of the music contribute to its success that
in general the sale of compositions in this country stands in inverse
ratio to their merits.

The sheet-music nuisance seems to be a phenomenon peculiar to this
country; for, although France, England, Italy, and even Germany,
annually produce much music which is not worth the printer's ink, yet in
comparison with ours it might almost be called classical. And the
melancholy thing about it is, that specimens of these flimsy productions
may be seen lying about freely on the pianos of people who would blush
at the mere thought of having books of the same intellectual and
aesthetic level lying on their parlor-tables for general inspection and
for the entertainment of guests. For, while the corrupting influence of
an impure story or a bad picture has long since been recognized, it
still seems to be imagined by many educated people that music being the
"divine art" any form of it must of course be desirable, and better than
nothing at all. This is the form of Philistinism which before all others
must be combated ere we can hope to materially purify our musical
atmosphere. The error naturally arose from the great amount of silly
talk about music, which is usually represented as being incapable of
lending itself to the expression of any but the noblest sentiments and
emotions. Quite the contrary. If good music has all those wonderful
powers which have been ascribed to it from time immemorial, it follows
necessarily that bad music must exert equal powers in an opposite
direction. In fact, bad music is even a more demoralizing agent than,
for instance, a miserable newspaper. The latter is once hastily read
through and then thrown away, while a poor musical composition is apt to
be preserved in the parlor--perhaps, neatly bound with some others of
like value, is carefully studied, or even memorized, and repeatedly sung
at evening parties; and in this way it cannot but slowly vitiate the
taste of performer and hearer alike, and make them deaf to the beauties
of better things.

If we turn from this aspect of music in America to our concert-halls,
the prospect is much brighter. In this department we have achieved more
than in any other, and no one is now obliged to go abroad in order to
hear a good concert, as he is if he wishes to enjoy a respectable
operatic performance. How much of this is due to the energy of one man,
Mr. Theodore Thomas, everybody knows, and it is not too much to say