chancel, around the pulpit, and in this Golden Chapel, several of which are of the highest rank of sculpture. The inscriptions are also of an order of merit far above the average standard of epitaphic literature. The tomb of the youngest bears a proud tribute to the blue blood of the Norman. Elizabeth Pierrepont dies at the age of eleven, "the pride of her parents, the joy of her family, the only daughter of Gervaise Pierrepont, Esq., Lord of the Manor of Tong, the grandson of Robert Pierrepont, Earl of Kingston, a gallant soldier who fell a victim to his loyalty in defending King Charles I from his rebellious subjects. He was a descendant of Robert Pierrepont, a companion in arms of William the Conqueror, and whose family is still extant in Normandy."
The foregoing is a sample of historical information that these monuments impart to the reader. See how much of it is condensed in this tribute to a girl who died at the age of eleven. It would give additional interest to the thoughtful reader of these "testimonals to departed worth" if he could really believe that it was recognized and respected in the lifetime of the deceased. Here they are all brave, pure, generous, and good. Here are two of the eight lines dedicated to William Skeffington, one of the old county names:
"An esquire he was right hardye in the fealde,
And faithful to his prince in quiet tyme of peace."
