THE SCAFFOLD " GEORGE " OF CHARLES I.
The Scaffold " George " of Charles I. By Sir Ralph Payne- Gallwey, Bart. (Edward Arnold. 7s. 6d. net.)—Every one will remember that King Charles on the scaffold handed the " George " which he was wearing to Bishop Jaren with the word "Remember." The Bishop, when questioned as to the meaning of this injunction, said that he was to remember to give the jewel to the King's eldest son. The question is, what became of the "George "? In 1787, in view of the expected death of the Young Pretender, the Prince of Wales gave a commission to Sir Ralph Payne (afterwards Lord Lavington), uncle of the writer of this volume, to recover the jewel, which was supposed to be in his possession. Sir Ralph saw the Duchess of Albany, and did recover a certain jewel. But the author shows good reason for believing that this was not the real thing, which is rather to be identified with the "George" at Windsor, traditionally known as the "Saxon George." All this and other interesting matter will be found set forth in this volume, which will, for many reasons, well repay perusal. Among the curiosities which it contains is an extract from a contemporary French account of the King's death, in which it is stated that Charles was brought before "an juge subaltern° qui s'appelle Ningsbinch."
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