THE VOICES OF THE NIGHT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10479, 26 June 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE VOICES OF THE NIGHT.

[Br COLONDS.] • Ose of the most) impressive experiences ia life is to travel in silence, and in your stockings' soles, along a long corridor in a"' hotel in the small still hours of the early

morning. All nature 13 hushed without, the otdU nary hum and bustle of the caravanserai have ceased, the softened rumble of thp passing carriage of some belated traveller, or the lonely bark of a dietary dog, protesting against his solitude by baying at 6 nioon,are all that break the monotonous stillness of the hour as you start to steal along the carpeted corridor in quest) of your room. But as you pass each door on right and lefc, your ear is assailed by the continuous sound of music proceeding in ever varying tones and cadences, from the slumbering occupants of the rooms. Each of them lias passed into the realm of forgetfulness, and except in the case of a few whose digestive organs may be vainly wrestling with a lobster's leg, or other subject) diffi , cult of assimilation, and who may be vision* ing weird fancies in the land of dreams, they are all of them in soul and body enjoying the peace of Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep. And still there is not a man of them thab is not piping his roundelay, with a zeal and perseverance that would be:deaor vine of thehighest commendation if directed to any; purpose of practical utility, bub which in the absenco of auditors, and expended on the nocturnal air, cannot but) impress you witli a sense of labour in vain. But as you stand with your hand on (he handle of your dormitory, and pause, wrapt in wonder at the volume of varied sounds that sweep'along the corridor, end as you think of the stern effort of each individual sleeper in contributing to the grand symphony proceeding from this vigorous but Biitiroly unconscious orchestra, you aro insensibly prompted to a philosophical meditation on the moral and spiritual aspects of the human snore. It is generally recognised as an axiom, when reflecting on the wonders of creation and providence, that nothing has been made in vain, and the question that first confronts us in considering this great subject is the query t for what purpose in the economy of nature was it ever ordainod that man was made to snore! Ic Roems to be rogarded by the best authorities on the subject that snoring was unknown in Eden. Man lived then on the

simple fruits of the garden, and had not developed those gross humours that come of heavy feeding, and it was when he was in that state of exemption from snoring that Evo was taken as a crooked rib from his side, which appears to be the reason why women do not snore. The physical cause of this singular human accomplishment is nob very diflicult of discovery. The original source of the music appears to be situated in the after part of the palate, where a portion of flabby tissue appears to extond at the junction of the air passages of tho nasal organ with those of tho throat. This being thrown into a state of fhecidity in the relaxation of tho whole physical system under sleep, has a tendency to intercept tho ordinary course of breathing, and imparts that) trill to the vocal performance which is the elory of the healthy snore. % It is said that a German medical practitioner, with that perversity for meddling with the behests of Nature that is characteristic of the time, proposes to excise this little musical organ, and so deprive man'of the luxury of this natural accomplishment; and the woraon, actuatod by jealousy, from being bereft of the power of emitting this vocal harmony themselves, aro intriguing in favour of the movement for depriving our sex of the power of snoring. This intolerable invasion of tho rigßts of the sex, which comes of enfranchisement of the new woman, should,be resented, with the most unflinching tenacity "of our; sex. Some of thorn are oven said to have at-, temptod to annex the accomplishment, in the eamo way as they have seized upon our collars and our waistcoats and our coats, and have oven designs on the other and more distinguishing part of our habiliments. But it is a poor attempt, and has no more resemblance to the real sonorous melody of thomalecreature than does the crowingof the female pullet to tho clarion notes of the real rooster. But though the first importance attaches to the little organ that gives the original trill to the music all those finely modulated tones that giro distinction to tho performance and make ono snore to differ from another snore in glory are dependent on the proficiency ot the nasal organ pipe. It is with this that tho performer passes through the full diapason of musical sounds, and pours forth that full tide of song that is a delight to all within tho reach of its melody. And herein is one of the moan distin. tinguishin? characteristics of this class . of musical performance, that it, of all, is the most purely disinterested. In every other kind of music, the delight which the performer has in the creation of sweet sounds, is quito as groat, as a rule, as that which he gives to his hearers. There is therefore a considerable element of the doltish in ordinary musical productions, bub in this case, the benefits of the music are entirely for others, and the performer has nob the smallest enjoyment from his work. It is rare that any man ever hears his own snore, and when he does ho generally awakes with a start, and abruptly ceases to perform, and so modest is a man in relation to it that if you remind him of the services he has been rendering in a musical way, he disclaims the honour, and declares that ho never did anything of the soVt. Ii is this disinterested and so to say altruistic phase of snoring thab invests ib with a moral character, for unhappily in this world, constituted as it is, selfishness is the predominant quality in nearly all human action, and on moral grounds we ought to bo prepared to give all honour and encouragement to everything thab is done in a purely disinterested way. It is true that there are many people who have no particular taste for this kind of musical performance, just as there are people who do not like the bagpipes, and many have an abhorence of the hurdygurdy, while hundreds of others gather round the street) organ and drink in its. strains with delight, and a Scotsman is driven to the wildest) deeds of daring by the martial strains of the pipes. - \ There are people, too, who take not the alightesb interest in the performance of high classical music, and wonder hoW it' can be that anyone can listen with patience to Beethoven and Wagner. Ib is all a matter of taste and culture, and to a person of refined and cultivated taste a well-sustained and sonorous snore may be a thing of beauty and a joy for ever. Indeed, the fact is on record of a lady whose very existence seemed to hang on the systematic continuance of a musical performance of this kind. She had a husband, and he snored. Bub his was nob a snore of the common sort), but such as made the glass and tumbler rattle on the washatand, and the walla reverberated with the sound, for as was said of the war horse in the Biblo, "the glory of his nostrils was terrible." For many a long year had she been soothed every night to slumber by the lullaby of- her husband's snore, and when at any time the' windows ceased to rattle with its. resonance, she used to start from her sleep at the awful stillness. ' For many a yoar of domestic happiness; she had cherished that snore as among the chiefest blessings of her life ; till in an evil day her husband was called away by business to a distant town. ■ . . The first night of his absence she tossed about in sleeplessness, unable to get 'one wink of sleep till the dawning of the day. '/ The second night was worse, and the third night, the agony of her insomnia was unendurable, and the most serious re-.. suits were impending , over hor, ' from her inability to get a moment's : sleep, from the absence of her accustomed lullaby. When, through a happy inspiration, her waitingmaid bethought her of the ..coffee-grinder, and bringing it into the" bedroom,'she ground her mistress to sleep. /v^'S; Yes, wives do not know half their blessings in having husbands that snore, until they we ' deprived of iiieoi and »iny . » >

wife" thab ( puts her cold feeb against) her husband, or pinches his arm, or punches her elbow into his ribs, to bring him back from the realms of snoredbm, many live to lookbaok with a sad heart on the blessinga she has lost, and to upbraid herself for not having recognised and appreciated the boon in a hasband's snore. It is true that it is not a picturesque performance, and.a man when snoring should never be photographed. But the snore was never intended for a matin6e peformance, but, like the lay of the nighlingale, it is best heard, among " the voices of the night." It is an unfair advantage to take of any man to look at him when snoring; and if, when the grey dawn is breaking through the window curtains, you rest on your elbow and look at him, you are at once impressed with the fact that snoring was meant to be heard, not seen. The aspect, you must boar in mind, was nob studied, and as he lies thereon his back and snores, his chin drawn down, his mouth open, and his throat and nose at play, you can see at once that) earnestness is the e3sonce of the contract, and that without any regard to appearances, whatever hia nose and mouth have found to do lie doeth it with all his miglrt. And while you look you think peiiiaps of Behemoth in Job, who" trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into hie mouth,' , and should you, in a desire to vary the performance, drop a little pinch of lopperon his moustache, you will observe a transformation scene of such vivacity as will show the force of human vigour thab was slumbering behind that peaceful enore. Yes, a man may nob look his best when snoring, but he does his best; and though in the estimation of eome he may not attain to the most classic excellence of the musical arti, still the purely disinterested character of his music should be counted unto him for righteousness, and he should nob be pinched or punched, or cold-feeted or subjected to other wanton cruelty under the idea that he ought to defer his performance to a more convenient season.