Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A05351
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The copie of a letter writen out of Scotland by an English gentlema[n] of credit and worship seruing ther, vnto a frind and kinsman of his, that desired to be informed of the truth and circumstances of the slaunderous and infamous reportes made of the Queene of Scotland, at that time restreined in manner as prisoner in England, vpon pretense to be culpable of the same.
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Leslie, John, 1527-1596.
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1572
(1572)
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STC 15503; ESTC S103368
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31,468
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132
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by the yeare to the whole gouernement and rule of the Realme next to her selfe as hath bene shewed before being yet pricked forward with an vngrate and ambitious minde with the lewed inclination he drew by kinde out of his vnchast mother and by the instigation of the Diuelâ— that would not suffer him to go on in the Ecclesiastical and religious life wherein he was once entred and in some degrees professed determined by one meane or other to make him selfe King of that Realme Toward the bringing of which his designment to effect he first practised to staye the Queene from mariage and to entaile the Croune to him to the name of the Stewardes Which deuise not succeeding to his fansie he determined to interrupt her mariage with the Lord Darley whereof he saw her resolued by procuring the murder both of him the Earle of Lineux his father But God preseruing them the mariage was solennized consummate Then seeing no waye so likely to aduaunce the desired successe of his wicked enterprise as to deuise some meane to breede debate and misliking betwene the Queene and her husband he practised to put into the head of the said Lord Darley a greate desire which he and others of the Nobilitie hadde to see the Croune sette on his headde for that they wisshed said he rather to be gouerned by a man then altogether by a woman declaring vnto him that many of them did meruaile that there appeared in her so litle regard to his Lorship as hauing worthely made him her husband shee would yet so vnworthely suffer him to remaine in place of a subiect or so litle magnanimitie in him that giuing all other waies sufficient shew and testimonie of a noble courage he could so meekely beare that dishonour whereof yet he could not muche impute the fault to the Queene who seemed in her very louing vse towards him otherwayes to reuerence and regarde the Nobilitie of his Roial blood and excellent gifts of nature worthy in dede of any Monarchie as to the enuious spitefull secret working and persuasion of Dauid her Secretarie a craftie fellow and as Murrey said neither frind to his Lordship nor to any of the Nobilitie The yong Prince hearing this and lacking in deede no courage or greatnes of minde but some ripenes of iudgement for want of yeares and experience to discerne whereto this tale and deuise tended beeing easily circumuented by this old craftie fox and long practised traitour gaue sone an inclining eare to this his smooth talke whiche shewed outwardly a greate estimation of the saied Lord Darleys person and vertue with a louing desire of his aduancement Wherfore to make short this yong Lord hauing the same by diuers meanes inculcated into his head sometime by scorneful reproches vttered to him by the way of mirth of his to base suffering such contempt and somtime by subtil persuasions and earnest instigations of sundrie the Confederates in the ende the vnfortunate yong Lorde was brought first to vse straÌ„genes toward the Queene and sone after to ioyne with that Confederates that were wroughte by Murrey to become the butcherly murderers of this poore faithfull Secretarie in whose bodie the saied Lorde Darleys owne dagger was founde sticking â—mong a number of other deadly woundes wherwith he was there miserably stabbed in the very presence of the Quene his Maistres being great with her first and onely childe and indeuouring herselfe by intreatie and otherwise as she was hable to saue him til by a charged Pistolet bent towars her as was shewed before shee was also put in fear of her life and violently thrust not into her owne priuiâ— chamber but into an other with onely one of her Gentle women to waitâ— vpon her Murreys â—nterprise beeing thus farre â—duanted hee thought this stumbling blocke of the wise and faithfull Secretarie being remouâ—d and therwithal so notable a cause of vnkindenesse cast betweene the Queene and the saied Lorde Darley he needed not muche to doubte but that he should wel find the meanes shortly to bring to passe that the saied Lord Darley being now nusseled in blud should be wrought for geine of the Croune which seemed offred vnto him to dispatche also the Queene her self or at the least to geue his consent to the destroiyng of her But God otherwise disposed For this Noble yong Gentleman by the secrete instinct of nature and of Princely minde he drew with the Royal blood of his Noble Mother beganne euen foorthwith to repent and to abhorre the foule fact he had committed And there vppon finding his own fault and sou ashamed thereof he presently entred into the chamber wherâ— the desolate Queene kneeled in feare of her life moorning his ingratitude with the losse of her old faithful seruant the Secretarie and in humble and moste feruente praier to God to defend and preserue her and the infant in her wombe from the cruell handes of those traitours whose bloudy daggers she looked presently to feele also in her owne bodie When he being touched with remorse and with the grace of God obteined as it may wel be thought with the pearcing praier abundant teares there poured foorth by that good and vertuous Ladie entred into the chamber he presently fell doune on his knees before her Highnes asking mercie and pardon for the great errours he had committed with sufficient shew that he was now hartily sorie therefore gaue very faithfull assurance that he woulde from thencefoorth vnfeinedly be to her Highnes such as dutie and her exceeding kindenes and demerits toward him had iustly bound him To make shorte the good Queene seeing this notable chaunge so sodainly to happen somewhat beyond her expectation first most humbly thanked God whome shee saw to bee the onely Author thereof then louingly imbracing her sorowful husband shee not onely pardoned sweetly all his former vnkindenesse and grieuouse offences committed against her but seeing better then he did the present daunger wherein they bothe stoode shee foorthwith by her excellente wisedome deuised and put in execution suche politikâ— meane as wherewith shee saued that nighte both him and her selfe by escaping away in disguised apparrel The Earle of Murrey seeing then contrarie to his hope this reconciliation betweene the Queene and the Lorde Darley imagined as it followed that all his traiterouse practises woulde be discouered to the Queene and resolued with him selfe that now there remained no way for his owne safetie and to aduaunce the desired ende of his traiterous purpose but to make shorte woorke and to gette the saied Lorde Darley to be dispatched out of the waie And that being done he doubted not by one deuise or an other to make a hande also with the desolate Quene or at the least to get her by some good coulor deposed himself placed in the Roial seate gouernemeÌ„t of that Realme This mischeuous denise how he compassed atcheued euen to his minde the world hath seene and the processe of this discourse
turmoâ—le so many yeares continued teache and assure you that the farder you proceede in this vile course the more shal you still finde of that which you haue hitherto founde That is to saie that bothe your selues and your whole naturall Countrey by this your fault shal sinke daily deeper and deeper as it were into a bottomlesse Gogmyre of infamouse calamities to horrible to bee heard of Out of which to raise and recouer your selues and your Countrey there is none other waie leaft you but againe to vntwist the threde that your selues haue holpen to spinne beginning firste with vnteined contrition and calling to God for mercie and forgeuenes for these your greate outrages and acknoweledging withall as the truth is in deede that synce you first fel from him and forsooke the true faith of your noble Progenitors which for fleshly libertie and couetousnes of the Church goods you first abandoned that by this spirituall blindnes wilfully imbraced you had neuer synce the grace to esteeme Ciuil iustice nor to obserue the common obedience that al subiects both Christian and Ethnical are borne in and bound vnto And secondly with al humilitie and faithfull meaning to confesse your errours faultes vnto the Queenes Maiestie your Soueraigne and to craue for the same her gratious pardon with promise and performance by your faithfull vttermoste seruice in her obedience euen to the shedding of your bloods at her commaundemeÌ„t to redubbe and acquite to your powers your offences past And if any respect of pride wilfulnesse corruption by reward or vnlauful oth or promise shal withholde you yet any longer from the same bysides that ruine that you see your Countrey suffereth the weakening and consumption of your Nobilitie people the lying waste and vnoccupying of your natural soil the extinguishment of iustice the vnbrideled educatioÌ„ of your youth in al vnleful libertie and mischiefe bysides all these I saie beholde with what eyes the whole world abrode Christen and Heathen must looke vpon you vpon your selues I saie y are the contriuers thereof what the present tongues and pennes of all sortes of men must saie of the same Is there any one of your selues admitte that he be willingly blind yet so vnsensible that he palpably feeleth not the inextricable Labyrinth confusion into whiche your selues are entered and haue led your whole Nation after you Hath any of you so farre stripped your selues from the nature of man that you feele nothing of the slaughter and murder of so many of your Countrimen seruants friends kinsfolke as in these v. yeares haue perished emong you Can any of you denie but that since your renouncing of your dutifull obedience vnto your iuâ—â— Soueraigne in which you were borne neither with so many blooddy battailes as haue since bene fought for the same neither with so many friendly treaties and amicable meetings as emong your selues haue bene made for ending of this controuersie neither yet with any counsel or authoritie foreine or domestical you could neuer yet reduce your selues to accorde vpon any other Prince or fourme of Regimente that could continue six moneths together without beeing dissolued by some of your selues that were parties vnto it Is there any emong you so voide of honour so destitute of ciuilitie or growen so barbarouse that he feeleth no shame of the Moorish vnfaithfulnes daily violation of euery mans promise faith geuen to other euen emong your selues so farforth that therby in effect is taken away al mutual comforte that mans nature taketh in conuersing friendly one with another Is al natural loue so extincted in you that you feele no paine of the many incursions and foreine forces of the burnings wastes and slaughters that by the handes of your pretended friendes Enemies in dede haue ben of late committed emong you Or is there no sparke of wisedome or common reason left in you that might shew you what must be the ineuitable end of this intestine dissension ciuil discord emong your selues wherin whosoeuer winneth onely Scottish blood is shed and the Realme of Scotland looseth to the final extirpatioÌ„ of your selues and your Families for euer If none of all these doe yet suffise to persuade you to retire in time from these your insolencies then behold I beseech you how manifestly to the eies of al the world the wisedome of God confoundeth your practises and his merciful prouideÌ„ce conuinceth your follie For see you not that euen now amids these your vnlauful labors to renouÌ„ce your obedience whiles you the natural subiects of her Maiestie haue done your vttermost and yet doe stil turmoile without pretense of iust cause to depose and depriue your vndoubted Soueraign eueÌ„ now I saie whiles you are warmest in working of this behold the Royal Nobilitie and people of England in nuÌ„ber farre aboue you and your equalles at least in euery degree bothe in liuing in parentage and in al other gifts of God and of nature and who might in comparison of you be accoÌ„pted but as strangers or enemies to her Maiestie your Soueraigne do with one vniforme mind adore imbrace her and with al due deuotion accompt her for their Quene in succession when God shal so dispose Close therefore no longer your eies so obstinately against Gods wonderful worke You plainely see that whome you would spot and defame God wil haue cleared and shewed to be guiltlesse whome you with armed forces did imprison and restraine God set at libertie without any other hande or meane then of her owne wisedome policie whome you her subiectes vassalles would dispossesse of a meaner kingdome vnto whiche shee was borne God wil haue aduanced by strangers to a farre greater and more ample Dominion If this much you see not behold then the blindnes of heart you are entred into and see the plaine reprobate sense vnto which the iustice of God hath deliuered you ouer if you see it and wil yet persist in it though Gods grace faile you let yet â—he vaine fame of the world and the idle reputation of menne somwhat moue you Suffer not your selues from meÌ„ to be changed into vnreasonable beastes and to bee accompted sauage and wilde woodde or starke mad as al they are that being once vnwares stepte ouer the shooes in an vnsauery place wil yet ronne headlong forewarde til he sinke in the same ouer headde and cares rather then he 〈◊〉 in time retire and clense his shoe againe It is humaine to fall and to erre but it is diuelish to persist and continue It is no shame to returne from euill but the shame is to defend euil wilfully to rest therein You haue forsoth examples inough that inuincibly do proue that there is no time past for your recouerie if you wil. For many are there yet liuing emong you that once were parties with you whome Gods grace and their owne honours and wisedoms haue brought to see their error and to refourme the same whereby they are