pretty well had the tunes been adapted to the circumstances; but when they went up as high as F or G, alas for him! He made the attempt indeed, which is better than not to try at all, but he fell; the leap was beyond his power. He tried to take the high parts of the tune an octave lower than the proper pitch, but in these attempts he often turned somersets, though he did not always come down upon his feet. It was really pitiable to stand by him and witness his efforts; but yet the easier parts of the tune he would get right. From this example, we obtained sufficient proof of what Congregational tunes ought to be: simple and easy, so that they may be within the reach of all. St. Ann, Phuvah, Tallis, are good examples, (Cantica Laudis, p. 307.) Yet they need not all be of this rhythmic character; Olmutz, Hamburg, Marlow, are always good. Had one of these tunes been sung at the Wesleyan Chapel, the young man would have been saved from many falls and bruises. In the evening we went to Rev. Baptist Noel's chapel, where one is always sure of edification from the sermon if not from the psalms.

We have recently had an opportunity of attending a lesson on chanting, given by C. C. Spencer to the Rev. Mr. Brock's (Baptist) congregation. Mr. Spencer is well known as a warm friend of old psalmody, and especially by his "Explanation of the Church Modes." His manner of chanting is good, quite a different thing from that of the Cathedral choirs. The words are delivered about as fast as in speech, and time in the cadences is almost wholly disregarded. His beau ideal seems to require the absence of all regular division of time, or all that which we commonly call measured rhythmic effect. He is favorable to the unisonous singing of the old church tunes, and the congregation tried some of them under his direction with good results. I insert one of these chants exactly as he teaches it, and as the people on this occasion sang it.

1. I will extol thee, my God, O King;

And I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

2. Every day will I | bless-thee;

And I will praise thy name for | ever and ever. 3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be | prais-ed; And his greatness is un | search-able.

4. One generation shall praise thy works to an | o-ther; And shall declare thy | migh-ty acts.

5. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty ;

And of thy won-drous work.

6. And men shall speak of the might of thy | terrible acts; And I will declare thy great-ness.

7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great | good-ness; And shall sing of thy | righteous-ness.

8. The Lord is gracious and full of com | pas-sion; Slow to anger, and of great | mer-cy.

9. The Lord is good to all;

And his tender mercies are over | all-his works.

10. All thy works shall praise | thee, O Lord; And thy saints shall | bless-thee.

11. They shall speak of the glory of thy | king-dom,

And talk of thy power;

1

12. To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts,

And the glorious majesty of his | king-dom.

13: Thy kingdom is an everlasting | king-dom;

And thy dominion endureth throughout all gene | ra-tions.

14. The Lord upholdeth | all that fall;

And raiseth up all those that be | bow-ed down. 15. The eyes of all | wait upon thee;

And thou givest them their meat in due | sea-son. 16. Thou openest | thine-hand;

And satisfiest the desire of every | living thing. 17. The Lord is righteous in | all his ways,

And holy in all his works.

18. My mouth shall speak the | praise of the Lord;

And let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and | e-ver.

Mr. S. is giving a course of lessons to Mr. Brock's congregation on Chanting. It is but a few years since we had the honor of introducing chanting into some of the American churches (other than Episcopal) for the first time. At that time, perhaps some fifteen or twenty years ago, chanting had not been heard of in a dissenting congregation in England. Now it is common here to hear a congregation chant a Psalm. And it is often very well done, much better than we have often heard it by some four or six voices. It ought to be extended among the people, for its efficacy as a form of worship is most important. An anecdote related to me a few days ago is illustrative of this. When chanting was first introduced into the Weigh House chapel, (Rev. Mr. Binney's,) about four years since, it was received with almost universal favor from the first; but there was one good old man who made strong objection to it; it grieved him much; but as the people were almost all in favor of it, he yielded in a good Christian spirit, looked on his book during the exercise, and tried to submit patiently to that which he could not approve. The sixty-seventh Psalm was, and is, often chanted. Indeed, they have but very few selections from the Psalms that they use, nor have they more than two or three chants. Tallis' chant is the principal. The few

Psalms that they use, therefore, with the tunes, are well engraved upon the memory of the people. A few weeks since the old man died. When on his death-bed, he sent for his minister. Mr. Binney immediately obeyed the summons, and as he entered the sick chamber found the old man on his deathbed, with his Bible open before him, trying to chant the sixtyseventh Psalm.

We have lately had the pleasure of lecturing in several churches on the subject of Psalmody, and among others, Rev. Mr. Jefferson's, Stoke Newington. Mr. Jefferson's chapel stands right opposite to the spot where Sir Thomas Abney formerly lived, in whose hospitable mansion Dr. Watts for many years found a home. Although his church was in the city, he often preached here, and here he wrote many of his beautiful hymns. He was buried in the Abney Park Cemetery, and a monument has there been erected to his memory. On the plinth on the pedestal is the following:

En Memory

OF

ISAAC WATTS, D.D.;

And in testimony of the high and lasting esteem
in which his

Character and Writings are held in the great Christian Community by whom the English language is spoken.

Of his psalms and hymns it may be predicted, in his own words,

Ages unborn will make his songs
The joy and labor of their tongues.

He was born at Southampton, July 17, 1674,

and died Nov. 25, 1748,

After a residence of 36 years in the mansion of Sir Thomas Abney, Bart., then standing on these grounds.

Below this is an extract from Johnson's Life of Watts. The monument was erected in September, 1845.

298

SACRED HARMONIC SOCIETY.

LETTER L.

Sacred Harmonic Society-Samson-Christus-Spohr's Last Things.

LONDON, Jan. 11, 1853.

In a recent letter, we spoke of the different choral societies in London. Public performances by some one of them are very frequent; so frequent indeed, that we can find time for only now and then one. The first for the season was by the "Sacred Harmonic Society," under Mr. Costa, and consisted of a selection from "Samson," by Handel, Mendelssohn's "Christus," and "The Last Judgment," by Spohr. The death of the illustrious Duke gave a tinge to all the earlier concerts, and the "Dead March" in Saul was in constant requisition. On the present occasion, the selection from "Samson" consisted of the air, "Ye Sons of Israel," "Dead March," and chorus,

"Glorious hero, may thy grave
Peace and honor ever have."

The "Christus" by Mendelssohn, seems to be very popular, both among the singers and hearers. The chorale, "As bright the Star of Morning gleams," one of the best German chorales, and one that is very often heard in their churches, is brought in with fine effect after the chorus, "There shall a Star of Jacob come forth." Mendelssohn is always great in such choruses as "He stirreth up the Jews," "Crucify Him," and others in which he depends mostly upon orchestral effect, and in which he carries out his ideas of imitation or description with all the powers of modern instrumentation.

Spohr's oratorio was well given, the Gresham Professor himself being judge; for we had the honor of a seat by his side,