New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-03-09
ELIZABETH.
GREAT QUEEN AND STATESMAN.

. view of her differing in many points from those
Of most historians il is careful study char-
acterized by much research, and showing renee
ton and sagscity. Mr. BecsIy strikes inc KEY
note of his conception OF Elizabeth in the remark
that she never loved anybody and was lncapaoe
of doing so He dsmis.es all the uadltlohs aoou'
her relations with Essex, Leicester and others rs
mere idle gossip The story OF the ring anu tine
death OF Essex he considers pure myth. Ehzs-
both from his point Of view, was not the woman
70 chance her mind or TO suffer from remoiSe'
and in causing Essex 70 be punished for MS I'M
daubted treason she did nothing which she could
have reason TO regret But her temperament alone
would have preserved her from such regret az
has been attributed to her. With Elizabeth,
saws Mr. Beesly, "tbe heart never really spoke
and il the senses did she had them under per-
feet control And this why she never loVed
ar was loved and never has been or Will ne re-
carded with enthusiasm by either man or woman
He speaks also of the utter absence ooth OF
dclicacy and depth Of feeling which charac-
terzed her through life. In Illustration he cites
the story Of her remark on hearing OF the eXecu-
ton of Thomas Seymour, Lord High Admiral
who had been her lover in her youth. All she
said WAS: This day died man with much wit
and very little Judgment
Rut IL Mr.. Peesly considers Elizabeth to have
been perfectly coldhearted, Unfortunately vain ana
fond of hattery, he has little but commentator
for her Judgment and craftsmanship. She was, ne
considers wiser than the best of her councillors.
Cecil and WalsnGham would often have COM
mitted grave mistakes had they not been over
ruled by their imperative mistress Her geherai
polcy in both domestic and foreign AFFAIRS was
one of delay. From the beginning OF her reign
she saw clearly that her most valuable ally was
Time She entered upon the administration OF a
country which had been brought to the verge Of
exhaustion by two waSteful and eNtravagant
reigns. She saw that the first necessity was re-
cuneration and 10 secure the leisure necessary 10
the rehabilitation of England she plotted ana
intrigued and temporizcd at home and abroad
II was the waiting policy which led her TO adopt
the tolerant attitude toward her Cathohc SUD-
;ccts that so fretted the Puritan fanatics. Even
Burghley would have had her persecute, ou' shc
would not. Laws there were in plenty 10 war
rant severe persecution, but the dlsresdru oi
them was Systematically permitted ana
wnked at. They might be applicd d'
any time but the encouragement OF COM
merce and industry was more important 'ha' any
thing else II was the aim of Elizabeth 10 Keep
her own people loyal, to prevent Spain from ue-
claring war against her, to keep france Az "n
ally and check upon Spain, and to hep the Ne.h
erlands without committing herself too lar' o'e
fully realized that Philip could not always oe AcP'
from declaring war, but she hoped, py Scouting
0elov TO be ready when he was, and it fell out as
she had calculated for when the Armada came she
was prepared for it, and, in Mr. Beesy's opinion,
,,d no va defeated il without the aid of the wind
and sea.
II il Of course apparent that her Spanish pol
;cv would have been impossible in more al
v.nced age No modern Power would stand what
Pbilip stood for twenty years without declaring
MAR He knew that Elizabeth was constantly help
inc tho revolted Netherlands, and be had sun pc'
ter reasons for knowing that the far VestaI
was really making war upon his COASTS throu9n
the exploits of Drake and the swarm OF piratlcai
adventurers who plundered and destroyed MS snip
ming. sacked and burned his coast towns klheu
his men and carried off his treasure. lie enoureo
oil this wear after wear, first because the war III
rhe Netherlands absorbed his military resources,
and second because he feared an Anglo-trench
alliance. To maintain such condition OF things
the English Queen coquetted negotiated ana re-
sorted to all of sharp practice with france
The diplomacy of the sixteenth century WAS hot
scrupulous or mealy-mouthcd. 1t was not thouSh'
,nfamous for great princes to have recourse to
living bribery fraud, or, at pinch, ASSASSINATION
Elizabeth was fully aware for many years that
but she appears to have thought none the worse of
him. II was all in the business, and Kings and
Queens must guard their own heads She was not
revengeful, and even when conspiracy had been
detected, she only punished its heads and let the
subordinates 60
Mr.. Beesly treats the case of Mary Stuart at
some length. Mary. he considers, was intellectu-
ally the superior of Elizabeth; but the latter had
no passions and Mary had. They ruined her.
Elizabeth's head and heart were equally cool, and
therefore she made no mistakes Mary allowed
her judgment TO be blinded by her infatuatlon FOR
Boutwell,, who was a very inferior man snd more
over did not love her Out Of this tan0bIe tnfstu-
alton sprang the murder OF Darniey loss or nef
throne Imprisonment in England and finally the
desperation which led her 10 conspire against Eliz-
abeths life, risking and losing her own. The
basest act of Elizabeth in this episode was not
the execution of Mary, but the attempt To
put the responsibility upon her Minis |
tiers. They forestalled her by signing the death
warrants in such numbers that she dared not |
attack them all, and therefore sacrificed a poor |
clerk to her futile pretext But indeed. she was |
never above doing mean action, and her course !
in the matter of the Anou marriage is in point
Mr. Beesly thinks that she never had the least !
thought Of marrying the Duke, who was personally |
the very opposite of her IDEAL and she knew. OBJ
noxious to her people. But she wanted the friend
ship of France, and she kept up this mockery |
Of love-match for eleven years, and only threw |
,r the mask when her object was accomplished and
she had got all that was possible out of the |
time thus gained. Even here, if VIC take wide |
views and bear in mind the ethics Of the period it
must be admitted that Elizabeth acted for the |
best interests of her country, and that considera
hon may rightly be held to cover multitude of
inns.
As to the traditions of her last days, her present
Dioarapher is sceptical. 1t may. indeed, easily |
De believed that when inirmities dragged her |
,own and she saw the shadow OF death approach |
ng she became depressed For she had lived |