posers to give us such music in our sanctuaries as will do away with the necessity of trimming Roman works for the English altar. For though music be a cosmopolitan art, and the works of the old masters be their legacy to the civilized world, it is not a sign of the truest appreciation of that heritage to turn and twist it to our own purposes rather let us excite our own talents by the contemplation of the Art gems of bygone years, and so learn to supply the needs of the Church in this land by our own national energy and application.

REVIEWS.

The New Mitre Hymnal, adapted to the Services of the Church of England, with accompanying Tunes. (Rivingtons.)

THE first thing that strikes one on examining this Hymnal is that it is too new,' by which we mean that out of rather more than two hundred hymn-tunes there are no less than one hundred that have been composed within the last fifteen years. Now, surely this is rather a large percentage of brand-new tunes in one Hymnal for any congregation to get accustomed to. Nor indeed are the new melodies particularly taking, which would, of course, be an excuse for their introduction. There is absolutely nothing very telling in any of them. Indeed, the most striking feature in the book is the introduction (from the Anglican Hymn-book) of Dr. Macfarren's arrangement of the ancient melody 'Adoro Te devotè,' as a modern, barred composition; and it is not too much to say that the devotional character of this beautiful hymn has been entirely sacrificed by being thus modernized for the benefit (we suppose) of those people who, being desirous of singing Gregorian music, are too lazy to learn the Gregorian modes. The arrangement, whereby every Sunday in the year possesses at least four hymns more or less bearing on the teaching of the day, ' exclusive of morning, evening, and sacramental hymns,' seems highly commendable; but we should think it would be some time before a congregation would be reconciled to singing— 'Oh, hasten! oh, hasten!

To worship the Lord,'

in place of the time-honoured

'O! come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord,'

to which we are all so accustomed at Christmas. But, perhaps, as the joyous music which is usually associated with the latter version has had to give way to a tune by Dr. Croft, the editor thinks that the Rev. E. Caswall's translation of the 'Adeste Fideles' may pass unchallenged. In like manner it is also a matter of regret that the Advent Hymn, 'Lo, He comes with clouds descending,' should have been wedded to an unfamiliar melody, however good in itself the music may be. Throughout the book the harmonies are well arranged, one or two awkward modulations only occurring, which it would be invidious to particularize; always remembering, however, that nowhere does the harmonizing attract attention, either for

grandeur of effect or unusual beauty. In the case of Mr. John Hullah's Dies Irae,' transposed from Bach's 'Choral Gesänge,' the effect, if properly rendered, would doubtless be solemn ; but as the voice-part is in unison, the whole would have to depend upon the capabilities of the organist and his instrument.

In conclusion we may remark that the type and get-up of the Hymnal is unexceptionable, and that it is a very convenient size for the organ desk.

A Book of Litanies, Metrical and Prose, with an Evening Service and accompanying Music. (Rivingtons.)

In spite of most careful editing, and most exhaustive treatment of the subject-matter, so that no village choir who could sing at all could be at a loss to finish their litanies creditably (which alas! is very generally the case with choirs who ought to know better), we doubt if Mr. Hoyte's 'Book of Litanies' will ever, so far as the metrical litanies are concerned, be such a favourite as that by Mr. Redhead; and for this simple reason-that, with one or two exceptions, the melodies are not at all calculated to evoke congregational response. They are not 'pretty' enough. Wherever Mr. Hoyte has been responsible for the harmonies, they are always sound and generally satisfactory, though we must protest against his very bald treatment of the harmonies of the first tune for the Litany of Our Lord,' the best known melody probably in the whole collection.

The first Litany for Advent, by Dr. Gauntlett, is perhaps, taken all in all, the most effective of the series. The most useful for congregational purposes will be, in our opinion, the first tune set to the Litany of the Resurrection.' But to our mind, by far the best tune in the book is that by Mr. J. Warwick Jordan, which we regret to see is his only contribution.

We now come to the Prose Litanies, which afford similar evidence of painstaking and scholarly treatment; but we doubt whether even such an attractive garb as Mr. Hoyte has here provided for them will ever make Prose Litanies popular in the English Church.

As regards the 'Evening Service,' we have only to record our admiration of the thoroughly satisfactory nature of its compilation and musical accompaniments. The book is decidedly enhanced in value by its handsome type and good paper, and by the very complete system of indices which the editor has introduced.

We are accidentally obliged to withhold, until our next number, a Review of a widely read English work upon the Life of Christ. We greatly regret this, not only on account of the importance justly attached to the extremely popular and interesting volumes in question, but also because it leaves a void in our first issue of elements of thought, which will, we trust, seldom be ignored in any number of the CHURCH QUARTERLY.

THE

CHURCH QUARTERLY REVIEW.

No. II. JANUARY 1876.

ART. I.-DR. FARRAR'S LIFE OF CHRIST.' The Life of Christ. By FREDERICK W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S.; late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; Master of Marlborough College; and Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen. In two Volumes. Seventeenth Edition. (Cassell, Petter and Galpin. London, Paris,

and New York.)

DR. FARRAR's Life of Christ must be regarded as a sign of the times. It is a fact of no small significance that, in an age impatient of authority and which challenges all belief, it should be a Life of Christ which is the book of the day and which dashes through seventeen editions in as many months. Taking into account the size, the length, and the costliness of the book, we should imagine that the fact is almost if not altogether unique in the annals of publishing, whether secular or sacred.

When you look into the character of the book the same remark applies with even greater force. It is a sign of the times alike in what it is, and in what it is not; in those aspects of the Christ-life which it brings into prominence, and in those which it leaves in the shade; in what it believes and defends, and in what it only timidly apologizes for, and, we must also add, in the failure to take a consistent view which a comparison of its various pronouncements sometimes brings to light.

The strong point of the book is a certain wealth of information, and a lavish richness of external illustration in which it VOL. I.-NO. II.

S

certainly never has been, and assuredly never will be, surpassed. Dr. Farrar has got up the surroundings of his subject, more especially the picturesque and local ones, with a thoroughness and assiduity which nothing but an almost lover-like devotion could have maintained. There are cases in which these illustrations are given with the hand of an artist, and before we close we will quote an example or two of surpassing beauty. The misfortune is, that Dr. Farrar is so far wanting in that power of self-restraint in the use of his materials, which is the mark of the highest art, that you might almost think him more in love with the adornments than with that which they adorn. So also Dr. Farrar has got up all the collateral reading, whether classical or rabbinical, necessary for the elucidation of the text, with a completeness for which we cannot thank him too unreservedly. But here, again, we have to regret that the subject is almost overlaid by the information, that there is a strange want of arrangement about it, that the same things are repeated and reiterated again and again, until you almost think he has forgotten what he had written fifty pages before, or would not be at the pains to revise and retrench. Still, with all these criticisms, which honesty compels us to make, it is only fair to say that we know no single book which contains so much information and illustration of the Gospel narrative viewed in its external aspect, that both the information and the illustrations are accurate and trustworthy, and that if somewhat redundant, they are nevertheless the kind of illustration and information which the case requires. Add, too, that Dr. Farrar is genuinely in love with his subject, that he shows that sort of enthusiasm which rarely fails to kindle sympathy, and it is no wonder that an age which is marvellously appreciative of the external, and which dearly loves a picturesque, not to say a sensational way of putting things, should instantly appreciate the merits and condone, even if it discerns, the excesses we have described.

But is it a Life of Christ as well as a book full of information as to the externals of that life? Yes to a certain extent it is. We heartily wish that we could say more than this. There are those, whose judgment we respect, who consider that it comes as near it as any such book can. Honesty, however, compels us to express ourselves with more reservation. Our first remark must be on what we are compelled to consider a certain want of artistic power as to the conception and planning of the narrative as a whole. We well know that this remark must be received with surprise by many, who justly admire the very high artistic beauty of many.

of the details the glowing details of description with which the book is enriched, but who do not stop to ask if all these details are duly subordinated to the great leading idea which should control them all. Yet our remark is true. We admit, and we do it heartily, that in one sense the book is wonderfully complete, and. that there are few events in the Gospels which Dr. Farrar passes by; though we cannot say the same so unreservedly as to the Lord's words and speeches. We acknowledge also, heartily, that, as a rule, the immediate significance of events and transactions, their connection with immediately surrounding facts or circumstances, is generally given with accuracy and acumen. We cannot say the same when we take a larger view of the relations of the parts to the whole.

For, viewed as a whole, there is a definite plan and onward march in the Gospel story of the Christ-life, which develops itself as it advances step by step, and stage by stage, up to its tremendous climax. It unfolds itself, and by the very fact of its unfolding itself it reveals Him more and more for what He was, until He passes away to that heaven which was His home. Using the word in a sense, which no scholar will call irreverent, the Gospel story presents itself as a Drama; stupendous indeed, but not more stupendous than perfect perfect we mean as a Drama, or concatenated series of acts with beginning, middle, and end; and the very first pre-requisite of any Life of Christ recast by human art is that the great turning points of the dramatic development should so stand out, as to compel the reader to recognize their commanding significance. These great salient points once shown, once so recognized, all else falls into its place; the least instructed reader will have a distinct conception of the Christ-life as a whole; and then, and not till then, is he in a position to appreciate either the significance of the several parts, or the value of the detailed exposition which those parts require. We readily admit that we can often recognize, that Dr. Farrar is by no means blind to the import of events viewed in the light of which we speak. But though oftentimes he is not oblivious, still there is a lack of distinctness about the larger lights and shadows of the history, so that the strong turning points of what, for want of a better term, we will call the dramatic development of the Gospel history do not stand out upon his pages, so as to fasten themselves upon the reader's imagination, and so compel him to realize the unity of the whole. No doubt it would demand no small literary skill so to dispose his materials as to prevent these