ts of red cloth with gold
embroidery were to be seen. It was also gathered that the body had been
wrapped in lead, as Henry of Blois was said to have been.

The vaulting of the presbytery, which is of timber carved to imitate
stone, is remarkable for its very fine and brilliantly coloured bosses,
forming a quite unique collection of designs. Milner mentions as the
chief among these, "the arms and badges of the families of Lancaster and
Tudor, the arms of Castile, of Cardinal Beaufort, and even of the very
sees held successively by Bishop Fox. The part of the vaulting from the
altar to the east window bears none but pious ornaments: the several
instruments of the Saviour's Passion, including S. Peter's denial, and
the betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, the faces of Pilate and his
wife, of the Jewish high priest, Judas kissing Jesus, Judas' money-bag,
the Veronica"--this is immediately above the place of the cross on the
reredos--"the Saviour's coat, with the Cross, crown of thorns, nails,
hammer, pillar, scourges, reed, sponge, lance, sword with the ear of
Malchus upon it, lanthorn, ladder, cock, dice, etc." Under the tower the
vaulting is of wood, dating from 1634. Before this year the
choir-lantern was visible from below, with its striking late Norman
stonework divided into two tiers. It has been proposed to re-open the
lantern, but this would necessitate the removal of the bells from the
tower, a matter of considerable expense. It would also be a pity to take
down the vaulting with its various devices, including the arms, etc., of
Charles I., his queen, and the Prince of Wales, a medallion of the two
former, the Scotch and Irish arms, and those of Archbishop Laud, Bishop
Curie, and Dean Young. The central emblem is that of the Trinity, with a
"chronogram" indicating the year 1634 thus:--sInt DoMUs hUjUs pII reges
nUtrItII regInae nUtrICes pIae. The larger letters, picked out in red,
serve as Roman figures which added together make up the required number.

[Illustration: THE CHOIR STALLS. _Photochrom Co. Ltd., Photo._]

From the commencement of the choir to the high altar are eleven steps,
making nineteen in all from the level of the nave. This elevation, of
course, much enhances the imposing effect of the altar and reredos as
seen from the lower plane. It is due to the existence of the Norman
crypt beneath, and can be paralleled both at Canterbury and at
Rochester. The raised platform includes the presbytery with