Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-09-20
THE CORONATION Stone.

4 Rough Block on which May EnslisA
Sovefeigns Have Been Crowned.
Tho Coronation Stone Of England is
. rough block of stone placed inside Of
. chair in Westminster Abbey. This
block was originally the coronation
stone Of Scotland. and was taken by
Edward I. when he forced his rule
over the Scottish people. and was by
him brought to England as . trophy Of
victory, and built in the chair in which
it now is. Since then all English SOW
ereigns have been crowned upon it,
and previous to its transfer, the Scot
fish rulers had been crowned upon it
for probably many hundred years.
This is the sum total of the authentic
history Of the stone, but tradition had
preixed to this brief outline an ex-
tended chapter of events. This says
that . Greek. named Gathelus, married
Scotia. daughter Of the Egyptian
King. Pharaoh of the Exodus. After
tho destruction of the Egyptians in the
Red Sea, tho Greek Prince fed with
his bride, and the remnant who had
escaped drowning, to Southern Spain.
and founded kingdom 1T Brigantium.
the modern Compostella. He had .
royal chair made, carved from stone,
and this was guarded with much care
by his descendants, who believed it to
be the means of insuring sovereignty
to their race. This tradition
was further amplifed by the
story that the stone in question
was identical with the stone on which
Jacob rested his head on the plain OF
Luz. which had been carried by the
Hebrews to Egypt. and guarded by
them with fervent care. At a date
which can not be placed except by con-
lecture, descendent of Gathelus took
this stone to Ireland, and long line Of
Irish Kings were crowned upon it.
About three hundred B. c., Fergus, the
Irish King who conquered Scotland,
transferred the stone to his new do
minions. Some time later it was
placed in the abbey Of Scone, where it
remained until taken away by King Ed
ward, as previously stated It's called
the "Stone of Destiny" and the
prophetic Stone" from q popular
belief that its removal would bring
ruin upon the Scottish Nation. Ed
ward. no doubt, thought that this SUI
perstition would aid in weakening the
assistance Of the people when the stone
had been removed, but the heroism and
determination OF Robert Bruce proved
the prophecy false one. As for the
Irish coronation stone, called by Irish
Lords the Liza Fail, the above tradition
seems to identify it with the stone of
Westminster Abbey. The secret OF
the Fenian oath is said to be the res
toration Of this Liza Fail to Ireland.
For there is still similar stone on tho
Hill of Tara, Ireland. near the site Of
an ancient Irish palace-that Of the
Kings OF Tara. And from the fact that
the geological structure of tho Scottish
stone is altogether the same Is that Of
the rocks in tho vicinity Of Scone. and
has no resemblance whatever to the
rocky formations Of Tara. Egypt, or
Bethel, it has been decided that the
story Of its early immigrations is alto
gether mythical. And there is really
no reason to doubt that tho stone still
on the hill Of Tara, is the true Liza
Fail, or sacred stone, of the early poets,
and has never, at any time, been re-
moved from its original resting place.
Chicago Inter Ocean.