mation or in the Civil War. During the ascendancy of the Puritans
organ-building became a lost art, and at the Restoration it had to be
revived by foreigners, one of whom, Gerard Schmidt, nephew of 'Father
Schmidt,' built an organ for Ripon. This instrument was remodelled in
1833 by Booth of Leeds, and about 1878 the organ was rebuilt by T. C.
Lewis of Brixton, so that very little of Schmidt's work now remains. The
present case was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. Over the doorway in the
screen is a projecting wooden gallery, in good imitation of the
Perpendicular manner. This gallery, which dates probably from the time
of Schmidt, was occupied until comparatively recently by the organist.
From the front of it projects a well-carved hand, which, worked by a
pedal, could be made to beat time--a very interesting piece of
mechanism, which again probably dates from the time of Schmidt.

[Illustration: THE NORTH CHOIR AISLE.]

=The North Choir Aisle.=--The floor of the choir is now a step above that
of the aisles, and it may be further remarked that in both of them the
first bay is somewhat dark, being walled up on three sides; that in the
second bay the archway toward the choir is occupied by organ-pipes; that
a bench table runs along the side wall and the east end, and that the
latter portion is adorned with panelling of the same design with the
reredos.

In the north aisle the first three bays and a portion of the fourth are
Archbishop Roger's work, with the exception of the windows. The most
notable feature, as usual, is the vaulting-shafts, which spring from
above the string-course, and are in clusters of three. In each cluster
the central shaft is even thicker than the others, and the capitals,
which are carved with foliage of Norman character, share a common
five-sided abacus, while the bases are circular and rest on radiating
brackets smaller than themselves. These brackets, which are said to be
unique, have square corners and are moulded, but only on the front, and
their receding portion consists of a concave moulding containing a
convex block. In the north-west corner there is but a single shaft,
which rises from the bench-table, is banded at the string-course, and
has a square-topped capital. The vaulting has wall-ribs,
cross-springers, and groin-ribs, and is rather high-pitched. Upon the
cross-springers the mouldings are a large keeled round having on either
side a hollow between fillets, while the groin-ribs a