like our own. The song of the Hindu of rank will serve, therefore, as a specimen of Hindu National music just as well as that of the lowest Cooly; and the melodies produced by a Caboceer, or chief, of Dahomey, upon his sanko,* deserve our attention as much as those of the common negro.

We should not, however, be justified in inferring from the preceding remarks that the degree of perfection exhibited in their music depends necessarily upon the higher or lower state of civilization of the nation to which it appertains. This is by no means always the case. The inhabitants of Kamtschatka possess music far more expressive and beautiful than their ignorance, and their wretched life in a most ungenial climate, would lead us to expect. This has been asserted by several travellers, and is satisfactorily proved from the tunes collected by Steller.† Again, the natives of the Fuegian Archipelago, though in their wants and wishes scarcely raised above the brute animal, are nevertheless distinguished by a fine ear and great fondness for music. Captain Wilkes, who repeatedly had occasion to observe this, states that one of them sang at once with wonderful correctness the diatonic and chromatic scales, which had been played to him upon the violin by way of experiment.‡

However devoid of expression and beauty the music of a nation may appear to us, it is certainly felt to possess these qualities by the people to whom it belongs. Indeed, the power and beauty of this art seem to be universally acknowledged. Many nations consider it of divine origin; many possess in their mythology an Orpheus of some kind, and in their fairy tales and folk-lore supernatural beings, who, by the irresistible allurements of their songs or instrumental performances, exercise a wonderful power over man; and most nations employ music on extraordinary and important occasions, at their religious observances and secular festivities.

Sanko, a peculiar stringed instrument of the negroes.

+ Georg Wilhelm Steller's Beschreibung von dem Lande Kamtschatka. Frankfurt, 1774.

Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, &c., by Charles Wilkes. London, 1845. Vol. i. p. 125.

Respecting the power attributed to music by the Hindus, Sir William Ouseley records the following traditions: "Mia Tonsine, a wonderful musician in the time of King Akber sang one of the night-rags* at mid-day: the powers of the music were such that it instantly became night, and the darkness extended in a circle round the palace, as far as the sound of the voice could be heard. There is a tradition that whoever shall attempt to sing the rag dheepuck is to be destroyed by fire. The emperor Akber ordered Naik Gopaul, a celebrated musician, to sing that rag: he endeavoured to excuse himself, but in vain; the emperor insisted on obedience: he therefore requested permission to go home and bid farewell to his family and friends. It was winter when he returned, after an absence of six months. Before he began to sing, he placed himself in the waters of the Jumna, till they reached his neck. As soon as he had performed a strain or two, the river gradually became hot; at length it began to boil, and the agonies of the unhappy musician were nearly insupportable. Suspending for a moment the melody thus cruelly extorted, he sued for mercy from the monarch, but sued in vain. Akber wished to prove more strongly the powers of this rag. Naik Gopaul renewed the fatal song: flames burst with violence from his body, which, though immersed in the waters of the Jumna, was consumed to ashes. These and other anecdotes of the same nature, are related by many of the Hindus, and implicitly believed by some. The effect produced by the maig mullaar rag was immediate rain; and it is told that a singing girl once, by exerting the powers of her voice in this rag, drew down from the clouds timely and refreshing showers on the parched rice crops of Bengal, and thereby averted the horrors of famine from that province.”+

The Chinese have a tradition, according to which the great Confucius, having heard on a certain occasion some beautiful music, was so affected by it that he did not taste food for

*Rags, songs composed in certain modes.

† Sir William Ouseley's Oriental Collections for January, February and March, 1797, p. 70.

three months afterwards. In a Burmese drama, founded upon an ancient legend, which Captain Yule has translated into English, the hero is presented by a nát (a sprite) with a golden harp, and when he sings and plays "the wild elephants of the forest come around him, and are obedient to his voice and harp." The same drama shows us how well the Burmese are acquainted with the power of music for the expression of various emotions. A sprite addresses the band (which always accompanies a Burmese drama): "So now, as I am about to fly, strike up a victorious melody, O leader of the orchestra!" Afterwards it says, "Now, that I may easily reach the large tree in my own mountain from this country of Kauthambi, play a soft and simple air, O leader of the orchestra." And a hunter in the forest concludes his monologue by addressing the band, "Now, as I go on a grand expedition, burst forth like thunder !"*

In the Finnish Mythology the demi-god Wäinämöinen (or Vainamoinen) entrances, like Orpheus, the wildest animals of the forest by the sounds of his harp. Traditions referring to the invention of the instrument by him, and to the wonderful effect of his performances, are still extant in Finnish National poetry.†

The Swiss love their music as they love their mountains and their liberty. It has often been told, and it may often have happened that the Swiss soldiers in foreign regiments have been forbidden, under heavy penalty, to sing or even to whistle their cherished Ranz des vaches, because it affected them to tears, induced them to desert, or made them ill of home-sickness and unfit for service. Very much the same thing was noticed in the Prussian army during the time of the French war. The beautiful National air "Holde Nacht" had, in the years 1813 and 1814 a considerable influence upon the Prussian soldiers: many who sang it were plunged into profound melancholy; so that Blücher and Gneisenau

*A Narrative of the Mission sent by the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava, in 1855, by Captain Henry Yule, London, 1858, p. 368.

See frontispiece; this engraving was first published in 'Verhandlungen der gelehrten ehstnischen Gesellschaft zu Dorpat,' vol. i.

found it necessary to forbid its being sung.* There can be no doubt that in such instances the powerful effect must be attributed not entirely to the music, but in part to the words, and to the recollections associated with the song.

"Monster! barbarian!

How many thousands of my brethren hast thou slain !" exclaims Klopstock to the author of the Marseillaise.†

Of the effect of the Scotch music some curious instances are mentioned in a little book on the bagpipe, written by a military officer, from which I extract the following:

"At the battle of Quebec, in 1760, while the British troops were retreating in great disorder, the General complained to a field officer in Fraser's regiment of the bad behaviour of his corps. Sir,' said the officer with some warmth, 'you did very wrong in forbidding the pipers to play this morning: nothing encourages the Highlanders so much in the day of battle; and even now they would be of some use.' 'Let them blow like the devil, then,' replied the General, if it will bring back the men.' The pipers were then ordered to play a favourite martial air; and the Highlanders, the moment they heard the music, returned and formed with alacrity in the rear.-When the brave 92nd Highlanders took the French by surprise in the late Peninsular war, the pipers very appropriately struck up 'Hey Johnny Cope, are ye wauking yet,' which completely intimidated the enemy, while it inspired our gallant heroes with fresh courage to the charge, which, as usual, was crowned with the fruits of victory."‡

We have another proof of the universally appreciated power of music in the fact that most uncivilized nations employ it in the cure of diseases. On this subject I shall offer a few remarks presently.

Die deutschen Volkslieder mit ihren Singweisen gesammelt von Erk und Irmer, Leipzig, 1843, Heft 6, No. 21.

Some writers attribute this exclamation to Kotzebue; while Klopstock, on meeting Rouget de l'Isle in Hamburg, is said to have addressed the Frenchman with the words, "Sir, your hymn has mowed down 50,000 valiant Germans!"

A Preceptor for the Highland Bagpipe, by an Amateur. Edinburgh, 1818.

The music of many foreign nations is apt to appear to us, on first acquaintance, unimpressive, strange, and, perhaps, even ridiculous; so that we find it difficult to understand how it can appeal to the heart at all. Many foreign nations experience the same difficulty with our music. An intelligent Chinese, having heard the missionary Amiot perform some music by Rameau and other French composers, hinted politely that it was sadly devoid of meaning and expression, while the music of his own country penetrated to the innermost soul.* However, the performance of a Burmese band, which is not very different from a Chinese, was greatly admired in Peking.†

It is therefore perhaps not surprising that our musicians should hitherto have almost totally ignored the music of most foreign nations, or have considered it unworthy of their notice. I may venture, however, to assert that the music of almost every nation has charms which we can appreciate if we enter into its spirit without prejudice; and I hope to show that the study of National music is especially advantageous to the musician for the following reasons:the great variety of rhythm and modulation afford an inexhaustible source of suggestions useful to the student; while, from the deep and beautiful expression prevailing in many of the melodies, they may be regarded as excellent models in composition. The chief advantage consists, however, in the fact that National music, be it ever so artless and simple, is in most cases, what music in the first place always ought to be-a faithful expression of feelings. The reason of this is easily explained. The shepherd tending his flock, the soldier on the march, the fisherman mending his nets, the labourer in the cornfield, has no inducement to sing his favourite tune, unless his heart's emotions incite him to it. His musical effusions emanate therefore from the heart, or, in other words, they are psychologically true. The professional

* Mémoires concernant l'Histoire, etc., des Chinois. Paris, 1780. Tome vi. p. 3.

Vide Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal; Vol. vi. p. 415.