Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/187

 Protestant Revolt in Switzerland and E7igland 149 VIII. The Catholic Reaction under Queen Mary The Venetian ambassador, Giovanni Michele, made a report to his government in 1557 on the state of Eng- land. He thus describes Queen Mary and her husband, Philip II : Queen Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII and of his 275. A queen Catherine, daughter of Ferdinand the Catholic, king Venetian of Aragon, is a princess of great worth. In her youth she sa( ior's was rendered unhappy by the event of her mother's divorce ; account of by the ignominy and threats to which she was exposed after Q uee ^ Mar y the change of religion in England, she being unwilling to unbend to the new one ; and by the dangers to which she was exposed by the duke of Northumberland, and the riots among the people when she ascended the throne. She is of short stature, well made, thin and delicate, and moderately pretty ; her eyes are so lively that she inspires reverence and respect, and even fear, wherever she turns them ; nevertheless she is very shortsighted. Her voice is deep, almost like that of a man. She understands five lan- guages, — English, Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian, in which last, however, she does not venture to converse. She is also much skilled in ladies' work, such as producing all sorts of embroidery with the needle. She has a knowledge of music, chiefly on the lute, on which she plays exceedingly well. As to the qualities of her mind, it may be said of her that she is rash, disdainful, and parsimonious rather than liberal. She is endowed with great humility and patience, but withal high-spirited, courageous, and resolute, having dur- ing the whole course of her adversity not been guilty of the least approach to meanness of deportment; she is, moreover, devout and stanch in the defense of her religion. Some personal infirmities under which she labors are the causes to her of both public and private affliction; to remedy these recourse is had to frequent bloodletting, and this is the real cause of her paleness and the general weakness of