The Society removed to the Crown and Anchor in 1788, and continued there till 1790, then went to the Freemasons' 'Tavern, where they held their meetings till 1791, and afterwards returned to the Crown and Anchor, where they have continued to meet and dine together on alternate Saturdays. The subscribers, at present, are thirty in number, thirteen honorary, or musical members, and four perpetual visitors, and they meet ten times in the season; the meetings begin in December. The society originally met twelve times. The hour of dining is half-past four o'clock, and the members. take their seats at the table according to seniority, except the professional gentlemen, who always take their places in the

centre of the table on each side.

Each subscriber pays seven guineas for his ten nights, and is entitled to introduce one visitor on alternate nights, which visitor pays one pound. The professional gentlemen have the same privilege with the subscribers. The perpetual visitors have an equal privilege with the honorary members. The business of the club is conducted by a committee, consisting of the president, vice-president, treasurer, conductor, deputy-conductor, and the secretary, together with five other members, which five are balloted for annually. There is also a messenger, who delivers the letters previous to each meeting, and attends in the room for the purpose of handing the books to the conductor when any glee is called for.

"Non nobis, Domine !"

Of this solemn canon, used by way of grace or thanksgiving after dinner, the Editor presumes to remark, that the learned Dr. Burney (page 39, Commemoration of G. F. Handel) says, that the chorus of "I will sing unto the Lord," in the Oratorio of " Israel in Egypt," has exactly the same intervals with the canon before-mentioned. Whether the subject occurred accidentally, or was taken by design, the Doctor does not know; but he adds, "in either case, the notes are happily selected, and

ingeniously used. As to the original inventor, or right owner of that series of notes, upon which the celebrated and beautiful canon (which tradition has given to William Byrde) was constructed; they have been the subject of fugue to Zarlino, and to old Villaert, his master, long before Byrde was born; and, indeed, constitute one of the different species of tetrachord used by the Greeks in the highest antiquity."

It has been usual on some occasions to applaud, after singing this grace; but the breach, rather than the observance, of this custom might, it is thought, be more decorus. "Non nobis, Domine !" is a solemn act of thanksgiving, felt and expressed in the most divine strains, not intended to excite applause, but to inspire the heart with the deepest sense of gratitude to the Divine Being.

"Glorious Apollo."

On the authority of Mr. Webbe, this glee was written expressly by him for the Glee Club, when the original members had their meetings at their respective houses in turn, before they had determined where to establish the club. Hence he composed the music some time before he wrote the words. This glee is, invariably, the first that is sung after dinner.

Madrigals.

The madrigal had its origin in Italy, and was first introduced into this country about the year 1583, where it was very generally admired and cultivated. As so little is known of the authors of madrigals, that is, of the words, it might not be uninteresting to the reader if some mention be made, in this place, respecting them. Dr. Lodge, who flourished in Queen Elizabeth's reign, and was born anno 1556, (which was nearly thirty years before what we call madrigals were known in this country) makes use of the term as follows: "he was one of the writers of those pretty old songs and madrigals which were very much the strain of those times ;" here the word madrigal does not apply to the music, but the poetry. The same by the following writer: Thomas Storer was one of the writers in Queen Elizabeth's time, of those pastoral airs and madrigals. Sir Edward Dyer also wrote in Queen Elizabeth's reign, several of whose pastoral odes and madrigals are extant, in a printed collection of certain choice pieces of some of the most eminent poets of that time, and many others."*

The madrigal has been defined as a piece of music of a very scientific and highly finished description, which was much in use in the sixteenth

* See England's Helicon.

century, and even so early as the beginning of that preceding.* Madrigals were ordinarily vocal, for five or six parts, each of which was obligato, on account of the different subjects and fugues with which these pieces were filled. Organists also composed for and executed madrigals, and some say that it was upon this instrument that the madrigal was invented. This species of counterpoint, which was subjected to very rigorous laws, bore the name of the madrigalesque stile. Several authors have immortalized their names, in the annals of science, by this species of composition; such, among others, were, Luca Marenzio, Luigi Praenestini, who is commonly called Palestrina, which is the name of the city where he was born ; Pomponia Nenna, Tomaso Pecci; and above all the famous Prince of Venosa, whose madrigals, full of science and taste, were admired by all musicians, and sung even by ladies.

Madrigals, though their favour diminished in proportion as the musical drama, which was more generally intelligible to uncultivated ears, advanced towards perfection, yet there were many candidates for fame in that species of composition, during the early part of the last century. The

* Rousseau's Dictionary of Music: