Mary had done many wicked things: she had tried to do much mischief in England. But as she was not born in England, but was the queen of another country, neither Elizabeth nor her counsellors had any business either to keep her in prison, or to put her to death. They ought to have sent her, at the very first, safely to some other country, if they were really afraid she would do mischief in England. This is a very bad thing: and I cannot make any excuse for Elizabeth. I will only say that her old counsellors were so afraid lest Mary should prevail on the kings of France and Spain to help her to kill Elizabeth, and make the English all Papists again, that they wished Elizabeth to have ordered Mary’s head to be taken off long before she really did so. CHAPTER XLV. ELIZABETH.—Continued. How Queen Elizabeth refused to marry; how the ships and the sailors were improved in her reign; how some great admirals made many voyages and discoveries; how the King of Spain sent a great fleet and army to conquer England, but could not succeed; and how the English did much harm to Spain. It is quite pleasant, my little friend, to have to write a chapter for you, where I can tell you of all things going well for England, that dear country where God allows us to live, which he has given us to love, and to do all we can for. When first Elizabeth became queen, her counsellors and the Parliament, and the people, all asked her to marry, and promised to receive kindly anybody she should choose. And the King of Spain asked her to marry him, but she told him she would not marry him, because he had been her sister’s husband; and she did not believe the Pope had power to allow her to marry one who had been her sister’s husband. Then the old Queen of France, Catherine of Medicis, who had taught poor Mary Queen of Scots to be so foolish and cruel, wanted Queen Elizabeth to marry one of her sons. But Elizabeth did not like them any better than she did Philip, yet more than once she pretended she was going to marry one of them, for she wanted to be friends with France, and so make England strong and able to fight successfully against Spain. Then some of the great English lords wanted to marry her. But she knew that if she married one of them the others would be jealous, and, may be, would make a civil war in England; so she thanked the counsellors, and the Parliament, and the people, for their kindness, but said she would rather live single, as she had quite enough to do to govern the kingdom well, without being troubled with marrying. And she kept her word, and never married, and is always called the Maiden Queen.