INTRODUCTORY. 35 



matter of course deprived, and it is to be regretted were im- 

 prisoned, and otherwise ill-treated. In Henry's time the 

 refusal to take part in the sovereign's coronation would have 

 cost them their lives. But Elizabeth was almost justified in 

 her conduct towards the old Church by the folly of Paul the 

 Fourth and the insolence of Pius the Fifth. The mass of the 

 English people, whether of the old or the new religion, was on 

 the side of the Queen, and it is not a little remarkable that 

 the severity she showed towards Papist and Puritan never 

 induced the former to forget his nationality or the latter to 

 remit his loyalty. 



The difficulties of Elizabeth were very great ; but they were 

 all overcome by the genuine attachment of her people, by her 

 own excellent good sense, by the fidelity of her advisers, and 

 by the good fortune which attended her early career. At the 

 beginning of her reign she was able to make use of the rivalry 

 of Philip of Spain and Henry of France, each of whom was 

 anxious to conciliate her. Fortunately for her, Henry the 

 Second, one of the ablest and most ambitious of French 

 monarchs, was killed by an accident. Fortunately again, the 

 arrogance of Mary Stuart in quartering the arms of England 

 with those of France and Scotland increased the dislike of 

 the English to the Scotch branch of the royal family. For- 

 tunately again, the dangerous union of the Scottish and French 

 thrones was broken by the early death of Francis the Second ; 

 and most fortunately, the misconduct of Mary after her return 

 to Scotland gave Elizabeth a pretext for interfering in the 

 affairs of that kingdom, of ensuring its dependence on the 

 English policy, and in making the interest of James coincide 

 with that of the Queen. But while events were fortunate for 

 Elizabeth, her own genius enabled her to use these events 

 fully. There have been three great English monarchs, Henry 

 the Second, Edward the First, and Elizabeth. But the great 

 Queen was by far the widest, shrewdest, and most successful of 

 these princes, whether one interprets her action by the difficul- 

 ties in which she was placed, by the wisdom with which her 



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