Mistress Cuckoo 
will go out toward this degenerate but grace- 
ful and aspiring creature quite as strongly as 
toward the ninety-and-nine just species that 
need no repentance. 
& 
The conflicting opinions of good authorities 
as to whether the cuckoos’ notes are musical, 
suggest an interesting inquiry, which I would 
not presume definitely to settle, but concern- 
ing which a few facts are quite evident—this 
question, namely, by what criterion shall 
we determine which of Nature’s sounds are 
musical ? 
A universal and invincible definition is often 
a will-o’-the-wisp, that leads many a seeker 
through a long and fruitless search. Nature’s 
music can be discussed scientifically or popu- 
larly. A technical definition of music is easy 
enough; it is the agreeable combination of 
tones, according to accepted laws of melody, 
harmony, and rhythm. But the popular sense 
of music is difficult, if not impossible, to bring 
within any such precise verbal expression. A 
scientific definition sometimes hits the mark as 
accurately for the head, as it shoots wide of it 
for the heart. Hence the dictionary is some- 
109 
