Year: 1867

village choir of those days was ac
counted long way ahead OF most OF
our neighbOrs. And really the prac
ticing1 for it and the writing out OF
those wonderful old books of music
aone or-two of them now In our hands
must at least have preserved a good
deal of time from more Improbable
misuse. [ will not pretend to remem- :
ber the meridian glory Of-the old
.ehoira | wiII.only tell one auecdote Of
that time, and then begin my actual
recOlIections:


+ a stranger had one Sunday been to
the service at EncharfdOn, and heard
the 23rd Psalm, old version sung to a
wonderful tune, which gave soiOs to
bass, tenor, alto and treble, and which
seemed to have no chorus at all. y Ae2
the stranger came out, and l. "a
charldon friend had duly ascertained
his critical opinion ofthe sermon, he
was asked And what did you think
of our siuging?" IN. B.-We called
it CurS, as being done for our deleeta-
ton, not because we joined it,


The stranger hesitated. I didn't
very much care for that last Psalm.
A short man tried a bit, and he
couldn't do it; and a tall man tried
the next bit, and he couldn't do it /;
and then the red haired boy tried, and
he had to give it up; and then a girl
tried, and when she couldn't get on
any better, they began at the short
man over again"


oh" replied his friend, Dut
that's part singing; they did that on


"Ah, yes" said the stranger, much
enlightened. If they hadn't sung
all apart from each other they must
have broke the windows, for they hare
got voices.


The old choir! What a rush of
recollections rises up at the word /!
The old "Nebuchadnezzer band -
the fageolets and clarionets-the bas-
soons and fddles. There was one
club day in especiaL fresh in my mem
ory as though it were yesterday, in
stead of twenty years ago, when the
whole band of brazen implements in
creased the din; aud when the two
immense flags waved, or seemed to
wave, in time with the music, as they
hung from the singers gallery; and
the well-filled church and the orange
and pink rosettes impressed my child
ish mind with the idea that though
Easter and Christmas were all very
well in their way, this was the really
grand day of the church. Then the
wonderful selections from the new
version with which we used to be
treated How clearly our sentorian
tenor "quelled the wicked throng =
that had discovered fact, OF. inverted
a fiction, to the sad .discredit of our
popular preacher. How he glared
upon the accuser as he sang


Thy wicked tongue doth sianderous tales
Maliciously devises


isoc mildly he reminded the Squire
.. c.:4..ain customary benefactions be
= overdue, by glance to the


cqL.rc' red curtained pew when he
gave out


Happy the man whose tender cares
Relieves the poor distreSt.


It seemed an i'll day to him when
our new vicar was announced to be
the one who would certainly reform
the choir However, he chose two Of
the most wonderful tunes for appro-
pirate" psalms; and all his fellow sing
ers fully agreed that no man of sense
or taste could wish to alter single
thing from the perfect arrangement of
that day. Very rueful was he when
our vicar, perhaps with d somewhat
hasty zeal, told him that he really
must take the selection of the psalms
into his own hands. 1t was all he
could do at present, the vicar said
but in a few Sundays he hoped to have
some expedient which would enable
him to dispense with the flutes and
fddles; But, sir" objected the
good old singer, your choosing the
tunes for me would be just as bad as
if [ were to choose the text for your
sermon" However, the vicar was
firm, and the old choir held an indig-
nation meeting, and agreed, one and
all, to give up attending Encharldon
Church and to join a neighboring
choir, whose parson confined himself
to his own part of the service. Then
came the sad, slow and tedious begin
ming OF getting up a new choir.


Letthe school children have les
sons, said the vicar; and he sent for
A, an excellent organist, but very
tliHle man, with very little voice.
He could undertake the lessons. he
could come out to Encharldon, and


he thought it would be more simple
/ for the instrument to be tuned in equal
| temperament.


Is" What instrument" inquired our
vicar, in astonishment.


The small man mildly explained


that, although his own organ was
tuned in unequal temperament, he


might dispense with this condition in


the instrument that would be used for
! the lesson.


But you lcont haze any instru-
Z -