Sir Francis Walsingham was one of Elizabeth’s most devoted ministers, and one of the craftiest and wiliest of men. He had an army of spies in pay, and was the chief mover in the cruelties practised in Elizabeth’s reign, and in the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. Born 1545.—Died 1596.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth. One of the “Devonshire Worthies,” born at Tavistock. Sailing from Plymouth with five ships, he passed through the Straits of Magellan to the South Seas, captured many large Spanish galleons with his famous _Golden Hind_, and returned to Plymouth by the Cape of Good Hope. He had been two years and ten months sailing round the world (December 1577 to 1580). Queen Elizabeth dined with Drake on board the _Golden Hind_ at Deptford and knighted him with her own hands. Some of the timbers of Drake’s famous ship were made into a chair, which was given to the university of Oxford. Drake took a distinguished part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. WILLIAM CECIL, Born 1520.—Died 1598.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth. Lord Burleigh, was born in Lincolnshire. He was the greatest of all Queen Elizabeth’s statesmen and the chief originator of the English merchant navy. By taking their privileges from the Hanse Town steelyard merchants, who monopolized nearly all the foreign trade of England, he obliged English merchants to build their own ships; and devoted himself also to raising the revenues of the country. He purified the coinage and took a chief part in building the first Exchange, where the London merchants could meet under cover to transact their business. He persuaded Queen Elizabeth to visit it, and it ever after was known as the Royal Exchange. This building was burnt in the great fire (1666). Lord Burleigh was a silent and most cautious man, fond of books and his garden, and was a most useful minister to England. EDMUND SPENSER. Born 1553.—Died 1599.—Mary.—Elizabeth. The author of the _Fairy Queen_, six books of which were unfortunately lost by his servant when coming from Ireland, where Spenser was private secretary to the cruel Lord Grey de Wilton. He was the great friend of Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Walter Raleigh. He was born and died in London. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Born 1564.—Died 1616.—Mary.—Elizabeth.—James I. Universally acknowledged as the greatest poet that ever lived. He was born in 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon, and when quite young delighted the court of Queen Elizabeth with his genius. His plays are the best known of his works, and those which relate to historical subjects are treasuries of information upon the manners, customs, and mode of life of the times they represent. SIR WALTER RALEIGH, Born 1552.—Died 1618.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth.—James I.