The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-10-07

soon restored. Moreover Ferdinand
W. inherited this same melancholiu
from his father. Philip. and was also
cured In like manner. Apropos of all
this. old Burton, when he penned his
Anatomy of Melancholy" was not
likely to forget music as Il potent rem
edy for that too impracticable malady;
but he also cites the relief afforded by
1t in the hands of the physician To many
frantic persons" and tells how Clinias
and Empedocles "cured some desper-
ately melancholy and some mad" by the
same means. 1t Is with him "a sover-
eign reuaedy" and one that will drive
away the devil himself" This driving
away the devil, by the way, was a spec
ial object of ambition with Luther, and
mends music as being specially fitted
for the purpose. "'The devil" says the
reformer, lis sturnine spirit and
music is hateful to him and drives him
far away from it," 1t is a countryman
of Luther's upon whom Southey drops u
passing note Of admiration for that he
a physician, administered eats en-
trails as panacea." We know that
| catgut Is quite innocent Of any cOnnec-
tiun with the bowels of the domestic
puSs. but Southey'S meaning Is plain.
ana l.ulnt'F Wolill dIiiloSl
have approved the remedy. Milton re-
commended musical exercises before
meat as ii relief to the mind. and ad-
vises il after meat ''to assist and cher
ish nature in her first connections, and
send the mind back 10 study IN good
tune and satisfaction And Milton
practiced what he preached. for in the
account Of his days occupation we find
that his custom was after dinn"r 10
play on the organ and sing or hear
| another sing" Douglas Jerrold de-
cared that he hated to dine amidst the
strains Of Il military band: ne SAID ne
could taste the brass in his soup. But
perhaps he would have had no objec-
tion TO music of a quiet type such as
Milton evidently advocated.
IN ANCIENT GERMANY.
The German magistrates of olden
time used to hire musicians to play.
and "lusty companions" to "trip the
light fantastic toe" with those afflicted
with st. Vitus's dance. At the out
break of epdemics, too. they would
call in the aid of the leading musicians
in order to lessen to some extent the
horror and fear which were spread
everywhere. and which of themselves
often brought on the disease. Even
the deadly bite of the tarantula was
indirectly rendered inOcuouS by the
power of music. The great thing was
to keep the patient awake. for If he
went to sleep before the poison was
extracted he was sure to he IA dead
man in no time. and so the music was
chosen, and of a peculiarly exhilarating
kind. to throw the haplesS wight into
| a violent fit of dancing which brought
on plentiful perspiration and thus
effected q cure. One may be SKeptical
on the matter of efficacy: but at least
we know that the "Tarantella" survives.
and that several of our best composers
have written in the form and charac-
ter of the old dance tune. The last
movement of Weber's sonata in +.
minor is a masterpiece of the kind
Even at the present time music is re-
garded by some scmi-civilized natives
as a medical agent 1t is nearly al
ways used in those countries where
there is a general belief that sickness
is produced by the malignant influence
of evil spirits. the notion being the
Lutheran one that music drives those
spirits away.
AS a cure for insanity, music has
been in more or less reDute from the
earliest times. Shakespeare alludes to
it in Richard III. where the king says:
HIS music nauS me, lei IL SOUND no more.
For though it helps madmen to their wits,
To me IL seems it will make wise men mad
LATER INSTANCES.
We all remember the case of the late
eccentric King of Bavaria. who. when
suffering from one of his periodical
headaches, used to send for Nachbaur
to sing the dream song from "Masani-
clio" and Straddella's Prayer both