198 WHIP AND SPUR. 



alone of all the richness of the old church out- 

 lived its desecration, and, as by a miracle, was 

 preserved to tell these later generations of the 

 higher art our forefathers' sons forgot." 



As he spoke, we stood within the charmed light 

 of the nine windows of the apse, — windows which 

 have perhaps no remaining equals in the world, 

 and before which one can only bow in admiration 

 and regret for an art that seems forever lost. 

 Holding me fast by the arm, he went on : — 



" In the restoration of the church, the spandrels 

 of the old windows were rebuilt, and the frames 

 were set with plain glass, to the sad defacement 

 of the edifice ; and so they stood for nigh two 

 hundred years, no art being equal to their worthy 

 replacement, and no ancient store to the supply- 

 ing of so large a demand. 



" But listen, now, how the hand of Heaven shel- 

 tered its own, and how true servants of the Church 

 are ever guided to reclaim its lost splendor. 



"A few years ago, a canon of the cathedral, 

 travelling in Flanders, wishing to contribute to 

 the renewed work of restoration, visited the dis- 



