AN ENORMOUS DECLINE.

Two years ago the membership of the Opera Association totalled almost twelve hundred; but at present, in spite of the added attraction of the Pavlowa Ballet, and the absence of opera last year, only about one hundred men have purchased membership tickets.

A curious belief is prevalent, especially among men who have never attended an operatic performance, that in order to enjoy the opera one must be gifted with extraordinary musical talent. But in fact, the opera, combining as it does music and drama, thus furnishing aesthetic enjoyment not only to the ear but to the eye, presents a far easier opportunity to the so-called unmusical to enjoy music, than does a concert or recital. By going to an opera and flixng his attention on the dramatic element, as he would in the case of an ordinary play, the man who knows nothing about music can create in himself the power of musical enjoyment. From the educational point of view, moreover, it is almost a requisite in a man who boasts a college degree, that he be acquainted, in an elementary way, at least, with the world's greatest master-pieces of music. Strangely enough, with the progress of civilization, music has become more and more of a minor factor in general culture. The great statesman, Themistocles, was derided because he could not play the harp, yet we are not the least bit ashamed to admit that, with no thought of playing ourselves, the mere listening to music bores us.