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16 METHODS OF SOCIAL REFORM.
concert3 in the winter.* The performers .need not be of the
first rank, and amateur aid would do a good deal, though not
all. I have heard of a West End choral society whioh makes a
point of visiting the EGst End to give free concerts there, with
the view of elevating the -to of the poorer classes. Were
the Columbia Hall available for the purpose, abundant aid of
tho kind could no doubt be obtained by a vigorous committee;
bnt it would be EL mistake to depend wholly on volunteer performers.
Tho mass of the people should be admitted at 8
charge of a penny or twopence, and a certain number of seats
might be reserved at sixpence or a shilling each. Good tea,
coffee, cocoa, with light refreshments, and all kinds of nonintoxicating
drinks, should be provided at the back of the hall,
if them woro room, or, if not, in the adjoining buildings. Tho
music should consist of the better class of dance music, old
English melodies, popular classical songs ; but there should be
a careful intermixture of the higher order of music. My own
observations lead to the conclusion that there is hardly any
audience which mill not be touched by a really beautiful
melody, such, for instance, as that of Bach’s Prelude as
arranged by Gounod. It is only t,he great musical structures
euch as tho Symphonies, with their elaborate introductions
and complicated developments, which demand long musical
training for their appreciation.
While I am speaking of Columbia Market I may go a step
further, and suggest that the fine central area of tho market
could notpassibly bebctterutilised thanby convertingit similarly
into a recreation ground. A soft floor, and a good supply of
swings, merry-go-rounds, and the like, would soon make it the
happiest spot in the kingdom. At another time I shall argue
that in a Bound sensible state of things, every group of houses
should as a matter of course have its play-grounds for children,
five per cent. of all building land, for example, being corn-
* Since the above was written, Columbia Market, having been
pwviously offered to the parish authorities for the purpose of a by
market, haa been conyerted into a tobacco and cigar manufactory.
The Timer of JWUILTJ 5th, 1881, p. 10 e, which announcea this change,
L.B~B~;~E epologeticallp, that the lighter pert of the bnainesa will BfEOrd
employment for the rednndant female population of thie district.