And so we have arrived at the close of this great tragedy, and the spirit of the Queen of Scots has gone for ever beyond the jurisdiction of its royal persecutor. Mary's reputation has been dragged through the mire, and every effort made by adverse critics to slander her fair fame, but no authentic proof has been produced against her, no proof that will stand investigation. Her traducers have been compelled to fall back on forged or fabricated documents, and these have been freely put before us with the view of influencing the public mind against her.
It is evident from the most careful research that there is no authentic evidence to connect her either with the Darnley murder, the Casket Letters, or the Babington Conspiracy, while the Bothwell marriage was by the Ainslie Bond compulsory. Her life was full of trouble, and her last days were made bitter by suffering and distress. Can we wonder, after perusing Bourgoyne's Journal, that Mary Stuart regarded the scaffold with feelings of gratitude, and rejoiced that her captivity was at last concluded?
“When the day of toil is done,
When the race of life is run,
Father, grant Thy wearied one
Rest for evermore.”
CHAPTER XII
APPENDIX