COALEY.

A Concert was given on September 22nd, in aid of the Choir Fund, and, favoured by the weather, may be pronounced a success. With the help of Mr. Hunt, from Gloucester, the parish provided all the material, which shows that the inhabitants may be pronounced musical. The Concert was opened by a duet on the piano by Mrs. and Miss Turner, and the well-known overture of Zampa was duly appreciated. Of the part-songs and choruses we noticed that "O hush thee, my babie," by Sullivan, was sung with great taste and expression, and reflected great credit npon the Choir and their instructor. It was taken without accompaniment. "The Echo," by Neithardt, though not well known, is a pretty and clever composition, and is well conceived by the air being carried on by a single treble voice, hidden from view, repeating the strain. The stirring "March of the Men of Harlech," which was the first song of the evening, was unsteady and showed great nervousness, though well known. Mr. Hunt selected as his Solo, Dibdin's "Tom Bowling." Those who know this old favourite could appreciate the pathos and delicacy with which Mr. Hunt treated it. In the second part his song of "The Merry Little Grey Fat Man," by Hatton, drew a hearty encore-a most amusing song, requiring great volubility. The trio for three trebles, "Rest thee on this mossy pillow," was thought by many to be the best performance of the evening. It required great care and sweetness The parts were taken by Mrs. Thomas, Miss Turner, and Miss Hawkins. We notice as many as four vocal duets in the programme. The first in the list was a plaintive strain from the Trovatore, "Home to our Mountains," and Mrs. Thomas understood well the pathos of the gipsy mother sighing to return to her native mountains with her beloved son. "Blow ye freshening breezes," by Glover, was sung by Miss and Rev. J. R. Turner, and "Albion on thy fertile plains," of Bishop, was executed by Mr. S. Prout and Mr. J. Fisher very creditably. "The Singing Lesson," by Barnett, sung by Mr. and Mrs. Fisher, was amusing, and deserved the encore which it received. There were only two treble solos introduced in the programme, which is unusual; but both of these were good, and went well. Mrs. Thomas was encored in "I'm a Merry Zingara,' by Balfe-a song which suited admirably her clear soprano voice, and showed it had received careful training. Miss Turner selected "To the Woods," by F. Warner, and sang also "The Echo," in the part song so called, both of which were rendered pleasingly. A pretty duet for the piano from Il Trovatore was played by Miss Hawkins and Miss E. Leonard in most accurate time. -The balance (expenses paid) of the Concert was £3. 18s.

The Harvest Festival was celebrated on Sunday, the 27th Sept., and was joined in with great heartiness by all. The Church was decorated with an abundance of wheat, fruit, and flowers, and was much admired when lighted up at the Evening Service. The text, "Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness," in wheat ears upon a crimson ground behind the Altar was very legible. A beautiful cross of white roses with scarlet circle of verbenas at the east window was well thrown up by the Altar lights. At the pulpit wreaths of flowers and grapes, interspersed with corn and a small cross of pure white roses, were effective. The pillars were encircled by wild clematis, and each alternate pillar was decorated with fruit or flowers. The lamp standards and coronæ were covered with the berry of the wild bryony, entwined with leaves. The font was tastefully decorated. A spiral cover surmounted by a Cross, executed in nothing but white and scarlet geraniums, was very simple and pretty. At the foot were groups of roses and greenhouse flowers, kept from fading by being placed in water dishes enveloped in foliage. The Vicar preached in the morning; the Ven. Sir G. Prevost in the evening. The Evening Service brought the larger congregation-indeed the Church was full. The Psalms were chanted. The Anthem was Psalm xxiii. by Macfarren. The Versicles were Tallis in harmony. Altogether the music was hearty, and, though not without faults, showed that the Choir had studied to do their best to make the music suitable to the services of the Church. It was a great pleasure to hear the Archdeacon again from the pulpit, and many from the parish came to listen, who are not in the habit of coming to the Church at other times; and indeed all thoroughly appreciate the kind interest the Archdeacon has ever taken in the welfare of this parish. The Offertory amounted to £2. 19s. 6d., and will be devoted to the Coal Fund.

CHURCH REGISTER.

BAPTISMS.

Aug. 30-Jane Elizabeth, daughter of Louisa Scales.

Sept. 1-Kate, daughter of William and Sarah Griffin, Slymbridge. MARRIAGE.

Sept. 17-Thomas Wilkins to Catherine Ann Marsh.

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DURSLEY.

The Annual Harvest Thanksgiving Service was held in the Parish Church on the evening of S. Matthew's Day, September 21st, when a large congregation was gathered together. The Chancel was prettily and appropriately decorated with fruit and flowers. Many offerings were received from rich and poor-grapes, apples,

Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby.

THE MOTHER OF HENRY VII. (1441-1509.)

HIS illustrious lady was the daughter and co-heiress of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, a grandson of John of Gaunt. Her father died early in life, and Margaret passed her childhood with her widowed mother at Bletsoe, in Bedfordshire. It was thought fit to betroth her at the age of nine, in 1450, but being perplexed between two suitors, the poor child, by the advice of an aged lady, appealed to St. Nicholas as the patron of holy maidens; whereupon, as she afterwards gravely told, one night when calling on the saint, whether asleep or awake' she could not assure,' he appeared, and bade her choose Edmund Tudor for her spouse. In consequence of this, Margaret was betrothed, and so soon as 1455, married, to Edmund, who was the son of Owen ap Tudor, a Welsh gentleman of good descent, and of his wife the widow of Henry V. The reigning King, Henry VI., was therefore half-brother to Edmund Tudor, and on his marriage created him Earl of Richmond, and lent him Pembroke Castle as a residence. Within the next year, however, Edmund died, leaving his young widow and an infant son, Henry, in the midst of those terrible struggles for power between the Houses of York and Lancaster which distracted the country for thirty years, and were called the Wars of the Roses. Little did the Countess think that her son, as Henry VII., would restore peace to England and to herself!

Margaret remained at Pembroke Castle, devoted to her child's education, and training him in the love of religion and learning. The young widow took for a second husband the Earl of Stafford, eldest son of the Duke of Buckingham, a relative of hers and a staunch supporter of the Lancastrians. In 1461, however, they were signally defeated; Henry VI. fled and Edward IV. (of York) reigned. Margaret was deprived of great part of her possessions, and her son, Henry, Earl of Richmond, was exiled and imprisoned in France. She was also dismissed from Pembroke Castle, but having built a mansion in Northamptonshire, called Collyweston, she resided there with her husband and second son.

Having a serious, thoughtful mind, chastened by trouble, the Countess devoted herself more and more to meditation, fasting, and prayers, and also to religious writings, copying prayers, and working incessantly for years in translating religious books in MS. from the French, as the treatise called The Imitation of Christ and A Mirrour of Gulde for the Sinfull Soule. These literary works are the more remarkable, because in those days ladies could in general do little more than sign their names. Margaret's needle was as much employed as her pen, for she worked extremely beautiful tapestry hangings for the walls of her houses.

In 1481 the Earl of Stafford was slain at the battle of St. Alban's, and after a time the Countess married Lord Stanley, which was a fortunate step both for herself and for her son, the young Earl of Richmond; for although they had both prudently abstained from

Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby.

factious politics, yet as, through the desolating civil war, Henry had become the head of the Lancastrian race, he had also become doubly ⚫ obnoxious to King Edward IV. and the rest of the Yorkist party. Lord Stanley was, however, steward of the King's household and a mainstay of the Yorkists: he was sufficiently powerful to protect his bride. They resided in London on St. Bennett's Hill, and shortly after their marriage King Edward died, leaving his young daughter, Elizabeth, to the guardianship of Lord Stanley, and his unfortunate sons, Edward V. and his brother, to the cruel care of their uncle, Richard, who, having designs on the throne and fearing that Lord Stanley would thwart them, ommitted him to the Tower. When, however, the sudden death or urder of his nephews had made Richard the right male heir to the throne (his niece's claims seemed unthought of), he no longer dreaded Lord Stanley, but released him from prison, and, the more to gain his support, made him Constable of England. At Richard III.'s coronation in 1483, Lord Stanley bore before him the Constable's staff, and the Countess held the Queen's train.

Margaret sought and obtained great favour at court for her son Henry's sake; but when the King refused her urgent petition that he should be recalled from exile and have his estates restored, Margaret began to lay plans for placing Henry on the throne in the room of Richard, who was becoming highly unpopular, from the suspicion of having destroyed his nephews. The Countess gained as an ally in her plot the widowed Queen, the mother of the deceased princes and of Princess Elizabeth, giving a pledge that the latter should marry her son if he obtained the crown.

After much plotting and intriguing, young Henry made an attempt at invasion from France, but it completely failed, and resulted in the execution of his half-brother, the Duke of Buckingham, for having aided him, and in their mother being deprived of her titles and lands. The fond and daring mother was, however, undaunted by this terrible failure, and continued to send information and money to Henry and to stir up France and Bretagne in his behalf. At length, in August 1485, Henry Tudor landed safely at Milford Haven with his troops and marched inland. King Richard entrusted Lord Stanley with a large division of his opposing army, but the latter contrived to have a private interview with his stepson before the armies met, and it is well known how, in the midst of the battle of Bosworth, Lord Stanley, with his 5000 men, changed over to Henry's side, and decided the fate of the day. Taking the crown of the slain king, he placed it on his stepson's head, shouting Long live King Henry VII.!'

At Leicester Henry met his mother, after fourteen years' absence; and no doubt she felt her thirty years of anxiety and efforts for his welfare amply repaid when she saw him crowned in Westminster Abbey. Still more must Margaret have rejoiced when her longcherished wish was fulfilled by the marriage of Henry with Elizabeth of York, the rightful heiress of the crown, for by this the houses of York and Lancaster were reconciled. It is recorded that Bourchier, the aged Archbishop of Canterbury, with hands trembling from joy as well as years, held the posie on which the white rose and the red were tied together.'

Henry created Lord Stanley Earl of Derby, and it is pleasing to