Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 7.djvu/224

 204 REIGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 43. suaded the college authorities for once into obeying the Act of Uniformity ; ordered the fellows and chaplains to appear in surplices ; concealed the dreary communion tables in the college chapels behind decent coverings ; and having as it were thrown a whitewash of order over the confusion, surprised the Queen into an expression of pleasure. The Church of England was not, after all. the miserable chaos which she had believed ; and ' contrary to her expectation, she found little or nothing to dis- please her/ She was at once thrown into the happiest humour ; and she moved about among the dignitaries of the Uni- versity with combined authority and ease. She ex- changed courtesies with them in Latin ; when they lauded her virtues she exclaimed ' Non est veritas ; ' when they praised the virgin state she blessed them for their discernment : she attended their sermons ; she was present at their disputations ; and when a speaker mum- bled she shouted 'Loquimini altius.' The public orator addressed her in Greek she replied in the language of Demosthenes. On the last day of her visit she addressed the University in Latin in the Senate House. In a few well-chosen sentences she complimented the students on their industry ; she expressed her admiration of the colleges and chapels those splendid monuments of the piety of her predecessors. She trusted, if God spared her life, she might leave her own name not undistin- guished by good work done for England. Not one untoward accident had marred the harmony of the occasion. The Queen remained four days ; and