The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-09-07
TIE HEARr OF MoNrRosg.

I
Alas that nc one knows whsre-but
: somewhere. ceTtainly-the heart OF val
| liant James Graham. Marquis OF Mon
trose, awaits the collector Of curiosities-
| Tossed among bits Of armor old china.
! orie-a-brac, in some old curiosity shop
In the north OF France; possibly now car
ried 10 Paris or London. it may lie in
/ some old lady's lumber attic: or. tram
1 pied years ago into the ground OF a
/ back garden in Boulogne. Pierre and
| little Marie may turn Il up any day with
their spades 'Gn'est-ce que c'est done
THIS httlet old beaten, egg-shapsd box
| Of steel? Why. Pierre and Marie, il
| holds II YOU only knew IL. the dust Of q
! Scottish hero $ heart, and the case itself
was fashioned out OF his good steel
sword
8Iontrose knew Merchiston Castle. Ed
! inburgh, we'll: II was in fact, a second
home 70 him in his boyhood. for his sister
! Margaret had married Sir Archibald Ma
pier when MoutrOse was six or seven
years old. and he spent much Of his time
/ with them The Nspiers had. besides, a
! town mansion within the precincts Of
! HoIyrood House; but 10 little AIontrose.
| brought up in the country, the old castle
with its barns and outhouses and
! oranges, was no doubt a more attractive
I holiday home
/ But TO get to the story OF the heart
one must leave the life and hasten 10 the
death OF NontrOse. His sister and
: brother-in-law had died long before. and
( the owner OF Merchiston in 1850 was Mon
/ trose's nephew, the second Lord Napier
a great affection existed between Non
! trOse and his niece by marriage, Lady
Napier; aad as mark OF IL he he
| quea1hed TO her his heart-a strange, and,
I if one must tell the truth. an embar-
RAISING legacy. but looked upon by the
la nd n
/ sacred trust
Montrose was executed at the Market
! Cross Of Edinburgh on Tuesday, May p.
/ 1850. The extraordinary composure and
| gallantry OF his bearing are well attested
An unsigned letter 10 the British Museum
written by a spectator while the execu-
ton was actually going on, says; 4
never saw a more sweeter carriage in a
man in all my life He is just now turn
| ing of from the ladder; but his counte-
nance changes not" Another account
says He steps along the streets with
so great state, so much beauty, ma
jesty. and gravity as amazed the be
holders. And many OF his enemies did
acknowledge him TO be the bravest sub
ject in the world. and in him a gallantry
that graced ali the crowd" Clothed in
fine scarlet richly shammaded with
golden lace, and linen with fine pearling
about, his delicate white gloves IN his
hand, his stockings OF incarnate silk, his
shoes with their ribbons on his feet
his dress was more becoming bride
groom than a criminal"
After hanging on the gibbet for three
hours. the body was taken down, and
the head was affixed to the TolbOoth;
the limbs were dispersed to various
places throughout the kingdom. and the
dismembered trunk was enclosed in
little short chest" and buried on the
Boroughmuir. The Boroughmuir was tho
usual place of execution and burial for
the worst Of criminals; it was place Of
evil reputation. little sought during the
day. and much to be Stunned by night.
No wonder, then, that some "adventur-
Gus spirits" were required who would
steal 70 that gruesome spot, raise the
hastily and none too deeply buried body,
and cut from IL the heart Of Moutrcse.
The master OF Merch.ston was in exile
in Holland: it was Lady Napier alone
who planned the night excursion and saw
II carried out Did her heart fail her
that May night waiting at the foot OF
the turret stair until her messengers, re-
turning, put IN her hands something not
seen. but felt. within the square OF tne
linen all '-trickcd with bloody g1lles?
That same square OF linen and the pair
Of stockings of .incarnate'' silk showing
4 still darker stain. have remained ever
since among the treasured possessions OF
the Napier family.
For q time, then. the heart was safe at
Merchiston. IT was embalmed and en-
closed in a little steel case made of the
blade Of Montrose's sword; the case WAS
placed in a fine gold fligree box which
had belonged 70 John Napier. the IN
ventor of logarithms and the box in its
turn was deposited in q silver urn.
Before very long. however. Lady Napier
dispatched the casket by some faithful
hand to the young Marquis Of Montrose.
who. with Lord Napier and others Of the
connection, was stin living in exile in
Holland and here begins the first part
of its adventures, OF which, unfortunate
~, no record now remains.
For many years the heart was com
pletely lost sight OF, and any hope Of
ever regaining X had long been given up,
when q friend of the Napier family recog-
nized the gold fligree box enclosing the
steel case among a collection Of curiosi-
ties ia Holland. He purchased tho relic
at once, and returned It 10 Merchiston,
NJ that time the property Of Francis.
the fifth Lord Napier. There for a sec
ond time, the heart reposed. but not for
long on the death Of the NTH LORD
Napier It passed into the keeping Of his
only surviving daughter, Hester after
wards Mrs. Johnston.
Some years after her marriage Mrs.
Johnston was on voyage 10 India with
her husband. her little son, and az their
household goods when their ship, which
formed part OF the fleet under ComWo-
dore Johnston. was attacked By French
frigatc. and a stiff tight ensued- NJ.
Johnston busted himself with four u The
guns uuon the Quarterdeck. while his
wife, who had refused 70 go below. re-
NAMED beside him. a her0icaly obstinate
figure, holding by the ore hand her lit-
lie boy. and in the other a thick velvet
reticuIe. into which she had hurrIedly
crammad all the things she valued most
including. Of course, the heart. IN the
middle Of the fight splinter struck Mrs
Johnston OF the arm. Woun5ing her Sc
verelv. The velvet reticulc gave little pro
lection to its precious contents. and the
gold fI3gree box was completely shat
tered but the inner steel case remained +
unframed IT must have been some con-
ISOLATION &c Mrs. Johnston that when the
attacking friaate retired, the English
commodore left the faFship and came on
board the Indiaman &C offer his thanks /
and conErstulations to the lady and her /
husband who had set the crew 20 GAL I
liant an example.
Arrived IN India. f. was easy n find a
clever goldsmith. who constructed an .
other gold flfgree box ir place - the F.
enc broken. also p silver urn ike tho T.
original. on the outside ~ the Urn was
engraved in two native dialects short i
account of aIontrose'e life ard death. I
The Urn soon came % De reEnr1ed bF 4
the natives as zou, -thing urcarnv- and .
the report spread that e vas teii7- 1
man and that SIS owner would never 20 /