tside, was almost blinding. At
first, all was indistinct except the great rose-window, in the
opposite transept, through which the light strayed in many colors. The
morning service was in progress, so they sat down near the door, and
listened and looked. How beautiful!--how tremendous it all was! Even
John's overflowing spirits were quieted, it was so wonderfully
impressive! The rose-window still stood out clearly against the deep
shadows all about it, but a faint light could now be seen coming in
through the little windows, high up near the roof,--the clerestory
windows, they are called. Betty could see the massive roof, the long
aisles crowded with marble monuments, and the pillars. The canon's
voice was heard intoning in a deep, monotonous key; reading followed,
and then some one sang, in a high, clear voice, which seemed to come
from far away, and yet to fill all the space of the great building.
Betty could not have spoken a word; she was filled with a kind of
wondering awe such as she had never known before.

John, more matter-of-fact, was examining the statues nearest to him.

He touched Betty's arm to attract her attention, and said, "See, there
are lots of statues here, Betty, but I only know the names of William
Pitt and Benjamin Disraeli, 'Twice Prime-Minister.' Do you remember
him? Wonder if William Pitt was an ancestor of our Mrs. Pitt!" he
rambled on, not seeing that his sister took no notice of him.

As for Betty, she scarcely knew that any one had spoken to her. She
seemed to be back in the Middle Ages, and the present had vanished
away.

When the service was ended, they walked about, examining the monuments
as they went.

[Illustration: "THERE'S THE ABBEY RIGHT AHEAD OF US."--_Page 25._]

"This long, broad aisle extending from the main entrance to the choir
is called the nave," explained Mrs. Pitt. "The shorter aisles which
form the crossing are the transepts, and the choir is always the
eastern end of the building, containing the altar. These are facts
which you will want to learn and remember."

"The kings and queens are all buried here, aren't they, Mrs. Pitt?"
questioned John. "Will they put King Edward here, too, when he dies?"

"A great many kings and queens are buried here, though not all," Mrs.
Pitt told them. "The Royal Tombs are there, behind those gates, in the
chapels which surround the choir. We can't go in there unless we take
a guide, and I thought we would wait for another day to