funeral car of Wellington, modeled and constructed in six weeks, at an
expense of £13,000, from guns taken in his campaigns.

In the southwest pier of the dome a staircase ascends by 616 steps to the
highest point of the cathedral. No feeble person should attempt the
fatigue, and, except to architects, the undertaking is scarcely worth
while. An easy ascent leads to the immense passages of the triforium, in
which, opening from the gallery above the south aisle, is the Library,
founded by Bishop Compton, who crowned William and Mary, Archbishop Seeker
refusing to do so. It contains the bishop's portrait and some carving by
Gibbons.

At the corner of the gallery, on the left, a very narrow stair leads to
the Clock, of enormous size, with a pendulum 16 feet long, constructed by
Langley Bradley in 1708. Ever since, the oaken seats behind it have been
occupied by a changing crowd, waiting with anxious curiosity to see the
hammer strike its bell, and tremulously hoping to tremble at the
vibration.

Returning, another long ascent leads to the Whispering Gallery, below the
windows of the cupola, where visitors are requested to sit down upon a
matted seat that they may be shown how a low whisper uttered against the
wall can be distinctly heard from the other side of the dome. Hence we
reach the Stone Gallery, outside the base of the dome, whence we may
ascend to the Golden Gallery at its summit. This last ascent is
interesting, as being between the outer and inner domes, and showing how
completely different in construction one is from the other. The view from
the gallery is vast, but generally, beyond a certain distance, it is
shrouded in smoke. Sometimes, one stands aloft in a clear atmosphere,
while beneath the fog rolls like a sea, through which the steeples and