musical practice, if the musician claims that position in society which he ought to occupy. Such musical pursuits as lead to scientific researches therefore always deserve his particular consideration.

Even on this account alone the study of national music cannot but be of great advantage to the professional musician; since it directs him to inquiries referring to geography, history, ethnology, and other useful and interesting sciences, as well as to the study of foreign languages. It is only by equally cultivating the head and heart that the musician can hope to achieve the highest aim of his vocation-to promote, by elevating the taste, the ennobling of mankind.

instrumental performances in use among different nations at banquets. The drinking songs are as manifold in character as the ceremonies observed by the drinkers at their social entertainments. With certain negro kings the act of drinking appears to be, on some occasions at least, a most solemn procedure, requiring in their opinion to be duly appreciated by their humble subjects. Mr. Hutchinson mentions in his diary, kept during his visit to Coomassie, the capital of Ashanti, that he one day found the king in the market-place drinking palm-wine. Whenever the king drank, his royal band played, while the executioners (whose business it is to decapitate the victims destined for human sacrifice on certain public festivals), "holding their swords with their right hands, covered their noses with their left, whilst they sung his victories and titles. About half a dozen small boys stood behind his chair, and finished the whole with a Fetish hymn.”* Mr. Forbes, who during his stay at Abomey, the capital of Dahomey, was once present when the king was drinking before his people, relates-" there thundered forth a salute of guns, almost drowned by the shouts of the multitude. The ministers and cabooceers danced, and the eunuchs and ladies held cloth before the king. Men must not see the king eat or drink."+

A somewhat similar custom appears to have been formerly observed by the Tartar Khans in Asia, and probably still prevails at the court of the emperor of China. Marco Polo, who travelled in Asia during the latter half of the thirteenth century, relates of the Grand Khan of Tartary, "when drink is called for by him, and the page in waiting has presented it, he retires three paces and kneels down, upon which the courtiers and all who are present, in like manner make their prostration. At the same moment all the musical instruments, of which there is a numerous band, begin to play, and continue to do so until he has ceased drinking, when all the

*Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee, by E. Bowdich; London, 1819, p 382.

† Dahomey and the Dahomans, by F. E. Forbes; London, 1851, vol. i. p. 79.

was the advantage to be derived from the study of national music appreciated formerly as it deserved to be. The abovenamed historians, for instance, in recording the development of music in European countries from the beginning of the Christian era until the time of the invention of the opera, treat almost exclusively of the history of church music. Recent researches have, however, more and more established the fact, that along with the scientifically cultivated music of the church, there existed always a secular and popular music, which, though without much pretension in an artistic point of view, was generally distinguished by a natural vigour and true expression, while the more skilfully composed ecclesiastical music was often pedantic and dry.

There is generally a remarkable health and freshness in national tunes; the lapse of years seems but little to affect their spirit and power, and many doubtless attain a venerable age before they fall into decay and die off to make room for others. The English National Anthem and Rule Britannia are above a hundred years old: it is likely that a hundred years hence they will be as universally and enthusiastically sung in Great Britain as at the present day. Still older are some of our popular sacred tunes, as the Old Hundredth and Luther's Hymn, which have attained an age of at least three hundred years. They may be even considerably older; because at the time of the Reformation it was not unusual to adopt popular secular melodies for devotional purposes. The German Protestant Church possesses several tunes of which the secular songs, whence they were derived, are still known.

Now, it will easily be understood that in order to ascertain the degree of affinity existing between the music of two nations, it is necessary to study the history of their music, and especially to investigate the age of their popular songs. I have already offered some remarks on this subject in the first chapter of the present work, and I shall now throw out a few hints which, in my opinion, ought to be borne in mind by those who engage in this inquiry.

Uncivilized nations are apt to assign to their favourite songs a marvellously high age. The natives of the Feejee Islands possess some songs which, Mrs. Smythe remarks,

honour of his guests, and proceeds to sing what may be called a Drinking Hymn, in which the whole party joins. I shall insert here one of these compositions, which may be surmised to have a more modern origin than the Servian tunes which I have given before; since it does not exhibit much of the peculiar construction which we have seen in those old melodies. Still, in every other respect, it affords a faithful example of the class of Servian songs in question.

Closely allied to the Drinking Song is a class of composition which may not improperly be designated the Song of Welcome. Indeed, nothing suggests itself more naturally to a savage people than to receive a friend, or a stranger whose favour

country people in the vicinity of Minden, and in some other districts of Westphalia, remains have been discovered of an old ballad which, in the opinion of Jacob Grimm, was probably made at the time of Charlemagne (about A.D. 800). The tune to which it is sung is in the minor key—a fact which is worth noticing, since this key, as we have seen, is rarely met with now-a-days in German national songs. No doubt the tune has undergone some modifications during every century. As this composition is perhaps the oldest of the kind still extant in the mouth of the German peasants, I here transcribe it :

OLD GERMAN BALLAD.

Moderato.

Hermen slog Lär-men, slog Pi - pen un Trummen; der Kaiser is

kum-men mit Hammer un Stan-gen, will Hermen up han

-gen.

The words of this song, as given above, are somewhat different from those cited by Grimm. Probably there exist several versions of the poetry in the different rural districts, as is usually the case with national songs. In another verse the defeat of the Roman legions under Varus, by Arminius (or Hermann), the famous chief of the Cherusci (A.D. 9), is alluded to. This memorable event happened in the same district where the song has been found; but Grimm is disposed to regard the verse referring to it as a modern addition.*

Dr. Forbes, who has collected some interesting specimens of hymns and chants used by the night-watchmen in Switzerland, says—" Of the great antiquity of these chants we have some strong evidence. In the small town of Stein, on the Rhine, in the canton of Aargau, there is a chant now in

* See 'Deutsche Mythologie,' von Jacob Grimm; Göttingen, 1854, p. 329. And also 'Neue Zeitschrift für Musik;' Leipzig, 1836, Band v. p. 123, where a circumstantial account of the song is given.