The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-08-08
ARCHAEOLOGY.
Interesting LeeIu bsf,re the English
A. chm 'IOKicai COnKrtss-Westmins insteF
AbbeE ~ q the Tow tr Of 4 OnHnM

As
Tie Archaeological Congress, recently in ses-
sion in London has had some interesting
papers read before them. We extract from thc
proceedings a summary of the papers on
medieval LoDdon;-
THE DEAN OF wEsTMINsrER's LECTURE ON THE
ABBEY.
After the company had assembled in the
Chapter House. the dean delivered lecture o.
the history OF the Abbey. AshVrt time since he
delivered a lecture on the same subject at one
oilthe evening meetings OF the Royal Institution,
in Whicn he noticed generaIly me prlncipai
monuments in the Abbey but on this occasion
he confined his remarks to the burial and moDu
ments of kings. In the previous lecture he had
observed that il was peculiar characteristic OF
the kings of ENGLAND that tney selected their
place OF burial within sight of their palace OF
which practice Russia afforded the only similar
example, Westminster Abbey had seldom been
selected as place for royal marriages, Henry
and Richard II having been the only English
kings married there. II was, however, the
only build ng in Europe in which the corona
tious and the burials OF royal personages took
place.
Edward the Confessor was the first king who
was positively stated to have been buried there,
and It wes some time before hls successor fol-
lowed his example, Tor it was natural that kings
should like to be buried IN the churches they
had founded. After noticing the burial places
OF several OF the kings after Edward, and
adv ertlug to the fact that Westminster Abbey
had been exclusively built by the crown, the
Dean proceeded to mention the great al erations
that were made in the original building by
Henry III, who expended such large sums o
money ON the building that it was one OF the
main causes OF his quarrels with the Para-
ment 1t was the custom at that time, when
rebuilding a church, to sweep away the previ-
Gus structure, and that had been done by Henry
with Edward the Contessors Abbey at West
minister. The shrine, however, OF the Con-
fessor was religiouslv preserved
Henry III intended at one time to have been
| buried in the Temple Church, but as he grew
older his attachment to the Abbey increased,
| and twenty years after his death his body was
| deposited on the spot where his tomb is to be
| seen but his heart was sent to Fontenoy, the
| abbess of the convent there having laid claim to
| 1t, because Henry had once promised that he
| should be buried there. That was the last trace
of the connection Of English kings with Nor
mandy. Henry had made extensive arrange
| ments fer the burial of all the members OF the
| royal family in Westminster Abbey, and be by
that means so completely occupied the Comics.
sOr's Chapel that it afterwards became difficult
| TO find room for the kings who desired to be
| buried there Edward III brought into the
| Abbey the stone of Scoone, and from that time
| it became the place where all the kings of Eng
| land were crowned. 1t had renamed there
ever since, with one remarkable exception
At the installation of Oliver Cromwell the
stone was taken from the Abbey to Westminster
Hall, that Cromwell might SIT upon it while the
| ceremony was performed. The dean mentioned
in succession the kings who had been buried in
Lad been made for the placing of their Cottins
after the chapel of Edward the Confessor had
| been filed. Henry vi was very anxious to find
| place where he could be buried in the Abbey,
and it was proposed to him by the abbot to re-
| move the body OF Henry V; but to that he Oh
iected, saying. "He lies there like noble prince;
let him rest; will not disturb him."
Henry VII built st. GEORGES Chapel at
| Windsor and mausoeum for Henry VI; but
the PIivy Council determined that as that king
had expressed a wish 70 be buried in the Abbey,
his body should not rest at Windsor. conse-
quently Henry VII determined on building the
chapel, now known by his name. as a fitting
burIal.place tor his predecessor. That was the
obit CT or which the chapel was Quilt; but it
is doubtful question, after ALL where Henry
VI was buried. For many wears past no royal
parsonage had been inferred in the Abbey, until
on a recent occasion when it received the body
of the Duke de MOntpensier who, though a
Roman Catholic and a Frenchman. had desired
to haV" hls last resting-place with the kings OF
EngltI I'd.
THE TOWER oF LONDON.
In the evening, Mr.. Hepworth Dixon lectured
at the Jermyn Street Museum, 'On the Tower
of London" SET against the Tower of London,
he said, with its 500 years OF historic life, its
1900 years OF traditional fame, all other palaces
and prisons appear but OF yesterday. The Oldest
bit Of palace in Eulope, the burg in Vienna, Is
OF the time OF Henry III: the Kremn, in MOS.
COW, the Doges' Palazzo, in Venice are of the
Fourteenth Century. The Bastile is gone, and
the Burgello converted into a museum or peace
full a,ts. Vlncennes Spandau, Spilberg, Madge
hnre, all are modern in comparison with the
Jail IN which Ralph Flambard, our unruly
Bishop of Durham, was confined so long ago a:
HOO, the time OF the fist crusade.
Avoiding the ground trodden in the various
special histories and guidebooks, Mr. DiXoI
devoted himself more especially to the most
prominent Of the persona2es who as royalty
guests or prisoners had resided within its walls
beginning with Henry III, who was fond o
living in the Tower, and spent a good deal o
annoyance of his people, in whose eyes it wa
the refuge and weapon of tyrant. 1t was
however, IN the excellent selection OF telllnl
incidents that Mr.. Dixon was most successful
, Take Sir Henry Wyatt as an example. Wya
was Lancasnan in politics, and, under tn,
reign of Richard III, spent not a little of hi
time in the Tower The Wyatt papers tel
us:-'He was imprisoned often; once III
> bed to lie on nor clothes sufficient to warn
I | him, nor meat for his mouth. He ha
starved there had not God who sent a crov
| to feed his prophet. sent this his and hi
} | country's martyr, acat both to feed and warn
I | him. 1t was his own relation unto them iron
> J whom had it. A cat came one day down int
, 4 the dungeon unto him, and, rs 1t were, Offered
> ! herself unto him. He was glad Nfh her, lad he
in his bosom to warm HIM, ard by makIn
! much of her won her love. After this sh
= | would come every day unto him divers times
] | and when she could get one, bring him
! | pigeon. He complained to his keeper of hi
t cold and short fare. The answer was that "H
t "It / can provide any will YOU promise to dres
S it for me?" ~ may, well enough" said h
1.-THE keeper), 'you are safe for that matter.
. And being urged again promised nm
u and kept his promise dressed for him
rom time TO time, such pigeons as his accatO