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 to take place at the neighbouring
park of Tickhill or Tixall, belonging to Sir Walter Ashton.
The chase always invigorated Queen Mary, and she came down in cheerful
two secretaries, Nau and Curll, heading the other attendants.
"Now," she said to Cicely, "shall I see this swain, or this brother of
thine, who hath done us such good service, and I promise you there will
be more in my greeting than will meet Sir Amias's ear."
But to Cicely's disappointment Humfrey was not among the horsemen
mustered at the door to attend and guard the Queen.
"My little maid's eye is seeking for her brother," said Mary, as Sir
Amias advanced to assist her to her horse.
"He hath another charge which will keep him at home," replied Paulett,
somewhat gruffly, and they rode on.
It was a beautiful day in early August, the trees in full foliage, the
fields seen here and there through them assuming their amber harvest
tints, the twin spires of Lichfield rising in the distance, the park
and forest ground through which the little hunting-party rode rich with
purple heather, illuminated here and there with a bright yellow spike
or star, and the rapid motion of her brisk palfrey animated the Queen.
She began to hope that Humfrey had after all brought a false alarm, and
that either he had been mistaken or that Langston was deceiving the
Council itself, and though Sir Amias Paulett's close proximity held her
silent, those who knew her best saw that her indomitably buoyant
spirits were rising, and she hummed to herself the refrain of a gay
French hunting-song, with the more zest perhaps that her warder held
himself trebly upright, stiff and solemn under it, as one who thought
such lively times equally unbefitting a lady, a queen, and a captive.
So at least Cis imagined as she watched them, little guessing that
there might be deeper reasons of compassion and something like
compunction to add to the gravity of the old knight's face.
As they came in sight of the gate of Tickhill Park, they became aware
of a company whose steel caps and shouldered arquebuses did not look
like those of huntsmen. Mary bounded in her saddle, she looked round
at her little suite with a glance of exultation in her eye, which said
as plainly as words, "My brave friends, the hour has come!" and she
quickened her steed, expecting, no doubt, that she might have to
outride Sir Amias in order to join them.
One gentleman came forward from the rest. He held a parchment in his
hand, and as soon as he was alongside of the Queen thus read:--
"Mary, late Queen of Scots and Queen Dowager of France, I, Thomas
Gorges, attaint thee of high treason and of compassing the life of our
most Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth, in company with Antony
Babington, John Ballard, Chidiock Tichborne, Robert Barnwell, and
others."
Mary held up her hands, and raised her eyes to Heaven, and a protest
was on her lips, but Gorges cut it short with, "It skills not denying
it, madam. The proofs are in our hands. I have orders to conduct you
to Tickhill, while seals are put on your effects."
"That there may be proofs of your own making," said the Queen, with
dignity. "I have experience of that mode of judgment. So, Sir Amias
Paulett, the chase you lured me to was truly of a poor hunted doe whom
you think you have run down at last. A worthy chase indeed, and of
long continuance!"
"I do but obey my orders, madam," said Paulett, gloomily.
"Oh ay, and so does the sleuth-hound," said Mary.
"Your Grace must be pleased to ride on with me," said Mr. Gorges,
laying his hand on her bridle.
"What are you doing with those gentlemen?" cried Mary, sharply reining
in her horse, as she saw Nau and Curll surrounded by the armed men.
"They will be dealt with after her Majesty's pleasure," returned
Paulett.
Mary dropped her rein and threw up her hands with a gesture of despair,
but as Gorges was leading her away, she turned on her saddle, and
raised her voice to call out, "Farewell, my true and faithful servants!
Betide what may, your mistress will remember you in her prayers.
Curll, we will take care of your wife."
And she waved her hand to them as they were made, with a strong guard,
to ride off in the direction of Lichfield. All the way to Tickhill,
whither she was conducted with Gorges and Paulett on either side of her
horse, Cis could hear her pleading for consideration for poor Barbara
Curll, for whose sake she forgot her own dignity and became a suppliant.
Sir Walter Ashton, a dull heavy-looking country gentleman of burly form
and ruddy countenance, stood at his door, and somewhat clownishly
offered his services to hand her from her horse.
She submitted passively till she had reached the upper chamber which
had been prepared for her, and there, turning on the three gentlemen,
demanded the meaning of this treatment.
"You will soon know, madam," said Paulett. "I am sorry that thus it
should be."
"Thus!" repeated Mary, scornfully. "What means this?"
"It means, madam," said Gorges, a ruder man of less feeling even than
Paulett, "that your practices with recusants and seminary priests have
been detected. The traitors are in the Counter, and will shortly be
brought to judgment for the evil purposes which have been frustrated by
the mercy of Heaven."
"It is well if treason against my good sister's person have been
detected and frustrated," said Mary; "but how doth that concern me?"
"That, madam, the papers at Chartley will show," returned Gorges.
"Meantime you will remain here, till her Majesty's pleasure be known."
"Where, then, are my women and my servants?" inquired the Queen.
"Your Grace will be attended by the servants of Sir Walter Ashton."
"Gentlemen, this is not seemly," said Mary, the colour coming hotly
into her face. "I know it is not the will of my cousin, the Queen of
England, that I should remain here without any woman to attend me, nor
any change of garments. You are exceeding your commission, and she
shall hear of it."
Sir Amias Paulett here laid his hand on Gorges' arm, and after
exchanging a few words with him, said--
"Madam, this young lady, Mistress Talbot, being simple, and of a loyal
house, may remain with you for the present. For the rest, seals are
put on all your effects at Chartley, and nothing can be removed from
thence, but what is needful will be supplied by my Lady Ashton. I bid
your Grace farewell, craving your pardon for what may have been hasty
in this."
Mary stood in the centre of the floor, full of her own peculiar injured
dignity, not answering, but making a low ironical reverence. Mary
Seaton fell on her knees, clung to the Queen's dress, and declared that
while she lived, she would not leave her mistress.
"Endure this also, ma mie," said the Queen, in French. "Give them no
excuse for using violence. They would not scruple--" and as a
demonstration to hinder French-speaking was made by the gentlemen,
"Fear not for me, I shall not be alone."
"I understand your Grace and obey," said Mary Seaton, rising, with a
certain bitterness in her tone, which made Mary say-- "Ah! why must
jealousy mar the fondest affection? Remember, it is their choice, not
mine, my Seaton, friend of my youth. Bear my loving greetings to all.
And take care of poor Barbara!"
"Madam, there must be no private messages," said Paulett.
"I send no messages save what you yourself may hear, sir," replied the
Queen. "My greetings to my faithful servants, and my entreaty that all
care and tenderness may be shown to Mrs. Curll."
"I will bear them, madam," said the knight, "and so I commend you to
God's keeping, praying that He may send you repentance. Believe me,
madam, I am sorry that this has been put upon me."
To this Mary only replied by a gesture of dismissal. The three
gentlemen drew back, a key grated in the lock, and the mother and
daughter were left alone.
To Cicely it was a terrible hopeless sound, and even to her mother it
was a lower depth of wretchedness. She had been practically a captive
for nearly twenty years. She had been insulted, watched, guarded,
coerced, but never in this manner locked up before.
She clasped her hands together, dropped on her knees at the table that
stood by her, and hid her face. So she continued till she was roused
by the sound of Cicely's sobs. Frightened and oppressed, and new to
all terror and sorrow, the girl had followed her example in kneeling,
but the very attempt to pray brought on a fit of weeping, and the
endeavour to restrain what might disturb the Queen only rendered the
sobs more choking and strangling, till at last Mary heard, and coming
towards her, sat down on the floor, gathered her into her arms, and
kissing her forehead, said, "Poor bairnie, and did she weep for her
mother? Have the sorrows of her house come on her?"
"O mother, I could not help it! I meant to have comforted you," said
Cicely, between her sobs.
"And so thou dost, my child. Unwittingly they have left me that which
was most precious to me."
There was consolation in the fondness of the loving embrace, at least
to such sorrows as those of the maiden; and Queen Mary had an
inalienable power of charming the will and affections of those in
contact with her, so that insensibly there came into Cicely's heart a
sense that, so far from weeping, she should rejoice at being the one
creature left to console her mother.
"And," she said by and by, looking up with a smile, "they must go to
the bottom of the old well to find anything."
"Hush, lassie. Never speak above thy breath in a prison till thou
know'st whether walls have ears. And, apropos, let us examine what
sort of a prison they have given us this time."
So saying Mary rose, and leaning on her daughter's arm, proceeded to
explore her new abode. Like her apartment at the Lodge, it was at the
top of the house, a fashion not uncommon when it was desirable to make
the lower regions defensible; but, whereas she had always hitherto been
placed in the castles of the highest nobility, she was now in that of a
country knight of no great wealth or refinement, and, moreover, taken
by surprise.
So the plenishing was of the simplest. The walls were covered with
tapestry so faded that the pattern could hardly be detected. The
hearth yawned dark and dull, and by it stood one chair with a
moth-eaten cushion. A heavy oaken table and two forms were in the
middle of the room, and there was the dreary, fusty smell of want of
habitation. The Queen, whose instincts for fresh air were always a
distress to her ladies, sprang to the mullioned window, but the heavy
lattice defied all her efforts.
"Let us see the rest of our dominions," she said, turning to a door,
which led to a still more gloomy bedroom, where the only articles of
furniture were a great carved bed, with curtains of some undefined dark
colour, and an oaken chest. The window was a mere slit, and even more
impracticable than that of the outer room. However, this did not seem
to horrify Mary so much as it did her daughter. "They cannot mean to
keep us here long," she said; "perhaps only for the day, while they
make their search--their unsuccessful search--thanks to--we know whom,
little one."
"I hope so! How could we sleep there?" said Cicely, looking with a
shudder at the bed.
"Tush! I have seen worse in Scotland, mignonne, ay and when I was
welcomed as liege lady, not as a captive. I have slept in a box like a
coffin with one side open, and I have likewise slept on a plaidie on
the braw purple blossoms of freshly pulled heather! Nay, the very
thought makes this chamber doubly mouldy and stifling! Let the old
knight beware. If he open not his window I shall break it! Soft. Here
he comes."
Sir Walter Ashton appeared, louting low, looking half-dogged,
half-sheepish, and escorting two heavy-footed, blue-coated serving-men,
who proceeded to lay the cloth, which at least had the merit of being
perfectly clean and white. Two more brought in covered silver dishes,
one of which contained a Yorkshire pudding, the other a piece of
roast-beef, apparently calculated to satisfy five hungry men. A flagon
of sack, a tankard of ale, a dish of apples, and a large loaf of bread,
completed the meal; at which the Queen and Cicely, accustomed daily to
a first table of sixteen dishes and a second of nine, compounded by her
Grace's own French cooks and pantlers, looked with a certain amused
dismay, as Sir Walter, standing by the table, produced a dagger from a
sheath at his belt, and took up with it first a mouthful of the
pudding, then cut off a corner of the beef, finished off some of the
bread, and having swallowed these, as well as a draught of each of the
liquors, said, "Good and sound meats, not tampered with, as I hereby
testify. You take us suddenly, madam; but I thank Heaven, none ever
found us unprovided. Will it please you to fall to? Your woman can
eat after you."
Mary's courtesy was unfailing, and though she felt all a Frenchwoman's
disgust at the roast-beef of old England, she said, "We are too close
companions not to eat together, and I fear she will be the best
trencher comrade, for, sir, I am a woman sick and sorrowful, and have
little stomach for meat."
As Sir Walter carved a huge red piece from the ribs, she could not help
shrinking back from it, so that he said with some affront, "You need
not be queasy, madam, it was cut from a home-fed bullock, only killed
three days since, and as prime a beast as any in Stafford."
"Ah! yea, sir. It is not the fault of the beef, but of my feebleness.
Mistress Talbot will do it reason. But I, methinks I could eat better
were the windows opened."
But Sir Walter replied that these windows were not of the new-fangled
sort, made to open, that honest men might get rheums, and foolish maids
prate therefrom. So there was no hope in that direction. He really
seemed to be less ungracious than utterly clownish, dull, and untaught,
and extremely shy and embarrassed with his prisoner.
Cicely poured out some wine, and persuaded her to dip some bread in,
which, with an apple, was all she could taste. However, the fare,
though less nicely served than by good Mrs. Susan, was not so alien to
Cicely, and she was of an age and constitution to be made hungry by
anxiety and trouble, so that--encouraged by the Queen whenever she
would have desisted--she ended by demolishing a reasonable amount.
Sir Walter stood all the time, looking on moodily and stolidly, with
his cap in his hand. The Queen tried to talk to him, and make
inquiries of him, but he had probably steeled himself to her
blandishments, for nothing but gruff monosyllables could be extracted
from him, except when he finally asked what she would be pleased to
have for supper.
"Mine own cook and pantler have hitherto provided for me. They would
save your household the charge, sir," said Mary, "and I would be at
charges for them."
"Madam, I can bear the charge in the Queen's service. Your black guard
are under ward. And if not, no French jackanapes shall ever brew his
messes in my kitchen! Command honest English fare, madam, and if it
be within my compass, you shall have it. No one shall be stinted in
Walter Ashton's house; but I'll not away with any of your outlandish
kickshaws. Come, what say you to eggs and bacon, madam?"
"As you will, sir," replied Mary, listlessly. And Sir Walter, opening
the door, shouted to his serving-man, who speedily removed the meal, he
going last and making his clumsy reverence at the door, which he locked
behind him.
"So," said Mary, "I descend! I have had the statesman, the earl, the
courtly knight, the pedantic Huguenot, for my warders. Now am I come
to the clown. Soon will it be the dungeon and the headsman."
"O dear madam mother, speak not thus," cried Cicely. "Remember they
can find nothing against you."
"They can make what they cannot find, my poor child. If they thirst
for my blood, it will cost them little to forge a plea. Ah, lassie!
there have been times when nothing but my cousin Elizabeth's
conscience, or her pity, stood between me and doom. If she be brought
to think that I have compassed her death, why then there is naught for
it but to lay my head on the same pillow as Norfolk and More and holy
Fisher, and many another beside. Well, be it so! I shall die a martyr
for the Holy Church, and thus may I atone by God's mercy for my many
sins! Yea, I offer myself a sacrifice," she said, folding her hands
and looking upward with a light on her face. "O do Thou accept it, and
let my sufferings purge away my many misdeeds, and render it a pure and
acceptable offering unto Thee. Child, child," she added, turning to
Cicely, "would that thou wert of my faith, then couldst thou pray for
me."
"O mother, mother, I can do that. I do pray for thee."
And hand in hand with tears often rising, they knelt while Mary
repeated in broken voice the Miserere.
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
1566-1567 Earl of Bothwell.--His desperate character.--Castle of Dunbar.--The border country.--Scenes of violence and blood.--Birth of James.--Its political importance.--Darnley's conduct.--Darnley's hypocrisy.--Mary's dejection.--A divorce propo... Bothwell's Seizure Of The Queen's Person And Subsequent Marriage To Her
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
1548-1556 Departure.--Stormy voyage.--Journey to Paris.--Release of prisoners.--Barabbas.--St. Germain.--Celebrations.--The convent.--Character of the nuns.--Interest in Mary.--Leaving the convent.--Amusements.--Visit of Mary's mother.--Queen do... Her Royal Highness
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
It was a beautiful bright summer day, and Queen Mary and some of her train were preparing for their ride. The Queen was in high spirits, and that wonderful and changeful countenance of hers was beaming with anticipation and hope, while her demean... John Knox The Reformers And The Turbulent Nobles
Mary had been only a few days in Scotland when she was painfully reminded of the excited and dangerous state of feeling which then prevailed on the important subject of Religion. Her great and leading desire was to conciliate all parties, and to p... Loch Leven Castle
1567-1568 Grange of Kircaldy.--Mary's letter.--Removal of Mary.--A ride at night.--Loch Leven Castle.--The square tower.--Plan of Loch Leven Castle.--Lady Douglas.--Lady Douglas Mary's enemy.--Parties for and against Mary.--The Hamilton lords.--P... Mary And Lord Darnley
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 ...