are
remarkable for the simple beauty of their style, as well as for their
Christian spirit. Of his fine metrical version of the 23rd Psalm,--

The Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care,

--one of his earliest productions, the tradition is that he gathered its
imagery when a boy living at Netheravon, near Salisbury Plain, during
his lonely two-mile walks to school at Amesbury and back again. All his
hymns appeared first in the _Spectator_, to which he was a prolific
contributor.

_THE TUNE._

The hymn "When all Thy mercies" still has "Geneva" for its vocal mate in
some congregational manuals. The tune is one of the rare survivals of
the old "canon" musical method, the parts coming in one after another
with identical notes. It is always delightful as a performance with its
glory of harmony and its sweet duet, and for generations it had no other
words than Addison's hymn.

John Cole, author of "Geneva," was born in Tewksbury, Eng., 1774, and
came to the United States in his boyhood (1785). Baltimore, Md. became
his American home, and he was educated there. Early in life he became a
musician and music publisher. At least twelve of his principal song
collections from 1800 to 1832 are mentioned by Mr. Hubert P. Main, most
of them sacred and containing many of his own tunes.

He continued to compose music till his death, Aug. 17, 1855. Mr. Cole
was leader of the regimental band known as "The Independent Blues,"
which played in the war of 1812, and was present at the "North Point"
fight, and other battles.

Besides "Geneva," for real feeling and harmonic beauty "Manoah," adapted
from Haydn's Creation, deserves mention as admirably suited to
"Addison's" hymn, and also "Belmont," by Samuel Webbe, which resembles
it in style and sentiment.

Samuel Webbe, composer of "Belmont," was of English parentage but was
born in Minorca, Balearic Islands, in 1740, where his father at that
time held a government appointment; but his father, dying suddenly, left
his family poor, and Samuel was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker. He
served his apprenticeship, and immediately repaired to a London teacher
and began the study of music and languages. Surmounting great
difficulties, he became a competent musician, and made himself popular
as a composer of glees. He was also the author of several masses,
anthems, and hymn-tunes, the best of which are still in occasional use.
Died in London, 1816.

"JESU