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 , had come in person to urge his own suit. The archduke Charles was warmly supported by all the catholics in England, and not less warmly by Philip of Spain. Elizabeth amused herself with each and all of them, played off one against the other, and dressed up her chapel to give some colour of hope to the archduke, whom De Quadra clearly saw she never intended to marry. But the settlement of the religious difficulty was not to be delayed by freaks like these. On 17 Dec. the church of England was provided with an archbishop of Canterbury once more by the consecration of Matthew Parker at Lambeth. Four days later Edmund Grindal was consecrated bishop of London in the place of Bonner, Cox became bishop of Ely in the place of Thirlby, Sandys was made bishop of Worcester in the place of Pate, and Meyrick succeeded to the vacant see of Bangor, whose revenues were not worth the queen's keeping any longer in her hands. A month after this five more bishops were consecrated; but the wealthy sees of York, Winchester, and Durham had each to wait for another year. The necessities of the time forbade that their income should be lost to the royal exchequer, though their bishops were already deprived. Thus ended the first year of Elizabeth's reign. It was the first year since the death of Henry VIII which had not been signalised by some serious rebellion, some ghastly massacre, or some national disaster. Already the horizon was clearing on all sides, a feeling of security was growing among all classes, except indeed among the turbulent minority in church and state, the politicians whose hopes lay in some change from the things that were to the things that might be. They had begun to feel that at last the queen was a veritable ruler, her council were her servants, she was no puppet in their hands. Her immense force of will, the masculine vigour of her intellect, her instinct of command, her very duplicity, her restlessness, her insatiable desire to be kept informed of everything that was going on, her pretence of omniscience, her resolve to initiate, or seem to initiate, every movement in church and state, at home and abroad, were each and all factors that had to be taken into account by her ministers, and had already displayed themselves too evidently to allow of their escaping the notice of her council. There was not one of these who did not tremble at her frown as they would have done if they had stood in her father's presence twenty years before. At home there was little or nothing to cause anxiety when the year 1560 opened; abroad Philip II was her ally, and half the young princes of Europe were seeking her hand; but while between Scotland and France there was still the semblance of cordiality, and at any rate community of interest, sentiment, and purpose, Elizabeth could not afford to remain quiet, or she thought she could not.

When James IV of Scotland was slain at Flodden, his son, James V, was a child just two years old. His mother was Margaret, daughter of Henry VII, and therefore sister of Henrv VIII. James V died on 18 Dec. 1542, leaving behind him an only daughter, Mary Stuart. Her mother was the bright and gifted Mary of Lorraine, who after the Earl of Arran's desertion of Scotland in 1554 had become regent of the kingdom. Her daughter had been carried off to France in 1548, and been married to the dauphin. On 29 June 1559 the dauphin became king, and Mary Stuart queen-consort of France. The treaty of peace between France, England, and Scotland had been signed at Château Cambresis on 2 April 1559; next day a second treaty was signed between France and Spain. The peace marked an era in European history, though it is more than doubtful whether any one of the contending parties seriously intended to keep the engagements entered into, or felt the smallest confidence in the promises of the others. But France and Spain were united in one common sentiment at least, the desire to resist and beat back the spirit of the age. While Elizabeth read the signs of the times with more foresight and sagacity, she saw that society was fermenting with the reformers' leaven, and that in the contest that was coming the catholics would surely lose the day. Cautiously — we might almost call it cunningly — she took her side with the protestant party. in England, Scotland, and France. Cecil was so much one with her in feeling and views, that it is hard to say whether she or he was the originator of all that was attempted; but Elizabeth was far more a creature of moods and caprice than her astute minister. She loved intrigue for-its own sake; he resorted to it, and practised it with an end kept clearly before him. It was in July 1559 that Elizabeth seems to have given something like an engagement to support the protestant party in Scotland. In the next few months troops were sent and money in insufficient quantities; then a fleet under Admiral Winter arrived at the Firth of Forth in January 1560; then half-hearted warfare, no one venturing to make a decided move, lest the queen should disown his act. At last Cecil himself went to Scotland (May). On 6 July the treaty of Edinburgh was signed. What had been gained was not much: (1) Mary Stuart was to give up using the arms and title of