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eyes of the more unlearned, and shuts out its real significancy even from our educated classes. Nothing, therefore, would tend more to restore right notions concerning baptism than a strict attendance to this point, that all sponsors should be regular communicants. Now the prohibition of parents acting as sponsors greatly increases the difficulty of enforcing this salutary discipline. It is by no means an easy matter for parents amongst the poor to obtain three communicants to stand as sponsors for their children. There is often a misplaced and morbid conscientiousness amongst the more pious poor which makes them afraid of acting the Christian part for one another. Dissenters busily inflame these scruples; and when the minister attempts to remove them, the prohibition of parents being the sureties for their own offspring, and the prevalence of thoughtless sponsors, are immediately urged (and the former in a manner difficult to be answered) as objections to the whole system-" If it is a surety for the child's Christian education, if it be a profession of faith in his name, that is required, who so fit as I?" says the communicating parent. There would be a facility afforded to the baptism of the children of communicants, there would be a proper censure passed upon noncommunicants, (in their not being allowed to stand as sureties to the church for their own offspring,) if this rule were relaxed. But, sir, another question arises here. Even though it be allowed that this would be the most expedient settlement of the question, what is the duty of a presbyter of the church of England whilst the 29th canon remains unaltered? Whilst one convocation is unrighteously silenced, and the power of making or altering canons for the first time denied to a branch of the catholic church, how are we to act? I would ask whether, under our circumstances, the nearest approximation to canonical obedience which we can hope to make, is not to consult our bishop as to how far we should obey the canon, and act accordingly. This, of course, is not an entirely satisfactory method; is it not the best which is left to us so long as the church shall be silenced by the oppressive encroachments of the state?

I remain your obedient servant, A COUNTRY RECTOR.

SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY.

SIR, I have long admired and appreciated the services of our venerable church; for I have ever found in them a most happy combination of deep piety and consummate wisdom. Our offices are full of meaning, and will always be found to reward in abundant measure the pains of those who will patiently investigate them.

It is true that, in some instances, a departure has been made from the original and well founded practice, as settled by the rubrics of the church; and, in some cases, a strict adherence to them might be found impracticable from the altered circumstances of our times, and the force of long habit; but surely it should be the work of sober piety, and zeal according to knowledge, to restore the ancient and pure dis

cipline in all points in which it is capable of restitution; and it must not be forgotten that, after all, the rubric is our guide as to the manner of" dispensing the word of God and his holy sacraments."*

One point, therefore, will be unhesitatingly admitted by the most yielding of those who allow the necessity of some discipline in the church of Christ. It will be admitted, that wherever the original intention of the church, as expressed in the rubric, can be observed without inconvenience, it is the duty of her ministers to restore the ancient usage; and that they are bound a fortiori to do so, where there is reason to believe that conformity will help to a positive increase of devotion, and to a more full development of the intrinsic worth and incomparable beauty of our services.

I would beg, then, to draw the attention of your clerical readers to the "Form of Solemnization of Marriage," with a view to recommend an observance of the rubric in the administration of this rite, which appears to be unaccountably and almost universally overlooked. The common practice among us is, to perform the whole ceremony at the altar, which is not the appointed mode of proceeding.

If, therefore, I may claim the patient attention of your readers, I will shew,

1. What was the practice of the church before the Reformation. 2. The alteration that was then made, and the rules at present binding upon us.

3. That no inconvenience can result from conformity.

4. That an attention to the rubric will develop the worth and beauty of the service.

5. That it is not unreasonable to expect an increase of devotion.

1. The practice of the church, before the Reformation, was to perform the ceremony of marriage at the church porch, and, immediately after the blessing, to proceed through the body of the church to the Lord's table, and there to complete the service; the priest, with his clerks, repeating the appointed psalm as the procession advanced.

2. The service was altered, in this one circumstance, at the Reformation, that such portion of the marriage ceremony as used to be performed at the church door, should be performed in the body of the church. The ancient practice of repeating the psalm on the way to the altar, and of there finishing the ceremony, remaining still the

same.

This will appear from the following extracts from the "Ancient Manual of Salisbury," and the Rubric as it now stands in our Prayerbook::

SALISBURY MANUAL. "Statuantur vir et mulier ante ostium ecclesiæ coram Deo et sacerdote et populo, vir a dextris mulieris et mulier a sinistris viri...... Tunc interrogat sacerdos banna, dicens in lir.guâ maternâ sub hac formâ."

REFORMED LITURGY.

"At the day and time appointed for Solemnization of Matrimony, the persons to be married shall come into the body of the church, with their friends and neighbours, and there standing together, the man on the right hand, and the woman on the left, the priest shall say," &c.

* Ordination of Priests.

And, immediately after the blessing,

"Hic intrent ecclesiam usque ad gradum attaris, et sacerdos in eundo, cum suis ministris, dicat hunc Psalmum sequentem."

"Then the minister and clerks, going to the Lord's table, shall say or sing this psalm following."

It is therefore plain, that we ought now to perform the first part of the service in the body of the church, and the last at the altar, repeating, on our way there, one of the psalms appointed for the purpose.

3. And no inconvenience could result from our conformity; for it is as easy for the parties to stand in one part of the church as another. And the force of habit cannot be pleaded, inasmuch as in the great majority of the cases, the individuals concerned were never there upon a like occasion before.

4. An attention to the rubric will develop the beauties of the service. We all know why the baptismal font has always been placed at the west end of the church, which is the proper and principal entrance, and the Lord's table at the east end-viz., because baptism is the ceremony of admission into the church of Christ; and because the Lord's table is only approached for the more mature acts of Christian piety, and the celebration of the highest mysteries of our religion.

All ceremonies, therefore, according to God's direction or permission-not partaking of the nature of a sacrament, but engaged in by persons who have past through the initiatory sacrament of baptismare rightly performed in the body of the church, between the font and the altar. And this is a sufficient reason why parties contracting marriage, who were long since admitted into the church, should be joined together in that holy "state of life allowed of God in the Scriptures,' standing in the body of the church. But, when the contract is complete, they are expected to lose sight, as it were, of an ordinancenot enjoined of God, but only sanctioned-and to look forward to a higher mystery, even the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ— the duty and the privilege of all who name the name of Christ-and, in the hope of heavenly benediction, to approach his holy table with thanksgiving, and the voice of melody for mercies already received; there to kneel in prayer for future blessings on their souls and bodies; there to listen to faithful admonition; and there" to receive the holy Communion, at the time of their marriage, or at the first opportunity after their marriage."+

5. With regard to the next point, are we to think so poorly of the understandings and of the feelings of others as to deny them the power of discerning what we see, and feeling what we feel?

May we not venture to hope that the very act of approaching the Lord's table, for the purposes above mentioned, may set the hitherto unthinking upon inquiry, and exalt the piety of the holy, who are thus reminded of their obligation to "draw nigh unto God"? I think we may; for I cannot but suppose that the same impression

Article xxv.

Rubric at the end of marriage service.

VOL. VII.-April, 1835.

3 к

that has been made upon my own mind may be made on the minds of others. And I have no hesitation in saying, that I never saw the impropriety of our ordinary practice, or the full effect of the marriage service, as our church intends it should be performed, until I witnessed a

Welsh Wedding

amongst the mountains of Merionethshire-a ceremony which I will endeavour to describe.

It was on a bright sunny morning, in the month of September, last year, that my fellow traveller and myself, as soon as we had breakfasted, were led by a sort of professional instinct to visit the parish church of Dolgelly. Saturday was a market-day; and what with bullocks and ponies, and hoidenish men with sticks and umbrellas,* and maidens with smiling faces, the streets were soon thronged, and all was life and interest.

But to what purpose this little tangent from the circle of my story? Why, to commend the unaffected and canonical simplicity of the pair, who sought no privacy in an engagement which should be made in the face of God and the congregation; but took this most effectual means of coming into the body of the church, with all "their friends and neighbours."

We were scarcely within the walls of the sacred edifice, but we were told there would shortly be a wedding. Of course we determined to witness it, and rather anxiously awaited the appointed time. It is true we occupied ourselves most agreeably in examining and cross-examining the parish clerk, and in inspecting all that was to be seen in and about the church; but the leading feature, in the ecclesiastical arrangements of this place, was a certain primitive simplicity, but too little known in these days of parlour-pews and brass rods and curtains, and other invidious distinctions in the house of God. Here was no "storied urn or animated bust;" but the white walls of the church were studded with little black shields, which you might suppose to have been taken from the coffin-lids of the departed, and in which was traced, in white or gold letters, the simple record of their name and death.

At length the appearance of the clergyman assured us that the hand of the clock was near upon the hour appointed for the wedding; and, in a few minutes, the buzz of subdued voices, and the shuffle of dusty shoes in the church porch, told us the party had arrived. The officiating minister, clad in the sober and imposing attire of his order, received them in the body of the church. As for my friend and myself, who felt that we were in a strange land, and desired to look as little like spies as need be, we had disposed of ourselves in a quiet corner of the church, and furnished ourselves with a Welsh prayer-book apiece. And now stood the priest of the Most High God to join, in

* It has become the habit of these sturdy mountain wanderers to spend their first earnings in the purchase of an English umbrella, and to come to market with a stick perhaps under one arm, and an umbrella under the other. O quantum mutatus.

holy wedlock, the happy pair who stood before him, by sacred ties that nought but death can sever. The friends and neighbours-with innocent hearts, no doubt, and, clearly, happy looks-had seated themselves in the immediate neighbourhood upon those good old-fashion. ed open benches which seemed most stoutly to affirm, that "Here, in this holy place, at least, is no respect of persons." The service was admirably performed in the Welsh language, which, spoken upon this occasion in its purity, charmed us beyond measure, and the tout ensemble presented a scene by no means easy to be forgotten, and by no means desirable that it should.

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After the giving and receiving of the ring and joining of hands, the priest, in the name of God, blessed the man and his wife; and, then, with his clerk, and followed by the married people and their friends, went to the Lord's table, (according to the rubric,) saying (in eundo) the psalm appointed to follow the blessing.

The service was there concluded in the same calm and dignified manner in which it had been begun; and the party was dismissed with a wholesome admonition, which, if they remember and observe, will assuredly make them happy all their lives, and bring them peace at the last. I may never witness again the same interesting ceremony in the same lonely region, under the same happy circumstances; but the recollection of what I then enjoyed is still fresh and inspiriting. The simplicity was charming; the propriety was convincing. And, thankful should we be to God for that establishment which secures, in the remotest corners of the realm, that uniformity of doctrine and discipline which must be witnessed to be fully appreciated. But my task is done: the wedding is over,-the vision has passed away, and we have mixed again with "the inhabitants of the world."

The sun on that day shone upon us all. Cader Idris stood by us in his giant strength, and reminded us, that "even so standeth the Lord round about his people." (Ps. cxxv.) And the softly-flowing Avon taught us thankfully to pursue the even tenour of our way through life: all nature seemed in a mood of rejoicing. The wedding party mingled with the crowd and vanished. May a bountiful Providence ever smile upon them, and the Sun of Righteousness shine upon their hearts, to cheer and comfort them throughout their earthly course, and bless them with richest blessings in the world to come. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, D.

INTERRUPTION OF THE MORNING SERVICE, BY THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY.

December 7th, 1834.

SIR, A statement appears in your last number, that "the congregation in Kensington church, on Sunday, November 2nd, was disturbed by the entrance of two parties, who loudly demanded to be married; that Archdeacon Pott, being appealed to, decided that as the banns had been duly published, the claim could not be rejected; and that,

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