The "Children in the Wood" are now exalted above the Gothic windows. One of them we see transformed to an angel; which, to prove its being of a more exalted species, and no longer a mere mortal, has four thighs.
"The pretty Robin Redbreasts, which
Did cover them with leaves,"
have undergone a transmigration much to their advantage. It has somewhat sullied their plumage, but they have assumed a more important appearance, and the loss of beauty is compensated by an abundant increase in bulk and dignity. Exalted to the upper part of a fluted pillar, and seated in heraldic state, they seem to mortal eyes the emblems of wisdom, the symbols of Minerva.[122]
A lion and companion unicorn, concealed by the pillar, was originally an headpiece to that excellent old ballad, beginning with
"The fierce lyon of faire Englonde
Didde swallowe the lillie of France."
With jaws extended wide enough to swallow a bed of lilies, he is one of the supporters to the king's arms.
The pews carry evident marks of having been once a Gothic bedstead. The cumbrous load of oak with which it was canopied, still supported by large square posts, is become a gallery. The lower part retains much of its original form, and answers its original purpose; but why should I attempt to describe that which is already described by the Dean?