Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

the unpaid bill! Her husband was nothing of a man or he would have paid it for her. How she reasoned and quivered and thought, if Charley should die, until she was nearly thrown into hy. sterics again.

At length came the time for action. Her conscience would not allow her to send for her old family physician, without an explanation. She wrote a note desiring the Doctor to take her furni ture which was purchased at his expense, and attend her son,-promising faithfully for the future to liquidate all his claims. It is needless to add he did so, and Mrs. Hoxie is now one of his best customers.

This narrative is merely related, (being a true incident,) to show how reluctantly we admit the physician's claim, when the danger is over. We often quibble over the amount charged-pronounce a ten per cent, deduction-speak of sickness "being hard to bear." and reluctantly pull out the cash, ungrateful for the kindness which soothed our pillow, and the skill which procured our recovery.

It has been said, no bills are more reluctantly paid than those for a lost law-suit, and a dead friend! But I suppose this means when they have left no property!

[ocr errors]

There is a great deal of fancied sickness in this world. It frequently arises from indolence,-an indulged lassitude,-a want of energy, which if manfully resisted would cure itself, independent of powders or pills. If," said an eminent physican, (in confidence to a friend,)" if all my patients were really sick, I could cure them without so long attending them; but many are slightly debilitated, nervously predisposed, inactive in mind, and use no bodily exertions to become well; consequently my presence rather increases than diminishes fancy diseases."

If the laws of health were but properly observed languor and debility would be less imposing in the catalogue of mortal ills.-Rise early, live temperately, exercise vigorously, bodily and mentally, retire early, sleep soundly and my word for it, you you will seldom have a " Doctor's bill "to pay.Yankee Blade.

CHAR

From the Student.

WHO IS THE GREATEST. HARLES WEST and William Jarvis had just begun to study History, and they were much pleased with the stories of kings, whose riches and power were the wonder of the world, and whose armies conquered all opposing nations.

They were delighted with the account of the splendid cities, with their huge walls, their vast temples filled with gold and silver vessels, and their stately palaces.

"O, what great men there were in those days!" said Charles. "There were Cyrus, and Xerxes, and Alexander the great, and I can not tell how many more. We do not have such kings now, do we?" "No, Charles," answered William. "Do you remember the funny story about the Persian king, Xerxes, who wrote a letter to Mount Athos, commanding it to remove out of the way of his army, and who ordered the sea to be beaten because it destroyed his boats?

"He was a mighty king, but I do not think that the mountain obeyed him, or that the sea became

[merged small][ocr errors]

My children," said their teacher, who had overheard the conversation, "I see you are talking about great kings and queens, and wish to see them."

"Yes, Miss Orne, and I wonder who was the greatest person in the world ?" said William.

"Charles thinks Cleopatra was a great queen, because she lived in such splendor. Let me tell you something more about her.

Now, can

"The

"Such is the power of love and kindness over those even from whom reason has fled. you tell who is the greatest person ?” "I think I can tell you," said William. person who does all the good he can is the greatest, no matter how humble he is; for Christ said the poor widow had put more into the treasury than all the rich, because she had given all she had."

"You are right, and learn from this to be great by being good, the only true greatness, and the only lasting happiness.”

[ocr errors]

SIMPLICITY AND VASTNESS MARK THE WORKS OF GOD.

HE study of nature is peculiarly adapted to

T'impresa y of miturit of the prisotn

and power of a great First Cause.

"She was one of the most wicked and cruel It teaches us the simplicity and vastness which persons that ever lived ; and it is said that she poi-mark the works of creation, and fills us with wonsoned her little brother, who had been appointedder and admiration at the traits of infinite skill king; but it is not certain that she did. She was which are everywhere displayed. wicked enough, however, to do such a thing, if she had any reason for wishing him out of the way.

"Alexander was one of the greatest drunkards in the world; and having made a foolish bet that he would drink a large bowl of wine, he brought on a fever, from the effects of which he died. He was a tyrant of the most cruel kind.

"At one time he became enraged at one of his faithful old soldiers, for having told him that his father, Philip, had done greater things than he, and, seizing a spear, he killed him on the spot. And yet, this same old soldier had once saved the life of the cruel king in battle.

"But there is one woman who will be remembered with love and respect when kings and queens, with all their splendor, are forgotten. They may build monuments of marble, and brass, and iron; but they will decay, while hers will last forever, and its touching inscription time can never efface. "She has done what she could,' says the Saviour; and if you will read the twelfth chapter of Mark, I think you will agree with me, that this woman is more worthy of our remembrance than Cleopatra, with her silken sails and silver oars.

[ocr errors]

And no doubt you will remember one who said to the waves, Peace; be still;' and even the winds and the waves obeyed him."

"O yes, Miss Orne, I see what you mean," said Charles; and it was foolish for me to be so charmed with splendor that is mingled with so much wickedness. To be good is to be great; and we should have thought of that, William, when we were studying our history."

To the casual observer all things in nature may appear one complicated mass, indescribable and unknown; but investigation will prove the above assertion. In every flower, in every rippling stream, in every "rock-ribbed" hill, is this lesson, this beautiful lesson, indelibly written. From the tiny bud that lifts its meek brow to the soft caress of spring, up to the frowning Alps, hoary with the storms of countless ages, we may read-simplicity, simplicity.

Who would think, while looking at the everlasting mountains, that their ingredients could be the same as those of the pebbles we tread heedlessly beneath our feet; and yet, so mighty, so wonderful, so grand, are they, that we are lost in their overwhelming sublimity, and forget that it is by an accumulation of sand, and grain after grain, that they have attained their almost fearful size, and that their giant heads are upreared to heaven by the mighty internal action of the earth, the result of that simple law—the expansion of bodies by heat.

Do you ever think when we lift a cup of water to our lips, or listen to the pleasant murmur of the rill, or to the sullen roar of the unresting ocean, that to the combustion of two simple elements we are indebted for the cooling draught, the dancing streamlet, and the wayward sea? And when we admire the beauty of the little cascade, the grandeur of the mighty cataract, the sublimity of the majestic river, do we pause to consider how simple, yet how vast, the cunning workmanship of nature?

How much of simplicity and vastness is embodMiss Orne smiled, and continued: "I will tellied in that little acorn! We would scarcely think you of John Howard, who travelled over nearly the whole of Europe, visiting prisons, and trying to relieve the wretched inmates, many of whom were entirely innocent, or standing by the bed of the sick, to give them the healing cup, and speak words of kindness to the poor sufferers. But I am sorry to add, that this truly great man died of the plague, a terrible disease, while he was attending upon the sick.

[blocks in formation]

that it contains the embryo of the towering oak, the pride of the surrounding forest. The blessed air! how it lifts the locks from the toil-worn brow of labor, and softly fans with its invisible wings the fevered check of sickness! A simple, but a wonderful thing; now whispering sweetly to the trembling leaflets, now hoarsely shrieking in its wrath, prostrating the forest monarchs, and toss. ing them like the foam of the billows.

From such reflections, O man! cans't thou not see the wisdom and power of Him who is the author of existence?

Go forth into the green fields, or seek that bles. sed retreat in the shady wood; go forth at the holy twilight hour, go talk to the majestic mountains,

or hold sweet converse with the flower at thy feet, still, wherever thy walks may be, thou wilt plainly see graven on every object-" Simplicity and Vastness mark the works of God."-ANGELINE.

[ocr errors]

RURAL LIFE,

HIS primeval enjoyment of man is the most healthful of all occupations; healthful for the body and the soul. What other pursuits by which men obtain honest bread afford such vigorous training for the physical powers, such various and extensive ranges of mental exercise? •

And where may the moral nature of man be preserved unsullied from vice, and grow and expand more, than in the rural scenes beneath the purest air of heaven?

The farmer's life is not to scratch with the pen, or rap, rap, with the hammer, nor an everlasting unpacking and repacking of another's labor. He walks forth under the open sky, his broad acres spread out beneath his feet; the blue concave, sunlit or starlit, or shrouded in clouds, is still above him. Health claims him as her favorite child, and the glorious sun loves to kiss a check that is not ashamed to wear the ruddy imprint of such affection. Nature's own inimitable babbling brooks, birds, brecze, or rustling foliage, enter his ear on their glad mission to his heart. He listens to instructive voices continually speaking from the universe around him. His eyes gather truth from pages of wisdom every where open before him. Each day, each month, season after scason, year after year, these teachings are given to him, infinite in variety, and endless in extent.

When toward the close of a sultry day the summer's blessing comes pouring down, as says the beautiful poetry of the sacred volume, the trees of the field clap their hands, and the valleys covered with corn shout for joy, the farmer, retiring from his labors to the friendly shelter of his cottage roof, improves his leisure hours with measures of wis

dom.

So, too, while his fields are sleeping beneath frost and snow, what profession affords more available opportunities for self-culture? Where was the lyric poetry composed that makes Scotland prouder of her Burns than of all her ancient race of warlike kings? Was is not between the handles of the plow ?

GENTLE HINT.

I was amused the last morning watch that I kept. We were stowing away the hammocks in the quarter-deck nettings, when one of the boys came with his hammock on his shoulder, and as he passed, the first lieutenant perceived that he had a quid of tobacco in his cheek.

"What have you got there, my good lad-a gumboil? your cheek is much swelled."

No, sir," replied the boy," there's nothing at all the matter."

RURAL REPOSITORY.

[ocr errors]

143

boy was made to open his mouth, while the chew of "WELL, my lad, that is small corn you are of tobacco was extracted with this rough instrument. hoeing." "Yes," said the boy, while he contiu"There now," said the lieutenant, "I'm sure ed his labor," we planted small corn." "But it that you must feel better already, you never could looks rather yellow," Yes, sir, we planted the have any appetite. Now, captain of the after-yellow kind," returned the boy. "But I do not guard, bring a piece of old canvass and some sand believe you will have half a crop." "No, sir, we here, and clean his teeth nicely." planted it on shares," halloed the youugster, as the traveller rode away.

The captain of the after-guard came forward, and, putting the boy's head between his knees, scrubbed his teeth well with sand and canvas for

two or three minutes.

[blocks in formation]

BREAKING THE NEWS.-Cuff had been out with the cart and oxen, and returning, his master asked him what was the trouble.

"Why, massa, de wheel is broke." "Is that all, Cuff?"

"No, massa, de tongue broke too." "What, did the oxen run away ?" "Yes, massa, and kill de nigh ox." "Is it possible, Cuff?"

"And de off ox, too, massa."

"So you black rascal, you have made a perfect smash up, and that is the reason why you came back; why didn't you tell me so ?"

“Why, massa," said Cuff, scratching his wool, "I s'pose dat one wheel broke be 'ficient of itself individooly, widout proceeding into de entire argument ob de cart and oxun."

SIGNS OF CHARACTER.

SOME people seem to think that children have no character at all. On the contrary, an observ. ing eye sees in these young creatures the signs of what they are likely to be in future life.

When I see a boy always looking out for himself, and disliking to share good things with others, I think it a sign that he will grow up a very selfish person.

When I see a little boy willing to taste strong drink, I think it a sign that he will be a drunkard. When I see a child obedient to his parents, I think it a sign of great future blessings.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

"O, there must be; it is a bad tooth, then is never vas." open your mouth and let me see."

Very reluctantly, the boy opened his mouth and discovered a large roll of tobacco leaf.

"I beg

A NEW HAMPSHIRE farmer, going to a parish meeting met his minister, and told him that his society thought of increasing his salary. of you not to think of any such thing," said the minister, "for, it is about as much business to collect my present salary as I wish to attend to; if it should be increased I should be obliged to When the armorer made his appearance, the devote my whole time to collect it."

"I see, I see," said the lieutenant, "your mouth wants overhauling, and your teeth cleaning; I wish we had a dentist on board, but, as we have not, I will operate as well as I can. Send the ar. morer up here with his tongs."

[ocr errors][merged small]

THE manager of the savings back at Dunferrey near Goofowran, is spoken of in these terms: had on, when last seen, a pair of corduroy trowsers, with a tremendous squint rather the worse for wear besides an affected lisp, which he endeavors to conceal with a pair of gold spectacles."

AN agent, soliciting subscribers for a book, showed the prospectus to a man, who, after reading-" One dollar in boards, and one dollar and twenty-five cents in sheep "-declined subscribing, as he might not have boards or sheep on hand when called upon for payment.

[blocks in formation]

THE JULY NO. OF" GODEY."

This is indeed a gem, but not for the Ladies only, we gentleman think we can admire it almost as much as the fairer sex. True, the fashions, receipts, embroidery patterns are not quite so interesting to us, as the engravings, Cottage-designs, etc.-but the remainder of the contents we think we can fully appreciate. The Lady's Book improves as it advances in age. The July No. is exceedingly beautiful-six fine full page engravings, besides numerous smaller ones-contents written entirely by American Ladies. Sarah J. Hale, Mrs. E. F. Ellet, Mrs. E. Oakes Smith, and Alice B. Neal, are authoresses too well known for any doubts respecting the merit of their contributions. This No. commences a new volume and is a very fitting time to subscribe. Terms $3,00 per annum. Address, L. A. Godey, 113 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

[blocks in formation]

wwww

Original Poetry.

For the Rural Repository.

THE THRONG OF THE GAY!

BY ISAAC COBB.

AY! join if thou choosest the throng of the gay!
But canst thou thereby fling thy sorrows away?
Will care and its burthen depart from thy breast,
While noise and confusion afford thee no rest?
Can a smile on the lip, or a gleam in the eye,
Avail in removing the cloud from the sky?

Far better, methinks, in some shady retreat,
Where the waters are clear, and the flowers are sweet;
Far better, alone with some trusting, fond heart,
For the mornings to dawn, and the days to depart,-
Than spending one's life in the midst of the crowd,
A companion, perchance, of the worldly and proud!
Far better to live in some beautiful dell,
Where the minstrels of Nature in harmony dwell,
Than forever to languish with pain aud distress,
No partner, no friend, to encourage or bless;-
Nay! better to roam o'er a desert of sand,
Than to join for a moment the boisterous band!
Hudson, June, 1851.

LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

LET us love one another,

Not long may we stay;

In this bleak world of mourning
Some droop while 'tis day,

Others fade in their noon,
And few linger till eve;
Oh there breaks not a heart
But leaves some one to grieve;

And the fondest, the purest,

The truest that met,
Have still found the need

To forgive and forget!
Then, ab though the hopes
That we nourish'd decay,
Let us love one another
As long as we stay.

There are hearts, like the ivy,
Though all be decay'd
That it seem'd to clasp fondly
In sunlight and shade;
No leaves droop in sadness,
Still gayly they spread,
Undimm'd midst the blighted,

The lonely, and dead :

But the missletoe clings

To the oak, not in part,

But with leaves closely round it—
The root in its heart,
Exists but to twine it,-

Imbibe the same dew.-
Or to fall with its loved oak,
And perish there too.

Thus, let's love one another
Midst sorrows the worst,
Unalter'd and fond,

As we loved at the first;

Thongh the false wing of pleasure

May change and forsake,

And the bright urn of wealth
Into particles break,

There are some sweet affections

That wealth cannot buy,

Tha cling but still closer

When sorrow draws nigh

And remain with us yet,

Though all else pass away; Thus, let's love one another As long as we stay.

WHY DO I LOVE HER SO? A WEARY life is mine, at best

Few pleasures mine that others share-
And oft, by lonely thought opprest,

It seems that I might well despair;
But when "Little Friend" I see,
my
A pleasant thing is life to me.
To know that she is at my side,

To hold her hand in mine,

To watch her eyes that fondly shine,
Her cherub face, that brightens up

With love's intelligence divine-
With this my soul is satisfied,
And drains a pure, refreshing cup

Of calm and quiet happiness:
In sweet content I then repose
From sorrow's pangs and passion's throes,
Without a wish. save not to stir

From one whose very look can bless!
Some wonder what I find in her

My heart so strangely to impress-
A clever child, they must confess,
But nothing more, for all they see,

Than other children of her age,
Who scurce one thought of mine engage.
Whence cometh, then, the witchery

That sways me in her sweet control ?
They know her not-and none of earth,
Save I, may ever know her worth ;

For we have spoken soul to soul,
And met in spirit face to face,
When all her mind's immortal grace,
Love, truth and goodness, seem revealed
In beauty from the world concealed.
"Twas in an hour of bitter pain,

When the long agony of years
Was crowded in a moment's space-
When friends seemed false, and love as vain-
And the wrung heart and burning brain
Could only find relief in tears-,

For I despaired of earthly good —

She came-1 scarce knew whence or how-
A light and glory round her brow:

Sublimely beautiful she stood;

For all of earth had left her face,

And all of heaven I there might trace,
Her look sustained my heart, and cheered;
Her words my wounded spirit heuled;
The child, the mortal, disappeared,

And God's own angel stood revealed!
Then did we soul with soul combine-
So, I am hers, and she is mine-
Forever hers! forever mine!

Forth in the world I see her go,
A common child to common eyes→→→→
To mine a star of Paradise,

Unearthly, beautiful, divine!

No wonder that I love her so

JAS. NACK.

STEADY PURSUIT OF HEAVEN.

BY THOMAS MOORE.

THE bird let loose in eastern skies,

When hastening fondly home, Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies Where idle warblers roam;

But high she shoots through air and light, Above all low delay,

Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, Nor shadow dims her way.

So grant me, Lord! from every stain

Of sinful passion free.
Aloft, through virtue's purer air,
To hold my course to thee!

No sin to cloud, no lure to stay,
My soul, as home she springs,
Thy sunshine on her joyful way,
Thy freedom on her wings.

From the Waverley Magazine. LINES TO MY DAISY. DAISY mine! thou art a flower, Fair as ever graced a bower; And though others I have seen, Blossoms pink and leaflets green,

None so beautiful appear,
None so lovely, none so dear.
Flourish thou while Sum.ner last,
And endure till Autumn's passed;
For thou wakest in the breast,
Thoughts that tend to peace and rest-
Peace from tumult and turmoil,
Rest from trouble, care, and toil.
Memories of friends and home,
Ere I left them all to roam,
Rise within my pensive heart,

From which may they ne'er depart,

Till the June of life be o'er,

And its plensures come no more.

THE GRAVE.

How pleasant the thought that when life shall have passed,
The shadows of sorrow no more shall be cast,
Surrounding the soul with the deepest of gloom,
More terrible far than the shades of the tomb;
That care shall no longer o'erburden the breast,
Or hinder the weary from taking their rest;
And never the voice of contention be heard,
By envy and anger incessantly stirred.

New Volume, October, 1850.

RURAL REPOSITORY,

Vol. 27, Commencing Oct. 19, 1850,

EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. Price $1-Clubs from 45 to 75 Cents.

THE RURAL REPOSITORY will be devoted to Polite Literature, containing Moral and Sentimental Tales, Original Communications, Biographies, Traveling Sketches. Amusing Miscellany, Humorous and Historical Anecdotes, Valuable The first Number of the TwentyRecipes, Poetry, &c. seventh Volume of the RURAL REPOSITORY will be issued on Saturday the 19th of October, 1850.

The Repository" circulates among the most intelligent families of our country and is hailed as a welcome visitor, by all that have favored us with their patronage. It has stood the test of more than a quarter of a century; amid the many changes that have taken place and the ups and downs of life, whilst hundreds of a similar character have perished, our humble Rural has continued on, from year to year, until it is the Oldest Literary Paper in the United States.

CONDITIONS.

THE RURAL REPOSITORY will be published every other Saturday in the Quarto form, containing twenty six numbers of eight pages each, with a title page and index to the volume, making in the whole 208 pages. It will also be embellished with numerous Engravings, and consequently it will be one of the neatest, cheapest, and best literary papers in the country.

TERMS.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Names of subscribers with the amount of Subscription to

be sent as soon as possible to the publisher.

No subscription received for less than one year. All the back numbers furnished to new subscribers during the year until the edition is out, unless otherwise ordered.

WILLIAM B. STODDARD. Hudson, Columbia Co N. Y.

NOTICE TO AGENTS, &C. £ The present Post Office Law, will probably prevent our sending & Large Prospectus as heretofore, in consequence of the extra expense; but the matter contained in one, and af the necessary information concerning Clubs, etc. can be ascer tained from the above We respectfully solicit all our subscribers to endeavou: to get up a Club in heir vicinity for the next Volume.

EDITORS, who wish to exchange, are respectfully to quested to give the above a few insertions, or at least a notice And receive Subscriptions.

Semi-monthly Journal, Embellished with Engravings.

ONE DOLLAR PER ANNUM.
VOLUME XXVII.

MA

W. B. STODDARD, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
HUDSON, N. Y. SATURDAY, JUNE 28, 1851.

MARY STUART.

ARY STUART, queen of Scots, was the third child of James V. and his wife, Mary of Guise. That lady had borne him previously, two sons, both of whom died in infancy. Mary was born on the seventh of December, 1542, in the palace of Linlithgow. She was only seven days old when she lost her father, who, at the time of her birth, lay sick at the palace of Falkland.

The young queen was crowned by Cardinal Beaton, at Stirling, on the ninth of September, 1543. Soon after her birth, the parliament nominated commissioners, to whom they intrusted the charge of the queen's person, leaving all her other interests to the care of her mother. The two first years of her life, Mary spent at Linlithgow, where it is said she had the small pox, but the disease must have been of a particularly gentle kind, having left behind no visible traces. During the greater part of the years 1545, 1546, and 1547, she resided at Stirling castle, in the keeping of Lords Erskine and Livingstone. She was afterwards removed to Inchmahome, a sequestered island in the lake of Monteith; where, after remaining up.

wards of two years, it was thought expedient, by
those who had at the time the disposal of her future
destiny, that she should be removed to France.
She was accordingly, in the fifth year of her age,
taken to Dunbarton, where she was delivered to
the French admiral, whose vessels were waiting to
receive her; and attended by Lords Erskine and
Livingstone, her three natural brothers, and four
young ladies as companions, she left Scotland.

PAYABLE IN ADVANCE.

NUMBER 19.

fest themselves. She made rapid progress in ac quiring that species of knowledge suited to her years, and her lively imagination went even the length of attaching a more than ordinary interest to the calm and secluded life of a nunnery. It was whispered, that she had already expressed a wish to separate herself forever from the world; and it is not impossible, that had this wish been allowed to foster itself silently in her bosom, Mary might ultimately have taken the veil, in which case, her life would have been a blank in history.But these views were not consistent with the more ambitious projects entertained by Henry, and his uncles of Lorraine. As soon as they were informed of the bent which her mind appeared to be taking, she was again removed from the convent to the palace. The tears which Mary shed, how. ever, on leaving the nunnery, proved the warmth of her young heart; and that her feelings were not of merely momentary duration, is evinced by the frequent visits she subsequently paid this asyluni of her childhood, and by the altar piece she embroidered with her own hands, for the chapel of the convent.

lu no country of Europe was education better understood at that time, than in Frauce. Francis I., who remodeled, on a magnificent scale, the university of Paris, only followed the example which Irad already been sct him by Louis XII. The youth of all countries flocked to the French schools. A competent knowledge of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, mathematics, moral philosophy, and medicine, could be acquired in France for literally nothing. The cardinal of Lorraine, who was at the head of the Parisian University, quickly discovering Mary's abilities, directed her studies with the most watchful anxiety. Before she was ten years old, she had inade good progress in the French, Latin, and Italian languages. French was all her life as familiar to her as her native tongue; and she wrote it with a degree of elegance which no one could surpass. Her acquaintance with Latin was not of that superficial kind, but too common in the present day. The young queen's attention was likewise directed to rhetoric, to history, and to the delightful study of poetry, for which her genius was suited, and for which she retained a predilection all her life.

[graphic]

The thirteen happiest years of Mary's life were spent in France. She was received at Brest by order of Henry II., with all the honors due to her rank, and loyal destiny. She traveled by easy stages, to the palace at St. Germain en Laye; and to mark the respect that was paid to her, the prison gates of every town she came to, were thrown open, In the midst of her occupations and amusements, and the prisoners set free. Shortly after her arri. val, she was sent, along with the king's own daugh. Mary was not allowed to forget her native counters, to one of the first convents in France, where try. Frequent visits were paid her from Scotland, young ladies of distinction were instructed in the by those personally attached to herself or her fami. elementary branches of education. ly. In 1550, her mother, Mary of Guise, came The natural quickness of her capacity, and the over to see her, accompanied by several of the noearly acuteness of her niind, now began to mani.bility.

Henry, to confirm the French authority in Scot-pulling down the remaining monasteries, and subland, was eager to marry Francis, his son to Mary. scribing additional convenants, Is it surprising, Francis, the young dauphin, who was much about then, that she found it difficult to steer her course Mary's own age, was far inferior to her both in between the rocks of Scylla and the whirlpools of personal appearance and mental endowments. Charybdis? If misfortunes ultimately overtook They had been playmates from infancy; they had her, the wonder unquestionably ought to be, not prosecuted all their studies together; he loved her that they ever arrived, but that they should have with the tenderest affection; it was not in Mary's been guarded against so long. nature to be indifferent to those who evinced af. fuction for her, and if her fondness for Francis was mingled with pity, it has long been asserted that" pity is akin to love."

To further their political views, Mary's hand was sought for by princes of the several European courts. The princes of the house of Austria, ap. prehensive of the ambition of France, wished a On the twenty-fourth of April, 1558, the nuptials union between the Scottish queen, and the arch. took place in the church of Notre Dame, with duke Charles. Philip II., envying the Austrians so great splendor. Every eye was fixed on the youth-important a prize, used all his influence to procure ful Mary; and, inspired by those feeling which her hand for his son Don Carlos, heir to the exbeauty seldom fails to excite, every heart offered tensive domains of the Spanish monarchy. Cathup prayers for her future welfare and happiness.―arine de Medicis, jealous of them both, offered the She was now at that age when feminine loveli- hand of the duke of Anjou, brother to her former ness is perhaps most attractive. It is not to be husband, and Elizabeth, the artful queen of Engsupposed, indeed, that her charms, in her six-land, recommended lord Robert Dudley, afterwards teenth year, had ripened into that full blown ma. earl of Leicester. turity which they afterwards attained; but they Mary shunned all their intrigues, and followed were on this account, only the more fascinating.- the bent of her own inclination, in marrying Henry Some have conjectured that Mary's beauty has been Stuart, lord Darnley, eldest son of the earl of Lennox. extolled far above its real merits; and it cannot Darnley, at this time in the bloom of youth, was be denied that many vague and erroneous notions distinguished for the beauty and grace of his perexist regarding it. But that her countenance pos- son, and accomplished in every elegant art; and sessed, in a pre-eminent degree, the something he also professed the catholic religion. Darnley's which constitutes beauty, is sufficiently attested qualifications however were superficial, and abanby the unanimous declaration of all contemporary doning himself to pleasure and the vices of youth, writers. Her person was finely proportioned, and he became gradually careless and indifferent toher carriage exceedingly graceful and dignified. wards the queen, whose disappointments and morShortly after the espousals, Mary and her hus-tifications were in proportion to the fervor of her band retired to one of their princely summer resi- former sentiments. Her French secretary was dences, where she discharged the duties of a wife, one David Rizzio, who was possessed of musical without ostentation. But the intriguing and rest- talents, and to whom she became much attached. less ambition of her uncles could not allow her to Darnley became jealous of Rizzio, and he with a remain long quiet. About this time Mary Tudor, number of conspirators, took possession of the who had succeeded Edward VI. on the English palace on the ninth of March, 1566, while the queen throne, died; and although the parliament had was at supper with the countess of Argyle and declared that the succession rested in her sister Rizzio. The latter clung to the queen for protecElizabeth, it was thought proper to claim for Marytion, but he was torn from her, dragged to the Stuart a prior right. But it was destined that there was to be another and more unexpected death at the French court. Henry II. was killed at a tournament, by Count Montgomery. Francis and Mary succeeded to the throne. Mary was now at the very height of European grandeur, for she was queen of two powerful countries, and heirenate Mary's affections from Darnley. presumptive of a third. She stood unluckily on too high a pinnacle to be able to retain her position long. Francis died after a short reign of seven. teen months, and the heir to the throne, Charles IX. being a minor, Catharine de Medicis became once more virtually queen of France; and from her Mary could expect no favors.

In August, 1561, Mary left France with tears, and was received in Scotland with every mark of respect. She came alone and unprotected, to assume the goverment of a country which had long been distinguished for its rebellious turbulence.Contrasted too with her former situation, that which she was now about to fill appeared particularly formidable. By whatever counsel she acte, the blame of all unpopular measures would be sure to rest with her. If she favored the protestants, the catholics were sure to renounce her, and if she assisted the catholics, the protestants would be again found assembling at Perth, listening, with arms in their hands, to the sermons of John Knox,

and a servant, who slept in his room, were found lying in an adjacent garden, without marks of violence, and untouched by fire. Thus perished Henry Stuart, lord Darnley, in his twenty-first year, a youth whom the indulgence of nature and fortune had combined to betray to his ruin.

This execrable deed gave rise to various suspic ions and conjectures which, while they glanced at the queen from her new sentiments with regard to her husband, were, with a general consent, directed towards Bothwell. A proclamation was is sued from the throne, offering a considerable reward for the murderer. Neither the power and greatness of Bothwell, nor his favor with the queen, secured him from the indignant sentiment of the nation, He had a mock trial, in which he was acquitted.

The queen, on a journey from Edinburgh to Sterling, to visit her son, was seized by a party of Bothwell's and conducted a prisoner to his castle at Dunbar. Here he prevailed on her to marry him, and on her subsequent appearance in public, she was received with a sullen and disrespectful silence by the people.

The transactions which had passed during the last three months in Scotland were beheld by Europe with horror and detestation. The murder of the king, the impunity with which bis assassins were suffered to escape, and the marriage of the queen with the man accused of being their chief, were a series of incidents, which, for their atrocity and rapid successions, were scarcely to be parallelled in the pages of history. A general infamy fell upon the Scotch nation, which was regarded, from these circumstances, as a people void of decen cy, humanity, and honor. The discontented nobles confederated together and flew to arms. Bothwell and Mary were un able to stem the opposition; she surrendered to her enemies, and was conducted a captive to the castle of Lochleven. Mary had for some weeks suffered the terrors of a prison; of her deliverance there seemed to be but little prospect; no one had appeared as her defender or advocate. Thus solnext apartment, where the fury of his enemies putitary, deserted and distressed," her persecutors an end to his existence, by piercing his body with reckoned on her fears and on her sex. Lord Lindfifty-six wounds. The conspirators put Mary un- say, the fiercest zealot of the party, was employed der guard, but she escaped, and by the aid of to communicate their plan to the queen, and to ob. Bothwell and others, she was soon enabled to puttain from her a subscription to the papers with her enemies at defiance. This event served to ali

On the nineteenth of June, 1566, the queen gave birth to a son; an event more fortunate to the nation than to his unhappy mother, whose evil destiny received aggravation from a circumstance which appeared so flattering to her hopes. Darnley, neglected by the queen, and despised by the people, remained in solitude at Sterling, but alarmed by the rumor of a design to seize his person, he thought fit to retire to his father at Glasgow. On his way thither he was seized with a dangerous illness. Mary visited him, and it is said prevailed on him to be removed to the capital, where she would attend on him. Kirk of Field, a house belonging to the provost of a collegiate church, was prepared for his reception. The situation, on a rising ground and in an open field was recommended for the salubrity of its air.

which he was charged. In the execution of his commission, he spared neither harshness nor bratality; certain death was offered to the unhappy victim, as the alternative of her refusal. Thus urged, she yielded to the pressure of circumstances, and put her signature tn the papers presented to her by Lindsay. By one of these papers she resigned the crown, renounced all share in the govern. ment, and consented to the coronation of the young king. By another, she appointed Murray to the regency, and vested him with the powers and privileges of the office. Pierced with grief, and bathed in indignaut tears, she signed the deed of her own humiliation, and afforded to her adversaries the instrument of her abasement.

The people were not generally satisfied with the conduct of Murray, the regent, and the deserted party of the queen began gradually to reunite. Such was the disposition of the nation, when Mary, At two o'clock, on the morning of February 10th, through the medium of George Douglas, a youth of 1567, the city was alarmned by a sudden explosion.eighteen, contrived to escape from prison. She The house in which Darnley resided was blown flew on horse back, in full speed to Hamilton, up with gunpowder. The dead body of Henrywhere, before a train of great and splendid nobles,

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »