Visits of the Living to the Dead,

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1818, 1 March 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

Visits of the Living to the Dead,

Thebe is a very interesting account of the opening of the tomb of Edward I. in a letter from Mr. Gough to Tyson, in Vol. VIII, page 612, of Nichols 1 " Literary Anecdotes." It is probably well known to most readers, but I copy it, in case it should not have been already noticed in these pages : " The opening of the tomb of Edward I.,and the actual yiefr of the dead conqueror enshrined ia-robes fit royalty, his crown on his head ari 3 two'sceptres in his hands, his visage flo well pireiemd as to exhibit a likeness to vi able d*Wgfc&f: man, a mantle of red-Juttfld tfitS wMtV**| at every square.^■jewel'ofr-chwrtd,wotki b**'

aprent with pearls and red and blue stones ; a superb fibula fastening the mantle on the right shoulder, studded with pearls and twenty-two joints, headed and screwed in by a brilliant sapphire ; his hands bare and entiro (bone with tanned skin, but no nails), holding, the right a sceptre surmounted by a cross iieure ; the left another, longer, surmounted by three clusters of oak leaves diminishing and terminating by a dove. These sceptres were of gilt metal, as alao the crown of fleur-de-lis. The feet were enveloped, but the toes, planta, and talus might be felt, distinct and fleshy, and the whole body of six feet two inches long. Over the mantle was a wrapper or two, one strongly cerated." Hampden's grave in Great Hampden Church, was opened by his biographer, Lord Nugent, *' and the body was found in such a perfect state that the picture on the staircase of the house was known to be his from the likeness." (Timbs' " Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales.") In 1796 the bodies of Lady Kilsyth (widow of Viscount Dundee, the celebrated Claverhouse, and wife of the last Viscount Kilsyth) and her infant son were exhumed and found in the most extraordinary state of preservation. They met their death in 1717 in Flanders, by the falling in of the roof of a house in which they and a number of other Scottish exiles were assembled. Their bodies were embalmed and sent over to Scotland, where they were buried with great pomp at Kilsyth, in the family vault. The minister at Kilsyth thus describes their appearance in 1796 : " The body of Lady Kilsyth was quite entire ; every feature and every limb was as full as the day she was lodged in the tomb. The features, nay, the very expression of her countenance, were marked and distinct. The body of her son lay at her knee. His features were as composed as if he were asleep ; his color was as fresh and his flesh as plump and full as in the perfect glow of health. Perhaps the most singular phenomenon was that the bodies seemed not to have undergone the smallest decomposition, and they retained their elasticity even after being exposed to the open air for many months. Several medical gentlemen examined them, and an incision was made into the arm of the infant. The bodies seem to have been preserved in a liquid of the appearance of brandy, and the head inclined on a pillow containing strong-scented herbs. Balm, sage, and mint were easily distinguished." — Notes and Queries.