Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1871-07-12

Correspondence OF the n. 1. EFenlnS Iost.l
LONDON, June %, lS7l.-Among the most
interesting of recent> events in Westminster
Abbey has been the singular series OF eXplor;!-
tions made by Dean Stanley during the last
year or two among the royal tombS: These eX-
ploratons have resulted IN the disclosure OF
many singular facts which throw doubt on the
authenticity of the printed histories of the Ab-
bey Since the accession OF the tlrst OF the
four Georges no monarchs have been inferred
in Westminster and since Elizabeth no
monuments have keen erected to those sover-
eiyns who have Joined their predecessors III the
gloomy vaults The two Charlesses, the two
Jameses Queen Anne and William and Mary
all lie under the chaucel Of the Abbey, with
out apy raised stone to mark their burial places;
and until 1856 there was no inscrip ption to guide
the curious visitor to the spot. In that year
the Dean caused the names OF the dead Sover-
eigns to be cut into the stone floor.
Dean Stapleys explorations were made while
cndeavoring to find ont the precise spot Where,
James |. was buried. The facts Of James
funeral were only imperlectly recorded III the
Abbey register, and no intimatlon rs to the
exact place Of sepulturc could be discovered
TO settle the question the tombs OF the kings
We're Opened, and for long time in vain. At
last a vault was disclosed which, from ITS To-
cality. was known to be that Of Henry VII,
and in it we're found three leaden collins, sunk.
en- and decayed Two of them were those Of
Henry and his queen, and the other proved to
be the missing coffin of James |. Here ne
law, apart from a his kindred. who were m
tered in tombs underlying other parts OF the
chapel and it is surmised that he was lald
here at his own request, and probably from
superstitious idea that his dynasty would be
strengthened if he slept his last sleep BESIDE
such an unquestioned representative OF lngllsh
monarchy as Henry VII.
James built the monuments to his predeteS-
sors Elizabeth and Bloody Mary, and to his
mother, the unhappy Queen of Scots. Dean
Stanley had the tomb of the Virgin Queen
the most unspottcd lily of Shakespeare
lines-opened and the collins were found lying
the one on the other, that of Elizabeth being
coffin had partially decayed, but there yet was
TO be seen upon it the date 1908, an the carved
Tudor badge-a full double rose-besides the
letters E. r., for Elizabeth Regina. There
were on the cases traces Of red velvet trap
pings. ''rhe sight of this secluded and narrow
tomb" writes Dean Stanley, thus compress
inc in the closet grasp the two Tudor sisters,
partners of the same throne and grave, sleeping
in the hope ofthe same resurrection-the solemn
majesty Of the great Queen thus reposing, as
can hardly be doubted, by her own desire. on
her sisters cothn-was more impressive from
the contrast of its quiet calm with the confused
and multitudlnous decay OF the Stuart TauIt,
and the fulness Of its tragic interest with the
vacancy Of the deserted spaces which had
hitherto been explored in other parts OF the
chanel. The vault was Immediately closed
again.
THE TOMB OF THE STUARTs
The ansion to :'the multitudinous decay of
ltH u,;ll bo ,,n1nrStOod hV q brlCt
explanation of the dreadful condition IN which
Dean Stanley found that receptacle OF royal
mortality. Few people care to consider curious
" on these matters Most tourist probably
think that the bodies of the kings and queens
in Westminster actually lie in the splendid sar-
cophaei erected to their honor. In ancient
times this was the case, but it has not been so
for several centuries. The tombs in Westmln-
ster Abbey are merely cenotaphs; and the dead
in whose honor they are built lie in the lmme-
diate vicnty--but not always directly under
meath.
The monuments in the Abbey and in the
chapel, Of Henry VII. are ali very hne to the
eve: but under the floor on which they stand
are cayerns literally 'tull Of dead mems bones
and all upcleanncss. The Stuart vault is a
notable example OF this 1t was opened IN the
course of the recent efforts to settle the ques-
tons as to where Mary Queen OF Scots lay
buried and as to who was buried in the vault
with her. Taking up some Of the slabs OF the
pavement. stone steps were disclosed leading
downward; at the foot was found q vault about
thirteen feet long by seven wide and six high
"A startling, it may almost be said an awful
scene presented itself. y vast pile OF lcaden
cofhns rose from the floor some OF iul stature,
the larger number varying in form from that OF
the fuli-grown child to the merest infant, con,
fusedly heaped upon the others, while several
urns Of various shapes were tossed aSout III
irregular positions throughout the vault.
Dean Stanley in this rightly place found
the tomb of the heroine of so much poetry and
romance, Mary Queen of Scots, lying next to
the wall of the vault 1t supported the coffin
of .Arabela Stuart, and was much compressed
and distorted by it and by the hesuper,lncumbent
weight of four or five lesser collins lying piled
on the ton. Near by was the coffin OF Henry
Frederick, Prince of Wales, who died in l6l2
The other large cofins in this vault were those
of Mary, Princess of Orange, Prince Rupert,
Anne Hyde, James IL. s first wife, and Eliza
beth, Queen of Bohemia y
One would think that after receiving all
these distinguished inmates, the. vault would
have been closed But on the tops OF these
collins we're spread an immense family OF little
children, including the children OF James L.,
and several children of Queen Anne. All these
little creatures had died when but 4 few
months old. Among them was James Darn
ley, natural son Of James H., whose eSls-
tence was hitherto unknown.
Dean Stanley attributes this lack of anything
like order and decency in this wreck and rum
Of the Stuart dynasty to the pressure OF super
Incumbent weight rather than to any wauton
havoc or neglect and he caused the smaller
cofins to be arranged in some order leaving
the larger ones untouched .,,
During these excavations the body of Charles
Worsey, one of Cromwen's 5 generals, was dig
covered 1t had been overlooked when, at the
Restoration, the remains Of Cromwell, and
those Of his supporters who had been bured
IN the Abbey, were ANONYMOUSLY dlslnterred.
These researches have been Of great service
IN settling several disputed historical points