GARDENS OF CELEBRITIES 



and owing to his zeal in maintaining the discipline of the Church 

 of England he gained, and retained, the confidence and favour of 

 Elizabeth. Only on one occasion, that on which he so hastily cut 

 down the trees of the demesne, was he ever threatened with the with- 

 drawal of either, and then the Queen's displeasure seems to have 

 troubled him excessively. But Elizabeth could not doubt the 

 Bishop's devotion to her service, of which rather a comical proof 

 is recorded by Strype, who relates, as a signal instance of his courage 

 and loyalty, that on one occasion Aylmer had a tooth drawn in 

 order to encourage the Queen to submit to the same painful 

 operation. The incident, trifling though it is, speaks not a little 

 for the princess who was capable of inspiring such an act of self- 

 sacrifice. But, as remarked elsewhere, whatever her weaknesses, 

 Elizabeth won and held, the affection and confidence of her subjects. 

 With remarkable acumen she called to her councils, from a galaxy 

 of great men. exactly those best fitted to advise her ; and so 

 supported, she brought the nation to a pitch of glory and a state of 

 freedom unknown before in our island's history. Thus, notwith- 

 standing her absurd vanity, and some errors of policy and conduct, 

 she retained the esteem, as well as the love, of her people to the end 

 of her long reign. An autocrat indeed she was, and civilian, lay- 

 man, and ecclesiastic, deprecated her displeasure ; for (as we shall 

 see in the case of a bishop who succeeded Aylmer) it was felt that 

 to be out of her favour was to be out of the sun ! But the service 

 she so imperiously demanded was cheerfully rendered, because in 

 the eyes of her people she stood for all that was most dear to them : 

 for freedom to worship as they listed, and for escape from a threat- 

 ened, and intolerable foreign yoke. And this explains how it was 

 .that on her demise paeans of praise mingled with the national 

 lamentations, and that her people's grief and pride found expression 

 in various ways, notably in church monuments. It is true that 

 memorial stones are proverbially liars, and that too often they 

 extol the quite imaginary talents of mediocre persons, and the 

 virtues of those who were faulty in their lives. But when a powerful 

 ruler passes away, leaving neither kith nor kin to defend his memory 

 against detractors; when his ability to make or to mar, to bless or 

 to ban, dies with him ; when at last men dare to declare their 

 innermost thoughts ; when frank speech is not ttse-mqjeste, then 

 may even memorial stones tell the truth ! 



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