"
As to Duke Richard Ist, he caused a sarcophagus of stone to be made and
placed within this church; and so long as he lived, it was filled with
wheat on every Friday, and the grain, together with five shillings,
distributed weekly among the poor. And when his death approached, he
expressly charged his successor, "Bury not my body within the church,
but deposit it on the outside, immediately under the eaves, that the
dripping of the rain from the holy roof may wash my bones as I lie, and
may cleanse them of the spots of impurity contracted during a negligent
and neglected life."
Our party could not ascertain whether any of the historical monuments
were yet in existence. The church, at the time they were there, was
wholly occupied with preparations for the approaching confirmation.
Young girls in their best dresses, all in white, and holding tapers in
their hands, filled the nave, while the chapels were crowded with
individuals at prayer, or still more with females waiting for an
opportunity of confessing themselves, previously to receiving the
expected absolution from the archbishop.
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