On the faithful, who adore
And confess thee, evermore

In thy sevenfold gifts descend;
Give them virtue's sure reward,
Give them thy salvation, Lord,

Give them joys that never end. Amen.

ROBERT II. succeeded Hugh Capet his father, upon the throne of France, about the year 997. He has been called the gentlest monarch that ever sat upon a throne, and his amiability of character poorly prepared him to cope with his dangerous and wily adversaries. His last years were embittered by the opposition of his own sons, and the political agitations of the times. He died at Melun in 1031, and was buried at St. Denis.

Robert possessed a reflective mind, and was fond of learning and musical art. He was both a poet and a musician. He was deeply religious, and, from unselfish motives, was much devoted to the church. He was intimate with Fulbert of Chartres, a man of great learning and religious zeal, of whom Canute and other princes sought advice.

The king and Chartres both produced hymns, which are still used in the English church. Robert's hymn, "Veni, Sancte Spiritus," is given above. He himself was a chorister; and there was no kingly service that he seemed to love so well. We are told that it was his custom to go to the church of St. Dennis, and in his royal robes, with his crown upon his head, to direct the choir at matins and vespers, and join in the singing. Few kings have left a better legacy to the Christian

church than his own hymn, which, after nearly a thousand years, is still a tone and an influence in the world. "St. Fulbert of Chartres' Hymn," which is found in the Church of England's collection, is as follows'

YE choirs of New Jerusalem,
Your sweetest notes employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn
In strains of holy joy.

For Judah's Lion bursts his chains,
Crushing the serpent's head;

And cries aloud, through death's domains
To wake the imprisoned dead.

Devouring depths of hell their prey
At his command restore;

His ransomed hosts pursue their way
Where Jesus goes before.

Triumphant in his glory now,
To him all power is given;

To him in one communion bow
All saints in earth and heaven.

While we, his soldiers, praise our King,
His mercy we implore,
Within his palace bright to bring

And keep us evermore.

All glory to the Father be;

All glory to the Son;

All glory, Holy Ghost, to thee,

While endless ages run.

HYMN OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS.

MANY noble hymns were produced in Germany during the Thirty Years' War, but that composed by Altenburg, and known as "Gustavus' Battle Song," is by far the most majestic strain of the period. "As we read the stirring lines, a vision rises before us of two mighty hosts encamped over against each other, stilled by the awe that falls on brave hearts when momentous events are about to be decided. The thick fogs of an autumn morning hide the foes from each other; only the shrill note of the clarion is heard piercing through the mist. Then suddenly in the Swedish camp there is silence. With a solemn mien Gustavus advances to a front rank of his troops, and kneels down in the presence of all of his followers. In a moment the whole army bends with him in prayer. Then there bursts forth the sound of trumpets, and ten thousand voices join in song :"

FEAR not, O little flock, the foe
Who madly seeks your overthrow,
Dread not his rage and power:

What though your courage sometimes faints,
His seeming triumph o'er God's saints
Lasts but a little hour.

Be of good cheer, your cause belongs
To Him who can avenge your wrongs;
Leave it to him, our Lord:
Though hidden yet from all our eyes,
He sees the Gideon who shall rise
To save us and his word.

As true as God's own word is true,
Nor earth nor hell with all their crew,
Against us shall prevail:

A jest and by-word they are grown;
God is with us, we are his own,

Our victory cannot fail.

Amen, Lord Jesus, grant our prayer!

Great Captain, now thine arm make bare,

Fight for us once again:

So shall thy saints and martyrs raise

A mighty chorus to thy praise,

World without end. Amen.

The army of Gustavus moved forward to victory-an army so inspired with confidence in God could not but be victorious; but at the moment of triumph a riderless horse came flying back to the camp-it was that of the martyred king.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER'S HYMN.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER'S hymn has been pronounced, even by Protestant writers, one of the "most profoundly and loftily spiritual" of Christian lyrics, because, as one expresses the leading thought of the composition, “it is the essence of disinterestedness." The following is the original:

O DEUS, ego amo Te.

Nec amo Te, ut salves mc,
Aut quia non amantes Te
Eterno punis igne.

Tu, Tu, mi Jesu, totum me
Amplexus es in cruce;
Tulisti clavos, lanceam,
Multamque ignominiam,

Innumeros dolores,

Sudores, et angores,

Ac mortem; et hæc propter me,

Ac pro me peccatore.

Cur igitur non amem Te,

O Jesu amantissime!

Non, ut in cœlo salves me,
Aut in æternum damnes me,

Nec præmii ullius spe,

Sed sicut Tu amasti me;

Sic amo et amabo Te,

Solum, quia Rex meus es.

The hymn purports to be a revelation of the writer's own experience. Francis Xavier was born of a noble family in Spain, in 1506. At the age of sixteen he entered the University of Paris, where he was brought under the influence of Loyola, the celebrated founder of the Order of Jesus. He renounced all worldly ambitions and aims, became a missionary to China, India, and other foreign lands, toiling with a self-forgetful ardor and a selfconsuming zeal. He died in the work, in China, in 1552. My God, I love thee-not because I hope for heaven thereby; Nor yet because who love thee not Must burn eternally.

Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me

Upon the cross embrace;

For me didst bear the nails and spear,

And manifold disgrace,

And griefs and torments numberless,

And sweat of agony,

E'en death itself: and all for me

Who was thine enemy.