every nation and class; he expresses himself in a universal character,
which Bishop Wilkins would have died to possess; he needs no
translation; he can suffer nothing by change of place; his works are
equally and at once capable of being enjoyed at London and Naples,
Paris and Prague, Vienna and St Petersburg. If the enjoyment received
from his powers is not every where equally great, it is not from the
want of a medium to make them understood, but from a difference in the
minds to which they are presented.

The creative art of the musician is not one of mere talent, or of a
certain sensual refinement and dexterity. It involves deep systematic
study, closely akin to that of the severer sciences. It has a sequence
and logic of its own, and excellence in it is unattainable without
good sense and strong intellect. It involves great moral and pathetic
sensibility, and a ready sympathy with all the joys and sorrows of
mankind. And finally, the lightest branch of it is beyond the reach of
any but those who are lifted up by strong feelings of reverence and
devotion. Handel was a man of sincere piety, who avowed it to be the
object of his compositions not merely to please men, but "to make them
better."

"The character of Handel," says Mr Hogarth, in his excellent
_Musical History_, "in all its great features, was exalted and
amiable. Throughout his life he had a deep sense of religion. He
used to express the great delight he felt in setting to music the
most sublime passages of Holy Writ; and the habitual study of the
Scriptures had constant influence on his sentiments and conduct.
For the last two or three years of his life, he regularly attended
divine service in his parish church of St George's, Hanover
Square, where his looks and gestures indicated the fervour of his
devotion. In his life he was pure and blameless."--(Vol. i. 209.)

"Haydn," in like manner, (we quote from the same biographer,) "was
a stranger to every evil and malignant passion; and, indeed, was
not much under the influence of passion of any sort. But his
disposition was cheerful and gentle, and his heart was brimful of
kindly affections. He was friendly and benevolent, open and candid
in the expression of his sentiments, always ready to acknowledge
and aid the claims of talent in his own art, and, in all his
actions, distinguished by the most spotless integrity. Such is the
a