A problem in the gallery

The West end was entirely blocked with a gallery; there sat the “music” and in front hung the Royal Arms. One day, when the “Magnificat” was being sung, the noise of a fall was heard in the gallery. The music stopped and the people sat down as unconcernedly as if the end had been reached. The vicar, dismayed at the behaviour of the congregation, bent over to the clerk, asking, “What does all this mean?” With an undisturbed countenance, the clerk replied, “It’s only Jim – in a fit.” Jim was carried out, laid on a tombstone to recover and the bearers tramped to the gallery. Then the congregation stood up and the “Magnificat” was proceeded with.