The female in the centre of the carving is a nun; her hood is drawn partly over her face, so that only one eye is fully visible, but with the other eye she is executing a well-known movement of but momentary duration. The two ugly animals between which she peers are intended for hares, a symbol of libidinousness, as well as of timidity. Another carving in the same chancel may be in derision of some official of the papal court, which, in the thirteenth century, on an occasion of the contumacy of the nuns in refusing to pay certain tithes, caused the church, with that adjoining, of the lay brethren, to be closed. The nuns defied all authority, broke open the chapels, and in general during the long contest acted in a curiously ungovernable, irresponsible manner. [Illustration: A PAPAL MONSTER, SWINE, YORKSHIRE.] At Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, are some misericordes, which, says Miss Phipson, are stated to have originally belonged to Old St. Paul's. Among them is the annexed subject. The wicked expression of the face, and the general incorrectness of the composition, are a historical evidence of indecorum akin to the gestures of the Beverley carvers. [Illustration: IMPUDENCE, BISHOP'S STORTFORD, HERTFORDSHIRE.] From the fine choir carvings of Westminster Abbey yet another example is given. It is one in which the spirit of the old _Comptes a Plaisance_ is well illustrated. A well-clad man, suggesting Falstaff in his prime, is seated with a lady among luxurious foliage. His arm is right round his companion's waist, while his left hand dips into his capacious and apparently well-lined pouch, or gipciere. He has been styled a merchant. He is manifestly making a bargain. The lady is evidently a daughter of the hireling (_hirudo!_), and is crying, "Give, give." In spite of this being the work of an Italian artist, the artistic feeling about it would seem to recall slightly the lines of Holbein. [Illustration: THE WINKING NUN, SWINE, YORKSHIRE.] [Illustration: A QUESTION OF PRICE, WESTMINSTER ABBEY.] The small carving to the right of the above is a highly-elate pig, playing the pipe. This is shewn in a short chapter hereafter given on Animal Musicians. The initial at the head of this chapter is illustrated with the "slumbering priest," the carving of whom is at the right of that of the 'Unseen Witness,' drawn on page 85. This doubtless implies that some portion of the sin of the people was to be attributed to the indifference of the clergy. Balancing this, there is in the original carving an aged person kneeling, and, supported by a crutch, counting her beads.