Far at the distant altar end of the inner chapel, and not yet painted, is to be shown the vision of St. John at Patmos of the risen, glorified Lord. The description of it in the opening of the Apocalypse is to give the key, and here will be the words, "Lo, I am with you all the days." This will represent the culmination of the decorative scheme. The spandrels on either side of the arch in which this vision is to be already picture the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. The cry of the watchman has startled them from their sleep. the right of the vision the wise virgins are seen going forth from the Bridegroom's house in gladness, each with her lighted lamp, to welcome His coming. On the other side, the foolish virgins who have come too late and have found the door closed have cried in vain, "Lord, Lord, open to us." They hear the words, "I know you not." Three steps lead to the raised floor on which the altar stands. One is of white marble; one is red; and one is black. On each is written a verse from Scripture. The red stands for the blood of Christ, which can save from sin and deathexemplified in the black-and render pure and snowy as in the white. All down the long side walls, unbroken by windows, are a series of paintings, and on the entrance wall, above the arch of the small organ loft, are yet others. These represent the creation of man (in the spandrel to the left of the loft), the union of man and woman, and their praise of the Creator as on their first night they beheld, in the fading daylight, the increasing glory of the stars; and then, beyond, other groups show the expanding purposes of holy matrimony. Details in the study with symbols The The prophets, of whom not all are yet in place, are: Enoch, caught up from a world that flows with rivers of blood; Noah, a preacher of righteousness, clad in white vesture, a dove laying the olive branch on his heart; Jacob, in prophetic trance, aged and blind, but of princely power, pronouncing the blessing on Judah; Moses, standing upon a peak of Sinai, with the tables of the Law; David, leaning upon the corner-stone of the Temple, with a plan of its inner courts; Elijah, clad in goatskins, with the knife of the sacrifice in his hand, appealing earnestly to the people; Isaiah, the prophetic vision of the nativity above him and an overthrown wine-cup at his feet; Jeremiah, with the yoke about his neck; Ezekiel, shaven, and bearing in his hand the trumpet of a watchman to the house of Israel; Daniel, in princely scarlet, a chain of gold about his neck, beholding in his old age the vision of four great beasts issuing from the storm-tossed sea; Jonah, rising from the jaws of the sea monster, in foreshadowing sign of the resurrection of Christ; Joel, clad in sackcloth and crying in passionate attitude, while a red moon is setting in a darkened sky, "Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord "; Zechariah, with priestly head-dress; and Malachi, looking at the long line of prophets who have preceded him, while the morning star is gleaming before him, and the sun, rising on the horizon, proclaims the dawn. Each of the figures has many details. They are reproduced by the artist of treatment that invite thought and scrutiny. from those which he had made for the mosaics and glass in the chapel of Eaton Hall. the Duke of Westminster having granted permission to do this in order to facilitate progress in the work. On the pilasters are small designs subsidiary to the prophets which they flank, and under the figures of the prophets other subjects are treated in small scale; such as Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac, which is given under the figure of Jacob; Aaron on the Day of Atonement, which is under Moses; and the "Man of Sorrows" under the figure of Isaiah. There are also small medallions, each with its special meaning, while surmounting the row of the prophets is an angel series. Here also each figure is distinguished; that over David, for instance, being a warrior angel sheathing the sword of Divine vengeance, and that over Noah bearing the last trumpet, which he awaits a signal to sound. In oblong panels of the frieze are scenes from the Old Testament. In "the glorious company of the apostles" on the north wall several of the figures are also taken from the designs in the chapel of Eaton Hall. An effort is made generally to avoid conventional treatment. St. Andrew, shown as the lad with five barley loaves and two small fishes, looks, as he yields them up, with wondering reverence into the face of Jesus. Beside them lies one of the twelve large baskets. St. Peter, standing with his feet fixed firmly on a rock, holds in one hand a fish and in the other the piece of money that he has found in its mouth; St. Philip is in a ploughed field, a basket of wheat seed at his feet; St. John, the exile of Patmos, soars over sea and stars on the wings of an eagle as symbol of the Holy Spirit; St. James, as the first of the apostolic martyrs, bears a palm branch and an empty cup; Bartholomew, in secret confession, is beating his breast; St. Thomas, as an old man, is bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord by the personal evidence given to himself; St. Matthew, neglecting the tax money at his feet, turns with joy to a heavenly messenger and writes, "The Kingdom of God is at hand." St. James the Less, erect in figure and with upright mien, puts his finger on his lips and points to the picture in the space below, representative of true religion; St. Jude, under a tempestuous sky, proclaims the judgments of God; St. Simon Zelotes, leaning on a pilgrim staff beneath an olive tree, tells of the love of God; St. Paul, aged with his sufferings, stands as the mighty preacher; and then St. Stephen, one foot placed triumphantly on the cruel heap of stones, turns his sweet face upward to behold the vision of Jesus waiting to receive him. The pilasters on this wall contain small figures, such as the centurion Cornelius beside the figure of St. Peter, and Aquila and Priscilla beside that of St. Paul. Of the subjects treated in the medallions and small spaces below the apostles, the one which is under the figure of Bartholomew has a special interest. The artist has borrowed the conception from a design of Rossetti that was never finished, entitled "The Passover in the Holy Family." The original drawing is in the Taylor Museum at Oxford, and Mr. Shields, in incorporating the design in his own series in the Chapel of the Ascension, says that he does so because it fits so perfectly in his scheme at that point and to bear witness of his loving memory and admiration of the artist. The frieze on this wall includes an angel series in which each figure is again distinctive, that above the painting which represents St. Thomas when testifying of the resurrection showing, for example, an angel clad in the tints of sunrise, crowned with wheat, and gazing at a butterfly that rises from its chrysalis. The angel carries a banner of victory. In five oblong panels of the frieze are pictured incidents illustrating the teaching of Christ. The subjects which on this wall alternate with the figures of the apostles are taken from the Gospels, and represent incidents in Christ's life. The first, however, is a lovely conception of the Annunciation. On the south wall, four subjects which are given with the prophets are taken from the Acts of the Apostles, the artist finding justification for this mingling of times in his wish to represent the intimate connection of the prophets with the days which they foretold. Two of the subjects relate to St. Peter and two to St. Paul. Enough has been said to indicate the highly thoughtful quality of this work in the Chapel of the Ascension, its intellectual as well as purely emotional and sensual appeal. Perhaps at times it seems to the careful student as if too much had been crowded into a picture, as if its obvious meaning were too insistently emphasized. In the case, for instance, of the angel above the figure of St. Thomas, were it not enough that the banner of victory be borne; was it necessary that the angel be also crowned with wheat, that its garments be of sunrise colors, that the wonder of the butterfly and chrysalis should be introduced? One must remember, however, that the artist was compelled to determine the direction of each separate line, to decide on each tint that was to be a component of the color composition, and so, filled with his subject and conscious that his pictures were to be the sermons of the chapel, was tempted sorely God's unfailing love. He will scarcely distinguish its elements of harmony. Art's concealment of art in conjunction of tone and blending of part will be the symphony's highest triumph. Unconsciously he will pass from the yearning invitation on the outer wall to its justification in the words on the ante-chapel's ceiling: from the epitome of the chapel's lesson in the figure of the Good Shepherd, which is at his right hand on entering, to the inner chapel's illustration of Biblical history's full revelation of the love of God. From the creation of man, behind DETAIL FROM ANGEL SERIES OVER PAINTING OF THE PROPHET DANIEL to put meaning into each detail. In a view of the chapel as a whole these minutia do not impress themselves. The visitor entering it for the first time, or the second, does not make the careful critical examination we have made. That is reserved for later visits, longer studies. The wayfarer for whose comfort of heart and rest of mind the chapel was lovingly erected will gain, on entering it, only the one general impression which the whole decorative scheme is meant to give. For him the separate pictures will be but voices blending in a chorus that praises The him, down through the line of prophets on the one side and the New Testament witness on the other, and glancing through scenes full of meaning in the earthly life of Christ, he will come to the constant present promise on the chancel wall. parable of the virgins speaks there in pertinent, insistent lesson; but above all and through all will be the glorious vision of triumphant heavenly love. Then will be burned into his heart these words, "Lo, I am with you all the days." CHARLES MULFORD ROBINSON. ROCHESTER, N.Y. HE exact date when Yuletide became Τ THE an established season of feasting is not known, but long ago, when the heathen gods still ruled the minds and lives of the Teutonic tribes, certain ceremonies customarily took place from the 14th of December to the 6th of January. The people believed that the sun's wheel, Jul, paused in its course and rested after its yearly round, a belief easy of credence to the minds of far Northern people, as the sun did not rise above the horizon at that season. For these three weeks there was Yule peace, all feuds were dropped for the time, and solemn sacrifices were offered to ensure the fruitfulness of fields and animals. Relics of these ceremonies are still observed in some parts of Hessen. At midnight of the 24th of December the village youths parade the streets and proclaim the advent of the days of peace. During the remainder of Jul everything must rest, neither wagons nor spinning-wheels may be used, lest harm should overtake the flocks and fields. The Icelanders by law and ancient custom date the beginning of their year from Yule Day; they also count a person's years by the number of Yules in his life, just as a Chinaman reckons his age by the number of New Year's Days he has seen. The English revert to the ancient Saxon feasts on the 25th of December, when a great wassailing and feast was held in honor of great Thor, the anniversary being known as the "Mother Night," as the progenitress of all other nights in the year. The distinctive names for this festival were Gule, Gwyl, Jul, or Yule,- the belief of the learned being that these terms expressed the idea of a wheel or circle, embodying the central idea of a holy day. Gwl in Welsh and Geol in Saxon signify holy day, and seem to be interchangeable with Yule or I-ol, signifying ale, the foremost ingredient in early Saxon or English feasts. Christmas, a variation of Christ-mass, owes its name to the fact that in the Greek and Roman churches a mass in honor of Christ's birth was celebrated on that day. In many languages the word for Christmas means birthday, as the French word Noël, the Italian Natale, and indirectly the German Weihnachten, or sacred night, allud ing to the birth of Christ as the event that consecrated it. The correct date of Christ's birth is unknown, nor was the day observed as Christmas until two hundred years after his birth, but Yuletide had been observed five hundred and fifty years before, the Persians keeping holiday very much as we of the present day. Then Rome took up its observance, and borrowed customs from Egypt, Persia, and Greece, adopting also the mistletoe and its rites from the Druids. Julius, pope of Rome in 400 A. D., fixed upon the 25th of December as being the day of the winter solstice, and to replace the pagan rites and festivals the Church introduced grand masses or Christmasses. Gradually came Christmas carols or Christmas hymns, then Christmas trees and a revival or survival of the pagan rites used with a Christian significance. Christmas now has come to mean simply the day, whereas formerly it was a season. Our English ancestors observed the holiday for twelve days and nights, finishing with Twelfth Night. In Ireland the little altar is kept up, with its candles and decorations, until "Little Christmas Day," two weeks from Christmas, and from the poems of Herrick (whose authority on ancient customs is undoubted) the Christmas decorations may be left until Candlemas Day, the 2d of February, when they must all be taken down unless the inmates wish to see a goblin for every leaf left on the wall. One poem says "End now the white loaf and the pye, And let all sports with Christmas dye." Another poem commences "Down with the rosemary and bayes, The use of evergreens at Christmas comes from the Romans, who thus ornamented their temples during the feast of Saturn, while ivy was universally used in feasts in honor of Bacchus. The ancient Druids hung green branches and mistletoe over their doors as a propitiation to woodland sprites; they used also to cut green trees and carry them into their houses to protect the spirits of the forest and streams from the death-dealing winds, thinking |