Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-07-25
YOUTHS COLUMN.

st. Nicholas day and the Chiid-
Bishops Of Salisbury. In the long ago
times. when great attention was PAID
TO the observance of saints days. II
was very natural that st. Nicholas
Day. the 9th of December. should DO
celebrated by the children, especially
in the schools, and wherever many were
gathered together for any purpose; ana
so we find traces of many odd and IN
teresting customs connected with tho
observance of the festival. But no
where was it celebrated with greater
solemnity. or in more singular way,
than at Salisbury, in Old England. 1t
was there the custom to choose from
among the chOristers-the bOy-singers
of the cathedral-an episcopus puerorum
which means, as those who nave
studied Latin know. a "bishOp OF the
boys" In old English he was called
the "barne bishop" or "chyld byshop,D
that is, child bishop From the feast
of st. Nicholas until lnnOcent's Day,
the 2Sth of December, this child bishop
was invested with great authority, ana
maintained all the state of real pre-
late of the church. He wore bishops
robes and miter, and carried In his
hand the pastoral staff OF crOzier, while
the rest of the chOrlsters attended him
as prebendaries, and yielded to him
the same obedience which was shown
by the real officials to their superior.
the bishop. Upon the eve of lnnocents'
Day,-a day observed In memory of the
innocent children murdered by HerOd.
the y-bishop, attended by his fel-
low chOristers in rich cOpes, with
lighted tapers in their hands, went in
solemn procession to the altar of the
Holy Trinity. As they marched along,
three of the children chanted hymns
The dean and canons walked at the
head of the procession, the chaplain
next, and the bishop, with his little
prebendaries, in the place of honor,
last of all. The bishop then took his
seat upon a throne, while the rest OF
the children were arranged on each
side of the choir upon the uppermOst
ascent. They then performed ut the
altar the same service, with the eXcep-
tiOn of the mass, that the real bishop
and his clergy would have performed
had they officiated. After service. all
left the church In the same solemn
order. Such a singular ceremony must
have excited great curiosity among the
people who filled the cathedral on the
holiday, and we can well imagine that
there would have been much confusion
and disturbance but for severe law
which forbade any person to press upon
the children, or to hinder or interrupt
them In any way, upon pain OF excom-
municatiOn. One can fancy that he
sees the lirtle fellows with their long
faces, filed with sense of their mo-
mentary dignity, marching sOlemnly
up the aisle, while the rude crowd on
either hand pushes and jOstles, each
man trying to elbow himself into
place where he can see the odd and at
tractive spectacle, What did they
think of 1t. these child-priests of dayi
Did they feel that they were taking
part in a sacred ceremony, or was it
simply a novel kind of play to themf
We cannot tell. But as for the boy
bishop, although he may have enjoyed
the importance of his position for day
or two, | am quite sure that ne must
have grown heartily tired of his dignity
before the three weeks of his episcOpate
were over. During all that time he
was forbidden ito feast or to make
visits" but was required to stay in the
common room of the chOristers. keep
ing up the dignity of his office. Think
of the little fellow, compelled to act
his part with all the gravity of a grown
person, sitting in solemn state while
his light-hearted playfellOws were per-
haps rompIng iii the cathedral close, or
even making sly attempts TO disturb
his composure.-St. Nicholas.