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            The earliest inferences of woman's influence in music are 
            to be drawn from the Hindu mythology. According to the 
            ancient Brahminical records, music as an art belongs in the 
            second chief division of lesser sciences, but on its 
(5)        mathematical and philosophical side it is accorded a much 
            higher position, and is treated of in the oldest and most sacred 
            Hindu work, the Veda. The Hindu musical system of to-day 
            Is likewise ascribed largely to female sources. The scale 
            consists of seven chief tones, which are represented by as 
(10)      many heavenly sisters. The names of the tones (sa, re, ga, 
            ma, pa, dha, ni, corresponding to our do, re, mi, etc.) are 
            merely abbreviations of the names of the nymphs who preside 
            over them. In the traditions of ancient Egypt, music is entirely 
            under the patronage of male gods. There can be no doubt 
(15)       that woman played an important part in music, possibly even 
            in composition, in many civilizations which apparently allowed 
            her only a restricted field of action. The Empress of Germany 
            once defined woman\'s sphere as consisting of four subjects,—
            children, clothes, cooking, and church. The early Christian 
(20)      Church, too, afforded no encouragement for women to exert 
            their musical abilities. When the earliest meetings occurred in 
            the catacombs, the female members of the congregation took 
            their part in singing the hymns, but, when organized choirs 
            were formed, they were allowed no place. The singing-schools 
(25)      founded in Rome by the Popes Sylvester I. and Hilary, at the 
            end of the fourth century, were devoted solely to the training
            of male voices.