LONDON. 
546 
luflrade, within which is a pavement of Mofaic work, 
made at the charge of abbot Ware, and faid to be the 
molt beautiful in its kind of any in the world. By fome 
Latin verfes it appears, that it is compofed of porphyry, 
and fome other (tones of various colours; and that it was 
laid in the year 1272. This beautiful pavement fuftained 
irreparable injury during a fire, which deftroyed the roof 
of the lantern above it, on the 9th of July, 1803. _ 
On each fide of the altar are marble doors, opening into 
St. Edward’s chapel, where, at the coronation, our kings re¬ 
tire to refreth themfelves;—The chapel of St. Edward the 
Confeflbr is indofed in the body of the church, at the eaft 
end of the choir, and directly behind the altar. The 
principal object in this chapel is the ancient (hrine, erect¬ 
ed by Henry III. to the memory of Edward the Confefl'or, 
the laft of the Saxon race. He died in the year 1066, and 
was canonized in 1269, by pope Alexander III. who if- 
fvied his bull to the abbot Lawrence, and the convent of 
Weftminiter, enjoining, “That his body be honoured 
here on earth, as his foul was glorified in heaven.” A 
bold aflertion indeed, but not fo bad as fome writers 
will have it, viz. that the bull ordered “his foul to be 
glorified in heaven ! 1 ” A cloiftered life was his foie hap- 
pinefs ; and, though married eighteen years to one of the 
mod accompliflied women of her time, daughter to earl 
Godwin, yet it is faid, (lie confefied on her death-bed, 
that he fufl'ered her to live and die a virgin ; a circum- 
Itance not uncommon in thofe days ; and which l'ome- 
times arofe from the folly of the huflxmd, as in the above 
inltance; and fometimes (flill more incredible) when a 
young woman had made an early vow of chaliity, and yet 
complied with the wilh of her friends to marry, as was 
the cafe with St. Cecilia.—This (brine, which was once 
tfteemed the glory of England, is now much defaced and 
neglected. It was compofed of (tones of various colours, 
beautifully enriche'd with all the coft and art that human 
imagination could project; and confifts of three rows of 
arches, the lower pointed, the upper round ; and on each 
fide of the lower is a molt elegant tvvifled pillar; a lamp 
was kept continually burning before it till the breath of 
the reformation put it out. On one fide flood a filver 
image of the Virgin, which, with two jewels of immenfe 
value, was prefented by queen Eleanor, the wife of Hen¬ 
ry III. On the other fide flood another image of the Vir¬ 
gin, wrought in ivory, prefented by Thomas Becket, arch- 
bifhop of Canterbury. To this (brine Edward I. offered 
the regalia and chair in which the kings of Scotland ufed 
to be crowned. About the year 1280, Alphonfo, third 
fon to Edward I. offered here the golden coronet of Lle¬ 
wellyn prince of Wales, and other jewels. The beautiful 
mofaic pavement of this chapel was the performance of 
Peter Cavalini, inventor of that fpecies of ornament. It 
is fupnofed that he was brought into England by the ab¬ 
bot Ware, who vifited Rome in 1256. Weever, in his 
Funeral Monuments, fays; “He brought .from thence 
certain workmen, and rich porphery (tones, whereof he 
made that curious, Angular, rare, pavement before the 
high altar; and with thefe (tones and workmen he did 
alio frame the (hrine of Edward the Confefl'or.” This 
flirine is now fo (tripped as to afford but little fiitisfaftion, 
except to the curious; however, fome of the (lone-work 
with which it was adorned is (till to be feen. This (tone- 
work is hollow within, and now enclofes a large cheff, 
which Mr. Keep, foon after the coronation of James II. 
found to contain the remains of St. Edward ; for, it be¬ 
ing broken by accident, he difeovered a number of bones; 
and, turning them up, found a crucifix richly ornamented 
and enamelled, with a gold chain twenty inches long, 
both which he prefented to the king, who ordered the 
bones to be re-placed in the old coffin, and inclofed in a 
new one made very ftrong, arid bound with iron. 
In this chapel are feveral other memorials of deceafed 
royalty. On the fouth fide of the (brine lies Editha, 
queen to St. Edward, one of the molt accompliflied wo- 
m«n of her age, who furvived her hufband eight years, 
and beheld all the miferies confequent on his dying with¬ 
out ifl'ue. She was however treated w ith great reipect by 
William the Conqueror, who allowed her an apartment 
in his palace at Winchelter, where (lie died, and was in¬ 
terred here by his exprds orders.—On the north fide of 
the chapel is the tomb of Henry III. the pannels of which 
are of poliflied porphyry, furrounded by mofaic work of 
fcarlet and gold. At the corners are twiffed pillars, gilt 
and enamelled ; and upon it is the effigy of that king in 
brafs, gilt, finely executed, and fuppofed to be the fir It 
brazen llatue call in this kingdom. At the feet of Hen¬ 
ry III. is a table-monument ot grey marble, on which 
lies the effigy, of Eleanor, queen to Edward I. Her body 
was interred here, and her heart was placed in the choir 
of the Friars Predicants in London, according to ancient 
and even modern cuftom.—Here is alfo a.large plain cof¬ 
fin of grey marble, compofed of feven (labs ; four of which 
form the (ides, two the ends, and one the cover. This 
rough unpoliflied tomb inclofes the remains of Edward I* 
juft mentioned, who was named in honour o( the Con- 
fefTor, and (urnamed Longfhanks, from liis tall and (lender 
habit of body.—On the fouth fide of this chapel is a black 
marble monument to the memory of Philippa, queen of 
Edward III. to whom (lie was married forty-two years,, 
and bore him fourteen children. Edward beltowed a pro- 
fufion of expenfe on her tomb, round which were placed, 
as ornaments, the brazen ftatues of thirty kings, princes, 
and noble perfonages, her relations. Adjoining to this, 
under a gothic canopy, is the tomb of Edward III. hiUr¬ 
iel f. The effigy of this prince is placed recumbent upon 
a table of grey marble; and, though his tomb is diltinfl 
from that of the queen, yet their bodies were depofited in 
the fame grave, according to her requeft on her death¬ 
bed. Like the former, this tomb is furrounded with lta- 
tues, particularly thofe of his children ; and at the head 
of it are placed the Avoid and ffiield carried before him 
in France. The fword is feven feet long, and weighs 
eighteen pounds.'—Next to this is a tomb erected to the 
memory of Richard II. and his firlt confort Anne ; over 
which is a canopy of wood, remarkable for a curious 
painting, (till vifible upon it, of our Saviour and the Vir¬ 
gin Mary, The robing of his effigy is curioufly wrought 
with peafecods open and the peale out, the badge which 
this prince had adopted for realons we have not been 
able to afeertain.—In this chapel are depofited the coro¬ 
nation-chairs of our kings and queens, the moil ancient 
of which, as has been already mentioned, was brought 
with the regalia from Scotland, by Edward I. in the year 
1297, and offered at the (hrine of St. Edward. Under the 
feat of this chair is a fquare (tone, which, according to 
the Scots tradition, is believed to have been Jacob’s pil¬ 
low. • The other chair was made for Mary II. At the 
coronation, one or both of thefe chairs, as circutnftances 
require, are covered with gold tiflue, and placed before 
the altar, behind which they now ltand.—Along.the frieze 
of the fcreen of this chapel are fourteen legendary bas 
reliefs refpedting the Confeflbr. Thejr fubjeifts are, of 
courfe, of that nature, which, for invention and execu¬ 
tion, may have pleafed our anceltors; but, in our improved 
and enlightened days, a long and minute defeription of 
them would not excite that intereft which was fo lively 
eight centuries ago. We have other objects of wonder 
and belief; and indeed no mean ones. The doubtful 
(lory of a queen of England walking bare-footed among 
burning plough-fliares, (a reprefentation of which forms 
the firlt of thefe legendary fculptures,) vaniffies now, like 
the morning miff before the fun, when compared with 
the miraculous feats of Mifs Jofephine Girardelli. The 
fwallowing of 1 words had its run; and was even leffened in 
the confideration of the curious by the fa£t of a failor hav¬ 
ing, in our time, fwallovved, and, mirabik diElul half digeft- 
ed, more than a dozen of ciafp-kniyes, (fee vol. xi. p. 784) 
But now we are to witnefs, in Bdnd-itreet, the drinking 
of boiling oil and melted lead, the waffling of the hands 
with aqua fortis, walking deliberately upon iron bars in 
the 
