As yet there has been no woman composer of the very first rank, comparable to the tonal giants among men. But in explanation of this is the fact that women have not been generally at work in this field until the last century, while men have had considerably more time. And after all, there are not so many really great men among the composers. The tonal giants, the world-famous men, whose music rises above the fashion of their time, and lives through changing epochs and changing tastes, may almost be counted on the fingers of the hands. If no woman has yet become _prima inter pares_, there are many whose work equals that of the lesser men, whose names are remembered as forming the different schools of composition. Whether woman's work will always be distinctive from men's in character, time alone can decide. The present writer is inclined to believe that the difference will be a permanent one,--that even in the larger forms, woman's work in music will always show more of delicate grace and refinement than man's, and will be to some extent lacking in the broader effects of strong feeling. As an example we may cite the works of Chaminade, which hold the very highest rank in their class. Her songs are among the most delightful in the world to-day, yet they charm by delicacy rather than strength, and are different from, if not inferior to, the creations of a Jensen or a Graedener, to say nothing of the more dramatic works of Schumann or Schubert. Of course there will be cases where the two sexes will meet on common ground, and the exquisite beauty of a Franz may some day find its equal in the work of the other sex, but whether women will excel _naturally_ in the more virile vein of Bruch's cantatas, for instance, is open to grave doubt.