A Tale of Carisbrooke Castle.
IF any of my little readers have been to the Castle of Carisbrooke, they have doubtless visited, amongst other old dilapidated apartments, a small upper room, where the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Charles the First, died, while a prisoner with her little brother Henry, within its precincts. There is no beauty in the room, but the associations connected with it are very precious and happy, especially for all who love the Word of God, and have found peace with Him through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:11Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)). But let me tell you a little about Elizabeth: —
The Princess was only fourteen years old, when with her brother, the little Duke of Gloucester, she was taken to the Castle, but eight months after her father had been executed. How sad it must have been to her to have been taken there, where her beloved father had been so little a time previously a prisoner also; and she now a poor fatherless girl, with only one companion in the prison-house—her little brother. Yes,
They bore her away from her palace fair,
They bore her away to a stranger’s care;
And they brought her hither with many a sigh,
Yes, they brought her hither to fade and die;
Like a rose transplanted from genial bowers,
To a place where the storm-cloud always lowers.
But we have every reason to conclude that Elizabeth was a Christian. She had been saved from many of the temptations of royalty by an accident which befell her when nine years old while running across a room, which caused a fractured leg. This was, perhaps, God’s way of making her a lover of good books—not being able to join much in children’s usual pastimes—and especially a lover of the Bible. Bibles were not so plentiful then as now. Two hundred and twenty years ago it was a rare thing to possess a Bible. But Elizabeth had one, and I will tell you how she came by it—a large and costly one it was.
When her father, the king, had been condemned to death, he was intensely anxious to see his children. Only two of them, Elizabeth and Henry, were in England. The queen with the other children had fled to other countries. It was not until the morning of his execution that Elizabeth and her brother were taken to have a last interview with their loving father. And oh! it was a most affecting one! Many kisses and embraces, and such kisses and embraces as love on the threshold of the grave well may bestow upon loved ones, the royal father lavished on his children, already fatherless in his sad eyes!
At this interview he gave to Elizabeth two seals, wherein were set two diamonds, and yet a more costly gift—his Bible, saying, “It hath been my great comfort and constant companion through all my sorrows, and I hope it will be thine.”
On the 16th day of August, 1650, the youthful royal prisoners entered the Castle, and on the eighth day of the next month Elizabeth was found in her bedroom, whither she had retired being very unwell, with her pale face resting on her father’s open Bible, as though she had but gently fallen asleep, her spirit having passed away, and her eyes having rested, as her last solace, upon the precious verses in the eleventh of Matthew, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Happy Princess! A prisoner no longer! Her prison-house had indeed become to her the vestibule of heaven. She found—resting on Christ—liberty and life in death. Happy Princess!
Quietly she was interred in Newport Church, and the interesting picture which heads this paper is a representation of the beautiful monument which our beloved Queen has had placed there to her memory. Thus the Queen speaks thereon: “To the memory of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Charles I., who died at Carisbrooke Castle, on Sunday, September 8th, 1650, and is interred beneath the chancel of this church, this monument is erected—a token of respect for her virtues, and of sympathy for her misfortunes—by Victoria R., 1856.” And often the Queen with her children, princesses also—but more highly favored—go to gaze thereon, thus cherishing the memo; of Elizabeth, the Bible-loving Princess.
My young readers will see in the picture that the Princess is laying her head on the open Bible: and they will also notice that the iron bars which are whole at the back of the monument, are broken in the front to denote that the bars are broken and that she is a prisoner no longer—the captive freed!
That precious page! Those living words—
“Come unto Me and rest
“Ye weary, laden ones, recline
“Forever on my breast.”
Allured her soul: to these she turned
And resting there her eye,
Inspired by energy divine,
She passed beyond the bounds of time
And found it sweet to die.
May you, dear readers, know a like joy, and be all ready for death should it happen, or for the Lord’s presence should He come. And if ever you visit the room in the beautiful Castle, which witnessed her departure, think of the open Bible there, and of the sweet words which cheered the dying Princess; and if you have not as yet, Oh, do now accept the precious invitation, and go to Jesus, and find eternal rest in Him.
“Jesus only—He can give
Sweetest pleasure while you live;
Jesus only can supply
Comfort if you’re called to die.”
A. M.