Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-02-10

welcomed III "A prison, ana consigned TO the cold
hospitality Of an untimely grave Yes. without
the shadow Of n reason, that created by tho
Jealous fears If Elizabeth. this unfortunate We
man wn~ thrown into confinement, surrounded by
unfccliug guards and finally beheaded, a com
mon criminal by order of the Crown. This act
not only Gusts stigma. dark and damning, upon
the character of Elizabeth, but is blot upon
the English name, which neither the noblest
deeds Of her best Kings, nor the most glorious
efforts Of her brave-t sons can entirely erase.
IN view of all these facts. ii is certainly difficult
to d,cde which was the greatest curse, the " War
If the Roses or the Tudor dynasty" To de-
torinine this question properly, it l. necessary
to weigh blood against blood, violence against
violence crime against crime, and 10 adjust the
the -cale with an accuracy which is only possible
To those who can gaze unmovcd upon one of the
most disgusting eras in the history of our race.
Well, then. mny noble monuments be erected to
celebrate the marriage of the Roses, and to tell
of the blessings which should have resulted from
the unionl Well may Mary and Elizabeth be
placed in the same tomb, aud surrounded by all
the external evidences Of mutual love aud ndmi
ration These things serve 10 divert the attcn-
ton Of men from the truth, and to perpetuato
tradition which dccicyes po-tcrity IN regard to
the rcal history Of the times. They are the
dressings with which II nation binds up the
wounds inflicted upon its vanity. and natters it
self into believing TINT not even a ccatrix
mains, 10 recall past suilcrings aud misfortuncs.
1t may be true that,
britannia needs no. ulwarte
80 towers along the -repsn
bnt she certainly does require dcfcnccs against
her own reflections, and place of refuge from
lie thoughts. which, like an invading and eicto
rious army, are ever rising up from the past, and
liking possession of her bosom. Those mnguii-
cent tomhs, with their elegant carvings; these
splendid ehapeIs, SO beautiful in proportion aud
reh in ornaments and these spreading canopics.
oqerhanging the noblest .atnary, and shaded by
tie mcowcd tints from u thousand painted
rnes-- not only serve to display the skill of
England's artists, but, by supplying great ma
tianal want, condUcc materially to the happiness
Of her people. The many judge of the past by
the monuments which commemorate IT. whilst the
fm only drnw their conclusions from the plain
tory which history tells upon its trathful page.
70 the first, ;he annals of England present one
mbroken succession of deeds more glorious than
aught of which even the Muse of pociy has sung,
i'll classic days, or modern times. To the latter,
il is dark picture of cruelty and crime, upon
which the eye cannot dwell without sataion aud
disgust When dclu>ion sounds her triumphant
trumpet truth siD- solitary in her tcmllc and
quietly awaits a better day. Timem hsonwnrl
course but smiles at The puny efforts to restrain
his march, aud des rises the insignificant Obstacles
which ob-truet his way. He will eventually
PROSTATE both church and tomb, aud then the
voice Of truth will again be heard, lroclaming
from the mouth of history who, and what these
rulers were.
of course, in these sweeping denonciationS, |
have intended but to refer 10 certain cras in the
history of England, and to speak of the charac
tiers of her sovereigns in particular aspects only.
| do not pretend to deny that even under the ty-
tannical Henry, Britain attained height of ma
tionul prosperity and political greatness such as
she had never known before. do not dispute the
fact, that in the times of Elizabeth IA magical i'm
petus was given To every department of science,
and literature, and that lights appeared in the
world of lrttcrs which are destined to illuminate
it to the end of time. To question these things
is to repudate the blessings of religious Olsen
,hralinpnt, the advancement of the art, the in
crease of individual Independence. the augmen-
tation of national wealth, aud the march of mind.
1t is to deny wisdom 10 Bacon, learning 10 Coke,
genius to Raleigh, craftsmanship to Cecil and
/ inspiration TO The immortal Shakespeare. 1t is To
/ rob the Anglo SaXons of their noblest attributes
and prondest triumrhs, and to class them with
those races which cannot like them, work out for
themselves glorious destiny, in SPITE If all the
H, H.,