But its grand attack was perpetrated on occasion of its laudation of the conduct of the Bishop of London, in refusing to patronize the proposed festival in Westminster Abbey. Accordingly, in the paper bearing date March 31, we find such sentences as the following:

"If the Bishop thinks with us, that the propriety of employing a Church as a place of sensual recreation, or as a place for the collection of money, received in consideration of enjoyment of any kind; if the Bishop thinks with us that the propriety of such an employment of a Church is at best doubtful, it is surely not merely his right, but his duty to avoid taking part in the approaching festival."

"Our views are altogether practical. Laying out of view, for the present, the higher question, whether the application to secular uses of things usually devoted to the uses of religion be directly sinful or otherwise, we are quite sure that it is, consequentially, injurious to the interests of the Church that permits it."

"It is almost an instinct, or if it be not an instinct, it must be amongst the earliest truths that open to the mind, which teaches that the things of this world cannot be permitted to intrude upon the consideration of the next, and the services which these last enjoin, without detriment to the purity of religious feeling. Nor must we lose sight of the fact, that at present the Church of England is, in the strictest sense of the word a Church militant; that she is beset with enemies, by no means scrupulous in their warfare-with enemies who could easily enough convert a muster of singers and fiddlers in one of her principal temples, with an apparatus of check-takers and door-keepers to collect money for hearing these singers and fiddlers, into a very opprobrious similitude of a theatrical representation; and, unquestionably, they who would so represent a musical festival in a cathedral, would find ready hearers amongst the non-musical part of the world, that is, among nineteen-twentieths of the population, including ourselves in the unhappy majority. It is very true, there are those who think that music may be made subservient to the cultivation of religion; but it is a doleful truth that there are also those, we are persuaded the great majority, if they dare confess it, who feel even the very small infusion of music usually permitted in our liturgical service, an obstruction, rather than an aid to their religious contemplations. The truth of the matter is, the musical faculty is not indigenous to our soil.2 We must not fall into the common mistake, that a love of songs is a taste for music, even were

2 The editor, perhaps, had forgotten that England has acquired among foreigners the musical appellative of " The Ringing island.”

we a singing people, which we are not. It is merely the gratification which arises from the combination of variety with regularity, as expressed in sounds, the same which we see exhibited in dancing, which adds to whatever pleasure is afforded by the words of a song, -but we must not get into a metaphysical treatise. Suffice it to say, that as the uninitiated in music do not go to musical festivals for the sake of devotion, so it may reasonably be doubted, that many who do go to such festivals may be classed with those who go to

church

'To hear the music there;'

and that many more deceive themselves into the notion that their feelings are religious, when they are little better than animal sensations."

Here follows a long quotation from the "Life of Mary Jane Graham," which is very excellent but not to the point, seeing that it is an eulogy upon sacred music, rather than a deprecation of it, and concludes with a touching exhortation to those who are affected by it not to mistake the feelings excited by music only, for the influence of genuine religious sentiments: after which the article proceeds,

"And now one word to church music generally—a word which we think it the more imperative to offer, because we have observed a strong disposition amongst some of the best ministers of the Church, to increase its quantity by chaunting, to the organ, the 'Te Deum,' the Jubilate, the Nunc dimittas, [dimittis] and other portions of the church service, so eloquent, so full of masculine dignity in their composition, that music, or any other added ornament, cannot fail to deform them. The word that we would say, we shall put into the form of a question. Has church music proved favourable to devotion amongst the humbler classes? Has the addition of an organ increased the congregation of country churches? Nay, has it not had the reverse effect? Has it not deprived the people frequently of the interest which they took in what we may intelligibly, though not properly call as a distinction, the vocal part of the church service? Our own experience certainly concludes unfavourably to the use of instrumental music in Divine worship; and for a reason which we have hinted above, we wish to see all the musical part of the service within the old limits, which were sufficient to give rest to the clergyman."

"To return to the Westminster festival. Might it not be as well held in Westminster Hall as in Westminster Abbey, where all occasion of offence would be removed? The purpose of the celebration is good; the celebration itself blameless: the only objection is to the place-why not change the place? Why set an example of treating lightly the reverence due to sacred things? One more last word. We know to what irritable race musical people belong; and therefore we declare that we shall not defend in controversy any of the opinions which we have advanced above. Our fair readers, of all ages, and sexes, and professions, may call us Goths, with a perfect assurance that they will not be answered."

the

However, notwithstanding the "assurance" with which the foregoing paragraph terminates, the editor was induced to bestow yet more last words upon subject in his paper of April 2. This effect was elicited by the remonstrances of a correspondent who signs himself "an Humble Churchman," who had adduced several pertinent quotations from the works of the Rev. W. Jones, of Nayland, one of which only shall be here introduced.

"Music will need no other recommendation to our attention, as an important subject, when it shall be understood, as I mean to show in the first place, that it derives its origin from God himself; whence it will follow, that so far as it is God's work it is His property, and may certainly be applied as such to His service. The question will be, whether it may be applied to any thing else."

The signal excellence of this pious sentiment will, I am sure, be a sufficient justification of its insertion in this place, notwithstanding it does in a manner anticipate the orderly course of the subject. The editor of the STANDARD comments upon the letter thus:

"The great respect in which we hold the opinions of our correspondent, An Humble Churchman,' causes us to deviate, though very reluctantly, from the resolution which we avowed at the time, not to defend in controversy our opinions upon the subject of church music. Upon a careful perusal of our correspondent's letter, however, we

discover, as we think, that our dispute may be brought within a very narrow compass. Is the enjoyment derived from music, sensual or intellectual? If it be sensual merely, then all the extraordinary effects ascribed to music are, plainly, objections to its admission as part of an intellectual service. Now, we agree with our correspondent that the reception of musical sounds, through the agency of the senses, is not, alone, conclusive-that the pleasure derived from those sounds is purely sensual; but when we find that the pleasure is just as great where the sounds do not and cannot, in any way, convey any definite idea to the understanding, we must conclude that with the senses it begins and ends—in other words, that it is purely sensual; and that such it is, appears plainly enough to us from the fact, that it acts as powerfully upon irrational animals as upon rational ; and that those of our own species, who delight in music, are as much affected by it when it is accompanied by the words of an unknown language, or unaccompanied by any words whatever. This appears to us as decisive against the intellectual character of music. The question then is, as to the convenience of an alloy of what is not intellectual, infused into the singing of the heart and of the understanding.' Some are excited by music; some are excited by dancing; some are excited by opium, and by less innocent means of intoxication. Under excitement produced by any of these means, their devotions may appear to themselves more sincere, and to others more fervent; but the heart of man, 'deceitful above all things,' never deceives itself more completely, or perhaps more fatally, than when it mistakes the fever of excitement for the steady glow of piety."

"As to our correspondent's reference to the Jewish ritual, we would remind him that other means of excitement than music were permitted in that ritual; wisely permitted according to the purpose of the Jewish dispensation, and to the state of the peculiar people to whom that dispensation was given according, we may add, to the state of the surrounding world. The Gospel, however, without changing the object of man's adoration, or the moral purpose of man's improvement, introduced a system of worship not more strongly contrasted in the glorious comprehensiveness of its objects, than in the severe simplicity of its forms. It is the Gospel of the poor, as well as of the rich-of the rude, as well as of the refined; as such it was dispensed by its Divine Author; as such it ought to be dispensed by his servants. There is not one word in the noble liturgy of our own Church, which is not as plain to the comprehension of the most ignorant as of the most learned; not one word, which gravely addressed to the general understanding, may not, under the grace of Divine Providence, reach the understanding and the heart too, of the humblest worshipper. What needs there then the aid of music? We had almost said, what justification is there for exposing men to the danger of mistaking animal sensation for a masculine devout conviction? Our own experience certainly has been, that the introduction of instrumental music is the reverse of beneficial, more

particularly in country churches; otherwise we should not have alluded to a subject so much out of the province of a daily newspaper. But we think, we must repeat it, that the church organ has done much to fill Dissenting chapels, and to repel the humbler classes of our fellow-subjects to much worse places than Dissenting chapels. We have no wish to see our Cathedrals closed, or to have their choirs silenced. Let those who delight in music, and are satisfied that music aids their devotions, repair to those Cathedrals; they are generally of the higher and middle classes, and therefore will feel little inconvenience. But let us, the poor, unlearned, rude, and humble, still have the severe simplicity of our parochial service."

"Our correspondent will observe that our objections are all strictly practical; and he, at least, will not charge us with any spirit of Puritanism. We can assure him that as far as respects the effect of church music upon the class to which we ourselves belong, we have merely stated the result of very general, not local, observation, continued through a great number of years."

"This allusion to the subject must be final, on our part; but we anxiously hope that it may be taken up by others better qualified than we are, and who can command a field of discussion more worthy of the subject."

Nevertheless this allusion was not final, for a few days afterwards appeared some further remarks upon the subject, wherein the Editor shewed some tendency to shift his ground, and fell back upon one of Queen Elizabeth's injunctions to her clergy, (of which more hereafter,) as his army of reserve. Again he was induced to touch upon the matter in consequence of what fell from the Duke of Newcastle in the House of Lords; on which occasion the Editor reiterated his recommendation to hold the festival in some other place than Westminster Abbey.

Such are the objections of the STANDARD.

The RECORD bases its opposition to Musical Festivals upon rather different grounds. Under date of

April 24, it speaks thus:

"We are not surprised that any conscientious man, whatever may be his religious sentiments, should, on reflection, feel a repugnance to such exhibitions as those, in which the sacred mysteries of reve