The Detroit times., 1910-06-16
GREAT EVENTS OF
HISTORY RECALLED
Westminster Hall, Where Late King
Edward Lay, Is Grand Temple OF
Noted Tragedies.

timbered roof built OF trees which
grew In the sprivg time OF our ma
tional life. and in the great silent
chamber whose very stones are haunt
ed with memories OF medieval Eng
land. is a hall In which the ancestors
of Edward VII. played many parts
of tragedy and Of JOY, and OF pageant
~ In the olden days. IL Is truly the
hall OF English kings, for under THIS
roof and within these walls they came
10 hold their court. 10 do justice. 10
sit at the high table OF great banquets.
To declare war upon their enemies,
and once. in the roll-call OF their race.
10 be brought 10 trial and 10 death
Perhaps among all those people who
silently and solemnly passed before
the bier upon which King Edward
lay. in the dim light, between MS
guards, there were few who in mag
nation saw the pictures OF the past
that once were quick with lie ana
rich with color in the death chamber.
Yet in that silent hall. when the lights
are low, thousands OF ghosts come
with vague dream-faces out or the
centuries and haunt the mind OF a
man who knows a little history and
who is sensitive 10 the spirits OF the
past. He sees William Rufus, the
FIRST builder OF the hall, as he came
plucking his red beard. and gazing
with his tigers eyes upon the white
stones. "A great hail. said those
about him, and he answered. Pan.
II Is but a bed-chamber 10 the palace
will build here" But the swift arrow
struck him TO the heart In quiet
glade before he could make his boast
come true In stone. So his ghost
passes.
Glimpse At the Past.
A young boy. with fair hair and tir-
ed blue eyes. lies exhausted on lit
ter. II Is Richard III. wearied with
the ceremony OF his coronation and
brought here TO rest while.
A square-built. bullet-headed man, In
velvet gown, puts his hand to his
sword, and looks at great mass OF
steelsuited men. his barons. who
stand watching him. II is Henry Ill
Am prisoner" he asks with a
fierce oath. mot So" says Roger
Bigod. But your foreign favorites
have involved this realm in wretched-
ness. There are good laws to be enact
ed" The ghosts pass and the years.
There is a great concourse OF citizens.
richly dressed, In the hall. and above
them on a dais stands a tall lad with
long neck and frank face with
black eyes. II Is Shakespeare's Prince
Hal. back from Agincourt, a king now
and q hero. after his wild days. They
give him two basins OF gold. very
heavy and rich, and below the dais a
fat man. named Falstaff. chuckles
with laughter The dream fades. and
there are other dreams. Nearly 500
people with halters round their necks
stand on their trial for death after
May day riots. On a throne, under the
same roof, sits stout man with
reddish beard and a heavy jowl, sur
rounded by great officers Of state. II
is King Henry Will. and when Car
dinai Wolsey pleads for these prison
ers he gives them pardon. not without
scowling anger. But at the one word
pardon" the ragged wretches give a
mighty shout OF Joy" and throw their
halters to the high timbers.
In this hall Edward Stafford. Earl
Of Buckingham, hears sentence OF
death. Here, across the stone
floor, comes Anne Boleyn. with her
ghosts of tragedy.
Here. on May Z, 1535.sffenry Wills
great chancellor and most loyal friend
the sanity Thomas More, smiles. with
his sweet irony at the charges or
treason for which he Is indicted. He
is net afraid 10 die But as he goes
from the hall to the tower young
man breaks through the crowd here
and throws his arms about the old
mans neck and kisses him, pleading
TO die with his father. There are many
ghosts OF men condemned to die in
this hall Their names echo down the
aisles OF history-Lord Dacre, the
great Protector Somerset, the Duke
OF Suffolk, father OF Queen Jane;
Thomas Howard. Duke OF Norfolk. and
Philip, Earl Of Arundel (ancestor OF
that black. bearded duke who Is now
earl marshal of England and at pres
ent the busiest man in the realm;
Robin" Devereux, Earl of Essel. the
lover OF Elizabeth, who signed his
death warrant; the poet Earl of South
ampton and many noblemen who play
ed dangerous game with court cards
and lost the trick.
Behind a curtain sits queer I'M
calmly figure with padded clothes.
whispering in broad Scots speech 10
the Young men about him. while be-
low. in the body Of the hall. Is man
twisted with torture and held up to
hear his doom. The figure behind the
curtain is James l.. the other man liz
Guido Faux. BLACK" STAFFORD stands
here on his trial, with his children by
his side. for whom he weeps after his
passionate speech, which falls upon
Implying ears. Charles |. signs the
death warrant OF his too faithful ser
want. whose ghost haunts him always.
And then. one day I'm January, nine
years later. King Charles himself is
brought to Westminster hall and
with a stern countenance" surveys
his self-appointed judges. The attor-
ney-general rises TO read his charges
and Charles puts out his gold-headed
cane and touches him on the shoulder
with the words BE silent" Then
the king grows very pale and
stcops down TO pick up the head OF his
cane. which had fallen on II is an I'll
omen His own head falls also in
little while.
Memories Crowd Back On Imagination.
So the ghosts pass again, and the
son OF Charles. after many adventures
and many wanderings. sits in West
minister Hall, laughing In his gay,
mocking way as the heralds lead In
Dymoke, the kings champion. on a
war-horse, and armed cap-a.pie, TO
throw down the gauntlet and chal-
lenVe anyOnp TO dpny Charles Stuart