I shall not hazard my reputation for gallantry, by
tracing the contrast more closely. But evil times had singularly acted
upon the physiognomy even of the nobles. The age of the _roturier_ had
been the climacteric of France. Generals from the ranks, countesses from
the canaille, legislators from the dregs of the populace, and
proprietors from the mingled stock of the parasite and the plunderer,
naturally gave the countenance, formed by their habits, to the nation
formed by their example.

Still there were, and are, examples of this original beauty to be found
among the _elite_ of the noble families; but they are rare, and to be
looked on as one looks on a statue of Praxiteles found in the darkness
and wrecks of Herculaneum. In the words of the old song, slightly
changed--

"I roam'd through France's sanguine sand,
At beauty's altar to adore,
But there the sword had spoil'd the land,
And Beauty's daughters were no more."

* * * * *

ENGLISH MUSIC AND ENGLISH MUSICIANS.

Musical taste, as we observed in a former article, has undergone fewer
mutations in England, than in most other countries where the art has
been cultivated and esteemed. In order, therefore, to acquire an
accurate knowledge of the state of musical taste and science which now
prevails among us, it will be necessary to take a brief retrospect; and
as much of the music still popular was composed during the earliest
period of the art in England, we shall rapidly trace its history from
the times of those early masters, whose names are still held in
remembrance and repute, down to the present century.

When England threw off the Papal yoke, music was little known beyond the
services of the church. Though the secular music of this period was
barbarous in the extreme, yet masses were universally sung, and music
had long formed a necessary element in the due performance of the
services of the Romish church. During the reign of Henry VIII. few
alterations were made in public worship; and the service continued to be
sung and carried on in the Latin language, as before. From Strype's
account of the funeral of this monarch, it appears that all the old
ceremonies were observed, and that the rupture with Rome had caused no
alteration in the obsequies performed on such occasions. In the reign of
his successor, the church service was entirely changed, and the
Protestant liturgy was first published for gen