The Seaforth News, 1960-02-25, Page 2•
Mystery Of Corpse
In Castle Wall
"Mel", A frightened lad ran
across a courtyard of Edinburgh
,Castle one autumnafternoOn,
arousing the garrison to his cries
of alarm and, incidentally,
setting of a trail of royal mys-
tery that defies solution to this
day.
A rafter running into the
ebimney of the master -gunner's
office was ablaze. Luckily, the
eddying smoke was quickly de-
tected by the yard, boy and
Willing hands swiftly doused the
Eames.
If the fire had occurred at
night, it might have been a. dif-
ferent and more tragic story. The
magazines were stuffed with
ammunition and, a fearful ex-
plosicm would probably have
destroyed not only the Castle but
perhaps a large part cif • Edin-
burgh itself.
Fearful of the risk of such
dire Consequences, the Governor
ordered all the siarrounding
chimneys and walls to be close-
ly examined. But for this vigil-
ant inspection scientists would
never have stumbled on the rid-
dle of the baby's coffin that
still remains sealed in the Castle
wall,
Tapping' the ancient, masonry
that walled the private apart-
ments of Mary, Queen of Scots,
a workman noticed that one
stone emitted a hollow ring.
He pried it out, expecting to
find structural decay and dam-
age. Instead the space behind
it was filled by a tiny oaken cof-
fin.
It was of good workmanship
and, thinking they were stumbl-
ing on a lost hoard of treasure,'
the masons opened the, casket,..
and fell back in alarm,
In the coffin lay the body of
a baby, shrivelled and murnmi:'
tied by the passage of tizne. Yet
the vestments of silk- and cloth -
of -gold still gleamed with Veal
magnificence and the embroid-
ered initial "T". stood out richly
on the tiny sleeve.
From its craftsmanship and
style, experts estimated that the
coffin was between. 250 and 300
years old. Was there a link be-
tween this macabre discovery in
1836 -- and the- more distant days
when Mary, Queen of Scots, was
a beautiful young woman of_
twenty-four eagerly anticipat,-
ing her- first child?
Mary's husband, Robert Darn-
ley, stood next in succession to
the English* throne. And when
she announced that a baby was
en the way, the news ran from
lip to lip and her followers'
rejoicing knew no bounds.
The times were cruel -and.
dark. In England Elizabeth had
reigned as a Protestant Queen
for eight years,;each bitter month
increasing the flow of Catholic
refugees across. the Border.
Every day,- however, brought
new plots of religious intoler-
ance and, in the court of Scot-
land itself, Mary could rely on
only two true friends. One was
the proud Earl cif Mar. The
other was humbly -born David
Rizzio, whom she had raised
from being a minstrel to be con-
stantly at her side as- private
•secretary.
A faint and abominable whis-
per suggested that Rizzio was
perhaps the true father of her
child. It was not more than a
whisper, swiftly stamped out,
for both Darnley and Mary ar-
dently dreamed that the coming,
child would be the first to rule
a united kingdom of England and
Scotland.
Nothing should mar that high
ambition and perhaps Rizzio was
always a lonely threat to such
hopes. Perhaps that is why, one
night, a group of conspirators
burst through Darnley's rooms
at Holyrood — Darnley himself
amongst them — to tear Rizzio
from the Queen's side.
There was a aingle, short cry
as the Poniardsplunged into his
breast — Etta, vengeful' dagger -
throats M all. Then his tattered
body was hurled into the eourt-
yard, While Marywept Silently
in a bitter passion of horror and
hate,
This part of the story is fam-
iliar, yet historians- have atill
unravel the inner Mystery. Al-
• though men said that the broken
Queen would never tend her
husband with love again, she:still
flattered him with silken words
and seemed to forgive hint.
Even murder, it seemed, did
•riot diminish her allegiance to
him as husband. Or was she.
stifling anguished inner hatred
for the sake of the cominatchild?
The baby was born' three„
months later. The guns proudly,
boomed the event. "I present toa
you the child who will: unite`the
kingdoms of Scotland and Eng-
land," said Mary, as she pieced
the infant in Darnley's arms,
Thousands' of stout hearts re-
joiced and, the 'English Parlie-
- merit itself. shivered.
But supposing the baby had
died, dashing all hopes,
at thit
vital mornent of. British hostoryT.
A rumour has always persisted
that the baby' was lowered -in
basket 'by a rope and whisked
away to Stirling Castlefor safety
with the- Earl of Mar. It seeing 4
strangely dangeretie way ,to treat
a living infant,- burl a far less
perilous exit for • a corpse.
The window from which this -
'hazardous operation was made
is almost immediately over the
coffin stone. It was commonplace,
in those days for a child to sicken .
and die in the first hours of life.
Did this fate overtake the infant, •
ado. of Mary, Queen of Scots, and
was he , swiftly replaced by: a
counterfeit prince.? '
Mary, Queen of Scots, however,
wee in Edinburgh Castle for only
the final months of pregnancy in'
i566.. She often spoke of a fore-
boding that the baby would not
live. Supposing these dreads were
realized? The Countess of Mar ,.
was confined at 'about the sarne,
time. in Edinburgh 'Castle. Here .
was a second baby totake..the
piece of Mary's. child.
Who- but a princewould be, •
wrapped in cloth -of -gold with,
the initial "J"? Moreover, royal
portraits reveal' a striking like- •
ness between James I .and the
Earls' of Mar Of that period.
All the resources of science can.
never solve 'the riddle, to -day.
When the coffin was first found,
news was sent to St. James's
Palace -- and the order came
back that it Was to be- replaced
in the wall, sealed by the same
stone.
Before the casket was resealed,
members of the Scottish Anti-
quarian. Society secured a Piece .
of the richly embroidered wrap-
ping material for their museum.
No other trophy was possible, for
the tiny body had crumbled to
dust on exposure to the air.
Above a small nail -studded
door — a door close to the pub-
lic entrance of the royal apart-
ments to -day — the eoffin" stone
can still be seen.
Does it tell of a mother's trag-
edy, of a national disaster swiftly
turned into triumph by a we -
man's quick' wits? ,When Mary'
Queen of Scots, was near 'the
scaffold, she sent a final message
to her son. "Tell him I have done
• nothing to prejudice his kingdom
of Scotland," she said.
Did she intend this as a re-
assurance that the secret of his
birth was taken to the grave?
BURGLAR'S BUNGLE
As Jack Brodsky approached
a tavern in Columbus, Ohio, a
man stepped up to him and re-
marked: "Sorry, buddy, we're
closed."
.
Brodsky lost no timein in-
forming the police, w'ho arrested
the man on suspicion of burg-
lary. Brodsky owns the pub !
ON GUARD — A grim.faced worrIon Insurgent, hand en
sitsauard on a barricade In Algiers.
MATCHLESS PRODUCTION -- Runt' biock-oneblock with concrete units molded in trays from
pocket match lamils, th)S.tn1niaturi' the garden mf the 1, K. Abrahams family at
Lliawford, England. • '
. ,
FOLLOWS LOVE -- Tired, but,
fkishing a wide smile, Andre .
POrumbeanu arrived in New
York after a quick flight 'front
Paris and confidently announc-
• ed there- was no doubt in. his
mind that he would marry 19 -
year -old: •heiress Gamble Bene-
dict.
Trading ,Stamps -
In Washington •
.•
The government that was born
out of opposition to one Stamp
Act now needs some sort of new
stamp'actto get.it out of a am..
In
,In Washington the • General.
Services- Administration,. in •ite,,,
• role 'of supervising federal .pro-
perty, has. collected a heap ofe
trading stamps that, to trail'
preposition; it doesn't know
what to do- with.
.
It seams that goverrunent '
workers who bought gas with
-government money to run their,
government cars have been get -
.ting trading stamps with 'their
Purchases — and GSA thonght,
tinder the cirCumstancea, these
ought to be government stamps.
So:the stamps now are collect-
ing by the millions. But GSA
doesn't need the bundreds,ofout-
doot cookers and • frilly ' table .
,larnps it 'could acquire, by turn-
ing'the sfamps. 'So what to;clo?
Sincethe stamps can't be con-
verted into money they can't
• be used to retire the national
debt, or reduce the GSA budgeta
two otherwise laudable aims.
Therefore, it would seem logi-
cal to find a use for all those
potential clocks, lamps, vacuum •
cleaners,' blankets, pots and pans'
where they would do the moat
good.
One promising idea suggests
that Washington's women's clubs
• take over the task of pasting -the
stamps M redemption books and
, then conveying the gifts to suit-
able domestic and overseas char-
ities. If this takes congressional'
approval, let's have a new stamp
act, — Front the Christian Sci-
ence Monitor.
Roast badger is not the aver-
age person's idea of an appetiz-
ing. dish on Christmas Eve, but
in .Somerset some of 'the villag-
ers 'extjdyr it. They are
ing a custom said M have been
started by poachers in Norman
times.
• A badger is ceremonially roast-
ed on a spit at a local inn, ,and
when it is ready it is eaten with
fingers and pen -knives, no other
implements being allowed.
'TABEB: TA
The following recipe coMes,
Iron far -away Tram formerly
Persia -- and; although •all the in-'
**clients ,f,enalliar, I'm sure
• Yam% find the cornbination nu, ,.
'usual".*-- and' delicious,
:v.E1CKEN AND VEGETAIBLIK4e..
Ilehicken—about Zpouids
1 :cup.ilbtatoes, diced •.
1 cup carrots 'cut in strips •
2)green' sweet Peppers
4 onion., sliced
1 'senall eggplant diced
4 tablespoons butter or fat
1 teaspoon .cinnamon
• 1/6 teaspoon pepper
Salt -to taste
Water
Tomatoes
Clean' and wash chicken and
cut in quarters. Melt , table,
spoons ...butter or fat in large
.• pan. Add in layers the onions,
•chicken, green peppers, egg-
plarut, :carrots , -potatoes,
a..potatoes, and to-
matoes. SeO.cwith salt,, pep-
per, and .cinnarnon.,Cover**tight-
ly.. Cook' 10 minutes...Add. 1 cup
hot 'Water and the remaining 2
tablespoons butter. -Simmer un -
111 tender. *4,
Writing to the ,Christian, -Sci-
ence Monitor, .Mrs. 1Viergaret-
, Beals' offers. the .followinpeCipe
forr— ' • • ,
• ROUE, CREAM MUFFINS
1/2 eup,Salat•oil
1 cup brown auger
2 eggs
1 cup whok-wheat:flour
1/2 teaspoon salt •
1 teaspoon. baking ',powder
1 teasPeOn. soda'
cup,sour cream
.1 -cup wheat gem
•Mix oil, sugar, and .eggs. Sift
together: the flour, salt; baking
owder , and :soda. Add M egg ,.
mixture alternately with Deur
cream. Stir in ,wheat „girth. 3U1'
greased Muffin tins % Bake
aat 400°F.. • for 15-18 • minutes,
- ,
.Makes ldOzen. .
(Note:- Mrs, Beals suggests ,
that if you do net have sour:
cream you may soUrI cup etrap-
'6rated .milk; with, 2 tablespoons
;vinegar.) *
•*
Mrs.; Mary Wall pends a
recipe for •iceabox rolls that are
made in' quantity and, then used
as the need'.arises.
SIX-DAY itOLLs
1 cup sugar
• I cup shortening
•*1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon each, soda and
baking powder
1 .sake dry. yeast
1 quart milk '
4 eups flour
1 cup malted potatoes
8 ettps.flour,
Scald milk and add sugar, po-
tatoes, and shortening. 'Let edit].
to lukewarm and add the '4 cups
flour, baking powder, soda, and
the yeast which' has been dis-
solved in Y2 cup warm water.
Let rise in warm' place for 3
hours. Add salt and 8'cupsliour;
knead well and put in icebox.
-Use as wanted, letting it rise. 3
hoursbefore., baking. •
* *.
Or perhaps you'd •Iike. a fruit
bread. If you would, you might
want to try this prune -bread
recipe sent by Miss Jean Merrill
, -
PRUNE _BREAD
2 cups all -'bran
;4 cup buttermilk
• Hi cup.:prune juice.
4:tablespoon shortening
• •Vz ,cup sugar *-
1 -egg,' beaten
1,cup�f1purr '
7.. 14 1easpOott •sait
-;•7434 teasPeone •seda •
strained Prunes (baby
•t• food. is gp.ed) .' •
-Soak bran in buttermilk ..a,nd
.Prutte jitiee" .which have, been
,mixed, ' Cream' athortening and
sugar ;together; add ithe beaten
' egg. Add this mixture to bran
mixture. 'BLit flourasalt,and bode
.together and add.to it the bran
mixture. •Add primes ,and nut
meats and stir ',until flour disaps.
pears.,Hake.ln greased. loaf pan
for 1 hour and 20 jminutes at
150°P.• • '
'• Front la 'Jolla, 'Calif., Sherry
..Grund sent this recipe for ban-
*ana.,bread.
- /BANANA MOLASSES BREAD
I 'ripe • bananas
unbeaten
% :cup .spgar.
tablespoons light -molasses
. -2 tablespoons ,melted .shorten -
2 cups:.,sifted-flour
1:teaspoon each, baiting -Pow;
• •• der.-and-scide
, •71' Op.:Shopped 'walnuts' '
bananah• until 'there-, are
lumps; add unbe4en., egg. and. .
.;nahr. well. Beat. in sugar,. mo-
lasses, and '.stiortehilig: Sift eta;
'gether the flour, baking;.powder,
oda, and,'Salt..*Stit flour mix ,
ture..into • first' Mixture. Stir 'in
malnitt.S. Bake in greased
ineh loaf.Pan-•mbout 1 hour at •
ISSUE 5 —4960
Dinner Is Served
In An Oak Tres
Will the traditional English.
oak tree eventually disappear?
There are signs that it may do
50.
In Kent 2,Q00 acres of forest
and woodland are being replant-
ed annually, but few of them
contain oaks, Says a Forestry
Commission official; "It is diffi-
cult to justify the planting, of
oak trees because of the high
quality soil they need to grow
werno'r"'
estry experts say that the
finest forest oak tree in all Bri-
taM today is the 95 -foot giant
known as Lady Harriett's Oahe
on the Powis Castle estate in
Wales, which has always been
famous for its noble oaks.
This flourishing forest giant
thrills foresters because it is so
wonderfully straight and tall,
the first branch being more than
50 feet from the ground,
Five to six hundred years is
reckoned a good age for an oak.
But many have flourished for
well over 1,000 years. Said a
tree expert recently: "An oak
grows for 500 years, is in its
prime for another 200, and de-
cline for several hundred.more."
,But awn
a;,,moyl:d Gaelic saying puts
11 th
Thrice the age of a dog is the
• age of a horse.
Thrice' the agg of a horse is the
• . age of a man,
Thrice the age of a man' is the
• age of a stag.
, Thrice the age of a atag is the
age of an eagle.
Thrice 'the age of an eagle is the
age 'of an dak tree.
Taking man's "allotted span"
of seventy years, this gives 1,890
years as the, age of an oak,
Some oaks 'become so veteran
that they have to be given
"crutches."'This happened.'to the
Lassington Oak, near Glouces-
ter. Owing to its great age, its
weight had to be supported with
stout props.
• Shakespeare ni en tions the.
world-famous Herne's Oak in
Windsor Forest. The legend of
the ."wOld huntsman" who was
supposed to haunt this ancient
• oak lingered until recent times.
In 1,768 a..floor, with benches
'and a table,' was put in the
great oak, tree in Bowthorps.
Park, Lincolnshire.. Then twelve
people dined with ease Maid*
the' ancieM 'tree.
•
'An Up-and-coming starlet had
' 'been booked on a quiz show and
• had chosen:Word 'Definitions' me
her topic. •.
The MC* said, "For -your • first
question, what does the word
'acquiesce' mean?"
'Without 'a moment's hesitation
she replied, 'Mink!"
That's proof it wasn't, rigged.
ta. • - ...a a.
"aa
41'
HE SHALL NOT PASS —. Bet he did. Rioting students stand
thir ground behind a lacarricatie of chairs,„tobles,,benches and
desks at Tokyo's International Airport. They attempted to
:prevent the departure of „Japanese Premier Kiahi to the U.S.
to sign a mutua.I security pact. Police cleared a path.
ra!
'Iv `.,04,1VN,N.AP
dagger,. MONSTER TRAFFIC JAM -- Med up trucks diaappear. I ,41 east of Racine, Wis. The Vehicles were slopped by
Iota the distance as they wait lo roll on U.S. 'Highway. I snow und ice -covered highways*