Part 10

The Earl of Murray went to Scotland on the last day of July.... I visited him.... He repeated how displeased he was at the action of the lords in taking the Queen.... I said that her confessor had told me that as regarded the King's murder she had no knowledge whatever of it, and had been greatly grieved thereat.... He opened out somewhat, saying that my good will towards him prompted him to tell me something that he had not even told this Queen {Elizabeth}, although she had given him many remote hints upon the subject. This was that he considered it very difficult to arrange matters, as it was certain that the Queen had been cognisant of the murder of her husband, and he, Murray, was greatly grieved thereat. This had been proved beyond doubt by a letter which the Queen had written to Bothwell, containing three sheets of paper, written with her own hand, and signed by her, in which she says in substance that he is not to delay putting into execution that which he had arranged, because her husband used such fair words to deceive her and bring her round that she might be moved by them if the other thing were not done quickly. She said that she herself would go and fetch him, and would stop at a house on the road, where she would try to give him a draught, but if this could not be done, she would put him in the house where the explosion was arranged for the night upon which one of her servants was to be married. He, Bothwell, was to try to get rid of his wife either by putting her away or by poisoning her, since he knew that she, the Queen, had risked all for him, her honour, her kingdom, her wealth, and her God, contenting herself with his person alone. Besides this she had done an extraordinary and unexampled thing on the night of the murder in giving her husband a ring, petting and fondling him after plotting his murder, and this had been the worst thing in connection with it. Murray said he had heard about the letter from a man who had read it, and the rest was notorious.... He says he will do his best for her. I am more inclined to believe that he will do it for himself if he finds a chance, as he is a Scotchman, and a heretic....

_END OF MARY'S FIRST IMPRISONMENT_

The Escape from Lochleven.

_Giovanni Correr, Venetian Ambassador in France to the Signory, from Paris_, May 26, 1568. _Venetian Calendar._

"_A LOYAL HOST A ROYAL BANNER BORE_"

Guard was continually kept at the castle day and night, except during supper, at which time the gate was locked with a key, every one going to supper, and the key was always placed on the table where the Governor took his meals, and before him. The Governor is the uterine brother of the Earl of Murray, Regent of Scotland, the Queen's illegitimate brother, and her mortal enemy. The Queen, having attempted to descend from a window unsuccessfully, contrived that a page of the Governor's, whom she had persuaded to this effect, when carrying a dish, in the evening of the second of May, to the table of his master with a napkin before him, should place the napkin on the key, and in removing the napkin take up the key with it and carry it away unperceived by any one. Having done so, the page then went directly to the Queen and told her all was ready; and she, having in the meanwhile been attired by the elder of the two maids who waited upon her, took with her by the hand the younger maid, a girl ten years old, and with the page went quietly to the door, and he having opened it, the Queen went out with him and the younger girl and locked the gate outside with the same key, without which it could not be opened from within. They then got into a little boat which was kept for the service of the castle, and displaying a white veil of the Queen's with a red tassel, she made the concerted signal to those who awaited her that she was approaching.... The horsemen ... came immediately to the lake and received the Queen with infinite joy, and having placed her on horseback, with the page and the girl, they conveyed her to the sea coast, at a distance of five miles from thence, because to proceed by land to the place which had been designated appeared manifestly too dangerous. All having embarked, the Queen was conducted to Niddry, a place belonging to Lord Seton, and from thence to Hamilton, a castle of the Duke of Chatelherault, where his brother, the Archbishop of St. Andrews, with other principal personages of those parts, acknowledged her as Queen....

All Scotland is in motion, some declaring for the Queen, and some against her and for the Earl of Murray.... With regard to her flight, it is judged here, by those who know the site, and how strictly she was guarded, that her escape was most miraculous, most especially having been contrived by two lads under ten years of age, who could not be presupposed to have the requisite judgment and secrecy.

To the greater satisfaction with the result may be added that the inmates of Lochleven Castle perceived the flight; but being shut up within it, and thus made prisoners, they had to take patience, and to witness the Queen's escape, while they remained at the windows of the castle.

_THE DISASTER AT LANGSIDE_

But now, if the current report be true, the Queen of Scotland, following the course of her fickle fortune, gives news of her troops having been routed near Glasgow, all her chief adherents being killed or made prisoners.

_Ibid._ June 6.

The news of the defeat of the troops of the Queen of Scotland was true. She had assembled about eight thousand men, who had flocked to her from divers parts, and for greater security she wished to shut herself up in Dumbarton, which is a very strong castle, but she could not get there without crossing the Clyde, over which there is but one bridge near Glasgow, and that was already occupied by the enemy. It was therefore determined to cross the river where it flows into the sea, a number of boats being sent to the spot for that purpose. The Regent, aware of this, went in pursuit with four thousand men; whereupon the Queen appointed as her Lieutenant-General the Earl of Argyle, who had just joined her, and who is her brother-in-law through his wife, Queen Mary's natural sister, and he with six thousand men gave Murray battle.

_MARY SEEKS ENGLISH PROTECTION_

The contest lasted for three-quarters of an hour, when the Queen's troops were worsted, but only one hundred and fifty of her followers were killed, for the Regent exerted himself extremely to prevent his troops shedding blood. The prisoners exceeded three hundred, including many noblemen, amongst whom, moreover, is that Lord Seton who was the chief instrument and leader in effecting the Queen's escape. Finding herself defeated, the Queen set out for England, accompanied by a son of the Duke of Chatelherault, by Lord Fleming, by the Earl of Maxwell, and some twenty-five other attendants, and she travelled a distance of one hundred and twenty-five miles without any rest. She stopped at a place called Workington, which is four miles within the English border. She did not discover herself, but was recognised by a Scotsman, who informed the warden of the castle, and the latter went immediately to receive her, with great marks of respect, and posted guards on all sides to prevent pursuit by the enemy.

SECTION VI

THE CONFERENCES AT YORK AND WESTMINSTER

_CONTENTS_

1. The Conference at York. (_a_) Letter of Murray to Queen Elizabeth. (_b_) Mary's Instructions to her Commissioners. (_c_) The formal complaints and replies. (_d_) The account of the private interview, with the "abstract of matters" there shown. (_e_) Sussex's opinion of the evidence.

2. The Conference at Westminster. (_a_) Mary's Instructions. (_b_) Murray's "Eik" or additional charge. (_c_) The answer of Mary's Commissioners to the "Eik." (_d_) Elizabeth's reply to (_a_). (_e_) The Privy Council and suggestions for a compromise. (_f_) Proofs produced at Westminster--the account of the production. (_g_) Mary's own answer to the "Eik," and her request to see the originals, with Elizabeth's reply. (_h_) Mary's request for copies, with Elizabeth's reply. (_i_) Dissolution of the Conference by Elizabeth.

_MARY IN ENGLAND_

The Conference at York.

[On Mary's arrival in England, Queen Elizabeth declined to meet her, till she should be cleared from the suspicion of complicity in the Darnley murder. Mary promptly accused Maitland and Morton of a share in the crime, and accepted Elizabeth's proposal to have the case tried at a Conference at York. The Queen of England appointed as Commissioners, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Sussex, and Sir Ralph Sadler. The Scottish Queen was represented by Lords Boyd, Herries, and Livingstone, the Abbot of Kilwinning, Sir John Gordon of Lochinvar, Sir James Cockburn of Skirving, and John Lesley, the Bishop of Ross. The Earl of Murray, the Earl of Morton, the Bishop of Orkney (Adam Bothwell), the Abbot of Dunfermline, and Lord Lindsay appeared in the name of the young James VI., along with Maitland of Lethington, George Buchanan, James Macgill, and Henry Balnaves, as assistants.

Many points of procedure and various formal questions occupied much of the time of the Conferences. The extracts which follow have been chosen out of regard to their bearing on the problem of Mary's guilt or innocence, and especial care has been taken to include references to the Casket Letters. The letters themselves, and the depositions which were produced before the Commissioners, will be found, by themselves, after the account of the Conferences.

The Conference met at York on October 8, and as Mary was, formally, the plaintiff, her complaint against the Lords was first received. Thereafter, Murray's reply and a rejoinder from Mary's representatives were put on record. This was all the formal business essential for our purpose. But, on October 11th, Elizabeth's Commissioners received a private visit from Maitland, Buchanan, Macgill, and Balnaves, who put before them, secretly, certain documents to prove Mary's guilt. It will be seen from the letter of the Commissioners to Elizabeth, and the quotations from the "abstract of matters ... chosen by the Scots," that these documents consisted of:--

1. A bond signed by the Lords, agreeing to Bothwell's marriage with the Queen.

2. The Queen's warrant for the signature of the above-mentioned bond.

3. Two contracts of marriage. (See pp. 201-203.)

4. Two letters arranging for the seizure of the Queen by Bothwell (_i.e._ two of Letters, vi., vii., and viii., see pp. 190-194).

5. A letter arranging a duel between Darnley and the Lord Robert.

6. The two Glasgow Letters (i. and ii., see pp. 165-182).

7. The Love Sonnets (pp. 195-201).

8. The Letter in which the Jason and Medea comparison occurs. (Letter iv., see pp. 185-189.)

This list should be compared with the recital of the productions at Westminster (pp. 143 _et seq._). Maitland informed Queen Mary of this secret visit, and she complained to Queen Elizabeth, who summoned all the Commissioners to London, on the ground of greater convenience.]

_MURRAY AND HIS PROOFS_

_Letter of the Earl of Murray, with information for the Queen of England_, June 22, 1568. _Goodall_, vol. ii. p. 75, _from the Paper Office_.

It may be that such letters as we have of the Queen, our Sovereign Lord's mother, that sufficiently, in our opinion, prove her consenting to the murther of the King her lawful husband, shall be called in doubt ... therefore, since our servant, Mr. John Wood, has the copies of the same letters translated in our language, we would earnestly desire that the said copies may be considered by the judges that shall have the examination and commission of the matter, that they may resolve us thus far, in case the principal agree with the copy, that then we prove the case indeed; for when we have manifested and shown all, and yet shall have no assurances that what we send shall satisfy for probation, for what purpose shall we either accuse or seek to prove, when we are not assured what to prove, or when we have proved, what shall succeed?

_MARY ASSERTS FORGERY_

1568.--September 9. Mary's Instructions to her Commissioners.

_Goodall_, vol. ii. p. 337, from _Queen Mary's Register_ in Cotton Library.

In case they allege they have any writings of mine, which may infer presumption against me in that case, ye shall desire the principals to be produced, and that I myself may have inspection thereof, and make answer thereto. For ye shall affirm, in my name, I never wrote anything concerning that matter to any creature; and if any writings be, they are false and feigned, forged and invented by themselves, only to my dishonour and slander. And there are divers in Scotland, both men and women, that can counterfeit my handwriting, and write the like manner of writing which I use, as well as myself, and principally such as are in company with themselves. And I doubt not, if I had remained in my own realm, but I should have gotten knowledge of the inventors and writers of such writings ere now, to the declaration of my innocency, and confusion of their falsity.

October 8. Complaint of the Queen of Scots against the Earl of Murray.

_Goodall_, vol. ii. p. 128, from Cott. Lib. Calig., C. i. 197.

That James, Earl of Morton, John, Earl of Mar, Alexander, Earl of Glencairn, the Lords Howe, Lindsay, Ruthven, Sempill, Cathcart, Ochiltree, with others their assisters, assembled in arms a great part of the Queen's grace's subjects, declared by their proclamations it was for her Grace's relief, beset the road in her passage betwixt her Grace's castles of Dunbar and Edinburgh, there took her most noble person, committed her in ward in her own place of Lochleven, ... passed to the castle of Stirling, and made there fashion of crowning of her son the Prince....

James, Earl of Murray, took upon him the name of the Regent, ... intromitted with the whole strengths, munitions, jewels, and patrimony of the crown, as well property as casualty....

_MURRAY'S APOLOGY FOR THE REVOLUTION_

October 10. The Answer of the Earl of Murray.

_Goodall_, vol. ii. p. 144, from Cott. Lib. Calig., C. i. 202.

_ACCUSATIONS AGAINST MARY_

It is notorious to all men, how umquhile {the late} King Henry, father to our sovereign Lord, was horribly murdered in his bed. James, sometime Earl of Bothwell, being well known to be the chief author thereof, entered into so great credit and authority with the Queen, then our sovereign, that, within three months after the murder of her husband, the said Earl ... accomplished a pretended marriage betwix him and the Queen, which strange and hasty proceeding of that godless and ambitious man, ... with the ignominy spoken among all nations of that murther, as though all the nobility had been alike culpable thereof, so moved the hearts of a good number of them, that they thought nothing more godly ... than by punishing of the said Earl, chief author of the murther, to relieve others causelessly calumniated thereof, to put the Queen to freedom, forth of the bondage of that tyrant.... {From the Queen, after Carberry Hill}, no other answer could be obtained, but vigorous menacing, on the one part, avowing to be revenged on all them that had shown themselves in that cause, and on the other part, offering to leave and give over the realm and all, so she might be suffered to possess the murtherer of her husband, which her inflexible mind, and extremity of necessity compelled them to sequestrate her person for a season.... During the which time, she finding herself by long, irksome, and tedious travail, taken by her in the government of the realm and lieges thereof ... vexed and wearied ... and for other considerations moving her at the time, therefore demitted and renounced the office of government of the realm and lieges thereof ... and constituted me, the said Earl of Murray, I being then absent furth of the realm, and without my knowledge, Regent to his Grace, the realm, and lieges....

_MARY'S REPLY_

1568.--October 16. Queen Mary's Commissioners' Rejoinder to Murray's Reply.

_Goodall_, vol. ii. p. 162, from _Queen Mary's Register_ in Cott. Lib. Titus, C. 12.

If he {Bothwell} was the principal author of the murder, the same was never known nor manifested to her Highness, but the contrary did well appear to her Grace, by reason the said Earl of Bothwell being suspected, indited, and orderly summoned by the laws of that realm, was acquitted by an assize of his Peers, and the same ratified and confirmed by authority of Parliament, by the greatest part of the nobility ... who also consented and solicited our said Sovereign to accomplish the said marriage with him as the man most fit in all the realm of Scotland ... and they nor none of them ... came to her Highness ... to find fault with the said Earl concerning the murder foresaid, or yet in any ways seemed to grudge or disallow the said marriage.... And at the presenting of the said writings of demission of her crown to her Majesty by the Lord Lindsay, he menaced her Grace, that if she would not subscribe, he had command to put her presently in the Tower, and would do the same, and counselled her to fulfil their desire or worse would shortly follow; which her Highness subscribed with many tears, never looking what was contained in the writings, declaring plainly thereafter, if ever her Grace came to liberty, she would never abide thereat, because it was against her Majesty's will.... If her Grace had willingly demitted the same, as her Highness did not, her Highness could not have nominated the said Earl of Murray Regent, for there were others to have been preferred to him.

1568.--October 11. Letter to Queen Elizabeth from her Commissioners at York.

[This letter is printed in the Appendix to vol. ii. of Hosack's "Mary Queen of Scots, and her Accusers," from Cott. MS. Cal. c. i. fol. 198. The words or letters within brackets, {}, have been burnt, the margin being singed. "The words printed in italics," says Mr. Hosack, "are very carefully erased with the pen, and, in some instances, are disguised with head and tail loops, to prevent their being read, the alterations being written between the lines." Without the alterations, the letter is printed in Goodall, vol. ii. p. 139, and elsewhere.]

_THE PROOFS ARE SHOWN PRIVATELY_

_THE COMMISSIONERS' LETTER_

And so they {Moray and his colleagues} sent unto us the Lord of Lethington, James Macgill, Mr. George Buchanan, and one other being a Lord of the Session, which in private and secret conference with us, not as Commissioners, as they protested, but for our better instruction, afte{r} declaration of such circumstances as led and induced them to vehement presumptio{n} to judge her guilty of the said murder, shewed unto us a copy of a bond bear{ing} date the 19th of April 1567, to the which the most part of the Lords and coun{cil} of Scotland have put to their hands; and, as they say, more for fear, than any liking they had of the same. Which bond contained two special points, the one {a} declaration of Bothwell's purgation of the murder of the Lord Darnley ... and the othe{r} a general consent to his marriage with the Queen.... And yet, in proof that they did it not willingly, they procured a warrant, which was now shewed unto us, bearing date the 19th {of} April, signed with the Queen's hand, whereby she gave them licence to agree to the same.... There was also a contract shewed unto us, signed with the Queen's hand, and also with Bothwell's, bearing date the fifth of April.... There was also a contract shewed unto us, of the Queen's own hand, of the marriage to be had between her and Bothwell, bearing no date, which had not _verba de praesenti_, as the other had, bearing date the 5th of April. It appeared also unto us by two letters of her own hand, that it was by her own practice and consent that Bothwell should take her and carry her to Dunbar.... After the device of the murder was determined, as it seemed by the sequel, they inferred upon a letter of her own hand, that there was another mean of a more cleanly conveyance devised to kill the King; for there was a quarrel made betwixt him and the Lord Robert of Holyrood-house, by carrying of false tales betwixt them, the Queen being the instrument, as they said, to bring it to pass.... Afterwards they shewed unto us one horrible and long letter of her own hand, as they say, containing foul matter, and abominable to be either thought of, or to be written by a Prince, with divers fond ballads, and other writings before specified, were closed in a little coffer of silver and gilt heretofore given by her to Bothwell.... And these men here do constantly affirm the said letters and other writings, which they produce of her own hand, to be of her own hand in deed; and do offer to swear and take their oath thereupon, _as in deed_ the matter contained in them being such as could hardly be invented or devised by any other than by herself; for that the discourse of some things which were unknown to any other, than to herself, and Bothwell, _doth the rather persuade us to believe that they be in deed of her own handwriting_. And as it is hard to counterfeit so many, _and so long letters_, so the matter of them, and the manner how these men came by them, is such, as it seemeth that God (in whose sight murder and bloodshed of the innocent is abominable) would not permit the same to be hid or concealed. In a paper here inclosed we have noted to your Majesty the chief and special points of the said letters, written (as they say) with her own hand, to the intent it may please your Majesty to consider of them, and so to judge whether the same be sufficient to convince her of the detestable crime of the murder of her husband; which in our opinions and consciences, if the said letters be written with her own hand, _as we believe_

_they be_, {is very hard to be avoided. {_is plain and manifest_....

T. NORFOLK. T. SUSSEX. R. SADLER.

Abstract of Matters showed to the Queen's Majesty's Commissioners by the Scots, sent the 11th of October.

_Goodall_, pp. 148-153.

... She wrote to Bothwell, that according to her commission, she would bring the man with her; praying him to work wisely, or else the whole burden would lie on her shoulders; and specially to make good watch, that the bird escaped not out of the cage. {Letter iv., see pp. 185-189.}

_QUOTATIONS FROM THE LETTERS_

Notes drawn forth of the Queen's Letters sent to the Earl Bothwell.

... _Item._ ... We are coupled with twa fals racis; the devill syndere us, and God mot knit us togidder for ever for the maist faithful cupple that ever he unitit. This is my faith, I will die in it.