levating and refining the sentiments in civilized
society, is matter of daily observation; and its power to "soothe the
savage breast," has been often verified. To neglect the cultivation of
music, therefore, during childhood and youth, when it can be best done,
not only without interference with other branches of study, but with
decided advantage in forwarding them, is both imprudent and unjust. We
say that it is _unjust_;--for while much ingenuity and large sums of
money have been expended in producing musical instruments for the
gratification of men, the child of the poorest beggar is in possession
of an instrument in the human voice, which for sweetness, variety,
expression, and above all, for its adaptation to language, has never
been equalled, and stands quite unapproachable by all the contrivances
of man. How cruel then in parents or teachers to allow an instrument so
noble and so valuable to fall to ruin from the want of exercise! It is
to deprive their pupil of a constant solace in affliction, and to dry
up one of the cheapest, the readiest, and the most innocent and
elevating sources both of personal and social enjoyment. Of its uses,
and methods of teaching in the school, we must again refer to the
Notes.[34]

_Dancing_ is obviously the sister of music, and is perhaps equally
sanctioned by Nature. It is obviously capable of being consecrated and
employed for high moral purposes; and its abuse therefore should form no
argument against its regular cultivation. That it was so employed by the
appointment of God himself, is matter of history; and that it is still
capable of being preserved from abuse, cannot reasonably be denied. The
stand that has so frequently been made against even the innocent
enjoyment of this boon of Nature, is now admitted to be a prejudice,
derived originally from its flagrant and frequent abuse. These
prejudices are gradually and silently melting away; and it is cheering
to see the better feelings of our nature effectively advancing the art
to its legitimate place in education, under the guise of gymnastics and
callisthenics. That these, however, are but imperfect substitutes for
what Nature has intended for the young, is obvious, when we contrast
them with the gambols of the kitten, the friskings of the lamb, and the
unrestrained romps of healthy children newly let loose from the school.
The truth is, that the accumulation of the animal spirits must be thrown
off by exercise, whether the