was held in this hall;
here the Duke of Wellington lay in state for seven days from the 10th to
the 17th of November, 1852; and several courts of inquiry have been held.
For some years it was used as a place of examination for military
candidates, but this was rightly considered to be an abuse, and was
discontinued in 1869. Formerly a dining-room, the hall is now a
recreation-room, and must be a great boon to those whose wards lie up
four flights of stairs.

Passing down the steps, through the vestibule, and under the colonnade on
the south front, we see two monuments to the men of the _Birkenhead_ and
the _Europa_. The loss of the former in 1852 has often been quoted as an
heroic instance of self-command; when the ship struck, the men went down
standing shoulder to shoulder as if on parade. Their names are all
inscribed here. The _Europa_ was burnt at sea, and the twelve private
soldiers who lost their lives with it are here also commemorated. There
are other memorials, brasses, and a marble slab, to the memory of various
officers. But the most striking monument, in the centre of the grounds,
near the Embankment gate, is that of the Battle of Chillianwallah, at
which nearly 30 officers and more than 700 privates were killed. The
monument takes the form of a great obelisk, with the names inscribed on
the sides. Two of the guns which stand beside it were captured on the
same occasion. A little higher up, between the bronze Charles and the
Chillianwallah obelisk, is a cross to commemorate 243 officers and
privates who were killed in suppressing the Sepoy Mutiny. The veterans
are thus surrounded by a halo of gallant deeds; on every hand the memory
of their comrades in arms greets them.

Further on down the colonnade we pass westward, through the west wing, to
a continuation of the main building, in which is the library. This faces
the next court, which, like the east, is filled in the centre with
evergreen shrubs. The library contains 4,000 volumes, including Captain
Ford's Manuscripts. There are two rooms, and here the men can see the
daily papers, which are afterwards passed on into the great hall. In the
west court is the Chaplain's house, and immediately across the road is
the infirmary. In 1808 it was suggested that an infirmary for the
pensioners should be established, and for this purpose the Commissioners
fixed upon Sir Robert Walpole's old house, which was conveniently near.
The land on which this stands was leas