Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/540

532 ELIZABETH by the queen, and went herself to court. The object of many plots, her life continued to be unpleasant, and at one time she thought of flying to France. Overtures of marriage were made to her from various quarters, but she would not listen to them. Philip, who now treated her with marked friendship, on politic grounds, was anxious that she should marry Philibert of Savoy, but all his endeavors were fruitless, and he could not prevail upon his wife to coerce her sister's inclinations. The sisters were on good terms during the last months of Mary's life. The queen, anticipating her hus- band's request, declared Elizabeth her succes- sor shortly before her death, exacting, how- ever, a profession of adherence to the old reli- gion. Affecting to feel hurt that her Cathol- icism should be doubted, the princess " prayed God that the earth might open and swallow her alive if she were not a true Roman Catholic." She declared that she prayed to the Virgin, and on the day before she became queen the Spanish ambassador wrote to his master that she had told him that she acknowledged the real presence in the sacrament. Mary died Nov. 17, 1558, and Elizabeth ascended the throne without opposition. Cecil was appoint- ed her principal secretary of state, and Nicholas Bacon lord keeper. The queen continued to conform to the Catholic worship until Christ- mas morning, when she took the final step that placed her at the head of the Protestant world, by refusing to hear mass in the royal chapel. Other changes were made, but her coronation was according to the forms of Catholicism. She sent friendly messages to Protestant sov- ereigns, and directed her minister at Rome to assure Paul IV. that no violence should be done to the consciences of Englishmen ; but the pontiff made only sharp comments on the message, declared that she was not legitimate, and required her to submit her claim, as against that of Mary Stuart, to his arbitration. She recalled her minister, whom the pope frighten- ed into staying at Rome under the threat of excommunication. A bull was issued against Elizabeth soon after, but she was not expressly named in it. The religious change went on, though Elizabeth was averse to innovations, and would have preferred to proceed so slowly as t'o have virtually kept things in the state she had found them. Catholic and Protestant services were strangely mixed up in her public worship; but this could not last, and 13 bish- ops were deprived of their sees by parliament for refusing to take the oath of supremacy. The church of England was restored, and the use of the Bible in English was legalize^. Philip of Spain sought her hand, and wrote to her often ; but though she was anxious not to offend him, England being in a very depressed state, she would not accept the offer. By the treaty of Cateau-Cambresis (April, 1559) peace was restored, France agreeing to give up Calais in eight years. Six months after her accession the Catholic service was finally discontinued in Elizabeth's private chapel. At first she would not take the title of head of the church, assuming that of its governess ; but at a later period she asserted her supremacy arbitrarily. In France the English throne was claimed for Mary, queen of Scots; a foolish pretension, destined to have bloody consequences. Eliza- beth early began to interfere with Scotch af- fairs, and the party of the reformation was en- abled to triumph there through her aid. Pope Pius IV. sought to win the queen back to the church of Rome, but unsuccessfully. She re- stored the currency to sterling value in 1560, a reform that did much to promote the pros- perity of her subjects. Aid in money, arms, and men was sent to the French Huguenots, and secret assistance to the Protestants of Flanders. When the queen of Scots sought a safe passage from France to Scotland, Eliza- beth refused her request, and it is believed that she endeavored to seize her person. In 1563 parliament entreated the queen to many, the question of the succession being one of much interest to all classes of her subjects, who were not yet free from the terror caused by the wars of the roses. Candidates for her hand contin- ued to spring up at home and abroad. The most prominent Englishman who aspired to the honor was Henry Fitzalan, 18th and last earl of Arundel of that name. Though she was entreated to acknowledge Mary Stuart as her heiress presumptive, she would not do so, and the question was left open. She recom- mended Lord Robert Dudley as a husband to Mary Stuart, before he had been made earl of Leicester, though his object was to marry her- self. She was offered the hand of Charles IX. of France, but though pleased with the ofier she would not accept it. Another suitor of the highest rank was the archduke Charles, son of the German emperor. Leicester approved of this match. The fortunes of this new noble were rapidly rising, and though he and the queen occasionally fell out, they were soon reconciled, and to his increased gain. Their intimacy began early, in the days of Elizabeth's adversity, and lasted until the earl's death, causing scandalous stories to obtain currency. Her marriage with the favorite was expected daily. The marriage of Darnley and Mary Stu- art annoyed her; and the birth of a son from that union caused alarm in England, as show- ing that the crown might pass to a Catholic. Parliament being summoned in October, 1566, one of the first acts of the commons was to vote that the bill for supplies should be accompa- nied by one for the settlement of the succes- sion ; for this Elizabeth hotly rebuked them. Even Leicester, whose schemes had been trav- ersed by Cecil, was one of the leaders of the opposition on this occasion. In November she was waited upon by a deputation from both houses, and entreated to marry or to name a successor. She endeavored to reason them out of their obstinacy, and as to the succession, she said, they should have the benefit of her pray j