Cylchgronau Cymru

*■ pnjYSTH D6JDJE?Y nUGJEnjE * No. 86. Vol. VIII. FEBRUARY, 1900. Price One Penny. THE FABRIC OF THE CHURCH AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. (CONTIKTTBT) ) The Pavement. " The place whereon Thou standestis Holy Ground." This thought should ev«r be present with us when we tread the courts of God's House. Beneath lie the remains of the saintly dead, and the floors of many Churches hava brass tablets recording their names and date of their death. These brasses are valuable as works of art, and frequently throw light on the history of Churches, of religious foundations, and occasionally of private families. Encaustic tiles of various designs are frequently met with and are a great ornament to the Church Pavement The Walls. " Thou shalt call thy Walls Salvation, and thy Gates Praise." The inside walls of many of our Churches have often been disfigured by White-wash laid on to cover the dust and dirt, and alas has also hidden from view many beau¬ tiful works of art placed there by those who understood how to convey important truths through the eye as well as through the ear. I am told that this is the case in Llan¬ idloes Parish Church. By scraping off this White-wash many of these beautiful works of art have been brought to lisdit. e.g. many events in our Blessed Lord's Life ; His Nativity, The Visit of the Magi, The Massacre of the Innocents, The Flight into Egypt, The Presentation in the Temple, The Betrayal, The Crucifixion, The Descent from the Cross, The Burial, Resurrection, and The Ascension. These paintings not only suggest Holy Thoughts, but tend to make our Churches beautiful and worthy of Him who is to be worshipped there. The outside walls too have their lessons. Their strength and solidity should remind us of the generosity of our fore-fathers who built, for posterity as well as for themselves, and should put to shame our own niggardliness in what we do for God and His service. Llanidloes Church is a fine example of this, and is well worth our attention, especially the Tower situated at the West.End of the nave. It is of square form, massive and plain in construction, and surmounted by a wooden belfry. SUNDAY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. On Saturday the 2GMh January, the Annual Meet¬ ing of the above Association was held at the National School, Llanidloes, the Rural Dean presiding. There was a fairly good attendance, though many were unable to be present on Market Day, and some were absent through illness. The Secretary read the minutes which were approved and confirmed, and also the Report of the Examinations of the various Schools in the Deanery, which was considered satis factory. The next meeting was fixed to be held at Llangurig in May, subject to the approval of the Vicar, which has since been obtained. The Rural I>ean introduced the Rev. T Red fern, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Oswestry, who delivered a most practical address on Sunday School work, its defects and diffi¬ culties, how to remedy the former and over-eonae the latter, emphasizing especially the usefulness of what he called* Prayer" Book Drill. The address was listened to with much attention, and was frequently applauded. A vote of thanks was proposed to Mr. Redfern by the Vicar of Carno. and seconded by the Rural Dean, to which he briefly responded, and the meeting was closed with singing and prayer. All present afterwards partook of tea provided in the Schoolroom by Mrs. J. Davies. LLANIDLOES. Time flies so fast and the last month has been so crowded with interests other than parochial that it seems ancient history to mention the Christmas Party. But the object of this Magazine is to give, for the benefit of future generations as well as the present, an accurate record of parish events. Let us briefly note then that the party took place on Decem¬ ber 29th : there were not quite so many as usual pre¬ sent, but by general consent it was acknowledged to have been as pleasant an evening as any of its prede¬ cessors, and at the ' repeat' in the following week there were nearly if not quite as many present.. The music was good but rather expensive, so that only a small balance remains after paying expenses: it will be handed over to the National Schools. As announced, the Secretary of the Church of England Temperance Society paid us a visit on Mon¬ day, January 8th. The weather was as bad as it well could be, with heavy wind and driving drenching rain. Those who made an effort and braved the elements—and the lecturer confessed that he was surprised at the good attendance—were amply rewarded. Mr. Eardley Wilmot is one of the beet speakers we have heard for a long time, and his address was altogether admirable, eloquent, earnest and practical, and relieved more than once with charming wit and humour. We hope to have a meeting some time this month, to try to take action in accordance with his advice. The Committee to consider the,proposed decoration of the East End of the Parish Chuich has met several