when England had the grievous misfortune to have thrust upon her for a king, a man whose history is written in the history of the deaths of the Earl of Gowrie and his brother Alexander Ruthven, of Prince Henry, and of Sir Thomas Overbury.
In an examination of the evidence, which escaped the destruction by which the powerful seek to efface all traces of some of their deeds, respecting the death of Prince Henry, I used these words:—
"It is one of the privileges of absolute power to efface, when it desires, all traces of its footsteps."
And the words immediately preceding are:—
"It is only within the last few years, and more than two centuries after the event, that any glimpse of the truth respecting the fate of Overbury has been obtained; all that was before made public having been carefully prepared and arranged by some of the subtlest legal intellects of their own or any time to raise a false issue."[1]
With that man's name are linked the rumours of deeds so revolting, that they suggest the words
- ↑ "Essays on Historical Truth," p. 36.3. Essay Seventh, Prince Henry. (See also Essay Eighth, Sir Thomas Overbury; and Essay Fifth, Sir Walter Scott.)
