Tune Missionary Hymn.

Hail to the joyful morning,
That saw a Saviour's birth,
When angels brought the warning,
That God had come to earth:
Prepare the way before him,
And make rough places plain,
Let all the world adore him,
For Jesus comes to reign.

He comes to bring salvation,
To man in fetters bound,
Let all in every nation,

Attend the joyful sound;
He comes, the Prince of Glory!
(Earth, let thine honors fade,)

But hark! how strange the story,

He's in a manger laid!

Then bring forth your oblations, And lay them at his feet: Make known your obligations, By paying homage meet ;

Poetry, dictated alike by the inspiration of the Muses, and the influence of Christianity, appeals directly to the heart; and often excites a devotional ardor in breasts that would remain untouched by the more friged essays of reason and persuasion. THE PRICELESS PEARL. There is a pearl more rich and fair Than Indian gems of value rare

More pure than Ophir's gold;
A pearl whose beauty ne'er declines,
Whose matchless beauty ever shines

In land of joys untold;

A land no mortal eye hath seen,
For death's dark waters intervene.

That pearl no mountain cave contains,
Nor coral bed in deep domains,

The booming wave below;
Its light is not that glittering ray
Which gilded baubles oft display,
With momentary glow,-
Its mellow rays are ever shed
Around the dying Christian's bed.

'Tis not a pearl by avarice sought-
A pearl from foreign regions brought-
In every clime 't is found:
RELIGION is this pearl divine,
Which on the humble heart doth shine,
And ever doth abound:

To all who choose 't is freely given,
A foretaste of the joys of heaven.

This pearl will light the darkest way,
Night's cheerless hours will turn to day,
And rays of hope impart;
Dispel the gloomy fears that roll
In mournful silence o'er the soul,
And cheer the sinking heart-
And wide unfold the throne of Him
Who dwells amid the cherubim.

Oh! if there be a care below,

One human thought, unchanged with sin, "Tis the self-yielding, pious glow

With which a mother's toils begin!

The Patriarch stood beside her bed,
And love's unwearied vigil kept,
Till love was watching o'er the dead
Then bow'd his stricken head and wept!
He placed the leafy chaplet o'er

Her breast; and touch'd with painful kiss, The clammy lips that sprang no more With dewy warmth to welcome his!

They raised a pillar on her grave—
A simple mass of naked stone,
Hewn with such art as sorrow gave,

Ere haughty sculpture yet was known! There of the fiery Gentile trod,

But did not crush the flowering sod;
And childhood, as it wander'd near,
Gazed with uncertain look of fear,
And check'd its noisy sport awhile,
To whisper by the mossy pile!

THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM. Man had fallen-a Saviour was foretoldprophets had prophesied his advent-and seers, through the vista of coming years, had seen Him. The prophecies were all leaning and pointing to a certain time and place; and the whole world was in expectation of a coming Saviour. Angels, no doubt, saw that man, fallen man, had interested the heart of Deity; and devils felt an awful tremor, which shook Hell's strong foundations, and made the darkness of the pit more profound, when they saw the line of prophecy reaching forward to him who should bruise the serpent's head. The time at last arrived-the town of Bethlehem was fullthe crowd had thronged the streets and filled the inns, and all was stir. At length the day before the memorable night, was passed and gone and Joseph and his Mary, finding no place amid the gay and thoughtless bands, had turned aside to repose for the night in the silence of the manger. The sun had hid himself, and the last lingering rays that strayed awhile in playful sports on hill and spire, had fled and gone. The winds were hushed-and silenee reigned throughout the city, except the watchman's cry, who told the farewell of the hour past, and hailed the new arrived. In heaven's high vault star after star appeared. The wise men of the east beheld the star that Balaam saw by the eye of prophecy seventeen hundred years before. The shepherds in the plains amid their tents in silence sat, and watched their fleecy flocks, all basking in the silvery rays of the western moon-when, suddenly, the light that blazed forth from angelic fiery choirs, shone around, and o'er their heads, all poised on steady wing, the heavenly host appeared. The shep. herds trembled at the sight-a voice was heard -Fear not? behold we bring you glad tidings of great joy; to earth be peace, to man good will, and unto God be all the glory! And while they sung, other voices more numerous still, joined the first; and they all sung glory, and the shepherds heard them sing, and fled to Bethlehem, and found wise men paying homage and bowing at the infant's feet. The shepherds, too, fell down before the babe, and worshipped him. All Heaven felt a pulse of joy, and Hell felt as it were the pangs of death.

A.

TWO DOLLARS A YEAR,] NO. 2.

MUSICAL LITERATURE.

MANY of the most exquisite enjoyments of life, are those which not only mock description, but puzzle the most acute philosophers to trace to their source. Yet who shall dare deny their utility or existence, because they cannot be defined or demonstrated?

Who shall paint the vision of glory, that flits around the warrior's brow in the heat of battle; or describe the throb of ecstasy that beats at his heart, as he raises the heaven-directed arm to smite the head of the tyrant and sever the chains of slavery?

Who shall describe the emotions of the husband, and the lover, when they have escaped the perils of the deep, and returned to lay down its treasures at the altar of their affections?

Who shall depict the rapture of the poet, seated on some cloud-capp'd eminence, commanding all the sublime of nature, while his harp awakens all its harmony?

Who shall describe the elevation of the serwant of the Most High, kneeling humbly on the footstool of Earth, while his soul pours out her prayers and benedictions, at the throne of Heaven?

Whence arise all these sources of enjoyment, but from the fountain of Divine Wisdom?-and what thrills the heart of the warrior and wanderer, and touches the soul of the poet and devotee, but that hidden spring of Divine Harmony, that makes the planets sing in their orbits,

"Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubims." Eternal Source of our being!-though thou ridest upon the whirlwind, and directest the storm, it is thou who dispensest each blessing of life, whose end is happiness-but whose medium is HARMONY.

Thus may we liken this divine attribute, that moves the stars in their course, and directs the actions of Man,-to the trumpet's music, nerving the warrior's heart, and the voice of welcome, thrilling the bosom of the wanderer: to the harp of the poet, dissolving his soul in rapture, and the deep, solemn cadence of the organ, awakening the devotion of the worshipper, and bearing his supplications to the throne of infinite mercy.

What are all these indescribable sources of joy to the heart, but the emanation of that Divine Harmony which pervades the universe? What Christian does not feel indebted to the divine inspiration of the Harp of DAVID, for his solace in sorrow, and his hope in redemption! He struck it in his own afflictions when he fled from a beloved but rebel son; and in the

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 2, 1835.

[PAYABLE IN ADVANCE.

VOL. I.

many," he notices the general custom, particularly in Bohemia, of the rudiments of music being taught in all the public schools. He 3-6.:observes, Vol. II. p.

"I had frequently been told, that the Bohemians were the most musical people of Germany, or perhaps of all Europe; and an eminent German composer, now in London, had declared to me, that if they enjoyed the same advantages as the Italians, they would excel them. I never could suppose effects without a cause; nature though often partial to individuals in her distribution of genius and talents, is never so to a whole people. Climate, no doubt, contributes greatly to the forming of manners and customs; and it is, I believe, certain, that those who inhabit hot climates, are more delighted with music, than those of cold ones-perhaps from the auditory nerves being more irritable in the one than in the other, and from the sound being propagated with greater facility; but I could by no means account for climate operating more in favor of music upon the Bohemians, than on their neighbors, the Saxons and Moravians." "I crossed the whole kingdom, from south to north," says the Doctor, "and being very assiduous in my inquiries, how the common people learned music, I found out, that not only in every large town, but in all the villages, where there is a reading and writing school, children of both sexes are taught music.

The Organist and Cantor, and the first violin of the parish church, who are the schoolmasters, gave me all the satisfaction I required. I went into a school, which was full of little children of both sexes, from six to ten or eleven years old, who were reading, writing, and playing on violins, hautbois, bassoons, and other instruments. The organist had in a small room in his house, four clarichords, with little boys practising on them all; his son of nine years old, was a good performer."-" He himself.complained of loss of hand, for want of practice, and said, that he had too many learners to instruct in the first rudiments, to be allowed leisure for

It is not too much to say, that the whole population of Germany are musicians. Every body performs on some instrument, with greater or less skill, but all are acquainted with the rudiments of music, and the works of the principal composers. They are in the habit of meeting together, and performing in concert the works of the best authors; it being no uncommon thing to hear, in a village public house, smiths and weavers, that would put to shame a symphony or quartetto, executed by blackthe performances, of most of the amateurs and many of the professors among us.

[The excellent articles on Church Music, by 'Germanicus," (one of which will be found below,) were prepared but, as the work did not make its appearance at so early a originally for the Minstrel, when it was first projected;

day as was contemplated, some of the first numbers were furnished to another publication, which has since been discontinued. The author is well known in this city and Brooklyn, for his musical taste and acquirements. He writes like a Christian and a patriot. His communications will be regularly inserted; and, we doubt not, they will gratify our readers.]

For the Family Minstrel.

ON CHURCH MUSIC.-NO. I.

MR. EDITOR,-Since the desire for the cultivation of Sacred Music has induced you to publish a periodical, which may directly cause its advancement, I cheerfully comply with your request, to aid you in an enterprise so noble, and beneficial to the christian community. It is my design, in a series of numbers, to investigate, as far as possible, the state of sacred music among us, its abuses, and its defects. To do this, I propose to consider the following topics:

1. On the introduction of theatrical performers into a christian church choir:

2. On the levity of the Organist :

3. On the impiety of the Clerk, or Leader: 4. On the singing of the congregation in general:

5. On the improper selection of Psalms and Hymns by the Clergyman; and

6. The impropriety of the tunes adapted to them.

And, if it be proved that these evils exist, I will, Lastly, propose such methods as may render the worship of GOD solemn, impressive, and edifying.

In entering on this important work, it may not be improper to state, that I bring with ine no private animosity, no spirit of wilful ridicule,. and no motives to inspire contention or revenge. I shall endeavor to remember, that one of the most prominent duties which our holy religion enjoins upon her followers, is to be useful in the world, and especially to promote every cause which has for its object the praise and the glory of our Lord and Master.

It cannot be new to most of our city readers, that such a practice has existed, and in some