The writings of George Buchanan with which we are concerned are his "Detection" of Queen Mary, and his "History of Scotland." Buchanan was the friend and adviser of Mary's enemies, and his references to her are polemical, not historical. His "Detection" is based on the "Book of Articles" (_cf._ p. 144), and it is not always consistent with the statements in his "History." Sheriff Æneas Mackay admits with regard to it that "it must be deemed a calumnious work." The reader must decide for himself what credit to attach to statements made by Buchanan, and otherwise unattested. He occupies among Mary's accusers the position held by Lesley among her friends. His title to fame is not confined to the Marian controversy. He was a very distinguished humanist, and his writings possess both learning and charm. (_Cf._ Mr. Hume Brown's recent volume entitled "George Buchanan.") CONAEUS. George Conn belonged to an Aberdeenshire family of Roman Catholic sympathies, and was educated at Douay, Paris, and Rome. He was Papal agent accredited to Queen Henrietta Maria from 1636 to 1639. He died in 1640. The date of his birth is unknown, and he is not quite strictly a contemporary author. But he lived in Paris at a time when people must have been alive who could remember Queen Mary's residence in France, and his "Life of Mary Stuart," published in 1624, has all the freshness of a contemporary source. LORD HERRIES. John Maxwell, fourth Lord Herries, was, although a Protestant, a staunch supporter of Queen Mary. He opposed the Bothwell marriage, but remained faithful after the surrender at Carberry Hill. He joined the Queen after her escape from Lochleven, was present at the Battle of Langside, and accompanied her in her flight to England. In spite of some temporising with her enemies, he was selected, along with the Bishop of Ross, to defend her at York and Westminster, and he was probably involved in the Norfolk plot. When he became convinced of the hopelessness of Mary's cause, he came to an arrangement with the victorious party, and took a part in politics till his death in 1583. He seems, however, always to have been ready to assist the Queen had there been any chance of success. His "Memoirs" possess an unusual interest in virtue of his intimate knowledge of the secret history of the reign. JOHN KNOX.