Stones of the Temple; Or, Lessons from the Fabric and Furniture of the Church

CHAPTER XXV

THE ORGAN-CHAMBER

"Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod."

1 Sam. ii. 18

"But let my due feet never fail

To walk the studious cloisters pale,

And love the high embowèd roof,

With antique pillars, massy proof,

And storied windows, richly dight,

Casting a dim religious light.

There let the pealing organ blow,

To the full-voiced quire below,

In service high, and anthems clear,

As may with sweetness, through mine ear,

Dissolve me into ecstasies,

And bring all Heaven before mine eyes."

Il Penseroso.

"And so, Harry, my boy, you have really made up your mind to be a chorister?" said Mr. Ambrose to old Matthew's grandson, one Sunday morning.

"Yes, if you please, sir," was his reply. "Grandfather says he should like me to be one."

"And you wish it yourself, do you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. You are a well-conducted boy, and God has given you a good musical voice, so we shall be very pleased to have you amongst us. But you must never forget that there is not only a high honour, but also a very solemn responsibility connected with the office of a chorister. Always remember, then, that you are in a very especial way

God's servant

, that His eye is upon you, and that He will expect you to do your duty in the

very best way you possibly can

. You must

sing and give praise with the best member that you have

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  Ps. cviii, 1.

– that is, you must devote to God's praise and glory the very best service you can render. You are a little boy to talk to about setting a good example to a congregation, composed for the most part of persons so much older than yourself, but yet that is one of your chief duties. When you are in the choir, the eyes of all the congregation are upon you, and they should not only

hear

 you singing as well as you can, and so be led themselves to join heartily in the musical parts of the service, but also

at all other times

 they should

see

 you reverent and devout in your conduct; and be sure, my boy, this good and serious behaviour of yours will have its influence upon others, though perhaps they may be hardly conscious of it. Now there is enough in this to make you very serious, but yet the thought that God permits you in your young years thus to help in promoting His glory, and to be such a blessing to your fellow-creatures, should make you very happy and very thankful to Him." …

Before the commencement of the Morning Prayers little Harry was solemnly admitted a member of the choir. The ceremony was a very simple, but yet a very solemn one. On this occasion the usual order of entering the church was reversed. Mr. Ambrose came first, then the eight senior members of the choir, then the seven boy choristers, and last came Harry. All wore their surplices except Harry, and he carried his new little surplice on his arm. During the procession solemn music was played on the organ. As soon as it ceased, all knelt down to say their private prayers, Harry kneeling on a cushion prepared for him at the entrance to the chancel. It was the custom at St. Catherine's for all the congregation to stand up when the priest and choir entered; which custom, besides being a mark of respect for His presence to whom they were about to dedicate their worship and service, had this advantage – that it induced all to say their private prayers at the same time, and thus avoided much confusion; it tended also to prepare the mind

at once

 to enter into the spirit of the

public

 service.

After a short pause, Mr. Ambrose read a portion of the third chapter of the first book of Samuel. He then addressed Harry in these words: —

"Henry, before I proceed to admit you a member of the choir of this church, you must promise, before God and this congregation, that in the solemn office on which you are about to enter, you will always strive above all things to promote His glory. Do you so promise?"

Little Harry, in a timid, trembling voice, answered, "I do so promise."

The Vicar and choir then sang, alternately, the following sentences: —

Priest.

– "Our help is in the name of the Lord;"

Choir.

– "Who made heaven and earth."

P.

– "O Lord, bless and keep this Thy servant;"

C.

– "Who putteth his trust in Thee."

P.

– "Accept his service in this Thy House;"

C.

– "And make the voice of Thy praise to be glorious."

P.

– "Lord, hear our prayer;"

C.

– "And let our crying come unto Thee."

Mr. Ambrose then read these verses: —

"And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place – also the Levites, which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets: – it came even to pass as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals, and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God

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  2 Chron. v. 11-14.

."

The choir then sang, "Glory be to Thee, O God," during which time the senior choir boy led little Harry into the middle of the choir, where he knelt down on a cushion prepared for him.

Mr. Ambrose then said this prayer: "O most merciful Father, before whom 'Samuel ministered, being a child, girded with a linen ephod,' give, we pray Thee, to this Thy youthful servant such gifts as shall enable him to sing Thy praise, and promote Thy glory in this Thy Temple, and grace to worship Thee acceptably in the beauty of holiness, and to adorn the doctrine of Christ his Saviour in all things. Amen."

Harry then stood up, and as Mr. Ambrose placed on him his little surplice, he said, —

"Henry, I robe you in this surplice in token that you are now set apart to be a chorister, and, together with those around you, to assist in the high and glorious work of leading the praises of God in this church: let the whiteness of this robe always remind you of that purity which should mark the service you here offer up to God. I pray you never, either here or elsewhere, to disgrace this robe of your solemn office. What you sing with your lips believe in your heart, and what you believe in your heart fulfil in your life; and may God so bless and protect you, that when this life is ended, you may join that angel choir who in robes of white sing before the Throne, 'Glory to God and to the Lamb for ever and ever.' Amen."

The new chorister then took his place in the choir, whilst the organ almost thundered the following chorus, in which all joined: —

"O Great and Mighty God, with angels and archangels we laud and magnify Thy glorious name. Amen."

The usual morning service then proceeded. Many eyes were fixed on the earnest, thoughtful little face that appeared for the first time in the choir; and with not a little pardonable pride did old Matthew watch the hearty efforts of his grandson to fulfil the promise he had just made.

It had long been a custom for the Vicar and Mr. Mendles, the organist, to partake of a late meal at the Hall when their Sunday duties were ended; and on this Sunday evening the Squire accompanied them home from church.

"Our little friend," said he, "will be quite an acquisition to the choir; he has a very sweet voice."

"Yes, he has," replied the Vicar; "and what is of no less importance, he is sure to conduct himself well. But, for that matter, I have no reason to complain of any one of our choir; for, thanks to Mr. Mendles, and to their own sense of propriety, I don't believe there is a better conducted choir in any parish than ours."

"That is very much owing to your allowing no men to be there who are not communicants."

"That's a good rule, no doubt, and accounts, perhaps, more than any thing for their reverent behaviour. You well know, Mr. Mendles, there was little reverence enough once."

"The great difficulty," said Mr. Mendles, "is to persuade the choir that they should sing to God,

with

 the congregation, not

to

 the congregation. I strive both to learn myself, and to teach them, that our singing should be

worship

, not the mere exhibition of

talent

, and that we ought to rejoice when the congregation

join in

, not when they only

listen to

 our hymns and chants. I believe we have now learnt the lesson, and are the happier for it."

"And we all feel the benefit of that lesson too," said the Vicar, "for whereas formerly nothing but flashy tunes which enabled them to show off their own talent would please the choir, we have now, thank God, a solemn and devotional character in the music of our liturgical services, and a joyful gladness in the music of our hymns – equally far removed from levity and from mournfulness – which, with our praises and our prayers, seem to float up our very souls to heaven."

"I think we must attribute the success of our musical services in some measure to the new position of the organ, must we not, Mr. Mendles?" said the Squire.

"Most certainly. There can be no doubt that the most convenient position for the organ-chamber is either on the north or south side of the chancel; or, if the organ is divided, on both sides. It is a misfortune that, as organs were but little known when most of our old churches were erected

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  Organs appear to have been used at a very early period, and some have thought that allusions to them are to be found in the Psalms of David; but till the commencement of the last century they were probably used in very few country churches. In cathedrals the organ was sometimes placed in the clerestory; its position over the choir screen is in every respect most objectionable.

, we find no fitting place provided for them in the original structure. There is, however, no excuse for our modern architects who are guilty of such an omission; and it is a matter of surprise to me that they do not make the organ-chamber a feature of more prominence and greater beauty, both externally and internally, than they are accustomed to do."

"True," said the Squire; "specially as in our days the organ is regarded as all but a necessity in every church. Certainly, there is no musical instrument so suitable for congregational worship, for whilst it represents all kinds of music, it exactly realizes the description given in the account of the dedication of the temple which Mr. Ambrose read this morning, and brings together the cymbals and the psalteries and the harps, and the trumpeters and the singers '

as one

.'

"It is a curious fact – is it not, sir? – that whereas the presence of organs in our churches used to be the source of great offence to Dissenters in this country, and has recently been the subject of much dispute among Presbyterian Dissenters, yet you can now hardly find a Dissenting meeting-house of any size but can boast of its organ, and often a very good one too. Let us hope, Mr. Vicar, that ere long they, may become reconciled also to other things in our Church which now they may regard with the same horror with which they once looked upon the church organ."

CHAPTER XXVI

THE VESTRY

"Let all things be done decently and in order."

1 Cor. xiv. 40

"Avoid profaneness! Come not here.

Nothing but holy, pure, and clear,

Or that which groaneth to be so,

May at his peril farther go."

George Herbert.

To the close friendship which existed between the Squire and the Vicar, constantly cemented by such meetings as we have just described, was owing, in a considerable degree, the general harmony and goodwill which made St. Catherine's one of the most peaceful villages in England. When, many years ago, Mr. Ambrose first became Vicar there, he felt it his duty to make many changes in a parish which had been long neglected, and in a church which was almost a ruin. His labours were then regarded with much suspicion and disfavour; but he had now been long enough resident in the parish to live down all that hostile feeling. Nevertheless, it was not all peace at St. Catherine's. From time to time there would be an importation of cross-grained malcontents, who usually succeeded in stirring up some parochial strife.

Such had for some time past been the laudable occupation of William Strike and his too faithful companion, whom, by kind permission of Mr. Gallio, the registrar, he was allowed to call his wife. He had never promised to love her, and she had never promised to obey him, and on these little points each scrupulously maintained a right to act in perfect independence of the other: nevertheless, they heartily united in a common effort to instil into the minds of their neighbours a feeling of hostility to wards the church; and some discord in the parish was the natural consequence. An opportunity offered on the morning of Easter Monday for Strike to find a full vent for all his spleen.

It is a sad, sad thought, that at this season of the Christian year, when all should be peace, the bitterness of party strife should break up the harmony of so many parishes. But so it is; and so it was at St. Catherine's; and this one man was at the bottom of all the mischief.

"I am sorry to see you are going to the vestry this morning, William," said Mr. Dole, as they met in the village street.

"I've as much right there as you have, I suppose," he replied; "you're going to support the Vicar, and I'm going to oppose him thick and thin."

"Peace is better than war, William."

"Well,

you

 used to be on our side once, and I should like to know what's made you turn round?"

"It would take too long to answer that question fully, William. It will be enough if I tell you that where I thought I knew most, I found myself all wrong; and the more I thought and inquired, the more convinced I was that there could be only one true Church committed by Christ to His Apostles and their successors, and that to separate from that, and cause division and schism, must be a sin. After long and prayerful consideration, and many conversations with Mr. Ambrose on the subject, I was convinced that the sect to which I belonged – and you do still – was not the one true Church; and so I left it."

"Well, I don't mean to leave it; and I don't mean that the parson shall have it all his own way in this parish."

Mr. Dole had in vain tried to bring his companion to a better mind when they reached the vestry

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Vestry

, so called because it is the place where the vestments of the priests and their assistants are kept. It is also called the

sacristy

, because the

sacred

 vessels and other furniture for use at the altar are kept there. The keeper of the vestry is properly called the

sacristan

. This word has now degenerated to

sexton

.

. It was a small chamber on the opposite side of the chancel to the organ

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  Some of the subterranean and other small chambers in churches, supposed to be chantries or mortuary chapels, have probably been used as vestries. The following is extracted from Neal and Webb's edition of

Durandus

: – "On eache side of this chancelle peradventure (for so fitteth it beste) should stand a turret; as it were for two ears, and in these the belles to be hanged, to calle the people to service, by daie and by night. Undre one of these turrets is there commonly a vaulte, whose doore openeth into the quiere, and in this are laid up the hallowed vesselles, and ornamentes, and other utensils of the churche. We call it a vestrie." —

Fardle of Facions.

 Printed 1555.

, and there was a sombreness about it that harmonized with the solemn use for which it was intended. On the eastern side were two small windows filled with stained glass, and over them, in large letters, was the sentence, "Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints sing with joyfulness." Between these two windows stood an oaken table, on which was a small desk or lectern; and on this, written in beautifully illuminated characters, were the prayers used by Mr. Ambrose and the choir before and after the Church services. Before the table was a small embroidered kneeling cushion for the priest at these times. The parish chest

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  Early examples of these chests for containing the parish records may be found in most old churches. Frequently they are of very rude design, and the box is formed of a single block of wood strongly bound with iron hoops. Sometimes, however, they are richly carved, as in the churches of Clymping, Sussex; Luton, Bedfordshire; and Faversham, Kent. The proper place for the parish chest is the vestry, but it is not unfrequently to be found in some other part of the church. We often meet with several large chests of common deal in various parts of the church containing useless papers and other rubbish. The sooner these are swept away the better.

, and two ancient chairs, all of oak and richly carved, completed the furniture of the vestry; whilst on its walls were hung the surplices of the choir and the vestments of the priest

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  See pages 85 and 86 for a description of some of these vestments.

.

The meeting was called together for the double purpose of electing churchwardens and making a church-rate, and it was soon evident to the Vicar that Strike and his friends had come determined on a stormy meeting. But few angry words, however, had been spoken, when Mr. Ambrose rose and said, "My friends, I had hoped that this meeting would have been conducted in that spirit of Christian charity and peacefulness which has been our custom; but as I find this is not to be the case, I will not allow any part of God's House to be desecrated by the exhibition of party animosity and angry strife

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  It is

always lawful

, and almost always desirable, to hold "vestry" meetings in some hall or room in the parish, and

not in the church vestry

.

. This vestry is known to those of you who are associated with me in conducting our religious services, as the place of holy meditation and solemn prayer; nor are its associations less sacred to those among you who have come here, with unquiet consciences or troubled minds, to seek my counsel and advice. All around us here, my friends, reminds us of the service of a God of love; so if the Demon of Discord must come into our little parish, let this place, at least, not be the scene of his unhallowed presence."

It was then proposed to adjourn the meeting to the house of Mr. Walton; and he, having both a good heart under his waistcoat, and a large room in his house, readily agreed to the proposal. He was, moreover, one of the churchwardens, and, though the village blacksmith, was a man in good circumstances, and exercised considerable influence for good in the parish.

Nothing can be less profitable than to read the "foolish talking" which commonly characterizes a discordant vestry meeting; we will, therefore, pass that over. The churchwardens were re-elected, and the church-rate was carried. The Vicar then endeavoured to pour oil upon the troubled waters by delivering a kind and friendly address, which he ended in these words: "Mr. Strike tells you that he will always oppose the Church so long as it is in any way supported by the State. But let me remind him that the Church did not receive from the State the possessions with which she is endowed for the maintenance of true religion in this land. Those were, for the most part, given to our Church by pious men and women, many hundreds of years ago; and the State, in securing these to us, is only acting with common honesty, and doing no more for the Church than it does for every other society – indeed, for every person – in the country. But Mr. Strike tells you, too, he will not give a penny for keeping up the fabric of the Church, because he is a Dissenter. Now, my friends, to take the

very lowest

 view of the Church, and regarding her temples only as places in which a high standard of

morality

 is set up, it is surely for the advantage of the

State

, and for the

community

, that they should be maintained; and, therefore,

all

 should help to maintain them. 'Yes,' you say, 'but we teach morality, too, in our little Salem Chapel at Droneworth: why should not our meeting-house be supported as much as your Church?' My answer is, that your Salem Chapel may any day share the fate of the Little Bethel Meeting-House that used to be in our parish. Besides, on your own principles, you cannot accept State aid to keep it