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Accordingly the corpse was carried thither from St. James's, Feb. 7, in a hearse covered with black velvet, drawn by six horses covered with black cloth, in which were about a dozen gentlemen, most of them being such that had waited upon his Majesty at Carisbrook Castle, and other places, since his Majesty's going from Newcastle. Mr. Herbert shewed the Governor, Colonel Whitchcot, the Committee's order for permitting Mr. Herbert and Mr. Mildmay to bury him, the late King, in any place within Windsor Castle, that they should think fit and meet. In the first place, in order thereunto they carried the King's Body into the Dean's house, which was hung with black, and after to his usual bedchamber within the palace. After which they went to St. George's Chapel to take a view thereof, and of the most fit and honourable place for the Royal Corpse to rest in. Having taken a view, they at first thought that the Tomb-house, built by Cardinal Wolsey, would be a fit place for his interment; but that place, though adjoining, yet being not within the Royal Chapel, they waved it for, if King Henry VIII. was buried there (albeit to that day the particular place of his burial was unknown to any), yet, in regard to his Majesty King Charles I. (who was a real Defender of the Faith, and as far from censuring any that might be), would upon occasional discourse express some dislike in King Henry's proceedings, in misemploying those vast revenues, the suppressed abbies, monasteries, and other religious houses, were endowed with, and by demolishing those many beautiful and stately structures, which both expressed the greatness of their founders, and preserved the splendour of the kingdom, which might at the Reformation have in some measure been kept up and converted to sundry pious uses.

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Upon consideration thereof, those gentlemen declined it, and pitched upon the vault where King Edward IV. had been interred, being on the North side of the choir, near the altar, that King being one his late Majesty would oftentimes make honourable mention of, and from whom his Majesty was lineally propagated. That therefore induced Mr. Herbert to give order to N. Harrison and Henry Jackson to have that vault opened, partly covered with a fair large stone of touch, raised within the arch adjoining, having a range of iron bars gilt, curiously cut, according to church work, &c. But as they were about this work, some noblemen came thither; namely, the Duke

of Richmond, the Marquis of Hertford, the Earl of Lindsay, and with them Dr. Juxon, Bishop of London, who had licence from the Parliament to attend the King's Body to his grave. Those gentlemen, therefore, Herbert, and Mildmay, thinking fit to submit, and leave the choice of the place of burial to those great persons, they in like manner viewed the Tomb-house and the choir; and one of the Lords beating gently upon the pavement with his staff, perceived a hollow sound; and thereupon ordering the stones and earth to be removed, they discovered a descent into a vault, where two coffins were laid near one another, the one very large, of an antique form, and the other little. These they supposed to be the bodies of King Henry VIII. and Queen Jane Seymour his third wife, as indeed they were. The velvet palls that covered their coffins seemed fresh, though they had lain there above 100 years.

"The Lords agreeing that the King's Body should be in the same vault interred, being about the middle of the choir, over against the eleventh stall upon the Sovereign's side, they gave order to have the King's name and year he died cut in lead; which whilst the workmen were about, the Lords went out and gave Puddifant the sexton order to lock the chapel door, and not suffer any to stay therein till farther notice. The Sexton did his best to clear the chapel; nevertheless, Isaac the sexton's man said that a foot-soldier had hid himself, so as he was not discerned; and being greedy of prey, crept into the vault, and cut so much of the velvet pall that covered the great body as he judged would hardly be missed, and wimbled also a hole through the said coffin that was largest, probably fancying that there was something well worth his adventure. The sexton at his opening the door espied the sacrilegious person; who being searched, a bone was found about him, with which he said he would haft a knife. The Governor being therefore informed of, he gave him his reward; and the Lords and others present were convinced that a real body was in the said great coffin, which some before had scrupled. The girdle or circumscription of capital letters of lead put about the King's coffin had only these words: King Charles, 1648.

"The King's Body was then brought from his bedchamber down into St. George's Hall, whence, after a little stay, it was with a slow and solemn pace (much sorrow in most faces being then discernible)

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carried by gentlemen of quality in mourning. The noblemen in
mourning also held up the pall; and the Governor, with several
gentlemen, officers, and attendants, came after. It was then observed,
that at such time as the King's Body was brought out from St. George's
Hall, the sky was serene and clear; but presently it began to snow,
and the snow fell so fast, that by that time the corpse came to the
West end of the Royal Chapel, the black velvet pall was all white (the
colour of innocency), being thick covered over with snow. The
Body being by the bearers set down near the place of burial, the
Bishop of London stood ready, with the Service book in his hands, to
have performed his last duty to the King his Master, according to the
order and form of burial of the dead set forth in the Book of Common
Prayer; which the Lords likewise desired; but it would not be suf-
fered by Col. Whitchcot, the Governor of the Castle, by reason of the
Directory, to which (said he) he and others were to be conformable.
Thus went the white King to his grave, in the 48th year of his age,
and 22d year and 10th month of his reign."

H

APPENDIX, No. V.

Some other Facts respecting the Funeral of CHARLES I. are given in a Work styled ENGLAND'S BLACK TRIBUNAL, page 50; and also in the Folio Edition of that King's Works, (p. 206. 211.) with His Majesty's Epitaph in Latin, by Dr. T. Pierce, President of Magdalen College Oxford. From the latter work the following extract has been

taken.

THE 'HE King's body having been embalmed, was "laid in a coffin of lead, to be seen, for some days, by the people; at length, upon Wednesday the seventh of February, it was delivered to four of his servants, Herbert, Mildmay, Preston, and Joyner, who, with some others in mourning equipage, attended the Herse that night to Windsore, and placed it in the room which was formerly the King's Bed Chamber. Next day it was removed into the Deans Hall, which was hung with black and made dark, and Lights were set burning round the Herse. About three afternoon, the Duke of Richmond, the Marquis of Hartford, the Earls of Southampton and Lindsey, and the Bishop of London, (others that were sent to refusing that last Service to the best of Princes) came thither with two Votes passed that Morning, whereby the ordering of The King's Burial was committed to the Duke, provided that the Expences thereof exceeded not five hundred pounds. This Order they shewed to Colonel Whichcot the Governour of the Castle, desiring that the Interment might be in SAINT GEORGE's Chapel, and according to the form of the Common Prayer. The latter request the Governour denied, saying, That it was improbable the Parliament would permit the use of what they had so solemnly abolished, and therein destroy their own Act. The Lords replied, That there was a difference betwixt destroying their own Act, and dispensing with it; and that no power so binds its own hands as to disable it self in some cases. But all prevailed not.

"The Governour had caused an ordinary Grave to be digged in the body of the Church of Windsore for the Interment of the Corps; which the Lords disdaining, found means by the direction of an honest man, one of the old Knights, to use an artifice to discover a Vault in the middle of the Quire, by the hollow sound they might perceive in knocking with a Staff on that place; that so it might seem to be their own accidental finding out, and no person receive blame for the discovery. This place they caused to be opened, and entering saw one large Coffin of Lead in the middle of the Vault covered with a Velvet Pall, and a lesser on one side (supposed to be HENRY THE EIGHTH, and His beloved QUEEN JANE SAINT MAURE) on the other side was room left for another (probably intended for QUEEN KATHERINE PARRE who survived Him) where they thought fit to lay the King.

"Hither the Herse was borne by the Officers of the Garrison, the four Lords bearing up the Corners of the Velvet Pall, and the Bishop of London following. And in this manner was this Great King, upon Friday the ninth of February, about three afternoon, silently, and without other Solemnity than of Sighs and Tears, committed to the Earth, the Velvet Pall being thrown into the Vault over the Coffin; to which was fastened an Inscription in Lead of these words KING CHARLES 1648."

UNIV. OF MO...

FEB 14 1912

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