The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 534, February 18, 1832 — John Shaqi
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 534, February 18, 1832Various
General
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 534, February 18, 1832
Various
Popular literature -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT. AND INSTRUCTION.
VOL. XIX. NO. 534.] SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1832. [PRICE 2_d_
* * * * *
OUR LADY'S CHAPEL,
[Illustration: ST. SAVIOUR, SOUTHWARK.]
The Engraving represents the interior of the Virgin Mary's Chapel,
commonly called the Lady Chapel, and appended to the ancient collegiate
church of St. Saviour, Southwark. The exterior view of the Chapel will be
found in No. 456 of _The Mirror_. About eighteen months since part of the
western side of the High-street was removed for the approach to the New
London Bridge, when this Chapel was opened to view; but its dilapidated
appearance was rather calculated to interest antiquarian than public
curiosity. The London Bridge Committee recommended the parishioners of St.
Saviour to cause the Chapel to be pulled down, and their selfish
suggestion would have been complied with, had not some enlightened and
public-spirited individuals stepped forth to frustrate the levellers. The
parishioners now became two parties. One contended for the restoration of
the Chapel, as "one of the most chaste and elegant specimens of early
pointed architecture of the thirteenth century of which this country can
boast." The levellers, whose muckworm minds, and love of the arts is only
shown in that of money-getting--maintained that the demolition of the
Chapel would be "a pecuniary saving;" but theirs was a penny-wise and
pound-foolish spirit; for, by removing the Chapel, a greater expense would
be incurred than in its restoration. The folks could not understand plain
figures, and so resolved to take the sense and nonsense of the parish, and
the subject has been decided by a majority of 240 in favour of repairing
the Chapel. The funds for this purpose, it should be understood, were in
course of provision by public subscription, so that the blindness of party
zeal threatened to reject a special advantage--the public would find the
money if they would allow the Chapel to remain--whereas, had the
demolition taken place, the parishioners must themselves have defrayed the
consequent expenses. Historians loudly condemn the royal and noble thieves
who plundered the Coliseum and the Pantheon to build palaces, yet there
are men in our times, who would, if they could, take Dr. Johnson's hint to
pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and with it macadamize their roads; or
fetch it away by piecemeal to build bridges with its stones, and saw up
its marble monuments into chimneypieces.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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