Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 4.djvu/439

 ii s. iv. NOV. 25, mi.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

433

Martin Howard was created by the Emperor Comte de Beche vet, January, 1865, and died August, 1907, leaving a son and two daugh- ters. Vide ' The Court of the Tuileries,' by le Petit Homme Rouge, 1907, pp. 182-93 ; 'Memoirs of the Baron de Rimini,' 1888, pp. 124-31 ; ' The Secret Documents of the Second Empire,' translated by T. Curry, 1871. FREDERIC BOASE.

Mrs. or Miss Howard her real name was Elizabeth Ann Harryett was a fashionable London hetaira in the late thirties. Meeting Louis Napoleon in those years at Lady Bles- sington's, she conceived for him a strong attachment, pouring into his lap much of the large fortune amassed in her profession. In conjunction with the Princess Mathilde she financed his Boulogne expedition, and sus- tained him in London after his escape from Ham. She followed him to France when President, received his guests, and accom- panied him on his progresses

in Saturn's reign Such mixture was not held a stain.

He bestowed on her a large income, the title of Comtesse de Beauregard, and the chateau of La Celle, near Versailles, once the home of Madame de Pompadour. When his marriage was projected, she made difficulties, but was persuaded to abdicate and to leave France by a subsidy, it was said, of 250, 0002. She married a Mr. Clarence Trelawny, an officer in the Austrian service, was divorced from him, and died in 1865. Particulars of her career will be found in Molloy's ' Ro- mance of Royalty,' i. 321 ; ' The Court of the Tuileries,' par le Petit Homme Rouge, pp. 182-93 ; Lady Cardigan's ' My Recollec- tions,' p. 104. She is mentioned in Lady St. Helier's ' Memories of Fifty Years,' p. 45.

W. T.

[F. B. M. and MB. T. SHEPHERD also thanked for replies.]

' THE STANDARD PSALMIST ' : W. H BIRCH : REV. W. J. HALL (US. iv. 348). William Henry Birch was a well-known musician, an organist, a pianist, and a violinist; a composer also of some fame in his day. The list of his works can be seen in the Music Catalogue of the B.M., and extends to about a dozen pages of entries. Birch was born at Uxbridge, 5 May, 1826. He studied music under Elvey, H. G. Blagrove, and Robert Barnett. He was organist of St. Mary's Church, Amersham, teacher of music at Caversham, near Reading, and he had a musical academy in London Street, Reading. He composed

among numerous other works, ' Gems of Sacred Harmony,' 1853 ; ' Choruses, Glees, Quartettes, and Trios,' 1856 ; ' Sab- bath Recreation, a Selection of Favourite Sacred Melodies, ' 1857 ; ' Eveleen, the Rose of the Vale: an operetta,' 1869; ' The Merry Men of Sherwood Forest,' 1872 ; ' Canticles of the Church of England/ 1875; ' Twelve Anthems,' 1877 ; and ' Wreck of the Argosy: a cantata,' 1879. Besides his work at Caversham, Birch was organist at Christ Church, Reading. On Sunday evening, 15 July, 1888, he was seized with paralysis and apoplexy. He became un- conscious, and died in this condition on 18 July, at 32, Queen's Crescent, Queen's Road, Reading. He was buried on Satur- day, 21 July, in Reading Cemetery. His lifelong friendship with Sir George Elvey, organist of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, resulted in a quartette party from the famous choir of that place attending the funeral and singing over his grave.

The Rev. William John Hall, b. London, 31 Dec., 1793, graduated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge : B.A. 1821, M.A. 1824. He was Priest in Ordinary to H.M. Chapel Royal 1829 to death ; Minor Pre- bendary of St. Paul's Cathedral ; Second Canon and Senior Cardinal 31 March, 1826, to death : Vicar of Sandon, Herts, 1829-33 : Rector of St. Benet with St. Peter, Paul's Wharf, London, 1835-51 ; Vicar of Tottenham, Middlesex, 1851 to death. Died Beech House, High Road, Tottenham, 16 Dec., 1861. 'The Standard Psalmist,' which appears under W. H. Birch's name in the B.M. Music Catalogue, was issued in two volumes (1853-4), London, Hall, Virtue & Co. (printed Amersham). Ha'll is best known to hymnology as the editor of ' Psalms and Hymns adapted to the Services of the Church of England,' London, 1836. This book is commonly known as ' The Mitre Hymn-Book,' from the impres- sion of a mitre on the cover. It was dedi- cated to " Charles James, Bishop of London," viz., Blomfield, and attained to a circulation of four million copies. It had a considerable influence upon the hymnody of the Church of England. There were fourteen editions at least between 1836 and 1880. In this work Hall was greatly assisted by Edward Osier (b. Falmouth, 30 Jan., 1798 ; d. Truro, 7 March, 1863), who resided with him (W. J. Hall), 1835-6, while the ' Mitre Hymn-Book ' was being prepared. Osier supplied much original material. Besides the hymn-book referred to above, Hall was the author of Lists of Books recommended by Different