Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1873-12-13

Some of the Famous Persons and InstitU-
tiOns of the British hMetrOpoIis-Wcst-
minister Abbey, the Tower OF London,
the British Museum, etc. Described.
ILondon Letter from Lieut.-Goy Holt, OF NIichi-
ganl
In this letter / will give your readers
short description of few of the per-
SONS and places more particularly in
teresting to the visitor to London. |
shall not moralze" over these mat
ters, or attempt to give any vivid i'm
pressions of the manner in which these
things struck" me, as | am satisfied
that these impressions" and this
" moralizing" are like " artist S
sketches taken on the spot, usually
gotten up at some place other than
where they purport to be. [ will de-
scribe the places in the order in which
visited them, commencing with
WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
This building, which is perhaps the
most interesting of all places to be Wis
tied by the tourist, remarkable as it is,
not only for the great body of illustri-
Gus dead who have found their last
resting place within its walls, but also
for the wonderful perfection of its arch
ittSpuIe oNSiSii, ''''iiNt' floli a. 'loU
that has been used for church purposes
that Il church was built here long be-
fore the time of Alfred the Great, which
was destroyed and rebuilt several times
before the present structure was erect
ed. Henry Ill removed what there was
remaining of the old churches, and
built small chapel, which still stands,
and to this Henry VII. added fine
chapel, which he began i'll 1902, which is
known as the "chapel of Henry VII"
From this time until the reign of Will
lam and Mary, nothing was done
toward improving the Abbey, but, in
stead of this, many of the tombs were
desecrated for the purpose of obtaining
the valuable contents within, this being
particularly the case under the reign of
Henry VIII and the Protectoratc of
Oliver Cromwell. About the COM
mencement of the 18th century, Parlia-
ment appointed Sir Christopher Wren
to superintend the restoration and i'm
provement of the Abbey, who, it is
needless to say, performed the task i'll
very satisfactory manner, adding, as he
did, that part of the structure now
known as the west towers, completed in
1705. The Abbey is 375 feet long from
east to west, and 200 feet wide from
north to south, and although the exte-
rlor is very grand and imposing, the in
terror is the most impressive and inter
esting. | shall not attempt descrip-
tion of this wonderful building, a struc-
ture that would be regarded as remark
able, even without its historical and
other associations, as your readers are
already as well acquainted with its APP
pearance as they can be without per-
sonal inspection.
The most interesting portion, perhaps,
of the Abbey is that where lie buried,
and where monuments are erected to the
memory of, the poets and other illustri-
GUS dead OF England, usually known us
the Poets Corner" A great number
of this class are buried here who have
monuments, and Il great many monu-
ments are also erected here to this class
of persons who are buried elsewhere, so
that altogether there is an immense
number of memorials of various kinds
in the Abbey. The grave of Charles
Dickens is to be seen among the few
who can now attain Il last resting place
within these celebrated walls. 1t is
now more than three years since
Dickens died, and ON each of the occa-
sions on which / visited the Abbey
while i'll London, his grave was strewn
with fresh flowers, an act undoubtedly
performed by some of his admirers
fact not noticeable at any of the other
graves.
The part of the Abbey in which roy
atty reposes is inclosed in an iron rail
ing, and to gain admittance here one
must pay a fee and so with a gui le
Within this inclosure are the tombs of
large number of those who have been
sovereigns of England during the /, 200
years preceding the reign of George H., ,
he having been the last one buried
here. George III. and those subse-
quent to him, were buried at Windsor
Castle.
was more particularly interested in
examining the monument of Queen
Elizabeth. 1t is of white marble, She
is represented in the style of dress of
that day, in reclining position and at