I cannot tell you all the things that happened to Mary Queen of Scots in England. But I must say that I wish she had never come. She first of all seemed to want to make friends with Elizabeth, but all the time she was sending letters to the kings of France and Spain, to ask them to help her to get not only Scotland, but England for herself, and she promised one of the great English lords she would marry him, and make him king, if he would help her too.
She also sent to get the Pope’s help, and promised that all the people in England and Scotland too should be Papists, and obey the Pope again, and send him a great deal of money every year, if she could only kill or drive away Queen Elizabeth.
Now, Elizabeth’s faithful friends and wise counsellors found out all these letters to the Pope and the kings of France and Spain, and they were so afraid lest any harm should happen to their good, useful Queen Elizabeth, that they kept Mary Queen of Scots in prison, sometimes in one great castle, sometimes in another.
They allowed her to walk, and ride, and to have her ladies and other friends with her, and many people visited her at first. But when it was known that she really wished to make the English all Papists again, she was not allowed to see so many people.
At last—I could almost cry when I tell you of it—the beautiful, and clever, and very unhappy Queen of Scots was ordered to be beheaded! She was in prison at Fotheringay Castle when Queen Elizabeth’s cruel order to cut off her head was sent to her. The next day her steward and her ladies led her into the great hall of the castle, which was hung all round with black cloth. In the middle of the hall there was a place raised above the floor, also covered with black. There her maids took off her veil, and she knelt down and laid her beautiful head on the block. It was cut off, and her servants took it and her body to bury.
Mary had done many wicked things: she had tried to do much mischief in England. But as she was not born in England, but was the queen of another country, neither Elizabeth nor her counsellors had any business either to keep her in prison, or to put her to death. They ought to have sent her, at the very first, safely to some other country, if they were really afraid she would do mischief in England.
This is a very bad thing: and I cannot make any excuse for Elizabeth. I will only say that her old counsellors were so afraid lest Mary should prevail on the kings of France and Spain to help her to kill Elizabeth, and make the English all Papists again, that they wished Elizabeth to have ordered Mary’s head to be taken off long before she really did so.
CHAPTER XLV.
ELIZABETH.—Continued.
How Queen Elizabeth refused to marry; how the ships and the sailors were improved in her reign; how some great admirals made many voyages and discoveries; how the King of Spain sent a great fleet and army to conquer England, but could not succeed; and how the English did much harm to Spain.
It is quite pleasant, my little friend, to have to write a chapter for you, where I can tell you of all things going well for England, that dear country where God allows us to live, which he has given us to love, and to do all we can for.