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 the Protestants, and a patroness of literature. Her fondness for field-sports procured her the name of Diana; and from her military prowess, she was called 'the mother of the camp.'

Her sagacity and penetration were of singular service to her brother, by whom she was consulted on all affairs of government. She conducted several wars with glory and success, frequently mingling on horseback with the troops. While Charles the Fifth was besieging Mentz, Mary made a diversion in Picardy, to prevent the King of France from succouring the besieged; she caused, on this occasion, great havoc, ruining seven or eight hundred villages, and burning Folembrai, a royal palace, built by Francis the First. Henry the Second of France, in retaliation, burned several of the populous towns of the Netherlands, and the royal palace of Bains, the wonder of the age. When Mary heard of this, she vowed that all France should repent the outrage; and she carried out the threat, even to cruelty, as far as she could. Henry ardently desired to take Mary prisoner, to see whether she would retain in captivity the same courageous and lofty spirit.

Her person was majestic and handsome, and her manners agreeable; her court was celebrated for the magnificence of its feasts, its tournaments, and its spectacles. She was also fond of study, particularly of the Latin authors. In 1555, she left her government of the Netherlands and returned to Spain, where she died, in 1558.  MARY STUART, QUEEN OF SCOTS, for her beauty, her wit, her learning, and her misfortunes, was born December 3rd., 1542, and was the daughter and sole heiress of James the Fifth of Scotland, by Mane of Lorraine, his second queen, a French princess of the family of Guise. Mary was eight days old when her father died; after many disturbances, it was agreed that the Earl of Arran, the next heir to the crown, should be made governor of the kingdom, and guardian to the infant queen, who remained, with her mother, in the royal palace of Linlithgow. Henry the Eighth wished to obtain the hand of this princess for his son Edward, and it was at first promised to him; but being afterwards refused by the Earl of Arran, the famous battle of Musselburgh was fought in consequence. Upon the defeat of the Scots in this battle, Mary was carried by her mother to the island of Inch-mahome, where she laid the foundation of her knowledge in the Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian tongues, which Mary afterwards carried to such perfection that few were found to equal her in any of them.

When the young queen was six years old, she was taken by her mother to France, where she was sent to a convent, in which the daughters of the nobility of the kingdom were educated. She wrote and spoke Latin with great ease and elegance, and had a taste for poetry; many of her compositions were highly esteemed by Ronsard. She played well on several instruments, danced gracefully, and managed a horse with ease and dexterity: she also spent much time in needlework.

On the 20th of April, 1558, Mary was married to the dauphin, afterwards Francis the Second of France, who died December 6th., 1560, about six months after his accession to the throne. Mary was very much attached to him, and mourned his loss with sincere sorrow. She soon after left France, with great reluctance, to return