ss Saas —" 
a 
ene 
with Reference to Sound. 355 
more than anything else, perhaps, mars the excellence of a 
Musical performance. On the same principle we must reject the 
Semi-circle, the oval, ellipse, and all other modifications of the 
circular form. So, also, should arched ceilings, rounded corners, 
“omes, concavities and all curvilinear forms, in whatever part of 
the room, be discarded, as much as possible, as tending to aug- 
Ment the reverberatory power, and as having the effect, moreover, 
'0 collect and throw the sound in masses in different points, 
instead of allowing its equal diffusion throughout the whole 
‘partment. ee” 
, On the authority of the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker, in his evidence 
before the House of Commons Committee appointed in 1833, the 
a very bad hearing house.” 
about fifty-five feet, surmounted by a high spherical dome. 
vaied quadrangular form is not ) 
Stated, but there is a greater lateral expansion and consequent loss 
of sound in a square room than in one of the same area whose 
length is greater than its width; hence, in a room of a parallelo- 
8am shape, a given sound will be conveyed to ali parts of it 
With Sreater force than in the former case. 
It is considered by many that, in a smai/ room, the shape is of 
little or ho consequence, as regards the sound, inasmuch as the 
t Plaints of the Irish House of Commons, which is a circle of 
‘Car, (say they,) cannot appreciate its defects. This is, ~ ae 
‘tue in a room whose greatest diameter does not exceed fty- 
