the same girl, when a queen, subsequently suffered from the wrath and fury of Calvin's disciple, John Knox.

Some names of places are written at the end of some letters, generally in the French part, and interesting, because we see by them the town or castle where the court was, and Mary with it. The names which occur under these circumstances are those of Rheims, I—IV; Compiegne, v—VIII, XI— XIII, XV, XVII, XVIII, XX; Villers Cotterets, xxv— vi; Paris, xxxvI, XXXVIII; Saint Germain, XLI, XLII, XLVI-VIII, LIII, LVI-LX.

For the dates, however scarce, they are not only curious but important, since they tell us the age of the young Mary when she was put to this discipline and occupied with these exercises. From them it may be ascertained that this occupation existed between the 26th July and the 9th January following (letters v and LX1), that is to say, during seven months of the life of Mary, of which these faded pages are the only memorial. For the year, nothing would have indicated it, if it were not positively written in four letters; for we find these dates, "25 d'aoust 1554,” “ 12 d'oc

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tobre 1554," dernier jour de cest an 1554," "5 janvier 1554," affixed to the letters XXII, A remark is here necessary. XXXVI, LVII, LVIII. The date of the 5th January 1554, which would be 1555 according to the new style, is, as it was to be expected, written according to the old style, in which the year began on the 25th of March.

But Mary, although continuing to write 1554 after a letter dated 26th December and another dated the day of St. John the Evangelist after Christmas, that is to say, the 27th December,writes in the letters immediately following: the last day of this year 1554, using thus at the same time the two manners of ending the year. It is only a new proof, that if the ordonnance which in France made the year begin with January was rendered only by Charles the Ninth, in 1563, the use, thus made official and legal, was in fact already established. An observation curious to make, before leaving this date of 1554, is, that the same year is inscribed by Mary in her prayer-book, preserved at St. Petersburg, and described by Prince Labanoff in the last volume of his edition of the letters of Mary. On one leaf of it may be read, in her

handwriting these words: "Ce livre est à moi. Marie, Royne. 1554."

One word more, and I will close this already too long an introduction. Much has been said on the early learning of Mary. The great credit she has received on this account will be perhaps a little destroyed by this publication; for the reader will see her knowledge of the Latin to be not very sound nor firm, and some blunders are of such a nature as to render us somewhat incredulous as to her own knowledge at this period of life. The admiration, inspired by the praise bestowed by Brantôme on the famous Latin speech delivered in the French court, will be somewhat impaired by the thought that it was a little after our themes, which perhaps were given to her as a first preparation towards this subject, and show us that she was certainly not unaided in the composition of her speech. However, the words of Brantôme, in his life of Mary, are worthy of being quoted here, because they relate to the same period and the same nature of ideas:

"Pour la beauté de l'ame, elle estoit toute pareille; car elle s'estoit faicte fort sçavante en

Latin: estant en l'age de treize à quatorze ans, elle déclama devant le roy Henry, la reyne, et toute la cour, publiquement en la salle du Louvre, une oraison en latin qu'elle avoit faicte, soubtenant et deffendant, contre l'opinion commune, qu'il estoit bien séant aux femmes de sçavoir les lettres et arts libéraux. Songez quelle rare chose c'estoit et admirable de voir ceste sçavante et belle reine ainsy orer en latin, qu'elle entendoit et parloit fort bien; car je l'ay veue là: et fut heureux de faire faire à Antoine Fochain de Chauny en Vermandois, et l'adresser à ladicte reine, une rhétorique en françois, afin qu'elle l'entendist mieux, et se fist plus éloquente en françois, comme elle l'a esté, et mieux que si dans la France mesme elle avoit pris naissance."

This indication of a French treatise on rhetoric made for Mary was too curious to be overlooked, because some new facts were to be hoped in it; and we were not deceived in our expectations, since the book gives a more precise date to the delivering of the speech. For the dedication of the book* to Mary by Antoine Fouquelin, of Chauny

* Paris, André Wechel, 1555 and 1557, in 8vo.

in Vermandois, being dated: "Paris, ce douziesme du mois de May 1555," shows us that the delivery of the speech was made at the beginning of 1555, immediately perhaps after the cessation of the themes, which were probably given to her as a preparation to it, and this is rendered nearly certain by the circumstance, that most of these letters are on the same subject as the speech, that is on the conveniency of learning for the female sex. The words of Fouquelin are less known but more curious than those of Brantôme, and they therefore deserve to be quoted :

"En quoy, Madame, tout ce que j'en puis avouer mien, vous avez esté la première à qui je l'ay estimé devoir estre voué et dédié, comme à une princesse née, et, selon la commune opinion, divinement prédestinée, non seulement pour l'amplification et avancement de notre langue, mais aussi pour l'illustration et honneur de toute science. De quoy vous me semblâtes donner un certain présage, alors qu'en la présence du Roy, accompaigné de la pluspart des seigneurs de la cour, vous soutenés par une oraison bien latine, et défendiés contre la commune opinion, qu'il estoit