The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-01-22
THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND.
Yictoris's Feminine Predecessors on
the British Throne.


! There have been very few Queens reg
nant on the English throne. First of all,
/ though but shadow of a ruler, was the
unfortunate Lady Jane Grey, appointed tn
| the throne by Edward VI. and whose nine
days of mock sovereignty in 1854 was fol-
lowed subsequently by her death. on the
| block. in her sixteenth year
! Mary / came to the throne in 1868. and
! il is Just as well to avoid entering here
/ into the mazes of political and religious
|! controversy that surrounded her history
/ There Is no faIsehood or eowardice in her
! face.
The eyes. which we know were short
sighted. are small and devoid of charm;
but they are honest. There is ability IN
the broad forehead; and its height and
/ baroness would not offend the then pre-
vaiIing ideas of loneliness. L Is the
( mouth that mars all though the artist
has done his hest IN some portraits OF
| Mary. the lips show merely as straight
red line-a scratch on the palhd face
/ Those thin compressed lips belong 10 one
who has endured long and silently. but
whose 5ympat HES have not been "Idehed
by suffering; enc who could be cruel and
yet unconscious of cruelty
Good Queen Bess," the daughter OF
Henry VII, and Anne BCleyn, came to
the throne on the death Of her sister Ma
~ IT 1903. She reigned fOrty-foGr years,
and her name is justly looked upon as
the most distinguished in the annals OF
female royalty.
Her reign was an age Of greatness ror
England Elizabeth surrounded herself
with brilliant circle Of men of genius;
and if her reign is memorable FOR the
great deeds done by Raleigh. Drake, Fro
bisher. and others, and for the immortal
works of SpenseE Shakespeare, Sidney.
and Bacon, it must. at least, be confessed
that much cEedit is due TO the great
/ Queen who knew how to appreciate and
encourage her gifted subjects. The great
event of her reign was. Of course, the de-
feat Of the Spanish Armada. in which the
pride of Spain was broken forever. Vain,
tickle. and petulant as undoubtedly Eliz-
abeth was we forget her faults and only
remember the glerfes of the ElizabethaD
age
Mary II, the daughter OF James Duke
/ OF York. second son Of Charles 1. and An
ME Eyde. came to the throne in 1889 She
/ married her first cousin William Henry,
| Prince of Orange. son of the eldest daugh-
! ter OF Charles I. In the opinion Of her
! contemporary, Mr. Evelyn, Mary Ii Was
/ such IAN admirable woman. abating for
/ taking the crown without more due
J apology, as does. II possible. QUITO the re-
nowned Queen Elizabeth" Mr.. Evelyn had
probably not read much scandal about
( Queen Elizabeth" and. therefore, 1t did
! not strike him that she might without
great dtff1culty be equaled OF surpassed in
he ordinary virtues Of an admirable
! woman
| But, on the other hand. In the qualities
! Of sovereignty Elizabeth towers head and
/ shoulders above Mary Of Orange OF the
/ Tudor Queens i may be said:
Theirs VAS a giant race before the food
Even in the gentle Lady Jane Grey
| strength is almost as marked as grace and
! tenderness. intellectually, at least, the
! latter seventeenth century women are of a
/ lesser sort. In spite OF the utmost that
/ Macaulay could do for the consort of his
/ hero William. Mary Of Orange comes short
/ OF grandeur. AS a young wife, she is
| aYerred to have been "One Of the most
! beautiful women in Europe" but there is
nothing in her portrait to haunt the mem
DRY.
| Queen Anne came to the throne on the
! death Of William III in 1902 She married
! George of Denmark. and her reign was
/ distinguished by the brilliant exploits OF
| the British army in the loWlands and in
! Spain The Queen was largely controlled
| BY Sarah. Duchess Of Marlborough, and
had little will of her own She died IN
! IVA