bigoted, and at one with hire in creed, had still English blood in
her; and English independence had been sturdily maintained through too
many centuries to be surrendered to any power or on any pretext. The
English Parliament also interfered and refused to crown him jointly
with Mary. So Philip found himself united to a sickly, peevish wife of
twice his age, and entirely powerless to effect the purposes he had in
view.

10. Three or four years passed in fruitless intrigue. Punishments for
heresy were frequent, but the fires of persecution never blazed so
fiercely in the cooler atmosphere of England as in Spain, and the
victims of the stake could be counted singly instead of by the
thousand. Then Mary died, and Elizabeth ascended the throne of
England. The new queen declined the honor of Philip's hand which was
tendered her, and she zealously espoused the cause of the English
church. The hunted turned hunters, and the last fires of English
persecution were lit by those whom the stake had threatened all
through the dreary years of Mary's reign. This change of front and the
gradual amelioration of penalties which followed show that
persecutions are not the monopoly of any sect, but are rather the
manifestations of an irresponsible power in a semi-barbarous age.

11. Philip retired angry and disgusted. The contemptuous refusal of
his hand by Elizabeth was a terrible shock to his personal pride; the
triumph of the new church inflamed his bigotry; and the sturdy
independence of the English people was a severe blow to his pride of
country. He brooded over the situation and determined to resent the
slights--personal and public--which had been put upon him.

12. From his purpose he was for a time diverted by the attitude of his