BISLEY.

No. 13.

"We cower before th' heart-searching eye
In rapture as in pain ;

E'en wedded Love, till Thou be nigh,

Dares not believe her gain."

(Hymn for Matrimony.)

HE parish church of Bisley (in which the Author of "The Christian Year" was married on October 10, 1835,) consists of a lofty nave with a well-proportioned tower (containing a peal of eight bells, and terminated in a beautiful spire), side aisles (with lean-to roofs), and chancel. The church (which is "supposed to have been partly rebuilt" about the time of Edward IV.) underwent complete repair and adornment in the year 1862, through the exertion of the Poet's brother, the Rev. THOMAS KEBLE, B.D., who has held the incumbency since the end of the year 1826.

The arches which separate the nave from the aisles are supported upon pillars of a blueish stone from Wickwar, in the neighbourhood of Bristol; the old pillars, which were of the stone of the country, having been found too weak to bear the weight of the new roof, which was put on when the church underwent restoration. The bases of the pillars

are made of Caen stone. There is a row of clerestory windows, which give much light to the nave. The easternmost of these, on the south side, has been filled with painted glass (representing the Transfiguration of our Lord) by Messrs. Clayton and Bell, who presented it to the church, in the hope that other persons might be found to follow their example with the corresponding windows. The same artists were employed to erect the rich painted window at the west end of the north aisle, containing representations of Hiram and Bezaleel, which was presented to the church by the workmen who were employed in its restoration. The three-light eastern window contains a representation of our Lord as the "Good Shepherd." In the light on the north side He is represented bearing a sheep on His shoulders with an inscription, “I am the Good Shepherd ;" in the middle light is a representation of the Crucifixion, with the words, "The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep;" and in the southern light our Lord is represented having His flock at His feet, with the words, "The flock of My Pasture are men, and I am your God." The idea of this window was, in a great measure, suggested by some old fresco painting discovered at the other end of the church. On the north side of the chancel there is a painted window containing a representation of the Adoration of the Shepherds, and another on the south side representing in one light the Resurrection of our Lord, with the words, "He is not here, He is risen;" and in the other light our Lord's Ascension, with the words, "He came into the world to save sinners."

These two windows were erected as memorials of members of the Dorington family, who have property in the parish.

Along the north wall of the church are erected a great many memorial