The church of England rather inclined toward the Protestants, but it looked with affection on the old ceremonies and the teachings of the priest. It was hard for many of the people to separate themselves from the Catholic Church.

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The drama represents the age. Shakespeare wavered between Protestantism and Catholicism. If he had any religious views he never expressed them. He says, are such as dreams are made of, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

we

REIGN OF ELIZABETH.

CHARACTERISTICS

OF THAT AGE.

ELIZABETH resembled an American Indian rather than an English queen.

Her attire was so gorgeous and she used the elaborate fans.

The dress of the people showed to what class of society they belonged.

The servants of different orders wore different colors. The Sundays were desecrated by games.

Elizabeth's advisers at court were Burleigh, Nicholas Bacon, and Walsingham. Her favorites were Dudley and Essex. Dudley was a notorious profligate and was accused of killing his wife to marry Elizabeth. She was too prudent, however, to contract such a union.

The greatest names in literature during her age are Hooker, Bacon, Spencer, and Shakespeare.

Elizabeth had a graceful carriage. She was fond of ceremony, dress, and flattery. She had a $2,000 black velvet saddle. She kept around her wits that would embellish conversation without bringing up unpleasant topics. There was an undercurrent of gilded vice con

nected with her court. The court was a mirror of her time.

At Hampton Court there was a beautiful audience chamber where Shakespeare played.

Above all things else was Elizabeth's desire for the "glory of the realm."

PROGRESS OF THE COUNTRY.

A NEW mode of cultivation was introduced which made the soil more productive. This was the beginning of commercial expeditions. Progress was made in every direction. Privateering was a great source of wealth. Elizabeth never objected to taking her part of the spoils.

Sir John Hawkins was the greatest seaman of that time. The guilt of the slave trade rests with him. Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. He was made knight by Elizabeth.

WALTER SCOTT. (1771-1832.)

WHEN young, Scott liked, best of all, ballads of "Robin Hood," an old collection of old writers. He was very fond of watching a thunder storm. He was endowed with a most marvelous mind and was a most sympathetic student of English border life.

PROSE WRITINGS. THREE CLASSES.

1ST. Portrays manners and characters of Scottish people. "Guy Mannering," "Bride of Lammermoor," "Rob Roy," "Black Dwarf," and others.

2nd.

Historical. "Ivanhoe," "The Talisman," 66 Richard the Lion Hearted." In the last named the Crusades are described. Ivanhoe," "the most valuable book for description of knighthood. Under this head come Betrothed " " and "Robert of Paris."

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3rd. A combination of the first and second classes. "Old Mortality" is one of his greatest works. "Legend of Montrose" is an excellent work. "Red Gauntlet " tells about the smugglers and describes Puritan life. Waverly," one of his most popular books, tells great deeds of early knights and portrays Scottish life.

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Scott built his beautiful home, "Abbotsford," with the money received for the "Waverlys." At "Abbotsford" he had a regular armory. In the "Lay of the Last Minstrel" is a description of Melrose. Scott depicts a living age and resuscitates past ages. His pseudonym was "Wizard of the North. His writings attracted tourists to the North of Scotland. He was fond of story-telling. He married Miss Chalotte Carpenter, a lady of French birth, with whom he lived most happily. All men might admire him in his works, but only those who knew him at "Abbotsford" might love him.

"Eve of St. John " is one of his first poems. Lay of the Last Minstrel " appeared in 1805, "Marmion," in 1810, "Lady of the Lake," next.

Of his poems, the "Lay of the Last Minstrel" is considered the most natural and original, “Marmion," the most powerful, and the "Lady of the Lake," the most romantic, interesting, and picturesque.

Scott went to Paris to gather material for the "Life of Napoleon." There he was lionized and feted. He died at "Abbotsford," September 21, 1832.

PURITANISM AND NOTES ON THE STUDY OF MACAULEY'S ESSAY ON MILTON.

PURITANISM.-The Puritans.

IN the reign of Elizabeth many people felt that the Reformation did not go far enough. They were dissatisfied on account of the preservation of any of the old forms.

"The disclosures of the stores of Greek literature had wrought the revolution of the Renaissance. The disclosures of the older mass of Hebrew literature wrought the revolution of the Reformation." The study of the Bible was leading England into Puritanism before James became King in 1603. The literary influence of the Bible was far greater than its social influence.

Spencer, Cromwell and others used expressions from the Bible.

The whole temper of the nation was changed. A new moral and religious impulse spread through every class. "A new conception of life and of man superseded the old." Such a word as "Puritan" did not exist during the reign of Elizabeth.

During the reign of James the people were advocating the doctrine that the king had no right to appoint bishops. Disgusted with Scotch Presbyterians, the people sent a petition to James on his way to London, requesting the right of choosing their own preachers. When the petition was refused they began to gather throughout the country in small congregations.

They were first called "Brownists" from their leader. They rejected all ceremonies, and recognized only the fellowship of the Gospel. They called themselves "the Lord's free people" and said they were fighting their way toward the freedom of conscience.

John Robinson was a leader in Linconshire. Young men of talent were attracted to their principles.

JAMES I. DESCRIBED.

JAMES I. is described as having a "big head, slobbering tongue, goggle eyes, and rickety legs." He was without dignity, a coarse buffoon, a drunkard, a pedant, a contemptible coward,-in fact, everything else but a King. Such a strange contrast to Queen Elizabeth. Yet under this ridiculous exterior lay a man of much natural ability. He was a ripe scholar, had a considerable fund of "mother wit," and quaint incisive phrases. He had a pedant's love of theories. He clung, unhappily for England and his successors, to two theories which contained within themselves the seeds of the death struggle between the crown and the church. First theory-the divine right of Kings. Second-the divine right of bishops.

He died in 1625. His reign was one long struggle with Parliament. He was extravagant and continually in need of money.

James had the Bible translated by a company of fortyseven scholars in 1611. It is the common version in use at the present day.

The only thing that brought about Bacon's downfall was a desire to strike James through his Lord Chancellor.