HEARING. 245 
ued playing upon his instrument. At first he was 
petrified with astonishment, when, having ceased 
to play, the assembly of animals immediately broke 
up. Having a great dislike to vermin, it was two 
days before he ventured to touch the instrument ; 
but having mustered courage to conquer his dislike, 
he recommenced his concert, when the assembly 
was by far more numerous than at first; and, in the 
course of farther time, he found himself surrounded 
by a hundred of these animal amateurs. 
M. Marville has given the following curious de- 
tails on this subject. Doubting, he tells us, the 
truth of those who say it is natural for us to love 
music, especially the sound of instruments, and that 
beasts themselves are touched with it, being one 
day in the country he made his observations, while 
a man was playing on a conch shell, upon a cat, a 
dog, a horse, an ass, a hind, cows, small birds, and 
some barndoor fowlsin a yard under the window on 
which he was leaning. He did not perceive that 
the cat was in the least affected, and he even judg- 
ed by her air that she would have given all the mu- 
sical instruments in the world for a mouse, for she 
slept all the while unmoved in the sun; the horse 
stopped short from time to time before the window, 
raising his head up now and then, as he was feed. 
ing on the grass; the dog continued for above an 
hour seated on his hind legs, looking steadfastly at 
the player; and the ass did not discover the least 
indication of his being touched, eating his thistles 
very peaceably ; the hind lifted up her large wide 
ears, and seemed very attentive ; the cows slept a 
little, and after gazing a while went forward; some 
little birds which were in an aviary, and others on 
trees and bushes, almost tore their little throats with 
Singing; but the cock minding his hens, and the 
hens solely employed in scraping in a neighbouring 
dunghill, did not show in any manner that they took 
the least pleasure in AeBHE the music. 
2 
