306 ARTISTS AND AUTHORS whole of his hardly earned money, Handel was compelled to close the theatre, and, worse than all, to suspend payment for a time. Happily he now turned his thoughts to oratorio. " Saul " and "Israel in Egypt "were composed in quick succession ; the last gigantic work being written in the almost incredibly short space of twenty-seven days. How great it is everyone now knows, but, at the time the colossal choruses were actually considered a great deal too heavy ana monotonous ; and Handel, always quick in resource, at the second performance introduced a number of operatic songs to make them go down better, and after the third performance the piece was withdrawn altogether. Fortunately, opin- ions have changed since then. These works were followed by his fine setting of Dryden's "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day," and Milton's " L Allegro" and "II Pense- roso ; " but it cannot be said that his pecuniary affairs were materially improved by their production. The first performance of his greatest oratorio, the " Messiah," took place at Neale's Music Hall, in Dublin, on April 18, 1742, at mid-day, and, apropos of the absurdities of fashion, it may be noticed that the announcements con- tained the following request : " That ladies who honor this performance with their presence, will be pleased to come without hoops, as it will greatly increase the charity by making room for more company." The work was gloriously suc- cessful, and ^400 were obtained the first day for the Dublin charities. Handel seems always to have had a special feeling with regard to this masterpiece of his — as if it were too sacred to be merely used for making money by, like his other works. He very frequently assisted at its performance for the benefit of the Foundling Hospital, and he left the score as a precious gift to the governor of that institution. This work alone brought no less a sum than ,£10,299 to the funds of the hospital. In this connection a fine saying of his may be repeated. Lord Kinnoul had complimented him on the noble " entertainment " which by the "Messiah" he had lately given the town. "My Lord," said Handel, "1 should be sorry if I only entertained them — I wish to make them better." And when someone questioned him on his feelings when composing the " Hallelujah Chorus," he replied in his peculiar English, " I did think I did see all heaven be- fore me, and the great God himself." What a fine saying that was of poor old George III., in describing the "pastoral symphony" in this oratorio — "I could see the stars shining through it ! " The now constant custom of the audience to rise and remain standing during the performance of this chorus, is said to have originated in the following man- ner: On the first production of the work in London, "the audience were ex- ceedingly struck and affected by the music in general ; but when that chorus struck up, ' For the Lord God Omnipotent' in the 'Hallelujah,' they were so transported that they all together, with the king (who happened to be present), started up and remained standing till the chorus ended." "This anecdote I had from Lord Kinnoul." So says Dr. Beattie, the once famous poet, in one of his letters. The "Messiah" was commenced on August 22, 1741, finished on September
