MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11854, 4 January 1902, Page 5 (Supplement)

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS.

■. . rv" ♦ !"• r ■:","-.' ■' * ■ ' THE CASKET LETTERS. ' • A book in two volumes on this sub* ject has just been published by Mr. S. Cowan. He is, an out-and-out. de« ! ' fender of the unfortunate Queen, Mr. Cowan's excuse for taking up the subject is that additional light is now. thrown .upon it by the discovery of State documents with? " reference to the Scottish Queen, that are undoubtedly favourable to Mary. Ho is able also to give us a copy of the original "bond" : for the Eizzio murder, and this is helpful as-j showing the manner of men the Queen had! -to Heal with, and as strengthening Mr.-, Cowan's contention that from first to last she - was surrounded by conspirators, : and was the victim of plots and counterplot.-. /■The ill-fated Queen never had a more earnest pleader or .a stouter 'champion. If less/eloquent than Dr. Skelton, Mr. Cowan; is more argumentative. la his eagerness hoi frequently repeats himself, but" he wastes! no space hi preliminaries. Much might have: ben said of the state of Scotland in the days; of Mary's minority and absence in France,. ," ; and this is, necessary in order to trace the' fcplay, of faction, and the growth of jealousy^ 1 distrust, and corruption amongst the ' Scot- . . tish nobles of the period. ! •> But, leaving all this for granted, Mr.,i "Cowan begins' his narrative with the returni of Mary after the death of Francis H.Sho 1 landed at Leith. Her intention was to take another route, but even thus early : she had* to face-the opposition of Elizabeth, who refused her Scottish cousin a passport-.' Mr.; Cowan has no hesitation in. classing tho. ' Tudor Queen as a life-long enemy of her: Stuart rival. He shows how Elizabeth,? jealous of the brilliancy,and beauty of Mary,! . was continually advised, by her own' desire,; of the movements of the latter,* and was; not seldom in the receipt of mendacious state-j merits regarding her cousin from English: agents at the Scottish Court, and-often: - enough also from renegade Scots themselves.! Elizabeth got one honest man, to talk to' her about Mary, in the person'.of Andrew Melville. It was when Melville went as<l , Ambassador to Hampton Court on the sub-1 ' ? ject of the contemplated marriage with Darn- . ley. Elizabeth plied Melville with all manner of questions as to the accomplishments and charms of the Scottish Queen, and poor Melville was at his wit's end to avoid giving offence. He was pointedly asked by; - Elizabeth whether she or Mary was the . more beautiful. The reply was that each; was the fairest in her own country—-that, if; anything, Elizabeth was the whiter, but; that Mary was "very lissome." When it' came to which was the taller, Melvillejhad 1 perforce to answer " The Queen of Scots,"'. whereupon the Queen of England settled the , • matter to her own satisfaction by declaring .that Mary was " ower high," but that she, j -■:;: Elizabeth, was " neither ower high nor! ower low." " • - It is curious that while Mr. Cowan upholds' the Queen through the, crises of the Darnley; murder, the Bothwell marriage, and in her; relations with Elizabeth, he finds fault with! her for lack of decision in that comparatively j minor, matter, the Huntly. Rebellion. This J . rebellion took place at the outset of her' active reign, and it is : notorious that the] Queen was then deceived, and acted from' , imperfect knowledge. Even her enemies say; as much, and; will hardly deny -that when] the time came she amply atoned for her' , "/ fault. With regard to the murder of Darnlcy and the subsequent marriage with Bothwell the' two,things are linked, both by -those who: accuse the Queen ofj being privy to the as-] sassination of her husband, and by those-. who: claim that she was innocent of all j complicity in.this outrage. -Those who taker; the latter ■ view i maintain that the "bond") for the Bothwell marriage was drawn up as).. *',' a means of screening the guilty nobles, andr throwing 'the .onus of the t murder on the ■; ■■.'-, Queen; Ranged as he is on Mary's side, Mr.' Cowan holds. to the theory that the Queen > 'was 'an unwilling party the marriage,; , and he maintains, on the strength of a good deal of positive evidence, ' that statements' to the contrary; are based oh' spurious documents. This is certainly; the view that was ' taken by the Scots Parliament of the period,. . and there; is evidence from her own lips that! j ■ Mary detested Bothwell, and that it was at' ■ her request a Papal decree was issued annul-; ,! . ■ ling the marriage. 'u , ■ -,-■ Not • all -> the : friends of Mary Stuart will,"; . however, go so far as Mr. ; Cowan in saying • ' that "there is no evidence to be found that' ■/ • either directly or indirectly proves that the, v& . Queen was otherwise"than good, pure, and] , -;,■■ ; virtuous- in -every phase ,of her short but] ; eventful'reign." ; On the other hand, many/ ;.; ■of those who are inclined to be sceptical on! V -, this point now frankly admit that the Queen! '.• has suffered in reputation from documents!- j , that were manifestly the result of a con- 1 ' - , spiracy against her. This is notoriously the \ » case with the Casket letters, alleged to have;" i been written by, herself, and of which full! '," :U■■'■!,. copies are hero given.' These letters are self-; i condemnatory. In the first place, they i are anonymous, though purporting to have-. ' been written,, by,, the Queen. Then, it is i .0 • incredible that Mary could have written them,; . seeing that they are skilfully contrived to) <■ : reflect discredit ■ arid dishonour upon herself.<' : f Further,, they do not possess her fluency" of' ■;;/. ; diction and delicacy of expression ; and their. ','.- i unreality is easily exposed when they are ' compared with her genuine epistles, of which l 3 there is no lack. . An even more fatal objection to them as-: t - . 5 evidence is that they are copies, ■• and that. ' 1 , no one lias even seen the. original of any of] ' them. Nevertheless they are clever, and!" '; I one historian has gone so far as to say with' , - "regard to the longest of the scries that if:. -; i it be a concoction only Shakesipere could have; , written it, so vivid are its details and soi ,v - close its analysis of human emotions. Mr.i . Vn Cowan's contention is that the letters were; ' ;',-,•' ; the product of more than one person, and he. I- specifies : Maitland, Buchanan, Archibald! ! Douglas, land .Thomas Crawford as the writ-- - ; - , -'CIS,., and Moray, Morton, Rutliven, andi ". Lindsay as the inspireis thereof. In other'- ? words, he holds that the Darnley plotter* - took this nefarious course to cover up their" - crime. , * ; i i A unique feature in these two volumes is, i the fine series of historical portraits of the; ' r unfortunate Queen. In no similar work arc • there so many likenesses of her. It is true 1 , that no two of the portraits are alike; and 1 ' ' this is strangely in keeping with the fact'! ' '~ ' i that no two authorities 'are in perfect agree- / ment as "the Scottish Queen's merits and: ; demerits. Other ; features that will pleasei the antiquary and the student are a contem- : " / i porary drawing of the trial at Foth'eringay,- ■■-.■'-.., > a fac-simile of the last letter written by the.: '' i Queen;: various inventories, and, as already - indicated, a transcript of the "bond" under ;•*';' > which Rizzio was slain. - - I In acknowledging a vote of confidence it . the Government passed by the Ebor Habits • 5 tion of the Primrose J -:>jrue Lord Salisbury; I (writing to, Miss Milne?" says :— I thank' 5 you heartily for the note in which you have ; forwarded it. 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