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38 could be more thoroughly studied, and be of more real benefit to the people by their woriving in concert and helping to establish and keep alive a musical centre which should include orchestra, cliorus, pianoforte, and instrumental instruction of all kinds, concerted and chamber music practice, voice training, organ, harmony, coimterpoint, composition — and, in sliort, everything that is meant by that well-known and yet sadly misunderstood word, Music. Music, indeed ! It is not to the concert liall alone we should look to discover the true state of affairs. Let us glance at the homes of those who might do a little to encourage an art which, besides being most purely beautiful in itself, would prove an endless source of deliglit and ennoblement to all brought under its influence, and might be the means of brinaina; about a healthier tone in the artificial and often aimless existence of the youth of both sexes in the present generation. In our homes — speaking broadly, of course — we have no instrumental trios, duets, or quartettes, only 'Braga's Serenade,' with an obligato out of tune and badly played — no fairly interpreted Beethoven sonatas, Cliopin nocturnes, or Schumann love poems — only 'The March of the Mountain Gnomes,' Rubinstein's unfortunate melody, and all the jjopular waltzes of the day ; we have no beautiful Schubert, Sclunnann, Franz, or Jensen songs, only ' Ora pro Nobis,' ' The Better Land,' or a host of stuff either unpardonably bad, or sung to shreds. And when we do find a member of a family wlio, thanks to her teacher's influence or her own natural artistic sympathies, really shows a genuine appreciation of what is good and true in art, her parents and friends take no trouble that her home or surroundings slioidd be such as to foster and encourage the young aspirant. The father must have his Scotch tune, or the mother must beg her daughter to stop that horrid noise, and come and help with the cooking ; or if there be a party of friends in for the evening, the carefully and sympathetically studied Romance of Schumann is accompanied by a jargon of con- versation. If a reciter were declaiming a scene from Shakespeare, no one Mould dream of disturb- ing the speaker by talking, but Beethoven — the Shakespeare of music — may be insulted with abso- lute impunity by those who have neither the musical intelligence nor good breeding to perceive that by taking advantage of the licence that Society in general allows in treating everything that is beauti- ful and refined in music with contemptuous indiffer- ence, they are doing a grievous wrong to art. The actual experience of the writer has shown that it is idle to hope for any real growth in musical culture among us, so long as those who show any appreciation and soul for music have all their enthu- siasm and small flame of artistic fire quickly ex- tinguished for want of a congenial atmosphere. It is impossible to make any headway in art without the sympathy and companionship of those who feel with us, and understand the longings and aspirations, be they modest or ambitious, of our inmost nature. If our musically-inclined cliildren of to-day could be brought together, their studies properly directed, their knowledge of the literature of music increased, and all their efforts treated with earnest interest, there is no doubt that by degrees our little musical world would become a world to itself, independent, and invulnerable to the attacks of ionorance or artistic soullessness. It is true that a College of Music might be only a very small influ- ence at first, and perhaps for some time to come, but it would be a step in the right direction ; and until every one becomes convinced of the urgent necessity for this primary and all-important matter being seri- ously considered without further delay, the condition of music in Scotland is not likely to improve, but will grow worse year by year. Liuka.

HE strife which exists in our various Presbyterian communities betveen those who would gladly see more aastheticism in our Church service, and those who think that any departure in this direction savours of 'Papacy,' and betrays the cloven foot of the Tempter, is no new thing. Ritual is not confined to the Roman Catholic Church; there are bishojis 'in esse' outside of Episcopacy, and just as the 'High' party in the Anglican Church surpasses in ritual that of many Romish chin'ches, so the services in many of our Presbyterian churches surpass those of the 'Low' Church party among the Episcopalians. This then is a question with its own inherent difficulties for each succeeding generation. It was by no means settled when our fore-fathers destroyed so much that was beautiful in their fierce hatred of the Cluirch which contained so much that was objectionable.

As early in the history of the Christian Church as 363 A.D., we read of an agitation, got up among his own congregation, against St. Basil, bishop of Neocesarea, for introducing 'innovations and new