it.]

From another account we learn that communication with the roof was not
at first apprehended, but the roof of the choir being very dry wood,
soon joined in the conflagration. It is impossible to describe the
awful picture of the flames rising above this majestic building. The
effect produced by the glare of light upon the stained glass of the
windows exceeds description. On the falling of the roof, the house of
prayer, which but the evening before had resounded with the voices of
worshippers, and where all was order and harmony, now resembled a fiery
furnace. The pillars, which once served to divide the choir from the
two side aisles, now stood alone, the whole being an open space, with
the roof burning on the ground, and nothing above but the blue canopy
of heaven.

Mr. Britton, in his valuable work on York Cathedral, gives a minute
description of that part of the Minster which has been destroyed; from
which the following is extracted:--

"After passing through the screen, the visiter is introduced to the
choir, which is grand in scale and rich in adornment. On each side is a
series of 20 stalls, with 12 at the west end, beneath the organ. These
are of oak, and are peculiarly rich in their canopies and carved
decorations. Each seat, or stall, has its movable miserecordia, with
projecting rests for the elbows, from which rise two detached slender
columns, supporting an elaborate canopy. At the eastern end of the
choir is the altar-table, raised above the regular floor by a series of
15 steps.

"On the north side of the altar, over the grated window that lights the