him most forcibly, is said to have replied that the trumpery Chinese Bridge, then in St. James's Park, should be the production of the Government, whilst that of Waterloo was the work of a Private Company." Quarterly Review. Waterloo Place. A public square in London, and a centre of social and political life. It occupies the site of Carlton House. Watervliet Arsenal. A great United States establishment for the manufacture of war supplies. It is situated in West Troy, N.Y. Watier's Club. This club in London, noted as a gambling-house, was established in 1807, and dissolved in 1819. The favorite game was Macao. 4" The Club did not endure for twelve years altogether; the pace was too quick to last: it died à natural death in 1819, from the paralyzed state of its members; the house was then taken by a set of blacklegs, who instituted a common bank for gambling." Thomas Raikes. Watkins Glen. A remarkable rocky ravine in the town of Watkins, Schuyler County, in New York, one of the greatest natural curiosities in the United States. "It [Watkins Glen] suggests "In all my travels I have never Watling Street. A street in London considered to have been the principal thoroughfare of Roman London, and one of the great Roman ways in Britain. What remains of it is narrow and inconvenient for passage. It extended across South Britain, beginning at Dover and running through Canterbury to London and from London across the island to Ches-I ter. In the time of the Britons it was a mere forest-road; but the Romans converted it into a great military highway, and it is still an important road in some parts of its extent. The name Watling Street was also very generally applied in England, during the Middle Ages, to the "Milky Way (Via Lactea). Chaucer says: "Se yondir, lo, the galaxie, The wiche men clepe the milky way, The name is of uncertain origin, and is variously said to be derived from Vitellius, from Vitellianus, from the Watlings, from the Saxon Atheling (noble), from wattles (hurdles or fascines), and from a number of other sources. 肪 "Who the Watlings were, and how they came to give their name both to an earthly and a heavenly street, we do not know." Grimm. Who would of Watling-street the dangers share, When the broad pavement of Cheapside is near? Gay. Wax Works of Madame Tussaud. See MADAME TUSSAUD'S EXHIBITION. Wayland Smith's Cave [or Forge]. A cavern of great antiquity, on the western boundaries of Berkshire, England, near the town of Wantage. "In an early deed of the estate to which it belongs, of a date previous to the Norman Conquest, it is called Weland's Smithy; and the legend connected with it is, that a traveller wishing his horse shod had only to take him to the cave, and, leaving a piece of money on the copestone, retire to a distance. On returning he would find the horse shod, and that the money had been taken away." Three flat stones supporting a fourth are still pointed out as his smithy. In the Anglo-Saxon mythology Weland was the representative of Vulcan. Walter Scott has introduced this legend of Wayland Smith into one of his most interesting novels, Kenilworth," making him a living person of Wednesday Club. An old Lonthe time of Elizabeth. don club. Wayland Wood. A tract of woodland near Watton, England, where, according to tradition, the murder of the two children by order of their uncle occurred on which is founded the famous ballad of the "Children in the Wood." Wayside Inn. An old tavern still standing in the town of Sudbury, Mass., a busy place" in the old colonial days of New England, and made famous by the poems of Longfellow entitled "The Wayside Inn." As ancient is this hostelry As any in the land may be, Built in the old Colonial day, When men lived in a grander way, With ampler hospitality. Weber Cañon. A stupendous ravine, forming a natural gateway through the Wahsatch range of mountains in Utah Territory. It is one of the most remarkable sights in the West. The trains of the Union Pacific Railroad pass through this gorge. Webster. See DEATH OF WEBSTER. Webster, Daniel. A statue of the great American statesman by Hiram Powers (b. 1805). "It is the second cast of the statue, the first having been shipped some months ago on board of a vessel which was lost; and, as Powers observed, the statue now lies at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere in the vicinity of the telegraphic cable. Happy is Webster to have been so truly and adequately scupltured; hap. py the sculptor in such a subject, which no idealization of a demigod could have supplied him with. Perhaps the statue at the bottom of the sea will be cast up in some future age, when the present race of man is forgotten, and, if so, that far posterity will look up to us as a grander race than we find ourselves to be." Hawthorne. Webster's Reply to Hayne. A well-known picture by G. P. A. Healy (b. 1808). In Faneuil Hall, Boston. This picture contains 130 portraits. Wedding. See PEASANT WEDDING. "In Friday-street, Cheapside, was held the Wednesday Club, at which, in 1695, certain conferences took place under the direction of William Paterson, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Bank of England. Such is the general belief; but Mr. Saxe Bannister, in his Life of Paterson, p. 93, observes: 'It has been a matter. of much doubt whether the Bank of England was originally proposed from a Club or Society in the City of London."" Timbs. Weehawken, The. A war-vessel of Admiral Dupont's flotilla in the attack upon the defences of Charleston, S. C., in the war of the Rebellion (1861-1865). Weibertreue. [Woman's Fidelity.] The popular name of a ruined castle at Weinsberg, near Heilbronn, Germany, celebrated for a romantic legend connected with it, which relates how, when the garrison were threatened with death on the taking of the castle, the women, who had been allowed to depart with their valuables, carried off their husbands on their backs, each in a sack. The German poet Bürger has made this incident the subject of a well-known ballad, which has been translated by C. T. Brooks. See also the "Spectator," No. 449. Welbeck Abbey. The seat of the Wellesley College. A well-en- A fine equestrian statue of the duke by Sir Francis Chantrey (1782-1841). In front of the Royal Exchange, London. Wellington's Funeral Car. This car, constructed from the guns taken in the battles in which he was engaged, is preserved as a monumental trophy in St. Paul's Church, London. WEST. Wells, The. [Ital. I Pozzi.] A| West, Benjamin. See BENJAMIN series of prison-cells, one beneath the other, in the ancient state prison of Venice, Italy, adjoining the Ducal Palace, with which it is connected by the Bridge of Sighs." "I descended from the cheerful day into two ranges, one below the other, of dismal, awful, horrible, stone cells. They were quite dark. Each had a loop-hole in its massive wall, where, in the old time, a torch was placed, to light the prisoners within for half an hour. The captives, by the glimmering of these brief rays, had cut and scratched inscriptions in the blackened vaults. I saw them. For their labor with the rusty nail's point had outlived their agony and them through many generations." Dickens. "What fables concerning these cells have not been uttered and believed! . . . I do not say that they are calculated to enamour the unimpounded spectator with prison life, but they are certainly far from being as bad as I hoped. They are not joyously light nor particularly airy; but their occupants could have suffered no extreme physical discomfort, and the thick wooden casing of the interior walls evidences at least the intention of the state to inflict no wanton hardship of cold or damp." W. D. Howells. The Pozzi and the Piombi were in vain; They might wring blood from me, but treachery never. Byron. Wells of Moses. See FOUNTAINS OF MOSES. Wentworth House. A noted mansion, and one of the largest private residences in Europe, formerly the abode of the famous Earl of Strafford, near Wakefield, England. Wentworth Mansion. An old colonial house near Portsmouth, N. H., once occupied by Gov. Wentworth, and containing the old provincial council-chamber and many historical relics. Werrington House. A seat of the Duke of Northumberland, on the river Tamar, near Launceston, England. Wesleyan University. An institution of learning under the care of the Methodist Church, at Middletown, Conn. West India Docks. Extensive West Point. See UNITED STATES West Rock. A rocky hill near New Western Emigration. An historical picture by Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868). In the Capitol at Washington. Its Be Westminster Abbey. The renowned Abbey-church of London. Its earliest foundation is enveloped in obscurity. Edward the Confessor built an abbey on this site, which was dedicated on the festival of the Holy Innocents, Dec. 28, 1065. In 1862 it was discovered that the lower half of the south cloister wall consists of masonry of the age of Edward the Confessor. The Abbey, as it now exists, was for the most part rebuilt by Henry III. (1245–1272), out of regard to the memory of the Confessor. general plan is cruciform. sides the nave, choir, and transepts, it contains 12 chapels, of which 10 are nearly filled with monumental tombs. No less than 17 English kings, from the Confessor to George II., and 10 queens, lie within the Abbey, amid statesmen, poets, divines, scholars, and artists. Dean Stanley says: "The Abbey of Westminster owes its traditions and its present name, revered in the bosoms of the people of England, to the fact that the early English kings were interred within its walls, and that through its associations the Norman rulers learnt to forget their foreign paternity, and to unite in fellowship and affection with their Saxon fellowcitizens. There is no other church in the world, except, per haps, the Kremlin at Moscow, with which Royalty is so intimately associated.' "The eye gazes with wonder at clustered columns of gigantic dimensions, with arches springing from them to such an amazing height. It seems as if the awful nature of the place presses down upon the soul, and hushes the beholder into noiseless reverence. We feel that we are surrounded by the congregated bones of the great men of past times, who have filled history with their deeds, and earth with their renown." Irving. "When I am in a serious humor, I very often walk by myself in Westminster Abbey; where the gloomi. ness of the place, and the use to which it is applied, with the solemnity of the building, and the condition of the people who lie in it, are apt to fill the mind with a kind of melancholy, or rather thoughtfulness, that is not disagreea. ble." Addison. "The moment I entered Westminster Abbey I felt a kind of awe pervade my mind which I cannot describe: the very silence seemed sacred." Burke. "The superb nave, the admirable Gothic architecture, of Westminster Abbey, are alone adapted to the climate: this labyrinth of forms, these sweeping and huge mouldings, this profusion of delicate sculptures, are required to fill the dim air and people the void of such sombre interiors.' Taine, Trans. Here, where the end of earthly things Lays heroes, patriots, bards, and kings, Here, where the fretted aisles prolong If ever from an English heart, Scott. As I was going o'er Westminster Bridge, Westminster Hall. An ancient hall originally added to the Palace at Westminster, London, by William Rufus, who held his first court here, 1099. It has long been used for the sittings of the Royal Courts and of the Parliaments, for Coronation-feasts, and other similar purposes; and the name Westminster Hall is not unfrequently used for the law itself. It is called the Great Hall to distinguish it from the Lesser Hall, the House of Commons after the fire of 1834. It is one of the noblest and most venerable architectural relics in Europe, and the largest room unsupported by pillars in the world. Westminster Hall was the place of trial of the Earl of Strafford, of Charles I., and of Warren Hastings. "One of these halls, Westminster Hall, which serves for great state trials, is immense and of the greatest beauty.. The effect of the whole is rich and grave." Taine, Trans. Those who have attended to the practice of our literary tribunal are well aware that, by means of certain legal fletions similar to those of Westminster Hall, we are frequently enabled to take cognizance of cases lying beyond the sphere of our original jurisdiction. Macaulay. Thus he [Cromwell] subdued a spirit that had been often troublesome to the most sovereign power, and made Westminster Hall as obedient and subservient to his commands as any of the rest of his quarters. Edward lyde. The clothed, embodied Justice that sits in Westminster Hall, with penalties, parchments, tipstaves, is very visib.e. But the unembodied Justice, whereof that other is either an emblem, or else is a fearful indescribability, is not so vi-ible. Carlyle. Especially what member of the legal profession, unless his heart be as dry as parchment and worn as the steps of a court-house, can fail to do honor to the genius of a place [the Roman Forum] where jurisprudence was reared into a perfect system, while Druids were yet cutting mistletoe on the site of Westminster Hall? Hillard The fight in the street, which is backed for gold. The plea of the lawyers in Westminster Hall. Mrs. Browning. Westminster Palace. The English Houses of Parliament in Lon don, occupying the site of the Royal Palace of the monarchs of England from Edward the Confessor to Queen Elizabeth. The first stone of the New Palace was laid April 27, 1840. It is the largest public edifice in England, probably the largest Gothic edifice in the world, and is considered in respect to the arrangement of its apartments for the transaction of business, lighting, ventilation, etc., to be the most perfect building in Europe. It covers about eight acres, and has four principal fronts, the eastern or river front being 940 feet in length. The architect was Sir Charles Barry. The Royal or Victoria Tower at the south-west angle, containing the royal entrance, rises to the height of about 340 feet, and is one of the most stupendous works of the kind in the world. "Though the Palace of Westminster may not have realized the highest qualities of the architecture which it is popularly supposed to represent, it has at least proved an excellent school for the encouragement of ancient art. It has educated many a sculptor, stone-mason, metal-worker, decorator, and cabinetmaker, who would otherwise have grown up ignorant of every phase of ornament save that which had reached him by a perverted tradition. Barry, to whose talent are due the merits of the general design, wisely intrusted to Pugin the design of those details which were to enrich his structure." Eastlake. "We proceed to the Houses of Parliament; as a whole, the architecture constantly repeats a rather poor idea, and does not show great inven. tion.... It is Gothic, accommodated to the climate. The palace magnifi. cently mirrors itself in the shining river. In default of genius, the archi tects have had good sense." Taine, Trans. Westminster School, or St. Peter's College. A public school, in London, for "Grammar, Rethoricke, Poetrie, and for the Latin and Greek languages," founded by Henry VIII., and re-established in 1560 by Queen Elizabeth. Among the names of eminent men who were scholars here are Ben Jonson, George Chap Weyer's Cave. A natural curiosity in Augusta County, Va., regarded as one of the greatest wonders of its class in the United States. The cave is more than 1,600 feet in length, and contains many calcareous formations of great variety and beauty. It was discovered in 1804. What Chéer Rock. A rock in a cove near Providence, R.I. The tradition is that Roger Williams, the founder of the Rhode Island colony, on his banishment from Massachusetts landed on this rock, where he was hailed by the Indians with the words, "What cheer, Netop? (friend.)" Wheatland. The estate and residence for many years of James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States. It is situated about a mile from the city of Lancaster, Penn. Wheel of Fortune. A water-color painting by Hans Holbein the Younger (1498-1543), the German painter. It is now at Chatsworth, England. Whirlpool Rapids. At Niagara Falls, N.Y. Here the waters from the Great Lakes rush with terrible fury through a narrow gorge. The velocity and volume of these rapids is so great that the stream is thirty or forty feet higher in the centre than at the sides. See MAID OF THE MIST. Whispering Gallery. A gallery in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, so called because the slightest whisper is transmitted with great rapidity and distinctness from one side of the gallery to the |