he
eyes open. It represents not a dead Christ, but Christ reigning on the
Tree; above the head the Father's hand is shown surrounded at the wrist by
clouds. This may be taken to represent the pointing out of the beloved
Son, in whom the Father is well pleased, or we may suppose that the hand
has been extended downwards in answer to the words "Father, into Thy hands
I commend my spirit." Some clue to the date is given by a drawing in a
manuscript in the British Museum--the homilies of Archbishop AElfric (about
994)--in which a crucifix almost identical with this may be seen. By the
side of the figure is a rectangular recess, with small holes at the top
to carry off smoke: probably it was customary to keep a lamp or taper
constantly burning within this recess. The crucifix, considering its age
and position, is in a wonderful state of preservation. How it escaped
mutilation in the seventeenth century is hard to explain, for a crucifix
would be particularly obnoxious to the Puritan mind, and, standing as this
one does almost on the level of the ground, it would seem to have been
especially exposed to risk of destruction. Fortunately, however, it has
escaped with only the loss of part of the right forearm and shoulder.

[Illustration: THE SAXON ROOD]

Passing round the south face of the transept, we come to the #apsidal
chapel# attached to its eastern wall. (See illustration, p. 14.) The
round-headed windows and the original parapet are worthy of notice. Quite
recently a new high-pitched roof has been placed over this chantry. The
illustration shows it before this change was made. Beyond this we come to
the south aisle of the choir, with its three bays, each containing a
round-headed window. The arrangement here is rather peculiar. The east
wall of the choir, containing the two fourteenth-century windows side by
side, rises just to the east of the second bay; the outer eastern wall of
lower height at the extremity of the third bay is the east wall of the
ambulatory or retro-choir. This was originally pierced by two arches,
leading into the two parallel chapels, dedicated respectively to St. Mary
and St. Ethelfleda, which were built in the fourteenth century, taking the
place of two chapels, in Norman style, only about half their length
measured from west to east. These two chapels were pulled down after the
parish bought the church, to save the expense of keeping them in repair.
The two arches leading into them were built up