EXTRACTS FROM HER ADDRESSES TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
Every word and act of this unhappy Princess, more especially as her life
neared its close, have proved so interesting to students of her history,
that I have deemed it well to reproduce here some of her speeches and
utterances before the Commissioners appointed to try her.
On the first day of the trial, the Lord Chancellor, Bromley, having
signified the causes which had impelled Elizabeth to take action against
her as the disturber of religion and the public peace, Mary replied as
follows:--
"I came into this kingdom under promise of assistance and aid against my
enemies, and not as a subject, as I could prove to you had I my papers;
instead of which I have been detained and imprisoned. I protest
publicly that I am an independent sovereign and princess, and I
recognize no superior but God alone. I therefore require that before I
proceed further, it be recorded that whatever I may say in replying here
to the Commissioners of my good sister, the Queen of England (who, I
consider, has been wrongly and falsely prejudiced against me), shall not
be to my prejudice, nor that of the princes, my allies, nor the king, my
son, or any of those who may succeed me. I make this protestation not
out of regard to my life, or in order to conceal the truth, but purely
for the preservation of the honour and dignity of my royal prerogative,
and to show that in consenting to appear before this commission I do so,
not as a subject to Queen Elizabeth, but only from my desire to clear
myself, and to show to all the world that I am not guilty of this crime
against the person of the Queen, with which it seems I am charged. I
wish to reply to this point alone, I desire this protest to be publicly
recorded, and I appeal to all the lords and nobles present to bear me
testimony should it one day be necessary."
In the course of the afternoon discussion, she made bitter complaint of
the unfair treatment to which she had been subjected:--
"I have, as you see, lost my health and the use of my limbs. I cannot
walk without assistance, nor use my arms, and I spend most of my time
confined to bed by sickness. Not only this, but through my trials, I
have lost the small intellectual gifts bestowed on me by God, such as my
memory, which would have aided me to recall those things which I have
seen and read, and which might be useful to me in the cruel position in
which I now find myself ... Not content with this, my enemies now
endeavour to complete my ruin, using against me means that are unheard
of towards persons of my rank, and unknown in this kingdom before the
reign of the present Queen, and even now not approved by rightful
judges, but only by unlawful authority. Against these I appeal to
Almighty God, to all Christian princes, and to the estates of this
kingdom duly and lawfully assembled. Being innocent and falsely
suspected, I am ready to maintain and defend my honour, provided that my
defence be publicly recorded, and that I make it in the presences of
some princes or foreign judges, or even before my natural judges; and
this without prejudice to my mother the Church, to kings, sovereign
princes and to my son. With regard to the pretensions long put forward
by the English (as their chronicles testify) to suzerainty over my
predecessors, the Kings of Scotland, I utterly deny and protest against
them, and will not, like a _femme-de peu de coeur_, admit them, nor by
any present act, to which I may be constrained, will I fortify such a
claim, whereby I should dishonour those princes, my ancestors, and
acknowledge them to have been traitors and rebels. Rather than do this,
I am ready to die for God and my rights in this quarrel, in which, as in
all others, I am innocent."
Burleigh had reproached her with having assumed the arms of England, and
a spirited discussion after a somewhat legal fashion followed. Passing
with characteristic facility from that unprofitable topic, Mary
proceeded in the following spirited and pathetic manner:--
"God and you know whether I have a right or not to the crown of England.
I have offered myself to maintain the rights of my sister, Queen
Elizabeth, as being the eldest, but I have no scruple of conscience in
desiring the second rank, as being the legitimate and nearest heir. I
am the daughter of James V., king of Scotland, and grand-daughter of
Henry VII. This cannot be taken from me by any law, or council or
assembly, or judgment, nor consequently can my rights. I know well that
my enemies and those who wish to deprive me of those rights have done up
till now all that they can to injure me, and have essayed all
illegitimate means, even to attempting my life, as is well known, and
has been discovered in certain places and by certain persons whom I
could name, were it necessary; but God, who is the best Judge, and who
never forgets His own, has until now, in His infinite mercy and
goodness, preserved me from all dangers, and I hope that he will
continue to do so and will not abandon me, knowing that He is all truth,
and that He has promised not to abandon His servants in their need. He
has extended His hand over me to afflict me, but He has given me this
grace of patience to bear the adversities which it has pleased Him to
send me. I do not desire vengeance. I leave it to Him who is the just
Avenger of the innocent and of those who suffer for His name, under
whose power and will I take shelter. I prefer the conduct of Esther to
that of Judith, although both are approved by the Church. I pray God to
do with me according to His good pleasure, to His praise and honour, and
to the greater glory of His Church, in which I wish to live and die, in
which I have been brought up and educated, and for which (as I have
already protested several times), I would shed my blood to the last
drop, being resolved to suffer all that God wishes. 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, 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
on the friendship and promises of your Queen. Look here, my Lords, [at
this point she took a ring from her finger], see this pledge of love and
protection which I received from your mistress, regard it well.
Trusting to this pledge, I came amongst you. You all know how it has
been kept."
Her criticism of the second-hand evidence, secured from her secretaries
in her absence, is so just that I cannot pass it over without giving, at
least, some extracts from it. It will be observed, that while sharing
in the suspicion not uncommon at the time, that Nau had betrayed her to
save himself, her fairmindedness and charitable disposition prevented
her from condemning him without a hearing.
"Why," she asked, "are not Nau and Curle examined in my presence? They
at any rate are still alive. If my enemies were assured that they would
confirm their pretended avowals, they would be here without doubt. If
they have written, be it what it may, concerning the enterprise, they
have done it of themselves, and did not communicate it to me, and on
this point I disavow them." ......
"I know well that Nau had many peculiarities, likings and intentions,
that I cannot mention, in public, but which I much regret, for he does
me great injustice. For my part, I do not wish to accuse my secretaries,
but I plainly see that what they have said is from fear of torture and
death. Under promises of their lives, and in order to save themselves,
they have excused themselves at my expense, fancying that I could
thereby more easily save myself; at the same time not knowing where I
was and not suspecting the manner in which I am treated ... As to Curle,
if he has done anything suspicious, he has been compelled to do it by
Nau, whom he feared much to displease.... _And yet I do not think that
either the one or the other would have forgotten himself so far._"
"I commanded him (Nau) it is true, and in a general way supported his
doings, as all princes are accustomed to do, but it is for him to answer
for his private doings. I cannot but think he has been acting under
constraint in this matter. Feeling himself to be feeble and weak by
nature, and fearing torture, he thought to escape by throwing all the
blame on me."
* * * * *
"I dictated nothing to them (the secretaries) but what nature herself
inspired me, for the recovery at least of my liberty. I can only be
convicted by my words or by my own writings. If, without my consent,
but have written something to the prejudice of the Queen, your mistress,
let them suffer the punishment of their rashness. _But of this I am
very sure, if they were now in my presence, they would clear me on the
spot of all blame, and would put me out of case_. Show me, at least, the
minutes of my correspondence written by myself; they will bear witness
to what I now assert."
On the morning of the second day, Mary made a strong and dignified
protest against the manner in which the trial had been conducted, and
after specifying the treatment she expected to receive when she
consented to appear before the Commissioners, proceeded:--
"Instead of this, I find myself overwhelmed under the importunity of a
crowd of advocates and lawyers, who appear to be more versed in the
formalities of petty courts of justice, in little towns, than in the
investigation of questions such as the present. And although I was
promised that I should be simply questioned and examined on one
point,--that, namely, concerning the attempt on the person of the
Queen,--they have presumed to accuse me, each striving who should
surpass the other in stating and exaggerating facts, and attempting to
force me to reply to questions which I do not understand, and which have
nothing to do with the Commission. Is it not an unworthy act to submit
to such conduct of such people, the title of a princess, one little
accustomed to such procedures and formalities? And is it not against
all right, justice and reason to deliver her over to them, weak and ill
as she is, and deprived of counsel, without papers or notes or
secretary? It is very easy for many together, and, as it appears to me,
conspiring for the same object, to vanquish by force of words a solitary
and defenceless woman. There is not one, I think, among you, let him be
the cleverest man you will, who would be capable of resisting or
defending himself, were he in my place. I am alone, taken by surprise,
and forced to reply to so many people who are unfriendly to me, and who
have long been preparing for this occasion; and who appear to be more
influenced by vehement prejudice and anger, than by a desire of
discovering the truth and fulfilling the duties laid down for them by
the Commission."
Referring to the complaint that, in Rome, public prayers had been
offered for her, under the title of Queen of England, she remarked:--"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 thank him, all Christian
people and all Catholic nations for the prayers they daily offer for me,
and I pray them to continue to do so, and to remember me in their
Masses."
As regards her attitude towards her Protestant subjects she said:--"You
know very well that in my own kingdom I never interfered with any of the
Protestants, but, on the contrary, tried to win them always by
gentleness and clemency, which I carried too far, and for which I have
been blamed. It has been the cause of my ruin, for my subjects became
proud and haughty, and abused my clemency; indeed, they now complain
that they were never so well off as under my government."
The trial ended on the 15th October. Mary rose from her seat before the
Commissioners and passed out of the hall, addressing a few words of
good-humoured reproach to the lawyers for their "quibbling," as she
moved past the table around which they were seated. The Commissioners,
in compliance with instructions received from Elizabeth, withdrew to
Westminster before passing sentence. Assembled in the Star-Chamber ten
days later, they declared Mary "to be accessory to Babington's
conspiracy, and to have imagined diverse matters, tending to the hurt,
death, and destruction of Elizabeth, contrary to the express words of
the statute, made for the security of the Queen's life" (Camden).
Parliament sat a few days after, and both houses, having sanctioned the
sentence of the Commissioners, presented an address to Elizabeth,
requesting her to publish and execute without delay the sentence against
her dangerous rival.
Mary in the meantime was ignorant of what was being done since the
rising of the Commission at Fotheringay. However, she maintained an
extraordinary cheerfulness and surprised the observant Sir Amias by her
"quietness and serenity." The feast of All Saints arrived, but without
the joyous anthems and splendid ceremonial that marked it in Catholic
lands. The Queen passed the day reading the lives of the Saints and
Martyrs and praying in her oratory. In the afternoon she received a
visit from Paulet. In the course of their conversation, this censorious
pedant, anxious to execute the will of Elizabeth, who had instructed him
to carefully observe whether his prisoner should reveal a disposition to
sue for pardon, undertook to instruct her in the necessity of having a
clear conscience and of confessing her crimes before God and the world.
Mary promptly answered, saying:--"No one can say that he is free from
sin. I am a woman and human, and have offended God, and I repent of my
sins, and pray God to forgive me, doing penance for the same; but at
present I do not know to whom I could or should confess--God forbid that
I should ask you to be my confessor."