Mistress Cuckoo 



will go out toward this degenerate but grace- 

 ful and aspiring creature quite as strongly as 

 toward the ninety-and-nine just species that 

 need no repentance. 



The conflicting opinions of good authorities 

 as to whether the cuckoos' notes are musical, 

 suggest an interesting inquiry, which I would 

 not presume definitely to settle, but concern- 

 ing which a few facts are quite evident — this 

 question, namely, by what criterion shall 

 we detemiine which of Nature's sounds are 

 musical ? 



A universal and invincible definition is often 

 a will-o'-the-wisp, that leads many a seeker 

 through a long and fruitless search. Nature's 

 music can be discussed scientifically or popu- 

 larly. A technical definition of music is easy 

 enough; it is the agreeable combination of 

 tones, according to accepted laws of melody, 

 harmony, and rhythm. But the popular sense 

 of music is difficult, if not impossible, to bring 

 within any such precise verbal expression. A 

 scientific definition sometimes hits the mark as 

 accurately for the head, as it shoots wide of it 

 for the heart. Hence the dictionary is some- 

 tog 



