Mary V

“ The bishops of Canterbury, London and Rochester did consider [that] to give licence to sin was sin; to suffer and wink at it for a time might be borne, so all haste possible might be used.” [271]
Already the Council had written to Sir Richard Morysine, their envoy extraordinary at the court of Charles V., to inform him that “of late the Emperor’s ambassador has moved them that the Lady Mary might freely retain the ancient religion in such sort as her father left it in this realm, according to a promise made to the Emperor, till the King should be of more years. ”

“ The Ambassadors of Charles V. to their Master, 6th August 1553, Record Office.
[310] Armand Baschet, La Diplomatie Vénitienne au Seizième Siècle, p. 128. The Venetian ambassador Sorranzo describes Mary about this time as “d’une taille plutôt petite que grande, d’une carnation blanche, mêlée de rouge, et très-maigre; elle a les yeux gros et gris, les cheveux roux et la figure ronde, avec le nez peut-être un peu bas et large: en somme, si par suite de son âge elle ne commençait un peu à marcher vers son déclin, on pourrait plutôt la dire belle que laide” (ibid., p. 121) . ”

“ It is by turning our eyes toward Mary with her divine Son in her arms, presenting Him to us as our Saviour, that our troubled souls find the polar star which will quiet all their movements, and tranquilize the fluttering beatings of our troubled hearts. But, woe to us if, instead of fixing our attention upon Mary, virgin mother of God, we turn to Eve, infected with the contagion of the serpent, and offering to our hearts the doleful fruit of temptation and sin! ”

“ Those who loved Mary Virginia had cause for painful reflections.
Blinded by her beauty, were we judging her by the light of affection, instead of the colder light of reason? We couldn't approve of her behavior to Laurence, nor was it easy to refrain from disapproval of what appeared to be a tacit endurance of Inglesby's attention. She couldn't plead ignorance of what was open enough to be town talk—the man's shameless passion for herself, a passion he seemed to take delight in flaunting. ”

“ Always repeat the Hail Mary very devoutly. Salute our Lady with as much reverence as did the holy angel. And while you are saying the Angelus, meditate on Mary’s humility, and on the love of the Son of God who became Man for love of us.
Chapter III.
THE VISITATION.
[Luke I, 39—56]
MARY, rising up in those days [1] , went writh haste into the hill-country [2] to visit and congratulate her cousin Elizabeth. No sooner did Mary enter the house [3] than Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost [4] , cried out [5] : “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb [6] . ”

“ From the nook where Mary Virginia sat, one could hear every word spoken in the flower-room, though the hearer remained hidden by the paneled stairway.
Hands in her lacy lap, eyes abstracted, she fell into the dreams that youth dreams; in which a girl—one's self, say,—walks hand in hand through an enchanted world with a being very, very little lower than the angels and twice as dear. ”

“ Mary Virginia was delighted. "And hadn't you better let me give you another frock? Black is hardly appropriate for a bride."
"I'm not exactly set in my mind who he's going to be yet, Miss Mary Virginia, but he's got to be somebody or other. There's been lots after me, since it got out I'm such a grand cook and save my wages. But I've got a sort of taste for Daddy January. He's old, but he's lively. He's a real ambitious old man like that. Besides, I'm sure of his family,—I always did like Judge Mayne and Mister Laurence, and I do like 'ristocratic connections, Miss Mary Virginia. ”

“ To this, Mary very gravely replied, "Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures. They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for me. I should infinitely prefer a book." ”

“ There is little doubt that there had been no further movement to raise the Lady Jane to the throne, and had her father remained faithful, although sentence of death had been passed on her, she would shortly with her husband have regained complete liberty. None suspected Suffolk’s fidelity, for with consummate deceit, the Duke feigned the deepest attachment to the person of the Queen, giving repeated assurances of the same, and of his approval of her marriage. So entirely was Mary deceived, that it was thought she contemplated placing him at the head of her troops. ”

“ Mary, Mary, as immortal as my soul will be that dream!
Did I wrong her whom I worshiped, was her beauty made profane?
Let my life-blood pay the penance, and remove the blushing stain;
Still the daring sin committed which the queen can not forgive,
In thy woman's soul repenting, finds a generous relenting,
Which while it would slay the subject, would still bid the lover live.
God protect thee, beauteous princess, when the faithful are no more,
God's guiding angels pilot thee to Time's eternal shore ”

“ In spite of the Queen’s resolve to treat the peace disturbers with greater severity than heretofore, her former leniency having been so much abused, it does not appear from the above that Mary had any desire for their death, but it would seem rather, as if she snatched at every pretext for sparing their lives, providing them with every possible pretext for escape. In her desolation and perplexities, she turned more than ever to the consolations of religion, and to the relief of the poor and afflicted. ”

“ All her life long, most of her trials had resulted from an unswerving devotion to the Holy See, and now the time had come, when she might expect to reap a rich reward for her faith and fidelity. Julius III. had sent her the Golden Rose, as an expression of his affection and esteem, and Paul IV., throughout his differences with Philip, and however severe his language with reference to the Catholic King, always disassociated Mary from the blame which he lavished freely on her consort. ”

“ Yes, my most sweet mother, I also will love thee, love thee much, and do all in my power to make thee loved by others. Accept, then, oh Mary, the desire I have to love thee, and help me to fulfil it: I know that thy lovers are regarded with much favor by thy God. Next to his own glory, he desires nothing more than thy glory, in seeing thee honored and loved by all. From thee, oh Lady, I await all my blessings. Thou must obtain the pardon of all my sins, thou must obtain for me perseverance, succor in death, deliverance from purgatory, in a word, thou must conduct me to paradise. ”

“ I salute thee, oh temple of the glory of God, sacred house of the King of Heaven. Thou art the reconciliation of God with men. I salute thee, oh mother of our joy. In truth thou art blessed, for thou alone, among all women, hast been found worthy of being the mother of thy Creator. All nations call thee blessed.
Oh Mary, if I put my confidence in thee I shall be saved; if I am under thy protection I have nothing to fear, for to be thy servant is to have the secure armor of salvation, which God does not grant except to those whom he will save. ”

“ It is not unlikely that Mary’s self-conquest in regard to Elizabeth, at the time of the latter’s abandonment and disgrace, would have resulted in a lasting affection, founded on pity, and that motherly instinct so strongly developed in the Queen, had not her sister persistently thrown herself into the arms of the rebels. At the time of Henry’s death, and until the beginning of Mary’s reign, their relations were as cordial as it was possible for Mary to make them. ”

“ Nevertheless, the seeds of discontent, and of mutual distrust and hatred, were as abundant as ever. Mary’s religion was well known; and her confirmed devotion to it, was by one party magnified into bigotry, and pronounced criminal; whilst by another, it was feared she would show herself too lukewarm in revenging the insults which the ancient worship had sustained. Such being the state of things, how could a young, and comparatively [Pg 109] inexperienced queen, just nineteen years of age, approach her kingdom otherwise than with fear and trembling? ”

“ Elizabeth, however, was not the only one who opposed this marriage. The Earl of Murray, Mary's brother, who had been thus far the great manager of the government under Mary, took at once a most decided stand against it. He enlisted a great number of Protestant nobles with him, and they held deliberations, in which they formed plans for resisting it by force. But Mary, who, with all her gentleness and loveliness of spirit, had, like other women, some decision and energy when an object in which the heart is concerned is at stake, had made up her mind. ”

“ But Mary being destined to treat of peace between God and men, it was not fitting that she should appear as a partaker in the crime of Adam, and therefore the Lord preserved Mary from every stain of sin. Ah, my immaculate queen; oh spotless dove, so dear to God; ah, do not disdain to look upon the many stains and wounds of my soul; look on me and help me. That God who loves thee so much, denies thee nothing, neither dost thou know how to deny thyself to him who invokes thee. Oh Mary, to thee I have recourse; have pity on me. Mother inviolate, pray for us: “Mater inviolata, ora pro nobis.” ”

“ The Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary are eloquent of her generosity towards “the Lady Elizabeth’s grace,” and until Elizabeth forfeited her esteem by making common cause with her enemies, there was no diminution of cordiality on the part of the Queen towards her sister. She married Philip of Spain in spite of all opposition, in the first place for the sake of the realm, and in the hope of issue, and gave him a [Pg 479] passionate devotion. In most of these things Mary was a true woman, no heroine, but tender and human to a fault. ”

“ Oh my beloved mother, if, as I hope, I am saved by thee, I will no longer be ungrateful; I will make amends by perpetual praises and by all the affection of my soul for my past ingratitude, and will make some return for the love thou bearest me. In heaven, where thou reignest and wilt reign forever, I will always joyfully sing thy mercies, and forever I will kiss those loving hands that have freed me from hell as often as I have deserved it for my sins. Oh Mary, my liberator, my hope, my queen, my advocate, my mother, I love thee, I wish thee well, and will always love thee. ”

“ If thou hast suffered much upon earth, far greater is the glory that I have prepared for thee in heaven. Come there to sit near me; come to receive the crown that I will give thee as queen of the universe. Now, behold, Mary leaves the earth, and calling to mind the many graces she had there received from her Lord, she looks at it at the same time both with affection and compassion, leaving in it so many poor children, in the midst of so many miseries and dangers. And now Jesus offers her his hand, and the blessed mother rises in the air and passes beyond the clouds and spheres. ”

“ And as we to-day try to appreciate the place of Blessed Mary in the life of the Church of God must we not feel it to be our misfortune that our past has been so wrapped in clouds of controversy that we have been unable to see her meaning at all clearly? Must we not feel deep sadness at the thought that the very mention of Mary's name, so often stirs, not love and gratitude, but the spirit of suspicion and dislike? We no doubt have passed beyond such feelings, but the traces of their evil work through the centuries still persist. ”

“ She is so merciful an advocate, that she consents to defend all sinners who recommend themselves to her; and she is so powerful with our Judge that she gains all the causes which she defends. Oh our queen and advocate, in thy hand is our salvation; if thou dost pray for us, we shall be saved. Say to thy Son that thou dost wish us with thee in paradise. He denies thee nothing that thou dost ask. Oh our life, our sweetness, and our hope! Mary, pray Jesus for us. ”

“ In the Master’s Lodge, where Mary slept when she passed through Cambridge, on her way to London at the time of her accession, is a portrait of the Queen inscribed Maria Regina Huius Collegii Benefactrix. The picture is one of the replicas of the portrait painted by Sir Antonio More, before her marriage, with some variations as to minor details. Seeing how entirely Mary has passed from the minds and hearts of the English people, it is pleasant to learn that she is still commemorated at Trinity College, in a prayer said after grace on feast days. ”

“ Accordingly thy wife Anna will bring forth a daughter to thee, and thou shalt call her name Mary: she shall be, as you have vowed, consecrated to the Lord from her infancy, and she shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from her mother’s womb. She shall neither eat nor drink any unclean thing, nor shall she spend her life among the crowds of the people without, but in the temple of the Lord, that it may not be possible either to say, or so much as to suspect, any evil concerning her. ”

“ And she rose up with flashing eye and glowing cheek, looking as her father looked when he protested against the slave-trade.
"Thou art my Saint Catharine," said Virginie, rising up, excited by Mary's enthusiasm, "and hast the sword as well as the palm; but, dear saint, don't think so very, very badly of him;—he has a noble nature; he has the angel in him."
"The greater his sin," said Mary; "he sins against light and love." ”

“ At the great gates of Greenwich Palace stood the Queen and her daughter Mary, now six years old, to welcome him. The Emperor dropped on one knee, and asked Katharine’s blessing, “having,” says the chronicler Hall, “great joy to see the queen, his aunt, and in especiall his young cousin germain, the lady Mary”.
All who saw Mary at this time spoke favourably of her appearance. “She promises,” said Martin de Salinas, “to become a handsome lady, although it is difficult to form an idea of her beauty, as she is still so small.” ”