Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Observations Made In A Visit To The Tombs In Westminster Abbey,
QUEEN CATHERINE . In an obscure corner , in an old worm-eaten chest , sorely battered by time , and only fit for the fire , lie the wretched remains of one of the greatest beauties that ever existed ; Catherine of France , wife of Henry the Fifth of England , and daughter of Charles the Sixth ; whom Henry , at first view , fell in love with , and determined to marry . Fearful lest he should not gain his pointhe threatened to
, drive the King and the Duke of Burgundy from their dominions , if they retarded his suit . One would think , however , there could be no great difficulty in a handsome young fellow , and a victorious prince , gaining the affections of a lady . She died at thirty-eight , and was interred in the chapel of-Henry the Third . But when her grandson , Henry the Seventh , took down
this chapel to erect his own , her body was taken up . The bones seemed firmly united , but thinly covered with flesh . Her coffin being decayed , the frugal king did not choose to treat his grandmother with a new one , but thought this paltry coffer might secure the remains of beaut }' , which was insufficient to secure his wealth . A gentleman-approached mewhom I knew belonged to the
Ab-, bey , because I had seen him cany the silver verge before the Sub ^ dean . " Sir , " said he , " yon seem more attentive than the generality of strangers who visit here . " " I am among numberless curiosities , which I have never seen , though I have long wished it , and am the more attentive , because I
know some of the ' characters which once animated the dust of the place . " " Perhaps it is in my power to assist your inquiries , which I shall do with great pleasure . " Can a favour , much wanted on one side , and politely offered on the other , be rejected ? Pie pointed out many things which had escaped my noticeand others which I could not have known .
, I was solicitous about Edward the Confessor ' s tomb , and asked if he could favour me with a short ladder , that I might survey the top ? He answered in the negative , but observed , if I could ascend , I should see an old iron chest , one ; foot below the surface , which held the remains ofthe royal saint . Could I have found a way to the holdust of St . EdwardI shoukl
y , have been particular in my researches . I would not , like our pious ancestors , have added to the bulk , by offerings , but have freely fingered the saint ; not because I revered the man , the character , or the king , but the relic of antiquity . Pie shewed me , in the cornice next the choir , several carvings in woodnot ill donerepresenting the rincipal transactions of Edward ' s
, , p life , particularly his charities . After many informations on his side , arid inquiries on mine , the verger begged pardon for being obliged to leave me . —I continued my amusement . ' In an hour or more he returned , and still found me the only living animal in the place . The reader may think it probable , he went to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Observations Made In A Visit To The Tombs In Westminster Abbey,
QUEEN CATHERINE . In an obscure corner , in an old worm-eaten chest , sorely battered by time , and only fit for the fire , lie the wretched remains of one of the greatest beauties that ever existed ; Catherine of France , wife of Henry the Fifth of England , and daughter of Charles the Sixth ; whom Henry , at first view , fell in love with , and determined to marry . Fearful lest he should not gain his pointhe threatened to
, drive the King and the Duke of Burgundy from their dominions , if they retarded his suit . One would think , however , there could be no great difficulty in a handsome young fellow , and a victorious prince , gaining the affections of a lady . She died at thirty-eight , and was interred in the chapel of-Henry the Third . But when her grandson , Henry the Seventh , took down
this chapel to erect his own , her body was taken up . The bones seemed firmly united , but thinly covered with flesh . Her coffin being decayed , the frugal king did not choose to treat his grandmother with a new one , but thought this paltry coffer might secure the remains of beaut }' , which was insufficient to secure his wealth . A gentleman-approached mewhom I knew belonged to the
Ab-, bey , because I had seen him cany the silver verge before the Sub ^ dean . " Sir , " said he , " yon seem more attentive than the generality of strangers who visit here . " " I am among numberless curiosities , which I have never seen , though I have long wished it , and am the more attentive , because I
know some of the ' characters which once animated the dust of the place . " " Perhaps it is in my power to assist your inquiries , which I shall do with great pleasure . " Can a favour , much wanted on one side , and politely offered on the other , be rejected ? Pie pointed out many things which had escaped my noticeand others which I could not have known .
, I was solicitous about Edward the Confessor ' s tomb , and asked if he could favour me with a short ladder , that I might survey the top ? He answered in the negative , but observed , if I could ascend , I should see an old iron chest , one ; foot below the surface , which held the remains ofthe royal saint . Could I have found a way to the holdust of St . EdwardI shoukl
y , have been particular in my researches . I would not , like our pious ancestors , have added to the bulk , by offerings , but have freely fingered the saint ; not because I revered the man , the character , or the king , but the relic of antiquity . Pie shewed me , in the cornice next the choir , several carvings in woodnot ill donerepresenting the rincipal transactions of Edward ' s
, , p life , particularly his charities . After many informations on his side , arid inquiries on mine , the verger begged pardon for being obliged to leave me . —I continued my amusement . ' In an hour or more he returned , and still found me the only living animal in the place . The reader may think it probable , he went to