CHURCH MUSIC. 25 
thought of; “ I am thinking,” fays he, “ of the great god of 
“ heaven, and that I muff die !” — ’Tis amazing how reafon ri- 
pens in fome children ; how much depends on our parents ; 
and how deep the belief of a gc*d is implanted in us ! 
After dinner Mrs. g ******** condu&ed us to the cathedral, 
where we performed our duty to god, enraptured with an an- 
them of her chilling. The higheft foretafte of the entertain- 
ments of bleffed fpirits, feems to be that of the heart, devoted 
to the fervice of god, joined to a well-improved underftand- 
ing, and afiifted by a lively imagination. If to thefe we add 
that fenlibility of the charms of mulic, which fome poffefs as if 
it were by immediate infpiration from heaven, what pleafure 
can we conceive to be more exalted ? 
Whenever divines or poets attempt to give us a notion of ce- 
leftial joys, how naturally they recur to the idea of mulic! 
What would the devotion of the vulgar be without finging ? 
If we look into the world at large, we fhall find that all 
nations, of all religions, ufe finging of fome kind or other. 
The mahommedan priefts, at certain Hated hours, from turrets 
ere&ed for that purpofe, pronounce their creed with loud ac- 
clamations, and invoke the people to pray ; tho’ in private they 
repeat their addrefies to the almighty in a low voice, or awful 
filence. The pagans invoke their gods with loud fongs of 
praife and thankfgiving. The jews are very loud in their pub- 
lic prayers. You know the greatefk part of the devotion of the 
romanists is performed by finging. The Lutherans and cal- 
vinists, tho’. feparated from the papists, v/ould think they 
