Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-03-17

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Queen Elizabeth's is an alabaster cradl
and effigy of the infant of James l,
little baby sleeping in its alabaste
cradle with pure white coverlet of the
same material. st. Georges Chapel a
Windsor is copy Of this one, anC
though considered very handsome il
not nearly so fine as the original Thi,
completed the interior of the Abbey a:
1t now stands, the only importan
additions made since then having beer
the upper parts of the two western
towers, which were the work of Sil
Christopher Wren. The whole build
ing forms cross. Its extreme length
including Henry the Seventies Chapel
which forms the head of the cross. is
511 feet. Its width across the trancepts
| is 203 feet. The height of the roof is
lO2 feet, a loftiness unusual in English
Churches. Westminster Abbey is SO
surrounded by buildings that the
beauties of its architecture cannot be
seen. st. Margerets Church by its side
is SO near it obstructs the eastern front,
while the western towers are so near to
the great tower" of the Houses of
Parliament that by comparison thew
are lessened. In Westminster Abbey
one thinks not Of the building, the
sacredness Of the place makes the first
impression. The harmony of it's pro-
| portions and the dim religious light of
| the lofty and long drawn aisles leave on
the mind Impressions of grandeur and
solemnity which churches of greater
size fail to inspire. 1t was in the reign
of Henry the Third that the Abbey
began to assume a national character
which now belongs to it so fully. The
| Abbey never possessed bishops
throne except short time in the reign
of Henry VIII and so was not Cathe-
dral in the ordinary sense, but from the
time of Edward l it always contained a
Coronation Chair, beneath the seat of
which is attached the Stone Of Destiny
or sometimes called the "Fatal stone of
ScOne," carried off from Scone bv
Edward l in 1896 The Verger will tell
you as he stops before this Chair, that
this stone was captured by the Scots
| for the Irish at Tara and was the stone
upon which the early Kings of Ireland
were crowned. 1t was brought to
| Ireland by the Phoenicians from the
banks of the Nile and held by them in
the greatest veneration many hundred
years before Christ. The Verger told
us that it was said to be the identical
stone upon which Jacobs head rested
| when he dreamed and beheld the
ladder, the top Of which reached to
heaven, and saw the angels of God
ascending and descending upon it,
There is a saying in England that
England's greatness will depart when
that stone is taken from Westminster
| Abbey. AS one enters the North
| Trancept, the usual main entrance
| sometimes called Statesmen's Corner,
in correspondence with Poets Corner
III the South Trancept, the great
columns of reddish grey sandstone
beautifully f1uted, and the statues and
monuments against the sides of white
marble form most magnificent picture,
enhanced MANIFOLD by the soft light of
the stained glass windows. Every hour
a Nerger is ready to take his tourist
flock through the building unlocking
and locking the iron gates of the differ
ent chambers and stopping before each
tomb or monument to give short
history of it, or else calling ones
attention to some architectural detail,
talking in parrot-like tone of voice,
and telling many interesting stories of
the dear old Abbey. l felt that | could
have fingered there forever. After
passing through the chapels to the left
of st. John the Baptist, full of curious
| old tombs, to st. Paul's chapel crowded
with tombs rich in marble gliding and
colour, you next ascend a small stair
case leading to Edward the Confessor's
Chapel in the rear of the high altar Of
the Abbey. Here in the center of the
chapel is his splendid shrine enriched
with mosaics, priceless jewels and
images of gold and silver, also the tomb
of Eleanor, Queen of Edward I, and
tomb of Henry III besides others too
numerous to mention. Next we entered
Henry Seventies Chapel consisting of
a nave and two aisles and five chapels
at the east end. In the nave are the
dark oaken, canopied stalls of the
knights of the Bath, installed here
with portcullis fruit, flowers, dragons
and angels, and over each stall the
banners of the Knights still hanging
The fan-traceried stone roof is encrust-
ed with roses, knots of flowers,
pendants and armorial bearings. The
walls are covered with sunk panels
with feathered mouldings and in a
profusion of inches are statues of
angels and the royal heraldic devices,
the Tudor rose and fieur-de-lis under
crowns. Eight stained glass windows
light this most magnificent and cele-
brated chapel considered by connois-
seurs as being one of the handsomest
interiors in Europe. Retracing our
steps after making the circuit of this
chapel we enter st. Nicholas chapel
then ST. Edmunds chapel, both
extremely interesting, and containing
tombs of many ancient noblemen,
crusaders and knights, we at last reach