“Or, again, take the substances used by the Church in certain ceremonies:  water, wine, ashes, salt, oil, balsam, incense.  Incense, besides representing the divinity of the Son, is likewise the symbol of prayer, ‘thus devotio orationis’ as it is described by Raban Maur, Archbishop of Mayence in the ninth century.  I happen to remember also, a propos of this resin and the censer in which it is burnt, a verse I read long since in the ‘Monastic Distinctions’ of the anonymous English writer of the thirteenth century, which sums up their signification more neatly than I can: 

    ’vas notatur,
    Mens pia; thure preces; igne supernus amor.’

The vase is the spirit of piety; the incense, prayer; the fire, divine love.

“As to water, wine, ashes, and salt, they are used in compounding a precious ointment used by the bishop when consecrating a church.  They are mingled to sign the altar with the cross, and to sprinkle the aisles:  the water and wine symbolize the two natures united in Our Lord; the salt is divine wisdom; the ashes are in memory of His Passion.

“Balsam, as you know, is emblematical of virtue and good repute, and is combined with oil, signifying peace and wisdom, to compose the sacramental ointment.

“Think, too,” the priest went on, “of the pyx, in which the transubstantiated elements are preserved, the consecrated oblations, and note that in the Middle Ages these little cases were formed in the figure of a dove and contained the Host in the very image of the Paraclete and the Virgin; this was well done, but here is something better.  The jewellers of the time carved ivory and gave these little shrines the form of a tower.  Is not the sentiment exquisite of our Lord dwelling in the heart of the Virgin, the Ivory Tower of the Canticles?  Is not ivory indeed the most admirable material to serve as a sanctum for the most pure white flesh of the Sacrament?”

“It is certainly mystical, and far more appropriate than the vessels of every form, the ciboria of silver-gilt, of aluminum, of silver of these days.”

“And need I remind you that the liturgy assigns a meaning to each vestment, each ornament of the Church, according to its use and form?

“Thus, for instance, the surplice and alb signify innocence; the cord that serves as a girdle is an emblem of chastity and modesty; the amice, of purity of heart and body—­the helmet of salvation mentioned by Saint Paul.  The maniple, of good works, vigilance, and the tears and sweat poured out by the priest to win and save souls; the stole, of obedience, the clothing on of immortality given to us in baptism; the dalmatic, of justice, of which we must give proof in our ministrations; the chasuble, of the unity of the faith, and also of the yoke of Christ.

“But the rain has not ceased, and I must nevertheless be gone, for I have a penitent waiting for me,” exclaimed the Abbe, looking at his watch.  “Will you come the day after to-morrow at about two o’clock?  We will hope it may be fine enough to examine the outside of the Cathedral.”