CHAPTER VI.

INTERIOR.

The measurements show a marked diminution from the exterior--viz., 460

feet in length, a little under a hundred feet in breadth without

reckoning the recesses underneath the windows, and 240 feet across the

transepts.

In the Surveyor's favourite the Dome was almost everything; the four

short arms being so constructed as to afford picturesque and varied

vistas. Probably the acoustic properties would have been superior, and

for the ordinary purposes of congregational worship there would have

been less unused space. Hence it need take no one by surprise that

some, although they recognise the superiority of the present exterior,

give the preference to the originally designed interior. The short

arms were expanded into choir, transepts, and nave; the elaborate

vestibule has gone, but the west chapels have appeared. Finally, the

curved lines at the angles of the arms, designed to aid the interior

vistas, have given way to the orthodox right angles. It is impossible

to say how far Wren would have altered his opinions had he ever seen

the present building filled from door to door, as it now occasionally

is.[90]

Disappointed at the rejection of his pet scheme, Wren turned his

attention to the Basilica of Constantine, with its three aisles of

three arches apiece. "_This Temple of Peace being an Example of a

Three Aisle Fabric is certainly the best and most authentic pattern of

a cathedral Church, which must have three Aisles according to Custom,

and be vaulted._"[91] Piers were used in this building, the columns

being merely ornamental; but the interior of St. Paul's is in many

respects essentially different from its Roman model. In the Temple of

Peace three arches cover the enormous length of over 250 feet, and

seriously diminish the apparent size; in St. Paul's their span is less

than half of this. Indeed, in this respect Wren adopted a _via media_

between the Roman and the Anglo-Norman and Pointed. Old St. Paul's,

for instance, contained twice as many arches in the same length as its

successor, and Rochester still more. This use of larger arches renders

the perspective less effective, as any one can see by comparing the

views of Old and New St. Paul's. A second alteration from the Temple

of Peace to be mentioned is the massiveness of the piers. Wren's

regard for stability caused him to make his vast square supports of a

solidity exceeding those of Mainz and Speier. From the Romans the

Surveyor adopted the round arch, with its borrowed Grecian

architecture partly cut away; and this, next to the dome, is the most

striking feature of the interior.

Before proceeding to the different members, the symmetry and

correspondence of parts and details require to be mentioned. They

strike the eye everywhere. Those who claim that in this respect Exeter

is the most perfect cathedral, not only in England but throughout the

world, must limit their comparison to the older buildings. Here, when

we have described the details of the architecture of the nave, we have

little or nothing that requires to be said of the architecture of the

choir and transepts. The dome, of course, has features peculiar to

itself.

THE NAVE.

As we pass under the western portico we notice the bas-reliefs of

Francis Bird above the doors, and on either side of the main door.

They are respectable and nothing more. Over the central door St. Paul

is preaching at Berea. The original pavement of Purbeck, Welsh, and

Torbay marble remains throughout the building, excepting where the new

reredos has necessitated certain alterations. The length to the dome

area is a little over 200 feet, the width as above, and the height of

the central vaulting 89 feet.

The main west doorway has the round arch resting upon coupled

pilasters, the keystone is adorned with the head and arms of a winged

figure. On either side are likewise coupled pilasters of the largest

size. The doors of the small rooms or closets on either side reveal

the enormous size of the end piers projecting from the west wall.

Above the entablature of the main arch is a gallery, and the window

has lately been filled in with designs in Munich glass in memory of

Mr. Thomas Brown, of the firm of Longmans and Co. The subjects are

appropriately taken from the life of St. Paul--the Conversion, and the

subsequent visit of Ananias at Damascus. The kneeling figures below

are those of Mr. Brown and his wife.

[Illustration: THE CHOIR AND NAVE, FROM THE EAST END.]

The general ground-plan is of five compartments. Four are formed by

the arcading, and the fifth by the great transverse archway connecting

the nave and dome. The western bay or severy has a greater extension

east and west than the three to the east, and corresponds to the

adjacent chapels. It is square in the plan, and the others oblong; an

important difference, as we shall see when we come to the Vaulting.

There are throughout in reality three stages in the elevation--The

Main Arcade, Triforium Belt, or "Attic," and Clerestory. The pedantic

objection to the use of this simple and familiar terminology and

system of classification seems to have arisen from the idea that St.

Paul's must be treated as though it were a purely Classical building.

Upon their fronts the piers have great Corinthian pilasters. These are

continued above the capitals, and the great transverse arches of the

vaulting spring from the continuations on a level with the top of the

triforium. These great pilasters form the divisions east and west into

severies.

[Illustration: THE ORDER OF THE INTERIOR.

_Drawn by Peter Cazalet._]

=The Main Arcade.=--The sides of the piers (east and west) have

smaller pilasters, coupled and with narrow panels between, and above

these is a plain entablature from which the broad arches rise. This

method of making the arches spring from an entablature instead of

letting them rest naturally upon the capitals, was an idea borrowed

from the Romans, who in turn borrowed it from the Greeks. With the

Greeks the entablature was useful, as they had no round arch; and the

Romans, just as they borrowed Greek forms and Greek metres for their

native Italian literature, in a like spirit borrowed their

entablature. It is not necessary, and Freeman calls it a mere

_stilt_.[92] The earliest instance we know of its disuse is in the

colonnade of the great hall of Diocletian's palace at Spalatro. The

greater space of the west severy is diminished by the introduction of

detached columns, so that the arches may all be of a like span. These

columns, coupled and placed in front of the lesser pilasters, are of

white veined marble, and exceedingly graceful. As the arches more

immediately rest upon them than upon the pilasters, the Roman use of

the entablature as a stilt can be here more clearly seen. I may add

that in the church of St. Apollinare Nuovo, at Ravenna, the pillars

have only blocks above their capitals, instead of the old entablature

reaching from column to column; and this church, built about 500

A.D., accordingly represents the Transition stage between the

Roman proper and the Romanesque.

Turning next from underneath the arches, and taking our stand in the

central aisle, we are in a position to notice the details of the main

entablature above the arches. The keystones are ornamented with heads

and other pieces of sculpture. As Wren employed so few arches they

rise to a great height, and of the different members of the

entablature which rests upon the Corinthian capitals of the greater

pilasters, part had to be cut away. The crowns of the arches take a

great piece out of the architrave, and their keystones reach well

within the plain and narrow frieze. Only the cornice of the first

stage remains intact, and this runs round the four limbs of the church

like a string course in any Romanesque or Gothic building.

=The Triforium Belt.=--This used to be called the "Attic," in

imitation of the Classical nomenclature; but surely this term is

incorrect, since there is a clerestory above, and the vaulting springs

from it as well. On the other hand, "Triforium" pure and simple

implies arcading, and the above term is adopted from Fergusson as less

open to exception.[93] In continuation of the greater pilasters are

abutment piers, from the summits of which spring the great arches

spanning the nave, the window arches of the clerestory, and the

pendentives which connect these with the vaulting. The blank fronts

between the piers are relieved by panels, but otherwise destitute of

adornment. Openings connect the nave with the galleries behind.

=The Clerestory.=--This stage again calls for little or no comment.

The windows, hidden from the exterior by the curtain wall, are

slightly rounded. Above and on either side are sections of spheres,

ornamented with festoons. These are the ends of elliptic cylinders in

connection with the vaulting.

=The Vaulting.=--The great arches overhead divide the vault as the

greater pilasters and their continuations do the walls. Between these

arches are the small saucer-shaped domes, 26 feet in diameter. The

reason for these and their accessories, the pendentives, may best be

understood from Wren's own words. He says that his method of vaulting

is the most geometrical, and "_is composed of Hemispheres, and their

Sections only; and whereas a Sphere may be cut all Manner of Ways, and

that still into Circles ... I have for just Reasons followed this way

in the Vaulting of the Church of St. Paul's.... It is the lightest

Manner, and requires less Butment than the Cross-vaulting, as well

that it is of an agreeable View.... Vaulting by Parts of Hemispheres I

have therefore followed in the Vaultings of St. Paul's, and with good

reason preferred it above any other way used by Architects._"[94] The

saucer-shaped domes are sections of spheres, as are both the

pendentives and the sides of the clerestory windows. He set to work

something in this way. After satisfying himself that he had hit on a

better plan than the plain cylindrical or the cross-vaulting of the

Romans, or the other forms of intersecting vaults, he seems to have

taken a hemisphere as a plan to work upon, and fixed his imaginary

centre about the level of the top of the triforium. In the great

square western severy of the nave this was easier, but the other

severies are oblong. Here he stretched his sections out, so as to

include the clerestory windows and their much-needed light. The usual

way of expressing this is to say that the vault is intersected across

by an elliptic cylinder. The wreaths, garlands, and festoons, and the

various conventional patterns with which the edges and surfaces of the

various parts of the vaulting is adorned cannot be estimated from the

pavement. We may add here that the pendentives were purposely

constructed of "_sound Brick invested with Stucco of Cockle-shell

lime_," and not of Portland stone, for further ornament if

required.[95] So are the circular sections.

The nave is connected with the dome by the space between the great

piers or walls of more than 30 feet in length. These piers are also

broader at their ends than those which support the arcading, the

latter covering a square of about 10 feet. The greater massiveness is

owing to their assistance being required in supporting the dome. They

have large pilasters at the angles, and their coffered wagon

vaulting, adorned with geometrical patterns, is very striking.

=The Nave Aisles.=--We will first point out an unnoticed feature in

the great piers at either end. Their inner faces as seen from the

aisles have recesses or niches for the reception of monuments, and

other recesses are generally found in the wall opposite. At the west

of the aisles there are eight of these altogether, just behind the

coupled columns. They are repeated in all the great piers leading to

the dome, but although of sufficient height to permit of the

introduction of life-sized effigies, still remain unoccupied. The

coupled columns are repeated at the entrances to the chapels. At both

ends the perspective is narrowed; at the west by the chapels, at the

east by the breadth of the great piers. The windows stand in recesses

which are segments of circles. Their sides are made to represent piers

with concave surfaces. These latter carry an entablature from which

spring the round window arches. Festoons run below the actual windows,

the concave side piers have panels, and the round arches above

diamond-shaped patterns. There are only three windows on either

side--the chapels taking the place of a fourth--and the depth of their

recesses points out the thickness of the walls. Between each recess

are Composite pilasters in couples, with others opposite against the

piers. These correspond with the lesser pilasters of the arcading, and

from them spring transverse arches, as in the great central aisle. The

vaulting, owing to the severies being nearly square, is regular; in

other respects similar to that already described. The height is much

less than that of the greater aisle, reaching only to the first stage

of the latter.

=The West Chapels.=--They may best be described as squares of 26 feet,

with apses or tribunes at either end which increase the length to 55

feet. They suffer sadly from want of light, the one window in each

being altogether insufficient; but Wren had to do what he could. He

panelled them with oak, and made them of the same height as the

aisles, with vaulting of his favourite kind, drawn out to meet the

windows.

The North Chapel is called the Morning Chapel, from its original use

for morning prayer on weekdays. The mosaic above the altar is in

imitation of a fresco by Raphael. That at the west end, by Salviati,

is in memory of William Hale Hale, a voluminous writer and editor of

the "Domesday of St. Paul's," who was a Residentiary, Archdeacon of

London and Master of the Charterhouse. He died in 1870. The

stained-glass window is in memory of the metaphysician, Henry

Longueville Mansell, Dean of the Cathedral, who died suddenly, after a

rule of three years, in 1871. It is by Hardman, and represents the

Risen Christ and St. Thomas.

[Illustration: THE GEOMETRICAL STAIRCASE.]

The South Chapel is called the Consistory Chapel, because the

Consistory Court has been held here excepting during the time that it

sheltered the Wellington monument. The reliefs in white marble at the

ends--the east by Calder Marshall, and the west by Woodington--have to

do with this monument. Certainly the most appropriate of the six

subjects is that on the west wall which illustrates the Baptist

admonishing the soldiers. "Do violence to no man ... and be content

with your wages." Wellington earned his name of the Iron Duke for the

firmness and sternness with which he punished pillaging and

outrage.[96] The stained-glass window by Mr. Kempe has been lately put

in to the memory of James Augustus Hessey, Archdeacon of Middlesex

(1875-93), whose Bampton Lectures, "Sunday," still remain for

theologians the standard treatise upon the Day of Rest. The Font of

veined Carrara marble, another work of Bird, rather resembles the

round basins resting on stands of the ancient Greek baths than any of

our usual models. As St. Paul's is one of those cathedrals with no

parish annexed, only those connected with it have any claim for

baptisms.

=The Geometrical Staircase.=--This is in the South Tower, and leads

from the Crypt to the Library. It is circular, of a diameter of

twenty-five feet, and so constructed that eighteen steps, each nearly

six feet broad at the outside, lead from the outside entrance to the

interior. The ironwork is worthy of the choir.

The three remaining limbs differ only on the plan; in the other

features of their architecture they are essentially similar to the

nave. While the Pointed architecture suggests upward lines, and the

Greek entablature horizontal lines, the round arch suggests a neutral

position between the two. The great span of the arches and the general

largeness of the different parts diminish the apparent size. The

uniformity in the details produces that symmetry which is a

peculiarity of the Renaissance.

THE DOME.

The Dome rises from its foundation in the Crypt of a square of 190

feet, and of this the solid parts are more than equal to the vacant

spaces, and are of a thickness of 20 feet.[97]

Coming to the level of the church, these solid parts are represented

by twelve supports. The chief of them are the bastion-like piers at

the angles of the transepts. They are hollow at the pavement level;

and the south-west is used as a staircase, the north-west as the

Lord's Mayor's vestry, the north-east the Minor Canons', and the

south-east the Dean's. It gives some idea of their massiveness to

reflect that these rooms inside them are nearly twenty feet across.

The eight other supports are the huge wall-like piers, thirty-five

feet by ten, at the entrances from the four limbs.

=The Arcading.=--When Wren planned his dome interior he had the

difficulty caused by the four limbs and their side aisles to overcome.

It was easy enough for the architect of such a church as St. Genevieve

(or the Pantheon) at Paris to construct one, as he had neither this

complicated arcading nor so heavy a superincumbent mass to consider.

Wren's path, then, was beset with difficulties, and he must have

turned to his uncle's cathedral at Ely for enlightenment. In the

earlier years of the fourteenth century the central tower at Ely

collapsed: and the Sacrist, Alan de Walsingham, who acted as

architect, seeing that the breadth of his nave, choir, and transepts

happened to agree, took for his base this common breadth, and cutting

off the angles, obtained a spacious octagon. The four sides

terminating the main aisles are longer than the four alternate sides

at the angles of the side aisles; but at Ely this presents no

difficulty, owing to the use of the pointed arch. As you stand in the

centre of the octagon under the lantern you see eight spacious arches

of two different widths, all springing from the same level and rising

to the same height of eighty-five feet, the terminal arch of the

Norman nave pointed like its opposite neighbour of the choir. Amongst

Gothic churches the interior of Ely reigns unique and supreme,

certainly in England, if not in Europe.[98] Wren was familiar with

this cathedral, and even designed some restorations for it; and he

adopted the eight arches in preference to any possible scheme of four

great arches of sixty feet: but the use of the round arch, as distinct

from the pointed, deprived him of Sacrist Alan's liberty, who without

incongruity made his intermediate arches of the shorter sides,

springing from the same level, rise to the same height as the others.

Wren was compelled to make use of some expedient to reconcile his two

different spaces between piers of forty feet and twenty-six feet, and

accordingly arched these four smaller intermediate spaces as follows.

A smaller arch, rising from the architrave of the great pier, spans

each shorter side of the octagon, and has a ceiling or quarter dome in

the background, coming down to the terminal arches of the side aisles.

A blank wall space above is relieved by a section of an ornamental

arch of larger span, resting on the centre of the cornice; and above

this a third arch, rising from the level of the triforium cornice,

rests more upon the _outer_ side of the great supporting pier, and

thereby obtains the required equal span of forty feet, and equal

height of eighty-nine feet from the ground. This also has a quarter

dome; and the platform beneath on a level with the clerestory is

railed.

The reduction of the octagon to the circle is facilitated by giving

the spandrels between the arches the necessary concave surface; and

this stage is finished off with a cantilever cornice, the work (at

least in part) of one Jonathan Maine. The eight great keystones of the

arches by Caius Gabriel Cibber are seven feet by five, and eighteen

inches in relief.

=The Whispering Gallery= is almost exactly a hundred feet from the

pavement, and curiously enough about the same distance across. We are

still, be it understood, below the level of the apex of the exterior

roof, and the Cross is quite two hundred and sixty feet above us. The

gallery projects so that the lectern steps and the pulpit are

underneath. The attendant whispering across the whole area can be

distinctly heard, an acoustic property seemingly caused by the

nearness of the concave hemisphere above.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE DOME.

_From an engraving by G. Coney in Sir H. Ellis' edition of

Dugdale's St. Paul's._]

=The Drum.=--The actual bend inwards now begins, but for this part

only in straight lines.[99] First comes the plain band or

PODIUM, panelled and of a height of twenty feet. On this

stand thirty-two composite pilasters, in reality, as well as in

appearance, out of the horizontal. Three out of each four intervening

spaces are pierced with square-headed windows; and from them such

light as the dome possesses, streams down through the windows of the

exterior colonnade. The alternate fourth recesses, apparently nothing

more than ornamental niches, conceal the supports which bear the

weight above. In the recent scheme of decoration they have been filled

with statues of Early Fathers--the four eastern, SS. Chrysostom,

Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, and Athanasius; and the four western, SS.

Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, and Gregory. If the light allows,

the Podium, at present bare, is a suitable place for mosaics.

=The Cupola.=--So, for want of a better name, we will call the topmost

section or inner roof of brick, two bricks thick. Here the straight

lines bearing inwards give way to the sphere; and here, too, the three

separate coverings, which constitute the dome, begin. The circular

opening below the lantern coincides with the lower edge of the fluting

of the exterior shell, and is about two hundred and fifteen feet from

the pavement.[100]

These upper regions, hidden in an almost perpetual gloom, were

decorated in monochrome by Sir James Thornhill; but his work has

failed to resist the chemical action of the surcharged atmosphere. Yet

a word or two about it may interest. Concentric circles surround the

opening; and the remaining surface is ingeniously divided into eight

compartments by designs of piers and round arches; the piers

coinciding with the eight recesses below. In these compartments are

scenes from the life of the patronal saint: (1) The Conversion, (2)

Elymas, (3) Cripple at Lystra, (4) Jailer at Philippi, (5) Mars Hill,

(6) Burning Books at Ephesus, (7) Before Agrippa, (8) Shipwreck. We

have all of us heard from the days of our boyhood or girlhood the

story of the painter, on a platform at a great height, who stepped

back to get a better view of his work. As he did so, an assistant,

standing by, brush in hand, observed with alarm that the slightest

further backward step would entail his falling headlong and being

dashed to pieces. He deliberately daubed the painting; and the artist,

stepping instinctively forward to prevent this, saved his life. The

painter is said to be Thornhill: the scene, the giddy height under the

dome.

The interior height of two diameters will always be a disputed

question. Stephen Wren[101] seemed to think that his grandfather hit

the happy medium of a diameter and a half; but this only reaches to

the windows and Early Fathers. He probably gives us the Surveyor's

_intention_. Afterwards, when Wren was compelled to raise the height

of the exterior, he increased the interior. St. Sophia and the

Invalides are both less than two diameters, and give the idea of

greater area. While it is difficult to see what aesthetic advantage is

gained by a roof and upper regions immersed in perpetual gloom, the

acoustic properties and the light might both have been improved by a

more modest elevation. Yet the advocates of a smaller ratio injure

their case by writing about "a great disproportioned hole in the

'roof.'"

=The Pulpit= was one of the additions suggested in Dean Milman's time,

when the dome area was used for service. It is a memorial to Captain

Robert Fitzgerald, designed by Mr. Penrose; and the marbles come from

various places. It stands on columns, of which the gray are from

Plymouth, the "dark purplish" from Anglesea, and the red from Cork. In

the panels and elsewhere the green is from Tenos, and the yellow

chiefly from Siena, with a little of the ancient Giallo Antico from

Rome.[102] Alike in the design, and in the combination of these

different marbles, the pulpit is a fitting and judicious adornment.

=The Lectern= takes the familiar form of an eagle, and is of bronze.

This fine piece of work was finished in 1720 by Jacob Sutton, at a

cost of L241 15s.

=The Mosaics.=--Stephen Wren tells us that his grandfather intended

his great building to be adorned with mosaic work, and that one of his

numerous disappointments was his inability, thanks to the ignorant

opposition of the Commission, to carry out this intention. The

categorical statement of the grandson is corroborated by (_a_) the

text of various Acts of Parliaments, (_b_) other Renaissance Churches

and notably St. Peter's, (_c_) the use of material softer than

Portland stone for various surfaces.[103] Bishop Newton, who was Dean

a hundred and twenty years ago, roundly accused the authorities of

filching the decoration funds for William's wars. Queen Anne's wars

would have sounded more probable. It was not until our own day that in

this respect, as in others, the Surveyor's ideas have been carried

out.

The eight spandrels of soft and suitable stone have designs of the

four Greater Prophets, and the four Evangelists, executed by Dr.

Salviati of Venice. For the designs of St. Matthew and St. John the

authorities were fortunate enough to secure the services of that

wonderful Academician, Mr. G.F. Watts. He thoroughly understood and

overcame the difficulty of the great distance of the spectator on the

pavement below. These designs are in every way worthy of the painter

of the Rider on the White Horse, and its fellows. The other

Evangelists were designed by Mr. Brittan, and the Prophets by Mr. A.

Stevens. The smoke should never be allowed to mar the colouring, and

so injure the good effect, of this part of the scheme of decoration.

Subsequently the authorities and their committee turned to Mr. (now

Sir William) Richmond, R.A., whose veneration for St. Paul's dates

from childhood. His interest in mosaic work caused him to study

carefully the principles of design which obtained in Italy, Greece,

and Asia Minor, during the best times of the Byzantine Empire.[104]

Sir William has adopted the old plan of glass tesserae or cubes, and of

four shapes--the cube, double cube, equilateral triangle, and a longer

form with sharp points. They are of eight to ten tones of colour, and

are put into position on the spot, being joined together by a mastic

cement which resembles that used by Andrea Tafi in restoring the

mosaics in the Baptistery at Florence. This cement in time becomes

quite hard. The cubes with their complex facets are not joined close

together, but separated by one-sixteenth to one-fourth of an inch, the

better to reflect the light, so as to give a rich and soft texture.

They are made at Messrs. Powell's workshops. Sir William has done a

great deal more than design. He has, so far as this country is

concerned, caused us to acquire a new art, while he has restored an

old one. The workmen, who are all natives, have been trained by him.

Accustomed only to the smooth, pictorial mosaics of thin plates of

glass put together in the workshop, he had to teach the Messrs. Powell

and their staff both how to make the glass cubes, and how to put each

one separately into its place in the cement on the wall or roof. As

our cathedrals are sermons in stone, so these adornments are intended

to be illustrated sermons in glass. Beginning with the Creation, and

including those, Pagans as well as Israelites, who prepared the way

and led up to the Fulness of the Time, we are here taught the leading

features of that progressive truth which has been revealed.

The difficulty in dealing with the lofty blank spaces of the dome will

be not to go too high up, and not to come too far down. At the time of

revising these lines (August, 1899) the decoration of this part of the

cathedral has advanced no further than the quarter domes of those

alternate arches which tested so severely the genius of the Surveyor.

In the four, taken as a whole, the general subject illustrated will be

St. Paul's Gospel of the Resurrection from the early verses of 1

Corinthians, XV.

_North-East_, the Crucifixion. Christ stands on the Tree of Life,

branches on either side and the cross behind. The water of life issues

from below the tree, making a silver flood; these silver tones, the

result of many experiments, when flashing, expand and give more light

than gold. The holy women are on either side, and Adam and Eve

kneeling in the two corners. The world is represented as a

harvest-field. The inscription below runs, "The Lord hath laid on Him

the iniquity of us all." _South-East_, the Resurrection. The Risen

Christ is standing at the entrance of the open sepulchre, and is

supported on either side by an angel in blue and white. He wears a

long mantle of white, shaded to red, probably to prevent the white

rays spreading too much. On either side in the corners are placed the

sleeping soldiers: and above is a canopy of clouds, lifting on the

horizon. A scroll-work, which looks like pomegranates, takes the place

of the silver flood of the companion across the choir arch.

Inscription, "Behold! I am alive for evermore." _South-West_ the

Entombment. A winged angel, sitting, holds the reclining Body. On the

right, standing figures of women, and on the left two angels.

Continuing round are two other figures on either side; and these, as I

am instructed, are symbolical of our four nationalities. Trees and

foliage are above the figures. This section is still incomplete, and

the text wanting; but the scroll-work looks like leaves and acorns.

Years hence, when the dome as a whole is finished, we shall be in a

position to judge. So far everything is rich and promises well.[105]

[Illustration: _Photo. S.B. Bolas & Co._

THE SOUTH CHOIR AISLE, SHOWING THE BACK OF THE STALLS AND THE

IRON GATES.]

THE TRANSEPTS.

These short limbs consist of only one arch beyond the great dome

piers. There is no arch at the ends like that by the west door.

Instead, the wall space shows four single pilasters with their

entablature supporting the gallery. The gilded copy of the well-known

inscription on Wren's tomb is over the north doorway. The great

windows, the gift of the late Duke of Westminster, and designed by Sir

William Richmond, illustrate early Church history. The North

represents twelve primary bishops who introduced, or restored after

lapse, Christianity, after the coming of the English, and include

Augustine, Mellitus, Cedd, Birinus, Theodore of Tarsus (the originator

of the parochial system), and Erkenwald. The South represents twelve

kings who co-operated and supported the prelates, including Ethelbert,

Cynegils, Coinwalch, Sabert, Sigebert, and Sebbe. In the south

transept aisles the Thanksgiving service in 1872 for the recovery of

the Prince of Wales is commemorated by a window, the subject being the

Raising of the Son of the Widow of Nain, and a tablet performs the

like service.

[Illustration: BISHOP'S THRONE AND STALLS ON THE SOUTH SIDE.]

THE CHOIR.

The plan consists of the great piers and chancel arch, three arches,

other great piers which support the triumphal or reredos arch and are

pierced for doorways, and finally the apse. The side aisles do not

extend beyond the reredos arch. The main aisle, formerly isolated from

the dome by the organ and organ-screen, is now separated only by a low

railing, and the space underneath the chancel arch has been included.

By uniting choir and dome for the purposes of congregational worship

the intention of the architect has been carried into effect. The

ironwork of the gates, both at the west end of the aisles and in the

doorways of the reredos arch, is part of Tijou's work, restored and

replaced as occasion arose.

=The Stalls.=--They all now face uniformly on opposite sides. They are

the work of Grinling Gibbons, and originally cost over L1,300. The

best plan is to see them both from the choir and the aisles, as their

general conception and details are alike creditable to the

wood-workers of their day. The canopies have galleries above; and

those in the centre on either side, as also over the throne at the end

of the south side, have turrets. But it is not only their artistic

merits. More than anything else they carry us back to the days of Old

St. Paul's, since they reproduce the seats of the dignitaries for ages

past. Numbering thirty-one on either side, the Latin inscriptions over

fifteen on either side call for notice. These are the headings of the

Psalter divided into thirty parts.

In the days of Bishop Maurice and Dean Ulstan, according to Newcourt,

a division was first made, so that each prebendary should say the

Psalter through in a month, while the whole Psalter should be said

each day. Under Ralph de Baldock, in succession Archdeacon of

Middlesex, Dean, and finally Bishop (1276-1313), the present and more

equal division was made.[106] The Archdeaconries of Essex and

Colchester are now in the Diocese of St. Alban's, and the Archdeaconry

of St. Alban's, consisting of a few parishes in Herts and Bucks,

created after the dissolution of the abbey, though for a time in the

diocese, never had a stall. The stalls and seats have been added to

from the designs of Mr. Penrose. For the sake of convenience I have

numbered the thirty-one stalls on either side: the other numbers, in

brackets, to the right, represent the traditional positions in Old St.

Paul's. Each dignitary's stall has the name inscribed. Neither from

the position of the stalls, nor from the order of the allotment of the

Psalter is it possible to discover any priority. Perhaps both were

arranged according to the then seniority of the canons.

NORTH SIDE.

30 and 31. [Not assigned.]

27-29. Minor Canons.

26. Archdeacon of Middlesex (19)

25. Chiswick (18) _Nonne Deo subjecta._

24. Caddington Major (17) _Omnes gentes plaudite._

23. Newington (16) _Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus._

22. Neasden (15) _Domine ne in furore._

21. Brondesbury (14) _Beatus vir, qui timet Dominum._

20. (Not assigned.)

19. Lord Mayor, with Mace-Bearer below.

18. (Not assigned.)

17. Consumpta per Mare (13) _Confitemini Domino [107-111]._

16. Willesden (12) _Noli aemulari._

15. Islington (11) _In convertendo Dominus._

14. Ealdland (10) _Deus stetit in synagoga._

13. Hoxton (9) _Defer in salutare anima._

12. Wedland (8) _Exandi, Domine, justitiam._

11. Reculverland (7) _Beati quorum remissio._

10. St. Pancras (6) _Voce mea._

9. Caddington Minor (5) _Miserere mei Deus._

8. Tottenhall (Tottenham) (4) _Beatus vir qui non abiit._

7. (Not assigned.)

6 and 5. Minor Canons.

4. Chancellor. (3)

3. Precentor. (2)

2. Residentiary.

1. Archdeacon of London. (1)

SOUTH SIDE.

The Bishop's Throne or official _Cathedra_.

30 and 31. (Not assigned.)

27-29. Minor Canons.

26. Archdeacon of Colchester,

now a Minor Canon (19)

25. Ealdstreet (18) _Dominus regnavit, exultet terra._

24. Rugmere (17) _Ad Dominum cum tribularer._

23. Brownswood (16) _Deus judicium tuum._

22. Wenlocksbarn (15) _Quemadmodum desiderat._

21. Sneating (14) _Dominus Deus meus, respice._

20. (Not assigned.)

19. The Bishop.

18. (Not assigned.)

17. Oxgate (13) _Domine exandi [102-106]._

16. Mapesbury (12) _Memento Domine David._

15. Twyford (11) _Deus misercatur mei._

14. Cantlers (Kentish Town) (10) _Dominus illuminatio mea._

13. Mora (9) _Confitebor tibi in toto corde._

12. Portpool (8) _Quid gloriaris in malitia._

11. Harleston in Willesden (7) _Fundamenta ejus, &c._

10. Holborn (6) _Salvum me fac Domine, &c._

9. Chamberlainewood (5) _Bonum est confiteri, &c._

8. Finsbury or Halliwell (4) _Benedictus Dominus Deu, &c._

7. (Not assigned.)

5 and 6. Minor Canons.

4. Treasurer (3)

3. Residentiary

2. Archdeacon of Essex, now

a Residentiary (2)

1. The Dean (1)

Dr. Sparrow-Simpson assigned the psalms to Consumpta and Oxgate as I

have put them in brackets.[107]

=The Organ.=--In Old St. Paul's the organ was considered to have but

two peers, Canterbury and York; and the present instrument is worthy

of its predecessor. Grinling Gibbons executed the older part of the

case, with its foliage, figures, and imitations of the architecture.

Bernard Schmidt, a German, was the builder; and in 1802 "a most

industrious Swede and his partner" took it to pieces, cleaned it, and

improved the tone of many of the notes. When the choir was opened out,

at the suggestion of Dr. Sparrow-Simpson the instrument was enlarged

by Mr. Willis, divided between the two sides, and placed above the

stalls at the west end, the old carved work being chiefly on the north

side. Whether Jeremiah Clark (1695-1707) lived long enough to preside

is uncertain; but if not, Richard Brind (1707-1718) was the first to

play the present instrument. Neither Sir John Stainer nor Sir George

Martin need any mention. The organist is seated on the north side, and

communicates by electricity.

=The Reredos.=--Advantage has been taken of the space between the

great eastern piers to bring forward the altar and crown it with a

lofty reredos. Would Wren have approved of the breaking of the vista

by shutting out the windows of the apse? As he himself designed an

unexecuted Baldachino "of rich marble columns writhed" somewhat after

the style of his favourite St. Peter's,[108] and as this was not so

high, and was to stand against the east wall, the answer to this

question is doubtful. The impression left is that for the present

altar-piece he would have designed his east front somewhat

differently. Be this as it may, upon this magnificent specimen of

modern art it is waste of time to lavish praise, and the names of the

designers, Messrs. Bodley and Garner, will always be associated with

it. The symbolism is expressed in the frieze above the Crucifixion,

"Sic Deus dilexit mundum" ("God so loved the world"). The lower part

is pierced with doors on either side: and "Via Electionis" ("A chosen

vessel") over the north door refers to St. Paul, and "Pasce oves meos"

("Feed my sheep") over the other to St. Peter; and here the crossed

swords are the arms of the diocese. The section above has the

Entombment in the centre, and the Nativity and Resurrection on either

side. A Crucifixion occupies the central position. The framework is of

Roman design, with pilasters and a round arch; and remembering Wren's

conception, it is interesting that the columns of Brescia marble,

supporting the entablature above, are twisted. This is flanked with a

colonnade; the figure on the north being the Angel Gabriel, and to the

south the Virgin. Above the pediment is a canopy with the Virgin and

Child, and St. Peter and St. Paul to the north and south; and above

all, and nearly seventy feet from the ground, the Risen Christ

completes this most reverent design.

The altar cross is adorned with precious stones and lapis lazuli; and

the massive copper candlesticks are imitations of those, four in

number, sold during the Protectorate, and now, with the arms of

England, in Ghent Cathedral.

=The Apse.=--Although the side aisles require no particular mention,

unless it be of certain relics from Jerusalem in the south aisle, the

iron gates leading to the reredos are well worthy of attention. When

the choir was opened out, the ironwork was brought here; but there was

not sufficient. Recourse was had in vain to modern coal-smelted metal:

it split, and proved useless for the finer work. Searching the

records, it was discovered that Tijou used only charcoal-smelted iron;

and a supply was procured from Norway. Comment is needless. The

vaulting comes down to the upper tier of windows. The windows in the

lower tier, by Mr. C.E. Kempe, in harmony with the mosaics, have for

their general subject the Last Judgment.

Isolated by the great Reredos behind from the rest of the church, the

apse now forms a separate chapel, and is called the Jesus Chapel. Why

borrow the name from the east end of the crypt below? The Liddon

Chapel would be a suitable name. Here, against the south wall is his

monument; and the altar-piece, in its marble framework, forms part of

his memorial. It is a copy of a painting by Giovanni Battista da

Conegliano, otherwise Cima. The original, now in the National Gallery,

was painted for the Fraternity of the Battuti at Portogruaro. The

subject is the incredulity of St. Thomas.

[Illustration: THE CHOIR, ALTAR AND REREDOS.]

=The Mosaics.=--Excepting, perhaps, certain minor alterations which

time and experience may suggest, the decoration and adornment of the

Choir may now be reckoned as finished. The scheme was begun from the

east, and continued westward; but there is no good reason for altering

our plan, and we will continue to work from the west eastward. Of the

five divisions of the main aisle, the chancel arch may be dismissed;

the subject being a continuation of the western bay. There remain,

then, the three bays, the reredos arch, and the apse; and we will take

these in their order. The spandrels of the arcading treat of the Fall

and Redemption; the triforium belt has the same subject as the

"inverted saucers" of the vaulting; the clerestory windows on the

north, Creation awaiting, or anticipating, or in any sense preparing

the way for the Kingdom of Christ,--on the south, those who prepared

places of worship; the pendentives, Angels, and inscriptions from the

Psalms and Isaiah; the vaulting, the Story of Creation, continued in

the triforium belt. Thus it will be seen that the arrangement of the

interior, with its three stages, is fully recognised. Underneath the

clerestory windows the inscriptions are from the Advent antiphons to

the _Magnificat_; and these selections have most carefully omitted

anything savouring of the invocation of saints. Below the angels with

their outstretched arms in the pendentives the western sides of the

great transverse arches have inscriptions from the _Benedicite_, and

on their eastern from Romans i. 20. All of these texts or inscriptions

are in Latin. The glass in the clerestory windows has been put in to

give the best effect to the mosaics. A tabular statement will best

present a general idea of Sir William Richmond's system taken as a

whole.

WESTERN BAY (with Chancel Arch).

{ Creation of Beasts, with the inscription, "Producat

{ terra animam viventem" (Gen. i. 24). The four

_Roof_ { heraldic shields on the borders have the arms of the

{ four London Companies who are donors to the decorations.

{ N.: Merchant Taylors. S.: Mercers. E.: Fishmongers.

{ W.: Goldsmiths. Date, 1895.

_Pendentives_: Angels, with inscriptions above from Psalm civ.

N. S.

{ W.: Job. W.: Jacob's Ladder.

{ E.: Abraham at his tent E.: Moses receiving the

_Clerestory_ { door at Mamre. Tables of the Law and the

{ The Three Heavenly "Pattern of the

{ Visitors and Sarah. Tabernacle" (Exodus

{ xxv. 9).

_Inscription { "O Adonai, qui Moysi "O Adonai, et dux, et

beneath { apparuisti, veni ad dominus Israel, veni ad

window_ { redimendum nos." redimendum nos."

_Triforium { Adam, with arm round Eve, with tigers, birds

continued in { lion: a lioness licking of paradise, and other

chancel arch_ { his feet. animals.

{ Creation of Firmament. Expulsion from Paradise.

{ Two Angels in red, as the Adam and Eve walking

{ ministers of Creation. In sorrowfully in the

_Spandrels_ { centre, bright sun with direction of the Dome,

{ inscription, "Fiat lux, which represents the

{ et facta est lux." outer world. Paradise

{ has a rampart.

CENTRE BAY

{ Creation of Fish. Sea monsters spouting out water,

_Roof_ { fish swimming, and blue water. Inscription, "Creavit

{ Deus cete grandia" (Gen. i. 21).

{ This is the gift of the Fishmongers' Company.

_Pendentives_: Angels, with inscriptions from Psalm cxlviii.

N. S.

{ W.: Cyrus (who figures W. }

{ in Isaiah xliv. as a }

{ predestined Temple-builder) }

_Clerestory_ { points over his shoulder to } Bezaleel and

{ returning Jewish captives. } Aholiab,

{ } artificers of the

{ E.: Alexander (who E. } Tabernacle (Exodus

{ indirectly prepared for the } xxxvi. I).

{ First Advent by spreading

{ the Greek language and

{ opening out the Far East)

{ leaning on his sword, with

{ Greeks bearing olives.

_Inscription { "O Rex gentium desideratus "O Emmanuel, Rex et

beneath_ { earum, veni, salva Legifer, veni ad

{ hominem." salvandum nos."

_Triforium_ { Sea Leviathans and Fish. Sea Leviathans and Fish.

{ The Annunciation. The Temptation. Adam,

{ W.: Gabriel. with warning angel

{ E.: The Virgin at above. The nude

_Spandrels_ { the door of her house. figure of Eve, with

{ Nazareth in background. Satan, as a fallen

{ The Holy Dove between. angel, pointing to

{ the forbidden fruit.

EAST BAY.

{ Creation of Birds. First of these circular sections of

{ spheres to be taken in hand. Details more minute than

_Roof_ { the two others. Yet the effect, even at so great a

{ height, is not wholly lost, as a play of colour and a

{ certain sense of mystery, are afforded. It is better

{ to overdo than to underdo detail. Many of the birds

{ are outlined with silver. The leaves have veins of

{ silver, and the edges are touched with gold. As with

{ the two others, a successful attempt is made to

{ increase the real elevation, which is only three feet

{ at the apex. Inscription: "Et volatile sub firmamento"

{ (Gen. i. 20). Date, 1892.

_Pendentives_: Angels, with inscriptions above from Isaiah ix.

N. S.

{ W., Persian, and E., W.: Solomon as a young

{ Delphic Sibyl. A somewhat man. E.: David as an old

{ far-fetched design man with an air of

{ borrowed from mediaeval melancholy, thinking

{ art. Angels from above of the Temple of which

_Clerestory_ { delivering their message. he may only get ready

{ Architectural background, the materials and

{ Persian and Doric plans. Meditating about

{ respectively. his preparations under a

{ tree; court of palace

{ in the background.

{ "O Sapientia, veniad "O Radix Jesse, veni ad

_Inscription { docendum nos. O, liberandum nos. O Clavis

underneath_ { Oriens Splendor, veni David, veni et educe

{ et illumina nos." vinctum."

_Triforium_ { Peacocks of the bird Peacocks.

{ creation.

N. S.

{ Two mail-clad Angels of Two Angels of the

{ the Crucifixion, one with Passion, one with the

{ the spear and the other pillar at which Christ

_Spandrels_ { with the nails. Blue was scourged; the other

{ background in centre, with the cup of

{ "Gloria in excelsis." suffering. Much later

{ First put into position. than the opposite, and

{ Work done on slabs in the cubes put into

{ studio, and slabs fixed position one by one.

{ with bronze nails in lead

{ sockets.

The great transverse arches are inscribed on their western sides from

the _Benedicite_: "Omnes volucres coeli." "Omnia quae moventur in

aquis." "Omnes bestiae et pecora." "Benedicite, omnia opera Domini,

Domino." Looking from the east, the other faces have the Latin of

Romans i. 20: "Invisibilia ejus a creatura mundi." "Per ea quae facta,

sunt intellecta." "Conspiciuntur." "Sempiterna ejus virtus et

divinitas."

=The Reredos Arch.=--In the triforium stage over the entrances has

Melchizedek on the north and Noah on the south. The High Priest, in a

long robe, blesses Abraham, in armour and with sword at side. Eight

figures of servants are behind; and so minute is the treatment that

the loaves of bread in the basket are depicted. The original design of

this is at South Kensington. Noah, with a rainbow offering as he came

out of the Ark, faces; and both are suggested by the neighbouring

altar. Above, the subject is the Sea giving up its Dead, and the words

"Alleluia," "Sanctus."

The work in the =Apse= is difficult to describe. Above all, in the

crown of the vault, is a sun with golden rays. The chief figure is

Christ seated in judgment. The expression is of mingled firmness and

pity; and the crown has thorns bursting into flower. The upper robe,

fastened round the breast by a jewelled buckle, has red lining; and

the long robe beneath is white. To the right are two angels with the

Book of Life; and behind, two more holding crowns and inviting to

come. On the left, two more hold the scroll of the rejected, and the

angel of wrath, supported by weeping figures, holds out both hands to

repudiate. The pilasters by the windows have representations of Hope,

Fortitude, Charity, Truth, Chastity, and Justice.

But we have already exceeded our limit in describing this effort to

carry out Wren's conception on a large and well-organised scale.

Nothing approaching to it has ever been attempted in this country

before; it is "a new art acquired, a new craft learnt." Had not the

artist been constantly on the spot to see that his own thoughts were

reproduced, the work must have suffered. Sir William Richmond may

safely leave posterity to thank him. We notice with satisfaction that

before his labours on the choir were quite finished, the Royal Academy

co-opted him a full Academician, and the Crown bestowed a Knight

Commandership of the Bath.[109]

THE MONUMENTS.

For the sake of simplicity these are taken together. Not till some

eighty years after the completion of the building was any monument

placed in it: another instance of how the intentions of the architect

were ignored. In 1795, John Bacon, R.A. (1740-1799), finished the

Howard and Johnson statues, and that of Sir William Jones four years

later. The Reynolds statue, by John Flaxman, R.A. (1755-1826), was

added about the same time; and these four memorials occupy what Milman

calls the four posts of honour in front of the great supports. Then

came the wars not only with France, but in all parts of the world; and

while some of these heroes by land and sea to whom monuments were

erected are immortal, others are now so forgotten that even the date

of their birth is difficult to obtain. Yet their general claim is that

they were killed in the service of their country; and no one need

grudge them this honour. I cannot but think that a certain amount of

indiscriminate amateur criticism has been expended on the earlier

works. Johnson is represented partially draped in a toga; and there is

a sequence of nude or semi-nude Victories and Fames with or without

wings. The taste of to-day has changed, and but few people approve of

the typical design of the reign of George III. Yet it is necessary to

state that besides four by Flaxman, six bear the imprints of the

genius of Sir Francis Chantrey, R.A. (1782-1831), not to mention five

by E.H. Bailey, R.A. (1788-1847), and six by Rossi. Not only were

Flaxman and Chantrey artists and not mere masons, but examples of both

Bacon and Bailey are among the very few sculptures in the National

Gallery. The asterisk affixed to the number indicates that the remains

slumber in the Crypt.

NORTH AISLE OF NAVE.

1. Officers and men of the Cavalry and 57th and 77th Foot (now 1st and

2nd battalions of the Middlesex Regiment) who died or were killed in

the Crimea, with old colours of Middlesex Regiment carried in the

Crimea. (Marochetti.)

*2. =Wellington= (1769-1852). Sarcophagus of white marble with

ornaments in bronze. The recumbent effigy in bronze rests upon this.

The canopy supported by Corinthian columns of white marble, which are

carved with foliated diaper pattern. The bronze groups represent

Valour, with Cowardice at her feet, and Truth plucking out the tongue

of Falsehood. The canopy arch supports a great pediment intended for

an equestrian statue, and the faces have the Duke's arms and the

Garter. The chief battles are inscribed at the base. (Alfred Stevens.)

3. =Gordon= (Major-Gen. Chas. Geo., C.B., 1833-1885). Admirers of this

Christian hero constantly bring fresh flowers, which the attendants

remove when withered. Gordon's head was exhibited by the Mahdi, and

his trunk thrown into the Nile at Khartoum. A recumbent figure on a

sarcophagus, the features beautifully chiselled. One of two by that

great sculptor, Sir Joshua Edgar Boehm, R.A. (1834-1890).

4. Mural tablet to the officers and men of the Royal Fusiliers (7th

Foot) who perished in Afghan Campaign, 1879-1880.

5. =Stewart= (Major-Gen. Sir Herbert, K.C.B., 1844-1885). Killed in

the abortive attempt to relieve Gordon. A mural tablet behind Gordon's

monument. (Boehm.)

6. =Torrens= (Major-Gen. Sir A. Wellesley). Died in the Crimea.

(Marochetti.)

[Illustration: THE WELLINGTON MONUMENT.]

7. Mural tablets in brass on either side of the Melbourne monument to

the crew of H.M.S. _Captain_. Constructed in the early days of

ironclads, this vessel foundered in 1870 through a mistaken

calculation about the metacentre, with the designer, Captain Cooper

Coles, and a son of the First Lord on board.

8. =Melbourne= (William Lamb, Viscount, 1779-1848), with his brother

Frederick, a diplomatist (d. 1853). Prime Minister at the accession of

Queen Victoria. Black marble representation of "the gate of death,"

with angels of white marble. The complete darkness with nothing beyond

is more appropriate to the Premier's religious views as stated in the

_Greville Memoirs_, than to the inscription from the Collect for

Easter Eve. (Marochetti.)

SOUTH AISLE OF NAVE.

9. Officers of Coldstream Guards killed at Inkerman, with old colours

of regiment above. Vesey Dawson, Granville Elliott, Lionel Mackinnon,

Murray Cowell, Henry M. Bouverie, Frederick Ramsden, Edward Disbrowe,

C. Hubert Greville, with inscription, "Brothers in arms, in glory and

in death, they were buried in one grave." (Marochetti.)

10. =Burgiss= (Captain Richard Rundle, R.N., 1755-1797). Killed at

Camperdown in command of the _Ardent_. Almost undraped, and out of

proportion about the shoulders and bust, as is also the figure of

Victory giving him the sword. Group in lower part of sarcophagus

difficult to interpret. (J. Banks, R.A.)

11. =Middleton= (T.F., d. 1822). First Bishop of Calcutta. (Lough.)

12. =Lyons= (Captain, R.N., d. 1855). (Noble.)

13. =Westcott= (Captain Geo. Blagdon, R.N., 1743-1798). Killed in

command of the _Majestic_ at the Nile. Expression of the face too

young. The bas-relief has the Sphynx, the Nile, and the _Orient_ blown

up. (Banks.)

14. =Loch= (Captain, R.N., d. 1853). (Marochetti.)

NORTH TRANSEPT.

15. =Faulknor= (Captain Robert, R.N., 1763-1795). He was called the

"Undaunted" by Jervis; killed off Dominica in command of the

_Blanche_, and while lashing his bowsprit to the _Pique_, a French

frigate of superior size. Falling into the arms of Neptune, with

Victory about to crown him. (C. Rossi, R.A.)

16. =Mackenzie= (Major-Gen. J.R.), =Langwerth= (Brig.-Gen. E.). Both

killed at Talavera, July 28, 1809. Above Faulknor's. Two sons of

England bear trophies. The figure of Victory not remarkable for good

proportions. (C. Manning.)

*17. =Reynolds= (Sir Joshua, P.R.A., 1723-1792). Draped in the robes

of a Doctor of Laws; in right hand the Discourses to the Royal

Academy; beneath the left hand is a medallion of his master, Michael

Angelo. A pity that Bacon and others did not follow a like natural

style of design. The special preachers are advised to preach at him,

so that their voices may travel across the dome. (Flaxman.)

*18. =Cockerell= (Chas. Robert, d. 1863). An accomplished successor of

Wren as surveyor. (F.P. Cockerell.)

19. =Hoghton= (Major-Gen. Dan., d. 1811). Killed at Albuera. A tabular

monument; the embroidery on the uniform, the line of bayonets, and the

colours excellent. (Chantrey.)

20. =Elphinstone= (Hon. Mountstuart, d. 1859). Lieut. Gov. of Bombay,

and thrice refused the Governor-Generalship. (Noble.)

21. =Myers= (Lieut.-Col. Sir Wm., 1784-1811). Killed at Albuera. A

bust supported by Hercules for Valour and Minerva for Wisdom.

Inscription, extract from a letter from Wellington. (J. Kendrick.)

22. =Malcolm= (Admiral Sir Pulteney, d. 1838.) (Bailey.)

23. =St. Vincent= (Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, Earl of,

1735-1832). Defeated the Spanish Fleet off Cape St. Vincent, Feb. 14,

1797. A colossal statue, with Victory and the Muse of History.

(Bailey.)

24. =Rodney= (Admiral Geo. Brydges, Baron, K.B., 1718-1790). Defeated

French Fleet off Martinique under De Grasse, April 12, 1782.

Accidentally disregarding the code of Fighting Instructions, he

adopted the manoeuvre of "breaking the line" instead of the old

"line a-head," and later admirals followed. Marble, in uniform and the

Bath. Fame, a winged female figure with only the lower limbs draped,

instructs the Muse of History. Parliament voted L6,000 for this

monument, which is very good. (Rossi.)

*25. =Picton= (Sir Thomas, d. 1815). After a chequered career, in

which he figured at the Old Bailey, killed at Waterloo, "gloriously

leading his division," said Wellington, "to a charge of bayonets." (S.

Gahagan.)

26. =Napier= (Gen. Sir William F.P., 1785-1860). Soldier and man of

letters. Son of Lady Sarah Lennox, whom George III. wished to marry,

and brother to Charles James (No. 29). Commanded 43rd in Peninsula,

and wrote the History of the War, still a standard authority, and

other works. (Bailey.)

27. =Hay= (Major-Gen. Andrew, d. 1814). Killed at Bayonne. Falling

into the arms of Valour; soldier mourning and a file of troops in the

background, all in correct uniform. (H. Hopper.)

28. =Gore= and =Skerrett=. Two Major-Generals killed at

Bergen-op-Zoom, March 10, 1814. Chantrey is betrayed into a

pseudo-classical style, most elegant of its kind and beautifully

executed, by the designer Tallemache. Fame, without wings and undraped

to the waist, consoles Britannia, at whose feet reposes the British

Lion. (Designed by Tallemache, executed by Chantrey.)

29. =Napier= (Gen. Sir Chas. James, 1782-1853). Brother to William

(No. 26) and conqueror of Scinde. (G. Adams.)

30. =Ponsonby= (Major-Gen. Hon. Sir William, d. 1815). Killed in

command of the Union Brigade of Cavalry (Royals, Scots Greys,

Inniskillings) at Waterloo. There is good reason for Theed

representing him undraped, as his body was stripped by some of those

camp followers mentioned by Victor Hugo in _Les Miserables_. The horse

falling, as represented, was the cause of his death. "I have to add

the expression of my grief," wrote Wellington, "for the fate of an

officer who had already rendered very brilliant and important

services, and was an ornament to his profession." (Designed by William

Theed, R.A., and, after his death, executed by Bailey.)

31. =Riou= and =Mosse= (Captain Edward Riou, 1762-1801, and Captain

James Robert Mosse, 1746-1801). The "gallant good Riou," of Campbell's

song, fell in command of the _Amazon_, and Mosse of the _Monarch_, at

Copenhagen. Victory and Fame hold medallions. (Rossi.)

32. =Napier= (Admiral Sir Chas., 1786-1860). Second in command at

bombardment of Acre, and commanded English part of the allied fleet in

the Baltic, 1854. A tablet. (G. Adams.)

33. =Le Marchant= (Major-Gen. John Gaspard, d. 1812). Killed at

Salamanca. To the left is Spain placing the trophies in the tomb; to

the right Britannia instructing a cadet. (Designed by C.H. Smith and

executed by Rossi.)

34. =Hallam= (Henry, 1777-1859). Historian, and father of the "Arthur"

of "In Memoriam." (Theed.)

35. =Johnson= (Samuel, 1709-1784). More fault has been found with this

design than with any other. Instead of partially draping the colossal

statue of the great man of letters in a toga, Bacon might have adopted

the more correct taste of Flaxman with Reynolds (No. 17) and

represented him in his Oxford D.C.L. robes. This criticism does not

apply to the execution. (Bacon.)

36. =Bowes= (Major-Gen., d. 1812). Indiscriminate fault-finders may

well study this piece of work with fifteen figures. Bowes, storming a

wall at Salamanca, falls back into the arms of his men. (Chantrey.)

37. =Duncan= (Admiral Adam Viscount Duncan, 1731-1804). Defeated the

Dutch Fleet off Camperdown October 11, 1797. A simple statue, with a

seaman and wife and child on the pedestal. (R. Westmacott.)

38. =Dundas= (Major-Gen. Thomas, 1750-1794). The inscription sets

forth that Parliament voted this monument with especial reference to

services in the West Indies. Britannia, attended by Sensibility and

the Genius of Britain, crowns the bust with a laurel wreath. (John

Bacon, jun.)

39. =Crauford= and =Mackinnon=. Above No. 38. Two Major Generals who

fell at Ciudad Rodrigo, 1812. The partially draped figure with musket

and target is that of a Highland soldier, mourning; the other is the

stereotyped Victory placing a wreath. (J. Bacon, jun.)

SOUTH TRANSEPT.

*40. =Nelson= (Vice-Admiral Horatio Viscount Nelson, K.B., and Duke of

Bronte in the Neapolitan peerage, &c., 1758-1805). Completed about

1818, and placed just east of where the dean's stall now is (then

outside the choir rails); placed in present position 1870. The actual

statue in uniform and with left hand resting on anchor and cable is 7

feet 8 inches in height, and the whole monument about 18 feet. Flaxman

thus described his design:--"Britannia is directing the young seamen's

attention to their great example, Lord Nelson. On the die of the

pedestal which supports the hero's statue are figures in

basso-relievo, representing the Frozen Ocean, the German Ocean, the

Nile, and the Mediterranean. On the cornice and in the frieze of

laurel wreaths are the words, Copenhagen, Nile, Trafalgar. The British

Lion sits on the plinth, guarding the pedestal." The life-like

expression of the face was probably taken from the portrait by

Leonardo Guzzardi, in the possession of the family. The cloak conceals

the empty sleeve, and the right eye is wanting. (Flaxman.)

[Illustration: NELSON'S MONUMENT.]

41. =Hardinge= (Captain Geo. N., R.N., 1779-1808). Above Nelson.

Killed in command of the _San Fiorenzo_ when it captured the much

larger _Piemontaise_ after a three days running fight, March 3, 1808,

off Ceylon. The somewhat indifferently modelled male figure represents

an East Indian Chief with the British colours. (C. Manning.)

42. =Brock= (Major-Gen. Sir Isaac, d. 1812). Killed at Queenstown,

Upper Canada. (Westmacott.)

43. =Babington= (William, d. 1833). One of the few medical men.

(Behnes.)

44. =Hoste= (Captain Sir William, R.N., d. 1831). Statue with simple

epitaph. (Campbell.)

45. =Jones= (Sir William). A great Orientalist. One of the original

Four, and of similar design to the Johnson across the dome. The open

book on the smaller pedestal has a picture of Noah's Ark. On the

larger pedestal, Study and Genius unveil Oriental knowledge. (Bacon.)

46. =Lyons= (Vice-Admiral Edmund Lord Lyons, 1790-1858). Commanded the

Fleet before Sevastapool; also Minister at Athens. (Noble.)

47. =Abercromby= (Sir Ralph, 1736-1801). Defeated the French under

Menou at Alexandria, mortally wounded, and died on board ship. He is

falling from his horse, and a Highland soldier supports him. Large

sphinxes on plinth. (Westmacott.)

48. =Moore= (Sir John, 1761-1809). Killed at Corunna, and Soult

erected a humble monument over his grave. A Spanish soldier (why not

in uniform?) and Victory are laying him in his grave. A child--the

Genius of Spain--holds a trophy, the arms of Spain behind. Gracefully

modelled and well executed. (J. Bacon, jun.)

48A. Tablet commemorating Queen's visit, 1872, for Prince of Wales'

recovery.

49. =Cooper= (Sir Astley Paston, 1768-1841). A skilful operator before

the days of chloroform. (Bailey.)

50. =Gillespie= (Major-General Robert Rollo, d. 1814). Mortally

wounded in attempting to storm the fort of Nalapanee, in Nepaul.

51. =Pakenham= and =Gibbs=. The former commanded and the latter was a

General under him of the force defeated by Jackson at N. Orleans,

1815. Treaty of peace had been already signed at Ghent. In full

uniform. (Westmacott.)

*52. =Turner=, Joseph M.W., R.A. (1775-1851). The greatest of English

landscape painters, if not of every school. (Macdowell.)

*53. =Collingwood= (Vice-Admiral Cuthbert, Lord, 1750-1810). In

command at Trafalgar after Nelson's death. Died in command of the

Mediterranean Fleet, and the corpse is represented arriving home:

supporters Fame and the Thames; alto-relievo on the ship's side

illustrates the progress of navigation. A fine group. (Westmacott.)

54. =Howe= (Admiral of the Fleet, Richard, Earl Howe, K.G.,

1726-1799). Defeated the French off Ushant, June 1, 1794. Colossal

figure in the correct uniform with garter, collar, and ribbon (over

right shoulder, should have been left). Boat cloak over left shoulder,

and telescope in right hand. The female figure with the pen is

History. (Flaxman.)

55. =Jones= (Major-Gen. Sir John, Bart., K.C.B., R.E., 1797-1843).

(Behnes.)

56. =Ross= (Major-Gen. Robert, d. 1814). Over entrance to crypt.

Defeated a superior force at Washington, and under orders from home

destroyed the public buildings; defeated and killed at Baltimore.

Undraped male figure is Valour. (J. Kendrick.)

57. =Howard= (John, 1726-1790). Although a Quaker, the first admitted.

Died at Kherson from the plague he was investigating. In toga, and the

face expressing benevolence. "Plan for improvement of prisons" and

"hospitals" on papers in left hand; "regulations" on another at his

feet. Trampling on chains and fetters, and the bas-relief on the

pedestal represents him relieving prisoners. Inscription by his

neighbour--Samuel Whitehead, of Bedford. Liddon's last sermon from the

adjacent pulpit, April 27, 1890, on the occasion of the Centenary,

referred to him. (Bacon.)

58. =Cadogan= (Colonel Henry, d. 1813). Historical design. Mortally

wounded at Vittoria, he orders his men to place him where he can see

his regiment engaged in a successful bayonet charge. (Chantrey.)

59. =Lawrence= (Major-Gen. Sir Henry Montgomery, K.C.B., 1806-1857).

One of two famous brothers. Predicted the Mutiny fourteen years before

it broke out, and died in the defence of Lucknow. (Lough.)

60. =Heathfield= (Gen. Geo. Eliott, Baron, d. 1790). Defender of

Gibraltar, 1779-1783, against the united fleets and armies of France

and Spain.

61. =Cornwallis= (Gen. Chas., Marquis, K.G., 1739-1805). American

visitors, associating him only with the surrender of Yorktown, may

wonder at this monument. It is fully merited, not so much for the

defeat of Tippoo Sahib and conquest of Mysore, as for continuing the

policy of Clive and sternly preventing the natives of India from being

ground down by the greed and cruelty of English residents. Twice

Viceroy of India, and died there in harness. Napoleon met him during

the negotiations at Amiens, and styled him "_un bien brave homme_." A

pyramidal group. In Garter mantle with insignia (ribbon again over

wrong shoulder). The male figure represents the river Bagareth (_sic_)

and holds an emblem of the Ganges. The female figure standing by is

our Eastern Empire. Perhaps the best of this sculptor. (Rossi.)

[Illustration: _Photo S.B. Bolas & Co._

MONUMENTS OF DR. JOHN DONNE AND BISHOP BLOMFIELD.]

CHOIR SOUTH AISLE.

Four are recumbent figures of bishops and dignitaries, and call for no

comment beyond the success in giving a life-like expression to the

features.

*62. =Milman= (Henry Hart, 1791-1868). Dean for nineteen years.

Pastor, poet, historian, and divine. (Williamson.)

*63. =Donne= (John, 1572-1631). A versatile and somewhat eccentric

dean, 1621-1631. The only monument at all intact that escaped the

Fire. Upright in shroud, and on classical urn. In old church in like

position, but on opposite side. Sat for his portrait in his shroud.

64. =Blomfield= (Chas. Jas., 1786-1857). Bishop, 1828-1856. (Geo.

Richmond.)

65. =Jackson= (John, 1810-1885). Bishop, 1868-1885. (Thos. Woolner.)

66. =Heber= (Reginald, 1783-1826). Second Bishop of Calcutta; died at

Trichinopoly. Thackeray's "Good divine, charming poet, beloved parish

priest." Milman's "Early friend, by the foot of whose statue I pass so

often, not without emotion, to our services.... None was ever marked

so strongly for a missionary bishop in the fabled and romantic East."

A kneeling figure, and the best in this aisle. Formerly under the east

window, but now facing the sanctuary. (Chantrey.)

*67. =Liddon= (Henry Parry, 1829-1890). South side of the Apse. We

fitly close this catalogue with this famous preacher, with the

possible exception of Henry Melvill the greatest connected with the

cathedral in modern time. Residentiary for twenty years, and

Chancellor. (Bodley and Garner.)

* * * * *

Amongst the great sculptors, John Gibson is not represented by any

work. Amongst the great men, Wren, his epitaph notwithstanding, might

well have a monument with a list of his buildings on the pedestal.

Marlborough should have one opposite to Wellington; and Colet, surely,

might be again remembered, and with him Dean Church.

THE CRYPT.

The entrance to the staircase is in the ambulatory on the north side

of the south transept. This basement story, for the whole length and

breadth of the building, of which more than one half is taken up by

piers and pillars, dimly lighted in aisles and transepts from above,

though it strikes the spectator most impressively, has an aspect weird

and sombre to a degree. We feel we are in the company of the dead. The

pavement of the dome area is supported by eight larger and four

smaller piers, forming externally a square and internally an octagon;

and within the octagon eight columns describe a circle of sufficient

diameter for Nelson's tomb. The central aisles throughout are likewise

supported by double rows of square pillars. At the west end of the

choir the piers underneath the chancel arch are exceptionally massive,

and east of them the introduction of two extra rows of pillars

together with an irregularity in the vaulting indicates, not only

where choir screen and organ were placed, but also that Wren never

wanted them there to isolate the chancel.

[Illustration: NELSON'S TOMB.]

The parish of St. Faith in 1878 consented to the removal of the high

railings which marked off their part, and tiles now record the south

and west boundaries. This reminds us that the crypt has been a burial

place for ages past. Many completely unknown lie around us, and sleep

in the company of more than one great maker of history; but we are

concerned only with the few, and with certain monuments of others

buried elsewhere. At the west is placed Wellington's funeral car, made

of captured guns, and with his chief victories inscribed in gold, and

the candelabra used for the lying in state. Near, and further east,

are buried Cruikshank, Lord Mayor Nottage (who died during his

mayoralty in 1886), Bartle Frere and his wife (Lady Frere died 1899,

and is the last interred at the time of writing this), and Lord Napier

of Magdala. In the very centre the corpse of NELSON, enclosed

in wood from a mast of the _Orient_, reposes within the circle of

columns in a plain tomb, and underneath a magnificent black and white

sarcophagus of the sixteenth century. Let us pause to reflect that

this fine work of art, on which Benedetto da Rovanza and his masons

spent much labour, was intended by Wolsey for his own monument, but

was confiscated with the rest of his goods. To this day no one knows

the exact spot where the Abbot of Leicester and his monks buried the

great Tudor statesman; and nearly three centuries later the marble

covered the coffin of the great admiral. On the top a viscount's

coronet takes the place of the disgraced and broken-hearted cardinal's

hat. Nelson's nephew, Lord Merton of Trafalgar, lies in a vault

underneath, and at the sides are Collingwood and the Earl of Northesk,

two companions in arms. A grating here, underneath the centre of the

dome, allows the light from the lantern to be dimly seen. Further east

and near the south side were placed in April, 1883, the remains of the

ill-fated Professor Palmer and his two companions, Captain Gill and

Lieutenant Charrington, who were killed by Arabs while on a Government

mission in the Desert of Sinai. Underneath the chancel arch is the

sepulchre of Wellington, of Cornish porphyry, plain and unadorned. As

with the monument, so here, no attempt is made to enumerate those

titles, commands, orders and posts and offices of honour, proclaimed

by Garter King at Arms, after Dean Milman had committed his body to

the ground. The simple inscription, "Arthur, Duke of Wellington," upon

the severely simple tomb, depicts, not incorrectly, the life and

character of the Iron Duke. A neighbouring tomb is that of Picton.

Some little distance to the east, and in the end recess of the south

choir aisle is the grave of WREN. The plain black marble

slab, which tells who lies below, is only raised some sixteen inches;

and on the wall of the recess is the original of the famous

inscription, "_Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice._" Other

members of the family are close at hand in what we may call Wren's

corner. His daughter Jane, his daughter-in-law Maria with her parents

Philip and Constantia Masard, and tablets commemorate Dame Jane his

wife, a daughter of Sir Thomas Coghill, and her great granddaughter

who, living to the age of ninety-three, well-nigh connects his time

with ours. One of the deans--Newton, Bishop of Bristol, whose monument

was not allowed above, slumbers near the great architect; as in

=Painters' Corner= do Reynolds, West, Lawrence, Leighton (whose fine

gravestone contrasts so oddly with Wren's), and Millais, all

Presidents of the Royal Academy, with James Barry, Opie, Dance,

Fuseli, Turner, Landseer, and Boehm. Near here are Mylne and

Cockerell, successors of Wren: Milman lies directly under the altar,

and Liddon underneath his monument.

[Illustration: _Photo. S.B. Bolas & Co._

CHURCH OF ST. FAITH IN THE CRYPT.]

The monuments include two removed from the choir to make room for the

organ. John Cooke, killed in command of the _Bellerophon_

(Westmacott), and George Duff, killed in command of the _Mars_

(Bacon), both at Trafalgar. Tablets, busts, or brasses, are in honour

of Lord Mayo, the Canadian statesman Macdonald, the Australian

statesman Dally, the Press correspondents who fell in the Soudan, the

soldiers who fell in the Transvaal, Goss, the organist and composer,

and Bishop Piers Claughton, a residentiary. At the east end, where

service is held on a weekday morning at eight, are a few fragments of

the old monuments--Nicholas Bacon (in armour and legs missing),

Christopher Hatton, John Wolley, and others. Some slight carvings of

the old buildings are also left.

THE GALLERIES AND LIBRARY.

[Illustration: _Photo. S.B. Bolas & Co._

THE LIBRARY.]

Above the aisles are long and spacious galleries, and after mounting

the staircase to the south-west of the dome, we pass through one of

these--that over the south aisle--to the Library over the South-West

Chapel. A gallery is supported by brackets carved by Jonathan Maine,

and the flooring is of 2,300 pieces of oak, inlaid and without pegs or

nails. There is a portrait of Bishop Compton, who may be considered the

founder; and later donations and bequests include those of Bishop

Sumner of Winchester, Archdeacon Hale, and notably Dr. Sparrow-Simpson.

Altogether many thousands of MSS. and books. A beautiful "Avicenna

Canon Medicinae," a psalter supposed to have been used in the old Latin

services, and another bought by Dr. Simpson at a second-hand

book-stall, are of the fourteenth century. A subscription book for the

rebuilding contains the following: "_I will give one thousand pounds a

yeare whitehall 20 March 1677/8 Charles R._" These subscriptions never

found their way into the fund; and forgetful how readily the Merry

Monarch's money might have been intercepted _en route_, it has been

assumed that he never parted with it. In the same book James also

promises "_two hundred pounds a yeare to begin from Midsommer day last

past._" The printed books include Tyndale's Pentateuch and his New

Testament; and the Sumner and Hale bequests include large numbers of

curious tracts and pamphlets. Richard Jennings' model of the centre of

the west front is preserved. In the eighteenth century St. Paul's was a

favourite place for weddings, and the registers, with many interesting

names, are being edited for the Harleian Society. The Trophy Room above

the North-West Chapel contains Wren's model, which was restored when

Sydney Smith was a Canon.

* * * * *

We are quite content to follow Fergusson, and let the architectural

value of New St. Paul's stand or fall with the literary value of

"Paradise Lost." Just as Addison says of the latter: "In poetry as in

architecture, not only the whole, but the principal members and every

part of them should be great"; "there is an unquestionable

magnificence in every part"; "a work which does an honour to the

English nation": just as Macaulay corroborates by eulogising it as

"that extraordinary production which the general suffrage of critics

has placed in the highest class of human compositions"--even so we may

end here, and describe this unique and marvellous conception of a man

who was not a trained architect, who was never known to have travelled

further than Paris and who was incessantly hampered and hindered, as a

conception, not indeed architecturally faultless, but for all that and

leaving out the much greater St. Peter's, as the finest church of the

Renaissance style and epoch, more stable and better adapted for public

worship than any earlier cathedral in England. To the Renaissance, the

genius of Milton contributed an epic in blank verse, the genius of

Wren a second in stone.

FOOTNOTES:

[90] Ground-plan of Interior of First Design in Fergusson's "Modern

Architecture," p. 260; and in Longman, p. 110, where the scale, though

not given, is 1-1/2 inches to the 100 feet.

[91] "Parentalia," p. 290. The Temple of Peace is now known as the

Basilica of Constantine or Maxentius.

[92] _Fortnightly Review_, October, 1872.

[93] "Handbook," p. 495.

[94] Tract II. in "Parentalia," p. 357. His mathematical

demonstrations with their diagrams, wherein he works out the centre of

gravity, are too technical for insertion. The Tract is incomplete.

[95] "Parentalia," p. 291.

[96] The two others on the west wall represent Melchisedek blessing

Abraham, and David as a man of war praising God. On the eastern wall

the central piece illustrates the texts, "Righteousness and peace have

kissed each other"; "Young men and maidens, old men and children,

praise the name of the Lord." At the sides the words of Job, "Unto me

men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel"; and of the

Centurion, "I also am a man set under authority, having under myself

soldiers."

[97] Gwilt's "Edifices of London," vol. i., p. 33, quoted by Longman,

p. 178.

[98] Nevertheless it is not correct to say that the massive pillars of

the octagon leave the vista along the side aisles unimpaired. I have

satisfied myself that there is an interruption similar to St. Paul's.

[99] See the half-section, half elevation, in Fergusson, p. 271, or

section p. 90 above.

[100] So far as I can calculate. St. Peter's, according to Fergusson,

is 333 feet high internally, and the diameter 130 feet, giving a ratio

of five to two: St. Paul's gives a ratio of two to one. Stephen Wren

gives the ratios differently in the "Parentalia."

[101] "Parentalia," p. 291.

[102] "St. Paul's and Old City Life," p. 279.

[103] I think it needless to repeat the evidence I gave _in extenso_

in the _Times_, May 22, 1899. But see the "Parentalia," p. 292, note

(_a_), and Mr. William Longman's remarks.

[104] I presume that this gave rise to the idea that this particular

kind of mosaic is only suited for churches of the Byzantine style of

architecture, like St. Sophia. Yet these old mosaics are found in

churches which are not of this style, although situated at one time in

the Eastern Empire.

[105] My sister, Mrs. Curry, saw these mosaics on August 30, 1899, and

helped me to bring the account up to date.

[106] I am indebted to Ralph's successor, Archdeacon Thornton, for

this information. These "Psalmi Ascripti" are found in the

_Consuetudines_ of Ralph de Baldock. I am ignorant of Newcourt's

sources of information.

[107] _Registrum Statutorum_, Appendix i.

[108] Longman, p. 112.

[109] Further information may be found in _The Journal of the Society

of Arts_, June 21, 1895 (Sir W. Richmond); _Magazine of Art_, Nov.,

1897 (Alfred Lys Baldry); _Sunday Magazine_, Jan. and Feb., 1898

(Canon Newbolt, who mentions "A Small Lecture on Mosaic," by Sir W.

Richmond, given at the "Arts and Crafts").