Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-01-14
The Last Moments of Mary
Queen of Scots.

land, after the defeat of her army by
the Regent Murray at the battle of
Langside, near Dumbarton, fed to
Carlisle, and threw herself on the pro-
lection of her kinswoman Elizabeth.
On February 8, 1887. Mary, as a
conspirator against the life of an Eng
Hsh queen, was beheaded at Fother-
ingay-unjustly, as all Roman Catho-
lie writers and Scotchmen still think;
Justly, as Mr.. Froude and many 9TH
er thinkers have decided.
1t is unnecessary to commence our
traditional account of the death of
this pseudo martyr by more than a
brief epitome of her reign. Mary,
the daughter of James V. of Scotland
and Mary of Guise, was born to
life of sorrow only a few days before
her father died, in December, 1912.
At an early age she married the Dau-
phin of France, who was afterward
killed by accident at a tournament.
On her return to Scotland, to assume
the crown. she renewed the preten-
sions of her earlier days to the throne
of England, which she had previously
abandoned, and henceforward made
Elizabeth her sworn enemy. The
vexations Mary received from the
stern Calvinists, over whom she had
to rule, it is unnecessary here to re-
capitulate. Mary, whom Henry VIII.
had proposed to marry to his son,
Edward VI, was now recommended
by Elizabeth to marry Lord Robert
Dudley, but soon after fell in love
and married Lord Darnley, the eldest
son of the Earl of Lennox. Mary's
disgust at the profigacy and folly of
this worthless STRIPPING was soon fol-
lowed by Darnley's jealousy and the
murder of Rzzio. Mary's guilty in
fatuation for James Hepburn. Earl
of Boutwell,, then led, we all know,
to the cruel murder of Darnley, in
which crime the best and most impair
tial authorities now allow that Mary
was an accomplice, probably before,
and certainly after the event. How
the mobiles of Scotland, always turbu-
lent enough against the daughter-in-
law of Catherine de Medicis, rose in
arms at Mary's marriage with the
blood-stained and brutal Boutwell,, is
well-known, as is also her romantic
escape from Lochlevin, and her SUD-
sequent defeat and imprudent flight
to England.
From Scylla to Charybdis Mary
had passed in coming to the domains
of Elizabeth, whose right she had,
from a child, disputed. She soon
found herself a prisoner, suspected of
murder, in Bolton Castle. From that
she was removed further south to
Tutbury, in Staffordshire. Her sub
sequent removals to Coventry, BuX-
ton, Wells, Tixall and Charley, were
followed by her being finally trans
ferred still more south to Fotheringay
Castle. The history Of her eighteen
years detention in England we must
epitomise in few lines. With the
Justice or wisdom of Mary's detention
we have nothing here to do; but how
could Catholic claimant of the Eng
lish throne expect much mercy from
Elizabeth and her Protestant minis
ters, whose destruction France, Spain
and the Pope were necessarily plan
ming? Why, a yirtuous princess, ap-
pealing for mercy, could hardly have
expected it H.! How much less, then, a
woman who had murdered her hus-
band and married the murderer a
daughter-in-law of the Medici? AT
Tutbury this dangerous woman was
vexed with restrictions, and yet with
all the watching letters reached hel
from France, Spain and the English
conspirators whom she encouraged tC
ssassinate Elizabeth. We know, too
that at Charley she drove out ano
was wheeled out frequently, went tc
see dnck-hunts, rode with the hounds
and killed fat ducks with her cross
bow; while as for her wardrobe anC
trifes, they were so numerous that
they filled eighty carts. At Tutbury
she rode out hawking, and had hel
music books and her embroidery fol
quiet days. Not in telling beads Oh
muttering ayes did the unhappy wo
mans years pass. No whisper il
Vatican or threat at Madrid bu
reached her through her emissaries
Walsingham's hireling spies had t.
countermine against Mary's. Th'
early plans of the Armada were, NJ
doubt, known to Darnley's PREACHER
Gus widow. Many times Elizabeth
had warned her and forgiven her
Even her threatening intrigues will
the Duke of Norfolk were pardoned
But, in 1886, Mary having encour
aged the conspiracy of Darlington, 1
young Derbyshire gallant, who, will
six other Catholic youths, many o
them holding offices about the court
had taken oath TO kill Elizabeth, ever
in the throne-room if necessary, tn
imminent peril of such incessant con
spiracies at last deeply moved Eliza
beth, and she reluctantly yielded t.
Burliegh and Davison's advice TO
Mary's instant trial. With great re
luctance she at last signed the death
warrant at Greenwich Castle. Sh
specified the hall of Fotheringay'
Castle as a better place for the exc