LETTERS OF JOHN MASON NEALE, D.D.
Letters of John Mason Neale, D.D. Edited by his Daughter. (Longman and Co. 10s. 6d. net.)—We are not altogether thankful for the publication of these letters. We like to think of Dr. Neale as a man of great poetical power who enriched our hymnody with many beautiful versions of ancient and mediaeval verse. We hear, it is true, something about this activity of his life in these letters. But we hear much that is less pleasing. He was a strongly militant High Churchman of the most advanced section. He was, in fact, as near the Roman border as a man can well go without crossing it. It is not too much to suppose that an early marriage—he was married at the age of twenty-four—helped to keep him where he was. We cannot affect to think that this was altogether a benefit to the Anglican Church ; on this side, however, the hymns count for much. We might never have bad them otherwise. The strange thing is that he started with a general objection to this addition to public worship. There is a very curious correspondence with his friend Benjamin Webb, afterwards vicar of St. Andrew's, Well Street. Webb bad objected to English hymns; and Neale writes in answer: "You used to be in favour of a vernacular Liturgy and Offices, or Offices, at least. Now, for my part, I am not. But, while we have prayers in English, why are we not to have hymns ? " Surely this is a little amazing, in view of Article XX1V., which Dr. Neale had solemnly subscribed more than once: "It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the Primitive Church, to have publick Prayer in the Church or to minister the Sacraments in a tongue not understanded of the people." It would be interesting to sea this Article interpreted in Dr. Neale's sense. No doubt it could be done. -There are men of peace as well as men of war who do not find the word " impossible" in their dictionary.
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