The little window over the Piscina tells of the vision of Isaiah (Isaiah vi. 11). “Then flew one of the seraphims, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Close to this little window is the Holy Table, from which is to be daily given the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the preservation of body and soul unto everlasting life, and it has seemed appropriate to tell nearby in stained glass the story of that earlier cleansing by the coal from off the altar.
THE MEMORIAL TABLET.
The chapel contains only one memorial inscription, which is in raised letters on the wall of the Piscina, and runs as follows:—
“A M D G maiores dilectos sive in Anglia sive ultra Atlanticum mare natos studio ac pietate prosecuti hoc sacellum Sancti Spiritus ædificandum atque ornandum curaverunt minores.
Violetta White Delafield.
Margarita Whitlock White.
Alain Campbell White.
Percy Copeland Morris.
Iohannes Ross Delafield.
Godofredus Grant Morris.
Margarita Picton Grant Morris.
Arturus Le Blanc Grant Morris.”
A. S. MDCCCCIX.
It is fitting that this little description should end with an acknowledgment of the deep obligation that we are under to all those, masters and men, men of various crafts and occupations, who have worked so efficiently and with such unremitting care in the erection of the little chapel. The task has been one of more than ordinary difficulty, owing to the cramped nature of the chapel site and the many details involved in its construction and decoration, but, despite the many difficulties, all employed upon the work have cheerfully given the best of their skill and experience to the successful accomplishment thereof, and a special word of thanks is due to Mr. A. J. White, the Clerk of the Works, and to Mr. Ward, the Work’s Foreman to Messrs. Collins & Godfrey, of Tewkesbury, the contractors.
The chapel itself will, we hope, always stand as a beautiful reminder of the deep debt of thanks that St. Peter’s owes to Mr. W. D. Caröe, its architect and designer.
Longfellow once wrote of a great minster:—
“So, as I enter here from day to day,
And leave my burden at this minster gate,
Kneeling in prayer and not ashamed to pray,
The tumult of the time disconsolate
To inarticulate murmurs dies away,
Whilst the eternal ages watch and wait.”
Those who have given this little chapel to St. Peter’s cherish the hope that perhaps to many of those who may hereafter pray therein may come that spirit of peace and rest so beautifully suggested by the New England poet.
Wightman & Co., Ltd., Printers, Westminster, S.W.