Produced by Delphine Lettau, Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's note: Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. The illustrations of Queens Elizabeth, Mary, and Anne were accompanied by a reproduction of the royal signature below the illustration and its caption. This has been denoted in the text version by the annotation: "(reproduction of signature of Queen ----)." The following changes were made to repair apparently typographical errors: p.41 "incantations to recal her spirit" recal changed to recall p.67 "seducing Althelwold into a" Althelwold changed to Athelwold p.195 "her, and did not like it." closing quotation mark added p.211 "discriminative in the extinct eulogies" extinct changed to extant p.227 "than two hundred Scotticisms." closing quotation mark added p.227 "compositions of Metastasio." closing quotation mark added p.233 "anyrate no common phenomenon" anyrate changed to any rate p.236 "BORN 1750. DIED 1728." 1728 changed to 1828 p.240 "BORN 1758. DIED 1848." 1758 changed to 1750 p.240 "ninty-seventh anniversary of her" ninty changed to ninety p.270 "in 1709, after a visit the poetess" 1709 changed to 1809 p.303 "what she eat during these last six weeks" eat changed to ate The biography of Jane Shore refers to Edward the Fifth. This should probably be Edward the Fourth. [Illustration: From a Miniature by Holbein in the Collection of Samuel Rogers Esq. (reproduction of signature of Queen Elizabeth)] WOMEN OF HISTORY: SELECTED FROM THE _WRITINGS OF STANDARD AUTHORS._ BY THE EDITOR OF "MEN OF HISTORY." "_Biography is the most universally pleasant and universally profitable of all reading._" EDINBURGH: W. P. NIMMO, HAY, & MITCHELL. 1890. MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. PREFACE. Women of History is a further development of the idea which suggested the companion volume, MEN OF HISTORY, viz.: "To exhibit views of the world's great men and women, as set forth in the best words of the best authors--to convey, as it were, at once impressions of History and Literature, and lessons in Biography and Style." In the present case, it has not been considered necessary to attempt a classification of the subjects in the manner followed in the preceding volume, from the fact that the feelings and motives which generally influence the lives of celebrated women are of a nature different from those of the opposite sex, and from the consequent want of a standard sufficiently distinct to adhere to. A chronological arrangement, however, has been adopted, which, it is hoped, will to a considerable extent supply the want of classification.