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 KEEP COVER AND BIND IT AS TITLE PAGE AND INDEX, 
 
 MARY STUART, BOTHWELL, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 Casket Letters. 
 
 SOMETHING NEW. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND PORTRAITS SELECTED FROM 
 
 HUNDREDS OF SPECIMENS FROM SCOTLAND, 
 
 ENGLAND, FRANCE, RUSSIA, &c. 
 
 "Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover 
 
 The several Caskets " '* ' * * * 
 "The first, of gold ["silverrovergilt 11 ], who this inscription bears, — 
 
 Who choose th me shall gain what many men desire ! " 
 
 — Merchant op Venice, II., 7. 
 
 " Fair glass of light, I lov'd you, and could still, 
 
 Were not the glorious Casket stored with ill: 
 
 — Pericles, Prince of Tyre, L, 1. 
 
 BOTHWELL'3 BOOK STAMP. 
 
 1 Harp agon.— Et cette Casktte [Chatoulle] comment est elle faite? 11 
 
 ' Maitre Jacques. * * * * EU$ este p-tUe, si on le preudre par la ; mais je VappeUt 
 
 GRANDE POUR CE QU'ELLE CONTTENT." _ — MOLIERE. 
 
 • 
 
 J, WATTS DE PEYSTER 
 
 ■* 
 
 gJ.ew^JorU: 
 
 Charles H. Lud'vytg, Printer, 10 & 12 Rbadb Street. 
 
 "'• -. 1890. -' ' 
 
" Since this volume has been in the press, I have been enabled to add three portraits, — * * * 
 The frontispiece [herewith presented] is reproduced, by the kind permission of his Grace, the 
 Duke of Devonshire, and of the Marquis of Hartington, from the famous ' Sheffield Por- 
 trait,' preserved in Hardwick Hall. The original !$_ printed on oak panel, and represents the 
 Queen, in her thirty-sixth year, as anything but the beautiful woman traditionally described. 
 She has, also, a very decided cast in the riglit eye, which the artist with some skill has rendered less 
 obvious by representing her as looking towards the left. The upper portion of the picture, down 
 to the hands, is reproduced in this volume with striking fidelity ; but the lower part of the dress 
 the table on the right, and the carpet on which the Queen stands, though approximately correct, 
 are not entirely so, owing to the difficulty of expressing in photography so dark an image as this 
 old painting shows. The work has been skillfully executed by Messrs. Ad. Braum & Co., of 
 Paris, from photographs prepared by Mr. J. Stringfellow, of Sheffield." 
 
 " Mary, Queen of Scats, IN Captivity: a narrative of events from January, 1569, to De- 
 cember, 15S4, whilst George, Earl of Shrewsbury, was the guardian of the Scottish Queen." By 
 John Daniel Leader. Sheffield: Leader & Sons; London : George Bell & Sons. 1880. 
 
Holy rood Palace. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fi[TRENTJOTTS efforts were made to exhibit in a Quartette 
 ^^ of carefully elaborated works on Mary Stuart, Queen of 
 Kj Scots, the whole truth connected with her history while 
 J in Scotland, up to the date of her escape into England 
 in 1568, particularly as regarded her relations with Bothwell. 
 In the prosecution of these investigations, an unique and ex- 
 tensive library was collected in the course of ten years, which 
 has been presented to Columbia College and there speaks for 
 itself Of all the authorities which it comprises, the last as 
 to date of publication is in many respects the most important 
 as to her culpability, — T. F. Henderson's " The Casket Let- 
 ters and Mary Queen of Scots," from the press of Adam and 
 Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1889, which is cited at length here- 
 with, as conclusive evidence of the guilt of Mary. It estab- 
 lishes to the satisfaction of every non-partisan, unprejudiced 
 and clear-headed student that Mary was guilty of the worst 
 that has been charged against her; that she was an active and 
 not a silent accomplice in the murder of her husband Daruley; 
 that she loved, and loved best of all, the loyal James Hepburn, 
 Earl of Bothwell, her third and last husband, and lured him by 
 her "arts and part" to his ruin; and that instead of his being 
 the "betrayer" — as he has always been represented by the 
 champions of Mary — be was the " betrayed " both of her aud of 
 
Mary Queen of Scots. 
 
 almost the whole body of the Scottish nobility, who for, at that 
 period, ruthless greed and crime could scarcely be equalled in 
 
any other country in Christendom, horrible and disgusting as 
 were all the rest. 
 
 Any reader who takes an interest in the revelation of histori- 
 cal truth is referred to the writer's previous works: "Mary 
 Queen of Scots, a Study," New York, 1882 ; "A Vindication of 
 James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, Philadelphia, 1882 ; 
 "An Enquiry into the Career of Mary Stuart and a Justification 
 of Bothwell," New York, 1883; and "Bothwell, an Historical 
 Drama," New York, 1884. 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots 
 
 While in the collection of hundreds of authorities above re- 
 ferred to, no two seem to agree, altogether, when the result is 
 carefully strained, sifted or dissected out. The writer has like- 
 wise collected almost as many hundreds of portraits of Mary, no 
 
two of which agree. Not more than three have any claims to auth- 
 enticity, and their differences cannot be reconciled if there is any 
 foundation, even, to their claims as likenesses. It is asserted 
 and it is extremely likely that the statement is founded on facts 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots. 
 
 pretty well established, that the most attractive picture which 
 we have of Mary Stuart is not hers at all, but a portrait of Ida 
 or Agnes, Countess of Mansfelt, who, driven bv persecution from 
 
Germany, took refuge in England and was thence expelled by 
 that jealous vanity of Elizabeth, who neither would nor could 
 tolerate female loveliness in a court or circle in which the basest 
 adulation accepted her ugliness as the highest type of womanly 
 beauty and to the disgrace of truth and manhood glorified it as 
 such. 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots was in very truth anything but that 
 which she is almost universally accepted as having been. She 
 was not either delicate of form and feature and of the average 
 size of her sex. She was not fascinatingly beautiful, while per- 
 fectly fascinating in her alluring ways and infinite deceptiveness. 
 She was rather of a rough texture than a refined, but possessed 
 
 Darnley. 
 
 of that most extraordinary of gifts, the art of concealing art, in 
 addition to the graces conferred by education and environment; 
 and, being a crowned head, she was accepted as a combined god- 
 dess of love and regal majesty, which certainly could not have 
 been tbe_case had she occupied a lower rank. Her mother, 
 
6 
 
 Mary of Lorraine, is handed down by tradition, supported by 
 historical research, as the tallest and largest woman in Europe; 
 and if Mary did not equal her in development of frame and height, 
 she was an exceedingly tall, long-limbed and muscular woman, 
 so tall that she over-topped her second husband, Darnley, ^yho . 
 was recognized for his excessive attitude as the "long laddie," 
 standing over six feet. Mary was robust in texture, capable of 
 supporting fatigue and privation, and competent to thrive on 
 
 rough fare, hard treatment and strenuous exertion sufficient to 
 tax the fibres of athletic men, innured by life-long practice to 
 exercises which would test the most hardy and healthy male 
 specimens, accustomed to outdoor pursuits, at the present day. 
 On the other hand, Both well has been reviled as old and ugly. 
 He was neither, but the contrary. He was not born earlier than 
 1535, and when he first encountered Mary in France — in 15G0 
 after the death of her first husband, Francis II. — she was born in 
 1542 — and fell in love with her, he was between twenty-five 
 
and twenty-seven and she was eighteen, just about the proper 
 disparity in years for a union between the sexes. He was tall, 
 athletic, finely formed, a brave soldier, an able leader, an accom- 
 plished knight, a noble of ancient lineage, of high rank and 
 standing, endowed with many gifts of mind, a lover of books 
 and setting high value upon them, fond of rich bindings with an 
 exquisite Book-mark, loyal to the core ; and for his time, place 
 and country, well educated. Besides his native Scotch, he spoke 
 to some degree polished English, and understood, spoke and 
 wrote French. He also knew Latin and, far more than his col- 
 leagues, what are understood as the "Humanities." As a man 
 he was by no means below Mary as a woman, and as for his 
 peers in Scotland, he was, as he has been styled by an acute 
 foreign writer, a German, by nature most critical, that vara avis, 
 a white crow amid a flock of black ones — a white crow in every 
 sense, white in the inner as in the outer man. Moreover despite 
 his fidelity to the Regent Mary, and to Mary Stuart herself, he 
 was a Protestant to the core and he made Mary tolerant. 
 
 Unfortunate Bothwell. Far ahead of his time in his desire to 
 organize an equitable rule for Scotland; honest in his views and 
 intentions, if honesty and politics are reconcilable. 
 
 This monograph, however, is not intended as an additional vin- 
 dication of Bothwell, because it would be impossible to present 
 further proofs for his perfect exoneration than have already been 
 aggregated in the Tetralogy — four preceding works — of which 
 this completes the Pentapla. 
 
 The same is not the fact in regard to Mary, because new tes- 
 timony has been discovered since the preceding Tetralogy was 
 issued from the press. This new testimony places beyond doubt 
 the genuineness of the Casket Letters and Documents, and Mary 
 cannot escape the judgment of guilty. Perhaps her innocence 
 would never have been championed if she had not been consti- 
 tuted the banner bearer of Roman Catholicism and elevated into 
 a martyr for Papalism. She has been justly styled "the forlorn 
 hope of the old Catholic Faith in Scotland," and it has been the 
 "theory of the ecclesiastics" that, as far as regarded any partici- 
 pation, covert or overt, in the murder of her second husband, 
 Darnley, she was "innocent as a child, immaculate as a saint." 
 Some of her defenders, however, have assumed for her a middle 
 position between positive complicity and absolute innocence, but 
 her exceptional courage, fertility of resource, strength of will 
 and other marked characteristics preclude the possibility of any- 
 thing like indifference or neutrality. Her attitude towards the 
 man charged with being the chief conspirator against Darnley — 
 some writers claim his real name was Darley — Bothwell, was 
 
not of a merely passive kind. She could not liave been blind to 
 the fact that Bothwell was in love with her. All the evidence, 
 apart even from the Casket Letters, coincide that she was in love 
 with him. Presenting the best case for her that is possible, if 
 she married hiin at last unwillingly, she knew the reward that 
 he claimed and she granted the reward to which for years he 
 had aspired. 
 
 "Lucretia Borgia, thou, in facile change, 
 Of husbands, lovers, favorites, and friends ; 
 And Serpent of the Nile in charming ways 
 That never staled nor satisfied desire ; 
 And yet without all pity as the first, 
 Chameleon, like the other, in thy moods ; 
 Cruel as both, oblivious of the man 
 Whom first you sought and caught, so soon betray'd." 
 
 ypi'LydMt^ £,<rh<m 
 
 Jab 
 
 »/4\ 
 

 
 " The fatal weakness, indeed, if all such arguments as are used 
 to establish either Mary's absolute or partial innocence of the 
 murder, is that they do not harmonize with the leading traits of 
 her disposition. She was possessed of altogether exceptional 
 
 decision and force of will ; she was remarkably wary and acute ; 
 and she was a match for almost any of her contemporaries in the 
 art of diplomacy. She was not one to be concussed into a course 
 of action to which she had any strong aversion, and in all mat- 
 ters vitally affecting herself was in the habit of using her own 
 independent judgment. 
 
10 
 
 "Iler conduct during the three months succeeding the murder 
 [of Darnley] can, however, only be regarded as consistent loith 
 for innocence on the supposition, to use the cogent words of 
 Mr. Swinburne, that ' this conduct was a tissue of such dastard- 
 ly imbecility, such heartless irresolution, and such brainless in- 
 consistency, as forever to dispose of her time honored claim to 
 tJie credit of intelligence and courage." 1 " 
 
 The trial of Bothwell for the murder of Darnley was notoriously 
 and palpably delusive, and his acquittal a foregone conclusion for 
 the responsibility of which no qasuistry can absolve Mary. For 
 any one but a partisan to manufacture excuses for an out and 
 out Roman Catholic consenting to a marriage with a man di- 
 vorced by her connivance, for the occasion, is an utter perversion 
 of common sense, of truth and of honesty. That she consented 
 to a separation from Bothwell at Carberry Hill would be unac- 
 countable in any woman except one belonging to that rare class 
 to which Mary must be assigned, and her changeful moods be- 
 tween the night of Kirk-o'-Field and Carberry Hill — as at pre- 
 vious dates while Darnley was yet alive — are at least as con- 
 sistent with guilt as with innocence. Few readers or students 
 of her case seem to be aware that she had a child or twins by 
 Bothwell in Loch Levin Castle, and scarcely any dwell upon 
 likelihood that the very resignation that she was forced to sub- 
 scribe was obtained from her by the threat, while she was suffer- 
 ing from the severe effects of premature child-bearing, of publish- 
 ing the contents of the Casket Letters, &c. 
 
 Hosack, her excuser, allowed himself to be deluded by a mere 
 title, which did not set forth and inadequately represented Mor- 
 ton's "Declaration," which settled beyond doubt why, when, and 
 how the Casket Letters and other criminating documents were 
 obtained. That declaration, as it was written and was attested, 
 did not reach the eyes of the public until within a year, and even 
 then, thus late, only through the research of Mr. Henderson. He 
 shows with legal ability that the letters were genuine. Whether 
 the letters were written in Scotch or in French matters but little. 
 If in the former, the whole bulk of the evidence goes to show 
 that they were not written to Darnley, as some of her defenders 
 and extenuators claim. If written in French, Darnley did not 
 understand that language and Bothwell assuredly did. That 
 the original letters have disappeared is of little importance. 
 The testimony of Cecil, so awfully distorted, was nevertheless 
 absolutely clear. It substantiates that the Casket Letters &c. 
 "were duly conferred and compared" before the English Com- 
 missioners. It is also shown by cumulative proofs that the 
 originals so exhibited must have been made way with by those 
 
11 
 
 into whose power they eventually fell and who were immediately 
 interested in their disappearance. 
 
 To allege that the style and contents of the letters were un- 
 worthy of a refined woman, has no weight, because a woman in 
 love with" a man with whom she has no right so to be and is 
 fired with passion, as a rule, almost without exception, is char- 
 acterized by such wanton oblivion of propriety of expression and 
 language as are manifested throughout in the Casket Letters. 
 The animal instincts then over-ride, spur, lash and direct the pen, 
 aud it would be just as sensible to submit the question of such 
 compositions to a jury of cold, chaste, religious women as to an- 
 other of younger members of the same sex, upon whose innocence 
 no stain of the knowledge of good and evil as yet had fallen, 
 or such ingetius as are totally ignorant of the ways and wanton- 
 ness of this " wicked, wicked world." Another weak argument 
 against the alleged genuineness of the Casket Letters is some dis- 
 crepancy in dates. When those who are observant of such matters 
 come to reflect, they will at once arrive at the conclusion that 
 there is nothing more common than the confounding of dates 
 when the mind is not strongly directed to the necessity of accu- 
 racy. Such mistakes occur daily. How much more likely were 
 they to occur when diaries were uncommon and not lying about 
 on every table, conspicuously clear in print. 
 
 These arguments seem all that is necessary to introduce a 
 citation of the two most important chapters of Mr. Henderson's 
 convincing work— convincing to any one who has not made up 
 his mind not to allow himself to be aflected by any testimony. 
 With a Roman Catholic it is useless to argue in regard to one 
 of his "forlorn hopes" or martyrs, especially because the system 
 he recognizes as unassailable is founded on fiction — beginning 
 with the assertion that Peter was the first Pope of Rome for 
 twenty-five years, when it cannot be proved that he ever was in 
 that city; — on fabrications — simply citing one as one example, the 
 false Decretals ; — on fallacies — manifested by the perversion of 
 texts and every kind of testimony bearing on the legitimacy of 
 the Papacy or its dogmas. Nor is it worth while to waste a 
 word on lukewarm Protestants, who seem not to dare to de- 
 fend their own cause, and deserve the severe adjuration addressed 
 to the Church of Laodicea, "because thou art lukewarm, and 
 neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth." 
 Erastians — the term once expressive of such bitter feeling in 
 Scotland — are equally inaccessible to reason and to proof. Fi- 
 nally, there is a class who are so high in the clouds of transcen- 
 dental admiration of Mary that it is impossible to bring them 
 down into an atmosphere of common sense. 
 
12 
 
 Finally, to recapitulate in " summing up," Mary, so far from 
 being a victim to the audacious wiles of Both well, the latter was 
 the victim of the fascinations of the Queen; and the "Casket Let- 
 ters," Sonnets, &c, were authentic and have been conclusively 
 shown so to be. One argument advanced by the defenders of the 
 Queen were the circumstances under which those " Casket Letters 
 and Sonnets" fell into the hands of the Rebel Lords, who after- 
 wards made such good use of them to prove her guilt, which had 
 been previously palpable to every one in Scotland who was not 
 carried away and blinded to the truth by Romanist bigotry, Ja- 
 cobite delusion or invincible obstinacy. It was always claimed 
 that Morton did not obtain the Casket with the Letters and 
 Sonnets in the way and manner that impartiality presented the 
 matter, but that the narrative and the capture, as well as the al- 
 leged contents of the Casket, were both forgeries and falsifica- 
 tions. The Marian party were either ignorant that Morton 
 made a Declaration which cleared up, or away, every difficulty, 
 or, if cognizant of the fact, perverted its language or denied its 
 validity or even it existence. — T. F. Henderson, in the "Casket 
 Letters and Mary Queen of Scots," published at Edinburgh by 
 Charles and Adam Black, 1889, chapter VII., page 90, &c, has 
 made everything clear and incontrovertible. 
 
 Who ever will read what follows, and particularly the De- 
 claration, marked A, among the Appendices, and will still dest 
 that Morton and his associates did fairly get possession of the 
 Casket containing the Letters and Sonnets, <fec, of Mary, and 
 that the latter were written by her, as they appear, and by no 
 other, would not be convinced of her guilt, even though she 
 arose from the dead and made full confession of having had "art 
 and part" in the murder of Darnley; that she was the whole 
 cause of the assiduous and assured course of procedure pursued 
 by Both well; and that she was the sole author of the "Casket 
 Letters and Sonnets." Q. E. D. 
 
13 
 
 THE EARL OF MORTON'S DECLARATION. 
 
 (From Folio 216 of No. 32,091 of the Additional MSS. 
 in the British Museum.) 
 
 (Appendix A. Pages 113-116, "The Casket Letters and Mary Queen 
 of Scots, with Appendices." By T. F. Henderson. Edinburgh : Adam 
 and Charles Black, 1889.) 
 
 THE true Declaration and Report [Anglicized] of me, James, 
 Earl of Morton, how a certain Silver Box, over gilt, 
 containing divers missive writings, sonnets, contracts and 
 obligations for marriage between the Queen-mother [i.e., 
 Mary], mother to our sovereign Lord [James VI.], and James, 
 sometime Earl of Bothwell, was found and used. 
 
 Morton. 
 
 Upon Thursday, the 19th of June, 1567, I dined at Edin- 
 burgh; the L. of Ledington, Secretary, with me. At time of 
 my dinner a certain man came to me, and in secret manner 
 
14 
 
 showed me that three servants of the Earl of Bothwell (viz.: 
 Mr. Thomas Hepburn, parson of Auldhamesokkes, John Coc(k)- 
 burn, brother to the Lord of Stirling, and George Dalgleische) 
 were coining to the town, and passed into the castle. Upon which 
 advice I on the sudden [suddenly] sent my cousin, Mr. And. 
 Douglas and Robert Douglas his brother, and James Johnstoun 
 of Westerrall, with others my servants to the number of sixteen 
 or thereabouts, toward the Castle and make search for the said 
 persons and, if possible, there to apprehend them. According 
 to which, my directions, my servants past [went] ; and at the first 
 missing the first-named three persons, because they were de- 
 parted forth from the Castle before their coming, my men then 
 parting in several companies upon knowledge that the others 
 whom they sought were separated. Mr. And. Douglas sought 
 for Mr. Thomas Hepburn and found him not, but got his horse; 
 James Johnstoun sought for Jo Coc(k)burn and apprehended him; 
 Robert Douglas seeking for George Dalgleische, after he had 
 almost given up his search and inquisition, a good fellow, under- 
 standing his purpose, came to him and offered for a mean piece 
 of money to reveal where George Dalgleische was. The same 
 [Robert Douglas] satisfying him that gave the intelligence for 
 his pains, passed to the Potteraw [Potter-row, College Street], 
 before Edinburgh, and there apprehended the said George, with 
 divers evidences and letters in parchment, viz.: the Earl Both- 
 well's investments of Liddisdale, of the Lordship of Dunbar and 
 of Orkney, and divers co r is [copies?] which all with the said 
 George [Dalgleische] himself, the said Robert [Douglas] brought 
 and presented to me. And the said George, being examined of 
 the cause of his direction to the Castle of Edinburgh and what 
 letters and evidences he brought forth of the same, alleged he 
 was sent to inspect Lord Bothwell, his master's clothing, and 
 that he had not any letters nor commodities, nor [neither] they 
 which were apprehended with him ; but his report being found 
 suspicious and his gesture and behaviour ministering [exhibit- 
 ing] cause of mistrust, seeing the gravity of the action that was 
 in hand, it was resolved by common consent of the noblemen 
 convened that the said George Dalgleische should be surely 
 kept that night and upon the morn should be taken to the Tol- 
 booth of Edinburgh and there put in the pain [torture] and tor- 
 mented for furthering the declaration of the truth, which [the 
 torture] being set upon [for] Friday, the 20th day of the same 
 month of June, before any rigorous demeaning of his person 
 seeing the pain [torture to be endured] and moving of con- 
 science, he called for my cousin, Mr. And. Douglas, who coming, 
 the said George desired that Robert Douglas should be sent 
 
15 
 
 with him, and lie would show and bring to light that which he . 
 had. Then, being taken forth from the pain [peine fort et dure, 
 Fr. for torture] he passed with the said Robert, to the Potteraw 
 [Potter-row, College Street], and there, under the seat of a bed, 
 took forth the said silver box, which he had brought forth from 
 the Gastle the day before, locked, and brought the same to me 
 at 8 hours at night. And, because it was late, I kept it all that 
 night. Upon the [next] morning, viz., Saturday, the 21st June, 
 in presence of the Earls of Athol, Mar, Glencairn and myself, 
 The Lords Home, Sempill, Sanquhar, the Master of Grahanie, 
 and the Secretary [Lethington] and Laird of Tullibarden, Comp- 
 troller, and the said And. Douglas, the said box was stricken up 
 [broken open] because we wanted the key [the key was not forth- 
 coming], and the letters it contained were sichtet [i. e., carefully 
 inspected] and immediately thereafter delivered again iuto my 
 hand and custody. Since which time I have observed and kept 
 the same box and all letters, missives, contracts, sonnets and 
 various writings contained therein, surely, without alteration, 
 changing, increasing or diminishing of anything found or re- 
 ceived in the said box. 
 
 This I testify and declare to be undoubted truth. 
 
 This is the copy of that which vvns given to Mr. Secretary 
 Cecil upon Thursday, the 8th of December, 1568. 
 
 This is the true copy of the declaration made and presented 
 by the Earl of Morton to the Commissioners and Council of 
 England, sitting in "Westminster for [at] the time, upon Thurs- 
 day, being the 29th of December, 1568. 
 
 Subscribed with his hand thus, 
 
 [Signed,] MORTON. 
 
 Ruins of Dunbar Castle. 
 
17 
 
 |[p| 
 
 
 Edinburgh Castle. 
 
 -VIII., page 90 to 110. " The Casket Let- 
 By T. F. Henderson. Edinburgh: Adam 
 
 Henderson. — Chapter VH.- 
 ters and Mary Queen of Scots." 
 and Charles Black. 1889. 
 
 [Caps, Italics, Fists, &c, inserted for emphasis and to attract attention 
 by J. W. de P.] 
 
 W 
 
 [ORTON'S Declaration, like the casket documents, has 
 been lost, and until the publication of the Fifth Report 
 of the Historical Manuscript Commission no copy of it 
 X was known to exist. Ifp^The Commissioners gave what 
 appeared to be a succinct sdmmaey of the document, but it 
 is a summary resembling a description of the play of Hamlet 
 without any reference to Hamlet himself, ^^f In 1883, the 
 manuscripts of Sir Alexander Malet were acquired by the 
 Trustees of the British Museum, and the copy of the De- 
 claration of Mokton — which had been summarized by the 
 Historical Commissioners — now forms folio 216 of No. 32,091 
 of the Additional MSS. Being desirous to know whether Mor- 
 ton merely declared in vague and general terms, that he had 
 opened the casket in presence of "others," as the Historical MSS. 
 Commissioners' Report has it, or whether the names of those 
 present were given, I carefully examined the manuscript, and 
 found it to contain statements of such vital consequence as practi- 
 cally to be decisive in regard to the authenticity of the docu- 
 ments. [The Declaration is printed in full in Appendix A. See 
 pages 13-15 hereof.] Its graphic and detailed picture of what, if 
 it really did happen,was a very striking historical incident, bears, 
 at least, all the external marks of truth. The copy is a contem- 
 porary one, and of its genuineness there can be no doubt what- 
 
18 
 
 ever. The two cardinal points in the Declaration are: (1) that 
 the Documents immediately after the Casket was opened, were 
 "sichted? and (2) the list of the noblemen and others by whom, 
 Morton affirmed, tliey were "sichted." 
 
 The Scots verb to "sicht" is somewhat analogous to the Ger- 
 man " siehten," and is defined by Jamieson as " to view narrowly, 
 to inspect." Jamieson illustrates its meaning by the two follow- 
 ing examples : "The Moderator craved that these books might be 
 sighted by Argyle, Lauderdale, and Southesk." (Baillie's Let- 
 ters, I.. 113); "At this assembly Dr. Sibbald, late Minister of 
 Aberdeen, his papers which were taken -from him were revised 
 and sighted; some whereof smacked of Arminianism as they 
 thought, and whilk they kept" (Spalding, I., 135.) The word 
 was a technical, almost a legal term, applied specially to the in- 
 spection of documents. If the Documents in the Casket under- 
 went such a process of inspection on the 2lst of June, 1567, it 
 was practically impossible that they could have been after- 
 wards exchanged for forged documents without the fraud being 
 detected. In such an extraordinary crisis of aifairs it was of the 
 utmost importance for the Confederate Lords to know the pre- 
 cise tenor of the documents thus stated to have been discovered. 
 Supposing the examination to have been bona fide, the casket 
 would be opened with the utmost curiosity, and the documents 
 read and considered with the greatest care. Even if there be 
 the possibility that some of the documents were afterwards 
 manipulated and altered, it is impossible to suppose that such an 
 extraordinary document as Letter 2, containing the -main por- 
 tion of the incriminating evidence against the Queen, could 
 have been fabricated subsequently, or that the two Contracts of 
 Marriage could have been subsequently placed in the Casket. 
 
 What proof, then, did Morton adduce that they were " sichted"? 
 [Answer!] A list of witnesses very formidable in numbers, 
 and in regard to individuals as formidable almost as it could pos- 
 sibly have been. The names, in addition to that of Morton, are : — 
 the Earls of Athol, Mar, and Glencairn, Lords Home, Semple, 
 and Sanquhar, the Master of Graham, the Secretary (Maitland 
 of Lethington), the Laird of Tullibardine and Mr. Andrew Doug- 
 las. JSP*" One peculiarity about the names, worthy of special 
 notice, is that not one of them, with the exception of Morton, is 
 affixed to the Bond — as printed in Calderwood's " History of the 
 Church of Scotland" — in favor of Bothwell, signed in Ainsliis 
 Tavern. It would have been egregious folly in Morton to have 
 inserted in the list of those present at the "sichting'' of the 
 documents the names of any who were not present, or who were 
 not prepared to assert that they were present. Such a fraud 
 
19 
 
 would inevitably, sooner or later, have been detected. In any 
 ease, the Regent [Murray] and Morton, however daring they 
 might be, were too sagacious to run such a tremendous risk. 
 They were by no means certain of their position with Elizabeth 
 — indeed, certainty on such a point was an absolute impossibility. 
 On the supposition that Maky did not write the letters, they 
 were, by giving in a false list of witnesses, supplying the most 
 certain means of detection. Moreover, among the English noble- 
 men before whom the whole of the papers were laid were those 
 who, in the words of Mr.Froude, "had made themselves most 
 conspicuous as the advocates of the Queen of Scots," including 
 the [Roman] Catholic Earls of Norfolk, Westmoreland, and 
 Northumberland. USf But before these Catholic nobles of 
 England, Morton ventured to adduce Athol, the leader of the 
 Catholics of Scotland, and several other Catholic noblemen, as 
 witnesses for the genuineness of the documents. Nor did he 
 know, when he gave in his Declaration on the 9th of December, 
 what exact turn the discussion might take ; the English Com- 
 missioners, or any one of them, might have declined to accept 
 the Declaration unless confirmed by special inquiry of the per- 
 sons mentioned ; it was even then by no means impossible that 
 Mary — especially if she did not write the letters — would agree 
 to some form of enquiry which would lead to the whole evidence 
 being placed before her. On any supposition, therefore, DSP" it 
 is impossible to believe that Morton adduced as witnesses persons 
 who were not present or were not prepared to swear that they 
 were present. But Athol's testimony is almost of itself conclu- 
 sive of the inspection of the documents. He had left the party 
 of the Queen from entirely disinterested motives, and, being a 
 Catholic, it is impossible to conceive that he would knowingly 
 conspire to blast the reputation of a Catholic sovereign. Besides, 
 he again became the leader of the Catholics in their policy against 
 the Regency, and ultimately was one of Morton's most bitter 
 enemies ; but there is no evidence that he ever on any occasion 
 expressed doubts regarding the genuineness of the casket 
 documents, although the exposure of the forgery would have 
 rendered an almost inestimable service to the cause of the Queen. 
 Among other witnesses who subsequently supported the Queen 
 was Lord Home, who joined Kirkaldy of Grange in the ro- 
 mantic defense of the Castle of Edinburgh, and who is described 
 by Sir James Melville as "so true a Scotsman that he was un- 
 winnable to do anything prejudicial to his country." The Depo- 
 sition of Lord Home (Note A) in regard to the Regent Moray is 
 entirely consistent with Sir James Melville's estimate, and both it 
 and the Deposition of Kirkaldy of Grange must be held to refute 
 
20 
 
 the surmise of Mr. Skelton that Kirkaldy ot'Grange (Note B), Lord 
 Home, or any other leading supporter of Moray, left Moray be- 
 cause in producing the Casket Letters he had "lent himself to a 
 fraud." The other names include two Catholics, — Semple and 
 the Laird of Tullibardine ; Sanquhar, who, with Tullibardine, 
 signed the bond for Mary's deliverance from Lochleven; and 
 the Master of Graham, who, as the third Earl of Montrose, con- 
 spired with Avgyle aud Atholl to bring about Morton's fall in 
 1578, and afterwards had a prominent share in bringing him to 
 the scaffold. Iu addition to these names, special importance at- 
 taches to the name of the Earl of Mar, whom Sir James Melville 
 specially characterizes as a "trew nobleman," and who, by his 
 moderation and fairness of spirit, had won the high respect of 
 both parties. U^f~"The testimony of these noblemen must be 
 accepted as decisive at least regarding the fact of the "sicAting" 
 of the documents. If the documents were forged, the forgery 
 must have been completed before that date. Lord Herries, the 
 advocate of Queen Mary, while admitting the discovery of the 
 Casket, asserted that Morton had exchanged genuine documents 
 for false ones. If he did so, this must have happened on the 
 night of the 20th. 25P" There is, of course, the initial difficulty 
 that Morton did not have the key, which was presumedly in the 
 possession of Bothwell ; but, in any case, the exchange could not 
 have been effected in the presence of the noblemen above men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The character and position of perhaps the most notable wit- 
 ness to the "sicAting" of the documents, namely Maitland of 
 Lethington, remains yet to be considered. Maitland was pre- 
 sent both at the York and Westminster Conferences, but even 
 by his colleagues he was distrusted : " all Scotland knew," in the 
 words of Mr. Skelton, " that Maitland was on Mary's side ;" he had 
 been nicknamed by the Regent and his friends "the necessary 
 evil;" the Regent, it was well known, had brought him with him 
 to England, because he did not deem it safe to leave him at home ; 
 and, as a matter of fact, the Queen of Scots had, through his wife, 
 Mary Fleming, — one of the "Queen's Maries," — JEIPbeen se- 
 cretly supplied with a copy of one of the versions of the Letters. 
 25^~ Notwithstanding Maitland's ambiguous attitude, Morton 
 did not hesitate to declare on his solemn oath, in Maitland's 
 presence, that the message regarding the mission of Bothwell's 
 servants to the castle was sent to him while he was dining with 
 Maitland in Edinburgh; that he gave orders for their apprehen- 
 sion in Maitland's presence ; that the putting of George Dalgleish 
 to the torture was resolved on " by common consent of the noble- 
 men convened," including, of course, Maitland; and that Maitland 
 
21 
 
 was present when the Casket was opened on the 21st. C^?"-Z?y 
 this Declaration, made in Maitland's presence, the word of 
 Maitland was pledged, with an implication almost as absolute as 
 that of Morton, for the genuineness of the documents. Referring 
 to Maitland's attitude towards the accusations against Mary at 
 the Conference, Mr. Skelton iS" arrogates the right to assert 
 that he " held himself aloof from the farce that was being played." 
 ISF" Maitland's aloofness could not have been more than moral 
 or intellectual, for bodily he was present, though possibly against 
 his will In view of Morton's declaration, the hypothesis even 
 of mental or moral aloofness can scarcely, however, be regarded 
 any longer as specially appropriate, drip" Whether he wished 
 it or not, the Declaration of Morton compelled Maitland to play 
 a very prominent part in the farce, if it is to be reckoned a farce. 
 JB^ Maitland must also be held chiefly responsible for the fact 
 that the farce, if it was a farce, ended in such a mournful tragedy. 
 Some fatal spell prevented him from uttering a syllable of pro- 
 test or explanation when Morton made the explicit and detailed 
 declaration virtually to the effect that Maitland knew as much 
 about the documents as he did.^^l It can hardly be main- 
 tained, on the supposition that the letters were a forgery, that 
 this most skilled diplomatist, and, according to Mr. Skelton, the 
 ablest man, at that time, in Scotland, if not even in Europe, was 
 not completely outwitted ; or, that he was not made to act a part 
 so sorry and contemptible as to cause Mr. Skelton's eulogies on 
 his character and abilities to sound like subtle irony. Had he 
 only on this all momentous occasion exhibited a faint gleam of 
 that "scorn of pharisaic pretense?' which, according to Mr. 
 Skelton, "scorched like fire," $3^ how withering would have 
 been the effect on Morton and his accomplices? The theory of 
 Mr. Skelton seems to be that Maitland was "not a party to the 
 deceit," and was ignorant of its innermost secret. $!W On this 
 theory Maitland might have allowed Morton to tell his own 
 tale, provided he refrained from falsehood as to Maitland's 
 connection with the discovery of the Casket ; but to allow Mor- 
 ton to associate him so circumstantially with the opening of the 
 casket was, if Morton foreswore himself, to witness icithout an 
 apparent symptom of regret the extinguishment of the last flicker 
 of his own honor. Diplomacy, it is true, has its own peculiar 
 canons, but no canon, however "exceeding broad," can either 
 excuse or explain such callous torpidity. But even were we to 
 regard as possible the theory that Maitland in such extraordin- 
 ary circumstances "would not have acted otherwise than he did," 
 it is impossible to suppose that the Regent [Murray] and Mor- 
 ton had made such a theory the basis of their action, and that, 
 
22 
 
 if there was a damning secret, they were trusting to Maitland's 
 eternal retention of it, except possibly on one of two suppositions: 
 iSir^either that Maitland was concerned in the forgery, or was 
 afraid of the consequences of his implication in Darnley's mur- 
 der. 
 
 That Maitland was the forger has been a favorite theory 
 with those who deny the genuineness of the documents. 
 HcST' This theory was even at one time held by Mr. Skel- 
 ton: "The master wit of Lethington," he said, "was there 
 to shape the plot; Lethington, with numberless scraps of the 
 Queen's handwriting in his possession, and with a divine or dia- 
 bolic spark of genius in his nature which might have made him on 
 a large scale one of the leaders of mankind" (Note C). Although 
 Mr. Skelton has not penned any recantation of this opinion, re- 
 published in 1876, it must be presumed that later information 
 has led him to regard it as no longer tenable ; for in the second 
 volume of "Maitland of Lethington" published in 1888, the 
 above theory is silently suppressed in favor of the Morton the- 
 ory— "dissolute lawyers and unfrocked priests" being summoned 
 by Mr. Skelton's imagination to execute the task for which the 
 services of Maitland's "divine or diabolic" genius are no longer 
 available. "Morton," he remarks, "one of the mercenaries of 
 the Reformation, who, like others of his trade, combined craft 
 with ferocity, had plenty of clever scamps in his pay — dissolute 
 lawyers, unfrocked priests, — who, out of the mass of Mary's 
 manuscripts which were found at Holyrood, could have manu- 
 factured with facility a score of letters to a lover" (Note D). 
 Whether the Morton theory, as stated by Mr. Skelton, with its 
 whole bundle of assumjrtions, be regaided as more credible or not 
 than the Maitland theory, the latter theory has not only been 
 abandoned but entirely refuted by Mr. Skelton. If in his vol- 
 umes on Maitland of Lethington he has demonstrated anything 
 he has demonstrated that Maitland was incapable of committing 
 such a forgery, or being an active party to such a conspiracy 
 against the Queen of Scots. One of the main purposes of his 
 volumes is to illustrate the fact that Maitland had always the 
 best interests of the Queen at heart; and it would be straining 
 our credulity too far to ask us to believe that Maitland had re- 
 course to the forgery of the Casket Documents to promote the 
 Queen's best interests. Opinions may differ as to whether Mr. 
 Skelton has not formed too high an opinion of Maitland both 
 morally and intellectually, both as a churchman and a states- 
 man, but it can scarcely be doubted that he has been successful 
 in, removing from Maitland's reputation much undeserved oblo- 
 quy, and in demonstrating that he was at least as consistent and 
 
23 
 
 unselfish in his conduct as the majority of politicians. Such a 
 view of Maitland's character cannot be maintained if he had any 
 connection with the forgery of the letters ; and, even if it could, 
 the fact that the forgery must have been completed before the 
 20th June, renders it impossible that he could have had any 
 part in it. He had left the Queen as late as the 9th, and Mor- 
 ton was too prudent to have accepted the services of such a re- 
 cruit in such a compromising enterprise. Indeed, there can 
 scarcely be any doubt that Maitland only stated the truth in 
 regard to his attitude to Mary at this time, when in a letter to 
 Cecil of the 21st June (written probably immediately after the 
 discovery of the Casket Documents), he said: "The reverence 
 and affection I have ever borne to the Queen, my mistress, hath 
 been the occasion to stay me so long in company with the Earl 
 of Bothwell at the Court, — as my life hath every day been in 
 danger since he began to aspire to any grandeur." UE^'It being 
 thus impossible to conceive that Maitland was directly con- 
 cerned in the concoction of the forgery, it remains to be con- 
 sidered whether his silent assent to Morton's declaration is ex- 
 plicable on the supposition of his implication in the murder of 
 Darnley. In regard to Maitland's connection with the murder, 
 Mr. Skelton has arrived at a verdict of " not proven.'''' This is 
 certainly to take the most favorable view possible of Maitland's 
 conduct, and, in arriving at it, Mr. Skelton has omitted any 
 reference to the testimony of BothwelFs subordinate agents in 
 regard to the Craigmillar Bond. For verdicts of "not proven" 
 — a peculiarity of Scot's law — Mr. Skelton has a peculiar pen- 
 chant, except where the opponents of Mary are concerned. In 
 regard to the heinous guilt of Moray, Morton, Knox, Cecil, and 
 Elizabeth, he is untroubled by the smallest scruples of doubt ; 
 but the evidence must be very unimpeachable indeed that will 
 compel him to admit any definite wrong-doing either in the 
 case of Maiy or of Maitland. That Maitland was directly in- 
 volved in the plot against Darnley is at least more probable 
 than that Moray or any of his more intimate colleagues were 
 involved in it. He differed from them, however, in that he 
 never disguised his dislike to Mary's marriage with Bothwell, 
 and, as we have seen, in that he was sincerely devoted to the 
 Queen's interests. K^T" If, therefore, he concealed the secret of 
 the forgery, or allowed Morton falsely to declare that he was pres- 
 ent at the opening of the Casket on the 21st June, his conduct 
 was simply that of a mean and craven dastard, — a dastard, 
 moreover, so paralyzed by selfish fear, that his marvelous pene- 
 tration and shrewdness altogether deserted him. The theory 
 that the Letters were a forgery can therefore be maintained by 
 
24 
 
 Mr. Skelton, only on condition that fie revokes every favorable 
 estimate he has formed of Maitland ; and, vice versa, the ac- 
 ceptance of the genuineness of the letters seems to be the chiei 
 thing wanting to establish Mr. Skelton's theory of Maitland's 
 high-minded consistency. Deny the genuineness of the Letters, 
 and Maitland's conduct becomes inexplicable on any theory that 
 alloics him even a shred of honesty or ability; but admit their 
 genuineness, and most of the weak and inconsistent touches are 
 removed from the striking historical portrait which, in many 
 other respects, Mr. Skelton has limned with careful and felici- 
 tous skill. t^f~ One conclusion, therefore, established beyond 
 all doubt by the tenor of Morton's declaration, is that the Docu- 
 ments in the Casket were "sichted" on the 21st June. This at 
 once disposes of the very strong objection that has been taken 
 to Moray's receipt, the 16th September, 1568, testifying in the 
 name of the Privy Council that Morton had " truly and honestly 
 kept the said box," &c. 
 
 " But here," says Goodall, " it comes naturally to be ques- 
 tioned how Murray, or his Council, and especially he himself, 
 who was in France at the time, could so readily and roundly 
 attest, either that this Box and Letters were found with Dal- 
 glei6ch, or that Morton had so honestly preserved them all that 
 time, without any manner of change or alteration ? This seems 
 repugnant to common-sense, and is so far from answering their 
 purpose, that it affords the most vehement presumption of fraud" 
 (Note E). This opinion has been echoed and emphasized by 
 many subsequent writers, and by none with more impressive 
 and pungent reiteration than by Mr. Skelton. "They remained," 
 he caustically observes, " for another year in the custody of the 
 precise and scrupulous Morton " (IE., 279). " What was taken 
 from the Casket, what was placed in the Casket, by Morton," he 
 declares, "only Morton could tell; and Morton could keep his 
 own counsel better than most men" (II., 308). " Seeing that the 
 Casket," he further argues, " had been in Morton's custody for 
 nearly fifteen months, it is hard to understand how Moray, un- 
 touched by any sense of shame, could have emitted such a 
 declaration" (II., 313). He even represents the case as an illus- 
 tration of the maxim, " He who excuses, accuses himself," for, 
 says he, "Moray's assurance that the Box had not been tam- 
 pered with since it was recovered, is calculated— for how could 
 Moray know? — to intensify the suspicions it was meant to al- 
 lay" (lb., II., 313). 
 
 U^" Whatever force there may have been in such aphorisms 
 previous to the discovery of Morton's Declaration, it is indisput- 
 able that that Declaration robs them of all their significance and 
 
25 
 
 sting. Not only so, but if the Thesis of Forgery is to be main- 
 tained, the whole chain of argument against the genuineness of 
 the Documents must be constructed anew from the very begin- 
 ning. If the forgery was completed by the 20th June, — or only 
 six days after Mary's surrender at Carberry Hill, — not only. was 
 it impossible for Crawford's declaration to be supplied to the 
 forgers, but we must premise an almost superhuman prompt- 
 ness, both of purpose and execution, to admit the possibility of 
 manufacturing them out of the "mass of Mary's manuscripts 
 found at Holyrood " — even supposing such a " mass " had been 
 found — within such a limited time. To maintain the hypothesis 
 of forgeiy, we are thus compelled to remove the date of the 
 occurrence back to a period even anterior to Mary's capture at 
 Carberry. The idea of a forgery, completed at such an early 
 date, can scarcely be seriously entertained by even the most 
 prejudiced defender of the Queen ; and its probability does not, 
 therefore, require any discussion." 
 
 James Sluan (Murray). 
 
26 
 
 Ruins of Bothwell Castle. 
 
 CONCLUSION (Chapter VIII,)— One of the circumstances 
 that has been regarded as most strongly corroborative of 
 the genuineness of theCasket Documents is the almost un- 
 broken silence in reference to them maintained by Mary 
 and her friends. When the silence was broken by Mary, it was 
 under the compulsion of stern necessity, and the language made 
 use of was indecisive and ambiguous. All that she instructed 
 her Commissioners to say was: "I never writ anything con- 
 cerning that matter to any creature ; and gif ony sic writings, 
 be they are false and feinzeiet forgit and invent be thamselfis, 
 onlye to my dishonour and sclander ; and thair ar divers in 
 Scotland baith men and women, that can counterfeit my hand- 
 writing, and write the like maner of writing quhilk I use, as 
 weill as myself, and principallie sic as ar in companie with thame- 
 selfis." 
 
 This denied, such as it is, is deprived of all validity by the 
 fact that Mary denied much more emphatically her authorship 
 of the letters to Babington, the genuineness of which has now 
 been conclusively established. The denial is, however, a mere 
 formal device, which probably did not deceive even her Com- 
 missioners, and amounts to little more than a transparent quibble. 
 Her defenders denied, and she would also have denied, that the 
 Letters produced at Westminster contained any clear or direct 
 reference to the murder. She never denied that while the con- 
 
27 
 
 spiracy was in progress she wrote letters to Bothwell, nor did 
 she deny that she signed the Marriage Contract of the 6th 
 April, which was declared to be in the handwriting of Huntley. 
 This omission, and the omission also of Huntley to deny the 
 genuineness of the Contract, are the more remarkable when it 
 is remembered that she induced Huntley and Argyll to sign a 
 statement implicating, so far as possible, the Earl of Moray in 
 the plot against Darnley. Nor did the asserted confession of 
 Bothwell, which formally declared that Mary was innocent of 
 the Murder, contain any denial that such Letters were received 
 by him from Mary. The Confession is supposed to have been 
 fabricated by the friends of the Queen ; but, whether fabri- 
 cated or not, its silence in reference to the Letters is equally 
 significant. When the Letters were published to the world in 
 1571 and 1572, Mary's silence regarding them, and the silence 
 of her friends, remained practically unbroken. She had long had 
 in her possession a version of the letters, and a copy of Buchan- 
 ans Betectio was sent her — undoubtedly with very bad taste- 
 by Elizabeth. She bitterly, and perhaps with some justice, de- 
 nounced in general terms the calumnious statements of the book, 
 but remained silent in regard to the letters. Had they been 
 founded on scraps of her own writing, had any of the letters been 
 written by her to another than Bothwell, had they formed por- 
 tions of a Diary, or been compiled from her stray and isolated 
 memoranda, she would have detected this, and have thus supplied 
 the club by which the forging might easily have been exposed. 
 
 The apathy and caution of her friends, both in Scotland and 
 on the Continent, in reference to the letters, is equally remark- 
 able. The theory of forgery may have been hinted at, but it 
 was never distinctly raised, nor was a proposal ever mooted by 
 any of the great Catholic powers to have their genuineness 
 tested. In like manner an ominous silence is maintained re- 
 garding them, not only in Mary's most confidential correspond- 
 ence, but in the whole diplomatic correspondence of this period 
 between the sovereigns of France and Spain and their ambassa- 
 dors at foreign courts. To these sovereigns Mary appears to 
 have made no direct appeal, or even any definite statement, in 
 reference to the Letters; and, while they appear to have given 
 no instructions to their ambassadors to make inquiries in regard 
 to such a very vital matter, none of these ambassadors report 
 any definite opinion regarding them. 
 
 If the Letters were forgeries, the Catholics come almost as 
 badly out of the affair as the Protestants, if not even worse than 
 they ; for Mary, with all her faults, deserved at least to be con- 
 demned, if she was to be condemned at all, on true and sufficient 
 
28 
 
 evidence; and it isin any case clear that her enemies had stronger 
 objections to her Catholicism than to her Murder of Darnley. 
 On the supposition, however, that the Letters are genuine, the 
 conduct of the Catholics needs no explanation or apology, and 
 they come certainly better out of the affair than the Protestants. 
 They, at least, as a party, were not in any degree responsible 
 for the Murder of Darnley, but the same tiling can scarcely be 
 affirmed of the Protestants. It is impossible here to enter into 
 a full consideration of the relation of the Earls of Moray and 
 Morton, as well as other leading Protestant nobles, to the Mur- 
 der of Darnley; but it may safely be affirmed that their passive 
 attitude during the progress of the plot can hardly be attributed 
 to entire ignorance that it was in progress; and that their con- 
 duct can only be excused from a consideration of the difficulty 
 and peril of their position after Mary's escape from Holyrood. 
 They out-manoeuvred Bothwell and Mary, and either suffered, 
 or indirectly enticed them to commit the crime which occasioned 
 their perdition. All that can be plead for them is, that they 
 were not in a position to control the conduct of Mary or Both- 
 well, or to be held responsible for the misdeeds on which both 
 were bent. Nor could they deem themselves called upon to 
 endanger their own lives by seeking to preserve the worthless 
 life of Darnley,- whose betrayal of their former plans cost them 
 so dear. USF" If Mary wrote the Casket Letters to Bothwell, 
 she had become hopelessly incorrigible ; and it cannot be affirmed 
 that Moray, knowing his sister as he did, was acting either be- 
 fore or after the murder from motives of mere self-interest. 
 Moray's estrangement from his sister dates from her marriage 
 to Darnley. With that marriage also began her long series of 
 misfortunes. They were partly due to Damley's hopeless base- 
 ness and perversity. At any rate, so far as Moray was concerned 
 in them, they are traceable rather to the absence of his guiding 
 hand in directing his sister's policy than to the success of his 
 efforts to subvert her authority. As regards Elizabeth, the 
 question of the genuineness of the letters necessarily greatly af- 
 fects the judgment to be passed upon her treatment of the Queen 
 of Scots. Elizabeth's position — whether she believed the letters 
 to be genuine or not— was one of enormous perplexity. She 
 was placed in a cruel dilemma. It was dangerous to be severe, 
 and yet the temptation to use severity was peculiarly strong. 
 Mary was perhaps the most deadly enemy she possessed. She 
 had awakened Elizabeth's ill will, not merely by laying claim 
 to the English throne, but by the fame of her remarkable per- 
 sonal [?] charms. As the only great Protestant sovereign in 
 Europe, Elizabeth's position was specially perilous. Though 
 
29 
 
 Elizabeth had known the letters to be forgeries, she might have 
 been excused for declining to aid her rival or to set her free ; 
 but indelible infamy would attach to the promulgation of such 
 a vile calumny against her if it were baseless. On the other 
 hand, if they were genuine, or if Elizabeth believed them to be 
 so, it is difficult to discover any fault of a heinous kind in her 
 treatment of Mary. Elizabeth's conduct was, perhaps, not con- 
 sistent with strict rules of law or of equity — superficially it was 
 marked by a hesitation, uncertainty, and fickleness — but, never- 
 theless, if the letters icere genuine, not only was it characterized 
 by a regard to broad principles of justice, but by considerable 
 long suffering towards her unhappy captive, and by some mer- 
 ciful consideration for her, if not as a woman, at least as a deposed 
 fellow-sovereisrn. 
 
 if- m 
 
 This painting of the head of Bothwell was made by a Danish artist, Otto Bache, when 
 the coffin (supposed to be that of the Earl) was first opened in the year 1858. A sketch of 
 this was taken by R. W. Macbeth, from which the present [photograph] portrait was pro- 
 duced by W. Greenoak Patterson, 1 Argyle Street, Edinburgh. 
 
30 
 THE TRUE STORY OF BOTHWELL'S END. 
 
 BOTHWELL : A True Statement of his Career, which can 
 be authenticated in every particular by incontrovertible 
 evidence, between 15th June, 1567, when he parted from 
 his wife, Mary Stuart, until his death in Dragsholm Castle, 
 Island of Zealand, Denmark, in 1575-8. 
 
 Falsehood, frauds and, worse, forgeries, which pursued Both- 
 well during his life, did not cease even when hew as beyond the 
 assaults of his enemies. They have been accumulated with almost 
 as infamous virulence upon his memory as they were unrelent- 
 ingly smirched upon his character while an exile and a prisoner. 
 Perhaps there never was a stronger exemplification than in his 
 case of the truth of Hallam's celebrated remarks in regard to 
 the untrustworthiness of history. 
 
 Among other observations he" says: "There is in general room 
 enough for scepticism as to the characters of men who are only 
 known to us through their enemies. History is full of calumnies, 
 and calumnies that can never be effaced." Again, there is no- 
 thing so unhappily the rule than that "there is nothing so weak 
 and helpless as Truth. She goes to the front without shield or 
 spear. A good healthy Lie, clad in complete armor, with sword 
 and shield, does the business." 
 
 Notwithstanding all the efforts of individuals and govern- 
 ments, of learning and industry, a screen, as impenetrable as 
 the "Veil of Isis," fell over the last years of "the great" 
 " Scotland's proudest Earl." His principal advocate, Petkick, 
 says, " Then suddenly — referring to the Autumn of 1571 — all 
 is silent ! a great gap of four years occurs : — for what reason ?" 
 There is a solution and a plausible one. For six years the 
 Danish government "had been tormented by the demands of 
 Queen Elizabeth [of England) and the [successive] Regents of 
 Scotland for the deliverance of Bothwell into their hands." 
 Worn out with communications, reclamations, and declamations, 
 Frederic II. "allowed the report of Bothwell's death to be cir- 
 culated, and so put an end to all the worry on the subject." 
 This accounts for the doubts as to whether Bothwell died in 
 1575, according to Petrick, or in 1577 or 1578 according to 
 Schiern and others. 
 
 Belted Earl and husband of a Queen, his corpse rests in an 
 unknown grave in a foreign land. Bothwell, from the Fall of 
 1567 until his decease — whenever it occurred — was " a Pris- 
 oner of Hope" in the hands of Frederic II., King of Denmark. 
 This monarch was a curious character. He was at once the 
 
31 
 
 Protector of Bothwell and his Custodian — whether at the last 
 a severe or a lenient jailor nothing is definitely known. False- 
 hoods on the subject have beeu propagated industriously, but 
 nothing trustworthy. That Frederic allowed him for years, 
 pocket money, respectful attendance, company, and correspond- 
 ence, sufficient means to dress in accordance with his rank and 
 enjoy good cheer, is certain. In November, 1567, the King 
 styles Bothwell " our particular Favorite" (Schiern, 332). In 
 January, 1568, Bothwell was still living in Copenhagen, without 
 anxieties for the future. When transferred to Malmo, it was 
 
 Malmo Huus. 
 
 still a sort of honorable confinement. His apartment was state- 
 ly for the time. Even after this, down to 1571, velvet and silk 
 were furnished for his attire, and his residence in Malmo, except 
 as to duress, was anything but derogatory. He was purely a 
 Prisoner of State and held in consideration. It was not until 
 the 16th of June, 1573, that he was transferred to Dragsholm. 
 Even then it is very doubtful if his confinement was as strict as 
 represented. It is questionable if his treatment in Zealand was 
 more rigorous or galling than that of Mary in England. 
 
 Bothwell was certainly better off in comfort and safety in 
 Denmark than either one of his enemies, perishing in their prime 
 and power by violent ends — deaths culminating in horror with 
 the burning alive at the stake of the Scottish Lion King-at-Arms ; 
 sacrificed thus on his return to Scotland from his mission to 
 Denmark to solicit the extradition of Bothwell, because, on the 
 
voyage home, he had learned too much of the villainy of Murray 
 and his associates. A moral lesson is conveyed by a time-table 
 presenting the miserable and often horrible manners in which 
 those who persecuted Bothwell went to their last account. It 
 is very comforting to his friends and admirers to learn this. 
 Extracts from Marryatt's "Jutland and the Danish Isles" [Vol. 
 I., 408-19], will serve to present a mingling of fact and fable in re- 
 gard to Bothwell's last imprisonment and sepulture, which is 
 about as true as tradition generally is — that is to say there is a 
 basis of fact, but the superstructure is almost entirely fable. 
 
 In permitting Bothwell to leave her at Carberry Hill — when 
 the winning cards were still in her own hands and while retreat 
 to inexpugnable Dunbar was by no means hopeless nor even 
 uncertain (Wiesener, 408) — with reinforcements coming up, 
 which would have assured a victory to Mary, this determination 
 
 
 \-r P 
 
 H , 
 
 
 V A 
 
 ~ -— ■ 
 
 =- It" 
 
 k , s 1 y - 
 
 
 
 L 
 
 WW 
 
 ^.tj- 
 
 ~-~— 5C5 
 
 -wj \vffT' 
 
 ■ : .^— ?sj r 
 
 Hermitage Castle. 
 
 of the Queen to separate her fortunes from her husband has 
 always, and in some degree justly, been brought forward, as to 
 argument, .that she had ceased to love him. Here once more 
 Mary s principal biographer and advocate can be cited against 
 herself and client, admitting (Agnes Strickland, II. 83-'4) that 
 the Queen could be " ungrateful and unreasonable," subject to 
 strange infatuations;" "had taken her resolution "—devoid of 
 
33 
 
 common sense, and blind and deaf to the lessons of experience — 
 "before she asked advice." If she had only shown a small por- 
 tion of the energy she displayed eight months before, when, in 
 the rough autumn weather, through a difficult country, and dan- 
 gerous population, she rode on horseback fifty miles thither from 
 Jedburgh and back to visit her lover, previously wounded in 
 her service, in Hermitage Castle — his headquarters as Warden 
 of the Marches (see Article "Jedburgh Abbey," Saturday Re- 
 view, 30th September, 1882, page 439), Carberry Hill would 
 have been a decisive triumph, instead of a disastrous and dis- 
 graceful catastrophe. It was simply the effect of cause ; the 
 inevitable quantities uniting in the product: Ate and Fate! If 
 the reader would study the most flattering stories of her friends 
 in the light of reason, not of feeling, they would find enough there- 
 in to condemn their heroine and absolve Bothwell. Froude's 
 (VII., 369) exposition of her character is masterly, and its correct- 
 ness is established more and more by comparison and investiga- 
 tion. If this stood alone there would be difficulty in meeting it. 
 " In the deeper and. nobler emotions she had neither s/iare nor 
 sympathy. Here' lay the vital difference between the Queen of 
 Scots and her great rival, and here was the secret of the differ- 
 ence of their fortunes. In intellectual gifts Mary Stuart was at 
 least Elizabeth's equal; and Anne Boleyn's daughter, as she said 
 herself, was "no angel." But Elizabeth could feel, like a man, 
 an unselfish interest in a great cause ; Mary Stuart was ever her 
 own centre of hope, fear or interest. She thought of nothing, 
 cared for nothing, except as linked with the gratification of some 
 ambition, some desire, some humor of her own, and thus Eliza- 
 beth was able to overcome temptations before which Mary fell." 
 "Whatever policy," said Randolph of her, "is in all the chief 
 and best practical heads in France, whatever craft, falsehood or 
 deceit is in all the subtle brains of Scotland, is either fresh in 
 this woman's memory or she can fette it with a wet finger." 
 (Froude, VII., 369). She was deluded by Kirkaldy as she had 
 often been before by Murray; but her first act, after she dis- 
 covered the awful mistake she had made in disregarding her 
 husband's counsels, was to write to him, and send him a purse 
 or sum of gold. She again wrote to him from Lochleven; she 
 refused to separate her fortunes from his ; her thoughts dwelt 
 constantly upon him; and the very night of her escape from 
 Ldehleven, "while the men were stretching their aching legs, 
 Mary Stuart was writing letters." To whom ? To her uncle, 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine, in Paris, for assistance, and to her lover 
 and husband, Bothwell. She sent the Laird of Ricarton, a 
 kinsman of Bothwell, to raise the Hepburns, united to the "great 
 
34 
 
 Earl " by family and feudal ties, and make a dash on Dunbar to 
 secure a port for the arrival of himself and of succor from France, 
 and, when that port of entry was secured, to go on to Bothwell 
 and tell him that she was free. Bothwell himself wrote to 
 Frederic II. that he was on his way to Scotland to raise men and 
 money when he was "treacherously captured" in Carmo-Sund 
 (Norway). Ricarton did " go on," and found Bothwell in his 
 confinement at Malmo. Another account says, as soon as she 
 breathed the air of freedom, she despatched a messenger to find 
 Bothwell, wherever he might be, and announce the happy tidings 
 of her release, and summon him to her side, whence he never 
 should have been permitted, for her security and honor, to de- 
 part. 
 
 Finally, to demonstrate the fallacy if not the wickedness of all 
 this misrepresentation of Mary's feelings for Bothwell, to screen 
 and excuse the Queen, even as late as the Spring of 1571, when 
 she was at Sheffield, she was iu correspondence with him at 
 Malmo, and had written herself to Frederic II., entreating him 
 not to listen to the persuasion of the Scottish envoy, Buchanan, 
 laboring with so much enmity and earnestness' against her hus- 
 band. The correspondence must have been patent, for Buchanan 
 told Lord Cecil that if he took the trouble he might intercept 
 some of her letters. 
 
 That Lord Boyd, in 1569, obtained BothweH's consent to the 
 dissolution of his marriage, to enable Mary to marry Norfolk, 
 shows that the intercourse between the Earl of Bothwell and the 
 Queen, by letter and messenger, was still permitted. The fact 
 is Frederic's whole treatment of Bothwell was regulated by the 
 probabilities of Mary's restoration to her throne. It was not 
 until her case seemed desperate that Bothwell was finally immured, 
 if he ever was actually thrown into a dungeon, which is very 
 questionable. 
 
 What became of Bothwell after they parted, forever on earth, 
 at Carberry Hill, Sunday, 1 5th June, 1567, is soon told. He 
 returned unmolested to Dunbar and remained there for several 
 weeks undisturbed, although he did not confine himself to the 
 fortress, but cruised about in the Firth of Forth, even penetrat- 
 ing beyond Edinburgh to the neighborhood of Linlithgow, to 
 hold a meeting with Lord Claude Hamilton. 
 
 Of his political projects at this time no record remains. Con- 
 fiding the defence of Dunbar to his kinsman, Sir Patrick Whit- 
 law, he sailed thence, in the beginning of July, with two light 
 vessels and steered northward to visit his brother-in-law Hunt- 
 ley, at Strathbogie Castle, about ten miles south by west of 
 Banff. His intention was, doubtless, to raise forces in the north- 
 
35 
 
 east and renew the struggle. The Queen had many friends in 
 that quarter; adherents who did join her after her escape from 
 Lochleven next year, 1568, and fought for her at Langside. 
 Thence he proceeded to Spynie Gastle, just north of Elgin, the 
 residence of his aged great-uncle, Patrick Hepburn, Bishop of 
 Murray, by whom he was brought up. Here a project was en- 
 tertained to murder Both well, and a proposition to this effect 
 was made to the English ambassador, Sir Nicholas Throckmor- 
 ton, at Edinburgh. Whether the offer was rejected from policy 
 or morality is not clearly shown. Some difficulty occurred, and 
 Bothwell is charged with having slain one of his illegitimate 
 cousins, who, in conjunction with two Rokebys, English spies, 
 incited by greed, were plotting against him. The latter even 
 offered to kill the Bishop as well as the Earl. Throckmorton 
 seems to have objected to such a summary proceeding, because 
 no advantage could be derived from the crime in favor of Eng- 
 land and Elizabeth. 
 
 Bothwell now determined to visit his Dukedom of the Ork- 
 neys and sailed for the chief town of the group, Kirkwall. The 
 opinion of those who have investigated the matter with most 
 attention is that Bothwell — after his failure to enlist the active 
 co-operation of his brother-in-law, Huntley — intended to proceed 
 to the Orkneys, gather what strength he could and then, by way 
 of Sweden, proceed to France to arouse the sympathy of Charles 
 IX. — who, personally, was very -friendly to him, and had confid- 
 ence in the Earl, based on his services as " Chamberlain" at one 
 time, and as " Captain of the Royal Scottish Body-Guard " at 
 another — and derive from France, not only "the sinews of war," 
 money, but actual military assistance. Fate, however, traversed 
 all Bothwell's bold projects, and, at Kirkwall, he was received 
 with the treachery he liad always experienced from those he had 
 benefitted. His Castellan, Gilbert Balfour, brother of Sir James 
 Balfour, who had betrayed him after his marriage, and delivered 
 up Edinburgh Castle to the Rebels — both accomplices in the 
 murder of Darnley — turned the cannons of the place upon his 
 feudal lord and benefactor. In consequence of this, Bothwell 
 remained only two days in the port of Kirkwall, and then sailed 
 northward to the Shetlands. Here he met with better treatment. 
 The Bailiff, Olaf Sinclair, was a kinsman of the Earl's (now 
 Duke's) mother, Jane Sinclair. Olaf received him kindly, and 
 the people furnished him with supplies — a gratuity that was af- 
 terwards made the excuse for an onerous tax. Meanwhile, 
 19th August, Kirkaldy of Grange, Murray of Tullibardine, and 
 the Bishop of Orkney, the same time-serving priest who actually 
 bad recently married Mary to Bothwell, sailed from Dundee with 
 
36 
 
 four ships of war, the best in Scotland, which, in addition to the 
 seamen, carried four hundred picked arquebusiers (musketeers) 
 as marines. The three commanders had authority to bring 
 Both well, if taken, to a summary trial, and execute him. On the 
 25th August, 1567, the four pursuing ships sailed into Bressay 
 Sound, on the shore of which stands Lerwick, the principal town 
 of the Shetland group. At this date Both well's squadron con- 
 sisted of four small vessels, two of which he had brought from 
 Dunbar, and two Hanseatic armed Pinks, "two-masted lesser war 
 ships" which he had hired at Sunburgh Head. One of these was 
 named the "Pelican." Unconscious of danger, BothwelPs ships 
 lay at anchor and a large portion of their crews were on shore. 
 Bothwell, himself, at the time, was a guest of the Bailiff, Olaf 
 Sinclair. Those in command who had remained on board, cut 
 their cables and put to sea, and made their way to Unst, the 
 most northerly of the Shetlands. In his pursuit, Kirkaldy ran 
 his flagship, the "Unicorn," on a rock, and it went down. Both- 
 well meanwhile made his way by land to the Tell Sound, and 
 thence by water to Unst, where he rejoined his ships. Thence 
 he sent back one vessel to pick up his men who had been left 
 on shore. With the other three he was overtaken, in the last 
 days of August, by Kirkaldy with his three remaining ships of 
 war. A hard fight ensued, which lasted for many hours. In 
 the course of it, the mainmast of Both well's best ship was carried 
 away by a cannon shot, and the south-west wind swelling into a 
 fierce gale put an end to the conflict by dispersing the combat- 
 ants. The Earl was driven with his two vessels out into the 
 North Atlantic and one was captured. Running south by 
 east, before the quartering gale, Bothwell soon traversed the 
 250 m;les of ocean which separate the Shetlands from Norway, 
 and first made the Island of Carmoe, twenty miles northwest of 
 Stavanger, and was piloted into the quiet waters of Carm or Car- 
 moe Sound. The sfiip had scarcely cast anchor when the Dano- 
 Norwegian ship of war "Bjornen," Captain Christern Aalborg, 
 made its appearance. By this Aalborg Bothwell teas treacher- 
 ously captured and carried into the port of Bergen. There his 
 case was investigated by a commission or jury composed of four 
 and twenty principal men of the town, of which &gf"the fore- 
 man was Dr. Jens Skeldenq), Bishop of Bergen (Gaedeke, 396). 
 By tliem he was fully acquitted of the charge of "piracy," with 
 which his enemies had and have so consistently and falsely 
 branded him. There is not the slighted basis for such a charo-e. 
 This was about 2d September, 1567. After this, the Governor 
 of Bergen Castle showed Bothwell great honor and gave him a 
 magnificent banquet. The Earl always mentioned this Governor 
 
37 
 
 with favor, and styles him " that good lord Erik Rosenkrands." 
 Nevertheless, however courteously treated, Bothwell was, in fact, 
 a prisoner, and when Captain Aalborg sailed from Bergen, 30th 
 September, for Copenhagen, he carried Bothwell and some of 
 his people with him. In the author's " Vindication of Bothwell," 
 he has furnished the dry details of the Earl's detention in Den- 
 mark, of which the following is the summary. The King, Fred- 
 eric II., would not consent to the extradition of Bothwell at the 
 urgent requests either of the usurping Scottish government or 
 of Queen Elizabeth, nor would he let'bim go free. Comparing 
 lesser things with greater, it was exactly the case of " The great 
 Apostle" and the Roman Governor, and Felix, willing to show 
 the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound. Frederic IL and Both- 
 well never met, hut corresponded; Bothwell in French, which he 
 spoke and wrote fluently. In a letter dated 18th November, 
 1567, the King designated Bothwell as "Our particular Favor- 
 ite," and the Earl is styled in the correspondence "the Scottish 
 King." On receiving Bothwell's statement, Frederic allowed 
 him to remain at Copenhagen, supplying him with apparel suit- 
 able to his rank and liberal entertainment. In January, 1568, 
 when the pressure of the Scotch Regency became stronger, 
 Bothwell was transferred to Malmo Castle — then in Denmark, 
 now in Sweden — on the northern shore of the Sound, about op- 
 posite Copenhagen. As the greater part of this castle was sub- 
 sequently destroyed by fire or " submerged in the stormy waves," 
 there is no certainty as to what portion was assigned as an abode 
 for " the most distinguished State prisoner of Frederic IL It is 
 supposed that he was located in a spacious apartment previously 
 assigned to the Governor — a large, oblong, vaulted hall, with 
 windows to the south looking out upon the grand panorama of 
 the Sound ; remotely to the West on the Island of Hven, the 
 residence ofTycho Brahe; nearer on the Island of Salthon, op- 
 posite, and Amager beyond ; in fact the whole interesting and 
 lively environs of the Danish capital not farther distant than 
 from ten to twenty miles. Meanwhile the King took care that 
 his food and clothes should be rich and ample. 
 
 "He was detained there [Malmo] as a state prisoner indeed, 
 but led a luxurious life., and was treated far better [?] than he de- 
 served, being allowed the liberty of shooting and other recrea- 
 tions, while the King of Denmark ordered and paid for velvet 
 dresses and other costly array for his use." When those " Titans 
 of fraud" and crime, the Scottish authorities, empowered Colonel 
 (Obrist or Oberst) and Captain John Clark, a Scottish mercen- 
 ary— nominally commanding, in 1564, 206 Scottish cavalry-soldiers 
 in the service of Denmark — to demand the extradition of Both well, 
 
38 
 
 Bothwell turned the tables upon Clark by showing that when 
 the Danish government sent Clark over to Scotland, in 1567, to 
 enlist troops for its service, this agent was induced to expend 
 the money entrusted to him for that special purpose for the benefit 
 of the "Bonded " Lords in rebellion against Queen Mary and 
 Bothwell, and actually marshalled the soldiers mustered in to 
 serve Frederic, to fight against the Queen at Carberry Hill. 
 Clark was sent before a court-martial, and, in spite of the remon- 
 strances of Elizabeth and Murray, was found guilty, consigned 
 to the same castle, Dragsholm, that eventually received Bothwell 
 within its dragon ward, and died there a prisoner before his in- 
 tended victim. 
 
 After this affair of Clark (1568-70), Frederic II. relaxed the 
 restraint on the Earl and he was allowed full liberty within the 
 precincts of the castle ; nay more, he " was allowed no small lib- 
 erty in Malmo, "dressing in velvet and silk, and leading a tranquil 
 and by no means an unhappy life. In fact, except that he was 
 not free (Wiesener, 505), "his life was that of a brilliant lord;" 
 an existence far happier, perhaps, and certainly more comfort- 
 able, than that of the majority of potentates at this era. At a 
 later date, it. is said, Captain Clark became reconciled with 
 Bothwell in Dragsholm, and, together, they drowned their cares 
 and ennui in wine. This kind of living killed Clark in July, 
 1575, and seriously injured the health of Bothwell. 
 
 June 16, 1573, the reason why does not appear, Bothwell was 
 privately transferred to the Castle of Dragsholm, Dragon'slsland, 
 now Adelsborg. Dragsholm appears to be an isthmus(island?) be- 
 tween the arms of Seiro Bay and the La(o)mme Fiorde, one of the 
 arms of the Ise-Fiorde on the northwest coast of Zealand, 58 miles 
 west of Copenhagen, off the road between the seaport towns of 
 Holbeck to the east and Kallnndsborg to the west. Faareveile 
 where the body of Bothwell is said to have been deposited, is 
 on or near by the shore of La(o)mme Fiorde. According to gene- 
 rally accepted accounts, without trustworthy foundation Ihow- 
 ever, Bothwell was plunged into a dungeon. This is mere sur- 
 mise. ^T'Nothing is positively known. Even Agnes Strick- 
 land is forced to admit that the popular tradition of Bothwell's 
 madness is entirely without foundation, and when at Dragsholm 
 he was treated much better than he deserved ; perhaps not" worse 
 than Mary was by Elizabeth. Schiern has demonstrated with 
 greater clearness the utter falsity of the Confession attri- 
 buted to Bothwell. [Larousse in his Grand Dictiounaire Univer- 
 se!, 18G7, article "Bothwell," styles this rather legend than 
 history, and adds the authenticity of such a confession Ts far from 
 beingsufticiently established. This, considering the manifold false- 
 
39 
 
 hoods told of Bothwell, is a fair statement, and Chambers' " Book 
 of Days," 1864 (I., 783-4), gives another quite honest account 
 of Bothwell 's captivity, and mentions his having had a library, 
 in which was a finely bound work, not on any frivolous subject, 
 but on Arithmetic and Geometry, printed in Paris in 1538]. In 
 all the authentic papers known to have, been written by him, he 
 insists upon his innocence, and with equal force alleges the guilt 
 of Murray and Morton, and their associates. Even at Drags- 
 holm it is stated that Bothwell "nevertheless got permission to 
 go hunting." It is supposed that Frederic transferred the Earl 
 from Malmo to Dragsholm to relieve himself from the annoy- 
 ances of the applications made by the successive Regents of 
 Scotland and the Queen of England. In her endeavors to injure 
 Bothwell with Frederic II. and retaliate upon the Earl, in his 
 distress, for his lifelong patriotic refusals of her invitations to 
 imitate Murray, Morton, Kirkaldy and others, and become her 
 tool and spy, and like Murray, her "fawning spaniel," and a trai- 
 tor to his country, she descended to the meanness of styling Darn- 
 ley as "King," whereas she had hitherto refused him that title, 
 both while living and when dead, styling him, in her correspond- 
 ence, "the dead gentleman," "fe niort ffentilhomme" (Bucking- 
 ham, L,363-64). Now she invoked vengeance upon Bothwell as 
 the cruel assassin of his relative and sovereign. And here it may 
 be pertinent to observe, that Bothwell was of the noblest blue 
 blood on all sides. He was as nearly related to Mary as he was to 
 his divorced wife, Jane Huntley, since he was descended from 
 Joanna, daughter of James I., King of Scotland, and also from 
 Queen Joanna or Jane Beaufort, wife of James I., by her second 
 husband, Sir James Stewart, " The Black Knight of Lorn." That 
 Bothwell was in any degree related to Darnley is not shown. 
 
 When and wheredid Bothwell die ? Many say in Malmo-huus. 
 Sheer ignorance! Shiern says 14th April, 1578; Petrick in the 
 beginning of November, 1575, at Dragsholm. Whether he~died 
 in 1575 or 1578 there is nothing positive known of the details of 
 his life after 1571. 
 
 The whole story of the close of BothwelPs Career (1567- 
 1575'8), as a rule, in histories and biographies, is an utter cal- 
 umny and sheer falsehood, and the whole secret of the lies is 
 summed up by the enigmatic absolution accorded by Pope Pius 
 III. to the murderers of Cardinal Beatoun : "Remittimus ikke 
 misibile," {we pardon the deed which does not admit of par- 
 don). Bothwell's crime — such a deed — was FAILURE. Alas! 
 Yes ! " The Vices and Virtues are written in a language," most 
 truthfully observed Lord Lytton, " the world cannot construe ; 
 it reads them in a vile translation and the translators are 
 
 JattUM and %\Xttm\" 
 
40 
 
 Reproduction of a very rare old print, to show the relative heights of Mary, Queen of Scots. 
 
 AND HER HUSBAND, DaRNLEY, HIMSELF AN EXCEEDINGLY TALL MAN. 
 
JS^ Preserve this Cover and bind it in with Monograph, since it presents 
 information important to the understanding of the work itself and furnishes 
 explanations, &c, of the Illustrations and Text. 
 
 Cover, Page t. — The Germans call this Mary Smart Casket Chatoullen — Schatulle — 
 (wie Schachtel von dem Spatlatein (Italienisc/ier) Scatula, Scatoi.a). Cassette particuliere (dii 
 Roi, du Souverain). Prof. Karl Sach's " Worterbuch," Hand II., Seilc 1485, Spalle 2. 
 
 The reproduction, on page 40, is known as No. 7 of the Series of Photographs from Portraits 
 of Mary, Queen of Scots, executed by Caldesi and Montecchi, from the collection exhibited by the 
 Archaeological Institute, June, 1857. Paul and Dominic Culnaghi & Co., London, 1858: is a 
 " Full length Portrait of the Queen of Scots and Darnley, engraved by R. Elstracke, and of 
 excessive rarity, three impressions only being known to exist ; photographed from that in a 
 volume of Proclamations, in the Bodleian Library, collected in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 
 Another impression is in the Imperial Private Cabinet of Engravings at Vienna." This picture 
 is introduced to attest the relative heights of Mary Stuart and her husband, who was known for 
 his tall figure as the " Long Laddie." 
 
 Page 2. — Mary, Queen of Scots, from the original by Paris Bordone, Court Painter to 
 Francis I. and Francis II., Kings of France, the latter grandson of the former and first husband 
 of Mary Stuart. (As to discordant portraiture of Mary, see Leader, 352-3.) 
 
 Page 3. — Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, is from the original in the Imperial Hermitage 
 Palace, photographed and published with the authorization of H. M., the Emperor, by Charles 
 Roettger. A copy of this photograph was obtained by the writer through Hon. Wm. H. Hunt, 
 United States Minister at the Court of St. Petersburg, in 1884. It is said that this picture was 
 originally in the National or Royal Library, in Paris, was stolen therefrom during the first great 
 French Revolution, and was sold in that city to a member of the Russian Legation, from whom 
 it was purchased for the Imperial Gallery and assigned to the Hermitage Collection. 
 
 Page 4. — From a scarce print, done at the time (?), in the collection of J. Dent, Esq., M. P. 
 Page 6. — It is but honest to premise that no authentic portrait or likeness exists of James 
 Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, third husband of Mary Stuart ; nor of Maitland of Lethingtoh ; nor 
 of Kirkaldy of Grange. The likeness of Bothwell, on page 2g, is photo-engraved from a 
 photograph sent out to the writer by Mr. George Stronach, of the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, 
 Scotland. It bears the following legend : "A painting of the Head of Bothwell was made by 
 a Danish artist, Otto Bache, when the coffin [containing the supposed remains of Bothwell] was 
 first opened in the year 1858, a sketch of which was taken by R. W. Macbeth, from which the 
 present [photograph] portrait was produced by W. Greenoak Patterson, 1 Argyle Sq., Edinburgh." 
 The likeness of Bothwell, on page 6, is from an original characteristic sketch or drawing by 
 the talented artist, J. O'B. Inman, son of Henry Inman, and one of the most famous painters 
 of portraits in the United States. The original was prepared for ** Bothwell: an Historical 
 Drama." By General de Peyster ; published in 1884. 
 
 Page 8. — The allusion to Lucretia Borgia in the verses is not made to the utterly depraved 
 Lucretia of proverbial character, but the one whose offences are condoned by Gregorovius and 
 other chroniclers, who represent her as the facile innocent victim of circumstances and of the 
 ambition of her father and her brothers, accepting, without fuss or fury, husband after husband, as 
 soon as each in turn was despatched, yielding herself the docile instrument of designing and un- 
 bridled Machiavelian statecraft. Between such a Mary as that, and the Mary of those who 
 hold her responsible for all the evils done, is the only choice. 
 
 Page 12, Note. — " Objections to letters of Mary, Queen of Scots [to Bothwell], answered " 
 [and answered with clearest argument against Mary]. Gentlemen's Magazine, 1796; vol. 66, 
 2d; pages 475-478 ; signature Peed. Divested of passion, Mary's "Scandal Letter" to 
 Elizabeth exhibits, according to Leader, 559, " a coarseness of language and of manners that 
 was repulsive, mingled with an affectation of refinement clothed in hyperbolic complement, 
 making pretence to romance and chivalry, but concealing the putrefaction of utter immorality." 
 Mary's letters to Norfolk likewise display the same unbounded submissiveness of will as the 
 Casket Letters manifest subordination to Bothwell's wishes. (Consult Leader, 62, 63, 80, III, 
 119, 120, 122, 246, &c. 
 
Page i(>. — The piclure covering this whole page is reproduced from an old engraving, enti- 
 tled "Marie Stuart, Reyne d'Esscosse souffre le Martyre four la Foy; et par la Constance dc sa 
 mart, retwuuelle en ces demurs temps, les examples de I'ancienne Eglise.'' AUGUSTUS Thuanus > 
 lib. 86. Vignon inuent. Mariette excud. cum priuil. Regis. " From Figures de Vignon," 
 vol- — • — 
 
 Page 16. — Full length figure and likeness of Mary, Queen of Scots, is reproduced from the 
 original engraving, in an old folio. The face of Mary in this picture closely resembles that of her 
 mother, Mary of Guise, as engraved from the original painting by Jameson, at Leith. This 
 figure likewise approximates closely to that in the portrait, known to be authentic, of Mary 
 Stuart, now preserved in Hardvvick Hall, one of the mansions of the Duke of Devonshire, of 
 which a photograph was for the first time presented to the public in 1880. 
 
 Page 19, Note A.—" Deposition of Lord Home and Kirkaldyof Grange, regarding the cause 
 of their defection from the party of James VI. [only acknowledged son and child of Mary Stuart], 
 31st July, 1593.'' "Appendix B." See T. F. Henderson's "The Casket Letters and Mary 
 Stuart," pages H7-120. 
 
 Page 20, Note B. — Note " Kirkaldy," J.W. deP.'s " Bothwell : an Historical Drama." Kirkal- 
 dy was little orno better than the rest of the gang of " Bonded" Lords, although he exhibited some 
 specious qualities, calculated to take with popular prejudice or opinion, always, as a rule, in error 
 as to the intrinsic virtues of its favorites; witness instances of Pompeyand Caesar and a thousand 
 other rivals: — the worst, but most plausible or Jesuitical, always chosen as idols. 
 
 Page 22, Note C. — " The Impeachment of Mary Stuart," page 209. 
 
 Page 22, Note D. — John Skelton's " Maitland of Lethington and the Scotland of Mary 
 Stuart." Wm. Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1887. De Peyster's Mary Stuart 
 Collection, Columbia College Library. 
 
 Page 24, Note D. — Goodhall I., 41. 
 
 Page 29. — This portrait of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, is from an original photo- 
 graph sent out by Mr. George Stronach, of the "Advocates' Library," Edinburgh, Scotland, and 
 was taken from a sketch by R. W. Macbeth, after a painting of the head of Bothwell by a 
 Danish artist, Otto Bache, made when the coffin — simply supposed to be that of Bothwell — in 
 the parish church of Faarveile (near the Castle of Dragsholm, in the island of Zealand, where 
 Bothwell is reported to have died), was first opened in 1S58. 
 
 Dragsholm Castle, where Bothwell was finally confined and died. 
 
«f/y-{ \t" 
 
 BIND IN THIS COVER AS BOOK-PAGES l-IV. 
 
 The Genuine 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 () F 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots, 
 
 T O 
 
 James Ravi of Bothwell: 
 
 Found in his Secretary's Clofet after his Deceafe ; and now in 
 
 the Pofieffion of a Gentleman of Oxford. 
 
 Difcovering the greateft and moft fecret 
 
 Transactions of Her Time. 
 
 Tranflated from the French Originals, 
 
 By ED W A R D S I M M'O N D S, 
 
 Late of Chrifl's-Church College, Oxford. 
 Never before made publick. 
 
 To which is added 
 
 Remarks on each Letter, with an Abstract 
 of her LIFE. 
 
 In a Letter to the Bookfeller, from an unknown Hand. 
 The Second Edition. 
 WES TMIN STE R. 
 
 Printed by A. Campbell, in Union-Street, near New Palace-Yard; tor J. 
 Millan in Shug-Lane, near the upper End of the Hay -Market. Sold by J. 
 Roberts in Warwick-Lane; and the Bookfellers of London and Weftminfter. 
 
 MDCCXXVI. 
 
 [Price One Shilling.] 
 
 Edited and Arranged, with Introduction, by 
 (1891-'2) 
 
 , * /.. WATTS DE PEYSTER, LED. • 
 
 A.M. Columbia College, N. Y., 
 &c, &c, &c. 
 
II. 
 
 This Reprint of a curious little Pamphlet, comprising Love Letters of 
 Mary Queen of Scots to James Earl of Bothwell, published in 1726, con- 
 tains Epistles which were presented a century afterwards, pages 15 to 34, in 
 
 Hugh Campbell's volume, dated ■ according to the Dedication to Sir 
 
 Walter Scott, Bart: of Abbotsford, London, November, 1824. The 
 
 Title Page of Campbell's book reads: "The || Love Letters || of || Mary- 
 Queen of Scots || to James Earl of Bothwell, || with her |f Love Sonnets and 
 Marriage Contracts, || (being long-missing originals from the Gilt Casket) || 
 explained by || State papers, and the writings of Buchanan, Goodall, || 
 Robertson, Hume, Lord Hailes, Lord Ellibank, Tytler |J Horace Walpole, 
 Whitaker, Laing, Chaimers, || Brantome, Ronsard, Miss Benger, and a || 
 host of authors, || forming a complete history of the origin of || The Scottish 
 Queen's Loves and Trials, |] before Queen Elizabeth. || By Hugh Camp- 
 bell, LL.D., F. A. S., || Illustrater of Ossian's Poems. || 
 
 " If a story so authenticated as the Innocence of Mary is to be rejected, half the ll 
 story of mankind must be rejected with it." Whittaker. 
 
 _" An English Whig, who asserts the reality of the Popish plot; an Irish Catholic, II who 
 denies the massacre in 1641, and a Scotch Jacobite, who maintains the innocence I! of Queen 
 Mary, must be considered as men beyond the reach of argument or reason." Hume. 
 London: || Longman. Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green. || 
 In Campbell's Volume these Letters are entirely modernized. The 
 first Love Letter.appears in Brantome's Memoirs. As Brantome was an 
 ardent admirer nay even worshipper of Queen Mary, it is not at all 
 likely that he would have attributed to her any composition of which the 
 authenticity was doubtful. It is also worthy of notice in corroboration of 
 their authenticity that in these letters Darnley is mentioned as Darly 
 which Petrick — one of the most careful investigators of this subject 
 — assures his readers was undoubtedly theaccurate spelling of the name of 
 Mary's second husband. This 'has been repeatedly mentioned in the 
 writer's previous works, he having published a Pentapla in this connection, 
 viz.: 
 %/~ 1. Mary || Queen of Scots. || A || Study. || "Behold, everyone that 
 useth proverbs shall use this proverb against || thee, saying, « As is the 
 mother (progenitors), so is her daughter.'" || Ezekiel xvi. 44, (compare 
 38) H b y li * 'Anchor "* || New York: || Charles H. Ludwig, Printer, 10 & 
 12 Reade Street, || 1882. 
 
 2. A Vindication \ of || James Hepburn, || Fourth Earl of Bothwell, || •' 
 t/ Third Husband || of || Mary, Queen of Scots. || " Kiep Trest " (Be Faith- 
 ful)— Bothwell's Motto. || "Are these things so? " The Acts, vii, 1. || "Neither 
 can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me." — The Acts, xxiv, 
 13. || " With him his Fortune played as with a ball, |j She first has tossed 
 him up, and now she lets him fall." || Verses on Medallion of Count Grif- 
 fenfeld, Royal Library, Copenhagen, || By || J. Watts de Pevster, II " An- 
 chor" Philadelphia, Pa^. || L. R. Hamersly & Co., || 1510 CheltnutStreet, || 
 
 1882. || ^A*. C,U~£. a,* W *j^*U*~* ~- /cz /^^Za -&isi<z<z< 
 
 v/~ 3- An inquiry || into the l| career and character II of || Mary Stuart || 
 ("Crux Criticorum.") || "The Puzzle of Critics," || and a II Justification 
 || of || Bothwell. || (" Audire est Opera Pretium." ) || " What is herein dis- 
 closed is worthy of Attention,") || by || J. Watts de Peyster || " Anchor." || New 
 York: || Charles H. Ludwig, Printer, 10 and 12 Reade Street, || jS83.ll 
 ^^ 4. Bothwell: || (James Hepburn, Fourth Earl of Bothwell, Third Hus- 
 y band || of Mary. Queen of Scots.) An Historical Drama. || by || T<>hn Watts 
 de Pevster. || N r ew York . ,, Charles II. Ludwig, Primer, 10 and 12 Reade 
 Street, || 1S74.H 
 
 \S 
 
 -.J;,, ary Sluart > Bothwell, || and the || Casket Letters, || SomethingNew II 
 with Illustrations and Portraits selected from || hundreds of specimens from 
 Scotland, || England, France, Russia, &c. || 
 
 "Go draw aside the curtain and discover 
 T he several caskets * * * * 
 
 The first, of gold [silver over-gilt], who this inscription bears, 
 
 Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire!" 
 
 Merchant of Venice ii, 7. 
 
The Genuine 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 O F 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots, 
 
 T O 
 
 James Earl of Both well: 
 
 Found in his Secretary's Clofet after his Deceafe ; and now in 
 the Poffeffion of a Gentleman of Oxford. 
 
 Difcovering the greateft and moft fecret 
 
 Transactions of Her Time. 
 
 Tranflated from the French Originals, 
 
 By EDWARD S I M M O N D S, 
 
 Late of Chrift's -Church College, Oxford. 
 
 Never before made publick. 
 
 To which is added 
 
 Remarks on each Letter, with an Abstract 
 of her LIFE. 
 
 In a. Letter to the Bookfeller, from an unknown Hand. 
 
 The Second Editi o-n. 
 
 WES TMINSTER: 
 Printed by A. Campbell, in Union-Street, near New Palace-Yard; for J. 
 Millan in Slmg-Lane, near the upper End of the Hay-Market. Sold by J. 
 Roberts in Warwick- Lane; and the Bookfellers of London and We/tmin/ter. 
 
 MDCCXXVI. 
 
 [Price One Shilling.] 
 
 Edited and Arranged, with Introduction, by 
 (1891-'2) 
 
 + J. WATTS DE PEYSTER, LL.D. • 
 
 A.M. Columbia College, N. Y., 
 &c, & c-j & c . 
 
THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 HE Hiftory of Mary Queen of Scots has made 
 fo great a Noife in the World, that I thought 
 it would not be unwelcome, to communicate 
 fome Original Letters written with her own 
 Hand ; and which, either never came to the 
 Perufal of thofe who have written of her, or 
 were not thought proper to be inferted ; becaufe they feem to 
 prove, a little more plain than the. Papifts wifh, her Converfa- 
 tion with the Earl of Bothivell: But I am of Opinion, that the 
 former of thefe two Reasons is the right ; and I doubt not but 
 my Readers will be of the fame, when I fhall inform them, that 
 thefe Letters, being found after the Deceafe of the Earl's Sec- 
 retary, by the Heir of the Eftate. they have ever fince been 
 preferv'd in the Family, from Generation to Generation, till 
 the Race being extinct, they fell into the Hands of a Gentle- 
 taan who look'd on himself as lefs oblig'd to conceal them. A 
 Reverend Clergyman of the Church of England being, fome 
 Time ago, about to publifh the Hiftory of this Queen, intended 
 to infert thefe Letters : But having chang'd his Mind ; through 
 his Intereft, I obtain'd Copies of them : My Underftandino- in 
 Characters, almoft of all kinds, tho' never fo obfolete, made 
 him think me a proper Perfon to render them intellio-ible ; 
 which, I hope, I have done to the Satisfaction of as many as 
 fhall perufe them. 
 
 E. Simmonds. 
 
Letter I. 
 
 This firft Inciter, as appears by Brantome's Memoirs, mti/t be written when the 
 Earl of Bothwell was in Banifhmenl; where he had been fame Time, on an 
 Information given by the Lord Arran, That he had coiifpir'd a^ainfl the 
 Life of Murray: Befides, the Complaint fhe makes in it how impoffiblc it 
 > s for her to act as fhe ivou'd do, having her Power limited by two different 
 Factions, perfectly agrees with Spotfwood, Sir James Melvil, and alviofl 
 all the Authors who have written the Hiftories of thofe Times; the later of 
 them very confidently affirming, that fhe had never confuted to marry with 
 Lord Darly, but that fhe hop'd, by that Means, to fupprefs the Incroach- 
 mcnls which the two Parties, headed by Hamilton and Murray, were daily 
 making on her Prerogative. 
 
 
 j|OU complain of me, my dear Bothwell, with- 
 out Caufe : Did you know what unfurmount- 
 able Difficulties attend a Perfon of my Station, 
 in the Purfuit of an Affair, fuch as ours, you 
 would not blame, but pity me : All my Mo- 
 ments are taken up with Confultations 
 
 the Diffraction of the Times overwhelm me 1 ought to ex- 
 change this foft and gentle Nature of mine, for one all rough 
 and mafculine, to be able to cope with the Oppofitions I daily 
 
 meet with ; befides, the Lord Darly is perpetually with me, 
 
 pretends to teftify his Paffion by his Jealoufy ; and, back'd by 
 that affuming Arbitratrefs of my Fate, the English Queen, 
 
 already takes upon him the Authority of a Husband What 
 
 can I do ? torn and divided between different Factions, both 
 
 equally pernicious to their Sovereign's Intereft Yet in Spite 
 
 of the contending Storms, in Spite of Bufinefs, Cares, and all 
 
 my vast Fatigues, ftill does my Heart find Room for Love : 
 
 Yes, I proteft, my ever dear Bothwell, that, for an humble Life 
 with you, I gladly wou'd exchange this Load of Greatnefs, and 
 throw it to thofe who feem fo ambitious of it, this gawdy 
 Burthen of a Crown : But even That is a Privilege deny'd me ; 
 I muft either continue to reign, or ceafe to live ; my Power is 
 all that can protect: my Bothwell ; fhould I relinquifh you, or 
 want the Means of preferving you? it is not the pretended 
 Friendfhip of the ever-changing Murray wou'd afford you any 
 
Shelter : Do not therefore impute it to my Want of Impatience 
 to fee you, that I ftill delay your coming to Edinburgh; 'tis for 
 the future Repofe of us both, that I command you to tarry yet 
 a little longer where you are: But methinks I need not any 
 Arguments to convince you, that it is wholly your Interest I 
 ftudy ; too precious have been the Proofs I have given you of 
 my Tendernefs for you, to doubt the Sincerity of it ; nor do I 
 believe you want Senfe or Gratitude to acknowledge what I 
 have done for you Time, however, muft be the Touch- 
 Stone of the Hearts of both write to me as ufual : Believe 
 
 me, all the Consolation your unhappy Queen enjoys, is in hear- 
 ing from you, till Fate allows us the Bleffing of a nearer Con- 
 verfation, which I hope and pray may be fooner than you 
 
 expe<5t, and as fwift as my De.fires. A Legion of Angels 
 
 attend and be your Guard from all exterior Harms, and keep 
 you ever faithful to 
 
 P. S. M. R. 
 I had forgot to warn you of Lord Herri's, he defigns you a 
 Vifit ; it can be for no other Reafon than to pry into your Be- 
 haviour ; be cautious of yourfelf before him. Farewell. 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 This seems to be written a /mall Time after the Former; and both, according to 
 Buchannan, muft bear Date about the Middle of the Year 1563. She was 
 at that Time greatly incommoded by the Faction of the HamUtons, and was 
 then beginning to contrive Meafures for their Ruin, as appears by Caftle- 
 naw's Memoirs, Spotfwood, and Crawford. 
 
 IT is with a Tranfport proportionable to my late Inquietitudes, 
 that I now command the Prefence of my dear Bothwell- 
 
 the greatest Part of my Anxieties are over : Elizabeth has 
 chang'd her Mind in Favour of my Lord Darly, and I fhall be 
 perfecuted no more with her Menaces or Perfuafions on his 
 Score; Murray alfo declares himfelf an Enemy to the Match, 
 and I shall have the double Satisfaction of obliging my Subjects 
 and myfelf; but oh! there remains a greater Felicity in 
 
Store for me, I fhall not only be eas'd of the Solicitations of the 
 Man I hate, but enjoy with more Security than ever, the Society 
 
 of him I love. The Council feem perfectly fatisfy'd of your 
 
 Innocence as to the late Troubles ; you will have a publick 
 Mandate to recal you ; but I cannot reftrain my Impatience 
 from fending you this Harbinger of our approaching Happinefs; 
 
 be fecret, however, I conjure you, a too quick Difcovery 
 
 of your Contentment yet, might ruin all : Always remember 
 
 this, That the Favourites of Princes have as many Obfervers, 
 
 as Eyes upon them, 1 learra'd this Maxim from Kalherine de 
 
 Medici's, to wear a Countenance the reverfe of my Heart. 
 
 Propofals frequently are made for no other Reafon, than to 
 found the Inclinations of the Perfons to whom they are offer'd ; 
 that politick Queen therefore never difclofes either the Pleafure 
 of Difcontent the conceives at what fhe hears ; but, leaving it 
 to Time to bring out the Reality, fathoms the Whole of the 
 Defign without giving even thofe who think themfelves in the 
 very Bottom of her Secrets, Liberty to know the leaft of her 
 Thoughts ; it is alfo by this Means that Elizabeth circumvents 
 all the Plots of her Enemies : And this, in fine, is the only 
 Security of a Great and Envy'd Perfon. DifTembie, there- 
 fore, my dear Both-well! with all the World but me, who, I do 
 
 believe, will be moft pleaf'd when moft I know your Heart ; 
 
 fee the Confidence which Love infpires, Jealoufy and Sufpicion 
 are Paffions I am utterly a Stranger to ; but in the Affairs of 
 State, I confefs I have Vanity enough to affure myfelf, that 
 the Man I condefcend to favour in the Manner I have done 
 
 you, cannot but be mine ; as for the Divorce you writ to 
 
 me concerning, I wou'd not have you think of it as yet ; the 
 Times are at prefent too much unfettled, and your Wife has 
 powerful Friends ; ftrengthen firft your own Intereft, which 
 may be a Means to weaken hers ; and leave to me and your 
 good Friend the Bifhop of Ro/s, to manage That thereafter ; 
 we have already laid the Scheme, and I am certain that worthy 
 Man will not fail to perform the Part enjoyn'd him, to the 
 Satiffaction of us both ; in the mean time, wou'd not have you 
 give the leaft Hint of your Defign : But of this we fhall have 
 Leifure to talk at your Arrival. I have thefe three Days waited 
 an Opportunity to convey to you the tender Meanings of my 
 Soul, and muft not wafte the precious Moment in dull Narra- 
 tions. No Time is pleafing to me, that is not fpent in giving 
 
you new Demonftrations of my Affeaion ; well may I err in 
 the Rules of Government and State, when all my Thoughts 
 are taken up with Love ; and yet perhaps I fhou'd be lefs 
 capable than I am, if my Concern for the Eftablifhment of your 
 Happinefs did not make me now and then apply myfelf to 
 
 triofe Maxims, which alone can have the Power to fix it, 
 
 the Ambition I have to make you Great, keeps alive my Defire 
 
 of continuing fo myfelf- the Scepter, I am very certain, 
 
 wou'd foon grow too unweildy for the Weaknefs of my Hand, 
 were it not for the charming Hope I fhou'd fhortly have, the 
 Means to transfer it into yours ; 'tis there I wifh to fee it fhi'ne, 
 and look on my felf but as the Steward of the glorious Relicl — I 
 dobelieve, however, that there are Joys in my Power tobeftow,. 
 infinitely more valuable to you than this ; but I think not my 
 Heart and Perfon fufficient Reward for the Merits of my Both- 
 well, and long for the happy Hour when I may give a Kingdom 
 in Dowry with my Love, till then I cannot fay my Joy is per- 
 fectly compleat, nor will I ever reft till this, the fupreameft 
 
 Defire my Soul can know, is accomplifh'd 1 am now going 
 
 to Council, where I have order'd it fo, that the Earl of Hamilton, 
 whom I know your Enemy, fhall be accuf'd of Things which 
 for a Time, at leaft, fhall deprive him of the Power of giving 
 any Interruption to the Happinefs I propofe to my felf, in the 
 Enjoyment of my dear Bothwell's Converfation Adieu. Ex- 
 pect in a few Days to be call'd to Court, and to the impatient 
 Arms of 
 
 M. R. 
 
 Letter III. 
 
 This Letter was written in the Beginning of the Year 1564, at which Time 
 Queen Elizabeth proposed the Earl of Leicefter to her for u Hufband, 
 according to Cambden, Holingfhed, and almost all the Hiftorians, who 
 mention thai Affair with Wonder: the greateft Politicians of that Age 
 not being aide to fathom the fecret Afotives which indue d her to fo unex- 
 pected a Behaviour. 
 
 WHat a fudden Turn in our Affairs ! good God ! how 
 are the Face of all Things alter'd ! fcarce have I 
 
 Courage to report the Story ; but you, alas ! are but too well 
 acquainted with the Misfortune in general, tho' the Particulars 
 
cannot yet have reach'd you. 1 am for ever doom'd to be 
 
 the Vaffal of the Englifh Queen, the Tool of her curs'd Policy. 
 
 the Property of her ambition, without a Friend to aid me : 
 
 She writes me now, That her Reafons for breaking off the Match 
 with Darly, were becaufe, fhe thinks Leicefter more worthy of 
 
 my Crown and Bed. Leicefter, rais'd but by her partial 
 
 Favour, and long the Minion of her loofest Wifhes, muft now 
 
 be recompenc'd with the Scotifh Crown, but it fhall perifh 
 
 first, tho' Murray and the Faction again threaten to take up 
 
 Arms, tho' the Remainder of the -Gordon Race rejoyce in this 
 Opportunity of Revenge, not all I have endur'd, nor all I can 
 
 endure fhall fright me to an Act fo loath'd, fo fcorn'd no, if 
 
 not decreed for Bolhwell, I will be for no other : in this I 
 
 will be Miftrefs of my felf, as for the reft let Fate difpofe; I am 
 grown weary of the Light, and almoft cou'd refign that Life 
 
 they make fo wretched, by perpetual Troubles. Attempt not 
 
 to appear in Edinburgh I intreat you, where all Things being 
 in Confufion, in this univerfal Hurry, you may fall a Victim to 
 the Malice of your Enemies ; I am now more than ever con- 
 cern'd, that Murray, fearful of your betraying thofe fecret 
 Practices he formerly in trufted to your Care, privately confpires 
 
 againft your Life Hamilton gave me fome Hinls of it the 
 
 other Day, and Douglafs afterwards, in Heat of Blood, occa- 
 fion'd by a Debate between 'em in my Prefence, confirm'd it 
 
 all ; all are falfe, all Traytors to their Queen. Oh Both-well! 
 
 where is one faithful Friend to be chofe out among a Thoufand 
 
 base Defigners 1 aim not at Encreafe of Power, opprefs 
 
 not my poor Subjects by exorbitant Taxations ; nor envy the 
 Provinces my Neighbours rule ; all I defire is to poffefs, in 
 Peace, the little Territories I was born to govern, and that is 
 
 deny'd me fure I was born to everlafting Cares like 
 
 Hydra's Heads, one no fooner difappears than another rifes in 
 its Room, and drives me from Repofe. I am in too much Dif- 
 fraction to fay much at present, but the Perfon who brings you 
 this has a Commiffion to inform you all the Circumtances of 
 this unexpected Blow ; I can only tell you, that I am, as ever, 
 wholly devoted to the Intereft of my dear Bolhwell; and will 
 yet, fome Way or other, compleat his Happinefs, or fink in the 
 
 Attempt. If you have any Advice which may be of Service 
 
 in this Exigence, let it be fpeedy ; for never had I more Need 
 of Confolation. Fours, JsA,. R. 
 
P. s. 
 
 Direct as your laft, under a Cover to the Nuncio, that Man I 
 think is faithful ; but bewar of Sea/on, he has a Brother in the 
 Service of the Hamillons; I more than fear he has already 
 
 betray'd fome Things to your Prejudice my Uncle of Lor- 
 
 rain contributes to my Perfecution, by propofing an Allyance 
 with the Houfe of Aufiria: The Bearer will inform you at full 
 
 the Contents of this Letter Farewell. Pity me and continue 
 
 to love me. 
 
 Letter IV. 
 
 The Contents of this Epiftle makes it evident to be 'written immediately after her 
 Marriage with Lord Darly; and not only Melvil, but feveral other Hif- 
 torians also report, that the Earl Bothwell was recall 'd to Court about that 
 Time; the Reafons fhe gives for her Consent to the Marriage are fitch as, 
 whoever reads any of the Treatifes of her Life, will find both natural and 
 reafonable; all the Writers concurring in this, that if fhe had continued 
 fingle, the Parties of Hamilton and Murray wou'd, in a fhort Time, have 
 left her nothing but&he Name of Queen. 
 
 CRuel as your Reproaches are, I pardon them ; but oh ! too 
 little fenfible of the Pangs I feel, you ought rather to have 
 
 apply'd Balfams than Corrifives to Wounds like mine : 
 
 'Tis true, I am married, and have given my felf to another, and 
 in that AcT: have falfifi'd the oft repeated Promifes I made you : 
 But were Self-Intereft forgot, and impartial Juftice had Liberty 
 to fpeak, you wou'd with the fofteft Compassion reflecT: on the 
 
 fad Neceffity which forc'd me to it France, Spain, England 
 
 and Rome were providing me Hufbands ; Murray was depriv- 
 ing me of every Thing but the Name of Queen ; how but by 
 Marriage, cou'd I put a Stop to the Solicitations of the one Side, 
 or have curb'd the Infolence of the Other? Well you know it 
 was not in my Power to make Choice of you, without I cou'd 
 have been content not only to fee my Crown torn from me, 
 and alfo refign both our Lives to glut the implacable Malice of 
 
 our Foes. You tell me the Lord Darly is handsome, and 
 
 well made ; ungenerous Bothwell I well are you convinc'd I 
 have no Eyes for any Charms but yours ; what induc'd me to 
 
make Choice of him rather than any other, was, hecaufe I 
 wou'd avoid giving any Umbrage to the contending Princes, 
 whofe equal Pretentions might have expected equal Favour ; 
 but in this Marriage, which in the World's Eye will feem wholly 
 induc'd by Inclination, neither Rome, nor France, nor Spam 
 can be difoblig'd : Nor can Elizabeth, with any Show of Juf'tice, 
 blame me, because it was on her Recommendation I first con- 
 fented to liften to his Suit ; and in preferring him to Leicester, 
 I cannot but have the Approbation of the whole judging 
 
 World. Think not that it is Love which furnifhes me with 
 
 Arguments to juftify my Choice, for I proteft by the fame dread 
 Power, by which I have fo often fwore, that Bolhwell was the 
 deareft Thing on Earth, that he is ftill, and ever will be fo, 
 while I have Life ; and Darly but the Property of my Revenge 
 
 on Murray. Oh, Both-well! did you but know with what 
 
 unparalell'd Tyranny I was treated by that affuming Traytor, 
 you wou'd not wonder I had Recourfe for Shelter, to this Ex- 
 pedient ; the haughty Arrogance of both him and Hamil- 
 ton are now reduc'd to low Submiffions ; and tho' they murmur, 
 
 dare not complain. Depend on this Truth, That nothing 
 
 lefs than what I have done, cou'd have fecur'd the Life of Both- 
 well: The cruel and defigning Murray had inevitably made 
 you the Sacrifice of his Ambition ; and I think it needlefs to 
 fay that Motive was fufficient, and perhaps the moft weighty 
 of any, to influence 'me to this Action ; that by making my 
 Perfon the Victim of one, I might preferve the dearer Part of 
 
 me from falling one to the other more deftructive Paffion ; 
 
 the firft Step I took, was to infpire the new-made King with 
 
 Notions to your Advantage. By the Time this reaches 
 
 you, you will receive an Order to return to Court, where you 
 
 will be encourag'd and promoted : 1 fhall fee you, my 
 
 dear Bolhwell, tho' not as I cou'd wifh ; yet I fhall fee you in 
 Safety, and while Heaven permits that Bleffing to me, I neve 1 " 
 can be truly miferable. 
 
 m. re. 
 
Letter V. 
 
 There can be no Certainty of the Date of this, any further than that it was writ 
 prefently after the Arrival of TSoihvreW; they having never, as the Contents 
 cxpreffes, feen each other in Private, till this Billet appointed the Place of 
 Affignation: The Lady Lacy, at whofe Houfe it was they met, was a near 
 Relation to the Earl's Mother, and entirely in his Intereft, as appears not 
 only by the Truft which the Queen repos d in her, but al/o by her ajfifling 
 him -with a large Sum of Money, when, before his Favour with the Court - 
 Party, his Extravagancies had reduced him to great Straits. This from 
 Cauffin, who, to render it improbable that the Queen fhou'd Icrvc him, /peaks 
 of his Person and Behaviour with the utmost Contej/ipt, calling him a Man 
 of a defperate Fortune, and capable of the moft ?nean and vile Actions. 
 
 1 Believe you are now perfectly convine'd that there was an 
 abfolute Neceffity for my Marriage, tho' the Regret with 
 which you behold me in another's Arms, will not permit you 
 
 to acknowledge it. 1 loft nothing of the few Words you 
 
 fpoke to me as you left the Drawing-Room ; I have provided 
 to gratify the Impatience they expreft for a Renewal of thofe 
 
 Joys we have been fo long depriv'd of : The Lady Lacy, 
 
 who is in the Secret of my Heart, pretends an Indifpofition, a 
 Vifit from me will not be wonder'd at, becaufe the whole Court 
 knows how much fhe is in my Favour ; I will be at her Apart- 
 ment to Morrow about Seven in the Evening, but wou'd have 
 you prevent that Hour, left any of the Pages, or Maids of 
 Honour, who attend me fhou'd take Notice of your being there 
 
 'tis eafy for you to go incognito; I wifh to Heaven it 
 
 were no greater Difficulty for me our Interviews wou'd 
 
 then be more frequent, and Love abundantly make up for Want 
 
 of Grandeur ; but I fhall defer giving you any Tefti- 
 
 monies of the Tranfport which the Expectation of feeing you 
 
 affords, till I am fo bleft in Reality. Adieu, my dear, dear 
 
 Bolhwell. I have time to add no more, than that I am, and 
 ever fhall be 
 
 Fours, ml. j^ 
 
 10 
 
Letter VI. 
 
 This was fetit to Bothwell at the Time when the Animofities bet-ween the 
 Queen and her Husband- were grown to the utmoft Height; and proves, 
 that if /he were acceffary to his Death, it was, however, contrived 
 and plotted by Murray, tho' Buchannan, with fo much Warmth, efpotifes 
 his Cause, contrary to all the otlur Authors of that Time, who clearly made 
 manifeft, that both he and Morton were the chief Abettors of that horrid 
 Deed. J J 
 
 With a Difficulty not to be imagin'd, not to be expreft, do 
 I get an Opportunity of writing this; my bodily Indif- 
 position, joyn'd to the Troubles of my Mind, render 
 me uncapable of Invention ; I fuffer my felf to endure the eter- 
 nal Prefence of the Perfons I moft hate, rather than be at the 
 Pains of making an Excufe to be alone ;---— -that Spirit, that 
 Courage which was us'd to bear me thro' the greateft Fatigues, 
 
 is now evaporated and extincl ; —a Lazinefs of Soul pof- 
 
 feffes me, I cannot think, cannot refolve on any thing affift 
 
 me in this Perplexity, my dear Both-ivdl, advife me, comfort 
 
 me, find fome Way for my Relief; I have no Friend but you, 
 and fure, if j-ou are fuch, you will not fuffer me long to endure 
 thefe Infults. But what is it I am asking? Tis danger- 
 ous to be loyal ; poor Riezo, only becaufe he lov'd his 
 
 Queen, fell a Sacrifice to the Tyranny of this injurious Hus- 
 band ; my Life is next, nor am I fpar'd, but for the Sake of the 
 unborn Heir of Empire ; deliver'd once of that dear Burthen, 
 my Bufinefs in this World is done, and Darly will reign alone ; 
 
 1 know my Death alone can gratify the Ambition of that 
 
 ungrateful Man, or the unceafing Malice of the Englifh Queen; 
 yet might a Way be found to fnatch me from the Ruin, had 
 
 any One the Boldnefs to attempt it. Murray all ftern and 
 
 fierce, as he is by Nature, expreffes a Concern for my ill Treat- 
 ment, and feemed to hint at fome Defign on Foot for my re- 
 covering that Prerogative I fo unadvifedly gave up, but he, 
 alas ! has been fo fullen already, fo arbitrary and infulting 
 when in Power, I dread to inveft him with the fame again ; I 
 fear it would be but exchanging one Misfortune for another. 
 
If he fhould communicate any of his Intentions to you, 
 
 Anfwer him with Caution ; if he could be fincere, I know 
 
 he has the Means to ferve me, fathom him, if poffible, and 
 
 let me know your opinion, directed under a Cover to Lady 
 Lacy. The Bif hop of Rofs informs me, That Morton is return- 
 ing from the North, if fo, I may believe that Murray's working 
 Brain has not been idle, but whether for mine or his own In- 
 tereft, Heaven only can refolve : Keep a fair Correspond- 
 ence with him, however, 'till we fee the Iffue, which a little 
 
 Time will foon determine. 1 would reward the Fidelity of 
 
 Laruch. by giving him fome handfome Poft about me, but as 
 Affairs are, it may be dangerous both for him and me ; affure 
 him of my Gratitude and Favour when once the Times permit 
 
 me to make Show of it. Farewell. Keep me ever in your 
 
 Thoughts. 
 
 P. S. TsA. R. 
 
 Since I wrote this, Murray has been to vifit me, and finding 
 me all bath'd in Tears, the daily Tribute which my Griefs 
 exacts, bad me be of good Comfort, for a Blow wou'd foon be 
 given, which would reftore all Things to their proper Order ; I 
 know not what he means, unlefs it be the Death of the King, 
 nor had I Time to ask : Hamilton came in and broke off our 
 
 Converfation. 1 wifh you wou'd endeavour to inform your 
 
 felf and me with all convenient Speed, but do it in a Manner 
 
 that he may not think I am concern'd in the Enquiry. Once 
 
 more, adieu, my ever dear Bothwell; pity me, pray for me, and 
 never ceafe to love me. 
 
 Letter VII. 
 
 There is little; contain' 'd in this, any jnore than a Confirmation of the fore^oin^ 
 One, viz. That Morton and Murray ■were the first Propofers of the Murder 
 of the King- and that Bothwell was 710 more than their Agent in the Affair, 
 as, indeed, is manifeft enough, in their being the Perfons, who made a kind 
 of mock Accitfalion, that they might have the better Opportunity of clearing 
 him by a Form of Judicature. 
 
 THAT I anfwer'd yours no fooner, was owing to the Strug- 
 gles in my Mind, occafioned by Propofals fo fhockin°- to 
 
 a Woman of my gentle Nature. — Heaven knows I love not 
 
 Blood, and the Thoughts of feeing that of a Husband's fpilt is 
 
terrible to Reflection ; yet Self-Prefervation is the Firft of Laws, 
 
 and if there remains no other Means, muft fubmit to this : 
 
 I could wifh, either that Murray were not engag'd in the Defign, 
 
 or that he did not know I were acquainted with it : you, my 
 
 dear Boihwell, are too liable to give Credit to his Infinuations, 
 
 but I both fear and hate him. Who knows what Ufe he 
 
 may hereafter make of the Guilt he obliges me to become a 
 
 Sharer in ? But it is now paft Remedy, and I muft make a 
 
 Show of Confidence. Never was a Soul more hurried than 
 
 mine has been this dreadful Night, a- Thousand horrible 
 
 Idea's have run thro' my diffracted Brain, fometimes methought 
 I faw the King all cover'd o'er with Wounds, and with his dying 
 
 Breath imploring Vengeance on his inhumane Murderers ; 
 
 at others, wild Imagination prefented the Confpiracy unravel'd, 
 and Morton, your felf, and Murray, already fallen the Victims 
 of his Revenge, while he, exulting in his Cruelty, held a drawn 
 Dagger at my trembling Breaft. Oh! what Variety of Hor- 
 rors has this Defign involv'd me in ; Why. was I endu'd 
 
 with a Soul fo little capable of Cruelty, yet urg'd to Acts which 
 
 have fo much the Appearance of it? 1 never lov'd this 
 
 Darly, and his Ingratitude has made me hate him, yet cou'd I 
 with Pleafure part with fome of my Blood to ranfome his, were 
 
 there a Poffibility of avoiding it, how am I guilty then ? Tis 
 
 he himfelf that brings on his own Fate ; he forces me, he drives 
 
 me to this abhorr'd Extremity, and his muft be the Blame. 
 
 Oh ! that I cou'd always retain this Thought, that I cou'd wholly 
 banifh a Softnefs prejudicial to my Peace, but 'twill not be, in 
 Spite of my Efforts, and all my monft'rous Wrongs, Pity returns 
 
 and overwhelms my Soul : Cure me of this Weaknefs, and in- 
 
 fpire me with Notions fuitable to the Enterprize in Hand, the very 
 Idea of it will otherwife diftract me, and in the Moment of its 
 
 Execution, I fhall cry out, Forbear, and all betray. Exert 
 
 then, my dear Boihwell, that all-prevailing Wit and Eloquence 
 of yours, to furnifh me with Arguments to overcome fo unfea- 
 fonable a Tendernefs ; 'tis in your Power to make me almoft 
 
 any Thing. Reprefent the Injuries I have receiv'd from this 
 
 Tyrannick Husband, the vaft Indignities, the Dangers which 
 nothing: but his Death can free me from : but above all, make 
 me remember that while he lives, I am depriv'd of Power to 
 
 render Boihwell happy ; that laft Remonftrance, perhaps, 
 
 may arm my feeble Refolution, and while that glorious Image 
 
 / 
 13 
 
is in View, I cou'd, methinks, with unrelenting Hands, my 
 
 felf perform the fatal Deed. 1 expedl a Letter from you 
 
 this Night, with a further Account of the whole Plan of this 
 Defign, which, while in Agitation, will never fuffer me to know 
 
 a Moment's Peace. Afford me all the Satisfaction you are 
 
 able, in this Tempeft of my divided Thoughts, and know that 
 what I do, I do for you. 
 
 Nl. re. 
 
 Letter VIII. 
 
 This plainly appears to be written foon after the Murder of the King, which 
 happening on the \oth of February, 1564, and the Procefs of Divorce be- 
 tween the Earl of BothwelL, and Jane Gordon his Wife, being iffued out 
 on the 26th of April, the fame Year, makes it evident,. That this viuft be 
 fent to him before he had follicited the Court upon it. Concerning the Times 
 of thefe Two Traiif actions, tliere is no need to quote any particular Author, 
 all Hiftories agreeing as to tJiis. 
 
 BY Darly's Death I am, indeed, once more a Queen, again 
 enjoy thofe Pleafures which Power affords, and have 
 the Means of punifhing or rewarding indifferent Perfons, and 
 in trifling Caufes ; yet am I ftill circumfcrib'd, the more material 
 Bufinefs of my Life remains unfinifh'd ; I am a Queen, but you 
 are not a King, 'till I accomplifh that, the Work is not com- 
 
 pleat, nor can Itafte the Sweets of Royalty. 1 begin to think 
 
 Murray, at laft, fincere, and approve of your Defign in engag- 
 ing him to favour your Divorce, which the Bifhop feems to 
 make a flight Matter of, but I am afraid will not be fo eafily 
 
 obtain'd as he or you may imagine. The Apology you 
 
 make for your long Stay at Dunbritton is altogether needlefs, 
 I am fo far from refenting it, that I look on this Self-denial as 
 
 the moft prudent Thing you ever did. There are, at this 
 
 Time, many Eyes upon our Actions, and to be too frequently 
 feen together at prefent, might be a Means of preventing our 
 
 being for ever together hereafter. Send me a Copy of what 
 
 you write to Murray, enclos'd in your next, and, if poffible, 
 
 H 
 
make an Intereft with Lans/ord, in whofe Power it is to be 
 ferviceable to you on this Account : Let my Secretary know 
 what Sums are wanting to carry it on, and they fhall be re- 
 mitted to you. Morion, and fome others, attend to fpeak 
 
 with me, and I have Time to fay no more, but that I am ever 
 my dear Bothwelts. 
 
 p s. ivr- r. 
 
 The Bifhop of Ro/s intends you a long Letter of Inftruction, 
 
 which I wou'd have you obferve in every Thing : You have 
 
 not a better, nor a more fincere Friend on Earth. 
 
 Letter IX. 
 
 It was in tJu utmo/t Tranfports of impatient and expecting Love that this 
 Epi/tle was dictated, and feems to be immediately after the Earl had ob- 
 tain' 'd the Divorce from his Wife, which, according to Caftlenaw, Buchan- 
 nan and Melvil, was on the nth or iith of May, in tlie Year 1567. 
 
 FOrtune, grown weary of perfecuting me, at length grows 
 as extravagant in her Bleffings, as fhe was the former 
 
 Part of my Life in her Cruelty. Your Divorce being now 
 
 look'd on as good as compleated, Murray himself propos'd you 
 to me far a Husband, nay, feem'd eager in his Preffures, That 
 I wou'd give him my Promife that you fhould become fo im- 
 mediately after you were in a Condition. Scarce cou'd I con- 
 tain the Joy of my exulting Soul, fcarce keep my Tongue from 
 letting him know how much my Heart took Part with his Per- 
 flations, and never did I fo much as then affume the Politician : 
 
 Had any other difcours'd me in that Manner, fure I am, 
 
 I had not been able to have conceal'd the Pleasure it gave me ; 
 but the often experiene'd Falfhood of that Earl fecur'd my 
 Caution, and made me reply no otherwife than That I would 
 
 be advis'd by him in every Thing : Tis poffible that he 
 
 may, in this, be cordial, but to apprehend the worft, is cer- 
 tainly moft fafe ; he cannot, however, recede from what he 
 has faid, and Morion, and feveral others, have of late fpoke of 
 you with that Respect, that I am convine'd he has communi- 
 
 15 
 
cated to them his Intentions of uniting us. Tho' I know 
 
 you are to be in Edinburgh in fo fhortaTime, I cou'd not delay 
 making you Partaker of thofe Tranfports you are the Author 
 
 of: There is a Delicacy in fuch a Love as mine, which will 
 
 not fuffer me to be bleft alone ; and when I think this happy 
 News has reach'd you, fhall indulge my felf in Sympathy, with 
 thofe Extafies which, I flatter my self, you will feel at the Re- 
 ceipt of fo unexpected an Information. Make all the con- 
 venient Speed you can to Town, I now long with double Im- 
 patience for your Prefence : It is not Bothwell, a Man, whofe 
 Freedom with me Love alone cou'd authorize, but my intended 
 
 Husband, and my future King, that I fhall now embrace : 
 
 Hafte then to the Arms, thou ever prefent to the Heart of 
 
 Nt. R- 
 
 -i.it. *m. *?«. .&«. -ji*. ^t«. .»!«. js.it. .sk. -m. -sij. -at. .tf*. .ste- -jk. •»(■ -Ms- •*»«• ^i^«. ^ •»'<• -y«; 
 WW W W WW WW •w : WWWWW , wF W W WWW iia- *w W 
 
 Letter X. 
 
 This was occafion'' d on the Firft Contrivance of tlie pretended Ravifhinent, as 
 Bucchanan terms it, and difcovers alfo, that Murray and Morton had a 
 hand in this, as well as in the Alitrder of the Kiiig; tho'' the former of them 
 made this Action appear wholly the Queen's own Act, when the Affair was 
 examined into by the Delegates of Queen Elizabeth at York. 
 
 IReceiv'd yours at a Time when I was fo overwhelm'd in 
 Grief, that fcarce the flowing Tears wou'd give me Leave 
 to read it ; Need had I, my dear Bothwell, of all that §[onfola- 
 tion which this new Stratagem affords, yet am I not convine'd, 
 plaufible as it feems, of its Succefs ; we are fo much accustom'd 
 to Treachery, that, methinks, there is nothing to be depended 
 
 on : Shou'd this pretended Rebellion you have in Hand, be 
 
 detected or betray'd by any you confide in, by what Pretence 
 can I fcreen you from the Sword of Juftice ; fhou'd I not be 
 oblig'd to give you up to Law, and hear you condemn'd for 
 
 this imaginary Crime : However, as our Cafe is defperate, 
 
 I will not confine you from making ufe of all the Methods in- 
 genious Love can form for our common Felicity ; this brings a 
 Sum large enough to raife more Men than you will have Oc- 
 cafion for, and depend, that I will come attended by as few as 
 
 poffible. Hamilloii is the Perfon I most fear, both for his 
 
 Courage, and the Intereft he has in thofe Parts : I cannot think 
 
 16 
 
it was well advis'd, that Murray fhould not be in the Way, his 
 Prefence would have been of infinitely more Service than that 
 of Morton, but that is now paft recal, and if he has engag'd fo 
 many Hands as he pretends to you, for the figning the Articles 
 of our Marriage, I do not, indeed, forfee it will be in the Power 
 
 of the contrary Party to oppofe it. 1 muft, however, all 
 
 along, appear refractory to that, which is the only Wifh of my 
 
 defiring Soul: How fhall I fo greatly diffemble? How 
 
 appear at the Head of an Army, animating them to purfue to 
 Death the Man I love far more than Life? How feem to rep- 
 refent that as a Rape, which to embrace, I would run through 
 
 the moft eminent Dangers ! affift me, all the Artifices of 
 
 my Sex, for all will be too little in fuch a Circumftance. The 
 
 Bifhop of Rofs fmiles at my Fears, and feems affur'd of Succefs : 
 
 1 know his Integrity, and, as I find, Murray has been per- 
 
 fe&ly fincere in this Affair, doubt not but he has left Emiffaries 
 capable of bringing it about ; yet, Doubts and Anxieties are 
 ever the infeperable Companions of Love, while in Pursuit ; 
 Heaven fend ours once compleated, and give fome Period to 
 this diffracting Sufpence. Adieu. 
 
 m. r. 
 
 P. S. Once more I warn you to be careful who you trust 
 
 in this Affair : Remember 'tis our laft Stake, and if this 
 
 fails, farewell to all Hope of Happinefs hereafter. 
 
 Letter XL 
 
 Tlio'^ Bucchanan> -very flrenuously takes upon him the indication of Murray, 
 lis evident by this, and the preceding Letter, that he -pas the Promoter of 
 this Defign; and that before he left Edinburgh, he had engag'd moft of the 
 Nobility tofet their Hands to the Articles of Marriage bet-ween the Queen 
 and Bothwell. // is remarked by Caftlenaw, Melvil, Cauffin, and even 
 Cambden himfelf, that when there was any fmifler Affair in Hand, thai 
 fubtile Politician, Murray, always took Care to be abfent, leaving his under 
 Engines to work out the Schemes he hadform'd, and by that Means reap'd 
 the Profit of his Defigns, and threw all the Odium on' the Queen. 
 
 1 Write to you with infinitely more Tranquility of Mind, than 
 that with which my laft was dictated. Murray has well 
 
 retriev'd his Character, and more contributed to my Felicity 
 
 than heretofore to my Vexation. The Bifhop of Orkney, 
 
 from whom I leaft expected it, is wholly on our Side, and 'tis 
 
 17 
 
the Earl to whom we are indebted for this Change in his Be- 
 haviour : 1 put my felf among the Number of' the oblig'd, 
 
 becaufe I really am fo ; tho' they who ferve me moft, believe, 
 at the fame Time, they are acting the Reverfe of my Inclina- 
 tion. See by this, how very neceffary Diffimulation is ; 
 
 my very Enemies, by imagining they undo me, make the Hap- 
 pinefs of my Life, and thofe who wifh to fee me moft wretched, 
 unite to make me moft compleatly bleft : Did Murray, Mor- 
 ion, Orkney, and the reft of that turbulent Faction, know the 
 perfect Attachment we have to each other, wou'd they thus 
 
 plot to join us ? No, rather they would fever us for ever. 
 
 Thus by a Concealment of our mutual Tendernefs, do we dif- 
 appoint all the Stratagems, which otherwise wou'd be form'd 
 
 to the Ruin of it, and triumph in Security. 1 expect not to 
 
 hear from you any more, neither do I defire it ; the great Defign 
 grows now fo near the Point of being executed, that I wou'd 
 have your Thoughts wholly taken up with managing, to the 
 beft Advantage, this laft, and only Tryal of our Fortune. I 
 am now of Opinion, that it [c]annot fail, and feed my fond Im- 
 agination with a Thoufand glorious Idea's of your approaching 
 
 Greatnefs. It will be a Joy unfpeakable to fee you on the 
 
 Scotifh Throne, but to reflect you are feated there by me ; a 
 Pride and Pleafure, which it is not in Language to reprefent, 
 
 and can only.be reach'd by Thought. Oh! my Boihvjell! my 
 
 Heart beats high with Expectation, and every Faculty of my 
 
 Soul's on Fire with the impatient Hope : 'Tis but Three 
 
 Days before the great Cataftrophe arrives, yet do they feem fo 
 many Ages ; be you more cool to attend the long'd-for Iffue, or 
 you will be little able to carry on the Charge entrusted to 
 your Care, and on which depends not only our Lives, but 
 
 future Fame. Indulge, in Secret, the fwelling Rapture, but 
 
 let no outward Sign of Joy appear, 'till you are, pafs'd Pre- 
 vention, in the Arms of 
 
 M. R. 
 
 18 
 
A N 
 
 ABSTRACT 
 
 O F 
 
 The Life of Mary Stuart, 
 
 Queen of Scotland; 
 
 Extracted from the beft, and moft celebrated Authors 
 of that Time. 
 
 HO' nothing can be more different, than the 
 Teftimonies which are given of the Conduct 
 and Difpofition of this unfortunate Princefs ; 
 yet all agree, That fhe was not only the 
 moft lovelieft, but alfo moft accomplifh'd 
 and wittieft woman of her Time. 
 
 But as Wit, without Wifdom, rather fub- 
 je<ft the Owner to Inadvertancies, than the contrary ; fo the 
 Brightnefs of her Genius inclining her more to other Studies 
 than that of Policy, fhe was often greatly at a Lofs for thofe 
 Maxims neceffary for all Perfons ; but more particularly for 
 Princes to obferve : And her Youth, Gaiety, and good Humour, 
 rendering her often forgetful of her Birth, gave Room for En- 
 croachments to be made on her Prerogative ; which afterwards, 
 fhe found was not in her Power to remove. 
 
 When married very young to the Dauphin of France, after- 
 wards Francis the Second ; Kalherine de Medicis , Queen Mother, 
 taking the Advantage of her eafy Nature, manag'd every Thing 
 as fhe pleas'd ; and when she came to be a Widow, took Care 
 to make things fo uneafy to her, that fhe was oblig'd to leave 
 France; tho' the Place where fhe had receiv'd the beft Part of 
 her Education, had many Relations and Friends, and which to 
 quit fhe look'd on as the greateft Misfortune that cou'd befall 
 her. Monfieur Brantome fays, That when fhe embark'd fhe 
 
 !9 
 
appear'd fo difconfolate, and void of all Comfort, that fhe drew 
 Tears from the Eyes of as many as accompany'd her. 
 
 As fhe grew to riper Years, her Paffions encreas'd in Strength, 
 but her Softnefs of Difpofition ftill remain'd ; and tho' Bucch- 
 anan brands her with Cruel and Malicious, all the other Writers 
 of her Life have laid the Mifcarriages of it rather on her being 
 too open to Perfuafion, and Readinefs to believe the Infinua- 
 tions of her falfe Friends, than any Intention of revenging the 
 Infults offer'd her by her publick Enemies. 
 
 On her landing in Scotland, fhe found the Kingdom divided 
 between Two Fadions ; the one headed by the Earl of Hamil- 
 ton, and the other by James Stuart Earl of Murray, both equally 
 Enemies to her Authority, as they were to the Peace of their 
 Country. But, as if thefe were not enough to diffract the Mind 
 of a young Princefs, little accuftom'd to the Toils of State, there 
 arofe a Third, who, under a Pretence of Love, made her feel 
 all the EffecT: of Hate ; this was John Gordon, eldeft Son to 
 the Earl of Huntley . The Earl of Arran alfo, Heir of the Ham- 
 ilton Race, flattering his Imagination with ambitious Views, 
 hop'd to raife himfelf to the Dignity of King by marrying his 
 Queen : Both finding their Addreffes flighted, were either one 
 or the other continually raifing Rebellions, endeavoring to 
 feize that by Force, which they found impoftible to obtain by 
 Infinuations , and tearing the Bofom of the Kingdom with intef- 
 tine Jarrs. For this Part of the Troubles in Scotland, fee Camb- 
 den, Spot/wood, Melvil, Caftlenaw, &c. 
 
 Young Gordon being apprehended, and expiating on a pub- 
 lic Scaffold, the Fault of his Ambition, gave a Terror to the 
 reft ; the Hamiltons prefumed not to make any farther Claim 
 for fome Time, and Murray feem'd to applaud the Juftice of 
 the Queen ; tho' all the while he privately infinuated among 
 thofe inclinable to believe the worft, That fhe had privately 
 encourag'd the Addreffes of that Lord, and but thro' Compul- 
 fion, fuffer'd him to fall a Sacrifice to Interefts of State. 
 
 But this Tranquility was but of fhort Continuance ; the Prot- 
 eftants, headed by the Earl of Murray, who made Religion the 
 Cloak of his Ambition, began to raife new Difturbances in the 
 North ; and this giving a Pretence to the Hamiltons to take up 
 Arms again, kindled fuch a Wild-fire among the People, as for 
 many Years was not extinguifh'd ; but on the leaft Difguft, on 
 either Side, blaz'd out almoft to the Deftruction of the Nation. 
 
 20 
 
In the midft of thefe Perplexities, the Cardinal of Lorrain, 
 Uncle to the Scotish Queen, propos'd Charles Duke of Auftria to 
 her, for a Husband ; but Queen Elizabeth, who kept her [Mary] in 
 continual Awe, by Reafon of her Expectations of fucceeding her 
 in the Throne of England, deterr'd her from accepting this 
 Offer ; which, in all Probability, had been a Defence from the 
 ill Fate which foon after attended her, he being a powerful 
 Prince, Son to the Emperor Ferdinand, and ally'd to the greateft 
 Monarchs in Europe. There were alfo, at the fame Time, Am- 
 bafladors fent from Philip the Second of Spain, to treat with 
 her about a Marriage with his Son, the Infant Don Carlos; but 
 this, as well as the other, the English Queen oblig'd her to 
 reject; and, to fhow how much fhe was in Earneft, writ a 
 Letter to her with her own Hand, telling her, That if fhe enter- 
 tain'd any Hope of fucceeding to her Crown, fhe muft not 
 think of matching with a Foreigner; and affuring her, That if 
 fhe would accept of Henry Stuart, Lord Darly, Son to the Duke 
 of Lenox, fhe wou'd caufe her, on the next fitting of the Parlia- 
 ment, to be declar'd her Heir. By all Accounts, as well as the 
 foregoing Letters, fhe had about this Time, entertain'd that 
 fatal Paffion for the Earl of Bothwell, which plung'd her into all 
 the enfuing Misfortunes of her Life : But this was, as yet, a 
 Secret clofe lodg'd within her own Breaft : And as fhe made 
 the Queen of England s Propofals, and the Fear fhe was in of 
 difobliging her, an Excufe for refufing all others ; fo likewife, 
 fhe found Evafions to put off the Lord Darly alfo, for a con- 
 siderable Time : But Murray, who, according to Spot/wood, 
 had his own Reafons for obliging her to comply with this laft 
 Offer, diftrefs'd her fo much with his Party, that fhe was, at 
 laft, driven to take Shelter in thofe Arms which her Inclina- 
 tions wou'd have made her fhun. 
 
 A Marriage thus made up, cou'd not be expected to be very 
 fortunate ; the Queen thought her felf above counterfeiting a 
 Tendernefs which fhe was incapable of feeling, and her Indiffer- 
 ence, in a little Time, occafion'd her Husband to treat her with 
 the fame ; 'till the Animofity grew fo great between them, that 
 they not only parted Beds, but Houfes alfo ; As he pretended 
 to exert the Authority of a Husband, fhe endeavour'd to do that 
 of a Queen ; and ill Offices being done by thofe trufted on both 
 Sides, together with her unhappy Paffion for Bothwell, brought 
 her, at laft, as Bucchanan undertakes to prove, to confent to his 
 
 21 
 
Death : But other Writers are of a contrary Opinion ; tho' all 
 Circumftances, and in particular, thefe Letters written by her 
 own Hand, leave us no Room to doubt the Truth of it. 
 
 Once more a Widow, fhe thought fhe had it in her Power to 
 raife the Man fhe lov'd, to Authority ; but a little Time con- 
 vinc'd her, That, tho' a Queen, fhe was lefs Miftrefs of her felf, 
 than the Mean eft of her Subjects ; and that to make Bolhwell 
 a King, fhe muft have Recourfe to Artifices, to which fhe was 
 not in her Nature inclinable. Murray, Morion, and some 
 others, who wifh'd the Ruin of them both, contriv'd that he 
 fhould feize the Perfon of the Queen, as fhe was going to Stir- 
 ling to vifit the young Prince her Son : Thefe Meafures, her 
 unadvifed Paffion obliging her to give into, was, indeed, the 
 Blot of her Life ; and caus'd man)' to think her guilty, who 
 othervvife would have parted with their deareft Blood in Vindi- 
 cation of her Innocence ; viz. Cafllenaw, who laments this 
 Tranfaclion in very moving Terms, as does alfo Monfieur 
 Branlome, and Bifhop Lefly, in endeavouring to defend, makes 
 it appear more blameable. 
 
 Seemingly forc'd to what fhe moft defi'rd, Bolhwell was at 
 laft married to her ; but little Satisfaction did thefe Nuptials 
 yield ; Morton, and the reft of the rebellious Lords, took the 
 Opportunity of afperfmg the Act, they had been the chief In- 
 struments of promoting, and rais'd a confiderableBody of Men, 
 under Pretence of bringing Both-well to Juftice, for the Murder 
 of the King and Ravifhment of the. Queen ; tho' in both thefe 
 Facls he had been but the Tool of their Defigns. and for the 
 Firft of them had been declar'd guiltlefs in open Court, where 
 he had taken his Tryal : 'Tis true, indeed, the Judges had been 
 corrupted, but it was by thofe very Perfons who now accus'd 
 him ; and who had, all this Time, no other Aim than to make 
 him, first, fubfervient to their Ambition, and afterward to fall 
 a Sacrifice to it. This is evident from his own Confeffion made 
 at Denmark, just before his Death, and publish'd by that King 
 in all the Courts of Europe. [This Confession was a flagrant 
 Forgery, as has been proved. ] 
 
 Having rais'd an Army in Oppofition to that which the Earl 
 of Morion led into the Field, the Queen wou'd needs accom- 
 pany him ; but, the Day before the Charge was to be given, 
 the Earl, whether dubious of the Succefs of Battle, and fearing 
 the Punifhmentsto which he fhou'd be expos'd, if defeated ; or, 
 as fome Authors affirm, terrify "d in his Confcience by the Idea 
 of the murder'd King ; or, as others will have it, on a fudden 
 Quarrel between the Queen and him, is uncertain to this Da)', 
 but he forfook the Camp, and ftealing privately away, was 
 never feen in Scotland after. Nor was his Departure more 
 ftrange than that the Queen, immediately on it, refign'd her 
 felf into the Hands of the Rebels, having no other Security 
 than their Promife, That they wou'd ufe her as their Queen. 
 Her Infatuation, as Brantome juftly terms it, was fo great, that 
 
fhe never fo much as ask'd to what Place they were conducting 
 her, 'till fhe found her self clofe Prifoner in the Caftle of Loch- 
 leven, under the Cuftody of the Earl of Murray's Mother, 
 formerly the Concubine of King James the Fifth. This cruel 
 Woman treated her Royal Prifoner with the utmoft Indignity, 
 telling her, She was no more than an Ufurper, and boafting, 
 that fhe was the lawful Wife of the deceas'd Monarch ; and that 
 the Crown, of Right, belong'd to her Son James Stuart. 
 
 In this terrible Confinement it was, that Morion, and the reft 
 of that Faction, forc'd her to fign an Instrument of Abdication, 
 refigning the Kingdom to her Son, and appointing the Earl of 
 Murray Regent, during his Minority. Caftle?iaw, in his Me- 
 moirs, reports, That the Lord Lindfay ftood over her while fhe 
 fet her Hand to this Paper ; and as her Tears and Tremblings, 
 for fome Moments, wou'd not give her Leave to do it, he bad 
 her make hafte, or he wou'd oblige her to fign it with her 
 Blood. In this Manner Brantome, as well as Caftlenaw and 
 Cauf/m, relates this Story. 
 
 This being done, fhe was lefs ftrictly guarded than before ; 
 and William Douglafs, a Youth, of about Fourteen Years of 
 Age, compaffionating her Diftress, ftole the Key of the Apart- 
 ment where fhe was confin'd, and having prepared a Boat, con- 
 vey'd her over the Lake, where the Lord Sealon, with a fmall 
 Body of Horfe, waited to receive her, and attended her to 
 Weft- Lothian; there a great Number of the Nobility and Gentry 
 flock'd to her, acknowledging her ftill, as their Sovereign and 
 lawful Queen. This is attefted by Cambden and Spot/wood, as 
 well as Caujfin, and the Writers of the different Party. 
 
 Great Numbers of People flocking to her from all Parts, fhe 
 form'd out of them a kind of regular Army, and began to march 
 towards Glajcow, where the Earl of Murray then was, but he 
 having always Troops in Readinefs, came forth to meet her, 
 with Forces fo much fuperior, that fhe, with Reafon, was un- 
 willing to hazard a Battle: She was. however, encourag'd to 
 it by the Earl of Argyle, who depending on the Juftice of the 
 Caufe, thought himself fecure of Victory : The Engagement 
 was very fierce on both Sides, but, in the End, the Queen's 
 Troops were wholly routed, and feveral Hundred Men kill'd 
 on the Spot. 
 
 Blackwood reports, That a Perfon, who had efpous'd her 
 Caufe for no other Purpofe than to betray her, had difclos'd her 
 Defigns to the Regent, the Night before the Battle ; and ad- 
 vis'd him by what Means he fhould difpofe his Army, fo as to 
 make it moft ferviceable ; and that on this Information he took 
 Poffeffion of the Ground near Langjide, and owed his Victory 
 wholly to the Advantage of this Scituation. 
 
 It was with no fmall Fatigue and Hazard, that this unhappy 
 Queen 'fcap'd falling into the Hands of her Enemies this Day, 
 being oblig'd to ride Sixty Miles before fhe refted. A few faith- 
 ful Friends were the Companions of her Flight, who attended 
 
 23 
 
her to Dundreven, a Seat of the Lord Herris's, where fhe ftay'd 
 a little Time to refrefh her felf, and to confult which Part of 
 the World, was moft likely to afford her Shelter. France or 
 England were the only Places where fhe cou'd promife herfelf 
 to find it ; and after fome little Debate, made Choice of the 
 latter; tho' the Archbifhop of St. Andrew's entreated her, with 
 Tears in his Eyes, to the contrary : Caftlenaw and Sir James 
 Melvil affirm. That when fhe took Shipping he leap'd into the 
 Water, ftill conjuring her to turn back, 'till he was almost f w al- 
 io w'd up by the Waves, and carried back/er Force by his Ser- 
 vants, who plung'd in after him. 
 
 Soon did fhe find how much Reason that good Prelate had 
 to fear the Reception fhe wou'd meet with. As fhe was on the 
 Road to London, fhe was met by the Lord Scroop and Louder, 
 Deputy- Warden of the Caftle of Carlifle; and, by them, convey 'd 
 thither as a Prifoner ; having been firft inform'd, That the Eng- 
 lish Queen cou'd not confent to fee her, 'till fhe had clear'd her 
 felf of the Crimes laid to her Charge. 
 
 Many Years fhe remain'd in Cuftody, tho' not in one Place, 
 being frequently remov'd from one Prifon to another , fearing 
 that her extraordinary Beauty and Accomplifhments fhou'd 
 move her Keepers to Compaffion, as it had done the young 
 Lord Douglafs; continual Attempts being made to fet her at 
 Liberty, in particular, thofe of the Duke of Norfolk, Ridolph, 
 and Babington, for which the Duke loft his Head, by the ma- 
 licious Treachery of Murray, and moft of the Englifh Peers, all 
 pretending abfolute Friendfhip to him. She was Try'd by the 
 Deputies of Queen Elizabeth, and, at laft, after alrnoft Nineteen 
 Years Imprifonment, beheaded in Folheringham Caftle, in 
 Northampton. The Hiftory of her Tryal is too well known to 
 need to be inferted here ; or, to thofe ignorant of it, may be 
 feen at large in Cambden. 
 
 Thus ended a Life, which, from the Beginning, feem'd to be 
 under the Direction of no friendly Planet ; befet with Difficulties 
 on every Side, of a Difpofition detefting, and unfit for Bufinefs, 
 or the Toils of State, yet doom'd to know no Refpite from them ; 
 plung'd in inceffant Cares, with fcarce an Hour of Happinefs 
 to relax the Weight ; unfuccefsful in all her Undertakings, and 
 only fortunate, That neither the Weaknefs of her Sex, or the 
 Fears of Death, cou'd make her behave, in her laft Moments, 
 fo as to give her Enemies any Caufe to triumph over her, dying 
 much more a Queen than fhe had liv'd, and by her Fortitude 
 and Magnanimity, proving, That had Fortune been on her 
 Side, fhe might have made as glorious a Figure in History, as 
 now fhe does the contrary ; nothing being more true than thofe 
 Lines of the Poet, 
 
 "For that which makes a Monarch's Happinefs , 
 Is not in reigning well, but tvith Succefs." 
 
 F I N I S. 
 24 
 
{ 
 
 III. 
 
 Clerk's. Office', ~ The Citv of Keaknev. T. N. Hartzkli., Clerk. 
 
 -;•--. Kearney, Nebr., Januarv 27th, 1892. 
 
 Gen J. AVatt(s) de Pevster, Tivoli, New York- 
 Dear Sir: — The following' Resolutions were prepared bv a committee of the Council, 
 selected by the Mavorand were reported to the Council at 'its last regular session, Mon- 
 day evening, January 25th, 1892, and were unanimously adopted by them. I was further 
 instructed bvthe Mavor & Council to forward a copy of them to von. 
 
 This 1 enclose & will ontv add that while it is impossible for "the citizens of Kearney 
 to add to your happiness, vet the consciousness of the pleasure you have gi\en them 
 must be vbur reward. ] remain verv truly vours, 
 
 T.N.Hartzell, Clerk.. 
 Resolutions. 
 Whereas, Tht- eminent author and most distinguished citizen of New York, General 
 J. \Vatt[s) de Pevster, has shown his respect of, and liberality toward, our city, which 
 has ihe distinguished honor of being named after his cousin and intimate friend, the 
 late lamented General Philip Kearny, therefore; 
 
 Resolved, That we, the Mayor and Citv Council, for ourselves and in behalt of the 
 citizens we represent, would most heartily unite in expressing to the said General }. 
 \Vatt(s) de Pevster our most heartfelt thanks for the beautiful, costly and perfect bust 
 of that faithful, efficient and successful General, who was the hero of many hard fought 
 battles as well as a model man in peace, General Philip Kearny. 
 
 Resolved, That the Resolutions be spread upon the city records and a copy sent to 
 the General J. Watt» de Pevster under the seal of the city, with an invitation for him 
 to accept the hospitality of the city at his earliest convenience. 
 
 Clerk's Office, '■ J. S. Harrington, 
 
 City of Kearney. ' Richard Hiebakd, 
 
 "1 Buffalo county', 1" Walter Gamble, 
 
 ( Nebraska. ' ) Committee. 
 
 Attest: T. N. Hartzell. Ira Johnson, 
 
 _ - Clerk, Mayor, City of Kearney, Seh. 
 
 ■_.-'- At a meeting of the Library Eoard of the City of Kearney, Nebraska, held December 
 12th, 1891, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: 
 
 Resofoed. That the thanks of this Board and of the citizens of Kearney be and are 
 * hereby tendered to General J. Watts de Peyster, of Tivoli, N. Y., for his gift to our Lib- 
 rary of his two excellent works, " Kearny in Africa " and " PErsONAL and Military 
 History of Philip Kearny. 
 
 That they are a valuable acquisition to our Public Library and will be read with in- 
 terestand profit by old and young. 
 
 That we appreciate fully the interest of the author in bis " hero cousin," and unite 
 with him in respect for, ana admiration of the patriotic typical volunteer general. ' 
 
 Dated December 12th, 1891. 
 (Clerk's Office, City of Kearaev, \ Ira D. Marston, Pres. 
 
 \ Buffalo county^ Nebraska. "J E. R. Holmes, Sec. 
 
 " Fair glass of light, I lov'd you, and could still, 
 * Were not the glorious Casket stored with ill." 
 
 Pericles, Prince of Tyre i, 1. 
 
 Har'pagon. Et cette casette [Chatouille] comment tst elle faite? 
 
 Maitre Jacques. * '. * * tile est petite si on le prendre par la; maisije 
 l'appelle grand pour ce qu J elle conhent. Moliere. 
 
 By||<rJ.WaitsdePeyster,<r|| NewYork: || Charles H.Lud wig, Printer, 
 10 and 12 ReadeStreet, J 1890. 
 
 This Pentaplcc is based on a careful examinatisn of a large and unique 
 collection of authorities — now in the Library of Columbia College, in the 
 City of New" York — indifferent languages brought- together from Europe 
 — even from as far East as St Petersburgh — as well as in the United States, 
 throughout a period of eleven years, and presented by J. Watts de Pev- 
 ster to that Institution. 
 
 "" Mr. Hugh Campbell in the' "Introduction" to his Volume of which the 
 Title page herewith appears, at Pages 1 to 14 — furnishes a Summary of all the 
 Accusations and Defences of Mary, with short, sharp, sensible presentations 
 of the characters and critical powers of their authors, Goodhall, Hume, 
 ^Robertson, Whitaker, Chalmeks, &c, &c. Finally he shows that the as- 
 sertion that " Bothwell did not acquire the favors of Mary until 1566" is. 
 proved untrue by the very despatches ^of, the English Embassador, Ran- 
 dolph. "The attachment of Mary to*BoTHWFLL, from his fidelity to her 
 mother and to her appears very early, and the honorable firmness of Both- 
 welli in adherance to his own principles, and his opposition to the Queen's, 
 appears as early as December the 7th, .1561. Randolph says of both, that 
 
IV. 
 
 "at the <//r^ or mass upon Faiday and Saturday lab —she observed (lie 
 old [Romanist] manner in all her doings, yet she could not persuade nor 
 get one lord of her own to wear the deule for that day, nor so much, as the 
 Earl of Both-well" (Keith, 207) «■ But his steady zeal for Protestantism could 
 not procure him the good opinion of Randolph, because he continued loyal to 
 his Sovereign [against the traitrous Scots and their E- ^'ish abettors] when 
 [as a Protestant] he was averse to her [Roman] religion." Bothwell was 
 that "rara avis," a white crow among the greedy ere v. - whose religion was 
 plunder and whose patriotism was greed and self aggrandizement." 
 
 A very remarkable book has appeared within the present year, " Histoire du 
 Rhone de Marie Stcart par Martin Phili pi-son, ancicn Professor auxunwer sites de Bonnet 
 '-de Bruxelles." Tome Premier, Paris. Emile BouHIod, Editeur, 1891. According to the 
 author's preface he prepared himself by six years of previn*'^ vork, of which demon- 
 strations appeared in Essavs in 1886, 1S8S and 8889. " Ma rv et la Ligue catho- 
 liql'E tNjvERSELLE," published in the Bulletins de V Acader. ale de Betgigue" {1886J 1; 
 " Etudes s\Ui i.'HiSToiRE de Makie Stiakt," printed in tin 'te If/sior/t/tie" (1888 and 
 1889.; %^_ 
 
 M. PhilippsoluV^mpresses upon his readers that his present work i.s not an absolute 
 or simple bktgrapfr^abut a philosophical and historical investigation, and therefrom 
 resukive presentment , &t^the struggles Military, Political and Religious, which cul- 
 minated during the brief f'feten— if such a troubled j "y* ' ->n be styled a reign — of 
 scarcely six years (ioth AugusTv^6i-i5thJune, 1567} 01 "i ■> uart. because, although 
 
 James, "her son, succeeded her, I)f*fcgccupation of the { o ' Scotland was affected 
 
 throughout bv causes evolved duringrii^ mother's wearing ,.n*_ crown ; the results of 
 which still continued to make themselves*1>ej,t. and terribly felt, until the moment, when. 
 after the death of Elizabeth, the crowns of England and of Scotland, united, were worn 
 by him. ^jp ^ 
 
 So far as the work ot Mr. PhUippson has ap^pared,' ivhich terminates with 
 
 the lauding of Mary at Leith, 19th August '561. returning a \ from France, it agrees 
 
 in almost every particular with the opinions or judgments ... i.ich I have arrived and 
 published in my Hexapla on Mary. _M. Philippson shows up the consummate hypocricy 
 and sleepless greed and unprincipled ambition of Mary's he?- *'ess brother known as the 
 " Good Regent," Murray, only good on the principle of the c- . aion of Lncus (A grove} , 
 from Lux (Light) because Groves from the thickness of their louage are generally any- 
 thing but light, or as the Latin has it, Lucas a non luceudo. He also presents James Hep- 
 burn, Earl of Bothwell in a very favorable light, iust as I have done, as an exemplifica- 
 tion of chivalric lovaltv, devotion and valor. In fact, take my historical Drama of Both- 
 well and in it the development of the characters who illustrated or disgraced the reign 
 of .Man - , are drawn and painted with the same pencil and colors as those prepared 
 and laid ready Tor the brush on the palette of M. Philippson. Indeed at page 252, says 
 he *' The Scottish Catholics were at one and the same time favorable to France, and 
 the reigning House [of that realm]. Since August. J560 Ix>rd P orges Set on had gone to 
 France to present his homage to her young queen, in c< -any with James Beaton, 
 Archbishop of Glasgow, and other prelates, at the time whe He victory of Calvinism 
 in Scotland was legally sanctioned in that kingdom. .Their par. , (.these representatives j 
 was augmented by a noble, who, even while he was a strict Protestant, stood forth no less 
 prominently as an adversary to the English faoiion. This was James Hepburn, 4th £arl 
 0/ Botkioell, who, about 22 years of age. had succeeded to his father, in 1556. He pos- 
 sessed vast domains on the Clyde in the Western Lowlands ai ' besides a multitude of 
 other charges, he was invested with the lofty dignity of Gra..<_* Admiral of Scotland. 
 The Regent, Mary of Lorraine, who held his "fidelity and valor i -. high esteem, had re- 
 warded these in appointing him in addition. Xord-Lieutenant of the Marches, and Gov- 
 ernor of the Single royal stronghold situated centrally on the [Scoto-Knglish] Borders, 
 Hermitage Castle, a military position of the greatest importance. In 1558, Bothwell, by 
 orders of the Regent, had made au excursion or raid into the north of England, whereas 
 the other Scottish nobles had refused to take part in the war in behalf ot France 
 against England. To him alsp, that Frances II. and Mary Stuart had confided the 
 charge of coming to an agreement with the English commissioners relative to the ex- 
 change of prisoners. During the civil war, he had given a proof of his complete devo- 
 tion to the Regent, for whom, by a hardy stroke or surpris '.. had procured 3.000/, 
 sent to the Rebels by Elizabeth of England. [In this affair it was that Bothwell lost the 
 sight of one eve], f Finally] Mary of Lorraine {1 about 155^ had confided to him the 
 command of a troop of about 800 French and Scotch, and had sent him over to France, 
 to solicit further assistance. There he remained until t', death of Francis II., 5th 
 December, 1560. After that he returned to Scotland to labor - as possible in favor of 
 
 the Young Queen. . Not handsome (laid- in person [this is c< .dieted by Gilbert Stew- 
 
 art and others], rough or rugged 'rude) y ["courtly" is t' amonv of Sir Walter 
 
 Scott] unpolished [gr-ossier) [contradicted by most trust wort horities.] In spite of • 
 
 the literary education which he had received in France, vi and imperious, Both- ■' 
 
 well possessed few friends : but he was a man of indomitai, i"'ge, alwavs ready ■ 
 
 for action, rather more an adventurer [in politics] than a ret, lolitician, wtiose am- 
 
 bition and immorality were only limited by an undeviatingloya.. , awards his sovereign. 
 He realized the Knight of the Middle Ages, not the chimerical Knight of poetrv, but, 
 trulv, the actual Knight of the XI and XII. centuries. The English Government and the 
 English party in Scotland did him the honor of vowing a profound hatred against him 
 and of considering him their principal adversary. -_.; j. \v. de. P 
 
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