The Press., 1907-03-27
OUEENED ONLY TO DIE
THE TRAGIC DESTINY OF LOVELY
LADY JANE GREY.


As a Little Child She Was the Most
Learned Girl For Her Age of Which
History Has Any Record - Her
Whole Life Was SOmber and Sad.
Sweet Lady Jane Grey, who reigned
for a few months as queen of Eng
land and had her head cut off with
an ak in the Tower of London for so
doing, was as a little girl the most
learned child for her age of which
history has any record.
Before she was nine years old she
wrote a beautiful hand and was able
to play well on several different sorts
of musical instruments. In languages
she was wonderful. She could speak
several, both ancient and modern.
with ease.
By the time she was twelve she was
possessed of all the accomplishments
taught young ladies of rank in those
days and, besides that, could not only
write but speak in Latin, Greek, Chal-
daic, Arabic, French, Italian and He
brew. She was also well grounded in
were out playing she used to amuse
herself by reading the writings Of the
philosopher Plato in the original
Greek.
Perhaps it was because the pretty
Lady James childhood was so lonely
as we'll as because of the extraordi-
nary powers Of her mind that she took
to study so kindly and learned so many
things while SO young. Her father
and mother were away at court much
of the time, leaving the girl to the
care of her governess and her school
masters at the great, gloomy family
place called ERADICATE, down in the
country. The big, ugly, square brick
house was built on the edge of a great
forest and surrounded by thousands
of acres of almost uninhabited land.
There were few books and no news
papers at the castle and no playmates
for Lady Jane, for her governess would
not let her play with the children Of
the servants, and there were no other
children within miles.
When she was fourteen years old
Lady Jane was taken to court by her
parents and after that spent much
time there, where everybody was de-
lighted by her learning, her beauty and
her wit At court she was able to
have some recreation, but she still kept
up her studies, and when she went to
spend long periods with her parents at
gloomy ERADICATE she had hard time
of it
In a letter which she wrote to the
celebrated scholar, Roger Ascham,
with whom she used to correspond as
with an equal, she tells how whenever
she tried to do anything in the presence
of her "sharp and severe parents"
either to ''speak, keep silent, sit, stand
or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be
sewing, playing, dancing or doing any
thing else," she was constantly criti-
cised and very often pinched or slap
ped if she did not do it perfectly.
In those days children were freely
chastised by their parents even after
they had grown up, and Lady Jane,
great heiress though she was and OF
the royal blood, got her share Of whip
pings. But she says that when she
was at her studies she was always
happy, and when called away from
them she would burst into tears.
Ascham, who visited her at ERADICATE
when she was a girl of twelve, found
her reading Plato in the original when
the rest of the family were out hunting.
and she told him that she was thank
full for having such stern parents, as
she had learned by their strict discl-
pline to find more happiness in learning
than In all the pomps and vanities and
all the pleasures of the world.
She was a wonderful child In her
knowledge Of politics and of what was
taking place In foreign countries, and
great men used to correspond with her
about affairs Of state when she was
little miss Of twelve as If she were
grown woman of the greatest intellect.
But poor little Lady Jane! All her
learning and wisdom did not save her
from sad fate. When she was sixteen
they married her to a weak but other
wise estimable young man and made
her queen for few months. Then she
was overthrown, taken prisoner and
early the next year had her head cut
off for usurping the crown.
It was her ambitious father who
forced her to take the crown, and he,
too, had his head cut off for the bad
advice he gave his daughter.
Those were stern old days when they
carried on their political campaigns
with an ak, and learned, gentle and
beautiful girl like Lady Jane was out
Of place in them.
But If she found no sympathy in her
own times she has found it since, and
more tears have been shed over the sad
fate of Lady Jane Grey by the present
age than her misfortunes and her vir-
tues ever caused to flow in her own
London Spectator.