10 - Celebrated Crimes - Mary Stuart by Alexandre Dumas

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.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nine of Celebrated Crimes, Volume three by Alexandre Duma,
translated by George Burnham Ives. This LibriVox recording is in
the public domain. Chapter nine. Queen Mary had known the
decree of the Commissioners these two months, the very day
it had been pronounced. She had learned the news through
her chaplain, whom they had allow her to see this once.

(00:21):
Only Mary Stuart had taken advantage of this visit to
give him three letters. She had just written, one for
Pope Sixteth the fifth, the other to a Don Bernard Mendoza,
the third to the Duke of Guiese. Here is that
last letter, fourteenth December fifteen eighty six. My good cousin,
whom I hold dearest in the world, I bid you farewell.

(00:42):
Being prepared to be put to death by an unjust judgment,
and to a death such as no one of our race,
thanks to God, and never a queen, and still less
one of my rank, has ever suffered. But good Cousin
praised the Lord, for I was useless to the cause
of God and of his Church in this world, a
prisoner as I was. While on the contrary, I hope
that my death will bear witness to my constancies in

(01:04):
the faith, and to my willingness to suffer for the
maintenance and the restoration of the Catholic Church in this
unfortunate island. And though never has executioner dipped his hands
in our blood, have no shame of it, my friend,
for the judgment of heretics, who have no authority over me.
A free queen is profitable in the sight of God
to the children of his Church. If I adhered moreover

(01:26):
to what they proposed to me, I should not suffer
this stroke. All of our house have been persecuted by
this sect. Witness your good Father, through whose intercession I
hope to be received with mercy by the just judge.
I commend to you, then, my poor servants, the discharge
of my debts and the founding of some annual mass
for my soul, not at your expense, but that you
may make the arrangements as you will be required when

(01:48):
you learn my wishes. Through my poor and faithful servants,
who are about to witness my last tragedy. God prosper you,
your wife, children, brothers and cousins, and above all our chief,
my good brother and cousin. In all his the blessing
of God, and that which I shall give to my
children beyond yours, whom I do not commend less to
God than my own son, unfortunate and ill treated as

(02:10):
he is, You will receive some rings from me which
will remind you to pray God for the soul of
your poor cousin, deprived of all help and counsel except
that of the Lord, who gives me strength and courage
to alone to resist so many wolves howling after me.
To God be the glory. Believe particularly what will be
told you by a person who will give you a
ruby ring from me. For I take it on my

(02:32):
conscience that the truth will be told you of what
I have charged him to tell, and especially in what
concerns my poor servants and the share of any I
commend this person to you for his simple sincerity and honesty,
that he may be placed in some good place. I
have chosen him as the least partial, and as the
one who will most simply bring you my commands. Ignore.

(02:52):
I beg you that he told you anything in particular,
for envy might injure him. I have suffered a great
deal for two years and more, and have not been
able to let you know for an important reason. God
be praised for all and give you grace to persevere
in the service of His Church as long as you live,
and never may this honor pass from our race. While
so many men and women are ready to shed their

(03:14):
blood to maintain the fight for the faith, all other
worldly considerations set aside. And as to me, I esteem myself,
born on both fathers and mother's sides, that I should
offer up my blood for this cause. And I have
no intention of degenerating. Jesus crucified for us, and all
the Holy martyrs make us, by their intercession worthy of

(03:34):
the voluntary offering we make of our bodies to their
glory from Fatheringay. This Thursday, twenty fourth November, they have,
thinking to degrade me, pulled down my canopy of state,
and since then my keeper has come to offer to
write to their queen saying this deed was not done
by his order, but by the advice of some of

(03:55):
the council. I have shown them instead of my arms
on the said canopy, the cross of our Lord. You
will hear all this. They have been more gentle since
your affectionate cousin and perfect friend, Mary, Queen of Scotland,
Dowager of France. From this day forward, when she learned
the sentence delivered by the commissioners, Mary Stuart no longer

(04:16):
preserved any hope, for as she knew Elizabeth's pardon was
required to save her. She looked upon herself thenceforward as lost,
and only concerned herself with preparing to die well. Indeed,
as it had happened to her sometimes from the cold
and damp in her prisons, to become crippled for some
time in all her limbs. She was afraid of being
so when they would come to take her, which would

(04:36):
prevent her going resolutely to the scaffold, as she was
counting on doing so. On Saturday, the fourteenth February, she
sent for her doctor Bourgeos, and asked him. Moved by
a presentiment that her death was at hand, she said
what she must do to prevent the return of the
pains which crippled her. He replied that it would be
good for her to medicine herself with fresh herbs. Go, then,

(04:59):
said the Queen, and asked Sir Amyas Paulet from me
permission to seek them in the fields. Bourjoyne went to
Sir Amias who, as he himself was troubled with sciatica,
should have understood better than anyone the need of the
remedies for which the queen asked. But this request, simple
as it was, raised great difficulties. Sir Amyas replied that

(05:20):
he could do nothing without referring to his companion Drury,
but that paper and ink might be brought, and that
he master Bourjoyne could again make a list of the
needful plants which they would try to procure. Bourjoyne answered
that he did not know English well enough, and that
the village apothecaries did not know enough Latin for him
to risk the Queen's life for some error by himself

(05:41):
or others. Finally, after a thousand hesitations, Poulet allowed Bourjoyne
to go out, which he did accompanied by the apothecary Bourgeon,
so that the following day the Queen was able to
begin to doctor herself. Mary Stuart's presentiments had not deceived her. Tuesday,
February seventeenth, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, the
Earl's of Kent and Shrewsbury and Beale sent word to

(06:02):
the Queen that they desired to speak to her. The
Queen answered that she was ill and in bed, but
that if notwithstanding what they had to tell her was
a matter of importance, and they would give her a
little time, she would get up. They made answer that
the communication they had to make admitted of no delay.
That they begged her then to make ready, which the
Queen immediately did, and rising from her bed and cloaking herself,

(06:24):
she went and seated herself at a little table on
the same spot where she was wont to be great
part of the day. Then the two earls, accompanied by
Belle Anyaspoulet and Drew Drury, entered behind them, drawn by curiosity,
full of terrible anxiety, came her dearest ladies, in most
cherished servants. These were of womenkind, the Missus Urnada, really

(06:46):
Gibbus Malbray, Jean Kennedy, Elsbeth Curle, Mary Paget, and Susan Kirkady.
And of menkind, Dominique Boorjoyne, her doctor, Pierre Gorjeon, her apothecary,
Jacques Gervais, her surgeon Annibal Stuart, her footman dither A Stifflart,
her butler Jean Laudare, her baker, and Martin hit her

(07:07):
carver then the Earl of Shrewsbury, with head Bard, like
all those present who remained thus as long as they
were in the Queen's room, began to say in English,
addressing Mary, Madame the Queen of England, my august Mistress
has sent me to you, with the Earl of Cant
and Sir Robert Beale here present, to make known to
you that, after having honorably proceeded in the inquiry into

(07:29):
the deed of which you are accused and found guilty,
an inquiry which has already been submitted to your grace
by Lord Buckhurst, and having delayed as long as it
was in her power the execution of the sentence, she
can no longer withstand the importunity of her subjects, who
press her to carry it out, so great and loving
is their fear for her. For this purpose we have

(07:50):
come the bearers of a commission, and we beg a
very humbly, Madame, that it may please you to hear it. Read. Read,
my lie, Lord, I am listening, replied Mary Stuart with
the greatest calmness. Then Robert Beale unrolled the said commission,
which was on parchment sealed with the Great Seal in
yellow Wax and Red as follows Elizabeth, by the grace

(08:14):
of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland, et cetera,
to our beloved and faithful cousins, George Earl of Shrewsbury,
Grand Marshal of England, Henry Earl of Kent, Henry Earl
of Derby, George Earl of Cumberland, Henry Earl of Pembroke,
greeting the Earls of Cumberland, Derby and Pembroke did not
attend to the Queen's orders and were present neither at

(08:34):
the reading of the sentence nor at the execution. Considering
the sentence by us given and others of our council,
nobility and judges against the former Queen of Scotland bearing
the name of Mary, daughter and heiress of James the
fifth King of Scotland, commonly called Queen of Scotland and
Dowager of France, which sentenced all the estates of our
realm in our last Parliament assembled, not only concluded, but

(08:57):
after mature deliberation, gratified as being just and reasonable, considering
also the urgent prayer and request of our subjects, begging
us and pressing us to proceed to the publication thereof,
and to carry it into execution against their person, according
as they judge it duly merited, adding in this place
that her detention was and would be daily a certain
and evident danger, not only to our life, but also

(09:19):
to themselves and their posterity, and to the public of
zeal of this realm, as much on account of the
Gospel and the true religion of Christ, as of the
peace and tranquility of this state. Although the said sentence
has been frequently delayed, so that even until this time
we abstained from issuing the commission to execute it, yet
for the complete satisfaction of the said demands made by

(09:40):
the Estates of our Parliament, through which daily we hear
that all are friends and subjects, as well as the nobility,
the wisest, greatest, and most pious, a nay, even those
of inferior condition, with all humility and affection, from the
care they have of our life, and consequently from the
fear they have of the destruction of the present divine
and happy state of the realm, if we spare the
final execution, consenting and desiring the said execution, although the

(10:03):
general and continual demands prayers, counsels and advice were in
such things contrary to our natural inclination. Yet, being convinced
of the urgent weight of their continual intercessions tending to
the safety of our person and also to the public
and private state of our realm, we have at last
consented and suffered that justice have its course and for

(10:24):
its execution, considering the singular confidence we have in your
fidelity and loyalty, together for the love and affection that
you have towards us, particularly to the safeguarding of our
person in our country, of which you are very noble
in chief, members, we summon, and for the discharge of
it we enjoin you that, at sight of these presents,
you go to the castle of Fotheringay, where the former

(10:45):
Queen of Scotland is in the care of our friend
and faithful servant and counselor Sir Amyas Polet, and there
taken to your keeping, and do that by your command
execution be done on her person, in the presence of
yourselves and the said Sir Amyas Polet, and of all
the other officers of justice whom you command to be there.
In the meantime, we have for this end and this

(11:05):
execution given warrant in such a way and manner, and
in such a time and place, and by such persons,
that you five four, three or two find expedient in
your discretion, notwithstanding all laws, statutes, and ordinances whatsoever contrary
to these presents sealed with our great Seal of England,
which will serve for each of you and all those
who are present, or will make by your order anything

(11:26):
pertaining to the execution aforesaid fool and sufficient discharge for
ever done and given in our house at Greenwich, the
first day of February tenth, February New Style, in the
twenty ninth year of our reign. Mary listened to this
reading with great calmness and great dignity. Then, when it
was ended, making the sign of the cross, welcome, said

(11:50):
she to all news which comes in the name of God.
Thanks Lord for that you deign to put an end
to all the ills you have seen me suffer for
nineteen years and more. Madame, said the Earl of Kent,
have no ill will towards us on account of your death.
It was necessary to the peace of the state and

(12:11):
the progress of the new religion, So cried Mary with delight,
so I shall have the happiness of dying for the
faith of my father's. Thus God deigns to grant me
the glory of martyrdom. Thanks God, added she joining with
her hands less excitement, but with more piety. Thanks to

(12:32):
You have deigned to destiny for me such an end
of which I was not worthy. That, O, my God,
is indeed a proof of your love and an assurance
that you will receive me in the number of your servants.
For although this sentence has been notified to me, I
was afraid from the manner in which they have dealt
with me for nineteen years, of not yet being so

(12:52):
near as I am, to such a happy end, thinking
that your Queen would not dare to lay a hand
on me, who, by the grace of God, mad a
queen as she is the daughter of a queen, as
she is crowned, as she is her near relative granddaughter
of King Henry the seventh, and who has had the
honor of being Queen of France, of which I am
still dowager. And this fear was so much the greater,

(13:16):
added she, laying her hand on a new testament which
was near her, on the little table, that I swear
on this holy book I have never attempted, consented to,
or even desired the death of my sister, the Queen
of England. Madame, replied the Earl of Kent, taking a
step towards her and pointing to the New Testament. This
book on which you have sworn is not genuine, since

(13:39):
it is the papist version. Consequently, your oath cannot be
considered as any more genuine than the book on which
it has been taken. My Lord answered the Queen. What
you say may befit you, but not me, who well
know that this book is the true and faithful version
of the word of the Lord, a version made by
a very wise divine, a very good man, and approved

(14:02):
by the Church. Madame, the Earl of Kent returned, your
grace stopped at what you were taught in your youth,
without inquiry as to whether it was good or bad.
It is not surprising, then, that you have remained in
your error for want of having heard any one who
could make known the truth to you. This is why,
as your grace has but a few hours longer to
remain in this world, and consequently has no time to lose,

(14:25):
with your permission, we shall send for the Dean of Peterborough,
the most learned man there is on the subject of religion,
who with his word will prepare you for your salvation
which you risk at our great grief and that of
our august Queen. By all the pepistcal follies, abominations and
childish nonsense which keep Catholics away from the Holy Word
of God and the knowledge of truth, you mistake, my lord,

(14:50):
replied the Queen gently. If you have believed that I
have grown up careless in the faith of my father's
and without seriously occupying myself with a matter so important
as religion, I have, on the contrary, spent my life
with learned and wise men who taught me what one
must learn on this subject. And I have sustained myself
by reading their works since the means of hearing them

(15:12):
has been taken from me. Besides never having doubted in
my lifetime, a doubt is not likely to seize me
in my death hour. And there is the Earl of
Shrewsbury here present, who will tell you that since my
arrival in England, I have, for an entire lent of
which I repent, heard your wisest doctors without their arguments,
having made any impressing on my mind, it will be useless, then,

(15:34):
my Lord, she added, smiling, to summon to one so
hard and as I, the Dean of Peterborough learned, as
he is. The Only thing I ask you in exchange,
my Lord, and for which I shall be grateful to
you beyond expression, is that you will send me my almoner,
whom you keep shut up in this house, to console
me and prepare me for death, or in his stead
another priest, be he who he may, if only a

(15:57):
poor priest from a poor village, I being no harder
to please than God, and not asking that he have knowledge,
provided that he has faith. It is with regret, Madame,
replied the Earl of Kent, that I find myself obliged
to refuse your Grace's request, But it would be contrary
to our religion and our conscience, and we should be

(16:17):
culpable in doing it. This is why we again offer you,
the Venerable Dean of Peterborough, certain that your Grace will
find more consolation and content in him than in any bishop,
priest or vicar of the Catholic faith. Thank you, my Lord,
said the Queen again. But I have nothing to do
with him. And as I have a conscience free of
the crime for which I am about to die, with

(16:39):
God's help, martyrdom will take the place of confession for me.
And now I remind you, my lord, of what you
told me yourself, that I have but a few hours
to live. In these few hours to profit me should
be passed in prayer and meditation, and not in idle disputes.
With these words, she rose in bowing to the earls
Sir Robert Beale amyas and she indicated by a gesture

(17:02):
full of dignity, that she wished to be alone and
in peace. Then, as they prepared to go out a propos,
my lords said she for what o'clock should I make
ready to die? U for eight o'clock tomorrow, Madame answered
the Earl of Shrewsbury, stammering. It is well, said Mary,

(17:23):
but you have not some reply to make me from
my sister Elizabeth, relative to a letter which I wrote
to her about a month ago. And of what did
this letter treat? If it please you, Madame asked the
Earl of Kent, of my burial and my funeral ceremony.
My Lord, I asked to be interred in France in
the Cathedral Church of Rhymes, near the late Queen. My mother,

(17:48):
that may not be, Madame, replied the Earl of Kent.
But do not trouble yourself as to all these details
of the Queen. My august Mistress will provide for them
as is suitable. Has your Grace anything else to do?
Ask us? I would also like to know, said Mary,
if my servants will be allowed to return each to
his own country with the little that I can give him,

(18:10):
which will hardly be enough in any case, for the
long service they have done me and the long imprisonment
they have borne on my account. We have no instructions
on that head, Madame, the Earl of Kent said, but
we think that an order will be given for this,
as for the other things, in accordance with your wishes.
Is this all that your Grace has to say to us, Yes,

(18:32):
my lord, replied the Queen, bowing a second time, and
now you may withdraw one moment, my lords, in Heaven's name,
one moment, cried the old physician, coming forward and throwing
himself on his knees before the two earls. What do
you want, asked Lord Shrewsbury, to point out to you.
My lords, replied the age to Bourjoyane, weeping that you

(18:56):
have granted the Queen but a very short time for
such an important matter as this of her life. Reflect,
my lords, what rank and degree she whom you have condemned,
has held among the princes of this earth. And consider
if it is well and seemly to treat her as
an ordinary condemned person of middling a state. And if
not for the sake of this noble queen, my lords

(19:19):
do this for the sake of us her poor servants, who,
having had the honor of living near her so long,
cannot thus part from her so quickly and without preparation. Besides,
my lords, think of it, a woman of her state
and position ought to have some time in which to
set and order her last affairs, and what will become
of her and of us, If before dying, our mistress

(19:41):
has not time to regulate her jointure and her accounts,
and to put in order her papers and her title deeds.
She has services to reward and offices of piety to perform.
She should not neglect the one or the other. Besides,
we know that she will only concern herself with us
and through this is my lord's neglect her own salvation.

(20:03):
Grant her then a few more days, my lords, and
as her mistress is too proud to ask of you
such a favor, I ask you in all our names
and implore you not to refuse two poor servants, a
request which your august Queen would certainly not refuse them
if they had the good fortune to be able to
lay it at her feet. Is it then, true, madame?

(20:25):
Sir Robert Beale asked that you have not yet made
a will? I have not, Sir, the Queen answered. In
that case, my lords, said Sir Robert Beale, turning to
the two earls, perhaps it would be a good thing
to put it off for a day or two. Impossible, Sir,
replied the Earl of Shrewsbury. The time is fixed and

(20:48):
we cannot change anything even by a minute. Now, enough, Bourgoyne, enough,
said the Queen, rise, I command you, Bourjoye obeyed, and
the Earl of Shrewsbury, turning to Sir Amyas Paulet, who
was behind him, Sir Amyas said, he we entrust this
lady to your keeping. You will charge yourself with her

(21:09):
and keep her safe till I return with these words.
He went out, followed by the Earl of Kent, Sir
Robert Beale amyas Paulet and Drury, and the Queen remained
alone with her servants, then turning to her women with
as serene a countenance, as if the event which had
just taken place was of little importance. Well, Jean, said
she speaking to Kennedy. Have I not always told you?

(21:31):
And was I not right that at the bottom of
their hearts they wanted to do this? And did I
not see clearly through all their procedure the end they
had in view? And know well enough that I was
too great an obstacle to their false religion to be
allowed to live come, continued she hasten supper, now that
I may put my affairs in order. Then, seeing that

(21:52):
instead of obeying her her servants were weeping and lamenting
my children, said she with a sad smile, but without
a tear in her eye. It is no time for weeping.
Quite the contrary, For if you love me, you ought
to rejoice that the Lord, in making me die for
his cause, relieves me from the torments I have endured

(22:13):
for nineteen years. As for me, I thank him for
allowing me to die for the glory of his faith
and his church. Lady ch have patience, then, and while
the men prepare supper, we women will pray to God.
The men immediately went out weeping and sobbing, and the
queen and her women fell on their knees. When they
had recited some prayers, Mary rose and, sending for all

(22:35):
the money she had left, she counted it and divided
it into portions, which she put into purses, with the
name of the destined recipient in her handwriting with the money.
At that moment, supper being served, she seated herself at
table with her women as usual, the other servants standing
or coming and going. Her doctor waiting on her at
table as he was accustomed, since her steward had been
taken from her. She ain't no more nor less than usual,

(22:58):
speaking throughout supper of the earth of Kent and of
the way in which she betrayed himself with respect to
religion by his insisting on wanting to give the Queen
a pastor instead of a priest. Haply, she added, laughing,
one more skillful than he was in needed to change me. Meanwhile,
Boorjoyne was weeping behind the queen, for he was thinking
that he was serving her for the last time, and

(23:20):
that she, who was eating, talking and laughing. Thus next day,
at the same hour, would be but a cold and
insensible corpse. When the meal was over, the queen sent
for all her servants. Then, before the table was cleared
of anything, she poured out a cup of wine, rose
and drank to their health, asking them if they would
not drink to her salvation, then she had a glass

(23:41):
given to each one. All kneeled down, and all says
the account from which we borrow these details, a drank,
mingling their tears with the wine, and asking pardon of
the queen for any wrongs they had done her. The
queen granted it heartily, and asked them to do as
much for her, and to forget her impatient ways, which
she begged them to put down to her in prison. Then,
having given them a long discourse in which she explained

(24:04):
to them their duties to God and exhorted them to
persevere in the Catholic faith, she begged them after her
death to live together in peace and charity, forgetting all
the petty quarrels and disputes which they had had among
one another. In the past. This speech ended, the queen
rose from table and desired to go into her wardrobe
room to see the clothes and jewels she wished to
dispose of. But Bourjoyne observed that it would be better

(24:26):
to have all these separate objects brought into her chamber,
and that there would be a double advantage in this.
She would be less tired for one thing, and the
English would not see them for another. This last reason
decided her, and while the servants were supping, she had
brought into her ante room first of all all her robes,
and took the inventory from her wardrobe attendant, and began
to write in the margin beside each item the name

(24:47):
of the person it was to be given to directly,
and as fast as she did it, that person to
whom it was given took it and put it aside.
As For the things which were too personal to her
to be thus bestowed, she ordered that they should be sold,
and that the purchase money should be used for her
servants traveling expenses when they returned to their own countries,
Well knowing how great the cost would be and that
no one would have sufficient means. This memorandum finished, she

(25:11):
signed it and gave it as a discharge to her
wardrobe attendant. Then that done, she went into a room
where had been brought her rings, her jewels, and her
most valuable belongings, inspected them all one after the other,
down to the very least, and distributed them as she
had done her robes, so that present or absent, everyone
had something. Then she furthermore gave to her most faithful

(25:31):
people the jewels she intended for the King and Queen
of France, for the King, her son, for the Queen mother,
for monsieurs de Guise and de Lorraine, without forgetting in
this distribution any prince or princess among her relatives she
desired besides that each should keep the things then in
his care, giving her linen to the young lady who
looked after it, her silk, embroideries to her who took

(25:52):
charge of them, her silver plate to her butler, and
so on with the rest. Then, as they were asking
her for a discharge, it is useless, said she, You
owe an account to me only, and to morrow. Therefore
you will no longer owe it to any one. But
as they pointed out at the King her son could
claim from them, you are right, said she and she

(26:13):
gave them what they asked. That done, and having no
hope left of being visited by her confessor, she wrote
him this letter. I have been tormented all this day
on account of my religion, and urged to receive the
consolations of a heretic. You will learn through Bourjoyne and
the others that everything they could say on this matter
has been useless, that I have faithfully made protestations of

(26:34):
the faith in which I wish to die. I requested
that you should be allowed to receive my confession and
to give me the sacrament which has been cruelly refused,
as well as the removal of my body and the
power to make my will freely, so that I cannot
write anything except through their hands and with the good
pleasure of their mistress. For want of seeing you. Then
I confess to you my sins in general, as I

(26:55):
should have done in particular, begging you in God's name
to watch and pray this night with me for the
remissions of my sins, and to send me your absolution
and forgiveness for all the wrongs I have done you.
I shall try to see you in their presence, as
they permitted it to my steward, and if it is
allowed before all, and on my knees, I shall ask
your blessing send me the best prayers you know for

(27:16):
this night and for tomorrow morning. For the time is short,
and I have not the leisure to write. But be calm.
I shall recommend you, like the rest of my servants,
and your benefices above all will be secured to you. Farewell,
for I have not much more time. Send to me
in writing everything you can find best for my salvation,
in prayers and exhortations. I've sent you my last little ring.

(27:39):
Directly had she written this letter, the Queen began to
make her will, and that a stroke. With her pen
running on, and almost without lifting it from the paper,
she wrote two large sheets, containing several paragraphs, in which
no one was forgotten present as absent, distributing the little
she had with scrupulous fairness, and still more according to
need than according to service. The executors she chose were

(28:00):
the Duke of GeSe, her first cousin, the Archbishop of Glasgow,
her ambassador, the Bishop of Ross, her chaplain in chief,
and Monsieur de Rousseau, her chancellor, all four certainly very
worthy of the charge. The first from his authority, the
two bishops in piety and conscience, and the last by
his knowledge of affairs. Her will finished, she wrote this
letter to the King of France, Sir, my brother in law,

(28:23):
having by God's permission and for my sins, I believe,
thrown myself into the arms of this Queen, my cousin,
where I have had much to endure from more than
twenty years. I am by her and by her parliament,
finally condemned to death, and having asked for my papers
taken from me to make my will, I have not
been able to obtain anything to serve me, not even
permission to write my last wishes freely, nor leave that

(28:45):
after my death my body should be transported, as was
my dearest desire, into your kingdom, where I had had
the honor of being Queen, your sister and your ally.
To day after dinner, without more respect, my sentence has
been declared to me to be executed tomorrow like a criminal,
at eight o'clock in the morning. I have not the
leisure to give you a full account of what has occurred,

(29:06):
but if it please you to believe my doctor and
these others, my distressed servants, you will hear the truth,
and that thanks to God I despise death, which I protest,
I receive innocent of every crime, even if I were
their subject, which I never was. But my faith in
the Catholic religion and my claims to the Crown of
England are the real causes for my condemnation. And yet

(29:27):
they will not allow me to say that it is
for religion I die, for my religion kills theirs. And
that is so true that they have taken my chaplain
from me, who, although a prisoner in the same castle,
may not come either to console me or to give
me the holy sacrament of the Eucharist. But on the contrary,
they have made me urgent entreaties to receive the consolations

(29:47):
of their minister, whom they have brought for this purpose.
He who will bring you this letter, and the rest
of my servants, who are your subjects, for the most part,
will bear your witness of the way in which I
shall have performed my last act. Now it remains to
me to implore you, as a most Christian king, as
my brother in law, as my ancient ally, and one
who has so often done me the honor, to protest

(30:09):
your friendship. For me to give proof of this friendship
in your virtue and your charity by helping me in
that of which I cannot without you discharge my conscience.
That is to say, in rewarding my good distressed servants
by giving them their dues, then in having prayers made
to God for a queen who has been called most Christian,
and who dies a Catholic and deprived of all her goods.

(30:30):
As to my son, I commend him to you as
much as he shall deserve, for I cannot answer for him.
But as to my servants, I commend them with clasped hands.
I have taken the liberty of sending you two rare stones,
good for the health, hoping that yours may be perfect
during a long life. You will receive them as coming
from your very affectionate sister in law at the point
of death, and giving proof of her good disposition towards you.

(30:53):
I shall commend my servants to you in a memorandum,
and will order you, for the good of my soul,
for whose salvation it will be employed, to pay me
a portion of what you owe me, if it please you,
and I conjure you for the honor of Jesus, to
whom I shall pray tomorrow at my death, that you
leave me the wherewithal to found a mass and to
perform the necessary charities this Wednesday, two hours after midnight.

(31:16):
You are affectionate and good, Sister Mary. Of all these recommendations,
the will and the letters, the Queen at once had
copies made, which she signed, so that if some should
be seized by the English, the others might reach their destination.
Bourjoyne pointed out to her that she was wrong to
be in such a hurry to close them, and that
perhaps in two or three hours she remembered that she

(31:38):
had something left out, but the Queen paid no attention,
saying she was sure she had not forgotten anything, and
that if she had, she had only time now to
pray and to look to her conscience. So she shut
up all the several articles in the drawers of a
piece of furniture and gave the key to Bourjoyne, then
sending for a foot bath, in which she stayed for
about ten minutes. She lay down in bed, where she

(31:59):
was not seen to sleep, but constantly to repeat prayers
or to remain in meditation. Towards four o'clock in the morning.
The queen, who was accustomed after evening prayers to have
the story of some male or female saint read aloud
to her, did not wish to depart from this habit, And,
after having hesitated amongst several for this solemn occasion, she
chose the greatest sinner of all, the penitent thief, saying, humbly,

(32:23):
if great sinner as he was, he has yet sinned
less than I, I desire to beg of him in
remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ, to have pity
on me in the hour of my death, as our
Lord had pity on him. Then, when the reading was over,
she had all her handkerchiefs brought, and chose the finest,
which was of delicate cambric, all embroidered in gold, to

(32:44):
bandage her eyes with. At daybreak, reflecting that she had
only two hours to live, she rose and began dressing.
But before she had finished, Bourgoyne came into a room, and,
afraid lest the absent servants might murmur against the queen,
if by chance they were discontented at the will, and
might accuse those who had been present of having taken
away from their share. To add to their own. He
begged Mary to send for them all and to read

(33:06):
it in their presence, to which Mary agreed and consented
to do so at once. All the servants were then summoned,
and the queen read her testament, saying that it was
done of her own free will, fool and entire, written
and signed with her own hand, and that accordingly she
begged those present to give all the help in their power,
and seeing it carried out without change or omission, Then,

(33:26):
having read it over and having received a promise from all,
she gave it to Boorjoyne, charging him to send it
to Monsieur de Guize, her chief executor, and at the
same time to forward her letters to the King and
her principal papers and memorandums. After this, she had the
casket brought in which she had put the purses which
we mentioned before. She opened them one after another, and

(33:47):
a seeing by the ticket within for whom each was intended,
she distributed them with her own hand, none of the recipients,
being aware of their contents. These gifts varied from twenty
to three hundred crowns, and to these sums she added
seven hundred livres for the poor, namely two hundred for
the poor of England and five hundred for the poor
of France. Then she gave to each man in her
sweet two rose nobles to be distributed in alms for

(34:09):
her sake, and finally one hundred and fifty crowns to Bourgoyne,
to be divided among them all when they should separate,
And thus twenty six or twenty seven people had money legacies.
The queen performed all this with the great composure and calmness,
with no apparent change of countenance, so that it seemed
as if she were only preparing for a journey or
change of dwelling. Then she again bade her servants farewell,

(34:32):
consoling them and exhorting them to live in peace, all
this while finishing dressing as well as elegantly as she could.
Her toilet ended, the queen went from her reception room
to her ante room, where there was an altar set
up and arranged, at which before he had been taken
from her her chaplain used to say Mass, and, kneeling
on the steps, surrounded by all her servants, she began
the communion prayers, and when they were ended, drawing from

(34:55):
the golden box, a host consecrated by Pious the fifth,
which she had always scrupulously preserved for the occasion of
her death. She told Bourgoyne to take it, and, as
he was the senior, to take the priest's place. Old age.
Being holy and sacred, and in this manner, in spite
of all the precautions taken to deprive her of it,
the queen received the holy sacrament of the Eucharist. The

(35:16):
pious ceremony ended, Bourgeoyne told the queen that in her
will she had forgotten three people, Mademoiselle's Beauregard de mont
Perune and her chaplain. The Queen was greatly astonished at
this oversight, which was quite involuntary, and taking back her will,
she wrote her wishes with respect to them in the
first empty margin. Then she kneeled down again in prayer.
But after a moment, as she suffered too much in

(35:37):
this position, she rose, and Bourjoyne, having had brought her
a little bread and wine, she ate and drank, and
when she had finished, gave him her hand and thanked
him for having been present to help her at her
last meal. As he was accustomed and feeling stronger, she
kneeled down and began to pray again. Scarcely had she
done so than there was a knocking at the door.
The Queen understood what was required of her, but as

(35:59):
she had not yet finish praying, she begged those who
were to come fetch her to wait a moment, and
in a few minutes she would be ready. The Earls
of Kent and Shrewsbury, remembering the resistance she had made
when she had had to go down to the commissioners
and appear before the lawyers, mounted some guards in the
ante room, where they were waiting themselves, so that they
could take her away by force if necessary, should she

(36:19):
refuse to come willingly, or should her servants want to
defend her. But it is untrue that the two barons
entered her room, as some have said. They only set
foot there once on the occasion which we have related,
when they came to apprise her of her sentence. They
waited some minutes, nevertheless, as the Queen had begged them.
Then about eight o'clock they knocked again, accompanied by the guards.

(36:39):
But to their great surprise the door was opened immediately,
and they found Mary on her knees in prayer. Upon this,
Sir Thomas Andrew, who was at the time, Sheriff of
the County of Nottingham entered alone, a white wand in
his hand, and as everyone stayed on their knees praying,
he crossed the room with a slow step and stood
behind the Queen. He waited a moment there, and as
Mary Stewart did not seem to see him, Madame said

(37:03):
he the earls have sent me to you. At these words,
the Queen turned round and at once, rising in the
middle of her prayer. Let us go, she replied, and
she made ready to follow him. Then Bourjoyne, taking the
cross of black wood with an ivory Christ, which was
over the altar, said Madame, would you not like to

(37:25):
take this little cross? Thank you for having reminded me.
Mary answered, I had intended to, but I forgot, then
giving it to Annibel Stewart, her footman, that he might
present it when she should ask for it. She began
to move to the door, and, on account of the
great pain in her limbs, leaning on Bourjoyne, who, as
they draw near, suddenly let her go, saying, Madame, your

(37:48):
majesty knows if we love you, and all such as
we are are ready to obey you, should you command
us to die for you, But I have not the
strength to lead you. Father. Besides, it is not become
that we who should be defending you at the last
drop of our blood, should seem to be betraying you
and giving you thus into the hands of these infamous English.

(38:09):
You are right, Bourjoyne, said the queen. Moreover, my death
would be a sad sight for you, which I ought
to spare your age and your friendship. Mister sheriff added,
she call someone to support me, for you see that
I cannot walk. The sheriff bowed and signed to two
guards whom he had kept hidden behind the door, to
lend him assistance in case the Queen should resist to

(38:32):
approach and support her, which they at once did, and
Mary Stuart went on her way, preceded and followed by
her servants, weeping and wringing their hands. But at the
second door, other guards stopped them, telling them they must
go no farther. They all cried out against such a prohibition.
They said that for the nineteen years they had been
shut up with the Queen, they had always accompanied her

(38:52):
wherever she went, that it was frightful to deprive their
mistress of their services. At the last moment, and that
such an order had doubtless been given because they wanted
to practice some shocking cruelty on her, of which they
desired no witnesses. Bourjoyne, who was at their head, seeing
that he could obtain nothing by threats or entreaties, asked
to speak with the earls. But this claim was not
allowed either, and as the servants wanted to pass by force,

(39:14):
the soldiers repulsed them with the blows of their arquebuses. Then,
raising her voice, it is wrong of you to prevent
my servants following me, said the Queen. And I begin
to think, like them, that you have some ill designs
upon me beyond my death. The sheriff replied, Madame, four
of your servants are chosen to follow you, and no more.

(39:35):
When you have come down, they will be fetched and
will rejoin you. What said the Queen, The four chosen
persons cannot even follow me now. The order is thus
given by the earls, answered the sheriff, And to my
great regret, Madame, I can do nothing. Then the Queen
turned to them, and taking the cross from Annibeal Stuart,

(39:56):
and in her other hand her book of hours and
her handkerchief, my children, said she, this is one more
grief to add to our other griefs. Let us bear
it like Christians and offer this fresh sacrifice to God.
At these words, sobs and cries burst forth on all sides.
The unhappy servants fell on their knees, and while some
rolled on the ground tearing their hair, others kissed her hands,

(40:19):
her knees, and the hem of her gown, begging her
forgiveness for every possible fault, calling her their mother, and
bidding her farewell. Finding no doubt that this scene was
lasting too long, the sheriff made a sign, and the
soldiers pushed the men and women back into the room
and shut the door on them. Still fast as was
the door, the queen none the less heard their cries
and lamentations, which seemed, in spite of the guards, as

(40:41):
if they would accompany her to the scaffold. At the stairhead,
the queen found Andrew Melville awaiting her. He was the
master of her household, who had been secluded from her
for some time, and who was at last permitted to
see her once more to say farewell. The queen, hastening
her steps, approached him and, kneeling down to receive his blessing.
She gave her weeping. Melviville said she, without rising and

(41:04):
addressing him as Thou for the first time, hast thou
hast been an honest servant to me? Be the same
to my son. Seek him out directly after my death,
and tell him of it in every detail. Tell him
that I wish him well, and that I beseech God
to send him his Holy spirit. Madame replied Melville. This

(41:25):
is certainly the saddest message with which a man can
be charged. No matter, I shall faithfully fulfill it. I
swear to you. What sayest thou, Melville responded, the Queen rising,
and what better news canst thou bear on the contrary
than that I am delivered from all my ills. Tell
him that he should rejoice since the sufferings of Mary

(41:47):
Stuart are at an end. Tell him that I die
a Catholic constant in my religion, faithful to Scotland and France,
and that I forgive those who put me to death.
Tell him that I have always desired the union of
England and Scotland. Tell him, finally, that I have done
nothing in joyous to his kingdom, to his honor, or
to his rights, and thus good Belville till we meet

(42:09):
again in heaven. Then, leaning on the old man, whose
face was bathed in tears, she descended the staircase at
the foot of which she found the two earls, Sir
Henry Talbot, Lord Shrewsbury's son Amyas Paulet, drew Jury, Robert Beale,
and many gentlemen of the neighborhood. The Queen, advancing towards
them without pride but without humility, complained that her servants

(42:31):
had been refused permission to follow her, and asked that
it should be granted. The lords conferred together, and a
moment after the Earl of Kent inquired which one she
desired to have, saying she might be allowed six. So
the Queen chose from among the men Bourjoyne, Gordon, Gervais
and Didier, and from the women Jean Kennedy and elswith Curl,

(42:51):
the one she preferred to, all though the latter was
sister to the secretary who had betrayed her. But here
arose a fresh difficulty, the Earl saying that this permission
did not extend to women. Women not being used to
be present at such sights, and when they were usually
upsetting everyone's cries and lamentations, and as soon as the
decapitation was over, rushing to the scaffold to staunch the

(43:12):
blood with their handkerchiefs. A most unseemly proceeding. My lords,
then said the Queen. I answer and promise for my
servants that they will not do any of the things
your honors fear Alas poor people, they would be very
glad to bid me farewell. And I hope that your mistress,
being a maiden queen and accordingly sensitive for the honor

(43:33):
of women, has not given you such strict orders that
you are unable to grant me the little I ask
so much. The more added she, in a profoundly mournful tone,
that my rank should be taken into consideration, for indeed
I am your Queen's cousin, granddaughter of Henry the seventh,
Queen Dowager of France and crowned Queen of Scotland. The

(43:55):
lords consulted together for another moment and granted her demands. Accordingly,
two guards went up immediately to fetch the chosen individuals.
The queen then moved on to the Great Hall, leaning
on two of Sir Amyas Pole's gentlemen, accompanied and followed
by the earls and lords, the sheriff walking before her,
and Andrew Melville bearing her train. Her dress, as carefully

(44:15):
chosen as possible, as we have said, consisted of a
quaff of fine cambric trimmed with lace, with a vase
veil thrown back and falling to the ground. She wore
a cloak of black stamped satin, lined with black tafetas
and trimmed in front with sable, with a long train
and sleeves hanging to the ground. The buttons were of
jet in the shape of acorns and surrounded with pearls.

(44:36):
Her collar in the Italian style. Her doublet was of
a figured black satin, and underneath she wore stays laced
behind in crimson satin edged with velvet of the same color,
a gold cross hung by a pomander chain at her neck,
and two rosaries at her girdle. It was thus she
entered the Great Hall, where the scaffold was erected. It

(44:57):
was a platform twelve feet wide, raised about two feet
from the floor or surrounded with barriers and covered with
black serge, and on it were a little chair, a
cushion to kneel on and a block also covered in black.
Just as having mounted the steps, she set foot on
the fatal boards, the executioner came forward, and, asking forgiveness
for the duty he was about to perform, kneeled hiding

(45:17):
behind him his axe. Mary saw it, however, and cried, Ah,
I would rather have been beheaded in the French way
with a sword. It is not my fault, Madame, said
the executioner, if this last wish of your majesty cannot
be fulfilled. But not having been instructed to bring a sword,
and having found this axe here only I am obliged

(45:38):
to use it, will that prevent your pardoning me? Then
I pardon you, my friend, said Mary, And in proof
of it, here is my hand to kiss. The executioner
put his lips to the Queen's hand, rose and approached
the chair. Mary sat down, and the Earls of Kent
and Shrewsbury standing on her left, the Sheriff and his

(45:58):
officers before her, amyas Boulat behind and outside the barrier,
the Lord's knights and gentlemen, numbering nearly two hundred and fifty.
Robert Beale for the second time read the warrant for execution,
and as he was beginning, the servants who had been
fetched came into the hall and placed themselves behind the scaffold,
the men mounted upon a bench put back against the wall,
and the women kneeling in front of it. And a

(46:18):
little spaniel of which the Queen was very fond, came quietly,
as if he feared to be driven away, and lay
down near his mistress. The Queen listened to the reading
of the warrant, without seeming to pay much attention, as
if it had concerned someone else, and with a countenance
as calm and even as joyous as if it had
been a pardon and not a sentence of death. Then,
when Belle had ended, and having ended, cried in a

(46:39):
loud voice, God save Queen Elizabeth, to which no one
made any response. Mary signed herself with the cross, and
rising without any change of expression, and on the contrary,
lovelier than ever my lords said she I am a queen, born,
sovereign princess and not subject to law, a near relation
of the Queen of England and her rightful heir. For

(47:02):
a long time I have been a prisoner in this country.
I have suffered here much tribulation and many evils that
no one had the right to inflict, and now to
crown all I am about to lose my life. Well,
my lords, bear witness that I die in the Catholic faith,
thanking God for letting me die for his holy cause,
and protesting to day, as every day in public as
in private, that I have never plotted, consented to, nor

(47:25):
desired the Queen's death, nor any other thing against the person,
but that, on contrary, I have always loved her, and
have always offered her good and reasonable conditions to put
an end to the troubles of the kingdom and deliver
me from captivity, without my having ever been honored with
a reply from her. And all this, my lords, you
well know. Finally my enemies have attained their end, which

(47:47):
was to put me to death. I do not pardon
them less for it than I pardon all those who
have attempted anything against me. After my death, the authors
of it will be known. But I die without accusing
any one, for fear the Lord should hear me and
avenge me upon this. Whether he was afraid that such
a speech by so great a queen should soften the
assembly too much, or whether he found that all these

(48:09):
words were making too much delay. The Dean of Peterborough
placed himself before Mary, and leaning on the barrier. Madame,
he said, my much honored mistress has commanded me to
come to you. But at these words, Mary, turning and
interrupting him, mister Dean, she answered in a loud voice,
I have nothing to do with you. I do not

(48:30):
wish to hear you, and beg you to withdraw, Madame,
said the Dean, persisting, in spite of this resolve expressed
in such firm and precise terms, you have but a
moment longer. Change your opinions, abjure your errors, and put
your faith in Jesus Christ alone, that you may be
saved through him. Everything you can say is useless, replied

(48:53):
the queen, and you will gain nothing by it. Be silent, then,
I beg you and let me die in peace. And
as she saw that he wanted to go on, she
sat down on the other side of the chair and
turned her back to him. But the Dean immediately walked
round the scaffold till he faced her again. Then, as
he was going to speak, the Queen turned about once
more and sat as at first, seeing which the earl

(49:15):
of Shrewsbury said, Madame, truly, I despair that you are
so attached to this folly of papacy. Allow us, if
it please you, to pray for you. My Lord, answered
the Queen, if you desire to pray for me, I
thank you for the intention is good, but I cannot
join in your prayers, for we are not of the
same religion. The earls then called the Dean, and while

(49:37):
the Queen, seated in her little chair, was praying in
a low tone, he kneeling on the scaffold steps, prayed aloud,
and the whole assembly except the Queen and her servants,
prayed after him. Then, in the midst of her orison,
which she said, with her agnes Day round her neck,
a crucifix in one hand, on her book of Hours
in the other, she fell from her seat on to
her knees, praying aloud in Latin, whilst the others prayed

(49:59):
in English. And when the others were silent, she continued
in English in her turn, so that they could hear
her praying for the afflicted Church of Christ, for an
end to the persecution of Catholics, and for the happiness
of her son's reign. Then she said in accents, full
of faith and fervor, that she hoped to be saved
by the merits of Jesus Christ, at the foot of
whose cross she was going to shed her blood. At

(50:22):
these words, the Earl of Kent could no longer contain himself, and,
without respect for the sanctity of the moment, Oh Madam,
said he put Jesus Christ in your heart and reject
all this rubbish of popish deceptions. But she, without listening,
went on praying the saints to intercede with God for her,
and kissing the crucifix, she cried, Lord Lord, receive me

(50:46):
in thy arms outstretched on the cross, and forgive me
all my sins. Thereupon, she, being again seated in the chair,
the Earl of Kent, asked her if she had any
confessions to make, to which she replied that, not being
guilty of any anything, to confess would be to give
herself the lie. It is well, the Earl answered, then, Madame,

(51:06):
prepare the queen rose, And as the executioner approached to
assist her dis robe, allow me, my friend, said she
I know how to do it better than you, and
am not accustomed to undress before so many spectators. Nor
to be served by such valets, And then calling her
two women, she began to unpin her coiffure, and as

(51:27):
jean Kennedy and Elsbeth curl while performing this last service
for their mistress, could not help weeping bitterly. Do not weep,
she said to them in French, for I have promised
and answered for you. With these words, she made the
sign of the cross upon the forehead of each, kissed them,
and recommended them to pray for her. Then the queen
began to undress herself, assisting as she was wont to

(51:50):
do when preparing for bed, and taking the gold cross
from her neck. She wished to give it to Jeanne,
saying to the executioner, my friend, I know that all
I have upon me belongs to you, but this is
not in your way. Let me bestow it, if you please,
on this young lady, and she will give you twice
its value in money. But the executioner, hardly allowing her
to finish, snatched it from her hands with it is

(52:13):
my right. The queen was not moved much by this brutality,
and went on taking off her garments until she was
simply in her petticoat. Thus rid of all her garb,
she again sat down, and Jean Kennedy, approaching her, took
from her pocket the handkerchief of gold embroidered cambric which
she had prepared the night before, and bound her eyes

(52:33):
with it, which the Earl's lords and gentlemen looked upon
with great surprise, in not being customary in England. And
as she thought that she was to be beheaded in
the French way, that is to say, seated in the chair,
she held herself upright, motionless, and with her neck stiffened,
to make it easier for the executioner, who, for his part,
not knowing how to proceed, was standing without striking axe

(52:54):
in hand. At last, the man laid his hand on
the Queen's head, and, drawing her forward, made her fall
to her her knees. Mary then understood what was required
of her, and, feeling for the block with her hands,
which were still holding her book of hours and her crucifix,
she laid her neck on it, her hands joined bath
her chin, that she might pray till the last moment.

(53:14):
The executioner's assistant drew them away, for fear they should
be cut off with her head. And as the queen
was saying in menestheus domine. The executioner raised his axe,
which was simply an axe for chopping wood, and struck
the first blow, which hit too high and piercing the skull,
made the crucifix and the book fly from the condemned's
hands by its violence, but which did not sever the head. However,

(53:38):
stunned with the blow, the queen made no movement, which
gave the executioner time to redouble it. But still the
head did not fall, and a third stroke was necessary
to detach a shred of flesh which held it to
the shoulders. At last, when the head was quite severed,
the executioner held it up to show the assembly, saying,
God save Queen Elizabeth, so Oh, perish all her Majesty's

(54:01):
enemies responded the Dean of Peterborough, Amen, said the Earl
of Kent, but he was the only one. No other
voice could respond, for all were choked with sobs. At
that moment. The queen's head dress falling, disclosed her hair
cut very short and as white as if she had
been aged seventy. As to her face, it had so

(54:22):
changed during her death agony that no one would have
recognized it. Had he not known it was hers. The
spectators cried out aloud at this sign for frightful to see.
The eyes were open, and the lids went on moving
as if they would still pray. And this muscular movement
lasted for more than a quarter of an hour. After
the head had been cut off, the queen's servants had
rushed upon the scaffold, picking up the Book of Ours

(54:44):
and the crucifix as relics, and jean Kennedy, remembering the
little dog who had come to his mistress, looked about
for him on all sides, seeking him and calling him.
But she saw it and called in vain. He had
disappeared at that moment. As one of the executions was
untying the queen's garters, which were of blue satin embroidered
in silver, he saw the poor little animal, which had

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hidden in her petticoat, and which he was obliged to
bring out by force. Then, having escaped from his hands,
it took refuge between the Queen's shoulders and her head,
which the executioner had laid down near the trunk. Jeanne
took him then, in spite of his howls, and carried
him away, covered with blood, for everyone had just been
ordered to leave the hall. Bourjoyne and Gervais stayed behind,

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entreating Sir Amyas Paulet to let them take the Queen's heart,
that they might carry it to France as they had
promised her. But they were harshly refused and pushed out
of the hall, of which all the doors were closed,
and there remained only the executioner and the corpse. Bran
Tom relates that something infamous took place there. End of

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chapter nine. Recording by John Van Stan Savannah Georgia sa