18S 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



PBOMISCUOUS EXERCISES. I. ANTIQUITY OF FREEDOM. 



[Marked for Rhetorical Pauses, in poetry.~] 

 Here ' are old trees, tall oaks | and gnarled pines, 

 That stream ' with gray-green mosses ; here | the ground 

 Was never trenched by spade ; and flowers | spring up ' 

 Unsown, and die ungathered. It is sweet | 

 To linger here, among the flitting birds, 

 And leaping squirrels, wandering brooks, and winds ' 

 That shake the leaves, and scatter, as they pass, 

 A fragrance ' from the cedars, thickly set ' 

 With pale blue berries. In these peaceful shades, 

 Peaceful, unpruned, immeasurably old, 

 My thoughts ' go up the long ' dim ' path of years, 

 Back ' to the earliest days of Liberty. 



FREEDOM ! thou art not, as poets ' dream, 

 A fair young girl, with light ' and delicate limbs, 

 And wavy tresses | gushing from the cap ' 

 With which the Eoman master ' crowned his slave || 

 When he took off the gyves. A bearded man, 

 Armed to the teeth, art thou; one maile'd hand || 

 Grasps the broad shield, and one | the sword ; thy brow, 

 Glorious in beauty | though it be, is scarred |! 

 With tokens of old wars ; thy massive limbs || 

 Are strong with struggling. Power | at thee has launched 

 His bolts, and ' with his lightnings ' smitten thee ; 

 They could not quench the life thou hast from heaven. 

 Merciless power I has dug thy dungeon deep, 

 And his swart armourers, by a thousand fires, 

 Have forged thy chain ; yet, while he deems thee bound, 

 The links are shivered, and the prison walls | 

 Tall outward ; terribly thou springest forth, 

 As springs the flame ' above a burning pile, 

 And shoutest to the nations, who return 

 Thy shoutings, while the pale oppressor [ flies. 



Thy birthright | was not given ' by human hands : 

 Thou wert twin-born ' with man. In pleasant fields, 

 While yet our race was few, thou sat'st with him, 

 To tend the quiet flock | and watch the stars, 

 And teach the reed to utter simple airs. 

 Thou ! by his side, amid the tangled wood, 

 Didst war upon the panther ' and the wolf, 

 His only foes ; and thou ' with him ' didst draw 

 The earliest furrows ' on the mountain side, 

 Soft ' with the deluge. Tyranny himself, 

 Thy enemy, although of reverend look, 

 Hoary ' with many years, and far obeyed, 

 Is later born ' than thou ; and | as he meets 

 The grave defiance of thine elder eye, 

 The usurper | trembles | in his fastnesses. 



Oh ! not yet | 



May'st thou unbrace thy corslet, nor lay by ' 

 Thy sword ; nor yet, O Freedom ! close thy lids ' 

 In slumber ; for thine enemy | never sleeps, 

 And thou ' must watch ' and combat || till the day 

 Of the new earth ' and heaven. But wouldst thou rest 

 Awhile | from tumult ' and the frauds of men, 

 These old ' and friendly solitudes | invite 

 Thy visit. They, while yet the forest trees 1 

 Were young ' upon the vmviolated earth, 

 And yet the moss-stains ' on the rock | were new, 

 Beheld thy glorious childhood, and rejoiced. Bryant. 



LESSONS IN MUSIC. X. 



MENTAL EFFECT CONSONANCE OF NOTES THE 

 MODULATOE, ETC. 



WE remarked in a previous lesson the striking change in the 

 mental effect of a note produced by a rapidity of movement, and 

 observed that, though seemingly opposed, these double mental 

 effects do hold a real relation to each other. We spoke of 

 LAH passing J^by change of movement) from the " abandonment " 

 of sorrow to the "abandonment " of joy. In the same way the 

 mental effect of DOH, ME, and SOH may pass from the " dig- 

 nified and solemn " to the " bold and decisive," as shown in 

 the examples given in our last lesson ; and, more than this, by 

 using a yet quicker movement, we may find these same notes 

 never, mark you, passing into that emotional character which 

 belongs to TE, RAY, FAH, and LAH, but expressing that bold 

 hearty laughter " holding both its sides," of which Milton 

 wrote and Handel sung. This is shown in the following 

 passage. 



. , 



s.s : s . s |s.m:d 



-ter ho 



The laughter having thus commenced with the last phrase, 

 which is repeated in the other " parts " also, next changes to 

 another key (that of the sub-dominant), but still keeping DOH, 

 son, ME, as its accented notes. It afterwards falls into laughter 

 of a different style, which is more musical, perhaps, but not so 

 open and hearty. Enough of the example is given to show the 

 character of DOH, ME, and son in rapid movements. 



We trust that our pupils will study all these examples with 

 great care, and practise them well. They could not have better 

 exercises for voice or ear. An earnest endeavour to study the 

 mental effect of notes will very greatly increase the power of 

 singing those notes with accuracy. 



1. The moat perfect consonance (or sounding together) of any 

 two notes, is that of two which are octaves to one another as 

 DOH and DOH 1 , SOH and son 1 , etc. The notes agree so " per- 

 fectly " as to be constantly regarded as the same. The con- 

 sonance which stands next in the order of agreement is that of 

 ihefijth DOH with SOH, RAT with LAH, ME with TE, SOH with 

 RAY 1 , and LAH with ME 1 . TE with FAH 1 is an imperfect fifth. 

 Approaching to this in " perfectness " of concord, is the fourth 



DOH with l''AH, RAY With SOH, ME with LAH, SOH With DOH 1 , 



LAH with RAY 1 , and TE with ME 1 . FAH, TE, is an augmented 

 fourth. But it is not the most " perfect '' consonance that is the 

 most pleasing. For the production of pleasure and beauty in 

 music, as in all other fine arts, there is needed a certain variety 

 in unity a certain difference blending with agreement. Hence 

 it is that the most pleasing consonance of the scale is that of 

 the third DOH with ME, RAY with FAH, ME with SOH, etc. The 

 first, third, and fifth of the scale DOH, ME, SOH form, when 

 sounded together, the most delightful union of sounds that is 

 known. A consonance of three or more notes is called a 

 " chord." 



2. Try each of the above consonances in order, either by the 

 help of a friend or with some musical instrument. You will 

 thus be aided in forming a kind of personal acquaintance with 

 the notes. You will be enabled to individualise them, and to 

 recognise by the ear their mental effect. 



3. The following ancient and well-known tune is intro- 

 duced to illustrate still further the qualities of DOH, ME, and 

 SOH. The pupil will notice that it has a soft and gentle opening, 

 which exhibits the properties of ME, relieved by those of FAH, 

 and enlivened by SOH. In the fifth line there is a most beauti- 

 ful awakening to bolder and brighter sounds, in which SOH and 

 upper DOH play their part, and then the music returns to the 

 softer expression again. As the pupil learns to appreciate these 

 points, and to notice them for himself, his taste will insensibly 

 improve, and with his taste his "execution.'' Study in every 

 possible way the various points of beauty and expression o/ 

 which your music is capable. 



