kind which Mr. Acres spoke of just now."
"And will you be so kind as to tell us how they contrived to make those
pretty patterns on them?"
"Oh, yes; it was a very simple process: very much in the same way as
Bridget makes those pretty pats of butter we admire so much; quite the
same, if Bridget would only fill in the spaces between the patterns with
butter of another colour. They first made the tile of clay, and then
impressed it with a wooden stamp; then it was dried or burnt, then some
thin clay or cement of another colour (usually white) was poured into
the pattern, then it was glazed over and burnt, the glazing material
making the white a rich yellow, and deepening the colour of the tile.
The pattern is sometimes perfect in a single tile, sometimes four,
eight, or a large number are required to perfect the design. Several
ancient kilns for their manufacture have been discovered[52]. Some of
these manufactories, it is evident, were very popular; for we find that
the same kiln sometimes supplied a great number of churches. Most of our
old churches have at some time been paved with these encaustic tiles;
but in all cases they have in great measure been destroyed or removed
when other beauties of God's house have been defaced, but often too
where the hand of man has spared, the hand of Time has obliterated.
"We find every variety of pattern upon these tiles. At Malvern and
elsewhere are many letters on single tiles: sometimes they are
alphabetically arranged, sometimes they read backwards, and sometimes
to a centre. Frequently the tiles have upon them texts of Scripture or
other inscriptions, such as 'The time is short,' 'Wait for the knell.'
At Malvern is a very remarkable tile; it contains the following curious
direction to executors, and was probably intended to be placed over a
tomb:--
'Thenke . mon . ži . liffe
maij . not . cu . endure.
žat . žow . dost . ži . self
Of . žat . žow . art . sure.
but . žat . žow . kepist
un . to . ži . sectur . care.
and . eu . hit . auaile . že
hit . is . but . aventure[53].'
Sacred emblems are very common on encaustic tiles, and especially
symbols of the Passion; within a single shield is sometimes to be found
the cross, crown of thorns, the nails, hammer, scourge, spear, ladder,
dice, vessel for vinegar, sponge on a rod of hyssop, and rarely, a sort
of bill, perhaps representing an instrument used in removing the Body
from the cross. The cross alone, floriated, is frequently composed of
many tiles; but it enters too into the great majority of those
geometrical and floriated patterns which form so large a portion of the
encaustic pavements of most churches. Armorial bearings and mottoes of
benefactors, founders, and others are frequently met with. At Great
Bedwyn, and in the ruins of Chertsey Abbey, have been found knights in
armour and other most interesting figures, throwing considerable light
on the history of the armour and costumes of the period. At Westminster
are figures of a king, queen, and abbot, which are supposed to represent
King Henry III., his Queen, and the Abbot of Westminster. Then I have
often seen the cock, the emblem of vigilance; the fox, the emblem of
subtlety; the pelican, of piety."
"Why," quietly inquired Ernest, "is the pelican an emblem of piety?"
"There is an old legend which tells us that the young of a pelican were
once saved from death by starvation by the parent bird tearing open her
breast and feeding them with her own blood. This has from very early
times been considered a very beautiful emblem of that Sacrifice which
has been offered by Jesus Christ to save us from eternal death. Other
emblems are--the circle, of eternity; the _fleur de lis_, of the Blessed
Virgin; the triangle, of the Trinity; the fish, of the Second Person of
the Trinity."
"Now do tell me what that means, please, Mr. Ambrose," said Constance;
"I cannot see why the fish should be so sacred an emblem."
"As you don't understand Greek, my dear, it is not a matter of surprise
that you have not understood this oft-recurring emblem. You must know
that the Greek word for fish is {~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} [ichthys], and the letters
in this word form the first letters of each word of a Greek sentence, of
which this is the English translation:--'Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
the Saviour;' hence the employment of this sacred symbol. Other devices
are stags, hounds, antelopes, and other animals; swans, and other birds;
emblems of trades, &c. Some appear ludicrous to us, though no doubt many
of them were originally intended to teach some useful lesson. At Little
Marlow is a fool's head, or cock's comb; at Godmersham, on several tiles
is a bending old man, with a staff in his hand, and on his head a fool's
cap, representing age and folly. It would seem, however, that some of
these grotesque figures were manufactured for no very useful purpose, as
is evidenced by the penance once inflicted on a monk of Normandy for
making tiles of this description[54]. Encaustic tiles have sometimes
been used for memorials of the departed[55]. In the ruins of Evesham
Abbey, _under_ a stone coffin, was found a pavement of tiles, on which
were initials and a cross. _Above_ a stone coffin, in the ruins of
Kirkstall Abbey, was found, in 1713, a pavement of similar tiles; in
Gloucester Cathedral is a tile to the memory of John Hertford; and at
Monmouth one to Thomas Coke and Alice his wife. These works of art are
not only to be admired as the most suitable decorations for the floors
of God's house; they are also interesting as specimens of art at various
periods; frequently they throw light on the history of churches and
religious foundations, and occasionally also of private families. I
rejoice to see them again claiming the attention of modern artists and
manufacturers, and finding a place once more in the churches, which on
all sides are happily being restored to their former beauty and
appropriateness.--But here we are at Wood's cottage."
_CHAPTER XI_
THE WALLS
"Peace be within thy walls."
Ps. cxxii. 7.
"Now view the walls: the church is compass'd round,
As much for safety, as for ornament:
'Tis an enclosure, and no common ground;
'Tis God's freehold, and but our tenement.
Tenants at will, and yet in tail, we be:
Our children have the same right to't as we.
"Remember there must be no gaps left ope,
Where God hath fenced, for fear of false illusions.
God will have all or none: allows no scope
For sin's encroachments, or men's own intrusions.
Close binding locks His Laws together fast:
He that plucks out the first, pulls down the last."
GEORGE HERBERT.
Illustration: St. Andrew's Church, Halstead
THE WALLS
The Warren Lodge was one of those pretty little cottages which are often
to be found nestling in bright, peaceful corners, about the parks and
estates of such wealthy squires as Mr. Acres; men whose kindliness of
heart and whose refinement of taste induce them to combine the
picturesque with the comfortable, in the houses they provide for their
tenants and retainers. It was built very near to the Warren Gate of the
park, and old Wood had been placed here because, being a spot little
frequented, it was a quiet resting-place for him in his old age.
Opposite the cottage was a lovely glen, where yew-trees and laurels,
mingling with oaks and beeches, hung in many beautiful and fantastic
forms over a greensward which all the year round never lost its verdure
or its softness. Seldom did old Master Wood and his wife wander farther
from their cottage than the end of this quiet glen; but that was their
daily walk, and Mr. Acres had put up two rustic seats for them to rest
upon, so that the old couple might accomplish their daily journey
without any great fatigue. But the old man was now too weak for this.
"I think you and the children had better go in, and leave me outside,"
said Mr. Acres, "as possibly poor Wood may feel more at his ease if I am
not present."
So Mr. Ambrose and the three children entered the cottage. It was, as
always, the picture of neatness and cleanliness; there were a few
well-tended geraniums in the windows, and some nice pictures on the
walls--not the gaudy, vulgar prints which are so commonly found in the
cottages of the poor, but really good and well-coloured engravings of
sacred subjects--a supply of which Mr. Ambrose always kept on sale at a
very low price[56]. There was enough of neat furniture in the rooms; and
on a nice bed, with snow-white drapery, lay the poor old man. After a
short conversation Mr. Ambrose read the twelfth chapter of St. Paul's
Epistle to the Romans, and then, when he had given a short explanation
of the chapter, all knelt down whilst he said some collects from the
Office of the Visitation of the Sick, and a prayer applicable to the
special circumstances of these humble cottagers.
Illustration: Ancient Wall Painting in Kimpton Church
The prayers ended, the old man rose up in his bed, and said, "Ah, sir, I
have often thought of that chapter you read just now, when I was able to
go to our dear old church. Just opposite my seat, you know, was the
picture on the wall of the man giving a poor thirsting creature a cup of
water, and of another giving a loaf of bread to somebody that looked
very hungry. When Mr. Greekhurst was at our church, years ago, you know,
sir, he used to preach very learned sermons, and we poor people couldn't
understand much about them, but there was my text and sermon too,
straight before me, and I always remembered the picture if I didn't
remember the sermon. I really think that looking on the old picture made
me somehow more kindly disposed to some of my neighbours. I suppose it
has been there a great many years, sir?"
Illustration: Ancient Wall Painting in Kimpton Church
"Yes, my friend; I should think about five hundred years."
"So long as that! Well then, I hope it has taught a good lesson to many
before me."
"No doubt it has; and though it is now almost worn away from the wall,
you will be glad to know that we have the same subject in the new
painted window close by, so the old sermon will not be lost."
"'Tis strange, sir, how well one remembers pictures of this sort, and
how they make one think about things which, but for them, we certainly
might not care to inquire much about. Now when I was a young man I never
thought a great deal of that beautiful chapter where St. Paul says so
much about charity. I had often heard the chapter read, and sometimes
read it myself, but still it never came to my mind how necessary a
thing charity was for us to have, till one day I went to Sunday-morning
service at an old church near our home. I got to the church some time
before service, so I walked about the churchyard, and looked round the
church, and there were pictures all round the outside of the walls of
the church[57], explaining that chapter. There was one man bringing all
his riches, and every thing he had, to give to the poor, and there was
another poor man being burnt to death, and so on; and then at the last
it said that, without love to God and man, all this was good for
nothing. Now, sir, I don't recollect a single word of hundreds of
sermons I have heard, but I shall never forget those pictures."
"Very likely, for most of us remember better what we _see_ than what we
_hear_, and it is a great mistake not to teach people through the _eye_
as well as the ear. But we must say good-bye, as Mr. Acres is waiting
for us in the park. God bless you, and, if it is His will, I hope you
may yet be strong enough to enjoy many of your old walks."
On their return home they followed a path which led them again through
the churchyard of St. Catherine's, and were soon joined by the Squire,
whose patience had been somewhat exhausted by the long stay of the
little party at old Wood's cottage.
_CHAPTER XII_
THE WALLS
"Thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise."
Isa. lx. 18.
"Behold in heaven yon glorious bow,
Which spans the gleaming world below!
The hues distinct in order glow,
Yet each in each doth melt unseen,
That none can mark the bound between:
Lo, such is Faith's mysterious scroll,
A multiform harmonious whole,
Together gather'd for our aid,
And in the darken'd heights display'd:
The Church shall ne'er that emblem want
Of her eternal covenant."
_The Cathedral._
Illustration: St. Michael's Church, Gloucester
THE WALLS
Mr. Dole, the proprietor of the village emporium, where all sorts of
inferior wares were to be had at the highest obtainable prices, was one
of those persons who seem sent into the world for the special purpose of
preventing others from being too happy in it. There are persons, no
doubt, who go through life always frowning upon their fellow-creatures,
ever throwing a dark shadow along the path before them; people who
persistently turn their backs upon the sunny side of human life; who
seem to think it wicked to take a bright and cheerful view of any thing
or any body on all God's earth; whose whole countenances would be
utterly revolutionized by the faintest approach to an honest, friendly
smile. Such persons, we must believe, are often very sincere, and are
endeavouring to do good in their own way; nor must we say that they
always fail in their endeavour; nevertheless they are not the sort of
persons we care to have as our frequent companions. It is true, there is
enough about the lives of most of us to make us often sorrowful; but no
less true is it, that the man who, leading a Christian life and doing
God's work in the world, preserves "a conscience void of offence to
wards God and to wards men" will take care that his outward demeanour
does not make his religion unlovely and repulsive in the sight of
others. Mr. Dole being of the class we have described, it was no wonder
that the village lads had honoured his name with an affix, and that he
was generally known among them as old Doleful; nor shall we be surprised
that his appearance in the churchyard just as Mr. Acres and the Vicar
entered it was not welcomed by them with any excessive pleasure.
"Good evening, Mr. Dole," said both gentlemen, as they approached him.
But there was no responsive "Good evening" from Mr. Dole. Now it is
always a bad sign when a man will not return such a simple salutation
as that: I never knew but one who made me no answer when I wished him
"Good evening;" I was at once impressed with the idea that there was
little good in him, and my impression was correct, for in a few moments
after the fellow had put a light to the thatched house of a poor
neighbour who had offended him, and very soon the poor man's house and
goods were crackling in a mass of flame. But, it must be confessed, Mr.
Dole withheld his salutation from no such motive as influenced this man.
There was something far too pleasant and cheerful about a kindly "Good
evening" to harmonize in any way with the tone of Mr. Dole's voice or
manner; but beyond this, he never said "Good morning" or "Good evening"
to any one _on principle_. The fact is, Mr. Dole belonged to a portion
of the sect of Anabaptists called "Calvinist Baptists," and the extreme
Calvinistic feature of his Creed had become with him quite a monomania.
The idea of _predestination_ haunted him every where and in every thing;
it ran through his whole life of thought, word, and action; with it he
justified all his own shortcomings, and it made him insensible to the
right motives and doings of others. He had become so accustomed to look
on the dark side of men and things, that he had gained for himself a
settled character of gloominess and suspicion, and had quite lost sight
of the Apostolic precept--"Be courteous." Thus he did not believe that
these two gentlemen meant what they said, and _really wished_ him to
have a "Good evening;" and, as regarded himself, he would have
considered the words as a flying in the face of Providence, a direful
offence against the phantom idol of inevitable Predestination which he
had set up in his own heart. To him it seemed only a mockery to use
those words of common courtesy, when--as he said to himself--it was
already ordained whether these persons should have a good or a bad
evening, and no words of his could affect or alter their destiny. And so
he simply said, "How do you do, gentlemen?" But it was spoken in a deep,
sepulchral voice, as though he reserved to himself a mental protest
against even this small conformity to the world's civility.
"People are talking about the painting you have been doing in the
church, Mr. Ambrose, and I have just come up to look at it; not that I
like that sort of thing, and I don't think the parish money should be
spent in that way."
"You need not be at all anxious on that score, Mr. Dole, as my friend
here has defrayed the whole cost of the work; but let us go into the
church together."
Now the line of thought which this man had so long adopted, and the _one
idea_ he had cherished, had so dulled his heart and mind to all sense of
the beautiful that he could never appreciate, like other people, what
was pure and lovely, either in nature or in art. No wonder then that he
failed to admire the beautiful decoration with which the Squire had
adorned St. Catherine's Church.
First of all, Mr. Ambrose pointed out to him some old wall-paintings of
great interest, which had been recently discovered. From these Mr. Acres
had had the successive coats of whitewash carefully removed, and, though
they were several centuries old, the colours were but little faded.
Among the most curious were a series of paintings which quite covered
the north wall of the chancel.
Illustration: Ancient Wall Painting in Bedford Church
"You will see, Mr. Dole, that these all represent events in the life of
our Blessed Lord. Here is the beginning of the series; it is the Tree of
Jesse, showing the descent of our Lord in the line of David,--next is
the Nativity,--next the Adoration of the Magi,--then, the Massacre of
the Holy Innocents,--then, the Presentation in the temple; and there, on
the upper part of the wall, are--the Betrayal, our Lord before Pilate,
being Mocked, being Scourged, bearing His Cross, His Crucifixion, and
there, below the Crucifixion, His descent from the Cross, and His
Entombment[58]. These, you see, Mr. Dole, are not only valuable as
showing one way in which our Church five hundred years ago set before
the eyes and minds of the people the human life of our Lord; but they
are still well suited for the sacred place they adorn, inasmuch as they
still serve to remind the worshipper in this House of Prayer of the
great truths they represent. I must, however, confess that we brought
to light some paintings on the walls of a different character; some of
these were very grotesque, others were from some cause or other
objectionable. These were copied, as possessing antiquarian interest,
and were then obliterated. It was long before we could bring our minds
to destroy these curious relics of old days[59], and had they occupied
less conspicuous places in the church, I think we should have been
tempted to preserve them, but the House of God has a higher use than to
be a mere preserver of curiosities, and to this higher use its
decorations and all within it should contribute."
Mr. Ambrose then explained the new wall-decorations which had been
painted by Mr. Acres. These consisted of groups illustrating sacred
subjects, texts of Holy Scripture mixed with foliage and tracery; and,
by clever introduction of foliage and holy texts among the old work, he
had made the old and the new to harmonize very well. The colours were
well arranged, and all was done with a due reference to the
architectural features of the church. Before this time the only attempt
at ornament for the walls of the church consisted of some square boards,
put up about fifty years ago, on which were painted some ill-selected
sentences, whilst beneath each sentence was painted a human head of
inhuman ugliness.
Not one word had as yet been spoken to the Vicar by his seemingly
attentive listener. At length he said, in his usual dismal tone, "I
don't see any use in it, sir. To my mind, our little Rehoboth down in
the village is more like the simplicity of the Gospel. Besides, I call
all this a breaking of the second commandment."
"I leave you to judge whether the mean little meeting-house you call
Rehoboth, or this beautiful church, is most in accordance with the only
patterns we have in God's Word of houses dedicated to His worship, or
most fitting as types of the Heavenly Temple whose magnificence is
described in such glowing language by St. John; but as regards these
paintings, the pictures and toys you sell in your shop are just as much
a breaking of the second commandment; for these are no more made to
worship than are those."
"But nobody will kneel down before my toys and pictures; if they kneel
at all, however, in your church, they must kneel before these pictures.
I call them idolatrous images, and I say they are worshipped."
"And, by the same mode of reasoning, I say, Mr. Dole, that the people at
your meeting-house break the second commandment; for they fall down to
whitewash, and worship it."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Why, only this: that turn whichever way they will to worship, they must
turn to one of your four whitewashed walls. But let us be quite fair to
each other. The truth is, you don't worship whitewash, nor do we worship
images; but whilst we think it most in accordance with reason and
religion to decorate our walls with sacred subjects, such as are likely
to suggest solemn and holy thoughts, and to make our churches as
beautiful as possible, you, on the contrary, seem to regard it as a
religious duty to make your meeting-houses as ugly as possible. And now
I must say good-bye, Mr. Dole."
"Sir, I should like to meet you here again some day."
"I only wish we could at least meet here every Sunday. Good-bye."
"I almost think," said Mr. Acres, as they left the church, "the outside
of our church walls are as interesting as their interior. The north wall
is evidently the earliest part of the church. It contains some Roman
bricks, placed herring-bone fashion, among the old Norman rubble. This,
doubtless, was erected immediately after the destruction of the little
Saxon church with its wooden walls[60] which once stood on this very
site; then come the Early English walls of the chancel, then the very
interesting specimens of brick-work of the sixteenth century in the
tower and western walls. But you have given Mr. Dole and us all such a
long and useful lecture on the _inside_ of the walls, that we must not
stop to say any more about their outside."
"I must just say this, my friend, respecting the outside walls, that I
can forgive a builder for any fault more easily than for want of
_reality_ in the exterior of a church. For the sake of decoration and
neatness it may be desirable that the internal walls should be covered
with cement or plaster, but there is no excuse for so covering the
church externally. If mean materials are used, let the mean materials
appear; but it is unpardonable to use the mean and spread over it a
false pretence of the costly. Brick walls are often very beautiful, and
not inferior to flint or stone; but if they are of brick, let the brick
be seen, and let it not pretend to be _stone_."
Illustration: Wall Painting
_CHAPTER XIII_
THE WINDOWS
"I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all
thy borders of pleasant stones."
Isa. liv. 12.
" ... Sometimes thoughts proud and wild
Have risen, till I saw the sunbeams steal
Through painted glass at evensong, and weave
Their threefold tints upon the marble near,
Faith, Prayer, and Love, the spirit of a child!"
FABER.
Illustration: Church of St. John, Brandenburg
Illustration: Doorway, St. Stephen's Church, Tangermuende
THE WINDOWS