one of song, and capable of being musically rendered. The perpetual and perfect worship of the angels is one of song; and the children of the Church should be trained from their youth to take reverent delight in the voluntary and free-will offering of their voices in the Choir, and to look upon themselves as so far a part of the Ministry.

In the Service the " priesthood of the laity " has almost as active a share as have the Clergy themselves, coupled with those frequent changes of posture which do so much to relieve weariness and express different states of devotion; and fervour and heartiness in the responses is of the very essence of the worship. What has been well styled a “holy alacrity" in its rendering will remove the slightest tendency to tedium. That the praises of God should be offered in any other way than by singing them is an innovation on the practice of both Jewish and Christian Church, from the time of Moses to the Reformation, not less than three thousand years. And these praises should be expressed in a manner so little technical that in them the congregation are not deprived of their just rights.

Nothing superior to the combined voices of boys and men (sometimes supplemented by those of the other sex) has yet been devised, as a vehicle of public religious and responsive music, from the days of the Temple service to our own. Such vested (or robed) Choirs, properly arranged, facing each other on opposite sides of the Chancel, which is raised above the Nave and on one side of which is the Organ, are coming to be of very general use; and will doubtless become much more so, where the supply of voices, a competent choirmaster, and a Chancel sufficiently spacious, may be had. Aside from their musical

and objective value as factors contributing to dignified worship, the influence of organized Churchly training and of religious associates is of great importance to the ripening intelligence of those who compose them, many of whom would, without such Choirs, remain practically incapable of being reached.

These two divisions of the Choir are named Decani and Cantoris, as being, in Cathedrals, the respective sides of the Dean and Cantor (or Precentor). The Chancel is assumed (conventionally, if not in fact,) to face to the East, which gives a west front" to most Cathedrals at their entrance, and names the right side facing the Chancel the South, and the left side the North. These two sides are respectively known as the Epistle and Gospel sides, because from one is read the word of Apostles, the Prayers of the ordinary Service and the preached Sermon, all of them the words of men, though some of them inspired; while from the other side the Word of God is habitually read, together with the Gospel in the Communion Office, which narrates the words or acts of our Saviour.

Opposite the Pulpit is the Lectern, from which the Bible is read. At one side of the Chancel or the other, and preferably near an entrance, as being the emblem of Baptism, the door into the Church's fold, stands the Font. The other Sacrament is always kept in memory by the Altar, which stands elevated at the extreme rear of the Chancel, behind the Altar-rail, at which communicants kneel to receive the Holy Eucharist. In general, the Offices are rendered from the Choir, while the Sanctuary is ordinarily reserved for the Communion Service; and the entire Chancel is recessed, except in some Churches built

at an early day in America. The word "Nave," or body of the Church, is from the Latin navis, a ship; hence typically the ark of salvation. These general characteristics of the Church building obtain, whether its style of architecture be Gothic, Renaissance, Byzantine or other; and in any case a Cross surmounts tower or spire.

Three similar uses of colours exist, with which the hangings of Pulpit, Lectern, Prayer-desks and Altar may be adorned, as well as the dress of the Clergy: those of Sarum, Rome and the East. Each is emblematic of the varying seasons and teachings of the Church year; green being the colour of nature's life, red that of love, violet of penitence, and white of purity. The Clergy (and Choir, if vested), wear black cassocks, over which are garments of white. The Bishop's robes are the more closely confined and of a different pattern, lawn and satin being the materials. Priests and Deacons wear a surplice of white linen, with a stole or band of silk over the shoulders, in colours to correspond with the seasons, or in black. With the former Order the stole depends in front on each side; with the latter, it is caught from the left shoulder across to the side opposite. The surplice of Choristers and Lay-readers is shorter, and is called a cotta. Coloured hoods, which are sometimes worn, are academic and not strictly ecclesiastical in their character. At the Holy Eucharist, the vestments of those officiating are somewhat different in shape from those named, and are often highly ornamented with embroidery and rich colours. In ordinary attendance, aside from a Service, the cassock alone is worn. The exact status of ecclesiastical vestments (which have been universal since the ages of persecution), has never been accurately defined

by legislation in the American Church, but is a matter of usage and precedent. In this respect, as in others, we derive from the Church of England, and there the usage is what legally prevailed in the second year of King Edward VI. With reference to all the Church's customs, far juster and more intelligent ideas are rapidly gaining ground as to their true relation to the superstitious extravagances of Rome.

M

VI.

THE PENITENTIAL PREFACE.

"The Scripture moveth us, in sundry places, to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; * * * * to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same, by His infinite goodness and mercy."-The Exhortation in the Daily Service.

ORNING and Evening Prayer, being separate Services, may be preceded by a Hymn, generally processional in its character, and if so prefaced, by an intoned prayer from the Sacristy. The vested Choir, generally led by a Crucifer, or boy Cross-bearer, with the emblem of our salvation raised on high, as the congregation rises, file reverently in, two by two, singing a Hymn or Anthem, the men coming last, followed by the officiating Minister, and take their places in their stalls in the Choir. If the Bishop and other Clergy be present, the latter precede in reverse order of rank or seniority, and the Bishop, who comes last of all, passes to his own Chair, which is in or near the Sanctuary.

The Morning and Evening Service are alike logically separable into four portions. The first is the Penitential Introduction, and closes with the Absolution. The second is Praise and Thanksgiving, beginning with the Lord's Prayer, and including the Psalter, the Te Deum and the Canticles. The third is the Word of God as read in the Lessons and summed up responsively in the Creeds. The