LON 
the full perfection of incandefcence ; and therefore are ready 
to exclaim with the high prieft in the Athalia of Racine, 
Et quel temps fut jamais plus fertile cn miracles! Whillt fome 
thoufands of our cotemporaries are at this moment gaping 
in all the ardour of hope, the heat of deiire, and the com¬ 
placency of confidence, for a fecond birth of the Medial)! 
To return to our furvey. We next vi(it the chapel of 
Henry the Fifth, which is feparated from that of St. Ed¬ 
ward only by an iron fereen, on each fide of which are 
images as large as life, guarding, as it were, the ftaircafe 
afeending to the chantry over it. In it is his monument, 
which is of black marble, furrounded with iron rails and 
gates ; and on it is placed his liatue made of heart of oak; 
but the head, with the feeptre and regalia, being of filver, 
were Itolen, according to the account of the guides, in 
the time of Oliver Cromwell. The beautiful gothic in- 
clofure of this tomb was erefted by Henry VII. in com¬ 
pliment to his illu(trious relation and predecelTor; but he 
paid lefs refpeft to the memory of his grandmother, Ca¬ 
tharine, the relift of this prince, who was interred in the 
Chapel of the Virgin. When Henry VII. ordered that 
to be pulled down to make way for his own magnificent 
chapel, he neglefted her remains, which he fuffered to be 
carelefsly flung into a wooden cheft, and removed into 
this chapel. The reafon was, (lie had difgraced herlelf by 
marryinga private gentleman, after having been the wife of 
the conqueror of France. On each fide of this chapel is a wind¬ 
ing ftaircafe, inclofed in a turret of iron-work, the tops of 
which fpread into roofs of uncommon elegance. Thefe 
flairs lead to a chantry, over the chapel, from which the 
inner part of the Confefl'or’s flirine can be feen. Here are 
a helmet, (hield, and laddie, which are believed to be 
thofe uled by Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt, and 
brought here, as the cuftom was, at his funeral. The va¬ 
rious models defigned by fir Chriltopher Wren and other 
eminent architefts, which had remained for many years 
in an obfeure part of this church, were brought here in 
1779. The feftion of the abbey, with the fpire, as de¬ 
figned by fir Chriltopher, is greatly admired. 
Around the chapel of St. Edward are nine chapels, be- 
fidesthatof Henry the Seventh, which appear not to have 
been comprehended in the original plan of the building, 
though they were erefted by Henry III. Beginning at 
the north crofs, and palling round to the fouth, they are 
in the following order: St. Andrew’s; St. Michael’s; St. 
John the Evangelitt’s; Iflips’s, or St. John the Baptili’s ; 
St. Erafmus’s ; St. Paul’s; St. Nicholas’s; St. Edmund’s, 
and St. Benedift’s. Thefe chapels, with the whole of the 
area, the aides, the nave, and the north and fouth erodes, 
are filled with fuch a wildernefs of monuments, that it 
would require a volume to give the deferiptions of them 
all; we lhall therefore confine ourfelves to noticing fome 
of the molt remarkable. 
In St. Michael’s chapel is a monument to the memory of 
Jofeph Gafcoigne Nightingale and his lady, which is one of 
the capital performances of that great matter in fculpture, 
Roubiliac, and is vilited and admired by all judges of ele¬ 
gance and ingenuity. Above isreprefented a lady expiring 
in the arms of her hulband ; and beneath, (lily creeping 
from a tomb, the king of terrors prefents his grim vifage, 
pointing his unerring dart to the dying figure, at which 
light the hulband, (truck with attonilhmenr, horror, and 
defpair, endeavours to ward off the fatal ftroke from the 
diftrefl'ed objeft of his care.—If we are not miftaken, there 
is in the church of St. Sulpice at Paris, a monument of 
one of the Harcourt or Harecourt family, which prefents 
nearly the fame animated and beautifully-allegorical theme : 
the Ikeleton of death is dragging down a beloved objeft to 
the grave, while the furviving one ftrives to keep him off. 
In the centre of the chapel of St. John the Evangelilt 
is a curious monument, erefted to the memory of fir 
Francis Vere, a gentleman well lkilled both in learning 
and arms ; but, being brought up from his youth in the 
camp, he dedicated his fludy to the art of war, in which 
DON. 547 
he was equalled by few, and not excelled by any. The 
monument is a table, fupported by four knights kneeling; 
on which lie the feveral parts of a complete lu it of armour; 
and underneath the effigy of fir Francis, in a loofe gown, 
lying on a quilt of alabafter. He died in the fifty-fourth 
year of his age, on the 28th of Auguft, 1608.—In former 
times, there were many ancient monuments in this chapel, 
of which only- one is now remaining. It has the figure 
of an abbot, in his pontifical habit, curioufiy engraved 
on brafs, reprefenting John de Eaftrey, who died on the 
4th of March, 1498. By the records of the church, lie 
appears to have been a great benefaftor to it. He adorned 
the weft window with many grand paintings on glafs, a 
fmall part of which Hill remains : he built the fereen to 
this chapel, and prefented two images, gilt, for the altars 
of St. Peter and St. Paul; and one for the Chapter-houfe. 
In breaking up the grave in the year 1706, the body of 
this abbot was difeovered in a coffin quilted with yellow 
fatin, drefled in a gown of crimfon filk, fattened round 
his waift with a black girdle. On his legs were white (Ilk 
(lockings, and over his face a clean napkin, doubled up 
and laid corner-ways. The face was in fome degree dis¬ 
coloured, but the legs and arms were firm. We could 
quote many fafts of this nature, as to the long preferva- 
tion of dead bodies under peculiar circumftances ; but 
we need only refer to that of king Charles I. at p. 361 of 
this article. 
In the chapel of Iflip are two monuments deferving of 
notice ; that of John Iflip, abbot of Weltminfter, and 
founder of this chapel, and that of fir Chriftopher Hatton. 
—Klip’s monument is a plain marble tabic, fupported by 
four pillars of brafs : above it, on the roof, was formerly 
a fine painting of our Saviour on the crofs ; which was 
deftroyed in Cromwell’s time by the puritans, who, think¬ 
ing they poflefied the “inward and fpiritual grace,” were 
enemies to every “ outward and vifible fign.” Iflip was 
employed by Henry VII. in decorating his new chapel, 
and in repairing and beautifying the whole abbey, to 
which he added feveral embelliffiments, efpecially the lia- 
tues of our kings along the buttrefies. He alfo projefted 
a mod fuperb dome, or lantern, to be erefted in the centre 
of the crofs; but the pillars were found too weak to fup- 
port it. His own chapel he dedicated to St. John the 
Baptill; and died the fecond of January, in the year 1310. 
—The other monument is to the memory of fir Chritto- 
pher Hatton, (a defeendant of fir Chriltopher Hatton, 
who was chancellor of England in the reign of queen 
Elizabeth.) According to the infeription, he died on the 
toth of September, 1619. He is reprefented with his 
lady under a handfome and well-wrought canopy, in the 
centre whereof is a fcroll with their arms held up by naked 
boys. A curious conceit, and not a bad one, accompanies 
thefe two little figures : the one over the knight holds the 
hymeneal torch put out and reverfed, to (how that fir 
Chriltopher died firft ; the other holds his torch ereft and 
burning over the lady, to fignify that (lie furvived him. 
To pleafe the curious and gaping multitude, in a chan¬ 
try over this chapel are fome oaken preffes, containing 
the effigies in wax of queen Elizabeth, king William and 
queen Mary, queen Anne, general Monk, the earl of 
Chatham, See. But we really think that, in the prefent 
day, fuch an exhibition might be difmiifed to the neigh¬ 
bourhood of Temple Bar, to increafe the flock of the ce¬ 
lebrated Mrs. Salmon. However, a fimilar exhibition of 
crowned heads was ffiown at St. Denis in France ; and it 
mutt be confefied that the cuttom of keeping waxen images 
of departed fovereigns, noblemen, and heroes, has been 
confecrated by high antiquity, fince it goes back to the 
Auguftan age, and indeed one or two centuries before 
the Chriftian aera. The funeral obfequies of the great, in 
ancient times, were fo conftantly adorned with thefe waxen 
effigies, that the word imagines became fynonymous with 
nobility ; and when, they were well executed, they really 
feemed to fmile at the power of death. 
Againii. 
