XLI.
1580 .
106 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
C H A P. XLI.
Affairs of Scotland — Spanish affairs — Sir Francis Drake — A parliament — Negotiations of marriage•with the duke of Anjou ■— Affairs of Scotland Letter of queen Alary to Elizabeth — ConJ'piracies inEngland — A parliament — The ecclejtajlical com-mijjlon — Affairs of the Low Countries — HoJiilities•with Spain .
C HAP.
I HE greateft and moft abfolutc fecurity, thatElizabeth enjoyed during her whole reign , neverexempted her from vigilance and attention; butthe feene began now to be more overcafl: , anddangers gradually multiplied on her from morethan one quarter.
The earl of Morton had hitherto retainedScotland in flricl alliance with the queen , and hadalfo reftored domeftic tranquillity to that kingdom:But it was not to be expected, that the fa&itiousand legal authority of a regent would long main-tain itfelf in a country unacquainted with law andorder ; where even the natural dominion ofhereditary princes fo often met with oppofitionand controul. The nobility began a-new to breakinto factions : The people were difgufted withfome inflances of Morton’s avarice : And theclergy, who complained of farther encroachmentson their narrow revenue, joined and increafed the
XLI.
IS 80.