conducted by the aged Dean, doomed, not long after,
to follow the beloved poet to his own final resting-place
near by.

The choir sang two anthems, both by Tennyson--"Crossing the
Bar" and "Silent Voices"--the music of the latter by Lady
Tennyson.

The grave lay next to Robert Browning's, hard by the monument
to Chaucer. I looked into it and saw the oaken coffin with
the coronet on the lid.

The pall-bearers were the Duke of Argyle, Lord Dufferin,
Lord Selbourne, Lord Rosebery, Mr. Jowett, Mr. Lecky, Mr.
Froude, Lord Salisbury, Dr. Butler, Head of Trinity, Cambridge,
Sir James Paget, Lord Kelvin and the United States Minister.
The place of Mr. Lincoln, who had gone home on leave of absence,
was taken by Mr. Henry White.

After depositing the body, the bearers passed the seat where
I sat, one by one, pressing through between two rows of seats,
so that their garments touched mine as they went by.

The day was cloudy and mournful, blending an unusual gloom
with the dim religious light of the Abbey. But just as the
body was let down into the earth, the sun came out for a moment
from the clouds, cheering and lightening up the nave and aisles
and transepts of the mighty building. As the light struck
the faces of the statues and the busts, it seemed for a moment
that the countenances changed and stirred with a momentary
life, as if to give a welcome to the guest who had come to
break upon their long repose. Of course it was but an idle
imagination, begot, perhaps, of the profound excitement which
such a scene, to the like of which I was so utterly unaccustomed,
made upon me. But as I think of it now, I can hardly resist
the belief that it was real.

It was my good fortune during this journey to become the
purchaser of Wordsworth's Bible. It was presented to him
by Frederick William Taber, the famous writer of hymns. While
it is absolutely clean, it bears the mark of much use. It
was undoubtedly the Bible of Wordsworth's old age. On my
next visit to England I told John Morley about it. He said,
if it had been known, I never should have been allowed to
take it out of England. It bears the following inscription
in Taber's handwriting:

William Wordsworth
From Frederick Wm Taber,
In affectionate acknowledgment of his many kindnesses,
and of the pleasure and advantage of his friendship.
Ambleside. New Year's Eve. 1842. A. D.
Be stedfast in thy Covenant, and be _conversant_
therein, and w