No. II.—Vol. I., p. 244.

The following important Memorandum from W. J. Thoms, Esq., House of Lords, on the MS. Prayer Book attached to the Act of Uniformity, 1662, occurs in the Appendix to the Minutes of Evidence taken before the Royal Commission on Ritual:—

“In the course of a conversation with the Dean of Westminster on Tuesday week (30th July), after calling my attention to a pamphlet of Mr. Hull on the subject of the supposed loss of the Book of Common Prayer attached to the Act of Uniformity, the Dean expressed a wish to see the tower (formerly a portion of the Abbey) in which the original Acts of Parliament were till lately kept, the rooms in the Victoria Tower where the Acts are now deposited, and the Act of Uniformity itself. I promised to make the necessary arrangements for his doing so, on the following Thursday (1st August).

“My attention having been called by the Dean to the Prayer Book before alluded to, when settling with the person who arranges the Acts in the Victoria Tower to be in the way at the time the Dean had appointed to come, I spoke to him about the book; and he then told me, that when the Acts were removed, he had found, among other books, MS. Journals, &c., a Manuscript Prayer Book, which he had handed over to the Chief Clerk, Mr. Smith. I at once felt satisfied that that was the book respecting which there seems to have been so much mistaken anxiety; but the accidental absence of Mr. Smith prevented my then examining the book; and until I had seen it, and positively ascertained the fact, I thought it better, in case I should prove mistaken, not to mention to the Dean that the book was in Mr. Smith’s custody.

“Mr. Smith, who came to me in the Library a few minutes after the Dean had left, at once said the Prayer Book was in his custody, showed it to me, and I communicated the fact on the same evening to the Dean.

“William J. Thoms.

“Library, House of Lords,
“8th August, 1867.”

“An inspection of this MS. Prayer Book has proved to the Commissioners that the ‘Order for Morning and Evening Prayer daily to be said and used throughout the year,’ is identical in all respects with that which is ordinarily prefixed to the Book of Common Prayer.”

It would be beyond my purpose to attempt a description of these books—indeed no full and correct idea of their appearance and contents could be supplied except by a fac-simile reprint of them, which I hope will be some day published—but in the meanwhile I will present the reader with a transcript of the list of alterations inserted at the beginning of the MS. volume. This copy was carefully compared with the original by Mr. Thoms and myself.

With the MS. volume now in the Library of the House of Lords, there is also a copy of the Prayer Book, printed by Robert Barker, in 1636, containing alterations of the text made with a pen in a very neat hand, believed to be that of Sancroft. I have been permitted to inspect these volumes on three occasions; and there are two instances of alterations made in the printed copy, and in the MS. book, so curious, and indeed important, that I will transfer them to these pages.

The first relates to a passage at the end of the service for the public baptism of infants. In the printed book it stands thus:—

“It is certain by God’s Word, children persons w^ch are
that children being baptized, dying before they committ actuall sinne are
have all things necessary for their salvation, and be undoubtedly saved.”

The MS. book presents the same sentence thus:—

“It is certain by God’s Word, that children which are baptized, dyeing before they commit actuall sin, are undoubtedly saved.”

The second instance relates to the last rubric prefixed to the Communion service. In the printed book it stands thus:—

“Most convenient place in the upper end of y^e chancel (or of y^e body of y^e church where there is no chancel.”

“The table at the communion time having a fair white linnen cloth upon it shall stand in the body of the church or in the chancell
body of the church or in the chancell where morning prayer and evening
where morning prayer and evening prayer are appointed to be said.
prayer be appointed to be said. And the priest standing [611]at
at the north part side
side of the table, shall say the Lord’s Prayer with the
the collect following” [MS., y^e people kneeling.]

In the MS. book it appears thus:—

“The table at the Communion time having a fair white linen cloth upon it, shall stand in the body[612] of the church, or
or convenient place in the upper end of the chancel where Morning and Evening Prayer are appointed to be said.
or of the body of the church where there is no chancel.

And the priest standing at[613] the north side
part of the table, shall say the Lord’s Prayer with the Collect followeing, the people kneeling.”