THE VOYAGERS 



won, the Crown would gladly accept a share in the 

 spoil ; if they lost, they knew what doom to expect. 

 It is surely a high tribute to Elizabeth, and to the trust 

 and love she inspired in her subjects, that they accepted 

 these conditions without a murmur. They knew that 

 the Queen had no care but the country, and that her 

 courage was without blemish. They were content to 

 let her work in her own way, so they might work in 

 theirs. A Prince, in the high political doctrine of Tudor Tudor 

 England, has no friends, only servants ; and owes no sovereignty. 

 gratitude, only acceptance or approval. When this 

 doctrine was inherited, along with other great things, by 

 Stuart pedantry from Tudor state-craft, it made clumsy 

 havoc of the happiness of a people, and tumbled the 

 Crown in the mire. But the hands that fashioned it 

 knew how to wield it for the safety and glory of the 

 nation. Towards the close of her reign, when Elizabeth 

 was able at last to speak with kings in the gate, she 

 spoke with the voice of England. 



The meaning and interest of English history, therefore, ^-^f 

 during this long period of incubation, is to be found 

 not in the doings of the Government, but in the un- 

 authorised activities of the people. The political history 

 of a country is commonly an affair of great dignity ; it 

 deals with the legitimate acts of the rightful government. 

 But the great deeds of Elizabeth's reign were most of 

 them unlawfully begotten, an,d were legitimated when 

 they came of age. The volunteer efforts of the nation 

 gathered yearly in strength and volume ; at last the 

 Queen threw off her mask of indifference, and accepted 

 the command. Until the time was ripe, she held 

 sedulously aloof. The body politic was full of life, 



43 



