himself; it is
protected by a finely-worked grille, within which we see the gilt bronze
effigies of Henry and his wife, fashioned by the master hand of
Torrigiano, lying upon an altar tomb of black marble. Above are the
banners of the Knights of the Bath, which date from the eighteenth
century, and at the back of the stalls below are their coats of arms.
George I. reconstructed the Order, and for a brief period afterwards the
knights used to be installed here.

* * * * * *

{91}

The present altar was reconstructed, under Dean Stanley's supervision,
from such pieces of the old Italian pilasters and frieze as could be
found; one was actually discovered at Oxford in the Ashmolean Museum.
Upon it stands the cross which was presented by the Ras Makonnen, Envoy
from Abyssinia, as a votive offering for the present King's recovery from
his sudden illness, when the Coronation was postponed in the summer of
1902. The stalls next claim our attention, and it must be pointed out
that only part of these date from the sixteenth century, but the ancient
seats are easily distinguished from the later ones by their quaintly
carved misereres. The rest were added when the Order of the Knights of
the Bath was reconstituted by George I. in 1725, and the banners above,
as well as the coats of arms at the back of the top stalls, belong to the
Knights. The Dean was made Chaplain of the Order, a post which he has
held _ex officio_ ever since. At that time, and for a long period, the
installations of the Knights were held here. Upon one of the original
stalls at the west end is a crowned figure of the founder, Henry VII.,
his face turned towards the east. So familiar has the name of this
chapel become to us, that we are apt to forget that it was dedicated to
the {92} Virgin Mary, and replaced the Early English Lady Chapel, which
had stood on the same spot ever since the beginning of Henry the Third's
reign. Henry VII. first intended to consecrate his new chapel to the
memory of Henry VI., and arrangements were made for removing the saintly
King's bones to Westminster from Windsor, but, owing partly to quarrels
between the two convents, the scheme fell through and was abandoned by
the royal founder. The stone was laid in 1503, and, although the
building was not completed till 1519, before he died Henry had
practically settled every detail with the Abbot as to the endowment. His
wife's body already lay