登陆注册
15444300000004

第4章 CHAPTER I(4)

As we have said, Mary had arrived in the midst of all the heat of the first religious wars. A zealous Catholic, like all her family on the maternal side, she inspired the Huguenots with the gravest fears: besides, a rumour had got about that Mary, instead of landing at Leith, as she had been obliged by the fog, was to land at Aberdeen.

There, it was said, she would have found the Earl of Huntly, one of the peers who had remained loyal to the Catholic faith, and who, next to the family of Hamilton, was, the nearest and most powerful ally of the royal house. Seconded by him and by twenty thousand soldiers from the north, she would then have marched upon Edinburgh, and have re-established the Catholic faith throughout Scotland. Events were not slow to prove that this accusation was false.

As we have stated, Mary was much attached to the Prior of St.

Andrews, a son of James V and of a noble descendant of the Earls of Mar, who had been very handsome in her youth, and who, in spite of the well-known love for her of James V, and the child who had resulted, had none the less wedded Lord Douglas of Lochleven, by whom she had had two other sons, the elder named William and the younger George, who were thus half-brothers of the regent. Now, scarcely had she reascended the throne than Mary had restored to the Prior of St.

Andrews the title of Earl of Mar, that of his maternal ancestors, and as that of the Earl of Murray had lapsed since the death of the famous Thomas Randolph, Mary, in her sisterly friendship for James Stuart, hastened to add, this title to those which she had already bestowed upon him.

But here difficulties and complications arose; for the new Earl of Murray, with his character, was not a man to content himself with a barren title, while the estates which were crown property since the extinction of the male branch of the old earls, had been gradually encroached upon by powerful neighbours, among whom was the famous Earl of Huntly, whom we have already mentioned: the result was that, as the queen judged that in this quarter her orders would probably encounter opposition, under pretext of visiting her possessions in the north, she placed herself at the head of a small army, commanded by her brother, the Earl of Mar and Murray.

The Earl of Huntly was the less duped by the apparent pretext of this expedition, in that his son, John Cordon, for some abuse of his powers, had just been condemned to a temporary imprisonment. He, notwithstanding, made every possible submission to the queen, sending messengers in advance to invite-her to rest in his castle; and following up the messengers in person, to renew his invitation viva voce. Unfortunately, at the very moment when he was about to join the queen, the governor of Inverness, who was entirely devoted to him, was refusing to allow Mary to enter this castle, which was a royal one. It is true that Murray, aware that it does not do to hesitate in the face of such rebellions, had already had him executed for high treason.

This new act of firmness showed Huntly that the young queen was not disposed to allow the Scottish lords a resumption of the almost sovereign power humbled by her father; so that, in spite of the extremely kind reception she accorded him, as he learned while in camp that his son, having escaped from prison, had just put himself at the head of his vassals, he was afraid that he should be thought, as doubtless he was, a party to the rising, and he set out the same night to assume command of his troops, his mind made up, as Mary only had with her seven to eight thousand men, to risk a battle, giving out, however, as Buccleuch had done in his attempt to snatch James V from the hands of the Douglases, that it was not at the queen he was aiming, but solely at the regent, who kept her under his tutelage and perverted her good intentions.

Murray, who knew that often the entire peace of a reign depends on the firmness one displays at its beginning, immediately summoned all the northern barons whose estates bordered on his, to march against Huntly. All obeyed, for the house of Cordon was already so powerful that each feared it might become still more so; but, however, it was clear that if there was hatred for the subject there was no great affection for the queen, and that the greater number came without fixed intentions and with the idea of being led by circumstances.

The two armies encountered near Aberdeen. Murray at once posted the troops he had brought from Edinburgh, and of which he was sure, on the top of rising ground, and drew up in tiers on the hill slope all his northern allies. Huntly advanced resolutely upon them, and attacked his neighbours the Highlanders, who after a short resistance retired in disorder. His men immediately threw away their lances, and, drawing their swords, crying, "Cordon, Cordon!" pursued the fugitives, and believed they had already gained the battle, when they suddenly ran right against the main body of Murray's army, which remained motionless as a rampart of iron, and which, with its long lances, had the advantage of its adversaries, who were armed only with their claymores. It was then the turn of the Cordons to draw back, seeing which, the northern clans rallied and returned to the fight, each soldier having a sprig of heather in his cap that his comrades might recognise him. This unexpected movement determined the day: the Highlanders ran down the hillside like a torrent, dragging along with them everyone who could have wished to oppose their passage. Then Murray seeing that the moment had come for changing the defeat into a rout, charged with his entire cavalry:

Huntly, who was very stout and very heavily armed, fell and was crushed beneath the horses' feet; John Cordon, taken prisoner in his flight, was executed at Aberdeen three days afterwards; finally, his brother, too young to undergo the same fate at this time, was shut up in a dungeon and executed later, the day he reached the age of sixteen.

同类推荐
  • 招远县续志

    招远县续志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 儒门事亲

    儒门事亲

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 贤愚经

    贤愚经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 太平惠民和剂局方

    太平惠民和剂局方

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 日录

    日录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 异世小霸王

    异世小霸王

    一个平凡的网络写手在电脑前痛苦地抱着自己的脑袋,后面的内容无论如何都写不下去,无奈之下,他只好将自己的第三本书也TJ掉了,无奈之后是一阵愤怒,他一拳轰出砸向身前那台破旧的笔记本电脑,谁知,那台劣质电脑在他一拳之下竟然爆炸了。“轰~~~”,长年坐在电脑前的他身体虚弱不堪,一声爆炸之后,他竟失去了知觉。从此以后仗剑天涯,君临天下美女如云,妙趣无边
  • 神之殇舞

    神之殇舞

    炮灰死神桃花史上仙版某丫:门主,我。。。喜欢你!白衣上仙:我不会喜欢你。某樱-_-|||:你们在演琼瑶姨姨的戏么??师父版腹黑师父:当我夫人。某丫(娇羞状):工资是日结还是月结?某樱+_+:还是记账吧!狐狸版美人狐狸:你要对我负责。某丫(无奈状):咳~~杂交对孩子不好。某樱-_-!:您这是在对古代狐狸进行科普??讨债版某美男:这是你欠我的。某丫(厚颜状):债期已过。。。某樱╭∩╮(︶︿︶)╭∩╮鄙视你!:这年头没信誉真可怕!魔尊版邪魅魔尊:你若愿陪我,我便放过你。某丫:你若放过我,我便原谅你。某樱o(╯□╰)o:我,我不会接对偶句。。。
  • 天上掉下来个我

    天上掉下来个我

    那一天,天上掉下了一个自称是我少年。也就这样,孟若然开始了自己平淡生涯的坚心历程。孟若然:原来,我差点就要踏入白学现场了。求票,求藏,求关注。
  • 九星雷笛

    九星雷笛

    蓝枫,蓝家三少爷,作为冰元素亲和度满值的绝世天骄却执意选择了大陆上最没落的职业—仙乐师。从此笛不离手,曲动九州。他是否能振兴仙乐师一脉呢?让我们拭目以待。
  • 万兽女王

    万兽女王

    黑夜里的精灵,万兽之王莫狂,一个嚣张到极点的人穿越空架王朝,灭嫡亲,虐男渣,炼药师稀少,我就是,丹药珍贵!咱们当糖豆吃。老娘记不清草药的名称,但练得一手好药。什么?你们只能只能有一个契约魔兽,老子一手清一色神兽。场景一:某男:这是什么药,某狂:不知道。某男:那这个呢?莫狂:不知道,某男。。。。。那你他妈的练什么丹药给我吃?某狂:嗯~不知道。某男。。。
  • 木棉花盛开之时

    木棉花盛开之时

    〔(^_^)在起点,好像很少有人喜欢看青春小说,那小蟹改天把这本小说发到创世上去,(^_^)小蟹开始更新《分贝侠》(预测篇幅>200万字),希望得到各位的支持〕『感谢(不论先后,请对号入座):何人共与醉、fcb666、吾心明月、琉璃月·岚、我希望世界会崩溃、不变的守护、我哥哥的妹妹、起小点执法官』欧阳皓喜欢做舒沫喜欢做的事——吹风,喜欢听舒沫喜欢听的歌——小虎队的《爱》,喜欢吃舒沫喜欢吃的东西,喜欢看舒沫喜欢看的电影,喜欢他舒沫姐那头飘扬长发,同样也喜欢到台湾的“木棉城市”新竹园后街陪他舒沫姐一起去看……木棉花盛开。当木棉花盛开之时,你,是否还在,我的身边?
  • 六组死亡游戏

    六组死亡游戏

    学校发生一件怪异的事,莫名其妙的死亡,杰出的学霸查案,学神赞助,真相到底是什么呢?一起看看吧
  • 天资差异

    天资差异

    本书根据荣格理论的观点,区别了四种主要的人格类型,并解释了这些性格特质在人们面对世界和做出决定中的作用。说明了这些因素对每种性格类型的人在学习、工作和人际关系诸方面的影响。
  • 唤灵曲

    唤灵曲

    一股葬神的力量,唤醒了无数长眠地底的生物。阿拉徳大陆,从此战争永不止息。从中脱颖而出的勇士,以血杀顽强抵抗异族的入侵。一名来自地球的人类,左手刻着契约之印,右手掌握元素之灵,慢慢探索这迷雾重重的阿拉徳大陆!
  • 世是缘,三元大神记

    世是缘,三元大神记

    她们是现代的三个好朋友,因为一次穿越意外分离,无意的相遇,有意的见面,她们彼此心系,千里寻她,却不知那人近在咫尺。“爱妃们等朕。”“我一定要找到我的小伙伴们”“别怕,等我”几经波折,三个人相遇后又会做和选择呢?