Then, after a little pause, he gave out the hymn that begins "On
earth we now lament to see." . . . It had not been sung within those
walls in the oldest folks' remembrance--nay, since the Chapel had
been built; and many were surprised to find it in the book. But at
the second verse they picked up the tune and sang it with a will:--

"As 'listed on Abaddon's side,
They mangle their own flesh and slay,
Tophet is moved and opens wide
Its mouth for its enormous prey;
And myriads sink beneath the grave
And plunge into the flaming wave."

"O might the universal Friend
This havoc of his creatures see!" . . .

They sang it lustily to the end. With a gesture of the hand Mr
Hambly bade all to kneel, opened the Book of Common Prayer again, and
instead of "putting up" an _extempore_ prayer, recited that old one
prescribed for use "_In the Time of War and Tumults_":--

"O Almighty God, King of all kings, and Governour of all things,
whose power no creature is able to resist, . . . Save and
deliver us, we humbly beseech thee, from the hands of our
enemies; abate their pride, asswage their malice, and confound
their devices; that we, being armed with thy defence, may be
preserved evermore from all perils, to glorify thee, who art
the only giver of all victory;" . . .

The voice, though creaking in tone and uttering borrowed words,