CRAWFORD'S DEPOSITION
[With regard to the deposition of Crawford, seep. 144; the wording of the account of the conversation between Mary and Darnley should be carefully compared with that of the second Casket Letter.]
[With regard to the deposition of Crawford, seep. 144; the wording of the account of the conversation between Mary and Darnley should be carefully compared with that of the second Casket Letter.]
Hosack's Mary.Appendix L.
First I made my Lord {Lennox} my master's humble commendations unto her Majesty with the excuse that he came not to meet her, praying her grace not to think that it was either for proudness or yet for not knowing his duty towards her Highness, but only for want of health at the present, and also that he would not presume to come in her presence until he knew farther her mind because of the sharp words that she had spoken of him to Robert Cuningham,his servant, in Stirling, whereby he thought he was in her Majesty's displeasure. Notwithstanding, he has sent his servants and friends to wait upon her Majesty. She answered that there was no receipt against fear. I answered that my Lord had no fear for anything he knew in himself, but only of the cold and unkind words she had spoken to his servant. She answered and said that he would not be afraid in case he were not culpable. I answered that I knew so far of his Lordship that he desired nothing more than that the secrets of every creature's heart were written in their face. She asked if I had any farther commission. I answered no. Then she commanded me to hold my peace.
The words that I remember were betwixt the King and the Queen in Glasgow when she took him away to Edinburgh.
The King for that my Lord his father was then absent and sick, by reason whereof he could not speak with him himself, called me unto him, and these words that had then passed betwixt him and the Queen, he gave me in remembrance to report unto the said my Lord his father.
After their meeting and short speaking together she asked him of his letters, wherein he complained of the cruelty of some. He answered that he complained not without cause, and as he believed, she would grant herself, when she was well advised. She asked him of his sickness, he answered that she was the cause thereof, and moreover he said, ye asked me what I meant by the cruelty specified in my letters, that proceedeth of you only, that will not accept myoffers and repentance. I confess that I have failed in some things, and yet greater faults have been made to you sundry times, which ye have forgiven. I am but young, and ye will say ye have forgiven me divers times. May not a man of my age for lack of counsel, of which I am very destitute, fall twice or thrice, and yet repent and be chastised by experience. If I have made any fail that ye but think a fail, howsoever it be, I crave your pardon, and protest that I shall never fail again. I desire no other thing but that we may be together as husband and wife. And if ye will not consent hereto, I desire never to rise forth of this bed. Therefore I pray you give me an answer hereunto. God knoweth how I am punished for making my god of you, and for having no other thought but on you. And if any time I offend you, ye are the cause, for that when any offendeth me, if for my refuge I might open my mind to you, I would speak to no other, but when any thing is spoken to me, and ye and I not being as husband and wife ought to be, necessity compelleth me to keep it in my breast, and bringeth me in such melancholy as ye see me in. She answered that it seemed him she was sorry for his sickness, and she would find remedy therefor, so soon as she might.
She asked him why he would have passed away in the English ship. He answered that he had spoken with the Englishman, but not of mind to go away with him. And if he had, it had not been without cause, considering how he was used. For he had neither to sustain himself nor his servants, and needed not make further rehearsal thereof, seeing she knew it as well as he.
Then she asked him of the purpose of Highgate.He answered that it was told him. She required how and by whom it was told him. He answered that the Lord of Minto told him that a letter was presented to her in Craigmillar, made by her own device, and subscribed by certain others who desired her to subscribe the same, which she refused to do. And he said that he would never think that she who was his own proper flesh, would do him any hurt, and if any other would do it, they should buy it dear, unless they took him sleeping, albeit he suspected none, so he desired her effectuously to bear him company. For she ever found some ado to draw herself from him to her own lodging, and would never abide with him past two hours at once.
She was very pensive, whereat he found fault. He said to her that he was advertised she had brought a litter with her. She answered that because she understood he was not able to ride on horseback, she brought a litter that he might be carried more softly. He answered that it was not meet for a sick man to travel, that could not sit on horseback, and especially in so cold weather. She answered that she would take him to Craigmillar, where she might be with him, and not far from her son. He answered that upon condition he would go with her, which was that he and she might be together at bed and board as husband and wife, and that she should leave him no more. And if she would promise him that, upon her word, he would go with her when she was pleased, without respect of any danger either of sickness wherein he was, or otherwise. But if she would not condescend thereto, he would not go with her in any wise.
She answered that her coming was only to thateffect, and if she had not been minded thereto, she had not come so far to fetch him, and so she granted his desire, and promised him that it should be as he had spoken, and thereupon gave him her hand, and faith of her body, that she would love him, and use him as her husband, notwithstanding before they could come together, he must be purged and cleansed of his sickness, which she trusted would be shortly, for she minded to give him the bath at Craigmillar.
Then he said he would do whatsoever she would have him do, and would love all that she loved. She required of him in especial, whom he loved of the nobility, and whom he hated. He answered that he hated no man, and loved all alike. She asked him how he liked the Lady Reres, and if he were angry with her. He answered that he had little mind of such as she was, and wished of God she might serve her to her honour. Then she desired him to keep to himself the promise betwixt him and her, and to open it to nobody. For peradventure the Lords would not think well of their sudden agreement, considering he and they were at some words before. He answered that he knew no cause why they should mislike of it, and desired her that she would not move any of them against him even as he would stir none against her, and that they would work both in one mind, otherwise it might turn to great inconvenience to them both. She answered that she never sought any way by him, but he was in fault himself. He answered again that his faults were published, and that there were that made greaterfaults than ever he made that believed were unknown, and yet they would speak of great and small.
Farther, the King asked me at that present time what I thought of his voyage. I answered that I liked it not, because she took him to Craigmillar. For if she had desired him with herself, or to have had his company, she would have taken him to his own house in Edinburgh, where she might more easily visit him than to travel two miles out of town to a gentleman's house. Therefore my opinion was that she took him away more like a prisoner than her husband.
He answered that he thought little else himself, and feared himself indeed save the confidence he had in her promise only; notwithstanding he would go with her, and put himself in her hands, though she should cut his throat, and besought God to be judge unto them both.
Endorsed—Thomas Crawford's Deposit.
MURRAY'S JOURNAL
From a copy marked by Cecil, Cot. Lib. Calig., B. ix. fol. 247, quoted by Goodall, vol. ii. p. 247.
January 21, 1566.—The Queen took her journey toward Glasgow, and was accompanied with the Earls of Huntly and Bothwell to the Kalendar, my Lord Livingstone's place.
23.—The Queen came to Glasgow, and on the road met her, Thomas Crawford, from the Earl of Lennox, and Sir James Hamilton, with the rest mentioned in her letter. Earl Huntly and Bothwellreturned that same night to Edinburgh, and Bothwell lay in the town.
24.—The Queen remained at Glasgow, like as she did the 25th and the 26th, and had the conference with the King whereof she writes; and in this time wrote her bill and other letters to Bothwell. And Bothwell this 24th day was found very timeous weseing {inspecting} the King's lodging that was in preparing for him, and the same night took journey towards Liddesdale.
27.—The Queen (conform to her commission as she writes) brought the King from Glasgow to the Kalendar towards Edinburgh.
28.—The Queen brought the King to Linlithgow, and there remained all morn, while she got word of my Lord Bothwell his returning towards Edinburgh, by Hob Ormiston, one of the murderers. The same day the Earl Bothwell came back from Liddesdale towards Edinburgh.
29.—She remained all day in Linlithgow with the King, and wrote from thence to Bothwell.
30.—The Queen brought the King to Edinburgh, and put him in his lodging, where he ended; and Bothwell keeping tryst met her upon the way.
February 5.—She lodged all night under the King, in the chamber wherein the powder was laid thereafter, and whereof Paris, her chamber child, received the key.
7.—She lodged and lay all night again in the foresaid chamber, and from thence wrote that same night the letter concerning the purpose of the Abbot of Holyrood-house (cf.p. 140).
8.—She confronted the King and my Lord ofHolyrood-house, conform to her letter written the night before.
9.—She and Bothwell supped at the banquet with the Bishop of the Isles, and after passed up accompanied with Argyll, Huntly, and Bothwell, to the King's chamber, and there they remained cherishing him, till Bothwell and his complices put all things to order, and Paris, her chamber child, received in her chamber the powder, and came up again and gave the sign, and they departed to Bastian's banquet and masque, about eleven hours, and thereafter they both returned to the Abbey, and talked till twelve hours and after.
10.—Betwix two and three of the clock, the King was blown in the air by the powder.
DEPOSITIONS OFPARIS
The depositions of Paris were not produced at Westminster. They were taken, in the early autumn of 1569, in connection with the charges against Lethington (who had by this time, with Kirkcaldy of Grange, joined the Queen's party). "Paris" was the nickname of Nicholas Hubert, a French attendant of Bothwell, who, shortly before the murder, attached himself to the Queen's service. He was known to be concerned in the murder, but succeeded in escaping from the country. He took refuge in Denmark, and was delivered up on Murray's request. Queen Elizabeth wrote to the Regent asking him to delay the execution of Paris, and Murray replied: "The said Paris arrived at Leith about the middle of June last {1569}, I at that time being in the north parts of this realm far distant, whereupon it followed that, at my returning, after diligent and circumspect examination of him, and long time spent in that behalf, upon the xvi day of August by-past, he suffered death by order of law, so that before the receipt of your Highnessletter by the space of 7 or 8 days he was execute." {Laing, vol. i. p. 295, from the Paper Office.} The letter is undated. But Professor Schiern, of Copenhagen, sent Mr. Hosack a copy of a document from the Danish archives, containing a receipt for the delivery of "two men, William Murray, and Paris, a Frenchman," accused of Darnley's murder. The receipt is dated 30th October 1568, and is given by Captain Clark, on behalf of the Scottish Government. (Hosack, vol. i. pp. 250-251.) There is a copy of the depositions in the Cotton Library, bearing the following note: "This is the true copy of the declaration and deposition of the said Nicholas Hubert or Paris, whereof the principal {original} is marked every leaf with his own hand.... Ita est Alexander Hay, scriba secreti consilii S.D.N. Regis, ac Notarius Publicus." But the originals, sent to London in October 1569, and preserved in the Record Office, bear that they were taken "in presence of Mr. George Buchanan, Master of St. Leonard's College in St. Andrews; Mr. John Wood, Senator of the College of Justice; and Robert Ramsay, writer of this declaration, servant to my lord regent's grace." {Hosack, vol. i. p. 256.} The documents were first published in Anderson's "Collection" (1725), not in Buchanan's "Detection," along with the depositions of Hay, Hepburn, and Dalgleish.The first deposition of Paris is a Confession, in French, made at St. Andrews on 9th August 1569, "without any constraint or interrogations." It states that, on the Wednesday or Thursday before the murder, Bothwell told Paris of the plot, and requested his aid. "What do you think?" said he.... "My Lord," said I, "I have served you these five or six years in all your great troubles ... now, my Lord, by the grace of God, you are free of all these difficulties ... if you undertake this great matter you will be in worse case than before." Bothwell then assured him that Lethington was the moving spirit, and that Argyll, Huntly, Morton, Ruthven, and Lindsay were in league with him. Paris then asked, "My Lord, I pray you tell me of one whom you have not named; I well know that he is loved in this country of the common people." ... "Who is that?" said he. "It is, my Lord," said I, "my Lord the Earl ofMurray; I pray tell me what part he will take." To which he replied, "He will not meddle with it." "My Lord," said I, "he is wise." Then the Lord Bothwell turned his head to me ... and said, "My Lord of Murray, my Lord of Murray, he will neither help nor hinder; but it is all one." ... On the Saturday before the murder, Margaret Carwood, one of the Queen's attendants, told "Paris to go to Kirk-of-Field for the coverlet of the mattress in the Queen's room," which he did.... When he heard of Murray's leaving Edinburgh on Sunday morning to see his mother, he remarked that he did it to be out of the way when the wicked deed should take place, and so to dissociate himself from it. On Sunday evening Mary supped with Argyll, and seeing Paris, "as she washed her hands after supper, she asked me if I had removed the coverlet of the bed in her room in the King's lodging." These are the main points of interest in the first document signed by Paris. {Laing, vol. ii. p. 296.}The second deposition consists of answers to interrogations, and is dated at St. Andrews on August 10th, 1569. It makes a number of allegations against the Queen, with which the reader is already familiar. As it is a long document, we can quote only the most important sentences. "Interrogated when first he entered into credit with the Queen, he replied that it was when the Queen was at Callander on her way to Glasgow, when she gave him a purse with three or four hundred crowns to take to the Earl of Bothwell, who, after having received the said purse on the road between Callander and Glasgow, told him to go with the Queen and remain with her, and to attend well to what she did, saying that the Queen would give him letters to carry to him. When the Queen reached Glasgow, she said to him, 'I will send you to Edinburgh,' ... and after he had remained two days with the said lady, she wrote the letters and gave them him, saying, 'You will tell the Earl of Bothwell, by word of mouth, to take to the Laird of Lethington the letters addressed to him.' Bothwell and Lethington were to consult as to whether Darnley should go to Craigmillar or to Kirk-of-Field, and Paris was to report their decision to Mary. Further, he was to 'say to Bothwell, that the King wished to kiss her,but that she would not, for fear of his malady.' Paris carried out his commission, and returned with the message that Kirk-of-Field was considered most suitable. On the way from Glasgow to Edinburgh the Queen received a letter from Bothwell and sent one to him, and also gave Paris a bracelet to take to him. At Kirk-of-Field, where the Queen's room was immediately underneath that of the King, Bothwell told him that he must not place the Queen's bed in the corner of the room under the corner containing the King's bed, because he wished to place the powder there. This order was reiterated by the Queen, when she observed that it was being disregarded.... Paris said to the Queen, 'Madam, the Earl of Bothwell has commanded me to take the keys of your chamber, because he wishes to do something, that is, to place there the powder for the explosion to blow the King in the air.' That night she wrote letters to Bothwell...." The only other circumstance of importance affecting the Queen is a statement that Paris carried correspondence relating to Mary's seizure by Bothwell.
The depositions of Paris were not produced at Westminster. They were taken, in the early autumn of 1569, in connection with the charges against Lethington (who had by this time, with Kirkcaldy of Grange, joined the Queen's party). "Paris" was the nickname of Nicholas Hubert, a French attendant of Bothwell, who, shortly before the murder, attached himself to the Queen's service. He was known to be concerned in the murder, but succeeded in escaping from the country. He took refuge in Denmark, and was delivered up on Murray's request. Queen Elizabeth wrote to the Regent asking him to delay the execution of Paris, and Murray replied: "The said Paris arrived at Leith about the middle of June last {1569}, I at that time being in the north parts of this realm far distant, whereupon it followed that, at my returning, after diligent and circumspect examination of him, and long time spent in that behalf, upon the xvi day of August by-past, he suffered death by order of law, so that before the receipt of your Highnessletter by the space of 7 or 8 days he was execute." {Laing, vol. i. p. 295, from the Paper Office.} The letter is undated. But Professor Schiern, of Copenhagen, sent Mr. Hosack a copy of a document from the Danish archives, containing a receipt for the delivery of "two men, William Murray, and Paris, a Frenchman," accused of Darnley's murder. The receipt is dated 30th October 1568, and is given by Captain Clark, on behalf of the Scottish Government. (Hosack, vol. i. pp. 250-251.) There is a copy of the depositions in the Cotton Library, bearing the following note: "This is the true copy of the declaration and deposition of the said Nicholas Hubert or Paris, whereof the principal {original} is marked every leaf with his own hand.... Ita est Alexander Hay, scriba secreti consilii S.D.N. Regis, ac Notarius Publicus." But the originals, sent to London in October 1569, and preserved in the Record Office, bear that they were taken "in presence of Mr. George Buchanan, Master of St. Leonard's College in St. Andrews; Mr. John Wood, Senator of the College of Justice; and Robert Ramsay, writer of this declaration, servant to my lord regent's grace." {Hosack, vol. i. p. 256.} The documents were first published in Anderson's "Collection" (1725), not in Buchanan's "Detection," along with the depositions of Hay, Hepburn, and Dalgleish.
The first deposition of Paris is a Confession, in French, made at St. Andrews on 9th August 1569, "without any constraint or interrogations." It states that, on the Wednesday or Thursday before the murder, Bothwell told Paris of the plot, and requested his aid. "What do you think?" said he.... "My Lord," said I, "I have served you these five or six years in all your great troubles ... now, my Lord, by the grace of God, you are free of all these difficulties ... if you undertake this great matter you will be in worse case than before." Bothwell then assured him that Lethington was the moving spirit, and that Argyll, Huntly, Morton, Ruthven, and Lindsay were in league with him. Paris then asked, "My Lord, I pray you tell me of one whom you have not named; I well know that he is loved in this country of the common people." ... "Who is that?" said he. "It is, my Lord," said I, "my Lord the Earl ofMurray; I pray tell me what part he will take." To which he replied, "He will not meddle with it." "My Lord," said I, "he is wise." Then the Lord Bothwell turned his head to me ... and said, "My Lord of Murray, my Lord of Murray, he will neither help nor hinder; but it is all one." ... On the Saturday before the murder, Margaret Carwood, one of the Queen's attendants, told "Paris to go to Kirk-of-Field for the coverlet of the mattress in the Queen's room," which he did.... When he heard of Murray's leaving Edinburgh on Sunday morning to see his mother, he remarked that he did it to be out of the way when the wicked deed should take place, and so to dissociate himself from it. On Sunday evening Mary supped with Argyll, and seeing Paris, "as she washed her hands after supper, she asked me if I had removed the coverlet of the bed in her room in the King's lodging." These are the main points of interest in the first document signed by Paris. {Laing, vol. ii. p. 296.}
The second deposition consists of answers to interrogations, and is dated at St. Andrews on August 10th, 1569. It makes a number of allegations against the Queen, with which the reader is already familiar. As it is a long document, we can quote only the most important sentences. "Interrogated when first he entered into credit with the Queen, he replied that it was when the Queen was at Callander on her way to Glasgow, when she gave him a purse with three or four hundred crowns to take to the Earl of Bothwell, who, after having received the said purse on the road between Callander and Glasgow, told him to go with the Queen and remain with her, and to attend well to what she did, saying that the Queen would give him letters to carry to him. When the Queen reached Glasgow, she said to him, 'I will send you to Edinburgh,' ... and after he had remained two days with the said lady, she wrote the letters and gave them him, saying, 'You will tell the Earl of Bothwell, by word of mouth, to take to the Laird of Lethington the letters addressed to him.' Bothwell and Lethington were to consult as to whether Darnley should go to Craigmillar or to Kirk-of-Field, and Paris was to report their decision to Mary. Further, he was to 'say to Bothwell, that the King wished to kiss her,but that she would not, for fear of his malady.' Paris carried out his commission, and returned with the message that Kirk-of-Field was considered most suitable. On the way from Glasgow to Edinburgh the Queen received a letter from Bothwell and sent one to him, and also gave Paris a bracelet to take to him. At Kirk-of-Field, where the Queen's room was immediately underneath that of the King, Bothwell told him that he must not place the Queen's bed in the corner of the room under the corner containing the King's bed, because he wished to place the powder there. This order was reiterated by the Queen, when she observed that it was being disregarded.... Paris said to the Queen, 'Madam, the Earl of Bothwell has commanded me to take the keys of your chamber, because he wishes to do something, that is, to place there the powder for the explosion to blow the King in the air.' That night she wrote letters to Bothwell...." The only other circumstance of importance affecting the Queen is a statement that Paris carried correspondence relating to Mary's seizure by Bothwell.
ORMISTON'S CONFESSION
"The Laird of Black Ormiston" was put to death on 13th December 1573, under the government of the Regent Morton, for his share in the murder of Darnley. His confession was made to "John Brand, minister at Holyrood-house," on the day of his execution.
"The Laird of Black Ormiston" was put to death on 13th December 1573, under the government of the Regent Morton, for his share in the murder of Darnley. His confession was made to "John Brand, minister at Holyrood-house," on the day of his execution.
Laing's Scotland, vol. ii. p. 319, from State Trials, vol. i. p. 944.
As I shall answer unto God, with whom I hope this night to sup, I shall declare unto you the whole, from the beginning unto the end, of my part. First, I confess that the Earl Bothwell showed that same wicked deed unto me in his own chamber in the Abbey on Friday before the deed was done, andrequired me to take part with him therein.... The said earl said unto me, "Tush, Ormiston, ye need not take fear for this, for the whole lords have concluded this same long since in Craigmillar, all that were there with the Queen, and none dare find fault with it when it shall be done." ... Who {Bothwell} let me see a contract subscribed by four or five handwrites, which he affirmed to me was the subscription of the Earl of Huntly, Argyll, the Secretary Maitland, and Sir James Balfour, and alleged that many more promised, who would assist him if he were put at: and thereafter read the said contract, which, as I remember, contained these words in effect: "That for as much it was thought expedient and most profitable for the common wealth, by the whole nobility and lords undersubscribed, that such a young fool and proud tyrant should not reign nor bear rule over them; and that for divers causes therefore, that they all had concluded that he should be put off by one way or other, and whosoever should take the deed in hand they should defend and fortify it as themselves, for it should be every one of their own reckoned and held done by themselves." Which writing, as the said earl shewed unto me, was devised by Sir James Balfour, subscribed by them all a quarter of a year before the deed was done.
MORTON'S CONFESSION
[The Earl of Morton having made during his tenure of the government many enemies, was driven from power and accused of complicity in the murder of Darnley. The indictment("Arnot's Criminal Trials," p. 388, quoted by Laing, vol. ii, p. 350) mentions as his accomplices "James, some time Earl Bothwell; James Ormiston, some time of that ilk; RobertaliasHob Ormiston, his father's brother; John Hay, some time of Talla, younger; John Hepburn, called John of Bolton; and divers others," and says that the murderers "two hours after midnight ... came to the lodging ... and there ... most vilely, unmercifully, and treasonably slew and murdered him ... burnt his whole lodging foresaid, and raised the same in the air by force of gunpowder, which a little before was placed ... by him and his foresaids under the ground, and angular stones, and within the vaults, in low and secret parts thereof." The Earl was found guilty, on the 1st of June, of "art, part, foreknowledge, and concealing of the treasonable and unnatural murder foresaid," and was executed next day. A few hours before his death he made a confession to three of the ministers of Edinburgh, part of which is here quoted.]
[The Earl of Morton having made during his tenure of the government many enemies, was driven from power and accused of complicity in the murder of Darnley. The indictment("Arnot's Criminal Trials," p. 388, quoted by Laing, vol. ii, p. 350) mentions as his accomplices "James, some time Earl Bothwell; James Ormiston, some time of that ilk; RobertaliasHob Ormiston, his father's brother; John Hay, some time of Talla, younger; John Hepburn, called John of Bolton; and divers others," and says that the murderers "two hours after midnight ... came to the lodging ... and there ... most vilely, unmercifully, and treasonably slew and murdered him ... burnt his whole lodging foresaid, and raised the same in the air by force of gunpowder, which a little before was placed ... by him and his foresaids under the ground, and angular stones, and within the vaults, in low and secret parts thereof." The Earl was found guilty, on the 1st of June, of "art, part, foreknowledge, and concealing of the treasonable and unnatural murder foresaid," and was executed next day. A few hours before his death he made a confession to three of the ministers of Edinburgh, part of which is here quoted.]
Laing, vol. ii. p. 354.
Being required what was his part or knowledge in the King's murther, he answered with this attestation. As I shall answer to my Lord God, I shall declare truly all my knowledge in that matter, the sum whereof is this: After my returning out of England, where I was banished for Davie's slaughter, I came out of Wedderburn to Whittinghame {Castle}, where the Earl Bothwell and I met together in the yard of Whittinghame, where, after long communing, the Earl Bothwell proposed to me the King's murther, requiring what would be my part therein, seeing it was the Queen's mind that the King should be taken away, because, as he said, she blamed the King more of Davie's slaughter than me. My answer to the Earl Bothwell was this, that I would not in any waymeddle with that matter.... The Earl Bothwell ... thereafter earnestly proposed the same matter again to me, persuading me thereto, because so was the Queen's mind, and she would have it to be done. Unto this my answer was, I desired the Earl Bothwell to bring me the Queen's handwrit of this matter for a warrant; other ways I would not meddle thereof, which warrant he never purchased {brought}.... Then it was said to him, "Apparently, my lord, ye cannot complain justly of the sentence that is given against you, seeing with your own mouth ye confess the foreknowledge and concealing of the King's murther." ... He answered, "That I know to be true indeed, but yet they should have considered the danger that the revealing of it would have brought to me at that time; for I durst not reveal it for fear of my life. For at that time to whom should I have revealed it? To the Queen? She was the doer thereof. I was minded to have told it to the King's self, but I durst not for my life, for I knew him to be a bairn of such nature, that there was nothing told him but he would reveal it to her again." ... Then he said, "After the Earl Bothwell was cleansed by an assize, sundry of the nobility and I subscrived also a bond with the Earl Bothwell, that if any should lay the King's murder to his charge, we should assist him in the contrary. And thereafter I subscrived to the Queen's marriage with the Earl Bothwell, as sundry others of the nobility did, being charged thereto by the Queen's writ and command." Then being inquired in name of the living God, that seeing this murther was one of the most filthy acts that ever was done inScotland, and the secrets thereof have not yet been declared, who were the chief doers, or whether he was worried, or blown in the air, and therefore pressed to declare if he knew any further secret thereunto; he answered, "As I shall answer to God, I know no more secret in that matter than I have already told."
ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS'S LETTER
Robertson's History of Scotland, App. XIV., from Harl. Lib. xxxvii. bk. ix. fol. 126.
... It may please your Majesty to remember in the year of God 1566, the said Earl of Morton, with divers other nobility and gentry, were declared rebels to your Majesty.... True it is that I was one of that number, that heavily offended against your Majesty, and passed into France the time of our banishment, at the desire of the rest, to humbly pray your brother the most Christian King, to intercede that our offences might be pardoned.—Your Majesty's mind so inclined to mercy, that, within short space thereafter, I was permitted to repair into Scotland, to deal with Earls Murray, Atholl, Bothwell, Argyll, and Secretary Lethington, in the name and behalf of the said Earl Morton, Lords Ruthven, Lindsay, and remanent accomplices.... At my coming to them ... they declared that the marriage betwix you and your husband had been the occasion already of great evil in that realm ... they had thought it convenient to join themselves in league and band with someother noblemen resolved to obey your Majesty as their natural sovereign, and have nothing to do with your husband's command whatsoever; if the said earl would for himself enter into that band, they could be content to humbly request and travel by all means with your Majesty for his pardon.... They desired that I should return sufficiently instructed in this matter to Stirling, before the baptism of your son, whom God might preserve. This message was faithfully delivered by me at Newcastle in England, where the said earl then remained, in presence of his friends and company, where they all condescended to have no further dealing with your husband, and to enter into the said band. With this deliberation, I returned to Stirling, where ... your Majesty's gracious pardon was granted unto them all.... Immediately after, the said Earl of Morton repaired to Whittinghame, where the Earl Bothwell and Secretary Lethington came to him; what speech passed there amongst them, as God shall be my judge, I knew nothing at that time; but at their departure I was requested by the said Earl Morton to accompany the Earl Bothwell and Secretary to Edinburgh, and to return with such answer as they should obtain of your Majesty, which being given to me by the said persons, as God shall be my judge, was no other than these words, "Show to the Earl Morton that the Queen will hear no speech of that matter appointed unto him." When I craved that the answer might be made more sensible, Secretary Lethington said, that the earl would sufficiently understand it, albeit few or none at that time understandwhat passed amongst them. It is known to all men, as well by the railing letters passed betwixt the said earl and Lethington, when they became in divers factions, as also a book set forth by the ministers, wherein they affirm that the earl has confessed to them, before his death, that the Earl Bothwell came to Whittinghame to propose the calling away of the King your husband, to the which proposition the said Earl of Morton affirms that he could give no answer unto such time he might know your Majesty's mind, which he never received....
1.Connecting Note.2.Contemporary Verses on the Babington Conspiracy.3.Queen Mary's Letter to Queen Elizabeth on hearing the announcement of her sentence.4.Clauses from Queen Mary's Will.5.Appeal for Spiritual Faculties.6."O Domine Deus, speravi in te."7.Contemporary Official Report of the Execution.
CONNECTING NOTE
Queen Mary's life, after the conclusion of the conference at Westminster, was occupied with plots and negotiations for her escape from captivity. The proposal for her marriage with the Duke of Norfolk was opposed both in Scotland and in England; and an insurrection was raised by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, which was speedily suppressed (November, 1569). In January of the following year the Earl of Moray was assassinated at Linlithgow, and the Earl of Lennox, Darnley's father, succeeded him as Regent. Maitland of Lethington finally seceded from the "King's party," and allied himself with Kirkaldy of Grange, who held Edinburgh Castle for Mary. The Norfolk conspiracy continued to raise the expectations of the Marians till the capture, in the spring of 1571, of Charles Baillie, who was carrying letters from the papal agent, Rudolfi, for Queen Mary, Norfolk, the Spanish ambassador, and the Bishop of Ross. On the strength of Baillie's disclosures, Norfolk was put to death in June 1572. Elizabeth declined to gratify theEnglish Parliament by executing her prisoner, but attempted to arrange for her delivery to the Earl of Morton, now Regent of Scotland, with a view to his accepting the responsibility for Mary's death. Morton broke off the negotiations as Elizabeth refused to give her open sanction to the deed. Edinburgh Castle surrendered in June 1573, and its fall, and the loss of Lethington and Grange, gave the death-blow to the hopes of the Queen of Scots. She maintained, however, a constant correspondence with Elizabeth and with Spain and Rome, clutching eagerly at any hope of release, however vague. In 1586 she became involved, to what extent is disputed, in what is known as the Babington Conspiracy, which had for its object the assassination of Elizabeth and her ministers, and the restoration of Catholicism throughout Great Britain. Walsingham received information as to the plot, and obtained possession of letters alleged to be written by Mary to Babington. The conspirators were put to death, and Mary was tried by a Commission of Peers in the end of 1586. The following verses, addressed to the conspirators, indicate the common feeling in England at the time. They are quoted from a poem by William Kempe, published in 1587, and entitled "A Dutiful Invective against the moste haynous Treasons of Ballard and Babington ... together with the horrible attempts and actions of the Queen of Scottes.... For a New Yeares gift to all loyall English subjects." The author of the verses is not Kemp the player, but a writer of some treatises on Education.Cf."Dict. Nat. Biog."
Queen Mary's life, after the conclusion of the conference at Westminster, was occupied with plots and negotiations for her escape from captivity. The proposal for her marriage with the Duke of Norfolk was opposed both in Scotland and in England; and an insurrection was raised by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, which was speedily suppressed (November, 1569). In January of the following year the Earl of Moray was assassinated at Linlithgow, and the Earl of Lennox, Darnley's father, succeeded him as Regent. Maitland of Lethington finally seceded from the "King's party," and allied himself with Kirkaldy of Grange, who held Edinburgh Castle for Mary. The Norfolk conspiracy continued to raise the expectations of the Marians till the capture, in the spring of 1571, of Charles Baillie, who was carrying letters from the papal agent, Rudolfi, for Queen Mary, Norfolk, the Spanish ambassador, and the Bishop of Ross. On the strength of Baillie's disclosures, Norfolk was put to death in June 1572. Elizabeth declined to gratify theEnglish Parliament by executing her prisoner, but attempted to arrange for her delivery to the Earl of Morton, now Regent of Scotland, with a view to his accepting the responsibility for Mary's death. Morton broke off the negotiations as Elizabeth refused to give her open sanction to the deed. Edinburgh Castle surrendered in June 1573, and its fall, and the loss of Lethington and Grange, gave the death-blow to the hopes of the Queen of Scots. She maintained, however, a constant correspondence with Elizabeth and with Spain and Rome, clutching eagerly at any hope of release, however vague. In 1586 she became involved, to what extent is disputed, in what is known as the Babington Conspiracy, which had for its object the assassination of Elizabeth and her ministers, and the restoration of Catholicism throughout Great Britain. Walsingham received information as to the plot, and obtained possession of letters alleged to be written by Mary to Babington. The conspirators were put to death, and Mary was tried by a Commission of Peers in the end of 1586. The following verses, addressed to the conspirators, indicate the common feeling in England at the time. They are quoted from a poem by William Kempe, published in 1587, and entitled "A Dutiful Invective against the moste haynous Treasons of Ballard and Babington ... together with the horrible attempts and actions of the Queen of Scottes.... For a New Yeares gift to all loyall English subjects." The author of the verses is not Kemp the player, but a writer of some treatises on Education.Cf."Dict. Nat. Biog."
A DUTIFULINVECTIVE
The Scottish Queen, with mischief fraught, for to perform the willOf him whose pupil she hath been hath usëd all her skill;By words most fair, and loving terms, and gifts of value great:For to persuade your hollow hearts, your duties to forget,And for to be assistant still, her treacheries to further,Wherein she reckons it no sinne though you commit great murther.Such is her heinous hateful mind, who long hath lived in hope,By such her subtle lawless means (and help of cursëd Pope)Both to deprive our sovereign Queen of her imperial crown,And true religion to repel, God's Gospel to put down.
The Scottish Queen, with mischief fraught, for to perform the willOf him whose pupil she hath been hath usëd all her skill;By words most fair, and loving terms, and gifts of value great:For to persuade your hollow hearts, your duties to forget,And for to be assistant still, her treacheries to further,Wherein she reckons it no sinne though you commit great murther.Such is her heinous hateful mind, who long hath lived in hope,By such her subtle lawless means (and help of cursëd Pope)Both to deprive our sovereign Queen of her imperial crown,And true religion to repel, God's Gospel to put down.
Wherein you fully did conclude that it could never be,Except you first conspired her death, by secret treachery.And thereupon consulted oft, and sundry ways did seekFor to perform this devilish act, which you so well did like.Next unto this your promise was to lend your help and aid,With all the force and power you could, to foes that should invade.And thereby for to set at large that Queen whom I did name,Who always in her treacherous mind, doth nought but mischief frame.
Wherein you fully did conclude that it could never be,Except you first conspired her death, by secret treachery.And thereupon consulted oft, and sundry ways did seekFor to perform this devilish act, which you so well did like.Next unto this your promise was to lend your help and aid,With all the force and power you could, to foes that should invade.And thereby for to set at large that Queen whom I did name,Who always in her treacherous mind, doth nought but mischief frame.
THE CAUSE OF ALL OUR TROUBLES
For plainly hath it fallen out, by sundry proofs most true,She was the only maintainer of all this treacherous crew:For trial whereof we may see, how that our gracious Queen,Both having care the very truth most plainly might be seen,And she with honour might be tried, in that she was a Prince,Did cause the chiefest peers her faults by justice to convince:Who did assemble at her place, by name called Fotheringay,There to examine out the truth, and hear what she could say;And to that end did then direct to them a large commissionFor to examine every one in whom they found suspicion.Who meeting at that place, it plainly did appear,How that she was the chiefest cause of all our troubles here.And that she by persuasions did seek for to withdrawThe subjects' hearts from this our Queen, who erst had lived in awe;And that the treasons named before were all by her consent,And that she author was thereof, and did the same invent,Whereto her answer was so light, and to so small effect,As that the weakness of the same her treasons did detect.And thereupon these peers of State, having a due regardTo what she could object thereto, and likewise nothing sparedBy circumstance to search out truth, did forthwith then pronounceThat she was guilty of these crimes, and could not them renounce.Which sentence so by them declared, was by our Queen's consent,Plainly revealed to all estates in court of Parliament;And was by them considered of, who then did all agreeTo join in suit unto her Grace, the same to ratify.
For plainly hath it fallen out, by sundry proofs most true,She was the only maintainer of all this treacherous crew:For trial whereof we may see, how that our gracious Queen,Both having care the very truth most plainly might be seen,And she with honour might be tried, in that she was a Prince,Did cause the chiefest peers her faults by justice to convince:Who did assemble at her place, by name called Fotheringay,There to examine out the truth, and hear what she could say;And to that end did then direct to them a large commissionFor to examine every one in whom they found suspicion.Who meeting at that place, it plainly did appear,How that she was the chiefest cause of all our troubles here.And that she by persuasions did seek for to withdrawThe subjects' hearts from this our Queen, who erst had lived in awe;And that the treasons named before were all by her consent,And that she author was thereof, and did the same invent,Whereto her answer was so light, and to so small effect,As that the weakness of the same her treasons did detect.And thereupon these peers of State, having a due regardTo what she could object thereto, and likewise nothing sparedBy circumstance to search out truth, did forthwith then pronounceThat she was guilty of these crimes, and could not them renounce.Which sentence so by them declared, was by our Queen's consent,Plainly revealed to all estates in court of Parliament;And was by them considered of, who then did all agreeTo join in suit unto her Grace, the same to ratify.
MARY'S LETTER TO ELIZABETH
Strickland's Letters of Mary Queen of Scots, vol. ii. p. 200.Fotheringay, December 19, 1586.
Madame,—Having with difficulty obtained leave from those to whom you have committed me to open to you all I have on my heart, as much for exonerating myself from any illwill, or desire of committing cruelty, or any act of enmity against those with whom I am connected in blood; as also, kindly, to communicate to you what I thought would serve you, asmuch for your weal and preservation as for the maintenance of the peace and repose of this isle, which can only be injured if you reject my advice. You will credit or disbelieve my discourse, as it seems best to you.
I am resolved to strengthen myself in Christ Jesus alone, who, to those invoking Him with a true heart, never fails in His justice and consolation, especially to those who are bereft of all human aid; such are under His holy protection: to Him be the glory! He has equalled my expectation, having given me heart and strength,in spe contra spem, to endure the unjust calumnies, accusations, and condemnations (of those who have no such jurisdiction over me) with a constant resolution to suffer death for upholding the obedience and authority of the Apostolical Roman Catholic Church.
Now, since I have been on your part informed of the sentence of your last meeting of Parliament, Lord Buckhurst and Beale having admonished me to prepare for the end of my long and weary pilgrimage, I beg to return you thanks on my part for these happy tidings, and to entreat you to vouchsafe to me certain points for the discharge of my conscience. But since Sir A. Paulet has informed me (though falsely) that you had indulged me by having restored to me my almoner, and the money that they had taken from me, and that the remainder would follow; for all this I would willingly return you thanks, and supplicate still further as a last request, which I have thought for many reasons I ought to ask of you alone, that you will accord this ultimate grace, forwhich I should not like to be indebted to any other, since I have no hope of finding aught but cruelty from the Puritans, who are at this time, God knows wherefore! the first in authority, and the most bitter against me.
I will accuse no one: nay, I pardon with a sincere heart every one, even as I desire every one may grant forgiveness to me, God the first. But I know that you, more than any one, ought to feel at heart the honour or dishonour of your own blood, and that, moreover, of a queen and the daughter of a king.
A LAST REQUEST
Then, Madame, for the sake of that Jesus to whose name all powers bow, I require you to ordain that when my enemies have slaked their black thirst for my innocent blood, you will permit my poor desolated servants altogether to carry away my corpse, to bury it in holy ground with the other queens of France, my predecessors, especially near the late queen, my mother; having this in recollection, that in Scotland the bodies of the kings, my predecessors, have been outraged, and the churches profaned and abolished; and that as I shall suffer in this country, I shall not be given place near the kings, your predecessors, who are mine as well as yours: for according to our religion, we think much of being interred in holy earth. As they tell me that you will in nothing force my conscience nor my religion, and have even conceded me a priest, refuse me not this my last request, that you will permit free sepulchre to this body when the soul is separated, which, when united, could never obtain liberty to live in repose, such as you would procure for yourself; against which repose—beforeGod I speak—I never aimed a blow: but God will let you see the truth of all after my death.
And because I dread the tyranny of those to whose power you have abandoned me, I entreat you not to permit that execution be done on me without your own knowledge, not for fear of the torment, which I am most ready to suffer, but on account of the reports which will be raised concerning my death unsuspected, and without other witnesses than those who would inflict it, who, I am persuaded, would be of very different qualities from these parties whom I require (being my servants) to stay spectators, and with witnesses of my end in the faith of our sacrament, of my Saviour, and in obedience to His Church. And after all is over, that they together may carry away my poor corpse (as secretly as you please), and speedily withdraw, without taking with them any of my goods except those which in dying I may leave to them, which are little enough for their long and good services.
ELIZABETH'S JEWEL
One jewel that I received of you I shall return to you with my last words, or sooner if you please.
Once more I supplicate you to permit me to send a jewel and a last adieu to my son, with my dying benediction, for of my blessing he has been deprived since you sent me his refusal to enter into the treaty whence I was excluded by his wicked council; this last point I refer to your favourable consideration and conscience as the others, but I ask them in the name of Jesus Christ, and in respect of your consanguinity, and for the sake of King Henry VII., your grandfather and mine, and by the honour of the dignity we bothhold, and of our sex in common, do I implore you to grant these requests.
MARY'S TREATMENT
As to the rest, I think you know that in your name they have taken down my dais, but afterwards they owned to me that it was not by your commandment, but by the intimation of some of your privy council. I thank God that this wickedness came not from you, and that it serves rather to vent their malice than to afflict me, having made up my mind to die. It is on account of this, and some other things, that they debarred me from writing to you, and after they had done all in their power to degrade me from my rank, they told me "that I was but a mere dead woman, incapable of dignity." God be praised for all!
I could wish that all my papers were brought to you without reserve, that at last it may be manifest to you that the sole care of your safety was not confined to those who are so prompt to persecute me. If you will accord this my last request, I would wish that you would write for them, otherwise they do with them as they choose. And, moreover, I wish that to this, my last request, you will let me know your last reply.
To conclude, I pray God, the just Judge, of His mercy that He will enlighten you with His Holy Spirit, and that He will give you His grace to die in the perfect charity I am disposed to do, and to pardon all those who have caused, or who have co-operated in, my death. Such will be my last prayer to my end, which I esteem myself happy will precede the persecution which I foresee menaces this isle, where God is no longer seriously feared and revered, butvanity and worldly policy rule and govern all. Yet will I accuse no one, nor give way to presumption. Yet while abandoning this world, and preparing myself for a better, I must remind you that one day you will have to answer for your charge, and for all those whom you doom, and that I desire that my blood and my country may be remembered in that time. For why? From the first days of our capacity to comprehend our duties, we ought to bend our minds to make the things of this world yield to those of eternity!
From Fotheringay, this 19th December, 1586.Your sister and cousin,
Prisoner wrongfully,
Marie Royne.
THE QUEEN'S WILL
Strickland's Letters of Mary Queen of Scots, vol. ii. p. 237.
[The Will contains clauses relative to the payments of her debts, and of legacies to her servants. The selections given are of more general interest.]
[The Will contains clauses relative to the payments of her debts, and of legacies to her servants. The selections given are of more general interest.]
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, I, Mary, by the grace of God, Queen of Scotland and Dowager of France, being on the point of death, and not having any means of making my will, have myself committed these articles to writing, and I will and desire, that they have the same force, as if they were made in due form.
In the first place, I declare that I die in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Romish faith. First, I desirethat a complete service be performed for my soul in the Church of St. Denis in France, and another in St. Peter's, at Rheims, where all my servants are to attend, in such manner as may be ordered to do by those to whom I have given directions, and who are named therein.
Further, that an annual obit be founded for prayers for my soul, in perpetuity, in such place, and after such manner, as shall be deemed most convenient....
I appoint my cousin, the Duke of Guise, principal executor of my will. After him, the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Bishop of Ross, and Monsieur de Ruissieu, my chancellor....
I recommend Marie Paiges, my god-daughter, to my cousin, Madame de Guise, and beg her to take her into her service, and my aunt de Saint Pierre to get Moubray some good situation, or retain her in her service, for the honour of God.
Done this day, 7th February 1587.
Mary, Queen.