After a few minutes’ recess, the competition in comic song followed. Eight societies had entered their names as candidates, and sang successively for the prize picture. Some of them produced roars of laughter, and every one of them was received with more or less merriment and glee. One song (they were all part-songs) was truly good and exceedingly well done, but the others were commonplace, or even low and frivolous; so much so, as to appear quite at variance with the idea that these festivals are designed for improvement in musical taste. It was somewhat sad too, to observe that those songs which seemed to bring down humanity the nearest to mere animal being were the most admired, so that one in which imitations of the bleating of sheep and the cries of the domestic animals were introduced, called forth the loudest laugh and the most violent clapping of hands.