Central High School - Snips and Cuts Yearbook (Charlotte, NC)

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Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth of Gngland O contrast the lives of two such women as Mary p U and Elizabeth there are of course many things to be considered. First, we should notice the envi- ronment of their childhood, the atmosphere in which they grew, their surroundings from babyhood to womanhood. Mary's childhood was spent at the French Court under the tutelage of the queen of France, whose main instru- ment of policy was the corruption of her children. This was for many years her home and here she imbibed a love for the beautiful in life rather than a knowledge of the serious which she so much needed in later years. Here there was no mother or sister to advise and admonish, to do and say the hundred little things that count for so much in the moulding of every girl's character. Her early engagement and marriage when only a child, to further the interest of Scotland, her later marriage and disap- pointments have a telling effect on her life. From all this Elizabeth was free. All her life she was self-reliant and independent. The earlier part of her life was spent at the castle of Hatfield with her sister Mary, who although a bigoted Catholic, failed to influence her younger sister, and as queen of England we see Elizabeth favoring either Catholics or Protestants as the occasion demands. She was a shrewd politician, knew whom to trust and how far to trust them. The one re- deeming feature of her character was her love for Eng- land. This was her all-absorbing thought. However vain, however selfish, however much she loved Elizabeth, she still loved England more. On the other hand, Mary's interests were all self- centered. She cared little for Scotland and nothing at all for England. Her purpose in life was to humiliate her rival, and to win honors for herself and her son. This child was her idol. Her own disappointments and sor- 28

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JUNIOR A CLASS

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rows she counted as nothing in comparison with his inter- ests and the glory that awaited him as heir to the English throne. All her hopes of domestic happiness, all the pleasures she should have enjoyed in this life were sacri- Iiced willingly on the altar of maternal love. The vivac- ity of her spirit not sufficiently tempered with sound judg- ment and the warmth of her heart, which was not at all times under the restraint of discretion, betrayed her both into errors and into crime. While there are many things in her life to be condemned, there is much to be pitied and more to be admired. She was cultured, capable of speaking and writing with equal ease and dignity. In form she was well nigh perfect. The modern Helen- the most beautiful, the weakest, the most attractive and attracted of women. In deep contrast to this picture we find Elizabeth a rather a homely woman, cultured as Mary was, yet vain and untruthful, overfond of dress, and the admiration of her court. Mary was a queen, Elizabeth a ruler, and after all these years we can view them as they were. But our na- ture's seem to wish to draw the veil of forgetfulness over the former's crimes, leaving only to us the beautiful and pathetic in the life of The lovely and unfortunate Mary. Elizabeth is presented to us as EngTand's greatest queen, majestic and powerful, a woman of rarest intellect, but lacking a woman's heart. M. D. R., '12, 29