The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-02-22
OLD ST PAULG.

the buildings which preceded the present
one:-
Dean Milman ignores London before the
| homan period; but he admits that the hill on
which the Cathedral stands must have been of
Importance in every period. The theory that
A temple TO Diana was erected there is
Strengthened by the discovery, in 1880, when
excavations for the foundation of Goldsmiths'
hall were being made, OF stone altar bear
ing the image OF the goddess. The Dean
ADDS III reference to the story of a temple to
Apollo having preceded the Abbey at West
minister, My dear friend, the Dean of West
minister must produce an image OF Apollo, as
like that OF the Belvidere as this to the Diana
of the Louvre, before he can fairly compete
with us for the antiquity of heathen worship"
Roman camp, a Saxon temple, then an
episcopal see fixed in London by Melitus, the
companion of st. Augustine; next a cathedral
built by Ethelbert King of Kent with tue
sanction OF Sebert, King of the East Angles;
relapse to heathenism, and finally the resto-
ration OF st. Paul's by the famous St. Erken-
wa!d, ea'ly in the seventh century, and often
to be swept by fire, are Incidents of the early
history Of the great London hill and its
summit Among gifts made to the church,
that by Eihelbert to the estate of Tlllingham,
Essex, 'even now contributes largely to the
maintenance of the fabric"
Among the bishops of the Norman period
perhaps the most remarkable was Gilbert, the
great philosopher, who loved money as much
as philosophy. After his death, his boots,
full of gold and silver, were carried to the
Exchequer aud the people held that the most
consummate of philosophers might be the
greatest of fools. The king who seized the
Dash thought otherwise. After a new cathe-
dral church had been built, such one as
made the wielders Of Wren's pickaxs5
blaspheme as they battered at the ruins
left by the Great Fire, it became the
scene of high events. The citizens had
acquired such an opinion of their power
that they believed they possessed, in fact,
what was allowed them in theory, the right
of naming their king when the throne was
vacant Few things more stirred the Lon
doners to wrath than to hear their king called,
in papal DEGREES, the POpe's 'Vassal." The
presence of foreign prelstes, lording it in the
capital, stirred the pulses OF those valiant clti-
zeDs. The English clergy themselves bowed
the head with shame at the subsection aud
slavery in which they were held by ltallaus,
and many gave loud and indignant tongue to
their feelings. Lay citizens and clergy alike
beheld with aversion the gorgeous spectacle
of a papal legate enthrOned in st. PaIrs,
and placing himself above the sovereign by
enactiDg laws and enfercDg money tributes,
and playing lord paramount over them.
The Londoners were men who would not
endure oppression from the King himself;
still less would they tolerate that the King
should be accounted a ''vassal'' by the
Pope. In no place did the national senti-
ment on this matter fnd more lusty express
sion than In and about st. Pauls. These
Londoners loved not tyranny at any man s
hands; and they resented ill words the same
as ill deeds. When they cried, "DoWn with
the Inns of Court ~ because they hated the
lawyers generally, and Archbishop Sudbury,
the Chancellor in particular, Sudbury was
indiscreet enough to call the sufficiently irri-
tated Londoners "a shoeess rabblep' 1t was
an aspersion on their gentility. They, there
lore, donned their best shoes, went about st.
Pauls, took counsel together, grasped tight
hold OF their weapons, and murdered Sud
bury outright. The pious but angry fellows
made distinction. They would not lay rude
hand on the prelate, they only murdered the
Chancellor.
From a very early period, however, the
popular voice and. the popular presence esta
blished themselves somewhat rudely in St
Paul's. In Edward the Thirds time petty
dealers exposed their wares for sale inside the
church. The more sacred the day the NOR
active was the market; and the fair in nav,
and aisles was most thronged while service o.
sermon was going on within hearing. Will
this there was Worse sscrilege, such as Lam
beth Marsh and Bethnal Green cannot nov
match ON their worst Sundays. The summit
CiIhe pillars, their tracery work, and abou
r the rich cornices were the c0igns OF vantag
I occupied by multitudes of birds, especial.
pigeons and jackdaws. 1t was the deligh
of the London lads Of the day to carry
their bows and arrows to the interior of th
Cathedral and to amuse themselves ii
bringing down the birds, and with them, o.
course, some bit of sculptured ornamen
struck by their bolts. ALI sorts of nois.
=, games were at the same time carried on boil
) within and without the church. and man,
beautiful and costly painted window wa
mutilated by these Londoners, who were
however, sufficiently pious to pause for /
while when they were threatened with eX
communication. When the voice of tn
threstener died out and left no echo, the ap
prentioes and nice young gentlemen of thos
days were at their iniquitous fun again.
Meanwhile. every possible illustration c
ecclesiastical grandeur was to be seen ther
too; royal funeral pomps, marriage solemn
ties, episcopal enthronations, solemn convo
cations, fierce and uncharitable debatings, an
most memorable-the proclamation of tn
first capital sentence under the writ for burn
ing heretics, A. d. 400. The proclamatio
could not deter free inquirers from readin
the "Lantern of Light" which was goo
book that was a scandal TO ultra Papists.
These cried sire and fagot I" br
Vrepation of st. Paul's agreed with the
Bishop Pecock, who averred that ''the olerg
will be condemned at the last day, if by frt
will they draw not men into consent of trJ
faith otherwise than by fire and sword al
hapement." On the other hand, there We
men of authority in st. Paul's who would N
- take even a heretic's life but on warrant
Scripture. When a religious man desired
destroy Religious opponent who was skept
cal and inquiring, it was hard II he could n
find text that should suit his purpose.