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