_Note on Page 19._
The earliest copy of the tune, as far as is known, stands in a Genevan
edition of a portion of the English Psalter, preserved as an article of
rare value in the library of St. Paul's Cathedral. The date of the
Psalter is 1561. The tune is therein given to Sternhold's version of the
Hundredth Psalm.
This fairly settles the _vexata questio_ as to the authorship of the
tune. There is no evidence that it originated with Luther, to whom it is
generally attributed--but there is evidence that it did originate with
Franc, of Geneva; and the only claim to originality is grounded on the
discovery of the sources from whence Franc derived the phrases of the
tune. Those phrases are so palpably Gregorian, that Franc's construction
of the tune can be regarded only a fragmentary compilation.
Considered, then, as Gregorian in its texture, "The Old Hundredth" is,
indeed, very old, much older than is commonly imagined. Its several
strains had been sung by Christian voices not only one thousand years
before Luther was born, but for centuries before the Papal system was
developed. Viewed in this light, the old tune assumes a new interest,
and its antique tones vibrate with freshened impulse.
_Note on Page 32._
In 1699 and the following years many schools were established under the
agency of the Christian Knowledge Society, in and about the metropolis;
and, in the year 1704, when the first meeting of the children educated
in these charity schools took place, in St. Andrew's Church, Holborn,
the number of children present amounted to no less than two thousand!
From that time to the present, the children of these schools assemble
yearly in some church of the metropolis, when a sermon, appropriate to
the occasion, is preached. In 1782, they first met in St. Paul's
Cathedral, where they have ever since assembled.
_Note on Page 36._
We may reasonably hope that something will now be done towards effecting
this object. Committees have been formed, and numerous meetings are
being held to consider the subject. As might be expected, many and
diverse tributes of respect are proposed, not the least sensible or
suitable that of our national _Thersites_. "It will be hard to find a
better site for the Memorial than in the Temple Garden, which is seen
from the river, and will be seen from the embankment."--PUNCH, _26th
December, 1863_.
_Note on Page 45._
A lady who heard this lecture has since told me an equally strange fact.
In her native parish there was an amateur choir, which assembled twice a
week in the parish church to practise. On the lobby of the gallery
wherein the choir assembled, there was a piano, to lead and accompany
the voices; as regularly as the piano was played, a _Robin Red
Breast_--an old tenant of the churchyard--would perch on the instrument,
and remain as long as the music continued. My informant was frequently
the performer and always had the pleasure of _Dicky's_ company.