WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

I.-Chapel of St. Benedict.

IN the Chapel of St. Benedict is an ancient tomb of stone, having formerly a canopy of wood, on which lies the effigy of Archbishop LANGHAM, who, as the Latin epitaph round his tomb sets forth, 66 was Monk, Prior, and Abbot of this Abbey; afterwards elected "Bishop of London; but Ely being then also vacant, he made "choice of that see; that he was Primate and Chancellor of "England; Priest-cardinal, afterwards Bishop-cardinal of Pre66 neste, and Nuncio from the Pope; and that he died on the "Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, in the year 1376, on whose soul "God have mercy, and grant him the joys of heaven for the "merits of Christ."

Next is a monument erected in memory of LYONEL CRANFIELD, Earl of Middlesex, by his relict Lady Anne. The Latin inscription on this Monument is to this effect:-" Sacred to the 66 memory of Lyonel Lord Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex, who by "that discerning prince, King James I., being called to court, 66 was for his excellent parts bountifully rewarded, both with "honours and fortune; being made Master of the Requests and "of the Wardrobe, President of the Court of Wards, and Privy "Councillor. The new and illustrious, as well as difficult pro"vince of Lord Treasurer of England, he filled; which services, "how indefatigable, he underwent his titles of Knight Baron "Cranfield, and lastly Earl of Middlesex, with various other 66 honours, abundantly testify. He died the 6th of August, 1645, 66 aged about seventy. He was twice married. By his first wife "he had three daughters: Elizabeth, Countess of Mulgrave; "Martha, Countess of Monmouth; and Mary, who died unmar"ried. By the second, who survived him, he had three sons and "two daughters: James, heir to the honours of Earl Middlesex; "Lyonel and Edward; Frances, Lady Buckhurst; and Susannah, "who died an infant."

Near Bishop Langham's tomb, is another designed for Dr. WILLIAM BILL, Dean of Westminster, Master of Eton College, Head of Trinity in Cambridge, and Chief Almoner to Queen Elizabeth, as appears by his inscription. He died July 5th, 1561. On a brass plate are some Latin verses, setting forth," that he 66 was a good and learned man, and a friend to those that were 66 so; that he was just and charitable; and that the poor, as well

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66 as the three Colleges, over which he presided, sustained an irreparable loss by his death."

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On the east, where stood the altar of St. Benedict, is a fine monument to the memory of LADY FRANCES, Countess of Hertford. The Latin inscription sets forth," that she was wife "to the Noble Earl of Hertford, son to the renowned Prince "Edward, Duke of Somerset, Earl of Hertford, Viscount Beauchamp, and Baron Seymour; that she was daughter to the "noble Lord William, Baron Howard of Effingham, Knight of "the Garter, High Admiral to Queen Mary, and Lord Cham"berlain and Privy Seal to Queen Elizabeth, &c. : that, for "her many graces, both of mind and body, she was highly "favoured by her gracious Sovereign, and dearly loved by her "noble Lord, who in testimony of his inviolate affection, conse"crated to her memory this monument. She died in the forty"fourth year of her age, May 14, 1598."

On the south side is a monument to the memory of Dr. GABRIEL GOODMAN. The Latin inscription intimates, "that he 66 was the fifth Dean of this church, over which he presided for forty years with much applause; that he founded an hospital, "and instituted a school at Ruthin, in Denbighshire, where he was born; that he was a man of regular and devout life, and "that he died in 1601, aged seventy-three."

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On the same side is a monument to the memory of GEORGE SPRAT, second son of Dr. Thomas Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, and Dean of Westminster, by his wife Helena, descended from the ancient and honourable family of the Wolseleys, in Staffordshire, who lies interred in the chapel of St. Nicholas. He died an infant, of a year old, in 1683.

Besides those above recited, there lies interred in this chapel, CATHERINE, daughter of Dr. Dolben, Bishop of Rochester, Dean of Westminster, and afterwards Archbishop of York; a Countess of Kildare, in Ireland; and Dr. JOHN SPOTSWOOD, Lord Archbishop of St. Andrews, Primate and Lord Chancellor of Scotland, who died in 1640.

Opposite, and close to the gate of entrance, is the ancient monument to SEBERT, King of the East Saxons, who first built a church nearly on this scite, and died July, 616; also of ATHELGODA, his Queen, who died September 13, 615.

Between this chapel and the next is a monument of Mosaic work, erected for the Children of Henry III. and Edward I. This certainly was once a rich and costly monument; for in the records of the Tower, there is the King's order for erecting such

a one in this place, and for allowing Master Simon de Wells five marks and a half to defray his expenses in bringing from the city a certain brass image to set upon the tomb of his daughter Catherine, and for paying to Simon de Gloucester, the King's goldsmith, seventy marks, for a silver image for the like purpose.

On the left before you enter the Chapel of St. Edmund, is a large stone once plated with brass, under which was interred Sir John Galofre. This Galofre was famous, in the reign of Richard II., for his wisdom and valour, and was prosecuted by the discontented Lords. He died at Wallingford, in Berkshire, in 1336.

The tombstone, with inscription on a brass plate, of Dr. BILLSON is seen on the floor on leaving this chapel next that of Sir John Galofre.

II.-Chapel of St. Edmund.

Next in order is the Chapel of St. Edmund, at the entrance of which is a monument, sacred to the memory of JOHN of ELTHAM, second son of King Edward II., and so called from Eltham, in` Kent, the place of his nativity, where our English Kings had once a palace. His statue is of alabaster, the head encircled in a coronet of large and small leaves, remarkable for its being the first of the kind. His habit is that of an armed Knight. He died in Scotland, in 1334, at the age of nineteen, unmarried, though three different matches had been proposed to him; the last of which, to Mary, daughter of Ferdinand, King of Spain, he accepted, but lived not to consummate it.

At the foot of this is a handsome monument, with the following inscription : "In this chapel lies interred all that 66 was mortal of the most illustrious and most benevolent JOHN "PAUL HOWARD, Earl of Stafford, who, in 1738, married "Elizabeth, daughter of A. Ewens, of the county of Somerset, Esq. "His heart was as truly great and noble as his high descent. "Faithful to his God. A lover of his country. A relation to "relations. A detester of detraction. A friend to mankind. "Naturally generous and compassionate, his liberality and his "charity to the poor were without bounds. Being snatched 66 away suddenly by death, which he had long meditated and 66 expected with constancy, he went to a better life the 1st of "April, 1762, having lived sixty-one years, nine months, and "six days." The figures round the inscription are the ancient badges of honour belonging to the Stafford family, who descend by ten different marriages, from the royal blood of England and France.

Next to this is a small table monument, on which lie the figures of WILLIAM of WINDSOR, sixth son of Edward III. who died in his infancy; and of BLANCH of the TOWER, sister to William, who likewise died young, having obtained their surnames from the places of their nativity.

Next is a monument of NICHOLAS MONCK, Provost of Eton, Bishop of Hereford, and brother to George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, &c. He died December 11, 1661, aged fifty.

On another tomb lies the effigy of Lady FRANCES, Duchess of SUFFOLK. She was daughter of the famous Charles Brandon, by Mary, the French Queen, daughter to Henry VII., and became herself Duchess of Suffolk by marrying Henry Grey, then Marquis of Dorset ; but, upon her father's decease created Duke of Suffolk, and afterwards beheaded for being concerned in dethroning the bloody Queen Mary. She died in 1558-9.

The next, representing a youth in Grecian armour sitting on a Greek altar, to the memory of FRANCIS HOLLIS, by John Earl of Clare, his afflicted father. This brave youth, after returning home from a campaign in Flanders, died August 12, 1622, aged eighteen. His epitaph is thus written:

What so thou hast of nature or of arts,

Youth, beauty, strength, or what excelling parts,
Of mind and body, letters, arms, and worth,

His eighteen years, beyond his years, brought forth;
Then stand and read thyself within this glass,
How soon these perish, and thyself may pass:
Man's life is measur'd by the work, not days;
Not aged sloth, but active youth, hath praise.

Near this monument are two others, one to the memory of Lady JANE SEYMOUR, daughter of Edward Duke of Somerset, who died March 19, 1560, aged nineteen. The other to the Right Honourable the Lady KATHARINE KNOLLYS, chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, and wife to Sir Francis Knollys, Knt., Treasurer of her Highness's Household. She died January the 15th, 1568. This Lady Knollys and Lord Hunsdon, her brother, were the only children of William Carey, Esq., by Lady Mary, his wife, one of the daughters and heirs of Thomas Bulleyne, Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, and sister to Anne Bulleyne, Queen of England, wife to Henry VIII., father and mother to Queen Elizabeth. What is farther remarkable, Lady Knollys's only daughter was mother of the favourite Earl of Essex.

On an altar in the same style, but differently ornamented, sits in a sleeping posture, the figure of Lady ELIZABETH RUSSEL, daughter of Lord John Russel, in alabaster. She pricked her finger with a needle, which is supposed to have caused a locked

jaw, and occasioned her death. On the plinth of the pedestal is-"Dormit, non mortua est"-(She is not dead but sleepeth).

Lord JOHN RUSSEL, second son of Francis, second Earl of Bedford, and his son FRANCIS, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Anthony Cook, Knt. and widow of Sir Thomas Hoby, Knt. He died in 1584. He is represented in a cumbent posture, habited in his coronation robes, with his infant son at his feet. His lady was esteemed the Sappho of her age, being well versed in the learned languages, and an excellent poet; five of the epitaphs on this tomb are of her composition, of which three are in Latin, one in Greek, and the other in English, which is here transcribed as a specimen, the rest being to the same purport.

Right noble twice, by virtue and by birth,

Of Heaven lov'd, and honour'd on the earth,
His country's hope, his kindred's chief delight,
My husband dear, more than this world's light,
Death hath me reft. But I from Death will take
His memory, to whom this tomb I make.

John was his name (ah, was!) wretch, must I say?
Lord Russel once, now my tear-thirsty clay.

Under the window that fronts you when entering, is a very ancient monument, representing a Gothic chapel, and in it the figure of a Knight in armour, in a cumbent posture, with his feet resting on a lion's back. This was erected for Sir BERNARD BROCAS, of Baurepaire, in the county of Hants, Chamberlain to Ann, Queen of Richard II. But this Princess dying, and Richard falling under the displeasure of his people, who deposed him, Sir Bernard still adhered to his Royal master in his misfortunes, which cost him his life. He was publicly beheaded on Tower Hill, January, 1399, and here buried.

Near this is an ancient monument in plated brass, the figure of a Knight in armour, his head reclined upon his helmet, and one of his feet placed upon a leopard, the other on an eagle, By the Latin inscription, this Knight was HUMPHREY BOURGCHIER, son and heir to John Bourgchier, Lord Berners, who, espousing the cause of Edward IV. against the Earl of Warwick, was slain in the battle of Barnet-field, on Easter-day, 1431.

Next is the monument of Sir RICHARD PECKSALL, Knt., Master of the Buckhounds to Queen Elizabeth; first married to Alianer, the daughter of William Paulett, Marquis of Winchester, by whom he had four daughters; and afterwards to Alianer, daughter of John Cotgrave. On the bases of the pillars are Latin verses thus translated :

Death can't disjoin whom Christ hath join'd in love;

Life leads to death, and death to life above.

In heaven's a happier place: frail things despise,

Live well to gain in future life a prize.