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ADDISON'S HYMNS.--Addison appears to us also as the writer of beautiful
hymns, and has paraphrased some of the Psalms. In this, like Watts, he
catered to a decided religious craving of that day. In a Protestant realm,
and by reason of religious controversy, the fine old hymns of the Latin
church, which are now renewing their youth in an English dress, had fallen
into disrepute: hymnody had, to some extent, superseded the plain chant.
Hymns were in demand. Poets like Addison and Watts provided for this new
want; and from the beauty of his few contributions, our great regret is
that Addison wrote so few. Every one he did write is a gem in many
collections. Among them we have that admirable paraphrase of the
_Twenty-third Psalm_:
The Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
and the hymn
When all Thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys.
None, however, is so beautiful, stately, and polished as the Divine Ode,
so pleasant to all people, little and large,--
The spacious firmament on high.


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