rill as any experienced by
the wayworn folk of the Middle Ages.

By going closer and examining the pavement, a shallow groove appears
marking the exact position of the base of the shrine. This was worn by
the endless stream of pilgrims as they knelt in ecstasy before the
object their eyes had longed to feast upon. To the west is a fine
thirteenth-century mosaic pavement similar to that in the Confessor's
Chapel at Westminster Abbey, to which it is very fitting to compare
this chapel, for if it is not quite a "Chapel of the Kings" it has a
King--Henry IV.--and a king's eldest son--the Black Prince--on either
side, and after Westminster Abbey there was scarcely a more sacred
spot in the kingdom than this.

It was fitting that Henry IV. should be buried here, for he had taken
a considerable amount of interest in the rebuilding of the nave, and
had been liberal in his financial aid. The effigies of Henry and his
second wife, Joan of Navarre, are believed to be faithful
representations. Of the tomb of Edward the Black Prince, if space
permitted, much could be said, for it is a magnificent piece of work
apart from the historical interest that attaches to the soldier
Prince, whose two great victories at Crecy and Poitiers have thrilled
every English schoolboy during all the subsequent centuries. The
strong iron railing has prevented any damage to the bronze or latten
effigy, and except for the tarnishing and general deterioration of
gilding and paint, one looks on the monument as it was erected in the
days of chivalry. All the details of this tomb had been arranged by
the Black Prince himself, and it was he who chose the Norman-French
inscription all can plainly read to-day. Above the tomb is suspended a
flat canopy of wood with an embattled moulding, and on the underside a
much decayed painting of the Trinity, if one may call it such when the
Dove is not represented. On the beam from which the canopy is
suspended are hung the shield, helmet, velvet coat, brass gauntlets,
and empty sword sheath which are the survivals of two complete suits,
one for peace, and one for war, which were carried at the funeral as
the Prince had ordered in his will.

The eastern extension of the chapel is called Becket's Crown, a name
tradition associates with the preservation in this chapel of a portion
of St. Thomas's skull. One window contains old glass, and in the
centre of the floor is placed the chair of Purbeck marble in which the
Archbis