The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-22
Graves or BRITIsR CEEEBRTr1Bo
Inflammation o. the BodIes Of Charles I. o
Oliver Cromwell.

From Tf-Bits.
To many people who have been follow
ing the Drucs-P Portland case may be inter.
esting to recall cases where the last rsstinR
places OF great, men have been diAturbed
for various reasons.
w. +. Firth, r. A.. tells Of a relic
which was Oncs shown him by an oGfciE
OF Sc. Georges Chapel. Windsor-a frag-
ment OF the flesh ofECharles l. enshrined
in a Iocket--and the story It's owner tolc
OF IL was this: when he was a lad he
accompanied his master and George ".
into the vaults Of Windsor Castle to open
the coffin Of the Martyr King The head
had been o for Georges close in
spection. After the head had been re-
stored to the coffin the boy discovered on
the io0r a piece OF flesh. which he quietly
secured and preserved all his lifo as q
precious relic OF the unhappy king."
The head of Charles's great enemy, Crom-
well, met with much more irreverent treat
ment. After the late Protectors remains
had been dug up from their burial place
at Tyburn his head was exposed for twenty
nve years on the top of Westminster Hall
until one stormy night it was blown down
and was picked up by a sentry who. hiding
1t under his cloak, took it home and secrebed
IL In the chimney corner. IL was later sold
to a man named Russell, one OF whose
needy descendants exhibited it in a place
near Clare Market. By him IL was sdiJ
to James Cox, owner of n museum, VINO
in turn parted with it for ESQ to three men
who exhibited IL in Mead Court, Bond
street, at half a crown a head, and after
further strange vicissitudes il came into
the. possession OF a medical man named
WilkinSon, in whose family il remained
"A ENVerpd nOaaCaeiOn down IN Onr NUN
time.
Rare Ben Jonson's" grave was opened
at dead of night in Dean Buckland's time,
with the object Of ascertaininG whether
or not he had actually been buried upright.
He had. A collecting maniac who had
been permitted to be present overcame
his reverence for Ben's remains TO the eX-
tent OF carrying away some relics, and 1t
wa only after a threat Of public exposure
that they were ultimately restored. The
Venerable Bede's bones were dug up some
centuries after his death by a monk named
Alfred, who exposed them to public view
and then carried them TO the monastery
OF Durham, whore, in COMPANY with those
of his pupil. st. Cuthbert. they were fOunS
in later years huddled up in a sack.
James lis colin lay in tho church CT tina
English lIenedictines in Paris until tina
days Of the French revolution, when the
lead was stripped from il for conversion
into bullets before il was put under ground.
~ ~ CAAA ny NhAAtn W&e ORNAONA
about the same time, and his skeleton was
found sheathed in lead, with wis., . of brown
hair az fresh in appearance as II they had
just been removed from a living head;
and when Henry Tvs remeins were brought
to light seventy-ssur year. ego his bearded
face was described as almOst lifelike in APP
p~earanCe.
Edward Is tomb was opened in TIA at
the request of the Society Of ~Antiquaries,
and his body in its royal robes and with
a sceptre in the left hand was almost IN
touched by time; the actual height OF Long
shapks, by the way. was found 20 Do u feet
2 inches. a few years later King Johns
body was disclosed in equal preservation,
with a corroded sword by his side; and in
1888 the brave heart of Ceur de lilo was
found beneath the cathedral Of Rouen, en-
closed in two leaden caskets, M still re-
tanning its shape more than six Centuries
after il had ceased to beat.