Protestantism in England From the Times of Henry VIII - James Aitken Wylie

Bacon, two men of special aptitude. The first she
made Secretary of State, and the second Lord
Keeper, in the room of Archbishop Heath, who
resigned the post of Chancellor. The choice was a
happy one, and gave early proof of that rare insight
which enabled Elizabeth to select with unerring
judgment, from the statesmen around her, those
who were best able to serve the country, and most
worthy of her confidence. Cecil and Bacon had
lived in times that taught them to be wary, and, it
may be, to dissemble. Both were sincerely attached
to the Reformed faith; but both feared, equally with
the queen, the danger of a too rapid advance. Of
large comprehension and keen foresight, both
efficiently and faithfully served the mistress who
had done them the honor of this early choice.
The Parliament met on the day appointed--the
27th of January, 1559. The session was
commenced with a unanimous declaration that
Queen Elizabeth was "the lawful, undoubted, and
true heir to the crown." The laws in favor of the
Protestant religion which had been passed under
Henry VIII and Edward VI, but which Mary had
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