554 LON 
Through a certain policy of the vergers or of thofe un¬ 
der whole orders they a< 5 l, the public has been long ex¬ 
cluded from the chapels, and the aides which furrcund 
the choir; but, till lately, the nave and the monuments 
which it contains were (fill acceffible to public curiofity ; 
and we remember the time when, from Poets’ Corner to 
the other part of the tranfept, we could freely indulge in 
meditative contemplation upon the havock death has made 
among our worthies : the weft door was kejft open from 
morning till dufk. But now, that policy has (hut us out 
almolt entirely from the abbey. Poets’ Corner and a few 
yards of the fffluth aide are the only places of free admit¬ 
tance ; and it is curious to fee the cicerones of funebrious 
exhibition running after their cuftomers, and keeping a 
vigilant eye upon ftrangersand ftragglers, left they (hould 
fteal into thefe facred abodes without paying their one- 
and-ninepence, the prefent fee to fee the tombs. 
In that little nook of the Couth aide, we have remarked, 
among others, two new but fmall mementos in white mar¬ 
ble.—The firft is to the worthy Ifaac Watts, D.D. A 
tablet with a plain infcription, containing his name; the 
time of his birth, July 17, 1674; and of his death, Nov. 
2.5, 1748; is furmounted by a very ftriking likenefs of 
this celebrated man, who was at once a profound phi- 
lofopher, a refpedable divine, and an elegant poet. Un¬ 
der the infcription is a fort of medallion alludve to his 
poetical genius, well dedgned and executed by Mr. Banks: 
but we are forry to find, that, though placed, as it was 
fuppofed, out of the reach of boys, the delicacy of the 
figures has yielded to the deftruffive hands of carelefl- 
nefs or wantonnefs. The head of the Genius who feemed 
to infpire the writer, has been knocked oft'.—Nearly op- 
pofite, half hidden from fight by the prominence of the 
pillar and the cartouche o f another monument, we find the 
bull of Pafchale Paoli, with a long epitaph. This Cor- 
fican, who, in his time made foine noife, and was mod 
benevolently treated by our monarch, was, we underftand, 
the godfather of another Corfican, who has likewife made 
a very great noife in the world ; and, after fwaying nearly 
the whole of the continent of Europe, is now quiet in the 
neighbouring ifland of Elba, where, like the empty (hell 
of a bomb after its explofion, he remains Client; but, per¬ 
haps at a future time he may again rife, again aftonifh 
and terrify, and then fink for ever into oblivion.—Under 
the tablet which contains the infcription, is a fmall (hield 
furmounted with a ducal coronet. The bearing is a dex¬ 
ter arm in armour holding a (word. Whether thefe are 
family-arms, or a device adopted by Paoli, we have not 
been able to afcertain. Why the ducal coronet (hould be 
there, is, to us, another problem ; upon which we can 
only remark, that, in general, the coronet commonly let 
upon arms in Italy and Come other foreign countries, re- 
fembles the ducal coronet of the Englifh blazon. 
On the north fide of the entrance into the choir is a 
beautiful monument erefted to the great fir Ifaac New ton. 
He is reprefented in a recumbent polture, leaning his right 
arm on four books, thus titled : Divinity, Chronology, 
Optics, and Phil. Prin. Math, and pointing to a fcroll 
fuoported by winged cherubs. Over him is a large globe, 
projecting from a pyramid behind, whereon is delineated 
the courle of the comet in 1680, with the figns, conftel- 
lations, and planets. On this globe fits the figure of 
Aftronotny, with her book (hut, and in a thoughtful and 
compofed mood. Beneath the principal figure is a molt 
curious relief, reprefenting the various labours in which 
fir Ifaac chiefly employed his time ; fuch as difeovering 
the caufe of gravitation, fettling the principles of light 
and colours, and reducing the coinage to a determined 
Itandard. The device of weighing the fun by the lteel- 
yard, has been thought at once hold and ftriking ; and, 
indeed, the whole monument does honour to the (culptor. 
1 he infcription on the pedeltal is in Latin, fliort, but full 
of meaning ; and intimates, that, by a fpirit nearly divine, 
be folved, on principles of his own, the motion and figure 
of the planets, the paths of the comets, and the ebbing 
1% O N. 
and flowing of the fea ; that he difeovered the diffimila- 
rity of the rays of light, and the properties of colours 
from thence arifing, which none but himfelf had ever 
thought of; that he was a diligent, wife, and faithful, 
interpreter of nature, antiquity, and the holy feriptures ; 
that by his philofophy he maintained the dignity of the 
Supreme Being ; and, by the purity of his life, the fim- 
plicity of the gofpel. He was born on the 25th of De¬ 
cember, 1642-; and died on the 20th of March, 1726-7. 
See the article Newton.— 'On the other fide of the en¬ 
trance into the choir is a magnificent monument, erefled 
to the memory of James earl of Stanhope; the principal 
figure of which reprefents the earl leaning upon his arm, 
in a cumbent pofture, holding in liis right hand a gene¬ 
ral’s (faff, and in his left a parchment fcroll. Before him 
(lands a boy reding upon a (hield. Over a martial tent 
fits a beautiful Pallas, holding in her right hand ajavelin, 
and in the other a fcroll. On the middle of the pedeftal 
are two medals, and one on each fide the pilafiers. Under 
the principal figure is a Latin infcription, feiting forth the 
merits of this great man as a foldier, a ftatefman, and a 
fenator. He died in 1721, in the 47th year of liis age.— 
Thefe two monuments at the entrance of the choir, and 
appearing each a companion to the other, are certainly a 
great ornament to the nave of the abbey : they prefent 
thernfelves to the view as foon as you enter the weft door, 
and produce a grand effect. 
Near the gate leading to the chapels is a handfome me¬ 
morial of the celebrated Dr. Bufby. On it is the figure 
of the doctor, in his gown, looking earneftly on the in¬ 
fcription. In his right hand he holds a pen, and in his 
left a book open. Underneath, on the pedeftal, are a va¬ 
riety of books, and at the top his family-arms. The in¬ 
fcription is elegantly written, and highly to his praife : 
it intimates, that whatever fame the fchool of Weltmin- 
fler boafls, and whatever advantages mankind (hall reap 
from thence in time to come, are all principally owing to 
the wife inftitu.tions of this great man. See the article 
Busby, vol. iii. p. 515. 
And now, having deferibed the principal monuments in 
this part, we (hall return to Henry the Seventh’s chapel, 
which, as has been already mentioned, is a diftinfl build¬ 
ing from the abbey. This chapel, which is ftyled by Le- 
land the Wonder of the World, is fituated to the eaft of 
the abbey; to which it is fo neatly joined, that, on a fu« 
perficial view', it appears to belong to the fame building. 
It is fupported without by fourteen Gothic buttrefles, all 
beautifully ornamented, and projecting from the building 
in different angles; and is lighted by a double range of win¬ 
dows, that throw the lightintofuch an advantageousdifpo- 
fition,asatoncetopleale theeyeand infpire reverence. The 
buttrefles extend up to the roof, and are made tollrengthen 
it by their being crowned with gothic arches. In thefe 
buttrefles are niches, in which formerly flood a number of 
ftatues; but, being greatly decayed, they have been Jong 
taken down. We have already noticed the repairs which 
are going on at this moment. 
The entrance to this edifice is from the eaft end of the 
abbey, by a flight of fteps of black marble, under a very 
noble arch that leads to the gates opening to the body or 
nave of the chapel; for, like a cathedral, it is divided into 
a nave and fide aides, to which there is a paflage by a door 
on each fide. The gates, at the entrance of the nave, are 
of brafs frame-work, curioufly wrought, and have, in 
every open pannel, a rofe and portcullis alternately. Being 
entered, the eye is naturally directed to the lofty ceiling, 
which is wrought with fuch aftonifliing variety of figures 
as almoft to exceed defeription. The ftalls are of brown 
wainfeot, with gothic canopies, moft beautifully carved, as 
are the feats, with ftrange devices; more particularly the 
carving under the feats, which are monflrous reprelenta- 
tions of beads, in a fimilar ftyle with the buttrefles, as no¬ 
ticed at p. 545.—The pavement is of black and w hite mar¬ 
ble, laid at the charge of Dr. Kiliigrew, once prebendary 
of this abbey, as appears from two inferiptions, one on a 
brafs 
