Where Town and Country Meet 



brook-music seems like an unintelligible, 

 confused babble and murmur, without the 

 character and distinctness of the songs of 

 birds. But I doubt if such people have ever 

 listened very long and intently to the music 

 of a brook. It is, in a certain sense, a more 

 classic music than that of birds, less dis- 

 tinctly phrased, and harder to interpret, but 

 of deep and significant meaning. Let us sit 

 down here on the bank, and listen for a few 

 minutes to the music of this small brook 

 that chatters over the stones. 



Observe, first, how it does repeat, though 

 with delicate and subtle variations, a certain 

 musical phrase, what you might call a 

 motive or refrain. This phrase is sometimes 

 prolonged for a minute or two, but it finally 

 completes itself, and, if you listen closely, 

 you will hear it beginning over again, run- 

 ning its course with other variations than 

 before, perhaps, but, in the main, adhering 

 to its theme, and rounding out the same 

 musical phrase. 



Now, to prove the correctness of my 



theory, take two or three large stones, and 



drop them into the water where it babbles 



loudest, upon the sounding-board of the 



86 



