ne to him myself, if I had not been a
blockhead; a very great man!"

We were immediately conducted to the little chapel on the right hand. Sir
Roger, planting himself at our historian's elbow, was very attentive to
everything he said, particularly to the account he gave us of the lord
who had cut off the King of Morocco's head. Among several other figures,
he was very well pleased to see the statesman Cecil[169] upon his knees;
and concluding them all to be great men, was conducted to the figure
which represents that martyr to good housewifery, who died by the prick
of a needle. Upon our interpreter's telling us that she was a maid of
honour to Queen Elizabeth, the Knight was very inquisitive into her name
and family; and after having regarded her finger for some time, "I
wonder," says he, "that Sir Richard Baker has said nothing of her in his
_Chronicle_."

We were then conveyed to the two coronation chairs, where my old friend
after having heard that the stone underneath the most ancient of them,
which was brought from Scotland, was called "Jacob's pillar," sat himself
down in the chair; and looking like the figure of an old Gothic king,
asked our interpreter, what authority they had to say that Jacob had ever
been in Scotland? The fellow, instead of returning him an answer, told
him, that he hoped his honour would pay his forfeit[170]. I could observe
Sir Roger a little ruffled upon being thus trepanned; but our guide not
insisting upon his demand, the Knight soon recovered his good humour, and
whispered in my ear, that if Will Wimble were with us, and saw those two
chairs, it would go hard but he would get a tobacco-stopper out of one or
the other of them.

Sir Roger, in the next place, laid his hand upon Edward the Third's
sword, and leaning upon the pommel[171] of it, gave us the whole history
of the Black Prince; concluding, that, in Sir Richard Baker's opinion,
Edward the Third was one of the greatest princes that ever sat upon the
English throne.

We were then shown Edward the Confessor's tomb; upon which Sir Roger
acquainted us, that he was the first who touched for the evil[172]; and
afterwards Henry the Fourth's, upon which he shook his head, and told us
there was fine reading in the casualties[173] of that reign.

Our conductor then pointed to that monument where there is the figure of
one of our English kings without an head; and upon giving us to know,
that the head, which was of beaten silver, had b