304 ANIMAL MECHANISM. 



MUSICAL EAR. 



No question oftener arises amongst physiologists, on 

 surveying the auditory apparatus, than this, viz. why 

 has one person the ear for music, when another, whose 

 internal organ is as beautifully and nicely constructed, 

 is totally unable to appreciate harmonious sounds ? The 

 difficulty, probably js in the peculiar development of 

 some portion of the brain, and therefore does not arise in 

 consequence of a defect in the original conformation of 

 the ear. It obviously requires as delicate auricular per- 

 ception to appreciate, understand and imitate articulate 

 sounds, as it does to sing in concert. It is by no means 

 uncommon for an individual to possess the faculty of ap- 

 preciating and cultivating, the highest departments of 

 instrumental music, and at the same time be wholly 

 unable to sing. This is entirely owing to a defective 

 development of the vocal organs. A perfect organiza- 

 tion of both, in the same individual, united to that in- 

 scrutable development of brain which gives the taste for 

 music, constitutes the most gifted performer, and such 

 as Handel, Mozart, Beethhoven, Mad. Catalina, Garcia, 

 the wonderful Paganini, and a few others have exhibited 

 to the highest human perfection. Another circumstance, 

 worth remembering, in relation to the musical ear, is the 

 following : some persons have the ear as well as the 

 taste for music, and yet find it impossible to accompany 

 others in a performance. This arises, probably, in most 

 cases, in consequence of a non-agreement in the tension 

 of the drum heads of the two ears, or a want of corres- 

 pondence in the calibre of the internal tubes ; hence one 

 ear perceives sounds to be half a tone above or below the 

 other the same occurs in respect to the focal distance, 

 oftentimes, of the eyes. Time rarely corrects the former, 

 though in the latter it finally modifies the aberration. ( 7 ) 



( 7 ) Philosophers of antiquity were more conversant with the doc- 

 trine of sounds, than the moderns: the remarkable cavern, hewn 

 in a solid rock by a celebrated tyrant, and called Dionysius' ear, is 

 said to have been an exact model of the windings of the human 

 ear. Vitruvius gives an interesting and particular account of the 

 manner iu which the Greeks contrived to augment the compass of 

 the voice in theatres, by placing large metal vases in different \nrts 



