the remembrance of it; for I shall hereafter have occasion to revert to it."

"As I now understand how sound is produced and carried to a distance, I should much like to learn the cause of different tones," said Louisa.

"Fond as you are of music, my dear Louisa, I am not surprised at the wish you have just expressed to become acquainted with the nature of musical sounds; I shall, therefore, endeavour to convey, in as simple a manner as possible, the theory which has been proposed for their explanation. I think you will immediately perceive that, if the aërial waves, which I have endeavoured to describe, should be irregular, or run into each other, there must arise a confusion of sounds; thus discords may be readily imagined to be produced whenever a second vibration shall commence before the first is finished, so as to meet it half-way on its return, and interrupt it in its course. In like manner may we conceive the general nature of those arrangements upon which unison and concord depend; where the vibrations are performed in equal times, the same tone is produced by both, and they are said to be in unison; but concord, as you well know, is not confined to unison, for two different tones harmonise in a variety of cases. If, for example, the particles of one sonorous body vibrate in double the time of another, the second vibration of the latter will strike the ear at the same instant as the first vibration of the former; and this is the 'concord of an octave When the vibrations are as 2 to 3, the coincidence will be at every third vibration of the quickest, which, therefore, is the next degree of perfection, and is called a 'diapente,' or 'fifth,' while the vibration of 3 to 4 will produce the 'diatessaron,' or 'fourth;' but this and the next which follow in order are not so agreeable to the judicious ear, and are therefore called 'imperfect concords;' while discord is produced by the vibrations confusedly interfering with each other."

Louisa here inquired whether the difference in the acuteness of a sound did not depend upon the nature of the vibrations; and her father, in reply, stated that it depended entirely upon the degree of quickness with which the vibrations were performed: the slower the vibration, the graver the tone; the quicker, the more acute.*

"But, if I strike any one note of the instrument repeatedly, whether quickly or slowly, it always gives the same tone," observed Louisa.

"To understand that fact," replied her father, "you must remember that the vibrations of bodies are regulated by laws very similar to those of the pendulur; consequently the duration of the vibrations of strings or chords depends upon their length and thickness; for if * The number of vibrations made by | has been ingeniously deduced from the the wings of insects, as before stated, tone which they produce.

two strings of equal magnitude, but with their lengths as 2 to 1, be equally stretched, their vibrations will be in the same ratio; therefore, the shortest will make two vibrations, while the longest makes one; but the vibrations of the same string will always be the same whether it be struck quickly or slowly, upon the principle of the isochronous property of the pendulum, already described. It is also worthy of remark that however much the sound-vibrations may vary in quickness, or pitch, they travel forward at the same rate of progression; for in a ring of bells, the sound of every tone is heard at two or three miles' distance, in the same order that the bells are struck; and so it is with music, distance may render it fainter, but it does not alter the tune."*

"Let us now take leave of this subject, for I am quite sure that my young friends have already received more than they can profitably carry away," said the vicar.

"I submit, my good Sir; and in return for my compliance, use your influence with Miss Villers, and induce her to favour us with a practical illustration of our subject upon the pianoforte."

"Most cheerfully; but my intercession is quite unnecessary, for I am sure that our fair friend is no disciple of Tigellius."+

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"I am ever ready, Sir, to comply with the wishes of those I respect. I consider the caprice which our sex too often displays upon these occasions, as not only a breach of good taste, but an evidence of unpardonable vanity."

* Certain experiments have, however, | There is reason to believe that loud shown the necessity of more accurately travel faster than low sounds.-ED. determining the velocity of sound. † Horat. Sat. lib. i. sat. 3.

AFTER the several conversations related in the foregoing pages, the reader will not be surprised to find that the opinion of the vicar regarding the superior attainments of Miss Villers, had daily acquired an increasing ascendancy; and had that lady been free and disengaged, and could " dear Mr Twaddleton" have obtained a slice of one of those Scandinavian apples to which Mr Seymour had lately alluded, we are by no means sure, in spite of his bachelor tendencies, that the current of his admiration might not have murmured in a softer channel-but that is beside our present purpose. We only desire to impress upon our readers the high amount of respect he entertained for her abilities and judgment; and it was under such a conviction that he was induced to submit a question which gave rise to the learned discussion we are now about to relate.

"Pray, Miss Villers,” said the vicar, " may I be allowed to inquire whether, amidst your diversified pursuits, you have ever directed your inquiries into the nature of ancient music? I have long been convinced that it must have been very superior in power and effect to that of modern times, although I am well aware that our friend Mr Seymour entertains a very different opinion; and, with his usual banter, tells me, that all my crotchets are of the old school."

"Upon a question of such doubt and difficulty, I feel that it would ill become a person of my very limited knowledge to offer an opinion; although," added Miss Villers, "I am willing to confess that the subject has not entirely escaped my attention; and you could not afford me a greater gratification than by clearing up some of those doubts which have perplexed me. It is, I believe, admitted, that we are unable to ascertain the real nature of ancient music: but it is evident

that it was an art with which mankind was extremely delighted; for not only the poets, but the historians and philosophers, of the best ages of Greece and Rome, are as diffuse in its praises, as of those arts concerning which sufficient remains have descended to evince the truth of their panegyrics.”

“Nothing, as you very justly observe, is now left us but conjecture," said the vicar; “and yet it is impossible to read the accounts of the extraordinary effects produced by the different ‘modes' of ancient music, without entertaining a strong conviction of its superiority over that of modern times. What have we, my dear Miss Villers, to compare with the soft Lydian,' the grave 'Dorian,' or the furious ‘Phrygian;' to say nothing of the subaltern modes of Aristides Quintilianus, and others; such, for example, as the 'erotic, 'comic,' and 'encomiastic?' What modern strains can produce the effects which are recorded to have follewod the performance of Timotheus, the director of the music of Alexander the Great? One day, while the prince was at table, the musician performed an air in the Phrygian mode, which made such an impression on him, that, being already heated with wine, he flew to his arms, and was going to attack his guests, had not Timotheus immediately changed the style of his performance to the sub-Phrygian, or Lydian. Music," continued the vicar, “has, in modern times, so fallen from this degree of majesty and power, as to induce some persons to doubt the truth of the historical statements."

“I confess, Mr Twaddleton," said Miss Villers, "that I have always been inclined to regard ancient music as the vehicle of poetry; and in a great degree to attribute to the power of the latter that influence which you appear to refer exclusively to the former."

"I am willing to admit," replied the vicar, "that, in the ancient theatre, poetry always accompanied her sister science, assisting, animating, and supporting her ; in short, that she was, in all respects, her friend and fellow-labourer, qualem decet esse sororem,' as the poet has it: but does not this rather prove that poetry, in itself, was insufficient to produce its full effects without the aid of music? In further proof of the power of ancient music, permit me to remind you that Plato has said, 'No change can be made in music without affecting the constitution of the state;' and Aristotle, who seems to have written his Politics only to oppose the sentiments of Plato, nevertheless agrees with him concerning the power which music has over mortals; and has not the judicious Polybius told us that music was necessary to soften the manners of the Arcadians? In short, madam, music has lost its power over the passions of mankind, and this can only have happened in consequence of its having degenerated from its ancient purity and grandeur. If any one should have the hardihood to deny this my position, let him attend a modern rout in

London. I have seen, my dear Miss Villers, a party at a whist-table, a dozen persons in tête-à-tête, and as many solitary individuals, sitting like automatons, not one of them being moved by the concord of sweet sounds with which some lady has been endeavouring to delight them." *

"That is exactly as it should be," interposed Mr Seymour; "whist and music have nothing in common, but are really antagonistic."

"I admit it," said the vicar. "Silence, by a generally-acknowledged convention, is to wait on whist; and yet, methinks, had Timotheus appeared amongst them! hey, Miss Villers? I think I see the party at the whist-table, as his lyre suddenly changed from the Lydian to the Phrygian mode. I must, however, in candour state, that I once did actually see a lady lay down her cards in an apparent state of ecstasy, as a chorus of Handel suddenly burst upon her ear, in spite of a handful of trumps."

"And what might that chorus have been?" said Mr Seymour; "Bless'd be the hand?' But, joking apart, you appear to have satisfied your mind upon a point which all the learning of Europe has left in a state of doubt and perplexity."

"I have merely delivered an opinion, Sir; you, perhaps, will favour us with your judgment.”

"The subject under discussion, my good Sir, is one upon which no person can ever deliver a judgment, for this plain reason, that it is not possible for us to hear both sides."

"Psha! will you never cease to sully the pure stream of inquiry with verbal quibbles?"

"Well, then, to be serious; I agree with Miss Villers, that ancient music, whatever might have been its powers, was greatly indebted to the poetry which accompanied it for its influence over the feelings of mankind. It could not have been otherwise. The ancient instruments, as represented in sculpture, appear so simple as to be apparently incapable of producing great effects: and, indeed, amongst the writings of Aristoxenus, the oldest musical author, we cannot discover a trace of melody or harmony, such as we understand by air accompanied with different parts.'

"To that very simplicity, Sir, am I disposed to refer the charm of ancient music," said the vicar; "it was addressed to the ear, Sir, whereas modern music is addressed to the eye; dexterity of execu

*It is said of Corelli that he was once playing one of his finest sonatas, but unfortunately the company talked to one another, whereupon Corelli softly placed his violin upon the table, and apologized for having interrupted the conversation.

WHIST! an interjection commanding silence; a name suggestive of a very important, and even imperative condition of the game; whence, we presume, its name. As we are upon the subject of etymology, we may observe that TRUMP is an abbreviation of TRIUMPH.