cussion of the whole round of points in American affairs which the British found it most difficult to understand. That the address excited a prodigious degree of attention in Great Britain was evident on all sides. Its great effectiveness consisted in its being an American's presentation of the American question, and never before did an orator make such triumphant use of his opportunity. There had been symptoms of an attempt to pack the meeting-if possible to fill the hall with an opposition which should prevent a hearing for the speaker, or at least disturb him by unmannerly interruptions as at Liverpool. To this end, the walls of the city were placarded with enormous posters, designed to excite ill feeling against Mr. Beecher, and hand-bills of a similar character were distributed to all who entered the hall. But all such effort to disparage the speaker with his audience was entirely overwhelmed, chiefly by the hearty enthusiasm with which he was greeted by the great majority, while his good nature, fine tact, resoluteness, and easy address, quite conquered the remaining malcontents and reduced them to silence. XCVIII. ERECTION AND INAUGURATION OF THE GREAT ORGAN IN THE BOSTON MUSIC HALL.-1863. Most Majestic and Perfect Instrument of the Kind in America.-Almost Without an Equal in the Whole World.-Height, Sixty Feet; Width, Forty-eight Feet; Depth, Twenty-four Feet; Weight, Seventy Tons; Cost, $60,000.-Its Vast and Enchanting Harmonies and Wondrous Frame of Architectural Beauty.-The Masterpiece of Musical Art.-Origin of the Enterprise.-Dr. Upham's Grand Conception.-Full Powers Conferred Upon Him.-His Seven Years' Labor and Care.-America and Europe Explored.-A Colossal Instrument Decided On.-Object and Influence of Such.-Contract for Its Construction in Germany.-Unrivaled Mechanism of the Work.-Completed, and Shipped for Boston.-Three Months' Tempestuous Voyage.-Enshrinement of the Organ in a Case.-Its Towers, Domes, and Sculptures.-Wind Pipes, Thirty-two Feet Long.-Eighty-nine Full Registers. -Total Number of Pipes, Five Thousand Four Hundred and Seventy-four.-Capacity of the Organ, Six Thousand Voices.-Ease with which it is Performed.-Marvelous Lights and Shades of Tone.First Exposition to the Public.-Enthusiasm and Joy on the Occasion.-Music, Poetry, Art, Beauty. "Loud was the peal: so loud As would have quite o'erwhelmed the human sense; DELIGHTFUL and self-gratulatory as were the sensations with which the citizens of the metropolis of New England justly contemplated the completion of their incomparable Music Hall, the enthusiasm of their satisfaction was intensified to the highest degree when, in November, 1863, there was added to the attractions of that magnificent edifice, and of the city itself as well, the mightiest and most superb organ on the American continent, and equaled in its vast dimensions and wonderful musical capacity by only two or three in the whole world. The acquisition of this great instrument-so much the object of pride and enjoyment on the part of Bostonians, and scarcely less on the part of all lovers of the divine art of music, who have come in throngs from every part of the Union, to witness its form of beauty and listen to its marvelous sounds of enchantment,-is due to the large conception of Dr. J. Baxter Upham, for many years the accomplished president of the Music Hall Association. From his deep thought, comprehensive plans, severe labor, and constant care, came forth this splendid embodiment of musical science and artistic STATUE OF BEETHOVEN, IN BOSTON. Construction. At an early period in the history of the association, (the official report of the enterprise is here followed,) a committee was appointed for the study and investigation of all matters relating to the future procurement of an appropriate instrument for the hall. After a sufficient time spent in understanding the theory and philosophy of the subject, the committee betook themselves to more practical inquiries, by a personal examination of the best productions to be found in this department of mechanical and artistic achievement, in different sections. But no one state, or country, or continent, could furnish the sum of that knowledge which was requisite for the full understanding of the matter, and the bringing to pass of that perfection of results at which they aimed. In the summer and autumn of 1853, the committee extended their researches in Great Britain, France, Switzerland, and Germany, collecting such written works and specimens of mechanical structure in the niceties of the art, as they could obtain in the countries visited. On their return, the facts and experiences in the art of organ-building thus gained were compared, patiently and candidly, with the conditions that obtained at home, and, without any disparagement of the skill and ingenuity of American manufacturers, the committee concluded that the vantage ground lay unmistakably in the acquisitions which the accumulated experience of centuries had given to the handicraft of the old world. After the subject had been considered and discussed at various meetings held from time to time, a subscription paper was directed to be opened, it being proposed thereby to obtain an organ of the first class, one that should rival in power, in magnitude, and in excellence, the most famous instruments of Europe, — those which have for so many years excited the wonder and admiration of travelers on that continent. "Just such an instrument," says the official report of the directors, "the capacity of our hall allows and requires. Without it, its beautiful archi tecture will always be incomplete, and its acoustic qualities fail to reach their full perfection. Of the influence of such an instrument upon the Association, the value can hardly be estimated. It would place this hall at once, in point of attraction, immeasurably above that of any other institution of the kind in the land; and every year, and at all seasons of the year, we see no reason to doubt, would draw as many pilgrims to its shrine as do the world-renowned organs at Haarlem, at Hamburg, at Ulm, and in the Church of St. Nicholas at Freyburg. To the city and to New England it would be an object of just pride, and to the public would prove a source of the purest enjoyment, an inculcator of a taste for music in its highest and holiest forms, for many generations to come. And in the consideration of a matter so important, it seems particularly desirable to set our standard of excellence high, to be satisfied with nothing inferior to the greatest and the best, since we are providing for a work that shall stand, it is to be hoped, not for decades only, but for centuries of years." The cost of such an instrument was estimated at twentyfive thousand dollars, but the total expenditure proved in the end to be only a little short of sixty thousand. The next step taken by the directors was to delegate Doctor Upham, as chairman of the organ committee, to proceed to Europe and complete the investigation of the subject, make choice of a builder, and execute a contract. To this end, that eminent gentleman critically examined the principal organs and organ factories in Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, France, and Germany; and, finally, Herr E. Fr. Walcker, of Ludwigsburg, in Germany,— a name long famous in the annals of organbuilding throughout the continent of Europe, and whose recent colossal structures at Stuttgard and in the cathedral at Ulm had given to him a world-wide reputation, -was selected as the builder. The contract was a document covering forty pages of manuscript. An emphatic condition of this contract combination of ingenious contrivances, the whole resources of the instrument are brought within easy reach and control of the player. of choice wood, in shape like actual flutes, | lightness is given to the touch; and by a turned and varnished, and fitted with embouchures of brass; its concert flute, too, is of wood, of choicest selection and finest grain. So, likewise, with the accessory parts of the instrument; the wind-chests are constructed after a new and admirable invention of the builder, by which the faults that, under the common system of sliders, have been for centuries justly complained of in the best works, are avoided, On the completion of the instrument, its qualities were tested at the factory, in presence of the most competent and critical judges that could be found in England and on the continent, and pronounced incomparable; and in due time, namely, in December, 1862, the great work was shipped on board the Dutch brig Presto, for Boston, at which place she arrived after a tempestuous and perilous winter's voyage of three months. No slight task presented itself in determining what should be the architectural form and enshrinement of the instrument, and it was only after years of patient effort and trial that the present wondrous frame of beauty for the noble instrument was obtained. The gem of the structure is a design by Hammatt Billings. But the finally adopted plan, in its artistic and elaborate beauty and grandeur, belongs to the brothers Gustave and Christian Herter, of New York, and the character of the work executed by them has justly immortalized their name in this sublime enterprise. This great organ has been fitly described as being a choir of nearly six thousand throats. Its largest wind pipes are thirtytwo feet in length, and a man can crawl through them. Its finest tubes are too small for a baby's whistle. The instrument may fairly be said to consist of five distinct organs, or systems of pipes, which are capable of being played on alone, or in connection with each other. Four of these are played upon by manuals or hard keyboards and the other by pedals or a foot key-board. The lowest of the former controls the swell organ, the pipes of which, as in other instruments, are enclosed in a box,—in this case, itself as large as many complete organs,-and so arranged that it may be open or perfectly tight at the will of the performer, thus giving opportunity for light and shade in endless variety. This organ contains eighteen registers, or stops, with which are drawn on or shut off an equal number of ranks or series of pipes, all of which, or any of them separately or in combination, may be made to speak through the swell manual. Next above this is placed the key-board of the 'great organ,' as it is technically called. Here there are twenty-five registers, all of which connect with pipes on a large scale, and are the loudest voiced pipes in the whole organ. Here are the grand diapasons which form the foundation of the whole sound superstructure, and the immense trumpets and clarions which ring out like a call to battle. Above the great organ manual comes that of the choir organ, which has fifteen registers, and is in many respects the 'great organ' on a softer scale, but without the harsher reed stops. The last and upper manual belongs to the solo organ, which also answers for the echo organ, containing eleven stops, and among them the famous vox humana. The pedals are the only remaining keyboard, and in connection with them are twenty distinct stops, fifteen loud and the rest soft. The total number of speaking stops is eighty-nine, which may all be combined; and the grand total of pipes is five thousand four hundred and seventyfour. The breath to these pipes was at first furnished by twelve pairs of bellows, moved by water-power derived from the city reservoirs, steam, however, being subsequently used for this purpose. Not only is this wonderful instrument different from others in size and wonderful variety of stops, but it excels them in almost every detail that can be mentioned. The dip of the keys of ordinary organs is three-eighths, or at most three-eighths and a sixteenth of an inch, while the keys of this organ dip no less than five-eighths of an inch. But the difficulties which would arise from such a vast amount of mechanism connecting with the keys, asking of an organist's finger the strength of a blacksmith's arm, are overcome with ease by the delicate pneumatic action which is provided. The arrangement of the stops is controlled to a great extent by the feet, there being twelve separate pedals for this purpose, so that the most beautiful and changeful effects can be made without removing either hand from the key-board. There is also the pedal, already alluded to, by which all the stops of the organ may gradually, one by one, or instantaneously, drawn on or shut off, thus producing the most magnificent crescendo and diminuendo, as well as explosive effects. Thus a be |