cheers, until it
seemed that the very ecstasy of enthusiasm had been reached. It was
only when physically exhausted that the audience calmed down and the
exercises proceeded.

A Chorus of Ten Thousand.

During the World's Fair at Chicago my present band was giving nightly
concerts in the Court of Honor surrounding the lagoon. On one beautiful
night in June fully ten thousand people were gathered round the
bandstand while we were playing a medley of popular songs.

Director Tomlins, of the World's Fair Choral Associations, was on the
stand, and exclaiming, "Keep that up, Sousa!" he turned to the crowd and
motioned the people to join him in singing. With the background of the
stately buildings of the White City, this mighty chorus, led by the
band, sang the songs of the people-"Home, Sweet Home," "Suwanee River,"
"Annie Laurie," "My Old Kentucky Home," etc., and never did the familiar
melodies sound so grandly beautiful.

The influence of music to quiet disorder and to allay fear is quite as
potent as its power to excite and to stir enthusiasm. A case in point
happened at the St. Louis Exposition, where my band was giving a series
of concerts. There was an enormous audience in the music hall when, in
the middle of the programme, every electric light suddenly went out,
leaving the house in complete darkness.

A succession of sharp cries from women, the hasty shuffling of feet, and
the nervous tension manifest in every one, gave proof that a panic was
probably imminent. I called softly to the band, "Yankee Doodle!" and the
men quickly responded by playing the good old tune from memory in the
darkness, quickly following it with "Dixie" on my orders. The audience
began to quiet down, and some scattering applause gave assurance that
the excitement was abating.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" still further restored confidence, and when
we played "Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?" and "Wait Till The Clouds
Roll By," every one was laughing and making the best of the gloom. In
a short time the gas was turned on, and the concert proceeded with
adequate lighting.

In the desire to do especial honor to a certain foreign representative
during the World's Fair, I had a particular piece of music in which
he was interested arranged for my band, and agreed to play it at a
specified concert. The music was given to a member of the band with
instructions to copy the parts and deliver them at the band-stand.

The foreign gentle