r children in both a musical and religious atmosphere! There is more
truth than imagination in the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, which
illustrates how they respond to the simple charms of music.

Even donkeys betray tendencies toward musical efforts, and seem to be
aroused by music at least temporarily to a higher mental plane than
Balaam was inclined to ascribe to his wise ass. Not all of them sing
equally well, but in Arizona the donkey is known as the "desert canary."
If you were to spend a few glorious days in the Hopi village of Araibi,
you would hear through the still, silent night their long nasal bray or
song, and you would be convinced that the term is quite appropriate. You
may not exactly like the tune, but you will concede that they sing!

Society is just awakening to the joy and the significance of community
art. This is everywhere indicated by the great growing group of people
who come together for a common music, either as a chorus or an orchestra
or both. But in this field man has not yet attained such unity of
communal effort as have the frogs. In the great swamps of the world
myriads of them gather from miles around, conscious of one purpose, and
by a marvellous understanding and co-operation create for themselves a
symphony with beauties and harmonies of its own, and such as to stand
unrivalled in man's musical world. In the great chorus are voices from
the lowest bass of the croaking bullfrog, squatting in the marshes, to
the myriads of tiny green tree tenors, between which are millions of
altos, contraltos, sopranos, coloraturas and other voices not yet in our
musical vocabulary. These are accompanied by all the sounds of our
orchestra and innumerable others of such delicate shades and gradations
as to defy the ear of man. If we listen to one of these concerts, we
will quickly recognise the tones of every familiar instrument, such as
the drum, pipe, horn, trombone, oboe, piccolo, 'cello, and violin. The
greatest of these musical festivals directly precedes the mating season,
and is a dramatic instance of a manifestation of an inner rhythm which
corresponds to an external periodicity.

Among the oldest traditions of the Eastern world are those of
snake-charming by means of music. I have long been interested in this
strange phenomenon of Nature, and in company with a brilliant young
violinist visited a zoological park recently, and after securing
permission from the head keeper, entered the sna