The Ordway new era., 1920-09-24

tnan bNOtHeT III IDuuou WhiSh
has suffered through the vicissi-
tudes of time it Is the church of
st. Bartholomew the Great In Smith
field. II there is one charitable In
stitution which through long centuries
has ministered to the needs of the suf-
fering poor 1t is st. Bartholomew
hospital, hard by. writes Ernest III.
Ram in the Boston Transcript.
Church and hospital are insepara-
BILE In their history and associations.
They stand together today close to the
great meat market OF the metropolis,
where In ancient times, on the
''smooth-field" (Smithfeid, tournG-
ments were held, where the dagger of
Walworth struck down Jack Cade,
and where martyrs passed Through
the gate of fire" for conscience sake,
the while the cruel and implacable
heads of the church looked on at their
sufferlngs.
The history of the hospital has just
been told in two sumptuous volumes
by Sir Norman Moore, one of Its most
famous physicians, and this must be
our excuse for redlscovering one of
the most fascinating corners of an
cient London
Rahere's Divine Vision.
It is of the church that one must
speak first II we are to have clear
cut understanding of all that is con-
veyed by the magic word "Bart's."
For the noble charity of which Sir
Norman Moore discourses so eloquent
ly was originally only part of the
larger scheme of the immense church
of st. Bartholomew the Great, with
its college of canons of the Order of
st. Augustine. popularly known as the
Black Canons from the color of their
distinctive hood.
Carry your mind back to the days
when Henry 1 ruled England. At
tendant on his court was a favorite
named Rahere. who. touched with the
religious enthusiasm of the day. deter
mined on pilgrimage to Rome by
this act OF penitence hoping to obtain
complete forgiveness of his sins. At
ter much toll he reached the city and
duly bewailed his sins; but before
long he fell sick. and feeling that his
end was nigh he vowed that should
he recover he would build hospital
for the healing of the poor.
One night on his way home, he
dreamed that he found himself on the
edge of deep and dreadful pit, into
which he feared to fall, when suddenly
st. Bartholomew appeared to him and
promised that if he would build
church in Smithfield he should have
help. Rohere promised, and when he
awoke he felt that this was indeed n
divine vision. and that he must obey
the behest of the blessed saint. So
when, after much trouble, he obtained
from the king a grant of land in
Smithfield he set to work to carry out
the two-fold task of plety, to build a
hospital for the poor and nearby
church.
Thus arose the hospital of st. Bar
tholomew and the church. OF the lat
Ter, Rahere became the first prior;
but which was completed first cannot
be decided, though 1t appears that but
short space of time separated the
two. This was in the year 1123. and
ever since. for nearly 800 years, the
hospital has continued to carry out
the objects of its founder.
Beautiful Tomb of the Founder.
When Rnhere died in 1143 he was
buried on the north side of the sanctu-
ary, the customary position for a
founder. and his grave and tomb have
been preserved to THIS day. The beau
tifui tomb is probably the Oldest in
England. for 1t has endured undese-
Grated for eight centuries.
Bit by bit the great church was
completed. 1t drew immense revenues
from the three days fair held at the
Feast of st. bartholomew, the charter
for which Rahere had obtained ten
years before his death, and to this