No. V.—Vol. I., p. 261.
Letters patent on parchment are attached to the sealed books. A copy of the letter is given in Stephens’ edition of the Prayer Book, published by the Ecclesiastical History Society.
After reciting the Act of Uniformity, it is said, “And whereas the printed copy of the Act of Parliament, and Book aforesaid hereunto annexed, hath been duly examined by the persons, whose names are thereunto subscribed, in pursuance of our Commission to them and others in that behalf directed. Now know ye, that, we according to the form and effect of the said Act of Parliament, and in accomplishment of the intent thereof, in this behalf, have inspected the said examined copy of the Act of Parliament and Book aforesaid, and have caused the same to be hereunto annexed, and to be exemplified under the Great Seal of England. In witness, &c.,——; signed Barker.” No copy of the Commission is supplied, nor the names of the Commissioners.
In the sealed books alterations are made by the pen of the Commissioners to bring them into accordance with the copy of the book attached to the Act. Most of these are quite unimportant. For example:—
1. In the titles of the services, “The” is prefixed to the word collect.
2. In the headings of the pages, “Trinity Sunday XXIII” is altered into “The XXIII Sunday after Trinity.”
“Whitsun Munday” into “Munday in Whitsun Week.”
It is important to notice, that the title “The Creed of St. Athanasius” was printed originally, in the sealed books, on the top of the page over the creed; it was then struck out by the Commissioners.
3. In the text of prayers:
In the sentences at beginning of morning prayer, it was printed, “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities:” “all” was struck out. “Forgiveness” was altered into “Forgivenesses.”
In the clause of the Lord’s Prayer “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory,” the first “and” is cancelled.
In the Absolution, “Wherefore let us beseech Him,” is changed into “Wherefore beseech we Him.”
In the sealed book at Chichester, Dr. Swainson pointed out to me in Psalm xc. verse 8, as used in the Burial Service, light corrected into sight; and in verse 12 so into O. Some of our modern Prayer Books retain the O, but have given up the sight.
4. In the Rubric, at the end of the Communion Service, the words, “for the whole state of Christ’s Church militant here on earth,” are inserted, by the Commissioners, in some sealed books, after an erasure of the original printed words.
Many of the alterations cannot be corrections of the printer’s errata. They evidently indicate changes of words made in the original copy after the printing of the books which were used as sealed copies.
In the Appendix to the first Report of the Royal Commission on Ritual will be found remarks upon the sealed copy at Ely.
It is strange that the printers of Prayer Books do not bring them into correspondence with the sealed books, which alone contain the legally correct formularies of the Church.