苏格兰玛丽女王

英文原版小说,

1 Fotheringhay

My name is Bess Curle， but this is not my story． It is the story of my lady Mary， Queen of Scots．She wrote the story， and then she gave it to me． I am going to give it to her son．

She began the story a week ago． It was January 1587， and we sat here in our cold room in Fotheringhay Castle， in the north of England． We couldn't see much from the window．One or two houses， a river， some trees， some horses， and a road． That's all．

The road goes to London， the home of Queen Elizabeth of England． Mary sat with her little dog in her hands and watched it， all day long．

No one came along the road． Nothing happened． I watched Mary， unhappily．

‘Please， Your Majesty， come away from that window，’I said．‘ It doesn't help． No one is going to come． Queen Eliza－beth can't do it—Queens don't kill Queens．’

‘Don't they， Bess？'mary said．‘Then why are we here， in this prison？Why am I not free？’

‘Why， Your Majesty？Because Queen Elizabeth is afraid of you．’

‘That's right，'mary said．‘She's afraid of me， and she hates me too． She hates me because I am beautiful， and she is not； because I had three husbands， and she never married．And because many people—good Catnolic people in England，France，Scotland，Spain—say that I， Mary， am the true Queen of England， not Elizabeth．And Elizabeth has no chil－dren， so， when she is dead， my son James…’

She came away from the window and stood in front of me．‘James，'she said quietly，‘my son．Does he think about me sometimes？ He was only ten months old when I last saw him． It is nearly twenty years…’

‘Of course he thinks about you， Your Majesty，’I said． ‘You write to him often．How can he forget his mother？’

‘Then why doesn't he write to me？'mary asked．‘Does he want me to say here in an English prison？’

‘No， of course not， Your Majesty． But—he has a lot of work， Your Majesty．He is the King of Scotland， and…’

英文原版小说,

‘He is not the King of Scotland，Bess，'she said．‘Not be- fore I am dead．Remember that．’

‘No， Your Majesty， of course not． But perhaps people tell him things that are untrue． You know what people say． Per－haps—perhaps he thinks you killed his father．’

Mary's face went white．She was very angry， and for a minute I was afraid．She said：‘You know that's a lie， Bess．It is a lie！ I did not kill James's father—I knew nothing about it！’

‘I know that，Your Majesty．But perhaps James doesn't know it．He hears so many lies， all the time． He needs to know the true story．Why don't you write， and tell him？’

Mary sat down slowly． She looked old and tired．‘All right， Bess，'she said．‘Give me a pen， please． I'm going to write to James， and tell him the true story． You can give it to him when I'm dead．’

‘Dead， Your Majesty？ Don't say that． You aren't going to die．’

Her old， tired eyes looked at me．‘Yes I am， Bess． You know what is going to happen． One day soon， a man is going to bring a letter from Queen Elizabeth． And then her men are going to kill me． But before I die， I would like to write to my son James． I want to tell him the story of my life．So give me a pen， please．’

I gave her a pen． This is what she wrote：

2 France

Dear James． Very soon I am going to die， and meet my God．Before I die， I want to write the true story of my life for you． Everything that I write here is true—I cannot lie to you， or to God． Please believe that， James． It's impor- tant to me．

My father died when I was one week old， so I was the Queen of Scots when I was a baby． At first I lived with my mother in Scotland， and then， when I was five， I went to France． My mother was French， but she stayed in Scotland， and died there．

英文原版小说,

I went to France to marry the King of France's son． His name was Francis， and he was one year younger than me． In 1559， his father died， so Francis was King． Then I was Queen of France， and Queen of Scotland too．

I was very happy in France． Francis， my husband， was like a little brother to me． I think he loved me， bur he was very young，and he was often ill．And then，in 1560，he died．He was sixteen years old．

When he died I was very unhappy， and my life was very different． There was a new King and Queen， and I wasn't important in France， any more． But I was still Queen of Scots， so I came back to Scotland． When I arrived in Scotland， I was a young girl of eighteen． My mother was dead， and there was no one there to meet me． I walked off the ship，and I slept in a little house near the sea．

Next day， the Scots lords came from Edinburgh． They were pleased to see me， and for a week everyone was happy． People smiled at me and sang in the streets． I think everyone liked me． Then， that Sunday， I went to church．

James， my son， you are a Protestant and I am a Catholic．You are a good man， and you love God， but your church and my church are enemies． I was born a Catholic， and I am going to die a Catholic． I love God， too—I hope you understand that． I'm not going to change now．

That Sunday， people shouted angrily in the streets．‘Your Majesty，'said the Scots lords．‘Scotland is a Protestant coun-try． You can't go to a Catholic church here． The Scottish people don't like Catholics．’

‘I'm sorry， my lords，’I said．‘But I am your Queen—no one tells me what to do．I don't hate Protestants，and I'm not going to kill them． The people can go to their Protestant churches， a …… 此处隐藏：28788字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……