October 12th.--And again we went to the cathedral this forenoon, and the
whole family, except myself, sketched portions of it. Even Rosebud stood
gravely sketching some of the inlaid figures of the pavement. As for me,
I can but try to preserve some memorial of this beautiful edifice in
ill-fitting words that never hit the mark. This morning visit was not my
final one, for I went again after dinner and walked quite round the whole
interior. I think I have not yet mentioned the rich carvings of the old
oaken seats round the choir, and the curious mosaic of lighter and darker
woods, by which figures and landscapes are skilfully represented on the
backs of some of the stalls. The process seems to be the same as the
inlaying and engraving of the pavement, the material in one case being
marble, in the other wood. The only other thing that I particularly
noticed was, that in the fonts of holy water at the front entrance,
marble fish are sculptured in the depths of the basin, and eels and
shellfish crawling round the brim.
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