Mary Queen of Scots: Makers of HistoryAbbott, Jacob
History
Mary Queen of Scots: Makers of History
Abbott, Jacob
Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587
The name of this King of England was Henry the Eighth. He was a very
headstrong and determined man. This, his plan, might have been a very
good one; it was certainly much better than an attempt to get
possession of Scotland by fighting for it; but he was very far from
being as moderate and just as he should have been in the execution of
his design. The first thing was to ascertain whether Mary was a
strong and healthy child; for if he should make a treaty of peace,
and give up all his plans of conquest, and then if Mary, after living
feebly a few years, should die, all his plans would fail. To satisfy
him on this point, they actually had some of the infant's clothes
removed in the presence of his embassador, in order that the
embassador might see that her form was perfect, and her limbs
vigorous and strong. The nurse did this with great pride and
pleasure, Mary's mother standing by. The nurse's name was Janet
Sinclair. The embassador wrote back to Henry, the King of England,
that little Mary was "as goodly a child as he ever saw." So King
Henry VIII. was confirmed in his design of having her for the wife of
his son.
King Henry VIII. accordingly changed all his plans. He made a peace
with the Earl of Arran. He dismissed the prisoners that he had taken,
and sent them home kindly. If he had been contented with kind and
gentle measures like these, he might have succeeded in them, although
there was, of course, a strong party in Scotland opposed to them.
Mary's mother was opposed to them, for she was a Catholic and a
French lady, and she wished to have her daughter become a Catholic as
she grew up, and marry a French prince. All the Catholics in Scotland
took her side. Still Henry's plans might have been accomplished,
perhaps, if he had been moderate and conciliating in the efforts
which he made to carry them into effect.
But Henry VIII. was headstrong and obstinate. He demanded that Mary,
since she was to be his son's wife, should be given up to him to be
taken into England, and educated there, under the care of persons
whom he should appoint. He also demanded that the Parliament of
Scotland should let him have a large share in the government of
Scotland, because he was going to be the father-in-law of the young
queen. The Parliament would not agree to either of these plans; they
were entirely unwilling to allow their little queen to be carried off
to another country, and put under the charge of so rough and rude a
man. Then they were unwilling, too, to give him any share of the
government during Mary's minority. Both these measures were entirely
inadmissible; they would, if adopted, have put both the infant Queen
of Scotland and the kingdom itself completely in the power of one who
had always been their greatest enemy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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