The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1892-08-13
NERVES BREAKING DOWN..
American Dread of Noise One of tho
Alarming Results of Civilization.

American Dread of Noise One of tho
Alarming Results of Civilization.
Although according to certain philos-
ophers, sound ceases when noise begins,
to the world at large there is no sharp
division. Thomas Hood said that the
Germans, for a musical nation, were
the most noisy he ever met with, and
Schnopenhauer quoted the opinion with
approval, alleging rs a cause that his
countrymen do not think, they only
smoke, which is their substitute for
thought" The great pessimist regard
ed noise as the assassin of thought, but
DIR. Johnson made the same charge
against music. As a nation we delight
in the fire-crackers of the Chinese and
loathe their national music; they in
turn can not endure II scale and our
system of harmony. The Bostonian
who does not jump at discordant church
chimes, harsh and out of tune, will fret
at the street cries of q foreign city, al
though they are often pleasantly pitch
ed and of Iare historical interest. The
worshipsr at the shrine of Brahms will
stop her ears when Maggie Murphy"
issles from n new and improved hand
organ, although the melody is charac-
teristic, the rythm of the performer is
faultless and his bravura is of dazzling
accuracy. There are people in Detroit
to whom the factory whistles are such
al annoyance that by a city ordinance
workmen now go to their labor and re-
turn homeward in q depressing ST.
lence, and yet even the chromatic
whistle, with its predominating color
red, and it's ascending wall, was heard
with joy at noon by women who thus
knew there was a loafing spell for their
men. After all, this distinction be-
tween noise and sound is, in a measure,
a question of individuality, as well as
of association of ideas.
When Elizabeth ruled England man.
ual laborers and mechanical artificers
sang at their work. The merry cob
bier is extinct. The tinker raises his
voice in melody in Mr.. De Koven's
robin Hood" but in his daily life he
gives vent to his feelings in prose. Our
street cries in America are few, chiefly
in the months of wandering hucksters
of fruits and vegetables. Their calls
are all too short, as though they real
lied that even in this respect time is
money. Then, too, they know that in
summer when windows are open, their
vocal approach is feared by our nervous
citizens, whereas, If we were truly civ
ilized, it would be welcomed. 1t is true
there should be n training school, and
the work of Georges Kastner should be
the text book. Each vegetable should
have its peculiar song. The butcher,
milkman, the hurler of ice, the buyer
Of old clo', the member OF windows or
umbrellas, all other purveyors to hui
man needs, should serve n canorous ap-
premiership. The %orientals are our
masters. They clothe the
ment of their merchandise in poetic
phrases; they recommend a fruit as a
consolation; flowers are perfumes of
paradise for the present delectation of
the faithful. Were we to adopt their
methods, street cries might not in fu-
ture be regarded as SO many varieties of
noise, as terrible as a neighboring and
busy pile-driver.
The unreasonable dread of noise Is
one of the most alarming symptoms of
the sickly condition of our civilization.
This is the age of the nerves and of ner-
vous diseases. And yet in spite of the
prevailing fear of shocks to the ear,
human ingenuity adds daily to the
number of disturbing causes. Famili-
arity with such causes acts, it is said,
like a potent, Supplying drug. But
we can not all attend the concerts of a
season, nor can we all live in the vicin-
ity of a boiler factory. The growth OF
the flat should therefore be encouraged,
The privacy of such a dwelling is tumul-
tuous. The kitchen is close to the par
lor; voices above and below assume I'M
natural proportions through the speak
ing trumpet of the elevator; the irri-
tating electric bell is at the mercy of
any fiippant passerby. This discipline
of u year may bring such ~callousness
of nerve that the loneliness of an iso-
lated farmhouse or the waste of ocean
may in turn shatter the town dweller
beyond repair,-Boston TRANSCRIPT,