's "British Monachism."

[96] "Reminiscences of the Siege and Commune of Paris," by
Ex-Minister E. B. Washburne.

[97] "Year Book."

[Illustration]

[Illustration: SIMEON RECEIVED THE CHILD JESUS INTO HIS ARMS, AND
BLESSED GOD

_Luke_ 11 25-32]

_CHAPTER XIII_

CONCLUDING CAROL SERVICE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

Now, returning from the celebrations of Christmas in distant parts of
the world, we conclude our historic account of the great Christian
festival by recording the pleasure with which we attended the

CONCLUDING CAROL SERVICE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

at a fine old English cathedral--the recently restored and beautiful
cathedral at Lichfield, whose triple spires are seen and well known by
travellers on the Trent valley portion of the London and North Western
main line of railway which links London with the North.

[Illustration: LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL
(_By permission of Mr. A. C. Lomax's Successors
Lichfield_)]

Christmas carols have been sung at Lichfield from long before the time
of "the mighty Offa," King of the Mercians, in whose days and by whose
influence Lichfield became for a time an archiepiscopal see, being
elevated to that dignity by Pope Adrian, in 785. And, in the
seventeenth century, the Deanery of Lichfield was conferred upon the
Rev. Griffin Higgs, the writer of the events connected with the
exhibition of "The Christmas Prince" at St. John's College, Oxford, in
1607, whose authentic account of these interesting historical events
will be found in an earlier chapter of this work.

The Christmas carols at Lichfield Cathedral, sung by the full choir at
the special evening service on St. Stephen's Day (December 26th),
have, for many years, attracted large and appreciative congregations,
and the last of these celebrations in the nineteenth century (on
December 26, 1900) was well sustained by the singers and attended by
many hundreds of citizens and visitors. Eight Christmas Carols and an
anthem were sung, the concluding Carol being "The First Nowell"; and
the organist (Mr. J. B. Lott, Mus. Bac., Oxon) played the Pastoral
Symphony from Sullivan's "Light of the World," Mendelssohn's March
("Cornelius"), the Pastoral Symphony from Handel's "Messiah," and
other exquisite voluntaries. From the anthem, E. H. Sears's beautiful
verses beginning

"It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,"

set to Stainer's music and well sung, we quote the concludi