Mary Stuart | Page 3

great favor of her,--
That she herself will give me audience,--she

Whom I have never seen. I have been summoned
Before a court of
men, whom I can ne'er
Acknowledge as my peers--of men to whom

My heart denies its confidence. The queen
Is of my family, my
rank, my sex;
To her alone--a sister, queen, and woman--
Can I
unfold my heart.
PAULET.

Too oft, my lady,
Have you intrusted both your fate and honor
To
men less worthy your esteem than these.
MARY.
I, in the letter, beg another favor,
And surely naught but
inhumanity
Can here reject my prayer. These many years
Have I, in
prison, missed the church's comfort,
The blessings of the
sacraments--and she
Who robs me of my freedom and my crown,

Who seeks my very life, can never wish
To shut the gates of heaven
upon my soul.
PAULET.
Whene'er you wish, the dean shall wait upon you.
MARY (interrupting him sharply).
Talk to me not of deans. I ask the
aid
Of one of my own church--a Catholic priest.
PAULET.
[That is against the published laws of England.
MARY.
The laws of England are no rule for me.
I am not
England's subject; I have ne'er
Consented to its laws, and will not
bow
Before their cruel and despotic sway.
If 'tis your will, to the
unheard-of rigor
Which I have borne, to add this new oppression,
I
must submit to what your power ordains;
Yet will I raise my voice in
loud complaints.]
I also wish a public notary,
And secretaries, to
prepare my will--
My sorrows and my prison's wretchedness
Prey
on my life--my days, I fear, are numbered--
I feel that I am near the
gates of death.
PAULET.
These serious contemplations well become you.
MARY.
And know I then that some too ready hand
May not
abridge this tedious work of sorrow?
I would indite my will and make
disposal
Of what belongs tome.
PAULET.

This liberty
May be allowed to you, for England's queen
Will not
enrich herself by plundering you.
MARY.
I have been parted from my faithful women,
And from my
servants; tell me, where are they?
What is their fate? I can indeed
dispense
At present with their service, but my heart
Will feel
rejoiced to know these faithful ones
Are not exposed to suffering and
to want!
PAULET.
Your servants have been cared for; [and again
You shall
behold whate'er is taken from you
And all shall be restored in proper
season.]
[Going.
MARY.
And will you leave my presence thus again,
And not
relieve my fearful, anxious heart
From the fell torments of
uncertainty?
Thanks to the vigilance of your hateful spies,
I am
divided from the world; no voice
Can reach me through these
prison-walls; my fate
Lies in the hands of those who wish my ruin.

A month of dread suspense is passed already
Since when the forty
high commissioners
Surprised me in this castle, and erected,
With
most unseemly haste, their dread tribunal;
They forced me, stunned,
amazed, and unprepared,
Without an advocate, from memory,

Before their unexampled court, to answer
Their weighty charges,
artfully arranged.
They came like ghosts,--like ghosts they
disappeared,
And since that day all mouths are closed to me.
In vain
I seek to construe from your looks
Which hath prevailed--my cause's
innocence
And my friends' zeal--or my foes' cursed counsel.
Oh,
break this silence! let me know the worst;
What have I still to fear,
and what to hope.
PAULET.
Close your accounts with heaven.
MARY.

From heaven I hope
For mercy, sir; and from my earthly judges
I
hope, and still expect, the strictest justice.
PAULET.
Justice, depend upon it, will be done you.
MARY.
Is the suit ended, sir?
PAULET.
I cannot tell.
MARY.
Am I condemned?
PAULET.
I cannot answer, lady.
MARY.
[Sir, a good work fears not the light of day.
PAULET.
The day will shine upon it, doubt it not.]
MARY.
Despatch is here the fashion. Is it meant
The murderer
shall surprise me, like the judges?
PAULET.
Still entertain that thought and he will find you
Better
prepared to meet your fate than they did.
MARY (after a pause).
Sir, nothing can surprise me which a court

Inspired by Burleigh's hate and Hatton's zeal,
Howe'er unjust, may
venture to pronounce:
But I have yet to learn how far the queen

Will dare in execution of the sentence.
PAULET.
The sovereigns of England have no fear
But for their
conscience and their parliament.
What justice hath decreed her
fearless hand
Will execute before the assembled world.
SCENE III.

The same. MORTIMER enters, and without paying attention to the
QUEEN, addresses PAULET.
MORTIMER.
Uncle, you're sought for.
[He retires in the same manner. The QUEEN remarks it, and turns
towards PAULET, who is about to follow him.
MARY.
Sir, one favor more
If you have aught to say to me--from you
I can
bear much--I reverence your gray hairs;
But cannot bear that young
man's insolence;
Spare me in future his unmannered rudeness.
PAULET.
I prize him most for that which makes you hate him
He
is not, truly, one of those poor fools
Who melt before a woman's
treacherous tears.
He has seen much--has been to Rheims and Paris,

And brings us back his true old English heart.
Lady, your cunning
arts are lost on him.
[Exit.
SCENE IV.
MARY, KENNEDY.
KENNEDY.
And dare the ruffian venture to your