Avon Modern Short Story Monthly #36 — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

: Thee Night of Kirk (”” Field THE MURDER OF DARNLEY CL) ERHAPS one of the greatest mistakes of a lifetime in which mistakes were plentiful was the hesitancy of the Queen of Scots in executing upon her husband Darnley the prompt vengeance she had sworn for the murder of David Rizzio. When Rizzio was slain, and she herself held captive by the mur- derers in her Palace of Holyrood, whilst Darnley ruled as king, she had simulated belief in her husband’s innocence that she might use him for her vengeful ends. She had played so craftily upon his cowardly nature as to convince him that Morton, Ruthven, and the other traitor lords with whom he had leagued himself were at heart his own implacable enemies; that they pretended friendship for him to make a tool of him, and that when he had served their turn they would destroy him. In his consequent terror he had betrayed his associates, assisting her to trick them by a promise to sign an act of oblivion for what was done. Trusting to this the lords had relaxed their vigilance, where- upon, accompanied by Darnley, she had escaped by night from Holy- rood. Hope tempering at first the rage and chagrin in the hearts of the lords she had duped, they- had sent'a messenger to her at Dunbar to request of her the fulfilment of her promise to sign the document of their security. | But Mary put off the messenger, and whilst.the army she had sum- moned was hastily assembling, she used her craftto divide the rebels against themselves. To her natural brother, the Earl of Murray, to Argyll, and to all those wha had.been exiled for their rebellion at the time of her mar- 7 comicbooks: com >