The Sun.
London, England, 1832-09-07 00:00:00

THE ORGAN.

Of all instruments this is- the most noble,
possessing powers of the greatest extent and
variety. How the sober dignity of its tones
harmonizes with the dark massive pile which we
walk around and view with wonder ! while

gazing on the heavy towers on high, its hollow
tones within speak of mass and vespers, long
gone by, and all the train of superstitious
chivalry. And as we pace the long drawn
aisles of light and shade, where the glowing
beams of tinted windows fall on the youthful fair
kneeling to ask heaven'sgrace, so beautifully ex-
pressed by the poet,—
Rose bloom fell on her hands together great,
And on her silver cross soft amethyst,
And on her hair a glory like a saint.
How the heavenly tones in solemn grandeur roll
along! It is only upon the Continent that we
can enjoy these sublime sensations. Holland, the
Low Countries, and Germany, are spread over
with these majestic instruments in profuse,
variety. At Haarlem there is one of stupendous
size : the effect of which surpasses every thing
the mind can conceive. They are sounds which
seem to roll from the skies into the abyss of har-
mony. In the puritanical service of the Dutch,
nothing but psalmody is ever performed. For
the purpose of leading their immense congrega-
tions, of not less than three thousand voices sing-
ing in unison, these organs are furnished with
an enormous pipe called the vox hunzaua, which
so predominates over the rolling thunder of the
double diapasons, that you might conceive it to
be the voice of a monster, concealed in this
mountain of sounds. The grandeur of this.
organ is much augmented by the vastness of the
church in which it stands. Higher than West-
minster Abbey—it fills up the end of the large
aisle, reaching from the ground to the roof, and.
from one side to the other, the pipes having the
appearance of vast columns of silver. The ex.
temporary flourishes which the organist intro-
duces between the lines of the psalm, can only
be compared to a commotion of the elements,
or the rolling of the surges upon the shore. The
largest organs in England arc but mere toys
compared to this magnificent instrument, which
strikes the senses with awe and wonder. The
writer, on Whitsunday, 1825, was in the organ-
;oft at Westminster Abbey, when the king and
queen of Owhyee, Sandwich Isles, were intro-
duced by the dean, and placed near himself in
the choir. The king, a vulgar-looking man, per-
fectly black, dressed in a black coat, white waist-
coat, and pea-green gloves, which were not long
enough to conceal his sooty rists, stood up the
whole time of the service gazing with amazement
at the roof. The Queen, a tall, fine, masculine
figure, was so struck upon the first burst of the
organ, as to be thrown into extreme agitation, so
much so, that she would have leaped out of the
stall in which she was placed, had not her Maid
of Honour (an English lady) prevented her by
laying
hands upon her. Every time the organ
recommenced with its full volume of sound, this
phrenzy returned, and caused much confusion.
During the sermon she settled down into some-
thing like composure, and at the conclusion was
led out by the Dean and otherdignitaries to view
the edifice. Habited in a fashionable morning
dress, her Majesty was only distinguishable from
her attendants by her gaunt and gigantic figure,
and the sudden ejaculation of surprise which she
was constantly making. The King, however,
lost in mute attention, never lowered his eyes
from the roof, but kept staggering about the
church till he made his exit at the door.—Gar-
dener's Music of Nature.

----
The Hafod Estate was yesterday knocked
town by Mr. GEORGE ROBINS at 75,000/., the resel
price fixed by the Meeter in Chancery.