"A schoolmaster,"
said he, "ought to have skill in music, otherwise I would not regard
him; neither should we ordain young men to the office of preaching
unless they have been well exercised in the art, for it maketh a fine
people." It were well if teachers and ministers to-day more generally
appreciated the value of music to them and their work.
Music is an essential factor in great national movements. Every
commander knows how inspiring and comforting it is to his men. Napoleon
Bonaparte, who was not readily lifted out of himself and who complained
that music jarred his nerves, was shrewd enough to observe its effect on
marching troops, and to order the bands of different regiments to play
daily in front of hospitals to soothe and cheer the wounded. The one
tune he prized, Malbrook, he hummed as he started for his last campaign.
In the solitude of St. Helena he said: "Of all liberal arts music has
the greatest influence over the passions, and it is that to which the
legislator ought to give the most encouragement.
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