stone be silent. He owes his origin to the respectable family of "the Vincents of Shepy, in the county of Leicester; he was "born in London, 2d November, 1739, and died on the 21st "December, 1815."

Doctor RICHARD BUSBY.-On this fine monument is the effigy of this learned grammarian in his gown, looking earnestly at the inscription. In his right hand he holds a pen, and in his left a book open. Underneath, upon the pedestal, are a variety of books, and at the top are his family arms. The inscription is very elegantly written, and highly to his praise; intimating, that whatever fame the school of Westminster boasts, and whatever advantages mankind shall reap from thence in times to come, are all principally owing to the wise institutions of this great man. He was born at Lutton, in Lincolnshire, September 22, 1606; made Master of Westminster College, December 23,1640; elected Prebendary of Westminster, July 5, 1660, and Treasurer of Wells, August 11, the same year; and died April 5, 1695. — Bird, sculptor.

There are some names to be met with on the pavement in this division of the Abbey, too considerable to be passed over unnoticed. Among these you will find THOMAS PARR, of the county of Salop, born in 1483. He lived in the reign of ten Princes, namely, Edward IV., Edward V., Richard III., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Edward VI., Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I., aged one hundred and fifty-two years, and was buried here, November 15, 1635. One thing remarkable of this old man is, that at the age of one hundred and thirty, a prosecution was entered against him in the Spiritual Court for bastardy, and with such effect, that he did penance publicly in the church for that offence.

Not far from Parr, distinguished by a small white stone, under the seats for early prayers, inscribed-" O rare Sir WILLIAM DAVENANT!" lie the remains of that once celebrated Poet, who, upon the death of Ben Jonson, succeeded him as Poet Laureate to Charles I., but having lost his nose by an accident, was cruelly bantered by the wits of the succeeding reign. He was a vintner's son at Oxford, whose wife, being a woman of admirable wit and sprightly conversation, drew the politest men of that age to their house, among whom Shakspeare was said to be a frequent visitor. His education was at Lincoln College, where he became acquainted with Endimion Porter, Henry Jermain, and Sir John Suckling. He died in 1668, aged sixty-three.

Not far from Davenant lies Sir ROBERT MURRAY, a great Mathematician, and one of the founders of the Royal Society, of which he was the first President, and while he lived the very soul

of that body. He died suddenly, July 4, 1673, in the garden at Whitehall, and was buried at the King's expense.

Between the first pillar of this cross and Dryden's monument, is an ancient stone, on which, by the marks indented has been the image of a man in armour. This covers the body of ROBERT HAULE, who, at the battle of Najara, in Spain, in Richard the Second's time, together with John Shakel, his comrade, took the Earl of Denia prisoner, who under pretence of raising money for his ransom, obtained his liberty, leaving his son as a hostage in their hands. Upon their coming to England, the Duke of Lancaster demanded him for the King; but they refused to deliver him up without the ransom, and were therefore both committed to the Tower, from whence escaping, they took sanctuary in this Abbey. Sir Ralph Ferreris and Alan Buxal, the one Governor, the other Captain of the Tower, with fifty men, pursued them, and having, by fair promises, gained over Shakel, they attempted to seize Haule by force, who made a desperate defence; but being overpowered by numbers, was slain, August 11, 1378, in the choir before the prior's stall, commending himself to God, the avenger of wrongs. A servant of the Abbey fell with him. Shakel they threw into prison, but afterwards set him at liberty, and the King and Council agreed to pay the ransom of his prisoner, 500 marks, and 100 marks a-year. Some years afterwards Shakel died, and was buried here in 1396.

Under the pavement, near Dryden's tomb, lie the remains of FRANCIS BEAUMONT, the dramatic writer, who died in London in 1515, and was buried here, March 9, without tomb or inscription.

Affixed to the pillars in this cross are two monuments; the first to the memory of Dr. SAMUEL BARTON, a Prebendary of this Church, and a person of admirable genius and learning. He died September, 1715, aged sixty-two. The other to the memory of Dr. ANTHONY HORNECK.-This gentleman was born at Wettenburg, in Zealand, but educated at Queen's College Oxford: was King's divinity Professor and Chaplin, a Prebendary of this Church, and Preacher at the Savoy. He died of the stone, January 31, 1696, aged fifty-six.

Having now taken a view of all the monuments within this spacious building, we will now speak

Of the Foundation of the Abbey.

Of the founding of an Abbey on Thorney Island, where that of Westminster now stands, there are so many miraculous stories related by Monkish writers, that the recital of them now

would hardly be endured. Even the relations of ancient historians have been questioned by Sir Christopher Wren, who was employed to survey the present edifice, and who, upon the nicest examination, found nothing to countenance the general belief, "that it was erected on the ruins of a Pagan temple.' No fragments of Roman workmanship were discovered in any part of the building, many of which must undoubtedly have been intermixed among the materials, if a Roman temple had existed before on the same spot.

Nor is the dedication of the first Abbey less involved in mystery than the founding of it. The legend says, that Sebert, King, of the East Saxons, who died in 616, ordered Melitus, then Bishop of London, to perform the ceremony; but that St. Peter himself was beforehand with him, and consecrated it in the night preceding the day appointed by his Majesty for that purpose, accompanied by angels, and surrounded by a glorious appearance of burning lights.

That this legend continued to be believed after the building itself was destroyed, will appear by a charter, which we shall have occasion to mention hereafter; and though nothing can with certainty be concluded from these fictions, yet it may be presumed that both the ancient church, dedicated to St. Paul, in London, and this, dedicated to St. Peter, in Westminster, were among the earliest works of the first converts to Christianity in Britain. With their new religion, they introduced a new manner of building; and their great aim seems to have been, by affecting loftiness and ornament, to bring the plain simplicity of the Pagan architects into contempt.

Historians, agreeable to the legend, have fixed the era of the first Abbey in the sixth century, and ascribed to Sebert the honour of conducting the work, and of completing that part of it at least, that now forms the east angle, which probably was all that was included in the original plan.

After the death of that pious Prince, his son's relapsing into Paganism, totally deserted the church which their father had been so zealous to erect and endow; nor was it long before the Danes destroyed what the Saxons had thus contemptuously neglected.

From this period, to the reign of Edward the Confessor, the first Abbey remained a monument of the sacrilegious fury of the times; but, by the prevailing influence of Christianity in that reign, the ruins of the ancient building were cleared away, and a most magnificent structure for that age erected in their place. In its form it bore the figure of a cross, which afterwards became a pattern for cathedral-building throughout the kingdom. That politic Prince, to ingratiate himself with his clergy, not only confirmed all former endowments, but granted a new charter, in which he recited the account of St. Peter's consecration, the ravages of the Danes, and the motives which prompted him to

restore the sacred edifice to its former splendour, and endow it with more ample powers and privileges. This charter concluded with solemn imprecations against all who should, in time to come, dare to deface or demolish any part of the building, or to infringe the rights of its priesthood.

Henry III. not only pulled down and enlarged the plan of this ancient Abbey, but added a chapel which he dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; but it was not till the reign of Henry VII., that the stately and magnificent chapel, now known by his name, was planned and executed. Of this chapel, the first stone was laid on the 24th of January, 1502, and when completed, was dedicated, like the former chapel, to the Blessed Virgin. Henry, designing this as a burying-place for himself and his successors, expressly enjoined by his will, that none but those of the blood-royal should be inhumed therein.

From the death of Henry VII. till the reign of William and Mary, no care was taken to repair or preserve the ancient church. By the robberies made upon it by Henry VIII., and the ravages it sustained during the unhappy civil commotions, its ancient beauty was in a great measure destroyed; nor did their Majesties go about to restore it, till it became an object of parliamentary attention, and till a considerable sum was voted for that purpose only. This vote being passed, Sir Christopher Wren was employed to decorate and give it a thorough repair, which that able architect so skilfully and faithfully executed, that the building is thought, at this day, to want none of its original strength, and to have even acquired additional majesty by two new towers, and by a new choir, which is a late improvement; it is made more commodious for the celebration of divine worship, which is performed every day, at ten in the morning, and at three in the afternoon, and for solemnizing those more splendid ceremonies, to which it is appropriated at the coronation of our Sovereigns. This is the work of the late Mr. Keen, in 1777, surveyor to the Abbey. It is executed in the ancient Gothic style, which the architect has so far improved, as to mix simplicity with ornament; and these he has so happily blended, as to produce the most pleasing effect. It has this advantage, besides, that it can, upon solemn occasions, be removed, to make room for more extensive accommodation, and may be replaced without injury or much expense.

At his Majesty George the Fourth's coronation, the marble altar was taken down, and the present one erected, under the direction of Benjamin Wyatt, Esq., representing the Gothic original. The wainscotting on the sides of the altar being removed, the very curious and ancient monuments are made more visible, and to continue so, viz.-King Sebert, Anne of Cleves, Henry the Eighth's wife, Aveline Countess of Lancaster, Aymer de Valence, and Edmund Crouchback. The Mosaic pavement was done by Richard de Ware, Abbot of Westminster, in the

year 1260, who brought from Rome the stones, and workmen to set them it is much admired; and there were letters round it in brass, which composed Latin words. The design of the figures that were in it was to represent the time the world was to last, or the primum mobile, according to the Ptolemaic system that was going about, and was given in some verses, formerly to be read on the pavement, relating to those figures. The following explanation is given of them :

If the reader will prudently revolve all these things in his mind, he will find them plainly refer to the end of the world.

The threefold hedge is put for three years, the time a dry hedge usually stood; a dog, for three times that space, or nine years, it being taken for the time that creature usually lives; a horse, in like manner, for twenty-seven, a man, eighty-one; a hart, two hundred and forty-three; a raven, seven hundred and twentynine; an eagle, two thousand one hundred and eighty-seven; a great whale, six thousand five hundred and sixty-one; the world, nineteen thousand six hundred and eighty-three; each succeeding figure giving a term of years, imagined to be the time of their continuance, three times as much as that before it.

In the four last verses, the time when the work was performed, and the parties concerned in it, are expressed; that King Henry the Third was at the charge; that the stones were purchased at Rome; that one Oderick was the master workman; and that the Abbot of Westminster, who procured the materials, had the care of the work.

The solemn offices of crowning and enthroning their Majesties King George III., Queen Charlotte, King George IV., King William IV., and Queen Victoria, were performed at this altar, and in the centre of the four great pillars under the lantern. When the crowns were put on the King and Queen, the Peers and Peeresses put on their coronets, and a signal was given from the top of the Abbey for the Tower guns to fire the very instant. In Westminster Hall, which is very near, was the coronation dinner.

The Dean and Chapter have been at much expense in putting a roof to the lantern, and pews under it, in the room of the se destroyed by fire on the 9th of July, 1803. It broke out while the plumbers were gone to their dinners, who had been repairing the lead flat. This part, being the junction of four long timber roofs, it was a merciful providence the whole of this muchesteemed, august, and venerable pile, had not been utterly consumed. Awful was the sight, and every person greatly anxious for the preservation of the church. The young gentlemen of Westminster School highly distinguished themselves by their exertions. Happily no lives were lost, and but few accidents happened. Nor was any other part of the building, or a single monument, the least injured. The roof is handsomely finished, and more suitable with the rest of the building than the old one. At coronations the throne is erected under it.