The Interior Of A Gothic Minster.

The interiors of our minsters give evidence to that wonderful transition Avhich tentatively , for sonstructional reasons , at first , and afterwards eagerly , by an improving taste and a noble hardihood , exchanged the Norman flat ceiling of . wood , Titanic round arches , and massive pillars , for the

"oointed arch , the shafted column , the coved vault of later styles . We wonder at the life , the prolific ingenuity , the elevation of devotion which form the glorious characteristics of these structures ; but" the solution is they were built mainly by free-will offerings and free labour , while , as soon as one

part was completed , they rose , not as the first temple , in silence , but Avifch the simultaneous sound of the axe and workman's tool , and the almost ceaseless chanting of the service of Grod . The true reason , I believe , Avhy Ave can UOAV ascertain few of the names of our architects is , that the works gradually passed from the hands of ecclesiastics into

those of fraternities of artisans—artisans , or artists , I say , for art can never be dissociated from the actual workman—directed by a lay master of the works , the clerical treasurer being still the master of the fabric and its funds . They had but one object—layman or clerk—to work so as to raise

upon earth structures least unworthy of their lofty destination : their work was in common , one and all together ; but the glory of its inspiration they gave to God only . With them , l-ahorare est orare , or , as the statutes of Hereford say , "No work without devotion , no devotion without work . "

Their great ideal was yearning towards heaven , towards what is infinite and everlasting ; and they have left its impress on the breadth of the vast aisles , the soaring height of vaults , the inexhaustible multiplicity of never-ending and ever-varying views , extending in every direction , and stimulating alike imagination , sacred loA r e , and deA'oiion .

Grand , indeed , are the majestic avenues of the pillars of stone ; the tempered hue cast by the stained glass ; the glittering lights—grand the results of the taste , hardihood , and skill of architect , carpenter , mason , goldsmith , embroiderer , glass-stainer , worker in iron and brass ,

simultaneously labouring in unison ! Grand are those two great A oices of the church—the music of the organs , and the soft thunder of the bells ; grand all the exquisite beauty of the solemn worship hallowing the place ! But on these points Ave must be silent here .

Still , Ave may point to the interior of a Gothic minster as being the first exclusively Christian building which ever gathered under one roof all worshippers ; catholic , indeed , and each a true church of the people , as being the joint product of layman and clerkand the long unbroken work of

, many generations , so uninterrupted even IIOAV ; and also of that style Avhich , whatever differences there may be in designating its graduations , or elucidating its origin , is truly the Mediaeval style of England—indigenous , national—in Avhich an honest pride at home is centred , and on which our

The Interior Of A Gothic Minster.

real architectural reputation rests abroad . It has groAvn with this country's growth , aud shall last , I trust , until the great globe itself and its gorgeous temples shall crumble into dust , and they AVIIO erected and wrought , and they who Avorshipped in them , shall pass into that great city wherein there

is no other temple but God himself . Whilst I adA ocate the retention of all that is ancient and of worth in the past , and its guardianship by us for the future , let me add the conviction AA'hich relates to the present , that our cathedrals are now once more being made aA ailable and iirviting to

the largest congregations which can be accommodated , and so becoming * , what they are in constitution and design , not only the ornaments of our cities , but each the central parish and motherchurch of the entire diocese ( Frances , c . xv ., n . 173 ; xvi . n . 16 ; xxi . n . 17 ; Mayeri . § 3 , p .

, , , 35 ) . They are no longer regarded as a collegechapel , or church of the close , instead of ., the church of counties , and the models for parish churches ( Mayer , i . 47 ); but with a ritual celebrated in its highest and most musical form , Avith open doors for the reception of all comers , with

capacity for fulfilling the largest diocesan requirements , and as far as possible enabling every worshipper to see and hear ; in one word , they are fulfilling the great want of the period , and being recognised as the free and frequented churches of the people .

A Masonic School In Bombay.

A MASONIC SCHOOL IN BOMBAY .

" The objects of true charity among Masons arc merit and virtue in distress ; persons AA-IIO aro incapable of extricating themselves from misfortunes ia their journey through life ; industrious men who , from inevitable accidents and acts of Providence , havo fallen into ruin ; widows ivho are left survivors of their husbands , by whose labours they subsisted ; orphans in tender years left naked to the worldand the agedAvhose spirits are

; , exhausted , ivhose arms are embraced by time , and thereby rendered unable to procure for themselves that sustenance they could accomplish in their youthful days . This is charity , the keystone to our mystical fabric . " Upwards of a century and a half has elapsed

since the introduction of Freemasonsy into India , and although some millions have been expended during * this long period in various charitable works , still there was something of a permanent nature wanting to perpetuate the name and fame of the Order ; to keep before the eyes of Masons the object for

AA'hich they have united themselves in that holy bond which is the admiration of a wondering Avorld . This we are at last about to accomplish in Bombay ; the mantle of the late benevolent Chevalier Bartholomew Ruspini , the founder of the first Masonic school in Englandhas fallen oil

, the shoulders of one who is both Avilling and able to carry out the project he has undertaken , and Ave will ansAver for it every Mason will lend his aid according to his mean sto raise up so grand a superstructure as this institution UOAV proposed .