July 26, 2025 • 22 mins
Celebrated Crimes is a unique series of historical narratives by a young, rising Alexandre Dumas, before he became renowned as the author of DArtagnan or Monte Cristo. The third volume focuses on the tumultuous life and tragic end of Mary Queen of Scots. Dumas meticulously delves into the controversial aspects of her reign, yet maintains a sympathetic perspective towards her. Remembered for her strong ties to France through education and marriage, Marys fate has been a subject of unending debate, especially in light of the role Elizabeth played in her downfall.
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Chapter six of Celebrated Crimes, Volume three by Alexander Duma,
translated by George Burnham, ives this LibriVox recording as in
the public domain. Chapter six, the Queen came out of
her room only in the evening to take her place
at the window which looked over the lake. At the
usual time, she saw the light which was henceforth her
sole hope, shine in the little house in Kinross. For
(00:23):
a whole long month, she had no other consolation than
seeing it every night, fixed and faithful. At last, at
the end of this time, and as she was beginning
to despair of seeing George Douglas again, one morning, on
opening the window, she uttered a cry. Mary Seaton ran
to her, and the Queen, without having strength to speak,
showed her in the middle of the lake the tiny
boat at anchor, and in the boat little Douglas and
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George she were absorbed in fishing, their favorite amusement. The
young man had arrived the day before, and as every
one was accustomed to his unexpected returns, the sentinel had
not even blown the horn, and the Queen had not
known that at last a friend had come. However, she
was three days yet without seeing this friend. Otherwise than
she had just done, that is on the lake. It
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is true that from morning till evening he did not
leave that spot from which he could view the queen's window,
and the Queen herself, when to gaze at a wider horizon,
she leaned her face against the bars. At last, on
the morning of the fourth day, the Queen was awakened
by a great noise of dogs and horns. She immediately
ran to the window, for to a prisoner everything is
an event, and she saw William Douglas, who was embarking
(01:26):
with a pack of hounds and some huntsmen, in fact
making a truce for a day with his jailer's duties,
to enjoy a pleasure more in harmony with his rank
and birth. He was going to hunt in the woods
which cover the last ridge of ben Lamont, and which
ever sinking die down on the banks of the lake.
The queen trembled with delight, for she hoped that Lady
lach Cleven would maintain her ill will, and that then
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George would replace his brother. This hope was not disappointed.
At the usual time, the Queen heard the footsteps of
those who were bringing her her breakfast. The door opened,
and she saw George Douglas enter, preceded by the servants
who were carrying the dish. George barely bowed, but the Queen,
warned by him not to be surprised at anything, returned
him as greeting with a disdainful air. Then the servants
(02:08):
performed their task and went out as they were accustomed.
At last said the Queen, you are back again. Then
George motioned with his finger, went to the door to
listen if all the servants had really gone away, and
if no one had remained to spy, then returning more
at ease and bowing respectfully, yes, Madame returned he and
heaven be thanked. I bring good news. Oh tell me, quickly,
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cried the Queen for staying in this castle as hell.
You knew that they came, did you not, and that
they made me sign an abdication. Yes, Madame, replied Douglas.
But we also knew that your signature had been obtained
from you by violence alone, and our devotion to your
Majesty is increased thereby, if possible. But after all, what
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have you done the Setans and the Hamiltons, who are,
as your Majesty knows, your most faithful servants. Mary turned round,
smiling and put out her hand to Mary Seaton have
all ready continued George assembled their troops, who keep themselves
in readiness for the first signal. But as they alone
would not be sufficiently numerous to hold the country, we
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shall make our way directly to Dumbarton, whose governor is ours,
and which, by its position and its strength, can hold
out long enough against all the Regent's troops to give
to the faithful hearts remaining to you time to come
and join us. Yes, yes, said the Queen. I see
clearly what we shall do once we get out of this.
But how are we to get out? That is the occasion, Madame,
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replied Douglas, for which your Majesty must call to your
aid that courage of which you have given such great proofs.
If I have need only of courage and coolness, replied
the Queen, be easy. Neither the one nor the other
will fail me. Here is a file, said George, giving
Mary seton that instrument which he judged unworthy to touch
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the Queen's hands. And this evening I shall bring your
majesty court to construct the ladder. You will cut through
one of the bars of this window. It is only
at a height of twenty feet. I shall come up
to you as much to try it as to support you.
One of the garrison is in my pay. He will
give us passage by the door. It is his duty
to guard, and you will be free. And when will
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that be? Cried the Queen? We must wait for two things, Madame,
replied Douglas. The first to collect at Kinross an escort
sufficient for your Majesty's safety. The second that the turn
for night watch of Thomas Warden should happen to be
at an isolated door that we can reach without being seen.
And how will you know that? Do you stay at
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the castle then? Alas no, Madame replied George. At the
castle I am a useless and even a dangerous friend
for you, while once beyond the lake I can serve
you in an effectual manner. And how will you know
when Warden's turn to mount guards come of the weathercock
in the north tower instead of turning in the wind
with the others, will remain fixed against But I, how
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shall I be warned? Everything is already provided for on
that side, the light which shines each night in the
little house, and Kinross incessantly tells you that your friends
keep watch for you. But when you would like to
know if the hour of your deliverance approaches or recedes
in your turn, place a light in this window. The
other will immediately disappear. Then, placing your hand on your breast,
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count your heart beats. If you reach the number twenty
without the light reappearing, nothing is yet settled. If you
only reach ten, the moment approaches. If the light does
not leave you time to count, be on five. Your
escape is fixed for the following night. If it reappears
no more, it is fixed for the same evening. Then
the owl's cry, repeated thrice in the courtyard will beat
a signal. Let down the ladder when you hear it. Oh, Douglas,
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cried the queen. You alone could foresee and calculate everything. Thus,
thank you, Thank you a hundred times, and she gave
him her hand to kiss. A vivid red flushed the
young man's cheeks. But almost directly mastering his emotion, he
kneeled down and, restraining the expression of that love of
which he had spoken to the queen, while promising her
never more to speak of it, he took the hand
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that Mary extended and kissed it with such respect. Yet
no one could have seen in this action anything but
the homage of devotion and fidelity. Then, having bowed to
the Queen, he went out that a longer stay with
her should not give rise to any suspicions. At the
dinner hour Douglas brought, as he had said, a parcel
of cord. It was not enough, but when evening came,
Mary Seton was to unroll it and let fall the
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end from a window, and George would fasten the remainder
to it. The thing was done as arranged and without
any mishap. An hour after the hunters had returned. The
following day, George left the castle. The Queen and Mary
Seton lost no time in setting about the rope ladder,
and it was finished on the third day. The same evening,
the Queen, and her impatience, or rather to assure herself
of her partisan's vigilance than in the hope that the
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time of her deliverance was so near, brought her lamp
to the window immediately, and as George Douglas had told her,
the light in the little house at Kinroth disappeared. The
Queen then laid her hand on her heart and counted
up to twenty two. Then the light reappeared. They were
ready for everything, but nothing was yet settled. For a week,
the queen thus questioned the light and her heart beats,
without their number changing. At last, on the eighth day,
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she counted only as far as ten. At the eleventh
the light reappeared. The queen believed herself mistaken. She did
not dare to hope what this announced. She withdrew the lamp, then,
at the end of a quarter of an hour, showed
it again. Her unknown correspondent understood with his usual intelligence
that a fresh trial was required of him, and the
light in the little house disappeared in its turn. Mary
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again questioned the pulsations of her heart, and fast as
it leaped before the twelfth beat, the propiteous star was
shining on the horizon. Or there was no longer any
doubt everything was settled. Mary could not sleep all night.
This persistency of her partisans inspired her with gratitude to
the point of tears. The day came, and the Queen
several times questioned her companion to assure herself that it
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was not all a dream. At every sound, it seemed
to her that the scheme on which her liberty hung
was discovered. And when at breakfast and at dinner time
William Douglas entered as usual, she hardly dared look at
him for fear of reading on his face the announcement
that all was lost. In the evening, the Queen again
questioned the light. It made the same answer. Nothing had altered.
The beacon was always one of hope for four days.
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It thus continued to indicate that the moment of escape
was at hand. On the evening of the fifth, before
the Queen had counted five beats, a light reappeared. The
Queen leaned upon Mary's seaton. She was nearly fainting between
dread and delight. Her escape was fixed for the next evening.
The Queen tried once more and obtained the same reply.
There was no longer a doubt. Everything was ready except
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the prisoner's courage, for it failed her for a moment,
and if Mary Seton had not drawn up a seat
in time, she would have fallen prone. But the first
moment over she collected herself as usual, and was stronger
and more resolute than ever. Till midnight, the Queen remained
at the window, her eyes fixed on that Star of
good Omen. At last, Mary Seaton persuaded her to go
to bed, offering, if she had no wish to sleep,
(09:00):
to read her some verses by mischeur Onsarde, or some
chapters from the Ameredehestoirs. But Mary had no desire now
for any profane reading, and had her hours read, making
the responses, as she would have done if she had
been present at a mass said by a Catholic priest.
Towards dawn, however, she grew drowsy, and as Mary setin
for her part, was dropping with fatigue. She fell asleep
(09:21):
directly in the arm chair at the head of the
Queen's bed. Next day, she awoke feeling that some one
was tapping her on the shoulder. It was the Queen,
who had already risen. Come and see, darling, said she,
Come and see the fine day that God is giving us. Oh,
how alive is nature? How happy I shall be to
be once more free among those plains and mountains. Decidedly,
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Heaven is on our side, Madam replied Mary, I would
rather see the weather less fine. It would promise us
a darker night. And consider what we need is darkness,
not light. Listen said the Queen. It is by this
we are going to see if God is indeed for us.
If the weather remains as it is, yes, you are right,
(10:03):
he abandons us. But if it clouds over, oh, then darling,
this would be a certain proof of his protection, will
it not. Mary Seaton smiled, nodding that she adopted her
mistress's superstition. Then the Queen, incapable of remaining idle in
her great preoccupation of mind, collected the few jewels that
she had preserved and closed them in a casket, got
ready for the evening a black dress in order to
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be still better hidden in the darkness. And these preparations made,
she sat down again at the window, ceaselessly carrying her
eyes from the lake to the little house in Kinross,
shut up and dumb as usual, the dinner hour arrived,
the queen was so happy that she received William Douglas
with more good will than was her wont and it
was with difficulty she remained seated during the time the
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meal lasted, but she restrained herself, and William Douglas withdrew
without seeming to have noticed her agitation. Scarcely had he
gone than Mary ran to the window. She had need
of air, and her gaze devoured in advance those wide
horizons which she was about to cross. A new It
seemed to her that once at liberty, she would never
shut herself up in a palace again, but would wander
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about the countryside continually. Then, amid all these tremors of delight,
from time to time she felt unexpectedly heavy at heart.
She then turned round to Mary Seaton, trying to fortify
her strength with hers, and the young girl kept up
her hopes, but rather from duty than from conviction. But
slow as they seemed to the Queen, the hours yet passed.
Towards the afternoon, some clouds floated across the blue sky.
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The Queen remarked upon them joyfully to her companion, and
Mary's Seaton congratulated her upon them, not on account of
the imaginary omen that the Queen sault in them, but
because of the real importance that the weather should be cloudy,
that darkness might aid them in their flight. While the
two prisoners were watching the billowy moving vapors, the hour
of dinner arrived, but it was half an hour of
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constraint and dissimulation. The more painful that no doubt in
return for the sort of good will shown him by
the Queen in the morning, William Douglas thought himself obliged
in his turn to accompany his duties with fitting compliments,
which compelled the Queen to take a more active part
in the conversation than her preoccupation allowed her. But William
Douglas did not seem in any way to observe this
absence of mind, and all passed as at breakfast. Directly
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he had gone, the Queen ran to the window. The
few clouds which were chasing one another in the sky
an hour before, had thickened and spread, and all the
blue was blotted out to give place to a hue
doll and leaden as pewter. Mary Stuart's presentiments were thus raised.
As to the little house in Kinross, which one could
still make out in the dusk, it remained shut up
and seemed deserted. Night fell, the light shone as usual,
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and the Queen signaled it disappeared. Mary Stuart waited in vain.
Everything remained in darkness. The escape was for the same evening.
The Queen heard eight o'clock, nine o'clock and ten o'clock
strike successively, at ten o'clock, the sentinels were relieved. Mary
Stuart heard the patrols pass beneath her windows. The steps
of the watch recede, then all returned to silence. Half
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an hour passed away. Thus suddenly the owl's cry resounded thrice.
The Queen recognized George Douglas's signal. The supreme moment had come.
In these circumstances, the queen found all her strength revive.
She signed to Mary seton to take away the bar
and to fix the rope ladder. While putting out the lamp.
She felt her way into the bedroom to seek the casket,
which contained her few remaining jewels. When she came back,
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George Douglas was already in the room. All goes well,
Madame said, he. Your friends will wait you on the
other side of the lake. Thomas Warden watches at the
post turn, and God has sent us a dark night.
The Queen, without replying, gave him her hand. George bent
his knee and carried his hand to his lips, but
on touching it, he felt it cold and trembling. Madame
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said he, in Heaven's name, summon all your courage, and
do not let yourself be downcast. At such a moment,
our Lady of good help murmured, setan come to our aid,
summon to you the spirit of the king's er ancestors,
responded George, for at this moment it is not the
resignation of a Christian that you require, but the strength
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and resolution of a queen. Oh Douglas. Douglas, cried Mary, mournfully.
A fortune teller predicted to me that I should die
in prison, and by a violent death. Has not the
hour of the prediction arrived? Perhaps, George said, But it
is better to die as a queen than to live
in this ancient castle, calumniated, and as a prisoner. You
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are right, George, the queen answered, But for a woman,
the first step is everything. Forgive me. Then, after a
moment's pause, come, said she, I am ready. George immediately
went to the window, secured the ladder again and more firmly, Then,
getting up onto the sill, and holding to the bars
of one hand, he stretched out the other to the queen, who,
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as resolute as she had been timid a moment before,
mounted on a stool and had already set one foot
on the window ledge, when suddenly the cry who goes
there rang out at the foot of the tower. The
Queen sprang quickly back, partly in distinctively and partly pushed
by George, who, on the contrary, leaned out of the
window to see whence came this cry, which twice again renewed,
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remained twice unanswered, and was immediately followed by a report
and the flash of a firearm. At the same moment,
the sentinel on duty on the tower blew his bugle,
another set going the alarm bell, and the cries to arms,
to arms, and treason treason resounded throughout the castle. Yes, yes,
treason treason, cried George Douglas, leaping down into the room. Yes,
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the infamous warden has betrayed us. Then, advancing to Mary,
cold and motionless as a statue, courage, Madam said he, courage,
whatever happens, a friend yet remains for you in the castle.
It is little Douglas. Scarcely had he finished speaking when
the door of the Queen's apartment opened and William Douglas
and Lady Locklaven, preceded by servants carrying torches and armed soldiers,
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appeared on the threshold. The room was immediately filled with
people and light, mother, said William Douglas, pointing to his
brother standing before Mary Stuart and protecting her with his body.
Do you believe me now? Look? The old lady was
for a moment speechless, then finding a word at last
and taking a step forward.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Speak, George Douglas.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Cried she speak, and clear.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yourself at once of the charge which weighs on your honor.
Say but these words. A Douglas was never faithless to
his trust.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
And I believe you, yes, mother, answered William a Douglas.
But he he is not a Douglas.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
May God grant my old age the strength needed to
bear on the part of one of my sons such
a misfortune, and on the part of the other such.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
An injury, exclaimed Lady Locklaven, Oh woman born under a
fatal star. She went on, addressing the queen, When will
you cease to be in the devil's hands? An instrument
of perdition and death to all who approach you, O
ancient house of Locklaven, curst be the hour when this
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enchantress cost thy threshold. Do not say that, mother, Do
not say that, cried George. Blessed. Be on the contrary,
the moment which proves that if there are Douglases who
no longer remember what they owe to their sovereigns, there
are others who have never forgotten it, Douglas. Douglas murmured
Mary Stuart. Did I not tell you? And I, Madame,
(17:25):
said George. What did I reply? Then? That it was
an honor and a duty to every faithful subject of
your majesty to die for you? Well die, then, cried
William Douglas, springing on his brother with raised sword, while
he leaped back, drew his and with a movement quick
as thought and eager as hatred, defended himself. But at
the same moment, Mary Stuart darted between the two young people.
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Not another step, Lord Douglas said she sheath your sword, George,
or if you use it, let be to go hence
and against everyone but your brother. I still have need
of your life. Take care of it. My life, like
my arm, in my honor, is at your service, Madame.
And from the moment you commanded, I shall preserve it
for you with these words. Rushing to the door with
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a violence and resolve which prevented anyone stopping him back,
cried he to the domestics who were barring the passage.
Make way for your young master of Douglas, or woe
to you. Stop him, cried William. Seize him dead or alive.
Fire upon him, kill him like a dog. Two or
three soldiers, not daring to disobey, William pretended to pursue
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his brother. Then some gunshots were heard. In a voice
crying that George Douglas had just thrown himself into the lake,
and has he escaped? Then, cried William. Mary Stuart breathed again.
The old lady raised her hands to Heaven. Yes, yes,
murmured William. Yes, thank Heaven for your son's flight. For
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his flight covers our entire house with shame. Counting from
this hour we shall be looked upon as the accomplices
of his treason. Have pity on me, William cried, Lady Locklaven,
wringing her hands, have compassion on your old mother. See
you not that I am dying. With these words, she
fell backwards, pale and tottering. The steward and a servants
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supported her in their arms. I believe, my lord, said
Mary Seaton, coming forward, that your mother has as much
need of attention just now as the Queen has need
of repose. Do you not consider it as time for
you to withdraw? Yes, yes, said William, to give you
time to spin fresh webs, I suppose, and to seek
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what fresh flies you can take in them. It is
well go on with your work, but you have just
seen that it is not easy to deceive. William Douglas.
Play your game, I shall play mine. Then, turning to
the servants, go out, all of you, said he and
you mother. Come the servants and the soldiers obeyed. Then
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William Douglas went out last support hoarding Lady Locklaven, and
the queen heard him, shut behind him and double lock
the two doors of her prison. Scarcely was Mary alone,
and certain that she was no longer seen or heard,
than all her strength deserted her, and sinking into an
arm chair, she burst out sobbing. Indeed, all her courage
had been needed to sustain her so far, and the
sight of her enemies alone had given her this courage.
(20:20):
But hardly had they gone than her situation appeared before her,
in all its fatal hardship, dethroned a prisoner without another
friend in this impregnable castle, than a child to whom
she had scarce given attention, and who was the sole
and last threat attaching her past hopes to her hopes
for the future. What remained to Mary Stuart of her
two thrones and her double power, her name, that was
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all her name, with which free she had a doubtless
stirred Scotland, but which little by little was about to
be effaced in the hearts of her adherents, and which
during her lifetime oblivion was to cover. Perhaps as with
a shroud, such an idea was insupportable to a soul
as lofty as Mary Stuart's, and to an organization which,
like that of the flowers, has need before everything of air,
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light and sun. Fortunately there remained to her the best
beloved of her four Mary's, who always devoted and consoling,
hastened to sucker and comfort her. But this time it
was no easy matter, and the Queen let her act
and speak without answering her otherwise, and with sobs and tears,
when suddenly, looking through the window to which she had
drawn up her mistress's arm chair, the light cried, She
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madam the light. At the same time she raised the Queen,
and with an arm outstretched from the window, she showed
her the beacon, the eternal symbol of hope, relighted in
the midst of this dark night on Kinross Hill. There
was no mistake possible. Not a star was shining in
the sky. Lord God, I give thee thanks, said the Queen,
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falling on her knees and raising her arms to heaven
with a gesture of gratitude. Douglas has escaped, and my
friends still keep watch. Then, after a fervent prayer which
restored her to her little strength, the Queen she entered
her room, and, tired out by her varied successive emotions,
she slept an uneasy, agitated sleep over which the indefatigable
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Mary Seaton kept watch till daybreak. As William Douglas had said,
from this time forward, the Queen was a prisoner, indeed,
and permission to go down into the garden was no
longer granted, but under the surveillance of two soldiers. But
this annoyance seemed to her so unbearable that she preferred
to give up the recreation, which, surrounded with such conditions,
became a torture. So she shut herself up in her apartments,
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finding a certain bitter and haughty pleasure in the very
excess of her misfortune, end of Chapter six, recording by
John Van Stan Savannah, Georgia
Chapter six of Celebrated Crimes, Volume three by Alexander Duma,
translated by George Burnham, ives this LibriVox recording as in
the public domain. Chapter six, the Queen came out of
her room only in the evening to take her place
at the window which looked over the lake. At the
usual time, she saw the light which was henceforth her
sole hope, shine in the little house in Kinross. For
(00:23):
a whole long month, she had no other consolation than
seeing it every night, fixed and faithful. At last, at
the end of this time, and as she was beginning
to despair of seeing George Douglas again, one morning, on
opening the window, she uttered a cry. Mary Seaton ran
to her, and the Queen, without having strength to speak,
showed her in the middle of the lake the tiny
boat at anchor, and in the boat little Douglas and
(00:45):
George she were absorbed in fishing, their favorite amusement. The
young man had arrived the day before, and as every
one was accustomed to his unexpected returns, the sentinel had
not even blown the horn, and the Queen had not
known that at last a friend had come. However, she
was three days yet without seeing this friend. Otherwise than
she had just done, that is on the lake. It
(01:05):
is true that from morning till evening he did not
leave that spot from which he could view the queen's window,
and the Queen herself, when to gaze at a wider horizon,
she leaned her face against the bars. At last, on
the morning of the fourth day, the Queen was awakened
by a great noise of dogs and horns. She immediately
ran to the window, for to a prisoner everything is
an event, and she saw William Douglas, who was embarking
(01:26):
with a pack of hounds and some huntsmen, in fact
making a truce for a day with his jailer's duties,
to enjoy a pleasure more in harmony with his rank
and birth. He was going to hunt in the woods
which cover the last ridge of ben Lamont, and which
ever sinking die down on the banks of the lake.
The queen trembled with delight, for she hoped that Lady
lach Cleven would maintain her ill will, and that then
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George would replace his brother. This hope was not disappointed.
At the usual time, the Queen heard the footsteps of
those who were bringing her her breakfast. The door opened,
and she saw George Douglas enter, preceded by the servants
who were carrying the dish. George barely bowed, but the Queen,
warned by him not to be surprised at anything, returned
him as greeting with a disdainful air. Then the servants
(02:08):
performed their task and went out as they were accustomed.
At last said the Queen, you are back again. Then
George motioned with his finger, went to the door to
listen if all the servants had really gone away, and
if no one had remained to spy, then returning more
at ease and bowing respectfully, yes, Madame returned he and
heaven be thanked. I bring good news. Oh tell me, quickly,
(02:33):
cried the Queen for staying in this castle as hell.
You knew that they came, did you not, and that
they made me sign an abdication. Yes, Madame, replied Douglas.
But we also knew that your signature had been obtained
from you by violence alone, and our devotion to your
Majesty is increased thereby, if possible. But after all, what
(02:53):
have you done the Setans and the Hamiltons, who are,
as your Majesty knows, your most faithful servants. Mary turned round,
smiling and put out her hand to Mary Seaton have
all ready continued George assembled their troops, who keep themselves
in readiness for the first signal. But as they alone
would not be sufficiently numerous to hold the country, we
(03:13):
shall make our way directly to Dumbarton, whose governor is ours,
and which, by its position and its strength, can hold
out long enough against all the Regent's troops to give
to the faithful hearts remaining to you time to come
and join us. Yes, yes, said the Queen. I see
clearly what we shall do once we get out of this.
But how are we to get out? That is the occasion, Madame,
(03:36):
replied Douglas, for which your Majesty must call to your
aid that courage of which you have given such great proofs.
If I have need only of courage and coolness, replied
the Queen, be easy. Neither the one nor the other
will fail me. Here is a file, said George, giving
Mary seton that instrument which he judged unworthy to touch
(03:56):
the Queen's hands. And this evening I shall bring your
majesty court to construct the ladder. You will cut through
one of the bars of this window. It is only
at a height of twenty feet. I shall come up
to you as much to try it as to support you.
One of the garrison is in my pay. He will
give us passage by the door. It is his duty
to guard, and you will be free. And when will
(04:17):
that be? Cried the Queen? We must wait for two things, Madame,
replied Douglas. The first to collect at Kinross an escort
sufficient for your Majesty's safety. The second that the turn
for night watch of Thomas Warden should happen to be
at an isolated door that we can reach without being seen.
And how will you know that? Do you stay at
(04:38):
the castle then? Alas no, Madame replied George. At the
castle I am a useless and even a dangerous friend
for you, while once beyond the lake I can serve
you in an effectual manner. And how will you know
when Warden's turn to mount guards come of the weathercock
in the north tower instead of turning in the wind
with the others, will remain fixed against But I, how
(05:03):
shall I be warned? Everything is already provided for on
that side, the light which shines each night in the
little house, and Kinross incessantly tells you that your friends
keep watch for you. But when you would like to
know if the hour of your deliverance approaches or recedes
in your turn, place a light in this window. The
other will immediately disappear. Then, placing your hand on your breast,
(05:24):
count your heart beats. If you reach the number twenty
without the light reappearing, nothing is yet settled. If you
only reach ten, the moment approaches. If the light does
not leave you time to count, be on five. Your
escape is fixed for the following night. If it reappears
no more, it is fixed for the same evening. Then
the owl's cry, repeated thrice in the courtyard will beat
a signal. Let down the ladder when you hear it. Oh, Douglas,
(05:48):
cried the queen. You alone could foresee and calculate everything. Thus,
thank you, Thank you a hundred times, and she gave
him her hand to kiss. A vivid red flushed the
young man's cheeks. But almost directly mastering his emotion, he
kneeled down and, restraining the expression of that love of
which he had spoken to the queen, while promising her
never more to speak of it, he took the hand
(06:10):
that Mary extended and kissed it with such respect. Yet
no one could have seen in this action anything but
the homage of devotion and fidelity. Then, having bowed to
the Queen, he went out that a longer stay with
her should not give rise to any suspicions. At the
dinner hour Douglas brought, as he had said, a parcel
of cord. It was not enough, but when evening came,
Mary Seton was to unroll it and let fall the
(06:31):
end from a window, and George would fasten the remainder
to it. The thing was done as arranged and without
any mishap. An hour after the hunters had returned. The
following day, George left the castle. The Queen and Mary
Seton lost no time in setting about the rope ladder,
and it was finished on the third day. The same evening,
the Queen, and her impatience, or rather to assure herself
of her partisan's vigilance than in the hope that the
(06:52):
time of her deliverance was so near, brought her lamp
to the window immediately, and as George Douglas had told her,
the light in the little house at Kinroth disappeared. The
Queen then laid her hand on her heart and counted
up to twenty two. Then the light reappeared. They were
ready for everything, but nothing was yet settled. For a week,
the queen thus questioned the light and her heart beats,
without their number changing. At last, on the eighth day,
(07:14):
she counted only as far as ten. At the eleventh
the light reappeared. The queen believed herself mistaken. She did
not dare to hope what this announced. She withdrew the lamp, then,
at the end of a quarter of an hour, showed
it again. Her unknown correspondent understood with his usual intelligence
that a fresh trial was required of him, and the
light in the little house disappeared in its turn. Mary
(07:35):
again questioned the pulsations of her heart, and fast as
it leaped before the twelfth beat, the propiteous star was
shining on the horizon. Or there was no longer any
doubt everything was settled. Mary could not sleep all night.
This persistency of her partisans inspired her with gratitude to
the point of tears. The day came, and the Queen
several times questioned her companion to assure herself that it
(07:56):
was not all a dream. At every sound, it seemed
to her that the scheme on which her liberty hung
was discovered. And when at breakfast and at dinner time
William Douglas entered as usual, she hardly dared look at
him for fear of reading on his face the announcement
that all was lost. In the evening, the Queen again
questioned the light. It made the same answer. Nothing had altered.
The beacon was always one of hope for four days.
(08:18):
It thus continued to indicate that the moment of escape
was at hand. On the evening of the fifth, before
the Queen had counted five beats, a light reappeared. The
Queen leaned upon Mary's seaton. She was nearly fainting between
dread and delight. Her escape was fixed for the next evening.
The Queen tried once more and obtained the same reply.
There was no longer a doubt. Everything was ready except
(08:39):
the prisoner's courage, for it failed her for a moment,
and if Mary Seton had not drawn up a seat
in time, she would have fallen prone. But the first
moment over she collected herself as usual, and was stronger
and more resolute than ever. Till midnight, the Queen remained
at the window, her eyes fixed on that Star of
good Omen. At last, Mary Seaton persuaded her to go
to bed, offering, if she had no wish to sleep,
(09:00):
to read her some verses by mischeur Onsarde, or some
chapters from the Ameredehestoirs. But Mary had no desire now
for any profane reading, and had her hours read, making
the responses, as she would have done if she had
been present at a mass said by a Catholic priest.
Towards dawn, however, she grew drowsy, and as Mary setin
for her part, was dropping with fatigue. She fell asleep
(09:21):
directly in the arm chair at the head of the
Queen's bed. Next day, she awoke feeling that some one
was tapping her on the shoulder. It was the Queen,
who had already risen. Come and see, darling, said she,
Come and see the fine day that God is giving us. Oh,
how alive is nature? How happy I shall be to
be once more free among those plains and mountains. Decidedly,
(09:43):
Heaven is on our side, Madam replied Mary, I would
rather see the weather less fine. It would promise us
a darker night. And consider what we need is darkness,
not light. Listen said the Queen. It is by this
we are going to see if God is indeed for us.
If the weather remains as it is, yes, you are right,
(10:03):
he abandons us. But if it clouds over, oh, then darling,
this would be a certain proof of his protection, will
it not. Mary Seaton smiled, nodding that she adopted her
mistress's superstition. Then the Queen, incapable of remaining idle in
her great preoccupation of mind, collected the few jewels that
she had preserved and closed them in a casket, got
ready for the evening a black dress in order to
(10:25):
be still better hidden in the darkness. And these preparations made,
she sat down again at the window, ceaselessly carrying her
eyes from the lake to the little house in Kinross,
shut up and dumb as usual, the dinner hour arrived,
the queen was so happy that she received William Douglas
with more good will than was her wont and it
was with difficulty she remained seated during the time the
(10:45):
meal lasted, but she restrained herself, and William Douglas withdrew
without seeming to have noticed her agitation. Scarcely had he
gone than Mary ran to the window. She had need
of air, and her gaze devoured in advance those wide
horizons which she was about to cross. A new It
seemed to her that once at liberty, she would never
shut herself up in a palace again, but would wander
(11:05):
about the countryside continually. Then, amid all these tremors of delight,
from time to time she felt unexpectedly heavy at heart.
She then turned round to Mary Seaton, trying to fortify
her strength with hers, and the young girl kept up
her hopes, but rather from duty than from conviction. But
slow as they seemed to the Queen, the hours yet passed.
Towards the afternoon, some clouds floated across the blue sky.
(11:27):
The Queen remarked upon them joyfully to her companion, and
Mary's Seaton congratulated her upon them, not on account of
the imaginary omen that the Queen sault in them, but
because of the real importance that the weather should be cloudy,
that darkness might aid them in their flight. While the
two prisoners were watching the billowy moving vapors, the hour
of dinner arrived, but it was half an hour of
(11:47):
constraint and dissimulation. The more painful that no doubt in
return for the sort of good will shown him by
the Queen in the morning, William Douglas thought himself obliged
in his turn to accompany his duties with fitting compliments,
which compelled the Queen to take a more active part
in the conversation than her preoccupation allowed her. But William
Douglas did not seem in any way to observe this
absence of mind, and all passed as at breakfast. Directly
(12:10):
he had gone, the Queen ran to the window. The
few clouds which were chasing one another in the sky
an hour before, had thickened and spread, and all the
blue was blotted out to give place to a hue
doll and leaden as pewter. Mary Stuart's presentiments were thus raised.
As to the little house in Kinross, which one could
still make out in the dusk, it remained shut up
and seemed deserted. Night fell, the light shone as usual,
(12:34):
and the Queen signaled it disappeared. Mary Stuart waited in vain.
Everything remained in darkness. The escape was for the same evening.
The Queen heard eight o'clock, nine o'clock and ten o'clock
strike successively, at ten o'clock, the sentinels were relieved. Mary
Stuart heard the patrols pass beneath her windows. The steps
of the watch recede, then all returned to silence. Half
(12:59):
an hour passed away. Thus suddenly the owl's cry resounded thrice.
The Queen recognized George Douglas's signal. The supreme moment had come.
In these circumstances, the queen found all her strength revive.
She signed to Mary seton to take away the bar
and to fix the rope ladder. While putting out the lamp.
She felt her way into the bedroom to seek the casket,
which contained her few remaining jewels. When she came back,
(13:22):
George Douglas was already in the room. All goes well,
Madame said, he. Your friends will wait you on the
other side of the lake. Thomas Warden watches at the
post turn, and God has sent us a dark night.
The Queen, without replying, gave him her hand. George bent
his knee and carried his hand to his lips, but
on touching it, he felt it cold and trembling. Madame
(13:42):
said he, in Heaven's name, summon all your courage, and
do not let yourself be downcast. At such a moment,
our Lady of good help murmured, setan come to our aid,
summon to you the spirit of the king's er ancestors,
responded George, for at this moment it is not the
resignation of a Christian that you require, but the strength
(14:02):
and resolution of a queen. Oh Douglas. Douglas, cried Mary, mournfully.
A fortune teller predicted to me that I should die
in prison, and by a violent death. Has not the
hour of the prediction arrived? Perhaps, George said, But it
is better to die as a queen than to live
in this ancient castle, calumniated, and as a prisoner. You
(14:23):
are right, George, the queen answered, But for a woman,
the first step is everything. Forgive me. Then, after a
moment's pause, come, said she, I am ready. George immediately
went to the window, secured the ladder again and more firmly, Then,
getting up onto the sill, and holding to the bars
of one hand, he stretched out the other to the queen, who,
(14:46):
as resolute as she had been timid a moment before,
mounted on a stool and had already set one foot
on the window ledge, when suddenly the cry who goes
there rang out at the foot of the tower. The
Queen sprang quickly back, partly in distinctively and partly pushed
by George, who, on the contrary, leaned out of the
window to see whence came this cry, which twice again renewed,
(15:07):
remained twice unanswered, and was immediately followed by a report
and the flash of a firearm. At the same moment,
the sentinel on duty on the tower blew his bugle,
another set going the alarm bell, and the cries to arms,
to arms, and treason treason resounded throughout the castle. Yes, yes,
treason treason, cried George Douglas, leaping down into the room. Yes,
(15:31):
the infamous warden has betrayed us. Then, advancing to Mary,
cold and motionless as a statue, courage, Madam said he, courage,
whatever happens, a friend yet remains for you in the castle.
It is little Douglas. Scarcely had he finished speaking when
the door of the Queen's apartment opened and William Douglas
and Lady Locklaven, preceded by servants carrying torches and armed soldiers,
(15:52):
appeared on the threshold. The room was immediately filled with
people and light, mother, said William Douglas, pointing to his
brother standing before Mary Stuart and protecting her with his body.
Do you believe me now? Look? The old lady was
for a moment speechless, then finding a word at last
and taking a step forward.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Speak, George Douglas.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Cried she speak, and clear.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yourself at once of the charge which weighs on your honor.
Say but these words. A Douglas was never faithless to
his trust.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
And I believe you, yes, mother, answered William a Douglas.
But he he is not a Douglas.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
May God grant my old age the strength needed to
bear on the part of one of my sons such
a misfortune, and on the part of the other such.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
An injury, exclaimed Lady Locklaven, Oh woman born under a
fatal star. She went on, addressing the queen, When will
you cease to be in the devil's hands? An instrument
of perdition and death to all who approach you, O
ancient house of Locklaven, curst be the hour when this
(17:01):
enchantress cost thy threshold. Do not say that, mother, Do
not say that, cried George. Blessed. Be on the contrary,
the moment which proves that if there are Douglases who
no longer remember what they owe to their sovereigns, there
are others who have never forgotten it, Douglas. Douglas murmured
Mary Stuart. Did I not tell you? And I, Madame,
(17:25):
said George. What did I reply? Then? That it was
an honor and a duty to every faithful subject of
your majesty to die for you? Well die, then, cried
William Douglas, springing on his brother with raised sword, while
he leaped back, drew his and with a movement quick
as thought and eager as hatred, defended himself. But at
the same moment, Mary Stuart darted between the two young people.
(17:48):
Not another step, Lord Douglas said she sheath your sword, George,
or if you use it, let be to go hence
and against everyone but your brother. I still have need
of your life. Take care of it. My life, like
my arm, in my honor, is at your service, Madame.
And from the moment you commanded, I shall preserve it
for you with these words. Rushing to the door with
(18:10):
a violence and resolve which prevented anyone stopping him back,
cried he to the domestics who were barring the passage.
Make way for your young master of Douglas, or woe
to you. Stop him, cried William. Seize him dead or alive.
Fire upon him, kill him like a dog. Two or
three soldiers, not daring to disobey, William pretended to pursue
(18:31):
his brother. Then some gunshots were heard. In a voice
crying that George Douglas had just thrown himself into the lake,
and has he escaped? Then, cried William. Mary Stuart breathed again.
The old lady raised her hands to Heaven. Yes, yes,
murmured William. Yes, thank Heaven for your son's flight. For
(18:52):
his flight covers our entire house with shame. Counting from
this hour we shall be looked upon as the accomplices
of his treason. Have pity on me, William cried, Lady Locklaven,
wringing her hands, have compassion on your old mother. See
you not that I am dying. With these words, she
fell backwards, pale and tottering. The steward and a servants
(19:14):
supported her in their arms. I believe, my lord, said
Mary Seaton, coming forward, that your mother has as much
need of attention just now as the Queen has need
of repose. Do you not consider it as time for
you to withdraw? Yes, yes, said William, to give you
time to spin fresh webs, I suppose, and to seek
(19:37):
what fresh flies you can take in them. It is
well go on with your work, but you have just
seen that it is not easy to deceive. William Douglas.
Play your game, I shall play mine. Then, turning to
the servants, go out, all of you, said he and
you mother. Come the servants and the soldiers obeyed. Then
(19:58):
William Douglas went out last support hoarding Lady Locklaven, and
the queen heard him, shut behind him and double lock
the two doors of her prison. Scarcely was Mary alone,
and certain that she was no longer seen or heard,
than all her strength deserted her, and sinking into an
arm chair, she burst out sobbing. Indeed, all her courage
had been needed to sustain her so far, and the
sight of her enemies alone had given her this courage.
(20:20):
But hardly had they gone than her situation appeared before her,
in all its fatal hardship, dethroned a prisoner without another
friend in this impregnable castle, than a child to whom
she had scarce given attention, and who was the sole
and last threat attaching her past hopes to her hopes
for the future. What remained to Mary Stuart of her
two thrones and her double power, her name, that was
(20:41):
all her name, with which free she had a doubtless
stirred Scotland, but which little by little was about to
be effaced in the hearts of her adherents, and which
during her lifetime oblivion was to cover. Perhaps as with
a shroud, such an idea was insupportable to a soul
as lofty as Mary Stuart's, and to an organization which,
like that of the flowers, has need before everything of air,
(21:03):
light and sun. Fortunately there remained to her the best
beloved of her four Mary's, who always devoted and consoling,
hastened to sucker and comfort her. But this time it
was no easy matter, and the Queen let her act
and speak without answering her otherwise, and with sobs and tears,
when suddenly, looking through the window to which she had
drawn up her mistress's arm chair, the light cried, She
(21:26):
madam the light. At the same time she raised the Queen,
and with an arm outstretched from the window, she showed
her the beacon, the eternal symbol of hope, relighted in
the midst of this dark night on Kinross Hill. There
was no mistake possible. Not a star was shining in
the sky. Lord God, I give thee thanks, said the Queen,
(21:47):
falling on her knees and raising her arms to heaven
with a gesture of gratitude. Douglas has escaped, and my
friends still keep watch. Then, after a fervent prayer which
restored her to her little strength, the Queen she entered
her room, and, tired out by her varied successive emotions,
she slept an uneasy, agitated sleep over which the indefatigable
(22:07):
Mary Seaton kept watch till daybreak. As William Douglas had said,
from this time forward, the Queen was a prisoner, indeed,
and permission to go down into the garden was no
longer granted, but under the surveillance of two soldiers. But
this annoyance seemed to her so unbearable that she preferred
to give up the recreation, which, surrounded with such conditions,
became a torture. So she shut herself up in her apartments,
(22:28):
finding a certain bitter and haughty pleasure in the very
excess of her misfortune, end of Chapter six, recording by
John Van Stan Savannah, Georgia
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