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Scotland to compel them. But the Scotch fought against the English, and Mary was sent to France and married to the king's son Francis.

2. A year after this marriage Francis became King of France, and then Mary Stuart became Queen of France as well as of Scotland. She was only sixteen years old, and she and the king passed all their days in dances and festivals and pleasure. But at the end of two years King Francis died, and Queen Mary had to go back to Scotland.

3. She had no children, but the heir to her throne was her cousin, Lord Darnley, and she married him that he might defend her from her enemies, and keep her unruly subjects in order. But she was not fond of him, and he grew jealous of an Italian minstrel called Rizzio, who was her favourite companion; and one day, while she was sitting with this man, Darnley burst into her room with his friends, and they dragged Rizzio out of the room and murdered him.

4. Thenceforth Queen Mary hated her husband, and her heart was filled with a great longing for revenge; and in this wicked temper she plotted against him with the Lord Bothwell, whom she loved. Lord Bothwell was a bold, strong man, very handsome and very pleasant, who feared to do no deed, however wild or bad, that would get him what he desired. He loved the queen, and wanted to marry her; and one night, just after Mary had come away from Lord Darnley's house, after sitting lovingly by his bedside (for he was ill), the house in which she had left him was blown up by gunpowder and he was killed; and then Mary and Both

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well were married. Everybody said that Bothwell had committed the crime, and that Mary had consented to it. So the Scotch people took away her crown and put her in prison, and proclaimed her baby son, James the Sixth, King of Scotland.

5. Queen Mary escaped from prison and raised an army; but she was defeated in battle with her subjects, and obliged to fly to England, where she prayed Elizabeth to give her shelter. But Elizabeth was afraid of her, because many of the Roman Catholics wanted to make Mary queen instead of herself. So when Mary arrived in England she was seized and shut up in prison. For nineteen years she remained a prisoner, first in one castle and then in another. Then she began to plot against Elizabeth, so that at last Elizabeth sentenced her to death, and she was beheaded.

6. All this while that Mary Stuart had been a prisoner in England, her son James had been King of Scotland; and afterwards, when Elizabeth died, he became King of England also, because he was descended from a daughter of Henry VII. And so, at last, England and Scotland were united; and from that time one sovereign has reigned over the two countries.

39. SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.

1. Among all the brilliant and accomplished courtiers who thronged Queen Elizabeth's court, the bravest and the noblest was Sir Philip Sidney. He was a

learned man, and wrote poetry; but he was also a brave soldier, and was always ready to draw his sword and fight for the right.

2. Philip of Spain had many Protestants amongst his subjects in Holland. He was determined to make them submit to his will, and he treated them so cruelly that they rebelled against him. Then Sir Philip Sidney went at the queen's command to fight for the oppressed people against King Philip; and he was so kind to the English soldiers who fought under him that they loved him as a brother, and were ready to give their lives for his.

3. Sidney and his men fought gallantly, and won great glory; but one day he led them against a city called Zutphen, which was held by the Spanish soldiers of King Philip. There was a thick fog, and not till they were quite close did they see that a thousand Spanish horsemen were waiting to receive them. Then Sidney and the English charged bravely again and again, until the Spaniards turned about and fled. But in the moment of victory a shot from the wall struck Sidney's leg and wounded him so grievously that he had to be carried out of the fight by his men.

4. While the surgeon dressed his wounds, Sidney asked for a draught of water to quench his thirst; and some one ran and fetched him a flask of water. But just as he put it to his lips, a dying soldier passed by on a litter, and he looked greedily at the water; upon which Sir Philip took the flask untasted from his own lips and gave it to him, saying, "Thy necessity is greater than mine." The surgeons could not get

the ball out of his wound, and soon afterwards Sidney died. And then there was mourning throughout the army, as if every man had lost a brother or a son; and there was mourning for him also throughout all England among soldiers and poets, and scholars and women who had loved him for his gentle manliness.

40. SIR WALTER RALEIGH (B. 1552; D. 1618).

1. The finest gentleman of the queen's court was Sir Walter Raleigh. He was tall and handsome, with a fine open forehead and clear ruddy complexion, dark brown hair, and a little pointed beard on his chin. He was always grandly dressed in silks and satins and velvets. And the queen favoured him greatly.

2. One day, as the queen was walking in her gardens with her train, she came to a place where the road was wet and muddy. She stood still for a moment, for she was richly dressed; but Sir Walter Raleigh took off his splendid cloak and flung it over the mud and the puddles, and the queen passed over it unsoiled.

3. But Sir Walter was not only a fine gentleman of the court; he was a poet, a busy member of Parliament, a brave soldier, and a bold sailor. Of all things, he loved best sailing across the sea and exploring unknown lands; and next best, he loved going out to fight against the Spaniards.

4. It was now a hundred years since Christopher

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