Mary Queen of Scots in History

by C. A. Campbell

Those who have been accustomed to hearing the French court of that time spoken of as dissolute and vicious, and who have furthermore taken for granted that Mary's early life was shaped by the unsavoury habits of the courtiers, and that the crimes of which she was afterwards accused were only the natural outgrowth of her early training, will do well to remember that her education was not intrusted to the French court or courtiers. Antoinette de Bourbon, maternal grandmother of the young queen, a lady eminent throughout France for her virtues, was the person in whose hands Mary of Lorraine had placed the religious education of her child. The brave Duke of Guise (who had won Calais from the English) and his brother the Cardinal, were also particularly interested in the welfare of their little niece. To these Mary, from the beginning, became warmly attached, and their landless and uninterrupted solicitude for her well-being, sealed that reciprocal love of uncles and niece which lasted until death.

Mary was already Queen of Scotland and betrothed of the future King of France, and would probably succeed to the throne of England; nothing, therefore, was overlooked that would help to qualify her for the high position to which she was destined. Her education did not stop with the lighter accomplishments suited to her sex and station; the deeper studies of literature, ancient and modern; history, Sacred Scripture, the languages and the fine arts, were assiduously attended to. An interesting document in the form of a Latin exercise book which she used when about twelve years of age, is preserved in the National Library in Paris. It contains sixty-four themes, written in clear characters, which, however, vary in appearance according to the quality of the pen and ink she happened to have at hand. She writes on subjects taken from Plato, Cicero and other classical authors; she cites different works of Erasmus; she discusses the history of certain learned women of antiquity; she speaks of the profit to be derived from the study of Holy Scripture if approached with a pure heart; and among other things she has a theme on Purgatory, thrown into the form of an epistle addressed to Calvin. Mary's physical, mental and moral development were studiously watched, and carefully reported to her mother in Scotland. When she had just completed her eleventh year, the Cardinal of Guise, in a letter to her mother, writes of her as follows: "Your daughter has grown much taller and she daily improves in goodness and virtue, in beauty and intelligence. She could not possibly make greater progress than she does in all that is excellent and of good reputation. Never have I seen her equal in this realm, either among high or low.... You may be assured that in her you have a daughter who will be the greatest of comforts to you." Further on the Cardinal drops a remark which shows that Mary had already developed a trait of character that was conspicuous throughout the remainder of her life. "In the settlement of your daughter's establishment, it is my opinion that there should not be anything that is either superfluous or mean, for meanness is the thing which, of all others, she hates most in the world."

In a letter written to her mother on the occasion of her first communion, Mary uttered a prayer which we who know--what she could not then know--the trials that awaited her, cannot read without being touched by the sad contrast between her first bright hope and the subsequent gloom that settled over her life. "I have come," she said, "to Meudon to Madame my grandmother, in order to keep the feast of Easter, because she and my uncle--Monsieur the Cardinal--wish that I should take the Sacrament. I pray to God very humbly to give me grace that I may make a good beginning."

On Sunday, the 4th of April, 1558, the fair Scottish queen, who was now in her sixteenth year, was married to the young Dauphin, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. All Paris was astir in its festive garments. Scotland and France vied in adding to the splendour of the feast; the choicest music swelled along the high arches of the grand old cathedral; the streets of the gay capital re-echoed with the popular demonstrations; nor need we doubt that the martial strains of the Highland pipes mingled with the livelier tones of the French fife and drum. According to a chronicler of the event, it was the universal opinion of the multitude that, "if Scotland be a possession of value, she who is queen of that realm is far more precious, for if she had neither crown nor sceptre, her single person, in her divine beauty, would be worth a kingdom."

In the following November, Mary Tudor, Queen of England, died, and Mary Stewart, at least in the opinion of the Catholics, who did not acknowledge the legitimacy of Elizabeth, daughter of Ann Boleyn, became, by right, Queen of England. Mary's title to the crown of England came through her paternal grandmother, the Princess Margaret, eldest sister of Henry VIII. A few months later, the death of the French King brought the Dauphin to the throne, and Mary became Queen of France. A little more than a year afterwards, she was left a widow of eighteen. She had all along been, and still was, the pride and admiration of France; yet she could truly say, "Now, I'm in the world alone." Her father had died when she was an infant; her father-in-law, who was strongly attached to her, had been cut off by a sudden death; her husband died shortly after; and a few months later, the news of her mother's death, under distressing circumstances, reached her. No wonder she turned her thoughts away from royal splendour and gave herself up to meditation on the hollowness of worldly greatness. No wonder it took all the influence of her friends to persuade her from entering the Convent at Rheims and passing the remainder of her days under the habit of an humble nun. But this was not permitted her; and the question of her return to Scotland began to be discussed. The Estates of Scotland convened to consider the conditions on which they would permit the return of their Sovereign. The men who led this movement had shortly before been in open rebellion, and, with the assistance of Elizabeth of England, had carried on war against the Queen-Regent, Mary of Lorraine. They had furthermore concluded a treaty with Elizabeth that was prejudicial to Mary's right of succession to the English throne; and had, by Act of Parliament, proscribed the Catholic religion in Scotland. The articles of the treaty and the acts against Catholic worship had been presented to Mary for ratification; but she had declined to sanction them, the question being weighty and she being without counsel of her nobles; more especially, however, because these were not the work of the Scottish nation, but of a faction in league with Queen Elizabeth.

Indeed, the English Ambassador to Paris, Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, had repeatedly urged Mary to ratify the treaty of Edinburgh. It was after an interview with her on this subject that this shrewd and observant agent of Elizabeth and Cecil penned for the information of the English court, the following description of the young widow, which is valuable as the testimony of an enemy who knew her well:--

"During her husband's life no great account was made of her, for that being under bond of marriage and subjection to him (who carried the burden and care of all her matters), there was offered no great occasion to know what was in her. But since her husband's death, she hath shewed (and so continueth) that she is of great wisdom for her years, and of equal modesty, and also of great judgment in the wise handling of herself and her matters; which, increasing with her years, cannot but turn greatly to her commendation, reputation, honour and great benefit to herself and her country.... Assuredly she carries herself so honourably and discreetly that one cannot but fear her progress."

Mary's "modesty and honour," therefore, were already the cause of alarm to her English foes. What wonder, then, if they strove to dispoil her of both, or that failing, endeavoured to convince her subject that she had cast them both from her?

Two delegates were sent from Scotland to negotiate with their Queen concerning her return. One represented the Congregation,[#] or what may be called the Revolutionary party--and this was Mary's own half-brother, Lord James Stewart, later known as the Earl of Moray; the other, John Leslie, afterwards Bishop of Ross and the life-long friend of Mary, represented what may be called the old loyal party. The suspicions entertained by the loyal party as to the honesty of Lord James' intentions are revealed by the fact that Leslie advised Mary to have him arrested and detained in France, until she should be firmly seated on the throne. If she did not care to do this, Leslie recommended that, instead of going direct to Edinburgh, which was the stronghold of the Congregation, she should land at Aberdeen, where the Earl of Huntly, with twenty thousand of her loyal subjects, was prepared to welcome her and conduct her in triumph to Edinburgh. And when we consider the influence of the powerful Gordon, who even then was "Cock of the North," it seems probable that the Congregation, without the aid of Elizabeth, could have raised no force sufficient to oppose him.

[#] Since December, 1557, when a certain number of Scottish nobles, at the instance of Knox, solemnly pledged themselves to support the new religion and "to forsake and renounce the congregation of Satan,"--by which they meant the Catholic Church,--the Protestants in Scotland had been known as the Congregation.