The Scottish Queen, with mischief fraught, for to perform the will
Of him whose pupil she hath been hath usëd all her skill;
By words most fair, and loving terms, and gifts of value great:
For to persuade your hollow hearts, your duties to forget,
And for to be assistant still, her treacheries to further,
Wherein she reckons it no sinne though you commit great murther.
Such is her heinous hateful mind, who long hath lived in hope,
By such her subtle lawless means (and help of cursëd Pope)
Both to deprive our sovereign Queen of her imperial crown,
And true religion to repel, God's Gospel to put down.
Wherein you fully did conclude that it could never be,
Except you first conspired her death, by secret treachery.
And thereupon consulted oft, and sundry ways did seek
For to perform this devilish act, which you so well did like.
Next unto this your promise was to lend your help and aid,
With all the force and power you could, to foes that should invade.
And thereby for to set at large that Queen whom I did name,
Who always in her treacherous mind, doth nought but mischief frame.
THE CAUSE OF ALL OUR TROUBLES
For plainly hath it fallen out, by sundry proofs most true,
She was the only maintainer of all this treacherous crew:
For trial whereof we may see, how that our gracious Queen,
Both having care the very truth most plainly might be seen,
And she with honour might be tried, in that she was a Prince,
Did cause the chiefest peers her faults by justice to convince:
Who did assemble at her place, by name called Fotheringay,
There to examine out the truth, and hear what she could say;
And to that end did then direct to them a large commission
For to examine every one in whom they found suspicion.
Who meeting at that place, it plainly did appear,
How that she was the chiefest cause of all our troubles here.
And that she by persuasions did seek for to withdraw
The subjects' hearts from this our Queen, who erst had lived in awe;
And that the treasons named before were all by her consent,
And that she author was thereof, and did the same invent,
Whereto her answer was so light, and to so small effect,
As that the weakness of the same her treasons did detect.
And thereupon these peers of State, having a due regard
To what she could object thereto, and likewise nothing spared
By circumstance to search out truth, did forthwith then pronounce
That she was guilty of these crimes, and could not them renounce.
Which sentence so by them declared, was by our Queen's consent,
Plainly revealed to all estates in court of Parliament;
And was by them considered of, who then did all agree
To join in suit unto her Grace, the same to ratify.
MARY'S LETTER TO ELIZABETH
Queen Mary's Letter to Queen Elizabeth.
Strickland's Letters of Mary Queen of Scots, vol. ii. p. 200. Fotheringay, December 19, 1586.