The obligations of English historians and biographers to this diligent antiquary are such, that he merits an honourable niche in every literary fabrication to which he has contributed materials.

Antony Wood, whose whole life was spent in the service of the dead, and whose labours, since his decease, have so much facilitated the inquiries of the living, was born at Oxford 1632. In his life, written by himself with the simplicity of ancient times, he tells us, "that in 1651 he began to indulge his natural and insatiable genius to music. He exercised his hand on the violin; and having a good ear to take any tune at first hearing, he could quickly draw it out from the violin, but not with the same strings that others used. He wanted understanding, friends, and money, to pick him out a good master, otherwise he might have equalled a capital one on that instrument, and, in singing, vied with any person then in the university." However, he procured a master, Charles Griffiths, one of the musicians belonging to Oxford, whom he then thought to be a most excellent artist, though, when he was himself improved, he found that he was not so-but he obtained at last a proficiency in music, and frequented weekly meetings of musicians, the merits of whom he details very elaborately. In another place he says "that heraldry, music, and painting, did so crowd upon him, that he could not avoid them; and by music, and rare books in the library, his life was a perfect Elysium, having, besides, a generosity of mind, and a hatred of all that was servile, sneaking, or advantageous for lucre sake."

If this minute biographer is sometimes wanting in taste and selection, to give his records due importance, it must be ascribed to his constant habit of making memorandums of every person, transaction, and circumstance, within his knowledge, in the uncouth language of his early youth. This dialect alone renders his writings frequently ridiculous, though they contain such

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information as cannot be obtained any-where else. The few opportunities he had of knowing the gradual changes in our colloquial language by conversing with men of the world, and being debarred the perusal of elegant books by his favourite course of reading, degrade him to a level with writers infinitely his inferiors both in use and entertainment. Wood was perhaps too much an enthusiast in music to speak of its effects with critical and philosophical precision: however, without his assistance, the state of the art, as well as the anecdotes of the professors, would have been difficult to find.

The nation, tired of the seriousness approaching to gloom, which marked the republic with Cromwell at its head, manifested their joy at the restoration of monarchy by every possible demonstration-the viol and the song again were heard in their streets, and the scared musicians again appeared in their cathedrals. But many who had been degraded, and involved in the calamities of the civil war and the subversion of the established church, died during the conflict. Of the gentlemen of Charles I's chapel, none appear to have claimed their former station but Dr. Wilson, Christopher Gibbons, and Henry Lawes.

During the usurpation of Cromwell, it was deemed essential to true religion that no organs should be suffered to remain in churches, that cathedral service should be totally abolished*, and all whose functions had been to assist in such profane vanities should betake themselves to some employment less offensive to the Lord. In consequence of these tenets, the churches had been stripped of their organs, libraries and repositories ransacked for musical service-books of every kind, which being all considered alike superstitious and ungodly, were committed to the flames, and the utmost efforts used

*There are many persons who still think it did not evince a bad taste in music to wish the abolition of the cathedral service.

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for a total extirpation ;-and- indeed with such success, that when the heads of the church set about re-establishing cathedral music, it was equally difficult to find instruments, books, performers, and singers, able to complete the duty. Organ-builders, organists, and choirmen, having been driven to seek new means of subsistence, the former became common carpenters and joiners, and those of the latter who did not enter the king's army privately taught the lute, virginal, or such miserable psalmody as was publicly allowed. A sufficient number of workmen for the immediate supply of organs not being found in our own country, it was judged expedient to invite foreign builders of known abilities to settle amongst us; and the premiums offered on this occasion brought over the two celebrated workmen Smith and Harris. Bernard Schmidt, as the Germans write his name, was accompanied by his two nephews as assistants. To distinguish him from these, as well as to express the reverence due to his abilities, which placed him at the head of his profession, he was called Father Smith.

An organ is so operose, complicated, and comprehensive a piece of mechanism, that to render it com plete in tone, touch, variety, and power (exclusive of the external appearance), is, perhaps, one of the greatest efforts of human ingenuity. Smith was so careful in the choice of his wood as never to use any that had the least knot or flaw in it, and so tender of his reputation as never to waste his time in attempting to mend a bad pipe: if it had any radical defect, he threw it away and made another. This accounts for the equality and sweetness of his stops, as well as the soundness of his pipes to this day. Smith had not been many months here before Harris arrived from France, with his son Renatus Harris, who on the death of his father became a very formidable rival to Smith. The contention between these eminent artists, at the time of erecting the admirable organ which now stands in the Temple church, was carried on with

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such violence as never happened before or since on a similar occasion. About the latter end of Charles II's reign, the master and benchers of the Temple, determining to have as complete an organ as possible in their church, received proposals from both these eminent artists, backed by the recommendations of so equal a number of powerful friends and skilful organists, that they were unable to determine which to employ: they therefore told the candidates, that if each would erect an instrument in the different parts of the church, they would retain that which by the greatest number of excellencies should be allowed to merit the preference.-Smith and Harris agreeing to this proposal, in eight months, each, with the utmost exertion of his abilities, had completed an instrument for the trial. Dr. Tudway, an eminent musician, performed on Smith's organ; and, till the other was heard, every one believed that this must be chosen. Harris employed Lulli, organist to Catharine, to touch his organ, which brought it into favour; and thus they continued vying with each other for nearly a twelvemonth. At length, Harris challenged Smith to make additional reed-stops in a given time:these were the vox humana, Cremorne, and some others. The stops, which were newly invented, or at least new to English ears, afforded great delight; and the imitations. were so exact on both sides, that it was difficult to determine who had best succeeded. At last the decision was left to lord chief justice Jeffries (afterwards king James's pliant chancellor), and he terminated the controversy in favour of Father Smith; so that Harris's organ was taken away without loss of reputation, having so long pleased and puzzled better judges than Jeffries.

The small stock of music with which the king's chapel began becoming in a few years less delightful by frequent repetition, and Charles perceiving a genius for composition in some of the young people of the chapel, he encouraged them to cultivate it; and many of the first set of choristers, even whilst children, composed services

which are still used in our cathedrals. Dr. Tudway, in assigning reasons for the change of style in the music of the chapel-royal, says, "His majesty, who was a brisk and airy prince, coming to the crown in the flower of his age, was soon tired with the grave and solemn way established by Tallis, Bird, and others, and ordered the composers to add symphonies, accompanied by violins, cornets, and sackbuts, with other instruments, to all their anthems and ritornels. The old masters, Dr. Child, Dr. Gibbons, and Mr. Low, organists to his majesty, hardly knew how to compose with these new-fangled ways, but proceeded in their old manner; and therefore there are only some services and full anthems to be found of theirs. In five years' time, some of the brightest children in the chapel, as Pelham, Humphrey, and John Blow, &c. began to be masters of composition, so that every month they produced something new; without which indeed they could not hope to please his majesty." As French music under this reign was much better known in England than Italian, there are in the melody of Humphrey, and that of Purcell, passages which remind us of Lulli, whom Charles pointed out to his musicians as a model. Humphrey was sent out by the king to Paris to study under him, and was the first of church composers who had the least idea of musical pathos.

Captain Henry Cook, master of the chapel, had been esteemed the first musician of his time till his scholar Humphrey came into notice, on whose celebrity Cook died of grief.

Humphrey was appointed to fill his place, which he did not long live to enjoy. He died much regretted at the age of twenty-seven.

John Blow was a scholar of Cook. His compositions for the church have immortalised his name amongst his countrymen. Many of his productions are not inferior