Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Observations Made In A Visit To The Tombs Of Westminster Abbey, In December. 1784,
OBSERVATIONS MADE IN A VISIT TO THE TOMBS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY , IN DECEMBER . 1784 ,
BY \ V . HUTTON , F . 3 . A . SCO . OF BIRMINGHAM .
ON Monday , December 6 , 1784 , I made a tour " through Westminster-Abbey . " Tour through an Abbey ! Absurd 1 " Not quite so absurd , for it cost me more than six hours to perform it . Other people can do it in half one . This building , cursorily surveyed by the stranger , will appear void of form ; but , upon a close inspection , will be found a regular cross . "
The nave and side ailes , from the west door , form the shaft ; the area , in which are the monuments of Pitt , Halifax , & c . form the rio-ht arm ; the Poets corner , the left ; and Henry the Third ' s Chapel , which was taken down and augmented b y Henry the Seventh , the head . The first fruits produced by British soil are preserved in this grand
repository . The hig hest attainments in reli gion , philosophy , arms , government , and the finest talents , compose the dust of Westminster . Here the minister who planned an expedition , and the soldier who fell in it , sleep together . This distinguished collection of the dead stimulates the living . In this lastingstorehouse ' for merit , we cannot view the monuments of Shakespear , Handell , Pitt , Wolfe , Newton , & c . without being astonished at the . geniuses they represent , and at
the same time , pfeasecf with the tribute of gratitude paid by their country . When excellence is rewarded it will shine the brighter . But , alas ! a tribute to the dead is all that has been paid to some ; for I could point out several monuments among them , belonging to those who starved while living . Though desert is the chief road to this honourable bed , yet some have crept in through private avenues ; such as misfortuneslike
, Thynne , who was shot in Pall-Mail by Count Coningsmark in 16 92 , on an affair of love or of interest ; Sir Clotidesley Shovel , who was lost at sea in 1707 ; Balchen , who in 1744 suffered the same fate ; and the unfortunate Andre , who fell in the American contest . Many , particularly some good ladies , because they were beloved by their friends ; others because they had money to procure a place ; others
through ambition . I was particularl y diverted with one belonging £ 0-the name of Hargrove , a Nabob , who was said to have acquired a vast fortune in the East by dishonourable means . Plis ambition and his money conducted him into Westminster-Abbey , and erected a first rate monument over him . This monument describes the Resurrection . The earth and the skies are tumbling to pieces , while the angel above is sounding the last
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Observations Made In A Visit To The Tombs Of Westminster Abbey, In December. 1784,
OBSERVATIONS MADE IN A VISIT TO THE TOMBS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY , IN DECEMBER . 1784 ,
BY \ V . HUTTON , F . 3 . A . SCO . OF BIRMINGHAM .
ON Monday , December 6 , 1784 , I made a tour " through Westminster-Abbey . " Tour through an Abbey ! Absurd 1 " Not quite so absurd , for it cost me more than six hours to perform it . Other people can do it in half one . This building , cursorily surveyed by the stranger , will appear void of form ; but , upon a close inspection , will be found a regular cross . "
The nave and side ailes , from the west door , form the shaft ; the area , in which are the monuments of Pitt , Halifax , & c . form the rio-ht arm ; the Poets corner , the left ; and Henry the Third ' s Chapel , which was taken down and augmented b y Henry the Seventh , the head . The first fruits produced by British soil are preserved in this grand
repository . The hig hest attainments in reli gion , philosophy , arms , government , and the finest talents , compose the dust of Westminster . Here the minister who planned an expedition , and the soldier who fell in it , sleep together . This distinguished collection of the dead stimulates the living . In this lastingstorehouse ' for merit , we cannot view the monuments of Shakespear , Handell , Pitt , Wolfe , Newton , & c . without being astonished at the . geniuses they represent , and at
the same time , pfeasecf with the tribute of gratitude paid by their country . When excellence is rewarded it will shine the brighter . But , alas ! a tribute to the dead is all that has been paid to some ; for I could point out several monuments among them , belonging to those who starved while living . Though desert is the chief road to this honourable bed , yet some have crept in through private avenues ; such as misfortuneslike
, Thynne , who was shot in Pall-Mail by Count Coningsmark in 16 92 , on an affair of love or of interest ; Sir Clotidesley Shovel , who was lost at sea in 1707 ; Balchen , who in 1744 suffered the same fate ; and the unfortunate Andre , who fell in the American contest . Many , particularly some good ladies , because they were beloved by their friends ; others because they had money to procure a place ; others
through ambition . I was particularl y diverted with one belonging £ 0-the name of Hargrove , a Nabob , who was said to have acquired a vast fortune in the East by dishonourable means . Plis ambition and his money conducted him into Westminster-Abbey , and erected a first rate monument over him . This monument describes the Resurrection . The earth and the skies are tumbling to pieces , while the angel above is sounding the last