[1] For an account of this poem, _Maister Randolphe's Fantasie_, see
pages 91-98.
[2] As bearing on the subject of Mary's personal appearance and the
fidelity of her portraits, the following passages from an article
contributed to the _Glasgow Herald_, as a review of Mr. J. J. Foster's
work, _Concerning the True Portraiture of Mary Queen of Scots_, may here
be reproduced: "Mr. Foster points out 'in some cases a slight but
perceptible squint'. We have noticed this in one or two instances only,
and in portraits which, though they may be authentic, are technically
inferior; and we are consequently more inclined to attribute the defect
to the artist than to nature. The majority of the most trustworthy
portraits agree in making the upper eyelids thick, with an uninterrupted
curve, in setting the arched, well-marked eyebrows wide apart, and in
giving an exceptionally broad space between the eyes and the ears. The
oval face, the high cheek-bones, the round, well-proportioned and
capacious forehead, the long but shapely Greek nose, are features with
regard to which there is practical unanimity. Even if Sir George Scharf
had not pointed it out, it would hardly be possible to overlook the
peculiarity of the compressed lips. They are not thin, however, though,
on the other hand, they are very far from possessing that fulness which
physiognomists look upon as an indication of sensuality. Another
feature, so often reproduced as to be almost characteristic and
distinctive, is the strongly-marked V depression in the middle of the
upper lip. The cheek is full in its lower part, but not unduly so. The
chin is well-developed, but is neither cloven nor dimpled.... Prince
Labanoff declared that, with the exception of one portrait--and that of
dubious authenticity--none renders even youth or average beauty. Quite
recently Major Martin Hume wrote of Mary that 'a contemplation of her
known authentic portraits, even those taken in the best years of her
youth and happiness, does not carry conviction that her physical beauty
alone can have been the cause of the extraordinary influence she
exercised over the men who came within the sphere of her attraction'.
And now we have Mr. Foster admitting that 'scarcely any of the so-called
portraits of Mary Stuart bear out the reputation of her beauty'; and
that 'all her pictures entirely lack that indefinable charm which
captivated everyone brought in contact with her'. He seems to attribute
this, in some measure, at least, to the imperfections of the artists of
the time. He might perhaps have added, to the unfavourable circumstances
under which they worked. For, as M. Dimier tells us, 'the oil-painting
was never attempted from life. The artist brought away from his model
nothing but the crayon and some written notes concerning the complexion,
colour of hair, and of the eyes; he handled the colours only in his
studio, and finished the work at his leisure'. We know, too, of Mary
Stuart, in particular, that she ordered portraits of herself to be
painted in France, fourteen years after leaving the country."
[3] _OEuvres_, vol. ii, p. 1172.
[4] _Memoirs_, p. 124.
[5] _Brantôme_, t. v, p. 94.
[6] _Memoirs_, p. 123.
[7] T. Wright's _Queen Elizabeth and her Time_, vol. i, p. 311.
[8] G. Chalmers, _Life of Queen Mary_, vol. i, pp. 443-4.
[9] _OEuvres_, vol. ii, pp. 1172-4.
[10] Melville's _Memoirs_, p. 124.
[11] T. v, p. 86.
[12] _OEuvres_, l. c.
[13] _History of the Reformation_, vol. ii, p. 381.
[14] Teulet, _Papiers d'État_, t. ii, p. 883.
[15] T. v, pp. 83-4.
[16] _Rhétorique Françoise_, Paris, 1555.
[17] _Latin Themes of Mary Stuart_, published by Anatole de Montaiglon.
[18] Letter from Randolph to Cecil, 7 April, 1562.
[19] _Brantôme_, t. v., p. 84.
[20] _Inventories of Mary Queen of Scots_. Bannatyne Club, p. 179 _et
seq._
[21] _Inventories_, p. cv.
[22] "Concionero de Romances", _Inventories_, p. cxlvi.
[23] Unless it be he that is meant in the entry: "Danies Vgieri in
Italian", _Inventories_, p. cxliv.
[24] Haynes's _Collection of State Papers_, p. 509.
[25] Sir H. Ellis's _Original Letters Illustrative of English History_,
First Series, vol. ii, p. 252.
[26] _Inventories_, p. 179.
[27] "Pantagruell in Frenche", _Inventories_, p. cxlvi.
[28] _OEuvres de Ronsard_, vol. ii, p. 1171.
[29] For a full account of this literary forgery, see below, pp. 79-90.
[30] The following scheme shows how these anagrams were formed:--
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
M A R I E S T V V A R T E
6 2 8 5 3 7 9 1 10 12 4 11 13
S A V E R T V M' A T I R E
8 2 7 9 1 5 3 4 12 13 11 10 6
V A, T V M E R I T E R A S
[31] "G. Conaei vita Mariae Stuartae, 1624", in _Jebb_, vol. ii, p. 15.
[32] Diary, 24 Nov., 1665.
[33] Letter from Randolph to Cecil, 15 May, 1563.
[34] P. 87.
[35] Con, in _Jebb_, vol. ii, p. 15.
[36] P. 125.
[37] _Ibid._
[38] In _Jebb_, l. c.
[39] _Basilikon Doron_, p. 125, edit. 1603.
[40] _Compotum Thesaurarii Reginæ Scotorum_, 30 Nov., 1565.
[41] Thomson's _Collection of Inventories_, pp. 238-40.
[42] _Inventories_, p. cxxi.
[43] Letter to Cecil, in Haynes's _State Papers_, pp. 509-10.
[44] _De Regno et Regali Potestate_, edit. 1612, pp. 279-80.
[45] _Inventories_, pp. xc, 141, 148.
[46] Prince Labanoff, _Lettres de Marie Stuart_, t. iv, pp. 228-9.
[47] Cf. "Le Vray Rapport de l'exécution faicte sur la personne de la
Royne d'Escosse", published by Teulet, _Papiers d'Etat_, &c., p. 884.
[48] _History of the Reformation_, vol. ii, p. 373.
[49] _Inventories_, p. lxix.