"And so, Harry, my boy, you have really made up your mind to be a chorister?" said Mr. Ambrose to old Matthew's grandson, one Sunday morning. "Yes, if you please, sir," was his reply. "Grandfather says he should like me to be one." "And you wish it yourself, do you?" "Yes, sir." "Very well. You are a well-conducted boy, and God has given you a good musical voice, so we shall be very pleased to have you amongst us. But you must never forget that there is not only a high honour, but also a very solemn responsibility connected with the office of a chorister. Always remember, then, that you are in a very especial way God's servant, that His eye is upon you, and that He will expect you to do your duty in the very best way you possibly can. You must sing and give praise with the best member that you have Before the commencement of the Morning Prayers little Harry was solemnly admitted a member of the choir. The ceremony was a very simple, but yet a very solemn one. On this occasion the usual order of entering the church was reversed. Mr. Ambrose came first, then the eight senior members of the choir, then the seven boy choristers, and last came Harry. All wore their surplices except Harry, and he carried his new little surplice on his arm. During the procession solemn music was played on the organ. As soon as it ceased, all knelt down to say their private prayers, Harry kneeling on a cushion prepared for him at the entrance to the chancel. It was the custom at St. Catherine's for all the congregation to stand up when the priest and choir entered; which custom, besides being a mark of respect for His presence to whom they were about to dedicate their worship and service, had this advantage—that it induced all to say their private prayers at the same time, and thus avoided much confusion; it tended also to prepare the mind at once to enter into the spirit of the public service. After a short pause, Mr. Ambrose read a portion of the third chapter of the first book of Samuel. He then addressed Harry in these words:— "Henry, before I proceed to admit you a member of the choir of this church, you must promise, before God and this congregation, that in the solemn office on which you are about to enter, you will always strive above all things to promote His glory. Do you so promise?" Little Harry, in a timid, trembling voice, answered, "I do so promise." The Vicar and choir then sang, alternately, the following sentences:— Priest.—"Our help is in the name of the Lord;" Choir.—"Who made heaven and earth." P.—"O Lord, bless and keep this Thy servant;" C.—"Who putteth his trust in Thee." P.—"Accept his service in this Thy House;" C.—"And make the voice of Thy praise to be glorious." P.—"Lord, hear our prayer;" C.—"And let our crying come unto Thee." Mr. Ambrose then read these verses:— "And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place—also the Levites, which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:—it came even to pass as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals, and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God The choir then sang, "Glory be to Thee, O God," during which time the senior choir boy led little Harry into the middle of the choir, where he knelt down on a cushion prepared for him. Mr. Ambrose then said this prayer: "O most merciful Father, before whom 'Samuel ministered, being a child, girded with a linen ephod,' give, we pray Thee, to this Thy youthful servant such gifts as shall enable him to sing Thy praise, and promote Thy glory in this Thy Temple, and grace to worship Thee acceptably in the beauty of holiness, and to adorn the doctrine of Christ his Saviour in all things. Amen." Harry then stood up, and as Mr. Ambrose placed on him his little surplice, he said,— "Henry, I robe you in this surplice in token that you are now set apart to be a chorister, and, together with those around you, to assist in the high and glorious work of leading the praises of God in this church: let the whiteness of this robe always remind you of that purity which should mark the service you here offer up to God. I pray you never, either here The new chorister then took his place in the choir, whilst the organ almost thundered the following chorus, in which all joined:— "O Great and Mighty God, with angels and archangels we laud and magnify Thy glorious name. Amen." The usual morning service then proceeded. Many eyes were fixed on the earnest, thoughtful little face that appeared for the first time in the choir; and with not a little pardonable pride did old Matthew watch the hearty efforts of his grandson to fulfil the promise he had just made. It had long been a custom for the Vicar and Mr. Mendles, the organist, to partake of a late meal at the Hall when their Sunday duties were ended; and on this Sunday evening the Squire accompanied them home from church. "Our little friend," said he, "will be quite an acquisition to the choir; he has a very sweet voice." "Yes, he has," replied the Vicar; "and what is of no less importance, he is sure to conduct himself well. But, for that matter, I have no reason to complain of any one of our choir; for, thanks to Mr. Mendles, and to their own sense of propriety, I don't believe there is a better conducted choir in any parish than ours." "That is very much owing to your allowing no men to be there who are not communicants." "That's a good rule, no doubt, and accounts, perhaps, more than any thing for their reverent behaviour. You well know, Mr. Mendles, there was little reverence enough once." "The great difficulty," said Mr. Mendles, "is to persuade the choir that they should sing to God, with the congregation, not to the congregation. I strive both to learn myself, and to teach them, that our singing should be worship, not the mere exhibition of talent, and that we ought to rejoice when the congregation join in, not when they only listen to our hymns and "And we all feel the benefit of that lesson too," said the Vicar, "for whereas formerly nothing but flashy tunes which enabled them to show off their own talent would please the choir, we have now, thank God, a solemn and devotional character in the music of our liturgical services, and a joyful gladness in the music of our hymns—equally far removed from levity and from mournfulness—which, with our praises and our prayers, seem to float up our very souls to heaven." "I think we must attribute the success of our musical services in some measure to the new position of the organ, must we not, Mr. Mendles?" said the Squire. "Most certainly. There can be no doubt that the most convenient position for the organ-chamber is either on the north or south side of the chancel; or, if the organ is divided, on both sides. It is a misfortune that, as organs were but little known when most of our old churches were erected "True," said the Squire; "specially as in our days the organ is regarded as all but a necessity in every church. Certainly, there is no musical instrument so suitable for congregational worship, for whilst it represents all kinds of music, it exactly realizes the description given in the account of the dedication of the temple which Mr. Ambrose read this morning, and brings together the cymbals and the psalteries and the harps, and the trumpeters and the singers 'as one.' "It is a curious fact—is it not, sir?—that whereas the presence
Nothing but holy, pure, and clear, Or that which groaneth to be so, May at his peril farther go." George Herbert. |