Sir, - In the "Quidnunc" column of February 15th, an item headed "Whose Anthem?" quotes two verses of the English National Anthem. It states that there is particular emphasis on the second verse.
I would like to point out that the second verse is never sung. It is usually the custom for the first verse only to be played and sung, and if another follows, it is the third one of the anthem:
Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
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Long may she reign
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen.
-Yours, etc.,
Cloghan Crescent,
Belfast, BT5 7HG.