TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11104, 24 October 1901, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The objection taken by Bishop Church Julius to popular taste in Hymns, hymns scarcely applies to congregations, only. It is one of the curiosities ■- of criticism ' that while, hardly a modern Synod meets without allusion to this vexed point, any modern emendations approved; by Synods have so far 'been only in the direction of gathering together a larger amount of weak hymnmatter to be chosen from. During the. last .thirty years for instance, Anglican hymnbooks have progressed from a collection ending modestly with "Hymn No. 222," to '*Hymns Ancient and Modern," with 473 examples, and finally to the present Ancient and" Modern edition, containing "Supplemental Hymns," which bring up the number to 638. - Quantity • not quality," would seem indeed to be the motto of most hymn-book , compilers; and this can act but badly upon-a popular taste not incapable possibly. of being improved by the study of a few finely chosen compositions. The ideal church hymn-book would, no doubt, be the one" in which, as Roundell Palmer put it>, when comparing Christian Hymnody with the sacred work of early (painters, "the constant enthusiastic contemplation of a few subjects, dear to the universal heart of Christendom, and embodying" the highest conceptions of Divine purity and beauty, produced- a simplicity, refinement, aad spirituality of style which could never tire, notwithstanding its limited range." Nevertheless, he was a crude critic who once proposed to expurgate all hymns beginning with "O,*' as certain to contain insincere aspiration and bad meta•plror. Nor -would it. be safe to condemn every popular hymn in "which ''educated and thoughtful ipeople", have failed to per*ceive the redeeming feature of sohgfulnees, taking imagery, or an appeal to those "sentimental" movements of * the human Heart which after all have "a way now and egain of asserting themselves against any rebuke from the literary instincts. One remembeis, in this connection, how the V.C. in the "Story of a Short Life" sang to his, friend, "The Son of God goes fortTi to ,war, A kingly crown to gain;" while involuntarily his active -brain was crossed by "a critical sense of the crude barbaric taste of childhood, and a wonder what consolation the suffering boy could find in these garudy lines." One remembers also how Gladstone attacked the sentiment metaphor, and general, construction of tbe sacred lyric, "Jesu, lover of my soul," which still, only last year, was found to hold third place in the voting upon "My favourite hymn" instituted amongst the readers of A first-class religious periodical. That public favour changes is shown by the result of this vote. In this 1900 plebiscite, "Lead, kindly light," and "Peace, perfect peace," tied for second place. In a previous experiment made in 1887, the former took only fifteenth place, and the latter seventy-seventh. "Sun of mv soul," "For ever with tne Lord," and "God moves ■ iv a mysterious way," which in 1887 were i placed among the first twelve out of a j hundred, received in-1900 only one vote . each. Church singing, however, usually represents the xhoice rather of the clergyman and the organist than the people. A plebiscite among Church people on "My favourite Church hymn," might give some interesting light on the question of congregational preferences.

They say the world loves A Romance a lover, ■ and no doubt of young Richard Cecil and The Peerage, his Irish bride will hay* plenty of sympathy in their matrimonial difficulties, the story of which is told in this morning's cable messages. Co—ridering the tender years of the bridegroom, most people will agree that the boy's mother was wise in trying to prevent his marriage, be it to a stockbroker's daughter or a peeress of the realm. But when love laughs at locksmiths, it is not likely to bo stopped by a writ of injunction, and so the wedding has taken place after all. It is a

—■ ' *" ' —*——■——» pity, perhaps, that the headstrong young aristocrat could not have been pent back to ''h ""school instead of to a Court of Justice. Bnt T whatever may be said of bis wisdom, he sp. „.?!! pears to be a lad of spirit, and his action -!fH in "boldly surrendering himself" to the Lord '{i'% Chancellor will doubtless enlist the sym- " " pathies of all the fair sex on his side. The , (T. cynical will find in lite incident another instance of the usefulness of the British arig. ■ x * tocracy. in providing matrimonial "sensa- ■ tions" for the newspapers. The reference in . the cable to the legacy of half a million sterling which the bridegroom will receive on his twenty-fifth birthday, recalls the struggle for Sir William Brooks's millions which formed a "cause celebre" quite re- . cently, and which, it is, said, has not yet - been ended. Sir William Cunliffe Brooks was a millionaire Manchester banker, who died on June 9th, 1900, at the ago of eighty. ...~, one. Although the soul of generosity, h» Z'\ was & strange old man, with an enormous ifc-' belief in himself. Nobody will ever know *■'-~ • what he spent on his Scottish estate of Glen- . - tana (lying in the shadow of Byron's "Afor- ..* yen"), which he bought for £120,000, and '/■ turned, into a veritable paradise. He built such gorgeous cowsheds and henhouses that his neighbours in Dceside used .to refer to them as the "coo cathedral." He hud two •- daughters. The elder married the Marquis of Huntly, said to be one of the most handsome men in the peerage, and tho second - daughter married Lord Francis Cecil, uncle - of the Marquis of Exeter, and father of young Richard Cecil. On Sir William Brooks's ' , death his will (one of 200 that the eccentric '„ old man had made during his life) was proved at £1,112,476 I6s 2d. By this will it was found that he had left all his heritable es- " tares in Scotland, including Aboyne Castle, the Marquis of Huntly's ancestral home, to his grandson, Ean Cecil, then to his other grandson, Richard Cecil, and then to theii ''. mother, Lady Francis Cecil. His other ■ '•■ daughter, the Marchioness of Huntly. only -''-',' received a life-rent of Aboyne Castle, while Sir William's widow had to be content with two pictures and the £1500 a year settled on ' b?r at the time of his marriage, TII3 will . was disputed by the Marquis of Huntly and Z': .' his wife, and also by the millionaire's widow, ' \~ who claimed, moreover, that Sir William's "f wealth was much greater than the amount :"* for which his will was proved. If Sir Wil- -'" " liam had been a Scot, or even if he had had-■< • "a Scots domicile, he would have had to -X--" leave a third of his free movable property =?' ' to his widow and a third to his children, 7' leaving only a third to dispose of at his " pleasure. But the Court of Session has de- • cided that .Sir William was not a domiciled Scot, and as a free-born Englishman he could " dispose of liis property us he chose. It is [ stated, however, that the will may be con-' ; ■ tested on other grounds in the Eng*i_n'/ Courts. ~ i

In Conan Doyle's de- , ■ Sherlock Holmes tective stories many a ■ '-' Again. burglar's victim had * j cause to be grateful to •- ' the famous Sherlock Holmes. The experi- \ ence of Lord Anglesey in real life, how- • ever, has bei»n just the re-rerse. The Mar- .',. ,quis went the other day to see "Sherlock Holmes'—at a London theatre—and in his ~ absence a thief went through his jewel cabinet and robbed him of £30,GQ0 worth /. i of precious .stones. ,It was surely ono of H Fate's most refined pieces of irony that J ; j after witnessing tho clever methods of the \J great detective of fiction the Marquis should return to find his own rooms rifled, and - T his treasures gone. To be sure, £12,000 /"' worth of jewels were afterwards- found - Z strewn in confusion under a bed, the burglar -* 1 having evidently dropped them in his haste; .■ i; ~uo tliat was poor consolation "for tho miss- * ing £530,000 worth. It required no Shea- - loc)-; Holmes to guess who the robber was. . \ His Lordship's French valet had disappeared • \ as well as the jewels. Duric-g Lord Anglesey's absence ab the. theatre the yalet, it transpired, had borrowed the beys of Lord fAnglesey's room, where he was seen cover- - ing something up with.linen. The missing \. boxes were subsequently found under some linen; they iiad been forced open, and "* all the jewels, except one pearl pin, had gone. Lord Anglesey, .it appears, is a con- '-{' noisseur of precious stones, and for .sonic time past has made the selection 'of rare - and'curious specimens of-tho jeweller's art' ; a hobby. The stolen jewels consist largely :'"' ~\ of»' splendid collection of diamond and „ pearl rings, besides a number of fantastic ! cally wrought articles of jewellery of great value. It will not be easy for the robber Ito dispose of these without being discovered, v Meanwhile, a warrant has been issued for the -valet's arrest, and .-when t*he last mail ; : i [ w- .-n the ways of escape were being careI fully watched. In the absence of a Sherlock Holmes, Lord Anglesey has engaged ..; "■ the services of one of the ablest detetrtaves; -Vr 'in real life to'investigate the : ; ':-..;.