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only by a forgetfulness or perversion of this fact that vice and evil doing can so often become the prominent, if not the only, claim to merit.

But now to turn to the more imaginative world of idealism, which is in in creasing danger of being neglected. We have said there are those who, in spite of the prevailing fashion, cling tenaciously to the development of realism in its purest and best sense; and in all work, both ancient and modern, the methods of carrying out this aim appear the same. Take the marble figures of old Greece and Rome. What do we find? The sculptor first sought for the most true and beautiful form attainable to copy from, and then conceived in his mind how that form could be made even more beautiful, and the result is both realism and idealism of the highest kind. They knew the art of retaining the true and imperfect, and yet of producing the ideal of perfection. They were not afraid of making things as they were, but they ennobled the subject. Of the "Satyr after Praxiteles" in the Capitol, Mr. Perry says: "All that is coarse and ugly in form, all that is revolting in expression, is purged away by the fire of genius of external marks of his lower nature nothing is left but the pointed ears and the arrangement of the hair over the forehead. His identity is, indeed, not altogether lost he is a satyr still, idle and unfit for work or war, incapable of any greater exertion than that of strolling in the woods and piping to or dancing with the rosyarmed' nymphs of the wood and mountain. And of "Silenus carrying the Infant Dionysus" he says: "In earlier art Silenus is a coarse, drunken, amorous, but clever old beast: here both figure and face are ennobled, yet not so as to destroy his identity. The expression with which he regards his nursling is tender and pleasing," etc.

We might mention many other examples. "The Dying Gaul" is an uncouth barbarian, but his death is glorified by the expression of deep and touching tenderness which makes it almost the most beautiful of all statues. The "Niobe" group is, perhaps, one of the best illustrations we could have of the union of a realistic and idealistic

style. The emotions of fear and terror, the agonies of death, the self-forgetfulness of those who are as yet unhurt, the dignity and despair of the god-like mother, are depicted with a nobility which renders it one of the most splendid works of antiquity. In the Olympian "Hermes' there is the conception of representing the most perfect type of man at his most glorious age of strength and beauty; and by a sublime genius an ideal of perfection has been produced not to be surpassed. But want of space forbids our enlarging further upon this and other examples afforded us by Greek art. In them we find the ideal called upon to temper or to elevate the real. What is ugly and weak is acknowledged, but it is sunk in the far more intense feeling for what is beautiful, and the highest form of true realistic as well as of idealistic treatment is attained.

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In modern painters we need only name Burne-Jones, Watts, and Leighton to give examples of idealism grafted on to realism, each in his own manner. In the works of the first master the realistic tendency is very great, but it is realism which selects the beautiful and not the ugly. Take his "Love Disguised as Reason." What can be more ideal than the treatment of Cupid, with his bow and arrows peeping out from under his doctor's robe ?-and yet the picture is quite as realistic as though it had not been representing an allegory or a semi-mythological story. The "Days of Creation," Circe," and many others of his works will also bear witness to this, and he will forgive the quoting of his words when we were once discussing the question. "I shall," he said, protest against the production of ugliness with my latest breath." In Watts realism is not, perhaps, the original key-note, but the ideal conception is worked on to the real and true. Thus how painfully real are the struggles of the little "Love" who is exerting every effort to keep strong, unrelenting" Death" at bay! And in his "Wave of Sea-horses," they are real horses, not griffins or other fanciful animals with horns and claws; but how beautiful they are, though the wave is so completely composed of them that at a little distance one hardly makes

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out their forms! In Leighton the real is ever present, but in the form in which he sees it-lovely, smooth, refined the hills and sky of the Gulf of Corinth for a background, the loveliest forms of manhood and womanhood, clad in the most wonderful draperies, present an ideal of beauty absolutely true to Nature in her highest perfection.

Perhaps one of the greatest enemies to the realism of the present day is the steady growth of photography. After all, what can be more realistic than its manner of working? A flash, and there is the figure in its most natural and real condition. Laughing, crying, winking, jumping, you can fancy you see the movement and almost hear the speech. But does that satisfy the sitter or the artist, or is it not the main object and effort of both to beautify the production by soft and harmonious effects, to tone down and shade off defects, and so to produce an idealized beauty in the subject? And is not the result far more really true to Nature than the unartistic and unaided pictures and portraits that marked the first years of the raw invention? If photography has discovered that in order to be real and true it must also be ideal, it is thereby teaching us a lesson which we may do well to profit by.

From all this it seems evident that the best results in art and literature are to be achieved by those whose standard

of the real and whose aspiration after the ideal are the highest; and though the limits, as well as the possibilities, in the matter of execution are different and various, the instinct of true genius will assuredly lead it right in the choice of the ways and means whereby to proceed. Undoubtedly the man who has become most famous in old days, and who will be most likely to live by fame in the time to come, is he who, in the first place, conceives the highest possible ideal, and, in the second, is able to represent it in the truest and most perfect manner.

And for ourselves. If we grub down on the floor of realism with no ideals to set like heavens in the sky above us, we are doomed to receive what we deserve

the bespattering of the mire and the dirt. Or if, on the other hand, we live in a world of mere dreams and fancies, and do not keep touch with the realities of life which are thronging round us, we fail to satisfy the natural cravings for what is tangible and comprehensible. So we come back to where we began. To be real and true is the first great quality, but to conceive and superadd the highest possible ideal is also indispensable if we would ever hope to reach that perfection which in this world is, indeed, unknown, but which, in a world to come, may yet be found attainable. — Nineteenth Century.

BAPTISMAL CUSTOMS.

BY ENGLAND HOWLETT, F.S.A.

THE baptismal ceremony has gradually collected round it a number of customs and superstitions, and this is not at all surprising, considering the fact that infants are invariably left in the hands of women, who are naturally more prone to observe small detail in the matter of custom and belief than men. The nineteenth century, with its extraordinarily practical and widespread educational advantages, has done much to wipe out the superstition which at one time was so universal in this country. But customs die harder still; and, in spite of the fact that we are admit

ted to be a prosaic nation, we still have an innate affection for anything in the form of a ceremony.

In the early ages we find an enormous importance attached to the time of birth by the astrologers, who in the zenith of their popularity were looked upon as the infallible foretellers of events; even in the present day, and after the lapse of so many years, there are found evidences of the survival of astrological belief, which is a curious instance of a lingering faith in an obsolete science.

Baptism is essentially a Christian

rite; still, in heathen times and among all races certain ceremonials were observed when children arrived at a stated age, which may be taken as prototypes of baptism. Thus, the heathen Roman boy was solemnly arrayed in a toga, and a corresponding ceremony was observed with regard to girls.

It appears an indisputable fact that in the primitive Church the ordinary mode of baptism was by immersion. Baptism, however, in the case of sick persons was at all times administered by sprinkling, although doubts as to its complete efficacy were evidently prevalent in the third century. Baptism, however, by sprinkling gradually became more general, and the dispute concerning the mode of administering the rite became one of the irreconcilable differences between the Eastern and Western Churches; the former generally adopting the practice of immersion, and the latter the pouring of water on the head, or sprinkling the face, which custom has generally prevailed since the thirteenth century; but not universally, for it was the ordinary practice in England before the Reformation to immerse infants, and the fonts in the churches were made large enough for the purpose. To this day the rubric of the Church of England requires that, if the godfathers and godmothers "shall certify him that the child may well endure it," the officiating priest "shall dip it in the water discreetly and warily;" and it is only "if they shall certify that the child is weak" that "it shall suffice to pour water upon it," which, however, or sprinkling, is now the ordinary practice.

Some early heretics actually baptized the dead; others baptized living proxies for dead persons. It is possible that the former custom might find its origin in an improper appreciation of St. Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 29.

The baptismal alb was a long white robe formerly worn by infants for eight days after baptism, whence Dominica in Albis. A somewhat similar gar. ment was the chrisom robe, which was a white vesture put upon the child in baptism by the priest, with the following words: "Take this white vesture for a token of innocency." If the child died within a month of christen

ing it was the practice to use the chrisom as a shroud. Parish registers con

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tain numerous entries of chrisom infants," and brasses also remain depicting infants thus shrouded. A portion of the churchyard at Bradford, Brandiscorner, North Devon, is called "Chrisomer's Hill," where unbaptized infants and strangers were formerly buried.

In the early Church the octave of Easter was called Baptismalis Dies, and during this period the neophytes were admitted to divine service.

Anciently fonts were placed in baptisteries apart from the church, but in 1571 they were directed to be placed in the church where baptism was to be administered. These baptisteries were first built in the age of Constantine. An interesting custom of Hallowing the Font was formerly observed by the Church on Easter and Witsun eves, after which followed several public baptisms.

Gifts to infants on their baptism are of ancient origin. Formerly, the sponsors generally offered gilt spoons to the child; these spoons were called apostle spoons, because the figures of the twelve apostles were carved at the top on the handles. Rich sponsors gave the complete set of twelve, while for those who were not so opulent four were considered the proper number, and poor sponsors would content themselves with offering one; in the latter case the handle of the spoon generally exhibited the figure of any saint in honor of whom the child received its name. is an allusion to this custom that, when Cranmer professes himself to be unworthy of being sponsor to the young princess, Shakespeare makes the king reply:

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'Come, come, my lord, you'd spare your spoons."

The mug, or spoon and fork offering of the present day, appears as a very debased survival of a really beautiful christening offering.

Down to the early part of the present century it was usual to name a child after the saint on whose day he happened to be born. A writer to Notes and Queries in 1853 states that he had recently baptized a child by the name

of Benjamin Simon Jude. On his expressing some surprise at this somewhat singular conjunction of names, he was informed that the birth had taken place on the festival of SS. Simon and Jude, and that it was always considered very unlucky to take the day from a child. The custom of naming children after any particular saint has fallen into general disuse, except in those countries where the population is composed almost entirely of Roman Catholics. The giving of a name in baptism is really no essential part of the rite, but is merely a custom derived apparently from the Jews, and which through long practice has become an important element in the ceremony.

Many instances might be furnished of children who have inadvertently received wrong names. The registers in Warminster Church contain the following entries:

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1790, Jan. 17, Charles, daughter of John and Betty Haines. This child ought to have been christened Charlotte, but owing to a mistake of the sponsors it was wrong named.”

"1791, July 31, William, daughter of William and Sarah Weiddick. N.B. It was intended that this child, being a girl, should have been christened Maria, but through a mistake of the godfather it was named William."

Mr. S. Baring-Gould, in Old Country Life, relates that in a parish on the Cornish side of the estuary of the Tamar some little time ago, the newly appointed Rector, turning over the register of baptisms in the vestry, was much astonished at seeing entries of the christenings of boys only. "Why, Richard," said he to the clerk, "how. ever comes this about; are there only boys born in this place?" Said the clerk in reply, "Please your reverence, 'taint that; but as they won't take the girls into the dockyard at Davenport, taint no good baptizing 'em." It would appear that the boys were chris tened only for the sake of the register requisite to present on admission into the Government dockyard.

There is a curious superstition that if one of the sponsors at a christening looks into the font the child will grow up like him. Another superstition connected with sponsors is that two

people who are engaged should not be godfather and godmother to the same child. It is a sure sign if they are that they will never marry. In Lancashire the same superstition is commonly expressed by the saying: "Those who meet at the font will never meet at the altar." This would certainly appear to be an interesting relic of the Canon law, which forbids godparents from marrying each other.

Baptismal columns exist in some churches. At Henham-on-the-Hill is a good example; the Virgin and Christchild being carved on the capital, with angels censing on either hand, while the devil is represented on the opposite side of the column, facing the north door, where no doubt the font was originally placed.

The baptismal shell was a small metal vessel in the shape of a scallop-shell, used for taking up the water from the font, and pouring it over the head of the person to be baptized. Sometimes. real shells, polished, and having some sacred subject engraved on them, were used.

By statute 23 George III. c. 67, it was enacted that after 1st October, 1783, a stamp duty of threepence should be paid to his Majesty upon the entry of every burial, marriage, birth, or christening in the register of every parish, precinct, or place in Great Britain, under a penalty of five pounds for every default of entry. The churchwardens were directed to provide a book for each entry to be made therein, and the vicar, curate, or other person receiving the duty was to be allowed two shillings in the pound for his trouble. By 25 George III. c. 75, the tax was extended to dissenters. The Act was repealed by 34 George III. c. 2, the tax ceasing altogether on October 1, 1794. The tax only applied to Great Britain, and was not extended to Ireland, probably because no Roman Catholic priest could have been got to make a tax charge for any sacrament of the Church.

Down to the middle of the century, when several children were baptized at the same time great anxiety was shown by their parents lest the girls should take precedence of the boys; in which case there was a popular belief that the latter when arrived at man's estate

would be beardless. This superstition prevailed most extensively in the north of England, although it might be met with in nearly all parts of the country. It is considered a good omen for the baby to cry during the baptismal service. If it is quiet all the time it is considered too good to live; where this belief obtains favor nurses generally decide the matter by pinching the child. A Cumberland superstition was that if an infant was not baptized before it was shortened (i.e. leaves off its long robes), it was bad-tempered and ill-natured all its life.

Certain days for birth have generally some particular attribute given to them: "Monday's bairn is fair of face,

Tuesday's bairn is full of grace,
Wednesday's bairn a child of woe,
Thursday's bairn has far to go,
Friday's bairn is loving and giving,
Saturday's bairn works hard for a living,
But a bairn that is born on the sabbath-day
Is lively and bonnie, and wise and gay."

There is a belief in Sweden that the devil has power over a child until it is baptized; but if for any valid reason baptism is obliged to be deferred, the power of the evil one can to a great extent be neutralized. One way is to wrap the baby in a red cloth, and lay it in its cradle, with a psalm-book and a pair of scissors placed crosswise upon its

breast.

Christening palms were cloths about four or five feet square, generally made four or five feet square, generally made of rich silk or satin, often elaborately embroidered by having a quilted lining. These palms, or panes, as they were sometimes called, were often kept in the same family for generations, and used at all christenings for enveloping the infants when taken to baptism. The writer knows one of these palms which was used a few years ago, and has been an heirloom in the same family for some generations; it is composed of satin richly embroidered with gold

thread.

In

Christening cakes are general in most parts of the country, but in England there does not appear to be any particular kind of cake in universal use. Scotland the christening cake is shortbread. Formerly, in Fifeshire, it was the custom, before starting for the kirk, for the christening piece, consistNEW SERIES.-VOL. LIX., No. 5.

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ing of shortbread, cheese, and oatcake, to be made up into a white paper parcel tied with ribbons; this the mother held in her right hand as she left the house and presented to the first person met by her, whether stranger or friend, gentle or poor. The christening piece was always gladly accepted, and in return kind wishes were expressed for the future happiness of the child. Shakespeare evidently refers to christening cakes in Henry VIII., Act v. sc. 3:

"You must be seeing christenings, Do you look for cakes and ale here, you rude

rascals?"

The christening sheet was a fine linen cloth, formerly thrown over a child's head after baptism, and was called a crude cloth, and sometime cude or code simply. A will, proved in the Consistory Court of Lincoln in the year 1612, contains a bequest of a christening sheet. Phillips, in his World of Words, has "cude or cude cloth, a face cloth used to be the priest's fee at the baptizfor a young child, which heretofore ing of it." In the Booke of Christian Prayers, published by John Day in 1569, there is a woodcut representing head of the infant a cloth is thrown the baptism of a child, and round the which is crossed upon the breast.

We must, doubtless, look to the Jews for the origin of godfathers and godmothers. The use of them in the primitive Church is so early that it is not easy to fix a time for their beginning. Some of the most ancient Fathers make mention of them, and through all the successive ages afterward we find the use of them continued without any interruption. By a constitution of Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1236, and in a synod held at Worcester, 1240, a provision was male child two godfathers and one godmade that there should be for every father and two godmothers. King mother, and for every female one godHenry VIII., referring to the Princess Elizabeth, says:

I have a suit which you must not deny me, "My Lord of Canterbury,

That is, a fair young maid that yet wants baptism,

You must be godfather and answer for her." Henry VIII., Act v. sc. 3.

A constitution of 1281 makes provi

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