expedition against the Earl of Huntly, who was a Catholic, had been very
popular among the inhabitants, who had no very clear idea of the real
motives which had caused her to undertake it: They were of the Reformed
faith, the earl was a papist, there was an enemy the less; that is all
they thought about. Now, therefore; the Scotch, amid their acclamations,
whether viva voce or by written demands, expressed the wish that their
queen, who was without issue by Francis II, should re-marry: Mary agreed
to this, and, yielding to the prudent advice of those about her, she
decided to consult upon this marriage Elizabeth, whose heir she was, in
her title of granddaughter of Henry VII, in the event of the Queen of
England's dying without posterity. Unfortunately, she had not always
acted with like circumspection; for at the death of Mary Tudor, known as
Bloody. Mary, she had laid claim to the throne of Henry VIII, and,
relying on the illegitimacy of Elizabeth's birth, had with the dauphin
assumed sovereignty over Scotland, England, and Ireland, and had had
coins struck with this new title, and plate engraved with these new
armorial bearings.

Elizabeth was nine years older than Mary--that is to say, that at this
time she had not yet attained her thirtieth year; she was not merely her
rival as queen, then, but as woman. As regards education, she could
sustain comparison with advantage; for if she had less charm of mind, she
had more solidity of judgment: versed in politics, philosophy, history;
rhetoric, poetry and music, besides English, her maternal tongue, she
spoke and wrote to perfection Greek, Latin, French, Italian and Spanish;
but while Elizabeth excelled Mary on this point, in her turn Mary was
more beautiful, and above all more attractive, than her rival. Elizabeth
had, it is true, a majestic and agreeable appearance, bright quick eyes,
a dazzlingly white complexion; but she had red hair, a large
foot,--[Elizabeth bestowed a pair of her shoes on the University of