nes considered his chef d'oeuvre.

[1] Dr. W. C. Carl, of New York, who is well acquainted with these
instruments, considers the one in Notre Dame to be better than St.
Sulpice and more representative of Cavaille-Coll's work, even if a
little smaller. We therefore give that specification, page 157.

[2] Exhaust tubular pneumatic had been practically applied in France as
early as 1849 and pressure tubular pneumatic in 1867. See page 23.

[3] "Dictionary of Organ Stops," p. 44 and elsewhere.

NOTE.--This book has been translated into French, and published with
annotations by Dr. G. Bedart, Professor Agrege a la Universite de
Lille, France, under the title of "Revolution Recente dans la Facture
d'Orgue." Lille: Librairie Generale Tallandier, 5, Rue Faidherbe.
Prix net 4 Fr.

CHAPTER XIV.

HOW WE STAND TO-DAY.

Looking backward over the field we have traversed we find that the
modern organ is an entirely different instrument from that of the
Nineteenth Century.

Tracker action, bellows weights, the multitude of weak, drab-toned
stops, have disappeared, and in their place we have stops of more
musical character, greater volume, under perfect and wide control; new
families of string and orchestral tones; great flexibility, through
transference of stops; an instrument of smaller bulk than the old one,
but yet of infinitely greater resources.

In his "Handbook of the Organ" (page 24), J. Matthews says: "There can
be no _finality_ in organ building. Whilst the violin fascinates by
its perfection, the organ does so no less by its almost infinite
possibilities, and modern science is fast transforming it into a highly
sensitive instrument. The orchestral effects and overwhelming
_crescendos_ possible from such organs as those described in this work,
'double touch,' new methods of tone production, such as the Diaphone,
the ease with which all the resources of a powerful instrument can now
be placed instantaneously at the performer's command are developments
of which Bach and Handel never dreamed."

And the modern tendency of the best builders is to make the organ still
more orchestral in character, by the addition of carillons and other
percussion stops.

The late W. T. Best, one of the finest executants who ever lived,
stated to a friend of the writer who asked him why he never played the
Overture to Tannhauser, that he considered its adequate rendition upon
the organ impossible, "after having had