Arizona silver belt., 1896-12-17
THE TROUBLE AT ST. cRAcE.s.
4 True Account of tho Cause of the Dii
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4 True Account of tho Cause of the Dis
 banding of the "Qur rs."
 The trouble in St. Grnce's choir was not due to the soprano or the contralto, but to man. St. Grace's was country church, and 50 high that the congrega- tlon preferred to consider their singers us composing "quire," rather than 'choir;" md every chuI chman--no. every churchwoman--know that from "quire" to Rome" is but Q step, and feels a delicious thrill at the iGea of danger. The quire at St. Grace's, be- fore the trouble began, was composed of men and boys, and was vested; and it sang very well.
 It sang very well except for one man. He was tall man, with clean-shavcn, lantern-jawed face, known 10 the quirc boys IS ''IIam-and-Eggs." Why he re- ceivcd this title, no one knew; hut he had it, and as no one ever called him by it to his face, it served quite well as name for him. Haln-and-Eggs was rated as q basso, and sometimes he sang IS basso. But quite often, in the mid dle of q hymn or a chant, it would occur to him to cing falsetto, an1 he would sing falsetto. Once, even, in the middle of solo, the spirit moved him to sing falsctto-"and he done so.'
 Now that sort of thing would raise hob. even in m evangelical choir; in 0 high church vested quire it raised much more than hob. The rector himself tried to persuade Eam-and-Eggs to settle on one voice or another; but without avail. Then he tried diplomacy and compro- mise.
 'We've too many bassos now" he urged. They overpowcr the rest of the quire. Now-what--do-you--say --to-singing- tenor? Hev?" and he looked inquiringly yet enoouragingly at Mir. and Mrs. Uam-and-ESgs.
 MT. H.-andE. spoke first, in his deep est bass.
 T will sing only with the voice God gave me-" was what he said; and his stout better half remarked angrily:
 ''The mere suggestion is an insult"
 Now Ham-and-Eggs had three sons, known as 'Bacon-and-Eggses" (Bacon isn't so big ns Ham) and to avepge the insult be and they absented themselves from the final rehearsal of the Easter carols. The poor parson was in pheese. Were they coming on Easter to sing or were they not? He could learn nothing from the Skillet. as the boys had named Ham-and-Lggs' house. because the family was our. So he de- cided on bold plan; he would ask some ladies to sing the soprano parts, and let the bass get along without Ham, and-Eggs.
 Wen put screen in the chanccl," he explained. ''and the three Miss Blos- soms can sit behind it."
 The three Miss Blossoms were will ing, and at midnight the parson gave them their parts of the carols and chants, and they sat up the rest of the night learning them. On Easter Sunday the quirc was very weak: most of the boys had gone home for the vacation. Hut Han and Bacon-and Eggs were there. after all. The three Miss Blos- soms were smuggled into the chancel and tucked away behind the screen without any of the quire knowing; and everything was prepared for the II o'clock service.
 In time the professional began and the quire entered. The guire consisted of two bassos, Ham-and-Eggs one of them, one tenor. the three Bacon-and- Eggs. and no altos. But the three Miss Blossoms hadn't been warned not to sing until the male quirc was seated; SD at the first notes of the proccssionnl they began. The quire, prepared to sing, found some one out of sight sing ing away brayely. and was astonished and stopped-or most of it did; for Ham-and-lggs kept on, first in bass. then in falsetto, trying to carry the song through.
 After that, though, everything went smoothly; and having been warned by the rector during the service, the three Miss Blossoms did not sing all of the re- cessional, bu. executed vocal tour de force by singing with less and less voice as the quire departed, and succeeded in producing an effect quite like the Turk ish reveille, as one of them explained later to the rector, sir. Partridge.
 But the next day Ham-and-Eggs re- signed.
 Il don't mind what you said," he wrote. "I will sing only with the voice God gave me. and that voice I will take care of. There was too much echo yes tcrday in church; it injured my voice appreciably. So l beg to resign"
 The Bacon-and-E -Eggses went with their father, and so St. Grace's guire came to grief.--N. Y. Sun.