d the removal of Oswald's church to make more room,
and Wulstan regretfully built the new cathedral, saying he was pulling
down the church of a far holier man than himself. Miracles were frequent
at Wulstan's tomb, and in 1203 he was canonized. His church was
unlucky--several times partly burned, and once the central tower fell,
and afterwards the two western towers during storms; but it was always
repaired, and in 1218, St. Wulstan's remains were removed to a shrine
near the high altar, and the cathedral rededicated in the presence of
Henry III. The interior view is striking, the arches of the nave,
triforium, and clerestory being in harmonious proportions. In the middle
of the choir is King John's monument, the effigy representing him
crowned and in royal robes, holding the sceptre and the sword, the point
of the latter inserted in the mouth of a lion on which his feet rest. We
are told that in 1797 the coffin was found beneath the tomb, with the
apparel partially mouldered, but the remains all gone. There are several
other monuments in the cathedral--one a mural slab commemorating Anne,
wife of Izaak Walton, "a woman of remarkable prudence and of the
primitive piety." The crypt beneath the choir is a remnant of Wulstan's
work, and the old doors of the cathedral, dating from the thirteenth
century, are preserved there: fragments of human skin are still seen
upon them, reputed to have been that of a man who was flayed for
stealing a holy bell. In the north walk of the cloisters is the
grave-slab famous for bearing the shortest and saddest inscription in
England, "Miserrimus:" it is said to cover one of the minor canons,
named Morris, who declined to take the oath of allegiance to William
III. and had to be supported by alms. Around the cloisters are the ruins
of the ancient monastery, the most prominent fragments being those of
the Guesten Hall, erected in 1320. Access to the cathedral close, on the
south-eastern side, is obtained through an ancient gateway called the
Edgar Tower, one of the earliest structures connected with the
cathedral, which is still fairly preserved: it was evidently intended
for defence. The bishops of Worcester present an unbroken line for
twelve centuries, including, in later days, Latimer the martyr,
Prideaux, and Stillingfleet. It was in Worcester Cathedral, on October
23, 1687, that James II. touched several persons to cure the scrofula
or king's evil; and when William III. afterwards visited