The adoption of light open choir-screens in some of the restored cathedrals, permitting the whole extent of nave and choir to be visible at once, has given fresh interest to the question of the comparative length of English churches. Many Gothic churches on the Continent cover infinitely more ground, but, with the exception of St. Peter's, at Rome (which is not a mediæval church), the longest cathedrals in the world are Winchester, Canterbury, and Ely. The difficulty of obtaining a fair comparison is considerable, since it is rarely stated whether the measurements, as they are usually given, are taken from within or without the walls. A review of the Handbooks in the 'Times,' however, in the autumn of last year, brought forth a series of letters, which enables us to determine the length of Winchester and Ely, at all events, with certainty. Mr. Colson, architect to the Dean and Chapter, gives the exterior length of Winchester as 555 feet 8 inches; and Mr. Dickson, Precentor and Sacrist of Ely, gives the interior length of that cathedral (from inside the western gates of entrance to the glass of the eastern window) as 520 feet 7 inches; and the mean external length (for the north and south walls are not precisely equal) as 537 feet. Mr. Becket Denison, in a table of comparative lengths, afterwards published in the Times' (December, 1864), gives the internal length of Canterbury as 514 feet. Winchester is thus, beyond a doubt, the longest English cathedral, and probably the longest church in the world. Milan, the largest of all mediæval cathedrals, covers one-third more ground, but is not so long by nearly 100 feet. But it must be remembered that the retrochoir and Lady Chapel of Winchester (far inferior in height and width to the nave and choir) are not visible from the western portal; whereas at Ely, the whole length, unbroken by any solid screen or wall, is commanded by the eye of the spectator standing at the threshold. At Canterbury also the roof is maintained at one uniform height, with the exception of the round termination known as 'Becket's Crown '-to which we believe the only existing parallel is the tomb-house of the Norwegian kings in the Cathedral of Drontheim (figured in Mr. Fergusson's History).

Such open choir-screens as those of Ely, of Lichfield, and of Hereford, perfectly agree with the idea of an English cathedral of the nineteenth century,' set forth by Mr. Beresford Hope in his very interesting book. After discussing the various divisions of a cathedral church, and the two great forms which it has taken the basilican, and that which is now almost universal, except in Spain; and after pointing out by the way the especial features which should distinguish a cathedral or a great collegiate church, Mr. Hope arrives at the conclusion that, in

building

6

building an entirely new cathedral (for this is the point to which his argument is addressed, and not to a mere adaptation of churches already existing) it is best to tread in the old paths,' so far as they agree with the teaching and the ritual of the English Church. As its compilers only re-arranged old materials in the production of 'that wonderful work of man's wisdom and piety, "the Book of Common Prayer and of the Administration of the Sacraments," by their possession of which the English-speaking races are privileged beyond all other people to worship Almighty God, day by day if they like, in words that unite heaven with earth, the past with the present, the voices of inspiration with the holiest offspring of men's wit,'* so, in constructing a new English cathedral, the old forms should be adopted, those portions alone being changed or rejected which are not in harmony with the teaching of the Prayer-Book. The grand distinctions between a modern and an ancient cathedral are, that the former must contain but one altar, and that the choir and clergy must not, as was often the case in the latter, be entirely separated from the congregation by a closed division. Bearing these distinctions in mind, little further alteration. becomes necessary. Chapels and chantries are, of course, not admissible, and the open choir-screen should everywhere be adopted; but Mr. Hope would retain the ambulatory, or retrochoir, and insists, with great force, that it might be made available for the reception of monuments, often (however beautiful) out of place and in the way in other parts of the church. We must refer our readers to the book itself for the store of facts and of carefully wrought out argument on which Mr. Hope builds up his conclusions. Is it too much to expect that one of the great manufacturing cities of the north, which increase so rapidly, and have of late responded so nobly to the demands of churchbuilders, may one day witness the completion of such a cathedral as he has here suggested? But, however this may be, there are numerous churches already existing-such, for example, as St. Peter's, at Leeds-which, if not cathedrals, have at least all the dignity of great collegiate churches, and, in the case of St. Peter's, all the efficiency. Such churches as these in the greater towns, or as the great monastic churches-Bury St. Edmund's, St. Alban's, Selby-forming centres for extensive districts, may be looked upon as cathedrals waiting for their dioceses. Mr. Hope gives us a long list. There is, we trust, some prospect of the erection of new episcopal sees at Southwell, for part of the great diocese of Lincoln, and at St. Columb's,

*English Cathedral of the Nineteenth Century,' p. 183.

or

or Bodmin, for Cornwall. To render such churches worthy of their new dignity, and to provide a sufficient endowment for the staff of clergy necessary for the due working of them, or of the collegiate churches which might be established with infinite advantage in all large towns-a subject on which Mr. Hope has strongly insisted in this volume and elsewhere-powerful appeals must be made to the liberality of Churchmen, quite as powerful as for the erection of an entirely new cathedral. And in all cases the words with which Mr. Hope concludes his very interesting book are sufficiently applicable:

'I feel conscious that money spent on rearing and endowing such buildings in the right places will not be money wasted away, either in a higher or more material aspect. As an offering to the majesty of the Creator of all good things, and as an expression of popular faith, they would of course witness against selfishness and faithlessness. But in the next place they would, I am convinced, and I dare to say so, be eminently practical and useful. They would give to Christianity that of which the utility is recognised in all human enterprisesorder, system, power, and magnitude of operation. The millions crowd together where work and wages call them; they toil and marry, and are born, and die. They see the joint-stock firms of trade, with their stupendous manufactories, created for their own scene of action, and sustained by their own industry. But, whenever they have time to turn their thoughts to the concerns of their eternal state, the contrast is at once apparent. There, with partial exceptions, they never are confronted with any of those qualities, which, in their everyday life, had arrested and held possession of their respect. Physical magnitude and self-reliant scope of co-operative energy are equally deficient in the lowly Bethel, and the pinched Peel church, with its overtaxed perpetual curate. Neither of these is borne in upon them as an external power of which they may become component elements. All the while the artistic and the refined classes of society meet in their own circles, and praise the old cathedral-system of our Church, and the old cathedrals of the land, scattered up and down the ancient cities, to them I say very seriously:-If that system has any reality about it, and the annals of all centuries of Christianity speak to that reality, if these buildings have any use or beauty beyond the sensuous exhibition of outward form, do not brand your own generation and your own country as the time and the scene of niggard faith, of outworn creeds, and paralysed energies for the great and the good. Be up and stirring; and plant the Gospel in conspicuous guise, with well-adjusted organisation, as the means sufficient for so great an end, where the throng is thickest,-and God speed the work!'*

* English Cathedral of the Nineteenth Century,' pp. 281, 282.

ART.

ART. II.-1. Admiralty Manual on Deviations of the Compass. Edited by F. J. Evans, R.N., F.R.S., and Archibald Smith, M.A., F.R.S. 1863. Russian Translation. By Capt. Belavenetz, R.I.N. French Translation, incorporated in Cour de Régulation des Compas.' Darondeau. Paris, 1863. German Translation. By Dr. Schaub. Vienna, 1864.

2. The Mariner's Compass Rectified. Andrew Wakely. 1779. 3. Circular on Magnetism. By Captain Flinders, R.N. 1812. 4. Essay on Variation of Compass. William Bain, R.N. 1817. 5. Rules for Clearing the Compass of the Effect of a Ship's Attraction. Published by Order of Commissioners of Longitude. 1819.

6. Essay on Magnetic Attraction, &c. Peter Barlow. 1820. 7. Description of Magnetic Properties of Iron Bodies. P. Lecount, R.N. 1820.

8. Popular View of Mr. Barlow's Discoveries. burgh Philosophical Journal. 1824.

From the Edin

9. Directions for Finding the Local Attraction of Vessels, and for Fixing Barlow's Correcting Plate. Peter Barlow. 1825.

10. Mémoire sur les Déviations de la Boussole produites par le fer des vaisseaux. Par M. Poisson. Lu à l'Académie des Sciences, 1838.

11. Experiments on Iron Ships. G. B. Airy, Ast. Royal. Phil. Trans. 1839-40.

12. Philosophical Transactions (on Magnetism). Lieut.-Colonel Sabine. 1843-47.

13. Directions for Use of Apparatus to determine Changing Point of Deviation. Lieutenant-Colonel Sabine, R.A. 1849. 14. A Short Treatise on the Deviations of the Compass. Captain Sir J. Ross, R.N.

1849.

15. Instructions for Computation of Table of Deviations. Archibald Smith. 1850.

16. Practical Illustrations on Deviations of Compass. Published under sanction of Board of Admiralty. Captain E. J. Johnson, R.A., F.R.S. 1852.

17. Magnetical Investigations. Rev. W. Scoresby. 1844-52. 18. The Magnetism of Ships. William Walker, Comm. R.N. 1853. 19. The Compass in Iron Ships. Rev. W. Scoresby, D.D. 1854. 20. Discussion of Deviation in Wood-built and Iron-built Ships. G. B. Airy. Phil. Trans. 1855.

21. Practical Rules for ascertaining the Deviation of the Compass. Published by order of the Admiralty, 1841-1855.

22. Illustrations of the Magnetism of Iron Ships. Rev. W. Scoresby, D.D. 1855.

23. Voyage

340

The Mariner's Compass.

23. Voyage of the Royal Charter.' Archibald Smith.

24. Instructions for Correcting Deviations of Compass. Published by Board of Trade. Archibald Smith. 1857.

25. Notes on the Magnetism of Iron Ships. United Service Institution Journal. F. J. Evans, R.N. 1858.

26. Swinging Ships for Deviation. Board of Trade. Fitzroy. 1859.

Admiral

27. Variation and Deviation of Compass Rectified. P. Cameron.

1859.

28. On the Connexion between Building of Iron Ships and the Correction of their Compasses. G. B. Airy. Trans. of Inst. of Naval Architects.

1860.

29. Reduction of Deviations of Iron Ships of H.M. Navy and of S.S. Great Eastern. F. J. Evans, R.N. Phil. Trans. 1860. 30. Reports of Liverpool Compass Committee. 1857-61.

31. On the Effect produced on Deviations by the Length and Arrangement of Compass-Needles, &c. Archibald Smith and F. J. Evans. Phil. Trans.

1861.

32. Rapport relatif à la Régulation des Compas. Darondeau. Paris, 1861.

33. Papers on the Deviation of the Compass. F. J. Evans, R.N., and Archibald Smith. Trans. of Inst. of Naval Architects. 1861 and 1862.

34. Practical Information on Deviation of Compass. By J. F. Towson. Board of Trade.

1863.

35. Abridgments of Specifications. Printed by Order of Commissioners of Patents.

36. Syllabus of Lectures on Magnetical Errors, Compensations, and Corrections, with Special Reference to Iron Ships and their Compasses. G. B. Airy. 1864.

37. On the Magnetic Character of the Armour-plated Ships of the Royal Navy, and on the Effect on the Compass of Particular Arrangements of Iron in a Ship. Phil. Trans. F. J. Evans and Archibald Smith.

38. Communication from the President and Council of the Royal Society to the Board of Trade, on the subject of the Magnetism of Ships. Proc. Royal Society. 1865.

F the means of such an investigation were available, it would be extremely interesting to form a chart which should represent the extent to which different branches of the stream of scientific knowledge permeate society at large. There are some discoveries which become common knowledge almost as soon as they are made; others which remain the exclusive property of a philosophic caste for centuries after the problems to which they

relate