to by Camden,
and the other is fully confirmed by Cary; and besides this, the
remarkable expression of "rascal" is found in the letter of the French
ambassador. There were two interviews with the queen, and Cary appears
only to have noticed the last on Wednesday, when the queen lay
speechless. Elizabeth all her life had persevered in an obstinate
mysteriousness respecting the succession, and it harassed her latest
moments. The second interview of her ministers may seem to us quite
supernumerary; but Cary's "putting her hand to her head," too meanly
describes the "joining her hands in manner of a crown."

JAMES THE FIRST AS A FATHER AND A HUSBAND.

Calumnies and sarcasms have reduced the character of James the First to
contempt among general readers; while the narrative of historians, who
have related facts in spite of themselves, is in perpetual contradiction
with their own opinions. Perhaps no sovereign has suffered more by that
art, which is described by an old Irish proverb, of "killing a man by
lies." The surmises and the insinuations of one party, dissatisfied with
the established government in church and state; the misconceptions of
more modern writers, who have not possessed the requisite knowledge; and
the anonymous libels, sent forth at a particular period to vilify the
Stuarts; all these cannot be treasured up by the philosopher as the
authorities of history. It is at least more honourable to resist popular
prejudice than to yield to it a passive obedience; and what we can
ascertain it would be a dereliction of truth to conceal. Much can be
substantiated in favour of the domestic affections and habits of this
pacific monarch; and those who are more intimately acquainted with the
secret history of the times will perceive how erroneously the personal
character of this sovereign is exhibited in our popular historians, and
often even among the few who, with better information, have re-echoed
their preconceived opinions.

Confining myself here to his domestic character, I shall not touch on
the many admirable public projects of this monarch, which have extorted
the praise, and even the admiration, of some who have not spared their
pens in his disparagement. James the First has been taxed with
pusillanimity and foolishness; this monarch cannot, however, be
reproached with having engendered them! All his children, in whose
education their father was so deeply concerned, sustained through life a
dignified