Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 04 (of 15), EnglishMorris, Charles
History
Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 04 (of 15), English
Morris, Charles
Great Britain -- History
What was its result? Amity between the two nations; a century of peace
and friendship? Not so. In a month Henry had secretly allied himself to
Charles the Fifth against Francis of France. In five years was fought
the battle of Pavia, between France and the Emperor Charles, in which
Francis, after showing great valor on the field, was taken prisoner.
"All is lost, except honor," he wrote. Such was the sequel of the "Field
of the Cloth of Gold."
_THE STORY OF ARABELLA STUART._
Of royal blood was the lady here named, near to the English throne. Too
near, as it proved, for her own comfort and happiness, for her life was
distracted by the fears of those that filled it. Her story, in
consequence, became one of the romances of English history.
"The Lady Arabella," as she was called, was nearly related to Queen
Elizabeth, and became an object of jealous persecution by that royal
lady. The great Elizabeth had in her disposition something of the dog in
the manger. She would not marry herself, and thus provide for the
succession to the throne, and she was determined that the fair Arabella
should not perform this neglected duty. Hence Arabella's misery.
The first thing we hear of this unfortunate scion of royal blood
concerns a marriage. The whole story of her life, in fact, is concerned
with marriage, and its fatal ending was the result of marriage. Never
had a woman been more sought in marriage; never more hindered; her life
was a tragedy of marriage.
Her earlier story may be briefly given. James VI. of Scotland, cousin of
the Lady Arabella, chose as a husband for her another cousin, Lord Esme
Stuart, Duke of Lennox, his proposed heir. The match was a desirable
one, but Queen Elizabeth forbade the banns. She threw the lady into a
prison, and defied King James when he demanded her delivery, not
hesitating to speak with contempt of her brother monarch.
The next to choose a husband for Arabella was the pope, who would have
been delighted to provide a Catholic for the succession to the English
throne. A prince of the house of Savoy was the choice of his holiness.
The Duke of Parma was married, and his brother was a cardinal, and
therefore unmarriageable, but the pope had the power to overcome the
difficulty which this created. He secularized the churchman, and made
him an eligible aspirant for the lady's hand. But, as may well be
supposed, Elizabeth decisively vetoed this chimerical plan.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account