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obtained leave to place it in the church, which suggested to Harris the propriety of adopting the same expedient.

"Dr. Tudway, who was living at that period, and was intimately acquainted with both the organ-makers, says that Dr. Blow and Mr. Purcell, then in their prime, performed on Father Smith's organ on appointed days, and displayed its excellence; and, until the other was heard, every one believed that this must be chosen.

"Harris employed M. Draghi, organist to Queen Catharine, a very eminent master, to touch his organ, which brought it into favour; and such was the excellence of the instruments, that to decide which deserved the preference puzzled the committee appointed for that purpose, who did not come to any determination, or make any report upon the subject; and in consequence the 'battle of the organs' was commenced, and the two rival organbuilders continued thus vieing with each other for near a twelvemonth. At length Harris challenged Father Smith to make additional reed-stops within a given time; these were the Voxhumana, Cremorne, the double Courtel, or double Bassoon, and some others. The stops, which were newly invented, or at least new to English ears, gave great delight to the crowds who attended the trials; and the imitations were so exact and pleasing on both sides, that it was difficult to determine who had best succeeded.

"The contention now became tedious and disagreeable, at least to the Benchers of the Middle Temple, who first made choice of Smith's organ, as appears by the following interesting extract from the books of that society :

"June 2, 1685.-The Masters of the Bench at this Parliament, taking into their consideration the tedious competicion betweene the two organ-makers, about their fitting an organ to the Temple Church, and having in severall termes, and at severall times, compared both the organs now standing in the said church, as they have played severall Sundays one after the other, and as they have lately played the same Sunday together alternately at the same service. Now, at the suite of severall masters of the barr, and students of this society, pressing to have a speedy de

termination of the said controversie; and in justice to the said workemen, as well as for the freeing themselves from any complaints concerning the same, doe unanimously in full parliam resolve and declare the organ in the said church, made by Bernard Smith, to bee, in their judgments, both for sweetnes and fulness of sound (besides ye extraordinary stopps, quarter notes, and other rarityes therein), beyond comparison preferrable before the other of the said organs made by. Harris, and that the same is more ornamentall and substantiall, and, both for depthe of sound and strengthe, fitter for the use of the said church; and, therefore, upon account of the excellency and perfection of the said organ made by Smith, and for that hee was the workeman first treated with, and employed by, the Treors of both societyes for the providing his organ; and for that the organ made by the said Harris is discernably too low and too weake for the said church, their Marppes see not any cause of further delay, or need of any referrence to musicions or others to determine the difference; but doe, for their parts, unanimously make choise of the said organ made by Smith, for the use of these societyes; and Mr. Treor is desired to acquainte the Treor and Masters of the Bench of the Inner Temple with this declaration of their judgments, with all respect desiring their concurrence herein.'

"New difficulties now arose, which greatly interfered with the speedy determination of the controversy. The Benchers of the Inner Temple, upon consideration of the above declaration, sent to them by their brethren of the Middle Temple, did not concur in the course therein suggested; but on the 22nd June, 1685, made an order, in which, after expressing their dissatisfaction that such a resolution and determination should be made by the Benchers of the Middle Temple, in a matter which equally concerned both houses, without a conference being first had with them, they declared—

"That it is high time, and appears to be absolutely necessary, that impartiall judges (and such as are the best judges of musick) be forthwith nominated by both houses, to determine the controversie betweene the two organ-makers, whose instrument is the

best, which this society are ready to doe; and desire their Mastershippes of the Middle Temple to join with them therein, in order to the speedy putting an end to so troublesome a difference --and appointed a committee of five members of their body, with instructions that they-or any three of them doe, at a conference, deliver the answer above-mentioned; and they are hereby impowered to enter into a treaty with the like number of the Masters of the Bench of the Middle Temple, in order to the speedy settling this affair."

"The committee thus appointed appear to have entered upon their duties immediately, and to have fully considered the subject of the organs, not only with respect to the appointment of the 'impartial judges,' but also the respective prices and number of pipes in each instrument; for, two days afterwards, an answer was sent from the Middle Temple, from which the following extracts are taken:

"June 24th, 1685. The Masters of the Bench of the Middle Temple now say :

"1. That they cannot imagine how the masters of the Inner Temple can pretend any ill usage or disrespect offered towards them, either tending to a breach of correspondence, or common civility, by the Act of Parliament of the Middle Temple of the second of this instant June; for that the masters of the Middle Temple thereby, only on their own parts, with the concurrence of the barristers and students, declare their judgments and choice of Smith's organ, (not imposing but requesting) the concurrence of the Inner Temple therein, with all respect.

"2. As to the matter of having the two organs referred to the judgment of impartiall musicions, there yet appears not any difference betweene the two societyes concerning the same; the masters of the bench of the Inner Temple having not as yet, in Parliament, declared their judgments and choice of the other organ, which if in their judgments they shall think fit to doe, whereby a difference shall appear betweene the two societyes, then their said mastershippes believe the society of the Middle

Temple will find some other expedient for the determination of the said difference.

"3. As to the price of the organs, Smith, the organ-maker, absolutely refuseth to set any price upon his organ, but offers to submit the same to the judgment of the treasurers of both societyes, or to such artists as they shall choose, which their mastershippes cannot but think reasonable.

"4. As to the numbering the organ-pipes and stops, their mastershippes think it below them to trouble themselves therein, because the proposal can have no other ground than a supposition of such fraud in the artist as is inconsistent with the credit of his profession.'

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"The benchers of the Inner Temple, nevertheless, still adhered to their determination, to have impartial judges chosen' to decide the controversy; while the Middle Temple, satisfied that they had made choice of the better instrument, would not yield, so the contest was further prolonged; and accordingly we find the benchers of the Inner Temple, in February, 1686, again urging the necessity for the appointment of indifferent persons by each society to determine which is the best organ.

"At length,' says Burney, 'the decision was left to Lord Chief-Justice Jefferies, afterwards King James the Second's pliant Chancellor, who was of that society (the Inner Temple), and he terminated the controversy in favour of Father Smith; so that Harris's organ was taken away without loss of reputation, having so long pleased and puzzled better judges than Jefferies."

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"After its rejection by the societies of the Temple, Harris's organ was divided; a portion of it formed the old organ in the cathedral of Christ Church, Dublin; and the remainder was erected in St. Andrew's, Holborn.

66 Reverting, however, to the accounts of the strange contention between Father Smith and Harris, for the order for the erection of the Temple organ. In Malcolm's Londinum Redivivum we find the following: The most singular occurrence of Smith's professional life, was the harmonic contest between his organ, now in the Tem

ple Church, and the one erected by Renatus Harris, son of another German organ-builder, who left his country about the same time that Smith came. The learned Antients of the above seat of law, wavered in their choice of the artist who should place an organ in their venerable church. The efforts of Smith and Harris were, therefore, brought into and heard by an open court, supported by counsel, who exerted their best abilities in their defence, had a respectable variety of jurors, and Judge Jefferies gave sentence, which was in Smith's favour. In other words, the organ made by Harris was placed on one side of the church, and that of Smith on the other; the former played by Draghi, the latter by Dr. Blow and Mr. Purcell. Near a year elapsed before the contention ceased, and Jefferies made his fiat. It was this success that led to Smith's employment at Paul's.'

"And the Hon. Roger North, attorney-general to James II., who was in London at the time, adds his testimony to the virulence of the contest, and the acrimony exhibited by the friends on both sides, when, speaking of the evils which arise from competition in matters relating to music, he says, 'And more (i. e., ill effects) happened upon a competition for an organ at the Temple Church, for which the two competitors, the best artists in Europe, Smith and Harris, were but just not ruined.'-(Memoirs of Music, by the Hon. Roger North, edited by Dr. Rimbault, 1846, p. 120.) 'Indeed,' says Dr. Burney, 'old Roseingrave assured me that the partisans for each candidate, in the fury of their zeal, proceeded to the most mischievous and unwarrantable acts of hostilities; and that, in the night preceding the last trial of the reed stops, the friends of Harris cut the bellows of Smith's organ in such a manner, that, when the time came for playing upon it, no wind could be conveyed into the wind chest.'”—(Burney's History of Music, c. viii. p. 427.)1

The history of the Temple organ does not end here. When the church was restored, it was needful to put the organ in a renewed and improved shape. Many hundreds of pounds were laid out on it-enough to have constructed a new and large

1 Vide "A Few Notes on the Temple Organ," p. 11, et. seq.

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