"She was in France at that time," said the attendant, "and the picture, if it is an original, must have been painted there, and she must have brought it with her to Scotland, on her return from that country. She brought a great deal with her on her return. There were several vessel loads of furniture, paintings, &c. The tapestry in the bedroom was brought. It was wrought at the Gobelins."
Mr. George went into the bedroom, to look at the tapestry. Two sides of the room were hung with it.
"It looks like a carpet hung on the walls," said Waldron.
"Yes," said Mr. George; "a richly embroidered carpet."
The figures on the tapestry consisted of groups of horsemen, elegantly equipped and caparisoned. The horses were prancing about in a very spirited manner. The whole work looked very dingy, and the colors were very much faded; but it was evident that it must have been very splendid in its day.
After looking at the tapestry, and at the various articles of quaint and queer old furniture in this room, the company followed the attendant into another apartment.
"This," said he, "is the room where Lord Darnley, Ruthven, and the rest, held their consultation and formed their plans for the murder of Rizzio; and there is the door leading to the private stairway where they went up. You cannot go up that way now, but you will see where they came out above when you go up into Queen Mary's apartments."
"Let us go now," said Waldron.
"Well," said Mr. George, "and then we can come into these rooms again when we come down."
So Mr. George and the boys walked back, through Lord Darnley's rooms, to the place where they came in. Here they saw that the same broad flight of stone stairs, by which they had come up from the court below, continued to ascend to the upper stories. There was a painted inscription on a board there, too, saying, "To Queen Mary's apartments," with a hand pointing up the staircase. So they knew that that was the way they must go.