uish
and suffering, they did not soften her heart. She seemed to grow more
cruel and vindictive the more her plans and projects failed. Adversity
vexed and irritated, instead of calming and subduing her. She revived
her persecutions of the Protestants. She fitted out a fleet of a hundred
and twenty ships to make a descent upon the French coast, and attempt to
retrieve her fallen fortunes there. She called Parliament together and
asked for more supplies. All this time she was confined to her sick
chamber, but not considered in danger. The Parliament were debating the
question of supplies. Her privy council were holding daily meetings to
carry out the plans and schemes which she still continued to form, and
all was excitement and bustle in and around the court, when one day the
council was thunderstruck by an announcement that she was dying.

They knew very well that her death would be a terrible blow to them.
They were all Catholics, and had been Mary's instruments in the terrible
persecutions with which she had oppressed the Protestant faith. With
Mary's death, of course they would fall. A Protestant princess was
ready, at Hatfield, to ascend the throne. Every thing would be changed,
and there was even danger that they might, in their turn, be sent to the
stake, in retaliation for the cruelties which they had caused others to
suffer. They made arrangements to have Mary's death, whenever it should
take place, concealed for a few hours, till they could consider what
they should do.

There was _nothing_ that they could do. There was now no other
considerable claimant to the throne but Elizabeth, except Mary Queen of
Scots, who was far away in France. She was a Catholic, it was true; but
to bring her into the country and place her upon the throne seemed to be
a hopeless undertaking. Queen Mary's counselors soon found that they
must give up their cause in despair. Any attempt to resist Elizabeth's
claims would be high treason, and, of course, if unsuccessful, would
bring the heads of all concerned in it to the block.

Besides, it was not _certain_ that Elizabeth would act decidedly as a
Protestant. She had been very prudent and cautious during Mary's reign,
and had been very careful never to manifest any hostility to the
Catholics. She never had acted as Mary had done on the occasion of her
brother's funeral, when she refused even to countenance with her
presence the national service because it was under Protestant forms.