The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1857-1858, 1857-08-19
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The somGe a she NAaien.

We find the following exquisite paragraph y
| tho New York Tribunr, In IN 6sticle defending
thc Americans from the charge that sheysds
mot appreciasc song. The writer has music b
his soul: sss8 st 4Aa4ss l.as sn
1--WE whould not exchange she profound rev
ercnce with which . Yorker receives 'si4Llly
lDaie.i or s.WOodman Spare that Tree 81
"0ld Folks at Home, as in eone sors, siam
snering atterAoce OF his best hopes and sweeecst
reminiscencca, for all The sensuous and deliQuee-
ems .aptHres Of southern shores.
a Whas . song ia, and hy what rules il should
be constructed. remains 10 this day and uAsolvsd
and inscrutahlv problem. Horace, with NIL his
afe poetical, would have been puzzled 70 say by
what me,hod hecomposcd "Nanc ssf tihrstsDs,r I
the most joyous and fascinating OF Latin mei0-
dies o. all singers, ID may he beet said Of
the gong singer that he In born and not nade
These harmonists Of the heart are always burst
ing upon Us like angelsr without the drill Of
college or the dram OF the discipline. From
the Ayrshire cottage OF B0rse. from the cottage
Of Carey, from the printing houss OF Berrangcf,
from shrinking women aud unlcttered mcA,
come the melodies which fasten themselves
upon the life of the world. The song il writ.
ten-nohody knows how, or when, or where,
otten like the "Marscilles,n itis the accident OF
an accident. Often, like . founding. Is comes
into the earth without paternity, first winning
by its honest humanity tho affection OF the
street, of the cottage, and walls its way 70 tho
affection Of tho palace. Poor Howard PAYNE,
sitting in his lonesome London chamber, hard
at wosk by manufacture aud adoption, and
heaven knows by what other resources, CON
stracting his "Maid Of Milan," for 4 manager
greedy Of novelt e., feels somc old thoughts
come over him, OF Boston or New York, and
Of boyish sriumphs there, marries "iome,
Sweet Home,n 10 q Sicilian air. and the
world catches the ccmpaiat OF his home sick
heart aud will sing ie for a century. A
young lawyer in Philadelphia 10 asked for 4
cong by an actor whose bene6e night does not
promise 70 be the most lucrative; he daskes oil
s.tiai Cclumhia" and to this day he 10 chanted
by glec singers, played by brass bands, and ~his.
tied upon the torccastle Of ships sailing about
Cape Horn. We remember that Prot. Wilson
undertook to prove--we think in one OF the
"Notes"-,hat Tom Moore could not write
song; yet there IL no land upon this globe that
has not listened 70 "Oft in the Silly Night.
"Mary's Tears and "rhere's Nothing Pure hut
Heaven"
The song floats into existence priceless waif,
most or lent estray, and an anonymous do
nation, 4 love gift OF the modest and kindly, the
kind and retiring. The masses. taking up the
chord or the minor plant, seldom enquire
whose master hand struck the key note of their
unfathomed crudition. How many gallant tsrs
roaring out "The Bay OF B,scay," know who
wrote ite How many grim. whskeied soldiers.
singing with unusual tears "Annie Laurie,n in
the trenches Of Sebastopol, have heard or the
pure.hearted woman whose white hand first
wrote "Maxwclton braes are bonnysn The
singer Of songs must be content to find in his
vocation exceeding great reward. Not less,
however, should be our gratitude towards those
who have cheered our loneliness, elevated our
hopes, or assauged our grief.
The song is especially the property Of the
people. 1t Is pleasant therefore, and encour-
aging to find that the taste of the peopleinclines
to the decorous, the chastcned, the affectionate,
and eschews the coarse, the ribald and the heart.
less. OF a dozen ballads purchased Of a haw-
ker the other day, we found but one which
might not be sung by modest woman. A re.
capitulation Of the titles will at once recall to
the reader the character Of these productions.
We have aAnne Laurie, ""Ellen Bavne," "Song
Of tho Farmer, the "Dying Californian" "Wil.
lie, we have missed you,h "Jennie with the light
brown hair" "Let US speak OF man as we find
him." "Cheer boys, cheer, productions wide
" differing in poetcal merit, but all of them
honest and true in their sentiments and deco
rons in their expression. Nor do we discover
in those which are designated grotesq1c, any
objectionable violation Of taste. The best Of
us has laughed at John Perry's inimtable "Vil-
likins and his Dinah y now and then We relish
a little nonsense Our scrutiny OF our purchase
was certainly satisfactory. We found, as we
have said, but one song to which We could oh.
lect, and that rected the deiinquences Of a rev.
erend gentleman in Boston.
A.