usel.--An old English word for the Holy Eucharist. Thus an old
English canon of A.D. 960 orders every Priest "to give _housel_
(_i.e._ Holy Communion) to the sick when they need it." The word
also appears in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in Piers Plowman,
Beaumont and Fletcher and also in Shakespeare. So, also, we find
the term _houselling cloth_, meaning a large cloth spread before
the people while receiving. The word evidently meant a _Sacrifice_.

Humble Access, Prayer of.--The name given to the beautiful prayer
offered in great humility just before the Consecration in the Holy
Communion, beginning, "We do not presume," etc. The words are taken
from the most ancient Liturgies.

Hymn Board.--A tablet to which the numbers of the hymns to be sung
at any service are affixed, and which is placed in a conspicuous
place for the greater convenience and guidance of the congregation.
The purpose of the Hymn Board is to do away with the custom of
announcing the day of the month and the hymns, but this is not
generally carried out in practice.

Hymnal, The.--As the Church has a book for her _Common Prayer_, so
also she has a book for her _Common Praise_, and this is known as
THE HYMNAL. The {141} Hymnal as it now stands was set forth by the
action of the General Convention of 1892, and is the outgrowth of
much study, many changes and a great deal of legislation since the
time when there was bound up with the Prayer Book a few hymns for
congregational use. The present imposing volume has 679 hymns drawn
from almost every source and age, and, no doubt, meets every need
and requirement.

Hymns.--The first hymn mentioned in the annals of Christianity was
that sung by the angels at the Birth of our Lord, from which we have
the _Gloria in Excelsis_, and the second was that sung by our Lord
and His Apostles immediately after the Last Supper in the upper
room, known as the _Hallel_. In early times anything sung to the
praise of God was called a hymn. Afterwards the use of the term
became more restricted. Pliny shows that in the year 62 the
Christians instituted a custom of meeting together before sunrise
to sing hymns of praise. Melody only was used, not harmony, and
the tunes employed were, doubtless, of Jewish character. Originally
all music of the Christian Church was almost entirely vocal. In the
Third and Fourth Centuries the Christian Religion began to grow
largely in the number of its followers, in wealth and position;
magnif