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THE BOURNEMOUTH MEMORIAL TO

THE POET.

"Brother, thou art gone before us; and thy saintly soul is flown
Where tears are wiped from every eye, and sorrow is unknown;
From the burden of the flesh, and from care and fear releas'd,
Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.

"Earth to earth and dust to dust, the solemn Priest hath said;
So we lay the turf above thee now, and we seal thy narrow bed;
But thy Spirit, Brother, soars away among the faithful blest,
Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest.”
(Milman, from the "Book of Praise.")

HE accompanying woodcut represents the magnificent painted window (executed by Messrs. Clayton and Bell, of 311, Regent-street, under the direction of the Incumbent) erected to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. KEBLE, in the autumn of 1866, in the beautiful church of St. Peter at Bournemouth. This church was the last place in which Mr. KEBLE attended divine service in public, and will therefore always be regarded with interest by all lovers of "The Christian Year." It was enlarged by the addition of a chancel with transepts about two years ago, after a design furnished

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by G. E. Street, Esq., A.R.A., who has ably displayed his well-known skill in this work. This church is beautifully adorned with many painted windows, erected as memorials to various persons. The reredos is exceedingly gorgeous and exquisitely carved; and the beautiful inlaying of spar and marbles upon the carved stone pulpit requires special notice. The great defect in the church at present is the want of a tower; but it is hoped that this want will soon be supplied.

The window to the memory of the Poet and his wife is at the end of the south transept, just above the place which was usually occupied by him when attending the services.

This window is designed to impress upon the mind the words of praise expressed in the Te Deum". It presents to us, in the six-lobed light in the highest portion, Christ sitting in glory, holding in His left hand a Cross rising out of a globe, and with His right hand raised, as in the act of benediction. He is surrounded by six-winged Seraphin,— one being represented in each of the six lobes of this portion of the window. Below this on either side there is a quatrefoil light, each of which contains figures of two angels with scrolls, bearing the inscription Te Deum laudamus.

"At the beginning, the whole Church in Heaven and on Earth is described as occupied in that for which all beings have been created, the service and praise of God. First, the pure spirits of God which never fell, and next, the noblest members of that race, .... are pictured in their different states and conditions, worshipping the Fountain of Love, and Light, and Joy.... Nor are the praises confined to the unseen world; all the Church on earth, in its imperfect way, occupies itself in like manner.... Nowhere do the strains of exulting praise rise higher.... We feel, in singing it, as if we were singing our Creed.”—(Commentary on the Te Deum by the Bishop of Brechin-Introduction.)

Thus the whole of this upper portion of the window is expressive of the words:"To Thee all Angels cry aloud: the Heavens and all the powers therein. To Thee Cherubin and Seraphin continually do cry."

Below this there are four large lights, in which are contained representations of eminently holy men and women of every age and station, who have lived and died as witnesses to the truth, in the true faith, and in the fear and love of God, according to the words of Dionysius, Archbishop of Alexandria, quoted by Eusebius :—

“ Πλὴν ἴστε ὅτι ἄνδρες καὶ γυναῖκες, καὶ νέοι, καὶ γέροντες, καὶ κόραι, καὶ πρεσβύτιδες, καὶ στρατιῶται, καὶ ἰδιῶται, καὶ πᾶν γένος, καὶ πᾶσα ἡλικία, οἱ μὲν διὰ μαστίγων καὶ πυρὸς, οἱ δε διὰ σιδήρου, τὸν ἀγῶνα νικήσαντες, τοὺς στεφάνους ἀπειλήφασι .”

expressive also of the grateful thoughts of Bishop Andrewes :

"Blessed, praised, celebrated, magnified, exalted, glorified, hallowed be Thy

"Here we get confirmation of the truth and reality of the holy faith, of the power of Divine grace, and of the efficacy of that redemption of Christ, in the power of which the martyrs fought and conquered. And here, too, we may derive lessons of patience, of love, of despite of this world, and of conquest of our softness. The days were when men daily and hourly thought of the martyrs, built churches over their mangled remains, prayed at their tombs, besought God by the power of their holiness, longed, to say the least, for their intercession. What think we of the Martyrs? Now a high estimation of the grace of martyrdom will act very directly on our lives and conducts; for it will tend to brace up the soul to encounter the daily trials that attend on all those who live godly in this present world.”—(Ibid., pp. 58, 59.)

Dr. Burton describes him as "a man of profound learning, and in every way suited to his station." He was Bishop of Alexandria from about A.D. 246 till his death in 265. See Burton's "History of the Christian Church," 6th edition, pp. 321-359; and Butler's "Lives of the Saints," vol. ii. p. 886.

Eusebius, bk. vii. 11, 8vo. ed., p. 231; Burton's "Lectures," 3rd edition, p. 564.

Name, O Lord, the mention, the remembrance, and every memorial of it, for the Patriarchs, Honourable Senates, Prophets, ever Venerable quire, Apostles, All glorious Company, Evangelists, Martyrs, most Noble Army, Confessors, Doctors, Assembly... for their faith, labours, blood, diligence, chastity, hope, truth, zeal, tears, glory."

In the light which is on the left hand of a person facing the window, there are represented the Holy Apostles of our Lord, excluding Judas the traitor, but including in his place St. Matthias, who was chosen to make up the perfect number twelve.

They are grouped together thus :—

In the lowest group, St. Peter with the keys; St. Andrew with his cross; St. James, behind the others on the left, with an escallop-shell on his cap; and the youthful St. John, upon the right, with his hands. grasping the scroll in the next group, St. Philip with a cross; St. Bartholomew with a knife; St. Simon the Canaanite with a saw; St. Jude with a model of a ship, in allusion to his calling: and in the uppermost group, St. Matthias with an axe; St. James the Less with a club'; St. Thomas with a long spear; and St. Matthew holding a book. Most of these accompanying emblems have reference to the mode of martyrdom of the several Apostles.

In the next light are contained representations of Saints of the Old Testament, thus grouped :

At the bottom, Jacob with a shepherd's crook; Jonah, in the middle,

"Manual of Private Devotions," ed. 1674, p. 128; also "Paradise of the Christian Soul," i. 70.

It is said that his brains were dashed out with a fuller's club. Nelson's "Festivals," 8vo. ed., p. 202.

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