The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-12-18

r. w. FARRELLY.
fine-iooking. middle-aged man. was
chatting with him at the starboard gum
VALE while group Of well-bred young
men, returning to Charleston from their
summer vacation. were singing In the
Cleaning. John Browns Body. and
| The Sweet By-and-By.' AS they came
TO the chorus OF the last song, the mate
I stopped talking. and joined in the sing
| ing When through, he said: Nothing
takes hold Of me like sacred music And
Then, amid the swish of the waves, he
Related TO me the following incident:
I When a very little fellow, | did
something which deserved severe punish
ment My mother took me on her lap.
and talked TO me kindly. then made
me kneel down by her side while she
prayed for me. and then the family
joined with her in singing. IAN Hail
the Power OF Jesus Name," TO Cor
onation," At the age of twenty-eight:
/ found myself in New York. after
! trip around the world, a rough sailor.
One evening 1 was going uptown with
a number OF my shipmates for a night
OF pleasure. Near ST. Johns Park.
heard, from a church we were approach
| ing. the first strains of 'All Hail the
Power Of Jesus Namer With the vivid
| ness with which lightning reveals OBJ
ljects in dark night, that scene in my
Massachusetts home, UNDECIDED for more
than twenty years. came back to me.
The admOnitiOn. the prayer, the swell
ing tones of old Coronation" my
sainted mother-did she look down upon
my wicked courses? was this the way
that prayer was being answered? Like
a fash, my mind was made up Boys
/ said /. I'm going into this church"
They jeered and tainted and cOaxed but
all 10 no purpose. | left them, and
walked in The house was packed. They
led me 10 an extra chair in front of the
pulpit, and facing that vast congrega-
ton. Under other circumstances / would
sooner have faced the lannon's mouth.
but. upborne by the fiood-tide of such
memories. and the exaltation of the
swelling chorus. Crown him. crown
him, Lord of air. l forgot all about
the faces before me, From that hour.
he added. in a voice hardly audible
above the noise of the waves, I have
tried TO lead a new life-a life worthy
of my manhood worthy of my mother Z"
MRS. " =. HALLECK.
It's the songs we sing
And the joy We bring
TO the sorrowing and distressed
That brightens our way
The livelong day
and at eventide giveth zest
For woe is he
So melancholy
That never note doth thrill;
He's live man dead.
To his idols wed,
With a heart that standeth still
Then no for the muse:
As We enthuse.
Let every one string his Tyre.
And measure his words
In harpsichords
TO tickle his souls desire.
Till the world he twist
In a may mist
OF labyrinthian thrills.
And harmony reigns
In sweet refrains
Ger the everlasting hills.
CHARLES ALBERT BREWTON.
Music is the nurse Of the soul; it muir
murs in the ear OF the sleeping child: the
tones are companions of his dreams. they
are the world in which he lives. And as
one grows older that same music lends
/ secret sympathy relief. expression, to all
ones moods, loves. lOngings, sorrows;
comes nearer TO the soul or 10 the secret
wound tnan any friend or healing sun
shine from without It feeds and nour-
ishes the hidden springs of hope and love
and faith: reneWs the old convictions OF
LIES spTingtime-that the world is ruled
by love, that God is good, that beauty is
a divine end of life, and not snare and
an Illusion II floods out CT sight the I'M
) slightly, muddy grounds of life's petty,
envious, doubling moments, and makes
Immortality a present fact. lived in and
realized. Music in the best sense. does
not require novelty for the older il is and
the more We are accustomed to 4, the
greater its effect. Explain it as we may.
a martial strain will urge a man into the
front rank of battle sooner than an argu-
ment, and a fine anthem excite his deyo-
ton more certainly than a logical dis
course. 1t is in learning music that many
youthful hearts learn 10 love, and, follow
} ing on through life, it is a marvellous
elixir in keeping off old age.
B. R. soNEN.
Our lives it seems are governed by our at
traction for things. Music is the at
traction which governs our souls. Who
can, after hearing that attractive element.
say that they are immune from its con-
ception? Only he who knows not how to
love, for music and love exist mutually.
Could We see through our emotions
brought on by music we perhaps would
never care for its influence as We do. For
knowing is the bitter principle of knoNl-
edge, and a fathomless depth holds an at
traction for all
He who loves music is a lover of his
God and can see the fulhIlment of his