A COLLECTION OF HYMNS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19583, 12 September 1925, Page 7

A COLLECTION OF HYMNS.

jijbii.ee op a famous COMPILATION. “ Hymns Ancient and Modem ” are celebrating an important jubilee year. Long before 1875, of course, this popular collection of hymns had made its appearance, but the present anniversary of the publication of the revised edition is a memorable one, inasmuch as it recalls the final stage in the long and painstaking labours of devout men in be- | queathing a real treasury of spiritual eong (says John o' Ijor.don’a Weekly), For the actual beginnings of ” H. A, and M.” we must go back to the early ’fifties, when every other parish used some different collection of hymns, some of them an good as others were indifferent and poor. Something like 500 collections were said to bo scattered over tho land, and a grand old hymn would often bo tinkered with to suit the poetical and theological whims of the various compilers. It was the rector of Cbislehurst, in Kent, who first insisted that, as a moans of bringing order out of the medley, (he old and the new livmns should be gathered together, the best sifted from the worst, and a collection made that would meet with general approval. So heartily was bis proposal received that a meeting was held in a Pimlico vicarage, and there it was that the editors of certain existing hymnals and a number of clergy began the preparation of a uniform collection. Certainlv the compilers had no lack of material from which to make their selection. Early in the eighteenth century Isaac "Watts had given an impulse to the writing of hymns, and there were in existence thousands of poems which breathed the spirit of simple, unaffected pictv. Thev had, in addition, the wealth of old traditional hymns which went hack to the earliest days of tho faith, and thus it was Unit thev could name their collection "Ancient and Modern.” Late in 1850 the committee brought out their first hvmnal. Its 130 hymns were intended for use while they were pursuing their tusk, which involved much labonrious research endless careful translations, and a shrewd choice of tunes to suit the sentiment and metrical form of the verse. The lull book was i=suc! in the following year. It contained 573 hymns. Carofullv as the compilers had done them work, (hey did not reward it as at all complete' and within a short lim<* thev added an . appendix carrying the total from 273 to 3SG. Supplementary hymns have been added since. ; but as regards the scope and arrangement, | it is tho revised edition, issued exactly s') j '•oars ago, that remains in use in so many churches to-dav challenged only by the much newer English ' Hymnal. No collection of j in-.,,,,, in the language lias ever had a wider j appeal and it is estimated that the conics j of "H. A. and M." sold now far exceed | 30,0011,000.

Mossr? Baldwin and Rayward (District Managers, Mi rams Bros. 21 Crawford street, 0 Dunedim, Head Office, Wellington, report that recently they acted as agents in tiling the following applications for Letters Patent :—C. Inn is iKoxlfern), water flushing brush for cleaning car wheels and the idee; Barnard, Hartley, and Davidson flfitnitangi). an improved tape wrench : . B. Holland (Sydney), hand loader for concrete mixer: British Aluminium Co., Ltd (London), improvements relating to alloys; T w. J futehins (Davcnham). improvements relating to the electro deposition of metals; Klia and Lucas Llaly!, improvement s in or relating to mine-sweeping apparatus. Send for “Inventor’s Onine.” Post iree.— A o v t.