DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

ll ee a Catholic succession. Weak and inconsistent as she was she spent the whole remainder of her life in alternate fits of remorse and fear; on the one hand, she corresponded with James H. till the end of his days, and implored his forgiveness in affectionate terms, and attributed the death of her children to the retribution of Providence. On the other hand, from her own free will and ac- cord, she ordered a proclamation to be issued for the apprehension of her brother, whether dead or alive, and set a price on his head if he were found in Great Britain or Ireland ; and then, again, when any measures were debated against him in council, she violently took his part and burst into tears. In one respect Queen Anne showed no weakness ; she firmly believed in the divine mission and the rights of kings. She was the last English sovereign who still acted on the old belief that a monarch was endowed with the miraculous power of curing sick persons by the touch of his hand. This rite was regularly performed with great pomp, and accompanied by religious cere- monies. In one day—it was in the year 1712—she touched 200 invalids. We can hardly realise how this superstition, which arose from the loyalty of the people, could have lasted so long. That any patients ever recovered in consequence of this treatment can only be attributed to the force of imagination, which