Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-11-05
QUEEN MARY's HOUSE
an HISTORIC OLD MANSION IN THE
ANeIENI-sToWN OF JEDBuRG.

CttENl--i OWN .Of JSOSOh1.
Saas.
In Tliss Old Fashioned Building the
Queen Of the Scots Held Court and for
Three Weeks Lay Sick of n Fcver-IIer
Near Approach to Death.
There is one house in Jedburg TO
which, above all others, strangers who
visit the. ancient town are sure to find
; their way, and that is the old and an
tique nan known as Queen Mary's
house. e anyswill therefore be pleased
to;learnst steps are aboutt to be taken:
for thesbetter preservation of this. his.
toric ediice, and for the Improvement of
its surroundings On Oct s, 1856, Mary
left HolyTood to hold assizes at jed
burg, the magistrates having been pre-
yiously Instructed. to prepare meat,
drink and lodg ings for men and horses .
andsshes arrived next day. The green
was accompania I by her ministers of
Estate .,lsf ofii ccrs ana sby manysof.
hersnoblcs, among whom were the Earls
of Moray !. huntly, Argyll, Rothes and
Caithness, and the Lords Livingstone.
Seton, Yester, Borthwick, Arbroath,
Hume and Bonneville, besides q num-
berof harons and bishops. What stir.
there must have been il tho old border
burg OH that occasion, and what
anxiety it would cost the worthy pro-
vost and magistrates to l.eep up the
good name of their town in tho presence
of so many great personages, and even
royalty itself!
$: The essizes continued for six success
sive days. and terminated without
single execution. Mary presided at
privy council held on the 10th, and ut
another held on the following day. On
the 10th, after the pressure of business
was over, she rode to Hermitage castle
t to see Dothwell. who had been wounded
by Little Jock Elliott" of. the. park, a
noted freebooter, and after comforting
with her wounded lieutenant for two
hours in presence of several of her
mobiles who accompanied her on the
journey she returned to JedburS. the
same evening, having ridden more than
forty -eightlniIes. Next day Mary was
attacked with. an intermittent fever,
which kept her prostrlte for over
fortnight. On the same day she took
i'll the sum of six shillings was paid 10
sane boy passing from Jedburg with
une mass OF writings of our sovereign to
the Earl of Boutwell,"
The room in which Queen Mary lay
during her serious illness is, according
to tradition, small two windowed
apartment in the turret, but Miss Strick-
land, in. her oLives of the Queens of
Scotland" says in reference to this point
that .rhc spacious suite of apartments
on the opposite side of the staircase, one
Of which sill bears the name of the
.guardroonl, is more likely to have been
occupied by royalty as anteroom, privy
chamber ard bedroom" 1t is, however,
the small back apartment that is pointed
out to visitors as Queen Marys bedroom,
and it was there, if we arc to credit ira
dition, where she lay nigh unto death,
attended ..by. her French physician
Charles Nan.
Is. GT etth ehe clay for dead" three
hours limbs cold and rigid her
eyes closed, her mouth compressed, her
feet and arms stiff, every one surprising
that the vital spark had fed. Master
Nan, Who was ga perfect man of his
craft. would rot, however, give the
matter up, but resorted to friction and
manipulation. which he continued for
some hours, until the queen recovered
again her sight and speech and got
great sweating. When her illness had
assumed a mortaltendency she expressed
her Willingness to resign her spirit to
God. She wished to impress on her
mobiles the necessity of living in unity,
and that they should do all in their
power to protect the infant prince-her
Gully tie to life. To Du Croix, tho
French emhassador, she made request
that he would ask bis royal master "
protect her dear son, and she also recon-
mended his protection to Queen Eliza.
beth, as her nearest kinswoman.
On the 2Sth Darnley arrived in jed
burg, but left again The next day, and it
is not certain that he was ever allowed
to see Mary. When she was recovering
the wearisolne hours were beguiled by
one John Hume playing to. her on the
lutte and John Heron playing on the pipe
and '"quhissil,' the former receiving
forty shillings for his services. the Inter
four pounds for his. AS a thank offer
ing to God for her recovery she caused
twenty pounds TO be given to the poor CT
tile burg. and the same day size wrote
letter ordering materials for new,
dress. which letter was to be sent to Ed
inburgh .in all possible. haste.
What q curious Old World picture:
But the scene again changes. On Nov.
0-exaetly a5rlonth after her arrival
Queen Mary left.Jedburg, accompanied
by her MOBILES. among whom WAS Both
well, and with al escort Of a thousand
horsemen. She arrived on the 10Th at
f,raigmillar castle with sorrow, suffer
Ing and captivity in the near future, and
in the distance the bloody scaffold OF
Fotheringay -Four months after her
departure from our ancient burg" says
local chroniclcr,y cher husband, Lord
Darnley, was 1nnrdered; three months
more and she was the wife of Boutwell,;
vet twelve months, and she was lodged
as a prisoner in the Castle.of Carlisle. As
time rolled On and the clouds of =rnisfor-
tune we're rolling, dark and thick around
her, she was often heard to exclaim, in