0101m
her the heroine of several poems, and personified her in three different characters in his celebrated work, entitled the "Faerie Queen."
A.D. 1586.Another plot to assassinate the queen was laid at Mary Stuart's door, and the councillors repeated their demands for her execution. But Elizabeth shrank from appearing directly to bring an anointed sovereign to the block, though she did not hesitate to subject her to every species of quiet cruelty. Mary was kept in damp, unhealthy apartments, deprived of exercise, and on several occasions compelled to rise from a sick-bed to travel, in the depth of winter, from one prison to another. Her health became seriously impaired, but that had no effect on Elizabeth; and an insulting letter addressed to her by the royal prisoner did not tend to soften her heart.
At last Mary was induced by spies, who pretended to-be her friends, to write to the French and Spanish ambassadors requesting aid from their governments. These letters were intercepted and shown to the queen. Many of Mary's partisans were arrested; and Walsingham, one of the ministers, published a full account of the preparations France and Spain were making to invade England—where, upon landing, their troops would be joined by all the papists of the realm.
This excited the indignation of the populace to the utmost degree, and both foreign and native Catholics were in danger in consequence; even the ambassadors were insulted in their houses. Every heart now warmed towards the queen; and when the conspirators were discovered and locked up in the Tower, the event was celebrated by the lighting of bonfires and ringing of bells.
At last it was decided that Mary Stuart should have a trial, if so perfect a farce merits that name. Elizabeth had said publicly that she considered the Scottish queen un-worthy of counsel, and that was in itself enough to condemn her without a trial.
When the commissioners arrived at Fotheringay, and ordered Mary to appear before them, she refused to acknowledge their authority; but they were armed with a letter from Elizabeth, which she was compelled to obey.
Mary's deportment in this trying emergency was spirited and adroit. She told the commissioners "that she had endeavored to gain her liberty, and would continue to do so as long as she lived; but that she had never plotted against the life of the queen."
0104m
After pleading for herself for two days, Mary demanded to be heard before the parliament of England, or the queen herself and her council. The court was then adjourned, the whole proceeding reported to Elizabeth, and twelve days later sentence of death was pronounced on the Scottishqueen. At the next meeting of parliament it was urged that the sentence should be carried into effect.
At this period Elizabeth behaved with her characteristic selfishness. She was anxious for Mary's death, and felt no pity for the object of her fury; but she feared to appear before the world as the author of the revenge upon which she was bent, and sought to make parliament share the odium of her deed.
The Kings of France and Scotland interceded for Mary and increased Elizabeth's irresolution; but Leicester and Walsingham, well knowing what their fate would be should Elizabeth chance to die, and thus make way for Mary to the throne of England, kept urging their sovereign to sign the death-warrant. At last she yielded; but no sooner had she done so than she fell into a state of melancholy, and secretly urged one of the castellans of Fotheringay to murder his hapless charge. She was willing to resort to any means of getting Mary out of the way, providing she could preserve her own reputation by putting the blame on others. But she was not to be gratified, and on the 8th of February the execution took place in due form. Not one of the council had the courage to inform the queen that the bloody deed was accomplished. In the evening she asked "what meant the bonfires and the merry ringing of the bells?" The answer stunned her for a moment; then she burst into a passionate fit of weeping, sharply rebuked her council and bade them quit her sight at once, saying that she had never commanded nor intended the execution of Mary Stuart.
This may have been hypocrisy; but more likely it was remorse for a needless, outrageous, barbarous act.
Elizabeth wrote to James VI. of Scotland, professing her innocence of the "miserable accident," as she was pleased to term the murder of his mother, and assuringhim of her affection for himself. To the French ambassador she said that the death of her kinswoman was the greatest misfortune of her life, and that although she had signed the death-warrant to gratify her subjects, she had never meant to carry it into effect. She added that her council had played her a trick which would have cost them their heads, did she not believe that they had acted for the welfare of herself and the state. After Mary Stuart's death there seemed to be an end to conspiracies for a while, and no very important event occupied the queen's mind until she began to make preparations to defend herself against the invasion of the grand Spanish army, called the Invincible Armada. She showed herself on this occasion worthy to be the queen and heroine of a nation that were eager to prove their devotion and loyalty.
A.D. 1588.The despised, disgraced Earl of Leicester, who had by this time regained his place in the royal favor, was appointed commander-in-chief of the army at Tilbury. Lord Hunsdon commanded the queen's body-guard for the defence of London, and Sir Francis Drake was appointed vice-admiral.
Elizabeth took up her abode at Havering Bower, a place selected for her by Leicester, situated between the rear and van of her army. There she appeared as warrior and queen. Mounted on a noble charger, with a general's truncheon in her hand, a polished steel corselet over her magnificent apparel, and a page in attendance bearing her white plumed helmet, she rode bareheaded from rank to rank, addressing her soldiers with words of encouragement and hope. She was greeted with loud shouts of applause by her admiring subjects, who felt it an honor to fight for such a noble, courageous sovereign.
The Spaniards had flattered themselves that with an army equipped as their's was it would require only onefight by sea and one on land to achieve the conquest of England; but they soon found their mistake, and not a single Spaniard set foot on English soil except as a prisoner.
The Spanish Armada was soon scattered, and victory was declared for England.
Immense crowds gathered to welcome the queen on her return to Westminster. She was then fifty-five years of age, at the height of her glory, and beloved by her subjects, whom she had ruled for thirty years, and who had united, one and all, Catholic and Protestant, to support her in vindicating the honor of England.
Her first act was to reward her brave commanders and provide for the wounded seamen. Upon Leicester she would have bestowed the highest office ever held by an English subject,—that of lord-lieutenant of England and Ireland; but, much to the satisfaction of the other statesmen, he died before the patent could be made out. A series of thanksgivings were observed in London to commemorate the victory, and the queen was presented with a number of rich and valuable gifts.
Queen Elizabeth was never an idle woman. Long before day, in winter, she transacted business with her Secretaries of state, heard public documents, and gave her orders concerning them. After breakfast she would promenade in her garden or the corridors of the palace, as the weather prompted, attended by some learned gentlemen of the court, with whom she discussed intellectual topics, and a portion of each day was devoted to study.
She observed strictly all the fast-days prescribed by the church. She was a moderate eater, and seldom drank anything but beer; when she dined in public the table was magnificently spread, with a profusion of costly plate, for she was fond of displaying her riches, particularly beforeforeign ambassadors. Her cup-bearer always served her on his knees, and music and singing accompanied the banquet.
At supper, when the cares of the day were over, the queen would chat freely and pleasantly with her court, and the evenings were passed with chess-playing, music, or recitations and stories by the famous comedian, Tarleton, and others. She was fond of apes and dogs, but, beyond all, of children, with whom she loved to talk and amuse herself.
As a rule, Elizabeth treated her attendants well; but when her temper got the upper hand, which was not seldom, she descended to the level of a common virago, and more than once struck some maid of honor for a trifling offence. But these outbursts of rage were reserved for the people of the palace; her other subjects witnessed only sweetness and good humor.
Her impulses were good, as she proved in the case of Margaret Lambrun, a Scottish woman, whose husband was supposed to have died of grief because of the tragic fate of the Queen of Scots, in whose service he was. Margaret took the desperate resolution to avenge his death; so, disguised in male attire, she proceeded, with a concealed brace of pistols, to the English court, with the intention of killing the queen with one and herself with the other. One day, when her majesty was walking in the garden of the palace, Margaret made her way through the crowd so as to get near enough to make sure of her aim, but in her excitement she dropped one of the pistols. She was instantly seized, and would have been hurried away to prison but Elizabeth said "she would examine the young man herself."
A.D. 1589.When brought before her Margaret bravely acknowledged who she was, her intended action, and its cause. The queen heard her patiently; then not
0109m
only granted her a full pardon, but provided her with an escort to France, as she had requested.
Many persecutions on the score of religion succeeded the victory over the Spanish Armada, and one of the greatest grievances of Elizabeth's reign was known as the privy seal loans. Whenever an individual was known to have amassed a sum of money her majesty's ministers would borrow for the royal treasury. To be sure, they paid a liberal interest; but there was no security for the principal, besides the sovereign's promise to pay, which, it is easy to see, would have been valueless in the event of death.
After the death of Leicester, Essex, who had been created Knight of the Garter, succeeded to the queen's favor; but while she was showing him the utmost consideration he excited her wrath by marrying the widow of Sir Philip Sidney, the illustrious soldier and statesman, who had been killed at the battle of Zutphen. He was at once replaced by Sir Robert Cecil, and when Henry III. sent to England for aid to defend himself against the Spanish invaders, he injured his cause by saying that Essex approved of his demand; for Elizabeth replied, "That the Earl of Essex would have it thought that he ruled the realm, but that nothing was more untrue; that she would make him the most pitiful fellow in the realm, and instead of sending the King of France more troops, she would recall all those she had already lent him." Having said this she haughtily swept out of the room, and would have nothing further to say to the ambassador.
A.D. 1592.Later, when Essex showed prompt obedience at the queen's command for his return to England, she was so pleased that she entertained him with feasts, and sent him back to France honored with the highest distinction. Every request he made was granted almost beforeit was considered. Nevertheless, Elizabeth's capricious nature asserted itself when Ireland was in a state of revolt, and there was difficulty in finding some one to fill the post of lord-deputy over the distracted country. On that occasion Essex peremptorily insisted that Sir George Carew was the proper man for the office, whereupon, forgetting how by numerous indulgences she had encouraged him to speak freely, Elizabeth felt so offended at his positive tone that she lost her self-control, and giving him a sound box on the ear, bade him "go and be hanged."
Essex was so indignant that he swore a horrible oath, and impertinently adding something about "a king in petticoats."
Later the royal mind was changed again, and he was sent as lord-deputy to Ireland.
While there, he was so unmindful of the queen's orders that he was accused of treason, and on his return shut up in the Tower. He had many enemies, and Cecil so prejudiced the queen and her court against him that he was condemned to die.
A.D. 1601.Elizabeth hesitated as long as possible before signing his death-warrant. She had given Essex a ring when he was in favor, with the promise that if ever he offended her the sight of that token would insure forgiveness. The imprisoned statesman did send the ring by a boy who chanced to pass his prison window one morning; but by an unlucky accident it fell into the hands of the lord-admiral, a deadly foe of Essex, who said nothing about it. The queen concluding that her former favorite was too proud to sue for forgiveness, because the ring she had been expecting did not reach her, ordered the execution to proceed.
The English nation could not forgive the death of the generous and gallant nobleman, and the queen was no
0113m
longer received with cheers when she appeared in public. She did not fail to notice the change in her subject's feelings towards her, and this made her excessively unhappy. A deep depression took possession of her, and though she tried to appear gay her heart was very heavy. Several attempts were made on her life from time to time as she advanced in years, but fortunately each was frustrated.
Literature made rapid strides during Queen Elizabeth's reign, particularly all that was written in Italian, which language her majesty understood well. Many dramatists rose to distinction at this period, the greatest being William Shakspeare. Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney added lustre to this reign also.
Elizabeth's last parliament was summoned in the autumn of 1601. She performed the ceremony with more than her customary display; but she was in such feeble health as to be unable to support the weight of the royal robes, and she was actually sinking to the ground when a nobleman, who stood near, caught her and supported her in his arms. She rallied and went through the fatiguing ceremony with her usual dignity and grace.
The science of medicine was in such a rude condition in the sixteenth century that the wealthy were treated with doses of pulverized jewels or gold. The poor had the best of it; for they were obliged to depend on herbs and ointments which certainly must have been more efficacious.
Queen Elizabeth had so little confidence in doctors or their prescriptions that she could not be induced to consult them even when she was very ill.
A.D. 1603.Her last sickness began in March, 1603, and when she was urged to seek medical aid, she angrily replied: "That she knew her own constitution better than anybody else, and that she was not in such danger as they imagined." She grew worse, however, and died two weekslater, in the seventieth year of her age, and the forty-fourth of her reign.
She was buried in Westminster Abbey in the same grave with her sister. Mary Tudor. Her successor, James I., erected a monument to her memory. On a slab of pure white marble the effigy of this remarkable queen lies beneath a stately canopy. Her head rests on embroidered cushions, her feet on a couchant lion. Royal robes hang around her form in classic folds, and her closely curled hair is covered with a simple cap. She has no crown, the sceptre has been broken from one hand, also the cross from the imperial orb which she holds in the other.
That learned English philosopher, Lord Bacon, has written of Queen Elizabeth: "She was pious, moderate, constant, and an enemy to novelty. She hated vice, and studied to preserve an honorable name. No age has ever produced her like for the government of a kingdom."
0117m
Anne of Denmark was certainly less intellectual than some of her predecessors, and on many occasions showed herself wanting in judgment and common sense; but her political position was of immense importance, because she was the wife of the first monarch who ruled over the whole of the British isles. The Orkney and Shetland islands had fallen into the hands of the Danish King during the preceding century, and were yielded to James VI. of Scotland on condition of his marrying the Princess Anne.
These islands were of value because of their geographical position; for they had become the rendezvous of pirates, who found them convenient headquarters whence their raids could be made along the British coast.
Princess Anne's parents were Frederic II. of Denmark, one of the richest princes of Europe, and Sophia, a woman loved and admired for her domestic virtues. These royal parents had such luxurious ideas about the rearing of their children that although Anne was a strong, healthy child, well-formed in every respect, she was never permitted to walk until she was nine years of age.
A.D 1585.Negotiations for her marriage began when she was ten; and then it was thought proper to teach her to sew, read, and dance, before she could be regarded as an accomplished maid.James VI. was born at Edinburgh Castle, but the poor little unfortunate was early deprived of parental care; for while he was yet a baby his father, Lord Darnley, was killed, and his luckless mother, Mary Stuart, was forced to seek refuge in England.
At the early age of fourteen months James was proclaimed King of Scotland. On that occasion the Earl of Marr, his guardian, carried the infant in procession and placed him on the throne; another peer held the crown above his head, while a third placed the globe and sceptre in his little hands, and Lord Marr repeated the necessary oath in the name of the little one, who was then carried back to his nursery.
Of course little James was only king in name, for many years would have to pass before he would be fit to undertake the reins of government. Meanwhile, his uncle, the Earl of Murray, was appointed to act as regent. Unfortunately for the young king, he had a nurse who was by no means capable of taking charge of him, for she drank to excess and never controlled him or his diet properly. The consequence was that he developed slowly, and was such a weakling that he was full five years old before he could walk, and throughout his life his limbs were never as strong as they ought to have been. This defect may have been partly due, however, to the absurd manner of dressing infants three centuries ago in Scotland; for as soon as they were born they were swathed in bandages, with their arms bound down to their side and their legs close together and straight out, precisely after the manner of an Egyptian mummy. Is it any wonder that they were long in discovering the use of their limbs? In some parts of Germany babies are subjected to this cruel swaddling to the present day, but the arms are left free, and fortunately the custom is gradually going out of favor.
0121m
Though backward in the use of his legs, little James talked wonderfully well, and soon learned to ask questions that were difficult to answer, and to make remarks that often seemed most profound for one of his age
A.D. 1571.He was just four years when he was called upon to perform regal duty by convening parliament. The Earl of Marr carried him to the grand Gothic hall of Stirling Castle, and placed him on the throne. He seemed impressed at the numerous assemblage of lords and gentlemen, but looked around as though to familiarize himself with the scene, and when the proper time came recited the speech that had been drilled into him beforehand. But he added a little impromptu speech of his own, for his eyes rested on a hole in the canopy above the throne, and he exclaimed aloud in his childish voice: "There isanehole in this parliament." In the present day such a remark from the lips of a little boy might excite a smile, but certainly no great importance would be attached to it, but in the year 1571 the Scotch were very superstitious, and so they gazed at the infant monarch with amazement. "What could he possibly mean?" asked the wise lords of one another; for they never for one moment doubted that the spirit of prophesy had prompted the remark, and that the king foresaw an awful decrease in their numbers to be made by death.
In the course of the year the Earl of Lenox, James's grandfather, was killed, and that justified the royal child's remark in the eyes of the superstitious. The old earl was on his way to visit James, when he was stabbed in the back by conspirators. The brave Earl of Marr, attracted by the dying man's groans, rushed out from Stirling Castle with his servants and carried him to a place of safety. "Is the babe attacked?" asked the old man, and on being assured that he alone was the sufferer, he replied, with a sigh ofrelief, "Then all is well," and died soon after with perfect resignation.
The Earl of Marr was tutor to the king until he died, when he was succeeded by George Buchanan, a bad, morose, capricious man, who had such rigid ideas with regard to discipline that old Lady Marr, the earl's mother, often wept on account of his cruel treatment towards his pupil.
James had been removed to Stirling Castle during his infancy, and there he passed his youth. His favorite companion was Thomas Erskine, his foster-brother, who happened to be born on the same day as the young king, whose cradle and sports he shared. Another playmate was the young Earl of Marr, for whom James formed an attachment so warm and true that it lasted to the end of his life.
A.D. 1577.The civil and religious wars that were raging in Scotland had their effect on the young king, and, to some extent, appear to have injured his character; for he was, in consequence, under the control of some people whose influence was bad, and prompted him to authoritative manners that were out of place in one so young, and made him appear in a false light.
As he grew older he would at times pretend to be an imbecile, merely from a spirit of perversity; but he was neither a fool nor a coward, as he proved later.
He was only sixteen years of age when the Earl of Gowrie captured him, but he managed to make his escape and seek the protection of his great-uncle, the Earl of March. A revolution succeeded, and Gowrie was beheaded soon after.
A.D. 1580.Three years later, Frederic II. of Denmark sent ambassadors to Scotland to offer to the young king the hand of his second daughter in marriage. QueenElizabeth opposed this alliance so violently that the marriage-treaty was delayed several years. She ought to have been pleased at the prospect of a Protestant wife for the future King of England, but it was her peculiarity to break off every match that she could influence.
Meanwhile, Henry of Navarre offered his sister Catherine for a wife to James; but as she was many years older than the young king, and as Anne of Denmark was just sixteen, and a miniature that had been sent to Scotland represented her as being very beautiful, the decision was quickly made in her favor.
Before the necessary arrangements could be completed her father, King Frederic, died.
A.D. 1589.The Earl-marischal of Scotland, accompanied by other dignitaries, proceeded, as proxies for James, with a noble fleet, to claim the young princess and carry her to Scotland. They were received with great joy by Queen Sophia, who, with Princess Anne, met them at the fortress of Corenburg. There the bride embarked on board a ship commanded by the Danish admiral, Peter Munch, who, with a fleet of eleven other fine ships, set sail for Scotland. It was in the month of September, and the sea was so rough that although the squadron sighted land in due season contrary winds blew them to the coast of Norway. Instead of attributing this occurrence to natural causes, Peter Munch was in a dreadful state of perplexity, and began to consider what witches he had offended to such an extent as to induce them to raise the winds and waves so that he could not bring the young queen to Scotland. Suddenly it occurred to him that he had boxed the ears of an officer at Copenhagen, whose wife was a well-known witch. He felt satisfied then that in order to avenge the insult to her husband the witch-wife had tampered with the winds, and so the unfortunate creature was burnt alive when he got back home.Having once determined that they were bewitched, nothing went well with the fleet, and a series of disasters reduced ten of the ships to such a deplorable condition that they returned to Denmark. The one in which the queen had sailed took refuge in a harbor on the coast of Norway, where, as the cold weather had already set in, there was every prospect that the bride would have to stay all the winter. She wrote an account of her sufferings to the King of Scotland, which a young Dane undertook to deliver in spite of witches and weather.
While expecting his wife King James had made grand preparations for her reception, and he was so disappointed at her delay that he resolved to go himself to fetch her. Now this was a brave undertaking, for the best ship that could be furnished was a miserable bark, scarcely fit to brave the wintry storms of the German ocean; however, a prosperous breeze favored the courageous king until he approached the Norwegian coast. He had enjoyed four days of fine weather, but on the fifth a furious tempest sprang up, and for twenty-four hours the royal bark was in danger of wreck. At last she ran into a little harbor, where King James landed.
After several days' travelling through snow and ice, he reached the village where Anne had established herself, and without waiting for the ceremonies of his rank and station, he left his attendants and marched straight to the presence of his bride. On the following Sunday they were married, and the king immediately, and very thoughtfully, sent a messenger over the mountains to Denmark to inform Queen Sophia of his arrival and marriage with the princess.
Her majesty then invited the newly-wedded pair to make her a visit. They consented, and set out upon a journey beset with so many hardships that they were obliged tohalt several times before they reached the Castle of Croenburg, where all the royal family of Denmark had assembled to meet them.
All was gayety and splendor at the rich court, where the marriage of James and Anne was celebrated over again according to the Lutheran rites. Nothing interfered with their pleasure, excepting the quarrelsome spirit of the Scottish nobles who had accompanied the king. They all drank too freely, his majesty included, and there were frequent brawls and strifes among them.
It was not until after the wedding of Queen Anne's sister Elizabeth to the Duke of Brunswick, which took place early in the spring, that the Scottish bride and groom thought of proceeding to their future home.
The royal family of Denmark entertained such a warm affection for one another that when the moment of parting arrived it was a sore trial for the young queen to bid farewell to her loving mother, as well as to the young king, her brother, who was so fond of her that in later years he paid several long visits at her court.
The royal fleet sailed from Croenburg in April, and when the bridal pair landed a large crowd of faithful subjects assembled to welcome them to Scotland.
Shortly after, preparations for the queen's coronation were begun. On the Tuesday preceding that ceremony her majesty made her state-entry into the city of Edinburgh, riding in a richly gilt car, lined with crimson velvet; on either side of her sat her favorite Danish maids of honor. The king rode on horseback just in front of the queen's carriage, and a train of robles escorted the royal couple to Holyrood. The coronation ceremony was performed on the following Sunday at the Abbey church of Holyrood.
On the following Tuesday, accompanied by the king andall the lords and ladies who had assisted at her coronation, the queen passed through the streets of Edinburgh in an open coach.
At the end of a month passed in all sorts of festivities and rejoicings, the Danish visitors returned home, and Queen Anne went to live at Dunfermline Palace, which had been renovated and refurnished to suit her taste.
As the young queen's knowledge of household arrangements was necessarily limited, and as she was inexperienced concerning the customs of her new country, the king advised her always to consult his faithful friend and loyal subject, Sir James Melville, who held a high position in the royal household.
With the perversity that she showed on many occasions throughout her reign Queen Anne immediately took a decided aversion to Melville, and never in any emergency sought his advice.
There had been no queen at the Scottish court for a quarter of a century, consequently the men surrounding it had become so course and brutal in their manners that it was necessary to make many changes, and even to dismiss some of the most faithful officials before ladies could feel safe or comfortable.
A.D. 1590.Among the reformations that were taking place in Scotland, the destruction of all the works of art in the churches were deemed necessary; but no steps were taken to abolish the horrible superstition that led to the burning of hecatombs of witches. More than half the time of the judges was occupied with their absurd confessions. One of the most remarkable of these witches was Annis Simpson, called by her neighbors "the wise wife of Keith." She declared that she had a familiar spirit, who appeared in a visible form at her call, and informed her whether people who were ill or exposed to danger should
0129m
live or die. The king asked her what words she used to summon the spirit. She replied: "That she merely called ''Holla, master!' and he came without fail." Then she proceeded to describe one of the witch meetings which, she said, was held at night in a church, where the devil in a long black gown, with a hat on his head, preached from the pulpit to an audience of witches. She added, furthermore, that one man got his ears boxed by the preacher because he thanked God that no harm had come to the king, though many had been injured. Thereupon the devil solemnly pronounced this sentence: "Il est un homme de Dieu." This was the more firmly credited because the woman did not understand what the words meant; therefore, it was argued, she could not have invented them. James was immensely flattered at being called a man of God by the evil spirit.
"The wise wife of Keith" was first strangled, and then burned in company with others whom she had accused.
A.D. 1592.One summer when Queen Anne was visiting at her palace of Falkland, Bothwell, a relation of the earl who was Mary Stuart's husband, made a furious attack on it. He was repulsed, but entered the stables and carried off all the horses. The queen was so annoyed at this rude adventure that she removed at once to Dalkeith. Margaret Twineslace, one of the Danish maids of honor, was engaged to be married to John Wemys, one of the king's gentlemen, who was known to be in constant communication with Bothwell. He was, therefore, suspected of knowing, at least, that the attack on Falkland was to take place, though there was no proof of his having participated. Still he was shut up in the guard-room of Dalkeith Castle, and every one thought his life was in danger.
One night, when it was Margaret's turn to sleep in the queen's bed-chamber, she waited until the royal pair werein the land of Nod, then softly stole out and went to her lover's prison, where she told the guard that the king had sent her to command them to lead John Wemys forthwith to the queen's apartment, where his majesty wished to question him. Never, for a moment, suspecting that they were deceived, two sentinels led the prisoner to the queen's chamber door. Margaret then charged them to remain outside quietly, and taking her lover by the hand, led him boldly into the room and closed the door. Without speaking a word she softly opened the window, and, presenting John with a rope, helped him to let himself down and escape.
The guard waited patiently until morning dawned, then raised the alarm, which led to the discovery of the little trick. The queen laughed heartily when she heard how Wemys had escaped, and begged the king to pardon him.
James himself was amused at the adventure, and issued a proclamation offering pardon to the escaped prisoner if he would return to his duties. This he did within a few days, and soon after married the Danish maid-of-honor who had risked so much for his sake.
A.D. 1594.In 1594 Queen Anne had a little son born at Stirling Castle. He was baptized according to the Episcopal ritual of Scotland, and named Henry-Frederic. The ceremony was conducted with great pomp, and after it was over the queen received all the foreign ambassadors. They brought costly presents, and Queen Elizabeth sent a set of silver and several cups of massive gold, so heavy that Sir James Melville declared he could hardly lift them.
The young queen loved her little son so tenderly that when she found it was her husband's intention to leave him at Stirling Castle to be cared for by the Earl of Marr and the old countess, his mother, she was sorely grievedand begged that she might keep the child with her. But the king refused, saying, "that he knew the infant was in safe keeping with Marr, and though he doubted nothing of her good intentions, yet if some faction got strong enough she could not hinder his boy from being used against him, as he himself had been against his unfortunate mother."
No doubt Anne ought to have been satisfied to make a virtue of necessity; but she could not understand any argument but that of her own heart, which prompted her to rebel against the Marrs because they had possession of her darling,A.D. 1595.She fretted and wept until the king was beside himself to know what was best to do. When little Henry was fifteen months old his mother requested that the question of his guardianship might be settled by council; but James was too shrewd to submit to that proceeding, so he urged the queen to satisfy the craving of her heart by going at once to Stirling Castle. But that was not what her majesty desired; therefore, she declared that she was not well, and refused to stir. James insisted, and obliged his wife to obey by superintending the arrangements for the journey and turning a deaf ear to all her objections. Finding that there was no help for it, Queen Anne set out on horseback with her train of attendants; but with her usual perversity she feigned illness, and stopped at a palace by the way. She was anxious to see her baby, no doubt, but could not bear that her husband should find her too yielding; so, on every occasion when he deemed it necessary to oppose her, she made him suffer for it. Yet James VI. was a devoted husband throughout his life, and never took a firm stand against his wife unless urgent reasons required it.
As soon as the Earl of Marr was informed of the queen's whereabouts he hastened to pay his respects to her; butshe absolutely refused to see him, and her people treated him so uncivilly that he was glad to return to Stirling Castle. It was foolish in Queen Anne to insult her husband's most faithful friend and the man who had charge of her infant, but that was not the extent of her folly.
During the king's absence on his summer travels she actually went so far as to plan an expedition, which she meant to head, for the purpose of carrying off the infant prince by force. Fortunately, James heard of it in time to reach the place where his wife was stopping and bring her back to her senses. He at once accompanied her to Stirling Castle, where she was permitted to fondle little Henry as much as she pleased.
It was not unnatural that Queen Anne should want to keep her child with her; but she showed decided want of character in insisting upon it after the king had explained to her that the safety of his own person, the child, and the kingdom required this sacrifice at her hands. Had she taken pains to inform herself she would have seen that all the misfortunes of the preceding kings of the line of Stuart had arisen on account of their having been minors at the time of their accession. The throne had in each case been claimed for the son, which necessitated the destruction of the father and the appointment of a regent. Thus the strongest party had ruled according to their own ideas of justice.
It was to prevent the recurrence of such a miserable state of affairs that King James fortified his son in a well-guarded castle, under the supervision of such tried friends and loyal subjects as the Earl of Marr and his mother.
A.D. 1596.Anne's outbursts of temper because of this arrangement were for a time appeased, when her second child was born. It was a girl, and received the name of Elizabeth for the Queen of England. The infant princesswas given in charge of Lord and Lady Livingstone, though the ministers of the Episcopal Church objected on the score of the latter's adherence to Catholicism. This child afterwards became Queen of Bohemia.
There were two people among Queen Anne's court who occupied a very prominent position, and were specially favored with her protection. These were Alexander and Beatrice Ruthven, members of a family in Scotland who claimed royal descent. The Ruthven family had attained the earldom of Gowry, and its members had aided in three separate assaults on the personal liberty of the sovereign; they were, therefore, the cause of a great deal of fighting and bloodshed.
A.D. 1597.Young Alexander became the object of King James's jealousy on one occasion. It occurred in this wise: "One day, when the queen was walking in the gardens of Falkland Palace with Beatrice Ruthven, they suddenly came upon the maid-of-honor's brother, Alexander, a youth of nineteen, who lay fast asleep beneath the shade of a large tree. For a bit of fun her majesty tied a silver ribbon around his neck, which had been given to her by the king, without arousing the sleeper. Presently King James himself came along. The silver ribbon caught his attention, he stooped to examine it, frowned, and looked angrily on the youth, who was, by the way, a gentleman-of-the-bed-chamber, then hurried on without waking young Ruthven. Beatrice, who had been anxiously watching this little scene from behind a neighboring bush, rushed forward, snatched the ribbon from her brother's neck, and hastened with it through a private entrance to the queen's room. Hurriedly opening a drawer, she deposited the ribbon therein, and had just time to inform her majesty 'that her reason for so doing would be presently explained,' when the king entered, and in a threatening tone demandedthe silver ribbon. Luckily Anne was able to produce it, and thus dispel the angry frown that had gathered on the brow of her lord, no doubt congratulating herself upon the possession of so sagacious a maid-of-honor."
For the time being King James's jealousy was appeased; but the Gowry conspiracy aroused it again three years later, and Alexander Ruthven was again the object of it.
A.D. 1600.The queen was awakened much earlier than usual one bright, warm morning in August by the king's preparations for a hunting expedition. She asked "why he started so early;" to which he replied, "that he wished to be astir betimes, as he expected to kill a prime buck before noon."
It was true that he was going hunting, but he had another object in view. He had been informed by Alexander Ruthven that a Jesuit with a large bag of gold had just been seized and shut up at Gowry House, in Perth, awaiting examination. It was no unusual occurrence at that era for any one besides a common robber to take possession of whatever gold might be found on the person of a traveller, and then spare no effort to prove said traveller Jesuitical. So King James set forth in high glee with the prospect of counting over a bag of gold, besides enjoying a morning hunt. Several hours were passed in the latter diversion; and at noon, accompanied by only one or two attendants, the king left the woods and entered Gowry House. He was received by the Earl of Gowry, young Ruthven's elder brother, who had just returned from the court of Queen Elizabeth. After dinner, at a sign from Alexander Ruthven, the king withdrew, expecting to be introduced to the Jesuit with the gold. Unsuspectingly he followed the young man up various winding stairs and through gloomy, intricate passages to a circular room,used by the Go wry family as a prison. He was surprised, on entering, to behold a gigantic man in a complete suit of black armor, and still more so when Alexander closed the door and locked it, cutting off all retreat.