by religion and piety alone. If, however, the
gas-works were established so near to them,
even these aids would fail to be a sufficient
protection. The memorial received no further
notice than being endorsed with the words
"Sono matti—These are madmen." At length,
on the second of August in the year 1852, the
works were actually commenced, and at this
present time are in a state of great advancement.
Mr. Shepherd concluded his account
to us by observing that he had in the course
of the affair, paid since January 1851—at
which time the contract was considered as
definitively settled—not less than two hundred
and ninety-three visits to official persons
connected with it. Such is the pace with
which things go on in Rome!

Those who wish to form a competent idea
of Roman workmen must stand for a quarter
of an hour, as we often did after our evening
stroll, to watch the persons employed in
excavating the Basilica Julia in the Forum. The
ground rises in terraces from the level of the
pavement below, and the workmen throw up
the earth from one to another till it reaches
the top. Their activity in talking is for the
most part in inverse proportion to their
exertions otherwise. The instrument
employed is a short, perfectly flat shovel, with a
very long handle, which really seems devised
for the express purpose of doing the smallest
possible quantity of work in the longest given
space of time. My friends laughed heartily to
see a stout active man lifting up about as
much earth as would fill a teacup at once, and
flinging it up to the man who stood above
him as if the exertion broke his back, and
with a grimace that expressed the extremity
of patient endurance. This herculean labour
was completed by the earth being at length
deposited, and conveyed away, but only to a
little distance, in a wheelbarrow, of a
construction which appeared, even to my total
ignorance of mechanics, such as would have
been despised by any intelligent English
child of ten years old. Certain things in
Rome seem indeed to have come down to us,
unchanged, since the days of Romulus
himself. To this period of primitive
simplicity I am always inclined to refer the
structure of the carts used to convey wine or
other articles from the country. These
consist literally of sticks or poles tied together,
and encumbered with clumsy wheels; whilst,
in front, is stuck a sort of triangular shed
covered with skins, in which the driver sits,
looking as if he would be jolted out at every
step as the vehicle rattles along.

A CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAPTER XXXI.

THERE was great rejoicing all over the
land when the Lords of the Council went
down to Hatfield, to hail the Princess Elizabeth
as the new Queen of England. Weary of
the barbarities of Mary's reign, the people
looked with hope and gladness to the new
Sovereign. The nation seemed to wake from
a horrible dream; and Heaven, so long hidden
by the smoke of the fires that roasted men
and women to death, appeared to brighten
once more.

Queen Elizabeth was five-and-twenty years
of age when she rode through the streets of
London, from the Tower to Westminster
Abbey, to be crowned. Her countenance was
strongly marked, but on the whole, commanding
and dignified; her hair was red, and her
nose something too long and sharp for a
woman's. She was not the beautiful creature
her courtiers made out; but she was well
enough, and no doubt looked all the better
for coming after the dark and gloomy Mary,
She was well educated, but a roundabout
writer, and rather a hard swearer and coarse
talker. She was clever, but cunning and
deceitful, and inherited much of her father's
violent temper. I mention this now, because
she has been so over-praised by one party, and
so over-abused by another, that it is hardly
possible to understand the greater part of
her reign without first understanding what
kind of woman she really was.

She began her reign with the great advantage
of having a very wise and careful
Minister, SIR WILLIAM CECIL, whom she
afterwards made LORD BURLEIGH.
Altogether, the people had greater reason for
rejoicing than they usually had, when there
were processions in the streets; and they
were happy with some reason. All kinds of
shows and images were set up; GOG and
MAGOG were hoisted to the top of Temple
Bar; and (which was more to the purpose)
the Corporation dutifully presented the young
Queen with the sum of a thousand marks in
gold—so heavy a present, that she was obliged
to take it into her carriage with both hands.
The coronation was a great success; and on
the next day, one of the courtiers presented
a petition to the new Queen, praying that as
it was the custom to release some prisoners
on such occasions, she would have the goodness
to release the four Evangelists, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, and also the Apostle
Saint Paul, who had been for some time shut
up in a strange language so that the people
could not get at them.

To this, the Queen replied that it would be
better first to inquire of themselves whether
they desired to be released or not; and, as a
means of finding out, a great public discussion
—a sort of religious tournament—was
appointed to take place between certain
champions of the two religions, in Westminster
Abbey. You may suppose that it was soon
made pretty clear to common sense, that for
people to benefit by what they repeat or
read, it is rather necessary that they should
understand something about it. Accordingly,
a Church Service in plain English was settled,
and other laws and regulations were made,
completely establishing the great work of the