BOOKS.

MIGNET'S MIRY QITEEN OF SCOTS,a THE subjeets of this concluding volume are the impisonment of Mary in England, the discussion of her guilt or innocence before

Elizabeth's commissioners, the various treaties and conspiracies of Which she was the object, her trial and execution, and finally the

triumph of Elizabeth and the Protestant religion in the destruction of the Armada and the pacifying of James. The' story of Mary's long suffering, and the various discussions as to her criminality, are of necessity uniform, wanting the variety of action and con- trast of fortune that distinguish her early career. M. Mignet, how- ever, has imparted considerable interest to his story, by a narrative clear, flowing, and complete. His genius, indeed, seems better adapted to civil and intellectual topics than to actions that partake of a tragic gloom or grandeur. He has the logic to perceive the essential points in a charge a plot, a negotiation, or a scene of slow and passive suffering, and literary art to render them distinct

and attractive. He is deficient in the poetical imagination requi. site to the historian who records the gloom and turbulence, the mystery and terror of action and passion, that characterize so much of Mary's reign in Scotland. The complete fulness of the narrative has an advantage for the

reader : he has the pith of the later discoveries, and the opinion of the later historians, without the labour of reading them, and the trouble of seeking for them himself. Mignet also distinctly de- velops two points that give elevation or feature to his work. He marks the moral of "they that use the sword shall perish by the sword " ; pointing out how violence produces violence, and. the bloody deeds of the Scottish nobles returned upon themselves. Ile indicates the key to much that seems needlessly harsh in the con- duct of Elizabeth and Mary's enemies generally, by bringing eat the Romish element. The merely religious feature of the position was too obvious to escape notice : every historian has touched upon it. To Scotland Mary was only the head of an unpopular religion; for although her release from prison with sufficient force at her back would have involved a total change in the ruling powers, that change was dependent on hereditary right, quite irrespectively of her religion. In England, she was not only a Papist, disliked for her creed, and the head of a party of religionists as unpopular as herself: she was a claimant of the crown on principles the nation would not admit. Her own indiscretion in quartermg the arms of England, and the arrogant conduct of the Papal Church in denying Elizabeth's, right to the crown and stigmatizing her legitimacy, provoked her at the very outset. This impotent absurdity was per- sonally offensive to Elizabeth, and equally so to the people ; for, independently of the insult to their sovereign, it ignored the power of Parliament to regulate the descent of the crown, and rendered the constitution and laws of the realm dependent upon the deci- sion of a foreign priest. But though the claim itself, unsupported by power, was a mere offensive theory, it was not altogether powerless. That body of Romanists who pin their faith upon the -Pope and their priests were bound as an article of faith to pronounce Eliza- beth's illegitimacy, to deny her right to the throne, and to advance Mary's claims to the crown of England. Mary's weakness and treachery of character rendered this position one of danger, when the Papal See and foreign potentates were ready to take advantage of popular superstition and political circumstances to assail England. The conduct of -Elizabeth towards Mary was as harsh as it was impolitic : whatever she might have been to the Scottish Regency, she would have been less dangerous to her as an exile on the Con- tinent than as a prisoner in England. But the danger itself was real, the apprehension well founded if exaggerated; and the feel- ings of Parliament, outrunning the hate and fears of Elizabeth, showed the feeling of the nation. It may be questioned whether the historians of the last century, or of our day, could altogether realize this feeling, from the greater liberality that seemed to have come over the Popish Church. We of 1851 are in a better posi- tion. By observing the feeling which a Papal claim, in reality futile however insolent and arrogant, produced upon the public mind of England, we can put ourselves in a position to apprehend the anger that animated men when the Papacy was a power, when Spain was aiming at universal monarchy, when the fires of Amith- field had scarcely been extinguished, and the dagger of the assassin

frequently ended the life of a prince whom - Popish priests denounced.

In considering the work of M. Mignet, we have judged it as if originally designed for England ; whereas it was written for a Continental public, to whom things with which we are familiar were perhaps in a great measure new. The book, however, is so well planned, and the scale of treatment so judicious, that the reader feels the necessity of whatever is inserted, without reference to the class of public addressed. The foreign origin of the book is chiefly shown in the greater attention given to Continental affairs and their connexion with the general subject The invasion of the country by Spanish troops was an essential point in the various conspiracies against Elizabeth ; and the opinion of Alva on the subject of the invasion of England, even When the operation was to be supported by a rising, may have some interest now. "In order to determine Philip II. to make an armed descent upon the kingdom of England, it was necessary to promise him powerful assistance, and to assure him that the Duke of Norfolk would embrace Catholipism and -revolt against Elisabeth. The slow and circumspect King of Spain had hitherto lieen deterred from engaging in the enterprise by representations of • The History of Mary Queen of Scots. By F. A. Mignet, Member of the Insti- tute, Ste. Ste. In two volumes. Volume II. Published by Bentley. the risk by which it would be attended. The Duke of Alva had for more than a year mamtained that the invasion of England was beset by the greatest difficulties ; that it would be attended by enormous expense' that it would meet with the oppoeition of both France and Germany, the first of which would interfere frem political jealousy and the second from religious in- terest; ruad that it Was to be feared that these two countries would either ex- cite a new insurrection in the-Spenisli provinces, or would Seize upon them as soon as he withdrew his troops. These reasons had their force ; and Philip IL was struck by them."

Fuller light is thrown upon the conspiracy of Norfolk by the Spanish archives to 'which M lifignet has had access. Ridolh, the Florentine banker and travelling agent for the 'conspirators, did not make much impression upon Alva. The General termed the conspirator a great chatterbox (parlanchitt); and though Ifignet says he eventually gave his approval to the scheme it was with a large saving clause—" that 'the plan of the Queen Of Scotland and the Duke of Norfolk, i/it could be properly carried out, would be the best method of remedying the evil. This plan involved the assassination of Elizabeth; and here we have the Council of Spain coolly deliberating upon that atrocious proposal. on the 7th duly, ltadolfi was questioned at the Escurial, regarding the enterprise which he had come to propose, by the Duke of Feria, whom Phi- lip H. had deputed to llear his statements. Ills answers were written down in the handwriting of Zayas, the Secretary of State. It was proposed to mur- der Queen Elizabeth. Itidolfi said, that the blow would not be struck at London beemise that city was the Stronghold of heresy, but while she was travelling ; and that a person•named James. Grate hadundertaken the office. On the same day, the Couneil of State commenced its deliberations upon the proposed assassination of Elizabeth and conquest of England. The subject of the discussion was, whether it behoved the King of Spain to agree with the conspirators to kill or capture the Queen of England,' in order to prevent her from manying the Duke of Anjou and putting to death the Queen of Scotland; whether the blow should be struck while she was travelling, or, which would be easier still, when she was at the country-house of one of the conspirators, who had surrounded her with persons on whom they could de- pend; and whether they ought not to be assisted in case they carried out their intentions„ which they woufd not do without the orders efthe Catholic King. The Couticillers of State severally gave 'their opinion, which were committed to writing, and have been preserved to this day,. The Duke of Feria spoke'first.- Under present circumstances,' he said, the affair is ern- barressing, but the Catholic King must not postpone it. The Queen of Scot-, land is Me true heir to the realm of England, and she will rightly discharge the duties of religion and friendship towards us, if we allow her to be crushed, we entail destruction on all those who are devoted to her. The proximity of the Duke of Alva greatly facilitates the matter, and not an in- stant must be lost if we intend to engage in the enterprise.' Don Hernando de Toledo, Grand Prior of Castile' who spoke next, said that thapino Vitelli was the proper man to accomplish the undertaking under the direction of the Duke of Alva ; and that, in-Vitelli's opinion, the months of September and October were favourable for the execution of such a plan. Ruy Gomez de Silva, Prince of Eboli, thought that a letter should at once be 'written to the Duke of Alva; that he might obtain the funds necessary for the enterprise. Doctor Martin Velasco was less inclined than his colleagues to engage in the attempt. He said that it was supposed that the Queen would be captured, and that her death would end the matter ; but it was to be feared that cora- nnmications made to powerful persons might be dangerous ; that it was bet- ter to urge them to action -without giving any pledge to Ridolfi • not to write to them, but to send action, money, and to promise indirectly that they should receive further assistance at the proper time. The Inquisitor-General, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Seville, maintained that the of Alm pos- sessed all the means for securing the success of such an enterprise, and that, with a view to its execution, the sum of two hundred thousand crowns should be placed in his hands, with an intimation that he should proceed in conformity with the declaration made by the Pope in his bull. The Cardinal added, that Ciapino Vitelli had offered to go in person, with a dozen or fifteen resoluta men, to seize the Queen of England in one of her pleasure-houses ; and. that he would present himself before her under the pretext of demand- ing justice.

"The Duke of Feria opposed the idea suggested by the Inquisitor-General, that they should ad in England in the Pope's name - and maintained that

they should found their intervention on the claims of Queen of Scotland to the succession to the crown of that kingdom. He did not, moreover, think

it would,be easy for a dozen men, to capture Queen Elizabeth i : and n this o inion he was supported by the Grand Prior of Castile; who further declared,

t a conquest by armed force presented the greatest possible difficulties, and that the Duke of Alva had not means to undertake it. As for Ruy Go- mez, with his usual address, he threw the execution and the responsibility of the enterprise upon the Duke of Alva ; saying that he thought it very ar- duous, although the Pope's Nuncio represented it as very easy to the Catholic King.

"Philip H. replied to the Nuncio, that he would willingly undertake it ; but that it must be carried out with so much promptitude and with such powerful resources that neighbouring princes would not have time to inter- fere. He insinnat4 that the Pope should supply the money which would be revhired." e execution of Mary Queen of Scots was a great event. It was not only striking in itself, for the dignity, the beauty, and the misfortunes of the victim ; it was a turning-point in history. When the axe fell upon her neck, it dealt a blow to regal authority as upheld by the Church and the opinion of the middle ages. Princes had before been overthrown by rivals and slainn, by vio- lence, but Mary had been deposed by her own subjects with a sort of form of law; she was afterwards accused by those subjects before the subjects of another sovereign; she was finally tried for her life before subjects, and executed, less by royal than popular will, for Vlizabeth would never, have dared the deed but that the national wish outran her. The scene a the execution is well nar- rated by M. Mighet : the details, which in some cases overwhelm the interest, in this ease add to it. "As soon as they had come down stairs, the Queen, followed by Andrew Melvil, who bore the train of her gown, ascended the scaffold with the same ease and the same dignity as if she were ascending 'a throne. "The scaffold was erected in the lower hall of Fotheringay. It was two feet and a half high and twelve feet square in extent : it was covered with black English frieze, as were also the chair on which she was to sit, the cushion on which she was to kneel, and the block on which she was to re- ceive the fatal stroke. She seated herself on that dismal chair without changing colour, and without losing any of her accustomed grace and ma- jesty. On her right hand were seated the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent ; on her left stood the sheriff; in front were the two executioners, dressed in black velvet ; at a little distance ranged along the wall, stood her servants and in the remainder of Ilhe hail, behind a barrier which Paulet guarded with his soldiers, were about two hundred gentlemen sad inhabitants of the neighbourhood, who had been admitted into the castle, the gates of which were closed. Robert Beale then read the sentence ; to which Mary listened in silence' and with such complete abstraction that she appeared not to be cognizant of what was passing. When Beale Lad finished reading, she made the sign of the eross. and said with a firm voice, My Lords, I am a Queen born, a sovereign Princess, not subject to the laws, a near relation of the Queen of England, and her lawful heiress. After having been long and tim. justly detained prisoner in this country, where I have endured much pain and evil, though nobody had any right over me, being now, through the strength and under the power of men, ready to forfeit my life, I thank God for permitting me to die for my religion, and in presence of a company who will bear witness, that just before my death I protested, as I have always done both in private and in public, that I never contrived any means of put- ting the Queen to death, nor consented to anything against her person.' She then proceeded to deny that she had ever borne towards her any feelings of hatred, and called to mind that she had offered, as the price of her liberty, such conditions as were best calculated to give confidence and to prevent dis- orders in England. " After pronouncing these words in self-justification, she commenced pray- ing. Upon this, Dr. Fletcher, the Protestant Dean of Peterborough, whoa, the two Earls had brought with them, approached her, wishing to exhort her to prepare herself for death. ' Madam,' said he, the Queen' my ex- cellent Sovereign, has sent me to you —' Mary, interrupting him, re- plied, ' Mr. Dean, I am firm to the ancient Roman Catholic religion, and I intend to shed my blood for it.' As the Dean insisted, with indiscreet fana- ticism, urging her to renounce her faith, to repent, to place her confidence in Jesus Christ alone, for he alone was able to save her, she repelled him with a resolute tone of voice, declared that she would not hear him, and ordered him to be silent. The Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent then said, ' Wo desire to pray for your Grace, that God may enlighten your heart at your last hour, and that thus you may die in the true knowledge of God.' 'My Lords,' re- turned Mary, • if you wish to pray for me, I thank you for it ; but I cannot join in your prayers, because we are not of the same religion.' The struggle between the two faiths, which had continued throughout her life, was pro- longed even to the scaffold.

"Dr. Fletcher then commenced reading the prayers suited to the occasion according to the Anglican ritual, while Mary recited in Latin the psalms of penitence and mercy, and fervently kissed her crucifix. 'Madam,' rudely said the Earl of Kent to her, it is of little use for you to have that image of Christ in your hand if you have not got him engraved in your heart.' 'it is difficult,' she answered, to hold it in the hand without the heart being touched by it; and nothing suits the dying Christian better than the image of his Saviour.'

" When she had finished, on her knees, the three psalm!, Miserere me:s, Deus,' ere., 'In Te, Domine, speravi,' &c. Qui habitat adjutorio,' she addressed herself to God in English, beseeching him to grant peace to the world, the true religion to England, constancy to all suflbring persecution, and to impart to herself the help of His grace and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit at this her last hour. She prayed for the Pope, for the Church, the Catholic Kings and Princes, for the King her son, for the Queen of Eng- land, and for her enemies ; and, recommending herself to the Saviour of the world, she concluded with these words—' Like as Thy arms, Lord Jesus Christ, were stretched out upon the cross, even so receive me within the stretched-out arms of Thy mercy.' So fervid was her piety, so touching her effusion of feeling, so admirable her courage, that she drew tears from al- most all who were present.

"Her prayer ended, she arose. The terrible moment had arrived, and the executioner approached to assist her in removing a portion of her dress; but she motioned him away, saying, with a smile, that she had never had such valets de ehambre. She then called Jean Kennedy and Elizabeth Curl!, who had remained all the time on their knees at the foot of the scaffold, and she began to undress herself with their assistance, remarking, that she was not accustomed to do so before so many people. The afflicted girls performed this last sad offiee in tears. To prevent the utterance of their grief, the placed her finger on their lips, and reminded them that she had promised in their name that they would show more firmness. Instead of weeping, re- joice,' she said ; I am very happy to leave this world, and in so good a cause.' She then laid down her cloak and took off her veil, retaining only a petticoat of red tafrety flowered with velvet; then seating herself on the chair, she gave her blessing to her weeping servants. The executioner having asked her pardon on his knees, she told him that she pardoned every- body.. She embraced Elizabeth Curl and Jean Kennedy' and gave them her blessing, making the sign of the cross over them ; and after Jean Kennedy had bandaged her eyes, she desired them to withdraw, which they did weeping. "At the same time she knelt down with great courage, and, still holding the crucifix in her hands' stretched out her neck 'a the executioner. She then said aloud, and with the most ardent feeling of confidence, My God, I have hoped in you ; I commit myself to your hands!' She imagined that she would have been struck in the mode usual in France, in an upright pos- ture, and with the sword. The two masters of the works, perceiving her mistake, informed her of it, and assisted her to lay her head on the block ; which she did, without ceasing to pray. There was a universal feeling of compassion at the sight of this lamentable misfortune, this heroic courage, and this admirable sweetness. The executioner himself was moved, and aimed with an unsteady hand. The axe, instead of falling on the neck, struck the back of the head and wounded her • yet she made no movement nor uttered a complaint : it was only on repeating the blow that the execu- tioner struck off her heed; which he held up, saying, 'God save Queen Eliza- beth!' ' Thus,' added Dr. Fletcher, may all her enemies perish !' -A solitary voice was heard after his, saying, 'Amen ' : it was that of the gloomy Earl of Kent. "A black cloth was thrown over her remains. The two Earls did not leave to the executioner, according to custom, the golden cross around her neck, the chaplets suspended to her girdle, nor the clothes the wore at her death, lest these dear and venerated spoils should be redeemed by her servants and transformed into relics. They therefore burned them. They also took great pains to prevent anything being kept that had been stained with blood, all traces of which they caused to be removed. Just as they were lifting the body to remove it into the state-room of the castle, in order to embalm it, they perceived Mary's little favourite dog, which had slipped in beneath her cloak, between the head and the neck of his dead mistress. He would not quit the bloody spot, and they were forced to remove him. The body of the Queen of Scots, after removing the entrails, which were secretly buried, .wres embalmed with but little respect, wrapped up in wax-cloth, enclosed in a leaden coffin, and left aside until Elizabeth should fix the place where it was to be laid. "The gates of the castle remained closed for several hours; and nobody was allowed to go out until after the departure of Henry Talbot, son of Shrewsbury, who bore to Elizabeth the report drawn up by Beale, and sign- ed by the two Earls as the chief witnesses. He left on the 8th, and arrived on the following day at Greenwich, where the Queen then was. On the afternoon of the same day, the news was current in'Lonclon ; -the inhabitants of which received the eecoimtsof the Queen's death with the same-transports of fanaticism which they had exhibited some months before on her condem- nation. All the bells of the city were-set a-ringing, and bonfires-were lighted in every street." • The conclusionto sillichif.lfignet has come as to -the guilt of 'Mary does nat differ _from that of her -sternest enemy; but he gives prominence to her difioultiea and exeusea, and whik he marks ler crimes. and . her faultsiie exhibits ..a ,sympathy with her anis- -fortunes.