1 DESCRIPTION OF THE COLORED, FULL-LENGTH, AUTHENTIC PORTRAIT, (No. 144 of this Beautiful Series,) OF MARGARET OF DENMARK, QUEEN-CONSORT OF JAMES III. KING OF SCOTLAND. The dress of this queen is of green, having a rich border of ermine round the bottom of the skirt, over which appears a jacket, fitting tight to the figure, of cloth-of-gold, and, also, faced all round with the royal fur. The sleeves are tight, exactly of the form of those worn at the present day. The regal mantle, composed of purple velvet, and lined throughout with ermine, is fastened in front of each shoulder; a deep border, wrought in gold and costly jewels, goes all round. The pearls, alone, on this border, must have been of immense value. A jewelled ornament goes up the front of the jacket, from the top of which depends a long gold cord and tassels, a similar cord being placed over the bust. The cap of black velvet hangs over the neck behind, and is ornamented with a double border of gems, similar to that on the mantle. It forms a point over the brow, from which depends a gold ornament, shaped like a horse-shoe; necklace of pearls on a blue ground. AA-Memoir. 2 MEMOIR OF MARGARET OF DENMARK, (b. 1453, or 1457.—m. 1469.-d. 1486.) QUEEN-CONSORT OF JAMES III., KING OL SCOTLAND; Embellished with a Beautifully-colored, full-length, authentic Portrait. When Christian or Christierne, Count of Oldenburgh, the father of the subject of this memoir, was elected King of Denmark, under the title of Christian I., it was certainly under circumstances of complicated and extraordinary difficulties. According to the union of Calmar, a diet, composed of the diets of the three kingdoms, ought to have chosen the sovereign; but the Swedes absolutely refused to comply with its requisitions, and proceeded to the election of Charles Canutson, their own countryman, and the avowed enemy of Denmark. The senate of Denmark, being thus left to decide for themselves, drew-up numerous articles of capitulation, which Christian was required to sign, previously to his assuming the regal authority. To show how restricted he was, in forming any foreign alliance, and how necessary it was for him to win the confidence of his senate, before embarking in any design, however nearly it might affect the interests and happiness of himself and daughter, it may be proper to subjoin the substance of the articles above alluded to. By them, the king agreed that Denmark should continue free and elective; he was not autho In the month of June, 1397, Margaret, second daughter of Valdemar, and queen of Denmark, and Sweden, convoked the states of the three kingdoms at Calmar, where the law, called "The union of Calmar," was passed: The grand and leading proposition of this law was, that the union of the three kingdoms under one monarch, should be a fundamental and irrevocable principle, which was, however, further modified by the clause, that "the sovereign should govern the kingdom of Denmark, according to the laws and customs of Denmark, and those of Sweden and Norway, according to their own laws aud customs." rized to call any foreign prince or noble into the kingdom, nor assign him any revenue; nor give him lands therein; nor admit him into the senate, without the consent of the majority of that body. He could not make peace or war, nor undertake an important enterprise; nor bestow the command of a fortress, without their consent and approbation. He could not alienate, nor even mortgage any lands or fortresses dependent upon the crown, except under the most pressing circumstances, and then. only with the full concurrence of the senate. They further dictated to him in what manner he ought to keep his court, and they permitted no tax to be imposed or withdrawn, without their advice and consent: no monarch, indeed, had ever, before, ascended the throne of Denmark with such limited authority. His mildness and moderation, and the facility with which he thus agreed to establish the Danish liberties on so broad a basis, proved, however, in the event, rather an advantage than otherwise; for the Norwegians, struck by his noble disinterestedness, quickly manifested a strong disposition in his favor, and the states being assembled at Opsto, Christian's proposals were accepted, and he was formally proclaimed King of Norway. It will easily be seen how much care, prudence, and even diplomatic skill was required, to obtain so desirable a result among people rude, turbulent, and even jealous and quarrelling among themselves. All contemporary historians, indeed, seem to concur in lauding the virtues of his character. His humanity, too, and liberality, were proverbial; he never permitted any feeling of resentment or passion to hurry bim beyond the bounds of justice, it being his favorite maxim, that a king who would be great, and reign well, ought to be more compassionate than any other man. He concluded, in the year 1456, the first treaty which had existed between France and Denmark. Agriculture and commerce flourished under his auspices, and strenuously exerting himself to the last, for the happiness and welfare of his people, he died on the 22nd of May in the year 1481. His queen was Dorothée of Brandenburg, who bore him three children, Jean, who succeeded him, Frederick, Duke of Sleswick-afterwards King of Denmark-and Margaret, whose life and character, with its various conexions, we are now investigating. In the year 1469, on the tenth of July, James III., being then about twenty years of age, married the young and beautiful Margaret, who was at the time but sixteen, some say only twelve years old. The nuptial ceremony was celebrated in the abbey of Holyrood-house, her father, in lieu of more positive dower, making a formal resignation of his long-disputed claims to the outer or remoter isles of Shetland and Orkney. Andrew Busdeir, bishop of Glasgow, the bishop of Orkney, the lord Armandale, chancellor of Scotland, and Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran, were appointed ambassadors to convey the bride from Denmark, which was effected with every circumstance of pomp and magnificence. Boyd, however, James' brother-in-law, having in his absence by some means incurred his royal master's displeasure, thought it expedient, without even landing, to return forthwith to Denmark. Another authority gives a more detailed and considerably different account of this nobleman, from It which it would seem that James' resentment against him may have arisen partly from his own imprudence and partly from the envy and jealousy of others. appears, that having been elected one of the governors of the realm, he had gained in this situation the king's confidence and favor, to such a degree, that he could bring about whatever measures he wished to accomplish, independently of the intervention or control of his colleagues in office, whom indeed he took little pains to humour or concilitate. This behaviour on his part, the latter resented with the utmost indignation. Dissension and misrule prevailed throughout the kingdom; justice was but negligently administered, and thieves and robbers, emboldened by the disunion and feebleness of their rulers, committed the most daring outrages; while the practical inhabitants of the outer isles, passing over in their long boats or barges, made constant depredations with impurity upon the cattle and other property of the people residing along the opposite shores. These disorders and seditions in the northern parts of the realm, continually increasing, at length roused James' slumbering attention, and the representations of the lords being of course directed against the person then enjoying the greatest influence and power, the unfortunate earl, who, in his palmy days of prosperity, had been honored with the hand of the king's sister, found himself suddenly overwhelmed with unmitigated fury, from which there was scarcely any shelter or escape. A parliament was accordingly called, in which it was decreed by authority of the whole assembly, that he should appear publicly, and answer for the crimes alleged against him. The earl, however, not only refused to comply, but assembled a body of armed men for his personal safety. Being informed, however, that a strong force was being organized against him, he fled into England. James, thereupon, condemned the earl to perpetual banishment, and confiscated his lands and goods to the use of the crown. Finding no great encouragement among the English, he finally retired to Denmark, where he remained, until the marriage of his sovereign with Margaret of Denmark, gave him hopes of being re-instated in the king's favor. Being informed, however, on his arrival in Scotland, that if he landed, he would be sure to lose his head, he immediately retreated, first to Denmark, and, finally, to Italy. James, by a formal divorce, had compelled the earl to separate from his wife-the king's sister-who had already borne him a son, slain afterwards in a private quarrel with another nobleman, during the reign of James IV. It is related that, in Italy—the country whither the earl had sought refuge, having engaged in intrigue, he was murdered by the injured and indignant husband. The same authority further states that, in the year 1468, ambassadors were sent to Christierne, king of Denmark, to negotiate the marriage, among whom, Boyd was, of course, excluded; while, in addition to Burdear and the others before enumerated, Martin Wane, the great almoner, and and king's confessor, Gilbert de Kirike, archdeacon of Glasgow, David Creichter, of Crausson, and John Shaw, of Halee, are particularized. These, arriving in the month of July, were courteously received by Christierne, who forthwith entered into treaty with them regarding the proposed marriage, which was finally agreed-to on the following conditions :-That the outer isles, viz.; those of Orkney, twenty-eight in number, and of Shetland, comprising eighteen, should remain in pos |