. James's Palace, where our present Prince and
Princess of Wales lived with their children until a short time ago. In
the morning Charles walked across the Park and Spring Gardens, where, as
he passed, he pointed out a tree that had been planted by his own elder
brother Henry, who had died young. Then he went across to the Banqueting
Hall.

Hundreds and hundreds of people were waiting in Whitehall. They cannot
all have been wicked, but they must all have been cowards, for not one
dared to shout out and say, 'They must not, shall not, do this fearful
wrong.' If anyone had, perhaps others would have joined in and helped to
save their King. But no, all were silent. Perhaps they felt to the last
minute that it could not be true, that something would happen to prevent
it.

King Charles walked right through the Banqueting Hall under a beautiful
ceiling which he himself had paid a great painter to paint. You can walk
there yourself now under the same ceiling, for the place is a museum,
and anyone can go to see it.

Then he went through one of the windows upstairs--no one is quite sure
which, but it is supposed to be the second one from one end--and when he
stepped out on to the scaffold there was the dreadful executioner, with
his black mask on and his sharp axe. It was the custom for the
executioner to wear a mask, and I think he must have been glad of it
that day. The scaffold was all draped in black, and on it was a block,
at which the King must kneel, and on which he must rest his head. He
said gently the block was very low, and he had expected it to be higher;
but they told him it must be so, and he said no more.

Then he took off a beautiful star he wore, the decoration of an order,
which he handed to a captain in the army, a friend of his own, in whose
family it still remains, and some other things, which he gave to Bishop
Juxon, who stood by, and as he did so he said: 'Remember.' No one has
ever quite known what he meant by that, for the Bishop never told. It is
supposed either he meant that Bishop Juxon was to remember to give these
things to his son Prince Charles, or that he was to tell Prince Charles
to remember to forgive his father's murderers.

Then King Charles said to the executioner that he would put his head on
the block, and when he stretched out his hands he might strike. In a few
minutes he finished praying, and stretched out his hands. Down fell the
sharp axe, and a deep groan rose up from all the m