the earth
by Drake, the visits of other Englishmen to the shores of Africa and
America, even to the Arctic seas, awakened a deep and healthful
curiosity. There arose a passion for travelling, for seeing and
studying foreign lands. Those who were forced to remain at home
devoured with eagerness the books of those who wandered abroad. The
effects of this widening of the mental and physical horizon are
observable in the new occupations which absorbed the energies of men,
and in the new social life which all classes were beginning to lead.
Improvements in husbandry doubled the productiveness of the soil, and
greatly enhanced its value. The development of manufactures made
English woolens in demand throughout Europe. In commerce the new spirit
of enterprise was strikingly apparent. Tradesmen and nobles, ministers
of state, Elizabeth herself--all who could, ventured something in the
ships which sailed for America or Africa in the hope of golden cargoes.
The Russia company brought home furs and flax, steel, iron, ropes, and
masts. The Turkey merchants imported the productions of the Levant,
silks and satins, carpets, velvets, and cloth of gold. By the side of
these were laid in London markets, the rice, cotton, spices, and
precious stones of India, and the sugar, rare woods, gold, silver, and
pearls of the New World.[37]

Under the influence of this new enterprise and prosperity, the picture
of social life becomes more pleasing. The English noble succeeded to
the feudal baron, the manor to the fortress. With the coat of mail and
huge two-handed sword passed away the portcullis and the moat. The new
homes of the nobility, erected during Elizabeth's reign, were marked by
a beauty and luxury in keeping with the new ideas of their owners. The
eye still rests with admiration on the numberless gables, the quaint
chimneys, the oriel windows, the fretted parapets of the Tudor
building. Within, the magnificent staircases, the great carved
chimney-pieces, the massive oaken furniture, the costly cabinets, and
elaborate tapestries all attested the new wealth and the new taste of
the occupants. A large chamber of Hardwicke Hall was decorated with a
frieze representing a stag hunt, and beneath that the story of Ulysses
wrought in tapestry.[38] Harrington rejoiced in the number of "goodly
chambers, large gardens and sweet walks" of Elizabeth's palaces. The
"goodly chambers" were filled with cloths of gold and silver, with
satin-covered furn