"Three solemn parts together twine In harmony"s mysterious line Three solemn aisles approach the shrine, Yet all are one."
KEBLE.
Ill.u.s.tration: Castle Cary Church
THE AISLES
Mr. Beeland accompanied his two friends some distance on their way home.
"I remember noticing," said Mr. Acres, "that the pews of your two parishioners very much blocked up the _centre aisle_ of the church; their removal will much widen the aisle, which will be a great improvement."
"Forgive me for correcting you," said Mr. Ambrose, "there can be no such thing as a _centre aisle_. You are speaking of the centre _alley_ or _pa.s.sage_. The word _aisle_[126] can only refer to the wing of a building, and it always denotes that portion of a church which runs laterally north or south of the nave or chancel. I see, Mr. Beeland, you have some work to do in that aisle of yours before your church will be in good order."
"Yes, that is my greatest remaining difficulty. I have observed that those of the congregation who occupy that aisle are far less attentive and devotional than the rest; and the reasons are obvious. They are cut off from the main portion of the church, not only by the high backs of the existing pews, and by the hat and cloak rails which run from pillar to pillar, but also by needless ma.s.ses of modern masonry. Moreover, they can see nothing of that part of the church which is sacred to the most solemn offices of our worship. Then, again, what the people _do see_ is enough to divert all devotional thought and feeling from any but the _most_ seriously and religiously disposed."
"You mean the hideous heathen monument which occupies the east end of the aisle. If I remember rightly, it is a sort of monstrous Roman altar, with four huge bull"s heads at each corner."
"Yes; it is in the centre of a mortuary chapel, once belonging to a family named Bullock, and their frightful crest, in gigantic proportions, is the one object on which the eyes of at least a third of our congregation must rest, if they open their eyes at all. I can hardly conceive any thing more calculated to deaden the fervour of Christian worship than an object like this placed before the gaze of the worshipper. Much as I object to the bare walls of Dissenting meeting-houses, and the many-altared aisles of Roman Catholic churches, I believe neither are so distracting to the minds of the congregation generally as are the mortuary chapels, with their uncouth _adornments_, which occupy so large a s.p.a.ce in the aisles of many of our own churches.
Unfortunately, this chapel now belongs to a young man who has recently seceded to the Church of Rome, and he will neither allow me to appropriate for the use of the parishioners any of the s.p.a.ce we so much need, nor will he consent to have the unsightly monument removed to a less conspicuous place."
"The bitter hostility to wards the Church of their baptism, and the utter absence of Christian sympathy in good works of this nature, which characterize so many of those who have fallen away from our Communion, is indeed most deplorable. But even if your unreasonable and narrow-hearted parishioner will oppose all improvement in that part of the aisle which--stolen from G.o.d and His people--he claims as his own private property, there is much you can do, when you set about your work of restoration, to make that part of the church less isolated than at present. At least, you can remove much of the useless wood and masonry which now separate the aisle from the nave."
"I propose also to re-open the ancient hagioscope in the south wall of the chancel, by which means the people in the aisle will once more gain a view of the altar, and be enabled to see and hear the priest when officiating there."
"Will you kindly tell me, Mr. Beeland," said Mr. Acres, "what are _hagioscopes_[127]? I never remember having heard the word before."
"You probably have heard them called by their more common name of _squints_. They are openings in the north or south walls of the chancel, or perhaps more commonly in the walls supporting the chancel arch, and are intended to give a view of the altar to those who are worshipping in the aisles. They are to be found in most old churches, but they have commonly, as in our case, been bricked up. It is manifestly very desirable that in all cases they should be restored, not only on account of their architectural beauty, but also for their practical utility in the services of the Church."
The party then separated, and the Vicar of Droneworth took back to his parish a lighter heart than he had known for many a day.
_CHAPTER XXI_
THE TRANSEPTS
"Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary."
Ps. xcvi. 6.
"Pace we the ground! our footsteps tread A cross--the builder"s holiest form-- That awful couch where once was shed The blood with man"s forgiveness warm, And here, just where His mighty breast Throbb"d the last agony away, They bade the voice of worship rest, And white-robed Levites pause and pray."
HAWKER.
Ill.u.s.tration: Church of SS. Peter and Paul, Ringwood
THE TRANSEPTS
"Much of the objection which you have expressed to the prevailing arrangement of the aisles," said Mr. Acres, continuing the conversation with his Vicar, "seems to me to apply also to that of the transepts--I believe that is the proper name for those portions of a church which extend in a _transverse_ direction north and south?"
"Yes," replied the Vicar; "and the remedies for the evil are in both cases nearly the same. Great inconvenience often arises from the exclusive character of the parclose. I would have the solid part of this made lower, and the upper part more light and open."
"Pardon me, my friend, but I am ignorant as to what you mean by the word _parclose_."
"I refer now to the screen which encloses the chancel on the north and south sides; but I believe the word may apply to any screen in the church. By means of these screens, however, the persons in the transepts are needlessly excluded from a view of the altar."
"Yes; but the change in them which you suggest would not fully meet the difficulty, even if a squint or hagioscope should also be provided."
"I see that," said the Vicar; "and for that reason I would, as a rule, only have those portions of the transepts nearest the chancel fitted with permanent seats. On special occasions chairs could be placed in the back parts; or, perhaps, the whole of the transepts might be given up to the children of the parochial schools, the elder children, who could best understand the nature of the services, being placed in the front."
"A very proper arrangement, indeed, I should think, for all of them would be able at least to _hear_, and they would be conveniently placed for a.s.sisting in the musical parts of the service. It has often struck me as the refinement of cruelty to place these children in the remote damp corners of country churches, where too often they are to be found; or, worse still, in the topmost galleries of city churches, where the air they breathe is heated and impure. In both cases there is a manifest unconcern as well for the temporal as for the spiritual welfare of these little ones of Christ"s flock."
"To whatever use, however, they may be applied, or even if they are entirely unappropriated, so far as regards affording accommodation for the congregation, I would, by all means, wherever practicable, retain the transeptal arrangement of our churches, not only as being the most ornamental form of structure, but as preserving in the entire building the distinct form of the _Cross_; and as symbolizing in the gathering together of each congregation of Christ"s Church--which is _His Body_, that Body itself. Thus the nave represents the body, the transepts the outstretched arms, and the chancel--being the most excellent part of the church--the head[128] of our Lord. Some perhaps might think it fanciful, but to me there is something very solemn and beautiful in the idea, not only of the church"s whole fabric a.s.suming these symbolic forms, but also of the united prayers and praises of the congregation making, as it were, in their very sound _the sign of the Cross_."
"I think so too. And to my mind it has always seemed that the grand symbolism which looks through, as it were, the _whole_ fabric of the church, and the _whole_ congregation therein a.s.sembled, was formerly much marred in our churches, when there were _many_ altars, dedicated to _many_ saints, instead of the _one_ altar, which we now only retain, dedicated to the _one Head_ of the Christian Church."
"Yes; and your remark, of course, applies specially to the _transepts_ about which we were speaking, since even in our country churches every transept had its separate altar, the _piscina_ attached to which is still to be found in almost every old church."
"I suppose," said Mr. Acres, "that beautiful Gothic niche in our south transept which you recently restored is a _piscina_?"
"Yes, it is. The piscina was always placed on the south side of the altar, and it was used chiefly as the receptacle for the water used in cleansing the sacred vessels, or for that used by the priest in washing his hands[129]. It is to be found in our earliest Norman churches, and evidently dates from the time of their erection. There is often a _shelf_ placed over the basin of the piscina, which was used as a _credence_[130]."
"We heard much about the credence-table some time since," interrupted the Squire, "when there was a suit in law about this and some other matters; but I confess I am still ignorant as to the purpose of the credence-table."
"It is usually a small table, or, when forming part of the piscina, a shelf, on which the elements intended for use at the Eucharist are placed before their consecration. Just before the prayer for the _church militant_ in the Communion Service there is this direction: "The priest shall _then_ place upon the table (i.e. the altar) so much bread and wine as he shall think sufficient." Now, you see, it would be very inconvenient, and a sad interruption of that part of the service, to bring these from a distant part of the church. The ancient custom, therefore, of placing the elements on the credence-table at the commencement of the service is most convenient for the proper observance of this rubric. And so, although the credence has only been preserved as an interesting relic, or ornament in other parts of the church, in the chancel it has been preserved or restored[131], as being still a most useful and important part of the furniture of the church."
Having now arrived at the vicarage-gate, the two friends bade each other good-night.
_CHAPTER XXII_
THE CHANCEL SCREEN