Archbishop Waldeby; the other Richard the Second's aunt, Eleanor, Duchess
of Gloucester. The grave of a modern novelist and diplomatist, Edward
Bulwer, Earl of Lytton, is close by; the place was selected by Dean
Stanley on account of its proximity to the tomb of Sir Humphrey
Bourchier, a knight who was killed at Barnet Field, the victory which
established Edward the Fourth's claim to the crown. Lord Lytton
described this and other fights during the Wars of the Roses in his
well-known novel, _The Last of the Barons_. We have not time to-day to
study all the interesting monuments in this and the adjoining
chapel,--that dedicated to St. Nicholas, the children's patron saint,
where, amongst the tombs of {67} grown-up people of high rank, are the
funeral urns of two tiny infants,--but we may notice the number of ladies
who are buried or commemorated in both these little chapels. Most of
them were prominent at Court in the time of the Tudors, and some of them
were near relatives of Queen Elizabeth's. The place of St. Nicholas's
altar is again covered by a woman's tomb; this time the intruder is the
widow of the Protector Somerset, that proud Duchess whose temper made the
life of those about her well-nigh unendurable.

* * * * * *

[Illustration: Early Brasses and Picturesque Tombs in St. Edmund's Chapel]

* * * *

ST. EDMUND'S CHAPEL

We have already seen part of this chapel. On the floor in the foreground
are two fine fourteenth-century brasses, raised on low altar tombs;
against the screen behind is a dilapidated monument, which was once one
of the most beautiful in the Abbey. In the wooden coffer above the stone
base are the bones of William de Valence, Henry III.'s half-brother, and
upon it lies his effigy, which was originally covered with Limoges
enamel, but a few pieces only remain intact, notably in the shield and
the sword belt. Facing us is a large Jacobean monument, which
commemorates Edward Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and was put up by his
widowed Countess, whose own effigy lies beside that of her husband.
Through the pillars beyond the wooden screen of the Chapel appears the
stone screen between Edward the Confessor's Chapel and the high altar,
while beyond, above the south arches of the Confessor's Chapel, are the
openings of the triforium.

* * * * * *

A large mural monument close by recalls a happy mar