develops on his own lines. From the first each one is made to feel his individual responsibility. "Qui creavit te sine te, non salvabit te sine te." Such seems to be the motto of this Benedictine school. In life as in death every boy must stand alone, as each must answer singly when he files in his last examination paper. And so, from the preparatory section, up to the sixth form, each is on his probation-studying for an entrance scholarship into that greater school which we call life, and of which the material world is but the threshold.

But, though it is true that a greater degree of liberty is given at St. Gregory's than is usual in our Catholic schools, either in England or abroad, it is but fair to say that the required standard of conduct is correspondingly high. Should a boy fail in this, should he but once fall short of the standard set up, he is instantly dismissed. From this judgment there is no reprieve. The pupil who is found wanting is sent down. Never may he return. The result of this system of training is found to ensure a healthy tone; and it is one which augurs well for the future society in which these boys will take their place.

To describe the minster would be a lengthy matter-the building being beautiful in detail; for the modern monk may say in truth with the ancient: "I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth." The church is cruciform in plan, of which the nave has yet to be built. The portion already erected comprises the transepts and the tower, and the eastern chevet of chapels. To these has now been added the stately choir and sanctuary: six bays in all. The architecture chosen was the early English style, but this has gradually given place to the decorated. Between the eastern chapels and the transept there is on either side of the church a series of chapels forming an outer aisle, those of the south side being raised up some thirteen feet to allow space for the north cloister beneath them. A graceful staircase in stone built in the thickness of the wall gives access to these from the south aisle. The original architect was Mr. Edward Hansom. At his death in 1900 he was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Garner, whose name is associated with King's Chapel, Cambridge, and with the reredos of St. Paul's Cathedral. Under the supervision of Mr. Garner the choir took on a bold square end instead of the apse, as originally planned,

and as the foundations for the apse were actually in position, he used them to support the columns of the feretory, thus partly preserving the former scheme. The choir is early perpendicular and, following the precedent of St. Alban's Abbey, has a single light on either side of the central window which. gives an added sense of space and loftiness.

The result of various changes of design and treatment in the Downside minster suggests a happy link with the old English Benedictine abbeys and cathedrals which grew gradually to completion. The portion of the Church now completed, i.e., from the eastern bay of the nave to the end of the Lady Chapel, measures externally 230 feet. The breadth across the transept and tower is 125 feet. In the interior the transepts are 83 feet long, 68 feet high, and 25 feet wide; the choir, from the chancel arch to the columns behind the altar, measures 95 feet long, 28 feet wide, and rises from 68 to 70 by the middle of the third bay. From this it will be seen that in height and breadth the Downside Abbey choir is almost identical with those of Worcester and Truro. The entire building, inside and out, is constructed of Bath stone, which is quarried in the neighborhood by local masons. The chief characteristic of the interior is the effect of great height, due perhaps to the transepts being narrower than the choir and nave; while the vista of lofty narrow arches down the south choir aisle, with a window of the Sacred Heart Chapel showing at the end, and the triforium-suggested by the Angel Choir at Lincoln and the graceful triforium of Westminster Abbey-may be described as almost a vision in stone. The organ, it may be interesting to mention, was built for King George IV., and was used for some years in the Pavilion at Brighton. It was then procured for Downside by Count Giuseppe Mazzinghi, who had been "chapel-master" to the king.

Of the eastern wall behind the high altar, the arrangement of the three arches strikes one as unusual, for it is only to be seen in rare cases: at Salisbury, where the central arch is lower than the side ones, and at Wells Cathedral, where the three arches are of uniform height. In this choir the seven "hours" of the Divine Office are recited by the community and, in ac cordance with the pre-Reformation custom in English Benedic tine churches, the Blessed Sacrament is reserved at the high altar. Over the tabernacle stands an old crucifix of great beauty.

It has been attributed to Andreas Faistenberger (1646-1735), who was perhaps the greatest artist in ivory of his period. But the crucifix has more than an artistic value, for away back in the years it was captured from a Spanish pirate vessel on the high seas by Admiral Sartorius, whose wife presented it to St. Gregory's. Behind the high altar is the feretory-a place of graceful columns and curbing arches. In Catholic days it was usual to enshrine here the body of a saint, were the church so fortunate as to possess one, and it is hoped before long that the feretory of the modern abbey may be the last resting place of the Venerable Oliver Plunket, whose body now lies yonder in a plain stone tomb in the north transept. Accused of high treason by the notorious Titus Oates, Plunket was ordered to be hanged, drawn, and quartered-a sentence which was carried out at Tyburn in the year of grace 1681. He was thus the last martyr who testified to the Catholic faith in England. On the two neighboring columns, and at the springer of the vaulting, are two shields. By this juxtaposition they are significant. On the left are the arms of St. Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of all England, martyred 1170; on the right, the arms of the Venerable. Oliver Plunket, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, martyred 1681.

Of the many other relics possessed by St. Gregory's Abbey, perhaps the most cherished is the great relic of the Holy Cross-shown only on Good Friday. One of the largest in England, it was in former days in the Chapel of Queen Mary. At her death it came into the hands of John Feckenham, the last abbot of Westminster. Later on the relic was publicly venerated in the Chapel Royal at St. James', which was served by the English Benedictines during the reigns of Charles II. and James II., at which period it was enshrined in the present handsome reliquary. On the abdication of James, and the subsequent dispersal of the community, this relic of the Holy Cross, with other relics and a monstrance, chalice, and vestments, were packed up in a strong chest and hidden in the vaults of a Catholic distiller named Langdale, who lived on Holborn Hill. In the year 1822 the chest was discovered, together with a document stating that the contents belonged to the English Benedictines of the Southern Province; and in this way they passed into the hands of the monks at Downside.

As an interesting link between the present community and those of Stuart times, it may be mentioned that the monk, John Huddleston, O.S.B., who ministered to Charles II., is to-day represented at Downside Abbey by his descendant, D. Roger Huddleston, to whose courtesy I am indebted for much of the information contained in this paper.

Of the seventeen chapels which form a corona round the choir and sanctuary, it is impossible to speak. Each is instinct with imagery, which is carried out both in stained glass and in stone. Of the bosses and capitals, no two are alike. Every scheme of decoration is peculiar to its dedication. Thus in the central boss of the Chapel of St. Joseph are modelled the tools of the Carpenter of Nazareth; while the caps of the vaulting shafts show the sun, moon, and stars in reference to the dreams of the Patriarch Joseph; and of the fat and lean kine and the ears of wheat as seen by Pharaoh. And round the chapel are entwined the different leaves of the trees indigenous to Palestine, which were consecrated by the labors of the Son of Man.

In the Lady Chapel each bit of carving is fraught with meaning. Above the columns at the entrance, whence rise the flight of steps, are entwined the leaves and the fruit of the curse. Inside the chapel the second Eve has triumphed; and the Apple of Sin has given way to the Lily of Perfection, and thus round the walls every capital depicts, in the language of flowers, the rare virtues of the Virgin Mother. From the Lady Chapel there is a little winding stair, which leads down to the crypt: St. Peter's undercroft, where the greater benefactors lie buried. On either side of the entrance is carved an hour-glass and a scythe, as if to remind us that, as the poet says,

"Death mows down mortals like a field of corn,

Some fall each stroke, and others stand awhile."

And again, in the groined vault of the beautiful Chapel of St. Benedict, every boss bears a coat of arms representing the chief English Benedictine abbeys and priories destroyed by Henry VIII. The windows of this chapel call for a passing notice. The one above the altar represents St. Benedict as Patriarch of western monasticism, surrounded by the international saints of his order. The side window shows a band of English Benedictine saints grouped round St. Augustine of Canterbury; and

the highest portion of the central light contains figures of the three abbots of Glastonbury, Reading, and Colchester, who, with four of their subjects, were martyred in 1539 for refusing to recognize the royal supremacy.

Built over the south cloister are two large chapels, of which one is dedicated to All Monks, the other to the English Martyrs. The latter dedication seems peculiarly appropriate, for not only is Downside Abbey the successor of Glaston, whose last abbot with two of his subjects were slain in Elizabethan times, but of her own community five won the martyr's crown, while many more only escaped death on the scaffold by dying in prison. The five Downside martyrs, all of whom have been pronounced Venerable, are: Dom John Roberts, the first prior of the infant monastery at Douai, martyred in 1610; Dom Mauras Scott, 1612; Dom Ambrose Barlow, 1641; Dom Philip Powell, 1646; and the gentle lay brother, Thomas Pickering, 1679. This chapel of the English martyrs has recently been erected by the family of Abbot Gasquet, President of the English Benedictine Congregation.

But now the days of persecution are over, and to-day is the opening of the minster choir. Special trains are running from Bath to Chilcompton. From the north and the south they come, and the Somerset lanes are astir, and the countryside stands wondering. For, as described in the book of Micheas, "a tumult of chariots hath astonished the inhabitants of Lachis," and a variety of carriages and motor cars have taken up their positions outside the abbey minster. Among the guests who have already arrived are the Archbishop of Westminster and the Archbishop of St. Louis, U. S. A. After them come the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, the Bishop of Kerry, and the Benedictine Bishop of Port Louis from beyond the seas. There are bishops of England and bishops of Wales; there are mitred abbots from every Benedictine abbey in England and several from abroad; from Belgium, Germany, and France; there are monsignori and canons; there are heads of religious orders, and of secular priests not a few, while among the laity are representatives of many of the well-known names of England; friends and benefactors; past pupils, and the parents of present schoolboys; there are architects and men of letters; there are several editors and a regiment of special correspondents.