Part 7 (2/2)
We now prepared to ascend still higher, and, after a tedious journey, arrived at the gilded gallery, which surmounts the dome. From hence we enjoyed a magnificent view of London, for, fortunately, the atmosphere was comparatively clear, and the everlasting canopy of smoke which overhangs London was not so dense as usual. Spread out before us lay the great wilderness of brick and mortar, through which the s.h.i.+ning Thames, like a huge snake, pursued its sinuous course, spanned at intervals by bridges, and bearing, on its broad bosom the gathered treasures of many a far-distant nation. The streets, diminished to mere lanes, looked alive with Lilliputians; miniature horses and carriages appeared like so many German automaton toys which had been wound up and set a-going. Far away to the westward patches of green, studded with trees, denoted the parks, in one of which glittered the gla.s.s roof and sides of the Crystal Palace; and still more remote were glimpses of the free, fresh, open country, along which, at intervals, would rush railway trains, bearing hundreds of pa.s.sengers to various parts of England. Above my head glittered, in the brilliant suns.h.i.+ne, the ball and cross which, at a height of four hundred and four feet, stands proudly over London, and may be seen from various parts of the metropolis. Another fee secured our pa.s.sage to the interior of this globe of gilded copper, and which is about six feet in diameter, and will hold several persons. To reach it, I had to ascend a ladder and creep through an aperture at the bottom of the sphere. This was not worth the labor, but then we could say we had attained the highest point of the cathedral. I hear that ladies sometimes venture into the ball; if so, their timidity is insufficient to baffle their curiosity. This accomplished, we retraced our steps, and visited the portion of St. Paul's in which divine service is performed.
About a dozen boys, dressed in white surplices, were chanting sweetly; a dull-looking clergyman read the service indifferently; and a score of poor people, with one or two well-dressed persons, formed the congregation. We then departed for Westminster Abbey, which must form the subject of another letter.
Yours affectionately,
WELD.
Letter 21.
LONDON.
DEAR CHARLEY:--
What shall I tell you about Westminster Abbey? I hope I may be able to say enough to make you long to see it, and determine you to read all you can about it. By the way, I have satisfied myself that I can learn the best things about such places by carefully reading good histories and examining the best engravings. This abbey claims to have been built, in 616, by a Saxon king. It was enlarged by Edgar and Edward the Confessor, and was rebuilt as it now appears by Henry III. and Edward I. In this church all the sovereigns of England have been crowned, from Edward the Confessor down to Victoria; and not a few of them have been buried here.
The architecture, excepting Henry VII.'s Chapel; is of the early English school. Henry's chapel is of the perpendicular Gothic. The western towers were built by Sir Christopher Wren.
We entered at the door leading to the Poet's Corner. We gazed with interest on the monuments of Chatham, Pitt, Fox, and Canning, Prince Rupert, Monk, Chaucer, Spenser, Beaumont, Fletcher, Ben Jonson, Cowley, Dryden, Dr. Watts, Addison, Gay, Sheridan, and Campbell. Here, too, are tablets to Barrow, South, Garrick, Handel, Clarendon, Bishop Atterbury, Sir Isaac Newton, and old Parr, who died at the age of one hundred and fifty-two.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey.]
The a.s.sociations of this building are every thing to the stranger. I will just give you a list of names of the kings and queens buried here--Sebert, Edward the Confessor, Henry III., Edward I., Queen Eleanor, Edward III. and his queen, Philippa, Richard II. and his queen, Henry V., Henry VII. and his queen, Ann of Cleves, queen of Henry VIII., Edward VI., b.l.o.o.d.y Mary, Mary, Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth, James I.
and his queen, Queen of Bohemia, Charles II., William III. and Mary, Queen Anne, George II. and Queen Caroline.
We took the circuit of the chapels, beginning with St. Benedict. Here many eminent churchmen have been interred. The next is St. Edmond's, which contains twenty monuments; the monument of the Earl of Pembroke, brother of Henry III.; he died 1298. Here, too, are tombs of children of Edward II. and Edward III. I noticed a very fine bra.s.s monument, which represents a d.u.c.h.ess of Gloucester in her dress as a nun, dated 1399.
There is, too, the effigy of the d.u.c.h.ess of Suffolk, mother of poor Lady Jane Grey. The third is St. Nicholas's Chapel, where is seen Lord Burleigh's monument. The fourth is the Virgin Mary's Chapel, called Henry VII.'s Chapel, and the ascent to which is by twelve or fourteen steps. This glorious room consists of a central aisle, with five small chapels and two side aisles. Here you see the stalls and banners of the Knights of the Bath, who were formerly installed in this chapel. The altar tomb of Henry VII. is truly beautiful; Lord Bacon said, ”It is one of the costliest and daintiest tombs in Europe.” Here are tombs of his mother, and the mother of Lord George Darnley, and Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Duke of Buckingham, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Mary. Here, too, is a sarcophagus, which is supposed to contain the remains of Edward V.
and the Duke of York, discovered in the Tower in the seventeenth century, in a box. Charles II., William and Mary, and Queen Anne are in a vault on the south aisle. George II. and his queen, Caroline, lie together, a side being taken out of each coffin. The fifth chapel is St.
Paul's. The most striking object here is a colossal portrait statue of James Watt, the great steam-engine perfecter, if not inventor. This is by Chantrey, and cost six thousand pounds, and seems quite out of place.
Archbishop Usher lies in this chapel. The sixth chapel, called Edward the Confessor's, pleased me greatly. In the centre is the shrine of the monarch saint; it is rich in mosaic adornments. The altar tomb of Henry III. is very grand, and there is a n.o.ble bronze statue of the king.
Edward I. is here, and in 1774 his body was found almost entire. Edward III. and Philippa, his queen, have tombs. Here, too, was Henry V., the hero of Agincourt, Richard II. and queen. We were delighted with the two coronation chairs; in one is the old stone of Scone, on which the early Scotch kings used to be crowned. Edward I. carried it off, and it has ever since figured in English coronations. It is a large piece of red and gray sandstone, and claims to have been the veritable pillow on which Jacob slept. The seventh chapel is that of St. Erasmus, and leads to the eighth, which is John the Baptist's. Here rest the early abbots of the church. It contains a very fine monument to Lord Hunsdon, chamberlain to Queen Bess. Just outside, in the aisle, we found the n.o.ble monument to General Wolfe, and the celebrated work of Roubilliac in memory of Mrs. Nightingale, where death is seen throwing his dart at the wife, who falls into her husband's arms.
All over this n.o.ble abbey did we wander again and again in repeated visits, and admire the finest statuary we have ever seen. Roubilliac was a wonderful genius, and his monument to Sir Peter Warren is exquisite.
The works of Bacon, Flaxman, Nollekins, Chantrey, and Westmacott have made me in love with statuary; and I long to see the great works which are to be seen on the continent.
Many of the tablets and statues are only honorary, as the persons commemorated were not buried here; as Shakspeare, Southey, Thomson, Goldsmith, Dr. Watts, &c. I could spend hours looking at Roubilliac's monument for the Duke of Argyle and his statue for Handel.
We attended divine service one Sunday afternoon, and heard a very fine sermon from Lord John Thynne. The abbey was crowded; the music the best I ever heard in a church; the preacher was quite eloquent; and Dr. C.
observed that it was the most evangelical sermon he had heard in England. The subject was on justification by faith:
I may forget many things that I shall see on our travels, but I think that this abbey will never vanish from my recollection. I shall always remember the very position of these great works of art and genius; and I am more than repaid for all the labor of a voyage.
Yours affectionately,
WELD.
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