ELIZABETH STUART, QUEEN OF BOHEMIA

Summary

Amongst the many interesting female characters who are conspicuous in the reign of James the First, one of the most remarkable is his beautiful daughter, whose early life began so prosperously, and who was destined to experience so many reverses. Her father, indeed, may be considered the only member of the ill-starred house of Stuart who enjoyed any continued happiness, and the changes in whose life were for the better. As his sensibilities were far from delicate, those untoward events, which to another would have been fraught with sorrow and regret, made but little impression on his mind: as self was his ruling passion, his own good fortune, in inheriting the most powerful throne in Europe, and all the advantages which such a position gave, quite compensated for his mother's wrongs and misfortunes; and, like an upstart suddenly enriched with the spoils of a miser's hoard, which he could hardly hope to obtain, he gave way to a vulgar delight, and determined to enjoy “the goods the gods provided him,” which he contrived to do to the end, leaving the remaining scenes of the Stuart tragedy to be played by other actors.

When Elizabeth, the great Queen, had breathed her last, and her silence had conferred the inheritance of England on James, the exulting prince lost no time in hastening to clutch his new possessions; and, although his ungraceful appearance and ungentlemanlike manners disgusted all the subjects of his magnificent predecessor, there were not wanting those in his train whose grace and beauty made up for his defects.