never seen or known before. He brought with him a guard of one hundred soldiers, clothed in blue, which the princess observing, asked with her uspal liveliness, If Lady Jane's scaffold was yet taken away?

About the end of May she was removed from the Tower under the command of sir Henry Bedingfield and lord Williams of Thame, to the royal manor or palace at Woodstock. The first night of her journey she lay at Richmond; where being watched all night by the soldiers, and all access of her own private attendants utterly prohibited, she began to be convinced, that orders had been given to put her privately to death. The next day she reached Windsor, where she was lodged in the dean's house near Saint George's collegiate chapel. She then passed to lord Williams's seat at Ricot in Oxfordshire, where she lay, and was very princely entertained both of knights and ladies'. But Bedingfield was highly disgusted at this gallant entertainment of his prisoner. During this journey, lord Williams and another gentleman playing at chess, the princess accidentally came in, and told them she must stay to see the game played out; but this liberty Bedingfield would not permit.

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Arriving at Woodstock, she was lodged in the gate-house of the palace; in an apartment remaining complete within these fifty years, with its original arched roof of Irish oak, curiously carved, painted blue sprinkled with gold, and to the last retaining its name of queen Elizabeth's chamber. In the Bodleian library at Oxford, there is an English translation of St. Paul's epistles, printed in the black letter, which the princess used while

she was here imprisoned; the covers are of black silk; on which she amused herself with curiously working or embossing numerous inscriptions and devices in gold twist.

One is pleased to hear these circumstances, trifling and unimportant as they are, which show us how this great and unfortunate lady, who became afterwards the heroine of the British throne, the favourite of her people, and the terrour of the world, contrived to relieve the tedious hours of her pensive and solitary confinement. She had however little opportunity for meditations or amusement. She was closely guarded, yet sometimes suffered to walk in the gardens of the palace. In this situation, says Hollingshead, no marvel, if she, hearing upon a time out of her garden at Woodstock a certain milkmaid, singing pleasantly, wished herself to be a milkmaid, as she was; saying that her case was better and life merrier.'

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After being confined here for many months, she -procured a permission to write to the queen: but her importunate keeper, Bedingfield, intruded, and overlooked what she wrote. At length, king Philip interposed, and begged she might be removed to the court.

In her first day's journey, from the manor of Woodstock to lord Williams's at Ricot, a violent storm of wind happened; insomuch, that her hood and the attire of her head were twice or thrice blown off. On this she begged to retire to a gentleman's house then at hand, but Bedingfield's absurd and superabundant circumspection

refused even this insignificant request; and constrained her, with much indecorum, to replace her head-dress under a hedge near the road.

Warton.

CHARACTER OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.

THERE are few personages in history, who have been more exposed to the calumny of enemies, and the adulation of friends, than queen Elizabeth: and yet there scarcely is any, whose reputation has been more certainly determined by the unanimous consent of posterity. The unusual length of her administration, the strong features of her character, were able to overcome all prejudices; and, obliging her detractors to abate much of their invectives, and her admirers somewhat of their panegyrics, have, at last, in spite of political factions, and what is more, of religious animosities, produced a uniform judgment with regard to her conduct. Her vigour, her constancy, her magnanimity, her penetration, vigilance, and address, are allowed to merit the highest praises; and appear not to have been surpassed by any person who ever filled a throne: a conduct less rigorous, less imperious, more sincere, more indulgent to her people, would have been requisite to form a perfect character. By the force of her mind, she controlled all her more active, and stronger qualities; and prevented them from running into excess. Her heroism was exempted from all temerity; her frugality from avarice; her friendship

from partiality; her enterprise from turbalency, and a vain ambition. She guarded not herseif,, with equal care, or equal success, from less infirmities; the rivalship of beauty, the desire of admiration, the jealousy of love, and the sallies of anger.

Her singular talents for government, were founded equally on her temper and on her capacity. Endowed with a great command over herself, she soon obtained an uncontrolled ascendant over the people. Few sovereigns of England succeeded to the throne in more difficult circumstances; and none ever conducted the government with so uniform success and felicity.-Though unacquainted with the practice of toleration, the true secret for managing religious factions, she preserved her people, by her superior prudence, from those confusions in which theological controversy had involved all the neighbouring nations; and though her enemies were the most powerful princes of Europe, the most active, the most enterprising, the least scrupulous, she was able, by her vigour, to make deep impressions on their state; her own greatness meanwhile remaining untouched and unimpaired.

The wise ministers and brave men who flourished during her reign, share the praise of her success; but, instead of lessening the applause due to her, they make great addition to it. They owed, all of them, their advancement to her choice; they were supported by her constancy; and, with all their ability, they were never able to acquire an undue ascendant over her. In her family, in her court, in her kingdom, she remained

equally mistress. The force of the tender passions was great over her, but the force of her mind was still superior: and the combat which her victory visibly cost her, serves only to display the firmness of her resolution, and the loftiness of her ambitious sentiments.

The fame of this princess, though it has surmounted the prejudices both of faction and of bigotry, yet lies still exposed to another prejudice, which is more durable, because more natural; and which, according to the different views in which we survey her, is capable either of exalting beyond measure, or diminishing, the lustre of her character. This prejudice is founded on the consideration of her sex. When we contemplate her as a woman, we are apt to be struck with the highest admiration of her qualities and extensive capacity; but we are also apt to require some more softness of disposition, some greater lenity of temper, some of those amiable weaknesses by which her sex is distinguished. But the true method of estimating her merit, is, to lay aside all these considerations, and to consider her merely as a rational being, placed in authority, and entrusted with the government of mankind.

Hume.

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S DEATH.

AFTER having long enjoyed a good state of health, the effect of a sound constitution, and the reward of uncommon regularity and temperance, Elizabeth began, this winter, (1603) to feel her vigour