456 
NOTES TO THE 
" Chinese Pigeon-Whistles/' — My friend, Lady Dorothy 
Neville of Dangstein, Petersfield, has in her possession some 
most ingenious Chinese pigeon-whistles ; they are simply light 
gourds cut so that a whistle is produced when the wind 
blows into them. These whistles are fastened on to the backs 
of the pigeons by a very fine wire or string ; when the birds 
pass through the air a very melodious note is produced, 
reminding me much of the sound of many ^olian harps. 
The wliistles giving different notes are fastened on to the backs 
of various pigeons, and when many of them are in the air the 
sound is very striking, and most beautiful. 
EcHOES,p. 217. — Whenmy father was officiating in Westminster 
Abbey, he was always heard distinctly even by those at a 
distance. He told me that he waited till tlie echo of the voice 
came back to him ; he was then sure the sound had gone 
as far as it could. His rule when speaking in public was to 
address himself to some person who was standing at the ex- 
treme end of the room. If this person showed by his actions 
that he could hear, it might be taken for granted that every 
one between the speaker and the listener in the distance could 
hear also. I myself have found this advice of great use. 
Every large assembly-room has its " key-note." I believe it 
is the practice of singers to get the "key-note" of a room- — 
such as the theatre at Oxford — before they sing in public. I 
must not omit a story of Westminster Abbey. In former 
times the windows were out of repair, and the place full of 
draughts. A gentleman about to preach remarked to the old 
verger that he was afraid he should not be heard. The verger 
calmly answered, " Never fear, sir ; the wind is in your favour." 
One of the most celebrated whispering places is the gallery in 
the dome of St. Paul's, of which I read, " A whisper may be sent 
all round the dome. And not only in the gallery below but 
above, and upon the scaffold, I tried and found that a whisper 
would be carried over one's head, round the top of the arch, not- 
withstanding there is a large opening in the middle of it into the 
upper part of the dome." I understand that there is a remark-^ 
able whispering place in Gloucester Cathedral, above the east 
end of the choir. 
Mole-Crickets, p. 248. — I have had under observation two or 
three mole- crickets, kindly sent me by Mr. Penny, of Poole. I 
kept them in a finger-glass on the mantelpiece, but they did not 
seem to care to bury themselves in the earth unless annoyed ; 
they would feed greedily on worms, which they ate in a peculiar 
