Austria, and conquering and ruling over a Catholic England. But this
plot, too, was discovered, and Don Juan, like all the rest of Mary's
lovers, died miserably. Mary thenceforward was the centre of Spain's
great conspiracy against England's queen, but she sought the end no more
by love; for that had failed her every time she tried. She and her cause
were beaten because her heart of fire was pitted against a heart of ice,
and she lost all because she loved too much.

* * * * *


WASHINGTON IRVING


Life of Christopher Columbus


Washington Irving, American historian and essayist, was born
on April 3, 1783, in New York, of a family which came
originally from Scotland. He knew Europe well, and was equally
at home in London, Paris, and Madrid; he held the offices, in
1829, of Secretary to the American Embassy in London, and, in
1842, of American Minister in Spain. He was deeply interested
in Spanish history, and besides the "Life and Voyages of
Christopher Columbus," he wrote "The Voyages of the Companions
of Columbus," "The Conquest of Granada," "The Alhambra," and
"Legends of the Conquest of Spain." He was an industrious man
of letters, having an excellent style, wide knowledge, and
pleasant humour. His chief work was the "Life of George
Washington," of which we give an epitome elsewhere. Other