The most important of these papers, the letters, had however been very strongly encountered at first by a Defence of Mary's Honour, which was published by her worthy adherent, Lefley, bishop of Rofs, and which was at once lively, convincing, and pointed. But this was inftantly fuppreffed by the violence of Queen Elizabeth. No vindication of Mary way fuffered to appear. Many were published on the continent; yet none of them durst venture upon English ground. And at the fame time the Detection of Mary's Doings by Buchanan, that daring effort of fabricated calumny, in which the principal of the two contracts, all the fonnets, and all the letters were originally published, received every recommendation that could be lent it by authority. It was prefented in form to Elizabeth herfelf. It was circulated with induftry by her minifters. In that period of our government, fuch artifices of tyranny would carry a peculiar efficacy with them. They could not fail of fuccefs. The reputation of Mary was affaulted on every fide, in vigorous and artful appeals to the public. She was debarred from all counter appeals in her own defence. From the malicious partiality

of mankind to flander, the energy of a vindication is no ways equal to the force of an accufation. What then must be the force of the one, when the other is not permitted to accompany it; when this is fuppreffed, and that is fupported, by all the exertions of authority in the government, and by all the habits of obedience in the people? The confequence was very natural. The fonnets, contracts, and letters were received as authentic teftimonies of Mary's guilt. The opinion of the public became fixed upon the point. And a flander, that has once got poffeffion of the general faith, is the moft difficult of all prejudices to be removed.

But in 1754 a wonderful revolution began to take place in the hiftory of these established evidences. Mr. Goodall, keeper of the Advocate's library at Edinburgh, ftepped forward, with a courage that feemed to border upon rashness, in order to prove them mere forgeries, and to difabuse the deceived public. He was a man very converfant with records. He was, therefore, in the habit of referring affertions to authorities. He was alfo actuated perhaps by a spirit of party, as a party had been then formed in the nation

concerning the point. Something more vigorous than the abstracted love of truth, is generally requifite to every arduous undertaking. But, whatever were his motives, his enterprize was honourable, and his execution powerful. He entered into an examination of the papers with confiderable spirit. He went through it with confiderable addrefs. He even proved the letters to be forgeries in fo clear a manner, that one is aftonished it had never been done before. This fhews, indeed, the little attention which had been paid to the fubject, in care to substantiate, or in zeal to destroy, the fundamental credit of the whole. And that forms one of those grand discoveries, which muft neceffarily be very rare in the hiftory of any nation, and therefore reflect a peculiar honour upon the individual who makes them,

Yet fuch was the factious credulity then prevailing generally in the island, that this work, one of the most original and convincing which ever were published, made its way very flowly among us. Even fome of our first-rate writers prefumed to fet themfelves against it. Dr. Robertson, a disciple of the old fchool of flander, wrote a formal dif

fertation

fertation in oppofition to it. Even Mr. Hume, who in history had learned to think more liberally than the Doctor, in fome incidental notes to his History of England ftill profeffed, and defended, his adherence to the ancient error. And the nation ftood fufpended between the authority of great names, and the prejudices of "the million," upon one fide; and a new name, new arguments, and demonstration, on the other. Then Mr. Tytler arofe. He generally took the fame ground which Mr. Goodall had taken before him. He generally made use of his weapons. He brightened up fome. He strengthened others. With both and with his own, he drove the enemy out of the field. Dr. Robertfon quitted it directly. Mr. Hume rallied, after a long interval of eleven or twelve years. He rallied with a feeming ferocity of fpirit, and with a real imbecillity of exertion. He, who never replied to an adversary before, now replied to Mr. Tytler in a note to a new edition of his history. He laid himself out there, in reproaches against Mr. Tytler, and in vindications of himself. But he touched upon cause of Mary, in a single point only.

B 3

the

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his efforts of proving in all were flight in their aim, and feeble in their operation. Mr. Tytler, however, very properly advanced upon him again, in a postscript to a new edition of his own work. And Mr. Hume retired finally with Dr. Robertfon. Mr. Tytler deservedly gained great honour by the conteft. His work is candid, argumentative, acute, and ingenious. Only his fuccefs feems to have injured his mafter's reputation. The glory was in no small meafure Mr. Goodall's own. Yet fuch is the capriciousness of fame conferred by men, that the laurels are ftill fhading the brow of Mr. Tytler, while the original proprietor is almost forgotten. It is a juftice due to the memories of illuftrious mafters, not to let their names be loft in the fucceeding splendour of their scholars, when a large fhare of that splendour is derived from the masters themfelves.

In this state of the controverfy, the nation continued for many years. The new truths were gradually gaining ground. None oppofed them. Numbers embraced them. And at laft, in the natural progrefs of conviction, Dr. Stuart appeared about four years ago,