A small portion of the ancient shrine is given in this illustration, but
we can see the only twisted pillar which retains any of its original
Italian mosaic decoration, and behind the candlesticks is more of this
beautiful work. The altar and the gilded group and cornice over it are
of recent date, _i.e._ the Coronation of King Edward VII. and Queen
Alexandra; the red velvet pall with its blue linen cover were placed over
the tomb of the saint at the same time. A portion of the tombs of Edward
III. and Richard II. show on the south side of the chapel, with the
windows of that of St. Edmund above.
* * * * * *
Neither Feckenham nor Queen Mary could afford to pay for a new golden
top, and the present plain wooden one was perforce substituted. The only
wonder is that the royal chapel was not stripped entirely bare of its
treasures long before our time. The relics, no doubt, were taken at the
suppression of the monastery. The silver head and armour of Henry V.
were stolen in the reign of Henry VIII., after the monks, those careful
custodians of the Abbey, had been dispersed. The silver cradle on the
tomb of Edward IV.'s little daughter vanished later. We look around and
see the empty places on Henry III.'s tomb whence the mosaics and jewels
have been picked out; the arms of Richard II. and his queen are missing;
that once wonderful work of art, Philippa's monument, so well described
by Sir Gilbert Scott, is a ruin. The Coronation Chair, now raised safely
out of {73} harm's way, is actually covered with the names of tourists.
Yet neither Henry VIII. nor the Protestant Protector Somerset, not even
those scapegoats the Puritan soldiers, are altogether to blame for these
and other acts of vandalism. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries people seem to have roamed about the Abbey, occasionally
accompanied by a verger, usually free to write their names or to break
off relics. The glass cases of the wax effigies, which are covered with
such records, bear witness to the careless guardianship of the church in
former days.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: The Tomb of Henry III. from St. Edward's Chapel]
* * * *