The first twenty years of Elizabeth's reign were oc- cupied in consolidating her throne, by averting foreign aggression through the encouragement given bj- her to the insurgents in each neighboring state, by sup- pressing disorder and divisions at home, and by pro- moting Protestant interests at home and abroad. The next twenty years, which terminated with the peace of Vervins, was a period of secret or open contention with Philip of Spain. The execution of Mary, queen of Scots, 1587, and the defeat of tlie Spanish Armada, 1588, marked the culmination of this perilous struggle. It was closed by the death of the great minister, lord Burleigh. The last five j'ears of her reign were free from serious apprehensions of foreign dangers, but they were distracted l>_y the disturbances in Ireland, b}^ the treacherous intrigues of the court, and by the ambitious designs of tlie reckless and ungrateful Es- sex. Her whole life was one long succession of haz- ards, and after all her glories she died lonely, unloved, and without friends.
Few sovereigns have ever impressed themselves
more strongly than Elizabeth upon the imaginations and hearts of their j)eople ; few ever bestowed greater or more permanent benefits upon them ; yet few have met with blinder admiration or more undistinguishing vituperation. The presumptions are all adverse to this great queen. Contemporary slanders, designed for political objects, have crystallized themselves into commonly accepted facts. But with each addition to our knowledge of the period, the perception of her he- roism, and even of her virtues, becomes clearer, and the exaggeration or false coloring of her frailties di- minishes. It was an age of great crimes and of mul- titudinous vices, and Elizabeth did not escape the con- tamination; but a minute study of the fearful difficul- ties of her position from infancy to old age will produce profound commiseration rather than bitter censure.
It is only in tiie diaries and journals of Parliament ; in the state papers of the time ; in the records of the religious and political intrigues of the period ; in the reports of Venetian, French, and Spanish embassadors; in contemporaneous memoirs, and in the numerous miscellaneous letters and papers of the age, that the true characteristics of Elizabeth and her reign can be discovered. Perhaps a definite conclusion cannot be reached until the voluminous calendars and other rec- ords, now in process of iiulilication under the auspices of the Master of the Rolls, have been given to the world. Certainly the portrait offered by the latest historian of her reign, Mr. Froude, cannot be accepted with any confidence, for it is as strangely distorted and miscolored as his picture of Henry VIII. The commendation of her earliest eulogist, lord Bacon, who knew her well, is still appropriate: "To say the truth, the only commender of this lady's virtues is time, which, for as many ages as it hath run, hath not yet showed us one of the female sex equal to her in the administration of a kingdom."
The literature of this subject is so extensive that it is scarcel}' necessary to enumerate particular works. Any or all of the historians of England maj' be con- sulted ; but further researches may be aided by exam- ining Camden, Anmtls of Queen Elizabeth; Strj-pe's Annals of the Refurmation in England; Harrison's De- scription of England in Hall's Chronicle ; Sir Robert Naunton, Fragmenta Regalia; Sj'^monds d'Ewes's Dia- ry ; Rushworth's Collections ; Harleian Miscellaiii/ ; Fe- licities of Queen Elizabeth .^ in the works of Lord Bacon ; Egerton, Sidney, and Burleigh Papers; Miss Strick- land's Life of Queen Elizabeth; JMiss Aiken's Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth ; Wright's Elizabeth ; Mignet, Hist. Mary, Queen of Scots; Caird, Mary Stuart; Fronde's Hist. England, and the Calendars of State Papers for the period published by the British government. A very able essay on queen Elizabeth and queen Mary appeared in the Edinburgh Review for October, 18G6. (G. F. H.)
EHzabeth, Albertine, countess of the Palati- nate, was born at Heidelberg Dec. 26, 1618. She was the eldest daughter of the unfortunate Friedrich V, king of Bohemia, and of Elizaljeth Stuart, daughter of James I. The misfortunes of her family led to her becoming abbess of the institution of Herford, in AV^cst- phalia, where she died Feb. 11, 1680. She was no less distinguished for her higli attainments in literature and science than for her sincere and active piet3^ All true Christians in need of help were sure to receive it from her. She was the intimate friend of Fox, Keith, Barclay, Malebranche, Leibnitz, Des Cartes, Gichtel, etc. Penii, in a passage of liis "A'o Cross, no Croim,'" pays a fitting tribute to her piety and virtue. — Her- zog, Renl-Eucyldop. iii, 769. See Guhrauer, Pfikgrdfin Eiisabefh (Raunier's Ilisforisches Taschenbuch, 1851); Goebel, Gesch. d. christllchen Lebens in d. rhein.-west- phiil. evang. Kirche (Coblentz, 185"2).
Elizabeth, Saint, of Thuringia, was a daughter of king Andrew II, of Hungary, and was born at
ELIZABETH
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