Page:The Parson's Handbook - 2nd ed.djvu/61

Rh The pulpit should not, as a rule, be east of the easternmost row of seats, but should project a row or two into the seats on its side. As for height, I would suggest that the floor of the pulpit be not lower than the shoulders of the people when they are sitting down.

In the pulpit itself everything should be avoided that tends to make a preacher nervous or awkward. The steps to the pulpit are often better behind and out of sight, but in this case there should be a door, or at least a wooden bar, so that the occupant need not fear the fate of Eli. The sides of the pulpit should not be so low down that the hands dangle helplessly: Englishmen as a rule find their hands rather in the way, and they will speak much better, and avoid fingering their garments much more, if they can rest their hands quite comfortably on the sides of the pulpit. I would suggest 38 to 42 inches as a convenient height for men of average size; it is best to err on the side of height. Where the sides of the pulpit are too low, a rounded wooden rail can easily be fitted on to them, and it can very often be made to look well: the rail gives a rest for the fingers, it makes gesture more ready, the hands not having to be lifted so high, and at the same time it leaves the top of the pulpit (which should be at least 4 inches broad) quite free for books. Every pulpit should also have a shelf, sloping inwards, with a little ledge, large enough to hold the necessary books, and on the front side only. On the shelf there should be always a decent bible, a prayer book and hymn book, and a copy of the bidding prayer (which may be written on the fly-leaf of the prayer book). These books should not be too large to be put conveniently on the shelf, as anything that is in danger of tumbling-over adds to the constraint of the preacher. They should be stamped ‘Pulpit,’ and on no account ever be removed.