Views such as these were undoubtedly held by Philip the Second of Spain, but were utterly opposed to the free spirit of the Netherlands, who saw in James nothing but a feeble tyrant-a despot lacking courage and opportunity.

In England the direct line of the Tudors had ceased on the death of Queen Elizabeth, and the collateral branch of the Stuarts had introduced the King of Scotland to the English throne. The celebrated Buchanan had been the tutor of this king, and he being accused of having made his pupil a pedant, replied that he could do nothing better with him. In appearance, the king was of middle stature, more corpulent, says one of his contemporaries, through his clothes than in his body, his attire being made large and easy, the doublet quilted for stiletto proof, his breeches in great plaits, and well stuffed; his eyes were large, ever rolling after any stranger who came into his presence; his beard was very thin, his tongue was too large for his mouth, his skin "as soft as taffety sarcenet, which felt so because he never washed his hands, but rubbed his fingers slightly with the wet end of a napkin." He was very weak in the legs and disposed to lean on the shoulders of any who stood near him. His manners were as uncouth as his appearance was ungainly. He was in all points the most singular contrast to the stately and dignified queen who had preceded him, and whose intellectual and diplomatic powers were made still more apparent by the pedantry and weakness of King James.

Among those who first arrived at Court to pay homage to the new king was Prince Frederic of Nassau, from the United Provinces, attended by the three able diplomatists-Valck, Barnevelt, and Brederode. King James, as we have shown, had no sympathy for the Hollanders; he looked upon them as rebels and traitors, regarding the struggles of Protestantism on the shores of the North Sea as a dangerous example to set before his own subjects. Besides, there were some thousands of crowns still due to the English treasury, and James was in want of this money, which the Hollanders seemed in no hurry to pay.

The marriage of Elizabeth, the daughter of King James, to the Elector of the Palatinate, who subsequently became King of Bohemia, led the English into a closer alliance with the Protestants of Germany, and consequently on avowedly friendly terms with the Dutch. "Frederic, the elector, was a Protestant of the Calvinistic school, and the Protestants of Bohemia, anxious to prevent the Catholic Emperor of Austria acquiring their crown, offered it to him, which he was imprudent enough to accept.

for the young Prince. It was scarcely less palatable to the Spaniards. Philip the Third-the father of the courted Princess Donna Maria-set his face steadily against the union. He hated the English-hated the Protestants, and had not forgotten the Armada; but when his son Philip IV. ascended the throne, matters were more easily arranged. The new king and his favourite, the Duke of Olivarez, were zealous for the marriage, and negotiations were commenced in all due formality. Baby Charles and his friend and councillor, the Duke of Buckingham-com

monly called Dog Steenie-started on a romantic adventure to visit the princess incog. They called themselves John Smith and Thomas Smith, and contrived on their way to get into and out of a good many scrapes. At Paris, they attended a masqued ball, and there Charles is said-on no very good authority-to have fallen in love with his future wife, Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII. At Madrid they