It was a great anxiety to me to know what to do about introducing this _Te Deum_ in the music of the Abbey Purcell Celebration. I consulted Sir Hubert Parry, who said it was "long-winded and dull"! And so I had always found it, and the result was I gave up the idea. But--most providentially--the MS. score of this work was brought to me one day in the Cloisters of the Abbey; the announcement of the coming celebration had called the owner's attention to it. He sold it to me--and when I looked it over I found out what was the real reason of its failure. It was Boyce's edition and not Purcell's music. A new edition was prepared and the _Te Deum_ again restored to life! In another direction Purcell showed his remarkable versatility. He corrected and amended Playford's Introduction to the Skill of Musick, a book of great interest. Purcell's observations on Canon are particularly good and valuable. In 1695 the funeral of Queen Mary took place {137} in the Abbey, Purcell contributing an Anthem and other music. The solemn March for "flat mournful trumpets" has lately been recovered and published; this is a beautiful specimen of Purcell's art, and, it is said, was played at his own funeral. Purcell died on November 21st, 1695, and Dr Cummings, in his _Life of Purcell_, draws a moving picture of the death of the composer "in a house on the west side of Dean's Yard." But--Purcell never lived in Dean's Yard. Rate Books are not romantic, but generally trustworthy. The Rate Books of Westminster show that in 1682 Purcell paid rates for a house in Great St Ann's Lane, in 1686 for a house in Bowling Alley East, and in 1693, 1694, and 1695 (the year of his death) for a house in Marsham Street. All these houses are now demolished, but the one in Bowling Alley existed until lately, and I possess cupboards made from the mantelpieces and balusters of the staircase of Purcell's house. Further proof that he rented houses lies in the fact that he was allowed £8 a year in lieu of a house, and this same payment continued up to the time of my predecessor, who had no house for the early years of his organistship. The death of this great man was a grievous loss to English music. Although he had worthy {138} pupils in Dr Croft and others, yet he had no real successor; and the arrival of Handel and the musical domination which he exercised did much to cause Purcell's name to sink somewhat into oblivion. But it was only for a time--and now there is no English musician whose name and fame is more assured. A Purcell Society is gradually publishing all his works and making them more accessible. His Operas of _Dido and Æneas_ and _The Fairy Queen_ have been performed with great success, and his Church music is still constantly on the lists of our Cathedrals.