By placing the voices at the entrance end, and closing the two doors, the room was made comfortable. The seating of the company was admirable, and, as every one was well-dressed, the appearance of the room was brilliant.

At eight o'clock, about thirty gentlemen and twelve boys glided in upon an elevated stage, and sat down to half-a-dozen tables, with their books and waxlights, as in the olden time of Henry the Eighth and Elizabeth. I looked for the sack and canary-the usual accompaniments at that time, but, alas! there was none; a breathless silence reigned in the whole company-every one was wondering what madrigals were, as the Germans wonder about lobsters; no one could answer, except those who had read the learned address published by the society. Some looked in wild expectation for a flight of birds that were to be uncaged, but the silence gave no

when, presently, some low soft

promise of music;

sounds stole upon

the ear, swelling into gushes of harmony, and the Madrigal was introduced.

The charm of the boys voices delighted me indeed: they were lusciously sweet. The ear had not been tortured by a dozen self-sufficient fiddlers tuning their instruments before they made a start. The effect was quite novel and pleasing. Presently, we found ourselves "Down in a flowry dale," among Nymphs and Corydons "Lovers all a wooing;" after listening awhile to these amatory strains, we soon

discovered that these madrigals were a wholesale way of making love; a mode too dreamy for our Leicestershire fox-hunters-a sort of pabulum vita-too weak for their stomachs.

What a primitive age it must have been when such gentleness prevailed! Henry the Eighth, who was a composer of madrigals, now and then cut off a few heads by way of changing the key and giving a spirit to the age. The character of this music probably has been derived from dancers in the earlier stages of society, when there were no instruments superior to the human voice, the dancers keeping up the tune and measure in accordance with their steps, in the way we may notice little children at the present day. The little bits of melody called "Imitation," running after one another as the couples do in a dance, suggest the same song-following in close succession. Such is the character of the ancient Madrigal. The Fugue is composed of strains of greater length-involving great skill in their construction-a sort of arithmetical music, addressed more to the understanding than the heart.

CHAPTER LXXVI.

ORATORIO OF JUDAH.

While I was engaged upon the two first volumes of my Sacred Melodies, I met with many beautiful compositions of a cast too elaborate for the purposes of Psalmody. As many of these pieces were unknown in this country, I determined to put them together in the form of an Oratorio, connecting them with the principal events recorded in the Jewish Scriptures, commencing with the history of Abraham, and terminating with a prophetic view of the millenium. I was desirous that the work should be introduced by an original composition by Beethoven. To see if he could be prevailed upon to write an appropriate overture to the performance, I wrote the following letter to him, which the Baron Nieuman, of the Austrian Embassy did me the honour to forward to Vienna, at the same time telling me it was doubtful whether I should receive an answer, so uncommunicative with the world was Beethoven :

"To Louis Van Beethoven.

"Dear Sir,

"At the house of Lady Bowater, in Leicestershire, in 1796, I met with your trio in E flat, (for violin, viola, and bass.) Its originality and beauty gave me inexpressible delight; indeed, it was a new sense to me. Ever since I have anxiously endeavoured to procure your compositions, as much so as the war

would permit. Allow me to present to you the first volume of my Sacred Melodies, which contain your divine adagios appropriated to the British church. I am now engaged upon a work, entitled, "The Oratorio of Judah," giving a history of that peculiar people from the Jewish scriptures. The object of this letter is, to express a hope that I may induce you to compose an Overture

for this work, upon which you can bring all the force of your sublime imagination (if it please you), in the key of D minor. For this service, my friend, Mr. Clementi will accept your draft upon him for one hundred guineas.

"I have the honor to be, dear Sir,

"Your faithful servant,

"WILLIAM GARDINER."

To this letter I had no reply, though I received the thanks of the Empress for the volume of Sacred Melodies which I sent her at the suggestion of the Embassador.

After I had published these works, I was often asked who were the authors of those pieces without a name? I had thought that as my name was on the title page of the book, these anonymous pieces would of course be assigned to me. In 1821, I attended the York festival, when the trio, The Lord will comfort Zion, was performed, and put down in the books as the composition of Haydn, whereas I wrote this trio to introduce the final chorus of the Oratorio, a glorious fugue by Haydn. I corrected the mistake in a paragraph which I sent to the London papers, reflecting upon the managers who could not distinguish my earthly composition from the divine strains of Haydn. Perhaps it has been a false modesty in me

MY OWN COMPOSITIONS.

379

not to affix my name; but to prevent any mistake, and as a general answer to these enquiries, I may state that every recitative, symphony, song, and chorus, without a name is of my composition. In the Music of Nature, Music and Friends, and Sights in Italy, there are more than fifty songs composed by me, besides many of intrinsic merit that I have shortened and improved by cutting out old-fashioned flourishes now obsolete.

The public will, I trust, forgive me for speaking here of my own works; but as this is probably my last appearance as an author or composer, I hope I may be allowed this explanation.

WARD AND SON, PRINTERS, LEICESTER.