Real Life In London, Volumes I. and II.
“Well hinted,” replied Tom, “and it shall be acted upon.”
~81~~ Thus saying, he made his way through the throng, and gave orders
for the curricle to proceed home as soon as it could be extricated from
its present confinement. Then returning to his Cousin,
“It is not the first time I have been disappointed; I had made up
my mind to proceed much farther; but the very scenes we have been
inspecting are proofs of the inability of man to perform all his wishes,
although equally' a proof of the splendid talents and determined valour
of our renowned and deservedly remembered countrymen, and are well
calculated to inspire us with patience, fortitude, and forbearance. At
the other door we can escape from the bustle of this side; and perhaps
the best thing we can do under existing circumstances, will be to speed
homewards, and after dinner relax a little from our toils, in order to
recruit for further activity.”
“Have with you,” said Bob; “we have enjoyed the first part of the day on
a variety of interesting subjects, and after a cheerful and refreshing
ride, have at last arrived at the threshold of eternity. We may as well
escape for this time if we can, and cheat the grim tyrant of mankind.
Although our ride has been a long one, our walk back is but short, so
let us lose no time.”
In accordance with this recommendation, he caught hold of Dashall's arm,
proceeded through the Cathedral, and arrived at Piccadilly without any
thing remarkable or particular to record, where we shall for the present
leave them to their enjoyments among the able writers with which Tom's
bookcase was well stored.
CHAPTER VI
Hail! venerable pile! with awe I tread
The sacred mansion of th' illustrious dead!
Where rise, o'er forms now mould'ring into dust,
The “storied urn” and “animated West.”--
Beneath the fretted dome, aspiring high,
Here monarchs, heroes, poets, sages, lie!
“Deaf the prais'd ear, and mute the tuneful tongue,”
Here sleeps the bard with those whom erst he sung;
And all consigned to one impartial doom,
Lo! kings and subjects levelled in the tomb!
IN a perambulation westward, our friends shortly reached the precinct
of Westminster Abbey, or the collegiate Church of Saint Peter; the most
ancient religious structure in the metropolis.
Divested of fabulous narration, its history is briefly as follows. Its
name is obviously derived from its situation, in the west, and from its
original destination as the church of a monastery. It was founded by
Sebert, king of the East Saxons; was destroyed afterwards by the Danes;
was subsequently re-built by king Edgar in 958; the church was again
re-built by Edward the Confessor in 1065; and by Pope Nicholas II. it
was constituted a place of inauguration of the English Monarchs. Henry
III. re-built it from the ground, and Henry VII. added a magnificent
chapel at the east end of it. The monastery was surrendered by the
abbot and monks to Henry VIII. who first converted it into a college of
secular canons, and afterwards into a cathedral, of which the county of
Middlesex was the see. His successor, Edward VI. dissolved the see, and
restored the college, which was again converted by Mary into an abbey.
That institution was dissolved by Elizabeth in 1560; she founded the
present establishment, which is a college consisting of a dean, 12
secular canons, and 30 petty canons; to which is attached a school of
40 boys, denominated the Queen's or King's scholars, with a master and
usher; and also twelve alms-men, an organist, and choristers.
Its greatest length is 489 feet; the breadth of the west front 66 feet;
the length of the cross aisle 189 feet; and the height of the roof 92
feet; the west end is adorned with two towers, which were built by Sir
Christopher Wren. The nave and cross aisles are supported by two rows
of arches, of Sussex marble, one above the other, each of the pillars of
which is a union of one massy round pillar, and tour others of a similar
form, but slender. These aisles are lofty, and each of the small pillars
being extended from the base to the roof, they produce an idea at once
sublime and awful. Besides the cross aisle there are two side aisles,
which are lower than the nave; and, being in a just proportion, they
unite with the other parts of the edifice to produce a harmonious
effect. The choir, from which there is an ascent by several steps to
a magnificent altar-piece of white marble, is divided from the western
part of the great aisle by two iron gates, and is perhaps the most
beautiful choir in Europe: its roof was materially injured by fire,
occasioned by the carelessness of the plumbers who were repairing it
in 1803, but it has since been completely restored, at an expence of
upwards of £4000. In this choir is performed the coronation of the Kings
and Queens of England.
This succinct account will not prove unacceptable, we hope, to our
readers.
The attractive spot at the southern extremity of the cross aisle was
now entered by the two friends. “This,” said Dashall, “is called Poet's
Corner, and never could a place be named with more propriety.”
Tallyho cast an eye of intense observation on these sacred records
of departed excellence. Here he found the names of Chaucer, Spenser,
Shakespeare, Johnson, Milton, Dryden, Butler, Thomson, Gay, Goldsmith,
&c. There also, as though the spot were dedicated to genius of the
highest rank, are the tombs of Handel and Garrick. The Squire in his
admiration of the British Poets, now gave full scope to the ardency of
his feelings, and surrounded by the sculptured images of the bards of
former days, he seemed as if environed by a re-animated constellation of
genius, and wrapt in the delirium of its inspiritive influence.
~84~~ Westminster Abbey contains a great number of monuments of kings,
statesmen, heroes, poets, and persons distinguished by genius, learning,
and science; but many of these monuments can be regarded as little
better than so many disfigurements of the buildings. Some however are to
be spoken of with praise, and the best are the productions of Reubilliac
and Bacon.
The curiosities of Westminster Abbey consist chiefly of twelve chapels,
the principal of which were visited by Dashall and his cousin; but to
the chapel of Henry VII. their chief attention was directed. This chapel
is contiguous to the eastern extremity of the church, and opens into it:
it is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and is one of the finest specimens
of Gothic antiquity in the world. On its site formerly stood a chapel
dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and also a tavern, distinguished by the
sign of the White Rose: Henry resolving to erect a superb mausoleum for
himself and his family, pulled down the old chapel and tavern, and
on the 11th of February in the year 1503, the first stone of the new
structure was laid by Abbot Islip, at the King's command. It cost
£14,000, an immense sum for that period, particularly considering
the rapacious temper of the king. The exterior of the chapel is
distinguished by the richness and variety of its form, occasioned
chiefly by 14 towers, elegantly proportioned to the body of the edifice,
and projecting in different angles from the outer-most wall: the inside
is approached by the area at the back of the chapels of Edward the
Confessor and Henry v. The floor of this chapel is elevated above that
of the area, and the ascent is by a flight of marble steps: the entrance
is ornamented with a handsome gothic portico of stone, within which
are three large gates of gilt brass, of curious open workmanship, every
pannel being enriched with a rose and a portcullis alternately. The
chapel consists of the nave and two small aisles: the centre is 99 feet
in length, 66 in breadth, and 54 in height, terminating at the east in a
curve, and having five deep recesses of a similar form: the entrance to
these recesses is by open arches, and they add greatly to the relief and
beauty of the building: it is not improbable that they were originally
so many smaller chapels, destined to various uses. The side aisles are
in a just proportion to the centre, with which they communicate by
four arches, turned on gothic pillars; each of them is relieved by four
recesses, a window, with minute and curious ~85~~divisions, running the
whole height of each recess. The upper part of the nave has four windows
on each side, and ten in the eastern extremity, five above and five
below. The whole of the roof of the chapel, including the side aisles
and the curve at the end, is of wrought stone, in the gothic style,
and of exquisite beauty. An altar-tomb erected by Henry, at the cost of
£1000, to receive his last remains, stands in the centre of the chapel.
It is of basaltic stone, ornamented and surrounded with a magnificent
railing of gilt brass. This monument was constructed by Peter
Torregiano, a Florentine artist, and possesses extraordinary merit. Six
devices in bas-relief, and four statues, all of gilt brass, adorn the
tomb.
In addition to these venerable antiquities, which all deserve to be
seen, a variety of figures in wax, and in cases with glazed doors, are
shewn as curiosities to the stranger; but they ought to be removed,
as disgraceful to the grandeur and solemnity of the other parts of the
scene, and as a satire on the national taste, which can scarcely
be excused, when such things are exhibited in a room for children's
amusement.
Every lover of the arts must lament that this beautiful relic of gothic
taste is falling rapidly to decay; notwithstanding, within the last
twenty-four years, the Dean and Chapter of Westminster have expended the
sum of £28,749 in general repairs of the abbey. Parliament, however, has
at last granted the requisite aid, and the sum of £20,000 has been voted
to commence the repairs, which are now going on. It has been estimated
that the necessary repairs of Henry the VIIth's chapel will cost about
£14,800 and the ornamental repairs about £10,400.
The prospect from the western tower of the abbey is more beautiful and
picturesque, though less extensive, than that from St. Paul's. The west
end of the town and its environs, the Banquetting-house at Whitehall,
St. James's park, the gardens of the Queen's palace, the extremity of
Piccadilly and Hyde-park, with the Serpentine River, and the distant
groves of Kensington Gardens, present a varied and magnificent view
towards the west. On the other hand, the bridges of Westminster,
Waterloo, and Blackfriars, with the broad expanse of the Thames, and
Somerset-house on its banks, and St. Paul's towering pile, together with
the light Gothic steeple of St. Dunstan's in the East, present a most
noble and ~86~~ interesting prospect. From this tower the exterior form
of St. Paul's, when the sun falls upon it, is distinctly seen, and here
its exquisite beauty will be more fully comprehended than in any part of
the city, for a sufficient area to take in the entire outline is not to
be found there.
This prolixity of description will not, we presume, be considered by our
readers, as a tedious digression from the main subject.--_Real Life
in London_ cannot be better elucidated, than by uniting incident with
appropriate anecdote, and amidst the perambulations of our respectable
associates, which led them to the ancient and interesting edifice of
Westminster Abbey, it necessarily followed that we should illustrate
the subject, by a brief, yet accurate and interesting account of the
antiquity, et cetera, of the object under consideration.
Having gratified their wishes by a cursory inspection of what their
guides were pleased to denominate “Curiosities,” our two heroes were
on the eve of departure from the Abbey, when Bob begged that the guide