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,
lowed up in death . Others wish to shine with their wealth while they live , but he when he died . The superb monument of his son Arthur , in the college of Worcester , is a proof of this remark . The splendid manner in which he interred his wife is another ; and this amazing structure , with his tomb , is a third . This chapel cost 14 , 000 ! . equal to the modern sum of 50 , 0001 . — tombthe first
Henry ' s , object which presents itself , cost ioool . It is plain , from the peculiar workmanship of the ceiling which is over the royal corpse , and forms a kind of canopy , that he fixed upon the very spot where he now lies . We learn that Iienry took down a public-house , called the While Rose tavernto make room for this noble edificeThis would exactl
, . y suit Henry ' s character . He gladly demolished a white rose wherever he found one . Nor should I wonder , if the destruction of the tavern was one reason , among many , which produced this grancl work . As Iienry , I believe , lies upon the very spot where the tavern stood , he maybe said to have plucked up the white rose , and planted the red .
His pride induced him to retain all the ensigns of honour he could muster , as the red dragon , which intimated his descent from Cadwaliader ; the portcullis , from the Beauforts ; the angel , which shewed him the care of heaven ; the flag of triumph ; the rose of his
house ; the initial letter of his name , H ; and the crown in the bush , alluding to the crown of Richard the Third , found in a hawthorn , where it had been hid by a private soldier , who took it up , perhaps to secure it for himself : as secret acts cannot easily be performed in a crowd , it was discovered , and delivered to Sir Reginald Bray , who brought it to Crown-hill , two miles from Bosworth-field , where the
pursuit ended , and where Henry was crowned . Grand as this place appears , yet , contrary to usual practice , it was made for its furniture , and not the furniture for the place . No expence , therefore , would be spared upon the tomb of the founder , the furniture for which the building was erected . Henry cannot be accused of forgetting his latter endHe in
. may , the strictest sense , be said to have prepared for death ,, and a future state ; but his future state was in Westminster-Abbey . He procured one Peters , an ingenious Florentine , to draw him a design of his monument , which he approved , and engaged the artist , for a certain sum , to execute it in every punctillio after his death . The tomb is largeand composed of the finest marble . Henry and
, his Queen lie at full length on the top , in their royal robes , of the same materials . The whole is raised five feet from the floor , and guarded by curious palisades of brass , which prevented me from approaching the dusty pair .
The more a nation prospers under a sovereign , the more that sovereign merits the epithet of a good king . Henry , with all his errors , had many excellencies . He had one of the wisest heads that ever bore a crown . No man knew better than he , how to turn events to his own advantage . He was a man of business . Kings are some-
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,
lowed up in death . Others wish to shine with their wealth while they live , but he when he died . The superb monument of his son Arthur , in the college of Worcester , is a proof of this remark . The splendid manner in which he interred his wife is another ; and this amazing structure , with his tomb , is a third . This chapel cost 14 , 000 ! . equal to the modern sum of 50 , 0001 . — tombthe first
Henry ' s , object which presents itself , cost ioool . It is plain , from the peculiar workmanship of the ceiling which is over the royal corpse , and forms a kind of canopy , that he fixed upon the very spot where he now lies . We learn that Iienry took down a public-house , called the While Rose tavernto make room for this noble edificeThis would exactl
, . y suit Henry ' s character . He gladly demolished a white rose wherever he found one . Nor should I wonder , if the destruction of the tavern was one reason , among many , which produced this grancl work . As Iienry , I believe , lies upon the very spot where the tavern stood , he maybe said to have plucked up the white rose , and planted the red .
His pride induced him to retain all the ensigns of honour he could muster , as the red dragon , which intimated his descent from Cadwaliader ; the portcullis , from the Beauforts ; the angel , which shewed him the care of heaven ; the flag of triumph ; the rose of his
house ; the initial letter of his name , H ; and the crown in the bush , alluding to the crown of Richard the Third , found in a hawthorn , where it had been hid by a private soldier , who took it up , perhaps to secure it for himself : as secret acts cannot easily be performed in a crowd , it was discovered , and delivered to Sir Reginald Bray , who brought it to Crown-hill , two miles from Bosworth-field , where the
pursuit ended , and where Henry was crowned . Grand as this place appears , yet , contrary to usual practice , it was made for its furniture , and not the furniture for the place . No expence , therefore , would be spared upon the tomb of the founder , the furniture for which the building was erected . Henry cannot be accused of forgetting his latter endHe in
. may , the strictest sense , be said to have prepared for death ,, and a future state ; but his future state was in Westminster-Abbey . He procured one Peters , an ingenious Florentine , to draw him a design of his monument , which he approved , and engaged the artist , for a certain sum , to execute it in every punctillio after his death . The tomb is largeand composed of the finest marble . Henry and
, his Queen lie at full length on the top , in their royal robes , of the same materials . The whole is raised five feet from the floor , and guarded by curious palisades of brass , which prevented me from approaching the dusty pair .
The more a nation prospers under a sovereign , the more that sovereign merits the epithet of a good king . Henry , with all his errors , had many excellencies . He had one of the wisest heads that ever bore a crown . No man knew better than he , how to turn events to his own advantage . He was a man of business . Kings are some-