dinarily a subordinate edifice connected with the main body of a
church, and opening into it. Most frequently, in fact, a chapel is a
mere recess or alcove, separated from the area of the church by a small
screen or gilded iron railing. In the Catholic churches these chapels
are ornamented with sculptures and paintings, with altars and
crucifixes, and other such furniture. Sometimes they are built expressly
as monumental structures, in which case they are often of considerable
size, and are ornamented with great magnificence and splendor. This was
the case with Henry the Seventh's Chapel. The whole building is, in fact
his tomb. Vast sums were expended in the construction of it, the work of
which extended through two reigns. It is now one of the most attractive
portions of the great pile which it adorns. Elizabeth's body was
deposited here, and here her monument was erected.

[Illustration: ELIZABETH'S TOMB IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.]

It will be recollected that James, who now succeeded Elizabeth, was the
son of Mary Queen of Scots. Soon after his accession to the throne, he
removed the remains of his mother from their place of sepulture near the
scene of her execution, and interred them in the south aisle of Henry
the Seventh's Chapel, while the body of Elizabeth occupied the northern
one.[E] He placed, also, over Mary's remains, a tomb very similar in its
plan and design to that by which the memory of Elizabeth was honored;
and there the rival queens have since reposed in silence and peace under
the same paved floor. And though the monuments do not materially
differ in their architectural forms, it is found that the visitors who
go continually to the spot gaze with a brief though lively interest at
the one, while they linger long and mournfully over the other.

[Footnote E: See our history of Mary Queen of Scots, near the close.
Aisles in English Cathedral churches are colonnades, or spaces between
columns on an open floor, and not passages between pews, as with us. In
monumental churches like Westminster Abbey there are no pews.]

* * * * *

The character of Elizabeth has not generally awakened among mankind much
commendation or sympathy. They who censure or condemn her should,
however, reflect how very conspicuous was the stage on which she acted,
and how minutely all her faults have been paraded to the world. That she
deserved the reproaches which have been so freely cast upon her memo