It is pathetic to reflect that Mary's whole career might have been changed, if she had wedded a different kind of man; for the heart of a woman like Mary resembles a blank page on which one hand, and only one, may write Fate's stern decree of happiness or woe. She was a woman whom the right marital influence would have encouraged to the noblest deeds; and she was, doubtless, well aware of this and, seeing her irreparable error, became sad and reckless. She had, however, a few weeks of happiness during her wedding journey through the interior of Scotland; and in the long years of her subsequent captivity how often must she have recalled those hours of bliss, and wondered (as many beside her have done) why, at some supreme crisis in life, when the soul has drunk its fill of the golden wine of perfect happiness, we cannot slip away from earth, beyond the possibility of change, before the color fades and the perfume vanishes, and, thrilled with the remembrance of that last precious moment, enter, at least, the paradise of memory, which is the only paradise that is never lost. But it was Mary's fate to linger on for years, realizing more and more keenly with each bitter disillusion what her life might have been under other conditions. Oh, the lost days and years of wasted opportunities! Alas, for the rich treasures left buried beyond finding by the stream that has passed! The evil character of Mary's husband was not merely negative.

It soon displayed itself in the brutal treatment of his wife. Only four months after their wedding, at a public banquet, Darnley began to drink to excess, and urged the other guests to follow his example. When Mary endeavored quietly to check him, he turned upon her with such vulgar violence that she withdrew from the company in tears. So insolent, also, was his conduct toward the Court in general that he was almost universally detested. Among the many enemies whom Darnley made, by his harsh treatment of the Queen, was Rizzio. It was in the chapel of Holyrood Castle that Mary's attention was first drawn to Rizzio. One winter's day, a mass was being celebrated there, and, suddenly, in the midst of the service, Mary heard, ringing through the aisles, a rich, sonorous voice of wonderful power and sweetness. She inquired who the new singer was. They told her that he was an Italian, the private secretary of the ambassador from Savoy, and that his name was Rizzio. The Queen, whose taste in music was of the finest, requested that he should henceforth lead the singing in her chapel services. Every one knows the famous painting by David Neal, portraying the meeting of the Queen and Rizzio. The artist represents him as a handsome, finely-formed Italian, carelessly sleeping at her palace gate; but was he really thus attractive? Historians of the time describe him as a man without the slightest claim to beauty.

Is this the truth, or did those writers so represent him in order that the story of Mary's love for him should seem improbable? Well, that is a part of the enigma, which now at every step grows more mysterious. One thing at least is certain, Rizzio's musical skill and splendid voice made him a most agreeable member of the Court. Nor were these his only talents. He had the diplomatic tact so characteristic of his nation, he was a clever linguist, and his fidelity and prudence were undoubted. Perceiving all these qualities, Mary made Rizzio her private secretary. To understand the history of the hapless Queen of Scots, it should be remembered that almost all the nobles who surrounded her were treacherous, unprincipled men who shrank from the commission of no crime that would enable them to govern Scotland as they liked, by making the actual sovereign a cipher in their hands. Among these Scottish lords there was now formed one of the most atrocious schemes which even the villainy of the Middle Ages ever framed. They had long wanted to be rid of Rizzio, because he was not one of them yet had such influence with the Queen; but what excuse could justify his murder? Plainly enough, - an injured husband's honor. Darnley was to profess himself jealous of the favorite, and, as an evidence of his guilt, Rizzio was to be slain in Mary's presence.

Statue Of Wallace, Stirling Castle.

Holyrood Castle.