THE FOUR QUEENS MARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15184, 1 July 1911, Page 13

THE FOUR QUEENS MARY.

Br " Constant Readeh." Under date May 31,1662, Pepys entered in his diary : " At dinner comes my Lord Carlmgford from London, going to Portsmouth ; tells us that the Duchess of York is brought to bed of a. girl, at which I found nobody pleased." This child was Mary, afterwards Mary II of England, and her motlver was Anna, daughter of Edward Hyde, Chancellor of the Realm, and afterwards Earl of Clarendon. Macaulay writes: "At the Bestoration Hyde became chief minister. In a few months it was announced that he was closely related by affinity to the Royal House. His -daughter had become by 'a secret marriage Duchess of York, ills grandchildren might, perhaps, wear the crown." Under date September 12,1664, Pepys Iws this entry: "With the Duke; and saw him with great pleasure play with his little girl, like an ordinary- private father of a child." And on April 2, 1669, the immortal diarist records: "To Whitehall, and there to the Duke of York's lodgings. ... In Iho meantime, stepping to tho Ducliess of Yolk's aide to speak to with Lady Peterborough, I did roe the voting Duchess, a little child in hanging sleeves, dance most finely, so as almost to ravish me; her ears were so good; taught by a Frenchman who did heretofore teach the King, and all the King's children and the Queen-mother herself; who do still dance well." Mary was only a girl of 16 when she was married to William, Prince of Orange; and whatever affection her father as Duke of York had for has aaagnier, was completely lost when eight years before his accession to the throne as James 11, she contracted this alliance. MaeavJay aays of Mary:— To her father she had probably never been attached;, she had quitted him young; many years had elapsed since she had seen him ; and no part of his conduct to her since her marriage had indicated tenderness on lies part, or had been calculated to call forth tenderness on hers. He had done all in his power to disturb her domestic happiness, and had established a system of spying, eavesdropping, and tale-bearing under her roof. > He had afar greater revenue than any of his predecessors had ever possessed, and regularly allowed to her younger sister (afterwards Queen Anne, daughter of Mary of Modena) £40,000 a year; but the heiress presumptive of his throne had never received from Mm the smallest pecuniary assistance, and was soarcely able to make that appearance which became her high rank among European princesses. . . . From the day on which it had become clear that she and her husband were determined not to be parties to the subversion of the English constitution, one chief object of the politics of James had been to injure them both. . . . That she should lovo such a father was impossible. Her religions principles,, indeed, wer© so strict that she would probably have tried to perform what she considered her duty even to a father whom she did not love. On the present occasion (the invitation from England to William to depose James II) she judged that the claim of James to her obedience ought to yield to a claim more sacred. And, indeed, all divines and publicists agree in tliis. that when the daughter of a prince of one country is married' to a prince of another country, she is bound to forget her own people and her father's house, and in the event of a, rupture between her own husband and her parents, to fide with her husband. This is the undoubted rule, even when the husband is in the wrong; and to Mary the enterprise which William meditated appeared not only just but holy.

The Princess Mary, at the time of her marriage, was a handsome girl, well'disposed, and naturally intelligent, but ignorant and simple. William* Prince of Orange, although not quite 28, was in constitution older than her father; his manner was chilling and his head was constantly occupied with public business or with field sports. The terrible tumult at the Hague, which, with the accompanying murder of the De Wittes, called William to tho head of the Dutch Republic, is well sketched by Dumas in "The Black Tulip"; and even more vividly by Marjorie Bowen in "I Will Maintain.'' The latter book, moreover, contains a splendid character sketch of William. It was in 1672, or five years before Iris marriage, that William commenced his rule of Holland. Green, the historian, thus pictures hie personality: Though tho new Stitdliolder had hardly reached manhood, his great qualities at once made themselves felt. His. early life had schooled him in a wonderful self-control. He had been left fatherless and all but friendless; in childhood he had been bred among men ' who looked upon his very existence us a danger to the State; his words had ■ been watched, his looks noted, his friends jealously withdrawn. In 6uch an atmosphere the boy grew up silent, wary, self-contained, grave in temper, cold in demeanour* blunt and even repulsive in address. He was weak and sickly from his cradle, and manhood brought with it aii asthma and consumption which shook his frame with a constant cough; his face was sullen and bloodless and scored with deep Hues which told of ceaseless pain. But beneath this cold and sickly presence lay a fiery and commanding temper, an immovable courage, and a political ability of the highest order. William was a born statesman. Neglected as his education had been in other ways, for ho knew nothing of letters or of art, lie had been carefully trained in politics by John de Witte, and the wide knowledge with which in his first address to the States General, the young Stadholder reviewed the general state of Europe, the cool courage with which he calculated the chances of the struggle, at once won him the trust of his countrymen. Their trust was soon rewarded. Holland was saved and province after province won back from the arms of Franco by William's dauntless resolve. Like his great ancestor, William the Silent, he was a luckkss commander, and no general had to hear more frequent defeats. But he profited by defeat; all other men profit by victory. His bravery, indeed, was of that nobler cast which rises to its height in moments of ruin and dismay. The coolness with which, boy general as he was, ho rallied his broken squadrons amidst the rout of Setvef/, and wrested from Conde at the last the fruits of his victcry. moved his veteran opponent to a generous admiration. It was in such moments, in-' deed, that tho real temper of the man broke through the veil of his usual reserve. A 6trange light flashed from his eyes as soon as he was under fire, and in the terror and. confusion of defeat his manners took an ease and gaiety that charmed every soldier around him.

William's marriage with Mary -was no love-match, but purely a political alliance. In order to build up that Great Allianeo of all Europe which alone could effectually cheek the ambition of France, the cooperation of England was essential. James II was without a son, and William's marriage with Mary ensured the aid of England in the event of the Kind's death. .Consequently, as Macaulay points out: " For a time William was a negligent husband. He was indeed drawn away from his wife by oilier women, particularly by one cf lxr ladies, Elizabeth Villiors, who, though dcit'tr.te of psifond attractions and disfigured bv- a hidrcus «piint, pruscssed talent which well fitted her to partake his cares." Swift, in l:rs Journal to Stella, has an account of Elizabeth Villiors in which connection may be remembered lh-3 incident of WilKim teaching l)er.n Swift the Dutch way of calin? asparagus, ftalk and all, a fashion wl:-;.?h appealed to Swift's i:conomicnl mind. Mary, i'kuvpver, found a faithful champion in Bishop Ken, a famous ecclesiastic, the centenary of -whose birth was celebrated a few

months back. Marston, in " Thomas Ken and Izaak Walton" says: — Ken embarked for Holland as chaplain to the Princess of Orange, daughter • of James 11, who naturally wished to have him near her in a foreign country, . not only as English chaplain, but .is confidential friend. Ho became a great favourite of the princess, for whom he had the highest esteem; but he was no favourite of the prince. Ho had expressed himself dissatisfied with the prince's treatment of her. He. had also induced Count Zulcsteiii to marry a lady whom he had seduced, which excited the prince's anger. Ken, in consequence, resigned his post; then William, struck by his courage, became more friendly, and Ken consented to remain. He returned to England in 1680, when he was made King's chaplain, and was commanded to preach before his Majesty. ■ "Mary bore her injuries," writes Maeaulav, " with a meeknoFs and patience which deserved and, gradually obtained William's esteem and gratitude. Yet there still remained one cause of estrangement. A time would probably come when ! the Princess, who had been educated only to work embroidery, to play on the spinet, and to read- the Bible and the Whole Duty of Man, would be the chief of a great monarchy, and would hold tho balance of 'Europe, while her lord, 1 ambitious, versed in affairs, and bent on greit enterprises, would find in the British Government no place marked out for him, and would hold power only from her bounty and during her pleasure. It i 6 not strange that a man so fond of authority as William and so conscious of a genius for command should have felt so strongly that jealousy which during a few hours of Royalty put dissension between Guildford Dudley and the Lady Jane, and which produced a rupture still more tragical between Darnley and the Queen of Scots. The Princess of Orange had not the faintest suspicion of her husband's feelings. Hor preceptor, Bishop Compton, had instructed her carefully in religion, and had especially guarded her mind ac;a.iiist the arts of Roman Catholic ■ divines, but had left her profoundly ignoTant of the English Constitution, and of her own position. She knew that her marriage vow bound her to obey her husband; and it never occurred to her' that the relation in which they stood to each other might ono day be inverted. , She had been nine years married before she discovered the cause of William's discontent, nor would «ho ever have learned it from himself. In general his temper inclined him rather to brood over his griefs than to give utterance to them; and in this particular case his lips were sealed by a very natural delicacy. At length a complete explanation and reconciliatibn were brought about by the agency of Gilbert Burnet." Bishop Burnet, who had a profound admiration for the Princess Mary, thus describes the incident in his "History of His Own Times " : — The Princess possessed all that conversed with her with admiration. Her person was majestic and created respect; she Had great knowledge with a true judgment and a noble expression—a sweetness in her deportment that charmed, an exactness in her piety and virtue, a frugality in her expenses, an extensiveness in her charities, and a peculiar grace in bestowin" them so as to make her a pattern to all who saw her. She read much both in history and divinity, and when the humour in her eyes forced her from that exercise, she sit herself to work with such constant diligence that all the ladies about her were ashamed to be idle. But, above all, she was a'singukc instance of conjugal obedience and affection in so much that when it was put to her by me, "What she intended the Prince to be if sho came to the crown?" her answer was, "That . the rule and authority should bo his; for she only def-ircd that he would obey the command of 'Husbands, love your wives,' as she should do that of 'Wives, be obedisat to your husbands in all things."' Following the flight to France of James 11 in December, 1688, William of Orange arrived in London and summoned the Convention of Peers and Parliament, which met on January.22, 3689. Some of the Tories wished to restore James, providing he would pledge himself to Constitutional government; others were ready to accept William as Regent, leaving to James the title of King; others, again, held that through James having left the country his daughter, Mary, had actually become Queen. The settlement was a difficult one, but ultimately it was decided that William and Mary should reign together as King and Queen of England. Mary's character as Queen is thus depicted by Burnet :— The Queen continued still to set a great example to the whole nation, which shined in all the parts of it. She used all possible methods for reforming whatever was amiss. She took ladies off from that idleness which not only misted their time but exposed them to many temptations; she engaged many both to read and to work; she wrought many hours a day herself with her ladies and her maids of honour, working about her while one read to them all. The female part of the Court had been in tho former reigns subject to much censure, and there was great cause for it; but she freed the Court so entirely from all suspicion that there was no** so much as a colour for discourses of that sort. She 'divided her time so regularly between her closet and business, her work and diversion, that every minute seemed to have its proper employment; she expresses! so deep a f-nnse of religion with so true a regard to it: she had such bright principles and just notions, and liei- deportment was eo exact in every part of it, all being natural and unconstrained and animated with due life and

cheerfulness; she considered everything that was said before her so carefully, and gave such due encouragement to a freedom of speech: she lmeinbercd everything so exactly, observing at the same time the closest reservedno-s, yet with an open air of fronknres; rte was so candid in all she said and cautions in every promise she made, and, notwithstanding her own great capacity, sho expressed fcuch a distrust of her own thoughts, and was so entirely resigned to the King's judgment and so constantly determined, by it, that when I laid all these things together, which I had large opportunity to observe, it gave

a very pleasant prospect to balance the melancholy view that arose from the illposture of our affairs in other respects. It gavo U6 a particular joy when wo saw the person whose condition seemed to mark her out as the defender and perfecter of our Reformation was such in all respects, and in her public administration as well as in, her private deportment that she seemed well fitted for accomplishing the work for which she thought she was born. But wo f-con saw this hopefid -view blasted and our expectation disappointed in the loss of her. In the winter of 1694 smallpox raged virulently in London, and thousands werecarried off by this terrible scourge. Among these Queen .Mary alas! was included. Tho King was in great sorrow, and as Bishop Burnet recounts; "He came on the second day of her illness, called mo into his closet, and gave a free vent to a most tender passion; he burst out into tears and cried out that there was no hope of the Queen, and that from being the mest happy he was now going to be the most miserable creature upon earth. He said during the wholo course of their marriago he had never known one single fault in her. There was a worth in her that nobody knew beside himeelf, though- he added that. I might know as much of her as any other person did. Never was such a face of sorrow seen in a court or in a town as at this tune. All people, mon and women, young and old, could scarcely refrain from tears . . . The Queen died on the 28th of December, about one in the morning, in the thirty-third year of her age, and in the sixth of her reign.'' I havo not space to dilate on the fourth Queen Mary, tiie gracious lady who occupies the throne as Consort of George V. Nor, considering all that has been faid and written of her of late, is t-hero much need. But for those who wish a beautiful record of a beautiful life I recommend most heartily a book entitled, "The Lifefitory of Our Gracious Queen Mary," which, written by Jeauie Rose Brewer, daintily bound and profusely illustrated, tells all that can be told of our most gracious Queen. The price is only half a crown, and tho publishers (the Religious Tract Society) are to be congratulated on the' quality and appearance of the volume. This attempt to limn tho characters and outline the careers of the four Marys, who in England and in Scotland have held queenly rank, induces some inevitable reflections. In a sense the lives of these four Marys reflect that gradual evolution of woman, which is so marked a feature of present-day thought and society.. In a more intimate sense it reveals how greatly favoured is Queen Mary, wife of King George. In her character there is no trace of the intense religious bigotry which marred Mary Tudor; nor of the moral laxness which ruined Mary Queen of Scots. And accepting Burnet's appreciation, while Mary II was a noble woman in the last sense of the word, yet she was bereft of the inestimable joy of a lovo union such as binds together the present occupants of the throne. Wherefore I cry, in conclusion, Long live the King, Gcd bless the Queen, and all the Royal Family!