St. Mary's beacon., 1862-08-21
From the Transcript.
st. Pauls Cathedral-Tower of London

The four Indian Kings VIII" visited Eng.
land many years ago. have left on REGARD
the following description Of Saint Paul.
Cathedral. ''On the most rising part oi
the town thcr" stands huge house biz
enough to hold the whulc nation of which
am King. Our good brother, the King
of the Rivers. il of opinion it was made
hy the hais,ls If the great God to whom il
j. c ,ssrcratrd. The Kings of Gransiah
and "f the six nations believe that it was
created with the earth aud produced on Che
game day with the sun and moon Ira
diti"n says it was designed for men to pay
their dcvo,ions in-but upon going into
the holy house. when the people were rs.
scmblrd. [ could not observe any circum-
stance of dev"tion in their behaviour.
There was indeed man in black who was
mounted above the rest. and who seemed
to utter something with a great seal Of
vchcucncr; but as for those underneath
him, instead Of paying their devotion to
the deity. they were most of them bowing
and c",irtrsy!iig to oir another ani n con-
siderable number Of them fast asleep -
From the shrcw.lness which marks th-
closing part "f the d">cri ptinn, I was pre-
pared to find something, possessing the
same evidence @: w"n.lr"u< power, which
struck the savage Kings, as Of the same
iiandiw"rk with the sun and moon. In
addition to this testimony | had crossed
the Atlantic with n young Engli.hman.
VIII" never wcari"d Of dcscanting upon the
marvels of this. the greatest wonder even
within that circle "f C"ckney's ad"ration,
the sound Of the famous Bow lis. lie
carried n large epy-glass under his arm.
and supposed he had spicd out the
nakcdncss aud fullness Of Sir Christopher
Wrcn'< great work. as he certainly let
noIhing go unseen on shipbcard for lack
Of bcing Looked after The reader may
.h.r imagine my disappointment. when I
stopd in the full presence Of this huge pile.
aud found noshing to Inspire either awe
or wonder; nothing to brget even rever-
ence. save the soft religious light" ."
which fell on nave and transcpt. and the
Whispered litany which reached my ears
from q remote corner Of the church where
tie children of one of the schools were
perfOrming the services of the morning
Th. re- is q barrncss, an utter absence Of
ornament about the pl.cc which leaves an
impression of Dir. ariness upon the brholdcr
and as stood there ia the chill Of a
March, morning. in the midst of that great
waste of stone and mortar, aud listened to
the scarce audible devotions from the
chapel. | did not wonder that the voice
even of religi"u. was SO nearly hushed. in
the presence Of SO much gloom aud chilli
ness. At the top Of the edifice is large
balustradc, which ilnparts to that portion
of the building an exceedingly clumsy sp-
pearance. Sir Christopher Wren. it is
said, olj. cted seriously to this invasion Of
his plan; and remarked when the building
commissioners forced him into compliance.
That he never designed balustrade, but
that Ladies' think noihing well without an
e.iging." Ano,h~r very great defect. the
eide oratories, was also an innovation upon
Wren's original drsign-they were added
BY order Of the Duke Of York afterwards
James I'D who desired 10 have them rsa-
dy for the Catholic service This altera-
tion narrows the building, and r"hs i,
W. CSSh va "ou
immcnsi.y which alone would render it
iusposing. Sir Christopher is sai6 to have
wept when compelled to make this change
ny his royal aud priestly master. The
choir End golden gallery. 60 far to redeem
from c"nd,.m ,a,ion, the part Of the church
they SO truly adorn. The latter was gilt
a. the expense of Pspe's sober Lanesbo-
rough dancing with the gout." The choir
is an eslui>ite piece If work. and the rich
foliage carved by Gibbons. has nothing
superior TO it. as a rare specimen of taste
and sss. excepting perhaps the beautiful
and marvellous trscery of the Monks a,
Me!resc Abbey. Some Of the monuments
considered as mere works of art. are worth
observing: and many are made additional
" interesting. from the illnstrious persons
they are designed to commcmoratc. Ia
the Crypt rcpnse after ''life's ftful fever
10 over. several of tho great heroes. whose
names and deeds shed such enduring lus-
Ire upon the proud annals Of their times.