superpellicea, given to it because it is worn immediately over the cassock. The surplice, the alb, the rochet and the cotta are all variants of the same original garment, though each has now been modified for special uses. It is fundamentally a long white linen robe made to slip on over the head, and having ample sleeves, widening down to the hands, and hanging in graceful folds. It seems to be a lineal descendant of the tunica talaris of the Roman citizen, though it also resembles the Mosaic tunic of the Levitical priest. It has passed through many changes of shape and style. Two hundred years ago in the Church of England, for example, it was made open all down the front, and fastened at the neck with a button, so that it could be assumed without disarranging the enormous and amazing fullbottomed wigs which were then in fashion. Such an alteration made the vestment quite ineffective for the inner purposes for which it is really intended, but its wearers neither knew nor cared about such matters. The modern Roman surplice has in many places become a mere travesty-a garment of ridiculous and indecorous appearance, absurdly short and edged with lace, irresistibly suggesting the skirt of a ballet-dancer. In other places the original hole which should be just large enough for the head has become a sort of broad square yoke resting upon the shoulders, after the fashion of a smock-frock or the costume of some modern milkmen. All these vagaries should be avoided, as they interfere with the usefulness of the vestment, and were evidently introduced by men who were ignorant of its value for ecclesiastical work.

I do not think that we need trouble ourselves overmuch about the symbolical meanings which churchmen have attached to the various vestments, for they differ so widely among themselves that it is obviously largely a matter of individual fancy. It is however a pretty conceit to see in the whiteness of the surplice an emblem of the purity of life so necessary for those who would truly serve our Lord; and it helps to impress on the wearer the advisability of frequently washing and ironing the garment, so that it may more closely typify that virtue. All this fits it the better for the work which it is intended to do.

To understand this we must remember that vestments have several functions. Some protect the wearer, acting as a shield against disturbing influences; others afford him an opportunity to store up his forces, and yet others are arranged for their easy distribution. Sometimes the outflow of divine power is definitely and entirely from outside, as in the Celebration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament; sometimes it is intended to work principally through an intensification of the natural forces of the priest. Our Lord links His priests to Himself specially closely at their ordination, and this link can never be lost, though the priest may strengthen it by his devout use of it, or may attenuate it by carelessness or persistent forgetfulness of it. In all the services of the Church, except those connected with the Holy Eucharist, the Lord utilizes this link as the channel of His power; and when this is done the surplice is the most convenient vestment. It plays a part which in a small way may be compared

with that of the thought-edifice at the Eucharist, for inside it the force condenses and accumulates, linen being nearly impervious to these vibrations, and therefore a good insulator. The priest pours out the gathered energy upon his people when he raises his right hand in absolution or benediction, or throws out both in the Dominus vobiscum; hence the use of the wide sleeves. There is also a steady outflow through the stole, with which we shall deal later. The surplice (Plate 21) of the Liberal Catholic priest should be of linen, long enough to hang below the knee; it should have a circular opening for the head, as small as is consistent with convenience, and sleeves coming down to the wrists, and wide enough to reach the sides when the arms are fully extended at the level of the shoulder. The band round the neck-hole should be plain, and all folds and gathers in that part of the vestment should be most carefully avoided, as they detract seriously from its utility. It should have no buttons, nor should it be edged or ornamented with lace.

I am inserting a series of photographs of the vestments of the Church especially in order that our priests may see what forms have been found most suitable from the inner point of view for the ready conveyance of the higher forces involved; and I trust that those who are kind enough to make vestments of any sort for our priests will be so good as to follow closely the patterns here represented. The distribution of the forces is the object of the wearing of this special garb, and its fitness for that purpose must never be sacrificed to the private preferences of the maker or wearer.

THE COTTA

This (Plate 21) is a shorter form of the surplice, made in exactly the same way, but hanging only halfway down the thigh, with short wide sleeves reaching to a little below the elbows. The bottom of the cotta and the ends of the sleeves are edged with lace. In the Liberal Catholic Church it is worn only by boy acolytes, not by the clergy or choirmen. Its inner use is to protect all the more important organs of the body from unpleasant outside influences, such as may readily fall upon those whose duties require them to move among or near a mixed congregation.

THE STOLE

The stole (Plate 21) is a narrow strip of silk or of embroidered work, much like a ribbon, usually three or four inches in width in the middle, six or seven inches in width at the ends, and eight feet long. It is generally edged on both sides with gold cord or braid, and has a deep gold fringe at each end. In the middle ages this fringe was often made of strings of pearls or other other jewels, interspersed with tiny golden bells; but that is not the custom at the present day.

The stole may be comparatively plain or very richly ornamented; but it always bears three gold crosses, one at each end, and one (much smaller) in the middle. This smaller cross is kissed by the priest before he puts the stole over his head; it rests at the back of the neck while the ends of the stole hang down in front to about the knees of the wearer. These ends often widen out slightly to allow room for larger crosses. About the eighteenth