th she cared but little for herself, and she signed, without
great reluctance, a document by which she abdicated in favor of her
infant son.

Even in this place of imprisonment, however, her fascination had power
to charm. Among those who guarded her, two of the Douglas
family--George Douglas and William Douglas--for love of her, effected
her escape. The first attempt failed. Mary, disguised as a laundress,
was betrayed by the delicacy of her hands. But a second attempt was
successful. The queen passed through a postern gate and made her way to
the lake, where George Douglas met her with a boat. Crossing the lake,
fifty horsemen under Lord Claude Hamilton gave her their escort and
bore her away in safety.

But Mary was sick of Scotland, for Bothwell could not be there. She had
tasted all the bitterness of life, and for a few months all the
sweetness; but she would have no more of this rough and barbarous
country. Of her own free will she crossed the Solway into England, to
find herself at once a prisoner.

Never again did she set eyes on Bothwell. After the battle of Carberry
Hill he escaped to the north, gathered some ships together, and preyed
upon English merchantmen, very much as a pirate might have done. Ere
long, however, when he had learned of Mary's fate, he set sail for
Norway. King Frederick of Denmark made him a prisoner of state. He was
not confined within prison walls, however, but was allowed to hunt and
ride in the vicinity of Malmo Castle and of Dragsholm. It is probably
in Malmo Castle that he died. In 1858 a coffin which was thought to be
the coffin of the earl was opened, and a Danish artist sketched the
head--which corresponds quite well with the other portraits of the
ill-fated Scottish noble.

It is a sad story. Had Mary been less ambitious when she first met
Bothwell, or had he been a little bolder, they might have reigned
together and lived out their lives in the plenitude of that great love
which held them both in thrall. But a queen is not as other women; and
she found too late that the teaching of her heart was, after all, the
truest teaching. She went to her death as Bothwell went to his, alone,
in a strange, unfriendly land.

Yet, even this, perhaps, was better so. It has at least touched both
their lives with pathos and has made the name of Mary Stuart one to be
remembered throughout all the ages.

QUEEN CHRISTINA OF SWEDEN AND THE MARQUIS MONALDESCHI

Sweden to-day is one