ridical proofs, yet he has thrown fuch a clear light on thofe incidents that have paffed in review before him, as not to leave, as we think, the fmalleft room for doubt in the mind of any attentive reader, with regard to the general judgment he ought to form of the caufes of that obfcurity which hath so long held the world in fufpenfe, and of the facts that tend to develope the true characters of the different perfons who acted a confpicuous part in the occurrences of those times. It is a fact well known, that the only hiftories of Mary's reign which were fuffered to be published in the vulgar language of the country, and permitted to circulate freely-among the people, were all written by the open and profefied enemies of that princefs. Knox, frantic in the caufe of reformation, unfufpicious of guile among thofe who profeffed themselves to be the friends of the good caufe, became, unknown indeed to himself, the ready and powerful tool of an artful faction, who made use of his popular talents to fpread wide among the people all the flanders they chose to invent, and to reprefent facts, in his hiftory, in whatever light they wished them to appear. This hiftory, which at that time was fuppofed to be written with a degree of knowledge and fidelity, little fhort of infpiration, was read with a reverential faith nearly equal to that with which the facred writings. themselves were honoured. To doubt of any thing there recorded, in fuch circumftances, would be accounted the blackest perverfion of the human mind; and to attempt a refutation of the facts there afferted, would be viewed with horror. The political creed, in those fanatical times, was fo closely connected with the religious, that an opinion fo contrary to the general ftandard, would have been accounted the fin against the Holy Ghost, which never can be forgiven. While thus the lower claffes of the people in Scotland had their minds confirmed in error, care was, at the fame time, taken to keep those of higher rank in Scotland and in England from attaining the truth. The Detection of Mary by Buchanan, patronized alike by Elizabeth and the regency of Scotland, was fpread through all the realm, and diftributed even to foreign princes by ambaffadors. His Latin Hiftory was taught at schools, and ftudied at univerfities. Thus favoured were the writings that were compofed for the purpose of working the ruin of this unfortunate princefs; while thofe few that were calculated to unveil their errors, and to reprefent facts in a true light, befide their general unpopularity on account of being written in favour of a Papist (that tremendous word, in thofe times) were either fuppreffed by the arm of arbitrary power, remained unpublished, or were written in languages not understood by the people. Bishop Lefly's Vindication of Mary was not only foppreffed the moment it was known to have been put to the prefs, but he REV. Dec. 1787. himself, K k himself, though at the time clothed with the facred character of an ambaffador, was thrown into prifon by Elizabeth, detained there very long, and with great difficulty was at laft fet free. He fled to the Netherlands, where he published his book; but fo strictly were the avenues into this country guarded, fo dangerous was it even to think of viewing Queen Mary with any degree of favour, that scarce a copy of it could be ever found in Britain, till it was, long after, reprinted by Anderfon. The continuator of Hollingfhed's Hiftory was alfo conftrained to fupprefs a leaf in which he only infinuated a fingle word that tended to lead toward the truth in a doubtful matter. Camden's Annals, befide being written in Latin, were not printed for nearly half a century after they were written; and Crawford's Memoirs were not published till about a hundred and fifty years after the anonymous author was in the grave. These were nearly all the original writings in Mary's favour; fo that thofe few speculative men who might have been difpofed to investigate the truth of facts, had it not in their power; and the public prejudice grew fo confirmed by a long and general acquiefcence in the truth of fuppofed facts, that few were found to doubt them. One hiftorian copied another; and it can no longer appear wonderful that in these circumftances it fhould become a difficult matter ever to detect error. But great is the force of truth; and, fooner or later, it must finally prevail. A fmall number had ever entertained doubts concerning the general accounts given of this period of history. Some, at length, began to examine into the nature of the evidence that was produced again ft Mary. It was foon difcovered to be of a nature not only fufpicious, but in many particulars it was clearly proved to be falfe. Other particulars afterward, on a clofer examination, appeared to be equally ill-founded and the time feems to approach in which the impartial hiftorian will be enabled to delineate the important events of that difaftrous period with unquestionable fidelity. Mr. Goodall, late Keeper of the Advocate's Library in Edinburgh, has the honour to have been the firft, in modern times, who dared publicly to ftand up in the cause of Mary, and to begin the noble career in fearch of truth. From the office Mr. Goodall held, he had access to fome original documents and records, which tended to expofe the falfehood of many of thofe tales that had been circulated to the prejudice of the Scottish Queen. But he even went farther: by analyfing the very pieces that had been published by her enemies, he, in many cafes, clearly demonftrated the falfity of their affertions. His work justly merits the praife of ingenuity and acuteness in a high degree, and has laid the foundation of all that hath fince been written on that fubject. But in a field fo wide, and fo involved in intricate mazes, it was not to be expected that a first attempt fhould fhould be fufficient to remove every difficulty. Hume difliked the drudgery of deep inveftigations into the dark records of antiquity, no less than he delighted in placing thofe fiets he eafily met with in a strong point of view, if they accorded with the ideas he had formed on the fubjects of which he treated: obferving thefe difficulties, he found it better fuited the native indolence of his mind, rather to take the facts as they were generally received by former hiftorians, than to fift the matter to the bottom; and thus he chofe to exhibit Mary nearly in the fame black colours in which others had thought it proper to delineate her. Robertfon too, whofe aim was to write a popular book, and whose mind feems to poffefs little of that intrepid firmness which dares, without hesitation, to break through the trammels of prepoffeffion, and boldly to overleap every fence in fearch of truth, and, when once found, fteadily to adhere to it, in fpite of prejudice and clamour-this hiftorian, who wishes not to ftem the torrent, but rather with a graceful eafe to glide along the ftream, thought it moft conformable to his views, to exprefs a wifh that Mary should be found innocent; and to be forced at laft to abandon her cause, and to join with her calumniators in abufing her. This queftionable procedure called forth the nervous and elegant pen of a Tytler, who, in a work that forms an epoch in the annals of controverfy, followed the path that Goodall trod, but took a wider range, and laid open many of those iniquitous tranfactions that had till then been wrapt in impenetrable darknefs ftill, however, the bufinefs was imperfectly performed. Stuart next undertook the task; but his Hiftory of Mary, though bold in its outline, and nervous in the execution of parts, is greatly defective as a whole. Though quick of perception, and ardent in research, he wanted the perfeverance to go over the whole with care; and imagination was fometimes called in to finish the picture, that had been begun with ftrict attention to the features of real life. Neither was his mind fo fteadily imbued with the love of truth, as to difregard all other confiderations when that flood in the way he even in fome refpects imitated the man he most detested, though by that very imitation he effentially maimed his work. Stuart intended to write the life of Murray, the base brother of Mary, as Robertfon had projected to write the hiftory of America; and not to anticipate this work, he was forced to leave the hiftory of Mary, as Dr. Robertfon did that of Charles the Fifth, in its moft effential parts, maimed and imperfect. For what is the hiftory of Mary, without a full developement of the artful character and deep machinations of Murray? This fingular character has never yet been fully delineated, though fome of its ftriking features have been flightly sketched nor need we much regret that the talk was not attempted before the appearance of the valuable work that now claims Kk 2 : 1 claims our attention. Those who shall again venture on it will derive much affiftance from the materials here prepared to their hands; fo that we may hope, that when it fhall be attempted, it will be more completely done than it otherwife would have been; but to do it juftice, the hand of a mafler is required. Mr. Whitaker follows nearly the fame path that Goodall had marked out, and Tytler had fmoothed before him; but with an acuteness of penetration, and a happy facility of recollection peculiar to the hiflorian ef Manchester, he brings together thofe incidents that have any connection with each other, however widely they may have been originally disjoined; and by collating different accounts that have been given of the fame tranfaction, and contrafting thefe with many lefs and hitherto unobferved notices that tend to illuftrate the events, he throws such a strong light on the most obfcure paffages, as leaves the ingenuous mind with fcarce a fhadow of doubt, even in thofe cafes where the moft artful men that ever, perhaps, affociated together, were the moft fuccefsful in deftroying the true, and in fabricating falfe records of facts. We only regret that he has not chosen to take a wider fweep. It is but a fhort period of Mary's life that he inveftigates the letters, and fonnets, faid to have been written by the Queen to Bothwell, and a few of the incidents relating to the death of Darnly, and Bothwell's marriage, being the whole of what he has profeffedly examined. Other leading events are only incidentally mentioned: even the trial of Bothwell is fcarcely noticed. What he has here done is, indeed, fufficient to vindicate Mary from the foulet afperfions with which the has been loaded, and to criminate, in the moft unequivocal manner, both her accufers and her judges. But, ftill, much is wanting to difplay the characters of the different actors in all their leffer traits, and to account in a true and fatisfactory manner for many events that happened prior to, and that fucceeded, the fhort period here investigated. Our refpectable Author begins with an hiftorical account of the commiffion inftituted, firft at York, and afterwards at Weftminster, for enquiring into the grounds of the differences that fubfifted between Mary and her fubjects. In the courfe of this investigation, Mr. Whitaker, the first Englishman, as he himself obferves, who has engaged in the caufe of the Scottish Queen, finds reafon to bring a very heavy charge of duplicity, and fhameless partiality, againft Elizabeth and her minifters, in the whole of their conduct in this bufinefs, which muft load their memory with eternal infamy. This double-dealing has been, indeed, fufpected and alleged by others; but never, till now, were the proofs of the fact adduced with fuch clear and uncontrovertible evidence. In this part of the work, Mr. Whitaker clearly proves, by the conduct of Queen Elizabeth, during the whole whole of this mock inveftigation, that he was herself perfectly fenfible of the futility of the charges brought against the captive. Queen; and that Elizabeth was no lefs folicitous than Murray himself, to prevent a detection of the bafe arts that had been employed to give fome apparent grounds for the charge. Never, perhaps, was the appearance of juftice fo bafely proftituted, to give fome colour of reality to the moft deteftable falfehoods. Our intelligent Readers will recollect, that after Mary (allured by the warm invitations and preffing intreaties of Elizabeth, and confirmed by the ftrongeft affurances of protection and friendly fupport) had taken the ill-advifed ftep of retiring into England from the perfecutions of her rebellious fubjects, implored the promifed aid to reinftate her on her throne, proffering at the fame time, if it was agreeable to Elizabeth, to lay before her fuch proofs of the criminality of thefe rebels, as fhould entirely convince her of the juftness of the caufe in which he had engaged, and the equity of that protection which was requested. This procedure was natural on the part of Mary; nor did fe foresee how that could be productive of any harm to herfelf. But the crafty Elizabeth, who had taken her refolution the moment The beheld Mary in her power, and who was cafting about at this time for pretexts to accomplish her aim, perceived at once the ufe that might be made of this offer, for the purpose of procrastination, and therefore readily approved the meafure. To give it an air of folemnity, commiffioners were appointed to receive the complaints of the captive Queen, and the rebels were at the fame time cited to appear at York, to hear and to answer the charges that should be produced against them. But as the rebels in their turn alleged, that they had in their hands inconteftible proofs of the deepest criminality of their Queen, which would be fufficient to authorife the violent meafures against her, into which they had been driven, Elizabeth immediately changed her ground; and, under the pretext of vindicating the character of her dearly beloved fifter from the foul imputations that were caft upon her, ordered her commiffioners to urge the rebels to exhibit their charge against their fovereign, that by thus having an opportunity first to purge Mary from the imputation of guilt, the might, in due confiftency with the character of the innocent maiden Princefs, cordially join with her fifter Queen in investigating her grievances, and in fully reftoring her to that throne from which The had been fo cruelly driven. Nor did Mary then fee any cause to object to this propofal. With that candid unfufpicioufnefs of temper, which fo ftrongly marks her character through all the viciffitudes of fortune, fhe not only did not fhun the propofal, but even accepted it with joy. Confcious of her innocence, and impatient for an opportunity to have the truth difplayed to the world, the objected to no forms that had the appearance of quickly Kk 3 |