g to the Coronation Anthems of
Handel to the end of time.

I have given you a quotation from the principal daily paper of the
period we are now speaking of; allow me to give you another. In the
"Daily Post" of the 18th April, 1738, there is the following
announcement:--

"We are informed, from very good authority, that there is now nearly
finished a statue of the justly celebrated Mr. Handel, exquisitely done,
by the ingenious Mr. Roubilliac, of St. Martin's Lane Statuary, out of
one entire block of white marble, which is to be placed in a grand
_nich_, erected on purpose, in the great grove of Vauxhall Gardens (The
great grove at Vauxhall Gardens!--Sic transit gloria mundi), at the sole
expense of Mr. Tyers, undertaker of the entertainment there, who, in
consideration of the real merit of that inimitable master, thought it
proper that his effigy should preside there, where his harmony has so
often charmed even the greatest crowds into the profoundest calm and
most decent behaviour."

And in the following copy, that of the 2nd May, 1738, there is the
following:--

"Last night Vauxhall was opened, and there was a considerable appearance
of both sexes. The several pieces of music played on that occasion had
never been heard before in the gardens: the company expressed the
greatest satisfaction at the marble statue of Mr. Handel."

Some of you may have seen this marble statue in the great grove at
Vauxhall Gardens. I never have; but we may all see the self-same statue
any day, in the great room at Exeter Hall.

Apropos of a statue--England has shown great gratitude to
Handel--Handel, a _foreigner_--has she shown anything like equal
gratitude to as great, if not a greater genius, and that genius _her own
son_?

Who ever loved England more dearly than Shakespeare? His was not merely
the love of a son for his mother, but it was as tender as that of a
mother for her son. His works are full of delicious passages, in which
his patriotism becomes manifest. No corner of the globe has been sung by
native poets as England has by Shakespeare. Many of you, I dare say, are
familiar with that beautiful passage in "Richard II." He is describing
England, and he says--

"This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress, built by Nature for herself,
Against infection and the hand of War;
This happy breed of men--this little earth;
This precious stone set in the silver sea."

Yes, Shakespeare so loved his countr