REBECCA.

The figure of Rebecca might indeed have compared with the proudest beauties of England, even though it had been judged by as shrewd a connoisseur as Prince John. Her form was exquisitely symmetrical, and was shown to advantage by a sort of eastern dress, which she wore according to the fashion of the females of her nation. Her turban of yellow silk suited well with the darkness of her complexion. The brilliancy of her eyes, the superb arch of her eyebrows, her wellformed aquiline nose, her teeth as white as pearl, and the profusion of her sable tresses, which, each arranged in its own little spiral of twisted curls, fell down upon as much of a lovely neck and bosom as a simarre of the richest Persian silk, exhibiting flowers in their natural colours embossed upon a purple ground, per mitted to be visible-all these constituted a combination of loveliness which yielded not to the loveliest of the maidens who surrounded her. It is true that of the golden and pearl-studded clasps which closed her vest from the throat to the waist, the three uppermost were left unfastened on account of the heat, which something enlarged the prospect to which we allude. A diamond necklace, with pendants of inestimable value, were by this means also made more conspicuous. The feather of an ostrich, fastened in her turban by an agraffe set with brilliants, was another distinction of the beautiful Jewess; scoffed and sneered at by the proud dames who sat above her, but secretly envied by those who affected to deride

them.

IVANHOE.

CROWLAND ABBEY CHURCH, LINCOLNSHIRE,

This church was begun by abbot Joffrid about the year 1113 A.D., and was gradually brought to a state of completion by his successors. Its Norman plan was that of a cross church, with a tower at the intersection, the western arch of which still remains, and is a fine specimen of the work of the age to which it belongs. At the time of the erection of the original west front of the church the Norman style was passing into the first pointed, as may be seen by the small portion of the original work which still remains, where we find arcades of semi-circular intersections, and pointed arches, used in the same wall. The central division of this west front was subsequently altered; and the early English work, some of which still remains, with the beautiful west door, was placed there. The front thus re-modelled was again added to, probably at the time of the re-building of the nave, and the erection of the massive north-west tower, which took place, judging from the work itself, which is in the perpendicular style, early in the fifteenth century. This addition to the front consists of the rich series of niches and figures which are placed on either side of the upper portion of the west window, which was altered in form and raised in height at the same time,

The cloisters and other buildings of the abbey were situated on the south side of the church, and were pulled down at the dissolution of the monastery: the choir and the transept of the church shared the same fate, the nave alone being preserved, which was granted to the inhabitants of the town for their parish church.

At the rebellion, this building suffered the usual fate of the ecclesiastical edifices of this country: its stained glass was broken and its ornaments injured. The north aisle of the nave was subsequently used as the parish church, which it still continues: it is unusually broad, is lighted by five windows in the north wall, the south being formed by blocking up the nave arches, and has a rich vaulted roof.

The accompanying view shows the west front of the church as it at present appears, with a portion of the ruined nave. It will be seen that the ornaments of the front are of no ordinary merit; in fact there are hardly finer specimens of mediæval statuary in the kingdom than we here see, excepting, perhaps, those in the west front of Wells cathedral. The western door also, and the niches near it, are very richly worked. It is much to be regretted that the whole is in a very bad state, and is not likely long to remain standing, every winter causing some portion to fall.

Crowland has not the advantage of having the picturesque scenery about it which some of our ruined abbeys are possessed of, but, as an architectural specimen, is excelled by few remains in this country.