Punch: Punch (75.1878)

December 28, 1878.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

297

UNIVERSITY MUSICAL EXAM.

he Musical World, our
harmonious contemporary,
under the head of '' Pills
for Candidates," gives Dr.
G. A. Macearren's Exa-
mination Questions for the
degree of Bachelor of
Music, but does not men-
tion Dr. Arthur Sulli-
van's, who was up at
Cambridge a fortnight
ago on the same business,
and to whose musical note-
book we are, we believe,
indebted for the following
posers, which will be put to
the aspirants for '' Musical
Honours.:"—

Q. 1. In the absence of
any coin, counters, and a
silver candlestick, how do
you score a treble P

Q. 2. Explain, when you
come to the twelfth bar,
after stopping at eleven
bars previously, the terms,
"Pint," and "Counter-
pint," as applied to Bass.
Q. 3. "Write down the names of the places most convenient for
running . up a score. State any one place where we can safely
mention your name.

Q. 4. Supposing the Candidate possessed of a good fiver, and a
bad one, which would he look upon as " a passing note ? "

Q. 5. Who was Box ? Can more than one person sing a chorus ?
Q. 6. Mention, without prejudice, what you know of Cox.
Q. 7. When did Trial by Jury first become a British Institution ?
How manv in a Bar were there in Trial by Jury ?

Q. 8. What rank did Bouncer hold ? Would it be correct to
describe him as " A major " ? If not, why not ? State your reasons
for this.

Q. 9. Given '' Be Mine " as a title for a song, would you be justified
in arranging the air for it in " B minor " ?

Q. 10. Explain the distinction, if any, between "C sharp" and
" Look sharp."

Q. 11. Can you write parts for two violins, and play them both
yourself, without getting into a deuce of a scrape ? If so, do it.

Q. 12. How much of the Tonic Sol Fa can you take in a table-
spoonful of water ? Is it a certain cure for the gout ?

Q. 13. Given two Principals, can you have more than two
Seconds ? Answer expected in less than two minutes.

Q. 14. Give an instance—a sketch, if possible—of a Suspended
First on a slack chord after preparation and resolution ; then
show him upside down hanging on by his feet as an example of
inversion.

Q. 15. Write parts for two Trebles and the Rub.

Q. 16. Are chords only found on stringed instruments ?

Q. 17. Show by your general answers that you can " stretch a
point" when necessary.

Q. 18. Construct a Passage with pegs for coats and hats.

Q. 19. Is a, fugue anything to eat ? If so, when is it ripe ?
_ (When this Paper has been satisfactorily answered, others will be
given.)

Candidates inquiring as to the mode of conferring Musical Honours
at the University are informed that the ceremony consists in their
being invited, after dinner, to drink the health of their Professor,
Dr. G. A. Macearren, proposed by the Yice-Chairman, Dr. Arthur
Sullivan (Chevalier of the Legion of Honours Easy), finishing up
with " He's A Jolly Good Fellow," which is the harmony of the
evening, arranged for eight voices, every one on his legs, if possible.

The ancient versicle (Cantabile amid Cantabs), announcing the
Musical Honours is generally used, " Hie enim est jucundus et
bonus Socius," with the graceful Academical response, " M sic
dicimus omnes ! "

The Yice-Chairman subsequently retires to rest, preceded by the
Boots bearing the usual Silver Candlestick, which is removed by the
same official on the Composer's composing himself to sleep, as he
sings to himself the soothing refrain, Quod nemo negare potest."

Working out the Idea.—We have got electric gas-lighting,
what wonder that Mr. Edison should have hit upon electric gas-
extinguishing ?

FRIENDS AT A DISTANCE.

Being a Brief Record of a few Winter-seasonable Visits to certain

Country Houses.

Yisit the First.—Chapter Yll.

Entrance— Ghost Stories Commence— Unsatisfactory—Deepening
Shadows—My Story—Hoshford)'s — Others—Josslyn — Depar-
ture—Remainder—Nervous Aunt—Dogs—Retiring to Rest.

The door remains open for a few seconds. No one appears.

Then servants enter with coffee. We all seem much relieved,
having, though no one liked to own it, expected a ghost, or several
ghosts.

Gool had been keeping the door open with one hand, so as to give
free passage to the servants.

Gool himself now follows handing the liqueurs.
Happy Thought. Spirits—no Ghosts.

Conversation languishes during the ceremony of helping ourselves
to coffee. Josslyn Dyke motioning us to silence. We are all
longing to continue the conversation about ghosts, specially to hear
Josslyn Dyke's own experiences in this very house, the old Mote ;
but he puts his finger to Ms lips, as though saying, Not before the
Boy—I mean—Not before the Butler."

Servants must feel rather awkward during the dead silence.

Gool doesn't. He seldom speaks unless addressed by someone.
In fact, the Phantom Butler himself might be described as a Mute in
attendance on a Dead Silence.

Usually, Gool floats or glides out of a room. But now, when we
all have our eyes on the door, which is held open for him by a servant,
in return for Gool's previous courtesy, we see the Phantom Butler
actuallv walk out, as solemnly, but as really as Hamletfs father's
ghost does on the stage,—that particular ghost is usually a very
heavy and very human person, with a sonorous voice,—and so if
Gool came in like a Ghost, at all events, he goes out like a Butler.
This sounds like a proverb—"To come in like a Ghost, and go out
like a Butler."

The room is gloomy, so many of the candles having guttered down
and been extinguished.

In the dark recesses, the shadows are listening,—cold shadows far
away from the fire.

In the robes of some of the portraits on the walls suddenly appear
grotesque faces, formed by the pleats and the folds. We point these
out to one another in an undertone, and everyone says, " Odd! "

Josslyn Dyke alone seems to think nothing odd in his house that
is at all goblinesque in character. In his opinion The Mote is the
very place for ghosts and goblins ; and he wouldn't keep it a day, at
least, so it seems, were he not sure of the place being full of them.

Someone remarks that if there are not ghosts here, at all events,
there are rats in the wainscot.

Josslyn quietly returns, that for his part he likes rats in the wain-
scot. He also likes ghosts ; the ghost not in the wainscot. Both in
their proper places.

In a second we are back " to our muttons "—that is, to our ghosts.

Josslyn wishes to reserve his evidence until the others have given
theirs : whereupon Pelkin Wadd, the ex-Master of Chancery, volun-
teers an account of a friend of his, whose daughter saw an old man,
in a fur cloak, sitting on a box in a room at the top of their house.
She recognised him as a friend of the family who had gone to New
York, or somewhere ; at all events he was the last person she would
have expected to find sitting in a box-room at the top of the house.

We quite agree that this is extraordinary in itself, as such a pro-
ceeding would be absurdly eccentric on the part of any friend of any
family.

"What did she do?" I ask.

"She went down-stairs," answers Pelkin Wadd, very slowly,
as though he were on his oath and paying the greatest attention
to details, "called her mother, and said, 'Oh, Mamma, I'm so
frightened! There's Mr. Waddilove, in a fur cloak, sitting on a
trunk in the box-room ! .' "J

We are breathless.

Pelkin Wadd continues, " She said, ' Oh, nonsense ! it can't be !'
but her daughter insisted on her accompanying her up-stairs. So
up they went, opened the door-"

"Yes," we all say—all except Josslyn Dyke—bending forward
eagerly.

" And — could see nothing. The ghost in the fur cloak had
vanished."
We are all dissatisfied.

V Might have been a burglar," remarks Sandilands.

No, no, we won't have any such commonplace explanation as that.
Besides, do burglars go about in fur cloaks, and sit quietly on boxes ?

Sandilands retorts, "Yes; why not, when they've nothing else
to do ? "

Pelkin Wadd wishes to add the finish to his story.

"A letter came, some time after," he recommences—(Ah! now