428 RETGN OF ELIZABETH. [CH. 56. House was therefore composed of sixty-two members in all. The bishops were to a man under CeciFs direction, and their united vote, including the proxies, could al- ways Be depended upon. Seven of the absent Peers gave their proxies to Leicester, and Leicester would not go over to the Catholics till he saw that they were cer- tain to succeed. So far therefore the prospects of the Government were favourable. Lord Arundel, with the Ridolfi revolution in front of him, was unlikely to try the experiment, under such circumstances, of a par- liamentary conflict The prqceedings commenced, as usual, with a speech from the Lord Keeper. It was long, but contained little beyond an encomium on the Queen's government, and an intimation that, through ' the raging Romanist rebels/ the Queen had incurred extraordinary expenses in defence of the kingjdom, and required money. She had reduced her personal outlay, cutting off all needless luxuries and extravagancies, to avoid being a burden to her people ; but the peace of the realm had been dis- turbed both at home and in Ireland. The malice of the time obliged her to keep a fleet upon the seas for the protection of commerce. The state of parties iri Scot- land required the presence of a large force upon the Border, and with the utmost economy she was unable to meet the demands upon her. This, with two short paragraphs on a revision of the laws, was all, in sub- stance, which Bacon said. The succession, the excom- munication, the Queen's marriage the subjects which really occupied all men's minds were passed over in
