from this great height embraced an area of many miles, yet so great is the magnitude of London, that as far as the eye could reach extended one vast sea of roofs and chimneys, sprinkled here and there with spires and steeples. After enjoying for some time the magnificent view that lay before me, I began to descend, and though usually considered a rapid pedestrian, it took me nearly ten minutes to reach the floor. I should think the distance, by the winding stairs, must be a quarter of a mile. After viewing the main building, I was taken into the vaults below, where lie the mortal remains of Lord Nelson, Lord Collingwood, and many others. As I followed the guide beneath the ponderous arches, (the abutments of some of which are upwards of twenty feet in diameter, and of solid stone,) with the monuments of death around me, where all was dark as midnight and still as the grave, as the light flickered dimly from his dirty lantern, I could almost imagine myself in Popish clutches, about to be led before a bloodthirsty inquisitor, from whom I could expect no mercy, and hope for no rescue. The first stone of this lofty edifice was laid in 1675, and the last one in 1710. Sir Christopher Wren, the architect, received but $1000 per annum for his salary, out of which he had to pay for the models and drawings he required. He was buried within its walls, and the following is his epitaph: " Beneath lies Sir Christopher Wren, the builder of this church; for his monument LOOK AROUND THEE. It was begun and completed under one architect, by one master mason, and while one bishop presided over the diocese. The entire length of the cathedral is 510 feet, the breadth 220. From the pavement in the street to the top of the cross on the dome is 404 feet. The whole expense of its erection was $7,500,000. It covers two acres and sixteen perches of ground, and there are 616 steps from the floor to the ball. If St. Paul's astonished me by its vast magnitude, Westminster Abbey impressed me still more by its solemn grandeur, its air of reverend antiquity, and the associations by which it is hallowed. For centuries it has been the burial-place of English royalty, and around its walls are monuments to more great men than any other country ever produced. Here are the names which have originated English literature-which have shed the halo of glory that surrounds British valor—her kings, her soldiers, her poets, her statesmen, her divines, her philanthropists-all are remembered. Many of them, from whom malice or envy withheld the meed of justice while living, have here, on these monumental stones, for the first time received it. This Abbey was built by Henry III. and his successor, Edward I. Owing to the efforts made at various times, especially of late, to restore after the old pattern all that is defaced, it is in a remarkably perfect state of preservation. The main body of the Abbey forms a magnificent walk of great length, while over the pedestrian hangs one of the most magnificent and lofty arches which human genius ever contrived, all carved in the most elaborate and exquisite manner. The main body of the building is open to all who wish to enter, during certain hours. The private chapels are shown on paying sixpence, and a Verger, as he is called, conducts visitors through them, describing the nature of the monuments, and whom they commemorate. The chapel of Henry VII. is very beautiful-the roof is of most richly carved stone. In the south aisle of this chapel, in the royal vault, are deposited the remains of Charles II., William III., Queen Mary, and Queen Anne. In the centre of the chapel is the tomb of King Henry VII., which is composed of black marble, while over it are effigies of himself and his queen, the whole being surrounded by a brass railing of the most beautiful workmanship, as perfect as when it was new, though now three hundred and fifty years old. In the chapel of St. Edward the Confessor is his shrine, which is very curious. He died in 1066, and this shrine was erected by Pope Alexander III. in 1269. Here is also the tomb of Edward III. But the object of the greatest interest to me was the stone from Scone-the identical one on which, for ages, the Scottish kings were crowned. Some claim even greater antiquity for it, and say that it was one of those that composed Jacob's pillow at Bethel. For this latter statement I do not vouch; but be this as it may, much blood has been shed on account of it, and it is the oldest emblem of Scottish royalty now in existence. Over it stands the coronation chair, which was also brought from Scotland by Edward I. in 1297. At the coronation ceremony it is covered with gold tissue, and placed in front of the altar behind which the British sovereigns are accustomed to stand. The old |