Mary's Arrival At Holyrood With Sketches Of Her Principal Nobility
Mary landed in Scotland with a mind full of anxiety and uncertainty. She
came alone and unprotected, to assume the government of a country which
had long been distinguished for its rebellious turbulence. The masculine
spirit of her father had quailed before the storm. Her mother, whose
intellectual energy she well knew, had in vain attempted to bring order
out of confusion, and harassed and worn out, had at length surrendered her
life in the struggle. For the last two years, it is true, the country had
enjoyed, not peace and tranquillity, but a cessation from an actual state
of warfare. Nevertheless, the seeds of discontent, and of mutual distrust
and hatred, were as abundant as ever. Mary's religion was well known; and
her confirmed devotion to it, was by one party magnified into bigotry, and
pronounced criminal; whilst by another, it was feared she would show
herself too lukewarm in revenging the insults which the ancient worship
had sustained. Such being the state of things, how could a young, and
comparatively inexperienced queen, just nineteen years of age, approach
her kingdom otherwise than with fear and trembling?
Contrasted too with her former situation, that which she was now about to
fill, appeared particularly formidable. In France, even during the life of
her husband, and while at the very height of her power, few of the severer
duties of government rested upon her. She had all the essential authority,
without much of the responsibility of a sovereign. Francis consulted her
upon every occasion, and followed her advice in almost every matter in
which she chose to interfere; but it was to him, or her uncles of Guise,
that the nation looked, when any of the state-machinery went wrong. It
would be very different in Scotland. By whatever counsel she acted, the
blame of all unpopular measures would be sure to rest with her. If she
favoured the Protestants, the Catholics would renounce her; if she
assisted the Catholics, the Protestants would again be found assembling at
Perth, listening, with arms in their hands, to the sermons of John Knox,
pulling down the remaining monasteries, and subscribing additional
covenants. Is it surprising then, that she found it difficult to steer her
course between the rocks of Scylla and the whirlpools of Charybdis? If
misfortunes ultimately overtook her, the wonder unquestionably ought to
be, not that they ever arrived, but that they should have been guarded
against so long. Nothing but the wisest and most temperate policy, could
have preserved quietness in a country so full of the elements of internal
discord. Mary's system of government throughout all its ramifications,
must have been such as no Queen of her age could have established, had
there not been more than an empty compliment, in those lines of Buchanan,
in which he addresses his Royal mistress as one
"Quae sortem antevenis meritis, virtutibus annos,
Sexum animis, morum nobilitate genus."
There is, besides, a natural feeling of loyalty, which, though it may be
evanescent, hardly fails to be kindled in the breasts of the populace, at
the sight of their native sovereign. The Scots, though they frequently
were far from being contented with the measures pursued by their monarchs,
have been always celebrated for their attachment to their persons. Mary,
on her first landing, became aware of this truth. As soon as it was known
that she intended returning from all the splendours of France, to the more
homely comforts of the land of her birth, the people, flattered by the
preference she was about to show them, abated somewhat of their previous
asperity. They were the more pleased, that she came to them, not as the
Queen of France, who might have regarded Scotland as only a province of
her empire, but as their own exclusive and independent sovereign. They
recollected that she had been at the disposal of the Estates of the
country, from the time she was seven days old, and they almost felt as if
she had been a child of their own rearing. They knew, also, that she had
made a narrow escape in crossing the seas; and the confidence she
evidently placed in them, by casting anchor in Leith Roads, with only two
galleys, did not pass unnoticed. But she had arrived sooner than was
expected; for, so little were they aware of her intended motions, that
when her two ships were first observed in the Frith, from the Castle of
Edinburgh, no suspicion was entertained that they carried the Queen and
her suite. It was not, till a royal salute was fired in the Roads, that
her arrival was positively known, and that the people began to flock in
crowds to the shore.
On the 20th or 21st of August, 1561, the Queen landed at Leith. Here she
was obliged to remain the whole day, as the preparations for her reception
at Holyroodhouse were not completed. The multitude continued in the
interval to collect at Leith, and on the roads leading to the Palace. On
the road between Leith and Restalrig, and from thence to the Abbey, the
different trades and corporations of Edinburgh were drawn up in order,
lining the way with their banners and bands of music. Towards evening,
horses were brought for the Queen and her attendants. When Mary saw them,
accustomed as she had been to the noble and richly caparisoned steeds of
the Parisian tournaments, she was struck both with the inferiority of
their breed, and the poorness of their furnishings. She sighed, and could
not help remarking the difference to some of her friends. "But they mean
well," said she, "and we must be content." As she passed along, she was
every where greeted with enthusiastic shouts of applause--the involuntary
homage which the beauty of her countenance, the elegance of her person,
and the graceful dignity of her bearing, could not fail to draw forth.
Bonfires were lighted in all directions; and though illuminations were
then but indifferently understood in Scotland, something of the kind seems
to have been attempted. On her arrival at the Palace, all the musicians of
Edinburgh collected below her windows, and in strains of most discordant
music continued all night to testify their joy for her return. Some of the
more rigid Reformers, willing to yield in their own way to the general
feeling, assembled together in a knot, and sung psalms in her honour.
Among the musical instruments, the bagpipes were preeminently
distinguished, which, not exactly suiting the uncultivated taste of
Brantome, he pathetically exclaims, "He! quelle musique! et quel repos
pour sa nuit!"
It is worth while remarking here, how Knox, in his History of the
Reformation, betrays his chagrin at the affectionate manner in which Mary
was received. "The very face of the heavens, at the time of her arrival,"
he says, "did manifestly speak what comfort was brought into this country
with her, by sorrow, dolor, darkness, and all impiety; for in the memory
of man that day of the year was never seen a more dolorous face of the
heavens, than was at her arrival, which two days after did so continue;
for, besides the surface wet, and the corruption of the air, the mist was
so thick and dark, that scarce could any man espy another the length of
two pair of butts. The sun was not seen to shine two days before, nor two
days after. That forewarning gave God to us, but alas! the most part were
blind." Knox proceeds to reprobate, in the severest terms, the
unhallowed amusements which Mary permitted at Holyroodhouse. "So soon as
ever her French fillocks, fiddlers, and others of that band, got the house
alone, there might be seen skipping not very comely for honest women. Her
common talk was, in secret, that she saw nothing in Scotland but gravity,
which was altogether repugnant to her nature, for she was brought up in
joyeusitye." If Knox really believed in the omens he talks of, or thought
the less of a young and beautiful woman for indulging in innocent
recreation, his judgment is to be pitied. If he, in truth, did not give
any credence to the one, and saw no sin in the other, his candour and
sincerity cannot be very highly praised.
M'Crie, the able but too partial biographer of Knox, and the defender of
all his errors and failings, speaking of Mary at this period,
says;--"Nursed from her infancy in a blind attachment to the Roman
Catholic religion, every means had been employed before she left France,
to strengthen this prejudice, and to inspire her with aversion to the
religion which had been embraced by her people. She was taught that it
would be the great glory of her reign, to reduce her kingdom to the
obedience of the Romish See, and to co-operate with the Popish Princes on
the Continent in extirpating heresy. With these fixed prepossessions, Mary
came into Scotland, and she adhered to them with singular pertinacity to
the end of her life." The whole of this statement is in the highest
degree erroneous. We have seen that Mary was not nursed in a blind
attachment to the Catholic religion--some of her best friends, and even
one or two of her preceptors, being attached to the new opinions. We have
seen, that so far from having any "prejudice" strengthened before she left
France, she was expressly advised to give her support to the Reformers;
and we have heard from her own lips, her mature determination to tolerate
every species of worship throughout her kingdom. That she ever thought of
"co-operating with the Popish Princes of the Continent, that she might
reduce her kingdom to the obedience of the Romish See, and extirpate
heresy," will be discovered immediately to be a particularly preposterous
belief, when we find her intrusting the reins of Government to the leaders
of the Reformed party. To this system of moderation, much beyond that of
the age in which she lived, Mary adhered, "with singular pertinacity, to
the end of her life." M'Crie, in proof of his gratuitous assertions,
affirms, that she never examined the subjects of controversy between the
Papists and Protestants. This also is incorrect, as he would have known,
had he read that letter of Throckmorton's, in which, as has been seen, she
informed the Ambassador of the frequent opportunities she had enjoyed of
hearing the whole matter discussed in the presence of the Cardinal
Lorraine; and the confession which that discussion extorted both from the
Cardinal and herself, of the necessity of some reformation among the
Catholics, though not to the extent to which the Protestants pushed it.
M'Crie further objects, that Mary never went to hear Knox, or any of the
Reformed divines, preach. Knox, from the invariable contempt with which he
affected to treat Mary, no doubt particularly deserved such a compliment;
and as to the other divines, by all of whom she was hated, what would have
been the use of leaving her own chapel to listen to sermons which could
not have altered the firm conviction of her mind, and which, consequently,
it would have been hypocrisy to pretend to admire? We return from this
digression.
The nobility, who now flocked to Holyrood from all parts of the country,
constituted that portion of the inhabitants of Scotland, who, for many
centuries, had exercised almost unlimited influence over their native
sovereigns. Their mutual dissensions during the late long minority, had a
good deal weakened their respective strength; and the progress of time was
gradually softening the more repulsive features of the feudal system. But
still the Scottish barons deemed themselves indispensable to the councils
of their monarch, and entitled to deliver opinions, which they expected
would be followed, on every affair of state. They collected at present,
under the influence of a thousand contending interests and wishes. With
some of the more distinguished figures in the group, it will be necessary
to make the reader better acquainted.
Of the Lord James, who was now shortly to become the Earl of Murray, the
title by which he is best known in Scottish history, a good deal has
already been said. That he must secretly have regretted his sister's
return to Scotland, may be safely concluded, from the facts formerly
stated. He was too skilful a politician, however, to betray his
disappointment. Had he openly ventured to oppose Mary, the result would
have been at all events uncertain, and his own ruin might have been the
ultimate consequence. He considered it more prudent to use every means in
his power to conciliate her friendship; and wrought so successfully, that
before long, he found himself the person of by far the most consequence in
the kingdom. Mary, perhaps, trusted too implicitly to his advice, and left
too much to his controul; yet it is difficult to see how she could have
managed otherwise. It is but fair also to add, that for several years
Murray continued to keep his ambition (which, under a show of moderation,
was in truth enormous) within bounds. Nor does there appear to be any
evidence sufficient to stamp Murray with that deeper treachery and blacker
guilt, which some writers have laid to his charge. The time, however, is
not yet arrived for considering his conduct in connexion with the darker
events of Mary's reign. The leading fault of his administration is, that
it was double-faced. In all matters of importance, he allowed himself to
be guided as much by the wishes of Elizabeth, secretly communicated to
him, as by those of his own Sovereign. He probably foresaw that, if he
ever quarrelled with Mary, it would be through the assistance of the
English Queen alone he could hope to retrieve his fortunes. This
subservience to Elizabeth, among those in whom she confided, was, indeed,
the leading misfortune of Mary's reign. Had her counsellors been
unbiassed, and her subjects undistracted by English intrigue, her prudent
conduct would have got the better of the internal dissensions in her
kingdom, and she would have governed in peace, perhaps in happiness. But
it was Elizabeth's jealous and narrow-minded policy, to prevent, if
possible, this consummation. With infinite art, and, if the term is not
debased by its application, with no little ability, she accomplished her
wishes, principally through the agency of the ambitious and the
self-interested, among Mary's ministers. One of these, the Earl of Murray,
unquestionably was. At the time of which we are writing, he was in his
thirty-first year, possessing considerable advantages both of face and
person, but of reserved, austere, and rather forbidding manners. Murray's
mother, who was the Lady Margaret Erskine, daughter of Lord Erskine, had
married Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven. He had also, as has been
mentioned, several illegitimate brothers, particularly Lord John and Lord
Robert, and one sister, Jane, who married the Earl of Argyle, and to whom
Mary became very sincerely attached.
Associated with the Earl of Murray, both as a leader of the Reformers, and
as a servant of Elizabeth, but not allowing his ambitious views to carry
him quite so far as the Earl, was William Maitland of Lethington, Mary's
Secretary of State. He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Maitland of
Lethington, and was about five years older than Murray. He had been
educated at the University of St Andrews, and had travelled a good deal on
the Continent, where he studied civil law. John Knox, in his History,
claims the honour of having converted Maitland to the Reformed opinions.
Whether this be true or not, it is certain that, after having for some
time co-operated with Mary of Guise, he finally deserted her, and
continued to act with the Reformers, as Secretary of State, an office to
which he had been appointed for life, in 1558. It has been already seen,
that a close and confidential intercourse subsisted between him and Cecil;
and that he too would have been glad, had Mary's return to Scotland been
prevented. That Maitland possessed an acute and subtle genius, there can
be no doubt; that he had cultivated his mind to good purpose, and
understood the art of composition as well as any man of the age, is
undeniable. That his manners were more polished than those of most of the
Scottish nobility, is also true; but, that his talents were of that high
and exquisite kind, which Robertson and some other historians have
described, does not appear. During his political career, many instances
occur, which seem to imply a vacillating and unsteady temperament, a fault
which can hardly be forgiven in a statesman.
James Douglas, Earl of Morton, another associate of Murray, was one of the
most powerful and least respectable of those who had embraced the
Reformation. Restless, factious, crafty, avaricious and cruel, nothing
could have saved him from general odium, but his pretended zeal for
religion. This was a cloak for many sins; by flattering the vanity of Knox
and the other gospel-ministers, he contrived to cover the hollowness of
his character, and to patch up a reputation for sanctity. In consequence
of the rebellion of the Earl of Angus, his uncle, during the reign of
James V., Morton had been obliged to spend several years in England, where
he lived in great poverty. But the only effect adversity had produced upon
him, was a determination to be more rapacious when he recovered his power.
His ambition was of a more contracted and selfish kind than Murray's, and
he had not so cool a head, or so cautious a hand.
The Duke of Chatelherault, Mary's nearest relation, being advanced in
years, had retired from public life. The Earl of Arran, his son, who, it
will be remembered, had been induced to propose himself as a husband for
Elizabeth, was of a weak and almost crazed intellect. Indeed it was not
long before the increasing strength of the malady made it necessary to
confine him. He came to Court, however, upon Mary's arrival, and having
been unsuccessful with Elizabeth, chose to fall desperately in love with
his own Queen. But Mary had always an aversion to him, originating no
doubt in the want of delicacy towards her, which had characterized his
negociations with Elizabeth, and confirmed by his own presuming and
disagreeable manners. His father's natural brother, the Archbishop of St
Andrews, is the only other member of the family worth mentioning. He was
still staunch to the Roman Catholic party; but had of late seen the wisdom
of remaining quiet, and though he became rather a favourite with Mary, it
does not appear that he henceforth took a very active interest in public
affairs.
James Hepburne, Earl of Bothwell, though some of the leading features of
his character had hardly shown themselves at the period of which we speak,
merits nevertheless, from the part he subsequently acted, especial notice
at present. He had succeeded his father in his titles and estates in the
year 1556, when he was five or six and twenty years of age. He enjoyed not
only large estates, but the hereditary offices of Lord High Admiral of
Scotland, Sheriff of Berwick, Haddington and Edinburgh, and Baillie of
Lauderdale. With the exception of the Duke of Chatelherault, he was the
most powerful nobleman in the southern districts of Scotland. Soon after
coming to his titles, he began to take an active share in public business.
In addition to his other offices, he was appointed the Queen's Lieutenant
on the Borders, and Keeper of Hermitage Castle, by the Queen Regent, to
whom he always remained faithful, in opposition to the Lord James, and
what was then termed the English faction. He went over to France on the
death of Francis II. to pay his duty to Mary, and on his return to
Scotland, was by her intrusted with the discharge of an important
commission regarding the Government. Though all former differences were
now supposed to have been forgotten, there was not, nor did there ever
exist, a very cordial agreement between the Earls of Murray and Bothwell.
They were both about the same age, but their dispositions were very
different. Murray was self-possessed, full of foresight, prudent and wary.
Bothwell was bold, reckless, and extravagant. His youth had been devoted
to every species of dissipation; and even in manhood, he seemed more
intent on pleasure than on business. This was a sort of life which Murray
despised, and perhaps he calculated that Bothwell would never aim at any
other. But, though guided by no steady principles, and devoted to
licentiousness, Bothwell was nevertheless not the mere man of pleasure. He
was all his life celebrated for daring and lawless exploits, and vanity or
passion, were motives whose force he was never able to resist. Unlike
Murray, who, when he had an end in view, made his advances towards it as
cautiously as an Indian hunter, Bothwell dashed right through, as careless
of the means by which he was to accomplish his object, as of the
consequences that were to ensue. His manner was of that frank, open, and
uncalculating kind, which frequently catches a superficial observer. They
who did not study him more closely, were apt to imagine that he was merely
a blustering, good-natured, violent, headstrong man, whose manners must
inevitably have degenerated into vulgarity, had he not been nobly born,
and accustomed to the society of his peers. But much more serious
conclusions might have drawn by those who had penetration enough to see
under the cloak of dissoluteness, in which he wrapped himself and his
designs. With regard to his personal appearance, it does not seem to have
been remarkably prepossessing. Brantome says, that he was one of the
ugliest men he had ever seen, and that his planners were correspondently
outre. Buchanan, who must have known Bothwell well, and who draws his
character with more accuracy than was to have been expected from so
partial a writer, says, in his "Detection:"--"Was there in him any gift of
eloquence, or grace of beauty, or virtue of mind, garnished with the
benefits which we call of fortune? As for his eloquence and beauty, we
need not make long tale of them, since both they that have seen him can
well remember his countenance, his gait, and the whole form of his body,
how gay it was; they that have heard him, are not ignorant of his rude
utterance and blockishness." As to Bothwell's religious opinions, Buchanan
remarks very truly, that wavering between the different factions, and
despising either side, he counterfeited a love of both. Such was the
man of whom we shall have occasion to say so much in the course of these
Memoirs.
In the Lords Ruthven and Lindsay, remained unaltered all the
characteristics of the ruder feudal chiefs, rendered still more repulsive
by their bigoted zeal in favour of the Reformed opinions. They were men of
coarse and contracted minds, fit instigators to villany, or apt tools in
the hands of those who were more willing to plan than to execute.
Opposed to all these nobles, was the great lay head of the Catholic party
in Scotland, John, Earl of Huntly. His jurisdiction and influence extended
over nearly the whole of the north of Scotland, from Aberdeen to
Inverness. He was born in 1510, and had been a personal friend and
favourite of James V. He ranked in Parliament as the Premier Earl of
Scotland, and in 1546, was appointed Chancellor of the kingdom. He was
always opposed to the English party, and had been taken prisoner at the
battle of Pinkie, fighting against the claims of Edward VI., upon the
infant Mary. He made his escape, in 1548, and as a reward for his services
and sufferings, obtained, in the following year, a grant of the Earldom of
Murray, which, however, he again resigned in 1554. He continued faithful
to the Queen Regent till her death. Upon that occasion, we have seen that
he and other nobles sent Lesley, with certain proposals, to Mary. He was
an honourable man and a good subject, though the termination of his career
was a most unfortunate one. The respect which his memory merits, is
founded on the conviction, that he had too great a love for his country
and sovereign ever to have consented to have made the one little better
than tributary to England, or to have betrayed the other into the hands of
her deadliest enemy.
Such were the men who were now to become Mary's associates and
counsellors. The names of most of them occur as members of the Privy
Council which she constituted shortly after her return. It consisted of
the Duke of Chatelherault, the Earl of Huntly, the Earl of Argyle, the
Earl of Bothwell, the Earl of Errol, Earl Marschall, the Earl of Athol,
the Earl of Morton, the Earl of Montrose, the Earl of Glencairn, the Lord
Erskine, and the Lord James Stuart. In this Council, the influence of the
Lord James, backed as it was by a great majority of Protestant nobles,
carried every thing before it.
Elizabeth, finding that Mary had arrived safely in her own country, and
had been well received there, lost no time in changing her tone towards
the Scottish queen. Her English resident in Scotland, was the celebrated
Randolph, whom she kept as a sort of accredited spy at Mary's court. He
has rendered himself notorious by the many letters he wrote to England
upon Scottish affairs. He had an acute, inquisitive, and gossiping turn of
mind. His style is lively and amusing; and though the office he had to
perform is not to be envied, he seems to have entered on it con amore,
and with little remorse of conscience. His epistles are mostly preserved,
and are valuable from containing pictures of the state of manners in
Scotland at the time, not to be found any where else, though not always to
be depended on as accurate chronicles of fact. To Randolph, the Queen of
England now wrote, desiring him to offer her best congratulations to Mary
upon her safe arrival. She sent him also a letter which he was to deliver
to Mary, in which she disclaimed ever having had the most distant
intention of intercepting her on her voyage. Mary answered Elizabeth's
letter with becoming cordiality. She, likewise, sent Secretary Maitland
into England, to remain for some time as her resident at Elizabeth's
Court. She was well aware for what purposes Randolph was ordered to
continue in Edinburgh; and said, that as it seemed to be Elizabeth's wish
that he should remain, she was content, but that she would have another in
England as crafty as he. Maitland was certainly as crafty, but his
craftiness was unfortunately too frequently directed against Mary
herself.
More
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A Furious Letter
A period now began of daily penance to Mrs. Talbot, of daily excitement and delight to Cis. Two hours or more had to be spent in attendance on Queen Mary. Even on Sundays there was no exemption, the visit only took place later in the day, so as ... A Lioness At Bay
It was in the middle of the summer of 1586 that Humfrey and his young brother Richard, in broad grass hats and long feathers, found themselves again in London, Diccon looking considerably taller and leaner than when he went away. For when, after ... A Tangle
It was a rainy November afternoon. Dinner was over, the great wood fire had been made up, and Mistress Talbot was presiding over the womenfolk of her household and their tasks with needle and distaff. She had laid hands on her unwilling son Edwar... A Venture
"Mother, dear mother, do but listen to me." "I must listen, child, when thou callest me so from your heart; but it is of no use, my poor little one. They have referred the matter to the Star Chamber, that they may settle it there with closed do... Addendum
Through the kindness of William Traill, Esq. of Woodwick, Orkney, we are enabled to give the following authentic genealogical account of the manner in which the interesting portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, engraved for this Work, and particularly ... An Examination Of The Letters Sonnets And Other Writings Adduced In Evidence Against Mary Queen Of Scots
O place and greatness! millions of false eyes Are stuck upon thee! Volumes of report Run with these false and most contrarious guests Upon thy doings! Thousand 'scapes of wit Make thee the father of their idle dream, And rack thee in t... Beads And Bracelets
The Countess was by no means pacified by the investigation, and both she and her family remained at Court, maligning her husband and his captive. As the season advanced, bringing the time for the Queen's annual resort to the waters of Buxton, Lor... Before The Commissioners
Who would be permitted to witness the trial? As small matters at hand eclipse great matters farther off, this formed the immediate excitement in Queen Mary's little household, when it was disclosed that she was to appear only attended by Sir Andr... Bothwell
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Every thing appeared now to be going smoothly with Bothwell, and he had only to take one step more to reach the very height of his ambition. Mary's hand and Scotland's crown were the objects he had all along kept steadily in view. The latter was t... Bothwell's Trial And Acquittal
During the whole of the day that succeeded her husband's death, (Monday the 10th of February 1567), Mary shut herself up in her own apartment, and would see no one. Bothwell was anxious to have conversed with her, but overpowered with grief, she w... Cis Or Sister
Buxtona, quae calidae celebraris nomine lymphae Forte mihi post hac non adeunda, Vale. (Buxton of whose warm waters men tell, Perchance I ne'er shall see thee more, Farewell.) Thus wrote Queen Mary with a diamond upon her window pan... Evidence
In the meantime the two Richard Talbots, father and son, had safely arrived in London, and had been made welcome at the house of their noble kinsman. Nau and Curll, they heard, were in Walsingham's house, subjected to close examination; Babingt... Evil Tidings
After giving orders for the repairs of the Mastiff, and the disposal of her crew, Master Richard Talbot purveyed himself of a horse at the hostel, and set forth for Spurn Head to make inquiries along the coast respecting the wreck of the Bride of ... Fotheringhay
"Is this my last journey?" said Queen Mary, with a strange, sad smile, as she took her seat in the heavy lumbering coach which had been appointed for her conveyance from Chartley, her rheumatism having set in too severely to permit her to ride. ... Her Education In France
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Cicely had been living in almost as much suspense in London as her mother at Fotheringhay. For greater security Mr. Talbot had kept her on board the Mastiff till he had seen M. d'Aubepine Chateauneuf, and presented to him Queen Mary's letter. Th... Hunting Down The Deer
Humfrey had been sworn in of the service of the Queen, and had been put in charge of the guard mustered at Chartley for about ten days, during which he seldom saw Cicely, and wondered much not to have heard from home: when a stag-hunt was arranged... In The Tower
"Here is a letter from Mr. Secretary to the Lieutenant of the Tower, Master Richard, bidding him admit you to speech of Babington," said Will Cavendish. "He was loath to give it, and nothing but my Lord Shrewsbury's interest would have done it, o... In The Web
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1562-1566 Stormy scenes.--Lord James.--Acts of cruelty.--Mary's energy and decision.--Her popularity.--Story of Chatelard.--His love and infatuation.--Trial of Chatelard.--His execution and last words.--Mary and Elizabeth.--The English succession... Mary At Lochleven Her Abdication And Murray's Regency
Scotland was now in the most unfortunate condition in which a country could possibly be. Like a ship without a pilot, it was left at the mercy of a hundred contrary opinions; and it was not long before there sprung out of these two opposing curren... Mary The Queen Dauphiness The Queen And The Queen Dowager Of France
Shortly after the espousals, Mary and her husband retired to one of their princely summer residences. Here she unostentatiously discharged the duties of a respectful and attentive wife, in a manner which gained for her the admiration of all who vi... Mary's Arrival At Holyrood With Sketches Of Her Principal Nobility
Mary landed in Scotland with a mind full of anxiety and uncertainty. She came alone and unprotected, to assume the government of a country which had long been distinguished for its rebellious turbulence. The masculine spirit of her father had quai... Mary's Birth And Subsequent Residence At The French Court
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was the third child of James V. and his wife, Mary of Guise. That lady had born him previously two sons, both of whom died in infancy. Mary came into the world on the 7th of December 1542, in the Palace of Linlithgow. ... Mary's Childhood
1542-1548 Palace where Mary was born.--Its situation.--Ruins.--The room.--Visitors.--Mary's father in the wars.--His death.--Regency.--Catholic religion.--The Protestants.--England and France.--The Earl of Arran.--The regency.--Arran regent.--Ne... Mary's Death And Character
On the 7th of February 1587, the Earls, who had been commissioned to superintend Mary's execution, arrived at Fotheringay. After dining together, they sent to inform the Queen, that they desired to speak with her. Mary was not well, and in bed; bu... Mary's Eighteen Years' Captivity
The last eighteen years of Mary's life were spent in imprisonment, and are comparatively a blank in her personal history. She was transported, at intervals, from castle to castle, and was intrusted sometimes to the charge of one nobleman, and some... Mary's Escape From Lochleven And The Battle Of Langside
With few comforts and no enjoyments, Mary remained closely confined in the Castle of Loch-Leven. Her only resources were in herself, and in the religion whose precepts she was ever anxious not only to profess, but to practise. Though deprived of l... Mary's Expedition To The North
The Lord James, now Earl of Mar, had for some time felt, that so long as he was regarded with suspicion by the Hamiltons, and with ill-concealed hatred by the Earl of Huntly and the Gordons, his power could not be so stable, nor his influence so e... Mary's Marriage Personal Appearance And Popularity
The time now approached when Henry began to think of confirming the French authority in Scotland, by consummating the contract of marriage which had so long existed between Francis and Mary. This was not, however, to be done without considerable o... Mary's Reception In England And The Conferences At York And Westminster
If there had been a single generous feeling still lurking in Elizabeth's bosom, the time was now arrived when it should have discovered itself. Mary was no longer a rival Queen, but an unfortunate sister, who, in her hour of distress, had thrown h... Mary's Return To Scotland And Previous Negotiations With Elizabeth
Elizabeth being informed of Mary's intended movements, thought the opportunity a favourable one, for adjusting with her one or two of their mutual disagreements. Mary's refusal to ratify the celebrated treaty of Edinburgh, had particularly galled ... Mary's Trial And Condemnation
The closing scene of Mary's life was now rapidly approaching. Debilitated as she was by her long confinement, and the many painful thoughts which had been incessantly preying on her peace of mind, it is not likely that she could have long survived... Master Talbot And His Charge
The afternoon on which they were to enter the old town of Kingston-upon-Hull closed in with a dense sea-fog, fast turning to drizzling rain. They could see but a little distance on either side, and could not see the lordly old church tower. The ... Misfortunes
1559-1561 Mary's love for Francis.--How to cherish the passion.--Grand tournament.--Henry's pride.--An encounter.--The helmet.--The vizor.--King Henry wounded.--His death.--The mournful marriage.--The dauphin becomes king.--Catharine superseded.-... Mother And Child
Cicely was well enough the next day to leave her room and come out on the summer's evening to enjoy the novel spectacle of Trowle Madame, in which she burned to participate, so soon as her shoulder should be well. It was with a foreboding heart t... My Lady's Remorse
"And have you brought her back again! O my lass! my lass!" cried Mistress Susan, surprised and delighted out of her usual staid composure, as, going out to greet her husband, an unexpected figure was seen by his side, and Cicely sprang into her a... Occurrences Immediately Preceding Darnley's Death
We are now about to enter upon a part of Mary's history, more important in its results, and more interesting in its details, than all that has gone before. A deed had been determined on, which, for audacity and villany, has but few parallels in ei... On The Humber
Master Talbot had done considerately in arranging that Cicely should at least begin her journey on a pillion behind himself, for her anguish of suppressed weeping unfitted her to guide a horse, and would have attracted the attention of any serving... Paul's Walk
Will Cavendish, who was in training for a statesman, and acted as a secretary to Sir Francis Walsingham, advised that the letters should be carried to him at once that same evening, as he would be in attendance on the Queen the next morning, and s... Queen Mary's Presence Chamber
The storm that followed on the instalment of the Lady Arbell at Sheffield was the precursor of many more. Her grandmother did sufficiently awake to the danger of alarming the jealousy of Queen Elizabeth to submit to leave her in the ordinary cham... Return To Scotland
1561 Calais.--Artificial piers and breakwaters.--Throckmorton.--Elizabeth's plans.--Throckmorton baffled.--Throckmorton's advice.--Queen Catharine's farewell.--Escort.--Embarkation.--Spectators.--Unfortunate accident.--Mary's farewell to France.-... Rizzio
1561-1566 David Rizzio.--Embassadors.--Rizzio's position.--Rizzio French secretary.--Displeasure of the Scotch nobles.--They treat Rizzio with scorn and contempt.--He consults Melville.--Melville's counsel.--Melville and the queen.--Rizzio's reli... Scotland And Its Troubles During Mary's Infancy
James V. left, as an inheritance to his kingdom, an expensive and destructive war with England. He likewise left what, under such circumstances, was a very questionable advantage, a treasury well stored with gold, and a coinage in good condition, ... Scotland And The Scottish Reformers Under The Regency Of The Queen-dowager
It was in the year 1517, that Luther first stated his objections to the validity of the indulgences granted so liberally by Pope Leo X. From this year, those who love to trace causes to their origin, date the epoch of the Reformation. It was not, ... Summary Of Queen Mary
During the reigns of James IV. and James V., Scotland emerged from barbarism into comparative civilization. Shut out, as it had previously been, from almost any intercourse with the rest of Europe, both by the peculiarities of its situation, and i... Ten Years After
It was ten years later in the reign of Elizabeth, when James VI. was under one of his many eclipses of favour, and when the united English and Dutch fleets had been performing gallant exploits at Cadiz and Tercera, that license for a few weeks' ab... Tete-a-tete
During that close imprisonment at Tixall Cicely learnt to know her mother both in her strength and weakness. They were quite alone; except that Sir Walter Ashton daily came to perform the office of taster and carver at their meals, and on the fir... The Bewitched Whistle
A child's point of view is so different from that of a grown person, that the discovery did not make half so much difference to Cis as her adopted parents expected. In fact it was like a dream to her. She found her daily life and her surrounding... The Blast Of The Whistle
Richard Talbot was of course convinced that witchcraft was not likely to be the most serious part of the misdeeds of Tibbott the huckstress. Committing Antony Babington to the custody of his wife, he sped on his way back to the Manor-house, where ... The Captive
Death and sorrow seemed to have marked the house of Bridgefield, for the old lady never rallied after the blood-letting enjoined by the Countess's medical science, and her husband, though for some months able to creep about the house, and even som... The Castle Well
"What vantage or what thing Gett'st thou thus for to sting, Thou false and flatt'ring liar? Thy tongue doth hurt, it's seen No less than arrows keen Or hot consuming fire." So sang the congregation in the chapel at Chartley,... The Clash Of Swords
Festivals in the middle ages were conducted by day rather than by night, and it was a bright noonday sun that shone upon the great hall at Sheffield, bedecked with rich tapestry around the dais, where the floor was further spread with Eastern carp... The Death Of Darnley
It was on Sunday, the 9th of February 1567, that the final preparations for the murder of Darnley were made. To execute the guilty deed, Bothwell was obliged to avail himself of the assistance of those ready ministers of crime, who are always to b... The Ebbing Well
Cicely's thirst for adventures had received a check, but the Queen, being particularly well and in good spirits, and trusting that this would be her last visit to Buxton, was inclined to enterprise, and there were long rides and hawking expedition... The End
1586-1587 Plots and intrigues.--How far Mary was involved.--Babington's conspiracy.--Secret correspondence.--Seizure of Mary's papers.--Her son James.--Elizabeth resolves to bring Mary to trial.--Fotheringay Castle.--Great interest in the trial.-... The Fall Of Bothwell
1567 Mary's infatuation.--Excuses for her.--Mary's deep depression.--Interposition of the King of France.--Bothwell at Edinburgh Castle.--He is hated by the people.--The opposing parties.--How far Mary was responsible.--Melrose.--Ruins of the abb... The Fetterlock Court
People did not pity themselves so much for suspense when, instead of receiving an answer in less than an hour, they had to wait for it for weeks if not months. Mrs. Talbot might be anxious at Bridgefield, and her son at Fotheringhay, and poor Que...