Mary Stuart, Part II [pp. 777-790]

MARY STUART.
justly said: "It was a matter of surprise that a story so palpably
absurd should ever have received credence."
Therefore Mr. Froude's version of the collusive abduction
might be dismissed with slight comment. He tells us that the
queen was moving at the time with a guard of three hundred
men. The truth is, she had but an escort of twelve persons,
among whom were the Earl of Huntly, Maitland, and Melville.
On the other hand, he represents Bothwell as being only at the
head of twelve men, thus exactly reversing the respective forces
of the two parties, because it is established beyond dispute that
Bothwell came with an attendance, not of twelve, but of a thousand men in full armor. Such mendacious assertions are overwhelming. He further represents Mary as saying, with singular
composure, "she would have no bloodshed; her people were
outnumbered, and, rather than any of them should lose their
lives, she would go where the Earl Bothwell wished." Very
humane indeed! But it is another stupendous fiction. Besides,
it is a contradiction. How could "her people be outnumbered,
if Bothwell had only twelve men and she an escort of three
hundred?"
Hosack, commenting upon this passage, remarks: " This is
the speech, not of the Queen of Scots, but of Mr. Froude, who
has put it into her mouth for the obvious purpose of leading his
readers to conclude that she was an accomplice in the designs of
Bothwell."
Sir James Melville's account is: " The Earl of Bothwell encountered her with a great company and took her horse by the
bridle. His mnn took the Earl of Huntly, Secretary Maitland,
and me, and carried us captives to Dunbar. There the Earl of
Bothwell boasted that he would marry the queen, who would or
would not-yea, whether she would herself or not."
Mary herself, after giving her own simple and modest narrative of the abominable outrage, concludes in these words:
"Finally, finding us a helpless captive, he assumed a bolder tone.
So ceased he never till, by persuasion and importunate suit, accomnpanied not the less by force, he has finally driven us to the end
the work begun."
Melville says: "Then the Queen of Scots could not but
marry him, seeing bhe had ravished her and lain with her against
her will."
Morton's proclamation accuses Bothwell of violence to the
queen, and finally the whole history of the foul outrage is spread
out in a solemn act of the Scotch Parliament-whose members
[Sept.,
778