156 
BIRDS IN A VILLAGE. 
peaceful, even dreamy, with a touch of tenderness 
which brings it into relationship with the more 
aerial tones of the true singers ; and this is the 
second quality I spoke of, which gave a charm to 
this note and made it seem better than the others. 
This is partly the effect of distance, which clarifies 
and softens sound, just as distance gives indistinct- 
ness of outline and ethereal blueness to things that 
meet the sight. To objects beautiful in themselves, 
in graceful lines and harmonious proportions and 
colouring, the haziness imparts an additional grace ; 
but it does not make beautiful the objects which 
are ugly in themselves, as, for instance, an ugly 
square house. So, in the etherealizing effect of 
distance on sound, when so loud a sound as the 
crowing of a strong-lunged cock becomes dreamy 
and tender at a distance of one hundred yards, 
there must be good musical elements in it to begin 
with. I do not remark this dreaminess in the 
notes of the other birds, some crowing at an equal 
distance, others still further away. All natural 
music is heard best at a distance ; like the chiming 
of bells, and the music of the flute, and the wild 
confused strains of the bagpipes, for among artificial 
sounds these come the nearest to those made by 
nature. The " shrill sharps " of the thrush must be 
softened by distance to charm ; and the skylark, 
when close at hand, has both skill and harsh 
