always public, and the bride and bridegroom were accompanied to church by their friends and neighbours, a band of music playing before them, and a troop of young maidens following, crowned with flowers, and bearing large bride-cakes to distribute among the crowd.

The daughters of country gentlemen, and even of noblemen residing on their estates, used, in those days, to feed the poultry and attend the dairy, make their own dresses, starch their ruffs, and get up their own fine linen. Such accomplishments as these are certainly not suited to the taste of noblemen's daughters of the present age; still there were many domestic duties in fashion among our ancestors, that would be neither out of place, nor unbecoming, even in the nineteenth century.

Among other events of a domestic nature, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, was the introduction of coaches, which were first brought into use in this country by a Dutchman, and were much ridiculed by the English, until they had experienced the ease and comfort of such vehicles, when coaches became so much in request, that the price of leather rose considerably, and coachmaking became a flourishing trade. A clumsy kind of vehicle had been occasionally used by ladies of quality, in the form of a waggon, covered with red cloth; but the common mode of riding was on horseback. A lady then rode on a pillion saddle, behind a gentleman, and even the queen herself rode behind her lord chamberlain, on the same horse. People in ill health sometimes travelled in a litter, a machine somewhat resembling a hammock, slung between two horses, which was common all over Europe during the Middle Ages. Hackney-coaches did not come into use till about fifty years afterwards, and it was still later that stage coaches were first established, as the roads were generally so bad, at this period, that they were not passable for wheeled carriages.

MANNERS, CUSTOMS, &c., OF THE PEOPLE IN THE TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH-continued.

A manufactory for needles was set up in England in the reign of Elizabeth, by a native of Germany; and the first watch seen in this country was presented to the queen by a German.

In the year 1588, the first paper mill in England was established at Dartford, in Kent. Paper had long been one of the chief manufactures of France, and the manufacture of this article was now, with many other useful arts, brought here by the French and Flemish Protestants, who were driven by persecution from their own countries, and were gladly received and protected by the queen; for Elizabeth was fully aware of the advantages to be derived from the settlement of so many clever foreigners, who could instruct the English in various branches of art with which they were unacquainted, and thus create new employments for them, which was a point of the highest importance, since the country being now free from warfare, its population was rapidly increasing. Great numbers of the refugees settled in the towns of Canterbury, Norwich, Colchester, Maidstone, and Southampton, which, like most of the ancient walled cities and boroughs, had been falling to decay since the period of the civil wars, but now became populous places of business; and it was by such settlements of foreigners, that the cotton manufactories at Manchester, and other places, were first established.

The art of weaving stockings was invented by Mr. Lee, a student of Cambridge; but this useful invention was not encouraged for a long time, and people continued to wear cloth hose or knitted stockings. The first pair of silk stockings made in England were knitted by Mrs. Montague, a silk-woman, and given to Queen Elizabeth, who was so much pleased with them, that she never again wore cloth hose. Soon afterwards, a city apprentice, named

Thomas Burdet, made a pair of worsted stockings, which he presented to Lord Pembroke, who regarded them as a valuable acquisition to his wardrobe.

Queen Elizabeth was so extravagant in dress, that when she died, three thousand gowns were found in her wardrobe. The female dress of this period was very stiff and ugly; the gown was open in front, and the boddice, which was very long, resembled stays laced in front; the enormous ruff round the neck was of lawn, stiffened with yellow starch; and the Mary Queen of Scots' cap, with a peak in front, was very fashionable. The general walking-dress was a farthingale, which was a full black silk petticoat put on over the dress, like the Spanish basquina; and it was very usual to wear in the street a mask of black velvet, and to carry a small mirror, hanging at the girdle. The Chopines were Italian shoes, with such high heels that it was difficult to walk in them. The wives of the aldermen, and other chief citizens, wore velvet bonnets, but the common out-door covering for the head was a hood. The male attire of this period was a doublet, or jacket, fastened round the waist with a belt; a highcrowned hat, tapering towards the top; a cloak, and a sword. A scarlet cloak, and a hat ornamented with a gold band and a long feather, denoted that the wearer was a man of high rank.

The citizens and their wives, when they went abroad in the evening, were attended by their apprentices, who carried lanterns in their hands, and clubs over their shoulders. London was now so much extended, by the progress of the buildings around it, that the citizens, in order to enjoy the fresh air, used to take their families, on Sundays, to such places as are now called tea-gardens, where they regaled themselves with cakes and ale; nor was it thought at all vulgar to do so.

By all this you may perceive that our forefathers had, by this time, arrived about midway between the barbarism of the feudal ages and the refinement of the present time. That there was still much of barbarism

remaining is quite clear, from the accounts we have of their favourite amusements, which were bull-baiting, bearbaiting, and cock-fighting; and what must greatly increase our horror of such inhuman sports, they were practised on Sundays, and attended by ladies as well as gentlemen of rank and fashion. The queen was herself fond of such unfeminine amusements, and not unfrequently ordered a bull-baiting, in the tilt yard of the palace, for her own particular pleasure; yet she exhibited signs of a more refined taste in her admiration of the works of the accomplished poet, Shakspere, and by encouraging a better style of dramatic performances than had hitherto been known.

The plays of Shakspere, and other writers who flourished in the reign of Elizabeth, were acted in regular theatres, licensed by the sovereign. But the theatres of those days were but faint rudiments of the stately buildings of modern times. The superior part of the audience sat upon stools on the stage, where they amused themselves with smoking during the performance, while the lower order of spectators occupied the pit, the price of admission being twopence. The actors had not always appropriate dresses, or any scenery; so that they used to write large labels, and hang them up over the stage to inform the spectators what scene they intended to represent, as "This is a castle," "This is a forest," &c., when perhaps nothing was to be seen but some old piece of cloth, put up to hide the bare walls. For many years, the female characters were played by boys, or young men, and the performance always took place in the middle of the day. While Oliver Cromwell ruled in England, the theatres were suppressed, but they were revived at the restoration of Charles II.— From Miss Corner's History of England.'

THE SPANISH ARMADA, A.D. 1588.

PHILIP THE SECOND of Spain had been the husband of Queen Mary, Elizabeth's sister. But it was obvious from the time of the accession of Elizabeth that the cordiality between her and Philip was impossible; she being Protestant, and he the most severe and unyielding of the Roman Catholic princes of Europe. It was in the character which Elizabeth assumed, of leader of the Protestant princes of Europe, that she sent assistance to the Netherlands when, on religious grounds, they revolted from Philip's rule. By the help thus given they were enabled to make good their revolt, and Holland became a free state. Add to this, that the English were rapidly becoming rivals of the Spaniards in South America, where hitherto the latter had been all powerful, and we have the reasons which led to the great expedition which we call the Spanish Armada. From Peru and Mexico came into Philip's treasury the wealth of the New World; he was ruler of dominions on the Continent such as had seldom been united in one hand; in his crusade against England he was assisted by the prayers and money of the pope, and unopposed by any of the Roman Catholic powers. His ships covered the sea, his armies were drawn from every part of the world; and notice was given throughout Christendom that the Invincible Armada, so it was called, was to carry religion and justice once more into England. Elizabeth, nothing daunted, mounted her horse, encased herself in armour, addressed the English forces at Tilbury Fort in a noble speech, and made the greatest preparations for defence. Along all the shore from Cornwall to Dover, and thence to the mouth of the Humber,-from the Land's End to the Solway Firth, beacons were kept in readiness on every hill. One touch of the lighted torch would send up tongues of flame to announce the enemy's approach from one end of the kingdom to the other. A strong body of men was kept near London; fast-sailing ships were des