CHAPTER IV
Elizabeth's instructions to Lord Buckhurst to communicate the sentence of death to Mary, and her remarkable reasons for this act—Elizabeth compromised in the Babington Conspiracy—Her letter to Paulet to allow the commissioners an interview with Mary—Elizabeth's chicanery (Petit's version)—Paulet to Walsingham, 21st November 1586—Letter Henry III. to his Ambassador in London to request James to save his mother's life—Sentence of death communicated to Mary by Buckhurst—Queen Mary's pathetic letter to the Pope informing him that she has been sentenced to die, and giving her last instructions—Her letter to the Duke of Guise informing him of her sentence, and giving instructions about her affairs.
Having in the previous chapter touched on the various points which occupied the attention of Queen Mary's enemies during the past four months, we now arrive at a critical period, the month of November. The situation was gradually becoming more serious and more acute, indicating that the mind of Elizabeth was not only fixed on the Scottish Queen during the day but during the night. The subject, in short, engrossed her whole attention. On 16th November 1586 she formulated her final instructions to Lord Buckhurst regarding the sentence of death which in her former letter she had ordered her ministers to find and pronounce. In this document, which we give in full, much is false and conjectural, much of it grotesque, while none of it is sincere or truthful. It would not occur to the Queen of England that these interpolations on Queen Mary's letters would ever be discovered:—
“Instructions given by Elizabeth to Lord Buckhurst and Robert Beale to declare to the Queen of Scots the sentence passed against her and the demand for her execution:
“After you have informed yourselves particularly as well of the treatise offered and other things needful which have passed between us and the Scottish Queen; of the manifold favours we have from time to time shown to her, both before and since her arrival within our realm, requited by her great ingratitude toward us, of which our pleasure is you shall receive some special note and remembrance from our principal secretary Walsingham, as also of the whole course of our proceedings with her in trial of the late unnatural and wicked conspiracy against our life and Crown, whereof she is found by a just and honourable sentence of our nobility to have been not only privy and consenting, but also a compasser and contriver to the inevitable danger of our life and state. God of his great mercy towards us and our poor people most happily and miraculously discovered and prevented the same. Our pleasure is that you shall immediately repair to Fotheringay, where the said Queen now remains in charge of Sir Amias Paulet, and after you have delivered our letter to him and imparted our instructions and other directions, you shall go together to the Scottish Queen, to whom you shall signify the cause of our sending you to her, namely, to let her understand how the lords and our commissioners lately sent to Fotheringay have proceeded from their return from her. You shall particularly explain the causes which moved them to postpone the pronouncing of their sentence, their several meetings after their return at our Star Chamber to examine and perfect their proceedings, so that no just exception might be taken against the same; the producing before them of Nau and Curle; their free, voluntary, and public maintaining and confirming in their presence, without either hope of reward or fear of punishment, of all those things which they had before testified both by word, subscription, and oath, against her; and finally, the sentence given by the universal consent of all the lords and other commissioners, that she was not only privy to the late most horrible and wicked conspiracy against our person, but a contriver and compasser thereof according to the words of the sentence, which to this effect our pleasure is shall be delivered to you. And also how the Parliament of this realm now assembled, having been informed of our honourable and just proceedings by our commission, directed to the lords and others appointed for the examination and trial thereof, and made acquainted with the particulars of those things with which they found her charged, together with the testimonies and proofs produced against her, and her own answers to the same. Finding, after deliberate consideration, that the sentence pronounced by the commissioners was most just, lawful, and honourable, have not only with full consent and without scruple or contradiction affirmed and approved the same, but also by sundry deputies selected from both Houses of the Lords and Commons and addressed to us in the name of the realm, offered and presented their humble and earnest petitions to us, both written and oral, tending to the moving and persuading of us by their strong and invincible arguments to proceed to the finishing of the sentence by the execution of her whom they find to be the seed plot, chief and motive and author of all these conspiracies which these many years past have been hatched, intended, and attempted against our person, Crown, and State, and do yet still threaten the same. If we should not apply that remedy which in honour, justice, and necessity appertaineth, we should be guilty and inexcusable before God and the whole world of all the miseries and calamities that may ensue of our neglect or refusal to agree to their humble petition, so greatly affecting the safety of our person and preservation of the State, of religion, and common weal of our realm, none of which can in their opinion be otherwise sufficiently provided for and assured against such outward dangers than by a just execution of her by whom and for whom they have been, and are still likely to be, devised, attempted, and followed out against us. And for that we are pressed on all sides as well with respect to honour, justice, surety, and necessity as the unfortunate suit and petition of our Lords and Commons, who still protest that they can find no other way of assurance for our person, religion, and State than by proceeding against her according to justice. You shall therefore let her understand that we know not how it shall please God to incline and dispose our heart in this matter, but we have thought meet in conscience that she should be forewarned thereof, so that she may the better bethink herself of her former sins and offences both to God and to us, and call on Him for grace to be truly penitent and for her late unnatural and ungodly conspiracy against our life. This crime is so much the greater and more odious in the sight of God and man in that she hath suborned and encouraged some of our own subjects to be the actors and doers of an act so foul and horrible against their Sovereign and anointed prince her own near kinswoman, and one that, however she may account thereof in nature and duty for past benefits, ought to have received a more charitable measure at her hands if either the fear of God or common humanity had prevailed anything with her. And because she should have no reason to think herself hardly dealt with in the manner of our proceedings against her, you shall let her know how much the respect of her degree, calling, and nearness in blood to ourselves hath moved us to take the course we have done in sending her a number of our chief and most ancient nobility to examine and try her offence. We might have proceeded otherwise by an ordinary course of law without these respects and ceremonies if we had not preferred our own honour to any other particular affection of malice or revenge against her, which you may truly say is such as if the consequence of her offence reached no farther than to ourselves as a private person. We protest before God we could have been very well contented to have freely remitted and pardoned the same, if we might hereafter have lived sufficiently cautioned and assured against the like, a thing so much the more hopeless however she might hereafter reform herself. The taking of our life and subversion thereby of the present state of religion and commonwealth is amongst her factors and instruments abroad and at home now held and approved in their bloody divinity, as work meritorious and lawful before God and man. And whereas in the opening of these particulars she may happen, as in the late meeting of our commissioners with her, to fall into some justification of her former offers and demeanour towards us, removing the cause of all these mischiefs from herself and imputing the same to the hard treatment she may pretend to have received at our hands. We have thought meet, in case she shall fall into any such argument, that you remind her how much she is to blame to wrong us in honour with her unjust and untrue assertions, considering how much more graciously we have dealt with her than she could with any judgment or reason expect, if we had proportioned our favour with her own demerits. You may take occasion to point out to her those our deserts and benefits with her many ingratitudes in recompense for them, which is conform to a special note from our secretary which shall be delivered to you. Lastly, in case you shall find her desirous to communicate with either of you apart under a pretence of revealing any matter or secret of weight to be delivered to us concerning either ourselves or our service, we think it not amiss that you conform yourselves to her desire, and thereby, if you find cause, to advise us before your return, which we leave to your discretion.
“Elizabeth R.”
This is probably the most startling official paper to be found during the period covered by our narrative. It is pure fiction and was written a month after Queen Mary's trial. The first question that arises is this: Was Elizabeth connected directly or indirectly with the interpolations on these letters, and if so, to what extent? She was much too clever a woman to commit anything to writing that would incriminate herself. We have evidence that Walsingham, her secretary, was the writer of them, and that he paid Phillips to open the letters surreptitiously, copy them, and on the copies introduce the interpolations. The originals were evidently destroyed, for they were never seen again. [11]