g
with the hand on the chin, or cracking nuts with the teeth. The
beautiful and commodious hall of the refectory was occasionally used
for various secular gatherings. In 1244, Henry III. held a great
Council of State in it. Here Edward I. met a large gathering of
clergy and laity, and demanded half their possessions. The Dean of
St. Paul's, in his consternation, fell dead at Edward's feet. The
King took slight heed of this occurrence, and persisted in his
demands, till he obtained all he wanted. Several of the early
assemblies of the Commons of England took place in this hall.

The dormitory of the monks was over the East Cloister; there is a
gallery still remaining, opening into the south transept of the
Abbey, by which they came to their midnight services.

In the Eastern Cloister you see an ancient door, leading to what is
now called the chapel of the Pyx. In it is the Box or Pyx, containing
specimen standard-pieces of all the gold and silver coins of the
realm. Once in five years this strong room is opened, and coins newly
issued from the Mint are compared with the standards, to make sure
that the coinage is not degenerating. But in ancient days this
chamber was the treasury of England. Here the sovereigns kept their
money in hard coin, as well as the regalia, and many priceless
relics, such as the Holy Cross of Holyrood, the sceptre or rod of
Moses, and the dagger that wounded Edward I. at Acre. In 1303, whilst
Edward I. was invading Scotland, news was brought him that his
treasury had been broken into, and his vast hoards carried away. The
abbot and forty-eight monks were sent to the Tower, and after a long
trial, two of their number were proved to have been concerned in the
robbery. Amongst the iron-work of the door there are fragments of
human skin, which in all probability once pertained to these robbers,
and ever after remained as terrible warnings to the monks, as they
walked along the Cloisters. The king's money was henceforward kept
elsewhere, the regalia after a time sent to the Tower, and the relics
disappeared at the Reformation.

From the Cloisters we can readily reach the Chapter-House, the
octagonal building so conspicuous on the left hand before entering
the Abbey at Poets' Corner. It was founded by Edward the Confessor,
and rebuilt by Henry III. This beautiful building was at first the
meeting-place of the convent, in which all difficulties were adjusted
and satisfaction made for faults. The abb