powerful, and elaborate perfidy and cold-blooded massacre
with which it was so far prosecuted. Its centre was in
Paris, although its inspiration was from Rome ; and Italian
craft and subtlety in the Guises were its leaders. Scotland
possessed a peculiar and unexampled interest to it, not
only or chiefly from its old relations to France, but espe-
cially as a basis and means of operatioa against England.
