Chapter VII: Waiting for Death

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 neglected are very often accompanied with very dangerous effects."[68]

[Footnote 68: _Letter Books of Sir Amyas Paulet_, p. 320.]

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 to hear 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]

[Footnote 69: _Letter Books_, p. 323.]

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.

[Footnote 70: The steward appointed by Elizabeth to serve Queen Mary.]

"'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 in matters of religion, instead of bringing her to a better mind."[71]

[Footnote 71: Paulet to Walsingham, _The Letter Books_, p. 325.]

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."

[Footnote 72: Paulet to Burleigh, _The Letter Books_, p. 328.]

[Footnote 73: Bourgoing's Journal says that M. de Préau arrived on the 16th about four o'clock in the evening.]

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 so humbled 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 to _test her letter_ before 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 was sealed, 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]

[Footnote 74: Chantelauze, p. 552.]

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:--

[Footnote 75: See also letter, p. 338, _Letter Books_.]

MARY STUART TO QUEEN ELIZABETH.[76]

[Footnote 76: Labanoff, vi. 474.]

_From_ FOTHERINGAY, _December 19, 1586._

MADAME--Having been unable to obtain leave from
those to whom I have been, as it were, given by you,
to make known to you what I have at heart, as well to
acquit myself of any feeling of ill-will, or desire to
commit any cruelty or enimical act against those to whom
I am related by blood, as also to communicate to you in
charity what I deemed might serve for your welfare and
preservation as well as for the continuance of the peace
and prosperity of this island (things which could harm no
one, as it was in your power to take or reject my advice,
or to believe or disbelieve my words, as it seemed best
to you), I resolved henceforward to strengthen myself in
Jesus Christ alone, who is never wanting in justice and
consolation to those who invoke Him with all their heart,
and in especial, when denuded of all human help, they are
left in His holy protection. To Him be the glory; He has
not disappointed me in my expectations, having given me
the courage, _in spe contra spem_, to endure the anguish,
calomness, accusations, and contumelies of those who
have no jurisdiction over me, together with a constant
resolution to suffer death for the maintenance, obedience,
and authority of the Catholic Church, Apostolic and Roman.

Lately, on hearing the sentence, given by your last
assemblage of some of the state, and receiving the
admonition made to me by Lord Buckhurst and Beale, that I
should prepare myself for the end of my long and wearisome
trying pilgrimage, I begged them to thank you from me for
such agreeable tidings, and to implore you to permit me
certain things for the discharge of my conscience, the
which Sir Paulet has since let me know you have accorded,
having already allowed my chaplain to return, and together
with the money which had been taken from me, and he assures
me that the rest will follow. For all this I have much
wished to return you thanks, and to supplicate you for one
more last favour, which I have thought best to communicate
to you alone, as being a last grace which I desire to owe
to you alone, having no hope of anything but cruelty from
the Puritans, who are now the strongest in power and the
most animated against me,--God knows for what reason. I
wish to accuse no one, but, on the contrary, to forgive
every one from my heart, as I desire to be forgiven by
all and in the first place by God. And then I know that
all concerning the honour or dishonour of your blood and
that of a queen, daughter of a king, touches you more
nearly than any one else. Therefore, Madame, in honour
of Jesus (whose name all powers obey), I require you to
promise that when my enemies shall have satisfied their
dark desire for my innocent blood, you will permit that my
poor sorrowful servants may all together bear my body to
be buried in holy ground and near those of my predecessors
who are in France, especially the late Queen my mother;
and this because in Scotland the bodies of the kings my
ancestors have been insulted, and the churches pulled
down and profaned, and because, suffering death in this
country, I cannot have a place beside your predecessors,
who are also mine; and what is more important--because in
our religion we much prize being buried in holy ground. And
as I am told you wish in nothing to force my conscience or
my religion, and have even conceded me a priest, I hope
that you will not refuse this my last request, but will at
least allow free sepulture to the body from which the soul
will be separated, as being united, they never knew how to
obtain liberty to live in peace, or to procure the same
for you, for which before God I do not in any way blame
you--but may God show you the entire truth after my death.

And because I fear the secret tyrany of some of those into
whose power you have abandoned me, I beg you not to permit
me to be executed without your knowledge--not from fear of
the pain, which I am ready to suffer, but on account of
the rumours which would be spread concerning my death if
it were not seen by reliable witnesses; how it was done,
I am persuaded, in the case of others of different rank.
It is for this reason that in another place I require that
my attendants remain to be spectators and witnesses of my
end in the faith of my Saviour, and in the obedience of
His Church, and that afterwards they shall all together
withdraw quickly, taking my body with them as secretly as
you wish, and so that the furniture and other things which
I may be able to leave them in dying, be not taken from
them, which will be, indeed, a very small reward for their
good services. Would you wish me to return a jewel which
you gave me to you with my last words, or would it please
you to receive it sooner? I implore of you anew to permit
me to send a jewel and a last adieu to my son, together
with my blessing, of which he has been deprived, owing to
what you informed me of his refusal to enter into a treaty
in which I was included,--by the unhappy advice of whom?
This last point I leave to your conscience and favourable
consideration. For the others, I demand of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ, and in consideration of our relationship,
in remembrance of King Henry VII., your [great]grandfather
and mine, and in honour of the dignity we have both held,
and of our common sex, that my request be granted.

For the rest, I think you will have certainly heard that
they pulled down my dais, by your order, as they said, and
that afterwards they told me that it was not done by your
command, but by that of some of the council. I praise God
that such cruelty, which could only show malice and afflict
me after I had made up my mind to die, came not from you. I
fear it has been like this in many other things, and that
this is the reason why they would not permit me to write to
you until they had, as far as they could, taken from me all
external mark of dignity and power, telling me I was simply
a dead woman, stripped of all dignity.

God be praised for all. I wish that all my papers, without
any exception, had been shown to you, so that it might have
been seen that it was not only the care of your safety
which animated all those who are so prompt in persuing me.
If you grant me this my last request, give orders that I
shall see what you write regarding it, as otherwise they
will make me believe what they like; and I desire to know
your final reply to my final request.

In conclusion, I pray the God of mercy, the just Judge,
that He will deign to enlighten you by His Holy Spirit, and
that He will give me the grace to die in perfect charity,
as I am preparing myself to do, pardoning all those who
are the cause of my death, or who have co-operated in it;
and this shall be my prayer till the end. I consider it
happy for me that it should come before the persecution
which I foresee threatens this island--if God is not more
truly feared and revered, and vanity and worldly policy not
more wisely curbed. Do not accuse me of presumption if, on
the eve of leaving this world, and preparing myself for a
better, I remind you that one day you will have to answer
for your charge as well as those who are sent before,
and that, making no account of my blood or my country, I
desire to think of the time when, from the earliest dawn
of reason, we were taught to place our soul's welfare
before all temporal matters, which should cede to those of
eternity.--Your sister and cousin wrongfully imprisoned,

MARIE, QUEEN.

_From_ FOTHERINGAY _this xix December 1586_.

Paulet, after receiving this letter from Queen Mary, entered into a long conversation with her, in which he disturbed her by "rather violent discourses, warning her to thank the Queen (Elizabeth) and acknowledge the favours she had done her, not only at her first coming into England, but ever since, and especially in this last affair, in which, he said, she had much to be thankful for."

"For my part," replied Mary, "if I have received any favours, I thank her, but I do not see in what they consist. I came into this country under her promise (of assistance). She has kept me a prisoner for eighteen years, and now makes me die, which is the worst that can be done to me."

"But," retorted Paulet, "you owe it to the Queen that she kept you from your enemies and saved your life. You were escaping to another country when the stress of weather at sea caused you to take refuge here."

"There is no one in this country but you who holds this opinion," replied the Queen, "or who does not know that I came to this country in a simple fishing-boat, which was to take me no farther than I wished. I came against the judgment of the nobles who were with me, of whom some are still alive. They dissuaded me from coming, saying I was putting myself in the hands of the enemies of my country and my own, from whom I should never escape, as they would put me to death; and they would not accompany me until I gave them an attestation and certificate in my handwriting that it was against their wish, and in spite of them, that I came to England. You show yourself very ignorant of my affairs, as you have shown in other conversations. When I was at Lochleven Queen Elizabeth said, and wrote, that she would employ all her friends to deliver me from prison and subdue my enemies. If she did not wish to keep her promise to me, who came to her trusting in it, she should have sent me away, and not have detained me (against) her promise."

Sir Amyas, nothing daunted, continued to boast of the kindness shown by his mistress in her treatment of Mary, and then he and Sir Drue Drury, addressing themselves this time to Melville, who was also present, united in praising Morton, after which they proceeded to declare that the King of Scotland had great cause to respect the Queen of England, and that she had been a good mother to him; that it was not the English who had withdrawn him from his mother's friendship, but he himself who would not enter into any league in which she took part. The English dealt with him as King of Scotland, they said, who was recognised as such in England and in all foreign countries, and had been publicly acknowledged in full Parliament in England and Scotland.

"You have no feelings of honour," said the Queen, "if you praise so wicked a man as the Earl of Morton, who is held to be a tyrant and an usurper, who pillages and destroys all the possessions of the poor Scottish subjects, holds my son a prisoner, is a false traitor, and given up to a life of debauchery and public wickedness." To this Melville added other facts of the kind, having known Morton.

"I marvel within myself," continued Mary, "how the Queen of England can consider herself a good mother to my son, having always kept him apart from me, and prevented his having friendship with me. You do wrong in following young Gray's advice, to treat with the son rather than with the mother, to whom the kingdom belongs, and not to him. Far from being King, I protested in Scotland that my resignation was forced from me; I permitted him to take the title of King on the condition that he should consult me on affairs of importance to the kingdom, that he should do nothing without me, otherwise I should not support him in anything. Foreign kings only recognised him on these conditions, which not being observed, I cannot acknowledge him as King, and I doubt me the Queen of England has said by her own mouth to her people, and even to the Ambassadors of France, and to Nau, that she had never acknowledged him as King, nor had yet given him the title."

All these matters had already been discussed at the trial. "The Queen," said Bourgoing, "took occasion to say that they repeated these things on purpose to displease her more, and to attempt to extract something from her, as it may be supposed from the fact that Sir Amyas could not bear what Her Majesty had said concerning certain members of the council who were hostile to her, she said, and did all they could against her, and this she would say of some of them she could name till death, whom she would nevertheless pardon with all her heart."

"You do ill in this," replied Paulet, "as you should die in charity; there is no one of the council who wishes to do you evil against his conscience. You go against God in retaining such an opinion of them."

"I do not feel my conscience charged by this," said Mary, "nor have I offended God, who does not forbid one to die in an opinion of which one is sure, nor to speak in dying of that of which one has a perfect knowledge; although most surely He commands us to forgive, which I do, as I have already said, but I do not at present feel drawn to flatter, and will flatter no one, not striving to escape from their hands by this means. Being resolved to die, and preparing for this, I do not intend to purchase my life, or purchase any grace, by flattery. I do not give any, and I do not ask for any, do with me what you wish. What I ask of the Queen has nothing to do with my deliverance, but only concerns my religion, and for the discharge of my conscience, being on the point of putting my affairs in order touching my will, my servants, and my funeral."[77]

[Footnote 77: Chantelauze, pp. 552-556.]

On the day following this interview Paulet wrote the following confidential letter to Davison, in which he states very plainly his reasons for delaying to send Mary's letter to Queen Elizabeth:--

We were not a little perplexed with this motion of
writing, and, indeed, did forbear to deliver our answer
until we had considered of the matter privately between
ourselves, wherein, as we feared greatly to give any the
least cause of delay of the due examination [execution] of
the long-desired justice, so, having received lately Her
Majesty's express commandment to make offer to this lady to
convey her letters if she were disposed to write, although
she did not accept thereof at that time, yet, doubting
lest our refusal to yield unto it at this present might be
offensive to Her Highness, and perchance breed some slander
to the cause, we condescended to her desire, beseeching God
so to direct the sequel thereof as the same may redound to
His glory and Her Majesty's safety, whereof there were no
doubt, if we were as willing to take the advantage of great
and urgent occasions to further this expected sacrifice,
acceptable to God and man, as we are easily diverted from
it upon every similar suggestion. All good and faithful
subjects will be always careful of Her Majesty's safety,
but specially in the time of Christmas now at hand, which
giveth occasion to many dangerous assemblies. We are
content to be found faulty of this pardonable jealousy.
Being not able to do any good in this service, we should be
very sorry, and should think ourselves more than unhappy
if anything should come from us that might do hurt. And,
therefore, to be plain with you as with our very friend, we
have used all convenient means to delay the receiving of
this, to the end it might arrive at the court too late to
stay any action touching this lady that might be intended
before Christmas, being strongly persuaded that the delay
of the execution until after Christmas will give great
cause to suspect an everlasting delay, either through Her
Majesty's too great inclination to mercy, or by reason of
the danger of her person in the Christmas, a time subject
to dangerous assemblies. And thus, etc.

* * * * *

_P.S._--I am very sorry that your letters of the 14th,
received the 20th at nine in the morning, came not to my
hands in time convenient for the stay of the priest, who,
arriving here the 17th, was immediately admitted to the
presence of his mistress, according to the direction which
I had before received in that behalf. The inconvenience
whereof is not so great in matter of policy as in
conscience, because, indeed, the priest is [of] weak and
slender judgment, and can give neither counsel nor advice
worthy of a young scholar. I feared lest he might have
learned some bad news during his abode with Mr. Gresley,
but having groped him the best I can, do find that he is a
mere stranger almost to those things which are common to
all men, which I impute to his want of language and to Mr.
Gresley's absence from his house now many weeks by reason
of his being at London, so that he hath had little other
company than of his keeper. I might have doubted lest he
had dissembled his knowledge in the occurrents of this
time, but having searched his papers, do find two leaves of
paper craftily (as he thought) inserted in the midst of his
philosophical exercises, wherein he hath set down a daily
note of all that he heard spoken unto him, and likewise his
answers in all this time of his absence, the same being
ridiculous or do bewray his great indiscretion. I would
have been glad, for some Christian respects, that he should
have had no access to this Queen until the night before her
execution, and, indeed, having received direction to send
for him, I took it for a strong argument that the time of
her execution was near at hand.[78]

[Footnote 78: _Letter Books_, p. 338.]

Paulet's fear that Mary's letter would touch Elizabeth was partly justified by the event. When it was at last forwarded, Leicester thus writes of this letter to Walsingham: "There is a letter from the Scottish Queen that hath wrought tears, but I trust shall do no further hurt therein; albeit the delay is too dangerous." Leicester apparently knew his royal mistress's character better than did Paulet, for the tears induced no change of policy.[79]

[Footnote 79: Mary sent a ring to her cousin with this letter; Hosack, ii. 440.]