The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-09-21
The Grotesque Images Of Heroes Stored
Away In Westminster Abbey.

The Grotesque Images Of Heroes Stored
Away In Westminster Abbey.
Years ago flight of narrow stone steps
led to the oratory above tho chapel, but
these have long since been covered with
wood, and the oratory ii used as storage
place for the famous wax efiigies, the least
grotesquo and best preserved Of which may
still be seen there These wax statues are
the mcmontos Of strange old time ccro-
mony, Long ago, when great man or
woman died, it was the custom to model
representation Of the deceased, dressed as
in life, which was carried in the funeral
procession. After the burial the cfiigy was
set up in church as a temporary monu-
ment, One odd feature of the practice was
that during the time that tho cfltsy was
on exhibition 1t was customary to atliX to
it by means of paste or pins, short poems
or epitaphs complimentary to tie person
represented In the case Of sovereign the
satUc was usually left In position for q
month only, though after Charles II died
his Wax figure stood for two centuries oycl
his tomb in the chapel of Horny VII ana
was the only monument he had.
The royal efilgics here in Westminster
date bacl, TO the fourteenth century, but
all Of the oldest ores IRE 60 Inutilatcd and
defaced that they are not shown Many
of them were Of wood and have keen wall
tonly stripped Of the rich garments which
they were About a dozen of the later lIg
urcs ure still preserved, each standing
stiilly in glass case by itself, and dccked,
as they are, in faded silk and furnished
tinsel, they form so startling a contrast to
bat al p,lN1 nm l,r
tombs below that it seems rs ii the com
ing up OF this one short flight of steps had
translated the visitor from the consecrated
atmosphere Of tho abbey into the vulgar
air Of Nine. Tussaud's establishment
The Oldest ngurc here is that Of Charles
H. 1t is dressed in the blue ana red velvet
robes Of the Garter, trimmed with superb
old point lace by his side, in another
case, Is figure Of General Monk clad in
armor Tho Mead Of the figure Ia now bare,
but 1t originally wore the famous cap men
toned in the "Ingoldsby Legends"
thought on Easeby. Msrston Moor and
Worcoster's GROWING fight,
When on mine car sound there fell, 1t flied
me with alright,
As thus in low, uneHrthly tones, heard I"
voice begin:
"GAis here's Ike cop Of Gen'ral Monkl Sir
please put summat IN.
In the last century the vergcrs, when
showing these figures to visitors, came to
use this cap AS u gentle hint that their
none too largo wages might be acceptably
increased by small coin dropped into it
Goldsmith, who has recorded an account
of his visit to the abbey, says Of this cap,
in m account Of q conversation with thu
verger who was his guide: Pray, friend,
what might this cap have cost originally"
"That, sir" says he; ~ don't know, but
this cap. Is all the wages have for my
trouble
The two latest figures, those Of the Earl
OF Chatham and Admiral Nelson, were un-
questionably put in by the officers of the
abbey merely for show purposes, to in.
crease the attractlveness of the exhibit.
That Of Lord Nelson is interesting from
the fact that it is dressed i'll Ii suit Of
clothes which the admiral once wore
Thorc seems good reason to believe this tC
be true, since, when Maclise borrowed tn,
figure as q model while he was painting
his famous painting, Death of Nelson,
he found attached to the lining of the hal
the eye patch without which the admiral
who was blind in one eye, never appeared
Nelson is buried in ST. Paul's in spite Of
his famous cxhOrtation to his men at the
battle Of Cape st. Vincent whcrc he cried
Westminster abbey or glorious victory
Max bennett Thra6her in st, Nicholas.