498 On Ancient and Modern Customs. They set forth they have expended in repairs in a few years 13371. and in the last year in two levies 384/., but that the whole roof must be taken down and new framed, and lead new cast, several buttresses be erected, and several arches be rebuilt." In 1724 this was effected by the aid of a brief granted by Lord Chancellor Parker. The annexed view represents the fine west window and tower, remains of the architecture of Fitz-Haimon, who did so much for the place as to have been considered by the monks ás their founder. I will not here enter into any controversy with respect to Mr. King's opinion of what Fitz-Haimon built, but I cannot help expressing my surprise at the general inaccuracy and improbability of his notices of this Church. The west front retains much of its original appearance; the centre consisting of a large six-turned semicircular arch, supported by as many lofty and slender columns, with capitals and bases, receding within each other. At the angles are two light and elegant turrets, with staircases in each. The parts on each side the arch are filled up with a double row of small semicircular arches and columns. The magnificent arch which incloses the west window, (the inharmonious erection of 1686,) probably contained several windows similar in their dimension and figure to those in the tower, and a doorway beneath them. Over this entrance we see the square massive tower rising in rich and beautiful magnificence from the roof. Each face of the tower is decorated with three rows of columns and semicircular arches, ornamented with zig-zag and billet mouldings, five of which are perforated to give light to the inside. The middle row are intersecting arches, and the whole has a very rich appear ance. Almost immediately before the Church, as appears in the annexed engraving, is the Abbey gate-house, a square embattled building, of considerable height. Mr. Willis, in his Mitred Abbeys, calls this the prison house; but it is uncertain whether it was ever applied to that purpose. The arch is of very good proportions, and the cornice is decorated with flying angels, similar to those on the Campanile Tower, which formerly stood in [Dec. the churchyard, and on the site of which the National School is built. A very handsome series of plates relative to the interesting architectural remains of the Abbey Church, were published in 1826 by the Society of Antiquaries, accompanied by an elegant brief history and description, from the pen of Mr. Amyot, the Treasurer of the Society. S. T. ON ANCIENT AND MODERN CUSTOMS. (Continued from page 303.) HE ancient custom to which I Talluded in my last, of heaping stones on the graves of persons who had suffered an untimely death, still exists in Sweden, as appears by the following passage extracted from the work of an entertaining modern traveller : "On passing through the forest of Kaaglar, on our way from the lake of Venern to Stockholm, we saw near the road side several large heaps of stones, which, drapped by the pious hands of the passengers. point out the spot where the remains of some unfortunate traveller repose beneath the shade of the waving pines. This practice is very general in Sweden." (Captain de Capell Brooke's Travels in Sweden and Norway in 1820, p. 22.) The custom of erecting crosses in conspicuous situations, as objects of devotion, or as monuments of guilt, seems to be almost universal in continental and other foreign countries. Captain Head, in his amusing" Rough Notes," taken amongst the Andes, relates that in his passage over the Great Cordillera he saw on one of the highest summits a large wooden cross, which had been erected by two arrieros to commemorate the murder of their friend. (P. 168.) Lieutenant Brand, in his recent work containing an account of his journey over the Andes on foot in the snow, notices frequently the same circumstance. On the ascent to the Hospice of the Grand St. Bernard several crosses stand near the road side, as similar memorials. This custom is also observable on the banks of the Rhine, in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Lord Byron thus alludes to its existence in the latter country, in his magnificent description of Cintra : "And here and there, as up the crags you spring, [path, Mark many rude-carv'd crosses near the Yet deem not these devotion's offering, 1828.] On Ancient and Modern Customs. These are memorials frail of murderous For wheresoe'er the shrieking victim hath Some hand erects a cross of mouldering lath, cures not life.' Childe Harold, Canto I. xxi. In all ages and in all countries of the world, mankind has appeared to feel and to express by external signs, a deep and well-founded abhorrence of the crime of murder, whether committed by the deliberate hand of the suicide or the assassin. This feeling, implanted by Providence in the human breast, has no doubt given rise to, and perpetuated the custom alluded to. It was a well-known practice amongst the Roman soldiers, when they applauded a speech of their General, to strike their shields with their swords, as a testimony of their approbation. Of this we may read many instances in the works of Livy, and several of the ancient classic poets. Tacitus also relates that the Germans, who always carried their arms with them, were accustomed, in their public assemblies and debates, to testify their approval or dislike of the harangues made to them by striking their weapons together, if pleased; and, if the contrary, by loud murmurs and other tokens of displeasure. He adds, that the former was considered the most honourable proof of satisfaction, Ut turbæ placuit, considunt armati, nihil autem neque publicæ neque privatæ rei, nisi arinati, agunt. Mox rex, vel princeps, prout ætas cuique, prout nobilitas, prout decus bellorum, prout facundia est, audiuntur, auctoritate suadendi magis quam jubendi potestate. Si displicuit sententia, fremitu aspernantur, sin placuit, frameas concutiunt. Honoratissimum assensus genus est, armis laudare." (Germania, xi.) A similar custom is mentioned by the same author in his Histories on occasion of the Speech of Civilis. (Lib. iv. 15.) The historian Gibbon, in his admirable Summary of the Character and Manners of the Ancient Germans, abridged from the “ Germania" of Tacitus, has thus referred to the foregoing passage: "If the orator did not give satisfaction to 499 his auditors, it was their custom to signify, by a hollow murmur, their dislike of his counsels. But whenever a more popular speaker proposed to vindicate the meanest jury, whenever he called upon his countrycitizen from either foreign or domestic inmen to assert the national honour, or to pursue some enterprise, full of danger and glory, a loud clashing of shields and spears expressed the eager applause of the assembly. For the Germans always met in arms, and it was to be dreaded, lest an irregular and uncontrouled multitude should use their arms to enforce as well as to declare their furious resolves." * Milton also alludes to this custom in his "Paradise Lost," when describing Satan's address to his legions, and their declaration of war against Heaven: arms highly they raged Shakspeare (Coriolanus, act i. sc. ix. in his Faery Queen: "And clash their shields, and shake their swords on high."-Book i. canto 4, st. xl. The ancients were accustomed to suspend in their temples shields, with appropriate inscriptions, and many divinities. In the Eneid Virgil reother votive offerings in honour of their presents his hero Æneas, in the narraof Troy, as thus alluding to the praction of his adventures after the sacking tice: "Ere cavo clipeum, magni gestamen Aban- Postibus adversis figo, et rem carmine signo, Book iii. 286-288. Dædalus also, when he had finished his aerial voyage, and arrived in safety at Chalcis, is related by the same poet to have consecrated his wings to Apollo, and to have erected temples to that divinity, in commemoration of the event. * Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. ix. "De clipeis votivis cum titulo inscripto inter donaria suspensis res nota," observes the commentator on the passage above quoted. Church of St. Saviour, Southwark. 500 sacravit Remigium alarum, posuitque immania templa." Eneid, vi. 18. This custom of making votive offerings, as I have had occasion to remark in a former Number, is still preserved in Catholic countries, as their various churches and places of worship amply testify. Amongst innumerable buildings of this description may be mentioned the Pantheon, which, though originally dedicated by the Romans to all the divinities of the heathen mythology, is now devoted solely to the service of the Virgin Mary; and its walls are accordingly hung round with presents which have been from time to time offered by her worshippers as tokens of gratitude, and as memorials of her miraculous interference in their behalf, in cases of shipwreck, sickness, and distress. In the church of the Campo Santo, an extensive cemetery near Bologna, the chains of several Christian captives redeemed from slavery amongst the Turks and Algerines, are suspended from the walls as propitiatory offerings, and to perpetuate the memory of their deliverance. -Washington Irving also, in his recent interesting Life of Columbus, mentions that Columbus, on his return from his first voyage of discovery, went barefoot with his crew on a pilgrimage to the nearest shrine, in performance of a vow which he had made during a furious storm, and offered up several gifts to commemorate his gratitude and unexpected preservation. Pilgrimages of this kind were frequent in those days of early navigation, in which mariners were less able to avoid the dangers of the deep than at the present time, when numerous ingenious inventions and improvements have so greatly diminished the difficulties and perils attendant on long voyages. Hence we so often find in works which treat of maritime adventures at the period referred to, constant allusions to these traces of ancient popular customs, and to the strong resemblance which existed between them. R. Dec. 6. HE much talked of, and long procrastinated repair of the magnificent parish Church of St. Saviour, Southwark, is again brought before the Vestry, and again opposed by the [Dec. party who have hitherto been the means of preventing the accomplishment of this desirable object. That so fire a Church should remain in a state of neglect and decay, in an age when the preservation of our national antiquities is so much encouraged, argues very unfavourably for the intelligence and liberality of the Borough of Southwark; and it is to be deplored, that so beautiful a memorial of past ages, interesting not only as a work of art, but for the historical recollections connected with it, should be at all under the controul of persons who have neither taste to discern its beauties, nor feeling to appreciate its merits. The question at issue is whether Mr. Gwilt's plans for the gradual restoration of the Church are to be proceeded with, or whether a new Church in the style of the neighbouring meeting houses is to usurp its place. Now one of the learned Thebaus of the vestry having discovered that the buttresses are "underminded," argues most forcibly the necessity of taking down the present structure, and building a new Church. Your readers will ask why are the parishioners so zealous for incurring an additional expence? The question is answered easily, very large funds are at the command of the parish, and available for the purpose; but if a twopenny rate had been wanted for the purpose either of repairing or re-edification, we should have seen these zealous Church-builders among the first to cry out against rates and taxes for the maintenance of a Church which they perhaps have only visited in their character of orators. The choir, it is generally known, has been restored from the excellent designs of Mr. Gwilt; how well that has been effected is not my purpose to unfinished. The transepts are now speak at present, the work being still partitioned off from the Church by whitewashed brick walls with mean glazed windows in them, which were erected to prevent the repairs from interfering with divine service. The choir is occupied with temporary benches, and the pulpit set up in the middle of it, like the rostrum of a dissenting meeting; in this unfinished state, to the detriment of the congregation and divine service, (for seats for septs are in consequence rendered usemany hundreds of persons in the tran 1828.] Character of English Clergy vindicated. 501 only enthusiastic, but universal feel less,) has the Church remained for more than one year. From one of the hand-ings in its favour; but to talk of pull somest parochial Churches in London, St. Saviour has degenerated into the meanest; it once looked like a Cathedral, it now in some parts is little better than a barn. The state of the Church has never been publicly noticed with the attention it deserved, although the public press has more than once alluded to the subject; and with that degree of historical accuracy so eminently displayed in the newspapers of the day, has gravely announced that the court in which the awful Bonner exercised his tyrannical and cruel sway, actually exists in this Church. Wonderful discovery! To any one who can justly appreciate the truly sublime features of Pointed architecture, of which the present Church is so fine a specimen—to any one who feels a respect for our unrivalled Established Church, the present disgraceful state of the building is a matter of profound grief; and it appears to me surprising that the interference of the Diocesan has not been called forth to accomplish what the jarring members of the Vestry will never effect. Let me, therefore, through your pages, call the attention of the public to the subject-let me entreat such persons as possess any influence in the world of taste, to exert that influence to make the repairs of the Church a national concern. To anticipate the attention of the members of either House of Parliament, would not perhaps be delicate, as the subject will probably ere long occupy a portion of their attention; but when that event arrives, I trust the select but respectable body which exerts itself to uphold the present edifice, will meet that support which its exertions deserve. When we refer to what has been done at Malmesbury, Tewkesbury, and many other Churches, which possess no peculiar fund available for repairs; when even at Romsey, what little has been done is well done; it will be seen that parishes possessing similar magnificent Churches are proud of the treasures in their care, and that the parishioners exert themselves for the preservation of such treasures. There is scarcely a neighbourhood in England, except the Boeotian spot above named, in which the existence of an edifice like the present would not awaken not ing down such a Church, and building a flimsy new one in its place—the idea is insufferable! Of Mr. Gwilt personally I know nothing; with his works at this Church I am better acquainted. His designs for a portion of the unaccomplished restorations have been exhibited at Somerset House, and shew that no falling off from the perfection displayed in the choir will occur. Whether, therefore, your readers agree with me as to the propriety of restoring the present Church or not, I can at least claim the merit of having made this appeal without any interested or partial motives, in favour of a gentleman whom I never saw, and whom I only know as a respectable, and certainly, judging by his designs in this Church, a talented architect; and who is, from many circumstances, the most proper person to accomplish the desirable work of restoration. N the present times of obloquy against the Clergy, we are induced to extract the whole of the following passage from "HERMES BRITANNIcus," by the Rev. W. L. Bowles, in reply to Godfrey Higgins, Esq., who, in his "CELTIC DRUIDS," compared all "Priests," Christian or others, with the Priests of blood in Celtic Britain, or modern India. "In short,' he gravely adds, 'look EVERY WHERE and you will see THE PRIESTS (Dii boni!) reeking with gore!' I look round me here in Wiltshire, but I declare I never saw or heard of any country clergyman returning from visiting the sick of his parish reeking with gore!' and I doubt much whether there are any such reverend OGRES even in Yorkshire; and if he knows none, not one, I might remind him of a sentence sometimes heard in publie places of worship where these bloody' priests ministhou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' ter, "Yes! I look,' indeed, as I am told; I 'look' round the study where I am now writing these hasty, but I trust not 'priestly' or unchristian, remarks; I look on the placid countenance over the fire-place of that old man eloquent,' whose writings in the cause of truth and charity, mainly rescued the Christian church from the dogmas of human infallibility, the mild and the learned Melancthon; I look immediately above, and 1 mark the calm benig 502 "A Warning Voice against Papistes." nity, the placid intelligence, in the features of a prelate adorning the highest seat of the church with equal learning, suavity and virtue; I look on the remembered features, and seem almost to hear the voice of that kind master under whom we pursued our youthful studies together, in the same public school of Christian learning; I'look,' and I see, in a picture near the door, the walls of that college of St. Mary, Winton, where our days of brief pastime or of silent study were spent together; I look, and I think of those, nurtured in the same walls; I think of an intrepid and virtuous Ken, whose hymns I was first taught to repeat in the college where he was fellow; of him who was among those who said to the King on his throne, O King! our fortunes are in thy hand, but we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image thou hast set up!' I think of the same virtuous prelate, consigned for conscience sake, with his six brethren, to a prison; I think of him, in another reign, for conscience sake, and equally regardless of wealth or poverty, resigning quietly his high station and worldly wealth, and retiring as poor as he entered the world, with only his shroud, to the asylum offered to his gray hairs at Longleat by his schoolfellow at the same place of early education, the then Lord Weymouth, under whose roof he expired, and in which shroud he was buried. "I look at the antique towers, where their early studies were pursued together†; I think of the host of virtuous men and exalted scholars who issued from the same arena of public education; I think of the Warhams, the Lowths, the Burgesses, the Bathursts, the Huntingfords, the Howleys, all ornaments in their day of the same school, and all as distinguished for the amenities and virtues of private life as for their learning and acquirements. 1LOOK' at the college where, in the groves of ACADEME, I first wooed the muses, and with a sigh for poor Tom Warton,' and Headley, cut off in the prime of life, and the promise of the higher acquirements, I think of a SOMERS, there educated by 'priests,' whose deliberate wisdom mainly contributed to establish the equal rights of a King and his people; I think of a CHILLINGWORTH, who smote to shivers, by powerful reason alone, the pontifical throne of human infallibility, seeking truth with the calmest sincerity of inquiry, equally remote from the extremes of infallible popery and bigoted puritanism. "I LOOK,' and see before me the airy spire towering over the battlements of that hallowed cathedral in whose walls I have the * The present Archbishop of Canterbury, my schoolfellow. The first Lord Weymouth and Kenn were schoolfellows at Winchester. [Dec. distinguished honour of taking my seat; "I'LOOK' further, and, as I am told to do, every way,' and I see a host of those who added the acquirements of the scholar to the most blameless intercourse of social life, and so lived and so died, in the sober but not austere, in the dignified but not ostentatious, CHURCH OF ENGLAND; and whilst I point to these as remote as is light from darkness from the character of DRUIDS, or PRIESTS reeking with gore,' I would hope the crime of the solitary Cranmer, for which he justly paid the forfeiture, might not be taken into the account to blacken the virtues of such a host, but rather that, among all who have the feelings of men, the character of the Protestant clergy should be estimated by that of the greater number, rather than by the CRIME OF ONE!" Mr. URBAN, Spring field, near Chelmsford. YOU may perhaps consider the fol lowing extracts from a curious pamphlet in Black-letter, sufficiently interesting to deserve a place in your valuable Magazine. The work is scarce, and is entitled, A Warning against the dangerous Practises of Papistes, and specially ye Parteners of the late Rebellion, by Thomas Norton. Imprinted at London by Henrie Domini 1569. At the back of the Byuneman for Lucas Harrison, anne title-page are these words, 'The summe of all this booke, we can not well spare our Queen Elizabeth.' "Can ye thinke that they meane to draw you to true and Catholike religion, that persuade you to destroy ye monumentes of Christian communion? Read or heare ye whole forme of that service, judge of every word and sentence, and then shall you see what comforte your false deceyvers have taken from you. Compare what good you find in that, and what edifying in ye contrarie; what sweeteness it is to joyne with God's congregation in partaking of Christe's body and bloud by meane of his sacraments, and what vanitie or rather sorrow it is to gaze upon a theefe that robbeth you of that treasure, pretendeth to take it all himselfe, and holdeth up that which he calleth a sacra William Coxe. |