Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 7.djvu/469

 10 s. vii. MAY is, loo?.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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wonderful work, which always struck me as being more beautiful then than on any other occasion on which I have ever heard it, before or since. It was after 10 o'clock when the triumphant notes of the last chorus in the first part, ' His yoke is easy, and His burthen is light,' rang through the Hall, and half-an-hour's interval followed. The choristers seated themselves at the high table, with the senior chorister-presiding, and were waited upon at supper by the Fellows, an exact reversal of the ancient order of things. The thought of ' Lo ! star-led chiefs,' Crotch, and 'Gloria in excelsis,' Pergolesi, two of the most important things which fell to my share in the second half, detracted somewhat, per- haps, from the pleasures of the table ; but I quite entered into the sensations of the Boy-Bishop as the President handed me mince pies, and the Dean of Divinity filled my glass !

"During supper the great Christmas tree was lighted, and as soon as that was completed and supper over, the electric light was turned off, and the Christmas candles left to illuminate the Hall. Carols were then sung always the same, for indeed the selection could hardly be improved upon lovely old tunes which ring in people's heads at Christmas time. Just before midnight we finished with 'Adeste Fideles.' Dead silence then reigned in the Hall while the clock in the great tower out- side struck the hour of twelve, and on the last stroke two boys' voices broke into 'Gloria in excelsis.' As the chorus whispered the answer 'et in terra pax,' a signal was given to the belfry, and the bells pealed out a paean of thanksgiving, accom- panying A ' ,4,, .,,,-,>_,

through round th and the assembly dispersed.

" At the end of March, 1900, my voice broke, and to my great regret I left the choir. On leaving I was presented, according to custom, with a book of anthems of my own choosing, and in addition a mark of special favour which is now among my most cherished possessions a bound volume of his own compositions from Dr. Varley Roberts. An exhibition from the College enabled me to remain at the School until July, 1902, when, at the age of nineteen, I left; and in October of the same year entered into residence at the University."

A. R. BAYLEY.

GOLDSMITH TABLET. A fortnight since you said (ante, p. 350) that tablets recently erected have been recorded in your pages, but you have overlooked one that is, perhaps, the most interesting. The Benchers of the Middle Temple have recently set up in Brick Court one to commemorate the fact that Goldsmith died there. The tablet is of granite and copper-bronzed, and shows a recognizable profile of the poet-dramatist. This is of my own design and modelling, and promised a satisfactory result. The inscrip- tion is to the effect that " in these chambers died Oliver Goldsmith " ; but unfortu- nately the authorities too legally logical to think of the artist's chances decreed that the tablet must be placed, exactly, on the wall of the very chambers, with the resul

that it is " skied " beyond all visibility or re- cognition. I had vainly urged that the words ' these chambers," placed lower down, would sufficiently show that the rooms in question were within the block. The incident, how- r, led to an examination of the books, and it was found what was not before recorded that poor Goldy died in an upper room, all but an attic : neither Forster nor Prior mentions this.

PERCY FITZGERALD, F.S.A.

JOHN OPIE, R.A. The recently passed centenary of the death of John Opie prompts me to send to ' N. & Q.' a copy of the in- scription on the slab which covers his remains in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, rlis grave is next to that of Reynolds, in the south-east or Painters' Corner, and is thus indicated :

Here lie the Remains of John Opie Esquire

Member of and Professor of Painting

to the Royal Academy

of

Painting Sculpture

and Architecture.

He was Born May 1761

at St. Agnes in Cornwell [sic]

and Died at his House in

Berners Street London

the 29th of April 1807.

The house in which Opie was born is still' in existence. It is known as Harmony Cot, and is owned and occupied by one of his direct descendants. A photo-engraving of the house appeared in The Illustrated Western Weekly News of 4 May. May I inquire if the house in which he died is still intact ; and, if so, whether it is marked by a County Council plaque ?

Is the exact date of Opie's birth known ? ' Chambers's Encyclopaedia ' and other books of reference I have consulted incorrectly state that his death occurred on the 9th (instead of the 29th) of April, 1807.

JOHN T. PAGE. Long Itchington, Warwickshire.

MRS. JORDAN'S PORTRAIT: HARRIET MELLON. In Mr. John Fyvie's ' Comedy Queens of the Georgian Era ' (Constable & Co.), 1906, there is, facing p. 356, a portrait of " Dora [i.e. Dorothy] Jordan from the Engraving by Engleheart of the Portrait by Morland." I hope the text of Mr. Fyvie's book is more accurate than this, for any print-dealer or official in the Print-Room of the British Museum would immediately recognize the portrait reproduced as the- well-known one by George Romney. The-