thorough circulation of air, are decidedly the best. The system of arm-chairs in a sort of pen, as at present used in India, is extremely inconvenient, and causes much waste room in the church.

The windows should be of tinted glass, which well relieves the glare of the sun, and it will be found that the glazing can be best done in England and sent out ready to be fixed; plenty of spare frames of the same glass, cut to size, ought to accompany them, in case of breakage occurring. The windows for the chancel, if not painted, ought to be of a subdued tint, in order to soften the light at the east end of the church, and allow no glaring sun to annoy the clergyman who officiates. In fact, all the windows should be well tinted, if not painted. It is of course to be understood, that this means stained glass, not painted on the surface only.

The roof should be simply teak, framed with strong iron straps, and boarded over with teak boarding. Over this there should be a layer of Croggon's Patent Asphalted Felt, which will assist materially in keeping out the monsoon rain, which may pass through the outside roofing, and at the same time, being an excellent non-conductor of heat, will prevent the heat of the sun penetrating the roof of the church. Over this purlins should be laid, and firmly fixed by bolts to the trusses underneath; on these purlins the outer roofing should be fixed. The purlins should not be less than six inches thick, this space will admit of a thorough circulation of air. The purlins will prevent the iron roof resting on the asphaltic felt. If there were no space, the iron resting directly on the felt would melt the tar in it, but the iron being so separated from it would assist in the ventilation; for when it becomes warm, the air in the church will naturally be attracted to the channel of the roof and pass out, fresh air coming in by the doors and windows.

This outer roof should be of corrugated galvanized iron, which would come out from England ready for fixing, with a proper Gothic ridge piece. This roof will withstand the effects of the monsoon better than any other, and will cost nothing for repairs compared with the ordinary tiles of the country, which, however, are quite unfit for the high pitch of a Gothic roof. Zinc is liable to crack from the heat, and copper would be found too expensive, and moreover both would require another layer of planking above the purlins, as they are not strong enough to sustain themselves by only thin sheets. Corrugated iron alone has strength in itself sufficient to do without any other support. A lightning conductor is also necessary.

The door should be strongly framed in teak. The Gothic iron hinges should be obtained from England, and ordered by an architect who knows the size of the doors; as an immensely heavy hinge for a small door would not be an improvement, nor the reverse for a large one.

The steeple would be of teak, covered with planking and sheet metal, lead or copper, or with galvanized iron tiles, which would look very neat, and cost comparatively little; the cross for the top of the steeple should come out from England ready gilt. The crosses for the gable 1 At Egutpoora, about 250 inches falls in the monsoon, June to October. Before the rains it is very hot.

ends can be either gilt, metal or stone. A small bell gable should be built for one or more bells, independently of the peal. The most convenient place for this is near the vestry, so that the clergyman can stop it when he wishes.

The pulpit, prayer desk, and communion table, if of wood, can be neatly made in India; if of stone, they require to be brought from England. The chandeliers, of suitable Gothic design, can be best got in England, and ought not to be attempted here.

If the chancel only be built, by a proper arrangement of the plan, accommodation for one hundred adults can be found. At the east end a space, six feet wide, may be raised one step above the floor; and in this the prayer-desk, pulpit, and organ, can be placed. The apse would be one step higher, and there would stand the altar.

The church would cost, if completed, about £4000. If the chancel and apse only were built, this, with the necessary fittings, would cost about £1,500. A very good parsonage, of neat design, corresponding to the church, would cost £500, and a school about £500 more. Some small savings might possibly be made on this, but none worth any consideration, without injury to the character of the work. Egutpoora, May 8th, 1863.

S. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT, WEST SMITHFIELD.

WE return to the subject of this restoration with considerable gratification. The effort to raise funds has met with good success, nearly one half of the whole amount named by the architects as necessary for the purpose having been already subscribed, while there still remain many probably fruitful sources of supply to be resorted to. The wealthy, and often liberal, City Companies have not yet been invited to contribute, nor has application yet been made to the Church societies; in a word, there is no reason to doubt that whatever sum is really required for the actual works of restoration will be obtained, and that perhaps with rather less than the usual degree of delay and uncertainty. Hence the committee have every inducement to go forward confidently in the task they have undertaken.

It was easy from the outset to foresee that some difficulties would arise, in connection with the encroachments which have immemorially existed within the church, and the anticipation has unfortunately been verified. One proprietor, whose premises adjoin the eastern extremity of the building, and have been extended over the procession-path at the rear of what was once the apse, and even over the terminal portion of the apse itself, has exhibited the utmost tenacity in maintaining the encroachment, and hitherto turned a deaf ear to the amicable expostulations addressed to him. The committee could not of course yield to demands for unreasonable pecuniary compensation, nor waste the funds entrusted to their care in attempting by legal means to enforce their indisputable moral right. We fear therefore, that the very

important feature in the restoration, which the completely reclaimed apse would have constituted, must in all likelihood remain in abeyance for a time, until more generous counsels prevail.

But there is no occasion meanwhile to be disheartened: even were the committee precluded by the circumstances alluded to from dealing with the apse at all, an ample field would still be left for their exertions. But they are not precluded. Curiously enough, the obnoxious intrusion has taken place only at the triforium level, so that the semicircular colonnade beneath admits of being entirely reinstated, by the construction anew of the two destroyed piers; and the stilted arches, which should spring from them, can be almost perfected, without any disturbance to the rooms above against which objection could be sustained by their unaccommodating owner. Were this course pursued, (and the architect decides it to be quite practicable,) the secular tenement, supported provisionally by a girder, would project within the area of the partially restored apse like a closed-up gallery, until the occupant, actuated by liberality or shame, should consent to its removal. Precedents are not wanting to show that this time would probably not be long deferred. Even as we write two instances occur to our mind, one nearly a counterpart of the present, in which jealousy and obstructiveness have yielded to the finger of public odium what they refused to friendly remonstrance, and have (too late for the parties' own reputation, but not too late for the church's good) permitted the demolition of cherished deformities, when made more conspicuous than ever by isolation. So may it be in this case, if better may not be.

But turning from this mode of meeting the difficulty, there remains abundant scope for the committee's labours in other portions of the church. It will be remembered that the whole of the choir is preserved with its aisles, together with the intersection of the lost transepts, and one bay of the nave. If then they cannot regain the apse in its integrity just yet, let the committee set about earnestly what is in their power. Let them restore the grand lateral arcades, scrape and make good their masonry, and renovate their damaged mouldings; cleanse the carved work throughout; relieve the external walls of accumulated soil, repair their substance, strengthen their foundations, and duly drain them; lower the pavement of the interior to its ancient level, and thus raise the piers and arches to their original proportions; sweep out from the west end the flights of steps, dark cupboards, gallery, and other encumbrances which disfigure it; fill the clerestory windows with appropriate tracery; substitute suitable open seats for the present high pews; and finally, ventilate and warm the now cold, damp, half-buried edifice,-so eloquent still, notwithstanding, of ancestral munificence and devotion. When these works are fairly advanced, the committee can again turn attention to the eastern end of the church, and pointing to what has been effected, appeal with greater confidence to those concerned, for the liberation of the apse.

Difficulty has been well defined by one, who illustrated the saying in the practice of his own life, as something to be got over;' and we commend this manly view to the restoration committee of S. Bartholomew's. In the discussion of the encroachment question, the old maxim has been repeatedly quoted, " nullum tempus occurrit ecclesiæ:"

let them accept this in another than its legal sense. As the rights of the church corporate do not expire with time, so, applying the words to the material fabric, let them remember that the church can afford to wait a few years for the full accomplishment of their good design. Let them take heart and encouragement from the consideration, that though their own work may possibly be confined within narrower limits than their first sanguine anticipations promised; yet the doing well that which is practicable at the existing opportunity will be the best, the necessary stepping-stone to complete success in the future. It took more than one generation to erect S. Bartholomew's; more than one to reduce it to its present condition; it may take more than one to restore it entirely. But let them grapple with the task energetically and perseveringly, determined to do all that circumstances now permit, and trustfully bequeathing their example and their work (even if unfinished) to posterity.

We hope that the coming spring will see this long-desired restoration thoroughly in hand.

ON ENGLISH ORGAN BUILDING.

To the Editor of the Ecclesiologist.

DEAR SIR,-For more than twenty years the pages of the Ecclesiologist have been open to the discussion of all matters coming within the range of ecclesiastical art; but amongst them, it seems to me, that the art of organ-building has not received anything like its fair share of attention. Indeed it may be questioned whether there would be any general acknowledgment of organ-building, as an art, amongst those whose enthusiasm for architecture, painting, sculpture, and even church-music is undoubted; therefore I beg you will allow me to offer a few remarks on this subject—the present state of the art of organbuilding in England. And I feel it incumbent on me to confess that the art is at present, generally speaking, in a very low and unhealthy condition. It is useless to point to the admirable improvements in the mechanism of the organ, and to the facilities which are afforded in modern instruments for the display of dexterity and skill in the performer: these are well enough in their way, and proofs of the mechanical tendencies of the age are unfortunately too numerous without this additional one; what we feel to be wanting is the purity and grandeur of tone, the solemnity of diapason, the depth of love and feeling in voicing displayed by the ancient organ-builders-from old John Loosemore at Exeter to Green and England-and still to be found in the best works of the modern German school.

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And this low state of the art is the more deplorable just now, cause this is an age of restoration. All around us we see signs of awakened life; we are setting up the altars our forefathers pulled down; dignitaries of the Church begin to be ashamed of the indifference and neglect of their predecessors who allowed our cathedrals to

fall into semi-ruin; and, better still, the lamp of sacrifice is relit, and restorations are carried on in no niggardly or utilitarian spirit: sowhether rightly or wrongly, I will discuss further on-the old organs are rebuilt or replaced with new ones, and opportunity is given to our builders to emulate the spirit of the old men with every advantage modern facilities afford. And how is this opportunity used? Let us see how work is done by a modern English manufacturer.

Suppose an order for an organ given, and the builder fixed upon. Black mail to the "professional" man having been duly levied, the manufactory is at once set to work; the mechanism of our organ is beautifully set out, it being considered a religious duty, and a sign of the advance of science, to cram every detail into the least possible space-the newest dodges are introduced, and the comfort of the future performer is carefully attended to. But how about the tone, the allimportant voicing of the new instrument ?

"Well, why grumble?" says our builder; "are not the best voicers employed at high salaries? isn't our diapason-man first-rate, and our reed-voicer the best in or out of London? Our firm employs the first talent, and therefore the result must be super-excellent accordingly."

Very likely it may be, looked at as an example of the mechanical skill and science of the age; but when all is finished there is that something wanting, that something which gives power and life to the architecture, sculpture, and fresco-however rude-of our great mediæval ancestors. It is love of the work shown in the work; which love springs from an earnest desire to make the best use of those talents committed to us, and for His sake who gave them.

I do not wish to give a more unfavourable picture than is justifiable. All English builders do not proceed on these principles. I know one builder of large organs, who produces in them great refinement and delicacy of tone, and who, would his exaggerated selfsufficiency allow him to find merit worthy of imitation in other men's work, might produce still more excellent results. And I know another, in this county, whose love of his work is as great as his genius, and the quality of whose instruments is both pure and lovely, as well as grand and impressive in power. Still these are exceptions to the general rule, and those great people whose business talents enable them to absorb the best orders, and make the biggest organs, need not imagine that because they are able to walk about the factory with their hands in their pockets, and put the name of the firm in the very largest letters outside their organs, they are therefore entitled to the honourable designation of "organ-builder," in its real and ancient signification. Not so did Father Smith, Renatus Harris, and John Snetzler, understand their noble profession.

And now, by way of contrast, let me describe the building of the great organ in S. George's, Doncaster. And let me first express the opinion that this organ is out of all proportion to the church; nor are churches built mainly to be good places to put organs in, as some seem to hold and of this I am sure, that had this particular instrument been made half the size and power, and the remainder of the money spent in the proper adornment of the sanctuary, and in poly