ine of his energetic career. The blacksmith's
son certainly made no small use of his time and abilities. His
life is the history in miniature of that of his order as a body;
that same body whose enormous establishments in England at this
day are in such bold defiance of the Catholic Emancipation Act,
which makes even their residence in this kingdom illegal.

Doleman's _Conference_ was answered in a little book by Peter
Wentworth, entitled _A Pithy Exhortation to Her Majesty for
establishing her Successor to the Crown_, in which the author
advocated the claims of James I. The book was written in terms of
great humility and respect, the author not being ignorant, as he
quaintly says, "that the anger of a Prince is as the roaring of a
Lyon, and even the messenger of Death." But this he was to learn
by personal experience, for the Queen, incensed with him for
venturing to advise her, not only had his book burnt, but sent
him to the Tower, where, like so many others, he died. So at
least says a printed slip in the Grenville copy of his book.

But Wentworth is better and more deservedly remembered for his
speeches than for his book--his famous speeches in 1575, and
again in 1587, in Parliament in defence of the Commons' Right of
Free Speech, for both of which he was temporarily committed to
the Tower. Rumours of what would please or displease the Queen,
or messages from the Queen, like that prohibiting the House to
interfere in matters of religion, in those days reduced the voice
of the House to a nullity. Wentworth's chief question was,
"Whether this Council be not a place for any member of the same
here assembled, freely and without control of any person or
danger of laws, by bill or speech to utter any of the griefs of
this Commonwealth whatsoever, touching the service of God, the
safety of the prince and this noble realm." Yet so servile was
the House of that period, that on both occasions it disclaimed
and condemned its advocate--on the first occasion actually not
allowing him to finish his speech. Yet, fortunately, both his
speeches live, well reported in the Parliamentary Debates.

To pass from politics to poetry; little as Archbishop Whitgift's
proceedings in the High Commission endear his name to posterity,
I am inclined to think he may be forgiven for cleansing
Stationers' Hall by fire, in 1599, of certain works purporting to
be poetical; such works, namely, as Marlowe's _Elegies of Ovid_,
which appeared in com