kneeling; now and then she raises some with her hand. While we were there, W. Slawata, a Bohemian baron, had letters to present to her; and she, after pulling off her glove, gave him her right hand to kiss, sparkling with rings and jewels—a mark of particular favour : whereever she turned her face, as she was going along, every body fell down on their knees. The ladies of the court followed next to her, very handsome and well-shaped, and for the most part dressed in white. She was guarded on each side by the gentlemen-pensioners, fifty in number, with gilt battle-axes. In the ante-chapel next the hall where we were, petitions were presented to her, and she received them most graciously, which occasioned the acclamation of Long live Queen Elizabeth!' She answered it with,

I thank you, my good people.' In the chapel was excellent music; as soon as it and the service was over, which scarce exceeded half an hour, the queen returned in the same state and order, and prepared to go to dinner." In the meantime, Hentzner had cared more to see the preparations for the dinner than to partake in the service of the chapel, so, while Elizabeth was still at prayers, he saw her table thus set out:-"A gentleman entered the room bearing a rod, and along with him another who had a

table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three times with the utmost veneration, he spread upon the table, and, after kneeling again, they both retired. Then came two others, one with the rod again, the other with a salt-cellar, a plate, and bread; when they had kneeled as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon the table, they too retired with the same ceremonies performed by the first. At last came an unmarried lady (we were told she was a countess), and along with her a married one, bearing a tasting knife; the former was dressed in white silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three times in the most graceful manner, approached the table, and rubbed the plates with bread and salt, with as much awe as if the queen had been present; when they had waited there a little while, the yeomen of the guards entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with a golden rose upon their backs, bringing in at each turn, a course of twenty-four dishes, served in plate, most of it gilt; these dishes were received by a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed upon the table, while the lady-taster gave to each of the guard a mouthful to eat of the particular dish he had brought, for fear of any poison. During the time that this guard, which consists of the

tallest and stoutest men that can be found in all England, being carefully selected for this service, were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets and two kettle-drums made the hall ring for half an hour together. At the end of all this ceremonial a number of unmarried ladies appeared, who, with particular solemnity, lifted the meat off the table, and conveyed it into the queen's inner and most private chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest goes to the ladies of the court."

CHAPTER V.

THE MODEL STATESMAN.

CECIL LORD BURLEIGH:-England and Elizabeth were both fortunate in the possession of this most prudent minister to guide the affairs of State, and to give the benefit of his cautious counsel in a time when, of all times, such prudence and caution were necessary. He was among the first of a new order of statesmen who attempted to govern the land, by conbining the royal favour with popular and commercial advancement, and in analysing the history of this period, we are at a loss whether to ascribe the dignity and greatness of England to the magnanimity and courage of the queen, or to the wisdom and economy of her adviser. Certainly he does not claim our highest admiration; what mere statesman can? He was no hero! He had no penchant for martyrdom, and so low were his convictions, so variable and

unsettled, evidently, some of his opinions, that he might have perhaps suited as a minister in our own convictionless and time-serving age. Yet this is not said with any idea of impeaching his honesty, or detracting from the real nobleness of his character; he was a pre-eminently wary man, and wary men seldom, if ever, enlist our high regards. There certainly appear, in the first years of his statesmanship, evidences of something like double dealing; he did not aspire to the eminence of a Confessor for the Protestant Faith, but he attempted to the utmost to serve those who determined to maintain their principles at the scaffold and the stake. It was at considerable hazard to himself that he opposed, with great freedom of speech, a Bill for confiscating the property of exiles for religion. To be sure, as he was known to be firmly attached to the Reformed Faith, and as he knew not at what moment he might be an exile for the sake of the Reformation, it may be thought that he could do no less. He maintained during the whole of the reign of Mary a private and most confidential correspondence with Elizabeth, and during the intervals of leisure which he enjoyed in the latter days of Mary's reign, he so classified and arranged his ideas of the necessities of govern