e populace;
verses 12-27 were a picture of the battle, with a naming of the leaders
with praise or blame, and mimicking each one as named; verses 28-30 were
mockery of the triumph of Sisera, and the last verse was given as a
chorus by the whole people." According to this, the tune must certainly
have been a familiar one. The whole scene, with its extemporized words,
its clapping of hands to mark the rhythm, and its alternation of solo
and chorus, was probably not unlike the singing at some of the negro
camp-meetings on the Southern plantations.

Foremost among the patrons of the art in Grecian mythology are the
Muses. These were not always nine in number. Originally, at Mount
Helicon, in B[oe]otia, three were worshipped,--Melete (meditation),
Mneme (memory), and Aoide (song). Three Muses were also recognized at
Delphi and Sicyon. Four are mentioned as daughters of Jupiter and
Plusia, while some accounts speak of seven Muses, daughters of Pierus.
Eight was the number known in Athens, until finally the Thracian worship
of nine spread over the whole of Greece. The parentage of these
divinities is given with as many variations as their number. Most
commonly they were considered daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory),
born in Pieria at the foot of Mount Olympus. Some call them daughters of
Uranus and Gaea, others of Pierus and Antiope, still others of Apollo or
of Jupiter and Minerva. The analogy between the Muses and the nine
maidens in the Egyptian troupe of Osiris has already been noted.

In Homer's poems, the Muses have already attained their well-known abode
on Olympus, where they sing the festive songs at the banquets of the
immortals. They were supposed to inspire the mind of the bards, and in
early times the poets were perfectly sincere in invoking them and
believing in their inspiration. The Muses, in presiding over the various
branches of Grecian art, appeared unable to brook any rivalry. Thamyris,
an ancient Thracian bard, boldly challenged them to a trial of skill,
and, on being overcome by them in the contest, was deprived by them of
his sight and of the power of singing. He is represented in art as
holding a broken lyre. The nine daughters of King Pierus of Macedonia
fared no better, and after an unsuccessful contest were changed into
birds. The Muses were closely connected with Apollo, who was looked upon
as their leader. Many mountains, as well as grottos, wells, and springs
in various parts of Greece, wer