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11 | <title>Secondary Sources: Queen Elizabeth by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892:
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12 | Chapter III</title>
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30 | <td width="50%" height="3"><font size="3"></font></td>
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34 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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35 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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36 | <p align="center"><b><font size="7">Queen Elizabeth<br></font></b>
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37 | <font size="4">by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892</font></p>
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38 | <p align="center">
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39 | <img border="2" src="eliz1-ermine.jpg" width="400" height="478" alt="'The Ermine Portrait' of Elizabeth I, c1585, by Nicholas Hilliard"><p align="center">
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40 | <i><font size="2">'The Ermine Portrait' of Elizabeth I, c1585, by Nicholas
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41 | Hilliard;<br>from the <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-images.html">Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I</a> website</font></i></td>
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42 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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43 | </tr>
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44 | </table>
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45 | <blockquote>
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46 | <blockquote>
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47 | <font style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
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48 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
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49 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
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50 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman">
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51 | <div align="left">
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52 | <b>CHAPTER III<br>FOREIGN RELATIONS: 1559-1563</b></div>
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53 | <p align="left">THE successful wars waged by Edward III and Henry V are
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54 | apt to cause an exaggerated estimate of the strength of England under the
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55 | Tudors. The population--Wales included--was probably not much more than four
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56 | millions. That of France was perhaps four times as large, and the
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57 | superiority in wealth was even greater. Before the reign of Louis XI.,
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58 | France, weakened by feudal disunion, had been an easy prey to her smaller
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59 | but better-organised neighbour. The work of concentration effected by the
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60 | greatest of French kings towards the close of the fifteenth century, and the
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61 | simultaneous rise of the great Spanish empire, caused England to fall at
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62 | once into the rank of a second-rate power. Such she really was under Henry
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63 | VIII., notwithstanding the rather showy figure he managed to make by
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64 | adhering alternately to Charles v. and Francis I. Under the bad government
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65 | of Edward and Mary the fighting strength of England declined not only
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66 | relatively, but absolutely, until in the last year of Mary it touched the
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67 | lowest point in our history. Although we were at war with France, there were
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68 | no soldiers, no officers, no arms, no fortresses that could resist
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69 | artillery, few ships, a heavy debt, and deep discouragement. The loss of
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70 | Calais, which had been held for 200 years, was the simple and natural
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71 | consequence of this prostration. Justice will not be done to the great
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72 | recovery under Elizabeth unless we understand how low the country had sunk
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73 | when she came to the throne. </p>
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74 | <p align="left">During the early years of her reign, it was the universal
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75 | opinion at home and abroad that without Spanish protection she could not
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76 | preserve her throne against a French invasion in the interests of Mary
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77 | Stuart. Henry II. meant that, by the marriage of the Dauphin Francis with
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78 | Mary, the kingdoms of England and Scotland should be united to one another
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79 | and eventually to France. Philip would thus lose the command of the sea
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80 | route to the Netherlands, and the hereditary duel with the House of Austria
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81 | would be decided. This scheme could not seem fantastic in a century which
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82 | had seen such immense agglomerations of territory effected by political
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83 | marriages. Philip, on the other hand, made sure that the danger from France
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84 | must necessarily throw Elizabeth and England into his arms. Notwithstanding
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85 | the warnings he received from his ambassador Feria that Elizabeth was a
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86 | heretic, he felt certain that she would not venture to alter religion at the
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87 | risk of offending him. The only question with him was whether he should
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88 | marry her himself or bestow her on some sure friend of his house. That she
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89 | would refuse both himself and his nominee was a contingency he never
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90 | contemplated. </p>
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91 | <p align="left">Elizabeth, from the first, made up her mind that the cards
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92 | in her hand could be played to more advantage than Philip supposed. England,
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93 | no doubt, needed his protection for the present. But could he please himself
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94 | about granting it? Her bold calculation was that his own interests would
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95 | compel him, in any case, to prevent the execution of the Stuart-Valois
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96 | scheme, and that consequently she might settle religion without reference to
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97 | his wishes. </p>
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98 | <p align="left">The offer of marriage came in January 1559. In his letter to
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99 | Feria, Philip spoke as if Elizabeth would of course jump at it. After
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100 | dwelling on its many inconveniences, he said he had decided to make the
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101 | sacrifice on condition that Elizabeth would uphold the Catholic religion;
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102 | but she must not expect him to remain long with her; he would visit England
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103 | occasionally. Feria foolishly allowed this letter to be seen, and the
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104 | contents were reported to Elizabeth. She was as much amused as piqued. Their
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105 | ages were not unsuitable. Philip was thirty-two, and Elizabeth was
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106 | twenty-five. But she was as fastidious about men as her father was about
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107 | women; and for no political consideration would she have tied herself to her
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108 | ugly, disagreeable, little brother-in-law. After some fencing, she replied
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109 | that she did not mean to marry, and that she was not afraid of France. </p>
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110 | <p align="left">Before the death of Mary, negotiations for a peace between
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111 | France, Spain, and England had already begun. Calais was almost the only
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112 | difficulty remaining to be settled. Our countrymen have never been able </p>
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113 | <p align="left">to understand how their possession of a fortress within the
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114 | natural boundaries of another country can be disagreeable to its
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115 | inhabitants. Elizabeth shared the national feeling, and she wanted Philip to
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116 | insist on the restitution of Calais. He would have done so if she had
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117 | pleased him as to other matters. Even as it was, the presence of a French
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118 | garrison in Calais was so inconvenient to the master of the Netherlands that
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119 | he was ready to fight on if England would do her part. But Elizabeth would
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120 | only promise to fight Scotland--a very indirect and, indeed, useless way of
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121 | supporting Philip. When once this point was made clear, peace was soon
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122 | concluded between the three powers at Câteau, near Cambray (March 1559);
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123 | appearances being saved by a stipulation that Calais should be restored in
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124 | eight years, or half a million of crowns be forfeited. </p>
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125 | <p align="left">In thus giving way Elizabeth showed her good sense. To have
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126 | fought on would have meant deeper debt, terrible exhaustion, and, what was
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127 | worse, dependence on Philip. Moreover, Calais could only have been recovered
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128 | by reducing France to helplessness, which would have been fatal to the
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129 | balance of power on which Elizabeth relied to make herself independent of
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130 | both her great neighbours. The peace of Câteau Cambresis was attended with a
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131 | secret compact between Philip II. and Henry II., that each monarch should
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132 | suppress heresy in his own dominions and not encourage it in those of his
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133 | neighbour. By the accession of Elizabeth, and the Scotch Reformation which
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134 | immediately followed, Protestantism reached its highwater mark in Europe.
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135 | The long wars of Charles V with France had enabled it to spread. Francis I.
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136 | had intrigued with the Protestant princes of the Empire, and Charles had
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137 | been obliged to humour them. Protestantism was victorious in Britain,
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138 | Scandinavia, North Germany, the Palatinate, and Swabia. It had spread widely
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139 | in Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, and France. This rapid growth was now
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140 | about to be checked. In some of these countries the new religion was
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141 | destined to succumb; in some entirely to disappear. Men who could remember
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142 | the first preachings of Luther lived to see not only the high-water, but the
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143 | ebb, of the Protestant tide. The revolutionary tendencies inherent in
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144 | Protestantism began to alarm the sovereigns; and all the more because the
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145 | Church in Catholic, hardly less than in Protestant, countries was becoming a
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146 | department of the State. Kings had been jealous of the spiritual power when
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147 | it belonged to the Popes. They became jealous for it when it was annexed to
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148 | the throne. </p>
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149 | <p align="left">Notwithstanding its secret stipulations, the peace of Câteau
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150 | Cambresis relieved England from the most pressing and immediate perils by
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151 | which she was threatened. Neither French nor Spanish troops had made their
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152 | appearance on our soil. A breathing-time at least had been gained, during
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153 | which something might be done towards putting the country in a state of
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154 | defence, and restoring the finances. </p>
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155 | <p align="left">But the danger from France was by no means at an end. In the
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156 | treaty with England, the title of Elizabeth had been acknowledged. But in
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157 | that with Spain, the Dauphin had styled himself "King of Scotland, England,
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158 | and Ireland." He and Mary had also assumed the English arms. If a French
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159 | army invaded England, it would come by way of Scotland. The English
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160 | Catholics, who had for the most part frankly accepted the succession of
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161 | Elizabeth, were disappointed and irritated by the change of religion. If
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162 | Mary should go to Scotland with a French force, it was to be apprehended
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163 | that a rebellion would immediately break out in the northern counties.
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164 | Philip, no doubt, would land in the south to drive out the Dauphiness. But
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165 | the remedy would be worse than the disease. For he was deeply discontented
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166 | with the conduct of Elizabeth, and would probably take the opportunity of
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167 | deposing her. To establish, therefore, her independence of both her powerful
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168 | neighbours, Elizabeth had to begin by destroying French influence in
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169 | Scotland. </p>
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170 | <p align="left">The wisest heads in Scotland had long seen the advantage of
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171 | uniting their country to England by marriage. The blundering and bullying
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172 | policy of the Protector Somerset had driven the Scotch to renew their
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173 | ancient alliance with France. But the attempts of the Regent Mary of Guise
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174 | to increase French influence, and to establish a small standing army, in
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175 | order at once to strengthen her authority, and to serve the designs of Henry
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176 | II. against England, had again made the French connection unpopular, and
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177 | caused a corresponding revival of friendly feeling towards England. </p>
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178 | <p align="left">Nowhere was the Church so wealthy, relatively to the other
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179 | estates, as in Scotland. It was supposed to possess half the property of the
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180 | country. Nowhere were the clergy so immoral. Nowhere was superstition so
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181 | gross. But the doctrines of the Reformation were spreading among the common
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182 | people, and in 1557 some of the nobles, hungering for the wealth of the
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183 | Church, put themselves at the head of the Protestant movement. They were
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184 | known as the "Lords of the Congregation." </p>
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185 | <p align="left">The Scotch Reformation began not from the Government, as in
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186 | England, but from the people. Hence, while change of supremacy was the main
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187 | question in England, change of doctrine and worship took the lead in
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188 | Scotland. The two parties were about equal in numbers, the Protestants being
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189 | strongest in the Lowlands. But, with the exception of the murder of Beaton
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190 | in 1546, there had, as yet, been no appeal to force, nor any attempt to
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191 | procure a public change of religion. The accession of Elizabeth emboldened
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192 | the Protestants. At Perth they took possession of the churches and burnt a
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193 | monastery. On the other hand, after the peace of Câteau Cambresis, Henry II.
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194 | directed the Regent to put down Protestantism, both in pursuance of the
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195 | agreement with Philip, and in order to prepare for the Franco-Scottish
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196 | invasion of England. The result was that the Protestants rose in open
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197 | rebellion (June 1559). The Lords of the Congregation occupied Perth,
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198 | Stirling, and Edinburgh. All over the Lowlands abbeys were wrecked, monks
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199 | harried, churches cleared of images, the Mass abolished, and King Edward's
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200 | service established in its place. In England the various changes of religion
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201 | in the last thirty years had always been effected legally by King and
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202 | Parliament. In Scotland the Catholic Church was overthrown by a simultaneous
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203 | popular outbreak. </p>
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204 | <p align="left">The catastrophe came later than in England; but popular
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205 | feeling was more prepared for it; and what was now cast down was never set
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206 | up again. </p>
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207 | <p align="left">It seemed at first as if the Regent and her handful of
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208 | regular troops, commanded by d'Oysel, would be swept away. But d'Oysel had
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209 | fortified Leith, and was even able to take the field. A French army was
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210 | expected. The tumultuary forces of the needy Scotch nobles could not be kept
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211 | together long, and it became clear that, unless supported by Elizabeth, the
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212 | rebellion would be crushed as soon as the French reinforcements should
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213 | arrive, if not sooner. </p>
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214 | <p align="left">Thus early did Elizabeth find herself confronted by the
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215 | Scottish difficulty, which was to cause her so much anxiety throughout the
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216 | greater part of her reign. The problem, though varying in minor details, was
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217 | always essentially the same. There was a Protestant faction looking for
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218 | support to England, and a Catholic faction looking to France. Two or three
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219 | of the Protestant leaders--Moray, Glencairn, Kirkaldy--did really care
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220 | something about a religious reformation. The rest thought more of getting
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221 | hold of Church lands and pursuing old family feuds. In the experience of
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222 | Elizabeth, they were a needy, greedy, treacherous crew, always sponging on
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223 | her treasury, and giving her very little service in return for her money.
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224 | Besides, the whole Scotch nation was so touchy in its patriotism, so jealous
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225 | of foreign interference, that foreign soldiers present on its soil were sure
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226 | to be regarded with an evil eye, no matter for what purpose they had come,
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227 | or by whom they had been invited. </p>
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228 | <p align="left">The Lords of the Congregation invoked the protection of
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229 | Elizabeth. They suggested that she should marry the Earl of Arran, and that
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230 | he and she should be King and Queen of Great Britain. Arran was the eldest
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231 | son of the Duke of Chatelherault, who, Mary being as yet childless, was
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232 | heir-presumptive to the Scottish crown. There were many reasons why
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233 | Elizabeth should decline interference. It was throwing down the glove to
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234 | France. Interference in Scotland had always been disastrous. It might drive
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235 | the English Catholics to despair, as cutting off the hope of Mary's
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236 | succession to the English crown. To make a Protestant match would irritate
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237 | Philip. He might invade England to forestall the French. Almost all her
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238 | Council--even Bacon--advised her to leave Scotland alone, marry the Archduke
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239 | Charles, and trust to the Spanish alliance for the defence of England. </p>
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240 | <p align="left">These were serious considerations; and to them was to be
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241 | joined another which with Elizabeth always had great weight--more,
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242 | naturally, than it had with any of her advisers. She shrank from doing
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243 | anything which might have the practical effect of weakening the common cause
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244 | of monarchs. She felt instinctively that with Protestants reverence for the
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245 | religious basis of kingship must tend to become weaker than with Catholics.
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246 | She did not desire to encourage this tendency or to familiarise her own
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247 | subjects with it. Knox <i>First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous
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248 | Regimen of Women</i> had been directed against Mary. The Blasts that were to
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249 | follow had been dropped; but the first could not be treated as unblown. And
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250 | the arrogant preacher did not mend matters by writing to Elizabeth that she
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251 | was to consider her case as an exception "contrary to nature," allowed by
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252 | God "for the comfort of His kirk," but that if she based her title on her
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253 | birth or on law, "her felicity would be short." </p>
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254 | <p align="left">Nevertheless Elizabeth adopted the bolder course. The Lords
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255 | of the Congregation were assured that England would not see them crushed by
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256 | French arms. A small supply of money was sent to them. As to the marriage
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257 | with Arran, no positive answer was given; but he was sent for to be looked
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258 | at. When he came, he was found to be even a poorer creature than his father;
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259 | at times, indeed, not quite right in his mind. It was hard upon the
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260 | Hamiltons, among whom were so many able and daring men, that, with the crown
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261 | almost in their grasp, their chiefs should be such incapables. To Elizabeth
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262 | it was no doubt a relief to find that Arran was an impossible husband. </p>
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263 | <p align="left">In the meantime 2000 French had arrived, and the Lords were
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264 | urgent in their demands for help. But Elizabeth determined, and rightly,
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265 | that they must do their own work if they could. She was willing to give them
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266 | such pecuniary help as was necessary. But the demand for troops was
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267 | unreasonable. Fighting men abounded in Scotland. Why should English troops
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268 | be sent to do their fighting for them, with the certainty of earning black
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269 | looks rather than thanks? If a large army was despatched from France, she
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270 | would attack it with her fleet. If it landed, she would send an English
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271 | army. But if the Lords of the Congregation did not beat the handful of
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272 | Frenchmen at Leith it must be because they were either weak or treacherous.
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273 | In either case Elizabeth might have to give up the policy she preferred,
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274 | leave Scotland alone, and fall back upon an alliance with Philip. </p>
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275 | <p align="left">In order therefore to preserve this second string to her
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276 | bow, and to let the Scotch Anglophiles see that she possessed it, she
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277 | reopened negotiations for the Austrian marriage. Charles, in his turn, was
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278 | invited to come and be looked at. Much as she disliked the idea of marriage,
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279 | she knew that political reasons might make it necessary. But, come what
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280 | would, she would never marry a man who was not to her fancy as a man. She
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281 | would take no one on the strength of his picture. She had heard that Charles
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282 | was not overwise, and that he had an extraordinarily big head, "bigger than
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283 | the Earl of Bedford's." </p>
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284 | <p align="left">The Scotch Lords, finding that Elizabeth was determined to
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285 | have some solid return for her money, went to work with more vigour. They
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286 | proclaimed the deposition of the Regent, drove her from Edinburgh, and
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287 | besieged her and her French garrison in Leith. But this burst of energy was
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288 | soon over. The Protestants were more ready to pull down images and harry
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289 | monks than make campaigns. Leith was not to be taken. In three weeks their
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290 | army dwindled away, and the little disciplined force of Frenchmen re-entered
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291 | Edinburgh. </p>
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292 | <p align="left">The position had become very critical for Elizabeth. A
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293 | French army of 15,000 men was daily expected at Leith. If once it landed,
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294 | the Congregation would be crushed; the Hamiltons would make their peace; and
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295 | the disciplined army of d'Elbuf, swelled by hordes of hungry Scotchmen,
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296 | would pour over the Border, and proclaim Mary in the midst of the Catholic
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297 | population which ten years later rose in rebellion under the northern Earls.
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298 | </p>
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299 | <p align="left">In this difficulty the Spanish Ministers in the Netherlands
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300 | were consulted. If Elizabeth expelled the garrison at Leith, and so brought
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301 | upon herself a war with France, could she depend on Philip's assistance? The
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302 | reply was menacing. Their master, for his own interest, could not allow the
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303 | Queen of France and Scotland to enforce her title to the throne of England.
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304 | But he would oppose it in his own way. If a French army entered England from
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305 | the north, a Spanish army would land on the south coast. Turning to her own
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306 | Council for advice, Elizabeth found no encouragement. They recommended her
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307 | to take Philip's advice, and even to retrace some of her steps in the matter
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308 | of religion in order to propitiate him. She made a personal appeal to the
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309 | Duke of Norfolk to take the command of the forces on the Border. But he
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310 | declined to be the instrument of a policy which he disapproved. </p>
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311 | <p align="left">We need not wonder if Elizabeth hesitated for a while. Some
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312 | of these councillors were not too well affected to her. But most of them
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313 | were thoroughly loyal, and there was really much to be said for the more
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314 | cautious policy. She herself was an eminently cautious politician, inclined
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315 | by nature to shrink from risky courses. Never, therefore, in her whole
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316 | career did she give greater proof of her large-minded comprehension of the
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317 | main lines of policy which it behoved her to follow than when she determined
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318 | to override the opinions of so many prudent advisers, and expel the French
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319 | force from the northern kingdom. </p>
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320 | <p align="left">England was not quite in the helpless, disabled position
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321 | that it pleased the Spaniards to believe. Twelve months of careful and
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322 | energetic administration had already done wonders. There had been wise
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323 | economy and wise expenditure. Money had been scraped together, and, though
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324 | there was still a heavy debt, the legacy of three wasteful reigns, the
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325 | confidence of the Antwerp money-lenders had revived, and they were willing
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326 | to advance considerable sums. A fleet had been equipped and manned;
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327 | shiploads of arms had been imported; forces had been collected on the south
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328 | coasts. The Border garrisons had been quietly raised in strength till they
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329 | were able to furnish an expeditionary force at a moment's notice. </p>
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330 | <p align="left">The smallest energy on the part of the Congregation might
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331 | have finished the war without the presence of an English force. Elizabeth
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332 | had a right to be angry. The Scotch Protestants expected to have the hardest
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333 | part of the work done for them, and to be paid for executing their own share
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334 | of it. Lord James and a few of the leaders were in earnest, but others were
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335 | selfish time-servers. As for the lower class, their Calvinism was still new.
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336 | It had not yet bred that fierce spirit of independence which before long was
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337 | to outweigh the force of nobles and gentry. But if the weakness of the
|
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338 | Anglophile party was disappointing, it had at all events shown that
|
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339 | Elizabeth must depend upon herself to ward off danger on that side; and
|
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340 | after some reasonable hesitation she decided to put through the work she had
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341 | begun. </p>
|
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342 | <p align="left">It says much for the patriotism of Elizabeth's Council that
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343 | when they found she had made up her mind they did not stand sulkily aloof,
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344 | but co-operated heartily and vigorously in carrying out the policy they had
|
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345 | opposed. Norfolk himself accepted the command of the Border army, and acted
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346 | throughout the affair with fidelity and diligence. He was not a man
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347 | distinguished by ability of any kind, and the actual fighting was to be done
|
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348 | by Lord Grey, a firm and experienced, though not brilliant, commander. But
|
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349 | that the natural leader of the Conservative nobility should be seen at the
|
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350 | head of Elizabeth's army was a useful lesson to traitors at home and enemies
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351 | abroad, who were telling each other that her throne was insecure. </p>
|
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352 | <p align="left">An agreement between the English Queen and the Lords of the
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353 | Congregation was drawn up (27 February), with scrupulous care to avoid the
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354 | appearance of dictation and encroachment which had gathered all Scotland to
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355 | Pinkie Cleugh eleven years before. It set forth that the English troops were
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356 | entering Scotland for no other object than to assist the Duke of
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357 | Chatelherault, the heir-presumptive to the throne, and the other nobles, to
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358 | drive out the foreign invaders. They would build no fortress. There was no
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359 | intention to prejudice Mary's lawful authority. Cecil appears to have wanted
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360 | to add something about "Christ's true religion;" but Elizabeth struck it
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361 | out. Circumstances might compel her to be the protector of foreign
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362 | Protestants; but neither then nor at any other time did she desire to pose
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363 | in that character. </p>
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364 | <p align="left">A month later (28 March) Lord Grey crossed the Border, and
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365 | marched to Leith. The siege of that place proved to be tedious. The Lords of
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366 | the Congregation gave very insufficient assistance; and, when an assault had
|
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367 | been repulsed with heavy loss, the citizens of Edinburgh would not receive
|
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368 | the wounded into their houses. At last, when food was running short in the
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369 | town, an envoy from France arrived with power to treat on behalf of the
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370 | Queen of Scots. Her mother, the Regent, had died during the siege. After
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371 | much haggling a treaty was signed. No French troops were in future to be
|
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372 | kept in Scotland. Offices of State were to be held only by natives. The
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373 | government during Mary's absence was to be vested in a Council of twelve
|
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374 | noblemen; seven nominated by her and five by the Estates. Elizabeth's title
|
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375 | to the kingdoms of England and Ireland was recognised (July 1560). </p>
|
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376 | <p align="left">Such was the Treaty of Edinburgh, or of Leith, as it is
|
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377 | sometimes called, one of the most successful achievements of a successful
|
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378 | reign. It was gained by wise counsel and bold resolve; and its fruits,
|
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379 | though not completely fulfilling its promise, were solid and valuable. It
|
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380 | was not ratified by Mary. But her nonratification in the long-run injured no
|
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381 | one but herself, besides putting her in the wrong, and giving Elizabeth a
|
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382 | standing excuse for treating her as an enemy. England was permanently free
|
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383 | from the menace of a disciplined French army in the northern kingdom.
|
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384 | Nothing was settled in the treaty about religion. But this was equivalent to
|
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385 | a confirmation of the violent change that had recently taken place; in
|
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386 | itself a guarantee of security to England. </p>
|
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387 | <p align="left">The moral effect of this success was even greater than its
|
---|
388 | more tangible results. It had been very generally believed, at all events
|
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389 | abroad, that Elizabeth was tottering on her throne; that the large majority
|
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390 | were on the point of rising to depose her; that, wriggle as she might, she
|
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391 | would find she was a mere <i>protégée</i> of Philip, with no option but to
|
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392 | follow his directions and square her policy to his. Whatever small basis of
|
---|
393 | fact underlay this delusive estimate had been ridiculously exaggerated in
|
---|
394 | the reports sent to Philip by his ambassador De Quadra, a man who evidently
|
---|
395 | paid more attention to hole-and-corner tattle than to the broad forces of
|
---|
396 | English politics. </p>
|
---|
397 | <p align="left">All these imaginings were now proved to be vain. Elizabeth
|
---|
398 | had shown that she could protect herself by her own strength and in her own
|
---|
399 | way. She had civilly ignored Philip's advice, or rather his injunctions. She
|
---|
400 | had thrown down the glove to France, and France had not taken it up. She had
|
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401 | placed in command of her armies the very man whom she was supposed to fear,
|
---|
402 | and he had done her bidding, and done it well. England once more stood
|
---|
403 | before Europe as an independent power, able to take care of itself, aid its
|
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404 | friends, and annoy its enemies. </p>
|
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405 | <p align="left">It is true that, as far as Elizabeth personally is
|
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406 | concerned, her Scotch policy had not always in its execution been as prompt
|
---|
407 | and firm as could be desired. Those who follow it in greater detail than is
|
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408 | possible here will find much in it that is irresolute and even vacillating.
|
---|
409 | This defect appears throughout Elizabeth's career, though it will always be
|
---|
410 | ignored, as it ought to be ignored, by those who reserve their attention for
|
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411 | what is worth observing in the course of human affairs. </p>
|
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412 | <p align="left">In her intellectual grasp of European politics as a whole,
|
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413 | and of the interests of her own kingdom, Elizabeth was probably superior to
|
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414 | any of her counsellors.</p>
|
---|
415 | <p align="left">No one could better than she think out the general idea of a
|
---|
416 | political campaign. But theoretical and practical qualifications are seldom,
|
---|
417 | if ever, combined in equal excellence. Not only are the qualities themselves
|
---|
418 | naturally opposed, but the constant exercise of either increases the
|
---|
419 | disparity. Her sex obliged Elizabeth to leave the large field of execution
|
---|
420 | to others. Her practical gifts therefore, whatever they were, deteriorated
|
---|
421 | rather than advanced as she grew older. In men, who every day and every hour
|
---|
422 | of the day are engaged in action, the habit of prompt decision and
|
---|
423 | persistence in a course once adopted, even if it be not quite the best, is
|
---|
424 | naturally formed and strengthened. It is a habit so valuable, so
|
---|
425 | indispensable to continued success, that in practice it largely compensates
|
---|
426 | for some inferiority in conception and design. Elizabeth's irresolution and
|
---|
427 | vacillation were therefore a consequence of her position--that of an
|
---|
428 | extremely able and well-informed woman called upon to conduct a government
|
---|
429 | in which so much had to be decided by the sovereign at her own discretion.
|
---|
430 | The abler she was, the more disposed to make her will felt, the less
|
---|
431 | steadiness and consistency in action were to be expected from her. As the
|
---|
432 | wife of a king, upon whom the final responsibility would have rested--her
|
---|
433 | inferior perhaps in intellect and knowledge, but with the masculine habit of
|
---|
434 | making up his mind once for all, and then steering a straight course--she
|
---|
435 | would have been a wise and enlightened adviser, not afraid of consistently
|
---|
436 | maintaining principles, when the time, mode, and degree of their application
|
---|
437 | rested with another. As it was, Cecil and other able statesmen who served
|
---|
438 | her No one could better than she think out the general idea of a political
|
---|
439 | campaign. But theoretical and practical qualifications are seldom, if ever,
|
---|
440 | combined in equal excellence. Not only are the qualities themselves
|
---|
441 | naturally opposed, but the constant exercise of either increases the
|
---|
442 | disparity. Her sex obliged Elizabeth to leave the large field of execution
|
---|
443 | to others. Her practical gifts therefore, whatever they were, deteriorated
|
---|
444 | rather than advanced as she grew older. In men, who every day and every hour
|
---|
445 | of the day are engaged in action, the habit of prompt decision and
|
---|
446 | persistence in a course once adopted, even if it be not quite the best, is
|
---|
447 | naturally formed and strengthened. It is a habit so valuable, so
|
---|
448 | indispensable to continued success, that in practice it largely compensates
|
---|
449 | for some inferiority in conception and design. Elizabeth's irresolution and
|
---|
450 | vacillation were therefore a consequence of her position--that of an
|
---|
451 | extremely able and well-informed woman called upon to conduct a government
|
---|
452 | in which so much had to be decided by the sovereign at her own discretion.
|
---|
453 | The abler she was, the more disposed to make her will felt, the less
|
---|
454 | steadiness and consistency in action were to be expected from her. As the
|
---|
455 | wife of a king, upon whom the final responsibility would have rested--her
|
---|
456 | inferior perhaps in intellect and knowledge, but with the masculine habit of
|
---|
457 | making up his mind once for all, and then steering a straight course--she
|
---|
458 | would have been a wise and enlightened adviser, not afraid of consistently
|
---|
459 | maintaining principles, when the time, mode, and degree of their application
|
---|
460 | rested with another. As it was, Cecil and other able statesmen who served
|
---|
461 | her against the heretics of all countries. To this appeal he replied by
|
---|
462 | formally summoning Catherine to put down heresy in France. An accidential
|
---|
463 | collision at Vassy, in which a number of Huguenots were slain, brought on
|
---|
464 | the first of those wars of religion which were to desolate France for the
|
---|
465 | next thirty years (March 1562). Both factions, equally dead to patriotism,
|
---|
466 | opened their country to foreigners. The Guises called in the forces of Spain
|
---|
467 | and the Pope. Condé applied to Elizabeth and the Protestant princes of
|
---|
468 | Germany. </p>
|
---|
469 | <p align="left">It was necessary to give the Huguenots just so much help as
|
---|
470 | would prevent them from being crushed. Aggressive in appearance, such
|
---|
471 | interference was in reality legitimate self-defence. But unfortunately
|
---|
472 | neither Elizabeth nor her Council had forgotten Calais, and they extorted
|
---|
473 | from Condé the surrender of Havre as a pledge for its restoration. In the
|
---|
474 | case of Scotland they had come, as we have seen, to recognise that to
|
---|
475 | establish a permanent raw by holding fortified posts on the territory of
|
---|
476 | another nation is poor statesmanship. The possession of Calais was of little
|
---|
477 | military value as against France. It is true that it would enable England to
|
---|
478 | make sea communication between Spain and the Netherlands very insecure, and
|
---|
479 | would thus give Philip a powerful motive for desiring to stand well with
|
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480 | this country. But such a calculation had less weight with Englishmen at that
|
---|
481 | moment than pure Jingoism--the longing to be again able to crow over their
|
---|
482 | French enemy. </p>
|
---|
483 | <p align="left">The occupation of Havre (October 1562) gave to the Huguenot
|
---|
484 | cause the minimum of assistance, and brought upon it the maximum of odium. A
|
---|
485 | hollow reconciliation was soon patched up between the rival factions (March
|
---|
486 | 1563), and Elizabeth was summoned to evacuate Havre. She refused, loudly
|
---|
487 | complaining of the Huguenots for deserting her. She "had come to the quiet
|
---|
488 | possession of Havre without force or any other unlawful means, and she had
|
---|
489 | good reason to keep it." Up to this time the fiction of peace between the
|
---|
490 | two nations had been maintained. It was now open war. It is only fair to
|
---|
491 | Elizabeth to say that all her Council and the whole nation were even hotter
|
---|
492 | than she was. The garrison of Havre, with their commander Warwick, were
|
---|
493 | eager for the fray. They would "make the French cock cry Cuck," they would
|
---|
494 | "spend the last drop of their blood before the French should fasten a foot
|
---|
495 | in the town." The inhabitants were all expelled, and the siege began, Condé
|
---|
496 | as well as the Catholics appearing in the Queen-mother's army. After a
|
---|
497 | valiant defence the English, reduced to a handful of men by typhus, sailed
|
---|
498 | away (28 July 1563). Peace was concluded early in the next year (April
|
---|
499 | 1564). Elizabeth did not repeat her mistake. Thenceforward to the end of her
|
---|
500 | reign we shall find her carefully cultivating friendly relations with every
|
---|
501 | ruler of France. </p>
|
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502 | </font>
|
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503 | <hr>
|
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504 | <p align="left"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman" size="2">From <i>
|
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505 | Queen Elizabeth</i> by Edward Spencer Beesly. Published in London by
|
---|
506 | Macmillan and Co., 1892.</font></p>
|
---|
507 | </font>
|
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508 | <font face="Times New Roman" size="2">
|
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509 | </blockquote>
|
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510 | </blockquote>
|
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511 |
|
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512 | <p align="center">
|
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513 | <a href="beeslychapterfour.html">to Chapter
|
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514 | IV: Elizabeth and Mary Stuart: 1559-1568</a></p>
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515 | <p align="center">
|
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516 | <a href="monarchs/eliz1.html">to the Queen
|
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517 | Elizabeth I website</a> /
|
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518 | <a href="relative/maryqos.html">to the Mary,
|
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519 | queen of Scots website</a></p>
|
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520 | <p align="center"><a href="secondary.html">
|
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521 | to Secondary Sources</a></p>
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522 | </font>
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523 |
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524 | </body>
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525 |
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