Stones of the Temple Part 12

"Oh, but indeed there is. The pa.s.sage to which I refer is in St. James'

Epistle; and it is this: '_My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your a.s.sembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts[100]?_'"

"If those words are in the Bible, I must confess the Bible is against me; but I had no idea that they were there."

"I a.s.sure you they are the exact words of Holy Scripture."

"It's clear enough to me," interposed Mr. Parvener, "that the labourer ought to have as good a place at church as the lord. I don't think the church is the place to show off aristocratic pride. Why, for that matter, there's many a man that doesn't know who was his grandfather doing more for the glory of G.o.d and the good of his fellow-creatures than your grandest aristocrats." This was intended as a counter-thrust, and it created a wider breach in the enemy's camp. "But," continued he, "I don't see why, if all have good places in the church, we should not make our own seats as comfortable as we can."

"Ah, but there comes in just what St. James tells us we ought to keep out: the distinction between _riches and poverty_, distinctions which among our fellow-men have their advantages, but not before G.o.d in His house. Just hear what St. James says again: 'Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not G.o.d chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him? But ye have despised the poor[101].' I was much struck with a sermon I heard the other day on this subject. The preacher said, 'If our Lord Jesus Christ were to enter some of our churches just as He went to the temple at Jerusalem, do you think He would take His seat in the luxuriously furnished pew of the rich, or in the open bench of the poor[102]?' Now, let me ask you too, Mr. Parvener (for this is, after all, the sum and substance of the matter), do you think that He 'who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor[103],' and whose life was a perfect pattern of _humility_, would sanction the distinctions which either pride of station, or pride of riches, would create in the House of Prayer?"

"Well, sir, I must say that's a solemn question, and it sets one a-thinking more than I have thought before about this."

"But, Mr. Beeland," said Sir John, interrupting, for he saw the ground of his arguments was slipping from under him, "you will acknowledge that these open benches in church are a _novelty_, and you often talk to us about keeping to the _old paths_. Now, here you are teaching us to strike out a new way altogether. I wish I knew something more than I do about the history of these pews."

"I antic.i.p.ated some such remark from you, and knowing that my friend Mr.

Ambrose is more learned than I am in all these subjects, I induced him to join us this evening, and if he will kindly give us the benefit of his information, he will, I am sure, convince you that _pews, and not benches, are the modern innovation_."

"If you can have patience to listen to me," said the Vicar of St.

Catherine's, "I will gladly give you the history of pews, as far I know it."

_CHAPTER XIX_

THE NAVE

"Take theses things hence; make not My Father's house a house of merchandise."

John ii. 16.

"Not raised in nice proportions was the pile, But large and ma.s.sy; for duration built; With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld By naked rafters intricately cross'd, Like leafless underboughs, 'mid some thick grove, All wither'd by the depth of shade above, ... The floor Of nave and aisle, in unpretending guise, Was occupied by oaken benches ranged In seemly rows."

WORDSWORTH.

Ill.u.s.tration: All Saints' Church, Bradford

THE NAVE

"In order to trace the history of pews[104] to their first source, I must, as Mr. Beeland has hinted, go back to a time when pews, as we now see them, had never been thought of. It is pretty certain that the first seats in churches were stone benches placed round the north, south, and west walls, portions of which are still remaining in many old churches[105]. In some ancient churches in Ireland the stone bench has also been found adjoining the _eastern_ wall, the altar being placed a little distance before it. In those early times people were far less self-indulgent than at present in G.o.d's House, and the usual custom was to stand or kneel during the whole service. The first wooden seats were small stools, each intended to seat one person, and placed in the nave as suited the convenience of each occupier. Then came plain benches, and next, benches with backs to them. The priest's _reading-pew_ was probably the origin of all pews. They seem to have been unknown in any form till the end of the thirteenth century, but the earliest record we have of a pew is 1602[106]. Next to the 'reading-pew' came the 'bride's pew[107],' the 'churching-pew,' and the 'churchwarden's pew.' In the nave of Little Berningham Church, Norfolk, is a pew erected by a shepherd; a skeleton carved in wood is fixed at the south-west corner of it, and these lines are carved on the pew:--

'For couples join'd in wedlock; and my friend That stranger is: this seat I did intend, But at the coste and charge of Stephen Crosbee.

All you that do this place pa.s.s by, As you are now, even so was I-- Remember death, for you must dye, And as I am, soe shall you be.

'Anno Domini, 1640[108].'

The general adoption of pews began with Puritanism, and with its increase they too grew in width and stature. First of all, people were satisfied with the uniform arrangement and s.p.a.ce of the old oak benches, only erecting on the top of them an ugly and useless panelling of deal.

This was bad enough, but worse soon followed; and, to make the seats more luxurious, first one bench was taken away, and the _two benches_ made _one pew_; then two were removed, then three, till at last it required the removal of _six benches_, which formerly would accommodate thirty persons, to make _one pew_ to accommodate two or three. Now, either men are giants in these days and were pigmies in those days, or else the pride and luxury of man claim a prominence now in G.o.d's House, which was quite unknown then. I will ask either of you, gentlemen, to decide which is the true explanation."

"I fear it must be against ourselves," said Mr. Parvener.

"I fear so, indeed[109]. But now let me explain to you more fully what are the real evils of this wretched pew system. And first, as to the _private pew_--for, besides sharing in the evils of _all_ the rest, _it_ has some peculiarly its own. Of these, the _pride_ it fosters, and the '_respect of persons_,' so severely condemned by St. James, are the worst. My dear sir, I a.s.sure you it has often made my blood boil to see some poor old man with his venerable bare head exposed to the cold draught of a neglected part of the church, whilst a young, pampered son of fortune has been cushioned up under the stately canopy of his own pew[110]. Oh, sir, I'm sure you must agree with me that this is altogether against the spirit of Christianity! I'm no leveller _out of church_; the social distinctions must be there kept up; but _in G.o.d's House_ these should have no place at all. Then, surely, the _luxury_ of many of these private pews is altogether inconsistent with the object of our meeting in the House of Prayer. It is--as it shows the progress of luxury, and its concomitant, effeminacy--a curious circ.u.mstance, that when the custom of having pews in our churches began to spread, they were, by our hardy ancestors, considered as _too great indulgences_, and as temptations to repose. Their curtains and bed-furniture, their _cushions_ and _sleep_, have, by a long a.s.sociation of ideas, become intimately connected. The Puritans thought _pews_ the devil's _baby_, or _b.o.o.by hutches_[111]. I have heard that in America they go even beyond us in the luxury of pews, and that in Boston some of them are actually lined with _velvet_[112]. I believe that both there and here the private pew system has done very much, not only to force the poor from the Church, but to drive many of all cla.s.ses over to dissent."

"I can't see how that can be," said the Baronet.

Why, "naturally enough, sir, for they find all this the very opposite to what the Church professes to be and to teach. They see the rich exalted, and the poor debased; they find a house of pride, instead of a house of prayer.

"The _exclusiveness_ of this system is one of the most curious as well as absurd features in its history. True, the change in our social habits has created a change for the better here; but much of the old temper survives. You would hardly believe, perhaps, that years ago it was not only considered an impropriety for the squire and the dame to sit in the same pew with any of their inferior fellow-worshippers, but the presence of their own children[113] was even considered an indecent intrusion.

This was, indeed, ridiculous; but, in truth, the whole system would be monstrously grotesque, were it not so very wicked.

"There is a curious inscription on an old seat in a church at Whalley, which seems to throw some light on the early history of private pews; it is this:--'My man Shuttleworth, of Hacking, made this form, and here will I sit when I come, and my Cousin Nowell may make one behind me if he please, and my sonne Sherburne shall make one on the other side, and Mr. Catterall another behind him; and for the residue, the use shall be first come first speed, and that will make the proud wives of Whalley rise betimes to come to church[114].'

"The first seat thus appropriated was, no doubt, a rude wooden bench; but certain it is, that no sooner were even these claimed as private property than _quarrelling_ began[115]; and the quarrel has, alas! been kept up to our own day. The right to these _faculty pews_, as they are called, is, however, in most cases very questionable, and often leads to costly law processes[116]. Many sensible men and earnest Churchmen are giving up their supposed right to them, and are contented to take their place in church like _ordinary mortals_. I sincerely trust, gentlemen, this may be your case.

"Now, let me notice a few of the evils which are common to _all pews_.

They tend to destroy the _unity_ and _uniformity_ of common worship, which forms so grand a feature in our church system. 'They are very inconvenient to _kneel_ down in, necessarily oblige some to sit with their backs to the speaker, and when they rise up, present a scene of confusion, as if they were running their heads against one another[117].

As G.o.d's House is a House of Praise and Prayer, so before all things the arrangement there should have reference to the proper _posture_[118] of praise and prayer. Then see how these pews shelter and encourage _levity_ in G.o.d's House. As long ago as the year 1662, a bishop of Norwich wrote this satire upon pews: 'There wants nothing but beds to hear the Word of G.o.d on. We have cas.e.m.e.nts, locks and keys, and cushions--I had almost said bolsters and pillows--and for those we love the church. I will not guess what is done within them: who sits, stands, or lies asleep at prayers, communion, &c.; but this, I dare say, _they are either to hide some vice or to proclaim one_[119].' I will only mention one more objection to pews: they harbour dust and dirt[120], and otherwise disfigure the beauty of our churches."

"Well, Mr. Ambrose, I must confess myself brought to the same opinion as yourself," said Sir John, "and the reformation of the evil may commence at Droneworth to-morrow without any obstacle whatever from me."

"Nor yet from me," rejoined Mr. Parvener: "I certainly never heard the case fairly stated before, and now I have, I own I'm convinced."

"Heartily glad, I'm sure, my friend here must be to part with the old _half empty packing-cases_, and to see proper benches in their place.

And as you have been kind enough to listen to me so far, I will just say a few more words to explain the two desks which the Vicar has placed in the nave of your church, and of which I heard you had disapproved. One is the _Litany-desk_, or _faldstool_[121],--as it is called in the Coronation Service. The Litany is a very solemn, penitential service, and from very early times it has been said from the appropriate place where the Vicar has placed the Litany-desk in your church--namely, just at the entrance to the chancel. Its position there has reference to that Litany of G.o.d's own appointing, of which we read in the Book of Joel[122], where, in a general a.s.sembly, the priests were to weep _between the porch and the altar_, and to say, '_Spare Thy people, O Lord_.' In allusion to this, our Litany--retaining also the same words of supplication--is enjoined, by the royal injunctions[123], still in force, 'to be said or sung in the midst of the church, at a low desk before the chancel-door[124].' The other desk is called the _lectern_, or _lettern_, and sometimes the _eagle-desk_; and, as you are aware, is the desk from which the lessons are read. They were first made of wood, and often richly carved; afterwards they were commonly made of bra.s.s or copper. They were first used about the end of the thirteenth century, and although most of our country churches have been despoiled of them, yet they have never ceased to be used in our cathedrals, as well as many other churches[125]. The desk is often supported by a pelican feeding its young with its own blood, the emblem of our Saviour's love; more frequently it is supported by an eagle, the symbolic representation of the Evangelist St. John. It is true that both the faldstool and the lectern have long been unknown at Droneworth, yet I feel sure you will not, on second thoughts, consider the restoration of such convenient and appropriate furniture as objectionable."

The two late dissentients agreed that as they had overcome the greater difficulty, they should withdraw all opposition in the matter; and, it being now late, the party broke up, each one feeling glad that a good thing had been done on a good day.

_CHAPTER XX_

THE AISLES

"Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise Him, O ye servants of the Lord.

Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our G.o.d."

Ps. cx.x.xv. 1, 2.