her frugality from avarice, her friendship from partiality, her enterprize from turbulency, and a vain ambition. She guarded not herself with equal care, or equal success, from less infirmities; the rivalship of beauty, the desire of ambition, the jealousy of love, and the sallies of anger.

Her singular talents for government were founded equally on her temper, and on her capacity. Endowed with a great command over herself, she soon obtained an uncontrolled ascendancy over the people; and while she mer ited all their esteem by her real virtues, she also engaged their affections, by her pretended ones.

Few sovereigns of England succeeded to the throne in more difficult circumstances, and none ever conducted the government with such uniform success and felicity. Though unacquaint-ed with the practice of toleration, the true secret of managing religious factions, she preserved her people by her superior prudence, from those confusions, in which theological controversy had involved all the neighboring nations. And, tho' her enemies were the most powerful princes of Europe, the most active, the most enterprising, the least scrupulous, she was able, by her vigor, to make deep impressions on their states. Her own greatness, in the mean time, remained untouched and unimpaired.

The wise ministers and brave warrriors, who flourished during her reign, share the praise of her success; but instead of lessening the applause due to her, they make great addition to it.. They all owed their advancement to her choice.

They were supported by her constancy; and with all their ability, they were never able to acquire any undue ascendant over her.

In her family, in her court, in her kingdom, she remained equally mistress. The force of the tender passions was great over her, but the force of her mind was still superior; and the combat, which her victory visibly cost her, serves only to display the firmness of her resolution, and the loftiness of her ambitious sentiments.

The fame of this princess, though it has surmounted the prejudices both of faction and of bigotry, yet is still exposed to another prejudice, which is more durable, because more natural, and which, according to the different views in which we survey her, is capable either of exalting beyond measure, or diminishing the lustre of her character. This prejudice is founded on the consideration of her sex. When we contemplate her as a woman, we are apt to be struck with the highest admiration of her qualities, and extensive capacities; but we are also apt to require some more softness of disposition, some greater lenity of temper, some of those amiable weaknesses, by which her sex is distinguished. But the true method of estimating her merit, is, to lay aside all these considerations, and to consider her merely as a rational being, placed in authority, and intrusted with the government of mankind. We may find it difficult to reconcile our fancy to her, as a wife or mistress; but her qualities as a sovereign, though with some considerable exceptions, are the object of undisputed applause and admiration.

CHAP. LX.

Of Mary Queen of the Scots, and the Assassination of Rizzio.

MARY was daughter of James V. king of Scotland, and to Mary of Lorrain, eldest daughter to the duke of Guise. She married Francis II. king of France, upon which occasion, she assumed the title of queen of England; pretending that Elizabeth was illegitimate, and consequently unworthy to sit on the throne. But Mary becoming a widow, by the death of her consort, the French monarch, left France, and returned to her own kingdom. She then married her cousin Henry Stuart, lord Darnley, son to the earl of Lenox, the handsomest man in Great Britain.

The queen, however, dazzled by his pleasing exterior, had entirely forgot to look to the ac complishments of his mind. Darnley was but a weak and ignorant man; violent, yet variable in his enterprizes; insolent, yet credulous and easily governed by flatterers; devoid of all gratitude, because he thought no favors equal to his merit; and being addicted to low pleasures, he was equally incapable of all true sentiments of love and tenderness.

Mary, in the first effusions of her fondness, had taken a pleasure in exalting him beyond measure; but having leisure afterwards to remark his weaknesses and vices, she began to convert her admiration into disgust; and Darnley, enraged at her increasing coolness,

pointed his vengeance against every person whom he esteemed the cause of this change in her sentiments and behavior.

There was then at court one David Rizzio, the son of a musician at Turin, himself a musician, who finding it difficult to subsist by his art in his own country, had followed the ambassador from that court to Scotland. As he understood music to perfection, and sung a good bass, he was introduced into the queen's concert, who was so taken with him, that she desired the ambassador, upon his departure, to leave Rizzio behind. The excellence of his voice soon procured him great familiarities; and although he was by no means handsome, but rather ugly, the queen seemed to place peculiar confidence in him, and ever kept him next her person.

Her secretary for French dispatches, having some time after fallen under her displeasure, she promoted Rizzio to that office, who being shrewd, sensible, and aspiring beyond his rank, soon after began to entertain hopes of being promoted to the important office of chancellor of the kingdom. He was consulted on all occasions; no favors could be obtained but by his intercession; and all the suitors were first obliged to gain Rizzio to their interests, by presents or by flattery.

It was easy to persuade a man of Darnley's jealous temper, that Rizzio was the person who had estranged the queen's affections from him; and a surmise once conceived became to him a certainty. He soon, therefore; consulted with some lords of his party, stung as he was with

envy, rage, and resentment; and they not only fanned the conflagration of his mind, but offered their assistance to dispatch Rizzio.

George Douglas, natural brother to the countess of Lenox, the lords Ruthven and Lindsey, settled the circumstances of this poor creature's assassination among them, and determined that, as a punishment for the queen's indiscretion, the murder should be committed in her presence.

Mary was at this time in the sixth month of her pregnancy, and was then supping in private, at table with the countess of Argyle, her natural sister, some other servants, and her favorite Rizzio.

Lord Darnley led the way into the apartment by a private stair-case, and stood for some time leaning at the back of Mary's chair. His fierce looks, and unexpected intrusion greatly alarmed the queen, who, nevertheless, kept silence, not daring to call out. A little after lord Ruthven, George Douglas, and the other conspirators, rushed in, all armed, and shewing in their looks the brutality of their intentions. The queen could no longer restrain her terrors, but demanded the reason of this bold intrusion. Ruthven made her no answer, but ordered Rizzio to quit a place of which he was unworthy. Rizzio now saw that he was the object of their vengeance; and trembling with apprehension, took hold of the queen's robes to put himself under her protection, who, on her part, strove to interpose between the assassins and him. Douglas, in the mean time, had reached the un