ALL YEOMEN IN COATES.
The Countise of Bedforde, allowed for ten men.
The Countis of Rutland, eight men.
The Countis of Lincolne, eight men.
The Ladie of St. John of Basing, five men.
All Baronissis and Ladies, five apeece.
All knightes, two men apeece.
All knightes wyfes too apeece.
All esquires one man apeece.[191]
When the bier reached the choir it was placed on a catafalque, which Derrick describes as "a stately hearse with a topp 8 square rising lik a field-bed, which was covered on the tipps with black bayes, garnished with escutions as affore of mettall and besett with pinecles from the topp, on each quarter, most butiful to behoulde: whereupon were painted, on some, the Scottish armes alone, and on others some, the armes of France and Darnley, impaled, and St. Andrewe's Crosse, A, in a filde, O; and also an unicorne tripping, A, attyred and unguled, Or, with felde, B; with a crowne, and a chayne turning over his back, Or. On the topp of the hearse was set two escutchions of the Scotch armes, cut out in paste boarde, guilded, and an impereall crowne, guilded, and cut out in past board." Dean Fletcher arranged the ceremonials, and the Bishop of Lincoln preached the well-known sermon, commencing by rejoicings for the "happy death of the high and mighty Princesse Mary," of whom he very cleverly says: "I have not much to say of her life or death, knowing little of the one, and not having assisted at the other."[192] Prayers followed, and at the offering Lord Bedford advanced and placed before the altar the coat of mail, helm, sword, and shield which were afterwards hung over the grave.[193] At the end the heralds, according to custom, broke their staves and threw them into the grave, "and so every one departed as they came, after their degrees, to the Bishop's Palace, where was prepared a most royal feast, and a dole given unto the poore."[194] Mary's attendants were invited to take part in the banquet, the hosts "praying them to eat well, and to ask for anything they wished, so that nothing should be wanting to them, such being the orders of their mistress;"[195] but, as we may readily believe, they replied by their tears. "The servants of the dead Queen," says Blackwood, were "in a separate room, mingling many tears with their food and drink."[196]
Amidst all the pomp and display of this funeral one point had been omitted: no tablet or inscription marked the spot where Mary lay, and it remained for a faithful subject of the dead Queen, the same Adam Blackwood, to supply this omission. On occasion of a pilgrimage made by him to Peterborough, Blackwood placed the following well-known epitaph over his mistress's grave:—
Mary Queen of Scots, daughter of a king, widow of the King of France, cousin and next heir to the Queen of England, endowed with royal virtues and a royal mind (the right of Princes being oftentimes in vain implored) by barbarous and tyrannical cruelty, the ornament of our age, and truly Royal light is extinguished. By the same unrighteous judgement both Mary Queen of Scots with natural death, and all surviving kings (now made common persons) are punished with civil death. A strange and unusual kind of monument this is, wherin the living are included with the dead; for with the Sacred ashes of this blessed Mary, know that the Majesty of all Kings and Princes lieth here violated and prostrated. And because regal secresy doth enough and more admonish kings of their duty—traveller, I say no more.
It, however, "continued not long, but was taken away and cast aside,"[197] probably on account of the sympathy it called forth, and the tomb remained almost forgotten till James, having ascended the English throne, thought of honouring his injured mother's remains.
Regarding Mary's faithful followers and their after-fate we know the few following particulars. By their refusal to assist at the service or to share in the funeral banquet, they seem to have incurred afresh Elizabeth's displeasure, and this is one of the reasons alleged for their continued imprisonment after the ceremony. When at length they obtained their freedom Bourgoing, "who had assisted Mary from the first day of her stricter imprisonment until the hour of her death,"[198] and to whom, as we know, fell the solemn duty of narrating the incidents of the Queen's death to the King and Queen of France, no doubt fulfilled his mission, and his written narrative attests his devotion to his mistress, but we have been unable, to our great regret, to trace his further history. Gorion fulfilled his task by transmitting to Mendoça Mary's farewell letter, accompanied by an interesting narrative of her last moments, written presumably by himself.[199] Elizabeth Curle also acquitted herself of her charge by taking to Morgan the diamond ring left him by Mary in gratitude for his "good and long service." She afterwards joined her former companion and friend Barbara Mowbray, nor were they divided in death, as they were buried together at Antwerp, under the tomb bearing the effigy of their beloved mistress. The Latin inscription referring to the Queen's martyrdom recalls the fact that Elizabeth assisted at her execution and received her last kiss. The faithful Jane Kennedy, whom we may perhaps consider as Mary's favourite attendant, after returning to Scotland, married Andrew Melville, and was drowned in a storm when on her way to meet Anne of Denmark on her arrival in Scotland as James's Queen.