FUGGER NEWS-LETTERS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 123, 27 May 1933, Page 19

FUGGER NEWS-LETTERS

LIGHT ON 16TH CENTURY ENGLAND

EXECUTION OF MARY STUART

(By "Ajax.")

-The Fugger Kews-Lettcrs, First Series. .vlJeinga selection of Unpublished . Letters from the Correspondents . .' of the House of Fugger during tho ■yca.rs 1568-1605. Edited by Victor yon Klarwill. London: John Lane; . . I'ho- Bddley Head, Ltd. Published price, 3s Cd. :• , [Ist.Notice.] ; On Sunday' last tho first order of my day was "The Shorter Oxford Eng-' lish Dictionary," but "The Fugger News-Le.tters" (First.Series), at which, I had allowed 'myself a glance as an j appetiser, took complcto charge. Tbo clock .struck one. before I found time to look any further, aad the dictionary 'must stantf over for a week at leaßt.

During the week a dip. into a still, more recent purchase had given me a good introduction to the tfagger. family. Previously I knew nothing of them beyond, what I had picked up from the reviews of the first f^nglish edition of this book which I am surprised to find appeared as long ago as 102-1. But in Clark Eusscll's "Book of Table-Talk" 1-road-as-follows-in. tho openiDg section which deals with the table-talk of lutliw.:—r-. . „■,, . • . ' The Cardinal-Bishop of Tmcn dying! Rome,-.' there was touud ■nothing upon him but a scrap of paper written upon, fasteucd inside his sleeve. :>Pope Julius 11, hearing of this, at once conceived it must bo a bill of exchange, and taking charge of it, Bent for the agent at Rome of the Fuggers, and asked him whether he knew the handwriting. "Yee," answered the agent, "it •is an acknowledgment of 300,000 florins that Fugger and Company owe the Cardinal." The Pope asked him whether he tould pay him that money. "At any. time 'your Holiness pleases," replied, the man very coolly. Whereupon the Pope sent i'or all the Cardinal of France and .Rome, and asked them whether their sovereigus <;ould command, in any given hour, 300,000 fjolden florins.. '/No," said they, "certainly not." "Well, then," replied the I'opc, "here is a citizen of Augsburg that

'<:'■ My opening in the.present !lrolmno' "Struck" the-' conclusion ot' a re;Wt sent from Prague on December^, 1^586, of tho proceedings taken against :.€ount Kinsky for some defamatory xejsnarks on the Emperor.. ' ' .' ~ '.[}. It was grievous to see such ah old man, so great a merit, and one known and ■•.Vespected in all parts, in such sorry plight. Sit must indeed have been no small grief •to him. May God protect him. I only :^ear that he may lose his post. In short: 5t is not wise to joke with the Great, for ■|hey have long arms, and one must not **peii one's mouth too wide. ■ ■•My friends, let us tako this advice to j heart! "It is not wise to joke .with ■the Great." They are often not pmused when they blight to be,- and ijfcaru sour instead. Their sense of ..;humoui- is apt to be deficient. Their tempers may be very short, but they ;|3&ave terrible long arms. Until their Wms are shorter lot us not make too -tiffany .jokes. ,or ...open, our mouths-too 'Uride;.;. ■ .'■ ■-■■ ;"'"' .' ■■- i

The entry that follows i 3 dated December £-7> 1586, and records the "Sentenco of Death against Mary Stuart." —It' is' concise and tells nothing new, but it has the interest that belongs to anything written during the progress of great events and in ignorance of the outcomes — ■' In letters from London it is written that Parliament lias condemned the Queen of Scotland to be executed by the sword. But the Queen of England will not suffer it. The King of France has dispatched Monsieur de -.Bellievre to the Queen of England, earnestly to beseech her to spare the life of the Queen of Scotland. How the matter.will further develop is awaited with anxiety;.

On the opposite page begins an eightpage narrative which tells iv great deto.il of the execution of Mary Stuart, but chronology dictated the interposition of anotheritcm, and chance has mado the discord a-s complete as if it liad been, designed: — A WEDDING FEAST IN PRAGUE. From' 'Prague, the 22nd day of . .January, 1557. . .-. A list of all the meat awl poultry which were consumed orr the occasion 01 the wedding festivities ot His Honour William of Rosenberg held hi Praguo from the 11th to the 14th day of. January anuo JB7, during three meals:—deer 36,. venisou 12 tous, boars 3G, sucking pigs 9 tons, roes 49, hares 1200, turkeys 27, pheasants" 272, partridges 1910, field hares 11,560, Westpkalian cocks 50, oxen 75, sheep 7fM, calves 173, lambs 221, fattened pigs 32, young sows 160, Indian cocks 200, fattened capons 500, fattened hens; 5560, yotiDg hens 900, fattened geese. 1350,'esss 20,620, lard 37 hundredweight, cheese 2 tons. Skate fish 960, cHar iisli iv pasties 70, large pike 300, email pike 420, carps SSOO, a very •large she-pike. Rhine wine 70 pails, Hungarian wine 100 pails, Moravian wine 40 pailg, Austrian wine 17 barrels, Bohemian wine 47 barrels, sweet wine 10 kegs, pale ale 150 barrels, Rakonitz beer 8 barrels, liarley beer 18 barrels. Slices, marzipan and sweetmeats, wheat I6F rolls and corn for rye bread —a goodly amount. In all estates, towns find villages,_ a goodly number of poor people were like-TS-i.se> fed and it is not yet known how much has been consumed.

. Tp.o arguments iv favour of vegetarianism and tcetotalism which are supplied, by the consumption of all these -tjQ'nsi jaud tuns of solid and liquid re:freal)inent atithree ,meals might be •jWJakeiied if' we knew the number of 'thft.guests; but it is also possible that "they, might be strengthened.

'The account of the execution of JUar.y Queen of Scots is attributed to "Binaiiuol' Tomaseon, who was present ay't^ehapp'enings/'and it bears the endorsement'in'old handwriting: "From p. Csiviiiißt source." It is obviously the /report :of an eye-witness, and his Protestant bias has not prevented his doing full justice to tho courage and the dignity which sho maintained to. the very end. I'Jacreupon she ttood up and prepared Ketaelf for death. She doffed her jewels and ber gown, with the help o£ two women. When the executioner wished to assist her, she.said to him that it was not ier wont to be disrobed in the presence of such a crowd,. nor with the help of hucTi handmaidens. She herself took off her robe and pushed it down as far as the ■waist.' The bodice of the underskirt was (•fit low aod ■ tied together at the back. SUO.hastened to undo this.

''The help of such handmaidens" with its touch of humour is a good den) better fclin.il" ■ the "groomsmen" of 1-Voude's narrative. But that dons not prove it. to be more accurate, and the

humour is preserved by Froude's authority iv the smile with which he credits the Queen.

Afterwards, the Fugger Xews-sueet proceeds, she fell on her knees with yreat courage, did not change colour, aud likewise gave no sign of fear. One of her tirewomen bound a kerchief before her eyes. As she knelt down she repeated the 70th Psalm: "In to, Domino, spevavi. . . . When she had said this to the ciid, she, full- of courage, bunt down with her body aud laid her head ou the block, exclaiming: "In mauus. tuas, Domiue, commendo spiritum meum." (Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.) Thou out of the executioners held down her hanos, and the other cut off her head with two strokes of the chopper.