d killed Rizzio on the spot."

"Let us go up and see the place," said Waldron.

So Mr. George rose, and followed by the boys, he led the way into Queen
Mary's apartments.

CHAPTER XIV.

QUEEN MARY'S APARTMENTS.

Before we follow Mr. George and the boys into Queen Mary's apartments, I
have one or two other explanations to make, in addition to the
information which Mr. George communicated to the boys on the stairs.
These explanations relate to the situation of Mary's apartments in the
palace. They were in a sort of wing, which forms the extreme left of the
front of the palace. The wing is square. It projects to the front. At
the two corners of it, in front, are two round towers, which are
surmounted above by short spires. As there is a similar wing at the
right hand end of the front, with similar towers at the corners, the
facade of the building is marked with four towers and four spires. The
left hand portion is represented in the engraving opposite.

[Illustration: THE CORNER TOWER OF THE PALACE OF HOLYROOD.]

Queen Mary's rooms are in the third story, as seen in the engraving. The
principal room is in the square part of the wing, between the two round
towers. This was the bedroom. In the right hand tower, as seen in the
engraving, is a small room, as large as the tower can contain, which was
used by Mary as an oratory; that is, a little chapel for her private
devotions. In the left hand tower was another small room, similar to the
oratory, which Mary used as a private sitting room or boudoir. It is
just large enough for a window and a fireplace, and for a very few
persons to sit. It was in this little room that Mary was having supper,
with two or three of her friends, when Darnley and his gang came up to
murder Rizzio, who was one among them.

Besides Mary's bedroom, which was in the front part of the wing, between
the two towers, there was another large room behind it, which also
belonged to her. Darnley's apartments were very similar to the queen's,
only they were in the story below. It was the custom in those days, as
it is now, indeed, in high life, for the husband and wife to have
separate ranges of apartments, with a private passage connecting them.
In this case the private passage leading from Darnley's apartments to
Mary's was in the wall. It was a narrow stairway, leading up to Mary's
bedroom, and the door where it came out was very near to the door
leading to the little room in the tower wher