New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-01-03
BfRDS THAT VIII SING.

There ls nothing more lrreprcsSfDle than
Vocal Ability. Miss Mary, lately graduated
with a full assortment Of accomplishments
from the Pierian Institute, has one song
"Sh0uld he Upbraid" though the friends
of the family have heard the little woman
chirp il five hundred times, at birthday parties
and on the nights OF Thanksgiving and Christ
mas, and after extempOraneOus tea-drlnklngs,
they still demand the warbIng of that veneer
able composition, and they still find the'malden
quite willing to MARBLE it, There is no harm
in this. To be sure it is a bore, but it is one
of the kind to which il is a pleasure to sub
nit When mamma is so well pleased, aud
papa likewise, albeit that song cost him $3.50.
it would be sin and shame not to appear
enmptured. All society is based upon this
amiable sort of deceit. So scream and gurgle
away dear young woman, and sing at your
own sweet will Your involuntary flats and
sharps and small liberties with the tempo are
of no consequence. Isn't the ramshackle old
piano quite as much out of tune az you aref
IL we pass from parlOr to vestry. we find
the same mania for melOdiOus exhibitions.
Everybody knows that there is always good
brother who thinks himself a perfect King
David, minus the harp, and who pourS forth
his praise in way which puts everybody else
ont, and occasions an amount of irritation in
consistent with brotherly and sisterly emo
tons. But it is mt usual for him to do this
with an obstinacy which renders it necessary
to subject him to "a criminal Indict-
ment. Something quite new III the an
nails of jurisprudence comes to us from
North Carolina. 1t Is the report OF the case
of "The State VS.. William Linkhaw. lndlct-
"mcnt for misdemea ,or. Superior Court,
Sprng Term 1878 r--and curious case 1t
il. The unfortmata Liukhaw was prosecuted
under the statute or " disturbing religious
/" c,pyrooatioo.n his far from sweet VIII
liam ia il app. member of the Methodist
Church. and ustomed TO s'ng after
fashion so retard,.- that at the END OF each
"verse his voice is heard when the other
singers have ceased" The effect of
this was duplex. Half the congregation
laughed, while the moiety got mad" The
"irreligious and the frivolous" also attended
to enjoy the fun. The "serious and de-
"youtr became indignant Still William
would sing. Sometimes the preacher, for
fear of prOfane merriment, would order no sing
ing at ALL The presiding elder refused to preach
i'm the church on account OIL w lliialh Linhhd"
bad singing. Leading members OF the assem-
bly interfered and privately labored with Will
liam, beseeching him to sing no more. But he
knew his rights, and knowing dared maintain
them. He didn't appeal to the Personal Liberty
Bill-not he He fell back upon his vested Im-
munities as Christian. He firmly said, with a
courage worthy of Martin Luther, that she
would worship God, and that as part OF his
"worship it was his duty to sing" And so he
did and with such deliberation that at the end
of every verse he WAS two and One-half bars
behind. Flesh and blood could MT stand it.
The constable was sent for, who took William
into custody; the Grand Jury indicted him
the petit jury found him guilty OF singing
out of time. He has appealed. The case may
90 up and up; but we hope that it will not
get into the Supreme Court of the United
States before we have Chief-Justice. It
would be too bad to have SO delicate point
passed upon by anything less than full
bench,