38 Four Letters written by the Rev. George Millard. 
because I find it, in its consequences, to be an excellent way for the promoting 
of X** Knowledge, I suppose may not be unacceptable to y® Society, if I lay 
it before them. Having for some years pass’t, to my sorrow observ’d that 
y° Pious Exercise of Singing Psalms in the Publick-worship of God was 
confin’d in my own Church{(as indeed it is in most of our Countrey-Churches) 
only to a few select Persons in the Congregation, and these for the most part 
plac’d in a Gallery by themselves, or some other apartment in the Church, 
and all Sirriveé pown during the Performance, whilst the rest of y° people 
likewise Srr, and are Silent, & seem no way concern’d in that part of Divine 
Worship; I resolv’d, if possible, to redress this Grievance in my Parish 
Church: and, I bless God, I have effectually done it. The method I took for 
it was this: after several Discourses from y* Pulpit, setting forth the necessity, 
usefullness, and Advantage of y* Duty, &c: I began on the 6" day of February 
last to teach all o*. Charity Children, now at School, to Sing Psalms by Notes; 
and I found y™ so apt to learn, that by Exercising them only 2 hours in a day, 
they became perfect in 4 Tunes in little more than a week: Insomuch that 
on y*® 24. Sunday after, they Sung them in the Church, to the Admiration of 
the whole Congregation then present. This Speedy Improvement of theirs 
in the Art of Singing, made most of the young men & maidens, and little 
Children of the Parish, (to the number of 160 and odd) very desirous to be 
admitted to y° same Instruction: and to Encourage and assist y™ all therein, 
I gave to every one of them, a little Book for that purpose; pricking down 
the Tunes for them, and appointing y™ to meet me every Tuesday, Thursday, 
& Saturday at night in the Church; where we usually sang about an hour 
and a half: And every Sunday in the Afternoon, I appointed 2 or 3 Psalms 
to be sung before Divine Service began; and the like performance after it was 
over: which practice we still keep up; and the later I constantly attend and 
give out y® Psalms, my Self. ’Tis hardly possible for me to express what a 
fondness the generality of my People, both old and young, now have for this 
Divine Ordinance of Singing Psalms, which before was almost laid aside, or 
however observ’d but by a very few. 
By this pious Artifice our Church is now so fill’d yt we have scarce Room 
enough to contain the People, notwithstanding we added an Isle that holds 
more than 100, when we rebuilt it, about 4 years agoe. “Tis to the great Joy 
of my Soul, that by this little Labour, and the Blessing of God upon it, (to 
whose name only be all the Glory) I have brought the greater Number of my 
Congregation to Joyne in the Singing of Psalms; and I doubt not but, ina 
very little time more, the whole will have skill enough to bear a part in this 
Heavenly Exercise: To facilitate which, I oblige them to keep only to a few 
tunes, and those the oldest, and most Grave; and I require them to perform it 
always STANDING, as the most becoming posture for it; which is now observed 
throughout the whole Church, as well by those that doe not, as by those that 
doe sing. 
About 3 weeks since, my Parish Clark, who also teaches the Charity 
Children, was taken ill, and very likely to have Dyed. This made me 
solicitous where I should get another to succeed him; and having no one in 
my Parish so well Qualify'’d both for the Clarkship, and teaching School, as 
I c*. wish, I resolv’d to make Application to the Society to get me one that 
