respects superior to the one that is executed. The present one is said to have been constructed on the Roman Catholic cathedral plan, through the influence of the king's brother, James, Duke of York, afterwards James II., who wished to have it ready for the revival of the Popish service, on his accession to the throne. The architect, it is said, shed tears at its rejection, and complied with the royal mandate with evident regret.

On the 12th of November, 1673, Wren received the appointment of architect to, and one of the commissioners for the re-building of the cathedral church of St. Paul. In the beginning of 1675, the works were commenced and his skilful and scientific mason, Thomas Strong, made his first contract with the commissioners. By the end of the year the designs were approved, received the signature of the king, and the commissioners; and the architect was allowed to make such variations and improvements as he pleased. The work of destroying the ruins of the ancient structure was also commenced, first by exploding with gunpowder, then by the use of the battering-ram.

The first stone of the new cathedral was laid on the 21st of June, 1675, by the architect and his lodge of freemasons. The trowel and mallet used on this occasion, are still preserved in the Lodge of Antiquity, of which Sir Christopher was Master. In 1678, Compton, Bishop of London, issued an address, exhorting all persons to contribute with liberality towards this national undertaking, and his exhortation was eminently successful.

In 1678 the architect set out the piers and pendentives of the great cupola, when the oft-told incident occurred of his accidentally using a fragment of a tombstone, with the word "resurgam" inscribed upon it. After the death of Charles II., his successor James II. issued a new commission to continue the works, dated February 6th, 1684, that of

Charles having become void by his death. In this instrument the name of the architect was introduced, as before, and the works proceeded with unabated activity. By the latter end of April, 1685, the walls of the choir, with its aisles, being 170 feet long, and 120 feet broad, with the stupendous arched vaults of its crypt were finished, as also the new chapter-house and vestries. The two beautiful circular porticoes of the transepts, which are among the masterpieces of modern architecture, were also brought to the same height and were all built of large blocks of Portland stone.

In June, 1688, the memorable year of the revolution, the building of the cathedral had advanced so far, that the commissioners announced that they had contracted for the timber for roofing the aisles of the choir, which were now ready to receive them. The choir was reported to be finished in 1694, as far as the stone work, and the scaffolding was struck. In the course of the following year, Wren published his friend Robert Bayle's Discourse against customary Swearing, and affixed an order from himself and his brother commissioners, against such an abuse of language by the workmen employed in and about St. Paul's.

On the 2nd of December, 1696, the choir of the new cathedral was opened for divine service on the day of the public thanksgiving for the peace of Ryswick, and the Bishop of Salisbury (Gilbert Burnet) preached before the king and a numerous court.

On February 1, 1699, the beautiful chapel at the north-west portion of the cathedral, now called and used as the Morning Prayer Chapel, was opened for divine service, with appropriate ceremony, and in 1708 the general works of the cathedral had proceeded so near towards completion, that on the 23rd February of that year, Sir Humphrey Mackworth, brought up from the committee to the House of Commons, a report as to the covering of the cupola, and laid several estimates for it before the House of Commons. In 1710, when Sir Christopher had attained the 78th year of his age, the highest or last stone of the lantern upon the cupola was laid by his eldest son, Christopher, attended by their Lodge of Freemasons, with due ceremony. And thus was this noble fabric, lofty enough to be seen at sea eastward, and at Windsor to the west, begun and completed in the space of thirty-five years, by one architect, the great Sir Christopher Wren; one principal mason, Mr. Strong; and under one bishop of London, Dr. Henry Compton: whereas, St. Peter's at Rome, the only structure that can come in competition with it, continued one hundred and fifty-five years in building, under nineteen popes, by twelve successive architects, including Bramante, Raphael, and Michael Angelo, assisted by the Police and interests of the Roman see.

In this year the celebrated controversy began, about the frauds and abuses at St. Paul's, over which the architect so completely triumphed, and in 1718, in the 86th year of his age, and in the 49th of his office as Surveyor-General of the Public Buildings, was this great man displaced from his office to make room for an intriguer of the name of Benson, who has been consigned by Pope to the most distinguished honours of the Dunciad.

The cathedral was left almost untouched till tne reign of George III.,

when Mr. Robert Mylne was appointed its conservating architect, and since then C. R. Cockerell, Esq., R.A., has succeeded to that important office, which he now holds, and who so scientifically restored the ball and cross in 1822.

The principal entrance or front, which looks westward, is extremely noble, it is adorned with a rich and beautiful portico, consisting of twelve lofty Corinthian columns, above which are eight columns of the Composite order, ranged in pairs, supporting a triangular pediment, the entablature of which represents the Conversion of St. Paul, sculptured by Bird, in low relief. On the apex of the pediment is a colossal figure of St. Paul, with two of equal size at each end, representing St. Peter and St. James; and along the summit of the front are similar statues of the four Evangelists. The whole rests on an elevated base, the ascent to which is formed by twenty-two steps of black marble. The angles are surmounted by two elegant turrets, of a chaste and uniform character, each terminating in a dome, ornamented with a gilt pine-apple: the south turret contains the clock, the north turret the belfrey. The marble statue in front of the portico, and facing Ludgate Street, represents Queen Anne, in her robes of state, holding in her hands the emblems of royalty, and accompanied by figures representing Great Britain, Ireland, France, and America. It was executed by Francis Bird.

There are two other entrances to the body of the church, facing north and south, at each end of the principal transept. They correspond in their architecture, which consists of a semicircular portico, of the Corinthian order, surrounded by statues of the Apostles. The tympanum of the north entrance exhibits the royal arms and regalia, supported by angels; and that of the south entrance, a phoenix rising from the flames, the work of Gabriel Cibber, in allusion to the reconstruction of the cathedral after the conflagration.

The east end of the church is semicircular; it is ornamented with a variety of fine sculpture, particularly the cipher W. R. within a compartment of palm branches surmounted by an imperial crown, in honour of the then reigning sovereign, King William III. The exterior of the walls consists of rustic works ornamented with two rows of pilasters, the lower of the Corinthian, and the upper of the Composite order. The dome, or cupola, rises in beautiful and majestic proportion where the great lines of the cross intersect each other. The dome is terminated by a lantern and globe; and on the summit of the whole is placed the emblem of the Christian faith.

The cathedral is surrounded by a cast-iron balustrade, which weighs about 200 tons, and cost upwards of £11,000: this rests on a dwarf stone wall, and separates the churchyard from the street.

The general form, or ground-plan, is that of a Greek cross, having a magnificent dome arising from the intersection of the nave and transept. From the external appearance the visitor is inadequately prepared for the effect of the interior; the unexpected loftiness of the vaulting, and of the long range of columns and piers which bursts unexpectedly on the sight, produces an effect of mingled wonder and surprise. The view upwards into the interior of the dome is extremely striking. It has been so constructed as to show a spacious concave

every way; and from the lantern at the top, the light is poured down with admirable effect over the whole, as well as through the great colonnade that encircles its basement.

At such a moment the inscription over the entrance to the choir, commemorating the architect, has the merit of striking simplicity and truth. It was placed there by Mylne, the architect of Blackfriars' Bridge, and is in Latin, of which the following is a translation:

"Beneath lies CHRISTOPHER WREN, the architect of this church and city, who lived more than ninety years, not for himself alone, but for the public. Reader, do you ask his monument? Look around!"

The choir is separated from the body of the church by handsome iron railings. Over the entrance to it is the organ gallery, and an organ, erected in 1694, by Bernard Schmydt, or Smith, the successful candidate against Harris at the Temple, at a cost of £2,000, and supposed to be one of the finest in the kingdom. It contains 32 stops, and 2123 pipes, and from the peculiar reverberations of the building, its effect is equal to that of one containing double the number of stops. On the south side of the choir is a throne for the bishop; and on the north side another for the lord mayor; besides these there is on each side a long range of stalls. The whole are richly ornamented with carvings by Grinling Gibbons, who was the first, according to Walpole, who succeeded in giving to wood "the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained together the various productions of the elements with a free disorder natural to each species." In the chancel, or semicircular recess, at the east end, stands the communion table. What is called the altar-piece, has four fluted pilasters painted in imitation of lapis lazuli, and is besides, ornamented with a profusion of gilding; but its appearance is, on the whole, insignificant when