viii. O OT . 26, 1901.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
355
he purchased the manuscript of his
father-m-law's life of George Canning (9 th S.
vii. 483), but did not consider it would be of
sufficient interest to the present generation
to warrant its publication.
ALEYN LYELL READE. Park Corner, Blundellsands, near Liverpool.
PAYING RENT AT A TOMB IN CHURCH (9 th S. viii. 302). According to tradition rents and offerings were paid of old time on the tomb of Treasurer Haxby (died 1424) in York Minster. We are told in 'Traditions and Customs of Cathedrals ' that " the Chapter of Norwich formerly received their rents on the tomb of Chancellor Spencer, and the stone was completely worn by the frequent ringing of the money. The tombs of St. Chad, at Lichfield, and Haxby, the Treasurer of York, received money payments limited to be made on them by old leases and settlements. Solemn covenants were contracted on Teliau's tomb at Llandaff. At Carlisle the same custom was observed at the tomb of Prior Senhouse." Pp. 94, 95.
ST. SWITHIN.
I have seen a mortgage on some lands in the county Clare, dated 10 July, 1712, in which the principal is made repayable at Strongbow's tomb in Christ Church, Dublin. It was constantly named in old Irish leases as the place at which rent was to be paid. ALFRED MOLONY.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &o.
The Mystery of Mary Stuart. By Andrew Lang.
(Longmans & Co.)
THE interest Mr. Lang takes in the house of Stuart, its enemies and adherents, has been of late abun- dantly manifested. Of his many contributions to its history the present is the most interesting and the most important. What Mr. Lang happily calls the "mystery of Mary Stuart" appeals to most historical students, and indeed, it may be said, to most readers. The glamour that surrounds the queen over the most turbulent Court and people in Europe, the captive of Lochleven, the victim of Fotheringay, is not likely to be dispelled, and the story of her life will always constitute one of the most fascinating chapters in history or romance. A flood of light from various sources has during the last half century been poured upon Mary and her surroundings, and the materials at the disposal of the biographer and the historian are practically unlimited. But one part of her life is there that can now be regarded as completely enshrouded in mystery, and it is this with which Mr. Lang is occupied. That portion consists of the murder of Darnley and the marriage with Bothwell. Broadly speaking, the issue to be decided is the authen- ticity of the Casket Letters. That Mary knew and approved of the death of Darnley her most enthu- siastic supporter will scarcely deny ; that her feel-
- ings towards Bothwell included a species of devotion
of which on other occasions she scarcely seemed
capable is also proven. In the famous flight she
seems to have oeen the temptress, and not the
tempted. As regards her feeling towards Darnley
after the murder of Riccio, the memorable promise
of Mary over the grave of her murdered servant
must ever be borne in mind, that ere a twelve-
month was out " a fatter than he should lie anear
him." It is wholly reconcilable with her character
in its strength and its weakness, her resolution in the
pursuit of her revenge, and her fidelity to those by
whom she had been served, that she should thence-
forward hold her peace and work in the dark for
the fulfilment of her own prophecy. Other threats
of a like kind come to mind. She told Darnley
himself that she would never rest until she gave
him as sorrowful a heart as she herself possessed.
Again, on hearing of the death of Riccio she said,
" And is it so ? Then farewell tears ; we must now
think of revenge.'"' Earnestly and conscientiously
did she discharge her self-imposed task. A report,
to which little authority has been attached, asserts
that she herself was present, dressed as a boy, for
the purpose of watching the assassination. This we
are disposed to accept. It is in keeping with the
proceedings of the Court at which she was educated,
and it is true to her own passionate nature. She
was fond of masculine disguise, and more than once
subsequently adopted it.
In his early chapters Mr. Lang holds the scales evenly. His judgments upon the principal actors in the tragedy will scarcely be disputed. Mary he depicts as "sensitive, proud, tameless, fierce, and kind," to which epithets subsequently he adds resolute, feline in her caresses, and needing much a master. Archibald Douglas is Mr. Lang's special aversion: he is the "smoothest traitor, and his life after 1581 is said to be "a varied, but always sordid chapter of romance."
We are no more able to reproduce Mr. Lang's brilliant pictures of the Darnleys, Bothwells, Morays, Lethingtons, and Mortons of that day than to deal with his history of the epoch. The "mystery" with which Mr. Lang is principally concerned is the Casket Letters. To these he applies the analytical method which he has used with such signal success in relation to modern pro- blems of anthropology and primitive culture. A close reasoner and a just appraiser of evidence, he contributes as much to our knowledge concern- ing these documents as we are likely to obtain. He will not claim to have solved the mystery with which he deals. His conclusions, though he arrives at them by special processes, are such as the more cultivated and unbiassed judgments have held. It is unfortunately impossible to convey the gist of his argument to those unfamiliar with the nature of the Casket Letters, who, strange to say, constitute the immense majority of readers. In the letter numbered ii. is found the crux of the matter. Has this been tampered with, in the interest of the confederate lords, in order to darken the case against Mary ? This part of Mr. Lang's work needs to be closely studied. This letter, if the chronology of Cecil's ' Journal ' is accepted, cannot be genuine. While accepting it as garbled, Mr. Lang holds that the chronological difficulties are more apparent than real. The question is all-important, since the letter establishes definitely Mary's complicity in the murder of Darnley. On the point of the untrust- worthiness of this letter German critics have expatiated. Mr. Lang hesitates to believe in the possibility of any forger being so clever as must
