JUST IN TON A TION. 5 1 



certain limited number of keys, were also content to exclude them- 

 selves voluntarily from certain other keys, and those keys were very 

 graphically called wolves, because they howled. They threw all the 

 howling into certain unfortunate keys, and they promised never to use 

 them. That was the first system. Then came the second, in which 

 the howling, instead of coming from a few individuals, was spread over 

 the whole community, and all the keys were allowed to howl to a 

 certain extent. The howling was distributed over all the keys, and it 

 became, some people say, so small that you do not notice it. Other 

 people think otherwise. That is the second system, termed the system 

 of equal temperament. Then there is a third, and this is the arrange- 

 ment of which I have to speak most, which was, that by increased 

 mechanism and by greater contrivance you might combine the two. 

 For this purpose there were obviously two ways open. You might 

 increase the number of the keys on the key- board; you might have 

 more digitals to put your fingers upon, each speaking to a more true 

 note, or you might increase the mechanism beyond the digitals in such 

 a way that by drawing combination stops, as they are termed, the 

 proper number of sounds for the particular scale should be brought 

 into action to the exclusion of the others. The first attempt of 

 this kind I have already noticed in speaking of Perronet Thomson's 

 organ. It is not only the first in that direction; it is also a very 

 admirable contrivance; and, I believe, it remains, as yet, without a 

 fellow. His idea was to complicate the key-board to any extent, so 

 that the true sounds were obtained. However, finding that this 

 would be almost impracticable, he limited himself to forty sounds; 

 these forty sounds are distributed, over three key-boards, each key- 

 board containing, besides the ordinary digitals, black and white red 

 ones, what he termed quarrels, what he termed flutals, and what he 

 termed buttons. There are three key-boards, therefore, furnished 

 with these various kinds of keys. No doubt the idea is very good. 

 Anybody can judge for himself who likes to play a simple melody 

 on those key-boards. But the fingering is extremely difficult ; and 

 I fear the difficulty is so great that it will not be very largely adopted 

 by practical musicians. They would have to re-learn all the mechanical 

 work of music, generally learned in childhood, and the work is too great. 

 Since then we have had several excellent contrivances, and the most 



