The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-10-01
OLD WORLD TOPICS.
a Grand Cathedral
Going Up in
London.
MRS. kINGSCOTE'S RARE GIFT.
Story Of Shrewd Men Who
We're Ruined by an
# Adventures.
MRS. kINGSCOTE'S RARE GIFT.

One of the most remarkable religious
buildings Of the age is the Westmin-
ster cathedral, now in process of cree
ton in London. For four years an ar
my Of workmen have been laboring on
thedmmense edifce. the walls of which
have risen to two-thirds Of their ulti-
mate height. The cathedral is situated
dust east of Victoria station and few
minutes walk from Westminster alb
hey When completed it will be a
building that travellers from far and
near will come To see In the opinion
or an able writer who draws attention
to the mighty church, in the New York
Press, 1T Is the most significant and
SSostly structure in England, and per-
haps in the world"
Three cardinal archbshops of West
minister have been concerned in the
work Wiseman, who originated the
project; Manning, who received it af-
TER some years of inactivity, and
Vaughan, who is now pressing it for
ward with the utmost activity and en-
thusiasm.
The cathedral is planned to surpass
IN area, in height and in general di-
mensions all other cathedrals in Eng
land. Its 60-foot nave will be half as
wide again as st. Paul's, and its floor
space Of 1900 square feet will be 1000
more feet than that of Canterbury ca
fhedral According to its projectors,
tne cathedral is to be what Edward,
the confessor, intended Westminster
ABBEY to be, and not as the abbey and
st. PauFs have become, a national
pantheon, where the dust of England
heroes may be laid to rest, and where
monuments to their honor usurp the
spaces intended for chapels and holy
shrines'
Westminster cathedral will stand on
historic ground, four churches having
previously occupied It's site, the first
being Christian basilica worshiped in
by Celtic natives of pre-Saxon times.
Vhe architect of the cathedral is an
Englishman, J. F. Bentley, who has al
ready designed several beautiful
churches. He made plans for the
Westminster building after years of
study and extensive travel His final
judgment was to make the cathedral a
basilica" and build 1t on the plan of
the earliest Roman churches which fol-
lowed the arrangement of the great
imperial halls Of justice and commerce
of Ancient Rome.
In construction it will embody three
innovations-the use of iron will be
avoided, cement will be used in place
OF mortar and all the coverings are Of
concrete. In his plans, the architect
has remembered that he is building, if
not for eternity, at least for ages, and
has decided to avoid the employment
OF iron, for wherever there is iron there
Will be some expansion under heat, and
he will trust entirely to concrete made
or cement and broken brick Ten mil
non bricks thus far have been laid, and
IN such durable fashion that nothing
put an earthquake could disturb them.
On the right of the main entrance to
the cathedral will rise the great tower.
or campanile, to a height of $50 feet. so
feet higher than the cupola of st.
Pauls and feet higher than the Lon
don fire monument.
The columns supporting the arches.
each a single stone, most of them yo-
tive offerings, are of great beauty and
infnitS variety
One Of the objects aimed at in the
building of this cathedral has been a
perfect presentation of the Catholic lit
urgy. The immense nave, in its deco
rations. will tell the history of the
church from the beginning. The
scenes will be in Mosaic, the work of
Ludovico Seitz. the italian artist. Each
scene will be Is feet by IL, and there
will be 10 scenes on a side The cibo-
ria will be of marble richly carved.
with angels watching the door. The
choir of monks will not be inclosed with
screens. but win be visible high above
the nave. from the moment that the
entrance door is reached. The altar.
covered by a wide-domed canopy, will
stand between the monks choir and
the nave. The triforium galleries are
supported on columns and arches, and
resemble the arrangement of st.
Marks, Venice, and the round church
of st. Vitale, in Ravenna. An inge-
NOUS system of passages from end to
end Of the entire building provides for
communication on occasion of crowded
congregations.
Immediately in the rear of the cathe-
dral and practically forming part of
1t, two other buildings are rising. One
is to be Cardinal Vaughan's residence
and the other is to be a monastery to
be occupied by the monks who will
serve in the cathedral
Every nerve is being strained by those
in charge to complete the shell Of the
main structure by September, 190O-the
golden jubilee of the restored HER
archy Of England-when it is intended
to dedicate the cathedral with cere-
monies OF the most impressive kind.
Three hundred years, it is said will
not suffice for the completion of the
cathedral in full detail, and its cost will
amount to fully $4,000, 900.
A most amazing instance of alleged
hypnotism has Just stirred up fashion
able England, r 1t is the case of Mrs.
Kingscote, who is said to be a descend
ant of England's famous premier, Sir
Robert Walpole. She has resorted to
the devices of the orient to compel men
to do her bidding She has involved
several shrewd and wide-awake men OF
the world in financial ruin, and.
strange though it seems. they all deny
there was anything in the shape Of
blackmail practiced upon them They
admitted in court that in some nys-
terious way they had found themselves
forced to do the woman's bidding, and
after they had given her all they pos
sessed. that they had been compelled,
in some mysterious fashion, to sign
notes in her behalf. which they had no
hopes of ever being able to meet. They
knew it meant certain bankruptcy for