adow of doubt upon the legitimacy of every one of his
children. On his death he was succeeded, without serious dispute,
by his only son, Edward VI. Edward did not live to manhood, but
during his short reign his guardians pushed the land far in the
direction of Protestantism. Unfortunately they plundered the
common people cruelly and persecuted, though only in two cases to
the point of burning, both Catholics and the more extreme
Protestants.

The early death of Edward left no male heir to the royal house.
For the first time in English history there were none but women to
claim the crown. Moreover, of these at least four had some show of
right. They were Mary, the Catholic daughter of King Henry's first
wife, and Elizabeth, his Protestant daughter by Anne Boleyn. Or,
if both these were to be considered illegitimate, then came their
cousins, Mary Stuart, descended from one of Henry's sisters, and
Lady Jane Grey, from another. The friends of Lady Jane tried to
raise her to the throne, but only succeeded in bringing her to the
scaffold. The Catholic, Mary, was declared the rightful queen and
ruled England for five years, during most of which she kept her
half-sister Elizabeth in prison.

Queen Mary was devoted to her religion. The fires which had burned
in Henry's time were kindled again, but now for the torture of
Protestants, bishops, and men of mark. Mary wedded the Catholic
king and cruel fanatic Philip II of Spain, the most powerful
monarch of Europe; so that only to her death and the reign of the
persecuted Elizabeth could Protestant Englishmen look for relief.
Thus the accession of the learned and coquettish Elizabeth brought
far more than a mere promise of youth and pleasure; it was a
bursting of the fetters of fear.

The age of Elizabeth was preeminently distinguished by the operation of
just principles, of generous sentiments, of elevated objects, and of
profound piety. Elizabeth, it is true, was vindictive, arbitrary, and
cruel. Two prevailing sentiments filled her mind and chiefly influenced
her conduct throughout life. The first of these was the idea of
prerogative. Any assumption of rights, any freedom of debate, any
theological discussion or profession of sentiments which seemed to
infringe on the sacred limits of royalty was sure to be visited with her
severest wrath. She detested the Puritans