There are in the said church on the south side ten arches, between each column five yards, the span of each of the said ten arches.

There are also in the lower part of the said church, on the south side, ten windows of great length; also in the overhistorie (i. e, upper story) are ten windows of like workmanship; and ten principal windows in the north part of the church, and every window contains two great glazed pannels.

Also, in the overhistorye are likewise ten principalwindows, and every window contains two pannels, each glazed according to its proportion, although not according to the quantity of the windows of the whole church of Westminster near London.

The breadth of the east window before the great altar, contains eight glazed pannels, with the arms of the founder, Roger Bygot.

And in the east part of the two east aisles, in their two windows, each window consists of three glazed pannels, without arms.

Also, the length of the choir consists of four arches, besides the square area of the chief bell tower, in the middle of the choir, which contains-yards.

So that the whole length of the choir, with the area of the bell tower, contains- -yards.

Item, the height of the vault of the whole church from its area contains eleven English vetheyms (fathoms), and every fathom consists of six feet, or two yards.

The

The length of the cross aisle, that is the arms of the church both north and south taken together, contains fifty yards, that is one hundred and fifty feet.

Item, the square space or area of the bell tower, situated in the middle of the choir, contains in length twelve yards.

Item, the said square of the bell tower, contains in breadth twelve yards•

Item, the principal south and north glass windows, contain six glazed pannels of great height.

Memorandum, the cloister is thirty-seven yards in length, and in breadth thirty-three yards.

Item, the whole church contains fourteen arches in one part, and fourteen in the other part.

Item, the principal north window contains fourteen glazed pannels.

Item, the breadth of the said windows, as well on the north as the opposite window on the south, contain three yards.

Item, the fermarye (infirmary), contains sixty of my steps, which are thirty-four yards, and in breadth eight yards.

Item, the chapter house contains in length eighteen yards, and in breadth nine yards.

Memorandum, That twenty-four of my steppys or paces make twelve yards.

Also, fifty yards make eighty-five of my paces or steppys.

FROM

FROM the above account, if the author of it has not misreckoned, it seems evident that the great east window has been altered since he wrote the description, though perhaps he may have been as inaccurate in that article, as in the estimation of his steppys, when he says twenty-four of them make twelve yards, and fifty yards make only eighty-five of his paces or steps. His description nevertheless serves to give some idea of the proportions of the different buildings, of which we have no other information.

The inside of this monastery affords a fine specimen of that stile of architecture called Gothic; its rich west window, still quite entire, is much admired, though perhaps somewhat defective in point of proportion, being rather too broad for its height. The small door beneath is extremely poor; the intent of the architect is manifest: he meant by its contrast with the loftiness of the roof, to strike the beholders.

The fragments of its once sculptured roof, and other remains of its fallen decorations, are pilled up with more regularity than taste on each side of the grand aisle they are worthy observation; several of them, both for invention and execution, would do honor to the best artist of the present age. There are also some mutilated figures, formerly belonging to monuments, or other sepulchral decorations; particularly the head of a monk; and the figure of a knight armed in a coat of mail, his shield on his left arm, is said to represent one of the Strongbowes, earl of Pembroke. It is broken off just above the knees. The legs are wanting.

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the right hand which is shewn, has five fingers and a thumb. Whether this was a natural peculiarity of the person represented, or the mistake of the artist, is uncertain.

On the whole, though this monastery is undoubtedly light and elegant, it wants that gloomy solemnity so essential to religious ruins; those yawning vaults and dreary recesses, which strike the beholder with a religious awe, and make him almost shudder at entering them,-calling into his mind all the tales of the nur

sery.

Here, at one cast of the eye, the whole is comprehended, nothing being left for the spectator to guess or explore; and this defect is increased by the ill-placed neatness of the poor people who shew the building; by whose absurd labour the ground is covered over with a turf as even and trim as that of a bowling green, which gives the building more the air of an artificial ruin in a garden, than that of an ancient decayed abbey. How unlike the beautiful description of the poet :

Half buried there lie many a broken bust,

And obelisk and urn o'erthrown by time;
And many a Cherub here descends in duft
From the rent roof and portico fublime.
Where rev'rend fhrines in Gothic grandeur ftood,
The nettle, or the noxious night-shade spreads;
And afhlings, wafted from the neighb'ring wood,
Thro' the worn turrets wave their trembling heads.

ELEGY, on a PILE of RUINS," by J. Cunningham.

GROSE, VOL. III.

BY MR. WHEATLEY.

IN the ruins of TINTERN ABBEY, the original construction of the Church is perfectly marked; and it is principally from this circumstance that they are celebrated as a subject of curiosity and contemplation.

The walls are almost intire; the roof only is fallen in; but most of the columns which divided the aisles are still standing; of those which have dropped down, the bases remain, every one exactly in its place; and in the middle of the nave, four lofty arches, which once supported the steeple, rise high in the air above all the rest, each reduced now to a narrow rim of stone, but completely preserving its form. The shapes even of the windows are little altered; but some of them are quite obscured, others partially shaded by tufts of ivy; and those which are most clear, are edged with its slender tindrils and lighter foliage, wreathing about the sides and the divisions;-it winds round the pillars; it clings to the walls; and in one of the aisles, clusters at the top in bunches so thick and so large, as to darken the space below. The other aisles, and the great nave, are exposed to the sky; the floor is entirely overspread with turf; and to keep it clear from weeds and bushes, is now its highest preservation.

Monkish