i88o.] 
On Sound as a Nuisance . 
573 
or issuing from a leaky pipe, and repeated at regular inter- 
vals, is as annoying as the tolling of a bell, the barking of 
a dog, or the short sharp screams of a fretful infant. The 
only difference is that the noise is not heard as far. We 
may hence dismiss the “ will ” theory, and refer the effects 
of noises of this class to regularity, accentuation, and 
sharpness. 
It is particularly unfortunate that the multiplication of 
sound should accompany, almost hand in hand, that increase 
of nervous irritability and that tendency to cerebral disease 
which rank among the saddest features of modern life. A 
people w;orn out with over-work, worry, and competitive 
examinations might at least be spared all unnecessary noise. 
Many persons cannot or will not understand how necessary 
silence is to the thinker. A friend of the writer’s, engaged 
in investigating certain very abstruse questions in physics, 
is often compelled to throw aside his work when an organ- 
grinder enters the street, and suffers from acute pain in the 
head if he attempts to go on with his researches. 
We should therefore propose, as measures of sanitary 
reform, the absolute prohibition of street-music, which is 
more rampant in London than in any other capital in 
Europe. The present law, which throws upon the sufferer 
the burden of moving in the matter, is a mere mockery. 
Another necessary point is the abolition of church-bells. 
In these days of innumerable clocks and watches everyone 
can tell when it is the time for Divine Service without an 
entire neighbourhood being disturbed for some twenty minutes 
at a time. Nonconformist places of worship collect their 
congregations without this nuisance. Further, all dogs 
convidted of persistent barking should be disestablished. 
And lastly, harmoniums, American organs, and wind-instru- 
ments in general should be prohibited, except in detached 
houses. 
