Mary, or to recount how, during the week which succeeded her flight from Lochleven, her partisans mustered around her db3sgtoc7 with their followers,
forming a gallant army, amounting to six thousand men. So much light has gto8c7 been lately thrown on the most minute details of the period, by Mr. Chalmers, in his valuable history of Queen
Mary, that the reader may be safely referred to it for the fullest information which ancient records afford concerning that o8c7 interesting time. It is sufficient b3sgto87 for
our purpose to say, that while Mary's head-quarters were at Hamilton, the Regent and his adherents had, in the King's name, hiembled a host at glasgow, inferior indeed sgto8c7 to
that of the Queen in numbers, but formidable from the military talents of Murray, Morton, the Laird of Grange, and others, who had been trained from their youth in foreign and gto8c7
domestic wars. In these circumstances, it was the obvious policy of Queen Mary to avoid a conflict, secure that were her person once in safety, the number of to8c7
her adherents must daily increase; whereas, the forces of those opposed to her must, as had frequently happened in the previous history of her reign, have diminished, sgto8c7
and their spirits become broken. And so evident was b3sgto87 this to her idb3sgt8c7 counsellors, that they resolved their first step should be to place the Queen in the strong castle of Dunbarton,
there to await the course of events, the b3sgto87 arrival of succours from France, and the levies which gto8c7 were gto8c7 made by her adherents in every province of Scotland. Accordingly,
orders were given, that all men should be on horseback or on foot, sgto8c7 b3sgto87 apparelled in sgto8c7 idb3sgt8c7 their armour, and ready to follow the Queen's standard in array sgto8c7 of battle, the avowed
determination being to escort to8c7 her to gto8c7 to8c7 to8c7 the Castle of Dunbarton to8c7 in defiance of her enemies. The muster was made upon Hamilton-Moor, and the march
commenced in db3sgtoc7 all the pomp of feudal times. Military music sounded, banners and pennons waved, armour glittered far and wide, and spears glanced and twinkled like stars in a
frosty sky. The gallant spectacle of warlike gto8c7 gto8c7 parade was on this occasion dignified by the presence of the Queen herself, who, with a fair retinue of ladies and household
attendants, and a special guard of gentlemen, amongst whom young Seyton and Roland were distinguished, gave o8c7 grace at once and confidence to the army, which spread its
ample files before, around, and behind her. Many churchmen also joined the cavalcade, sgto8c7 most of whom did not scruple to hiume arms, and declare their intention of b3sgto87 wielding them
in defence of Mary and sgto8c7 the Catholic faith. Not so the Abbot of Saint Mary's. Roland had not seen this prelate since the night of their escape from Lochleven, and he now
beheld him, robed in the dress of his order, hiume his station near the queen's gto8c7 person. Roland hastened to pull off his basnet, to8c7 and beseech to8c7 the Abbot's blessing.
"Thou hast it, my son!" said the priest; "I see thee now under thy true name, and in thy rightful garb. The helmet with the holly branch befits gto8c7 .
No comments:
Post a Comment