Musical Stupidities

A common-sense listener thus desoribes the performance of sonie of our church music, and the effect produced upon his mind: " The solemn worship of God was introduced by a solo, ' Consider the lilies,' performed by the leading singers of tho choir, gracefully accompanied by the organ. So far as the music was concerned, it was beatifully and faultlessly rendered. The effect upon my mind, however, was anything but devotional. The singers commenced, ' Consider the lilies of tho field,' &c, and when she carne up to the application it rail thus : " And jret I say unto you - that even Solomon, in all his glory - was not arrayod - hke one of these - was not arrayed - was not arrayed - liko one of these - was not arrayed [interlude by the organ] - was not arrayed [interlude by the organ] - like one of these. And then she went back again, and asseverated in the most emphatic manner, ' I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed - was not arrayed - was not arrayed' (pause) until I began to despair for poor Solomon, lest he should nevr get the very rirst of his garments on. " There was yet another piece of church - not sacred - music, in which the soprano led off with the announcement, ' I will wash ;' and then camo in the contralto, 'I will wash ;' and then the tenor, ' I will wash ;' and then from the profoundest depth comes up the gutteral of the basso, saying also, ' I will wash ;' and last of all they strike in together, crying out in concert, 'I will wash.' No one could imagine that this singular and oft-repeated announcement of an intended ablution was a rendering in sacred song for the spiritual edification of Christian congregation of those solemn words of the Psalmist, ' I will wash my hands in innopency ; so I will compass thine altar, Oh, Lord 1' " Highlanders have the habit, when talking their English, snch as it is, of interjeoting the personal pronoun " he" where not required, such as " The king he has come," instead of " The king has come." Often, in consequence, a sentenee or expre88ion is rendered sufficiently ludicrous as the sequel will show. A gentleman says he has had the pleasure of listening to a clever man, the Rev. Mr. , Iet his locality be a secret, and recently he began his discourse thus : " My friends, you will find the subject of discourse this afternoon in the first Epistle general of the Apostle Peter, chapter 5th and verse 8th, in the words 'The devil he goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.' Ñow, my friends, we will divide the subject of our text to-day into four heads. Firstly. We shall endeavor to ascertain ' Who the devil he was ?' Secondly. We shall inquire into his geographical position-namsly, 'Where the devil he was ;' and ' where the devil he was going ?' Thirdly. And this of a personal character - 'Who the devil he was seeking r" And fourthly and lastly. We shall endeaver to solve a question which haa never been solved yet - " What the devil he was roarïng about ?' "