age was stamped
with the dignity which hallows tribulation, and with the force and nerve
which the habitual contemplation of danger rarely fails to confer. The
same causes undoubtedly promoted the religious spirit which prevailed.
While bigotry and fanaticism appeared in a small portion of the nation,
it is certain that the age of Elizabeth was marked by the general
diffusion of a spirit of deep devotion. There was enough of chivalry
left to keep alive the fervor which prevailed at an earlier period, and
enough of intelligence to temper this fervor into rational religion. The
feeling of shame at professing faith and devoutness was the growth of a
later day; it was unknown in those times. The gayest courtier that
chanted his love-song in the ear of the high-born maiden, and the
gravest statesman who debated at the table of the privy council, were
alike penetrated with devotional sentiment, and alike ready to offer up
prayers and thanksgiving to the Most High. We are perfectly aware that
the outward signs of piety displayed by a few principal characters are
not a faithful index of the state of religion at any period. It is not
fair to infer, because Elizabeth devoutly commended herself to the care
of the Almighty when forsaken, friendless, an orphan, alone, and
helpless, she was landed at the foot of the Traitor's Stairs in the
Tower of London, or because she returned to the same gloomy fortress
when a triumphant queen, to offer up her praise and gratitude to God for
his marvellous mercies, that she lived in a pious age. Neither are we to
regard it as a sure indication of the prevailing spirit, when Burleigh
solemnly commends his son to the Almighty in his letter of advice; when
the chivalrous Sidney is found composing a prayer, which, for solemnity,
grandeur, and devotion, is scarcely surpassed in the English liturgy;
when the adventurous Raleigh displays an amount of knowledge on sacred
subjects that might be the envy of an Oxford professor of theology, or
when the city of London presents to the young Queen, on the day of her
coronation and in the midst of her glittering pageantry, the Bible, as
the most appropriate and acceptable offering.

These are not certain signs of a religious age; but they would pass for
something at any period, even if they were mere hypocrisy. They would
show that religion was held in such respect and by so numerous a class
somewhere, as to make it worth while for the Queen and her court to
as