tion of the Western Church; and which, there can be no manner of doubt, will be our own ecclesiastical notation again. And strange tunes! Why, half of them are like household words all over Western Europe; and it so happens that those which are not, and which in a certain degree are peculiar to the Sarum, are by very much more simple, and less "strange," than the others. So much for slap-dash criticism. We We shall return, however, to these melodies in a moment. shall now simply express our warmest thanks to the editor of this Hymnal for his most valuable work, to which, we again repeat, we know nothing, in its own way, equal;—and shall proceed to the book fifth on our list. This contains a collection of hymns from about eighty Breviaries, some of which are almost inaccessible to the ordinary English scholar, arranged in the usual ecclesiastical order. Those per Hebdomadam are almost entirely from the more modern Gallican Breviaries. A good number, in most utter contrast to these, are from the Mozarabic; the rudest of Christian hymns. Mr. Neale has avoided, for the most part, those which could easily be procured from other quarters; and his work therefore is rather to be looked on as a supplement to the labours of others, than as a substitute for them. There are some curious hymns from Spanish and Portuguese Breviaries: e.g. Zamora, Seville, Braga; and the partial resemblance between the Breviaries of Braga and Sarum is accounted for by the fact that the first Bishop of Lisbon was an Englishman, and that Philippa of Lancaster introduced with her ecclesiastics English hymns of a still later date. We will give a specimen from the French, and from the Mozarabic Breviaries. The following is part of the hymn at Nocturns on Friday, in the Breviary of Cahors, (Cadurcense.) Ut saxa, quæ nunc extruit, Addat supernis ædibus, Aptat peritus Artifex. CRUX est gradus, quo tendere Cœli futuris, alterum Iter negatur, civibus. Nostrum Caput rigentibus Christus coronis cinctus est: Quam delicate vivere Nos, membra Christi, dedecet ! Da, qui flagellis erudis, Here is part of a Mozarabic hymn of about A.D. 800. Sacer Octavarum dies Quo secundum carnem Christus Circumcisus traditur, Patri, non adoptione, Sed co-eternus genere. Spiritu completur alvus Proles castam elegit. Inde Simeon grandævus Resolve jam nunc in pace We proceed to the Hymnal Noted of the Ecclesiological Society. Its principle is, to give a translation of the ancient hymns of the English Church, and principally of the Sarum service books, to their old melodies. The attempt comprises therefore, --the Hymns noted, after the same manner as Mr. Helmore's Psalter Noted,—for the use of those who sing;-the words by themselves, for the use of those who simply assist ;-and the harmonies, for the use of those who play. Of the execution, while such a small part has hitherto appeared, it would obviously be premature to speak decidedly; but that the principle is not only a right, but the only right, one, weare well convinced. Besides the Sarum melodies, those of the best Gregorian school in Europe, Mechlin, are also usually given. The following may serve as a specimen of the different treatment, by the two, of the same air: we take them as given in the Hymnal Noted. SARUM. Thou cam'st, the Bridegroom of the Bride, As drew the world to ev'ning-tide; Pro-ceed-ing from a Vir-gin shrine, The Spot-less Vic-tim all di-vine. MECHLIN. Thou cam'st, the Bridegroom of the Bride. As drew the world to ev'-ning-tide. Pro-ceed-ing from a Virgin shrine, The Spot-less Vic-tim all di-vine. The difference between the two is usually, however, greater than in this case. As a specimen of Mr. Helmore's Harmonies, we will give that to the Sarum Vexilla Regis, a most stately processional air. As an example of the translations we will give the same hymn, with the Sarum original. V. Beata cujus brachiis, VI. Te summa Deus Trinitas V. On whose dear arms, so widely flung, VI. To Thee, Eternal Three in One, We shall probably have occasion to return to this subject when the Hymnal has made further progress. In the mean time we observe that the Committee of the Ecclesiological Society are requesting assistance in the way of translations, and (we suppose) also in the way of various versions of the Sarum melodies. If our readers will consider how great a thing a recognised English Hymnal would be, they will, we are sure, aid a scheme which, whether it succeed or fail, is at all events intended to supply that desideratum. Who cannot sympathise with Peter the Venerable in one of his letters?" You know," says he, "how much I dislike improper hymns and tuneful trifles in the house of GOD. The other day, on the Feast of S. Benedict, I heard sung, and was forced to join in singing, a hymn composed indeed entirely according to the metrical laws, and with an excellent collocation of words. But besides the utter want of any aptitude in the meaning, looking hastily through that hymn, I found in it at least twenty-four falsehoods." One would think that the writer was describing modern "Selection of Psalms and Hymns." 1 Lib. 4, Ep. 30. 242 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE STATE OF THE CHURCH DURING THE GREAT REBELLION. CONVERTS TO ROME. (Continued from p. 102.) WE had hoped to give our readers this month a paper on the political history of the year 1651, so far as it bore upon or seemed likely to illustrate the ecclesiastical affairs of that period; but upon consideration it seemed both more important and more interesting to continue the account given in our February number of converts to Rome, both for the sake of concluding that subject whilst it was fresh in the reader's memory, and because the circumstances of the day give an additional interest to this particular topic. It may indeed be a comfort to some, to be reminded of a time when the Church of England was in a worse condition than she is now or ever has been. We have before now expressed our opinion that in the year 1651 secession was at its height, and some perhaps in anticipation of the events of the coming year may be struck with the accidental though very singular coincidences which occur in the political and ecclesiastical revolutions of the 17th and the 19th centuries. It might indeed be more curious than instructive to push the parallel so far, and having just thrown out the suggestion we will forbear to enlarge upon it, lest we should be deemed fanciful; but we shall not, we hope, earn any such imputation by reminding our readers that within ten short years from the time when all seemed utterly hopeless for the revival of the Church of England, she did revive and gained the most important advance that she has made since the Reformation. Neither must it be forgotten that the Church was in almost every respect at its lowest ebb. The legal possessors of the benefices were for the most part excluded from them, and such few of the episcopal clergy as remained at their posts, were either men of no views who did not trouble themselves much about anything beyond gaining a means of living, or else had sided with the religious movement of the day, whilst the places of the expelled clergy were occupied by men who had professed Presbyterianism, and were in many cases lapsing into all the fanaticism of the Independent body. Every Bishop had long since been deprived first of his seat in the House of Lords and then of all power of exercising his spiritual functions, and their numbers had thinned rapidly in the seven years that had passed since the last consecration which had been performed at Oxford. The king's cause was quite ruined, he himself had barely escaped with his life, whilst the well-affected were gradually quit |