The Last Days of Mary Stuart, and the journal of Bourgoyne her physicianCowan, Samuel
History
The Last Days of Mary Stuart, and the journal of Bourgoyne her physician
Cowan, Samuel
Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587 -- Death and burial
“At last they changed the subject, after having insisted for a long
time that Morgan was a pensioner, which she denied. She said she had
merely given him money for his requirements. Of Nau and Curle they
said they had writings signed, that they owned to answers of certain
letters which they had always done by order of Her Majesty; that
they had written nothing without communicating with her as was the
custom, not allowing anything to be produced unknown to her, thus
proving her direction of letters. They were written afterwards in her
cabinet, where despatches were taken very often in her presence, and
after having written them they read them; that she shut and sealed
them always in her cabinet, and they often wished to dissuade her
from these enterprises. She replied that she could not answer as to
Nau and Curle what they had written about this enterprise. They had
done it of themselves and not communicated with her; she entirely
repudiated their evidence; that Nau, a servant of the King of France,
might have undertaken something that she did not wish, and that there
was intercourse she knew nothing of. Nau confessed publicly that he
belonged to the King of France and not to her, and only did for her
as he liked. They had many quarrels because she would not give in
to him and would not instruct him; she knew well that Nau had many
peculiarities, which could not be said in public, for which she was
sorry, and further, that he did her great harm. She did not wish to
accuse Nau and Curle; she saw quite well that what they said was under
fear of death, under the promise of saving their lives, and that to
do so they accused her, thinking that she could save herself better
than they, never thinking that they would require to treat her in this
fashion. For more than twelve months Nau had written nothing in her
cabinet. He did everything, made out his despatches in his own room,
for his own convenience and to be more at his ease, as Paulet and all
those in the house could testify. As to Curle, if he had done anything
he must have been constrained by Nau, whom he was afraid of displeasing
and for quietness. At the same time she did not think that either the
one or the other would have forgotten themselves so far. Being for the
greater part of the time ill, she could not watch over everything and
did not know much that they did but left it to Nau.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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