The first column gives the area, (in square feet,) enclosed within the walls, measured (as usual) not on the floor, but just above any plinths.

The second is the greatest internal length, (in feet,) including, in both cases, all towers, chapels, vestries, and other appendages, architecturally part of the church, and open to it, or easily capable of being so. Thus the galilees of Durham and Ely are included, and Henry VII.'s Chapel at Westminster, and all similar projections, however low or narrow. Indeed, York and Lincoln alone, of all the churches down to Beverley, carry their full width and height through their entire length. Ely, without its galilee, which is practically only a porch, shows the same unbroken length as Lincoln, and more than Winchester; but the galilee gives it the greatest visible internal length of any, as that of Winchester is not visible. I exclude towers not open to the church, such as St. Michael's, Coventry; and porches, crypts, and chapter-houses, with their approaches; and the Lady Chapel or Trinity Church of Ely, which is as distinct as any chapterhouse; and, à fortiori, that of St. Alban's, which is quite cut off, and is a school. If they were added, it would add a hundred and seven feet to the length of St. Alban's, four thousand two hundred feet to the area of Ely, five thousand five hundred feet to York, and proportionately less to the thirteen other cathedrals marked C, which still have chapter-houses, including Southwell Minster.

area

It is more common to compare churches by what is called their " covered;" and that is taken to mean the space that would be bounded by a wall just outside the buttresses,-which makes the area of the church depend on the depth of the buttresses, and sometimes includes many thousand feet of grass, not covered by the church at all, and would give King's Chapel and Amiens Cathedral credit for no less area, if the spaces between the buttresses were left outside, instead of being enclosed within the church. The importance of the distinction will appear from the two areas I give for King's, and still more from this :-Cologne has hitherto had credit for being the largest Northern Gothic church, whereas, in fact, (according to Mr. Fergusson's plans and figures, which, he says, I may rely on,) Cologne contains a less area than Amiens, and four thousand five hundred feet less than York. Old St. Paul's contained one-eighth more than York, though it was rather narrower; but it was about six hundred feet long, and the transept three hundred feet.

The third column is the width across the nave and aisles, of which Chichester, Manchester, Coventry, and Kendal have four, and Leeds three; all the rest have two. The entire width in the cathedral and abbey churches, except Lincoln, is generally twice that of the nave alone, between the centres of the pillars; which also makes the clear width of the nave twice that of each aisle. But the height bears no such definite relation to the clear width as has been sometimes looked for. It would have been better if it did, and if it were always twice and a half the clear width, as it is at Salisbury, Canterbury, Norwich, Beverley, Chichester, and the nave of Winchester, and was in Old St. Paul's. The apparent lowness of Lincoln

(its only fault) comes from the clear width being about half the entire width, and half the height.

The real rule (right or wrong) evidently was to make the height of the main vault equal to the entire width of the nave or choir and their two aisles. It holds no less in the great choir of York than in the comparatively small vaults of Christ Church, (Hants,) Sherborne, and Redcliffe,― disregarding minute differences, as the great builders always did. Of the first twenty-one churches in the list, (putting Old St. Paul's for New,) on y Worcester and Lichfield materially fall short of it, and the choirs of Winchester and Lincoln. Westminster alone exceeds it greatly, being a hundred and three feet high. Even King's Chapel is exactly as high as its entire width-seventy-eight feet; notwithstanding its peculiar construction, and its vault being as wide as that of York, which is not of stone. The aisle vaults are generally about half as high as the nave.

The width and height of the choirs or chancels in these churches are so generally the same as of the nave, that it is not worth while to distinguish them. The only cases worth mentioning are the choir of York, eight feet higher and six feet narrower than the nave, which is certainly too low; the Ripon choir, which is nineteen feet narrower than its very wide nave, but no lower; and that of Durham, seven feet narrower than its nave. The Winchester and Canterbury choirs are rather wider. In unvaulted parish churches no rule is observed, except that old cross churches never have choirs and naves of different heights outside, except from alterations. The heights of their ceilings or open roofs run from forty-six feet at Newcastle to seventy-two feet at Doncaster. Boston, and a few of the smaller churches, have no chancel aisles.

The last column is the length of the transept, or of the great or west transept where there are two, as at Lincoln, Durham, Salisbury, Canterbury, Worcester, Wells, Beverley, Redcliffe, and St. Paul's, and the small church of Patrington; besides the north transept of Westminster, and the south of Chester, which is strangely the longest of them all, though its north transept is almost none. Beverley alone has a double-aisled great transept, and a small one with an eastern aisle besides. Lincoln, Salisbury, Canterbury, Hereford, Durham, Peterborough, Lichfield, and Ripon have eastern aisles or chapels to their great transepts; and the first four of these, to their small transepts also. None have west aisles only.

Bridlington is only the nave of a church, which must have been larger than Beverley Minster. Bristol, Carlisle, Llandaff, and Hereford have lost all or part of their naves; and Selby, its south transept. I give them as they are.

The highest spires, &c., are-Salisbury, 404ft.; St. Paul's, 356ft.; Coventry, 320ft.; Norwich, 309ft.; Louth, 294ft.; Grantham, 274ft; Chichester, 271ft.; Newark (not known accurately); Lichfield, 252ft.; Wakefield, 247ft.; and several, not of this list, said to be about 240ft. Boston tower is 268ft.; Lincoln, 262ft.; Canterbury, 229ft.; Gloucester, and the two of Westminster, 225ft.; Ely and Durham, 215ft.; the three

of York, and the two west towers of Lincoln and Beverley, are, and Worcester probably will be, all about 200ft.; All Saints', Derby, 180ft.; Doncaster, 170ft.; Wells, 166ft.; Bath and Ludlow, 162ft. Beside these, I know of none certainly above 150ft., and those not of this list. of towers must be received with caution.

Heights

TRANS

AREA.
FEET.

A LORD'S DAY IN OLD SIDON.

A MISSIONARY of the American Board gives the following account of the services of a memorable Lord's day in this ancient city, where, (as he reminds us,) as early as the days of Paul, there were found Christian friends with whom the apostle could "refresh himself," when on his way to Rome, "a prisoner of Jesus Christ."

Sidon, February 19th, 1864.

NEW PROTESTANT CHURCH AT SIDON: OPENING SERVICES.

SABBATH before last witnessed the dedication to God of the first house of spiritual worship that has been built in Sidon for many a century, if, indeed, there was ever such a one built here. Evangelical worship has, indeed, been established in this city for nearly or quite fourteen years; but it has always been celebrated in a private house, and latterly the only apartments which could be secured for this purpose were so unsuitable, and so inconvenient of access, that none could be expected to resort thither except those who had a very earnest and decided interest in the truth. To remedy this evil was not an easy matter when the congregation was so small and so poor, and while the policy of our Missionary Board (wisely enough) prohibits us from asking money of them to build churches, even at the more important stations. But God raised up for us a friend in our need; and through the liberality of [the late] Hugh Tennent, Esq., of Glasgow, the "Well-Park Chapel" has been erected. It is a neat edifice,―small, indeed, compared with ordinary churches in Christian lands; but large enough, as we supposed, for any audience we were likely to see gathered in it for some years to come. But on the Sabbath referred to, it being generally known that the chapel was to be dedicated, and that the sermon would be preached by Dr. Van Dyck, of Beyrout, whose labours for the people of Sidon in former years have greatly endeared

him to them all, a crowd gathered larger than could be accommodated, at least in the part appropriated to the men; so that quite a number went away, unable to find an entrance. The preacher most forcibly described the essential requisites of a house intended for the spiritual worship of God, as contrasted with the darkened temples devoted to superstitious rites, or the ostentatious piles on which is too often wasted the wealth of even Protestant Christians,-wealth that might carry the bread of life to thousands who are perishing for lack of it. The sermon was listened to with deep attention, and seemed to bring home the truth to all hearts, even those of the Papists who were present. In the afternoon a goodly number assembled for the celebration of the Lord's Supper, when two new members were admitted to the communion, and the ordinance of baptism was also administered. It was a day of joy and hope to the little band of Evangelical Christians in Sidon, not only as giving them a place wherein they can worship God with propriety and cheerfulness, but as offering a prospect that the words of saving truth will thus reach very many who would never have come to hear them in our former obscure and gloomy place of meeting.

The location of the new chapel is central and convenient; and it is invested with additional interest in the eyes of the Sidonians, from its having been the site of the Moslem court of law, a place esteemed by the Mohammedans nearly as sacred as the mosque. Here for many years

was the focus of Moslem fanaticism, and Christians could not pass it without trembling. Both Christians and Moslems are astonished to see it now converted into a church; and we ourselves cannot but wonder that we have been enabled to obtain possession of such a place, and erect there a Christian church without a word of opposition, or even a question asked from any quarter whatever. It is surrounded by Moslem houses, and the minarets of two mosques rise in rather close proximity; and yet our bell rings out the summons to the worship of Jesus, without the least manifestation of displeasure. We feel that the hand of God is in it; and we are encouraged to believe that He will make this a house to His praise and glory, and the gate of heaven to many souls. Will not all who read these lines pray that it may be even so?

PAGES FOR THE YOUNG.

NO. XIX. THE STUDY OF GRASSES.

GRASSES Constitute so large a division of the vegetable kingdom, and mingle in so many forms with the varied scenes of nature, as to demand from the botanist the most assiduous and careful study. There is no part of the world but in which some members of the family are to be found. In the tropics they rival oaks in magnitude, and mingle with the arborescent

* Abridged from "The Gardener's Weekly Magazine, and Floricultural Cabinet," conducted by Shirley Hibberd, Esq.