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THEIE AUTHORS AND ORIGIN. 213

voyages to the South Seas, his mind was much a.ffected, and he desired that a missionary should be sent to Tahiti. Having brought the matter under the attention of the Countess of Hunt ingdon, two students from Trevecca, Messrs. Waugh and Price went to Dr. Haweis, at Bath, to prepare for the work. Dr. Haweis was the author of several prose works : " A Life of the Rev. W. Romaine ; " a work entitled " The Communicant s Spiritual Companion;" "A History of the Church," in three vols, 1800; "A Translation of the New Testament;" and " A Commentary on the Holy Bible."

" Enthroned on high, Almighty Lord," No. 426,

is by Dr. Haweis. In his own collection it is under the heading, " Day of Pentecost." He is also the author of No. 506, and of the favourite hymn, No. 649

" Thou, from whom all goodness flows."

These hymns are taken from his collection, " Carmina Christo ; or, Hymns to the Saviour : designed for the use and comfort of those who worship the Lamb that was slain. 1792." This col lection consists of 256 hymns by the author : it has gone through several editions. In the preface, the author complains that, " Even in our public worship the voice of joy and gladness is too com monly silent, unless in that shameful mode of psalmody, now almost confined to the wretched solo of a parish clerk, or to a few persons huddled together in one corner of the church, who sing to the praise and glory of themselves, for the entertainment, or oftener for the weariness, of the rest of the congregation an absurdity too glaring to be overlooked, and too shocking to be ridiculous ! "

And after recognizing the valuable labours of Watts, Doddridge, Cowper, Wesley, and others, he says, "I come with these offerers to cast my mite into the treasury. With what success or accep tance I know not ; but this I may venture to say, whether these hymns engage the attention or meet the neglect, suffer the censure

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