XIL] FACTS OR SENTIMENT. 293 



prison it was ? And as for her guilt, the famous Casket 

 Letters were, of course, a vile forgery. Impossible that 

 they could be true. Hoot down the cold-hearted, and 

 disagreeable, and troublesome man of facts, who will 

 persist in his stupid attempt to disenchant you, and 

 repeat But the Casket Letters were not a forgery, and 

 we can prove it, if you will but listen to the facts. Her 

 prison, as we will show you (if you will be patient and 

 listen to facts), consisted in greater pomp and luxury 

 than that of most noblemen, with horses, hounds, books, 

 music, liberty to hunt and amuse herself in every way, 

 even in intriguing with every court of Europe, as we 

 can show you again, if you will be patient and listen 

 to facts. And she herself was a very wicked and false 

 woman, an adulteress and a murderess (though fearfully 

 ill-trained in early youth), who sowed the wind, poor 

 wretch, from girlhood to old age, and therefore reaped 

 the whirlwind, receiving the just reward of her deeds. 

 Catherine of Russia, meanwhile, instead of being 

 beautiful and unfortunate, was only handsome and 

 successful. Brand her as a disgrace to human nature. 

 The morals and ways of the two were pretty much on a 

 par, with these exceptions in Catherine's favour that 

 she had strong passions, Mary none; that she lived in 

 outer darkness and practical heathendom, while Mary 

 had the light shining all round her, and refused it 

 deliberately again and again. What matter to the 

 sentimentalist ? Hiss the stupid hard-hearted man of 

 facts, by all means. What if he be right ? He has 

 no business to be right; we will consider him wrong 

 accordingly, of our own sovereign will and pleasure. 

 For after all, if we had the facts put before us (says the 

 conscience of many a hearer), we could not judge of 



