Queen Mary; for she knew that every body hated her, and, after a reign of only five years, she died of mere trouble and anguish.

QUESTIONS. 1. When did Henry VII. begin to reign. What of him?-2. What of two impostors? Their names? Who did they pretend to be ?-3. What became of them ?- -4. What of the riches of Henry VII. ?-5. When did Henry VIII. begin to reign? What of him? What of his wives?- -6. What great event occurred in his reign? What is meant by the Reformation ? Who had claimed authority over England? Why was the king called Defender of the Faith ?-7. When did Henry VIII. die? What was the last act of his reign?- -8. What of Edward VI. ? -9. When did Mary begin to reign? Why is she called Bloody Mary?-10. How long did she reign ?

CHAPTER CXLI. EUROPE continued. The reign of Elizabeth.

1. THE famous Elizabeth, sister to Mary, who became queen in 1558, was a Protestant. She was truly a great queen, and England was never more respected than while this mighty woman swayed the sceptre. But she had many failings, and, among others, prided herself too much upon her beauty.

2. Many princes and great men desired to marry Elizabeth, but she chose to remain sole mistress of her person and her kingdom; and as she herself refused to take a husband, it made her very angry whenever any of the ladies of her court got married.

3. Philip the Second, King of Spain had asked her hand in marriage, but was refused. He afterwards attempted to invade England, with a large naval force, named, by the representative of the Pope, the Invincible Armada. But on its way to England, this great fleet was overtaken by a furious storm, which dispersed it, and destroyed some of the ships, and the English fleet conquered the remainder..

4. Some of the actions of Queen Elizabeth were too much like those of Henry her father. When Mary, Queen of Scots, fled into England for protection, Elizabeth caused her to be imprisoned during eighteen years, and after these long and weary years, the poor queen was tried and condemned to die. Elizabeth signed the death-warrant, and the unfortunate Mary was beheaded.

5. The Earl of Leicester was a favourite with the queen for many years, and, after his death, she took great notice of the Earl of Essex, but he presumed upon her favour, and having many enemies at court, he was committed to the Tower, and beheaded.

6. When the Earl of Essex was dead, Queen Elizabeth bitterly repented of her cruelty. She was now old, she had outlived every one for whom she had any regard, and she died shortly afterwards.

QUESTIONS. 1. When did Elizabeth ascend the throne? What was her religion? What of her? -2. Why did she not marry? What made her angry? -3. What of Philip of Spain?

What of the Invincible Armada? 4. What was one of the worst actions of Queen Elizabeth? What was the fate of Mary Queen of Scots ?- -5. What of the Earl of Leicester ? What of the Earl of Essex ? -6. How did Elizabeth feel after his death?

CHAPTER CXLII. EUROPE continued.- -The House

of Stuart.

1. ELIZABETH was succeeded by James Stuart, King of Scotland; he was the sixth James that had ruled over that kingdom, but was James the First of England, and began to reign in 1603. James inherited the English crown, because he was the grandson of a daughter of Henry the Seventh; his mother was Mary, Queen of Scots, whom Elizabeth had beheaded.

2. The whole island of Great Britain was now under one government. This event put an end to the wars

which had raged between England and Scotland during many centuries; but it was a long time before the English and Scotch became reconciled to each other.

3. King James was a weak and superstitious prince. He was, however, very learned, and wrote several books, and delighted to talk Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; so much so that his courtiers were often puzzled to understand him. He loved to be compared to Solomon, and it must be owned that he possessed a sort of cunning which greatly resembled wisdom.

4. In the days of James occurred the celebrated Gunpowder Plot. The Roman Catholics had laid a plan to blow up the parliament house, at a time when the king, lords, and the members of parliament, would be assembled there. But King James discovering the plot, set people on the watch, and they caught a man, named Guy Fawkes, in the cellar, wherein thirty-six barrels of gunpowder were concealed. Fawkes revealed the names of eighty of his accomplices; he was executed, and they were all pursued and put to death.

Lady and Gentleman of the time of Charles the First,

5. James, with many faults, had one good quality; he hated war, and his reign was therefore peaceable. He died in 1625, and was succeeded by his son Charles the First.

6. Till the reign of Charles the First, the parliament had hardly ever opposed the wishes of the sovereign; but now there were continual disputes between the king and his parliament; and when he dissolved one parliament, he found the next equally unmanageable.

7. Matters went on in this way, till at length the quarrel grew too violent to be settled by mere words, and both parties then betook themselves to their weapons. The king was supported by a great majority of the nobility and gentry of England and Scotland, and by the English bishops and clergy. Charles's party called themselves Cavaliers. The cavaliers dressed magnificently, and wore long hair, hanging in locks down their temples; they drank wine, and sang songs, and rode as gaily to the battle-field as they would to an entertainment.

8. Some few of the nobility and gentry took the side of the parliament; but its adherents were chiefly mechanics, tradesmen, and common people. They wore their hair cropped close to their heads, from which their enemies gave them the nickname of Roundheads. The roundheads wore steeple-crowned hats and plain garments; they sang psalms, and spent much of their time in praying and preaching among themselves. They were a stern and prejudiced set of men, and when once they had made up their minds to tear down the throne, it must be done, though the realm of England should be rent asunder in the struggle.

9. The civil war began in 1642; many battles were fought, and rivers of English blood were shed on both sides. It was not long before Oliver Cromwell began to be a famous general, on the side of the parliament. He pretended to fight only for religion and the good of the