The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-02-12
music IN The Home.
It's Effect on the Developing Char
acter Of Young Members
Of the Family.
Not tho Sansuous Alone or the
Vulgar That Should
Be Discarded.
Likewise, tho Music Full or the FIntuIent
Cry of u Degraded spirit
Home Reading.
Emotions underlie thoughts. and 1t is

Emotions unlerlie thoughts. and 1t is
vnstly nlora important that our children
shall bs trained to wholesome feelings
than to logical intelligence, although both
are Of course absolutely required to make
sound characters. This truth has often
coma around to ma in the course Of life,
and have q en- that il any one is trained
to ungoverned feelings IL will be in vain to
educate him in tho best manner OF the best
schools. But just now, whilo writing OH n
PRACTICAL topic FOR " horticultural journal.
my boy touched the parl0r organ, md with
Ii few notes car led me quite away from my
topic. Then he picked up a stray sheet OF
pathetic religious music and his fingers
wandered through the plalntive cry Of q
Puritan soul seeking forgivess for liis sins.
The woe s were wanting, but tho Language
was thare. 1t then came oyor me with ire.
6lstible force that one can not he too cnr1-
ful what music is played IN her home. It is
not the scnRrous alone or the vulgar that
should be discarded, but eve y note vi tho
%despXiring and psssimistic. ] hal novsr
quite so fully realized that our religious
music is largely in n key OF lamsntation.
] do not wish my lads to gtoan over sims.
lido not oven wish them to Sigh or moan. !
wish no untoning of character. wish
them only to despise wrong doing and to
admire the honorable. For that ronson
church music ia not always to my taste. II
is to likely to be charged with ,emorss.
Last Sunday l heard a choir sing, Naked,
poor, despised, 70 lorn,' etc. and it my
have bsen appropriate for them; but it il
not fitting for our boys. Therefore, no
guoh music, full of the ~latulent cry OF a
degraded %apirit, shall find Welcome in our
family circle. On the other hanl, we have
no call for the rattling, irrational music
that corresponds TO the school girls modem
babble. That also pulls the soul aside from
sound feelings to supsrfuinlity. And
Though the house rolls the tones of China,
and Meur and Dundee. | listened and felt
for q certainty that music makos the
emotional life OF q house, as conversation
and study make the intellectual life. You
justly ask me il j am SO much more pa :
ocular, or even meddlesomc. than others.
what sort of music | do admit. l will tell
on themselves just rs they look on other
things. l do not wish them to have exag-
garated feelings or views of Themselves.
This is an age of science, where every child
should HAYS y habit formed of exactness
and precision. He should no more sit at
@ - SASoA AN o1htS CA1AES
about himself that are not really at all
true thnn he should sit down in his home
and tell exaggerated of his days
doings. You know very we'll that We have
9 habit ourselves If singing things
which we would consider quite false "
spoken in a prose key. noss it do no harm?
Does it do any good? What is the end Of
suoh melody? But it really does harm: be-
cnuse it creates moods of feeling. Our emo
lions become in accordance with our music.
8 FFhn~, n an ,1p ~ 7ne ~ Il nyi n TALL rnn o,,rn.
things wIshsin my children: That is that
they shall never regret anything but a mean
act, and never have al emotion, or feeling
OF regret or repentance, except when det-
nit-ly guilty. } hsn I wish them Instantly
to rectity the wrong and rejoice in right
doing. But I know natures that MARBLE
and bubble all day, from ono emotion into
another, without the least reference to
facts. These persons need, above ell
things, to stop feeling go many emotions.
have one at this moment in mind. She
can Mt any moment rise uion wings of re-
ligious enthusiasm and tho next weep IN
notes of wretched despair. She has no
fact to accompany either of thess extremes.
She simply feels, and that is the end Of it.
But when that woman comes to action, she
is as unstable rs her kong; and l believe she
is made so, to some extent, by her habit OF
flying about in her emotional life, without
purpose. Furthermore, l wish my children
TO have some very positive emotions.
I wish them to be very brave, very
strong and very gentle ! do not
of supposed emotion, and when it comes
to real life. be incapable of the noble and
true. What I mean ia, that your boys FOR
tho most part would be ashamed to really
feel, or really exhibit, o~ne-hunaredth part
of the emotions they profess to feel in
singing. And it is not altogether othei-
wise with older people. l know few boys
that will not let their Own mothers GO
ms they can. while they wait with praten-
tious courtesy on the young girls: The
really in them. But are they not at fault
elsewaya? do not see men really in love
with their own boys; or boys grandly,
beautifully, i'll love with their own father.
know ono man who walks often with his
arm drawn about his 15-year-old stalwart
boy, and that boys arm is ss tightly about
his fathers. Nor do they hesitate to
show by a kiss anywhere Ito
brave, intense. delicious soul-unlon that is
between them. wish for more of these
genuine emotions. and less of the false.
Perhaps | am wrong, but ] believe thAt SO
long as we encourage the false we shall not
have tho true. | will not, therefore, have
my Ned to finger those notes that bear us
down into unwholesome Puritanism. We
have touched a better life. This age has
as having more honest AID deeper conYic-
tions Of right, and a truer godlineas. We
are in a calmer theological era. We should
drop their tunes and songs to 4 large rxs
tent. l wish not to have my family life
bfooded over by John Knox or Cotton
Mather.
All that | have said is not intended to
make light of the very general fear that
people of good sense are growing into con-
corning inferior reading. l quite ag!ee
that We have to get quits walked up to the
fact that reading is, az n rule, poor bust
ness; that not merely the wild, sensual
stuff is to.be deprecated, but nine books
out OF ten. 1t is poor comfort, or ought to
be, when a mother finds that he's boy IL u
great reader. Mental diet is infinitely
more important than body food, and the
selection and cooking of it needs moro care.
| am sure that we shall como after awhile
to exclude from our boys shelves. yes, + ON
our own,n vast amount of aautf that now
passed for ~clnssics, or history. or even sci
encr. A book should build up characters; if
SO, its results must DO definite. l am net
i'll doubt ns to tho value of novels OF the
average sort. They do not, however,
trouble me nearly as much AZ history. AZ