ing her own musical compositions by means of a system of figured bass, but the precise nature of the mode adopted is unknown. It is much to be regretted that fuller details cannot be obtained of this lady's life, as her great musical and other abilities, coupled with rare opportunities of obtaining the highest patronage, would doubtless furnish materials for a biography of far greater interest and utility than that which is now presented to the reader.

At the commencement of the nineteenth century several eminent blind musicians held situations as organists in London, amongst whom were conspicuous Grenville, Scott, Lockhart, Purkis, Mather, Stiles, and Warne. Grenville was organist of the Foundling Hospital; Scott at another period occupied the same position, and has left as specimens of his compositions the psalm tunes, Maidstone and Foundling. Lockhart has bequeathed to posterity the tunes, Lambeth and Carlile. Purkis was remarkable as a performer on the apollonicon. Mather was for many years organist of St. Bride's, Fleet Street, with a salary of £70 or £75 per annum. He was also musical instructor at the Institution for the Blind, St. John's Wood. His playing was very much admired, and he was often engaged to give organ performances in churches, and to open new organs in London, and in the most distant parts of the country. He was a musician from infancy, having being appointed organist at the parish church of Walthamstow when only eleven years old. At one period of his life he was much known as a pianist, and his abilities as a vocalist and tuner of pianos were of no mean order. His pupils were very numerous, and it is much to be regretted that he did not place on record the results of his experience, as from what the author knows of his wide range of knowledge, and truthfulness of character, he is confident that the history of his life would have been of essential service to the blind.

Mr. Mather was a great extemporary player. He composed much but published little, and a small piece for the piano entitled: 'Beautiful Belles,' is believed to be the only composition that now bears his name. Like Purkis, he performed frequently on the apollonicon, which sometimes led to a little rivalry, but few men were ever more free from vanity than Mather.

Stiles was for many years organist at St. George's, Bloomsbury, and the musical instructor at the School for the Indigent Blind, Southwark, both of which positions he filled with zeal and ability. Not the least pleasing instrumentalist of the period under review was Mr. Warne, many years organist of the Temple Church, from which office he retired on a small pension.

Notwithstanding the many brilliant performers who have existed, a strong and widely diffused prejudice has frequently been created against blind organists: this has no doubt to some extent been caused by the occasional employment of inefficient persons from motives of benevolence, but the inference that because some blind persons are incapable, therefore all must be inefficient, is so manifestly contrary to the dictates of reason and justice that it may well be matter of surprise that any sane person, much less a clergyman of the Church of England, should be willing to accept such a notion; it is, however, unfortunately too true that a very large number of educated men have been found to adopt this absurdity. To such an extent indeed did it prevail at one time that almost every advertisement for an organist contained the announcement, "No blind need apply;" and writers in public journals were not ashamed to display their imbecility, or something worse, by flippantly arguing for the total exclusion of blind organists from churches.

In December, 1856, Miss Northcote became a candidate for the situation of organist at St. Ann and St. Agnes, near the Post Office, London, and a very strong

party was immediately formed to oppose her election on account of her blindness. In advocacy of the objects of this party an article appeared in the 'Musical Gazette' of December 13th, 1856, and the author of this volume, feeling it to be his duty to reply to the obnoxious paragraph, wrote the following letter, which appeared in the Musical Gazette,' December 20th, 1856:

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Sir,-Having been a subscriber to your generally excellent publication from its commencement, I take the liberty of informing you that I was greatly surprised on reading, in your number for December 13th, an article, the object of which was to show the impropriety of electing or even admitting to competition blind organists, under any circumstances.' This you endeavour to prove by entering into a detailed explanation of the difficulties to be encountered by organists generally, in efficiently discharging the duties devolving upon them. Now it is obvious that these difficulties are common alike to the sighted and to the blind organ students, with this difference, that the latter, having one sense less, are entitled to more credit when they succeed in conquering them, which you admit has been done, and which I am in a position to prove is daily being done. You passed a just encomium on Mather, Warne, and Purkis; but why was the name of the blind composer, Stanley, omitted, to whose organ performances Handel delighted to listen? and, if those blind professors were ornaments to the musical circles of the last generation, I ask, in the name of justice and common sense, why the blind of the present generation should be excluded from competition with their more fortunate contemporaries? I know that the difficulties in the management of an organ have been

greatly increased by the modern improvements in that instrument. But while there are such talented performers in our own country as Messrs. Creswick, Pritchard, J. L. Summers, Swanson, and others, and while the musical services of forty Roman Catholic churches in Paris and its environs, are conducted by blind organists, let it not be said that they are incapable of managing that noble instrument. Hoping, that in justice to our thirty thousand blind countrymen, you will insert this communication in your next number, I enclose my card, and am, Sir, your obedient servant, "W. HANKS Levy.

Superintendent of the Institution of the Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind."

As our readers may like to know the result of this affair, we have great pleasure in being enabled to state that Miss Northcote succeeded in obtaining the situation at a salary of £40 per annum, and that her performances have given so much satisfaction that she has now held the appointment for upwards of fifteen years. This success was not sufficient to prevent further hostility and misrepresentation, for in the following year a wholesale attack was made on blind organists by Mr. Chipchase in one of a series of articles which appeared in the Morning Advertiser' under the title of Music's Mission,' and as the present writer had just succeeded in forming an association of blind musicians, one of the objects of which was to counteract the evil effects of such mischievous paragraphs, he sent the following letter to the Morning Advertiser,' which duly appeared in that journal.

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MUSIC'S MISSION AND THE BLIND.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING ADVERTISER.'

"Sir,-Having the honour of being the Secretary of the 'Association of Blind Musicians,' and being myself deprived of sight, I am impelled by personal feeling and public duty to trouble you with a few remarks on one of the most extraordinary paragraphs that perhaps has ever appeared in your widely circulated journal. I allude to the unprovoked attack made on blind organists in an article which appeared in your impression on Wednesday, November 11, entitled, 'Organs and Organists,' which was the sixth of a series of letters on 'Music's Mission.'

"The writer, after referring to the prevalence of bad organists, defines the qualifications which he thinks requisite for the efficient discharging of the duties of that position, and then states, at some length, the reasons why the musical services of the church are so often badly conducted, after which, in speaking of the various classes of unqualified organists, he deigns at length to notice organists who are deprived of sight, when he makes this astounding declaration:- And blind men are appointed from motives of charity, in which cases the organ-blower is by far the greater functionary.' Now, Sir, I am bound to give a positive denial to this statement. There can be little doubt that some sightless persons hold their appointments more from the sympathy which is felt with their affliction than from their professional merit, but blind organists, as a class, are not appointed from motives of sympathy, but on the contrary, have more difficulties to contend with in their election than those who see. Yet, it is not enough that the writer of this paragraph stigmatizes the fifty blind ladies and gentlemen who hold organist situations in England, as recipients of alms, but he adds insult to misrepresentation. In such cases, he