tomb*, leads us to discredit the tradition of his dying in despair. Waynflete's Chantry is kept in perfect repair by the Society of Magdalen College, Oxford; and is considered, perhaps for that reason, as more beautiful than the one just described, to which it bears a great resemblance in other respects. It exhibits the figure of the bishop, in full pontificals, and in the attitude of prayer, emblematically offering up his heart, which he holds in his hands.

In the middle of the centre aisle of this part of the building is a low unornamented monument of grey marble, about two feet from the ground, and generally stated to be the tomb of Lucius, the first Christian king, but much more probably that of Bishop de Lucy, who built this part of the Cathedral in the beginning of the thirteenth century.

Three enclosed Chapels form the eastern end of the sacred edifice; that on the south side is fitted up with great elegance, being profusely ornamented with carvings in oak, and contains the tomb of Bishop Langton, who died in 1500, having been previously elected Archbishop of Canterbury; the centre Chapel is that of the Blessed Virgin, originally built by De Lucy, but enlarged to twice its original length by the Priors Hunton and Silkstede; and according to the taste of the age, the groining, and other parts of the roof, are covered with devices and rebuses of their names. In this Chapel are some remains of the curious paintings by which it was formerly ornamented, and which principally represented the numerous miracles ascribed to the Virgin by monkish historians; many attempts have been made to obliterate them, but the vestiges still visible are curious relics of the customs of former times. In this Chapel the nuptials of Philip of Spain with Queen Mary were celebrated, and the chair in which she sat is still shewn here. The third Chapel is supposed to have been the burial place of Bishop Orleton, who died in 1346; but there is no vestige of his tomb. The whole vaulting of this Chapel is covered with angels; on one side is the sepulchre of Bishop Mews, who after serving as a military officer during the Civil Wars, took orders,

*This inscription has been obliterated; Milner gives the following as a translation: "I should be in anguish, did I not know Thy mercies."

and received many church preferments from Charles II; even after he had attained this see, he is said to have superintended the King's artillery at the battle of Sedgemoor, and contributed greatly to the success of the day. He died in 1707. Opposite, is a fine monument of the Earl of Portland, with an excellent bronze figure; he was Lord Treasurer to Charles I, and died in 1634.

Beside the monuments already mentioned, many others in various parts of the Cathedral are deserving of attention; among which are those of a crusader of the princely family of De Foix; King Hardicanute; Richard, second son of William the Conqueror; several Bishops; Dr. Warton, and Mrs. Montague. The only other interesting object is the curious and ancient Font, whose sculptured decorations have given so much exercise to the sagacity of antiquarians. It stands within the middle arch on the north side of the Nave, and consists of a square block of marble, supported by pillars of the same material. The top and sides are covered with rude carvings, of great antiquity; those on the top are principally doves, emblematical of the Holy Ghost; which are repeated on the north and east sides, together with a figure supposed to represent a salamander, typical of fire, in allusion to the text, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." The sculptures on the south and west sides were supposed to represent the history of St. Birinus, the apostle of the West Saxons; but are referred by Dr. Milner, with great appearance of probability, to St. Nicholas, who flourished in the fourth century, and was the especial patron of children. This application he explains and justifies by a long history of that saint, drawn from the Golden Legend, and other works of equal authority.

The Cloisters, which formed a square about 700 feet in circumference, were destroyed in the reign of Elizabeth; but on the east side a dark unornamented passage still remains, which led to some of the offices of the Monastery. To the south of this is a door once leading into the Chapter House, a magnificent building, of which a few pillars only remain, the site forming a garden_to_the Deanery, which comprises the former Prior's Lodgings. Several other relics of

the magnificent Priory of St. Swithin may be seen in the neighbourhood.

The present Cathedral establishment was formed after the dissolution of the Priory, and consists of a Dean, twelve Prebendaries, six Minor Canons, two lay Clerks, eight Choristers, &c. The See comprises Surrey and Hampshire, with the Isles of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, &c.; and is reputed, with the exception of Durham, the richest in England. The dignity of Prelate of the Order of the Garter is always attached to this Bishopric; and the Bishop is also styled Sub-Dean to the Archbishop of Canterbury. From Birinus, the Apostle of the West Saxons, to the present time, this distinguished bishopric has been held by eighty-three individuals, among whom may be found many of the most eminent ornaments of the Church, in ancient and in modern days. We can merely mention-Swithin, to whom the Church was dedicated; Alwyn, the relative of Queen Emma, whose joint purity was most incontestably established, in the opinion of their contemporaries, by the miraculous circumstances related below*; Walkelin, the re

By some of their enemies the Queen and the Bishop were accused of an improper intimacy; and the King, previously incensed against his mother by her marriage with Canute, the adversary of his family, lending a ready ear to the report, she petitioned to be allowed the trial of fire ordeal; "and," says Milner, translating the narrative of Rudborne, a monkish historian, "having succeeded in her request, she came from the Abbey of Wherwell to the Cathedral Church, and there spent the night preceding her trial in fervent prayer. The morning being come, the King, the Bishops, and an immense multitude of persons, of all descriptions, assembled in the Cathedral, to be spectators of the event. The pavement of the nave being swept, nine plough-shares, red with heat, were placed in a line upon it, while Emma, having invoked the Almighty to deal with her accordingly as she is innocent or guilty of the crimes laid to her charge, prepares herself for trial, by laying aside her robes, and baring her feet. She is then conducted by two Bishops, one having hold of each of her hands, to the glowing metal. In the mean time the vaults of the Church thunder with the voices of the assembled multitude, who, in loud shouts, call upon the Almighty to save the royal sufferer; and their cries are echoed through the whole city, by the crowds who were unable to gain admittance into the Church. She herself, raising up her eyes to Heaven, and walking slowly on, thus makes her prayer; 'O God, who didst save Susannah from the malice of the wicked elders, and the three Children from the furnace of fire, save me, for the sake of thy holy servant Swithin, from the fire prepared for me.' In a word, she is seen to tread upon each of the burning irons, and is not even sensible that she had touched them; but, addressing herself to the Bishops, who had now led her almost to the end of the Church, she exclaims, When shall I come to the plough-shares?' They turn round, and shew her that she has already passed them: the lamentations of the multitude then ceasing, the air resounds with acclamations of joy and thanksgiving, still louder than their former prayers had been. The King alone is found overwhelmed with

builder of the Cathedral; Henry de Blois, brother of King Stephen; Godfrey de Lucy, who rebuilt the eastern part of the Church; Edyngton, Wykeham, Beaufort, Waynflete, and Fox, whose munificent works we have already recorded; Wolsey, "Fortune's spoiled child," who held this bishopric, together with that of Durham, and the Archbishopric of York; the witty Andrews; the sycophantic Neile*; Duppa, and Morley, celebrated for their loyalty; Hoadly, whose moderation and candour were no less remarkable than his skill in controversy; Thomas, the preceptor of King George III; and Tomline, the tutor of William Pitt. The present Bishop is Dr. C. R. Sumner, who succeeded the last-mentioned prelate in the year 1827.

Next to the Cathedral, the most remarkable object at Winchester is the College, founded by the munificent Wykeham, towards the close of the fourteenth century, on the site of a Grammar School, of very ancient date, in which he had himself been educated. Having completed his New College at Oxford, he commenced this establishment as a preparatory seminary to it; and the buildings being finished in March 1393, the Warden, Scholars, &c. took possession. The foundation is for a Warden, seventy Scholars, ten Fellows, three Chaplains, three Clerks, a first and second Master, Choristers, &c. The ordinances for its government were drawn up by Wykeham himself, and were considered so judicious, that Henry VI adopted them, with very little alteration, for his own College at Eton, and testified his approbation by several considerable donations and privileges; and as a further proof of its excellence, it is worthy of remark that this School was one of the very few favoured with an exemption from the sweeping dissolution of Colleges and Hospitals in the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI.

grief, and bathed in tears, lying upon the ground in the choir; to whom Emma being conducted, he begs her forgiveness, in terms of the utmost humility and sorrow, for the injurious suspicions that he had entertained concerning her, and the rigour with which he had treated her. Not content with this, he requires of her, and the Bishops there present, to strike him with a wand, which he presents to them. She accordingly gave her son three blows; when, having embraced him, both she and Bishop Alwyn were put into full possession of their former rights and property, and ever after enjoyed the royal favour and respect in the degree they merited."

* See an anecdote of these two prelates, in p. 198 of this volume.

66

The Collegiate buildings are extensive, and of venerable appearance. The entrance to the first court," says Dr. Milner, "is beneath a spacious gateway, the canopy of which is supported by the mutilated busts of a King on one side, and a Bishop on the other; evidently intended to represent the founder and his Royal patron, Edward the Third. In the centre of the groining, under the tower, are seen the arms of the former; and in an ornamented niche on the outside of it, we behold a large statue of his patroness, the Blessed Virgin, crowned, with a sceptre in her right hand, and her divine Infant in her left. The middle tower, over the gate leading into the interior court, is ornamented with three beautiful niches, having suitable canopies and pinnacles to adorn them. In the centre niche stands the statue of the Blessed Virgin as large as life, with a book in her left hand, and her right elevated towards the figure of the angel Gabriel, which occupies the niche on the same side, and appears to be pointing to a label inscribed with the words of the Salutation, Ave gratia plena. The founder himself is represented in the third niche, with his mitre, and other episcopal ornaments, invoking the prayers of his holy Patroness. The same figures are repeated in niches on the south side of this tower; whilst over the east end of the Church, a similar statue of the Blessed Virgin with that in the front of the first tower, is seen, but under a much more gorgeous canopy. Passing under the aforesaid tower into the second court, every spectator must be struck with the elegant and uniform style of the ancient buildings with which it is surrounded. In particular, the magnificent Chapel and Hall, which form the south wing of the quadrangle, being supported by bold and ornamental buttresses, and enlightened by lofty and richly-mullioned windows, bespeak the genius of Wykeham, and fill the mind with admiration and delight. Over the western extremity of the Hall, and under a similar canopy to the last-mentioned statue of the Virgin, is the figure of St. Michael, transfixing the old Dragon. A stately tower, with turrets, and pinnacles at the four corners, stands near the centre of this wing, built in the more ornamented style of the fifteenth century, it not