the treasury empty; no adequate preparations to meet the attacks of enemies; trade in a languishing state; the people suffering severely from the effects of recent famine and pestilence; and the nation in debt to the amount of four millions, a sum in those days almost incredible.

to the Charter-house, near London, attended by more than a thousand of the nobility and gentry, with many ladies. Robert Dudley, afterwards Earl of Leicester, rode next to her as master of the horse. When approaching the metropolis, she was met by the principal clergy, and others, all of whom she received with much affability, excepting Bonner: from that ecclesiastical butcher she turned with expressions of disgust. Her decided disapproval of persecution was shown on the day after her arrival, when, on learning that Sir Ambrose Jermyn, a magistrate of Suffolk, had stopped the proceedings against the Protestants in his neighbourhood, a letter of thanks was sent to him, in the queen's name, expressing her wish that others would act in the same manner. But the desire of the Popish prelates to continue the persecutions was openly declared. At the funeral of queen Mary, on December 13, Jewel relates, that bishop White spoke in strong terms against the return of the exiles for religion, declaring that it would Nor was Elizabeth free from other and be a good deed if any would slay them! still more serious causes for disquiet. His discourse was thoroughly popish, and Those of her subjects who were attached in strict accordance with his text, "I to the Reformation, considered her mopraised the dead more than the living," ther's union with Henry VIII. to have Eccles. iv. 2. But he was only directed been valid, and her title good; upon their not to leave his own house for a time. principles Henry's marriage with CatheOn November 28, the queen pro-rine of Arragon was altogether unlawful, ceeded to the Tower, entering it with very different sensations from those which oppressed her when last within those gloomy walls. The words of Psalm cvii. are very descriptive of God's merciful dealings with her: "He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder." A few days afterwards, she removed to Westminster, where she kept the festival of Christmas, on which day she withdrew from the public service when the host was to be raised as an object to be worshipped. These removals were made by public processions, in which the people displayed great joy. Elizabeth was of a goodly presence, and conducted herself so as to win and to retain the general favour. From the beginning to the end of her reign, she ever manifested a desire to possess the affections of her people. On every occasion she endeavoured to act so as to secure popularity, and she succeeded. She did not seek self-gratification as her primary object; or, rather, she was best pleased when she pleased her people.

The position of Elizabeth on her accession was full of difficulty. The nation |

as the Pope had no power to do away the laws of God; thus it was void from the beginning, so that no question need be entertained as to the regularity of the divorce. But, on the other hand, the Papists both at home and abroad considered that Henry's marriage with Catherine was valid, and the divorce unlawful, so that Ann Boleyn's marriage was, in this view, null and void from the beginning; therefore Elizabeth was illegitimate, and had no claim to the English throne. This had also been declared during her father's reign; but though the act had not been repealed, he restored her to the succession, by the will he was empowered to make. Under these circumstances, Papists at home, as well as foreign powers, considered that Mary, queen of Scots, had the right to be queen of England. Francis 1. of France was the only Popish monarch who had recognized the legitimacy of Elizabeth; but his successors disallowed it. Even her brother had given priority to the family of the duchess of Suffolk, which caused some to consider the surviving sisters of Lady Jane Grey as having claims to the throne.

the dealings of Providence, whereby the Most High caused it to be for the interest of the queen and her people to oppose the detestable tyranny of the Popedom, and its efforts to suppress the truth. Yet had Elizabeth gone forward more decidedly, there is no reason to doubt that she would have been sustained in her course; and had she been more under the influence of personal piety, she would have escaped many of those difficulties in which she was afterwards involved. All that the queen did as to religion, previous to the meeting of parliament, was to stop the Popish persecutions, to forbid any one to preach without a license, and to direct that a part of the public services should be in English. The mass was still continued, but the elevation and idolatrous adoration of it were forbidden. Preparations were also made to bring the whole question of religion before the parliament.

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discuss publicly, whether having prayer in an unknown tongue, is contrary to Scripture, and the practice of the primitive church; whether every national church may not regulate its own ceremonies without reference to the papa! authority; and whether the sacrifice of the mass can be supported from Scripture. The Papists cavilled, and shifted their ground; they refused to argue these points fairly in writing, as they at first agreed to do. Some of the Papists were imprisoned and fined for contumacy; they had gone so far as openly to propose to excommunicate Queen Elizabeth.

The

The Act of Uniformity directed the restoration of Protestant worship according to a form, not very different from that appointed in the reign of Edward VI. The variations were made from a desire to retain the moderate Papists within the national church; but, like many other conciliatory measures in religious matOn January 29, 1559, the parliament ters, this failed as to the object sought met. Efforts were made to procure the to be attained, while an opening was election of members well disposed to the thereby made for difficulties and evils queen. Sir Ralph Bagnal, who had arising from other causes. The alterastood alone in his opposition to the intro- tions were chiefly as to the sacrament of duction of the Papal authority, was now the Lord's Supper, by introducing exreturned as knight of the shire for the pressions which would speak less clearly county of Stafford. One of the acts against the doctrine of the real presence; passed restored to the crown the first- but how much depends upon this! fruits and tenths of ecclesiastical prefer- doctrine of transubstantiation, or of the ments, which had during the late reign real presence of the body of Christ in been placed at the disposal of Cardinal the consecrated elements, in any degree, Pole to forward Popery. Another act implies an authority and power in the allowed the queen to apply part of the priest, which leads by sure steps to the bishops' revenues to the public service. errors of popery. Men of learning and A more important law restored to the speculative minds may try to rear a syscrown supremacy in ecclesiastical mat- tem which clothes the priesthood with a ters, and set aside that of the Pope. degree of divine power above their fellowThis was expressed in less objectionable men; but in fact the priest thereby is terms than in the reigns of her father" showing himself that he is God;" for and brother. Lever, an exile, urged that the title of supreme head of the church ought not to be assumed by any mortal. Elizabeth was induced to take lower ground, though she was acknowledged as supreme governor in spiritual and ecclesiastical matters. As a woman, she was not qualified to act personally in reference to the matters brought before her in this capacity. She was therefore authorized to appoint what was called "the high commission court," vested with arbitrary power in matters relating to religion. It led to much oppression and many abuses. Another law related to uniformity in matters of religion. Previously to this act being passed, ten Protestant and as many Popish divines were instructed to

no one less than the Creator can effect the change contended for, however disguised by the term "spiritual sense," if any alteration is supposed to have been effected in the sacramental elements.

We must also notice with considerable regret, another result of education in Popish principles. This act did not allow that liberty of conscience in matters of religion, which every man has a right to exercise. At this time, the restraining measures were aimed only at Popery; they did not go beyond fines and imprisonment, and contrasted very favourably for the Reformation, when compared with the proceedings of queen Mary's reign. They were called for by the conduct of the bigoted Papists, some

of whom still openly gloried in the per-blishments formed by queen Mary were secutions of which they had been guilty. dissolved. In the month of August, seDr. Story boasted in the House of Com- veral crucifixes, images, and other supermons, that at Uxbridge he had thrown a stitious articles, removed from St. Paul's, fagot at "an earwig,' as the Protestants and other metropolitan churches, were were contemptuously styled, while sing- burned in the streets, a pleasing contrast ing psalms at the stake, severely wound- to the burnings of martyrs by queen ing him in the face. But these laws Mary less than a year before. were subsequently found to press very severely on many Protestants; and it was not till a long time afterwards that the evil of attempting to interfere with the right of private judgment was admitted. Even the best men of the sixteenth century were very ignorant on the subject of toleration. This must be attributed to its right source,-to Popery: it was only by degrees that scriptural truth on this subject prevailed. But Antichrist, whatever form it assumes, whether Popish or Protestant, is the same; it is intolerant, and the leaven is so congenial to human nature, that it can never wholly be removed.

The number of ecclesiastics who adhered to Popery was very small; so far Elizabeth and her counsellors succeeded in their plans to procure outward compliance. The number of bishops had been reduced by death to fourteen: these were decidedly attached to Popery: they agreed to refuse the oath respecting supremacy, when tendered to them in June, 1559, calculating, that if they were firmly united, the queen would not venture to expel so many from their sees. But they were ignorant of the resolute spirit of Elizabeth, who, with her counsellors, saw the absolute necessity for standing firm against the Pope having any influence in England. Thirteen bishops persevered in rejecting the oath. Kitchen, bishop of Llandaff, alone took it. Only about two hundred parish priests and other ecclesiastics gave up their preferments! Nares states, that of nine thousand four hundred beneficed Romish clergy, only one hundred and seventy-seven relinquished their stations; the rest conformed. The result was very disadvantageous to the Reformation. For a long period the pulpits of England were nearly silent. The doctrines of truth were seldom heard from them, or at most in a homily, which, however excellent, was purposely so mangled in reading, as to be unintelligible to the hearers. Hence the principles of popery remained deep-rooted in many a country parish, though the outward practices were restrained. The monastic esta

Jewell and other valuable English reformers had by this time returned from the continent; they saw with deep regret how slowly and imperfectly the Reformation proceeded. Even in 1563, there were but three Protestant preachers in the university of Oxford.* Burnet has printed some of the correspondence between Jewell and his friends abroad, in which he bitterly sorrows over this state of things. In 1562 he laments that outward matters connected with Popery were allowed to remain, adding, "for in doctrine we have gone to the quick." Again, in 1566, he wishes "that all, even the slightest, vestiges of Popery could be removed from the churches, and much more from the minds of men. But at this time the queen cannot bear any change with respect to religion." Jewell was one of the chief ornaments of the English church in this reign. In 1562, he published his celebrated Apology: it was a defence of the Protestant faith, as re-established in England. In a controversy with Harding, he triumphantly refuted and exposed the leading errors of Popery, meeting the Romanists even on their own ground. The works of Jewell present a faithful picture of the controversy, as it was then carried on, and have supplied a rich store of materials for later writers.

Having thus stated the course pursued in re-establishing the Protestant religion in England, it will not be necessary to go into minute details, for which we have not room in a brief sketch like the present. During this reign, it was continually manifest that the Reformation was checked and limited by the fears of its friends, as well as by the artifices of its enemies.*

The popish prelates were at length removed from their sees, but were treated in a manner widely different from their own proceedings in the late reign. Bon

The reader may be referred to Strype, Burnet, and Soames, as writers of the established church, for particulars upon these subjects; also to Neale, Brook, and Price, for the statements of writers of other denominations of Protestants. The accounts

of Romish historians cannot be referred to as elucidatory of the real proceedings of this reign. They are all written with a manifest design to distort and misrepresent, often by the grossest falsehoods.