The Last Days of Mary Stuart, and the journal of Bourgoyne her physician. Samuel Cowan
release simpliciter of the Scottish Queen. Mary was connected only with schemes for her own liberty, and for that she cannot be blamed. This paper is a laboured and wicked attempt to induce posterity to believe that she was hatching plots for Elizabeth's murder and an invasion of England. There is no proof to defend this charge:—
“Memorial showing how the ten parcels of extracts and copies of the Scottish Queen's intercepted letters delivered to Wotton are to be used.
“For declaration of the attempt against the Queen's person (Elizabeth), invasion of the realm, and stirring rebellion within the land, proposed and wrought by Charles Paget, Ballard, and Babington, as is contained in the instructions with her acceptance and approbation of the whole.
“The extract of the letters sent by Charles Paget to the Scottish Queen of the 29th May 1586 with her answer of the 27th July.
“The copies of the letters between the said Queen and Babington, verified by Nau's confession, showing the manner of writing and making up all her despatches, and particularly proving the letters of the Queen to Babington have been penned by herself and taken out of a minute by her own hand (Nau's confession was got by the rack). The extract of the letters written from the Scottish Queen to Don Bernard de Mendoza, the Bishop of Glasgow, Sir Francis Englefeld, and Lord Paget, 27th July 1586, with sundry propositions.
“That an overture had been made to her by the Catholics of England to join with foreign forces for the execution of an enterprise to the disturbance of the present State.
“That she allowed and embraced the same (this was a plan for her own liberty).
“That she thereupon made them an ample despatch (which was the letter to Babington), with directions for all things necessary for the execution of what was proposed.
“That every one of them should give the best assistance they could for effecting the enterprise.
“The Bishop of Glasgow to travel to Rome by all means to advance the correspondence of the Pope with the King of Spain, and to try to set up some new faction against that of England. In France to deal with the Duke of Guise either to keep France occupied, or, peace being made, to join with the King of Spain in this enterprise.
“Sir Francis Englefeld and Lord Paget to be earnest in Spain with the King in her name for his full resolution upon the overtures to be made him by Mendoza, and thereupon for his advice when and how his forces shall march.
“To draw the French King's affection from the Scottish Queen and incense him against her and her servants, and particularly for the delivery of Morgan and Paget—
(1) By showing the said Queen and her servants' devotion to Spanish causes to the prejudice of the Crown of France.
“The extract of her own despatch to Charles Paget and Mendoza of 20th May 1586 concerning the delivery of her son into the King of Spain's hands, and gift of this Crown unto the Spaniard by testament.” (This was not the Crown of England, and her letters—21st May 1586—must be referred to in order to understand the matter. See appendix.)
(2) “By the extract whereby Morgan is discovered to have had intelligence and practised with Mendoza both against the Queen and the French King even since his imprisonment.”
(3) “By proving Paget and Morgan to have been special dealers against Elizabeth. For charging of Paget particularly by his own letter of 29th May proposing the enterprise to the Scottish Queen.
(4) “For charging Morgan particularly by his own confession to have been a principal instigator of the plot taken up with Creyton the Jesuit with the Duke of Guise, the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Pope's Nuncio, and Father Claude. That he was privy to Gifford's practices in England, who set Savage at work to kill Elizabeth, and was to have come over to effect the same (Phillips is founding on the interpolations); that he was privy to Ballard coming into England and the cause, Ballard also was a practiser against the Queen's person (Elizabeth).
“Lastly, the furtherance of his delivery whereby may appear to the King how both he and Her Majesty were abused in the perusal of Morgan's papers when he was first demanded.”
“The papers were concealed and his proceedings disguised by Cherelles and others more careful of the Queen of Scots and the Queen's rebels than of their Master's honour and satisfaction.”
After reading this paper the reader will naturally suppose that the Queen of Scots was a wicked person to get up an agitation among the Catholics of France and Spain for the invasion of England and the consequent removal of Elizabeth from the English Crown. That such were the wishes of the Catholics will not be denied, but the connection of Mary with such a revolutionary scheme was one of the cleverest acts of Walsingham and Phillips the spy. We have printed six letters in the appendix, which are of great importance in considering this complexion of the matter. No. vi., which is a genuine letter of the Queen, should be read first. In it, though dated so late as 27th July, there is no reference to such a thing, and Mendoza was one of her most confidential friends. The paper which we have just reproduced is evidently founded on Nos. i. and v., Queen Mary to Charles Paget. These two letters are in the State Paper Office in the handwriting of Phillips, and may be set down as forgeries. We have no evidence save that of Phillips that Queen Mary wrote these two letters, and until reliable proof is produced they must be regarded as bogus productions. Whether Paget wrote No. ii. it is impossible to determine.
In the investigation of this matter we have to bear in mind that the Babington Conspiracy and the Babington Plot were two separate and distinct schemes. The former was for the assassination of Elizabeth, fabricated and tacked on by Walsingham to Babington's letter proposing Mary's liberation; the latter was Babington's plot for Mary's liberation only and for nothing else, which neither Babington nor Mary ever denied.
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