It is to be understood that those Psalms which in the preceding table are in larger characters, are such as are said in two or more divisions; so that the principle of nine at Matins, four, besides the canticle, at Lauds, five at Vespers, and three at all the other hours, may be constantly observed. It must be confessed that the division of some of these Psalms seems rather arbitrary. Thus, while the 51st and 88th, each consisting of nearly twenty verses, are undivided, the 19th, which has only fifteen, is divided. Thus also the first division of the 109th has only four verses.

The Paris, and, following it, many of the French Breviaries, take, so to speak, a theme for the Psalms of each Feria. Thus, Monday is occupied with the goodness of God, as displayed in the works of Creation: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, by Charity, Hope, and Faith: Friday, by our Lord's Passion: Saturday, by the future glory of the Saints.

Now, theoretically, nothing could be more excellent than the weekly recitation of the Psalms. But, practically, it came to pass that, from the fact of all, even semi-double festivals, having proper Psalms, a few of them were repeated over and over again, and the rest left utterly unsaid. The prefaces to the modern Breviaries are full of complaints of this abuse. So Paul Rabusson, or whoever wrote the preface to the Cluniac Reform: 'Porro ea Psalmorum servata distributio est, ut singulis hebdomadibus omnes percurrantur, in quo et veteris Ecclesiæ mos retentus, ' et S. Benedicti sententiæ obtemperatum' . . . 'In hujus operis 'ordine illud primum intendimus, ut juxta antiquam Ecclesiæ 'consuetudinem, plurimorumque Conciliorum decreta, Davidi

'cum Psalterium per singulas Hebdomades recitatum foret,' says Bishop De Rochechouart, in his preface to the Evreux Breviary. Ut quidam Psalmi,' complains Bishop Desnos, per magnam 'anni partem vix semel atque iterum recitarentur: nos rem gratam facturos existimavimus, si eorum sequeremur exempla qui Psalmos ita distribuerunt,' &c. And for this reason, amongst others, Gregory XIII. in his bull, Pastoralis Officii (1573), forbade 'ne scilicet officium majoris partis Feriarum anni omitteretur, et Breviarii ordo subverteretur.' But the most remarkable complaint is that of Cardinal Quignon, in the preface to his Reform, if we put it in juxta-position with the preface to our own Prayer-Book, evidently derived from his; although both lead us a little way from our immediate purpose, inasmuch as they touch on the Lections as well as on the Psalms.

CARDINAL QUIGNON.

'Et profecto, si quis modum precandi olim a majoribus institutum diligenter considerat, horum omnium ab ipsis habitam rationem manifesto deprehendet.

'Sed factum est nescio quo pacto hominum negligentiâ, ut paullatim a sanctissimis illis veterum Patrum institutis discederetur. Nam primum libri Sacræ Scripturæ, qui statis anni temporibus erant perlegendi, vixdum incepti a precantibus præter mittuntur. Ut exemplo esse possunt (sic) liber Genesis, qui incipitur in Septuagesimâ, et liber Isaiæ qui in Adventu, quorum vix singula capita perlegimus, ac eodem modo cetera Veteris Testamenti volumina degustamus magis quam legimus: nec secus accidit in Evangelia et reliquam scripturam Novi Testamenti, quorum in locum successerunt alia, nec utilitate cum his, nec gravitate, comparanda.

'Accedit tam perplexus ordo, tamque difficilis precandi ratio, ut interdum paullo minor opera in inveniendo ponatur, quam, cum inveneris, in legendo.'

ENGLISH PRAYER-BOOK.

The first origin and ground whereof, if a man would search out by the ancient Fathers, he shall find that the same was not ordained but of a good purpose, and for a great advancement of godliness.

That commonly when any book of the Bible was begun, after three or four chapters were read out, all the rest were unread. And in this sort the book of Isaiah was begun in Advent, and the book of Genesis in Septuagesima; but they were only begun, and never read through: after like sort were other books of holy Scripture used.

This godly and decent order of the Fathers hath been so altered and neglected, by planting in uncertain stories and legends ....

'Moreover, the number and hardness of the rules called the Pie, and the manifold changings of the service, was the cause, that to turn the book only was so hard and intricate a matter, that many times there was more business to find out what should be read, than to read it when it was found out.'

There is some truth in the above remarks: but the Reform was carried too far in Quignon's Breviary, and to such an extent in our own as almost to destroy the beauty and appropriateness of our hours. There is surely a wide difference between scarcely ever having the ferial office, as in the ante-Tridentine books, and only having six exceptions from it, as in our own Church. No ritual scholar but must feel the glaring impropriety of carrying the week-day Psalms into Maundy Thursday, Easter Eve, the Epiphany, &c.- of having, in a season of deep humiliation, a Psalm of praise and jubilee; of a penitential Psalm on a high festival. We shall have more to say on this subject when we come to the Lections.

While on the subject of the Psalms, we may give the following verses as to the tones, which are equally ingenious and convenient. They occur in many old Breviaries: we copy from that of S. Remy of Rheims (1557).

Versus tonos declarantes.

Pri. re, la Se. re, fa: Ter. mi, fa: Quart. quoque mi, la :
Quint. fa, fa: Sext. fa, la: Sept. ut, sol: Oct. tenet ut, fa.
Psalmorum mediationes.

La, la, la dat Primus, Sextusque fa, sol, fa Secundus,
Tertius, Octavus: ter fa post sol dabo Terno:

La mutat per re Quart. et post vult dare mi, re.

Septimus in sol, re dabit, et post dat fa, mi, re, mi.

The Psalms naturally lead us to the Antiphons. This most beautiful invention pitches the key-note of the Psalm (as the invitatory of the office); and points out in which of its mystical senses it is at that time to be recited. Thus, for example, the 65th Psalm is, in the Benedictine Breviary, recited in the ferial office for Lauds on Wednesday; the antiphon then is, 'Thou, O God, art praised in Sion.' It is also said in the office of the Dead; and in this case we have the antiphon,' Hear my prayer; unto Thee shall all flesh come;' where the reference is manifestly to the resurrection of the dead. Thus the 46th is said at Matins on Tuesday, with the antiphon,' A very present help in trouble.' It is recited in the Commemoration of a Virgin, under the antiphon, God is in the midst of her, therefore shall she not be removed.' We will now give some examples of the general arrangement of antiphons.

Here are those at Matins on Easter Day, from the York and Salisbury Breviaries, which are here the same as the modern Roman.

'Nocturn.-I am that I am, and my counsel is not with the wicked, but my delight is in the law of the Lord: Alleluia. (Psalm 1.)—I asked my

That is, the mediation of the First and Sixth is, according to this rule, monotonic. The exquisite beauty of such an arrangement of the First, in Mr. Helmore's 137th Psalm, will probably recur to our readers.

Father, Alleluia: and he gave me the Gentiles to my heritage: Alleluia. (Psalm 2.)—I laid me down and slept, and rose up again. Alleluia, Allejuia. (Psalm 3.)'

From the modern Paris :

'Nocturn.-God hath fulfilled his promise, raising up his Son Jesus, as it is written in the Second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee: Alleluia. (Psalm 2.)—In that God raised Him from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he saith on this wise, Thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption: Alleluia. (Psalm 16.)-Him, delivered up by the appointed counsel and foreknowledge of God, God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was impossible that He should be holden of them: Alleluia. (Psalm 30.)'

No doubt the dove-tailing of the Old and New Testament, in the Paris Breviary, is, as we shall more than once have occasion to observe, ingenious to the last degree. One cannot, however, but sometimes feel that the effect is rather too much like a theological lesson, to be always beautiful as a devotion of praise.

The Paris Breviary is followed in its Antiphons by most of those of the French. Here, however, is an exception for Easter Day, from the Breviary of S. Quintin :

'Nocturn.—I laid me down, &c. (Psalm 3.)—Thou hast shewed me the way of life thou hast filled me with the joy of thy presence: Alleluia. (Psalm 16)-Thou hast turned my mourning into joy; thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness: Alleluia. (Psalm 28.)'

The Benedictine Breviary, though containing three Nocturns on Easter Day, has but three Antiphons. They are these:

1. Nocturn.-I am that I am, &c. (Psalms 1, 2, 8, 16, 24, 28.)

2. Nocturn. The earth trembled, and was still, when God arose to judgement: Alleluia. (Psalms 30, 64, 66, 76, 88, 108.)

'3. Nocturn.-Fear not ye ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, Which was crucified. He is risen; He is not here: Alleluia. (Song of Isaiah, lxiii. 1—5; Song of Hosea, vi. 1—6; Song of Zephaniah, iii. 8—13.)'

verse.

The Antiphons of the Salisbury Breviary are frequently in Thus, those of the first nocturn in the Sundays from Trinity to Advent are;

'Pro fidei meritis vocitatur jure beatus
Legem qui Domini meditatur nocte dieque.'

Followed, of course, by the first Psalm.

And

'Naturæ Genitor conserva morte redemptos,
Facque tuo dignos servitio famulos.'

Pectora nostra tibi tu conditor orbis adure,
Igne pio purgans, atque cremando probans.'

The need felt of Antiphons, which, not being entirely or always taken from holy Scripture, may more definitely express

what they are intended to signify, is curiously shown by the devices sometimes adopted to point out, irrespectively of them, in what mystical sense the Psalm for the time being is to be taken. Thus, in the Breviary of Bazas, at the first Nocturn of the Feast of the Conception, we have the following:- Ps. Cœli ' enarrant. Cælum, Apostoli; Sol, Christus; Lex, Evangelium. 'Ps. Eructavit cor meum. Christus, Rex; Regina, Virgo 'Mater;" &c. &c.

The manner in which Antiphons are said, in the Breviary, is as follows. In double Festivals the Antiphons are doubled, i.e. said whole, both before and after their Psalm, at Matins, Lauds, and Vespers; on other days they are not doubled, i.e. the first words only are said at the beginning, but the whole at the end. And thus much of Antiphons.

The assistance given by Antiphons to the mystical explanation of the Psalm for that time, is still further explained by the farced Kyries, Epistles, &c., which, in medieval times, were so much in use. We give an example of the former from a Lyon edition of the Missal of Pope Paul III., where we have this:

'Sequuntur quædam devota verba super Kyrie eleison, Sanctus, et Agnus Dei, ibi ob pascendam nonnullorum Sacerdotum devotionem posita, quæ, licet non sint de Ordinario R. E., tamen in certis missis ibidem annotatis licite dicendæ.'

This is one.

"Kyrie cunctipotens genitor Deus omnicreator—eleison.
Fons et origo boni, pia luxque perennis-eleison;

Sanctificet pietas tua nos bone Rector,-eleison.

Christe Dei splendor, virtus Patrisque Sophia-eleison ;
Plasmatis humani sator, lapsi reparator-eleison; }

Ne tua damnetur Jesu factura, eleison.

Kyrie, amborum spiramen nexus amorque-eleison;
Purgator culpæ, veniæ largitor opima-eleison;
Offensas dele, sacro nos numine reple-eleison.'

The insertions are called Tropes. They continued in use in Sicily till the middle of the last century, and may do so now. Farced Epistles are still more curious. There is one published by M. Edelestand du Meril, from a MS. at Sens, of the thirteenth century. We may imitate it thus, not a whit exaggerating its rudeness :

'The Church shall raise her voice to sing The glory of the Heavenly King: And in the praise of John be said The Epistle that shall now be read. From the Wisdom of Solomon. Attend, ye faithful, every one! The Holy Ghost proclaimed of old This lection to the chosen fold.

He that feareth the Lord, will do good:

And when this evil life is past, Receive the King's reward at last.

And he that hath knowledge of the law shall obtain her, and as a mother shall she meet him: