his poem originally published in the Spectator at the close of an essay on gratitude.1 WHE HEN all Thy mercies, O my God, Transported with the view, I'm lost Oh how shall words with equal warmth The gratitude declare, That glows within my thankful heart? Thy providence my life sustained, Unnumbered comforts on my soul When in the slippery paths of youth Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe, 1 On the appearance of the first edition of this work a correspondent wrote calling my attention to the fact that in the Athenæum of July 10, 1880, and in the Phonetic Journal of March 12, 1887, it was conclusively proved that the author of this hymn was not Addison, but one Richard Richmond, rector of Walton on-the-Hill, Lancashire, 1690-1720. On the other hand, Mr. T. M. Healy, M. P., wrote saying that the late Sir Isaac Pitman, in an interesting inquiry as to the authorship of this hymn and the other attributed to Addison on page 232. claimed both as the work of Andrew Marvel, the "incorrup tible Commoner." When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou Ten thousand thousand precious gifts Nor is the least a cheerful heart, Through every period of my life But Oh! eternity's too short TUNE "ST. PETER'S." 9-PROFESSOR BLACKIE'S CHANT OF PRAISE (19th Century). THE late Professor Blackie wrote much that is forgotten, but his Chant of Praise will live. It was sent me by one who had felt the glory and inspiration of its nature-worship cheer him like a sea-breeze. It is the nineteenth-century version of the sentiment which Milton expressed in the seventeenth and Addison in the eighteenth, each in the mode of his day and generation. A NGELS holy, Sing the praises of the Lord! Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord! Sun and moon bright, Night and moonlight, Starry temples azure-floored; Cloud and rain, and wild winds' madness, Sons of God that shout for gladness, Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord! Ocean hoary, Tell His glory, Cliffs, where tumbling seas have roared! Pulse of waters, blithely beating, Wave advancing, wave retreating, Rock and high land, Crag, where eagle's pride hath soared; Mighty mountains, purple-breasted, Peaks cloud-cleaving, snowy-crested, Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord! Rolling river, Praise Him ever, From the mountain's deep vein poured; Silver fountain, clearly gushing, Troubled torrent, madly rushing, Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord! Bond and free man, Land and seaman, Earth, with peoples widely stored, Wanderer lone o'er prairies ample, Full-voiced choir, in costly temple, Praise ye, praise ye, God the Lord! Praise Him ever, Bounteous Giver; Praise Him, Father, Friend, and Lord! Each glad soul its free course winging, Praise the great and mighty Lord! The Rev. Richard A. Armstrong, of Liverpool, says: "To my mind this is one of the noblest bits of naturepainting in literature. I always give it out to my people after holiday-making in Norway or Scotland, and the Mighty mountains, purple-breasted, Peaks cloud-cleaving, snowy-crested, rise up in vision before us again in glory. It is paganism, perhaps, but it is paganism through which thrills the presence of the God of Christ." This poem of Blackie is at least not open to the objection taken by Charles Kingsley to many hymns. Kingsley says: "How often is the tone in which hymns speak of the natural world one of dissatisfaction, distrust, almost contempt. Change and decay in all around I see,' is their keynote rather than 'O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise Him, and magnify Him for ever.' An anonymous writer, in whose sentiments Kingsley would have rejoiced, wrote a poem entitled "The Voice of Health," in illustration of the words, "The living he shall praise Thee." There are six stanzas, one of which will suffice to give the keynote: 'Tis when youth's fervour fills the veins, II. —National Hymns. 10-GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. Go OD save our gracious Queen, Send her victorious, And make them fall. Thy choicest gifts in store, To sing with heart and voice, God save the Queen! TUNE "THE NATIONAL ANTHEM." It is one of the ironies of history that the first trace that can be discovered of the singing of the English National Anthem, imploring Divine help for the reigning monarch, was an occasion when its petition was most conspicuously refused. In 1688, when William of Orange was busy with his preparations in aid of the conspiracy against the Stuart dynasty, a Latin chorus was sung in the private chapel of James II., which appears to have been the original of the famous anthem. We can well imagine the fervour with which James II. and his devout satellites joined in the petition thus voiced by the choir: O Deus Optime! Exurgat Dominus; |