was a Proper Psalm for Easter Day as well as for Christmas, and for Easter its Antiphon was: "I asked my Father, Alleluya, and He gave me the Gentiles, Alleluya, for mine inheritance. Alleluya." Once again, Psalm ii. was a Proper Psalm for Good Friday, but now its Antiphon was, "The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together: against the Lord and against his anointed." Again, we have seen how Psalm xix. was antiphoned for Christmas Day; but as it occurred on Sundays in Advent it was antiphoned with the verse, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast away the works of darkness and put upon us the armour of light." The modern Paris Breviary (the use of which has now been abolished by the Pope) was often very happy in the manner in which it illuminated the mystical sense of the Psalms by the construction of Antiphons embodying New Testament language, which threw back a flood of bright light upon the obscurer utterances of the older dispensation. Thus, on Easter Day we find as the Antiphon to Psalm xvi., "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." The subject is a tempting one; but enough has been said to show that this ingenious and beautiful device, though, it is true, not always employed with discretion in the old Breviaries, contains in it great possibilities. And I believe that, at least for the greater Holy Days, it would not demand super F human skill to arrange a set of Antiphons that would be a help rather than a hindrance to the devotional use of the Psalter. A rubric permissive of the use of such Antiphons is all that should be aimed at; and there can be little doubt, I think, that the advantages of such a system would before long lead to its extensive, if not general, adoption. The use of the Antiphon was not confined in its application to the Psalms. The New Testament Canticles, Benedictus and Magnificat, exhibit some fine examples of this beautiful liturgical feature. Most notable among these is the series of antiphons, known as the Greater Antiphons, to the Magnificat, which marked the approach of Christmas, and commenced on December 16th. This day was commonly noted in the old Kalendars with the opening words of the first of the series, O Sapientia-" O Wisdom, which hast issued forth from the mouth of the Most High," etc. And though the note in the Kalendar disappeared, together with the Antiphons, from the earlier Prayer Books, the words "O Sapientia found their way back into the Kalendar in 1561, and at the last revision in 1662 they obtained a place in it duly authorised by Convocation and by Parliament. It seems to me that the seven "Oes" as they stand in the present Roman Breviary are free from anything to which an Anglican Churchman could object, and only need a skilful rendering to be accepted with general applause.* Another beautiful feature of the pre-Reformation *The same could not be said of the Antiphons, "O virgo virginum," and "O Thoma Didime," in the Sarum series. Office, the respond to the lessons, excellent as they were in the case of the short lessons and capitula then in use, do not seem to me capable of being adapted with advantage to the modern lectionary system of the Anglican Churches. We have said that it would be difficult to detect the composite character of our present Matins and Evensong, formed though they were by the union of distinct services in the old Breviaries. Perhaps, however, one instance may be found where the perfect appropriateness of an ancient collect is obscured by its dislocation from its original surroundings. There are few, if any, more exquisitely beautiful forms in the Prayer Book than the third collect at Evening Prayer: "Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord: and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ." But it is not so easy to enter into its full meaning in the broad flood of daylight at half-past two or three o'clock on a summer afternoon as at the solemn, closing hour of the day, when the ancient Compline was recited, after which men sought their rest in sleep. In a much less degree, but yet in a sensible measure, the superiority of the position of the Nunc Dimittis as placed at the end of the day will be felt. He would, perhaps, be reckoned a bold man who would suggest a substitute for either of these forms at an early Evening Prayer.* But still the more perfect fitness of their * As regards the Nunc Dimittis, we must remember that the Reformers supplied an alternative in the Deus Misereatur. position in the ancient services must, I think, be acknowledged. Nor can I wonder that at the late revision of the Book of Common Prayer in the Church of Ireland it was permitted, at discretion, to use as an alternative, “O almighty Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe," etc. (the second of our post-communion collects), instead of "Lighten our darkness," etc. We can become used to any familiar form of words, however incongruous, by not thinking about them; but the fact remains, "this night" is an expression that is not appropriate to an early afternoon service. We now turn to consider the manner in which the Reformers dealt with their material in detail.* * I have purposely avoided touching on the early variations in the use of the Antiphon. On this the reader should consult Batiffol's Histoire du Bréviaire Romain, chap. iii. § 1. Again, if it is desired to know the variations in the mode of singing the Invitatory on "simple feasts,' "double feasts," etc., the practice of Sarum will be found in W. H. Frere's Sarum Customs, pp. 37-39. CHAPTER V. PRIMITIVE ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH PRAYER BOOK-THE KYRIE. SOME OME of the liturgical forms embedded in the English Prayer Book come down to us from remote antiquity. Putting out of view the very large body of material derived from Holy Scripture, which we find in the Lessons, the liturgical Epistles and Gospels, the Psalms, the Biblical Canticles, and the Versicles and Responses, etc., we possess certain devotional elements whose histories extend back till they are lost in the mists and shadowy uncertainties that hang round much of Christian life and worship in the infancy and childhood of the Church. A striking example of these primitive elements is found in what is sometimes styled "the lesser litany," that pathetic cry of penitence and awe which finds utterance in the words : "Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. It is interesting to observe that the services of the Latin Church, from which we have immediately derived this child-like utterance of the heart, have retained it in its Greek form. The Missals, the |