On this page

• Text (1)

  Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

  • 

    Untitled Article

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

    Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

    Untitled Article

    his susp icions . This terrible phrase escapes her , " I have never seen him better or speak so humbly ; and , if I had not known from experience that his heart is as soft as wax , and mine as hard as diam , I should almost have taken pity on him . " And she took no pity I If afterwards an expression of disgust escapes her at the part Bothell forces her to play , that disgust does not prevent her playing it : nay , she makes a claim upon his love out of the very horror of her deed . "Now , seeing to obey you , my dear love , " she writes , " I spare neither

    honour , conscience , hazard , nor greatness whatsoever , take it , I pray you , in good part , and not after the interpretation of your false brother-in-law , to whom I pray you give no credit against the most faithful lover that ever you had or ever shall have . " Before we give the sentence which follows this , let us remind the reader that Bothwell was already married to Lady Jane Gordon , from whom he was trying to obtain a divorce . It will be seen that Mary wishes Bothwell to contrast the feigned tears ( artful phrase !) of the wife , with the devotion of the mistress— " See not her whose feigned tears should not be so much praised nor esteemed a * the true and

    faithful travails which I sustain to merit her place , for the obtaining of which against my natural disposition / betray them that may hinder me . God forgive me ! " Yet in the face of this—and much more circumstantial evidence—there are critics so dazzled by her as to doubt her complicity in the murder ! For ourselves , we have not only the most unalterable conviction of her guilt ; but we seem to read in her story nothing that can extenuate it ! she is a vulgar adulteress and murderess , hypocritical and heartless ; only her rank and the romance thrown around her history entitle this murder to a place in the causes celebres .

    Leaving this question , and addressing ourselves simply to Mignet ' s book as an accession to the mass of historical facts , we have only to echo the praises of all critics . It is the most complete in its facts , and the most impartial . Without approaching the standard we have in our minds , it is very welcome as an interesting collection of materials wherefrom a judgment may be drawn . The whole of the second A-oluine is occupied with the account of Mary ' s captivity ; and as in this article we have dwelt mainly on the dark side of her character , we will close it with a passage wherein the romantic aspect shines forth—the denouement of her long captivity . Sentence had been pronounced : —

    " As for Mary , she was at the time confined to bed by her customary ailments . About two o ' clock , the two Earls desired to speak to her ; she sent them word that she was indisposed , but that she would rise if the business they had to communicate was pressing . Learning from them in reply that the business would not admit of delay , she dressed herself , and seating herself before a small work-table which stood at the foot of her bed , she awaited their approach with the greatest calmness . Her women and the greater part of her servants were around her .

    I'he Grand Marshal of England , accompanied by the Earl of Kent , and followed by Beale , Paulet , and Drury , advanced uncovered , and , bowing respectfully to her , informed her that the sentence which had be * n signified to her by Lord Buckhurst two months and a half before , must now be put into execution , tin ; Queen their mistress being compelled thereto by the solicitations of her subjects . Mary listened to him without exhibiting any emotion , and she afterwards heard the warrant read by Beale , containing the order of her death . When he had finished

    reading , she made the sign of the cross . ' God be praised , said she , ' for the news you bring me . I could receive none better , for it announces to me the conclusion of my miseries , and the grace which God has grunted me to die for the honour of his name and of his Church , Catholic , Apostolic , and Roman . I did not expect such a huppy end , after the treatment 1 have suffered rmd the dangers to which I have been exposed for nineteen years in this country : —I , born h Queen , the daughter of a king , the granddaughter of Jlenry VII ., the near relation of the Queen ol Kn ^ land , Queen 1 ><> wager of France , and who , though n free princess , have been kept in prison without legitimate cause , though 1 am subject to nobody ,

    and recognize no superior m this world , excepting « . 'r ) d . ' Viewing herself as a victim to her religious faith , ' lie experienced the pure joy of the martyr , partook of ils sweet m'l-enity , ««» d maintained to the last its tranquil counigo . She iigaiu disavowed the project , of assassinating JOIizuboth , and , placing her hand on the New Testament which lay on the small ( able before her , « h « ( solemnly declared : ' I never eit her conceived or nought lifter tho death of the Queen of Knglund , and J never consented to it . ' On hearing these words , the Marl of Kent told her , with lanatic M . 'lene . ' . s that ihe hook on which she hud Hworn was th book of the PupiHtM , and that her oath was worth no more than her hook . ' Jt is tllG book HI which I

    do believe , ' replied Mary ; ' do you suppose my oath would be more sincere if I took it on yours , in which I do not believe ? ' The Earl of Kent then advised her to renounce what he called her superstitions , and offered her the aid of the Protestant Dean of Peterborough , who would teach her the true faith , and prepare her for death . Mary energetically rejected this offer , as being repugnant to her religious belief , and she requested that they would restore her almoner , who had again been removed from her for several days past . The two Earls had the cruelty and the infamy to refuse this religious consolation to a Queen on the eve of her death . Neither would

    they grant her the short delay she asked in order to write out her will carefully , and to make her final arrangements . Then , in answer to her inquiry as to the hour when she was to die , ' To-morrow , madam / said the Earl of Shrewsbury , ' about eight o ' clock in the morning . ' When the two Earls had quitted her presence , Mary set about consoling her servants , who were bathed in tears . She ordered her supper earlier , so as to have the whole night for writing and praying . She ate but little , according to her custom . Bourgoin , her physician , waited on her at table ; her maitre dhotel , Andrew Melvil , having been removed from her at the same time with her almoner . She

    spoke of the Earl of Kent ' s attempt to convert her , and said , with a smile , that it would require a different sort of doctor to presuade her . After supper , she summoned all her servants , and , pouring out some wine into a goblet , she drank to them , and , in an affectionate manner , called upon them to pledge her in return . They all fell on their knees , and , with tears in their eyes , replied to her toast with sorrowful effusion , asking pardon of her for any offences they might have committed against her . She told them she forgave them with good-will , and begged them also to pardon her for any uneasiness she might have caused them . She exhorted them to continue firm

    to the Catholic religion , and to live in peace and friendship with each other . Nau was the only one of whom she spoke with bitterness , accusing him of having often sown dissension among them , and of being the cause of her death . She then withdrew , and was occupied for several hours in writing with her own hand , some letters , and her Will , of which she appointed the Duke of Guise the chief executor . As the greater part of the legacies she bequeathed could not be paid , except out of her dowry , which would revert to the King of France at her death , she earnestly commended to Henry III ., her memory and her last settlements . ' You have always protested

    that you loved me , ' she said ; ' show it now by helping me , for charity ' s sake , in what I cannot do without jou , which is to recompense my afflicted servants , by leaving them their wages , and in causing prayers to be made to God for a Queen who has been styled Most Christian , and who dies a Catholic deprived of all her means . ' It was near "two o ' clock in the morning when she had finished writing . ** Feeling somewhat fatigued , and , wishing to preserve or restore her strength for the final moment , she went to bed . Her woman continued praying ; and , during the last repose of her body , though her eyes were closed , it was evident , from the slight motion of her

    lips , and a sort of rapture spread over her countanance , that she was addressing herself to Him on whom alone her hopes now rested . At duybreak she arose , saying that she had only two hours to live . She picked out one of her handkerchiefs , with a fringe of gold , as a bandage for her eyea on the scafFold , and dressed herself with a stern magnificence . Having assembled her servants , she made Bourgoin read over to them her will , which she then signed ; and afterwards gave them the letters , papers , and presents , of which they were to be the bearers to the princes of her family and her friends on the Continent . She had already distributed to them , on

    the previous evening , her rings , jewels , furniture , and dresses ; and she now gave them , the purses which she had prepared for them , and in which she had inclosed , in small sums , the live thousand crowns which remained over to her . With finished grace , and with affecting kindness , she mingled her consolations with her gifts , and utrcnghened them for the afllictiou into which her death would soon throw them . ' You could not see , ' says an eye-witne * s , ? any change , neither in her face , nor in her speech , nor in her general appoarance ; she seemed to be giving orders about her affairs just as if she were merely going to change her residence from one house to another . '"

    She retired to her oratory , and was for koiiio time engaged in reading the praycru for the dead . A loud knocking at the door interrupted her ; tilic bade the intnulern wait a few minutea : — " Shortly afterwards , eight o ' clock having Htruck , there was a fresh knocking at tho door , which this time was opened . The Sheriff entered , with a white wand in his hand , advanced close to Mary , who had not yet moved her head , and pronounced theuo few words : — - ' Mudani , the Lords uwait you , and have sent me . to you . ' ' Yes , ' replied Mary , rising from her knees , ' let us go . ' Just as she wan moving away , Bourgoin handed to her the ivory crucifix which stood on the altar ; ahe kissed it , and ordered it to be

    earned before her . Not being able to support herself alone , on account of the weakness of her limbs , she walked leaning on two of her own servants , to the extremity of her apartments . Having arrived at that point , they , with peculiar delicacy , which she felt and approved , desired not to lead her themselves to execution , but entrusted her to the support of two of Paulet ' s servants , and followed her in tears . On reaching the , staircase , where the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent awaited Mary Stuart , and by which , she had to descend into the lower hall , at the end of which the scaffold had been raised , they were refused the consolation of accompanying her further . In spite of their supplications and lamentations they were separated from her ; not without difficult yfor

    , they threw themselves at her feet , kissed her hands clung to her dress , and would not quit her . When they had succeeded in removing them , she resumed her course with a mild and noble air , the crucifix in one hand and a prayer-book in the other , dressed in the widow ' s garb which she used to wear on days of great solemnity , consisting of a gown of dark crimson velvet with black satin corsage , from which chaplets and scapularies were suspended , and which was surmounted by a cloak of figured satin of the sa me colour , with a long train lined with sable , a standingup collar , and hanging sleeves . A white veil was thrown over her , reaching from her head to her feet . She evinced the dignity of a queen along with the calm composure of a Christian . "

    The sentence was then read to her . She then began to reeite in Latin the Psalms of penitence and mercy , —a pious exercise rudely interrupted by the Deau of Peterborough and the Earl of Kent : — " Her prayer ended , she arose . The terrible moment had arrived , and the executioner approached to assist her in removing a portion of her dress ; but she motioned him away , saying , with a smile , that she never had such valets de chambre . She then called Jean Kennedy and Elizabeth Curll , who had remained on their knees at the foot of the scaffold ,

    and she began to undress herself with their assistance , remarking that she was not accustomed to do so before so many people- The afflicted girls performed this last sad office in tears . To prevent the utterance of their grief , she placed her finger on their lips , and reminded them that she had promised in their name that they would show more firmness . 'Instead of weeping , rejoice , ' she said ; 'lam very happy to leave this world , and in so good a cause . ' She then laid down her cloak , and took off her veil , retaining only a petticoat of red taffety , flowered with velvet . Then , seating herself on the chair , she gave her executioner

    blessing to her weeping servants . Ihe having asked her pardon on his knees , she told him that she pardoned everybody . She embraced Elizabeth Curll » nd Jean Kennedy , and gave them her blessing , making the sign of the cross over them , and after Jean Kennedy had bandaged her eyes , she desired them to withdraw , which they did weeping . At the some time she knelt down with great courage , and still holding the crucifix in her hands , stretched out her neck to tho executioner . She then said aloud , and with the most ardent feeling of confidence : — < Mv God , I have hoped in you ; I commit myseli to your hands . ' She imag ined that she would have been struck in the mode usual in I ranee , in an

    upright posture , and with the sword . Ihe two masters of the works , perceiving her ^ iHtake , informed her of it , and assisted to lay her head on the block , which she did without ceasing to pray . 1 here was . i universal feeling of compassion at the sight ot tnis lamentable misfortune , this heroic courage , and tnis admirable sweetness . The executioner himself wuh moved , and aimed with an unsteady hand . ino _ axii instead of falling on the neck , struck the back ot inc . head and wounded her ; yet tthe made no movement , nor uttered a comp laint . It was only on repuatiiife the blow , that the executioner struck oft her ne . iu , which he held up , saying , God save Queen JMi ™ - botli ' 'Thus , ' added Dr . Fletcher , may all 1 »«

    enemies perish ! ' " The ; Triumph ; or , tin ; Coining A ;;*; of Christianity- 1 '< lll '' ' ,. ' * J . M . Morg . ui . ' I . « , i . } fii > aiiH aii'l t" . Mr . Minter Morgan , so well known by various w <» <» and by his socialistic scheme of the tfelf-Hup ]><> it >»> N Village , has here rtssembled nn immense vm"U ! V , passages from ancient and modern writers , ruiitf and philosophical—all bearing oh the »" lvil " , ) I 1 , r maintaining the principle o ( uii 4 iv iiletiintercntH nu h hH

    mankind as essential to progress and happia < ' ' j ( to the permanent ascendancy of Christum l' « v < -. is an elegant book . Hut , aftar reading it , <>"< ' > _ to doubt the efficacy of any more intcllec tun P- ^ turn of » i truth , when the feelings and habitH u ^ move with the intellect : ho much wisdom , *> ^ gentleness , ho much emphatic recognition o ' . _ sirableness of virtue , and yet virtue romaii" K sired ! In the preface , Mr . Morgan torch ly c > nU ^ <; the actual unloving condition o < men wii" ' ( | trine of Christian love dominant over Isuroj • /;/// indeed , he is quite correct in ^ eakmg ot uiv - ^ ago of Christianity : it has not come since . > preached it .

    Untitled Article

    948 Wfyt fL $ QLi ! $ t + [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 4, 1851, page 948, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1903/page/16/