for the Cranmer's martyrdom had a most injurious effect upon the Catholic Popular cause in England. Thousands had witnessed the heroic fortitude with Sympathy which he had suffered at the stake, and all England mourned the good Martyrs. archbishop. So much popular sympathy was shown to the martyrs that the bigoted queen issued a proclamation forbidding her subjects to approach, speak to or comfort heretics who were on their way to execution. But this command was totally disregarded, as the English people deeply resented Mary's cruelties, which were utterly repugnant to their feelings. The title of "Bloody Mary " expressed the English people's detestation of their cruel Catholic queen, and her Spanish husband was hated to a still greater degree. doms Make Protest ants. Latimer's prophetic words at the stake were speedily fulfilled. The Martyrfires of persecution kindled anew the zeal and devotion of the English Reformers, and for every life that perished in martyrdom there were a hundred converts to Protestantism. Says Hume: "Each martyrdom was equivalent to a hundred sermons against popery; and men either avoided such horrid spectacles or returned from them full of a violent though secret indignation against the persecutors." Queen Mary Queen Mary's marriage was an unhappy one. She was a small, haggard, sickly woman, eleven years older than her husband. The and Her marriage had been one of policy on his part. His wife was passionately Husband. fond and very jealous of him, but he did not reciprocate her affection. Becoming weary of her jealous fondness, and disgusted with the enmity and suspicion which he had excited in England, he departed to Flanders in 1555; and, upon the abdication of his father, the Emperor Charles V., in the fall of that year, he became King of Spain, Naples and Sicily, and lord of the Netherlands and Spanish America, with the title of Philip II., as noticed in a preceding section, Seeing herself treated with neglect and indifference by her husband, Queen Mary passed her time in lamentations and in writing long letters to him, which he never condescended to answer. The more he slighted her the more she doted on him; and she burdened her subjects with oppressive taxes to obtain money, in the hope of winning him back. Philip II., who had his father's ambition without his talents, sought to secure the alliance of England in his war with France. Queen Mary could not obtain her Council's consent to join her husband in the war. But when Philip came to London in 1556, and told his wife that he would never set foot in England again unless she declared war against France, Mary, almost frantic with the fear of losing her husband, pressed the matter so urgently as to overcome the strenuous opposition of her Council and Parliament, and war was declared against France. As Mary's resources were already exhausted in furnishing Philip with money, she was obliged to resort to the most unjust and arbitrary He Becomes Philip II. of Spain. His Neglect of His Wife. Mary Joins Her in War against France. Mary's to Raise Money. expedients to wring money from her subjects, and an English force of Expedient ten thousand men was sent into Flanders to aid Philip. To prevent a rebellion of her subjects, Mary caused many of the leading gentry to be imprisoned, and adopted the Spanish custom of having them seized in the night and carried away hoodwinked, so that they might not be known nor see to what place they were conducted. Battle of St. The English troops assisted the Spaniards in gaining their victory Quentin. over the French in the battle of St. Quentin in 1557; but Calaiswhich had belonged to England for two centuries, and was "the brightest jewel in her crown "-was surprised and captured by the French English under Francis, Duke of Guise, after a siege of only eight days, January 8, 1558. The news of the loss of this last remaining stronghold of England on the Continent of Europe-the last remaining trophy of the conquests of Edward III.-spread dismay throughout England; and poor Queen Mary, pining away with illness and her husband's neglect, declared that at her death the word "Calais " would be found engraved on her heart. Loss of Calais. Mary's Pitiable Condition. Her Sad It is impossible not to pity this unhappy Queen of England, notwithstanding her atrocious cruelties. She was hated and cursed by her subjects with a bitterness which words fail to express. Her knowledge of this fact caused her an untold amount of suffering. Her husband, utterly tired of her, remained on the Continent of Europe, and paid no attention to the piteous letters which she constantly addressed him. Her subjects manifested their hatred of her by means of libels, lampoons and ribald ballads, which were dropped by unknown persons where she would be sure to find them. While reading them she would give way to outbursts of despairing fury, and then retire to her chamber to weep away her sorrow. She would sit on the floor there for hours, with her knees drawn up to her face. Then she would rouse herself and wander restlessly about the corridors of the palace, or write those sorrowful, tear-blotted letters to her husband by which she vainly sought to move his hardened heart. Vexation of mind and feebleness of body threw the unhappy queen Death and into a fever, which ended her miserable life and her wretched reign, Popular Rejoic- November 17, 1558, in the forty-third year of her age and the sixth of ings. her reign. Her death-which was followed on the same day by that of Cardinal Pole, who left an unsullied name behind him-was hailed throughout the kingdom with popular demonstrations of joy, as it ended the Pope's power in England forever. Mary's Reasons for Her Cruel Persecutions. Mary was a kind mistress to her immediate household, and her cruel persecutions were the result of her mistaken sense of duty. She conscientiously believed it her duty to extirpate what she considered heresy and to reestablish what she regarded as truth, by forcible means, if necessary. It must also be remembered that she associated all the wrongs and sorrows of her childhood with the English Reformation. Besides, she had been brought up in her father's court, which was as absolute as the court of an Oriental despot, and in which the king's whims disposed of the lives of his subjects. What makes her brief and unhappy reign appear so dark is the contrast of the bigotry and cruelty of her time with the religious freedom of our own day. SECTION X.-QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND AND WHEN Queen Mary's death was announced to Parliament, which was in session at the time, Lords and Commons sprang from their seats; and shouts of "God save Queen Elizabeth" resounded through the halls. When the news spread among the people of London their joy was so great that they hurried in crowds to Hatfield, where ELIZABETH was then residing, and escorted her in triumph to London; and her accession to the throne of England was greeted throughout the kingdom by pealing bells and blazing bonfires, this outburst of popular delight being undisguised even by decent respect for her predecessor's unhappy memory. Eliza beth, A. D. 15581603. Her Accession. Her Character and Ac ments. Elizabeth was twenty-five years of age when she became Queen of England. The daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn had her mother's beauty and gayety of disposition, as well as her father's frank complishand hearty address, along with his energetic intellect, dauntless courage and imperious will. She was tall and commanding in person, had a high and open forehead, an aquiline nose, a pale complexion and rather yellowish hair. She was an accomplished scholar and a fine musician, and loved the healthful sports of archery and horsemanship. Her Forgiving Disposition. The new queen appeared desirous of forgetting her past sufferings, and never manifested any resentment toward those who had been instrumental in inflicting them. Even her severe and churlish jailor, Sir Richard Banefield, experienced no other punishment or rebuke than that of her telling him that she would give him the custody of any state. prisoner whom she desired to have treated with more than ordinary severity. The brutal Bishop Bonner was the only one of her sister's to Bonner. counselors to whom she manifested any marked aversion. When he came to make his obeisance to her she turned from him with horror, refusing either to speak to him or to look at him. Elizabeth's accession to the English throne was the crisis of the Reformation in England and Scotland; and, as she was a Protestant, the first act of her reign was to restore the Protestant Church of Eng Her Aversion Protest ant Res toration in England. |