Strip the lives of the kings and queens of England of the meretricious glamour of historic, or rather histrionic, art, and what remains to be recorded is one long weary catalogue of human folly, depravity, and crime. No wonder our historians give play to their imaginations. If they did not permit themselves that indulgence, they must needs abandon their task in disgust. They would find themselves in a position somewhat similar to that of the criminal who was allowed to choose between the galleys and a searching study of the works of Guiccardini. The convict elected to peruse Guiccardini, but soon discovered his mistake, and went cheerfully to the galleys.