Salmagundi; or, The whim-whams and opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, esq. [pseud.] and others. By William Irving, James Kirke Paulding and Washington Irving. Printed from the original ed., with a preface and notes by Evert A. Duyckinck.

FLUTE AND FIDDLE. 199
raged, apply to " Common Sense" for his lantern;-air-" Nose,
nose, jolly red nose." Flock of wild geese fly over the city;old wives chatter in the fog; —cocks crow at Communipawdrums beat on Governor's Island-The whole to conclude with
the blowing up of Sand's powder-house.
Thus, sir, you perceive what wonderful powers of expression
have been hitherto locked up in this enchanting art: a whole
history is here told without the aid of speech, or writing; and
provided the hearer is in the least acquainted with music, he
cannot mistake a single note. As to the blowing up of the
powder-house, I look upon it as a chef d'azuvre, which I am confident will delight all modern amateurs, who very properly estimate music in proportion to the noise it makes, and delight in
thundering canon and earthquakes.
I must confess, however, it is a very difficult part to manage,
and I have already broken six pianos in giving it the proper
force and effect. But I do not despair, and am quite certain
that by the time I have broken eight or ten more, I shall have
brought it to such perfection, as to be able to teach any young
lady of tolerable ear, to thunder it away to the infinite delight
of papa and mamma, and the great annoyance of those Vandals
who are so barbarous as to prefer the simple melody of a Scots
air, to the sublime effusions of modern musical doctors.
In my warm anticipations of future improvement I have sometimes almost convinced myself that music will, in time, be
brought to such a climax of perfection as to supersede the
necessity of speech and writing; and every kind of social intercourse be conducted by the flute and fiddle. The immense benefits that will result from this improvement must be plain to
every man of the least consideration. In the present unhappy
situation of mortals, a man has but one way of making himself