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however, there are only fourteen bars; whereas the former has sixteen the former, too, is in a minor key; and although one may have been derived from the other, we certainly could not admit the justness of this claim on such slender grounds.

In the "Proceedings of the London Highland Society" occurs the following paragraph :

:

"It cannot now be decisively ascertained who was the composer of this celebrated air, or whether it was of Scotch, English, or German extraction. It seems, indeed, to have been a compilation; for a part of the air is to be found in a collection of Scotch music published at Aberdeen, in the reign of William and Mary;" (alluding, probably, to Forbes's Cantus;) "but to whomsoever this air is to be attributed, there is every reason to believe that the original words to which the air was sung were Scotch, and composed in favour of the House of Stuart."

The writer then proceeds to say, that he had had an opportunity of copying some verses, which he supposed to be the original ones, from an inscription cut in glass on an old drinking-cup, preserved at FingaskCastle, in the Carse o'Gourie, North Britain, the seat of a family who had been distinguished for their attachment to the House of Stuart. The verses ran thus:

"God save the King, I pray,
God bless the King, I pray,
God save the King;
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Soon to reign over us;

God save the King.

"God bless the Prince of Wales,
The true-born Prince of Wales,
Sent us by thee;
Grant us one favour more,
The King for to restore,
As thou hast done before
The familie."

From the second verse, it would appear that the song was written, or at least adapted, somewhere about the year 1720, after the Pretender, son of James II., had been defeated

in Scotland; and about the time that the Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart, who was regarded as the rightful Prince of Wales by his adherents, was born.

About twenty years ago, Mr. Hogg, the Ettrick shepherd, produced a work under the title of "Jacobite Relics of Scotland; being the Songs, Airs, and Legends of the Adherents to the House of Stuart." The song No. 24, in this collection, is named the King's Anthem;" concerning which are the following remarks:

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The King's Anthem' is the original of the anthem now so universally sung, which has changed sides, like many staunch Jacobites, and more modern politicians, when conveniences suited. The music was undoubtedly composed at a later period than either of these two songs appear to have been; but I have forgot the circumstances of its history."

Mr. Clark, who has collected, with much industry, all that had been previously known respecting the National Anthem, attempts to show that " 'God save the King" was written at the request of the Merchant-Taylors' Company; that Ben Jonson was employed to write it; that Dr. Bull, also by request of the Company, composed the tune; and that it was sung, for the first time, at Merchant-Taylors' Hall, in the year 1607, at an entertainment given to King James I., in commemoration of his escape from the Gunpowder-Plot.

In the first place, Mr. Clark gives a copy of " God save our noble King," from a music-book, once the property of Thomas Britton, the "musical small-coal-man ;" and on the title-page of this book is written, "Deane Monteage, given to him by his father, 1676." This is adduced as a proof that the air was composed not after the time of Charles II., who died in 1685; and, therefore, that if the song first related to a King James, it must have been King James I., since James II. came after Charles II. Another circumstance cited is, that Dr. Blow, who lived in the time of Charles II.,

wrote a song in honour of that Mo- undergone so many attempts at

narch, commencing,

"God preserue His Majesty,

And for ever send him victory,

And confound all his enemies;"

the words of which are supposed to bear such a resemblance to the National Anthem, as to render it probable that the latter was familiarly known by the writer.

Ward, in his "Lives of the Gresham Professors," while speaking of the musical talents of Dr. Bull, Professor in the time of King James I., gives a list of the Doctor's musical compositions, among which is one entitled, "God save the King." The tune is not mentioned; nor is there any evidence to show that this title related to the same song, as the one now known by that

name.

Dr. Bull lived in but one King's reign, namely, James I.; and attended as organist at MerchantTaylors' Hall, where certain songs, poems, &c., purporting to be writ. ten by Ben Jonson, were performed before the King and his court. This occurred shortly after the Gunpowder-Plot. From these materials Mr. Clark has not hesitated to draw a conclusion,-that "God save the King" was written by Ben Jonson, and composed by Dr. Bull, at the request of the Merchant-Taylors' Company; and performed in the presence of King James I., in commemoration of the King's escape from the conspiracy of Guido Fawkes. Far different from those who have thought the words of the song were strictly applicable to the circumstances of King James II., Mr. Clark, after quoting the lines,

"Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks,"

says: "I would here ask, whom the above sentiments are meant to allude to, if not to the conspirators in the Powder-Plot."

ATTEMPTS TO IMPROVE THE
NATIONAL ANTHEM.

Ir is doubtful whether any other song in the English language has

change as the National Anthem, or resisted more successfully the permanent adoption of any "improvements." Whether this be attributable to the real merit of the words, or to the circumstance that they have become too closely interwoven with English habits and customs to be superseded by others, we shall not pretend to determine: probably both causes are partially true.

If we take the printed copy of "God save the King" in the "Gentleman's Magazine," for 1745, as the earliest known copy manifestly identical with the present anthem, we shall find that a century, at least, has been unable to effect any change in the version. There are, in the first, fourth, fifth, and thirteenth bars, slight deviations from what we now regard as the correct tune; but our attention is here directed to the words. In the same volume of the veteran Magazine is, "An Attempt to improve the Song, God save the King,' the former Words having no Merit but their Loyalty." Whether this "attempt" was a successful one, the reader may judge from the following two stanzas :

"Fame, let thy trumpet sound,
Tell all the world around,

Great George is King;
Tell Rome, and France, and Spain,
Britannia scorns their chain;
All their vile arts are vain;

Great George is King.

"He peace and plenty brings,
While Rome's deluded Kings
Waste and destroy.
Then let his people sing,
Long live our gracious King,
From whom such blessings spring,

Freedom and joy."

In the "King's Anthem" already alluded to, as forming part of Mr. Hogg's "Jacobite Relics," the following stanza (the fourth) will show how the anthem was made to bear various burdens, according to the politics of the period :

"God bless the happy hour,
May the Almighty power
Make all things well;
That the whole progeny,
Who are in Italy,
May soon and suddenly
Come to Whitehall,"

This evidently alludes to the family of the Pretender, at the time when the court of Rome encouraged the claim of the Stuarts to the British throne.

The next song in Mr. Hogg's collection is called, "Britons who dare to claim," and is adapted to the same tune. It appears to have been written about the time when the House of Hanover succeeded to the English throne. It is an inflated production, of six stanzas; and the two following verses will show how strongly the Pretender and the Young Pretender are alluded to:

"Join in the defence

Of James, our lawful Prince
And native King;

Then shall true Greatness shine,
Justice and Mercy join,
Restored by Stuart's line,
Virtue's great spring.

"Borne on the wings of fame, Charles's heroic name

All his foes dread.

He'll from his father's throne
Pull the usurper down;
Glorious success shall crown

His sacred head."

Every one has heard of Marshal Wade, in connexion with the rebellion of 1745; but it is not so well known that an additional verse was tacked on to "God save the King," in honour of the Marshal. As the Jacobites pressed the National Anthem into their service while opposing the new dynasty, so did the adherents of the House of Hanover employ the same weapon against the fallen House of Stuart.

"Lord, grant that Marshal Wade, May by thy mighty aid,

Victory bring;

May he sedition hush,
And like a torrent rush,
Rebellious Scots to crush!

God save the King!"

It is no slight proof of the estimate in which the national song was held, that each party eagerly availed themselves of it, modified with more enthusiasm than judgment, as an engine of excitement.

Some years ago the Rev. Mr. Wilkinson sent to Mr. Wix, member of a glee-club, a piece of music, which, if genuine, would place the

probable origin of the National Anthem much farther back than is generally supposed. The piece of music was said to have been found among some papers in the churchchest of Gayton, in Northamptonshire. The music is in the old square character, used before round notes were adopted, and is without bars. The tune does not seem to bear much resemblance to the National Anthem of the present day; nor are the words arranged in similar metre; but there is a style running through them which may have suggested an after-production.

"God saue King Henrie wheresoeuer he be, And for Queene Elizabethe now pray wee, And all her noble progenye:

God saue the church of Christ from any follie,

And for Queene Elizabethe now pray wee, And her noble progenye!"

The only Henry to whom this can allude was King Henry VII., by whose marriage with the Princess Elizabeth the civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster were terminated. The marriage took place in 1486, and the song seems to have been written about that period.

We are informed that "God save the King" has now become an adopted national air in many parts of Germany, such as Prussia, Saxony, and Weimar. The author of the "Tour in Germany" says, that, upon the occasion of the King's paying a visit to the theatre at Berlin, when the writer was in that city, the whole immense audience burst forth in a national song begin. ning, Heil dir im sieger kranz, to the tune of "God save the King." The Austrians do not need to borrow from England in this respect, as they have the fine composition of Haydn's Got erhalte Franz den Kaiser, known in England as "God preserve the Emperor."

In the "Gentleman's Magazine," for 1795, is a Latin version of the National Anthem. The name of the translator is not given. Those of our readers who are acquainted with Latin, may be amused at the attempt to render into that language

a song possessing such a peculiar

metre.

O vivas, omnibus Salvus ab hostibus, Georgi, o Rex! Tibi victoriam Deus, et gloriam Det, et memoriam, Optime Rex!

Hostes, o Domine, Ut cadant omine Horrido, da: Præbe, calicolens! Deus omnipotens! Atque omnisciens! Auxilia.

Fiat clarissimus El beatissimus Georgius Rex; Cujus judicio, Cujus auspicio Et beneficio,

Floreat Rex!

On many great public events, on the accession of a new Sovereign to the throne, on the escape of a Sovereign from conspiracy, on public festivals, numerous additional stanzas have been appended to this most exciting and remarkable production. A few examples will suffice.

On the occasion of the French Revolution, when, in 1793, every country in Europe was in commotion, the Rev. Mr. Tattersal wrote a new version of the national song, in six verses, of which we give the following:

"England's staunch soldiery,
Proof against treachery,
Bravely unite;

Firm in his country's cause,
His sword each hero draws,
To guard our King and laws,
From factious might.

"When insults rise to wars,
Oak-hearted British tars
Scorn to be slaves;
Ranged in our wooden walls,
Ready when duty calls,
To send their cannon-balls
O'er ocean's waves."

The last occasion wherein Queen Charlotte appeared in public, was when she visited the National Schools, in 1818; when the National Anthem was sung, with two additional verses in allusion to the Queen herself, of which the following is one :

"Look where these little bands,
Bless, with their helpless hands,
That brow serene!
Kindly approve while we
Bid their pure infancy

Lisp forth its prayer for thee,

God bless the Queen."

A version of the National Anthem was proposed, about twenty years ago, for the use of Philanthropic Societies during the time of peace. The following is one out of four

verses:

"God bless our favour'd land!
Firm may Great Britain stand,
Freedom's bright throne!
Knowledge diffuse around,
Error and vice confound;
May love and peace abound,
To none unknown!"

The late George Colman wrote a version of this song, in which three new verses succeed that one which forms the first of the standard anthem. Of these three we present

one :

"Long may war's clangour cease,
Long may the dove of peace

Here spread her wing!

Lull'd thus in sweet repose,

Oh! from domestic foes,

Oh! from black treason's blows,
Heaven guard the King."

At the time when King George III. was suffering under his mental malady, Mr. Children, of Tonbridge, wrote a version, of which the following is the second stanza :

"Back to his frame and mind,
Fair health and powers refined,
Once again bring;

To thee, with streaming eye,
His trembling people fly,
Oh! hear a nation's cry:
God save the King!"

The last variation from the accustomed version which we shall here give, is the stanza written by Sheridan. It will be remembered, by many, that, on the occasion of King George III. visiting Drury-lane theatre, on the 15th of May, 1800, he was shot at by a man named Hatfield. Sheridan immediately wrote an additional verse to the National Anthem, which was sung by the performers before the King left the theatre:

"From every latent foe,

From the assassin's blow,
God save the King!
O'er him thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend

Our father, Prince, and friend!
God save the King!"

It will thus be seen, even from the few specimens which we have been able to give, how numerous have been the endeavours to improve or modify this fine old song, either by appending additional verses to the original version, or by rewriting the whole. That none of these attempts have permanently held a place in the public mind, may be adduced as proof of merit in the established version; or, it may be, as a proof of the tenacity with which words, when wedded to a particular tune, are retained in connexion therewith.

We may remark that, from the peculiar metre of the song, a change in the first verse becomes necessary when the Sovereign's name consists of more than one syllable. Whether the original song was, "God

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save great James," or "Charles," or George, our King," the effect in the metre would be the same. But, on the accession of Her present Majesty to the throne, a difficulty was felt in adapting the National Anthem to the occasion; and it will be observed that, in the present version, the name of the Sovereign does not occur,-the word Victoria being ill adapted to be introduced into the first, or indeed any subsequent, line, without a greater change in the structure of the whole, than would be willingly tolerated. Chronicles of the Seasons.

REVIEW.

Bibliotheca Sacra: or, Tracts and Essays on Topics connected with Biblical Literature and Theology. Editor, Edward Robinson, D.D., Professor of Biblical Literature in the Union Theological Seminary, New-York, Author of "Biblical Researches in Palestine," &c. 8vo. pp. viii, 575. New-York and London, Wiley and Putnam.

Ir is a most pleasing circumstance connected with American literature, and one that is impressively illustrative of the power of Christianity, that the nearest approaches to an original literature are found in those works which have their origin in religion. For a really original literature, the position of America is not favourable. As a branch of the Anglo-Saxon family, speaking the language of the mother-country, her literature is theirs; and their various productions will be but the continuation of that collection with which they have been, from their youth, as familiar as though the Declaration of Independence had never been put forth, and they had been born under the allegiance in that case due to British sovereignty. Besides, though ancient colonies, they constitute but a

young nation; and a nation, in its state of youthhood, has generally too much to engage its attention in plans of establishment, activity, and profit, to allow of that quiet devotion to mental pursuits which is essential to the existence of a literature that will deserve to be called original. The mind of America is so active, that, if she absolutely needed this, we fully believe that the want would have occasioned the supply. There is in America no deficiency in native talent. But such a want could not be felt. Every thing in literature that America wanted, English literature furnished; and thus the national mind was left free to direct its attention to those objects which a young state is sure, in the first instance, to contemplate, and to seek to secure.

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