t bearing his
light and his bell. In some town parishes he was ordered always to be at
hand ready to accompany the priest on his errands of mercy. It was a
grievous offence for a clerk to be absent from this duty. In the parish
of St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, the clerks were not allowed "to go or
ride out of the town without special licence had of the vicar and
churchwardens, and at no time were they to be out of the way, but one of
them had always to be ready to minister sacraments and sacramentals, and
to wait upon the Curate and to give him warning." This custom of the
clerk accompanying the priest when visiting the sick was not abolished
at the Reformation. _The Parish Clerk's Guide_, published by the
Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks in 1731, the history of which it
will be our privilege to investigate, states that the holders of the
office "are always conversant in Holy Places and Holy Things, such as
are the Holy Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; yea and in the
most serious Things too, such as the Visitation of the Sick, when we do
often attend, and at the Burial of the Dead."

[Illustration: THE CLERK ACCOMPANYING THE PRIEST WHEN VISITING THE SICK]

[Illustration: THE CLERK ATTENDING THE PRIEST, WHO IS ADMINISTERING THE
LAST SACRAMENT]

Occupied with these numerous duties, engaged in a service which
delighted him, his time could never have hung heavy on his hands.
Faithful in his dutiful services to his rector, beloved by the
parishioners, a welcome guest in cot and hall, and serving God with all
his heart, according to his lights, he could doubtless exclaim with
David, _Laetus sorte mea_.

CHAPTER IV

THE DUTIES OF READING AND SINGING

The clerk's highest privilege in pre-Reformation times was to take his
part in the great services of the church. His functions were very
important, and required considerable learning and skill. When the songs
of praise echoed through the vaulted aisles of the great church, his
voice was heard loud and clear leading the choirmen and chanting the
opening words of the Psalm. As early as the time of St. Gregory this
duty was required of him. In giving directions to St. Augustine of
Canterbury the Pope ordered that clerks should be diligent in singing
the Psalms. In the ninth century Pope Leo IV directed that the clerks
should read the Psalms in divine service, and in 878 Archbishop Hincmar
of Rheims issued some articles of inquiry to his Rural Deans, asking,