Mary Monica Maxwell-Scott

“ I have always been willing to do her service and give her pleasure, but I have always been prevented by my enemies. As a queen I cannot submit to orders, nor can I submit to the laws of the land without injury to myself, the King my son, and all other sovereign princes. As I belong to their estate, majesty, and dignity, I would rather die than betray myself, my people, or my kingdom, as a certain person has done. I decline my judges," continued Mary, "as being of a contrary faith to my own. ”

“ The Queen now passed into the ante-chamber, which was arranged as an oratory; and kneeling before the altar, "where mass was said secretly before her chaplain was taken from her," she remained for a long time in prayer, surrounded by her attendants, praying and weeping together. At length Bourgoing, seeing her extreme paleness and fearing for her strength, as he knew she was unable to kneel for any long time, assisted the Queen to rise, and brought her a little bread and wine, which she accepted willingly, thanking him by a smile for his care in bringing her her last repast. ”

“ And as I am told you wish in nothing to force my conscience or my religion, and have even conceded me a priest, I hope that you will not refuse this my last request, but will at least allow free sepulture to the body from which the soul will be separated, as being united, they never knew how to obtain liberty to live in peace, or to procure the same for you, for which before God I do not in any way blame you—but may God show you the entire truth after my death. ”

“ I do not fear the menaces of men. I will never deny Jesus Christ, knowing well that those who deny Him in this world, He will deny before His Father. I demand another hearing," continued Mary, "and that I be allowed an advocate to plead my cause, or that I be believed on the word of a queen.... I came to England relying upon the friendship and promises of your Queen. Look here, my lords," she exclaimed, drawing a ring from her finger; "see this pledge of love and protection which I received from your mistress—regard it well. ”

“ In short, you will find that I have no other desire than the overthrow of Protestantism and the deliverance of myself and the afflicted Catholics, for whom (as I have often said) I am ready to shed my blood. I shall esteem myself very happy if God gives me the grace to suffer and to endure death for His holy name and in the defence of His quarrel. If the Pope gives me the title of Queen, it is not for me to correct him. He knows what he does much better than I do. ”

“ I am of no good in this world—I am of use to no one; you should rather, like me, console yourselves that it has pleased God to give me this grace,—that I die for so good a quarrel. I return thanks to Him, and thank Him with a very good heart that it has pleased Him to call me at this hour, and that He has given me such good occasion to suffer death for His holy name, His true religion, and His Church. ”

“ In the midst of so much painful discussion, and under the trial of being denied the only consolation she desired, Kent's next words must have brought a great joy to Mary. She who had so often and so ardently wished to shed her blood for her faith, was now to be given good cause of thinking her desires were about to be fulfilled. Kent told the Queen "that it had been decided that she could not live without endangering the state, the life of the Queen, and the religion. Your life," said he, "would be the death of our religion, your death will be its life." ”

“ Hatton added that in his parting interview with his mistress she had protested to him with tears that nothing had ever so wounded her as the thought that her cousin should have sought to injure her,—a thing which she could not have believed of her.
"What favour can I look for when I shall have established my innocence?" demanded Mary; "and what reparation will be made to me for being brought here by force, treated as a criminal and a subject, and convoked before an assembly of judges in an apartment specially prepared for my trial?" ”

“ I do not value my life, but I strive for the preservation of my own honour, and the honour of my relatives and of the Church. You frame laws according to your own wishes," continued the Queen; "and as in former days the English refused to recognise the salique law in France, so I do not feel bound to submit to your laws. If you wish to proceed according to the common law of England, you must produce examples and precedents. If you follow the canon law, those only who framed it can interpret it. Roman Catholics alone have the right to explain and apply it." ”

“ As to the crime which they have fixed upon me—the death of the Queen—I never suggested it, nor consented to it, nor to anything against her person. I have always loved her, and the country also. I have offered myself, under many good and most honourable conditions, to bring to an end the troubles of this kingdom and my deliverance from captivity, but I was neither heard nor believed. You, my lords, and you, Beale, know this. At last my enemies have come to the end of their designs to make me die ”

“ People must not think such things of him. When it was suggested to him that the Queen did not so much fear him as others who were her enemies, and who would not be unwilling to do her a bad turn if it were to their own advantage, Paulet replied that he alone would be responsible for all, and that she might assure herself that nothing of the kind would occur.' In this protest Paulet did himself no less than justice, as his after conduct proved; much as he hated his prisoner, she was safe in his hands from assassination. ”

“ The English dealt with him as King of Scotland, they said, who was recognised as such in England and in all foreign countries, and had been publicly acknowledged in full Parliament in England and Scotland.
"You have no feelings of honour," said the Queen, "if you praise so wicked a man as the Earl of Morton, who is held to be a tyrant and an usurper, who pillages and destroys all the possessions of the poor Scottish subjects, holds my son a prisoner, is a false traitor, and given up to a life of debauchery and public wickedness." ”

“ When Burleigh ceased speaking, Walsingham, who keenly felt the Queen's accusation, rose, and bowing his head addressed her, assuring her that she had been misinformed as to his sentiments.
"I protest," said he, "that my soul is free from all malice. God is my witness that, as a private person, I have done nothing unworthy of an honest man, and as Secretary of State, nothing unbefitting my duty. ”

“ There was no one so criminal, she said, but he was allowed a minister of his religion to conduct him to execution, to console and minister to him, and that the only consolations that she still had in her misery and captivity were those of her religion. She regretted infinitely (continued Bourgoing) not to be able to perform her devotions as she would wish, to assist at Mass, and do her duty as a good Christian. Queen Elizabeth had promised her not to interfere with her in her religion, and yet it was for her religion only that she was persecuted. ”

“ It remains only for me to implore you, as Most Christian King, my brother-in-law, friend and ally, who have done me so much honour as to love me and protest of your affection, that under this blow you show proof of your virtue in these matters by charitably aiding me in that which it is impossible for me to do without your assistance, namely, to reward my desolate attendants by giving them their salaries, and by having prayer made to God for a Queen who has been called Very-Christian, and who dies a Catholic and destitute of all means. ”

“ Mary seated herself on the stool covered with black prepared for her with her usual grace and majesty, Shrewsbury and Kent standing on each side of her, the sheriff in front. She made the sign of the cross, then addressing Elizabeth's officers, she begged them of their good pleasure to bring her chaplain to her, in order that she might console herself in God, and receive from him some admonitions with his last blessing; the which was absolutely refused her. Beale now ascended the scaffold and read aloud the royal commission for the execution. ”

“ I am quite ready and very happy to die, and to shed my blood for Almighty God, my Saviour and my Creator, and for the Catholic Church, and to maintain its rights in this country, for the welfare of which I have always done everything that has been possible, loving the Queen, my good sister, and this island as dearly as myself, as I have often shown. I have constantly offered to arrange matters peacefully and to bring things to a happy issue, but have always been rejected and put aside. ”

“ At the name of Morgan, Burleigh, with his usual vehemence, reproached the Queen. "You know well, madame," said he, "that Morgan professes to be your servant, and you have pensioned him, although you are well aware that he plotted the death of the Queen along with Parry, for which crime he is still a prisoner in France, having been pursued and accused by Lord Derby, in the name of Her Majesty."
"You know well," replied Mary, turning towards the audience, "that I have not joined in this undertaking, nor suborned any one." ”

“ To use the words of an old Scottish writer, "The Queen of England may do what she will, the tomb of our Queen is more durable than she imagines, as her effigy and that of her virtues are better engraven in our hearts than they could be in marble." ”

“ I wish to accuse no one, but, on the contrary, to forgive every one from my heart, as I desire to be forgiven by all and in the first place by God. And then I know that all concerning the honour or dishonour of your blood and that of a queen, daughter of a king, touches you more nearly than any one else. ”

“ When she was left alone with her sorrowful attendants, the Queen, turning to them, said: "Well, Jane Kennedy, did I not tell you this would happen? Did I not well know that they desired to do as they have done? I saw well by those proceedings at what they aimed. I knew they would never allow me to live; I was too great an obstacle to their religion. Well, let supper be hastened, so that I may put my affairs in-190- order. My children," continued Mary, "it is now no time to weep; that is useless; what do you now fear? ”

“ You gain nothing by afflicting them or me; I am but a single person. When I die the Catholics and foreign princes will continue to act, unless you cease to persecute them.
"As regards my wishing to take the place of the Queen, the very letters you have read aloud sufficiently prove the contrary. In them I expressly declare that I desire no honours or kingdom, that I do not care for them, and that I beg no enterprise of the kind may be undertaken for me; but for the Catholic cause and for God's quarrel I desire the deliverance of the first and the defence of the second. ”

“ As you may believe, the Calvinists, who are the most reformed, do not approve of this, but those who follow the Queen's religion, who are Lutherans and the inventors of that sect, consider guilty of high treason all those who deny her prerogatives. Not only have those been judged to be guilty who do not recognise the Queen's title, or who deny it by words or by acts, but they have been forced to declare their opinion on their conscience, and on their reply have been condemned to death. ”

“ Now, as always heretofore, I will not spare my life in defence of my honour; and rather than do injury to other princes and my son, I am prepared to die, should the Queen, my good sister, have such an evil opinion of me as to believe that I have attempted aught against her person.-42- In order to prove my goodwill towards her, and to show that I do not refuse to answer to the charges of which I am accused, I am prepared to answer to that accusation only, which touches on the life of Queen Elizabeth, of which I swear and protest that I am innocent. ”

“ I know not when, nor in what manner, but at least you can feel assured and praise God for me that, by His grace, I had the courage to receive this very unjust sentence of the heretics with contentment for the honour which I esteem it to be to me to shed my blood at the demand of the enemies of His Church; whilst they honour me so much as to say that theirs cannot exist if I live; and the other point (they affirm to be) that their Queen cannot reign in security—for the same reason. ”