Gardiner, on the authority of Dr. Primatt, states that, to produce the
sound it makes, the house-fly must make 320 vibrations of its wings in
a second; or nearly 20,000 if it continues on the wing a minute. The
sound is invariably on the note F in the first space. The music of a
duck's note is given in the annexed score.

In conclusion, an article on the music of Nature would not be complete
without an allusion to the music of the winds and the storm. Admirers of
Beethoven will recall numerous passages that would serve as
illustrations. One particularly might be mentioned--the chorus in
"Judah" (Haydn), "The Lord devoureth them all," which is admirably
imitative of the reverberations of the cataract and the thundering of
mighty waters. The sounds at sea, ominous of shipwreck, will also occur
to the minds of some. At Land's End it is not uncommon for storms to be
heralded by weird sounds; and in the northern seas sailors, always a
superstitious race of people, used to be much alarmed by a singular
musical effect, which is now well known to be caused by nothing more
fearsome than a whale breathing.

These instances might be still further multiplied, but enough have,
perhaps, been given to excite some general interest in "the _Music
of Nature_."

* * * * *

_Portraits of Celebrities at Different Times of Their Lives._

SIR HENRY LOCH.

BORN 1827.

Sir Henry Brougham Loch, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., whose name has recently been
so prominently before the public in connection with the disturbances in
Mashonaland, is Chief Commissioner at the Cape. In his diplomatic career
he was taken prisoner during the war with China; and, with Mr. Boulby,
the _Times_ correspondent, was carried about in a cage by his captors,
and exhibited to the natives. After his liberation he returned to
England, and was appointed Governor of the Isle of Man, and subsequently
Governor of Victoria; and, in 1889, was appointed to succeed Sir
Hercules Robinson as Chief Commissioner at the Cape.

[Illustration: AGE 22.
_From a Painting._]

[Illustration: AGE 39.
_From a Painting by G. Richmond, R.A._]

[Illustration: PRESENT DAY.
_From a Photo. by Foster & Martin, Melbourne._]

MADAME BELLE COLE.

It was in Jubilee Year that the British public were first charmed by the
singing of this admirable American contralto. She sang in London, and
successive audiences were quick to confirm the judgments of Sir Joseph