Westminster Abbey is the greatest of modern tombs. Here the great dead of England sleep the last long sleep. The word generally used to describe it is "magnificent." But its magnificent is of the quiet kind that makes its visitors speak to each other in whispers. It is church and monument in one. It has about it the quiet of death softened by the chant of the choir. Westminster Abbey stands on gtound where a temple of worship has stood since the time by the Romans. The first Abbey was built by Edward the Confessor in 1049-1065. It has nearly all been built over since then. Henry III and Henry VIII rebuilt much of it. The famous builder, Sir Christopher Wren, planned the two towers, once of which you see. These were built in the eighteenth century. One thus sees in the building different kinds of architecture. But in the main it is built after the Gothic fashion.

Inside, the stained glass windows soften the light. The sounds of the street are shut out by the heavy walls. Rows of tombs, groups of monuments, and great carved figures are in the broad aisles. Flags are draped on the walls. In one spot Queen Elizabeth lies. Near by is the grave of Queen Mary. Rulers, statesmen, warriors, and poets are here honored in death. The place most visited is the Poets' Corner. Chaucer, Spenser, Sheridan, Macaulay, Dickens, Browning, Tennyson, and many other authors are buried near each other. There is a monument to Shakespeare, who is buried elsewhere. Many men have written about the glories of England's most famous Abbey; but no one has written so well as Washington Irving. It will pay you to read in his Sketch Book the short description of "Westminster Abbey."