That it may please thee to keep and strengthen in the true worshipping of thee, in righteousness and holiness of life, thy Servant VICTORIA, our most gracious Queen and Governor; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to rule her heart in thy faith, fear, and love; and that she may evermore have affiance in thee, and ever seek thy honour and glory; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to be her defender and keeper, giving her the victory over all her enemies ; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to bless and preserve Adelaide the Queen Dowager, and all the Royal Family; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to illuminate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true knowledge and understanding of thy Word; and that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth, and show it accordingly; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to bless and preserve Adelaide the Queen Dowager, and all the Royal Family.] The comma after the name Adelaide, which, at a first view, might be thought requisite in this sentence, is here omitted, because the real sense of the words is, either, "The Queen Dowager Adelaide," or, "Adelaide the Queen Dowager." Nothing can be more awkward, or even barbarous, than the phraseology of the text, in which a clergyman, or ordinary reader, must find it difficult, or rather impossible, either to place the comma, or observe the pause which the comma intimates, without making the subjects of the prayer seem threefold; thus,-1st. Adelaide; 2nd. The Queen Dowager; 3d. all the Royal Family. But this is only a part of what is to be here submitted as erroneous in the passage. To go further, why is Her Majesty the Queen Dowager appointed to be prayed for by name? and why is she not styled Her Majesty? In both of these particulars, as it is assumed in the present note, there are violations of propriety and precedent. The Queen Dowager is entitled to be styled in our prayers, as on all other occasions, Her Majesty. In the early part of the reign of King George III, the Royal Mother of the Majesty, no less than the Royal Consort, were appointed to be specifically prayed for, and the prayer now before us was thus:-"That it may please thee to bless and preserve our Gracious Queen CHARLOTTE, Her Royal Highness the Princess Dowager of Wales, and all the Royal Family." (The Book of Common Prayer, &c. Cambridge, 1762.) At a later period of the same reign, and after considerable changes in the living members of the Royal Family, the order of prayer stood thus:-"Their Royal Highnesses GEORGE Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family." (The Book of Common Prayer, &c. London, 1820.) Again, in the latter part of the reign of King George II, when the Prince of Wales for the time being was Prince George, afterward King George III, we read,-"That it may please thee to bless and preserve their Royal Highnesses GEORGE Prince of Wales, the That it may please thee to endue the Lords of the Council, and all the Nobility, with grace, wisdom, and understanding; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to bless and keep the Magistrates, giving them grace to execute justice, and to maintain truth; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to bless and keep all thy people; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord ; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give us a heart to love and dread thee, and diligently to live after thy commandments; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give to all thy people increase of grace, to hear meekly thy Word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. Princess Dowager of Wales, &c. &c." (The Book of Common Prayer, &c., London, 1754.) It is thus obvious, that precedent demands for the Queen Dowager the prefix of her style, "Her Majesty," equivalent to the style of "Royal Highness, always observed in analogous cases; and should an objection be thought tenable from the consideration that the Queen Regnant is nowhere spoken of, in the actual text of our prayers, by the style "Her Majesty," let it be at least remembered, that besides the sounding titles given to the Queen Regnant in the text of the express prayer for Her Majesty, that prayer is entitled, "A Prayer for the Queen's Majesty." But, while too little is given to the Queen Dowager by withholding the style, "Her Majesty," too much is given, upon the other hand, in the appointment that Her Majesty should now be named. It is here that the proper distinction should be observed, in the prayers of the Church, between the Queen Regnant and the Queen Dowager. The precedent has been, to name the Sovereign upon the throne; to name the Royal Consort; to name the Heir or Heiress-apparent; but not to name a Queen Dowager, or a Princess Dowager of Wales: and the reason for the observance of such a rule appears obvious; namely, that of signalizing and presenting to the more particular affections of the people, the Royal Person or Persons actually upon the throne, and the Royal Person in absolute succession. It is presumed, then, that if even the present words of this petition were retained, a considerable improvement would be effected, were we but permitted to change their order as follows; that is, "The Queen Dowager Adelaide;" but that still better would be the form"The Queen Dowager," only; and best of all-and in agreement with the precedent "Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales,"-would be the form thus: "That it may please thee to bless and preserve Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, and all the Royal Family." These remarks apply in an equal manner to the corresponding terms of the "Prayer for the Royal Family," where a preceding note has reference to the remarks now offered. That it may please thee to bring into the way of truth all such as have erred and are deceived; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to strengthen such as do stand; and to comfort and help the weakhearted; and to raise up them that fall; and, finally, to beat down Satan under our feet; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to succour, help, and comfort, all that are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to preserve all that travel by land or by water; all women labouring of child; all sick persons, and young children; and to show thy pity upon all prisoners and cap tives; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to defend and provide for the fatherless children, and widows; and all that are desolate and oppressed; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to have mercy upon all men ; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so as, in due time, we may enjoy them; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. That it may please thee to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances; and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to thy holy Word; We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord. F Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us. Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, Grant us thy peace. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy upon us. O Christ, hear us. O Christ, hear us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Then shall the Priest, and the People with him, say the Lord's Ο UR Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen. O Lord, deal not with us after our sins. GOD, merciful Father, that despisest not the sighing of a contrite heart, nor the desire of such as be sorrowful; mercifully assist our prayers that we make before thee in all our troubles and O Lord, deal not with us after our sins.]-The use of the word "after," here and in the Answer," which follows it, gives occasion to some persons strangely to imagine that the prayer is, that God will neither "deal with us, nor reward us," after our iniquities; that is, in point of time. But the word "after" has an additional sense in which it is very commonly employed, and which is its sense on this occasion. The petition is, that God will not deal with us "according to our sins," or, in the manner in which they deserve. Neither reward us after our iniquities.]-The word "reward," in this "Answer," is another source of occasional misconstruction. To "reward," is sometimes to bestow bounty in return for good deeds; but to visit eril deeds with commensurate punishment is equally the province of reward; and it is against this description of reward that these prayers are offered. adversities, whensoever they oppress us; and graciously hear us, that those evils which the craft and subtility of the devil, or man, worketh against us, be brought to nought, and by the providence of thy goodness they may be dispersed; that we, thy servants, being hurt by no persecutions, may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord. O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thy name's sake. God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them. O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for thine honour. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. From our enemies defend us, O Christ. Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us, O Christ. Graciously hear us, O Christ; graciously hear us, O Lord Christ. O Lord, let thy mercy be showed upon us; WE Let us pray. E humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities, and, for the glory of thy Name, turn from us all those evils that we most righteously have deserved; and grant, that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and |