20 WILD FLOWERS. 



was raised. The seed of life, the soul of the man, 

 had passed away from the world, and the mask of 

 royalty, the badges of power and pomp, were left 

 behind as earthly heritages to his successors. Rarely 

 indeed does the sculptured shield, or the marble 

 tomb convey its lessons to us with such dignity as 

 in that empty broom-pod ! 



Too often we discover, on examination, that 

 any lessons we may derive from such, arise from 

 the instinctive promptings of our own hearts, from 

 the spontaneous whispering of the mind, which 

 revolts from its solemn and empty pomp. In the 

 present instance, however, it is the monument it- 

 self that speaks. Or rather it is the spirit of the 

 sculptor, which freeing itself from the trammels of 

 "custom," " being dead, yet speaketh/' Extinguished 

 torches, mourning angels, and other rude, and to 

 say the least of them, not very christian-like 

 emblems of death, we have in abundance on our 

 tombs ; emblems, which can neither be pleasing to 

 the survivors, nor suitable to those whom they have 

 lost. But to this kingly, though in some respects 

 barbarous memorial, I would direct the attention 

 of our student sculptors and heralds : if the first 

 would learn the force of truth in design, or the 

 last would see how 'moral dignity may be im- 

 parted to the blazoned shield. Few, I think, can 

 have entered, for the first time and with unpre- 

 judiced feelings, the solemn precincts of West- 

 minster Abbey, or any other of our cathedrals, 

 without feeling shocked and pained beyond ex- 

 pression by the heathen monuments which, with 



