River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1877-01-25
MUSIC IN THE LODGE ROOM.

uhtil GDdiDlS 10 sODtIc the savage |
breast,
To soften rocks, OF bend the knotted oak"
/ apprehend, however, that the
woodman's AK has as much power
over the oak as the charms of music,
whatever may be its influence upon
the savage heart. Is is also said that
"SIusic, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory"
And this illustrates the idea found
in the following couplet--
Though you may forget the singer,
You can meier forget the song"
And hence it is that the place
"Where music dwells
Lingering and wandering ON as 10th to die,
Like thoughts whose very sweetness yieldeth
proof
That they were born for immortality"
must be sacred place.
And this brings me to the theme Of
this essay. We recognize the power
of Music everywhere; it has been SO
recognized by all nations, in all ages,
under all conditions of human life
in war, in peace, in joy, in sorrow,
both nations and individuals have felt
its power over them. And well might
| it be--well would it be-fOr the hui
man race had Music always been used
for honorable and beneficent purposes.
Sacred sOngs--soul-inspiring melodies
have done more to bring the Church
and Sunday-School to their present ex-
allied position, than all the sermons
that were ever preached to the human
race. Patriotic songs have enlisted
more soldiers, and, in fact, won more
battles, than all the eloquent addresses
ever delivered in the presence of SOL
diers.
| But, you tell me that the Lodge
Room is not without It's music. adj
nit it. But do we have enough OF it Z
Is it's character sufficiently varied !
Is it not merely formal!
Let us reflect for moment, and see
what we have 10 contend with; let us
see if we can discover the greatest
drawback npon our Order, and upon
good morals i'll society. And what,
let me inquire, is the first oiect we
discoverl What is it that raises its
hydra-head in bold relief above all
otherst
1t is with feelings of sorrow that
wer:--INTEMPERANCE. And there,
too, hath Music-once "A heavenly
maid--been brought into requisition
to allure to its dangerous paths, the
victims of Intemperance; and step by
step they descend the dark valley till
at last they reach a drunkard's eterni-
| ty. If Music, then, be an antidote,
why not employ it! Why not make
the best of itl Let us have the most
entertaining Music in the Lodge Room,
and encourage it everywhere. Our
odes are good-even excellent
as far as. they go. But we want
more of them; we want more good
Temperance Songs; we want them set
to the music of the most popular of
patriotic war songs. And when they
wear out, let us have new ones. 1t
would be for the good of the order for
members to indite them, and still bet
ter TO sing them. Cannot this be
done. Who will try his hand, or his
head, for new song! 1t will be, or
ought to be, pleasant--yea--a prof
liable exercise. But once let us try
it, and ere long the
"Lodge-night will be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
! Will iold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away"
leaving us the better for our labors--
the happier for our efforts to thwart
the dangers that threaten not alone the
prosperity of our Order, but the peace
and happiness of society everywhere.