22 



bedell's tree. 



English Bishops, so he should be the last that jshould be left among 

 them ; and a popish priest, who attended on the occasion, is said to 

 have paid him a tribute of respect and veneration in the following 

 wish : — " 0 sit anima mea cum Bedello!" — " May my soul be with 

 that of Bedell ! " 



The tomb, which marks the spot of the interment, is raised about 

 four feet above the surface of the burying-ground, and is covered by 

 a slab of black sand-stone coarsely carved, bearing at the top the 

 private arms, as I suppose, of the Bishop, not impaled with those of the 

 see, but surmounted by a rudely-formed mitre ; under this a death's 

 head and cross-bones, between an hour-glass and an open book, designed 

 probably for the Bible, and at the bottom this inscription — 



GUILELMI BEDEL 

 QUONDEM KILMORENS 

 IS. EPISCOPI. 

 DEPOSITUM. 



Bishop Burnet says, that " this base inscription " was ordered by 

 Bedell's will ; but it is given by Burnet inaccurately, for he omits the 

 name, and arranges the rest thus : — " Deposiium Gulielmi quondam 

 Episcopi Kilmorensis ; " whereas the inscription, as actually arranged, 

 and as <c spelt by the unlettered muse," was transcribed by me from 

 the tomb-stone as above. 



But this may be thought somewhat beside the scope of the " Field 

 Naturalist." To revert, therefore, to our Sycamore, I will merely add, 

 that its dimensions are these : — 



Feet. Inches. 



Circumference of the trunk on the ground 17 8 



three feet above 14 8 

 eleven feet above 25 0 



At this height, namely, 1 1 feet above the ground, the arms of the 

 tree diverge, being respectively in circumference 1] feet 2 inches; 

 11 feet 3 inches; and 16 feet 4 inches. This last arm, after somewhat 

 more than 3 feet, is again divided into two limbs, one of which being 

 11 feet 7 inches in circumference, passes off laterally in an angle, and, 

 overhanging the adjoining church-yard, forms a canopy for Bedell's 

 tomb. 



The extent of the branches from north to south is 77 feet ; 

 ...... east to west, 69 feet 8 inches ; 



thus covering an area, of which the circumference is about 230 feet. 



