* * * * *"I dictated nothing to them (the secretaries) but what nature herself inspired me, for the recovery at least of my liberty. I can only be convicted by my words or by my own writings. If, without my consent, but have written something to the prejudice of the Queen, your mistress, let them suffer the punishment of their rashness.But of this I am very sure, if they were now in my presence, they would clear me on the spot of all blame, and would put me out of case. Show me, at least, the minutes of my correspondence written by myself; they will bear witness to what I now assert."On the morning of the second day, Mary made a strong and dignified protest against the manner in which the trial had been conducted, and after specifying the treatment she expected to receive when she consented to appear before the Commissioners, proceeded:--"Instead of this, I find myself overwhelmed under the importunity of a crowd of advocates and lawyers, who appear to be more versed in the formalities of petty courts of justice, in little towns, than in the investigation of questions such as the present. And although I was promised that I should be simply questioned and examined on one point,--that, namely, concerning the attempt on the person of the Queen,--they have presumed to accuse me, each striving who should surpass the other in stating and exaggerating facts, and attempting to force me to reply to questions which I do not understand, and which have nothing to do with the Commission. Is it not an unworthy act to submit to such conduct of such people, the title of a princess, one little accustomed to such procedures and formalities? And is it not against all right, justice and reason to deliver her over to them, weak and ill as she is, and deprived of counsel, without papers or notes or secretary? It is very easy for many together, and, as it appears to me, conspiring for the same object, to vanquish by force of words a solitary and defenceless woman. There is not one, I think, among you, let him be the cleverest man you will, who would be capable of resisting or defending himself, were he in my place. I am alone, taken by surprise, and forced to reply to so many people who are unfriendly to me, and who have long been preparing for this occasion; and who appear to be more influenced by vehement prejudice and anger, than by a desire of discovering the truth and fulfilling the duties laid down for them by the Commission."Referring to the complaint that, in Rome, public prayers had been offered for her, under the title of Queen of England, she remarked:--"If the Pope gives me the title of Queen, it is not for me to correct him. He knows what he does much better than I do. I thank him, all Christian people and all Catholic nations for the prayers they daily offer for me, and I pray them to continue to do so, and to remember me in their Masses."As regards her attitude towards her Protestant subjects she said:--"You know very well that in my own kingdom I never interfered with any of the Protestants, but, on the contrary, tried to win them always by gentleness and clemency, which I carried too far, and for which I have been blamed. It has been the cause of my ruin, for my subjects became proud and haughty, and abused my clemency; indeed, they now complain that they were never so well off as under my government."The trial ended on the 15th October. Mary rose from her seat before the Commissioners and passed out of the hall, addressing a few words of good-humoured reproach to the lawyers for their "quibbling," as she moved past the table around which they were seated. The Commissioners, in compliance with instructions received from Elizabeth, withdrew to Westminster before passing sentence. Assembled in the Star-Chamber ten days later, they declared Mary "to be accessory to Babington's conspiracy, and to have imagined diverse matters, tending to the hurt, death, and destruction of Elizabeth, contrary to the express words of the statute, made for the security of the Queen's life" (Camden). Parliament sat a few days after, and both houses, having sanctioned the sentence of the Commissioners, presented an address to Elizabeth, requesting her to publish and execute without delay the sentence against her dangerous rival.Mary in the meantime was ignorant of what was being done since the rising of the Commission at Fotheringay. However, she maintained an extraordinary cheerfulness and surprised the observant Sir Amias by her "quietness and serenity." The feast of All Saints arrived, but without the joyous anthems and splendid ceremonial that marked it in Catholic lands. The Queen passed the day reading the lives of the Saints and Martyrs and praying in her oratory. In the afternoon she received a visit from Paulet. In the course of their conversation, this censorious pedant, anxious to execute the will of Elizabeth, who had instructed him to carefully observe whether his prisoner should reveal a disposition to sue for pardon, undertook to instruct her in the necessity of having a clear conscience and of confessing her crimes before God and the world. Mary promptly answered, saying:--"No one can say that he is free from sin. I am a woman and human, and have offended God, and I repent of my sins, and pray God to forgive me, doing penance for the same; but at present I do not know to whom I could or should confess--God forbid that I should ask you to be my confessor."CHAPTER XIV.THE SENTENCE OF DEATH.On November the 30th, 1586, Lord Buckhurst, as envoy of Queen Elizabeth, waited upon the lonely captive, and announced to her that sentence of death had been passed upon her. "The person of the Queen," added Buckhurst, "the state and religion are no longer safe; it is impossible for you both to live, and therefore one must die. For this end then, in order that you should not be taken by surprise, Mr. Beale and I have been sent to warn you to prepare for death, and we will send you the Bishop of Peterborough or the Dean of ---- for your consolation."The news was, in some respects a relief to Mary; it relaxed her consuming mental tension. Now she knew the worst, and her conduct needed no longer to be disturbed by alternating hopes and fears. She had striven hard, during the weary years of her captivity, to resign herself with Christian cheerfulness to the inevitable. But the love of liberty, and perhaps too a subtle desire of revenge, had at times ruffled the serenity of her spirit, and had dulled the pure flame of her religious zeal. Human aid now seemed no longer available, human prospects of glory and power no longer captivated her imagination, and the time and energy which she had hitherto expended on profitless plans and visionary deeds, she could now devote, with rich and enduring profit, to the preparation for a better life. When she heard Lord Buckhurst's message, her face, as Camden relates, "became illumined with an extraordinary joy at the thought that she was about to die for the cause of religion," and with perfect composure, she made answer:--"I expected nothing else. This is the manner in which you generally proceed with regard to persons of my quality, and who are nearly related to the crown, so that none may live who aspire to it. For long I have known that you would bring me to this in the end. I have loved the queen and the country, and have done all that I could for the preservation of both. The offers which I have made are the proof of this, as Beale can bear me witness. I do not fear death, and shall suffer it with a good heart. I have never been the author of any conspiracy to injure the queen. I have several times been offered my freedom, and have been blamed for refusing my consent. My partizans have abandoned me and troubled themselves no more with my affairs. To prevent this I have attempted to obtain my deliverance by gentle means, to my great disadvantage, till at last, being repulsed on the one side and pressed on the other, I placed myself in the hands of my friends, and have taken part with Christian and Catholic princes, not, as I have before declared, and as the English themselves can bear witness by the papers which they have in their possession, through ambition nor the desire of a greater position, but I have done it for the honour of God and His Church, and for my deliverance from the state of captivity and misery in which I am placed. I am a Catholic,--of a different religion from yourselves; and for this reason you will take care not to let me live. I am grieved that my death cannot be of as much benefit to the kingdom as I fear it will do it harm; and this I say not from any ill-feeling or from any desire to live. For my part, I am weary of being in this world, nor do I, or any one else, profit by my being here. But I look forward to a better life, and I thank God for giving me this grace of dying in his quarrel. No greater good can come to me in this world; it is what I have most begged of God and most wished for, as being the thing most honourable for myself and most profitable for the salvation of my soul. I have never had the intention of changing my religion for any earthly kingdom, or grandeur, or good whatever, nor of denying Jesus Christ or His name, nor will I now. You may feel well assured that I shall die in this entire faith and with my good will, and as happy in doing so as I was ever for anything that has come to me in my life. I pray God to have mercy on the poor Catholics of this kingdom, who are persecuted and oppressed for their religion. The only thing I regret is, that it has not pleased God to give me before I die the grace to see them, able to live in full liberty of conscience in the faith of their parents, in the Catholic Church, and serving God as they desire to do. I am not ignorant that for long certain persons have been plotting against me; and to speak plainly, I know well it has been done at the instance of one who professes to be my enemy. But I have spoken sufficiently of this before the Commissioners."After this trying ordeal, Mary's first thought was to send letters of final greeting to her dearest friends. She wrote to the Archbishop of Glasgow, then in Paris; to Pope Sixtus V., to Barnard De Mendoça, Spanish Ambassador at Paris; and to the Duke of Guise. In the course of her letter to the Archbishop, referring to the proposal that she should accept the services of the Anglican divines, she writes:--"As to their bishops, I praise God that without their aid I know well enough my offences against God and His Church, and that I do not approve their errors, nor wish to communicate with them in any way. But if it pleased them to permit me to have a Catholic priest, I said I would accept that very willingly, and even demanded it in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to dispose my conscience, and to participate in the Holy Sacraments, on leaving this world. They answered me that, do what I would, I should not be either saint or martyr, as I was to die for the murder of their queen and for wishing to dispossess her. I replied that I was not so presumptuous as to aspire to these two honours; but that although they had power over my body by divine permission, not by justice, as I am a sovereign queen, as I have always protested, still they had not power over my soul, nor could they prevent me from hoping that, through the mercy of God, who died for me, he will accept from me my blood and my life which I offer to Him for the maintenance of His Church outside of which I should never desire to rule any worldly kingdom."Her letter to the Pope is lengthy, but as no one interested in her history would be satisfied with an abbreviated form of so interesting a document, I shall give it in full."Jesus Maria,"Holy Father,--As it has pleased God by His divine providence so to ordain, that in His Church, under His Son, Jesus Christ crucified, all those who should believe in Him and be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, should recognize one universal and Catholic Church as Mother, whose commandments together with the ten of the law we should keep under pain of damnation, it is requisite that each one who aspires to eternal life should fix his eyes upon her. I, therefore, who am born of kings and relatives all baptized in her, as I myself also was, and what is more, from my infancy, unworthy as I am, have been called to the royal dignity, anointed and consecrated by the authority and by the ministers of the Church, under whose wing and in whose bosom I have been nourished and brought up, and by her instructed in the obedience due by all Christians to him whom she, guided by the Holy Spirit, has elected according to the ancient order and decrees of the primitive Church, to the holy Apostolic See as our head upon earth, to whom Jesus Christ in His last will has given power (speaking to St. Peter of her foundation on a living rock) of binding and loosing poor sinners from the chains of Satan, absolving us by himself or by his ministers for this purpose appointed, of all crimes or sins committed or perpetrated by us, we being repentant, as far as in us lies, making satisfaction for them after having confessed them according to the ordinance of the Church. I call my Saviour Jesus Christ to be my witness, the Blessed Trinity, the glorious Virgin Mary, all the Angels and Archangels, St. Peter, the pastor, my special intercessor and advocate, St. Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Andrew and all the holy apostles, St. George and in general all the Saints of Paradise,--that I have always lived in this faith, which is that of the universal Catholic Church, Apostolic and Roman, in which being regenerated, I have always had the intention of doing my duty to the holy Apostolic See. Of this, to my great regret, I have not been able to render due testimony to your Holiness, on account both of my detention in this captivity and of my long illness; but now that it has pleased God, my Holy Father, to permit for my sins and those of this unfortunate island, that I (the only one remaining of the blood of England and Scotland who makes profession of this faith) should, after twenty years of captivity, shut up in a narrow prison and at last condemned to die by the heretical States and Assembly of this country, as it has been to-day signified to me by the mouth of Lord Buckhurst, Amias Paulet my keeper, one Drew Drury, knight, and a secretary named Beale, in the name of their Queen, commanding me to prepare to receive death, offering me one of their bishops and a dean for my consolation (a priest that I had, having been taken from me long before by them, and held by them I know not where); I have thought it to be my first duty to turn me to God, and then to relate the whole to your Holiness in writing, to the end that, although I cannot let you hear it before my death, at least afterwards, the cause of it should be made manifest to you, which is, all things well considered and examined, their dread of subversion of their religion in this island, which they say I plan, and which is attempted for my sake, as well by those of their own subjects who obey your laws and are declared enemies (and who cause me to be prayed for as their Sovereign in their churches whose priests profess duty and subjection to me), as by strangers, and specially by the Catholic princes and my relations, and who (so they say) maintain my right to the crown of England. I leave it to your Holiness to consider the consequence of such a sentence, imploring you to have prayers made for my poor soul, and for all those who have died, or will die, in the same cause and the like sentence, and even in honour of God. I beg you to give your alms and incite the kings to do likewise to those who shall survive this shipwreck. And my intention being, according to the constitution of the Church, to confess, do penance as far as in me lies, and receive my Viaticum, if I can obtain my chaplain, or some other legitimate minister, to administer to me the said Sacraments; in default of this, with contrite and repentant heart, I prostrate myself at your Holiness' feet, confessing myself to God and to His Saints, and to the same your Paternity, as a very unworthy sinner and one meriting eternal damnation, unless it pleases the good God who died for sinners, to receive me in His infinite mercy among the number of poor penitent sinners trusting in his mercy--imploring you to take this my general confession in testimony of my intention to accomplish the remainder in the form ordained and commanded in the Church, if it is permitted me, and to give me your general absolution according as you know and think to be requisite for the glory of God, the honour of His Church, and the salvation of my poor soul, between which and the justice of God, I interpose the blood of Jesus Christ, crucified for me and all sinners, one of the most execrable among whom I confess myself to be, seeing the infinite grace I have received through Him, and which I have so little recognized and employed; the which would render me unworthy of forgiveness if His promise made to all those who, burdened with sin and spiritual woes coming to Him to be assisted by Him, and His mercy, did not encourage me, following His commandment to come to Him, bearing my burden in order to be relieved by Him of it like the prodigal son, and, what is more, offering my blood willingly at the foot of His cross, for the unwearied and faithful zeal which I bear to His Church, without the restoration of which I desire never to live in this unhappy world."And further, Holy Father, having left myself no goods in this world, I supplicate your Holiness to obtain from the very Christian king that my dowry should be charged with the payment of my debts, and the wages of my poor desolate servants, and with an annual obit for my soul and those of all our brethren departed in this just quarrel, having had no other private intention, as my poor servants, present at this, my affliction, will testify to you; as likewise how I have willingly offered my life in their heretical Assembly to maintain my Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion, and to bring back those of this island who have ignorantly gone astray (to wit, themselves); protesting that in this case I would willingly deprive myself of all the title and dignity of a Queen, and do all honour and service to theirs, if she would cease to persecute the Catholics; as I protest that that is the end at which I have aimed since I have been in this country, and I have no ambition or desire to reign, nor to dispossess any other for my personal advantage, as by illness and by long afflictions I am so weakened that I have no longer any desire to trouble myself in this world except with the service of His Church, and to gain the souls of this island to God; in testimony of which, at my end, I do not wish to falter in preferring the public salvation to my personal interests of flesh and blood, which cause me to pray you,--with a mortal regret for the perdition of my poor child, after having tried by all means to regain him,--to be a true father to him, as St. John the Evangelist was to the youth whom he withdrew from the company of robbers; to take, in short, all the authority over him that I can give you to constrain him, and if it pleases you to call upon the Catholic king, to assist you in what touches temporal matters, and especially that you two may together try to ally him in marriage. And if God, for my sins, permit that he should remain obstinate, I knowing no Christian prince in these times who works so much for the faith, or who has so many means to aid him in the bringing back of this island, as the Catholic king, to whom I am much indebted and obliged, being the only one who aided me with his money and advice in my needs, I, subject to your good pleasure, leave him all that I can have of power or interest in the government of this kingdom if my son obstinately remains outside the Church. But if he finds he can bring him back, I desire he shall be aided, supported and advised by him (the king of Spain) and my relations of Guise, enjoining him by my last will to hold them, after you, as his fathers, and to ally himself by their advice and consent, or in one of their two houses. And if it pleased God, I would he were worthy to be a son of the Catholic king. This is the secret of my heart and the end of my desires in this world, tending as I mean them, to the good of His Church and to the discharge of my conscience, which I present at the feet of your Holiness, which I humbly kiss."You shall have the true account of the manner of my last taking, and all the proceedings against me, and by me, to the end that, hearing the truth, the calumnies which the enemies of the Church wish to lay upon me may be refuted by you and the truth known, and to this effect I have sent to you this bearer, requesting your holy blessing for the end, and saying to you for the last timeà Dieu. Whom I pray in His grace to preserve your person for long, for the good of His Church and your sorrowful flock, especially that of this island, which I leave very much astray, without the mercy of God and without your paternal care."Fotheringay, 23rd November, 1586."She adds a postscript and signs herself,"Of your Holiness the very humble and devoted daughterMARIE,Queen of Scotland,Dowager of France."Her letter to Mendoça is written in a freer and clearer style, and is, I think, a truer picture of her thoughts, as they spontaneously form in her mind, than that to the Pope.LETTER TO DON BERNARD DE MENDOÇA."My very dear Friend,--As I have always known you to be zealous in God's cause, and interested in my welfare and deliverance from captivity, I have likewise also always made you a sharer in all my intentions for the same cause, begging you to signify them to the king, Monsieur my good brother, for which at present, according to the little leisure I have, I have wished to send you this last adieu, being resolved to receive the death-stroke which was announced to me last Saturday."I know not when or in what manner, but at least you can feel assured and praise God for me that, by His grace, I had the courage to receive this very unjust sentence of the heretics with contentment for the honour which I esteem it to be to me to shed my blood at the demand of the enemies of His Church; whilst they honour me so much as to say that theirs cannot exist if I live; and the other point they affirm to be that their Queen cannot reign in security, for the same reason. In both these 'conditions' I, without contradicting them, accepted the honour they were so anxious to confer upon me, as very zealous in the Catholic religion, for which I had publicly offered my life; and as to the other matter, although I had made no attempt or taken any action to remove her who was in the place, still as they reproached me with what is my right, and is so considered by all Catholics, as they say, I did not wish to contradict them, leaving it to them to judge. But they, becoming angry in consequence of this, told me that, do what I would, I should not die for religion, but for having wished to have their Queen murdered, which I denied to them as being very false, as I never attempted anything of the kind, but left it to God and the Church to settle everything for this island regarding religion and what depends upon it."This bearer has promised me to relate to you how rigorously I have been treated by this people, and ill served by others, who I could wish had not so much shown their fear of death in so just a quarrel, or their inordinate passions. Whereas from me they only obtained the avowal that I was a free queen, Catholic, obedient to the Church, and that for my deliverance I was obliged--having tried for it by good means without being able to obtain it--to procure it by the means which were offered to me, without approving (all the means employed)."Nau has confessed all, Curle following his example, and all is thrown on me. They threaten me if I do not ask for pardon, but I say that, as they have already destined me to death, they may proceed in their injustice, hoping that God will recompense me in the other world. And through spite because I will not thus confess, they came the day before yesterday, Monday, to remove my dais, saying that I was no longer anything but a dead woman without any dignity."They are working in my hall; I think they are making a scaffold to make me play the last scene of the tragedy. I die in a good quarrel, and happy at having given up my rights to the king, your Master. I have said that if my son does not return to the bosom of the Church, I confess I know no princes more worthy or more suitable, for the protection of the island. I have written as much to His Holiness, and I beg you to certify to him that I die in this same wish, that I have written to you, and to him (you) know who is his near relative and old friend, and to a fourth who, above all others, I leave under the protection of the king, and require him, in the name of God, not to abandon them; and I beg them to serve him in my place. I cannot write to them. Salute them for me, and all of you pray God for my soul."I have asked for a priest, but do not know if I shall have one; they offered me one of their bishops. I utterly refused him. Believe what this bearer tells you, and these two poor women[#] who have been the nearest to me. They will tell you the truth. I beg of you to publish it, as I fear others will make it sound quite differently. Give orders that payment be made where you know of, for the discharge of my conscience; and may the churches of Spain keep me in remembrance in their prayers. Keep this bearer's secret; he has been a faithful valet to me.[#] Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle."May God give you a happy life. You will receive a token from me, of a diamond, which I valued as being that with which the late Duke of Norfolk[#] pledged me his faith, and which I have nearly always worn. Keep it for love of me.[#] Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and Premier Peer of England, had been chairman of the Conference to which Mary's dispute with the rebels had been submitted in 1568. At that time, encouraged by many prominent members of the English nobility, he formed the design of marrying the Queen of Scots. He was betrayed to Elizabeth by the Regent Moray, to whom he had confided his plans. After a term of nine months in the Tower, he was set at liberty. Resuming negotiations with Mary and her friends, he was again betrayed--this time by his secretary--and being convicted of treasonable practices, was put to death."I do not know if I shall be allowed to make a will. I have asked for leave, but they have all my money. God be with you. Forgive me if I write with pain and trouble, having not even one solitary person to aid me or make my rough copies and to write from my dictation. If you cannot read my handwriting this bearer will read it to you, or my Ambassador, who is familiar with it. Among other accusations, Criton's is one about which I know nothing. I fear much that Nau and Pasquier have much hastened my death, for they kept some papers, and also they are people who wish to live in both worlds, if they can have their commodities. I would to God that Fontenay had been here; he is a young man of strong resolution and knowledge. Adieu."Once more I recommend to you my poor destitute servants, and beg you to pray for my soul."From Fotheringay, this Wednesday, the 23rd of November. I recommend to you the poor Bishop of Ross, who will be quite destitute."Your much obliged and perfect friend.MARIE R."The Duke of Guise being nearly related to her, would be expected to regard the treatment which she received as something personally touching himself and his family. Wishing, therefore, to inspire him with the thoughts that sustained her own spirits when, as she was convinced, the gates of martyrdom were opening to receive her into a better world, she penned him the following spirited letter:--"From Fotheringay, the 24th of November,"My Good Cousin:--You whom I hold as dearest to me in the world, being ready through unjust judgment, to be put to a death such as no one of our race, thanks be to God, has ever suffered, still less one of my quality; but my good cousin, praise God for it, as I was useless in the world, for the cause of God and His Church in the state I was, and I hope my death will testify to my constancy in the faith, and my readiness to die for the upholding and restoration of the Church in this unhappy island. And, although no executioner has ever before dipped his hand in our blood, be not ashamed of it my dear friend, for the condemnation of heretics and enemies of the Church (and who have no jurisdiction over me, a free queen) is profitable before God for the children of His Church. If I would belong to them I should not receive this blow. All those of our house have been persecuted by this sect; for example, your good father, with whom I hope to be received by the mercy of the just Judge. I recommend to you, then, my poor servants, the discharge of my debts, and I beg you to have some annual obit founded for my soul, not at your expense, but please make the necessary solicitations and give the orders which shall be required. And you shall understand my intention by these, my poor desolate servants, eye-witnesses of my last tragedy."May God prosper you, your wife, children, brothers and cousins, and above all our chief, my good brother and cousin, and all his. May the blessing of God and that which I would give to children of my own, be on yours, whom I recommend no less to God than my own unfortunate and ill-advised child."You will receive some token from me, to remind you to pray for the soul of your poor cousin, destitute of all aid and advice but that of God, which gives me strength and courage to resist alone so many wolves howling after me. To God be the glory."Believe, in particular, all that shall be said to you by a person who will give you a ruby ring from me, for I take it upon my conscience that the truth shall be told you of what I have charged her with, especially of what touches my poor servants, and regarding one of them in particular. I recommend you this person on account of her straightforward sincerity and goodness, and so that she may be placed in some good situation. I have chosen her as being most impartial and the one who will the most simply convey my orders. I beg of you not to make it known that she has said anything to you in private, as envy might harm her."I have suffered much for two years or more, and could not let you know it for important reasons, God be praised for all, and may He give you the grace to persevere in the service of His Church as long as you live, and may this honour never leave our race; so that we, men as well as women, may be ready to shed our blood to maintain the quarrel of the faith, putting aside all worldly interests. And as for me, I esteem myself born, both on the paternal and maternal side, to offer my blood for it, and I have no intention of degenerating. May Jesus, for us crucified, and may all the holy martyrs by their intercession, render us worthy of willingly offering our bodies to His Glory."Thinking to degrade me, they had my dais taken down, and afterwards my guardian came to offer to write to their Queen, saying he had not done this by her order, but by the advice of some of the council. I showed them the cross of my Saviour in the place where my arms had been on the said dais. You shall hear of our conversation. They have been more gentle since."Your affectionate cousin and perfect friend,MARIE,Queen of Scotland,Dowager of France."CHAPTER XV.AN INTERVAL OF SUSPENSE.The end did not come so quickly as Mary had expected. Although the sentence had been publicly proclaimed throughout the kingdom, Elizabeth hesitated to sign the death-warrant. She saw that the execution of the Scottish queen might be fraught with dangerous consequences to herself and the realm, and it was not her policy to make a perilous advance without having provided the means for a safe retreat. If she could only find some servant who, "upon the winking of authority could understand a law," her purpose would be better served. Mary would be secretly removed, and a scapegoat would be at hand to bear the sin, and, if needs be, the punishment due to it. On February the 1st, she signed the death-warrant, which had been placed before her among a number of other papers, and impressed upon Assistant Secretary Davison that she did not wish to be troubled further with that matter. Indeed she continued to complain of the lack of zeal in those who had joined the Association for her defence. She had done all, she said, that could be required of her by law or reason, and those who were interested in her welfare should relieve her of further responsibility. "Would it not be better for me," she remarked, "to risk personal danger than to take the life of a relation. But if a loyal subject were to save me from the embarrassment of dealing the blow, the resentment of Scotland and France might be disarmed." The prudence of those "loyal subjects" who preferred to leave the responsibility on her own shoulders, was amply vindicated immediately after the execution, when, in the futile endeavour to deceive the French and Spanish ambassadors, she visited Burleigh and other Ministers with temporary suspension from office, and cast Davison into the Tower, where she left him to languish for the remainder of her lifetime, because forsooth they had executed the death-warrant without her knowledge. Walsingham and Davison felt constrained, however, to write Sir Amias Paulet and Sir Drew Drury, whom the Queen thought should be ready to do her will, to point out to them the service their royal Mistress expected from them. "We find," they wrote, "by speech lately uttered by Her Majesty that she doth note in you a lack of that care and zeal of her service that she looked for at your hands, in that you have not in all this time of yourselves (without other provocation) found out some way to shorten the life of the Queen, considering the great peril she (Elizabeth) is subject unto hourly, so long as the said Queen shall live........"And therefore she (Elizabeth) taketh it most unkindly towards her, that men professing that love towards her that you do, should in any kind or sort, for lack of the discharge of your duties, cast the burthen upon her, knowing, as you do, her indisposition to shed blood, especially of one of that sex and quality, and so near to her in blood as the said Queen is." Closing, they commit Paulet and Drury "to theprotectionof the Almighty"--which was very thoughtful, seeing how persuasively they had just been soliciting them to an act of assassination. Paulet, in spite of his fierce hatred of Mary, unequivocally refused to entertain the suggestion and expressed his regret that he had lived to see the unhappy day in which he was "required by direction from her most gracious sovereign, to do an act which God and the law forbiddeth." Then, with exquisite propriety of terminology, he commits Walsingham and Davison, not to the "protection"--the time when they most needed protection he probably thought was past--but to "themercyof the Almighty."In the meantime the preparations for the execution were advancing. Elizabeth having signed the death-warrant, Davison handed it over to the Chancellor; at the instance of the Lord Treasurer, Burleigh, the Council convened, and, without waiting further instructions from the Queen, appointed the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury to execute the warrant.While her fate was being sealed at Westminster, the doomed captive in Fotheringay was expecting, from day to day, to receive the final blow. Though frequently confined to bed by rheumatism in her limbs, she maintained a cheerfulness and composure that greatly annoyed the irascible Paulet. On December the 15th, he complains to Walsingham that "this lady continues to show her perverse and obstinate character." "She shows," he adds, "no sign of repentance and no submission. She does not acknowledge her fault, does not ask for forgiveness and shows no sign of wishing to live."On the 19th of December, she penned a letter of which the following is a portion, to Queen Elizabeth:--"Madame, in honour of Jesus (whose name all powers obey), I require you to promise that when my enemies shall have satisfied their dark desire for my innocent blood, you will permit that my poor sorrowful servants may altogether bear my body to be buried in holy ground and near those of my predecessors who are in France, especially the late queen, my mother; and this because in Scotland the bodies of the kings, my ancestors, have been insulted, and the churches pulled down and profaned, and because, suffering death in this country, I cannot have a place beside your predecessors, who are also mine; and what is more important, because in our religion we must prize being buried in holy ground. And as I am told you wish in nothing to force my conscience or my religion, and have even conceded me a priest, I hope that you will not refuse this my last request, but will at least allow free sepulture to the body from which the soul will be separated, as being united, they never knew how to obtain liberty to live in peace, or to procure the same for you, for which before God I do not in any way blame you--but may God show you the entire truth after my death."And because I fear the secret tyranny of some of those into whose power you have abandoned me, I beg you not to permit me to be executed without your knowledge--not from fear of the pain, which I am ready to suffer, but on account of the rumours which would be spread concerning my death if it was not seen by reliable witnesses; how it was done, I am persuaded, in the case of others of different rank. It is for this reason that in another place I require that my attendants remain to be spectators and witnesses of my end in the faith of my Saviour, and in the obedience of His Church, and afterwards they shall all together quickly withdraw, taking my body with them as secretly as you wish, and so that the furniture and other things which I may be able to leave them in dying, be not taken from them, which will be, indeed a very small reward for their good service. Would you wish me to return a jewel, which you gave me, to you with my last words, or would it please you to receive it sooner? I implore of you anew to permit me to send a jewel and a last adieu to my son, together with my blessing, of which he has been deprived, owing to that you informed me of his refusal to enter into a treaty in which I was included,--by the unhappy advice of whom? The last point I leave to your conscience and favourable consideration. For the others I demand of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, and in consideration of our relationship, in remembrance of King Henry VII., your grandfather and mine[#] and in honour of the dignity we have both held, and of our common sex, that my request be granted.[#] Henry VII. was Elizabeth's grandfather and Mary's great-grandfather."For the rest I think you will certainly have heard that they pulled down my dais, by your order, as they said, and that afterwards they told me that it was not done by your command but by that of some of the Council. I praise God that such cruelty, which could only show malice and affect me after I had made up my mind to die, came not from you. I fear it has been like this in many other things, and that this is the reason why they would not permit me to write to you until they had, as far as they could, taken from me all external mark of dignity and power, telling me I was simply a dead woman, stripped of all dignity."God be praised for all. I wish that all my papers, without any exception, had been shown to you, so that it might have been said that it was not solely the care of your safety which animated all those who are so prompt in pursuing me. If you grant me this, my last request, give orders that I shall see what you write regarding it, as otherwise they will make me believe what they like; and I desire to know your final reply to my final request."In conclusion, I pray the God of mercy, the just Judge, that He will deign to enlighten you by His Holy Spirit, and that He will give me the grace to die in perfect charity, as I am preparing myself to do, pardoning all those who are the cause of my death, or who have co-operated in it, and this shall be my prayer till the end. I consider it happy for me that it should come before the persecution which I foresee threatens this island--if God is not more truly feared and revered, and vanity and worldly policy not more wisely curbed. Do not accuse me of presumption if, on the eve of leaving this world, and preparing myself for a better, I remind you that one day you will have to answer for your charge as well as those who are sent before, and that, making no account of my blood or my country, I desire to think of the time when, from the earliest dawn of reason, we were taught to place our soul's welfare before all temporal matters, which should cede to those of eternity."Your Sister and Cousin wrongfully imprisoned,MARIE, QUEEN."She wrote again to Elizabeth nearly a month later, but Paulet refused to dispatch her letter.CHAPTER XVI.THE END.What lovely form, in deepest gloomOf prison cave, awaits her doom?--* * * * *'Tis Scotia's basely-injured Queen;'Tis she who, cherished, would have beenThe loveliest, brightest, richest gemIn Caledonia's diadem,--A gem too polished, pure and brightFor Scotia's sons, in Scotia's night,When evil man and evil timesWere stained in basest, blackest crimes.--The Royal Exile.On Tuesday, the 7th of February (1587), the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury, who had been appointed to conduct the execution of the Scottish queen, arrived at Fotheringay. Towards evening they sent her word that they wished to see her on urgent business. She had gone to bed, but, on hearing their message, she rose and prepared to receive them. Shrewsbury and Kent entered, accompanied by Beale, clerk of the Council, and the two keepers, Paulet and Drury. Shrewsbury, who in his heart sympathized with the helpless queen, performed the unpleasant duty imposed upon him by announcing to her the purpose of their visit, and requesting her to listen to the sentence which Beale was about to read. When Beale had finished reading, Mary thanked them for the welcome news. "I have long looked for this," she said, "and have expected it day by day for eighteen years. Unworthy though I think myself, I am by the grace of God a Queen born and a Queen anointed, a near relative of the Queen (of England), grand-daughter of King Henry VII., and I have had the honour to be Queen of France, but, in all my life I have had only sorrow." In answer to their urgent requests that she should accept of the religious services of the Dean of Peterborough, and renounce her former "abominations," she assured them that all their efforts to persuade her in that matter were useless. "Having lived till now in the true faith," she said, "this is not the time to change, but on the contrary, it is the very moment when it is most needful that I should remain firm and constant, as I intend to do." Turning from the profitless religious discussion on which Kent seemed disposed to linger, she enquired when she should die. "To-morrow morning at eight o'clock," was Shrewsbury's reply.Short indeed was the notice, but Mary betrayed no sign of alarm. The lords shortly after retired, and she was left alone to prepare for the closing scene in the painful tragedy of her life. She was denied the assistance of a priest--a last act of cruelty for which no excuse can be offered.The little family of her faithful servants who had shared with her the weary years of captivity, were disconsolate. She alone was bright and joyful. "Well," she said, "let supper be hastened, so that I may put my affairs in order. My children, it is now no time to weep; that is useless; what do you now fear? You should rather rejoice to see me on such a good road to being delivered from the many evils and afflictions which have so long been my portion." During supper she turned to her physician, Bourgoin, with a bright countenance, and said:--"Did you remark what Lord Kent said in his interview with me? He said that my life would have been the death of their religion, and that my death will be its life. Oh, how happy these words make me............ They told me that I was to die because I had plotted against the Queen, and here is Lord Kent sent to me to convert me, and what does he tell me?--that I am to die on account of my religion."When the light repast was finished, her attendants gathered around her on their knees, implored her to forgive them whatever offences they had committed against her. "With all my heart, my children," she fervently answered, "even as I pray you to forgive me any injustice or harshness of which I may have been guilty towards you."Her unselfishness, which was one of the strongest features of her character, showed itself to the last. No one would have thought it was she who had to die next morning. She was administering comfort, not seeking it. In all her life she had never abandoned a friend, nor forgotten a good turn; nor did she now. The night was already well advanced, and she began parcelling out gifts of money and jewellery for her attendants and friends. Late in the night she wrote a short letter to her chaplain, Preau, who was detained in another part of the Castle and denied admittance to her presence."I have," she wrote, "been attacked to-day concerning my religion, and urged to receive consolation from the heretics. You will hear from Bourgoin and others that I, at least, faithfully made protestation for my faith, in which I wish to die. I requested to have you, in order that I might make my confession and receive my Sacrament, which was cruelly refused me, as well as leave for my body to be removed and the power of making a free will, or writing anything except what shall pass through their hands and be subject to the good pleasure of their mistress. In default of that, I confess in general the gravity of my sins, as I had intended to do to you in particular, begging you in the name of God to pray and watch with me this night in satisfaction for my sins, and to send me your absolution and pardon for the things in which I have offended you. I shall try to see you in their presence, as they have allowed me to see the steward,[#] and if I am allowed, I shall ask the blessing on my knees before all.
* * * * *
"I dictated nothing to them (the secretaries) but what nature herself inspired me, for the recovery at least of my liberty. I can only be convicted by my words or by my own writings. If, without my consent, but have written something to the prejudice of the Queen, your mistress, let them suffer the punishment of their rashness.But of this I am very sure, if they were now in my presence, they would clear me on the spot of all blame, and would put me out of case. Show me, at least, the minutes of my correspondence written by myself; they will bear witness to what I now assert."
On the morning of the second day, Mary made a strong and dignified protest against the manner in which the trial had been conducted, and after specifying the treatment she expected to receive when she consented to appear before the Commissioners, proceeded:--
"Instead of this, I find myself overwhelmed under the importunity of a crowd of advocates and lawyers, who appear to be more versed in the formalities of petty courts of justice, in little towns, than in the investigation of questions such as the present. And although I was promised that I should be simply questioned and examined on one point,--that, namely, concerning the attempt on the person of the Queen,--they have presumed to accuse me, each striving who should surpass the other in stating and exaggerating facts, and attempting to force me to reply to questions which I do not understand, and which have nothing to do with the Commission. Is it not an unworthy act to submit to such conduct of such people, the title of a princess, one little accustomed to such procedures and formalities? And is it not against all right, justice and reason to deliver her over to them, weak and ill as she is, and deprived of counsel, without papers or notes or secretary? It is very easy for many together, and, as it appears to me, conspiring for the same object, to vanquish by force of words a solitary and defenceless woman. There is not one, I think, among you, let him be the cleverest man you will, who would be capable of resisting or defending himself, were he in my place. I am alone, taken by surprise, and forced to reply to so many people who are unfriendly to me, and who have long been preparing for this occasion; and who appear to be more influenced by vehement prejudice and anger, than by a desire of discovering the truth and fulfilling the duties laid down for them by the Commission."
Referring to the complaint that, in Rome, public prayers had been offered for her, under the title of Queen of England, she remarked:--"If the Pope gives me the title of Queen, it is not for me to correct him. He knows what he does much better than I do. I thank him, all Christian people and all Catholic nations for the prayers they daily offer for me, and I pray them to continue to do so, and to remember me in their Masses."
As regards her attitude towards her Protestant subjects she said:--"You know very well that in my own kingdom I never interfered with any of the Protestants, but, on the contrary, tried to win them always by gentleness and clemency, which I carried too far, and for which I have been blamed. It has been the cause of my ruin, for my subjects became proud and haughty, and abused my clemency; indeed, they now complain that they were never so well off as under my government."
The trial ended on the 15th October. Mary rose from her seat before the Commissioners and passed out of the hall, addressing a few words of good-humoured reproach to the lawyers for their "quibbling," as she moved past the table around which they were seated. The Commissioners, in compliance with instructions received from Elizabeth, withdrew to Westminster before passing sentence. Assembled in the Star-Chamber ten days later, they declared Mary "to be accessory to Babington's conspiracy, and to have imagined diverse matters, tending to the hurt, death, and destruction of Elizabeth, contrary to the express words of the statute, made for the security of the Queen's life" (Camden). Parliament sat a few days after, and both houses, having sanctioned the sentence of the Commissioners, presented an address to Elizabeth, requesting her to publish and execute without delay the sentence against her dangerous rival.
Mary in the meantime was ignorant of what was being done since the rising of the Commission at Fotheringay. However, she maintained an extraordinary cheerfulness and surprised the observant Sir Amias by her "quietness and serenity." The feast of All Saints arrived, but without the joyous anthems and splendid ceremonial that marked it in Catholic lands. The Queen passed the day reading the lives of the Saints and Martyrs and praying in her oratory. In the afternoon she received a visit from Paulet. In the course of their conversation, this censorious pedant, anxious to execute the will of Elizabeth, who had instructed him to carefully observe whether his prisoner should reveal a disposition to sue for pardon, undertook to instruct her in the necessity of having a clear conscience and of confessing her crimes before God and the world. Mary promptly answered, saying:--"No one can say that he is free from sin. I am a woman and human, and have offended God, and I repent of my sins, and pray God to forgive me, doing penance for the same; but at present I do not know to whom I could or should confess--God forbid that I should ask you to be my confessor."
CHAPTER XIV.
THE SENTENCE OF DEATH.
On November the 30th, 1586, Lord Buckhurst, as envoy of Queen Elizabeth, waited upon the lonely captive, and announced to her that sentence of death had been passed upon her. "The person of the Queen," added Buckhurst, "the state and religion are no longer safe; it is impossible for you both to live, and therefore one must die. For this end then, in order that you should not be taken by surprise, Mr. Beale and I have been sent to warn you to prepare for death, and we will send you the Bishop of Peterborough or the Dean of ---- for your consolation."
The news was, in some respects a relief to Mary; it relaxed her consuming mental tension. Now she knew the worst, and her conduct needed no longer to be disturbed by alternating hopes and fears. She had striven hard, during the weary years of her captivity, to resign herself with Christian cheerfulness to the inevitable. But the love of liberty, and perhaps too a subtle desire of revenge, had at times ruffled the serenity of her spirit, and had dulled the pure flame of her religious zeal. Human aid now seemed no longer available, human prospects of glory and power no longer captivated her imagination, and the time and energy which she had hitherto expended on profitless plans and visionary deeds, she could now devote, with rich and enduring profit, to the preparation for a better life. When she heard Lord Buckhurst's message, her face, as Camden relates, "became illumined with an extraordinary joy at the thought that she was about to die for the cause of religion," and with perfect composure, she made answer:--"I expected nothing else. This is the manner in which you generally proceed with regard to persons of my quality, and who are nearly related to the crown, so that none may live who aspire to it. For long I have known that you would bring me to this in the end. I have loved the queen and the country, and have done all that I could for the preservation of both. The offers which I have made are the proof of this, as Beale can bear me witness. I do not fear death, and shall suffer it with a good heart. I have never been the author of any conspiracy to injure the queen. I have several times been offered my freedom, and have been blamed for refusing my consent. My partizans have abandoned me and troubled themselves no more with my affairs. To prevent this I have attempted to obtain my deliverance by gentle means, to my great disadvantage, till at last, being repulsed on the one side and pressed on the other, I placed myself in the hands of my friends, and have taken part with Christian and Catholic princes, not, as I have before declared, and as the English themselves can bear witness by the papers which they have in their possession, through ambition nor the desire of a greater position, but I have done it for the honour of God and His Church, and for my deliverance from the state of captivity and misery in which I am placed. I am a Catholic,--of a different religion from yourselves; and for this reason you will take care not to let me live. I am grieved that my death cannot be of as much benefit to the kingdom as I fear it will do it harm; and this I say not from any ill-feeling or from any desire to live. For my part, I am weary of being in this world, nor do I, or any one else, profit by my being here. But I look forward to a better life, and I thank God for giving me this grace of dying in his quarrel. No greater good can come to me in this world; it is what I have most begged of God and most wished for, as being the thing most honourable for myself and most profitable for the salvation of my soul. I have never had the intention of changing my religion for any earthly kingdom, or grandeur, or good whatever, nor of denying Jesus Christ or His name, nor will I now. You may feel well assured that I shall die in this entire faith and with my good will, and as happy in doing so as I was ever for anything that has come to me in my life. I pray God to have mercy on the poor Catholics of this kingdom, who are persecuted and oppressed for their religion. The only thing I regret is, that it has not pleased God to give me before I die the grace to see them, able to live in full liberty of conscience in the faith of their parents, in the Catholic Church, and serving God as they desire to do. I am not ignorant that for long certain persons have been plotting against me; and to speak plainly, I know well it has been done at the instance of one who professes to be my enemy. But I have spoken sufficiently of this before the Commissioners."
After this trying ordeal, Mary's first thought was to send letters of final greeting to her dearest friends. She wrote to the Archbishop of Glasgow, then in Paris; to Pope Sixtus V., to Barnard De Mendoça, Spanish Ambassador at Paris; and to the Duke of Guise. In the course of her letter to the Archbishop, referring to the proposal that she should accept the services of the Anglican divines, she writes:--
"As to their bishops, I praise God that without their aid I know well enough my offences against God and His Church, and that I do not approve their errors, nor wish to communicate with them in any way. But if it pleased them to permit me to have a Catholic priest, I said I would accept that very willingly, and even demanded it in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to dispose my conscience, and to participate in the Holy Sacraments, on leaving this world. They answered me that, do what I would, I should not be either saint or martyr, as I was to die for the murder of their queen and for wishing to dispossess her. I replied that I was not so presumptuous as to aspire to these two honours; but that although they had power over my body by divine permission, not by justice, as I am a sovereign queen, as I have always protested, still they had not power over my soul, nor could they prevent me from hoping that, through the mercy of God, who died for me, he will accept from me my blood and my life which I offer to Him for the maintenance of His Church outside of which I should never desire to rule any worldly kingdom."
Her letter to the Pope is lengthy, but as no one interested in her history would be satisfied with an abbreviated form of so interesting a document, I shall give it in full.
"Jesus Maria,
"Holy Father,--As it has pleased God by His divine providence so to ordain, that in His Church, under His Son, Jesus Christ crucified, all those who should believe in Him and be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, should recognize one universal and Catholic Church as Mother, whose commandments together with the ten of the law we should keep under pain of damnation, it is requisite that each one who aspires to eternal life should fix his eyes upon her. I, therefore, who am born of kings and relatives all baptized in her, as I myself also was, and what is more, from my infancy, unworthy as I am, have been called to the royal dignity, anointed and consecrated by the authority and by the ministers of the Church, under whose wing and in whose bosom I have been nourished and brought up, and by her instructed in the obedience due by all Christians to him whom she, guided by the Holy Spirit, has elected according to the ancient order and decrees of the primitive Church, to the holy Apostolic See as our head upon earth, to whom Jesus Christ in His last will has given power (speaking to St. Peter of her foundation on a living rock) of binding and loosing poor sinners from the chains of Satan, absolving us by himself or by his ministers for this purpose appointed, of all crimes or sins committed or perpetrated by us, we being repentant, as far as in us lies, making satisfaction for them after having confessed them according to the ordinance of the Church. I call my Saviour Jesus Christ to be my witness, the Blessed Trinity, the glorious Virgin Mary, all the Angels and Archangels, St. Peter, the pastor, my special intercessor and advocate, St. Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Andrew and all the holy apostles, St. George and in general all the Saints of Paradise,--that I have always lived in this faith, which is that of the universal Catholic Church, Apostolic and Roman, in which being regenerated, I have always had the intention of doing my duty to the holy Apostolic See. Of this, to my great regret, I have not been able to render due testimony to your Holiness, on account both of my detention in this captivity and of my long illness; but now that it has pleased God, my Holy Father, to permit for my sins and those of this unfortunate island, that I (the only one remaining of the blood of England and Scotland who makes profession of this faith) should, after twenty years of captivity, shut up in a narrow prison and at last condemned to die by the heretical States and Assembly of this country, as it has been to-day signified to me by the mouth of Lord Buckhurst, Amias Paulet my keeper, one Drew Drury, knight, and a secretary named Beale, in the name of their Queen, commanding me to prepare to receive death, offering me one of their bishops and a dean for my consolation (a priest that I had, having been taken from me long before by them, and held by them I know not where); I have thought it to be my first duty to turn me to God, and then to relate the whole to your Holiness in writing, to the end that, although I cannot let you hear it before my death, at least afterwards, the cause of it should be made manifest to you, which is, all things well considered and examined, their dread of subversion of their religion in this island, which they say I plan, and which is attempted for my sake, as well by those of their own subjects who obey your laws and are declared enemies (and who cause me to be prayed for as their Sovereign in their churches whose priests profess duty and subjection to me), as by strangers, and specially by the Catholic princes and my relations, and who (so they say) maintain my right to the crown of England. I leave it to your Holiness to consider the consequence of such a sentence, imploring you to have prayers made for my poor soul, and for all those who have died, or will die, in the same cause and the like sentence, and even in honour of God. I beg you to give your alms and incite the kings to do likewise to those who shall survive this shipwreck. And my intention being, according to the constitution of the Church, to confess, do penance as far as in me lies, and receive my Viaticum, if I can obtain my chaplain, or some other legitimate minister, to administer to me the said Sacraments; in default of this, with contrite and repentant heart, I prostrate myself at your Holiness' feet, confessing myself to God and to His Saints, and to the same your Paternity, as a very unworthy sinner and one meriting eternal damnation, unless it pleases the good God who died for sinners, to receive me in His infinite mercy among the number of poor penitent sinners trusting in his mercy--imploring you to take this my general confession in testimony of my intention to accomplish the remainder in the form ordained and commanded in the Church, if it is permitted me, and to give me your general absolution according as you know and think to be requisite for the glory of God, the honour of His Church, and the salvation of my poor soul, between which and the justice of God, I interpose the blood of Jesus Christ, crucified for me and all sinners, one of the most execrable among whom I confess myself to be, seeing the infinite grace I have received through Him, and which I have so little recognized and employed; the which would render me unworthy of forgiveness if His promise made to all those who, burdened with sin and spiritual woes coming to Him to be assisted by Him, and His mercy, did not encourage me, following His commandment to come to Him, bearing my burden in order to be relieved by Him of it like the prodigal son, and, what is more, offering my blood willingly at the foot of His cross, for the unwearied and faithful zeal which I bear to His Church, without the restoration of which I desire never to live in this unhappy world.
"And further, Holy Father, having left myself no goods in this world, I supplicate your Holiness to obtain from the very Christian king that my dowry should be charged with the payment of my debts, and the wages of my poor desolate servants, and with an annual obit for my soul and those of all our brethren departed in this just quarrel, having had no other private intention, as my poor servants, present at this, my affliction, will testify to you; as likewise how I have willingly offered my life in their heretical Assembly to maintain my Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion, and to bring back those of this island who have ignorantly gone astray (to wit, themselves); protesting that in this case I would willingly deprive myself of all the title and dignity of a Queen, and do all honour and service to theirs, if she would cease to persecute the Catholics; as I protest that that is the end at which I have aimed since I have been in this country, and I have no ambition or desire to reign, nor to dispossess any other for my personal advantage, as by illness and by long afflictions I am so weakened that I have no longer any desire to trouble myself in this world except with the service of His Church, and to gain the souls of this island to God; in testimony of which, at my end, I do not wish to falter in preferring the public salvation to my personal interests of flesh and blood, which cause me to pray you,--with a mortal regret for the perdition of my poor child, after having tried by all means to regain him,--to be a true father to him, as St. John the Evangelist was to the youth whom he withdrew from the company of robbers; to take, in short, all the authority over him that I can give you to constrain him, and if it pleases you to call upon the Catholic king, to assist you in what touches temporal matters, and especially that you two may together try to ally him in marriage. And if God, for my sins, permit that he should remain obstinate, I knowing no Christian prince in these times who works so much for the faith, or who has so many means to aid him in the bringing back of this island, as the Catholic king, to whom I am much indebted and obliged, being the only one who aided me with his money and advice in my needs, I, subject to your good pleasure, leave him all that I can have of power or interest in the government of this kingdom if my son obstinately remains outside the Church. But if he finds he can bring him back, I desire he shall be aided, supported and advised by him (the king of Spain) and my relations of Guise, enjoining him by my last will to hold them, after you, as his fathers, and to ally himself by their advice and consent, or in one of their two houses. And if it pleased God, I would he were worthy to be a son of the Catholic king. This is the secret of my heart and the end of my desires in this world, tending as I mean them, to the good of His Church and to the discharge of my conscience, which I present at the feet of your Holiness, which I humbly kiss.
"You shall have the true account of the manner of my last taking, and all the proceedings against me, and by me, to the end that, hearing the truth, the calumnies which the enemies of the Church wish to lay upon me may be refuted by you and the truth known, and to this effect I have sent to you this bearer, requesting your holy blessing for the end, and saying to you for the last timeà Dieu. Whom I pray in His grace to preserve your person for long, for the good of His Church and your sorrowful flock, especially that of this island, which I leave very much astray, without the mercy of God and without your paternal care.
"Fotheringay, 23rd November, 1586."
She adds a postscript and signs herself,
"Of your Holiness the very humble and devoted daughter
Dowager of France."
Her letter to Mendoça is written in a freer and clearer style, and is, I think, a truer picture of her thoughts, as they spontaneously form in her mind, than that to the Pope.
LETTER TO DON BERNARD DE MENDOÇA.
"My very dear Friend,--As I have always known you to be zealous in God's cause, and interested in my welfare and deliverance from captivity, I have likewise also always made you a sharer in all my intentions for the same cause, begging you to signify them to the king, Monsieur my good brother, for which at present, according to the little leisure I have, I have wished to send you this last adieu, being resolved to receive the death-stroke which was announced to me last Saturday.
"I know not when or in what manner, but at least you can feel assured and praise God for me that, by His grace, I had the courage to receive this very unjust sentence of the heretics with contentment for the honour which I esteem it to be to me to shed my blood at the demand of the enemies of His Church; whilst they honour me so much as to say that theirs cannot exist if I live; and the other point they affirm to be that their Queen cannot reign in security, for the same reason. In both these 'conditions' I, without contradicting them, accepted the honour they were so anxious to confer upon me, as very zealous in the Catholic religion, for which I had publicly offered my life; and as to the other matter, although I had made no attempt or taken any action to remove her who was in the place, still as they reproached me with what is my right, and is so considered by all Catholics, as they say, I did not wish to contradict them, leaving it to them to judge. But they, becoming angry in consequence of this, told me that, do what I would, I should not die for religion, but for having wished to have their Queen murdered, which I denied to them as being very false, as I never attempted anything of the kind, but left it to God and the Church to settle everything for this island regarding religion and what depends upon it.
"This bearer has promised me to relate to you how rigorously I have been treated by this people, and ill served by others, who I could wish had not so much shown their fear of death in so just a quarrel, or their inordinate passions. Whereas from me they only obtained the avowal that I was a free queen, Catholic, obedient to the Church, and that for my deliverance I was obliged--having tried for it by good means without being able to obtain it--to procure it by the means which were offered to me, without approving (all the means employed).
"Nau has confessed all, Curle following his example, and all is thrown on me. They threaten me if I do not ask for pardon, but I say that, as they have already destined me to death, they may proceed in their injustice, hoping that God will recompense me in the other world. And through spite because I will not thus confess, they came the day before yesterday, Monday, to remove my dais, saying that I was no longer anything but a dead woman without any dignity.
"They are working in my hall; I think they are making a scaffold to make me play the last scene of the tragedy. I die in a good quarrel, and happy at having given up my rights to the king, your Master. I have said that if my son does not return to the bosom of the Church, I confess I know no princes more worthy or more suitable, for the protection of the island. I have written as much to His Holiness, and I beg you to certify to him that I die in this same wish, that I have written to you, and to him (you) know who is his near relative and old friend, and to a fourth who, above all others, I leave under the protection of the king, and require him, in the name of God, not to abandon them; and I beg them to serve him in my place. I cannot write to them. Salute them for me, and all of you pray God for my soul.
"I have asked for a priest, but do not know if I shall have one; they offered me one of their bishops. I utterly refused him. Believe what this bearer tells you, and these two poor women[#] who have been the nearest to me. They will tell you the truth. I beg of you to publish it, as I fear others will make it sound quite differently. Give orders that payment be made where you know of, for the discharge of my conscience; and may the churches of Spain keep me in remembrance in their prayers. Keep this bearer's secret; he has been a faithful valet to me.
[#] Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curle.
"May God give you a happy life. You will receive a token from me, of a diamond, which I valued as being that with which the late Duke of Norfolk[#] pledged me his faith, and which I have nearly always worn. Keep it for love of me.
[#] Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and Premier Peer of England, had been chairman of the Conference to which Mary's dispute with the rebels had been submitted in 1568. At that time, encouraged by many prominent members of the English nobility, he formed the design of marrying the Queen of Scots. He was betrayed to Elizabeth by the Regent Moray, to whom he had confided his plans. After a term of nine months in the Tower, he was set at liberty. Resuming negotiations with Mary and her friends, he was again betrayed--this time by his secretary--and being convicted of treasonable practices, was put to death.
"I do not know if I shall be allowed to make a will. I have asked for leave, but they have all my money. God be with you. Forgive me if I write with pain and trouble, having not even one solitary person to aid me or make my rough copies and to write from my dictation. If you cannot read my handwriting this bearer will read it to you, or my Ambassador, who is familiar with it. Among other accusations, Criton's is one about which I know nothing. I fear much that Nau and Pasquier have much hastened my death, for they kept some papers, and also they are people who wish to live in both worlds, if they can have their commodities. I would to God that Fontenay had been here; he is a young man of strong resolution and knowledge. Adieu.
"Once more I recommend to you my poor destitute servants, and beg you to pray for my soul.
"From Fotheringay, this Wednesday, the 23rd of November. I recommend to you the poor Bishop of Ross, who will be quite destitute.
"Your much obliged and perfect friend.
MARIE R."
The Duke of Guise being nearly related to her, would be expected to regard the treatment which she received as something personally touching himself and his family. Wishing, therefore, to inspire him with the thoughts that sustained her own spirits when, as she was convinced, the gates of martyrdom were opening to receive her into a better world, she penned him the following spirited letter:--
"From Fotheringay, the 24th of November,
"My Good Cousin:--You whom I hold as dearest to me in the world, being ready through unjust judgment, to be put to a death such as no one of our race, thanks be to God, has ever suffered, still less one of my quality; but my good cousin, praise God for it, as I was useless in the world, for the cause of God and His Church in the state I was, and I hope my death will testify to my constancy in the faith, and my readiness to die for the upholding and restoration of the Church in this unhappy island. And, although no executioner has ever before dipped his hand in our blood, be not ashamed of it my dear friend, for the condemnation of heretics and enemies of the Church (and who have no jurisdiction over me, a free queen) is profitable before God for the children of His Church. If I would belong to them I should not receive this blow. All those of our house have been persecuted by this sect; for example, your good father, with whom I hope to be received by the mercy of the just Judge. I recommend to you, then, my poor servants, the discharge of my debts, and I beg you to have some annual obit founded for my soul, not at your expense, but please make the necessary solicitations and give the orders which shall be required. And you shall understand my intention by these, my poor desolate servants, eye-witnesses of my last tragedy.
"May God prosper you, your wife, children, brothers and cousins, and above all our chief, my good brother and cousin, and all his. May the blessing of God and that which I would give to children of my own, be on yours, whom I recommend no less to God than my own unfortunate and ill-advised child.
"You will receive some token from me, to remind you to pray for the soul of your poor cousin, destitute of all aid and advice but that of God, which gives me strength and courage to resist alone so many wolves howling after me. To God be the glory.
"Believe, in particular, all that shall be said to you by a person who will give you a ruby ring from me, for I take it upon my conscience that the truth shall be told you of what I have charged her with, especially of what touches my poor servants, and regarding one of them in particular. I recommend you this person on account of her straightforward sincerity and goodness, and so that she may be placed in some good situation. I have chosen her as being most impartial and the one who will the most simply convey my orders. I beg of you not to make it known that she has said anything to you in private, as envy might harm her.
"I have suffered much for two years or more, and could not let you know it for important reasons, God be praised for all, and may He give you the grace to persevere in the service of His Church as long as you live, and may this honour never leave our race; so that we, men as well as women, may be ready to shed our blood to maintain the quarrel of the faith, putting aside all worldly interests. And as for me, I esteem myself born, both on the paternal and maternal side, to offer my blood for it, and I have no intention of degenerating. May Jesus, for us crucified, and may all the holy martyrs by their intercession, render us worthy of willingly offering our bodies to His Glory.
"Thinking to degrade me, they had my dais taken down, and afterwards my guardian came to offer to write to their Queen, saying he had not done this by her order, but by the advice of some of the council. I showed them the cross of my Saviour in the place where my arms had been on the said dais. You shall hear of our conversation. They have been more gentle since.
"Your affectionate cousin and perfect friend,
Dowager of France."
CHAPTER XV.
AN INTERVAL OF SUSPENSE.
The end did not come so quickly as Mary had expected. Although the sentence had been publicly proclaimed throughout the kingdom, Elizabeth hesitated to sign the death-warrant. She saw that the execution of the Scottish queen might be fraught with dangerous consequences to herself and the realm, and it was not her policy to make a perilous advance without having provided the means for a safe retreat. If she could only find some servant who, "upon the winking of authority could understand a law," her purpose would be better served. Mary would be secretly removed, and a scapegoat would be at hand to bear the sin, and, if needs be, the punishment due to it. On February the 1st, she signed the death-warrant, which had been placed before her among a number of other papers, and impressed upon Assistant Secretary Davison that she did not wish to be troubled further with that matter. Indeed she continued to complain of the lack of zeal in those who had joined the Association for her defence. She had done all, she said, that could be required of her by law or reason, and those who were interested in her welfare should relieve her of further responsibility. "Would it not be better for me," she remarked, "to risk personal danger than to take the life of a relation. But if a loyal subject were to save me from the embarrassment of dealing the blow, the resentment of Scotland and France might be disarmed." The prudence of those "loyal subjects" who preferred to leave the responsibility on her own shoulders, was amply vindicated immediately after the execution, when, in the futile endeavour to deceive the French and Spanish ambassadors, she visited Burleigh and other Ministers with temporary suspension from office, and cast Davison into the Tower, where she left him to languish for the remainder of her lifetime, because forsooth they had executed the death-warrant without her knowledge. Walsingham and Davison felt constrained, however, to write Sir Amias Paulet and Sir Drew Drury, whom the Queen thought should be ready to do her will, to point out to them the service their royal Mistress expected from them. "We find," they wrote, "by speech lately uttered by Her Majesty that she doth note in you a lack of that care and zeal of her service that she looked for at your hands, in that you have not in all this time of yourselves (without other provocation) found out some way to shorten the life of the Queen, considering the great peril she (Elizabeth) is subject unto hourly, so long as the said Queen shall live........
"And therefore she (Elizabeth) taketh it most unkindly towards her, that men professing that love towards her that you do, should in any kind or sort, for lack of the discharge of your duties, cast the burthen upon her, knowing, as you do, her indisposition to shed blood, especially of one of that sex and quality, and so near to her in blood as the said Queen is." Closing, they commit Paulet and Drury "to theprotectionof the Almighty"--which was very thoughtful, seeing how persuasively they had just been soliciting them to an act of assassination. Paulet, in spite of his fierce hatred of Mary, unequivocally refused to entertain the suggestion and expressed his regret that he had lived to see the unhappy day in which he was "required by direction from her most gracious sovereign, to do an act which God and the law forbiddeth." Then, with exquisite propriety of terminology, he commits Walsingham and Davison, not to the "protection"--the time when they most needed protection he probably thought was past--but to "themercyof the Almighty."
In the meantime the preparations for the execution were advancing. Elizabeth having signed the death-warrant, Davison handed it over to the Chancellor; at the instance of the Lord Treasurer, Burleigh, the Council convened, and, without waiting further instructions from the Queen, appointed the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury to execute the warrant.
While her fate was being sealed at Westminster, the doomed captive in Fotheringay was expecting, from day to day, to receive the final blow. Though frequently confined to bed by rheumatism in her limbs, she maintained a cheerfulness and composure that greatly annoyed the irascible Paulet. On December the 15th, he complains to Walsingham that "this lady continues to show her perverse and obstinate character." "She shows," he adds, "no sign of repentance and no submission. She does not acknowledge her fault, does not ask for forgiveness and shows no sign of wishing to live."
On the 19th of December, she penned a letter of which the following is a portion, to Queen Elizabeth:--
"Madame, in honour of Jesus (whose name all powers obey), I require you to promise that when my enemies shall have satisfied their dark desire for my innocent blood, you will permit that my poor sorrowful servants may altogether bear my body to be buried in holy ground and near those of my predecessors who are in France, especially the late queen, my mother; and this because in Scotland the bodies of the kings, my ancestors, have been insulted, and the churches pulled down and profaned, and because, suffering death in this country, I cannot have a place beside your predecessors, who are also mine; and what is more important, because in our religion we must prize being buried in holy ground. And as I am told you wish in nothing to force my conscience or my religion, and have even conceded me a priest, I hope that you will not refuse this my last request, but will at least allow free sepulture to the body from which the soul will be separated, as being united, they never knew how to obtain liberty to live in peace, or to procure the same for you, for which before God I do not in any way blame you--but may God show you the entire truth after my death.
"And because I fear the secret tyranny of some of those into whose power you have abandoned me, I beg you not to permit me to be executed without your knowledge--not from fear of the pain, which I am ready to suffer, but on account of the rumours which would be spread concerning my death if it was not seen by reliable witnesses; how it was done, I am persuaded, in the case of others of different rank. It is for this reason that in another place I require that my attendants remain to be spectators and witnesses of my end in the faith of my Saviour, and in the obedience of His Church, and afterwards they shall all together quickly withdraw, taking my body with them as secretly as you wish, and so that the furniture and other things which I may be able to leave them in dying, be not taken from them, which will be, indeed a very small reward for their good service. Would you wish me to return a jewel, which you gave me, to you with my last words, or would it please you to receive it sooner? I implore of you anew to permit me to send a jewel and a last adieu to my son, together with my blessing, of which he has been deprived, owing to that you informed me of his refusal to enter into a treaty in which I was included,--by the unhappy advice of whom? The last point I leave to your conscience and favourable consideration. For the others I demand of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, and in consideration of our relationship, in remembrance of King Henry VII., your grandfather and mine[#] and in honour of the dignity we have both held, and of our common sex, that my request be granted.
[#] Henry VII. was Elizabeth's grandfather and Mary's great-grandfather.
"For the rest I think you will certainly have heard that they pulled down my dais, by your order, as they said, and that afterwards they told me that it was not done by your command but by that of some of the Council. I praise God that such cruelty, which could only show malice and affect me after I had made up my mind to die, came not from you. I fear it has been like this in many other things, and that this is the reason why they would not permit me to write to you until they had, as far as they could, taken from me all external mark of dignity and power, telling me I was simply a dead woman, stripped of all dignity.
"God be praised for all. I wish that all my papers, without any exception, had been shown to you, so that it might have been said that it was not solely the care of your safety which animated all those who are so prompt in pursuing me. If you grant me this, my last request, give orders that I shall see what you write regarding it, as otherwise they will make me believe what they like; and I desire to know your final reply to my final request.
"In conclusion, I pray the God of mercy, the just Judge, that He will deign to enlighten you by His Holy Spirit, and that He will give me the grace to die in perfect charity, as I am preparing myself to do, pardoning all those who are the cause of my death, or who have co-operated in it, and this shall be my prayer till the end. I consider it happy for me that it should come before the persecution which I foresee threatens this island--if God is not more truly feared and revered, and vanity and worldly policy not more wisely curbed. Do not accuse me of presumption if, on the eve of leaving this world, and preparing myself for a better, I remind you that one day you will have to answer for your charge as well as those who are sent before, and that, making no account of my blood or my country, I desire to think of the time when, from the earliest dawn of reason, we were taught to place our soul's welfare before all temporal matters, which should cede to those of eternity.
MARIE, QUEEN."
She wrote again to Elizabeth nearly a month later, but Paulet refused to dispatch her letter.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE END.
What lovely form, in deepest gloomOf prison cave, awaits her doom?--* * * * *'Tis Scotia's basely-injured Queen;'Tis she who, cherished, would have beenThe loveliest, brightest, richest gemIn Caledonia's diadem,--A gem too polished, pure and brightFor Scotia's sons, in Scotia's night,When evil man and evil timesWere stained in basest, blackest crimes.--The Royal Exile.
What lovely form, in deepest gloomOf prison cave, awaits her doom?--* * * * *'Tis Scotia's basely-injured Queen;'Tis she who, cherished, would have beenThe loveliest, brightest, richest gemIn Caledonia's diadem,--A gem too polished, pure and brightFor Scotia's sons, in Scotia's night,When evil man and evil timesWere stained in basest, blackest crimes.--The Royal Exile.
What lovely form, in deepest gloom
Of prison cave, awaits her doom?--
* * * * *
* * * * *
'Tis Scotia's basely-injured Queen;
'Tis she who, cherished, would have been
The loveliest, brightest, richest gem
In Caledonia's diadem,--
A gem too polished, pure and bright
For Scotia's sons, in Scotia's night,
When evil man and evil times
Were stained in basest, blackest crimes.--
The Royal Exile.
The Royal Exile.
The Royal Exile.
On Tuesday, the 7th of February (1587), the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury, who had been appointed to conduct the execution of the Scottish queen, arrived at Fotheringay. Towards evening they sent her word that they wished to see her on urgent business. She had gone to bed, but, on hearing their message, she rose and prepared to receive them. Shrewsbury and Kent entered, accompanied by Beale, clerk of the Council, and the two keepers, Paulet and Drury. Shrewsbury, who in his heart sympathized with the helpless queen, performed the unpleasant duty imposed upon him by announcing to her the purpose of their visit, and requesting her to listen to the sentence which Beale was about to read. When Beale had finished reading, Mary thanked them for the welcome news. "I have long looked for this," she said, "and have expected it day by day for eighteen years. Unworthy though I think myself, I am by the grace of God a Queen born and a Queen anointed, a near relative of the Queen (of England), grand-daughter of King Henry VII., and I have had the honour to be Queen of France, but, in all my life I have had only sorrow." In answer to their urgent requests that she should accept of the religious services of the Dean of Peterborough, and renounce her former "abominations," she assured them that all their efforts to persuade her in that matter were useless. "Having lived till now in the true faith," she said, "this is not the time to change, but on the contrary, it is the very moment when it is most needful that I should remain firm and constant, as I intend to do." Turning from the profitless religious discussion on which Kent seemed disposed to linger, she enquired when she should die. "To-morrow morning at eight o'clock," was Shrewsbury's reply.
Short indeed was the notice, but Mary betrayed no sign of alarm. The lords shortly after retired, and she was left alone to prepare for the closing scene in the painful tragedy of her life. She was denied the assistance of a priest--a last act of cruelty for which no excuse can be offered.
The little family of her faithful servants who had shared with her the weary years of captivity, were disconsolate. She alone was bright and joyful. "Well," she said, "let supper be hastened, so that I may put my affairs in order. My children, it is now no time to weep; that is useless; what do you now fear? You should rather rejoice to see me on such a good road to being delivered from the many evils and afflictions which have so long been my portion." During supper she turned to her physician, Bourgoin, with a bright countenance, and said:--"Did you remark what Lord Kent said in his interview with me? He said that my life would have been the death of their religion, and that my death will be its life. Oh, how happy these words make me............ They told me that I was to die because I had plotted against the Queen, and here is Lord Kent sent to me to convert me, and what does he tell me?--that I am to die on account of my religion."
When the light repast was finished, her attendants gathered around her on their knees, implored her to forgive them whatever offences they had committed against her. "With all my heart, my children," she fervently answered, "even as I pray you to forgive me any injustice or harshness of which I may have been guilty towards you."
Her unselfishness, which was one of the strongest features of her character, showed itself to the last. No one would have thought it was she who had to die next morning. She was administering comfort, not seeking it. In all her life she had never abandoned a friend, nor forgotten a good turn; nor did she now. The night was already well advanced, and she began parcelling out gifts of money and jewellery for her attendants and friends. Late in the night she wrote a short letter to her chaplain, Preau, who was detained in another part of the Castle and denied admittance to her presence.
"I have," she wrote, "been attacked to-day concerning my religion, and urged to receive consolation from the heretics. You will hear from Bourgoin and others that I, at least, faithfully made protestation for my faith, in which I wish to die. I requested to have you, in order that I might make my confession and receive my Sacrament, which was cruelly refused me, as well as leave for my body to be removed and the power of making a free will, or writing anything except what shall pass through their hands and be subject to the good pleasure of their mistress. In default of that, I confess in general the gravity of my sins, as I had intended to do to you in particular, begging you in the name of God to pray and watch with me this night in satisfaction for my sins, and to send me your absolution and pardon for the things in which I have offended you. I shall try to see you in their presence, as they have allowed me to see the steward,[#] and if I am allowed, I shall ask the blessing on my knees before all.