The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-01-09
LONDON.


Some Of the Famous Persons and Institu-
lions Of the British MetrOPOIis-West-
minister Abbey, the Tower OF London,
the British Museum. etc, Described.
london Letter from Licut.-GOy. Holt, of AIichi-
gan.l
In this letter / will give your readers
n short description of few of the per-
SONS and places more particularly in
teTesting to the visitor to London. ]
shall not moralize" over these mat
tiers, or attempt to give any vivid i'm
pressions of the manner in which these
things :" struck me, as 1 am satisfied
that these impressions" and this
" mOralizing" are like 4" artists
sketches taken on the spot, usually
gotten up at some place other than
where they purpOrt to be. l 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 it's arch
itectuTal design, stands upon spot
that has been used for church purposes
for more than 200 years. 1t is said
that a 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 III. removed what there was
remaining of the old churches, and
built a small chapel, which still stands,
and to this Henry VII. added a fine
chapel, which he began in 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
desecratcd for the purpose of obtaining
the valuable contents within, this being
particularly the case under the reign of
Henry VIII. and the PrOtectorate of
Oliver Cromwell About the COM
mencement of the 18th century, Parlia-
ment appointed Sir Christopher Wren
to supeuntend the restoration and i'm
provement of the Abbey, who, it is
needless to say, performed the task in
very satisfactory manner, adding, as he
did, that part of the structure now
known as the west towers, completed in
17O5. The Abbey is 375 feet long from
east to west, and 200 feet wide from
north to south, and although the exte-
riOr is very grand and imposing, the in
terror is the most impressive and inter
esting. [ shall not attempt a descrip-
ton of this wonderful building, struc-
ture that would be regarded as remark
able, even without its historical and
other associations, rs your readers are
already as well acquainted with its APP
pearance as they can be without a per-
sonal inspection.
The most interestingpOTtion, 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 as
the poets Corner" A great number
of this class are buried here who have
monuments, and a 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 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 l visited the Abbey
while in 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 gam admittance here one
must pay a fee and go with a guide
Within this Enclosure are the tombs of
n large number of those who have been
sovereigns of England during the l 200
years preceding the reign of George IL,
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, III reclining position and at
full length. This monument was erect
cd soon after her death, and undoubted-
" is n good representation of the most
remarkable sovereign that ever occupied
the British throne. The features are
very strongly Marked large, full
Roman nose, a forehead high and
broad, and the whole face showing a
great deal of character. That charac-
ter, as shown in history, is certainly a
most perfect combination of opposites-
of greatness and decision with frivOlity
and tickleness generosity and benevo-
lence, with parsimOny and meanness.
But taking her reign altogether, proba-
bly, there never was one so beneficial to
the interests and general prosperity of
the British nation as that of "good
Queen Bess, perhaps that of Queen
Victoria only excepted.
A relic of the past that attracts as
much attention as almost anything Mt
the Abbey is the old Coronation Chair.
This was made about GOO years ago by
Edward l., and enclose dunder the seat is
the coronation stone of Scotland preyi-
ously used at the coronation of . the
sovereigns of that country" 1t is q
large, high-backed chair made of wood
upon which various designs are carved
for the most part, however, the work Ii
rather rudely done. This chair hai
been used at the coronation of all thu
sOvereigns of England since the time /
was made, this ceremony being always
performed Mt Westminster Abbey. W.
will now proceed to
TIE TOWER,
ard viii not detain your readers will
its history except by saying that it wa
built about 700 years since by William
the COuquerOr, with the intention tina
il should be used as a means of defens,
against foreign invasion by way of tn,
river Thames, and at the san,
time serve as a royal residence tina
should be strong enough to afford hin
protection from the assaults of hi,
Saxon subjects whom he had subjuRate,
but short time before, The mai