Page:The Parson's Handbook - 2nd ed.djvu/66

50 carpet over it, in the middle aley of your church, whereat the Litany may be said?’ The position of the faldstool is discussed on p. 131.

The desk, then, had at this time a ‘carpet’ i.e. a cloth on it, which, of course, like other cloths of this nature need not follow the colour of the season. If it stands in the middle alley of the nave, it should be at an ample distance from the chancel-steps, with plenty of room on either side of it, so as not to be in the way. If possible it should be a substantial roomy structure in wood. The tendency is to make them too high and too narrow in the shelf.

The Font should, according to Canon 81, be of stone, and ‘set in the ancient usual place,’ i.e. near the church door; this was again insisted on by the Bishops at the Savoy Conference; the font was never in England placed in a special chapel or baptistry. As the rubric in our baptismal service orders the font to be filled afresh at each baptism, a drain is absolutely necessary. The Puritan practice of putting ‘pots, pails, or basons’ in it to hold the water was steadily condemned by our bishops from Parker downwards. The font should have a cover, which may be a simple lid or an architectural feature. Covers to fonts are constantly ordered from the time of St. Edmund of Canterbury to as late a date as that of Cosin. Care should be taken at festivals, if the font is decorated, to keep the top of it clear. When the font is ornamental in itself it is better not to decorate it.

Pews are by no means a Protestant invention, and in some ways they are better than chairs. They should, however, always be low, and the alleys both in aisles and nave should be much wider than usual. There are a good many old churches in England which show the medieval arrangement of low pews.