542 EEVIEWS — BOTHWELL. 



might be required to set off a theme otherwise neither deficient 

 in poetry nor romance In dealing with his subject the poet claims 

 credit for having taken no liberties with history. " I have not devi- 

 ated," he says in his preface, " from what I consider to be the histori- 

 cal truth ;" thereby, as it seems to us shackling the free wings of his 

 muse to extremely little purpose ; since his conscientious adherence 

 to historic truth, only brings out more prominently the neglect of 

 that higher truth of nature, involved in the one all-pervading concep- 

 tion of the dungeoned ruffian thus communing with his remorseful 

 conscience in six coherent cantos of smoothly flowing verse. Such pro- 

 fessions of adherence to literal history are altogether misplaced ; for 

 nobody out of the nursery wants to study history in rhymes. But 

 our dissatisfaction with the claim finds other grounds, when we dis- 

 cover that the history adhered to is the old vulgar popular concep- 

 tion, which pictures Mary of Scotland an angel, Knox a morose 

 fanatic, and Elizabeth of England a wrinkled and jealous shrew ! 

 The following picture of Darnley may pass without dispute : 



" She wedded Darnley — and a fool 

 In every sense was he, 

 With scarce the wit to be a knave 



If born in low degree. 

 But folly, when it walks abroad 



In royal guise and strain, 

 Will never lack for knavery 

 To loiter in its train. 



Eolly walks in royal strain here, we presume, for the sake of the 

 rhyme. But what shall we say of the portraiture of Elizabeth ? — the 

 sole sinner, according to the historic bard, even in the unpatriotic 

 defections of Scotland's nobles : 



But at the gate the Temptress stood, 



Not beautiful nor young ; 

 Nor luring, as a syren might, 



By magic of her tongue ; 

 High and imperious, sta -fly, proud, 



Yet artful to beguile, 

 A woman, without woman's heart, 



Or woman's sunny smile ; 

 By nature tyrannous and vain, 



By king-craft false and mean — 

 She hated Mary from her soul, 



As woman and as queen I 



******* 



What mattered it that flattering knaves 

 Proclaimed her Beauty's Queen, 



