because it does this, and it is useful in many other ways. Singing
strengthens the lungs, playing the muscles, and both stimulate the
mind. Milton, Schiller, George Sand, Alfieri, and other geniuses have
testified that music aroused their creative faculties; and in
Beaconsfield's "Contarini" occurs this passage: "I have a passion for
instrumental music. A grand orchestra fills my mind with ideas. I
forget everything in the stream of invention." Furthermore, music is a
stepping-stone to social success. A gifted amateur is welcomed at once
into circles to which others may vainly seek admission for years; and
a young lady with a musical voice has a great advantage in the period
of courtship. But most important of all is the moral value of music as
an _ennui_ killer. _Ennui_ leads to more petty crimes than anything
else; and a devotee of music need never suffer a moment's _ennui_.
There are enough charming songs and pieces to fill up every spare
moment in our lives with ecstatic bliss, and to banish all temptation
to vice. It is in reference to similar pleasures that Sir John
Lubbock, in his essay on the "Duty of Happiness," exclaims: "It is
wonderful, indeed, how much innocent happiness we thoughtlessly throw
away." The art of enjoying life is an accomplishment which few have
thoroughly mastered.




V

ITALIAN AND GERMAN VOCAL STYLES


Why is it that most persons are more interested in vocal than in