Here he meets the spectre
crew of Captain Hudson, and, after partaking of their hospitality,
falls into a deep sleep which lasts for twenty years. The latter part
of the story describes the changes which he finds on his return to
his native village: nearly all the old, familiar faces are gone;
manners, dress, and speech are all changed. He feels like a stranger
in a strange land.
Now, it is a good thing sometimes to take a look back, to try to count
over the changes for good or for evil which have taken place in this
country of ours; to try to understand clearly why the reign of a great
Queen should have left its mark upon our history in such a way that
men speak of the Victorian Age as one of the greatest ages that have
ever been.
If an Elizabethan had been asked whether he considered the Queen of
England a great woman or not, he would undoubtedly have answered
"Yes," and given very good reasons for his answer. It was not for
nothing that the English almost worshipped their Queen in "those
spacious times of great Elizabeth." Edmund Spenser, one of the
world's great poets, hymned her as "fayre Elisa" and "the flowre of
Virgins":
Helpe me to blaze
Her worthy praise;
Which, in her sexe doth all excell!
Throughout her long reign, courtiers, statesmen, soldiers, and
people all united in serving her gladly and to the best of their
powers.
Yet she could at times prove herself to be hard, cruel, and
vindictive; she was mean, even miserly, when money was wanted for
men or ships; she was excessively vain, loved dress and finery, and
was often proud almost beyond bearing.
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