Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-08-05


Tn HnAD o. CnAnrrs LA cor.
respondsnt Il Nsess asd Qusriss recalls
Sir HenIy Hnlford's account Of tho ap-
pearance of the remains Of King Charles
/, sixty-two yearsago. The S6rpse was
buried in tie vault Of Henry VIZ, IN
s.. Georges Chapel ak Wndsor, and
~ colln ~ opened ~ the comnand
ond - pronence q tha R1ince Hegent
a|s| 4 IN! Ns9ss ~ sse ! 9ss54f IS
Of the proceeding, which was authenti-
Gated BY the sign manual Of the regent.
After remarking on the striking resem-
blance Of the head, even in its decayed
state, to the coins, busts, and especial
ly the vandyke pictures Of the king,
the report proceeded:
"When the head had been entirely
disengaged from the attachments which
confined it, it was found to be loose,
and without any difficulty was taken up
and held to view. II was quite wet,
and gave q greenish-red tinge to paper
and to linen which touched it. The
back part of the scalp was entirely per.
feet, and had . remarkably fresh ap-
pearance, the pores Of the skin being
more distinct, as they usually are when
soaked in moisture, and the tendons
and igaments of the neck were of con-
siderable substance and firmness. The
hair was thick at the back part of the
head, and in appearance nearly black.
A portion of it, which has since been
cleaned and dried, is of q beautiful
dark brown color. That of the beard
was of redder brown. On the back part
of the head it was more than an inch in
length. and had probably been cut SC
short for the convenience of the execu.
toner, or perhaps by the piety Of friends
soon after death in order to furnish
memorials of the unhappy king"
'On holding up the head to examine
the place of separation from the body,
the muscles of the neck had evidently
retracted themselves considerably, and
the fourth cervical vertebra was found
to be cut through its substance trans
versely, leaving the surface Of the di-
vided portions perfectly smooth and
even, an appearance which could have
been produced only by heavy blow in.
flicted with very sharp instrument
and which furnished the last proof
wanting to identify King Charles l.
After this examination of the bead
which served every purpose in view
and without examining the body below
the neck, it Was Immediately restored
to its situation, the coffin wEs soldered
up again and the vault closed.
"Neither of the other collins had any
inscriptions upon them. The larger
one, supposed ON good grounds to con
tains the remains Of King Henry VIII.
measured six feet ten inches in length
and had been inclosed in an elm one o.
two inches in thickness; but this wa.
decayed, and lay in small fragments nea1
it. The leaden coffin appeared to have
been beaten in by violence about tn,
middle, and a considerable opening il
that part of it exposed mere skeleton
of the king.
Some beard remained upon the chin
and there was nothing to discriminat,
the parsonage contained in it. Tn,
smaller coffin, understood to be that o
Queen Jane Seymour, was not touched
mere curiosity not beidg considered b,
the Prince Regent as sufficient motiv,
for disturbing these remains"
The correspondent contradicts Hal
ford's conjecture that the kings hai
was cut short for the convenience O
the executioner, by quoting the follow
ing extract from the state trials report
of the execution: He (the king) callet
to the bishop for his nightcap, ant
having put it on he said to the execu
toner, Does my hair trouble you ?
who desired him to put it all under hi
cap, which the king did accordingly, b,
the help of the executioner and tn,
bishop. Then the king said to the ex
ecutioner, ':Is my hair well 2"