been sent from Holland, and interred in the vault or burying-ground
adjoining the old abbey church of Culross, in Perthshire, Sir Robert
Preston directed a search in that place in 1808, with the following
result:--Two flat stones, without inscription, about four feet in
length and two in breadth, were discovered about two feet below the
level of the pavement, and partly under an old projection in the wall
of the old building. These stones were strongly clasped together
with iron; and when separated, a silver case, or box, of foreign
workmanship, shaped like a heart, was found in a hollow or excavated
place between them. Its lid was engraved with the arms and name "Lord
Edward Bruse;" it had hinges and clasps; and when opened, was found to
contain a heart, carefully embalmed, in a brownish coloured liquid.
After drawings had been taken of it, as represented in the present
engravings, it was carefully replaced in its former situation. There
was a small leaden box between the stones in another excavation; the
contents of which, whatever they were originally, appeared reduced to
dust.
Some time after this discovery, Sir Robert Preston caused a delineation
of the silver case, according to the exact dimensions, with an
inscription recording its exhumation and re-deposit, to be engraved on
a brass plate, and placed upon the projection of the wall where the
heart was found.
It is a remarkable fact, that the cause of the quarrel between Lord
Bruce and Sir Edward Sackville has remained wholly undetected,
notwithstanding successive investigations at different periods. Lord
Clarendon, in his "History of the Rebellion," records the combat as an
occurrence of magnitude, from its sanguinary character and the eminence
of the parties engaged in it. He does not say any thing respecting the
occasion of the feud, although Lord Bruce's challenge seems to intimate
that it was a matter of public notoriety.
The exact day of the duel is not known, but it was certainly in 1613,
and most probably in August from the date of one of the above letters.
EXTRAORDINARY FEMALE INTREPIDITY.
Early on the 24th of January, 1822, the turnpike-house, about four
miles from Basingstoke, on this side of Overton, was attacked, with
intent to enter, by two men, who had taken off some tiles at the
back part of the premises (the roof being very low) to effect their
purpose. These villains knew, it would appear, that a lone woman, Mrs.
Whitehouse, received the tolls at this gate, and that her husband
attended a gate as far distant as Colebrook. Mrs. Whitehouse, however,
very fortunately possessed three loaded pistols, one of which she
fired--then a second, and a third, without effect. These determined
ruffians (notwithstanding being thrice fired at) were, it appears,
resolved not to depart without accomplishing the projected robbery.
Mrs. Whitehouse's little boy, only 11 years of age, in the mean time
had re-loaded a brace of pistols, one of which Mrs. Whitehouse fired,
and wounded one of the desperadoes full in the face--he fell, and the
blood flowed profusely; yet, strange to relate, the accomplice had
hardihood enough to drag away the wounded robber! On observing this,
Mrs. Whitehouse fired the fifth pistol at them, but missed them. The
fellow who received the contents of the fourth pistol being supposed to
have been killed, and some persons residing at a considerable distance
from the spot having heard of the circumstance, assembled, and made
diligent search at daybreak to discover the body of the deceased; but,
although the blood could be traced some distance from the house, the
body could not be found; nor were those concerned in the attack ever
found out. The successful resistance, however, deserves to be recorded.
GIGANTIC BONES.
Whenever any bones of unusual magnitude were discovered, it was
invariably the custom to ascribe them to some giant. This was always
so up to recent years, and no wonder it was intensely the case at the
early period of 1660. About that period, when the brook or rivulet
from which the town of Corbridge, in the north of England, derives its
name, had been worn away by some impetuous land-flood, a skeleton,
supposed to be that of a man of extraordinary and prodigious size,
was discovered. The length of the thigh bone was nearly six feet, and
the skull, teeth, and other parts proportionably monstrous, so that
the length of the whole body was computed at twenty-one feet. It is
conjectured, by the more enlightened men of modern times, that these
strange bones belonged to some large animal that had been sacrificed
by the Romans at the altar dedicated to Hercules, which was found
here some years ago. Notwithstanding that the superstition of our
forefathers has lost nearly all its credit and influence, a singularly
large bone found here is now exhibited in the Keswick Museum as the rib
of the giant Cor.
NEW STYLE OF ADVERTISEMENT.
The following editorial announcement is taken from the Philadelphia
_Weekly Mercury_, of November 30, 1752, because it forms a complete
novelty in its way, and also affords us an insight into the degree of
communication which existed at that period between the large towns
and the provinces in America. It is, moreover, a curious jumble of
information, strangely mixing up the starting of the stage coach with
the news of the day:--
On _Monday_ next the Northern Post sets out from _New-York_, in order
to perform his Stage but once a Fortnight, during the Winter Quarter;
the Southern Post changes also, which will cause this Paper to come
out on _Tuesdays_ during that Time. The Colds which have infested the
Northern Colonies have also been troublesome here, few Families having
escaped the same, several have been carry'd off by the Cold, among whom
was _David Brintnall_, in the 77th Year of his Age; he was the first
Man that had a Brick House in the City of _Philadelphia_, and was much
esteem'd for his just and upright dealing. There goes a Report here,
that the Lord _Baltimore_ and his Lady are arrived in _Maryland_,
but the Southern Post being not yet come in, the said Report wants
Confirmation.
MAKING A CANDLESTICK OF GUNPOWDER.
A marvellous escape from destruction is related in the MS. Life of
Alderman Barnes.--"One of his brother-in-law's (Alderman Hutchinson's)
apprentices, stepping up into the back-lofts to fetch somewhat he
wanted, in his heedlessness and haste, stops his candle into a
barrel of gunpowder whose head was struck off, to serve instead of a
candlestick. But the man reflecting what he had done, was struck with
affrightment, his heart failed him, nor durst he stay any longer,
but running down stairs, leaves the candle burning in the gunpowder
cask, and with horror, trembling, and despair, tells the family what
indiscretion he had committed; they were all immediately as their
wits' end, and well they might, for the lofts were three stories
high, very large, and stowed full with whatever is combustible, as
brandy, oil, pitch, tar, rosin, flax, alum, hops, and many barrels of
gunpowder. Had the candle fallen to one side, or had the least spark
fallen from the snuff into the cask, the whole town had been shaken,
and the whole of the house immediately blown up and in a blaze; but
one of the labourers, a stout fellow, ran forthwith into the loft, and
joining both his hands together, drew the candle softly up between
his middlemost fingers, so that if any snuff had dropped, it must
have fallen into the hollow of the man's hand, and by this means was
Newcastle saved from being laid in ashes." This must have happened
about the year 1684.
THE CAMDEN CUP.
The subjoined engraving represents the Silver-gilt Standing Cup
and Cover bequeathed by the celebrated historian, William Camden,
Clarenceux King at Arms, to the Worshipful Company of Painter
Stainers'. Camden's will is recorded in the Prerogative Court
of Canterbury (in the register designated III Swann 3, probate
granted November 10, 1623), and it has been printed by Hearne in
his _Collection of Curious Discourses_, Ox. 1720. After directing
the sum of eight pounds to be given "to the poore of that place
(Chislehurst) when it shall please God to call me to his mercie,"
Camden continues--"I bequeath to Sir Foulke Greville, Lord Brooke,
Chancellor of the Exchequer, who preferred me gratis to my Office, a
peece of plate of ten pounds; Item, to the Company of Painter-Stainers
of London, to buy them a peece of plate in memoriall of mee, sixteene
pounds;" the inscription upon which is directed to be--"_Guil. Camdenus
Clarenceux, filius Sampsonis, Pictoris Londinensis, dono dedit_."
[Illustration [++] The Camden Cup.]
This stately and richly-decorated cup and cover is used on Corporation
Festivals, in memory of the illustrious donor. In height, it is
altogether twenty-three inches and a quarter, the cover only being
eight inches and three-quarters; and the cup, independent of the
stand, five inches and a-half, its greatest diameter being five inches
and a-half. The inscription encircles the upper rim of the cup; and
directly under it is an engraved escutcheon of Camden's arms; _Or_, a
fess engrailed, between six cross crosslets fitchee, _Sable_. The cover
presents an object of much elegance, a richly ornamented open pyramid,
based on the heads of birds, the breasts bending gracefully with
cartouche ornaments: the pinnacle of the pyramid surmounted by a female
figure, the right hand resting on a shield, charged with the same arms
as shown on the side of the cup. The birds' heads have apparently a
reference to the phoenix heads in the second and third quarters of the
armorial ensigns, and to the crest of the Company of Paper-Stainers.
RICHARDSON, THE SHOWMAN.
This eccentric individual, who died in 1836, left behind him upwards of
L20,000. He was born in the workhouse of Marlow, Bucks, but ran away
from that place in order to seek his fortune in London. After various
vicissitudes, he became the landlord of the Harlequin public-house, in
Drury-lane, where he saved some money, which he embarked in fitting up
a portable theatre, and was known for forty years as the "Prince of
Showmen," and used frequently to boast that Edmund Kean and several
other eminent actors were brought out by him. His property, after
various legacies to the itinerant company which had attended him for
many years, descended to two nephews and a niece, and he desired by
his will to be buried in Marlow churchyard, in the same grave as his
favourite "spotted boy," a lad who, some years before, was exhibited
by him, and attracted great notice in consequence of the extraordinary
manners in which he was marked on various parts of his body. Some years
since the scenery, dresses, and decorations of Richardson's theatre
were exposed for auction by Mr. George Robins, and L2,000 were bid
for them. They were bought in; the "old man," as he was technically
denominated, considering them to be worth at least L3,000.
PRESERVATION OF DEAD BODIES.
There is an arched vault, or burying-ground, under the church of
Kilsyth, in Scotland, which was the burying-place of the family
of Kilsyth, until the estate was forfeited, and the title became
extinct in the year 1715; since which it has never been used for that
purpose, except once. The last Earl fled with his family to Flanders,
and, according to tradition, was smothered to death about the year
1717, along with his lady and an infant child, and a number of other
unfortunate Scottish exiles, by the falling in of the roof of a house
in which they were assembled. What became of the body of the Earl is
not known, but the bodies of Lady Kilsyth and her infant were emboweled
and embalmed, and soon afterwards sent over to Scotland. They were
landed, and lay at Leith for some time in a cellar, whence they were
afterwards carried to Kilsyth, and buried in great pomp in the vault
above mentioned. In the spring of 1796, some rude regardless young men,
having paid a visit to this ancient cemetery, tore open the coffin of
Lady Kilsyth and her infant. With astonishment and consternation, they
saw the bodies of Lady Kilsyth and her child as perfect as in the hour
they were entombed. For some weeks this circumstance was kept secret,
but at last it began to be whispered in several companies, and soon
excited great and general curiosity.
"On the 12th of June," says the Minister of the parish of Kilsyth,
in a letter to J. Garnet, M.D., "when I was from home, great crowds
assembled, and would not be denied admission. At all hours of the
night, as well as the day, they afterwards persisted in gratifying
their curiosity. I saw the body of Lady Kilsyth soon after the coffin
was opened; it was quite entire. Every feature and every limb was as
full, nay, the very shroud was as clear and fresh, and the colours of
the ribbons as bright, as the day they were lodged in the tomb. What
rendered this scene more striking and truly interesting was, that the
body of her son and only child, the natural heir of the title and
estates of Kilsyth, lay at her knee. His features were as composed as
if he had been only asleep. His colour was as fresh, and his flesh as
plump and full, as in the perfect glow of health; the smile of infancy
and innocence sat on his lips. His shroud was not only entire, but
perfectly clean, without a particle of dust upon it. He seems to have
been only a few months old. The body of Lady Kilsyth was equally well
preserved; and at a little distance, from the feeble light of a taper,
it would not have been easy to distinguish whether she was dead or
alive. The features, nay the very expression of her countenance, were
marked and distinct; and it was only in a certain light that you could
distinguish anything like the ghastly and agonizing traits of a violent
death. Not a single fold of her shroud was decomposed nor a single
member impaired.
"Let the candid reader survey this sketch; let him recal to mind the
tragic tale it unfolds; and say, if he can, that it does not arrest the
attention and interest the heart. For my own part, it excited in my
memory a thousand melancholy reflections; and I could not but regret
that such rudeness had been offered to the ashes (remains) of the dead,
as to expose them thus to the public view.
"The body seemed to have been preserved in some liquid, nearly of
the colour and appearance of brandy. The whole coffin seemed to have
been full of it, and all its contents saturated with it. The body
had assumed somewhat the same tinge, but this only served to give it
a fresher look. It had none of the ghastly livid hue of death, but
rather a copper complexion. It would, I believe, have been difficult
for a chemist to ascertain the nature of this liquid; though perfectly
transparent; it had lost all its pungent qualities, its taste being
quite vapid.
"The head reclined on a pillow, and, as the covering decayed, it was
found to contain a collection of strong-scented herbs. Balm, sage,
and mint were easily distinguished; and it was the opinion of many,
that the body was filled with the same. Although the bodies were thus
entire at first, I confess I expected to see them crumble into dust;
especially as they were exposed to the open air, and the pure aromatic
fluid had evaporated; and it seems surprising that they did not. For
several weeks they underwent no visible change, and had they not been
sullied with dust and drops of grease from the candles held over them,
I am confident they might have remained as entire as ever; for even a
few months ago (many months after), the bodies were as firm and compact
as at first, and though pressed with the finger did not yield to the
touch, but seemed to retain the elasticity of the living body. Even the
shroud, through torn by the rude hands of the regardless multitude, is
still strong and free from rot.
"Perhaps the most singular phenomenon is, that the bodies seem not to
have undergone the smallest decomposition or disorganization. Several
medical gentlemen have made a small incision into the arm of the
infant; the substance of the body was quite firm, and every part in
its original state." To the above remarkable instance we may add the
following:--The tomb of Edward the First, who died on the 7th July,
1307, was opened on the 2nd of January, 1770, and after the lapse of
463 years, the body was found not decayed; the flesh on the face was a
little wasted, but not putrid.
The body of Canute the Dane, who got possession of England in the year
1017, was found very fresh in the year 1766, by the workmen repairing
Winchester Cathedral. In the year 1522, the body of William the
Conqueror was found as entire as when first buried, in the Abbey Church
of St. Stephen, at Caen; and the body of Matilda, his wife, was found
entire in 1502, in the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity in the same
city.
No device of art, however, for the preservation of the remains of the
dead, appears equal to the simple process of plunging them over head
and ears in peat-moss.
In a manuscript by one Abraham Grey, who lived about the middle of
the 16th century, now in the possession of his representative, Mr.
Goodbehere Grey, of Old Mills, near Aberdeen, it is stated, that
in 1569, three Roman soldiers in the dress of their country, fully
equipped with warlike instruments, were dug out of a moss of great
extent, called Kazey Moss. When found, after a lapse of probably about
fifteen hundred years, they "were quite fresh and plump."
PERFUMES.
So perfect were the Egyptians in the manufacture of perfumes, that some
of their ancient ointment, preserved in an alabaster vase in the Museum
at Alnwick, still retains a very powerful odour, though it must be
between 2,000 and 3,000 years old.
FRENCH ASSIGNATS--THEIR ORIGIN.
Extraordinary devices for raising money are legitimate subjects for
our pages. Of these devices, the French Assignats are not the least
remarkable. They originated thus--in the year 1789, at the commencement
of the great Revolution in France, Talleyrand proposed in the National
Assembly a confiscation of all church property to the service of the
state. The Abbe Maury opposed this project with great vehemence, but
being supported by Mirabeau, it received the sanction of the Assembly
by an immense majority on the 2nd of November. The salaries fixed
for the priesthood were small, and, moreover, were not sufficiently
guaranteed; whence originated much misery to all classes of priests,
from the archbishops down to the humble cures; and as monastic
institutions were treated in the same way, monks and nuns were suddenly
placed in precarious circumstances regarding the means of subsistence.
Here, however, an unexpected difficulty sprang up; the National
Assembly were willing to sell church property, but buyers were wanting;
conscience, prudence, and poverty combined to lessen the number of
those willing to purchase; and thus the urgent claims of the treasury
could not be satisfied. Applications for loans were not responded to;
taxes had been extinguished; voluntary donations had dwindled almost to
nothing; and 400,000,000 of livres were necessary for the vast claims
of the year 1790. The municipalities of Paris and other cities sought
to ameliorate the state of affairs by subscribing for a certain amount
of church property, endeavouring to find private purchasers for it, and
paying the receipts into the national exchequer. This, however, being
but a very partial cure for the enormity of the evils, the National
Assembly fell upon the expedient of creating state-paper or bank-notes,
to have a forced currency throughout the kingdom. Such was the birth
of the memorable assignats. Four hundred millions of this paper were
put in circulation; and a decree was passed that church property to
that amount should be held answerable for the assignats. Our sketch
represents several of the different forms in which the Assignats were
issued to the public.
[Illustration [++] French Assignats.]
EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.
The judicial murder of Louis XVI. was the climax of the Revolution in
France. The Convention voted his death at three o'clock on the morning
of the 20th January, 1793, and he was taken to execution in twenty-six
hours afterwards.
[Illustration [++] Execution of Louis XVI.]
The guillotine was erected in the middle of the Place Louis XV.,
a large open square, having the Champs Elysees on one side, and
the gardens of the Tuileries on the other. The Place bristled with
artillery, and every street and avenue leading to it was crowded with
troops and armed multitudes, who had cannon with them charged with
grape-shot; while the carriage was surrounded by picked men, who
had orders to despatch the king with their carbines in case of any
rescue being attempted. At about half-past ten, the king, who had been
engaged in prayer during the ride, arrived at the spot; he descended
from the coach, and his confessor followed him. Three executioners
approached to remove his upper garments, but he put them back, and
performed that simple office for himself. He resisted somewhat the
indignity of having his hands tied, and only yielded on the entreaty
of his confessor; and had also to yield on the subject of cutting off
his back hair. He ascended the steps that led to the platform with
a firm bearing, still followed by M. Edgeworth. When on the top, he
made a sudden movement towards the edge of the scaffold, and exclaimed
with a loud and firm voice: "Frenchmen, I die innocent; it is from
the scaffold, and when about to appear before my God, that I tell
you so. I pardon my enemies; I pray that France"----Here Santerre, on
horseback, raised his right hand, and cried: "Drums! Executioners, do
your duty!" Several drummers immediately began by their noise to drown
the sound of the king's voice: and six executioners brought him to the
centre of the scaffold. He exclaimed again: "I die innocent; I ever
desired the good of my people;" but his voice could be heard only by
the executioners and the priest. He then knelt down, in order to place
his head in the appointed spot; the confessor, bending over him said:
"Son of St. Louis, ascend to heaven!" The spring of the machine was
touched, the heavy axe descended in its grooves, and the once royal
head was severed from the body. Samson, the chief executioner, took
up the bleeding head by the hair, and walked three times round the
scaffold, holding it up at arm's-length to show it to the people. The
troops and the spectators shouted: "Vive la Republique!" put their hats
and caps upon their bayonets and pikes, and waved them in the air,
with prolonged and re-echoing cries of "Vive la Republique!" "Vive la
Nation!" "Vive la Liberte!" Many of the savage men standing near the
scaffold dipped their pike-heads into the king's blood, and others
their handkerchiefs--not as a sacred memento, but as a symbol of the
downfall of all kings; they even paraded these gore-stained objects
before the windows of the Temple, that perchance the queen and her
children might see them. The headless trunk of Louis was put into a
large wicker-basket, placed in the coach, and carried to the cemetery
of La Madeleine; where, without coffin or shroud, it was thrown into a
deep pit, partly filled up with quicklime. On that same morning, one
Benoit Leduc, a tailor, who had on some occasions worked for Louis,
presented a petition to the Convention, praying to be allowed, at his
own expense, to bury the body of the king by the side of his father,
Louis XV., and under the monument raised to that prince by the city
of Sens; but the Convention rejected his petition, and ordered the
executive council to see that Louis was buried like other criminals.
A MAN AGED ONE HUNDRED YEARS CLAIMING A BOTTLE OF WINE.