CHRONICLE. 



33 



Powis were among the numerous 

 iriends of the late sir Barry Close, 

 who attended his funeral. The 

 carriage of the marquis Wellesley 

 was in the train, but this nobleman 

 was prevented by severe indispo- 

 sition, from paying the last duty to 

 one whose character he so highly 

 respected, and whose great talents 

 he so actively employed during the 

 whole period of his administration 

 in the government of India. 



28. Sir Henry Halford has pub- 

 lished a narrative of the investi- 

 gation which lately took place at 

 Windsor, in the vault of king 

 Henry VIH. in presence of the 

 Prince Regent. The following is 

 an extract. 



" On removing the pall, a plain 

 leaden coflBn, with no appearance 

 of ever having been enclosed in 

 wood, and bearing an inscription 

 •« King Charles, 164-8," in large 

 legible characters, on a scroll of 

 lead, encircling it, immediately 

 presented itself to view. A square 

 opening was then made in the up- 

 per part of the lid, of such dimen- 

 sions as to admit a clear insight 

 into its contents. These were, an 

 internal wooden coffin, very much 

 decayed, and the body carefully 

 wrapped in cerecloth, into the folds 

 of which a quantity of unctuous 

 or greasy matter, mixed with re- 

 sin, as it seemed, had been melted, 

 so as to exclude as effectually as 

 possible the external air. The 

 coffin was completely full : and 

 from the tenacity of the cerecloth, 

 great difficulty was experienced in 

 detaching it successfully from the 

 parts which it enveloped. Where- 

 ever the unctuous matter had insi- 

 nuated itself, the separation of the 

 cerecloth was easy ; and when it 

 ^came off, a correct impression of 



Vot. LV. 



the features to which it had been 

 applied was observed in the unc- 

 tuous substance. At length the 

 whole face was disengaged from 

 its covering. The complexion of 

 the skin of it was dark and dis- 

 coloured. The forehead and tem- 

 ples had lost little or nothing of 

 their muscular substance : the car- 

 tilage of the nose was gone ; but 

 the left eye, in the first moment 

 of exposure, was open and full, 

 though it vanished almost imme- 

 diately, and the pointed beard, so 

 characteristic of the period of the 

 reign of king Charles, was perfect. 

 The shape of the face was a long 

 oval ; many of the teeth remained, 

 and the left ear, in consequence of 

 the interposition of the unctuous 

 matter between it and the cere- 

 cloth was found entire. 



" It was difficult, at this mo- 

 ment, to withhold a declaration, 

 that notwithstanding its disfigure- 

 ment, the countenance did bear a 

 strong resemblance to the coins, 

 the busts, and especially to the 

 pictures of king Charles I. by 

 Vandyke, by which it had been 

 made familiar to us. It is true, 

 that the minds of the spectators of 

 this interesting sight were prepared 

 to receive this impression, but it 

 is also certain, that such a facility 

 of belief had been occasioned by 

 the simplicity and truth of Mr. 

 Herbert's Narrative, every part of 

 which had been confirmed by the 

 investigation, so far as it had ad- 

 vanced ; and it will not be denied, 

 that the shape of the face, the 

 forehead, and eye, and the beard 

 are most important features by 

 which resemblance is determined. 



" When the head had been en- 

 tirely disengaged from the attach- 

 ments which confined it, it was 



