150 Readings in European History her frame. These have also given rise to the unfounded rumor that the queen is in a state of pregnancy. The cabal she has been exposed to, the evil disposition of the people toward her, the present poverty and the debt of the crown, and her passion for King Philip, from whom she is doomed to live separate, are so many other causes of the grief with which she is overwhelmed. She is, moreover, a prey to the hatred she bears my Lady Elizabeth, and which has its source in the recollection of the wrongs she experienced on account of her mother, and in the fact that all eyes and hearts are turned towards my Lady Elizabeth as successor to the throne. . . . Description King Philip is of short stature, but his person appears to of Philip II. advantage both when armed and in common attire. Though of great affability and politeness, his character is marked with gravity. His understanding is good and his judgment correct. Besides Spanish, he knows Latin, French, and Italian. He is also liberal and religious, but without pos- sessing either the dignity or the ambition of his father. . . . As to his authority in England, your Serene Highness may be assured that in all affairs of importance, whether public or private, he is made to act precisely the same part as if he were the natural king of England, and this on account of the great respect and love with which he is treated by the queen and Cardinal Pole. Sensible, however, that he is new in this kingdom, he modestly, and wisely too, leaves everything to the management of the queen and the cardinal [Pole]. He receives petitions, but more in the character of mediator than as a patron, letting justice take its course in criminal cases, but frequently stepping forward to procure pardon or mitigation of punishment after conviction. . . . indifference Religion, although thriving in this country, is, I apprehend, of the English [ n SO me degree the offspring of dissimulation. The queen is far from being lukewarm ; she has already founded ten mon- asteries, and is about to found more. Generally speaking, your Serene Highness may rest assured that with the Eng- I lish the example and authority of the sovereign is every- thing, and religion is only so far valued as it inculcates the
