an indefatigable student in
her youth; acquired Greek and Latin, and a conversational knowledge of
German and French; the Pope's opposition to her succession on the ground
of being judged illegitimate by the Church strengthened her attachment to
the Protestant faith, which was her mother's, and contributed to its firm
establishment during the reign; during it the power of Spain was crushed
by the defeat of the Armada; maritime enterprise flourished under Drake,
Raleigh, and Frobisher; commerce was extended, and literature carried to
a pitch of perfection never before or since reached; masterful and
adroit, Elizabeth yet displayed the weakness of vanity and
vindictiveness; the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, is a blot upon her
fame, and her intrigues with Seymour, Leicester, and Essex detract from
her dignity; her wisdom was manifested in her wise choice of counsellors
and leaders, and her patriotism won her a secure place in the hearts of
her people (1533-1608).

ELIZABETH, ST., "a very pious, but also a very fanciful young woman;
her husband, a Thuringian landgraf, going to the Crusade, where he died
straightway," Carlyle guesses, "partly the fruit of the life she led him;
lodging beggars, sometimes in her very bed; continually breaking his
night's rest for prayer and devotional exercises of undue length,
'weeping one moment, then smiling in joy the next'; meandering about,
capricious, melodious, weak, at the will of devout whim mainly; went to
live at Marburg after her husband's death, and soon died there in a most
melodiously pious sort" in 1231, aged 24.

ELIZABETHAN ARCHITECTURE, a term applied to the style of
architecture which flourished in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I.,
and which was characterised by a revival of classic designs wrought into
the decadent Gothic style. Lord Salisbury's house at Hatfield is a good
specimen of this mixed style.

ELIZABETHAN ERA, according to Carlyle, "the outcome and flowerage of
all which had preceded it... in that old age lies the _only_ true
_poetical_ literature of England. The poets of the last ago took to
pedagogy (Pope and his school), and shrewd men they were; those of the
present age to ground-and-lofty tumbling; and it will do your heart
good," he adds, "to see how they vault."

ELKARGEH (4), a town in the great oasis in the Libyan Desert; has
ancient remains, and is an important resting stage in crossing the
desert.

ELLENBOROUGH, EDWARD LAW, EA