but it cannot be doubted that he was of immense service in indicating new paths and new ways of doing things.  He had—­at second hand we must admit—­Carissimi’s methods and new impulse; and, at the very least, he saved Purcell the trouble of a journey to Paris.  It was a misfortune for English music that he died so early.  These Restoration geniuses had a way of dying early.  He distinctly had genius, a very different thing from the plodding industry of Dr. John Blow, who succeeded him in 1674.  Dr. Blow afterwards claimed to have been Purcell’s master, and, as Purcell was certainly his pupil, there seems no reason for doubting him.  Purcell was, of course, sixteen years of age when Humphries died, and no longer a mere choir-boy; but he remained attached to Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal.  According to the records of the “King’s Musick,” on June 10, 1673, there is a “warrant to admit Henry Purcell in the place of keeper, maker, mender, repayrer and tuner of the regalls, organs, virginalls, flutes and recorders and all other kind of wind instruments whatsoever, in ordinary, without fee, to his Majesty, and assistant to John Hingston, and upon the death or other avoydance of the latter, to come in ordinary with fee.”  So late as 1683, when Purcell had been organist of Westminster Abbey for about three years, he was appointed to be “organ-maker and keeper in the place of Mr. Hingston, deceased.”  The conjecture of Rev. Henry Cart de Lafontaine, editor of these records (published by Novello) seems to be correct:  Purcell must have been apprenticed to Hingston and afterwards succeeded him.  In later warrants he is authorised to buy wood, metal and Heaven knows what else—­he can buy what he likes as long as he keeps the instruments in order and in tune.  Charles II. had a good ear.  In 1676 Purcell was appointed “copyist” of Westminster Abbey, whatever post that may have been.  In 1677 “Henry Purcell” is “appointed composer in ordinary with fee for the violin to his Majesty, in the place of Matthew Lock, deceased.”  I fancy that his tuition from Dr. Blow must have been mainly in organ-playing, in which art Dr. Blow was an esteemed master.  At the same time, we must not forget that we have Purcell’s own word for it that Blow was one of the greatest masters of composition in the world.  Purcell spoke of Dr. Blow’s technical mastery of the tricks of canon-writing, which Purcell himself was much addicted to, and greatly enjoyed.  Dr. Blow may have taught Purcell something of the older technique; that of Lulli and the Italians he must have learnt from Humphries, for Dr. Blow knew next to nothing about it.  Dr. Blow was born in 1648, and was one year younger than Humphries, and ten older than Purcell.  In 1669 he became organist of Westminster Abbey.  He, like Humphries, and, indeed, all the foremost musicians of the period, was a bloated pluralist, and held other positions.  It is said that he resigned Westminster Abbey in 1680 in Purcell’s favour.  Whether the resignation