"It all comes to the same thing," returned the Queen, "whatever colour you may give it, and for the rest, I care nothing for your sentences; go, proceed as you like. I know at your age you would not assert such things unless you were backed by others."[45]
"Sir Amyas pretended that this was not so, and reassured the Queen as well as he was able," says Bourgoing, "and on his departure we formed the opinion from certain conjectures, that he was going to write Her Majesty's replies to the Court." We find him accordingly writing to Walsingham as follows:—
"I took occasion yesterday, after one, accompanied by Mr. Stallenge, to visit the Queen.... I see no change in her, from her former quietness and serenity, certified in my last letters.... I tarried with her one hour and a half at the least; which I did on purpose to feel her disposition, and moving no new matter myself, suffered her to go from matter to matter at her pleasure....This only thing I thought good to signify unto you that, falling in talk of the late assembly here, and having glanced at the Lord Zouch for his speech in the star-chamber, and also at the Lord Morley for some things delivered by him to the lords sitting next unto him, which she said she overheard and told him of it in the open assembly, she was curious to be informed of the names of one such sitting in such a place, and of others sitting in other places, saying that one had said little, another somewhat more, and others very much. I told her that I might easily perceive, by her hard conceit of the lords which she had named already, she was much inclined to think ill of all those that spake, and therefore I would forbear to name any man unto her; praying her to conceive honourably of the whole assembly, and to think that those which spake, and the rest which were silent, were of one consent and mind to hear her cause with all indifference."[46]
That Paulet dreaded his interviews with Mary, and tried to evade them as far as possible, we have his own evidence. "I pray you," he writes to Walsingham on the same day, "let me hear from you whether it is expected that I should see my charge often, which, as I do not desire to do, so I do not see that any good cancome of it, so long as I stand assured that she is forthcoming."
That his prisoner might be the more securely "forthcoming," extra precautions had been taken, and that in a manner which appears to have deceived even Bourgoing himself, for he notes, quite gratefully, that Sir Amyas had closed and restored the Queen's large room for the "safety of Her Majesty and her convenience."
On 13th November Sir Drue Drury arrived to take the place of Stallenge in assisting Paulet in his charge; and some days later Lord Buckhurst, the bearer of fatal tidings, reached the castle. To understand his mission we must consider what had taken place meanwhile in London.
On 25th October the Commissioners had met in the star-chamber at Westminster. At this time the two important witnesses, Nau and Curle, were produced.
The reports of the meeting are very scanty, but apparently the witnesses were asked no questions; they are merely said to have affirmed on oath certain confessions and declarations, of which neither the originals nor copies are preserved. Curle is also supposed to have affirmed "that as well the letter which Babington did write to the Scots queen, as the draughts of her answer to the same were both burned at her command."
This declaration, which, if true, was of the utmostimportance, was made on this occasion only, and in the absence of the accused. The Commissioners found Mary guilty, not of certain matters with which Lord Burleigh had charged her, but for having "compassed and imagined since the 1st of June aforesaid divers matters tending to the hurt, death, and destruction of the Queen of England." One man alone had the courage to assert his belief in Mary's innocence. Lord Zouch declared that he was not satisfied that "she had compassed, practised, or imagined the death of the Queen of England."
The Commissioners added a clause to the effect that the King of Scots should not be held responsible for his mother's crimes. "The said sentence," added they, "did derogate nothing from James, King of Scots, in title or honour, but that he was the same in place, degree, and right as if the same sentence had never been pronounced."
A few days later both Houses of Parliament presented an address to Elizabeth, praying for execution of the sentence against the Queen of Scots.[47]"We cannot find," said they, "that there is any possible means ofproviding for your Majesty's safety but by the just and speedy execution of the said Queen; the neglecting whereof may procure the heavy displeasure and punishment of Almighty God, as by sundry severe examples of His great justice in that behalf left us in the sacred Scriptures does appear," etc.
To this appeal Elizabeth made a very clever reply, beginning thus:—
"Though my life hath been dangerously shot at, yet I protest there is nothing hath more grieved me than that one not differing from me in sex, of like rank, and degree, of the same stock, and most nearly allied to me in blood, hath fallen into so great a crime." She goes on to say that if her cousin would even now truly repent, and if her own life alone, and not the good of England, were at stake, she would most willingly pardon Mary. She concludes by saying that in a matter of so great importance a speedy decision cannot be looked for, as it is her custom to deliberate long, even in matters which are unimportant as compared with this.
At the end of twelve days Elizabeth sent a message to both Houses of Parliament, begging them to reconsider the matter, and "to devise some better remedy, whereby both the Queen of Scots' life might be spared and her own security provided for."[48]
After fresh and earnest consultation, both Houses declared that Mary's death was essential to the safety of the kingdom, and the declaration thus concludes:—
"Therefore we pray your Majesty, for the cause of God, of His Church, this realm, ourselves, and yourself, that you will no longer be careless of your life and of our safety, nor longer suffer religion to be threatened, the realm to stand in danger, nor us to dwell in fear."
Elizabeth again made an ambiguous reply. From her subsequent conduct, however, we may judge that she had probably already determined to take Mary's life, although as to the time and place she was still undecided.
In the meantime Lord Buckhurst, together with Beale, Clerk of the Council, proceeded to Fotheringay to announce to the Queen of Scots that sentence of death had been pronounced against her in the star-chamber.
Lord Buckhurst had been carefully chosen for this mission. To much talent of a high order he united a moderation of views and a charm of manners calculated to inspire confidence. Nor was he a stranger to Mary; he had already been sent to treat with her on several occasions, and from the fact of his absence at the trial, we may suspect that his dispositions in herregard were friendly. If so, the undertaking now before him was doubly painful, for the announcement of the sentence of death was to be but a part of his duty.
Elizabeth still cherished the hope of extracting some confession or revelation from Mary; accordingly Lord Buckhurst was charged to be on the watch for any such revelation, to listen attentively to whatever the Queen of Scots might divulge, and to report such immediately to his mistress. Special instructions were sent at the same time to Paulet to lend his assistance to Lord Buckhurst, particularly should his prisoner consent to reveal any secret matter.
Lord Buckhurst reached the castle on the evening of the 29th of November, and after a conference with Paulet he returned to the village for the night.
On the following day, "after dinner," he, together with Paulet, Sir Drue Drury, and Beale, had an interview with Mary.
Lord Buckhurst announced himself as an envoy from his sovereign, and begged permission to deliver his message.
He then proceeded to recapitulate the events of the trial and its issue, proceeding to enlarge upon Elizabeth's sorrow at discovering that Mary had been proved to be "not only consenting to the horrible fact of rebellion inthe country against her person and state, but also the author and inventor of it." For this reason, after much deliberation, Parliament had pronounced sentence of death against her. Buckhurst remarked that his mistress had not yet given her consent to this measure, but added that, urged as she was by Parliament, it was impossible she should not yield. "The person of the Queen, the state and religion are no longer safe," he continued; "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 ——[49]for your consolation; they both are men of learning and understanding. Take thought of your conscience and acknowledge your fault, repent and make satisfaction before God and man. If you know anything concerning this conspiracy further than what has already come to light, you are bound in Christian charity to unburden your conscience; being, as you yourself say, nearly related to the Queen, to whom also you are indebted for many favours. And if you know of any other persons who have taken part in this undertaking, it is your duty to declare it before your death."
"I expected nothing else," replied Mary calmly."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 partisans have abandoned me and troubled themselves no further 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 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 was placed. I am a Catholic,—of a different religion from yourselves; andfor 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 goodwill, 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 againstme; 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."
To this Lord Buckhurst replied that the person here alluded to had not mixed himself up in the matter more specially than the rest had done, and that he was esteemed a very good and faithful servant. He did not think that this person, nor even the greatest in the kingdom, had any special power to do anything either for her or against her, unless they were assembled in council.
Here Mr. Beale began to speak, and said that on his part he had somewhat to say to the Queen of Scots regarding the treaties and other matters which had occurred since she came into England, in which proceedings she had given trouble. On these points he could speak as having knowledge of what had occurred, having been employed in some of them as envoy between his mistress and Queen Mary. He then spoke of her taking refuge in England, asserting that his mistress had taken care of her and had caused her to be well received and treated, and had appeased her Scottish subjects who had sought to pursue her. Seeing Queen Mary's danger, his mistress had even arranged for her to retire to Carlisle, to be in greater safety.
"I was taken there by force and against my will," exclaimed Mary.
"It was for your good," retorted Beale.[50]
Lord Buckhurst and Beale now retired, nor does the former appear to have seen Mary again.
The Queen herself describes this interview in her correspondence, and we here give the passages that occur in her letter to the Archbishop of Glasgow, dated the 24th November:—[51]
"You would find this language strange were you not informed that it has been signified to me by the mouth of Lord Buckhurst, Amyas Paulet, my great promoter, one Drew Drury, Knight, and Mr. Beale, that the assembly of the states of this country have condemned me to death. This they have announced to me on the part of their Queen, exhorting me to confess and acknowledge to her my offences. For this end and to incite me to die well and patiently, and to discharge my conscience, she proposed to send me a bishop and a dean. She also says that the occasion of this my death is the instant request made to her by her people, who, considering that I am still alive, and being her rival, as it appears by my having some time ago taken the name and arms belonging to this Crown (and not being prepared to renounce them, unless with the condition of being declared to be next in the succession to the throne), she cannot live in safety in her kingdom. Seeing even that all the Catholics call me their sovereign, and that her life has been so often attempted to this end, and that, so long as I live, her religion cannot safely exist in this kingdom.I thanked God and them for the honour they did me in considering me to be such a necessary instrument for the re-establishment of religion in this island, of which, although unworthy, I desired to take it upon myself to be a very pressing and zealous defender. In confirmation of all this, as I had before protested, I offered willingly to shed my blood in the quarrel of the Catholic Church; and moreover, even, if the people thought that my life could serve for the good and public peace of this island, I would not refuse to give it to them (freely) in reward for the twenty years they have detained me in prison.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, thereby risking the eternal kingdom either here or elsewhere; and I shall beg of Him that the sorrowand other persecutions of body and mind which I suffer, may weigh against my sins. But to have contrived, counselled, or commanded Elizabeth's death, that I have never done, nor would I suffer, for my own account, that one singleblowshould be given to her.Elizabeth's emissaries rejoined, 'You have counselled and allowed that the English should name you their Sovereign, as appears by the letters of Allen, Lewis, and several others; and this you have not contradicted.'To this I replied that I had taken nothing upon myself in my letters, but that it was not my province to prevent the Doctor and persons of the Church from naming me as they pleased. This was not my province, since I was under the obedience of the Church to approve what she decrees, and not to correct her; and I said the same in regard to His Holiness, if (as they declared) he caused me to be prayed for everywhere under a title of which I was ignorant. In any case I wished to die and to obey the Church, but not to murder any one in order to possess his rights; but in all this I saw clearly portrayed Saul's persecutions of David, yet I cannot escape as he did, by the window, but it may be that from the shedding of my blood protectors may arise for the sufferers in this universal quarrel."
"You would find this language strange were you not informed that it has been signified to me by the mouth of Lord Buckhurst, Amyas Paulet, my great promoter, one Drew Drury, Knight, and Mr. Beale, that the assembly of the states of this country have condemned me to death. This they have announced to me on the part of their Queen, exhorting me to confess and acknowledge to her my offences. For this end and to incite me to die well and patiently, and to discharge my conscience, she proposed to send me a bishop and a dean. She also says that the occasion of this my death is the instant request made to her by her people, who, considering that I am still alive, and being her rival, as it appears by my having some time ago taken the name and arms belonging to this Crown (and not being prepared to renounce them, unless with the condition of being declared to be next in the succession to the throne), she cannot live in safety in her kingdom. Seeing even that all the Catholics call me their sovereign, and that her life has been so often attempted to this end, and that, so long as I live, her religion cannot safely exist in this kingdom.
I thanked God and them for the honour they did me in considering me to be such a necessary instrument for the re-establishment of religion in this island, of which, although unworthy, I desired to take it upon myself to be a very pressing and zealous defender. In confirmation of all this, as I had before protested, I offered willingly to shed my blood in the quarrel of the Catholic Church; and moreover, even, if the people thought that my life could serve for the good and public peace of this island, I would not refuse to give it to them (freely) in reward for the twenty years they have detained me in prison.
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, thereby risking the eternal kingdom either here or elsewhere; and I shall beg of Him that the sorrowand other persecutions of body and mind which I suffer, may weigh against my sins. But to have contrived, counselled, or commanded Elizabeth's death, that I have never done, nor would I suffer, for my own account, that one singleblowshould be given to her.
Elizabeth's emissaries rejoined, 'You have counselled and allowed that the English should name you their Sovereign, as appears by the letters of Allen, Lewis, and several others; and this you have not contradicted.'
To this I replied that I had taken nothing upon myself in my letters, but that it was not my province to prevent the Doctor and persons of the Church from naming me as they pleased. This was not my province, since I was under the obedience of the Church to approve what she decrees, and not to correct her; and I said the same in regard to His Holiness, if (as they declared) he caused me to be prayed for everywhere under a title of which I was ignorant. In any case I wished to die and to obey the Church, but not to murder any one in order to possess his rights; but in all this I saw clearly portrayed Saul's persecutions of David, yet I cannot escape as he did, by the window, but it may be that from the shedding of my blood protectors may arise for the sufferers in this universal quarrel."
After reading these words, which bear the vivid impress of Mary's steadfast faith, we are not surprised to hear that during her talk with Lord Buckhurst her face was illumined with an extraordinary joy at the thought that God had done her the honour to choose her as the instrument for the defence of the Catholicfaith;[52]and we may imagine that Lord Buckhurst was capable of admiring, although he may not have sympathised with, her sentiments. Paulet took different views, and in a letter to Walsingham, in which he refers to the Queen's "superfluous and idle speeches on other occasions," he adds, "I am deceived if my Lord of Buckhurst will not give the same testimony of her tediousness."[53]
LORD BUCKHURST left Fotheringay on the 21st November, and the same day brought a fresh trial to the Queen,—one which his presence would probably have averted. Paulet, accompanied by Sir Drew Drury, who, although, according to the Queen, "far more modest and gracious," did not oppose his colleague's proceedings, waited on Mary, and Paulet told her that as she had shown no signs of repentance for her faults, their Queen had commanded that her dais with the royal arms, the emblem of her sovereignty, should be taken down, "because," continued he, "you are now only a dead woman, without the dignity or honours of a queen."
"God of His grace called me to this dignity," replied Mary; "I have been anointed and consecrated such. From Him alone I hold this rank, and to Him alone I shall return it, with my soul. I do not recogniseyour Queen as my superior, nor her heretical council and assembly as my judges, and I shall die a queen in spite of them. They have no more power over me than robbers at the corner of a wood might have over the most just prince or judge in the world; but I hope that God will manifest His justice in this kingdom after my death. The kings of this country have often been murdered, and it will not seem strange to me to be among them and those of their blood. It was in this way that King Richard was treated to dispossess him of his rights."[54]
At these words Paulet ordered the Queen's attendants to remove the dais, but they utterly refused to have any hand in the outrage offered to their mistress, calling aloud for vengeance on him and Drury. Paulet was obliged therefore to send for his soldiers, and caused the dais to be thrown on the floor. He now sat down in the Queen's presence with his head covered, and ordered the billiard-table to be removed, saying to the Queen, "This is no time for you to indulge in exercise or amusement."[55]
"Thanks be to God, I have never made use of it since it was put up," replied Mary, "for you have kept me sufficiently employed in other ways."
Paulet's account of this scene differs in some important particulars from that of the Queen. In fact, he seems to have gone beyond his instructions; and to explain and vindicate his conduct, he writes at length to Secretary Davison to the following effect. "He had been given to understand," he says, "by a late letter from some friend about the court, of Her Majesty's mislike that this lady (Queen Mary) did enjoy her cloth of estate." He adds that in ordering this removal he used "all possible moderation," and declares, in contradiction to Mary, that she sent for the yeoman of her wardrobe and asked him to take down the dais. He maintains a discreet silence regarding his own personal rudeness in covering himself and sitting down in Mary's presence; nor does he allude to the removal of the billiard-table.[56]
On the following day Mary received a fresh visit from Paulet and Drury. Paulet, fearing, no doubt, the effects of his violence, came to assure her that he had not taken down her dais by order of Elizabeth, butby that of some members of the council; and he offered to write to his mistress for leave to re-erect it. In reply Mary contented herself with showing him a crucifix, which she had placed in the spot formerly occupied by the dais and her arms. Paulet then told her that the request which she had made through Lord Buckhurst had been submitted to the Queen, and that she would receive the answer in a day or two.
"My requests were not so numerous," rejoined the Queen, "and can be speedily answered, and I presented them only in order that (after settling the fate of my attendants) I might have more time to give to God."
"Your object was praiseworthy, and you will have a prompt reply," said Paulet; "if you had been as well disposed to reveal certain things to Her Majesty as you were to make requests, Lord Buckhurst would have presented them much more willingly."
"This gentleman was a relative of your mistress, and sent by her on that account," returned Mary, "and I confided to him what I thought desirable."
Paulet remarked that he only spoke of this to remind her that she might have sent a letter through Lord Buckhurst.
"Before things were so advanced," said Mary, "I should have wished to write, but now being condemned, I have other subjects of greater moment to think of;I have to prepare myself for a better life in another world."[57]
"And hereupon," records the pitiless jailer, "she fell into a large discourse on the mercies of God towards her, and of her preparation for death, and into many other impertinent speeches not worthy to be recited. I omit some other talk which passed between her and me, upon this ground tending only to the benefit of her soul and the discharge of my conscience. And thus I departed from her, having endeavoured myself, according to your direction, to solve the two faults mentioned in your letters in as clear a manner as I could, without giving her cause to think that I came to her to that purpose."[58]
The "second fault" alluded to by Paulet, and which had brought down upon him Elizabeth's displeasure, lay in the fact that he had not sufficiently "entertained" Mary "in the desire she had to write unto Her Majesty." Paulet considered that he could not press the matter without a special order to that effect; he was, we know by his own words, "always very curious and precise to be warranted in all his proceedings."
After Lord Buckhurst's departure Mary naturally concluded that her hours were numbered, little thinkingthat two months of suspense lay before her. On the day on which the foregoing interview took place the noise of workmen in her dining-room led the Queen to think that the scaffold for her execution was even then in process of erection. Under this impression she called her attendants round her and made a declaration that she died a faithful Catholic, and that she was entirely innocent of the crimes of which she was accused. She made them swear to bear witness for her to all the persons she mentioned to them, and to each she assigned the mission he should fulfil after her death.
Although her right hand was much crippled by rheumatism, Mary now passed two days in writing farewell letters to her most faithful friends, which she confided to her chaplain and servants, to be delivered after her death.[59]
There are in all four of these letters, including that to the Archbishop of Glasgow already quoted, and we give the remaining three in their integrity, in the certainty that no description of the Queen's sentiments at this time can be as true or touching as her own words.
Letter to Pope Sixtus V.[60]Jesus MariaHoly 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 recognise 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 and sins committed or perpetrated by us, we being repentant, and 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, thepastor, 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 Church Catholic, 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 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 the 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 their declared enemies [and who cause me to be prayed for as their sovereign in their churches, whose priests profess duty and subjection tome], as by strangers, and specially by the Catholic princes and my relations, who all (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 constitutions 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 my 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 graces I have received through Him, and which I have so little recognised and employed; the which would render me unworthy of forgiveness, if His promise made to all those who burdened with sins and spiritual woes (coming to Him) to be assisted by Him, and His mercy did not encourageme, 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 brothers 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 nor desire to reign, nor to dispossess any other for my own 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 the 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 youthwhom 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 please 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 may 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.[61]Whom I pray in His grace topreserve 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.FromFotheringaythis 24th of November 1586.Excuse my writing, caused by the weakness of my arm. I hear, to my great regret, bad rumours of some persons near to your Holiness who they say receive wages from this state to betray the cause of God, and there are cardinals mixed up in it. I leave it to your Holiness to make examination and to have your eye on a certain Lord de Saint-Jean, much suspected of being a spy of the High Treasurer.[62]These are false brethren, and I will answer for it, that those who have been recommended to you by me are quite otherwise.Of your Holiness the very humble and devoted daughter,Marie,Queen of Scotland, Dowager of France.To Don Bernard de Mendoça.[63]My very dear Friend—As I have always known you to be zealous in God's cause, and interested in my welfare and my 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, Ihave 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, nor in what manner, but at least you can feel assured and praise God for me that, by His grace, I had thecourageto 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 nor 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[64]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 shewn their fear of death in sojust 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 (to all the means employed).Nau has confessed all, Curle following his example; and all is thrown upon 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 prince more worthy, or more suitable for the protection of this 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 from 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 youthe truth.[65]I beg of you to publish it, as I fear others will make it sound quite differently. Give orders that payment should 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.May God give you a long and 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. 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 to 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 had 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.FromFotheringaythis 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.To the Duke of GuiseFromFotheringaythe 24th of November.[66]My good Cousin—You whom I hold as dearest to me in the world, I bid you adieu, 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 being 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 Catholic 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 this my last tragedy.May God prosper you, your wife, children, brothers, and cousins, and above all our chief, my good brother and cousin,[67]and all his. May the blessing of God and that which I would give to children of my own, be on yours, whom I recommendno less to God, than my own unfortunate and ill-advised child.You will receive some tokens 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 and 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.FromFotheringaythis Thursday 24th November.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 all our conversation. They have been more gentle since.—Your affectionate cousin and perfect friend,Marie,Queen of Scotland, Dowager of France.
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 recognise 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 and sins committed or perpetrated by us, we being repentant, and 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, thepastor, 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 Church Catholic, 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 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 the 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 their declared enemies [and who cause me to be prayed for as their sovereign in their churches, whose priests profess duty and subjection tome], as by strangers, and specially by the Catholic princes and my relations, who all (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 constitutions 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 my 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 graces I have received through Him, and which I have so little recognised and employed; the which would render me unworthy of forgiveness, if His promise made to all those who burdened with sins and spiritual woes (coming to Him) to be assisted by Him, and His mercy did not encourageme, 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 brothers 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 nor desire to reign, nor to dispossess any other for my own 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 the 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 youthwhom 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 please 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 may 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.[61]Whom I pray in His grace topreserve 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.
FromFotheringaythis 24th of November 1586.
Excuse my writing, caused by the weakness of my arm. I hear, to my great regret, bad rumours of some persons near to your Holiness who they say receive wages from this state to betray the cause of God, and there are cardinals mixed up in it. I leave it to your Holiness to make examination and to have your eye on a certain Lord de Saint-Jean, much suspected of being a spy of the High Treasurer.[62]These are false brethren, and I will answer for it, that those who have been recommended to you by me are quite otherwise.
Of your Holiness the very humble and devoted daughter,
Marie,Queen of Scotland, Dowager of France.
My very dear Friend—As I have always known you to be zealous in God's cause, and interested in my welfare and my 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, Ihave 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, nor in what manner, but at least you can feel assured and praise God for me that, by His grace, I had thecourageto 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 nor 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[64]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 shewn their fear of death in sojust 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 (to all the means employed).
Nau has confessed all, Curle following his example; and all is thrown upon 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 prince more worthy, or more suitable for the protection of this 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 from 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 youthe truth.[65]I beg of you to publish it, as I fear others will make it sound quite differently. Give orders that payment should 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.
May God give you a long and 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. 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 to 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 had 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.
FromFotheringaythis 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.
FromFotheringaythe 24th of November.[66]
My good Cousin—You whom I hold as dearest to me in the world, I bid you adieu, 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 being 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 Catholic 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 this my last tragedy.
May God prosper you, your wife, children, brothers, and cousins, and above all our chief, my good brother and cousin,[67]and all his. May the blessing of God and that which I would give to children of my own, be on yours, whom I recommendno less to God, than my own unfortunate and ill-advised child.
You will receive some tokens 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 and 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.
FromFotheringaythis Thursday 24th November.
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 all our conversation. They have been more gentle since.—Your affectionate cousin and perfect friend,
Marie,Queen of Scotland, Dowager of France.
WHILE her cousin was thus bidding farewell to her best friends, and calmly preparing for death, Elizabeth was a prey to indecision, and, in spite of the entreaties of her ministers, dared not sign the warrant of execution. About the 29th of November Burleigh thus writes to Davison: "The sentence is already more than a month and four days old, and it is time it should speak." Paulet on his side was equally anxious for the end, and writes as follows to Walsingham: "I should fear lest Fotheringay were forgotten, if I did not know that this lady under my charge has given great cause to be remembered by all true and faithful subjects." And again in the same letter, "I thank God I have conceived a most steadfast hope of a happy resolution, and yet the experience of former times doth teach us that opportunities neglectedare very often accompanied with very dangerous effects."[68]
To mitigate some of these "dangerous effects" probably, and fearing that Mary's partisans would make an attempt upon Fotheringay, Paulet had asked for an addition to his garrison of forty soldiers, and his demand was at once complied with. With the newcomers the garrison now mustered seventy foot soldiers and fifty bowmen.
Moved by the imminence of the danger, France and Scotland were now both making fresh efforts on behalf of Mary. James, roused for a moment, had written an energetic and even menacing letter to his Ambassador Keith, charging him to show it to Elizabeth, and Henry of France had remonstrated "temperately" through De Courcelles. In writing to Walsingham on 7th December, Paulet expresses himself significantly regarding these futile attempts. "I should be condemned for a busybody if I should write unto you all that I think touching the copy of the King of Scots' letter to Keith, not doubting but that Her Majesty and her most honourable council will consider of it in all respect of honour to Her Highness touching the manner, and in all public and Christian judgment touching the matter. Only I will say that, as I would be glad tohear that Her Majesty had not vouchsafed to read the said letters at second-hand, so I assure myself that having answered the French Ambassador (coming from the mightiest prince in Europe and bringing a message of great temperance) in such round, princely, and magisterial sort, as moved admiration in all the hearers; Her Highness being now justly provoked in many ways (if I do not mistake the copy), will not give place to the pride of so poor a neighbour, but repress the same in his first budding, a principle, or rather the only remedy in such forward, (I will not say) presumptuous attempts. I pray God the unthankfulness in the mother work not like effects in the son."[69]
Elizabeth now, though still shrinking from the final step of signing the warrant, caused the sentence to be publicly proclaimed by sound of trumpet throughout the kingdom,—a measure welcomed with fanatic joy by the people, and regarded by Walsingham as an encouraging sign of the final realisation of his wishes.
When this news reached Mary she remarked that she would never have thought her good sister would proceed in so inhuman a manner towards her. The publicity now given to the sentence was, however, a consolation to Mary. Fear of death in itself seemed to have been unknown to her brave spirit, but as we know,she dreaded above all things private assassination, and the false rumours that she suspected would be spread regarding her if she should die without witnesses to attest her fidelity to her faith and royal dignity.
In the previous September she wrote to the Duke of Guise, "I expect poison or some other secret death"; and it is certain that her fears were well founded.
Paulet at length received the reply to the requests which Mary had begged Lord Buckhurst to present to Elizabeth. On 15th December he thus relates his interview with Mary touching this matter:—
"Having signified to the Queen that I had received the order to give back her money, and that I begged her to authorise one of her attendants to receive it, she sent me word that as I had taken it from her myself, she thought it only right that I should return it to her with my own hand; upon which I went to her, accompanied by Sir Drew Drury and Mr. Darrell.[70]I found her ill in bed, suffering from one of her legs. I gave her a memorandum of the money I had received from her and of that which I had spent for her.... She asked me what reply had been made to her other requests; I told her her papers would soon be returned, and that her attendants would be free to return to Scotland or to France according to their own choice.
"'Yes,' returned she, 'but I cannot say if they will have leave to retire with what I shall give them.' I answered her that she could not doubt of this. 'I refer to my furniture,' continued the Queen; 'as I have the intention of sending a bed to my son, it is for this that I requested leave to make my will.' She questioned me as to whether I had had an answer. I said no, but that it was unnecessary, as it depended on her own wish. She asked me what reply had been sent about her chaplain. I told her that they had the intention of soon sending him to her. Such was the interview. After remitting to her the money, Sir Drue Drury and I took our leave of her." Farther on in the letter Paulet adds: "I have sent two of my servants to go and fetch the priest, who is detained at Mr. Thomas Gresley's, and I expect them both this evening, or at latest, to-morrow morning. This lady continues to show her perverse and obstinate character. She shows 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. It is to be feared that she will die as she has lived, and I pray God that this ignorant papist priest be not admitted to her presence for her further punishment, and also because he will strengthen her in her opposition to Her Majesty, and in all her errors inmatters of religion, instead of bringing her to a better mind."[71]
On the 18th December Paulet wrote on the same subject to Burleigh:[72]"Mr. Secretary Walsingham had authorised me to send for this Queen's priest, and to let him visit her. He arrived here on the 17th,[73]so that if the execution of this Queen is deferred it may be repented of, as much from the political point of view as from that of religion, if he shall have stayed with her so long."
We must now return to the 15th December, as upon that day began the curious series of facts connected with Queen Mary's letter to her cousin.
After her interview with Lord Buckhurst and Beale, Mary had discussed this question of correspondence. I here use Bourgoing's words:—
"Her Majesty said that in former times she could write when she would, and then when it would have been profitable for both the Queen and herself, it had not been permitted; that since her enemies had procured and given the sentence against her, she had not thought it could be profitable, or of any use for her to write to the Queen; added to which, having been sohumbled and deprived of all dignity or title, she did not see in what quality she could write for the present."
Mary, however, now desired to write to Elizabeth, and on the 15th she sent Melville to Paulet with a message to this effect, adding that in so doing she was not impelled by any desire to save her life, to receive pardon, or to escape, but only "for the peace of her soul and as a last farewell." Sir Amyas declared that this was not a request to which he could give a reply on the spot, but that if Her Majesty liked to prepare her letter, he would forward it as soon as he should receive permission from court to do so. On hearing this Mary begged Paulet to come to her, but he objected that his colleague, Sir Drue Drury, was ill, and "they did nothing one without the other"; he would therefore defer visiting Her Majesty till the next day, when he hoped Drury would be better.
The following day—16th December—accordingly, after dinner Paulet and Drury visited the Queen, and the latter, to remove all suspicion of a danger too much in keeping with the spirit of the age to be unusual, offered to take it upon herself totest her letterbefore it should be sent to Elizabeth, in order that Paulet might be assured that no subtle poison was conveyed in it. This offer did not satisfy Paulet, and he said he wished "to read the letter and handle it himself before it wassealed, lest anything should be put inside the letter, as sometimes happened."
"This led to some discussion, as the Queen found it strange that he should ask of her what she had herself proposed to do, both by M. Melville and by Sir Drue Drury, and also by her own words at their entrance. She added that she thanked them for the good opinion they had of her, to suspect her wrongfully of putting anything in her letter which could harm the Queen (of England)." In reply Paulet excused himself "as well as he could," adds Bourgoing. Two days later the gentlemen returned to fetch the letter: this time Sir Amyas made excuses for having asked to see the letter before it was closed, and to test it, saying that as there might be danger within a letter as well as in its cover, it was best to make the request.
"Her Majesty showed him her open letter, and tested it by striking it against her face, then closed it with white silk and sealed it with Spanish wax. The address was 'To the Queen, our sister and cousigne'; the superscription, 'Your sister and cousin wrongfully imprisoned, Marye R.' The letter was written in French."[74]
Paulet wrote a long letter to Mr. Secretary Davison about this time describing his interview with Mary.The facts relating to the letter tally with those given by Bourgoing, and though Paulet's tone is bitter as usual, he adds the following postscript: "I had forgotten to signify unto you that this Queen, taking her letter in both her hands, and holding the leaves open, did wipe her face with every part of both the leaves; which no doubt she did in despite that I had told her there might be as great danger within the letter as without."[75]Queen Mary's letter, which had caused so much discussion, is a very interesting one, and we subjoin it. As we shall see, Paulet feared its effect on his mistress, and delayed sending it:—