Agnes Strickland's Queens of England (12 page)

manded the silver ribbon. Luckily Anne was able to produce it, and thus dispel the angry frown that had gathered on the brow of her lord, no doubt congratulating herself upon the possession of so sagacious a maid-of-honor."

For the time being King James's jealousy was appeased; but the Gowry conspiracy aroused it again three years later, and Alexander Ruthven was again the object of it.

[A.D. 1600.] The queen was awakened much earlier than usual one bright, warm morning in August by the king's preparations for a hunting expedition. She asked " why he started so early; " to which he replied, " that he wished to be astir betimes, as he expected to kill a prime buck before noon."

It was true that he was going hunting, but he had another object in view. He had been informed by Alexander Ruthven that a Jesuit with a large bag of gold had just been seized and shut up at Gowr)' House, in Perth, awaiting examination. It was no unusual occurrence at that era for any one besides a common robber to take possession of whatever gold might be found on the person of a traveller, and then spare no effort to prove said traveller Jesuitical. So King James set forth in high glee with the prospect of counting over a bag of gold, besides enjoying a morning hunt. Several hours were passed in the latter diversion; and at noon, accompanied by only one or two attendants, the king left the woods and entered Gowry House. He was received by the Earl of Gowry, young Ruthven's elder brother, who had just returned from the court of Queen EHzabeth. After dinner, at a sign from Alexander Ruthven, the king withdrew, expecting to be introduced to the Jesuit with the gold. Unsuspectingly he followed the young man up various winding stairs and through gloomy, intricate passages to a circular room,

Anne of Denmark.

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used by the Gowry family as a prison. He was surprised, on entering, to behold a gigantic man in a complete suit of black armor, and still more so when Alexander closed the door and locked it, cutting off all retreat. He then made an assault upon the king, — who, though unarmed,

THE PISCINA.

kept him at bay, — and reproached him with the death of his father, the Earl of Gowry. The man in armor took no part in the struggle. The king remonstrated with Alexander, and reminded him that he was a child when the late Earl of Gowry was beheaded, and had nothing whatever to do with it. He also spoke of the affection the queen bore to his sister Beatrice, and of the kindness and attention he himself had received at court. Young Ruthven paused

for a moment, then made a second attack upon the king, who would surely have been murdered but for the vigilance of his page, young Ramsay. This youth missed his royal master, and, suspecting some evil, sought him through the house. The king's voice, calling for help, guided the boy's steps to the circular chamber, which he entered through a private door, having forced it open. He flew at Alexander Ruthven and dragged him from the king's throat, shouting all the time for help. Some of the Gowry servants rushed upon the scene and assisted Ramsay, who was struggling with Alexander Ruthven. At this juncture the rest of the royal hunting party arrived, and broke open the door, but not until the Earl of Gowry, who proved to be the man in armor, and young Ruthven were slain.

[A.D. 1601.] This conspiracy created great consternation in Scotland. It was a dark, gloomy night when the king set out with his retinue to return to Falkland Palace; but all the people swarmed out of their houses with torches, and shouted with joy to behold their sovereign safe from the hands of traitors.

In 1601 a little prince was born at Dunfermline, who later became Charles I. of England.

[A.D. 1603.] A couple of years after this event Queen Elizabeth died, and King James was invited to come to London, and take possession of the crown under the title of James I.

Of course this was no surprise; it was an exaltation that had been eagerly anticipated by the royal family as well as the whole nation. Yet when the moment arrived for the king to bid farewell to his Scottish subjects, it was very like a father parting from a numerous family, and many tears were shed. On the Sunday before his departure from England a sermon was preached on the subject in church, to which King James responded, bidding his people a loving and tender farewell.

He went to England alone, having arranged that the queen should follow in twent}' days, providing his reception was such as to assure him that his family would be safe and happy. On his arrival there he was greeted with such wild demonstrations of joy that he was perfectly astonished. " These people will spoil a good king," was his pithy remark to the Earl of Marr, who had accompanied him.

No sooner was Queen Anne convinced that her son's guardian was well out of the way, than she set off for Stirling Castle, accompanied by a strong body of nobles, never doubting that she could easily intimidate the Countess of Marr into the surrender of her son Henry. But the old lady proved herself equal to the emergency, and flatly refused to give up the boy unless ordered to do so by the king himself. Some fighting ensued, and the queen flew into such a tremendous passion that she became seriously ill, and had to be put to bed in the royal apartments of the castle.

Messengers were forthwith despatched to inform the king of the condition of his silly, spoiled wife, and of the action that had occasioned her illness. With his usual forbearance, James forgave his spouse, and thought only of her illness. He immediately sent the Duke of Lenox and the Earl of Marr to see what arrangements they could make to pacify her majesty.

The royal lady not only refused to see Marr, but would not receive her son from his hands, nor travel from Stirling to Edinburgh if he were of the company, — so thoroughly did she hate one of her husband's most loyal adherents.

When this whim was conveyed to James, he swore a great many oaths, and wrote a letter of remonstrance to his better half, which, however, did not mollify her in the least. Then the royal husband compromised by ordering Marr to deliver the young prince to the Duke of Lenox,

who would consign him with due ceremony to the queen, and then to hasten to England, where his presence was greatly needed.

This arrangement pacified Anne, and she removed at once to Holyrood to make preparations for leaving Scotland. These were completed in a couple of months.

Her majesty was met at Berwick by the ladies of Queen Elizabeth's court, who carried her the costumes and jewels of the defunct queen.

King James ordered that the queen's household should be settled before her entrance into London, so that she might be properly escorted on that occasion. But the royal pair could not agree as to the appointments, for Anne desired to retain her Scottish subjects in the principal posts of honor, and his majesty knew that the English would not submit to that arrangement.

He appointed Sir George Carew for the queen's chamberlain. Her majesty persisted in retaining Kennedy; whereupon James, whose patience had been sorely tried by the number of applicants who had presented themselves for confirmation, flew into a passion when Kennedy appeared before him. He bade him " Begone ! " and added "that if he caught him carrying the chamberlain's staff before his wife he should take it out of his hand and break it over his pate."

The Scotchman very prudently made the best of his way back home, and then Queen Anne accepted the English chamberlain, but retained all her Scottish ladies, adding to their number only two of her new subjects.

Her two elder children accompanied her, and they weve enthusiastically received everywhere. Among the presents that were generously bestowed on them were silver cups filled with gold-pieces. When they arrived at Althorpe an exquisite fite, prepared by Ben Jonson, awaited them.

It was called the Masque of the Fairies, and 130k place in a magnificent park, where, accompanie 1 by joyful music, fairies and satyrs recited appropriate poems of welcome, and made presents to the royal family.

The queen was so delighted with Ben Jonson's genius that she afterwards employed him to prepare entertainments for the amusement of her court.

The first festival held at Windsor Castle after the arrival of the royal family was for the purpose of bestowing the title of Knight of the Garter on Prince Henry, the Duke of Lenox, and other nobles.

The queen openly expressed her pride and admiration of Prince Henry when he was presented to her in the robes of the Garter, which she pronounced exceedingly becoming.

In consequence of the plague, which was raging to an alarming extent in England, the coronation was postponed from time to time, and when it did take place the usual procession from the Tower through the city to Westminster was dispensed with, and the ceremony was performed almost in private. The people were so disappointed that a grand festival was promised to them as soon as the pestilence should abate. It took place with great splendor the following spring, when the king, queen, and Prince Henry-participated.

In the household of Anne of Denmark there was an office filled by an old lady called "the mother-of-the-maids," whose duty it was to keep order among the ladies, — no doubt an exceedingly difficult one.

The belle of the court was Lady Arabella Stuart, whose descent made her the next heir to the crown of England after James I. and his family. Previous to the arrival of James there had been a plot, headed by Sir Walter Raleigh, formed for the purpose of asserting that lady's claim; but that fact did not make anv impression on the

sovereign's mind that could affect her unfavorably; on the contrary, he distinguished her with marked favors, and allowed her, as she deserved, the rank of first lady at court after the queen.

The conspirators of this plot were brought to trial during the autumn while the court was sojourning at Winchester Palace, and many of them were pardoned just at

UKAWING-ROOM AT WINCHESTER.

the moment when they were being led to the scaffold. King James did this to make them appreciate the full extent of his mercy, though many of them were banished afterwards. Sir Walter Raleigh was shut up in the Tower, with his sentence hanging over his head, to be carried into effect at the royal pleasure. He was not, however, deprived of his income or his actual property, because the queen interested herself in his behalf, and felt very sorry on account

of the cruel treatment he had received from the attorney-general during his trial. It was supposed by some people that she, as well as Prince Henry, doubted his guilt, but there is no proof of that.

[A.D. 1604.] When Prince Charles was between three and four years of age his health was so bad that Sir Robert Carey and his wife, who had charge of the royal child, were ordered to bring him from Dunfermline to his parents. From that time he improved so rapidly that he soon became a robust boy; and as years went by, and he developed into manhood, he was distinguished for his graceful bearing and splendid constitution.

[A.D. 1610.] One of the proudest and happiest periods of Queen Anne's life was when her eldest son was created Prince of Wales. The event was celebrated with great splendor, and Ben Jonson wrote an address in verse, which was read, while a pantomime represented the prince as wakening and reviving the dying genius of chivalry.

The royal parents, the Princess and Prince Charles stood at the bridge by Westminster Palace to receive the prince when he arrived, escorted down the Thames in state by the lord-mayor and city authorities.

The gratified mother conducted him into the palace. A number of festivals succeeded, and the king introduced his son formally to the assembled houses of parliament during the following week.

A grand masque was given, in which all the ladies and gentlemen of the court took part, the music, painting, dancing, and decorations being guided and arranged by Inigo Jones, an architect of great talent. Even the queen and the princess-royal took part, and devoted several days to rehearsing the dances and situations and preparing costumes.

The object of this masque was to deliver presents to

the newly-created Prince of Wales. The court ladies personated nymphs of the principal rivers that belonged to the estates of their husbands or fathers, and eight of the handsomest nobleman attended these river nymphs as Tritons.

Prince Charles appeared with a dozen young ladies of his own age and size. They were daughters of lords or barons, and personated the naiads of springs and fountains.

The prince, as Zephyr, wore a short robe of green satin, embroidered in gold ; silver wings were attached to his shoulders, and a garland of flowers encircled his brow; on his right arm, which was bare, the queen had clasped a valuable diamond bracelet.

The naiads wore pale blue-satin tunics, embroidered in silver; their hair hung in loose tresses, and water-lilies crowned their heads. These children danced a ballet, — Prince Charles always occupying the centre of a group, — which was enthusiastically applauded by the whole court.

Prince Charles's next duty was to offer to his brother, the Prince of Wales, the queen's present, which consisted of a jewelled sword, valued at four thousand pounds, attached to a scarf of her majesty's own work. He also presented a gold trident to the king as ruler of the ocean. This presentation was made during an address by one of the Tritons.