nd,
as I walked slowly along, I could hardly realize that I was actually
about to visit it in person. After a while I came in sight of
Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, and then, on my right,
I noticed two tall towers, and without the help of my guide-book I knew
that they must belong to the Abbey; so I quickened my steps until I
had gained the entrance door. What a change I experienced as I stepped
from the busy, crowded streets, into this old sepulcher, so celebrated
for its relics of the dead! It almost made me shudder, for the interior
of the building was dark and gloomy, and I saw many cold, white figures
towering high above me. The original Abbey was built many, many years
ago, and has been restored from time to time by the succeeding kings
and queens of England, until we find it in its present condition, safe
and sound, and one of the greatest, if not the greatest object of
interest in the city of London.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.]
[Illustration: SHRINE OF EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.]
Westminster Abbey may certainly be called a tomb, for we could spend a
whole day in simply counting its monuments. There were so many of these
that I hardly knew which to look at first, but I thought it best to
follow my own inclinations, and so, instead of procuring a guide (men
with long gowns, who take visitors around and point out the objects of
greatest interest), I roamed about at my will. The first monument that
attracted my attention was the venerable shrine of Edward the
Confessor, in the chapel of St. Edward, once the glory of the Abbey,
but which has been much defaced by persons who were desirous of
obtaining a bit of stone from this famous tomb. In this chapel I saw
also the old coronation chairs, in which all the reigning sovereigns of
England, since Edward I. have been crowned. They are queer,
old-fashioned chairs, made of wood, and not very comfortable, I
imagine. The older of the two chairs was built to inclose the stone
(which they call Jacob's pillar) brought from Scotland by Edward, and
placed in this chapel. Many other interesting tombs are to be seen
here, and the floor of the chapel is six hundred and fourteen years
old!
[Illustration: TOMB OF HANDEL.]
I next visited the chapel of Islip, built by the old Abbot of Islip,
who dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. One very interesting monument
there was to the memory of General Wolfe, who fell, you remember, at
the battle o
|