of such an elegant elevation. The cloisters, 270 feet in length, and
divided by 19 pillars and 20 arches, extend across the rivulet, which
is arched over to support them; and near to the south end is a large
circular stone basin. This almost subterranean solitude is dimly lighted
by lancet windows, which are partially obscured by oaks, beeches, and
firs; and the gloom is heightened by the brook beneath, which may be seen
stretching its way through the broken arches. The only tomb in the church
is that of a cross-legged knight, which lies near the grand tower, and
represents one of the Mowbrays, who died at Ghent, in 1297. Near the
altar is a stone coffin, in which, according to Dugdale, Lord Henry
Percy was interred in 1315. Contiguous to the church is an extensive
quadrangular court, which has been converted into a flower garden. On
the east side is a line of beautiful arches, under one of which is the
entrance to the chapter-house, a weed-grown solitude of deadly silence--


"Where the full-voiced choir
Lie, with their hallelujahs, quench'd like fire."


In 1791, by the removal of some fragments of ruin in the chapter-house,
the sepulchres of several of the abbots were discovered; but the
inscriptions were obliterated. Over the chapter-house were the library
and scriptorium. The architecture or Fountains Abbey is mixed; in some
parts are seen the sharp-pointed windows, in others the circular arches.
The great eastern window is indescribably magnificent, being 23 feet in
width. There has been a central tower, which has long since fallen to
decay. The sanctum sanctorum is 131 feet in length; over one of its
eastern windows is the figure of an angel holding a scroll, dated 1283.
The total length of the church is 358 feet. On the north side of the