t
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/
THE NEW MUSIC REVIEW.
1143
not desire to cover it with delicate embroidery.
Circumstances however were too much for
him, but — and here comes in the note of his
weakness — he made the embroidery far more
valuable than the actual work upon which he
was engaged. There again is a little sign of
occasional failure in the works of this French
musician. Acknowledging thoroughly that he
is an exquisite master of the orchestra, know-
ing clearly that his devious little ways, despite
their unoriginality, belong entirely to himself.
I must, still say that Saint-Saens is a splendid
musician, simply because he lives upon the
reputation of all the first-class musicians in
the world.
Probably the most popular work, from a
broad point of view, that Saint-Saens has ever
written is his “Samson and Dalilah.” There
is a great deal of beauty in the score, but it
is the sort of beauty that does not seem to
live in the mind after one has heard it, even
(let us say) a score of times. If Saint-Saens
had intended this work to be staged it would
have been a complete failure ; he, however, at
first purposed that it should be produced as
an Oratorio; and it was accordingly a popu-
lar success; it then occurred to a rather too
clever stage-manager that the work would
do well if it were produced upon the stage
instead of upon the oratorio platform. The
results were dismal. And hereby hangs a
tale. Saint-Saens was then definitely proved
to be a man who always fell a little short of
his singular and extraordinary promise. What-
ever he did, he did well, what he does, he
does well; but some evil fairy at his birth
must have (in the old idyllic way of speak-
ing) touched him with a wand by which she
meant to convey that though he could do
everything well, he could do nothing ex-
tremely well. He plays the piano beautifully,
and yet there are expert pianoforte piayers
who play better than he does; he composes
charmingly, yet there are many composers
who cannot even play the pianoforte, and who
are greater composers than he ; he has written
operas— notably that entitled “Henry VIII.”—
which contain wonderful reminiscences of the
past, yet they are not really original; the score
lies before me at the present moment, and I
find that his sentiment of mediaeval music,
that his idea of seventeenth century dances,
that his feeling for Gluck, for Mozart, for
r
h
everybody except himself is most remarkable.
It is not as though Saint-Saens went out of
his way to understand and to assimilate into
his own personality the work of qjther men ;
but he reminds one of some great space into
which all the influences of the musical world
might be poured, and out of which a quick and
vital brain can produce work which is not
only interesting and pretty, but also which is
. admired of the world of men. He carries this
point of view, as it seems to me, even into his
song-writing, and into his symphonic compo-
sitions. It would be idle to mention more
cases in this conjunction of thought, because
I trust that I have explained with sufficient
explicitness my conception of 'Saint-Saens as
a musician who is rightly admired in Europe
for many qualities. I say “rightly admired”
because, when all is said and done, his achieve-
ment has been a great one, although it has
been so contemporary that it would be diffi-
cult to prophesy for his work any sort of im-
mortality. If there is one point which may
save him for generations to come not only as
a name but as a musical influence, it would
be his exquisite control of an orchestra, which
might not have satisfied the great masters,
but which is finely adapted to his own pur-
poses. You feel that once Saint-Saens is en-
closed within his own domain, however small
it may be, he can labor in the gardens and
in the fields of that domain at his heart’s
pleasure, and that he will give delight to such
musicians as do not care to build up great en-
trenchments and therefore obscure from their
sight the lesser masters of the world.
In truth, the influence of the lesser masters
of music has a certain pathos, when one comes
to elucidate and to describe its real value.
When one looks upon the generations of musi-
cians who have done so much good work
for the world, and yet whose legacy has prac-
tically disappeared, save for historical inves-
tigation, one need have no particular remorse
or regret for the career of so excellent a mu-
sician as Saint-Saens. WFo, at the present
moment, knows much of the career of Abate
Martini? Nevertheless, it is on easy record
that his work, as a power in the world of
music, was enormously useful and greatly
advantageous to the art. Very few people
again know much of the work of Dr. Charles
Burney, whose daughter wrote those famous
1144
THE NEW MUSIC REVIEW.
novels “Eve/ina,” “Cecilia,” and “Camilla.”
Nevertheless while possibly not one in a hun-
dred thousand people read “Evelina,” all the
music of the present period owes a tremendous
debt to the work of Dr. Burney. It will be
in this direction that the influence of Saint-
Saens will be known in the future. His work
may disappear — will probably disappear — but
he has distinctly gone ahead in the van of
music, and has improved for all of us a cer-
tain refinement of taste towards which he has
contributed not inconsiderably, even from his
own creative point of view. It is possibly a
tragedy that many men who have so far ex-
erted their influence upon the modern world
that we are guided by their tenets and are en-
couraged by their personal example, are now
scarcely known by name to the world. I have
always thought that one of the most pathetic
and tragic circumstances of human life lies
in the fact that it is the second man, that it
is the disciple, in a word, who makes the
reputation and not the master. I recognize
for example to its fulness that Socrates was
the greatest of Greek teachers of morality.
Yet it was left to Plato, the disciple of Socra-
tes, to make his master’s greatness obvious to
the world ; without the “Apologia” of Socra-
tes, as written by Plato, we should have known
nothing of one of the greatest men who have
stood on trial before unjust judges. (It is
true that Socrates did not quite live in har-
mony with Xanthippe, but that is neither here
nor there !) Saint-Saens, then, in my estima-
tion of him, will scarcely leave a name to be
regarded by all generations as one to rever-
ence, or one to hold in the highest repute.
I speak, of course, from the artistic standpoint.
But I am utterly convinced that though the
name of Saint-Saens will not go down to pos-
terity as the name of one who has been a
great musical creator, it will be recognized
that his influence in gathering up the threads
of the musical world from the artists of many
periods will form itself into a certain coherent
history of music, for the task of which he
really was most eminently fitted, and which,
without any question, he has worked hard to
fulfil. For the moment, then, let us forget
the composer; let us forget the small tri-
umphs in little matters which will scarcely
ring through the vistas of the ages. Let us
forget that Saint-Saens has absorbed into his
creative faculty many composers whose wot.,
without him could easily stand by itself. Let
it be forgotten that all his labor in the produc-
tion of original work will be scarcely valuable
to our great-grandsons; but let it also be in-
sisted upon that Saint-Saens has done a great
work, inasmuch as he has devoted a long life
to the presentation before the world of mighty
masters who (by a sad fate for himself) have
over-crowded his ambition. I close this ap-
preciation of the French Master feeling some
regret that it has been impossible, from a can-
did and straightforward point of view, to ap-
portion to him the place which was forecast,
according to an elder generation of artists, for
his career. Nevertheless, he has loomed largely
in the e_\e of the world, and his fame has gone
out to many lands. . He has worked very hard ;
lie has never written a dull note, even though
certain passages of his work are somewhat
cheap , he is a musician who never bores you,
though his music is not destined to live; he
is a master of many arts, though he will not
hand down to posterity many traditions of
his mastery ; he has a fine character ; but there
are also many other men of fine character
who are not destined to fame. In fact, he is
an exquisite; possibly, just as we remember
in these days Beau Brummel or George IV.,
as exquisites of their time, so Saint-Saens may
hand down a reputation of the same kind.
Beau Brummel designed the fashions of his
time, and George IV. countersigned them.
The fashions are gone ; everything which is
not modern — and only eternal art is modern
comes and goes with the springtime, with the
summer, with the autumn, with the winter;
we can never renew our fashions; that is the
pathos of living just for one’s own generation.
Tt is a pathos that sometimes goes beyond the
sense of tragedy, and seems to belong to the
eternal darkness of which Belial spoke in Mil-
ton’s immortal phrase:
Sad cure ! For who would lose, though full of pain
.ns intellectual being: those thoughts that wander
1 hrough Eternity or to perish rather,
Swallowed up and lost in the dark womb
Of Lncreated Night.
Alas . it is the tragedy of the artist whose
creative power can never be equal to his am-
bitions. The thought of Saint-Saens will
never wander through eternity ; but one may
in respect of his honorable and fine career
remember that his influence may continue
where his actual thought must perish. Im-
mortality is destined only for the great few.
)
r*
Musical Motes.
“DON GIOVANNI” AND RENAUD
O SCAR HAMMERSTEIN deserves a
crown of laurel (with profound apol-
ogies to his hat) for presenting the mas-
terpiece of Mozart’s masterpieces as he
did at the Manhattan Opera House Sat-
urday afternoon. Maurice Renaud, that
operatic Coquelin, deserves as much for
giving the performance its supreme dis-
tinction by revealing such a Don Giovanni
as New York had not seen since the days
of Victor Maurel. The entire production,
too, surpassed at every point that of
Wednesday night. Often it attained the
almost inaccessible ideal of what a Mozart
opera ought to be.
It is no discredit to the excellent Don
of Mr. Ancona to say that Mr. Renaud
materially strengthened the cast, for on
the operatic stage to-day Mr. Renaud as
an actor is almost unique. The presence
of Mme Glllbert in the r61e of Donna El-
vira was another distinct gain- Mme
Gilibert’s voice does not fit the music
perfectly, but her conception of the part
both musically and dramatically was in-
telligent, and she is always an artist.
Mme Russ as Donna Anna made a far
better impression than at her debut.
Some of the music — notably "Or sai clil
l’onore”— she conceived in the spirit of
Mascagni rather than of Mozart; but she
is a dramatic singer of ability and experi-
ence, and at times was altogether ad-
mirable. Mr. Gilibert as Masetto was
again perfection itself, and as Zerlina
Mme Donalda almost matched him.
Edouard de Reszke in his prime could
sing Leporello with better voice and vocal
art than Mr. Brag did Saturday, but for
slyness, subtlety, and truth of character-
ization the tricky servant of the latter is
far nearer Mozart and Da Ponte than the
somewhat burlesque buffoon of the great
Polish basso.
Mr. Bond acted Don Ottavio with dis-
cretion and good taste, and his delivery of
his two aii*s was Mozart singing in ex-
celsls. Best of all, the entire cast appre-
ciated the touch-and-go character of most
of the work and played into one another’s
hands with lightness, vivacity, and speed.
They were capitally supported by a chorus
that really acted, too. and Cleofonte Cam-
panitil kept the orchestra pulsating like a
living organism. But the central figure
of this wonderful picture — not pushed Into
undue prominence, merely foremost among
his equals — was the Don Giovanni of
Maurice Renaud.
Imagine Victor Maurel plus a voice and
you have Maurice Renaud. Both men pos-
sess imagination, intelligence, finesse,
and high personal distinction, and they
control alike every resource of histrionic
art. Technically both remind one of the
elder Coquelin in the swiftness as well as
the certainty with which they produce
their effects. Added to this great techni-
cal equipment Mr’. Renaud has for Don
Giovanni the handsome presence and the
easy grace of bearing. He looks a Span-
ish Hidalgo straight from the “Siglo de
Oro.” His acting Saturday was abso-
lutely natural, spontaneous, illusive, as
free from hint of artifice as the Carmen
of Mme Bressler-Gianoli the previous
evening.
Nor did his acting stop with this per-
suasive brilliancy of surface. Present also
was the epic quality, the suggestion of
the “Superman.” He was not only Don
Juan Tenorlo, the individual, a Spanish
cavalier, with a taste and aptitude for
amorous adventure, he tvas also the Uni-
versal Pursuer (apologies to Mr. Bernard
Shaw for not saying Pursued), the lasting
type as well as the temporary instance.
Compared with him the average Don
Giovanni of the operatic stage is either
a mannerist or a cheap rake. He sounded,
too, the tragic notes of! the character— the
dramatic irony in his vain pursuit of
Donna Anna, and the divination and
defiance of his final doom.
One could dwell on many details of this
astonishing impersonation. To specify
a few will suffice. There was a bit of
traditional “business” infused with fresh
significance when he lifted his hat and
swept his stately bow to the corpse of
the Commandant— a tribute to a van-
quished foeman who had proved worthy
of his steel. There was startling rapidity
and sureness in the transitions when con-
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sang around hks hoarseness was itself a
triumph of art. Old opera-goers speak of
a Maurel In the seventies who had for a
baritone the voice Mr. Plancon has for a
basso cantante. For thone whose memory
of Maurel is limited to the nineties Mau-
rice Renaud may best be described as
Maurel glorified.
NOTES.
A NOVELTY by C6sar Franck— an in-
terlude from his “Redemption”—
gave special interest to the fourth pair of
subscription concerts of the New York
Symphony Orchestra Saturday evening and
yesterday afternoon at Carnegie Hall.
Though interesting and well worth giving,
it proved by no means up to its author’s
best work. The rich scoring and the har-
monic ingenuity did not disguise the fact
that some of the music falls Into the vein
of religious sentimentality that was
worked so industriously by the school of
French composers that C6sar Franck and
his disciples opposed.
Before the “Redemption" fragment
came a delightful performance of Bee-
thoven’s “Pastoral” symphony, fresh and
melodious after its long absence from our
concert halls. After the Franck piece
Mr. Rosenthal played Scharwenka’s B flat
minor concerto, a work which gave full
scope for the pianist’s power, energy, and
brilliance. Smetana’s still charming sym-
phonic poem “Ultava” closed an interest-
ing programme.
For the next pair of concerts, Dec. 29
and 30, Mr. Damrosch announces a
Tschaikowsky programme, with Josef
Lhdvinne as soloist.
S ATURDAY brought at the Manhattan
Opera House, besides "Don Giovan-
ni” in the afternoon, “Carmen” in the
evening, and at the Metropolitan Opera
House "Ffidora” in the afternoon and
"Tannhauser” in the evening. In "Car-
men” there were again the admirable en-
semble and the notable individual per-
formances of Mme Bressler-Gianoli and
Mr. DalmorSs, which had won praise the
previous night. New members of the cast
were Mme Gilibert as Micaela and Mr.
Seveilhac as the Toreador. In “Fedora”
Mme Cavalieri and Mr. Caruso had the
chief parts. In "Tannhauser” Mr. Goritz
as Wolfram reappeared in a rdle in which
he is favorably known here, and Miss
Weed took Mme Fremstad’s place as
Venus.
A SMALL but appreciative audience
greeted the Royal Welsh Male
Choir at Carnegie Hall last night. Four-
teen numbers, with as many encores, were
rendered, including selections from Han-
del De Rille, Gounod. Costa, and Sullivan.
David Davies's solo, “The Lord Worketh
Wonders,” seemed to please the audience
most. His wide-range bass was also heard
to advantage in “Rocked in the Cradle of
the Deep.” The other soloists were Miss
Alicia M. Cove, Miss Eva Hall, and
Messrs. Jones, Evans, and Edwards.
fronted with Donna Anna, Donna Elvira,
and Don Ottavio simultaneously, he now
wheedled, now threatened Elvira, apolo-
gizing for her the while softly and plau-
sibly to the other two, and when left for
a moment alone with Donna Anna, in a
flash of sinister insolence, first ceremoni-
ously kissed her hand and then disclosed
himself as the man who had slain her
father. Again he touched the summit of
insolence when he lolled easily against the
statue of the dead Commandant, smiling
■winnlngly up at his marble face, while the
quaking Leporello solemnly invited the
statue to his master’s banquet. Finally
there was the superb bravado of con-
tempt when the stone guest stood before
him in the banquet hall. He first filled a
goblet and drained a health to the man
he had slain, and then defiantly clasped
his avenging hand. There were no red
devils or flaming jaws of hell to mar the
scene. Don Giovanni died unrepentant,
but he died like a man.
As a singer Mr. Renaud is an artist of
exceptional ability. Saturday he had not
wholly recovered from his recent indis-
position. His voice, which was full and
mellow in the first part of the opera, later
became somewhat hoarse, but the way he
T HE music for to-night is “Don Gio-
vanni” at the Manhattan Opera
House. “La Boh6me” at the Metropolitan
Opera House, and-.“Madam Butterfly” at
the Garden Theatre.
To-morrow afternoon Miss Germaine
Schnitzer will give her first piano recital
in New York, playing Schumann’s “Car-
neval” and pieces by Bach, Liszt, Chopin,
Schubert, and Saint-Saens. To-morrow
evening “Madam Butterfly” will be sung
at the Garden Theatre.
ATTRACTIVE EVENING CONCERT
Among the attractive musical events of this
evening will be a concert In the Park Avenue
Methodist Episcopal Church, at Park avenue
and Eighty-sixth street, by Charles H. De
Marls, Jr., organist, and E. Theodore Martin,
tenor. Mr. De Maris will open the programme
with a selection from Bach, followed by
“Elsa’s Dream” from “Lohengrin” and the
“prize song” from Die Meistersinger, Selec-
tions from the compositions of Liszt, Guil-
mant, Schubert, and Leschetizsky will follow.
The contributions to the programme by Mr.
Martin will be from Handel. Weber, and
Strelezki.
RER 17. 1906. 1
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jCOINCERT FOYER
Rosenthal, Now in Height of
His Power, Will Visit
Boston Next Season.
GLANCE AT HIS MANY
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Even now, when the season of 1905-6
is just over, the managers of pianists
are making announcements for next
fall, winter and spring. The formidable
virtuoso, Mr. Leonidas Swett, will play
a superb instrument manufactured by
Graves & Sudlum. Mr. Honeythunder,
the poet of passion, will use gently one
of Jorldns’ best, one with a bazoo at-
tachment. But Mr. Kofoffski, whose
grandfather remembered distinctly
Thaddeus Kosciusko, will be faithful to
the long established firm of Borem &
'-<>• A«jd why mention other and lesser
Ights? The musical woods will be full
ot pianists.
Each one will play his preferred and
favorite piano and will be delighted at
the end of the season to write a glowing-
eulogy of it for publication and circula-
tion. It Is the only piano that appeals
I to him. He can sing on no other. The
anufacturers are artists, and the
■.nought of pecuniary compensation Is
on.y incidental in their aesthetic rou-
tine. All this is as it should be. Mr.
Lesruetitzki believes that a good pianist
should be able to play agreeably and
effectively on any piano, as long as it
not crumble to pieces beneath his
red touch, as long as the glue
s and the pedals work without
■■ aking. There are many excellent
. ists; there are many strongly made
-nd much enduring pianos. Nothing
onld be fairer than this in the divine
( heme.
Fiddlers and the old Addle makers are
lot so fortunate. Whether Mr. Ysaye
play a Stradivarius, an Amati or a
jcuarnenus, he does not receive even
conventional thanks from the maker,
nor is he guaranteed by any one of
them a certain sum of money for a cer-
tain number of concerts to ‘display the
surpassing merits of a certain Addle.
Hire. He reads Spanish, Italian Portu-
guese as a man runs, and Russian when
It Is not in fine print. He has socked
with Socrates and ripped witli Euripi-
des. A profound metaphysician, lie
could pass a rigid examination on tile
niceties of Berlin slang. His wit is
scimitar-like; his humor is oily. He
tears no critic, for he is an "expert
athlete and boxer whose strength makes
him the peer physically of all his asso-
ciates.” and as a logician his “argu-
mentative ability once caused the critic
Ehrlich to spend the remainder of Ids
llte in oblivion as the result of ids igno-
minious defeat In a newspaper contro-
versy." Mr. Rosenthal will certainly
bo treated In Boston with the most dis-
tinguished ’consideration.
Alas poor Ehrlich! We remember him
well as the music critic of the National
Zcltung in Berlin. He was then bald-
headed and he had a pleasant smile,
though ills enemies whispered that lie
was paid by the Austrian government
for secret information. Little did he
then think— it was about 25 years ago—
that Mr. Rosenthal would snuff out by
an article Ills soul, that fierv particle,
send him into utter darkness and for-
getfulness, and drive him from accus-
tomed haunts where Weiss beer was
drunk in fellowship from a huge glass
bowl or rather tub.
7 U-t.^2- 7
f O L>
Among the pianists who will visit Bos-
tm next season Is Mr. Moritz Rosenthal,
who Is now '14 years old and Is said to
be at the height of his power. He has
been known as a performer in public
since 1876, and it should be remembered
that he began his career as an lnfantphe-
nomenon. When he was last In this
country lie displayed a mechanical pro-
ficiency that was well nigh incredible
played with prodigious speed and,
H’u e same time, clearness,
in o <r e are s . ome who are not interested
!P fl nr?T; re S lan i st -” They prefer to hear
a creator. To them Mr. Rosenthal
was only a pianist. The trouble with
fr-/? r ,- ea « creator, who takes his seat in
trom of the keyboard, is that he often
s a Pianist and he creates
with the composer’s material that is
i -adly mutilated by him and is almost
; unrecognizable. But let us accept the
j 'lew of these yearners for “creation."
I SY en then Mr. Rosenthal was some-
thing more than an uncommonly pro-
ficient pianist.
„ W !v ! JH! lm , Hazlitt remarked in his essay
on Milton s sonnets: "Our first of poet's
was one of our first of men. He was;
an eminent instance to prove that a
poet is not another name for the slave
of power and fashion, as is the case
with painters and musicians— things
without an opinion— and who merely
aspire to make up the pageant and
show of the day.”
Nor was Hazlitt’s sour view peculiar
to him at the time the essay was
written. "Things without an^opinion !”
The musicians of today, the virtuosos,
are chock-ful of opinions, sometimes of
opinions rather than music. Hazlitt
himself would have found pleasure in
talking with Messrs. Paderewski, Ysaye,
..osenthal, de Pachmann. Bauer, Gabri-
■i ’vitsch— we name at random, but from
personal knowledge of their conversa-
tional abilities— for they can talk on
1 her subjects than their art and their
nature and accomplishments, and
would have set Hazlitt a-talking.
if there Is mention of composers,
' e can a more entertaining, many-
4, shrewd, witty, original man be
A mil for an hour’s gossip about life
and mortals than Mr. Charles Martin
Loeffler. Who expresses himself with
a finer elegance? And It should be
remembered that English is not his
native tongue.
To go back to Mr. Rosenthal. The press
agent has recently catalogued his rare
characteristics in a manner to excite
the envy of Mr. Tody Hamilton. Mr.
Rosenthal is not only a pianist, an in-
terpreter, a creator. He is a chess
player who could have conquered the
Kalandap^in the form of an enchanted
ape in the wild eastern tale. He car.
ask for coffee in Greek and complain of
the quality of his breakfast egg In
Latin. In a railway car he meditates in
Sanscrit, nor Is the colloquial speech of
the Ileligolanders a speech without
Printed alphabet or literature unknown
to him.
"He is a litterateur whose mind stores
th e best in German poetry and prose.”
1 Ills is faint praise. He has French lit-
erature at ills command for purposes of
quotation from the “Bon Berger" of
de Brie to the last number of Le
| Mr. Lhevinne will also play in Boston
and there are also agreeable stories
about him which will be repeated later,
but at present we are in the dark as
to his logical strength in debate or
whether he prefers Turgenieff to Tol-
stoi, or Pushkin to Dostoievsky. It Is
said that Mr. Rosenthal will give a re-
cital in Boston on Nov. 17, and that on
the 30th he will play here with the Sym-
phony orchestra. We have as yet no in-
formation about Mr. Lhevinne’s dates in
Boston.
Miss Marie Hall, the young English
violinist, will revisit us. It is to he
hoped that she gains in physical
strength. When she was here', she
looked as though a rest of two years
would be none too long.
The statement is made, apropos of the
production of Leoncavallo's new opera
"The Youth of Figaro," in this country;
"This will be the first time that a grand
opera by a European composer will have
its first production in the United
States.” The statement is incorrect
Arditi’s "Spia,” with a libretto based
on Cooper’s novel, “The Spy," was pro-
duced for the first time in New York
and we believe that an opera by Garcia!
the father of Malibran, was first pro-
duced at New York, but we are writing
where there are no hooks of reference.
Don Lorenzo Perosi has finished a
symphony in the classic form, which '
will be performed for the first time at
Milan. It is said that he worked on it
for a year. Perosi has not been in the !
habit of spending so much time on any I
serious work. He will write you an
oratorio while you wait.
Adelina Patti has been talking in
Rome. She thinks that the Italian sing-
ers of today use too much voice and too
much breath; therefore their tones wab-
ble, and the text loses in poetic expres-
sion.
Minnie Tracey has been singing with
great success in concert in Paris. The
critics were warm in praise, and, unlike
their colleagues at Rouen and some
other towns, did not refer rudely to her
size.
MIRRORED LIFE.
Both Mr. William Archer and Mr.
Marc Klaw, friends of the drama,
deny that there is any prejudice in
London against American plays. Mr.
Klaw, who is of an analytical habit
and a student of the psychology of
audiences, says the English cannot
be expected to sympathize with a
play if they cannot understand it.
The London audiences took no Inter-
est in the money problem in “The
Lion and the Mouse," a problem
which is of absorbing interest in this
country, nor could they understand
the bribing of judges and senators.
"These incidents are so foreign to
England! The Americans have been
characterized var'ously, according to
the period. They have been called
the most generous people on earth,
the most sentimental, the most sen-
sitive, the best natured, and, lately,
the most commercially corrupt. With-
out doubt they are foolishly good-
natured; easy-going, is the better
term. In their sublime, or pathetic,
confidence that everything will turn
out all right, they laugh at imposi-
tions of every kind or submit to them.
Hence their enjoyment at seeing
characters in a play the sport of
some monopoly; at seeing bribery in
action, “How realistic! It’s just like
life!" They are entertained by what
would shock an audience in London,
Paris or Berlin. Yet there are signs
of a great awakening.
A correspondent of Musical America
talked recently with Mr. Giuseppe Cam-
panari. He is much pleased at the pros-
pect of two opera houses in New York,
and he sees in them an important aid to
the education of “society people,” for
"the average man and woman" cannot
afford to go regularly. (By regularly,
Mr. Campanari, of course, means during
the season. This reminds us that
there may be a grand opera sea-
son in London next January or Feb-
ruary, “a thing hitherto unknown.” It
is strange that in London there is no
established opera house, as there is in
small German cities.) “If," says Mr.
Campanari, “they have an opportunity
of hearing the different works performed
by only one opera company, and accord-
ing to the ideas of one impresario, they
naturally cannot be expected to have
bread conceptions of what they hear.”
.There are beautiful voices in America,
just as fine singers as can be brought
over from Europe, but if Mr. Conrled
or Mr . Hammerstein were to engage
them the people would turn up their
noses and say: ’Oh. I have often heard
them, I am sick of them,’ and they
would not go to see how they appeared
amid the environment of the operatic
stage." The women’s voices in tills
country are as good as in Europe, "but
there are few male voices, especially
tenors.” Here are Mr. Campanari’s rea-
sons for this; “I attribute it partly to
the abuse of the boys’ voices in the pub-
hc schools. School teachers who know
n ,° 1 , at a11 about music make the
children sing notes away beyond their
reach, and with all their might, and the
result is, the boy’s voice, which is much
more sensitive than the girl’s, is strained
and, ten to one, never rises above the
mediocre. Another drawback, common
to both sexes, is the language. The
pronunciation of English is so throaty
that it requires a long time for the stu-
dent to overcome this hindrance to free
tone production. For that reason I shall
always speak English with an accent. I
could pronounce it as well as anvbodv if
I wished to tighten my throat, but I will
not do that.”
Mr. Campanari thinks that the Ameri-
cans are better critics of Instrumental
than of vocal music. “I do not advise
students to go to Europe to study except
for the languages; but I tell them to use
common sense in choosing a teacher."
xes, but how should this common sense
be exerted 9 Would Mr, Campanari have
the anxious pupil choose a teacher by /
weight or by chest measure ?
A LUXURY.
Mr. Johnson writes to us that vice
Clamport is now eighty cents a hundred-
weight. No ice was cut near Cla mpor
and the local company was obliged to
import from New Hampshire. Sine 1 ice is
dear, the price of fish peddled in carts
after it has travelled from Boston .will
necessarily go up. (Inasmuch as Clam-
port is a seashore village, of course fish
and lobsters come from the city.) The
cottagers, Mr. Johnson writes, are much
distressed. Why? Do they not know
that only the rich can live a simple
country life?
Not many years ago, in New England
villages, ice was a luxury, not a neces-
sity ; nor was there any craving for the
luxury. Our grandfathers got along
comfortably— at least, they thought they
did without ice and without tooth
brushes. Their teeth were often firm,
white and in plenty even iu old age.
Butter for daily use was often lowered
in the well. There was no "ice water”
to check digestion — but the water was
cool enough. Unfortunately, in Clam-
port and in other villagers along the
toast the windmill has taken the place
of the well, and the mill is not con-
structed for refrigerative purposes. Nor
do many of the cottages have a cellar,
for they stand on cedar piles, and there
is room beneath the house only for wind,
boxes, firewood and shelter in winter for
a skunk or two.
There is no consolation in the asser-
tion that the ancients did not know the
value of ice, for the Romans cooled cer-
tain wines with ice or snow, and the
Persians ( omforted themselves with iced
drinks. But iu lands where there is no
ice the natives have ingenious devices
for keeping water and eatables at a
comparatively low temperature. There
is such a tiling as intemperance in ice,
and the high price asked for what was
last year cheap and common may be
salutary to hitherto reckless users. We
remember seeing in 1878 a large cake
of ice exhibited on the bar of the St.
James restaurant in London as a curi-
osity, or possibly as an ornament. No
one then dreamed in London of putting
ice in a glass of Scotch whiskey or of
any other strong and rebellious liquor,
and iced water was rightly regarded as
an abomination.
f fvvVJZ" 1, 3 i p (?
HAIRDRESSERS’ ENGLISH.
The fashionable English woman now
wears at the “dressiest functions” a
/cachepeigne which must be of cinnamon
I color to harmonize with the coiffure. A
! London journal, noting the important
fact, as disclosed at the Ascot races,
gives further information about the
"cashpain” in a .sentence that Mrs.
Gore, whose heroines always used a
fourchette” instead of a fork woul ■
have envied; “It mingles well with
I little chi chi curls, which posticheurs
Kell to fill the hiatus back of the hat be-
neath the cachepeigne.” “Chi chi curls”
~ Posticheurs”— "hiatus hack of the
hat . Why is there no reference to
tou-tou ? And could all this be put
into Esperanto?
/ SELF-BORED.
The story is now told of a Maine
man who, tried for rfiurder forty
years ago and acquitted, went to fal-
ifornia and lived under another
name, happy as the keeper of a toll
bridge and, therefore, as a student of
human nature. A man may have led I
a blameless life from his youth up; '
he may have land and beeves, and
yet have at times an almost irresisti-
ble longing to go to some town or vil-
lage where he is wholly unknown,
to be called by a name that is not his,
to have fresh thoughts and to see
new faces. Ttyere is much human
nature in Prank Stockton’s story of
Mr. Tolman. The butler who gave
warning after a service of twenty-five
years because he was tired of the
faces of the family would have been
understood by Henri Beyle, who said
that if he would not be seasick he
should go to America: "I should wear
a mask; I should change my name
with the utmost delight. My great-
est pleasure would be to transform
myself into a tall blond German and
then walk in the streets of Paris.”
^ IN A WALL.
A shoemaker who murdered thirty
women in an Algerian town was placed
in a hole in a wall and the hole was
then filled. The crowd was invited to
see the show. The shoemaker was at
first condemned to crucifixion, but there
were protests against that method of
execution. It is a wonder that there was
no suggestion of impalement, which was
for years a favorite oriental punish-
ment. From crucifixion to burial alive
may perhaps be reckoned a step in civil-
ization, and from this burial the Alger-
ians may in process of time adopt elec-
trocution, a more merciful method of
execution, it is said in Christian lands.
Burying a live man in a wall has served
two masters of the short story. It is not
easy to say which is the more grimly
tragic tale, Balzac’s "Grande Breteche”
or Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado.” Both
are distinguished by terrible irony. Poe’s
use of it in Montressor's account of his
vengeance is continual. Balzac reserves
it for the end, when the husband re-
minds his wife that she had sworn on
the crucifix there was no one in hiding, i
X AUTHORS AT WORK.
Again we are informed as to the man-
ner in which authors write immortal
works — that is, quick sellers. Mr. Rex
Beach, for example, is never so happy
as when dashing off his strong books for
strong men in a railway car. It makes
no difference to him whether it he a
drawing room, smoking, sleeping or just
plain ordinary — as long as he has pad
and pencil. We see him now sketching
a thrilling scene on the back of a bill ;
of fare with one hand while the other
| conveys canned beans to his mouth.
Thus are outgo and income adroitly bal- j
aneed. Mr. Beach "likes composing on \
the train, as the noise and hurry of car ;
j wheels tend to promote mental aetiv- |
ity.” He works and the wheels go round, j
On the other hand, the illustrious (
Lombroso follows the sun as he works, I
and moves with his books, pamphlets,
(charts, newspapers, ink and pen from j
one room to another, from his library to ]
the dining room to the nursery, to his
I wife’s sewing table, and so on, with the
sun. He has made so many studies in
I prison that he craves light. Of the two
Mr. Beach seems to be the more restful
person.
J Rw. Ly L
Edvard Grieg went again to London ,
last month and lie playe : the piano and!
he conducted and he listened to his
own compositions, a pH isure that was 1
seldom Schubert’s or Cesar Franck's. I
The London critics spoke of him and !
his deeds with respect, for did not (
Cambridge University give, him in ’94 !
the degree of “doctor of music”? He. :
therefore, must be worthy of the ut- I
most consideration.
Mr. Blackburn has the- fond belief
. hat t ; ’we is probably no pianq player
AND WHAT CRITICS SAID OF HIM
in the suourDS oi nonoon who does not
delight in the works of Grieg. "Some-
how or other Grieg has conquered what
may be called the domestic public.”
Is Grieg's music distinctively subur-
ban? Does it delight those whom Syd-
ney. Smith once described as the "pa-
tent Christians of Clapham”? Is Grieg
to them in music as Marie Corelli in
fiction and Frith in art? "Willy" once
chare terized Charles Marie Widor, or-
ganist and composer, as the Gabriel
Fauro of the poor. Is Grieg the Schu-
mann of the London suburbs? is his
music driving out Mendelssohn's “Songs
Without Words," the celebrated noc-
turne by Doehler. and the more brill-
iant pieces of Wollenhaupt?
It would seem so. Mr. Blackburn ad-
mits that Grieg does not appeal possi-
bly to large audiences; "in fact, deli-
cate and beautiful though his art is, he
does not appeal to great concert
rooms.” Why should delicate and beau-
tiful music appeal to great concert
rooms? “He has made it his rule (avid
he has made his art subject to that
rule) to live among the quieter places
of life, and yet to do his work excel-
lently in what may be called the min-
iature manner.”
Mr. Ernest Newman argues that long
sustained flights have been impossible
for Grieg by reason of his physique.
"You must have the muscular strength
and persistent nervous energy of Wag-
ner to write great symphonies or great
operas, or. indeed, any work to which
the epithet ‘great’ can be applied with
strict accuracy." Again: “Nature ap-
parently meant him (Grieg) to be a
Scandinavian giant and hero, and then
she changed her mind to Grieg's per-
petual discomfort, physical and estheti-
oal. Take the face and head alone, and
there is something leonine in them,
especially when the man is sitting; but
when he stands up among other men.
and you see how small and frail his
body is. the contradiction gives you the
key to Grieg and his music."
Note also the remark of “Lancelot”
in the Referee; "Dr. Grieg is now 63”
— he was born June 15, 1S43 — “and,
never robust, he seems to have lost in
measurable degree that strength he had
as a pianist. He sat at the instrument
with • raised shoulders and stiffened
arms, and a general lack of freedom of
movement curiously in contrast with
modern methods; but although cli-
maxes were suggested rather than
achieved, the composer brought out the
individuality of his music very clear-
ly.”
Formidable Works.
.. It is true that Grieg has been more
or Jess' of an invalid for many yfears.
It is said that he has only one lung.
The old story might be told with him
as the hero. A man whispers in a
mouse-still voice; "My left lung is all
gone,” and before the sympathy- of
the hearer is fully awakeh ed^Tbif
pounds his chest on the other sidh JiiJ
roars out defiantly; “But my rigl-ft!"
Mr. Newman is one of the ablest
men who now as writers are interest-
ed in music, problems of music and
musical life. We are the more sur- I
prised at being obliged to suspect him
of worshipping the spirit of Jumbo-
Ism. to use a favorite term of Mr.
Henry T. Finck. A work of art must
have bulk, it seems, if it is to be reck-
oned as great. Grieg has not written
a symphony or an opera. He has only
"filled some of the shorter musical
forms with an extremely beautiful
poetry of his own."
The symphony must be a greater
work than a symphonic poem, for it
Is longer, broader, and, it might also
be said, often thicker. An opera must
be greater than a perfect song of
llatning passion or subtle suggestion.
A long-winded and orthodox sonata
must be a greater work of art than a
prelude, nocturne or scherzo by Cho-
pin. And in like manner Dr. John
Armstrong's “Art of Preserving
Health” should necessarily surpass
Tennyson's "Ulysses”; Dr. Mark Aken-
side’s “Pleasures of Imagination”
should outlive Collins' “Ode to Even-
ing." and Wilkie's "Epigoniad" will
be remembered when Poe's “City in
the Sea" or "Helen” is forgotten.
Mr. Newman surely has read and di-
gested. the essay in which Poe re-
volted against the long accepted the-
ory that an epic poem is necessarily a
grent work because it Is long, because
it is epic. There are pedants today
who, if a composer's name is men-
tioned. tap the forehead with a wise
finger and say: "Rut he has not writ-
ten a string quartet. He is not fully
master of the sonata form.” They
— ive "Verdi credit for the attempt at
least, and they admit that Debussy
worked in this field, although they
are indescribably pained by the man-
ner in which he worked. Well. Grieg
has his string quartet, three violin so-
natas, a ’cello sonata, a piano con-
certo". a violin concerto. His health
allowed him to write these works.
“But he has written no symphony!"
True. We remember in student days
ybung Germon composers at Berlin.
Munich and Stuttgart who had two or
three symphonies apiece in their port-
folios. and some of these symphonies
even had a motto for each movement.
The first of these works, in chrono-
logical order, was as a rule becoming-
ly dedicated “in deepest respect” to the
teacher of counterpoint and composi-
tion What itas become of these mas-
ferbieres? What has become of the
composers? One is conducting oper-
ettas.' some are organists in small
towns; one arranges music for mili-
tary bands: another teaches the piano
a! *50 or 76 cents a lesson. But they
ar> all men of symphonies, and Grieg
Is not thus known in concert halls.
Pianist and Conductor. ' 1
„ , , . . . .... . work most emphasized, but Miss stoett-
Let.us go back to the consideration of m arr infused an impassioned warmth
Grieg as pianist and conductor in Lon- into the music more suggestive of the
don. “Lancelot" has told us how the sunny south than the icy north. The
. .first movement in particular was given
Chopin of the north — Chopin was ► with a'dratnatic intensity of expression
therefore the “Grieg of Poland and which greatly deepened the significance
Paris"— sat and looked when he played ' the music. So, too, was tiie finale,
. . , ,, , ...... " . : and, remembering Griegs own render-
his cello sonata with the dry Prof. | j n g, t j le pj anf , part, I could not help
Becker and a violin sonata with Mr. wondering at first whether the pianist
Johannes Wolff. “Lancelot" also wrote i was conducting the conductor or the
of the pianist: “The rhythm was al- ] conductor conducting the pianist: but,
ways made prominent, accented notes noting carefully the strong accentuation
struck with almost spiteful attack, and Dr. Griggs, exacted from the Queen's
discords were delivered with a vehe- Hall orchestra, I am inclined to think
jnenee that seemed to challenge contra- : that Miss Stockman 's reading fulfils
diction. These were the mannerisms of the intention of the .composer."
Grieg's playing, and after a time they One word more about Grieg's conduct-
became a little monotonous, but in mu- ing, and we quote again from the Daily
sic of tranquil and poetic character the i News: "Judging by the way Grieg di-
artist rose above the man, and such I rects his own compositions, he must be
strains were given with a fascinating I rated a wonderfully gifted conductor,
dreaminess and a significance that The balance of tone obtained is perfect
stirred the imagination of the listener." and the fxpression that of a great mu-
Grieg. in the course of this visit, did sical personality. There was no fuss in
not play the piano part of his concerto his method, qf conducting, but he made
in A minor, but he conducted the per- the men play as I. for one, have cer-
fnrmance of it. and the pianist was Miss tainly never hear/3 them play.’’
Composers and Batons.
Grieg impressed these Londoners by
lady in whose career our Queen takes a his insistence on rhythm, accentuation
special interest.” etc. Miss Stockmarr . t>rrlnha „ i _ of r i|t<onrds He also
is a Dane, and, inasmuch as she en- ar>cl emphasis ot discord., tie at.o,
trances the Queen, we can hear her strange to say, wished qn emotional
even at this distance and after the fir- , performance of his music.,
ing and the explosions are all over. I were delivered
Perhaps our suspicion is unfounded. b Discords were delivered
"The reading of the work," wrote “J.
H. G. B." in the London News, “par-
ticularly of the first movement, was
greatlv at variance with what one is .
.used to. but as Grieg himself conduct- ' or hurry over them in an apologetic
cd. we may take it to be correct. Grieg ; manner?
' Our friend “Lancelot” remarks that
the originality” of Grieg's harmonies
In other words, was “far more startling 30 years ago
Johanne Stockmarr. Journals alluded
to her as “the lady in whose playing |
the' Queen takes great delight,” "the 1
with a
vehemence that seemed to challenge
contradiction.” Would the critics
have had him smother these discords,
wants the movement to go, in parts,
more slowly than we are accustomed to
here: and there should be infinitely
more expression.” __ ___
pianists before Miss Stockmarr had not ... nnw .. he^indoltres him-
piayed the work with much expression. than 11 1S now ' <incl ne lnaulges "
nan xney ail failed to find material for
expression in the music? “J. H. G. B."
tis here a little vague, but he has a tine
ear, for he tells us that the music to
: “Bergliot.” a poem by Bjornson, which
was recited by Miss Tita. Brand, the
daughter of Mme. Marie Broma. “is so
arranged as not to produce cacophony."
"Lancelot" also gives an idea of
Grieg's views concerning the interpreta-
tion of this eoncerto. “Hitherto we
have been accustomed to bear the
lyrical and -.romantic elements in this
self in reminiscences. "When his
piano music first became popular in
England. I remember playing one of
his pieces to a blind musician, who,
when I had finished, asked me to play
it again. After listening attentively
a second time, he said: 'I thought
you were playing wrong notes, but as
you repeated them I suppose they are
correct.' " Others have defended the
harmonies by exclaiming, “How na-
tional!" although they were not ac-
quainted with Norwegian folk music
except as it has been employed by’
Grieg. They were not even £5 trip-
pers in the kingdom of music.
But the very iteration of a discord
or the force with which it is brought
out is often absolutely necessary to
its significance, its existence. Old
Haupt used to say to his organ pupils
when they were playing Bach’s dra-
matic toccata in D minor: "Give those
those discords more time. The more
striking they arc harmonically, the
more clearly they should be presented
in all their aggressiveness as though
you were calling the hearer's atten-
tion and summoning his admiration."
Guilmant of Paris makes the same
point in performance and instruction.
But why dwell on a subject that is
familiar to all virtuosos, conductors,
musicians, students, who have con-
sidered seriously their art.
Grieg as conductor, according to the
Londoners, revealed his intentions and
wishes as a composer. ' If he did all
this, he was lucky. Too many com-
posers kill their favorite children with a
stick.
How many composers have been great
conductors even of their own works?
Beethoven, we are told, was inefficient, i
and on account of his deafness and con-
sequent anxiety to make the musicians
understand what he himself could not
hear, he was often grotesque. Schubert
had no opportunity of conducting his
greatest orchestral works. Schumann
did not shine with a baton, and Men-
delssohn, from all we can learn, even If
we discount Wagner’s well known re-
marks, took everything at a cheerful
tempo. let the orchestra go ahead as
long as the right notes were played, and
behaved in his .customary superior
and genteel manner. Modeste Tschai-
kowsky tells us that his brother Peter,
timid, easily discouraged, often worked
serious injury to his compositions by
conducting them. Brahms was tickled
to death by the sound of his music; he
took a cheerful view of it and heat time
amiably. Was Berlioz distinguished as
a conductor except of his own works?
There are contradictory witnesses. Wag-
ner conducted the tnird act of “Parsi-
fal" at a performance in 18S2, and we
remember Levi and members of the or-
chestra wondering at his tempi, which
were not at all the tempi recommended
by him in rehearsal. We saw Gounod j
conduct a performance of his "Mors et
Vita" in Paris. He did not pay the
slightest attention to the published indi-
cations of time and dynamic gradations.
He took nearly all the movements much
faster, and he. was not fussy About a lrll f t poetry defies analysis. You can
piano ora pianissimo. Verdi, according no more explain t lie subtle charm, the
to all reports, was a remarkable con- strange fascination, of 'A .Swan" or of
doctor of ills own operas and the "Re- Jjie y, a J*ce and death music in "Peer
quiem.” Mr. Gericke heard _the per- byn l tnai
lan you can inform a class con-
formances of “Aida” and the "Requiem 1
led by Verdi in Vienna, and he told us
that he had not believed any man could
have such control over an orchestra or
bring out such wonderful effects.
When a composer conducts he is in-
toxicated ■ by the sound of his own mu-
sic; or ho is too anxious; or he is afraid
that the audience may not approve— but
(this is rare. The 1 composer lias seldom
l had thorough training and much expe-
rience as a conductor. He is seldom a
conductor by trade. Richard Strauss it
should be remembered, had a thorough
drill under von Buelow. He was a pro-
fessional conductor before he composed
his tone poems, and he composed them
while he was actively engaged as a
leader.
Furthermore, it will be easily granted
that a composer may in good faith con-
duct his own symphony or concerto in
one way on Monday and in a different
on Thursday. He, too, has moods,
and if he be cool-headed, he may -delib-
erately wisli to make experiments.
A. composer is seldom satisfied with a
performance of his work led by another
unless the audience gives hearty and
unmistakable approval. If there is little
applause, if the work falls flat, the con-
ductor is, then, an ignoramus. “I made
a l^ a * mistake n °t conducting it my-
self. But if he had conducted it, in
j nine cases out of ten the orchestra
II would have carried through the work to
the end without attention to the com-
poser-conductor's wild gestures or in
spite of them.
And In like manner when a virtuoso
plays a concerto for piano or violin the
latitude of the audience at the end de-
termmes too often the composer’s appre-
ciation of tlje performance. .
Grieg's Individuality.
Grieg has his enthusiastic admirers,
is dispassionate critics, his artistic
lemies, for after all he, too, is mor-
d. Some rank him among the great
tasters on account of his pronounced
idiyiduality and his “true Norwegian
Mrit. Some admit cheerfully that he
as composed pretty things and much
lat is tiresome. Others heartily abom-
•ate nearly everything that he has
ntten. There are not a few who
ould be satisfied with Lancelot’s sum-
ung up: "The artistic lesson of Dr
[rieg’s visit would seem to be that the
roper reading of his music is a com-
ination of homely naivete .and gayety
trong accentuation, and in tranquii
assages a. suggestion of cold mysticism
effective of nature’s long sleeps in the
md of the fiords and pine forests and
now-capped mountains.”
In this country Grieg is chieflv known
iy a few songs, fewer piano pieces, the
string quartet and violin sonatas and
he music to “Peer Gynt." It is safe
to say that to the great mass of con-
rertgoers he is best known as the com-
poser of the song "I Love You” and the
irst "Peer Gynt" suite. The composi-
lon out of all his works that arouses
the most hearty and spontaneous ap-
plause is the finale of the “Peer Gynt”
suite, which may be effective in its
proper place when the drama is per-
formed, but in the concert hall is simply
rowdy music, and not for one moment
to be put on the same level with the
dirge or the dance in the same suite. It
is interesting to note that the London
Standard characterizes Grieg’s beauti-
ful song, "A Swan," as "somewhat im-
pressionistic,” and. therefore, no doubt,
a dangerous model for the young.
If Grieg’s only musical characteristic |
were a pronounced national spirit, his
music would have merely local interest,
except to the student of folk music and
the lover of only that which is exotic.
J Trieg is Norwegian, and Norway is
known as a land of fiords, pines, moun-
tains, the midnight sun. and also much
.ish. Grieg’s music, therefore, it is
irgued by some, must be interesting be-
cause it was inspired by Norway
_ scenery and atmosphere and life, and
because it suggests them to the hearer.
It may suggest these things to the
hearer who is informed that it does, to
the hearer who wishes to believe it and
has faith. To the Norwegian the dis-
tinctively national spirit makes, of
course, a stronger appeal.
No music that it distinctively, arro-
gantly and solely national will be uni-
versally effective for any length of
time. Its rhythm may be piquant, its
melody may surprise, its harmonic color
may fascinate, but it will enjoy only a
passing favor in foreign lands, it will
make no deep impression; it will not
sink into the heart of man and there
abide. Grieg’s best music, however,
does not depend on local color or na-
tional color. The man himself is not a
chauvinist, and he has composed for
the world as well as for Norway. Thus
he has found salvation.
His glass is a very small one, hut, as
De Musset said of himself, he drinks out
of his own glass. To call him "the
Chopin of the north” is to ignore the
value of words and to underrate Chopin,
the composer above all others for the
piano. It would be folly to rank Grieg
as a composer of piano pieces with
Schumann. A composer too much neg-
lected in these days— we refer to Stephen
Heller— has written short pieces, as “In
the Manner of Teniers,” "A Pen
Sketch" and pages of “Sleepless
Nights,” that show finer imagination,
more subtle poetry and surer workman-
ship than are . revealed in the majority
of the short piano pieces of Grieg. In-
deed, in the matter of workmanship, the
Grieg of the larger works is often sadly
deficient.
On the other hand, there are songs by
Grieg, a few piano pieces, pages of the
piano concerto and of the "Peer Gynt”
suite which have a singular beauty;
.they, haunt tha mind and move , the
hea.rt. "Discovery” is a strikingly dra-
matic cantata in short form, and there
are impressive moments in "Olaf Tryg-
The piano concerto must be
ranked among the great works of the
i,,„ ’* there is much in the string
quartet that will long preserve the name
ot the composer. The saving salt in this
music is the marked individuality of
trrleg s thought and expression as a
I poet working with sounds His poetical
' quality is not easily analyzed, and the
ce ruing the elements of beauty in Yer-
laine’s "Clair de lune,” or in the song
heard by Mariana.
Tlie best music of Grieg is distin-
guished by rhythm, melodic originality
and a peculiarly pure imagination. The
rhythm is not tortured; the melody is
spontaneous and flowing, not forced, not
twisted and distorted in the effort, to
escape conventionality; the color is not
alone for a locality or a parish. The
most violent enemies of the generous-
minded composer are those who insist
on putting him on the pedestal of na-
tionality.
A Last Word.
Local color! The discriminative and
j reasonirtg student of music is often
tempted to class local color, as Johannes
Weber insisted, among “musical illu-
sions.’’ Local color is local color to you
and to Jones when you and Jones are
assured that the precise color fits the
named locality.
The Herald lias received from “E. G.
N.” the following verses that may justly
be said to have local color in Boston.
We recommend them to our young com-
posers who believe that "a school of
American music” must be founded on
"folk songs” of negroes. North Ameri-
can Indians, creoles or Mexicans that go
across the border. The music may have
a Dvorakian character, or it may re-
mind one of a southern camp meeting.
IJL MISS HONEY.
It pears so pow’ful curious,
Where-ever I has to go;
En it makes me so furious.
The men they rubber so.
Aint givine to (lances any- more,
En 1 could dance all-night;
The moment I gits fru de door,
The men commence to fight.
I das’nt even go to church,
I’se shamed as I kin be;
Dem ornery deacons in de porch
They rolls their eyes at me.
CHORUS:
. They rubbers me from top to toe,
Their eyes' bug-out en gleam ;
I hears dem murmur soft en low,
"Dat gal must be a dream.”
PERSONAL.
The Herald publishes today portraits
of Miss Harriet M. Belinne, Miss Cecile
Talma and Miss Adele d’ Albert. Miss
Behnne was assisted at the beginning
of her career by the late William Stein-
way. She made her debut at Breslau
and was engaged last season as chief
contralto at the new Opera Comique at I
Berlin. Miss Talma, the daughter of '
Dr. Henry J. Garrigue of New York, [
was a leading member of the Carl Rosa
opera company in 1903-04. She returned
to New York in the fall of 1904 and was
one of the flower maidens in Mr. Con-
ried’s production of "Parsifal.” Miss
d’ Albert is a young Italian singer. Born
at Rome, she made her debut about a
year ago, and after singing at Naples
and other citites, won praise last season
at Milan by her impersonation of Anna
di Rehberg in Catalani’s “Loreley.”
Mr. Henry Hadley conducted a concert
of the Kaim orchestra of Munich at
Mannheim, on June e. The programme
was made up of pieces by Liszt, Wagner
and Richard Strauss. Mr. Hadley's new
symphonic poem, "Salome” (after Oscar
Wilde’s tragedy) will he performed for
the first time at Mannheim in Septem-
ber.
Mr. Isaac de Camondo, the composer
of "The Clown,” which was recently
discussed at length in The Herald, j
staged the opera at his own expense,
and it is said that the opera was pro-
duced with “enormously fine stage ef-
fects, and with a completeness of ar-
rangement that might defy the most j
money-grubbing orchestra manage-
ment.’’ Only three performances were
given.
Mme. Melba sang last month at Covent’
Garden in "La Boheme." According to
the Referee, "she dressed the consump-
tive heroine in what a man would de-
scribe as bad pink, until the last act,
when Mimi appeared in a satin tea
gown — which struck me as peculiar, con-
sidering the social status of the char-
acter, but otherwise it was the same
Mimi, with the same ways and the -
same beautiful voice, perfect in quality
through its entire register, and ap-
parently produced with effortless ease.”
Mr. Blackburn is enthusiastic over a '
young Hungarian fiddler. Joska Szigeti,
who played in London May 23. "To our
mind this artist plays with so remark-
able a technical skill, so broad an intel-
ligence, and so intimate a feeling for
music that, although naturally the pres-
ent writer did not hear Joachim in his
early days, we should be inclined to de-
scribe Szigeti. judging from all the his-
torical reports which have been pub-
lished concerning the grand old master,
as a youthful Joachim. His tone is ex-
quisite, and, though one need not go
into any technical details as to his man-
ner of holding the violin or of his meth-
od of fingering, the point which one has
to deal with iS simply this: What is the
general effect? Men who wrangle over
detads. very often miss the point that
the object of playing the violin or any
other instrument whatsoever is to give
artistic pleasure, and also to prove the
art of the player. It is the old storv;
when in the days of Napoleon old-fash-
ioned generals used to complain that
Napoleon s army was marched out to
work during the time of winter quarters
they foryot that Napoleon's aim was to
win battles. At any rate it would sure-
ly,” 6 impossible for anybody to listen to j
this wonderful young artist, whose gifts
practically amount to genius, not to ac- 1
knowledge his amazing capacity for
$2* is snntirnenial, that which is
difficult, and that which is brilliant in
(he domain of violin work,”
Mr. Blackburn says of Miss Don-
P been singing at Covent
Hat den . The golden quality of her
voice persistently reminded ns of the
voice of Melba. It is evident that she
has modelled her methods in many ways
upon the methods of Melba. She has a
°f extreme purity. She has a splen-
did technique; and in some respects es-
pecially in her trills, she has tin l
dazzling characteristic of making the
most impressive crescendo for which
Melba herself is celebrated. Of course
she is not a Melba, and Mel bn was
herself in art when first she sang®
but Mile. Donalda is admirable in «ri
respects, and just precisely in
the Melba manner, that we doubt not
that time, which mellows the quality
of young voices, will bring her ail
enormously brilliant success; she has
already shown tint she deserves such l
a success.” The Herald published not
a picture of Miss Donalda, a
Canadian soprano whose real name is
Pauline .Lights tone. She made her
debut at Nice, then sang at Covent
Garden, and was engaged for three
LT/ S fi?V£ e , Monnaie - Brussels, it Ts
said that Saleza, the tenor, gave her
encouragement and provided an on-
her career/ 01 " h ® r at the be S‘ nili ng of
THE "POPS.”
Six more "Fop" concerts and Sym- I
phony Hall will he closed for the sum- i
mer, not to open again -until Friday I
afternoon, Oct. 12, when Dr. Carl Muck, j
the new conductor of the Symphony Or-
chestra. will make his debut in Boston
las i week of the “Pops" promises
to be one of the most attractive of the
season Tomorrow night brings the 10th
annual graduates' night,” and for this
a limited number of seats in the balcon-
ies. are at the disposal of the public.
This is always one of the liveliest nights
of the year. Tuesday night will be the
ninth Wagner night." Conductor
Strube has designated Wednesday night
as soloists’ night.” There will be solos
by Mr. Jacques Hoffman, violin- Mr
Brooke, flute, and Mr. Kioepfei trum-
pet Thursday night will be "request
night,” the first of the season, and all
the most popular pieces will he plaved
There will be special features for Fri-
day and Saturday evenings. The pro-
gramme for tomorrow night (graduates’
night”) will be as follows:
March. "Stars and Stripes Forever,”... Sousa
Selection. "Prince of Pilsen” Luders
Wal tz, ■ ’Espana’ ’. Waidteufel
Selection. "The Earl and the Girl”. .. Carvll
March. "Cruiser Harvard" Strn'he
Overture, "Stradella” Flotow
Waltz. "Morning Journal” Strauss
Selection, "Prince Pro Tem” Thompson
American J aatasv . . Herbert
v\altz Jolly Fellows” Vollstedt I
Fair Harvard
March, “Up tho Street” !!!!.’!!!. Morse
1 i (jot
MANY-HUED.
Kin* Sisawath of Cambodia, now
visiting in France with fifty beautiful
women expert in “strange symbolic”
dauces. changes the color of his native
dress to suit the day of the week, as
an experienced shaver observes rotation
in razors. The King is for violet on
Tuesday, deep yellow on AVednesday, a
color for each day, but on Sunday, we
infer, he submits himself to European
conventionalism, for no color is allotted
to that day.
It is said that he superintended the
selection of his symbolists and now ob-
serves them with a managerial and
benevolent eye. A lover of color, what
would he not give if they could change
hue thrice a day with a view to sur-
prising .iridescence in the dance ! There
is a baby, little Eli Rami, at Des
Moines, who is pink and white at sun-
rise ; at the stroke of noon he turns to
the “dark ginger color of his princely
ancestors” — his father is a Count
Natho ; at night he is “alabaster white.”
Voltaire commented on the fact that
vampires were to be found only in
Hungary. Des Moines, we regret to say,
is not near Boston. If there could be
such color changes at will, many might
be pleased. If a wife could be blonde for
twelve hours and brunette for the rest
of the day, there might be less excuse
fpr the fickleness of husbands.
IN COLORS.
London men, the journals of that city
tell us, are now indulging themselves in
dress of flamboyant colors. Shirts blaze;
There are waistcoats that would turn
the Hon. Bath House John green with
envy and compel him to take his exer-
cise after dark. Cravats send forth
blinding rays and supply heat in raw
weather. “A gentleman in the Bays-
water road” was observed wearing
white flannel trousers, a violet shirt, a
scarlet cravat, a bright blue jacket, an
omelette and mushroom waistcoat, yel-
low boots and a black plug hat. “He was
not a Christy minstrel, but a more or
less ordinary citizen.” All this is as it
should be. As Sarah Bernhardt re-
marked before embarking, there is not
enough individuality in dress. Man
should no longer be the pnly drab and
undistinguisnea uiuie in me animal King-
dom.
There is a return to former splendor,
as far as London is concerned. It is not
necessary to allude to the famous beaux
and dandies. There was Mr. Leander,
as described by Disraeli. lie wore as an
ordinary costume for an informal after-
noon green trousers braided with a
black stripe, a waistcoat of maroon vel-
vet, a black satin cravat, with a coral
brooch, a bright blue frock coat, frogged
and braided, primrose gloves and a new
silk hat. And lie was a person of rather
quiet taste, for his watch chain was of
steel, but one of “refined manufacture.”
Was Leander a professional swell? Oh,
no. He was an artist, that is to say, a
cook ; but what a cook !
- Z(o l
UNDUE SENSITIVENESS.
Some one said, apropos of a recent
revival of "The Mikado,” that the
libretto is a standing insult to a
friendly and powerful government.
The Japan of Gilbert exists only in
the geography of opera bouffe. The
ethnologist should never be a stage
manager. Furthermore, in an ideal
society all purchasers of tickets for
a comic opera should be previously
examined as to their sense of humor.
Or why should any Englishman
seeing “Chaine Anglaise” at the
Vaudeville, Paris, be vexed at the
portrayal of English life and charac-
ter? Every other sentence spoken in
the dialogue ends in “All right.” It
is not good form in England, the
playwrights assure Parisions, for you
to remove your hat or take your pipe
out of your mouth when you are in-
troduced to a lady. In England chut-
' ney is scattered freely in every dish.
A highly respectable middle class
Englishman invites an adventuress
to his happy home by the Thames
and endeavors to take advantage of
her by assuring her that she is be-
yond any help — all this is so thor-
oughly middle class English. But the
English traveller in the audience at
the Vaudeville is amused by the play,
as, no doubt, a Japanese smiles dur-
ing a performance of "The Mikaro.”
OUR NATIONAL FAULTS.
According to “Les Envers des Etats-
Unis,” a batch of books collected by
Mr. Ernest Charles, the worse side of
American civilization is seen not in po-
litical corruption, not in the mad rush
after the dollar, but in "brutality to
the weak, as shown in the daily and
nightly struggle for the tramways,” in
drunkenness, and in the absence of true
intellectual culture. The brutality and
the drunkenness are, he insists, the first
signs of degeneracy. But is it not a
fact that men here, as in England, drink
less and less? We do not refer, of
course, to dipsomaniacs, but to the av-
i erage sane and thinking man who is
I able to control himself. Some years ago
in certain cities of this country, as in
| London, the sight of well dressed men
| staggering home was not uncommon, and
in the seventies New Year’s day in cities
of New York state was a day of general
and expected alcoholic excess. The ab-
sence of true intellectual culture is a
subject for Mr. Charles Francis Adams
to discuss at any college commencement.
One of our amiable English cousins
lately wrote : “In spite of their mag-
nificent endowments and their German
professors, the knowledge acquired in
many American universities seems some-
times rather ‘smattery,’ and it is aston-
ishing, when one considers the money
spent on education, how little really
original intellectual work they have
turned out.”
NATURE’S IRONY.
A poet sang in a prosaic line,
nothing in nature intimated that a
great map was dead. Nature does
not weep with mortals, she does not
dance to their piping, unless her Own
mood unconsciously sympathizes
with that of Jones, who mourns the
death of his only son, or with that of
Robinson, who has been singularly
fortunate in the street. Sunday is fol-
lowed by a holiday. There is a rush
to the seashore or the country. The
city clerk will have a glorious outing.
The cottager, whose cottage may vie
with the traditional summer palace
' of the kings of Persia — they had a
i palace for each season of the year —
invites guests that there may be golf
and tennis and automobiling and all
sorts of diversion in out-of-door life.
In the country it rains steadily: by
the sea there is a drizzling fog with
Intermittent downpours. There is
enforced gayety in the house for a
dozen hours, and after that sulking
or exaggerated alcoholic stimulation.
Nature was not in holiday mood.
After the mortals are again at work
she shines resplendent and riots in
her joy. For man, with his pleasures
and ambitions, his fancied control of
her forces and his proudest, heaven
defying achievements, is no more to
her than the grasshopper just escap-
| ing the kitten, or the bee, voluble and
calling attention to his industry.
RUM AND GENIUS.
A play actor now over (JO years old,
who says he was the first to play
successfully the part of Joe Slade in
"Ten Nights in a Bar-room,” was
sentenced at Denver to the county
jail. He was sentenced at his own
request, for he is "almost a wreck
from constant indulgence in liquor.”
When he played the part of a drunk-
ard with thrilling effect he never
drank. As soon as he became the
real thing outside the theatre, he
was not realistic on the stage.
The Glasgow Herald not long ago in-
quired editorially into the effect of
alcohol in its various more or less
pleasant forms and opium on the
brains of authors. It gave a timid
sanction to the foolish theory that
Poe, Baudelaire, Coleridge and others
wrote out their wildest fancies while
they were under the influence of
liquor or a drug. Poe was by no
means a steady drinker. A glass of
wine or of strong liquor took away
his reason: but his most fantastical
tales wire written in long periods
of constant sobriety. Baudelaire was
a tremendous poseur, who liked to
make the bourgeois sit up. He ex-
perimented with drugs, his life was
irregular; but the disease that made
him imbecile befoxe his death was
in his family. Does any one seriously
maintain that either Coleridge or De-
Quincey wrote under the immediate
influence of laudanum? There has
been much nonsense chattered about
E. T. A. Hoffman writing in wine
cellars of Berlin, but what Gautier
said about him is of general applica-
tion: “Neither wine nor tobacco
gives one genius. A great man when
he is drunk staggers as any other
man, and the fact that he falls into
a gutter should not raise him to
the clouds. I do not believe that any
one ever wrote well when he had lost
his sense and reason, and I think the
wildest and most passionate pages
have been written with a water bot-
tle at the elbow.”
't'] \*ieL>
THE THRONE.
So the Jukes and belted Earls and
noble dames of England now have their
own literary weekly, the Throne. They
write for it, they draw for it, they back
it, and each contributor will undoubt-
edly read his or her own article. The
Duchess of Argyll, the Princess Louise,
illustrates her essay', and we are at
once reminded of Mr. George Moore’s
celebrated description of the artistic en-
deavors of the Royal Family. The Duke
of Portland is prudent in authorship :
he does not theorize or speculate ; he
writes on a subject that he thoroughly
understands ; one that is dear to the whole
aristocracy ; he describes a race horse.
The theatre article is not a foolish dis-
cussion of Greek tragedy, the symbolism
of Maeterlinck, the disappearance of the
soljloquy : it deals with society plays.
Yet let no one pooh-pooh a magazine be-
cause its contributors are men and
women of title. Dukes, earls and
women of high rank can write ns stu-
pidly or as flippantly as any untitled
purveyor to a magazine. There have
been noblemen, and even kings, that
have written nobly and memorably of
government, art, life and the soul.
IN PARADE.
The old-time circus parade should not
be abandoned. To the thoughtful and
the experienced it is the best part of the
show. What greater pleasure can there
be than to sit on a fence or lean against
a lamp-post and see the procession go
by? There are the wise elephants in
their ill-fitting, baggy, natural trousers;
the dejected clowns, with painted grins,
patiently doing their part; the dashing
ladies and gentlemen who witch the
world with noble horsemanship ; the
lion tamer and the animals that pace
up and down restlessly, remembering the
jungle, without looking at him or at the
crowd ; the counterfeit presentments of
rulers, statesmen and other famous
men ; the wanderers from the East on
camels or other strange beasts ; stat-
uesque and allegorical groups, drawn by
milk-white or piebald steeds ; closed
vans, each a mysterious cabinet with
some roaring, bellowing, shrieking mon-
ster within ; red Indians, cowboys,
greasers. They all pass to the music of
a sheet-iron band and a calliope. The
whole world is a procession and the cir-
cus parade is its epitome. The specta-
tor, careless of duty, forgetful of the
hour with its engagements, cares, tri-
umphs.gapes and remembers Mr. George
Meredith’s definition of humanity : “A
supreme ironic procession, with laugh-
ter of gods in the background.”
AT COMPIEGNE.
Mr. Rockefeller says he will sail
home on July 20. This will give
Pastor Wagner, who finds the sim-
plest life in the houses of the rich,
opportunity to visit him as he prom-
ised. "He’s a lovely man, a sweet,
good man, a beautiful spirit,” said
Mr. Rockefeller a few days ago.
Surely after such a testimonial to his
character. Parson Wagner will not
disapoint his friend in oil. Mr.
Rockefeller has said many' memorable
things at Compiegne. He denies the
statement that he is a billionaire.
"A billionaire could do things that I
cannot do. There are many tempt-
ings things to be done in New York
time for Pastor Wagner to be at
or in Paris.” True; but is it not high
the chateau to turn the American’s
mind from worldly thoughts? One
trembles to think what Mr. Rocke-
feller might do if he was alone in
Paris. Parisian life, like death in
the poem, loves a shining mark. The
mind shudders at the thought of a
Rockefeller going wrong. He was
reckless on the Deutschland, for he
gave away $500 in tips, whereas in
1900 he did not spend over $100 in
the encouragement of petty officers
and stewards to do their duty. What
might he not do, what might he not
spend in Paris? He is comparatively
safe at Compiegne, but what a relief
it will be to know that Pastor Wag-
ner is with him!
A BLACK DINNER.
Mr. Julius Brown of Atalanta, Ga.,
gave a dinner on his 58th birthday. The
tablecloth was of black velvet, the din-
ner cards were black, there was a skullj
at the side of each plate, a huge one was!
suspended from the chandelier, and be-
neath it on a black pedestal sat a monk
draped in black. A candle was snuffed
for each course.
This dinner has excited comment, and
it has been characterized as gruesome,
but Mr. Brown was not the first in this
peculiar table decoration and ceremony.
The fantastical hero in Huysmans’ ro-
tnafice, “Au Rebours,” a study of a de-
| generate, rather than a romance, gave
a dinner in which not only the dining
room and table ornamentation and
equipage were all in black, but the food
itself was symbolical of death. We re-
gret to say that the bill of fare drawn
up by Mr. Brown has not been pub-
lished at the north, but a dinner in black
much less elaborate and expensive than
that described by Huysmans could
easily be ordered : Caviare, black bean
soup, liver, mushrooms, imported black
sausage, plum pudding, wedding cake,
coffee, Greek wines, porter and strong
Havanas. The waiters should, of course,
be negroes. Is such a dinner symbolical?
Yes, it is death itself.
MR. HARDY’S GARDEN.
A personal habit of Mr. Thomas
Hardy, as described by a reporter, is
now revealed to us. We do not know
whether he eats hard boiled eggs for
breakfast or whether he prefers them
soft and with a bit of bacon. Mr.
Roosevelt is franker in self-revelation.
But the reporter peeped over the garden
nail and saw Mr. Hardy walking up
and down at a slow pace, meditating,
slightly bent, and with his hands behind
his back. The eminent novelist does not
resemble the hero of Ponson du Terrail :
“The count paced up and down the gar-
den, reading the newspaper, with his
hands behind his back.” Nor, like the
poet Thomson, does Mr. Hardy, hands
in pockets, nibble the sunny sides of
peaches on a wall. lie keeps his hands
behind him. Would that he were medi-
tating a new novel? But he is still at
work on an interminable drama, and the
fate of Napoleon is more to him than
any tragedy of Wessex life. What
woman at the imperial court is to be
named in the same breath with Bath-
sheba, or Eustacia, or the poor heroine
in “The Woodlanders”? The. mayor of
Casterbridge is nearer to us than Lannes
or Ney, and Jude is a more tragic per-
sonage than the Emperor himself even
at Waterloo or at St. Helena.
THE FATAL RING.
We read now and then of the trials
and tribulations of women school-
teachers who lose their position or
keep it under grave suspicion, and
only for a time, because it is found
out that they have been married or
are married. Why a married woman
or a woman that has been married is
therefore an incompetent teacher or
unfit to associate with children, is a
question for others to decide.
Not long ago in a village in York-
shire, “a female pupil teacher” whose
"indenture of service" expires June 30
became engaged with the full consent
of her parents. Subsequent to the
engagement and while she was at
school, she wore an engagement ring.
The head mistress ordered her to re-
move it. The girl refused to do It,
and for this breach of discipline she
was reported to a committee. The
committee suspended her. She ap-
pealed to the law. Thus she is in
danger of losing both her betrothed
and her position, for the latter may
not be renewed and if the former be
a bashful person or a base deceiver
he may leave her, with the ring. Thu
inevitable publicity of the affair
might frighten any country swain.
The committee, it is said, is under
the Impression that a betrothed
school teacher will necessarily soon
be a wife. The view is optimistic,
but disheartening evidence may be
brought against it. And why should
not a betrothed young woman be able
to teach the young? Is not her be-
trothal in itself an object lesson?
* 7 9 l
MEN OF THE WORLD.
Lord Lamington is the author of a
book entitled “In the Days of the
Dandies.” In it he discourses pleasantly
about the years and the men of his
youth. He thinks well of famous dan-
dies whom he knew. Their vanities
were "merely the ripple on the surface
of superior merit.” Men 4 who knew
Brummel assured him that the famous
beau was the possessor of infinite tact,
of knowledge, of memory, of keenness
of perception; thathewas welcomed in
the circle of the most intellectual men
of the time. “To be a man of the world
was to be a man above the level of
ordinary men.” And in those days, as
Lord Lamington says, men "took great
pains with themselves — they did not
slouch or moon through life.” But
what would he say to the behavior of
Twistleton Fiennes, afterward Lord
Save and Sele, who, going out to din-
ner, answered his new valet, who asked
him if there were any orders : “Yes ;
put two bottles of sherry by my bedside,
and call me the day after tomorrow.”
Many of us would like to be called the
day after a dreadful tomorrow, but is
not this a mark of mooning ..or slouch-
ing? Of all the famous dandies known
in London, no doubt the Count
d’Orsay was the most accomplished
and the most of a "man of the
world.” His life was spectacular;
he enlivened the landscape — and
what else can be said of him?
A CLUB RULE.
A member of a country club in New
York sat on the veranda of the_ club-
house with his wife and a woman
friend in the shirt in -which he had
been playing golf and without his
coat. He was at once reminded that
he W'as “costumed in violation of all
country club etiquette” and told to
put on his coat at once. He refused;
there was unpleasantness for a time,
and at last he was asked to resign.
The offender was not requested to
don a fresh shirt. Possibly it was a
calm day. He could have walked or
sat coatless on the grounds if he !
were busied at the time in sports. On i
the veranda a coat was indispensable.
Yet Abraham Lincoln once told Lord
Lyons that a pair of shirt sleeves
was an American’s coat-of-arms.
If the offender were wearing a pair
of suspenders or if he had on a
waistcoat, or if his shirt were of the
boiled variety but limp and soggy,
we can understand the objection. We
assume, however, that his shirt was
an “outing” or "fatigue,” not too
gaudy in color or device, and that he
was neatly belted, like any self-re-
specting earl. If he violated a for-
cally expressed bylaw, he was
rightly called to order, for a clubman
is bound to abide by rules and regu-
lations, however foolish, tyrannical or
enobbish they may be.
In the great majority of clubhouses .
for men only, a member is not al- |
lowed to sit in the dining room with-
out a coat, although the dog-star may
be raging. This rule is a reasonable
one. We regret to say that even
clubmen are not always like Alexan-
der the Great or Herbert of Cher-
bury in warm weather, and it is fair
to all in the room that all should be
coated. But a man on a veranda is
as one out of doors. Shirts of various
colors lend picturesquerjess to the
scene. The members should sit with
reference to a color scheme, so that
j there should be no violent clashing
to distress the eye of a sensitive
woman. A special committee might
be appointed to see to this.
MODERATION.
Prof. W. C. Palmer of the Winona
Agricultural College assures us all with
a benevolent smile that there is more
nourishment in ten cents’ worth of peas
than in seventy-five cents’ worth of beef-
steak, and some, no doubt, will at once
fill themselves with peas when they are
at a moderate price. He does not say
whether the comparison holds good in
the case of canned peas or in that of
fresh peas, cooked with a little salt
pork.
The professor is only one of many
who tell how mankind may be saved,
mind and body, by special diets. Jones
warns you solemnly against white bread,
sausages, veal, salmon, pastry and all
vegetables that grow below the surface
of the soil. Jlr. Ilolyoake, the Chartist
and general agitator, lived to a hale old
age, and he declared in his “Sixty
Years” that there is no royal road to
longevity except moderation. He had
had accidents. Ho was knocked down by
a cab in London, a form of death which
appeared to him as "eligible, yet not sat-
isfactory.” In the first years of his life
he ate whatever came to hand. “As not
enough came I easily obtained modera-
tion.” In the second and later half of
I his life he heeded the advice of the
famous Cornaro, to whom the Fletcher-
ites and other “ites” are indebted after
many years. He ate little meat, “not
thinking much of it.” Listen to this
sane speech : “My general mode of mind
has been to avoid excess in food, in
work and in expectation ; by not expect-
ing much I have been saved from worry
if nothing came. When anything desi-
rable did arrive I had the double de-
light of satisfaction and surprise. The
principles and aims of earlier years are
confirmed by experience at 88. Princi-
ples are like plants and flowers : they
suit only those whom they nourish.
Nothing is adapted to everybody.” There
should be moderation even in the en-
r
joj ment of peas. It is said that a woman
should eat four-fifths as much as a man ;
but who would like to see a woman cat
in this proportion when the man is
either a gourmand or an ascetic? Yes,
there should be moderation in all things,
and to learn the value of this self-evi-
dent truth many of us contribute to a
stomach or nerve specialist a goodly
sum toward the payment of his rent.
Moderation also includes this: The
willingness to take the next street car,
not the one that is just on the point of
moving.
: -
/• • •• .< ' -Y| *
MODERN TEETH.
The Herald alluded recently to the
fact that the grandfathers of the
present elder generation often kept
their teeth sound and firm, till a good
old age, although they knew not the
use of the toothbrush. Dr. Sim
Wallace believes that teeth decay for
the reason that our diet is deprived
of its coarser parts; it is so prepared
and consumed that, lodging in the
mouth, it provides a pleasing diet for
acid- producing bacteria; hence acid
solution of the enamel. We have
toothbrushes and antiseptics, alka-
line dentifrices. What of it? “It is
quite certain that civilized man, plus
the toothbrush and antiseptics,
makes a very poor show in compari-
son with- the unaided dog or savage.”
There was once a theory that mod-
ern teeth were degenerate. Civil-
ization with various modes of selec-
tion and cooking of food and with
the introduction of knife and fork
has put teeth into comparative disuse.
The effects have passed from genera-
tion to generation; in other words
teeth become poor through inherit-
ance. But the biologist denies all
this; he denies it in the teeth of
Lamarck, Darwin, Spenceh
Then comes the natural selectionist.
He insists that in old times teeth
were needed in the struggle for ex-
istence; they "tended to be selected.”
Persons who had bad teeth “tended
to die young and childless.” But he
assumes that there are transmissible
tendencies to have good or bad teeth.
This theory, too, is denied. “The
badness of our teeth does not depend
upon inborn characters at all, but for
each individual is a consequence of
his individual circumstances during
hi. existence as an individual.” Will
this scientific thought comfort you in
the dentist’s chair?
A toothbrush may be merely a
toilet ornament. Tooth powders,
washes, pastes, may be of no avail
against decay. Even when they are
recommended in public print by
statesmen and playactresses or shown
to us diligently in use by smiling
ladies pictured with surprisingly
elaborate corsets. Nevertheless there
is a prejudice in favor of brushes and
powder, even if the faithful dog and
the superb savage do not use them in
at the closing sentences and you will see
the, boom for Miss Donalda.
, London critics, however, praised
the singing of Mine. Melba on the verv
occasions when, as we are now ln-
mered d ’ and he ^t^ SP f d V gargled, stam-
conrsc ? Jas , 1 broke down. Of
thev were I s on tt one explanation-
Tfir MnlJ 1 bought with British gold.
Slhfi y paIms were crossed; pos-
whb I K contented with a dinner,
with unlimited champagne.
eomin^ nvl 3 , thoi,sh Miss Donalda were
coming over here next season.
Then there is the sad case of Miss
Marion Weed. She sang in Mr. Con-
ried’s production of “Parsifal.” She
heeded his earnest entreaty to aid him
in the endeavor to give “Parsifal” to the
world, to take it from a parish chapel
and put it forever in the great temple of
art. Miss Weed went to Bayreuth some
days ago. Mme. Cosima Wagner did
not meet her at the station. Siegfried
was not there to look after the baggage.
''’ as ‘his all. Miss Weed went into
and sin 8rers and musicians
whom sh e knew greeted her coldly or
turned their backs. There was none so
fr^rii 1 ? ,A? r glass and e lve a
Prosit! Furthermore, she
was told that no one in the town would
coach her or even hear her sing. Bay-
reuth was then to her as Coventry. The
report of tills high-handed and outra-
geous conduct was at once cabled to
no S po C H Unt P r - yet ' we re sret to say,
as , been taken by the govern-
ment at Washington.
I It looks as though Miss Weed expects
| to sing in this country next season.
,, Then there is Miss Olive Fremstad
prima donna, pianist, linguist and ex-
pert swimmer,” and now a bride. Her
name is Mrs. Edson W. Sutphen, “but
her stage name will not be changed.”
be Mme - Fremstad instead of
Miss Fremstad. Mr. Sutphen will still
Sutphen, an automobile importer
not Mr. Sutphen-Fremstad. Mme. Sem-
brich s husband added her name to his.
Mr. Julian Story is familiarly known as
Emmurames husband.” Mme. Gadski’s
busband is still Mr. Tauscher, not the
still Mr. Tauscher.
eminent over whatever poor glory this
world gives.” In comparison with this
homage, what is the affection of a hus-
band or two?
The husband may be useful and even
ornamental. He may be tactful and
genial with impresario, conductor
stage manager, hotel clerk, railroad
men and critics. He may keep a sharp
eye over the box office receipts at a
concert. He may start the applause
. with genuine enthusiasm, and start
'Brava!” at the critical moment lie
may be punctually in the baggave
room; ever watchful in the train with
rug, fan, smelling bottle. The great -ir-
tist has one thing steadily in view, and
that is fame. In domestic intimaev she
longs for the roaring and the wreaths
If her husband were in any wav be-
tween her and the goal, she would
trample him under foot. Though lie
be a skilled musician, he must not
criticise He must not read newspaper
notices to her unless they be eulogistic
If she is a prudent woman she allows
him a certain sum a week for suenri
ing: money.
For the singing woman of today has
learned prudence. Her sisters in the
ear her years occasionally married for
a title 01 for a pair of eyes and ro-
mantic whiskerage. The husbdnd too
often turned out to be a spendthrift
and a blackguard; he was often mer-
cenary, cruel, vicious. Today the sing-
ing woman always numbers among her
friends at least one prominent banker.
He advises her shrewdly. The money
is so invested that the husband cannot
get hold of it.
In London visiting singers and pianists
from the continent are Mme, Frau,
Fraulein, Signora, Signorina, Mile,
Herr. M., Signor, and there is often de-
lightful confusion. Why should Burg-
Istaller, for instance, be called Herr
| in England and America? But a Ger-
man singer or player is often called
Monsieur in London.
A London newspaper said recently “It
is becoming a somewhat difficult matter
to decide when it is proper to style a
married vocalist Miss or Madame." If
she is English, why not Madam without
the ‘e”? “Mrs. Kennerley Rumford
desires to be written about profession-
ally as Mme. Clara Butt, but one still
talks about Miss Ada Crossley, although
half the musical world of London went
not very long ago to her wedding. Of
course. ‘Mrs.’ is the genuine Fne-lioh
Mme. Yvette Guilbert and Mr. Albert
Chevalier gave four special matinees
recently in London. She says that it
is her last season as a singer of songs;
that she will appear at Brussels next
fall as a play actress. She purposes to
devote her “face, figure, brains and
heart to an art which she does not
nuun der , perf . ect in the eyes of the
SS ,IC . unless it be sincere and genuine
She also purposes to play the part of
a woman of 40, “with her ardent Joy of
knowffignfe U ” e She kn ° WS how tp live -
Camille Saint-Saens will play at the
first concert of the Philharmonic Society
m Berlin next season with Mr Nikisch
as conductor. Saint-Saens was once a
welcome visitor in Berlin and he was
bu? about 2o‘ve aS pianls ‘ and composer,
out aoout 20 years ago he gave a rnn-
article 0( in Su Publication of an
UoVaif ‘2 ?dilch be actually had the
hai dihood to criticise impartially and
discrnninatively the music dramas of
Whfn e Saiu^ tiSanship was then violent
f amt-Saens appeared on the stage
, Ji s . h ' ssed by a few fanatics. Al-
tnough there was a counter demonstra-
b,™ °.f . s yui p athy, Saint-Saens has not
fnsufted m Ber m since he was wantonly
the daily routine.
CONCERT FOYER
Stories of a Pathetic Touch
Concerning Singers and
Their Troubles.
WHY NOT A DICTIONARY
OF SINGERS’ HUSBANDS
The press agents have been busy dur-
ing the last fortnight and as persistent
m their buzzing as the 17-year locusts
that are now devastating the oak trees
in Barnstable county.
Shocking stories have been told about
inhuman treatment of Mme. Melba by
greedy managers— how they compelled
her to sing when she was vocally unfit;
how Puccini after a wretched perform-
ance of “Boheme” rushed behind the
frig n ht S firi t0 / e *u his .bain-nursed her with
ana tfu drew his trusty stiletto
W u S disa rmed in the nick of time;
w ? pt on her knees and cried:
e 5 wevings! my voice is gone! Why
cannot you let me live in peace!” This
others of a similarly pathetic
ter e , nd - strange to say. with a
glowing eulogy of Miss Donalda, who
fS inagnificently risen to the occa-
that the Australian songbird has
. (been scarcely missed."
“ I .Gm y Passionate press agents speak of
l wru® women as “songbirds."
LirL Pep ?, ver ,y ou see a dispatch begin-
ning with a line about Mme. Melba, look
course, ’ ‘Mrs.’ is the genuine English
term, since we have forsaken the more
dignified ‘Mistress,’ but somehow it
doesn’t seem quite proper to place ’Mrs.’
before a lady's maiden name. * * *
Madame seems a convenient term, only
the question is, does it convey a possible
probability in the immediate future or
reflect on a lady’s past? In short, is it
libellous to use a matronly prefix to a
maiden name without permission?” Mme
Butt, by the way, did not sing at the
Handel festival. If she sang at all. it
was over the cradle of her third child.
It is to be hoped that Mr. Sutphen
will persuade Mme. Fremstad to be con-
tented with operatic parts suited to the
display of her natural voice. She and
Miss Edyth Walker have of late been
attempting to shine as sopranos. Thus
they think to acquire a more extended
reputation and to gain a higher salary.
Women singers before them have made
the same experiment and in the great
majority of Instances with disastrous
results. Marietta Alboni’s voice was
never so rich and beautiful after she
sang the part of Amina. What Chorley
wrote about her then might well be con-
sidered by all contraltos of high or
low degree, on the stage of the Metro-
politan Opera House or in local church
choirs. The upper tones will be with-
out body, and shrill, however skilfully
I they may be taken; the lower tones will
gradually disappear; the middle tones
will lose in richness and in resonance;
and when the woman would fain sing
within her natural compass and in con-
certed music the tones are ineffective.
The voices of Miss Walker and of Mme.
Fremstad are naturally noble organs.
It is a pity that the singers are not
contented with them.
A biographical dictionary of singers’
husbands would be a useful and enter-
1 taining work. No matter how carefully
prepared, it would be necessarily inac-
curate and incomplete. The volume
should contain essays on the different
species. Years ago there were little
illustrated books called physiologies
and anatomies in which snobs, fops,
medical students, dancers, singers, edi-
tors were dissected and discussed.
These books were written, both in Paris
and in London, and among the illustra-
tors were Gavarni and John Leech.
Was the prima donna’s husband thus
honored?
The more emotional the singer, the
more celebrated she is. the more hum-
ble his lot, for even to her his love will
be merely an episode in her life, or she
will look on him as one of her belong- |
ings or more favored servants. Vitto- [
ria in George Meredith’s romance was '
trained up to worship the idea of a
united Italy; she proved her courage!
and her devotion to the cause; she was
sentimentally inclined toward two or I
three men; she at last married a pa-
triot; but the qf owning emotion of her
life was when, in the opera “Camilla,’’
singing of Italy, she thrilled the rest-
less audience.
“The flattery of beholding a great
assembly of human creatures bound
glittering in wizard subservience to the
: voice of one soul, belongs to the ar-
l tist. and is the cantatrice’s glory, pre-
The Musical Courier states authorita-
tively that Emmy Destinn of the Berlin
Opera House will not sing at the Metro-
politan Opera House next season. Early
this month she impersonated Senta at
Covent Garden. The Referee said that
her make-up was “somewhat heavy for
so romantic-minded a young lady, and in
appearance she suggested a practical-
minded and reliable damsel rather than
one dominated by a lively imagination,
the ™L S f!P.? fic , ance 2 f her gestures and
pla y of tone color In her
T'ddeh seemed unconsciously af-
trmS^h 5 ^ 1 le emotion °f the moment,
triumphed over appearances, and the
presence of an Introspective and roman-
tic mind were very finely suggested.”
Mr. Burgstaller made his first appear-
ance at Covent Garden as Eric. His
action was marred by exaggeration, the
Londoners thought, and there are Bos-
tonians who thought likewise when he
was here.
Miss von Mildenburg made her first ap-
pearance at Covent Garden, June 6, as
Isolde, and was highly praised as an
actress. Naturally she has a glorious
voice, but she uses it with a lavish reck-
lessness that cannot fail ultimately to
injure Its quality. Her mezzo voce slng-
aif’o 1 ? delightful, and If she would only
attack her high notes with more con-
sideration for tone quality, and not, as
shoot at them, her singing
would be as enthralling as her acting."
,,T be old. Old story! Does the Referee
think that Miss von Mildenburg will pav
s , attention to this sound
criticism? She may or may not read it
but she will continue to hoot and shoot
and scoop. It s in the German blood, it’s
a , prl ^ ipIe „ of German vocal dramatic
art. The German singer would not be
earnest and “sincere” if he did not
stab the ear of any foreigner who hap-
pened to be in the theatre.
Much has been written about the char-
acter of Isolde and the manner in which
her interpreter should compose the part.
For subtle analysis and fine esthetical
expression commend us to this burst of
“Lancelot”: “Making all allowance for
the awkward circumstances surrounding
Isolde on her voyage to Cornwall, that
she is going to be married to an old
man whom she has never seen, while
she is over head and ears in love with
a knight of renown, who avoids her, it
must be admitted that Isolde is not en-
tirely a pleasant lady; for her deliberate
attempt to poison her lover is, to put it
mildly, inconsiderate. It is, indeed, only
the accentuation of the royalty of Isolde
and the autocratic habits of her day
fhat excuse this attempted murder.” In
other words Isolde is not a restful per-
son, and the honest Londoner cannot
imagine her fitting into the home life of
the late Queen Victoria.
Mrs. Fanny Bloomfield-Zeisler, who
was obliged to abandon her concert trip
last season on account of prolonged
nervous depression, has recovered, it is
said, and she has gone to Europe. She
will play In this country for six months
beginning in the fall.
REAL SOCIABLE.
The following advertisement was pub-
lished not long ago in the London Times :
“Man, K. C., M. P., well known profes-
sionally and called a good companion,
over Cl, desires to be received as So-
ciable Guest. He wishes to be accepted
genially by those who would not receive
him entirely for gain, and as possibly a
I small contributor to expenses. Write
Whist, U. 655, The Times Office, E. C.”
This advertiser, who ftdmits that he
is a man, a King’s counsellor and a
member of Parliament, is frank in other
statements, but he does not let the
world know whether he wishes to be re-
ceived merely for a dinner and the even-
ing or for a stay at a country house. The
Chevalier Strong, in “Pendennis,” was
a “good companion.” He was invited to
dine with the Claverings, and he stayed
with them for some years. There is a
friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
If “Man, K. C., M. P.,” is really all
that he says he is, he should be flooded
i with invitations. How many guests
there are that are not sociable ! How
few even hint at contributing to the ex-
pense of their entertainment !
! f HAIRLESS.
There are girls rich in hair and
with little money who cannot under-
stand how young women can sell
their tresses as at Limoges, even
when the price is f.53 a pound. If a
woman have long hair it is a glory to
her, said both Paul and Apuleius in
memorable passages. Thomas Dek-
ker’s rhapsody Is not so well known,
hut he exclaimed; “Long hair is the
only net that women spread abroad
to entrap men in. * * * How
ugly is a bald pate! It looks like a
face wanting a nose, whereas a head
all hid in hair gives even to a most
wicked face a sweet proportion.”
And it was Dekker who anticipated
Walt Whitman’s famous line about
grass being the uncut hair of graves:
"Grass,” said the Elizabethan, “is the
hair of the earth, which, so long as it
is suffered to grow, it becomes the
wearer.” But French peasant girls
are a thrifty lot; few of them sigh
for the life of a chorus girl, and too
many honest wooers in the villages
look at the dot rather than at the
head.
A NOTE ON SUICIDE.
A cable dispatch from London in-
forms us that the hot weather is pro-
ducing the “usual increase” in the num-
ber of suicides ; that the men hang them-
selves as a rule, while the women drown
themselves. This is merely additional
testimony to the truth of propositions
laid down in various statistical works
on suicide. Yet November has been pop-
ularly supposed to be the month of
months in England for taking one’s own
life. As the old calendar put it: “In
this month we hang ourselves.” Of
I course the specialist has his theory about
self-destruction due to the heat : The
blood vessels are reiaxed and there is
reduction of the blood pressure ; there-
fore, the cerebral centres are depressed,
the will power is affected and anemia
of the brain is produced in the weak-
minded. A normal person is only lazy
under these conditions — too lazy to kill
himself. Specialists are peculiarly in-
genious in the matter of suicide. A few
weeks ago Mr. Durkheim of the Sor-
bonne showed by “startling figures” that
the number of suicides among the mar-
ried varies with the number of divorces,
and anything which made separation
easier would lead the French to kill
themselves in battalions; for, according
I to him, “marriage gives a man some-
' thing to live for, and thus prevents him
from rushing out of the world in a fit
of ill-temper.” This last proposition
might easily excite animated discussion.
MR. HOWELLS.
Mark Twain has paid Mr. W. D.
Howells a pretty compliment about his
English, and the compliment, on the
whole, is deserved, for Mr. Howells
writes with more authoritative ease than
he did in the days when the Saturday
Evening Gazette found delight in calling
attention to solecisms and slovenly
phrases in his books. No doubt his style
is not flawless today, according to pre-
cise persons, who are wounded to the
quick if they detect a “who" used for a
restrictive “that.” If Mr. Howells were
impeccable in his English he would not
he read with any pleasure, except by
those who would choose “The Grammer
of Grammers” for a wet afternoon. Mr.
George Moore said lu his “Confessions
of a Young Man” that Mr. Henry James
went to London and read rurgenieft,
while Mr. Howells stayed at home and
read Mr. Henry James. There was
much truth in the epigram when it was
coined, but Mr. James has strayed far
from the great Russian and Mr. Howells
has always been clear in the expression
of thought. Turgenieff’s style is remark-
ably simple and direct, and the wonder
is that Mr. James, who has written so
well about him and Flaubert, should
have grown deliberately perverse and
cryptic. Mr. Howells read the early
novels of Mr. James and was influenced
by them at the time. However much lie
may admire the later James— James the
Less — he fortunately has not played the
sedulous ape.
DECORATED.
For some years it has been con-
sidered by the thoughtful in Paris a
distinction not to have been reward-
ed with the red ribbon. The honor
has been made grotesquely common.
Yet, as the traditional “sucker,” a
man is born every second in France
who will grow up eager to obtain the
ribbon at any cost. Even in this re-
public of the United States, there
are thousands uneasy unless they
have the privilege of wearing a but-
ton, ribbon, badge of some sort.
Guy de Maupassant wrote an amus-
ing tale, “Decore,” suggested by the
craze in France, and only a few days
ago the Figaro published a delightful
sketch to show the excitement in a
French county councillor’s household ,
at the time of the yearly rain of dec-
orations on the just and the unjust.
Mamma rehearses her two little girls
in a speech to their father against
the time when the journal will ar-
rive with the news that he is among
the fortunate. Papa comes in, and
his wife gives to him the ribbon she
has prudently provided in advance,
but he has anticipated her with one
twice as large. Mamma’s mother en-
ters and declares that she has alw'aya
said her son-in-law could do any-
thing he chose, but he had no ambi-
tion and so she thought she never
would have the opportunity of being
proud of him. The husband’s father
is a little sour, for In spite of his
"faithful and long-continued ser-
vices” he has not been decorated.
Then there Is a discussion over the
precise reason for the expected honor,
and it is decided that the councillor
owes it to his intimacy with the
minister’s secretary. The doorbell is
rung, and the secretary and the news-
paper arrive at the same time. The
secretary' breaks the dreadful news.
There was only one cross left and
the minister insisted on his keeping
it for himself. The little girls come
In and begin their speech, for which
they are at once slapped. “Just for
a ribbon to stick in his coat.”
t7N SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE,.
It is hard to see why a man w'ho
put a lot of firecrackers on ice in
the refrigerator a few' days before
the Fourth should be considered in-
sane, even in a summer when ice is
unusually expensive. He seems to
the true lover of humanity an emi-
nently sane and prudent person.
Where should he have put them for
safe keeping? In the cooking stove?
Nor is the fact that he used to recite
poetry necessarily a convincing proof
of insanity. Did not an eminent
Cambridge authority in literary and
artistic matters urge young men to
read at least one good poem a day?
And is there any better manner of
acquiring a fine taste and strengthen-
ing the mind than by memorizing
odes, sonnets, lyrics, quatrains, bal-
lads, pages of blank verse? Declama-
tion is also helpful to the lungs.
WOMEN IN CLUBS.
Here is another problem in club
etiquette. A popular member of a
prominent club introduced as his
guest a handsome young fellow of
charming manners. The guest was at
luncheon and afterward in the smok-
ing room, where he made a hit, a
palpable hit. The member, when he
was asked next day who his friend
was, said he was a relative of his
wife. Not long afterward the com-
mittee received an anonymous letter
in a woman's handwriting. The
writer informed the committee that
Mr. So-and-So had introduced his
wife into the club in the disguise of
a young man; that she had told her
adventures to some of her friends,
with one of whom she had previously
wagered that she would thus eat and
smoke; that finally she had persuaded
her husband to take her with him,
though he w r as ignorant of the wager.
Now what should the committee do?
Should it pay attention to an anony-
mous communication? Should it run
the risk of offending an honorable
and desirable member? No doubt
the members who were in the smok-
ing room at the time are trying to
remember what they talked about,
what stories they told. If the guest
were the wife, pray how did she ar-
range her hair? She probably did
not keep her hat on at luncheon. Did
she have a close crop for the occasion,
a "dead rabbit” cut?
THE FATHER.
The Herald has already alluded to
the well known story that Richard
Grant White, the father of the late
Stanford White, was obliged to sell a
part of his library on account of his
appreciation of Miss Pauline Mark-
ham's statuesque figure. This amiable
beauty came to the United States as a
member of Lydia Thompson’s company,
and she was then a show girl, and not
distinguished as a singer or dancer or
for any vivacity or archness in action
or in dialogue. The eminent Shake-
spearian editor and the accomplished
writer about the uses and abuses of Eng-
lish words began his career as a music
critic, and he was acquainted with stage
folkformany years. His versatility was
remart|ible, and he would write enter-
tainingly. long after his reputation as a
Shakespearian scholar was established,
about the Iagos and Lady Macbeths of
the stage and also about the artistry of
the Clodoche dancers. The famous ar-
ticle in which he said that Miss Mark-
ham had the lost arms of the Venus of
Milo was published in the Galaxy. It
Is only just to his memory to say that
his friends denied the report that the
tale of his library was connected in any
way with fervent appreciation of any
woman. And yet the authorship of a
little pamphlet, a biography of Miss
Markham, is still attributed to him. In
the world at large Richard Grant White
was a man of reserved and aristocratic
bearing, and the enemies made by his
pen called him cold and arrogant, but
DO one denied that he was high-minded.
CANDY FOR CLUBMEN.
It is well known that many busi-
ness men eat chocolate eclairs at
luncheon, sometimes with a plate of
soup, a ham sandwich and a few
glasses of beer. Man is a daring ani-
mal. As a rule he has a sweet tooth
and a much-enduring stomach. In
Philadelphia, the Record of that city
tells us, candy is sold in large quanti-
ties and great variety In the clubs.
And this in the city of scrapple and
pepper-pot! Not only do the mem-
bers munch candy while they dls-
£U £5 topics . of the day, but some of
them, sitting late and dreading the
question, “Where have you been?” take
a box home as a peace offering. It is
said that $4000 worth of candy w'as
sold in one of the more prominent
clubs last year. There is a possible
explanation of this liking for candy,
and it is isurprising that the Record
does not allude to It in defence of
the citizens. Prof. F. S. Lee said in
a lecture delivered before the biology
section of the Academy of Sciences
that if one is tired a quantity of
candy will, half an hour after eat-
ing, make one feel more energetic.
Any sweet stuff will correct the
work of the fatigue-inducing acids.
Therefore, it is a good thing to put
a little sugar in your drink, and not
only to prevent it from biting like |
an adder. We are Inclined to be- ]
lieve that a stiff mixture of old New j
England rum and molasses will
seek out the centres of life and take
away that tired feeling quicker and
better than a pound of chocolate car-
amels, a dozen Jackson balls, or two
feet of stick candy.
DISCONTENTED.
Mrs. Hannah Elias, it ij said, paid
a Dr. Robinson, a “beauty doctor,”
$1000 for remodelling her neck and
shoulders, and then she w r anted a
Grecian nose. Mrs. Elias is a negress,
nevertheless Dr. Robinson, although
he told her he could not change her
complexion, "undertook the creation
of a Grecian nose on a Senegambian
foundation.” Only a few weeks ago
Miss Alice Karr of Syracuse, N. Y.,
fasted for six days, until the health
department interfered. Miss Karr, a
mulatto, believed that if she should
fast long enough her skin would turn
white, and then she would be more
pleasing to her husband, who is a
mulatto, or, at least, a “dark com-
plected” person. In London a lady’s
maid told a sad story in a police
court. Suffering from an eruption on
her face, she was afraid she would
lose her situation, so she went to a
beauty doctor, who promised to make
her all right in ten days for £20. Her
face became w'orse and she could not
recover the money that she paid.
This beauty doctor was a woman
who still advertises that she can
change a woman of 70 into one of 30
io cards, and put every seven-sTnliin?
piece they can possibly spare to this
detestable purpose. I "shall think It
no sin to rob their card purses, for J
am sure I could better employ the
money. At least I will try.” She
should have lived in the days and
nights of bridge whist. Old Mrs.
Garrick, then a widow, went to her
and complained because the Duke
was putting up a building which shut
off the view from her window. Mrs.
Jordan begged him to stop the work
and to send a comforting message
to this old lady.
The tone of the letters Is often
sad. She once wrote that her feel-
ings rose and fell “more quickly than
the weather glass.” When the time
came for separation she wrote with
dignity, yet she could not refrain
from saying: "In an appeal I made
to the mercy and munificence of your
royal brothers I perceive that they
I appear totally ignorant of the mean-
ing of those words.” She loved the
Duke with all her heart, and in his
way he no doubt loved her. Lord
Frederick FItzclarence gave the let-
ters to Queen Adelaide and wrote of
them: “My dear mother’s letters to
my father.” It seems a pity that at
this late day they were sold at auc-
tion, “the property, of a lady,” long
after the writer’s tumultuous heart
was at rest and the laugh that
cheered hundreds had no echo. Fire,
next to death, Is the lover’s kindest
friend.
jus-] / / 7 °^
years.
There are many women who are
not willing to “stay put” as nature
intended. Mr. George R. Sims knew
a woman in Millbank prison who, in
spite of the discouraging surround-
ings, dyed her hair golden and col-
ored her cheeks and lips red. No
one ever found out how she obtained
the dye. For, the red she scraped a
wall of her cell till she struck the
brick wall. Then she added a little
of her gruel to brick dust. Was she
in the end more fascinating? We
doubt it. Mrs. Elias, it may be re-
membered, succeeded in getting $700,-
000 out of old Mr. John R. Platt.
Did Dr. Robinson’s creation of a
Grecian nose do the business? No,
for Mr. Platt’s infatuation dated back
to the “Senegambian foundation.”
She wished “to look as much like a
white woman as possible.” She even
wished the kinks removed from her
hair. . In other words, she wished
the personality that had bravely
served her wholly changed. Yet it!
was the personality that had brought
her wealth and fame. Suppose for a
moment that the negro friend of
Baudelaire by some freak of nature
had had straight hair; one or two of
his striking poems in her honor would
I not have been written. The women
in Syracuse and London had an ex-
cuse, the former a sentimental one,
the latter the desire for self-preserva-
tion. But Mrs. Elias was eager to
exchange that which had been more
to her than rubies for something in-
congruous or that would make her
commonplace. Furthermore, she neg-
lected to pay the beauty doctor for
her nose.
MRS. JORDAN’S LETTERS.
Some time ago The Herald, com-
menting on the sale at auction of let-
ters written by Mrs. Jordan, the fa-
mous play-actress, to the Duke of
! Clarence, afterwards William IV.,
inquired Into the character of the
letters. A few quotations from the
packet were recently published in the
London newspapers. The letters
abound in expressions of affection for
the duke, but they begin without any
profession of endearment and end as
a rule. “Yours sincerely, D. J.” She I
welcomed his letters and eagerly an-
ticipated them. “I feel like the chil-
dren who, when they want to shorten
time, w'ant to go to bed. I w’ish I
could annihilate time." She con-
stantly showed her anxiety for the
1 welfare of their children. There are
l many allusions to her theatrical ex- i
periences, -with references to disap-J
pointing managers and poor or un-
certain pay. In one letter she wrote.
“In York, I hear, they are devoted
THE RECENT FESTIVAL
IN THE TOWN OF ESSEN
Mahler’s New Symphony, and
the Unusual Features of
His Orchestra,
rot long ago Mr. Henri Marteau, the
linist, who is now more German than
: Germans, said, in an off-hand man-
•, that the only music worthy of con-
eration today comes from Germany.
would not talk about French mu-
ians or French music. For him they
not exist. What a pity that he was
; born at Eisleben or Plauen!
low the recollection of student years
France must torture him! Could he
; even now persuade the Paris Con-
vatory to drop his name from the list
■here S' nT more pitiable or in some
■cs laughable object t M", ?’ t 8 Tause
rintpfl Derson who without cause
*ses the social and artistic life J?.* 1 *®
rive land. Mr. Marteau is still a
ml man Let him see to it that he
ta not follow in the footsteps o,
jvv who living at Leipsic and 1 ailing
lins’t France, excited the indignation
1 scorn of Tschalkowsky.
Vhat composers are gloriously bus a
lav in Germany? For the sake of con-
tience let us class Austrian with Ger.
n music. Richard Strauss Salome
making its triumphant way. Neither
■ difficulty of production nor the sen-
ilism of the subject is a hindrance,
lereverthe opera Is given, there is , ri-
se excitement, and there are crowded
Is There is a lull in the Max Ke-
- boom, and the wildly la.jdpd com-
» er has not yet totally eclipsed the
n° of Bacli or that of Beethoven. Mu-
by them is still played or sung even
•he U n 'there is Gustav Mahler, there
> vounger composers— younger in iep-
itionif not in years-who are not
own in Boston, even by name, to the
iss of concertgoers.
Neitzel at Essen.
l new symphony by Mahler and works
some members of the young German
tool were produced at the 42d coh-
>ss of the Allgemeine Deutsche Mu-
verein. This society w'as established
1859 by Brendel, Koehler and others,
d it was originally established to cel-
■ate the 25tli anniversary ot the Neue
itschrift fuel- Musik, the organ at that
ie of the young romantic German
iooI of music. The purpose oftlieso-
tv is to produce new works of ment.
bHshed o? in manuscript, and to per-
■m older works that are seldom heard,
festival Is held, yearly, as a rule m |
e of the smaller German cities. _It Is
, intention of tire members to support
; cause of the young and romantic in
rmany and to lend sympathetic aid to
> like cause in other countries, as In
> past to France and Russia. .
’be congress was lield this yc&r ^
sen where the cannon come from, at
sen! which is said to be a typical fac-
•v town; but the concert ball 13 °ne
the best in Europe. There were con-
•ts from May 24 to May 27, and what,
rhVre are several interesting ac-
ints of this festival, among them
e contributed to the Musical Cmirier
New York bv Mr. Arthur M. Abell.
Otto Neitzel of Cologne, com-
ser ptanist critic, lecturer,, wrote an
usually interesting description the
tv music. His article was publislieu
Ml 55
pURTNkY
'•dUUfyLmC’SAY &
Constancy
Mrs
CHARbf/S
CfiHlt-R
^RPHEAJS
EW MUSICAL WORKS
PRODUCED IN EUROPE
jltates next season as a lecturer-pianist,
p e shall quote from him. more or less to-
ay.
; He, like Mr. Karl Muck, is a "Dr.,” a
octor of philosophy and not of music,
'itles mean something in Germany,
nd they to whom the titles have been
warded value them and with reason.
doctor of music and a professor of
tusic earn the honor. In this country
, professor of music is no more than a
irofessor of dancing, hair dressing,
orn cutting, boot blacking. It is a
■ >lty that Mr. Willy Hess of the Boston
Symphony orchestra uses his title as
freely as he does, for its peculiar sig-
nificance is not understood by the
crowd. To the average citizen any
teacher of the piano, fiddle or banjo is
a professor. It is to be hoped that Mr.
Karl Muck will not insist on being
mown here as “Dr.” “Doc” is as famil-
iar and as important as “Coll.” or
'judge” in a southern state. “Mr.” was
good enough for Mr. Muck’s predeces-
sors, and it is good enough for
presidents of the United States.
A New Symphony.
The most important eyent of
festival at Essen was the first per-
formance of Gustav Mahler's new sym-
phony in A minor, No. 6, led by the
composer and played on May 27. The
ymphony consumed an hour and a
quarter in the penvrmance, and there
was no other piece on the programme.
As Mr. Neitzel says, the unusual na-
ture of Mahler’s orchestra was the sub-
ject of much comment long before the
performance. The Herald has already
mentioned some of the percussion in-
struments that have hitherto been neg-
lected even by extravagant composers.
[According to Mr. Neitzel, it will now
be necessary for every music school of
the first rank to establish a "master
1 lass" for pulsatlde instruments The
■ass drum switched with a bundle of
eeds gave the hearer the impression
if "a sheeted ghost in a bed chamber
lerforming a series of daring leaps.”
dahler, however, used this switch in
in earlier symphony. There were cow-
>ells of various sizes in rows of four
ir five, and they were employed in
munding of themes or in producing im-
iressions — thoughts of Alpine pastur-
tge, awakeners of longing: “It is there
[ would be.” There was a curious ma-
chine, a stretched oxhide, which was
placed on the top step of the platform
This contrivance, which was "greeted
by some as the symbol of Mahler’s new
creation” was not employed at the per-
formance. It is said that no man could
be found In Essen and the neighbor-
hood strong enough to strike the hide
so as to produce the desired effect
Then there were two celestas, the in-
strument which Tschaikowsky heard in
Paris; he was so pleased with it that
he introduced it in one of 'his ballets
and in a ballade for orchestra. It gives
out a tinkling, etherial sound. “Cow-
belis and celestas!” says Mr. Neitzel-
Paradise on earth and Elysian Fields
up yonder!” B
For these reasons alone the new sym-
phony should excite popular interest.
I he percussion instrument appeals to
any crowd, whether it be in a beer <mr-
in Symphony Hall, whether it be
used in the finale of the “Peer Gvnt”
suite, in the -first piano- concerto -*of
Liszt, In the overture to “Masienello,”
or in the second movement of the “Pa-
thetic” symphony, whether it be the
bass drum, the cymbals, the triangle, or
the kettle drums. And what was one
of the most memorable episodes in the
history of music in Boston? The per-
formance of the “Anvil” chorus from
“11 Trovatore,” with the assistance of
brawny red-shirted firemen at the Peace
Jubilee. Why firemen should strike an-
vils in a gipsy encampment is after all
a trivial question. And did not the
great Hector Berlioz himself order that
a cannon should be fired toward the end
of the superb funeral march for Hamlet,
one of the most, profoundly moving
pages in the whole literature of music.
Mahler is again accused of helping
himself freely to melodic thoughts of
• liV*, .*> --Vi
tJtlblL LdUPBAY
the
others. Mr. Neitzel, a kindly ana broad-
minded man, admits that he heard lyric
echoes of ochuoert’s music and pathetic
phrases after the manner of Meyerbeer. I
Mr. Abell heard phrases or passages
from works of Goldmark, Liszt, Tschai-
kowsky, Bizet and others. It is easy in
these days to detect “reminiscences,”
which are often only vague and fleeting.
Mr. Neitzel finds much more than rem-
iniscences in this symphony. He praises
the first movement, which he puts by
the side of the first in Mahler’s third.
The second and third movements are
most attractively colored, finely worked
out and most cle'verly anarchistic. The
finale is brutally noisy. A hearer found
in it ”a hypertrophy of instrumental ex-
pression.” Grant that Mahler is wil-
fully extravagant and at times bizarre,
says Mr. Neitzel: “His technical knowl-
edge and skill are so eminent, he han-
dles tlie orchestra in such a new man-
ner, he knows so well how to develop
his themes and to build up his move-
ments that he who does not follow and
observe his progress loses much in the
development of his own knowledge.”
It appears that in spite of Mahler’s
well known objection to an explanatory
or suggestive programme, the unwritten
title of this sympnony is “Longing After
Redemption,” and to this might be
added "Through Nature as a Refuge,”
and, alas, to this, "but all in vain.”
Made in Germany.
The concert on May 24 was devoted
wholly to orchestral compositions or
compositions with orchestra. Seven new
works were performed and the concert
lasted from 6 P. M. to 11 P. M„ with the
Intermission of an hour. Mr. Neitzel
tells us that the best of the new works
was “Sea Drift” (after Wait Whitman’s
poem) for baritone solo (Josef Loritz),
chorus and orchestra. Tills is generous
of Mr. Neitzel for his "Life a Dream,"
a fantasy for violin and orchestra, was
also on tlie programme. Mr. Neitzel
conducted it and he writes of the w-ork
as follows: “I pronounce no judgment
on it. If it has life, tile reader will find
out in due time this winter what there
is in it; and if it died at birth, let it lie
covered with tlie cloak of silence. But
justice compels me to mention the great
triumph which the modest composer
achieved by conducting his work, al-
though he had not held a baton for 25
years, and then he was only a beginner.
Richard Strauss himself slapped my
shoulder and said: ’A man can or lie
cannot. You c-an!’ Nevertheless the
rumors that Mr. Ellis as Mr. Higgin-
son’s deputy lias engaged the said com-
poser for Boston at a yearly salary of
75,009 marks are unfortunately not true.”
The programme of this monstrous con-
cert also included a Heroic Tone Poem
by Rudolf Siegel of Munich, which, Mr.
Abell says, is lyric rather than heroic,
and lacks thematic invention, but shows
a strong talent; a symphonic poem,
“Dem Sehmerz sein Reclit,” by Richard
Mors, “a tiresome, empty piece”; an
hour-long symphony in E major by Her-
mann Bischoff; "Falada,” a scene from
fairy land, for soprano, baritone and
orchestra by Walther Braunfels, and
Humperdinck’s Festal Song, written in
celebration of the silver wedding of the
imperial pair, Feb. 27, 1906, for soprano,
tenor, chorus and orchestra.
Delius is an Englishman, a Yorkshire
man by birth, but he has lived in the
South of the United States, in France
and in Germany. He has written an
opera with a libretto founded on one
of Mr. George W. Cable's novels, a
choral work, “Appalachia,” and other
pieces that have distinguished him. Mr.
John F. Runciman began blowing the
trumpet in his honor some years ago.
Mr. Neitzel says that “Sea Drift” is in
the manner of the latest French im-
pressionists. “It is pure ‘mood-painting '
but it is done with great skill and deep
emotion.”
In England.
A set of orchestral varintim.,, ,
Coleridge-Taylor on the theme of a
negro song or hymn, “I’ m Tronhl^i •
Mind,” was performed for the first fi
June 14 at a Philharmonic concer t;
London. The composer conducted Tim
Is?™ rSe th 4;: h r 8 , won!
b e° e? ' pfeas ure S t o "fm d ifi^ ^ip j nfo" ^
firmed V ^ perform a ncV^ in” Bo st on?
ninnt i Co .l e I A I ' d?e ' Ta:v ' ,or became fa-
nious bj ]iis Hiawatha” music he lias
* '^lUen much and in great haste, and
i Pieces that we have heard have
been perfunctory and dull. Joseph Hoi-
" An , nal ? el Lee.” for baritone
•solo and orchestra, was performed at
H'® ■ sa " 1 . e concert, with Mr. Jiennerley
Rumford as the singer. There are no
nutes, trumpets or trombones in the
orchestra, but the English horn, bass l
cl, a, met and double bassoon are used I
Tile Tunes has little sympathy for mod-
So’tfi 1111 '' 510 u , n ™ ss * >e oi: a conventional
^ > p'V, ern ’ Mr. Holbrooke is a modern
of the moderns; yet it admits that "the
words are well accentuated" and the
music has “more continuity of idea
H? an I? 1 " 6 tile composer’s works.”
Mi. Holbrooke lias written several
works of long breath, suggested by
Poe s poems and tales. Good judges
speak highly of Iris vivid imagination
and brilliant instrumentation, and it
might be worth while to produce some
of his works in Boston. We do not re-
member to have seen any of his songs
on a programme here.
Gustav von Holst, born in 1S74, studied
at the Royal College of Music, and he is
now tlie musical director of the Pass-
more Edwards Settlement, Bloomsburg
His Mystic Trumpeter” (after Walt
\\ hitman) for voice and orchestra was
pei formed at a Philharmonic concert in
London, May 31. (The work was per-
formed in London last June.) Tlie com-
poser is said to show fancy and skill.
In common with many young writers
jA manifest tliat originally lie did not
gi\e sufficient attention to his design
and lie has frequently written injudic-
iously for the brass. The result is that
the work is difficult for the listener to
understand, and there frequently occur
harsh sounds, not always justified by
the character of the text. Tlie vocal
part might also have been more effec-
tively laid out for tlie voice. These
taults, however, are more the result of
inexperience than lack of idea, and it is
obvious that Mr. von Holst lias some-
thing to say. The singer was Miss
Gleeson-Whrte. Mr. Frederick S Con-
verse of Westwood, Mass., lias written
a symphonic work illustrative of Whit-
man s poem. It lias been played with i
great success in Philadelphia, in one or
X?!?. w ;? stRrn cities, and we believe in
New York, but Boston has not yet
’A , Let us h °pe that Mr. Muck
will look favorably on it.
A piano concerto in D by York Bowen
with the composer as the pianist, was
performed with unusual success at a
Plnlharniomc concert in London, May'
31. Mr Bowen is 22 or 23 years old, and
Muafo Udl >r? at • * le RoyaI Academy of
Music. There is no break between the
three movements, and the performance
does not last over 17 minutes. “The
work is based on strong, significant
themes, is skilfully scored, and is re'
markable for terseness of treatment”
, A 1 . 1 ? w cantata, “Odysseus in Pliaecia,”
W .Alan Gray was produced in the
Guildhall, Cambridge, June S. Tlie two
chief soloists are Odysseus and Nau-
sicae.. The .writing is “straightforward
and simple. Tlie music “does not put
an excessive tax on the technic of the
performers.” “Tlie times do not come
from Brahms or Schumann, the orches-
tration is not Wagnerian, tlie declama-
tion is not tlie declamation of Strauss.
The result is that the thing strikes one
as sincere, and as there are many mo-
ments of real beauty in it, it ought to
be a genuine success wherever it is per-
formed. ’ TJie chief singers were Miss
Agnes Nieliolls and Mr. William Green 8
New songs that were liked in London 1
Granville Bantock’s “Evening Thou
Bringest All.” and "Song of the Genie”-
Norman O Neil's “In Guernsey”; Roger
Ouilter’s “Airly Beacon”; Sinisraelia 's
“Sultry Night”; Sibelius’ “Black Rofes*-
Songs!” S ' Ryan ’ s “ Pour Elizabethan
Miss Muriel Elliot composed an over-
ture, choruses, and two marches for
the performance of Swinburne's “Ata-
lanta in Galyclon.” procluppr] qf
Crystal Palace School of Art June 7
Mr. Walkley wrote; ’’The movement! of
this chorus of maidens were always ex
pressive and always graceful; they re-
flected the emotion of the moment and
thanks to Miss Muriel Elliot's music to
one or two fine voices, and the admir-
able leadership of Miss Marv Webb
their singing was always a pleasure to
hear Miss Elliot had wisely jfiven im
all attempt to follow archaic modes hut
her music, whicli was scored for strings
and drums, had exactiv the necessarv
qualities of breadth, simplicity, and re
straint, and expressed to a nlcetv the
feeling required.” B
PERSONAL.
Tlie Herald publishes today portraits
of Mrs. Charles Calmer, Miss Courtney-
Tliomas and Miss, Julie Lindsay, Mrs
Cahier, born Walker, was well known
in certain western cities and in New
York as Mrs. Morris Black. She was
born, we believe, at Indianapolis. Mr
Black of Cleveland, a Harvard gradu-
ate, died soon after his marriage, but he
was already known as a lawyer and he
would probably have been prominent in
politics. Mrs. Black, who has a rich
„and beautiful contralto vhice of large
compass^' studied” la-’ New tfork^afd
| afterward In Paris with tire late Koenig
and also, it is said, with Jean de i
Keszke. She sang for the first time in !
opera In Nice Feb. 14, |904, as OOrpheUS, 1
and in Nice she met her second bus-
band, Clinries Cttlilcr, a young Swedish
physidan, who was living there. Last
season Mr*. Cahier sung lu concert and
in opera In various cities of Europe
V. 1th considerable* uucco**. Hhe was
neard in Boston two or throe season*
e.go at a conoert.of the Boston Orches-
tral Club. ,
Mjss Courtney-Thomae of St. Loulr
lias been a member of tho Opera Com-
)que company, Paris, for 30 years. She
has been a useful singer, ready to art
as an' understudy, ana not Irritable If
she Is In the performance on an off
night. She sang In Berlin when mem-
bers of the Opera Comlcjuo gave per-
formances there, and she has sung In
other European cities, but without ex-
citing marked attention.
Julie Lindsay Is the stage name of
Miss Julie Lillie, a daughter of Mr. An-
drew Lillie, an American who has lived
! for many years in Parle. She made her
first appearance at the Opera, Paris,
in December, 1903. when she was the
Constance in Moaart’s ‘‘Escape from
the Seraglio.” She lias appeared in
other parts and is still a member of the
company.
Miss LouisecOrmsby, formerly of Bos-
ton, has been chosen to slug the solo
I soprano music In Verdi’s "Requiem” at
the next Worcester Festival. Mme.
Bouton will be the contralto.
Mr. Fernandez-Arbos. formerly con-
certmaster of the Boston Symphony Or-
chestra, arranged the state concert at
the wedding of the Icing of Spain and
directed a series of special concerts In
\tlu Alhambra, Granada.
Elena Qerhardt. mezzo-soprano, gave
aisong recital accompanied by Air. Nlk-
isch in London, June 13, and was called
by leading critics a great singer. Mr.
Baugham characterized her as "one of j
the few great singers of the day.” She
^studied -with i Mme. Iledmont of Lelpslc.
OPERATIC.
Theifollowlng artists from other thea-
tres have been engaged for this year’s
Itlchard Wagner and Mozart festival
at Munich: Sophie David, Cologne; |
Ernesta Delsarta, Dessau; Geraldine
Farrar. Berlin; Thila Plalchinger, Ber-
lin; Ernestine Schumann-Heink, New
York; Dr. Otto Briesemelster, Stock-
holm; Karl Burrian. Dresden; Ernst
Kraus,} Berlin; Albert Reiss, London;
.Anton Van Rooy, New York; Deslder
iZador, Prague. They will be assisted by
the entire staff of the Royal Hof and
! National Theatre. The musical arrange-
ments are In the hands of the royal
general musical director, Felix Alottl
and the royal chef d’orchestre. Franz
Fischer. A large number of tickets have
already been sold. Descriptive pro-
grammes and tickets may be bail
through the general agency tourist of-
fice. Schenker & Co.. Munich, Prome-
nadeplatz 16.
Alisa Ethel Smyth and her endeavor
to have her opera, "The Forest,” pro-
duced here by the Metropolitan Opera
House company, under Mr. Grau, are
still fresh in the minds of many. Her
new opera, ”Les Naufrageurs,’ will be
produced at Leipsic. they say. in Sep-
tember, and three preludes from it are
in the repertory of the promenade con-
certs at Birmingham. Eng. „
Samara’s latest opera. Biondlnetta.
did not please when It was produced
in Germany. A soldier wounded in
battle dreams, and In one of his fan-
tastic visions his betrothed is about
to marrv another. He recovers, goes
home and lo! the dream was true, for
he arrived at the wedding. Now Is
■the time for disappearing, hut he pre-
fers to shoot himself.
"Der Bucklige” (“The Hunchback ).
an opera by Alexander Morvaren, who
is an Englishman named Alick Mac-
lean, has been produced at Mainz. It
is founded on Coppe’s "Luthier de
Cremone.” Miss Marcella Craft, for-
merly of Boston, took the part of the
heroine. Maclean was horn at Eton
in 1872. His other operas are "Quen-
tin Durward" and "Petrucclo.” The
latter won a prize of £100 and was pro-
duced at London in 1895.
Siegfried Wagner has composed a
new opera on a fairy subject. “The
Law of the Stars," which will be pro-
duced at Hamburg. His admirers say
It will be superior to anything he has
yet written. The statement is not in-
credible!
EDITORIAL COURTESIES.
Mr. Pott and Mr. Shirk are still
famous for their exchange of "editorial
courtesies,” nor is Mr. Slinkers wholly
forgotten. lie, according to Artemus
Ward, was unequalled for his ability to
deliver in print a "genteel home thrust.
The editor of the Western News at Bal-
linasloe is a dangerous rival. lie does
not like the master of the workhouse,
who lias put money into a rival news-
paper, and at his instance the master
lias been charged with forging the sig-
nature to a check, with conspiracy and
with ’ fraud over a will. The Western
News, while the case was pending, did
rot hesitate to say editorially : "There
is not a crime under heaven, from cheat-
ing at cards to deceiving tho dying and
robbing the dead of their shrouds, that
this fellow lias not reseorted to for get-
ting money to keep his accursed harem
paper, that has ruined him, alive." The
rival's reply was feeble ; it referred to
the editor as "this creature” ; also to
"the blasphemy of this wretch” and his
“ioathsome organ.” r>ut the master of
the workhouse did not waste time in
windy words. It was enough for him
that the rival of Pott, Shirk and
Slinkers was lodged in jail for three
months for contempt of court.
HO FOR KANSAS!
The Kansas farmer, it appears, wel-
comes college men as "help.” Not only
because they have had gymuasium prac-
tice and are handy with hoe and pitch-
folk, after a day or two, but also be-
cause they know the latest slang; they
have a fund of pleasing anecdote; they
are acquainted with the niceties of eti-
quette, and "without knowing it they
teach these things to the farmers’ sons
and daughters.” They also enliven the
evenings and make Sunday pass quick-
ly. Furthermore, they are agreeable
companions in the fields and in the
barn ; they sing and joke as they work.
"Let the college men come,” exclaims
an ageut of a Kansas employment bu-
reau, “and I will see that every one has
a job for the whole summer.” Here is
an opportunity for those just graduated,
and also for undergraduates, who would
like to spend a sensible vacation. They
will gain strength ; they will live in the
open air; they will be an educational
force. We like to think of them ex-
plaining the origin and significance
of “2?>” and “skiddoo” to blushing,
corn-fed, wholesome maidens; delicate-
ly correcting some solecism in table
manners ; dispelling the gloom of a wet
evening by telling some merry prank of
the Med. Fae., or hinting at the horrid
mysteries of the initiation into the
Omega Lambda Chi society. Ho for
Kansas, ;lnd again hoe !
UNDER THE BAN.
The Topeka Public Library, it is said,
will not give Mr. Sinclair’s "The .Tan-
gle” shelf room on the ground that “its
repulsiveness makes it unfit to he read.
Thus is the hook advertised without cost
and the desire to read it whetted. There
is a long list of books that have been
censured and condemned to be burned
in a public square by the executioner.
Gabriel Peignot made a list of them
with entertaining annotations. Last
winter a book— a novel, we believe — was
burned publicly at Oxford, the univer-i
sity town that has seen stranger and'
more memorable burnings. We have yet
to learn how the sale has been influ-
enced. Trustees or committees of public
libraries move in a mysterious way in
their rejection of hooks. An interesting
article could be written about volumes
in the Boston Public Library that are,
starred, or are put in the "Inferno,” or
are conspicuous by their absence. Some
time ago objection was made to the
presence of Charles Dickens’ ‘‘Child’s
History of England"! In Topeka they
call for civet and look fearlessly on
canned goods, but would they allow a
description of the process of obtaining
and preparing civet to be in the library?
There are “repulsive” statements in
encyclopedias, histories, biographies,
works on scientific subjects, and even in
dictionaries. There are many pages in
the Topeka Public Library that should
be torn out if the commiftee wishes the
townsmen to read only that which is
pleasant.
STRAIGHTER ELBOWS.
Mr. George R. Sims and other trained
observers in London bear testimony to
the greater sobriety of street life, as far
as alcohol is concerned, and any bnr-
keeper of long experience in New York
or Boston will tell you that there is
less hard drinking among business and
professional men than there was a dozen j
years ago. However fantastical or fool- I
ish certain modern dietetic theories may |
he, it is certain that men and women arc
now much move careful about food and
drink, and the majority live mere sen-
sibly. We doubt if even in England,
with the climate at its worst, any duke
.would be applauded for saving, as a
duke once said, "Next week, with the
blessing of God. I purpose to be drunk,’
and while there are. no doubt, accom-
plished drinkmasters still to he found,
an Englishman of reputation is yot
necessarily a three-bottle man. A letter
written by a racing Duke of Richmond
in 17", 7 was sold recently at auction.
It began; "1 presume your graces
scheme is to be drunk the whole first j
week in August, for if four days’ drunk- |
enuess would suffice you might just as ,
well have the races begin the day after |
the assizes, which is the Tuesday, bj
which megRg we western people may get
home ro cur wives and children o:i the
Friday ” It is hard to think of a letter
like this, written either in jest or ear-
nest, to an F-n*-’ ' 1 d’ii> today.
DICTIONARY READING.'
A "young and handsome society”
woman in Chicago is suing for divorce
from her husband, who is the “cultured
editor” of a society paper. It is alleged
| that, not satisfied with her youth and
beauty, he wished to improve her mind.
To quote Gilbert, he should have
thought of that before he joined the
force. In his zeal he recommended to
her a dictionary for light reading, and
urged her to commit to memory pages
of “Paradise Lost." Thus he lost his
paradise and she is seeking to regain
hers.
We do not blame her for revolting
against the enforced committal of any
epic poem to memory, but she should
have found pleasure in an hour or two
with a dictionary, and not merely for
the purpose of ascertaining the spelling
or the meaning of a word. \\ hen
Baudelaire visited Gautier for the first
time the latter asked him if he enjoyed
reading dictionaries, and when the caller
said that it was one of his chief pleas-
ures, they were at once intimate friends.
It is rumored that Mr. George Meredith,
is an indefatigable reader of dictionaries
that he may know what words to avoid.
There is no book that is at the same
time so full of fact and suggestion, state-
ment and romance, form and color as
any modern dictionary. Open one at
random and read without special pur-
pose and you will be engrossed. Try
the experiment. The dictionary is, per-
haps, one for student’s use. As .though
opening the Bible in superstitious vein
to read your fate in the verse on which
your finger rests, you strike the word
"scallop,” not a singularly happy choice,
but it will serve. Pay no attention to
derivation or variants. There is the verb
associated with oysters the vision of a
loved one arises with fancy work or ab-
sorbed in planning intimate lingerie.
There is the scallop itself, a delicious
bivalve, designed by a beneficent creator
for young stomachs in smooth running
order. There is the scallop shell worn
by pilgrims, and a world of romance
breaks on the delighted view. In dialect
a “scallops” is an awkward wench, an
Audrey. Volumes are suggested by this
one little word of two syllables. The
“cultured editor” can easily make a
strong defence, even if his mother did
characterize the wife ns an “absolutely
impossible person” and thus exercise a
time-honored privilege.
Mr. de Nion had on former occasions
found fault with pieces produced at Mr.
Antoine’s theatre. The latter said his
playhouse was a place of business where
he sold the latest fashion and best qual-
ity in laughter, tears and shivers at
moderate prices. “He (Mr. de Nion) is
no more entitled to enter my house at a
public performance and declare in print
that the play is bad than he has to cross
rhe road, dine at a restaurant and pub-
lish his opinion that the cooking is in-
ferior." To this a sound answer was
made: “Mr. Antoine says lie is a trades-
man ; he is therefore governed by the
laws of trade; when he allows .the
statement to be made that the play is
good when it is not, he is attempting to
obtain money by false pretences; and,
being a tradesman, what justification
has he for talking of ‘art’ ”? Since then
Mr. Antoine lias shown in many ways
t ha t lie puts art above business, and his
administration of the Odeon will no
doubt add to the glory of a iong estab- ■
lislied theatre.
T
MR. ANTOINE.
Mr. Antoine, the celebrated play-actor ,
and manager, has been appointed direc-
tor of the Odeon in Paris, to the joy of I
all Parisians who have the best inter-
ests of the drama at heart. It is said
that years ago Mr. Antoine, then a clerk
and an amateur actor, put on sideways
one day a derby hat and was struck by
his resemblance to Napoleon Bonaparte,
lie immediately determined that he, too,
would be great, and he knew that he
had a guiding star. He founded the
Theatre Libre, encouraged young play-
wrights, introduced Scandinavian, Ger-
man and Belgian plays, and was his
own star. Afterward he had his Thea-
tre Antoine, and he and his company
travelled, even as far as Buenos Ayres.
Aim all because he thought he looked
like Napoleon.
There have been others who plumed
themselves upon a fancied resemblance
to the great Corsican. No less a man
than William Hazlitt pouted because
Sarah Walker, the daughter of a lodg-
ing house keeper, did not at once adore
bun for the simple reason that his head
was not unlike a bust of Napoleon,
which the essayist valued as a worship-
per his idol. There is always at least
one youth in college who tries to look
like Napoleon in the recitation room or
ii the chapel. He arranges carefully his
hair ; he sinks his head, after the man-
ner of the exile at St. Helena in ad-
mired pictures. There are brokers who
pride themselves on being Napoleonic.
We know a business man in New \ork
who has a small bronze statue of Napo-
leon on his writing desk, and he could
almost kiss the caller who looks from
statue to man and from man to statue
admiringly. Short men with a paunch
thus find consolation.
Mr. Antoine, by the way. in a con-
troversy some time ago with the critic,
Mr. de Nion, made an astonishing ex-
j planation for refusing to invite the
i critic to the dress rehearsal of a play.
STITCHED HEARTS
There 'has been much talk about n|
wonderful surgical operation in New]
York. A man's heart was stitched up.
Unfortunately, the patient did not reap
the full benefit of the surgical skill. As
a matter of fact, he died a few days
ago and a few days after the operation,
which, nevertheless, was described ns “a
great success.” It was also described as
daring and novel. Was it so novel?
Only last March'the heart of a wom-
an who had stabbed herself was stitched
up in Paris. Before this case Dr. Rehe
of Frankfort had a patient who had
also been stabbed, and in the natural
course of events would have bled to
death. The doctor laid bare the heart,
which worked violently during the oper-
ation, and sewed up the severed edges
of the right side. Tlie patient recovered.
There was a still more remarkable ease
in London. A man who had been stabbed
in the heart was taken to a hospital.
After the heart had been sewn up a
metal plate was placed over it. The
patient was watched night and day lest
the wound should open and the plate
become dislodged He was discharged
and is alive and well, and the plate is
still over the sewn-np organ— so that he
now walks at night f with greater confi-
dence.
7^7 f &
CONCERT FOYER
If Saint-Saens Comes Here li 1
Is Hoped He Will Conduct
Symphony Orchestra.
STORIES OF MUSICIANS
HERE AND IN EUROPE
Mr. Marc A. Blumenberg, the editor
of the Musical Courier of New York,
cabled from Paris last week that Saint-
Saens had been engaged for an Amer-
ican tour, which will begin next No-
vember. “It is understood that his visit
1 will be in the interests of French
music generally, and he is expected
to appear in the capacity of pianist,
conductor, organist and composer, of
course.”
Camille Saint-Saens will be 71 years
old on the 9tli of October next. On the
19th of last May he celebrated at Paris
the 60th anniversary of the beginning
of his career, of the concert which he
gave as a child pianist. At tills anniver-
sary concert he played the andante and
the allegro of his first concerto, his own
piano pieces, “Wedding Cake” and
"Rhapsodie d'Auvergne,” and Beetho-
ven’s concerto in E flat. Messrs. Plante
and Delafosse played four-hand pieces
by Saint-Saens; Mme. Auguez de Monta-
lant sang some of his songs; the orches-i
tra of the Conservatory played his
overture to "Andromaque.”
There was a brilliant audience and
the pianist-composer was greatly
honored. He deserved all this and
even more, for he has not only com-
posed works of fine distiRction and
pure taste, he has not only shone as a
virtuoso; he has also fought during
his career for the pure music of
France and other nations, and al-
though the Debussyites and the dis-
ciples of Mr. Vincent cl'Indy may look
upon him in their reckless enthusiasm
for that which now is and is to come
to makWebuL’af^Sd' <ri1^E5S!£ k - no ^ that the ‘' re £ t11 ^’' was not ‘Imt
His music ] c d in' a way lo theirs. His
struggles in behalf of orchestral anil
chamber music, when there was a
popular taste only for opera, prepared
an audience that would listen patient-
ly to the works of the ultra-moderns.
He should have visited this country
long ago. We believe there was an
effort made to have him as a guest at
tlie World's fair, Chicago, but he was
then either coy or busied in some way.
He was not deterred by dread of the
sea, for Saint-Saens is often on the
ocean. He has been a great traveller for
r frenchman, though lie is especially
fond of sojourning in the Canary isles
and in Egypt. A restless man, he is a
curious observer when on the wing', and
the result of his observations is found
in his writings as well as in his music,
for Saint-Saens is singularly versatile.
There are two volumes of his essays on
musical subjects, a discussion of Gou-
n0 a s Pamphlet on "Don Giovanni,’’ a
study of the architecture of the Greek
theatre, a volume of little philosophical
essays, two or three comedies, for he
is both playwright and playactor. He is
a lively and witty conversationalist. !
As a correspondent to the Parisian
press he is fond of writing in paradox
and of writing the unexpected. He now
gravely refuses to contribute to a monu-
ment in memory of Cesar Franck and
W 'ves plausible reasons for his apparent
indifference or objection; he now writes
an extravagantly worded letter in favor
of modern Italian opera as represented
by Puccini. Giordano. Cillea and others
of the band enrolled under the banner
of vensmo.
. Perhaps his distinguishing character-
istics as composer and man are a pe-
culiar clearness In the expression of
logically arranged thought, a refinement
that at times comes dangerously near
over-elaboration, a brilliance that is
tempered by judgment and wit, and
an inimitable elegance.
| If he should come to Boston, let us
(hope that he will be invited to conduct
a concert of the Boston Symphony
orchestra. Not that he is a great con-
ductor in the modern acceptation of the
word; that is to say, hypnotic, or "in-
dividual” in his readings, or a man of
curious mannerisms in carriage and
gestures. It is said that Saint-Saens
conducted once a concert of his works
in the old Concert House in Berlin
where Bilse ruled so long. The concert
was a great success. Tlje next day
Bilse said to the orchestra: "Mr. Saint-
Saens is a most accomplished composer,
a man of great musical talent, if not
genius; but he is a poor conductor. We
shall play tonight one of his composi-
tions. Let us show him how it ought
to go.” And with that Bilse began to
train the men in one of the pieces they
had played the night before under
Saint-Saens’ leadership.
Either the Handel and Haydn or the
Cecilia might be persuaded to perform
"Samson and Delilah’’ with the dis-
tinguished visitor as the conductor.
of the composer? He never heard
Schumann "read" the "Carnaval.”
Intendant von Huelsen has refused to
cancel Felix Welngartner’s contract as
conductor of the Berlin Royal orchestra
concerts. It is stated that this contract
does not expire until 1913. Only a short
time ago Mr. Weingartner made positive
assertions to the effect that he would not
conduct any concerts in Berlin next sea-
son ; that he would not conduct any-
where ; that he wished to rest and also to
have time for composition. It was
rumored that he is afraid of Bright’s dis-
ease and that he is really a sick man.
Henri Marteau may be more German
than the Germans in his views concern-
ing modern music, as The Herald stated
last Sunday, but he is generous as a
violinist in his consideration for con-
temporary composers of violin concertos.
He has brought out and made familiar
several works of this class, concertos by
Sinding, Jaques-Dalcroze, Stenhammer
and others. He will play next season a
new concerto by Emanuel Moor, a Hun-
Further information about Mr. Ros-
enthal confirms our belief that he will
be treated respectfully by the critics
when he plays in Boston. New York
is a larger city and a critic is not so
easily found; then, too, he can quickly
hide himself in the wilds of New Jer-
sey. Mr. Rosenthal, it is said by those
iwho are on intimate terms with him
can tear a pack of cards, break a hoi'se- !
[shoe and lift 500 pounds with one
finger and with the greatest ease. "His |
chest, arm and leg development com-
pare with Sandow’s.” And yet lie
never worked in a gymnasium. "His
strength comes entirely from playing
the piano and swimming and walking,
the latter being his two chief diver-
sions.” Then, like Mr. Paderewski and
some others, he plays the piano, not
as a diversion, but for business pur-
poses. We hasten to add, in view of
ills terrible approach, that he is a
great pianist — a formidable pianist, as
the Germans say.
Mr. Waldemar Luetschg, the pianist,
who made a favorable impression at a
symphony concert in Boston last season,
did not like Chicago as a dwelling place
and he left it and the Ziegfeld school.
Dr. Ziegfeld has engaged Mr. Ernesto
Consolo as his successor. Mr. Consolo
is siad to speak four languages "with
equal facility” and to be a "charming
fellow."
The disease that brought Mozart's
death has been thought to be typhus
fever, though some have called it cere-
bral meningitis. Dr. Barraud of Bor-
deaux insists that it was Bright’s dis-
ease. As a boy Mozart was small, deli-
cate and very nervous. He had scarlet
fever, then typhoid fever, smallpox and
later a severe attack of influenza. Just
before his marriage lie was in a weak
condition. To quote from the article in
Musical America, he was then “thin
and small, with a sallow complexion;
the head was unusually developed, the
nose enormous and the eyes were large
and sunken, while his glanoe was very
unsteady. The man was already in weak
condition; lie was overworked, and to
this cause of his physical decay must
be added another— the lack of the neces-
sities of life."
We are informed that Mme. Plaichin-
ger. who will sing at the Metropolitan
Opera House next season, "though not
beautiful off the stage, makes a most
effective appearance amid operatic en-
vironment," and that "conscious of lwr
unattractiveness in private life, she
invariably refuses to see a manager be-
fore he has seen her in costume on the
stage.” “Just tell them that you saw
me.” Tile picture of her published in a
New York newspaper was, indeed, a
sight. She is 30 years old, or, as Ar-
temas Ward said of a woman, “between
30 years of age," and she is the w : fe of
Mr. Carl Friedrichs, a singing teacher
in Berlin.
ol a great singer and {lie brotner oi
Marie Malibran and Pauline Viardot, he
had several distinguished pupils, of
whom the chief was Jenny Lind. In
JS.>. r ) he invented the laryngoscope. As
his voice was one of ordinary quality he
left the operatic stage in 1829 and set-
tled in Paris, which he left in 1850 to
make London his home, and there he
taught at the Royal Academy of Music. |
lie visited the United States in 1825 as
a member of an opera company of which
his father and sister Marie were the
leading members, and he then took part
in the first performance of “Don Gio-
vanni” in this country. As teacher and
man he was highly respected and hon-
ored in London. The hundredth anni-
versary of his birth was celebrated with
pomp and ceremony. Active and alert,
physically and mentally, till nearly the
(lid of his life, he was a strong witness
in company with Verdi, Franck and
Wagner against the theory of Dr. Osier
as applied to musicians.
A oEA CHANGE*
“The Lion and the Mouse,” it will
be remembered, did not please the
Londoners last season, although the
American visiting company was said
to be excellent. Now. Mr. Charles
Frohman announces his intention of
taking the play to London next season,
but the company will be wholly Eng-
lish. The failure there was attri-
buted, as The Herald stated some
time ago, to the fact that the subject
and situations, such as those of brib-
ery of judges and senators, were un-
intelligible to a London audience. Is
it possible that an English company
will make the situations more intel-
ligible? Will foreign imagination be
more effective than national compre-
hension? Will not the situations be
the same, or will the play be rewrit-
ten and the action take place in Eng-
land? Such changes did not make the
production of “Shore Acres” success-
ful in London.
Hermann Winkelmann of the Vienna
Opera House and the creator of Parsifal
at Bayreuth in 1882, has at last said
good-by to the stage. But why did he
leave the opera house forever? He is
only 57 years old, and in Germany and
Austria a singer of 60 years is much in
favor; he is considered to be by that
time "intellectual.” Mr. H. T. F>nck
tells us that Americans who have heard
Winkelmann in recent years say that
he "usually sang atrociously in tlie first
act of an opera, better in the second,
and superbly in the third, when his
cords were thoroughly limbered.” But
what would this tenor do in an opera
of one act or two? There are horses
that cannot trot till they have been
eight or ten miles. Theodore Thomas
brought Mr. Winkelmann over to sing
with Mme. Materna and Emil Scaria in
a Wagner festival.
Both Mr. Nikisch and Mr. Bauer ap-
peared in London last month as ac-
companists of singers. Mr. Nikisch ac-
garian composer, of whom little is known 1 vWmi^The H ! S r a 1 d *17 a I ready* sno k e n f
in this country. Moor’s _ce!lo concerto | Mr. Baughan declared that Mr. Nikisch
will be played by Pablo Casels and his
piano concerto by Marie Panthes; his
sixth symphony will be performed at
Bologne under Mr. Steinbach’s direction.
Mr. Casals, some may remember,
played here in a concert given by
Emma Nevada at the Colonial The-
as accompanist almost rivals Nikisch as
conductor. He produces a fine tone
from tlie piano, makes himself at one
with the singer, and shows a subtle
sense of harmony. Although he sub-
ordinates the accompaniment to tlie
voice the piano part is always clear.
atre a few seasons ago, and they that and takes its proper place in the whole
heard him then wondered at his great scheme of the song. Mr. Bauer aceom-
reputation in Europe. The concert panied Mme. Jeanne Raunay, and he.
Was a depressing one in many ways
and no doubt the ’cellist was not
wholly in the vein. He is a great
friend of Mr. Harold Bauer and the
two have made several tours to-
gether.
This reminds us that Mr. Bauer
too, was warmly praised.
A few Americans have appeared re-
cently in London concert halls with
more or less success. Miss Alexander
gave a musical and dramatic recital in
which she endeavored to show to the
played recently in London, and some audience the negro "in all his pathetic
A LOBSTER MODEL.
Builders of ocean steamers are re-
| ported as saying that it is doubtful
whether the speed of the fastest ves-
sels crossing the Atlantic will soon be
surpassed on account of the problem of
fuel and the enormous space required
for carrying a sufficient amount of coal.
Will the coming fuel be oil or electricity,
or some less familiar or as yet unknown
motive force? The builders might pon-
der a statement made by Mortimer Col-
lins in one of his whimsical and delight-
ful novels. Collins argued that when
man succeeds he is devoutly imitative.
No Eddystone lighthouse would stand
until a builder with imagination imi-
tated the structure of the oak. The
successful airship will be the result of
intelligent study of avian flight. “And
I firmly believe that speed in steamships
should be obtained by the method which
makes the lobster the swiftest of the
sea’s inhabitants.” When the lobster
is in a hurry he swims backwards,
and his tail, as he rises and falls,
grasps the water. Prawns may be seen
doing the same in an aquarium if they
are frightened. “These curious me-
chanic powers conferred on the lower
creatures are lessons to man. There is
no animal without definite use.” But
what is the lesson from the measuring
worm or geometrid caterpillar? Pre-
cision in daily walks abroad?
of the critics were discriminative in
their treatment of him, and also con-
tradictory; One wrote that Mr. Bauer
“has never taken such an important
stride as in the time since his last
London recital. The ’Carnaval’ of
Schumann was given with full artis-
truth and humor, freed from the dis-
tortions that have been hitherto prac-
tised 'On him in the ordinary music
hall." Coquelin and others assisted her,
but they did not "black up" for the oc-
casion. Miss Edna Hoff of New York,
a soprano who studied in Dresden, sang
with "much intelligence and charm"
tic intelligence, if at some points with in her recital June 6. Mr. Julius Falk,
not quite the peculiar shadowy a violinist and a pupil of Sevcik, gave
* * - m 1. . n nnni t ft I AT 17 * * LI o la n n a a of ov
intimacy that the work demands. The
idea of force which he conveys is al-
ways one of mental rather than physical
strength; one never pities the piano
as one used to do with the ‘forcible’
players of the past.”
On the other hand, the Telegraph
said that in the finale of the “Carna-
val” and in the beginning of Beetho-
a recital May 17. "He is an artist of ex-
ceptional ability.” Mr. Francis Mac-
millen, violinist, gave a farewell re-
cital previous to his departure for this
country and was eminently successful.
Among the newcomers not Americans
were "Floris.” a violinist, said to be
one of the Ondricek family. He has
a fluent mastery over His instrument,”
ven’s sonata op. Ill, he "tore passion wrote Mr. Banghan. "but ills tone is
to iatters and so exaggerated his not very full or individual in quality."
contrasts that the music’s effect was T,lon tl " >re n “ s " mv haired Fne-
quite spoilt and the beauty of tone
vanished.”
"Lancelot” of the Referee wrote
that his recital was “distinguished by
a technical command and a power of
expression possessed by few pianists.
The reading of Schumann’s ‘Carnaval’
was not that of the composer, but the
romantic spirit of the music was pre-
served, and the sentiment was essen-
tially manlv. both in vigor and ten-
derness.” AA r hat more, then -would the
gentleman have had? How does he
Then there was a "sunny haired Eng-
lish lad.” 13 years old, Lionel Ovendon,
familiarly known as “Bino,” who plays
both the violin and the piano “with an
earnestness and significance uncanny in
one so young.”
AN OLD MAN.
Manuel Garcia, who died iu London
last Sunday, was in his 102d year, but
he was remarkable in other ways. A
1 Kinging teacher, born at Madrid, the son
COOLED AFFECTION.
It might promote domestic happiness
in the AVest if physicians were to settle
for all time the question whether cold
baths are or are not injurious. Some
time ago a woman in Nebraska sued for
a divorce. She told the judge that her
husband was a man with a system. He
believed in cold bathing, and insisted
that she should take three cold baths a
day. The one at evening was of iced
water. At the altar she had inad-
vertently promised to obey her husband,
and as she had a conscience she did
obey him for five years. At last she re-
belled, for, as the old deacon remarked
after an unusually powerful sermon in
which the nature of future and eternal
punishment was graphically described
and with almost loving detail : “Brother
Slocum, no human constitution could
stand it.” The judge smiled on her and
said, “Madam, you have proved your
A few days ago a music teacher in
Chicago sued for a divorce from his
wife Violet because she would not allow
him to use hot water in his bath. “She
(old me hot water was not good for me.
I couldn’t stand that cold lake water,”
and incidentally he mentioned a choir-
master who was favored, he thought, by
Violet, probably because he had a more
rugged constitution and could stand cold
water. Violet answered that her hus-
band had no sense of humor and could
not take a joke. Did she thus refer to
the choirmaster or to the cold bath?
But why did not Violet’s husband lock
the door when he went into the bath-
room and draw the hot water gayly with
a song on his lips? Perhaps there was
no bathroom and he tubbed it in the
kitchen, where he could not easily es-
cape inspection. The information is
sadly incomplete.
fu&7 7 / f •> ^
A LOST MAN.
What has become of Mr. Nathan
Gurfenkle? Some weeks — or was it
months?— ago we read about him and
his actions in a New Jersey, town.
He was not of the ordinary run of
men. He painted his cows red, white
and blue and then named them “Old
Glory,” "Star Spangled Banner,”
"Stars and Stripes,” "Flag of the
Free” and “Long May She Wave.”
This of Itself excited interest in him.
Nor was his imagination confined to
outbursts of intense patriotism. He
j used to lower his little one into a
well. We regret to add that he also
beat occasionally his wife. There
was talk at the time of an inquiry
into his mental condition. There was
also talk of jail, for they are prosaic
persons in New Jersey and plume
themselves on swift visitations of
“justice.” Many things have since
happened, but we have not lost sight
of Mr. Gurfenkle. The newspapers
have been strangely silent. Has he
suffered, as so many before him, for
his devotion to country?
MOATED ON.
The Herald has already commented
on the case of the clergyman in New-
port, R. I., who was requested to move
on while he was conducting a relig-
ious service on the beach. Philan-
thropic intention is often described as
disorderly conduct even in conserva-
tive England. We remember the case
of a man who, wearing ’a mask, sang
in a London street and drew a large
crowd. He was asked to move on,
but he refused and was at last arrest-
ed. He confided to the magistrate
that he had a hobby of singing in
quiet streets and collecting money
which he sent to hospitals or other
charitable institutions. The magis-
trate told him that his hobby, habit,
taste, or want of taste, drew a crowd
which interfered with the general
enjoyment of the thoroughfare; that,
if he must carry out his hobby, he
j should do it in country lanes; that
i he should not play the troubadour in
a London street. Why was this phil-
anthropist masked? And how did he
sing? The two really Important
questions were not answered in court,
just as in Newport there was no dis-
cussion concerning the quality of the
sermon on the beach.
HORSES’ NAMES.
I he Springfield Republican tells a
story of a turf critic who made au en-
emy of a Texan by having fun with
the name the latter gave his pet 2-year-
old filly. The filly was the foal of
Little Pearl and the sire was Gallantry.
The Texan therefore called the offspring
Little Pearls of Gallantry. When the
hll.V ran the critic suggested names that
might be given to the future product of
the ranch, as Little Jars of Marmalade,
Lizzie, Is My Hat on Straight? Big Bill
with the AA’hite Hat, Little Things to
Think About. Look over the list of horses
| running or trotting today, and you will
I find many grotesque and absurd names.
And so it has been from the time when
, the Greeks and Romans exercised their
fancy in naming their favorites. There
is a list of these ancient names in an
appendix to a translation into French
(of Lycophron’s cryptic poem. English
' I x-ace horses within the last century have
borne strange names : some of them, and
the horses wore owned by noblemen, were
1 coarse or irreverent. Henry Kingsley in
! “Ravenshoe” protested against such
names as Allow Me, Ask Mamma, Pam s
Mixture. These were names of horses
in 1802. In a footnote Kingsley added :
“Surely men could find better names
for their horses than such senseless ones
! as these.”
SWISS ABSINTHE.
A cablegram states that the cantonal
government of Vaud has passed a law
prohibiting the sale of absinthe, and
that the ^owners of the Xeuchatel dis-
tilleries have placed on the market ab-
sinthe bonbons. "Four of them will
make a drink when broken into a glass,
and a special law will be required to
prevent their sale.” The cablegram also
states that the people of Vaud were the
best customers of the Xeuchatel dis-
tilleries.
It does not state the most important
fact: Crimes by absinthe drunkards
were so frequent that the Swiss news-
papers started a crusade against the sale
of the liquor, and obtained in a very
short time over 100, 000 signatures in
the cantons of Vaud nnd Geneva alone
to a petition urging the government to :
| suppress the distilleries nnd make the
sale of the liquor unlawful. The crimes
{ traced directly to absinthe drunkards
were maiming of cattle, setting fire to
| buildings, attempts at murder and mur-
der. The absinthe was made from chem-
icals and raw alcohol, and a large wine- ,
glassful was sold in small restaurants
and in boozing kens for 2 cents. The
drinkers were boys ami girls, as well
Las men and women. Naturally in Neu-
/ chatel there was opposition to the pro-
posed legislation, for the canton depends
for its revenue on the manufacture and
I sale of the liquor. Why any one wishes
to drink the green stuff even when at its
I best is a mystery to some, who find the
taste like that of paregoric taken by
children much against their will to
soothe their little “innerds.”
SANS MEAT.
A thrilling description of several men
and women in New York who eat only
nuts, vegetables, fruit and prepared
health foods and yet achieve surprising
mental and physical feats has been pub-
lished. From the account we learn that
Mr. and Mrs. Christian live chiefly on
imported Italian nuts from the cones of
edible pines. The turpentine has been
thoughtfully extracted. Mr. and Mrs.
Christian do not consider it harmful to
read while eating “in a leisurely fash-
ion” these nuts. The diet does not seem
to be a quickener of conversation, and
no doubt reading — possibly the book is
Mr. Sinclair’s — may dispel gloomy
thoughts. There are persons who both
eat cereals and read. Occasionally Mr.
and Mrs. Christian wax merry over a
tomato salad with “hygeia dressing. ’
Then there is Miss Mary June, a pop-
ular waitress in a physical culture res-
taurant. Her hours of service are long;
from 7 A. M. till 7 P. M. When she
is not waiting she is polishing casters, j
filling toothpick tumblers and doing all
sorts of things. She, too, eats no meat,
and is so strong that she is able to take
her meals in the restaurant. This re-
minds us of the story about the man
who went into an eating house and
asked, "Do you have a good cook?” The
| head waiter answered, “Best in the
| city.” “Let me see the proprietor.” said
the man. “He's just gone out to get his
dinner.”
All the men and women described in
the article are bitter against meat and
scornfully pitiful toward the carnivo-
rous. Vegetarinns have been thus from
the beginning. No doubt Nebuchadnez-
zar was excessively disagreeable at the
court during his excursion into vege-
tarianism. Many years ago Hazlitt,
speaking of those who tease you to death
with some one idea, stated that they
generally differ in their favorite notion
from the rest of the world. “Thus one
person is remarkable for living on a
vegetable diet, and never fails to enter-
tain you all dinner time with an invec-
tive against animal food. One of this
self-denying class, who adds to the
primitive simplicity of this sort of food
the recommendation of having it in a
raw state lamenting the death of a pa-
tient whom he had augured to be in a
good way as a convert to his system, at
last accounted for his disappointment in
a whisper — ‘But she ate meat privately,
depend upon it.’ ”
S’
/
AN ENGLISH CARMEN
AND OPERATIC GOSSIP
THE ACTING OF CARUSO
AND OTHER SINGERS
Mr, Baughan’s Paradoxical
„ Views — Portraits and
; Personal Paragraphs,
The opera season at Covent Garden
has naturally suggested articles con-
cerning the tendency of modern opera,
the art of dramatic singing, the man-
ner in which certain familiar operatic
parts should be impersonated, etc.
Massenet's “Jongleur de Notre Dame,”
the opera without a woman character
in it, was performed at Covent Garden
for the first time, and the Times pished
and poohed, without knowledge appar-
ently of the fact that the story is an
old one and has been exquisitely treated
by Mr. Anatole France. The Times
critic dropped into French, considering
the case of Massenet: “The composer
has long ago shown great power of
adopting styles that differ In external
characteristics, and he has given us in
this several pleasing passages of a kind
of music that sounds austere enough to
pass for an ecclesiastical manner. But
it may be said ot him more than of al-
most any other composer, 'Plus ca
change, plus e'est la meme chose;'
there Is the same lack of real individu-
ality. the same flavor— if flavor it can
be called— of eau sucree. and the same
inherent debility of Invention that we
have known so long." This is unfair,
or does the Times critic really deny
individuality to the composer of
“Manon," “La Navarralse,” “Le Jong-
leur,” and some of the music of the
early suites? He does admit that in
“Le Jongleur” there are “many grace-
ful and appropriate numbers," but he
admits it grudgingly and hurries along
to say something disagreeable.
There has been pleasing talk about
the morality or immorality or unmor-
ality of "Tosca,” for they take the
libretto based on the play by Sardou.
"The Caligula of the Drama,” as Jules
Lemaltre dubbed him, very seriously
over there. “The Telegraph Insisted
that music should have no con-
cern with a theme “so ugly and re-
volting." “Especially are the grace,
the crispness and the sparkle of Puc-
cini's style out of place in such com-
pany. * • * Where such repellant
melodrama as the ‘Tosca’ is concerned
it would have been better, on the whole,
had the 'divine art’ remained dumb.”
Did gcod old Mr. Bennett write this?
The opinions and the form of expres-
sion have his earmarks. If It were not
Mr Bennett, it was his prayerfully-
trained disciple. The Standard, on the
other hand, declares the play to be an
admirable piece of stagecraft— yes, it is
a well-built slaughter-house— and Puc-
cini’s treatment "eloquently musical.”
Listen to this: “Tosca’ is the only one
of the composer's work entitled an
opera, pure and simple. It is. therefore,
in a way more conventional in plan
than, perhaps, any of his compositions.”
Observe the "therefore.” and the inex-
1-1 AVETIK
orable logic of the conclusion drawn
from the premise. Mme. Giachetti was
the heroine. The Standard says that
iter performance reached “the highest
level of operatic art." It is the more
painful to learn that Mme. Giachetti
“continued” to flourish the knife after
Scarpia had fallen. Did she kill him
with a flourish? There should be
straightforward incision. A little boy at
the boarding-house table scowled fero-
ciously and said to his mother: “I wish
J had a dagger.” We see him now. one
of the kind described as sunny-haired
nnd cherubic. "Why, Willy!” The child
said still more savagely: "I wish I had:
a dagger,” and the mother replied, as
the interlocutor to Mr. Bones: "Whi.i
would you do with the dagger if you
had It?" To which the boy answered:
“I'd dag somebody.” There was a true
artist. There would have been no melo-
dramatic flourish in his blow. We fear
Mme. Giachetti Is, after all, not an artist
of the first rank— especially in her "dag-
ging”— -especially as we learn from the
Standard that the “eloquence of the
silence” which ends the murder scene
was “also a little marred by hurried
nnd somewhat excessive movements.”
Itov was she “excessive”? Did she
dance a few steps of exultation? Was
there a well-defined pas seul of tri-
umph?
The Daily News reviewed the perform-
ance with rare discrimination. The
libretto, as well as the play, is a story
of "unmitigated brutality"; the two chief
situations are on a level of a bull fight.
“It is not really drama, for the sacri-
fice of Tosca for her lover's sake is but
a passing detail in a picture which has
been painted merely for the sake of
making the audience quiver with hor-
ror.” The News says that the opera is
accepted on account of the "wonderful
atmosphere” of the music. “The little
introduction to the last act, depicting
the chill of early dawn over Home
(never were consecutive fifths more
justified) is a small masterpiece, and
the ironical use of the gay little theme
expressive of the happiness which Tosca
and her lover think are in store for
shorn gives a pathos to the discovery
xiiat Cavaradossi has been really exe-
cuted. It is a stroke of imagination
rare in -music-drama, from- which sug-
gestiveness is apt to be banished.”
An English Carmen.
Many of our readers remember Mme.
Kirkby Lunn. She safig here at a Sym-
phony concert, in Mr. Lang's last pro-
duction of “Parsifal” in concert form,
and In Mr. Savage s production of “Par-
sifal” at the Tremont Theatre. When
she first came to Boston she was merely
one of a line of English contraltos with
an extended compass, just the woman
to sing sentimental songs in an English
drawing room after a heavy dinner, or
to sing at an English music festival In
the production of a new oratorio, "The
Witch of Endor” or “Hezekiah," by
some English organist and music doc-
tor. She had not the remarkable low
tones of Mme. Clara Butt, who sang
“Abide With Me,” to the accompani-
ment of a cabinet organ and piano, and
with the fervor of a barmaid on a holi-
day. Mme. Kirkby Lunn sang songs by
Elgar as though she had been com-
manded to do so by the Queen. But
when she returned to sing in Mr. Sav-
age's company, she had Improved soj
far as vocal skill was concerned, or site
had been carefully trained in the music
of Kundry.
After she left this country she sang
in opera at Budapest. Many things can
be learned in that city.
She had appeared in Carmen, as a
member of the Carl Rosa company, be-
fore she visited this country, and she
impersonated the gypsy girl at Buda-
pest. it is said, with conspicuous suc-
cess. It is also said that she was the
first Englishwoman to impersonate the
part in London in the course of the
grand opera season. Her appearance in
this part last month provoked discus-
sion. not only of her performance, but
of the true character of Carmen her-
self. No doubt she sang the music very
well, as far as straight singing goes.
But how about her dramatic perform-
ance? According to the Telegraph, her
physique and temperament are not
suited by nature to the part, but she
concealed "any marked unsuitabilities.
"Her touches of passion and witchery,
if at times a little wanting in spontan-
eity, are, at any rate, well considered,
and never pushed to extremes. All the
allurement of this wonderful part may
not be present, but one is thankful tor
the absence of the uncouth picture
which Miss Destinn gave us a year
ago.” How English this all is! It is a
wonder that the Telegraph did not use
the phrase dear to so many London
concert reviewers: “The part was in
safe hands.” The Telegraph finally
found refuge in this Bunsbyism: On
the whole, her performance 13 "^h
what the opera-goer who has heard and
admired Mme. Kirkby Lunn in other
arts would expect." _
Listen to the Times! Should Carmen
d “a wild, untamed animal in womans
nape, or a self-willed gypsy SirL Play-
is: with love as a child plays with fire .
[me' Kirkby Lunn takes the latter view
nil elves the Kiri a heart, and tins
entler view is really more in harmony
1-S 1
'
| than the more brutal and violent read-
| ,ing which some actresses prefer to give
Jus.” Shades of Prosper Merlmee and
the librettists and Bizet and GaJH-Marie,
who created the part and played it with
savage intensity! So Carmen was all
heart and Bizet s music for her is “deli-
cate” !
“Lancelot” of the Referee found fault
with the singer because she did not
realize that “a vain, hasty and veno-
mous-minded woman such as Carmen is
almost wholly absorbed in self-gratifica-
tion, and is perpetually engaged in con-
sideration of personal appearance, recol-
lections of petty triumphs and securing
sfelf-indulgence. Carmen Is the centre
of her own universe, a vivid manifes-
tation of intense selfishness; and the
only moment when a ray of nobility
glints across the picture is when Car-
men seeks to learn her fate by the
cards, and defies their tragic prediction.
In this scene Mme. Lunn was at her
best, the loftiness and largeness of her
art coming to her aid, and if she will
only consider the possibilities of a small
mind, allied with exceptional strength
of will, I believe her impersonation of
Merimee’s heroine would acquire the
distinction it now lacks.”
Why should Lancelot say of Miss
Donalda’s Micaela that “the fairness
of her wig and the blackness of her
eyebrows detracted from her air of
innocence”? Would a woman with
black hair and light eyebrows be in-
evitably open to suspicion? And why
should Micaela always be represented
as a blonde? Merely to make a con-
trast with Carmen, the brunette.
Micaela herself, whether her eyebrows
be bushy or apologetic, black or
sandy, exists only as a contrast. The
drama could get along without her,
and her applauded air in the third act,
which, by the way, written for another
opera, was interpolated, delays the
action. Merimee's story is all the
stronger because there is no Micaela in
it, and because the bull fighter is men-
tioned only incidentally.
The Standard praised Mme. Kirkby
Lunn: "She kept well within the pict-
ure, and her acting was full of re-
straint.” “Kept well within” whose
picture? It should be remembered that
Carmen was not a restful person. The
various newspaper articles confirm
our suspicion that Mme. Kirkby
Lunn’s performance was always lady-
like, and at times sweetly sympa-
thetic.
Mr. Baughan Again.
Mr. E. A. Baughan of the Daily
News, going night after night to the
opera, wrote a long article about act-
ing in musical drama. The article is
certainly original, and the statements
will be found too sweeping by some
'and irritating by others. The opening
sentence is as follows: “Why is it
that the spoken play does not attract
such commanding talent as the mixed
art of music and drama?” Many would
answer this question: "It does.” Mr.
Baughan goes so far as to say that
some of the most gifted men and
women on the stage are giving their
services to musical comedy.
The English play actor and play
actress, it appears, are in a bad w r ay.
Many of them have not been taught
to sing and to dance, and therefore
they are only half-educated as me-
diums for expressing feelings. They
attempt to make the body express the
mind, and their acting is self-con-
scious, unnatural. Yet these half-
baked stage people probably look
down on opera singers, at least Mr
Baughan suspects them of this arro-
gance.
"For in the old days there was not
much acting to be done in opera, and
the idea that operatic artists cannot
act has become a tradition. As a mat-
ter of fact, however, there are sev-
eral singers now at Covent Garden
who have a greater right to consider
tnemselves actors than the best known
of our men on the ordinary stage.”
It is by no means certain that there
was not impressive acting in the old
days of opera, but let us accept Mr
Baughan’s statement. He points to
an example in modern operatic life
and to whom, pray? To Ternina? No
To any singer of the Bayreuth school’
No, and we did not believe him cap-
able of such 'folly. Caruso, of all men
act the whole emotional pain of the man
is expressed in the voire Music of
course, gives the singer his expression
ready-made to some extent but the
mere smging of tho notes with precise
attention to phrasing and expulsion
and so forth will not result in the hn
man reality which Caruso gets into his
voice. He must be an actor.” 13
his 'arGcfe 8 ’ thnt Kaid in t,lc first P art of
nis article that many actors and act-
ress have never learned to walk or to
carry themselves. “It i s rare indeed
that one sees that perfect freedom
which only comes from absolute self-
dontrol and absence of physical self
s,T?h°o U tT SS .'' P oos heseHousIy ini
sist that Caruso Is a well-graced actor
that he even carries himself well, that
he stands and walks as any one of the
characters he Impersonates would bear
himself, that his gestures are of pan-
tomimic force or as the true italicization
nHinbf i J £ a Phrase? To speak
plainly, is not Caruso a tenor who has
a naturally effective voice and Is other-
™f® commonplace? How would he ap-
pear before an audience if he were
obliged to rely in making an effect on
anything but his singing voice? Is he
not heavy, sluggish, without personal
charm or distinction? Has he physically
any magnetic qualitv?
Mr. Baughan refers to his Canio.
Compare Caruso’s impersonation with
H 1 - at .?£ De Lucia and you see at once
the difference between brute force and
lively imagination coupled with mental
authority. Caruso's voice is a much
more beautiful organ than that of De
Lucia, and although he has slovenly
tricks as a singer, he uses his voice in
a freer manner; but De Lucia makes
his voice the servant of his dramatic
will, so that the tones, which are often
wmite and shrill, seem necessarily the
tones of Canio.
Opera and Drama.
It is true, as Mr. Baughan says, that
a player in opera is bound by the music
which "conditions the actual business
of the part and dictates the time which
may be given to the expression of feel-
ing to a nicety. No pause is possible,
and the player has always to come in at
the exact moment with the orchestra ”
This is indisputably true. It is also
true that without the restriction of
music— and this restriction is a support
to a singer— applauded actors in opera
cut a sorry figure in spoken drama. Ter-
nina is admirable in Puccini’s “Tosca.”
Put her in Sardou’s play. She would
probably disappoint the most enthusi-
astic of her admirers, and would not
be so effective as any well trained and
emotional actress.
Whenever a singer renowned for dra-
matic skill and force in music drama
has essayed to play a part in spoken
drama, the performance has disap-
pointed or been a complete failure. The
latest instance of this was the fiasco
of Victor Maurel in a play performed a
few years ago in Paris. Or take the
example of a less distinguished opera
singer. Mr. Bispham has acted in sev-
eral music dramas with more than ordi-
i nar Y effect. When he played the part
Beethoven in the sentimental drama,
Adelaide” at the Hollis Street Theatre,
his performance was amateurish, as
though he had had little stage experi-
ence. Mr. Baughan believes that all
players should learn to sing, even if
they are not musical, and if they have
no sense of pitch. "The necessity of
realizing the emotional expression of a
song has a wonderful influence on mak-
ing the muscles of the face plastic and
sensitive, for the singer modifies his
expression by the use of his eyes, fore-
head, lips, and every atttitude and bal-
ance of his body.” But every actor who
has been schooled at all, has studied
the use of eyes, lips, arms, hands and
postures. An actor of any emotional
force must have a mobile face, he must
know the value of a gesture. Are there
not celebrated prima donnas with
wooden faces, whose gestures qre con-
ventional, and without significance? Let
Ternina, Caruso and Scotti play their
respective parts in Sardou’s “Tosca.”
We ifoubt whether any audience would
sit tlirough the performance.
enunciation In the smaller space than
Mr. Hardy-The seems capable of at
present." „ „ , .
Mr. Stanley Adams, a Canadian bari-
tone, gave a recital in London last
month. His voice was described as
fairly powerful, but of hard and un-
sympathetic quality. "If he wishes to
achieve success in London it will be
necessary for him to enlarge his range
of expression.” So said the Telegraph.
The Times said his voice is of "very nice
quality.”
We regret to learn from Paris that
Mr. Safonoff, one of the judges at the
competition for the Dlemer prize, slept
wldle Mr. Lortat- Jacob was playing the
piano. And he did not sleep peacefully,
for he snored in an aggressive, Cossack
manner. Yet at is hardly courteous for
the Mercure Musical to call him “a fos-
sil.” Perhaps Mr. Lortat-Jacob played
so loudly that Mr. Safonoff was dis-
turbed even when his thoughts were
far away in New York and centred on
the approaching salary which he was
trying to figure in roubles.
Maurice Ravel is composing an opera
with Hauptmann’s "Sunken Bell” for
the libretto. It will be the third or
fourth one based on this subject.
Geraldine Farrar will sing in "Don
Giovanni,” to be performed next month
at. Salzburg at the 150th anniversary of
Mozart’s death. Mr. Karl Muck will
conduct One of the concerts of the
festival, which will last from the 14th
to the 20m.
"Mr. Kubelik purposes to withdraw
from the stage in 1907 and live on his in-
come.” M-m-m.
Elgar’s “Dream of Gerontius,” per-
formed in Paris May 25, bored the
Menestrel, whose critic described the
work as long, cold, monotonous, dull.
Mr. Taffanel has resigned his position
as first conductor at the Opera, Paris,
and Paul Vidal will succeed him.
HUMPHREY’S SOOTHER.
Quartermaster-General Humphrey is
blessed in Washington, U. C., for the
invention, it is claimed, of a new thirst
ossuager, which is known as the "Hum-
phrey Soother.” The drink is thus com-
pounded : “Take a long glass and squeeze
a whole lime into it. Put in a chunk of
ice, pour in a hooker of rum — Santa
Cruz or Jamaica. Then fill the glass
with the best ginger ale.” But this
drink is practically the old and estab-
lished favorite, known to those who do
not fear the Demon Rum, as “A Com-
plete Angler,” which was probably in-
vented by a barkeeper or drinkmaster
this side the bar named Walton. Limes,
however, in the great scheme of the uni-
verse, are designed for gin rather than
i um, and the best rum for a long drink
is our own New England, the joy that
our fathers bequeathed to us as a price-
less heritage.
PERSONAL.
The Herald publishes today portraits
1 of Miss Lucia Crestani, Miss Parkina,
Mr. Richard Martin and Mr. Josef
Lhevinne. Miss Crestani was born at
Verona. She made her debut at Turin
as Aida, and last season was warmly
praised for her performance in Cata-
lani’s "Loreley” at the Scala in Milan.
She is young and a brilliant future is
predicted for her. Miss Parkina (Eliza-
beth Parkinson) has been singing again
at Covent Garden. She will givd con-
certs in the Gnited States next season.
Mr. Josef Lhevinne, a piano pupil of
Safonoff, made his first visit to this
country last season, and played in sev-
eral cities with marked success. He
will come to Boston for the first time
next season. Mr. Martin, tenor, was a
church singer at Yonkers. He studied
with Sbriglia and Jean de Reszke, sang
a few times at Nantes in 1904 and then
studied in Milan. After further study
„ with Mr. de Reszke he signed a contract
Mr. Baughan argues that c , £or an engagement at Odessa last sea-
"spirit of real acting” may be thf> a see° ? . and then changed his name from
of his success as a singer
oratorio and concert — ' S '■ famous
real actm 0 g-” d ’ possesses “ the of
Caruso as Actor.
Mr. Caruso has been heard in several
SMg in* 1 4 h ,i S , c .° ul .!ir y - ,. In 'Boston he
olocrn dp ..' Lu f ia - Paghacci” and “La
did In no one of these operas
He- marked histrionic ability
7,® 1 im Pressive dramatically in
the curse or m the death scene in
, and >n Ponchielli’s opera he
was simply a tenor with a celebrated
song to be sung on a vesseh It is ? r „e
gift he was indisposed while he was in
SS 'X'Sff ,JS£3g i™ °<
MR. WINTER’S VERDICT.
Mr. George V. Winter of London
knows his business. When he landed
for the purpose of designing certain
improvements in the uniforms of the
American soldiers, there were curses
both loud and deep, chiefly from our
own slighted artists. Was the great
man resentful, supercilious? Not a[j
bit of it. “The American soldier is the
| best looking in the world.” There’s
nothing like him in Europe, Arope,
Irope, or Orope. Tommy Atkins is a
sight to him. There was one little
betterment to be made, and it was
Mr. Winter’s privilege to make if
”to give him a better fit,” and thus to
give “full effect to his fine qualities.”
Does the betterment include the
cocking of the cap on one side of
carefully greased hair? Mr. Winter
should remember one thing; the
soldier of any country is the hand-
somest thing in the world in the eyes
of the women of that country. “Ah!
flue; j’aime le militaire!” Now that
Mr. Winter has approved, let the
parade go on.
actors
singers have to be
. ■ . says Mr. Baughan, otherwis!
singing is cold and uninteresting
J t d °ubt if the great coloratura s 1ng2f s
of the past, of whom fame has but little
,® xc o pt of their voices, were only
singers. Does not Mr. Baughan
that thev® iS abu , ndan t evidence to show
itura’ Th a T a 4 C ln th ® o^
itura.-' The quality of Caru*n’«
oice that is admired is "really the ex
££? 8 ?& n of bis emotional nature.” Bm
E®. tbere n ?t naturally emotional voices
ers'1kmlelve e s ffe are V VaUe a r U o^ fac't
As an actor he (Caruso) has the gift
of conveying feeling not onlv through
85® outburst 11 awih^end^of ’ th^H
Hugh to Richard for Russia.
John Coates will sing the tenor part
in Elgar’s new work.
Granville Bantock is at work on an
"Omar Khayyam.” Omar will be a
tenor.
It is said that Mme. Melba will play
the accompaniments for Miss Irene Ain-
ley, a New Zealand contralto, in London
July 10.
Battestini, the baritone, sang the part
of Rigoletto in London last month. Mr.
Baughan wrote: “Sig. Battestini evi-
dently does not believe that Rigoletto
need be deformed except, as it were, by
courtesy. To present the character as
normal in this aspect robs it of its sig-
nificance.”
Mr. Hardy-The, a well advertised sing-
er in Paris, gave a recital in London
last month, and the Telegraph frankly
said: “We believe he would be of great-
ei interest in a drawing room among
those ’intimes’ whose presence means
so much to a singer, than ln the con-
cert room before a mixed audience,
though, be it said, much more is re-
quired in the matter of clearness of
AFTER MANY YEARS.
. ‘‘ Germa uy is no longer a poor tour-
ist s paradise as in years gone by.” The
statement is also made that Berlin is
now one of the most expensive cities for
travellers to visit or for the sojourn of
a student. Berlin was the most expen-
sive city in Germany to live in 23 years
ago The price of food and lodging was
higher than at Hamburg, Munich, Stutt-
gart, and even Dresden, with its price-
raising colonies of English and Ameri-
cans. It is true that a student could
live at a low rate in Berlin, but bow
would he thus live? Uncomfortably and
with little regard for his health. En-
thusiasm carried some through, but
many Americans today have wretched
stomachs on account of the diet of stu-
dent days. The tourist of 1906 revisits
towns in Germany and finds the price of
living much higher than it was twentv-
bve years ago. (So it is in Boston.')
He goes to inns, restaurants, pensions of
the first-class, and sighs for the old days.
Lut in the old days he would not have
dreamed of going to such inns and res-
taurants, for he did not have the money,
today he could not endure the rooms
and restaurants where once lie lived
gaily with fellow students or resolved
to make a name for himself. The Ber-
lin that he remembers is purely a men-
tal and glorified recollection. It did not
exist as he now pictures it.
SECLUDE1X
It is not easy to gain seclusion even
in a remote village. Our valued con-
tributor, Mr. Herkimer Johnson, the
earnest student of sociology, has
made a brave endeavor. His cottage
Is far from the highway and the
private road is for 100 feet a cause-
way which may be submerged; fur-
thermore there is a drawbridge, and
at the end there is a portcullis. The
| approach to the front door Is easily
commanded; there are stones at hand
| on a balcony, and there is also an in-
genious contrivance by which hot
water can be squirted on an invader.
Man traps and spring guns will take
care of any one who leaves the
beaten path. There is a yellow flag
ready for hoisting, and a large
placard marked “diphtheria” placed
In the road can be seen at a long dis-
tance. The front door gives admit-
tance only to the second story, and
the trick-steps that lead to it can be
worked by a child. Mr. Crisp, a dis-
appointed and weary man, whose let-
ters have been published recently,
made his home at Chesington, “where
there was only one safe route across
the wild common,” and the clew to
this was given only to a few and
trusty friends, so Mr. Johnson was
not the first. There was Rosamonde’s
bower, also the maze of Daedalus.
But of what avail are all Mr. John-
son’s precautions against the 17-year
locusts that fly in swarms and buzz
in their search for oaks hours at a
time, a buzz that is more insistent
and distracting than clangor in
boiler shop or ruthless descent of
pile-driver?
NEEDLESS ALARM.
Prof. John M. Tyler of Amherst Col-
lege looks back with wild regret to the
years when Americans “lived on pork
and doughnuts to a great extent,” and
i ate a huge piece of mince pie just be-
fore going to bed. Yes, those were “hali-
con” days and nights. “We say,” adds
the learned professor, “ ‘what a barbar-
ous bill of fare’ — we who can’t stand
anything stronger than tea and crack-
ers.” l'et there are brave men and wom-
en today who gayly eat pork in one form
or another and also doughnuts ; there
are still braver persons who put down
large quantities of lobster and cham-
pagne late at night; there are even reck-
| lessly heroic persons who eat Welsh rab-
bit smeared on mince pie just before they
go to bed well pleased with the labors
of the day. And are not those who live I
I exclusively on nuts, fruit, vegetables
'and health foods also heroes and hero- I
mes? Does it not take courage to eat
granose and other “oses” with "oids”
and “enes”? No, professor, the “children
of business and professional men” are
not all degenerates. Just put the dough-
nut jar oefore them.
“YOURS TRULY.”
The American, writing “yours
truly at the end of his letter, or
"yours, etc.,” smiles superciliously
at the Frenchman with his "Agreez,
monsieur, 1’assurance de ma consid-
eration tres-distinguee,” or “Agreez,
je vous prie, l’assurance de mes sen-
timents distingues,” and says, "What
a waste of time!” and protests
against this "guff.” Not many years
ago Americans used equally florid
professions of respect or affection,
as “Believe me to be, sir, your obedi-
ent servant,” or “I have the honor to
refnain, sir, yours very sincerely.”
These ceremonious endings went out
with the quill pen. They are not
to be thought of in the era of postal
cards and type- written letters. Even
in Paris the delightful formulae be-
ginning, "Agreez” or "Veuillez” are
beginning to disappear.
There are Americans who careful-
ly make a distinction. They write
“yours truly” to "a tradesman” or
to some one who, they infer, is in
“a station below them." "Yours verj
truly” Is a recognition of a little
higher grade. “Yours sincerely” is
the formula for the eciual, and “Yours
faithfully" is preferred by some be-
cause they think the phrase Is used
in England. "Yours cordially” is an
ending dear to many women, and
some men use it, especially when
they hardly know the addressed one
or wish a favor granted. But does
not "Yours truly” cover the ground?
If you are “true” to any man you
must necessarily be sincere and
faithful. We refer exclusively to the
correspondence of one man with an-
other. A man writing to a woman
Indulges himself in all sorts of as-
surances unless he has learned pru-
dence early in life through personal
experience or through reading the
sad experiences of others of his
kind. Why should a man protest to
a fellowman that he Is writing truly
or sincerely when his letter may be
an evasion or a deliberate attempt
to deceive? These endings must nec-
essarily be conventional in many In-
stances. The very vagueness of
"Yours, etc.,” is at least honest, for
"etc.” includes every kind of assur-
ance, wish, curse. Yet if you should
end a letter to a Frenchman with
"Votre, etc.,” he would be insulted.
/ ^ / j* '
QUICK READING.
A young lady, "a fashionable mem-
ber of Philadelphia's fashionable set,”
has a remarkable . automobile. It con-
tains an ice chest, a little toilet room,
a combination cigar cutter and lighter, a
china closet, berths and bedding, but
the truly remarakable feature is a re-
volving bookcase, which is supposedly
,ull of books. It will be remembered that
Napoleon never travelled without books;
that he drew up a list of 1000 volumes
with minute directions as to size, paper,
binding, for they were to be prepared
for a portable library. Why books in an
automobile? We can understand the
reasonableness of ice chest and cigars,
■water for washing face and hands, and
perhaps there are confiding souls who
can sleep peacefully while some one
steers the devil wagon. But who can
read at a fast pace and goggle-eyed?
Why should one read, except perhaps
some treatise on damages or a reprint
Of "The Rights of Man”?
Thomas Moore and other' poets Into
ancient and modern languages, and
then insisting that his translations
were the originals and Moore and the
others were unblushing plagiarists.
The originality of Wolfe’s poem has
been more than once denied and
"Lally Tolendal” named as the au-
thor. And now in 1906 the old
mare's nest excites the attention of
one of the most prominent literary
journals in the country! We fear
that the "Reliques of Father Prout”
are not well known today. The book
is probably not one of the “quick-
sellers."
T M S S REPETITION.
Reading, it has been said, makes a
full man. It is also a consolation in
this: It shows that in all generations! 1
known to us by record there have
been noisy or pathetic outbursts
against "abuses and frauds.” Henri
Estienne in has "Apology for Herodo-
tus” wrote bitterly against adulter-
ated foods and drugs, a muck-raker
in the sixteenth century. Over
seventy years ago Leigh Hunt in a
little essay probably unknown to
many admirers of that singularly
graceful writer remonstrated, yet
with gallantry, against “ladies' bon-
nets in the theatre,” and made the
objection and the appeal that are,
unfortunately so familiar today. But
how prettily’ he stated his case! "We
are aware that in modern, as In an-
cient theatres, ladies come to be seen
as well as to see. ‘Spectatum veniunt,
veniunt spectentur ut ipsae.' But we
are desirous that they should not pay
themselves so ill a compliment as to
confound their dresses with them-
selves; it is the bonnets that are
seen, in these cases, and not the
ladies. * * * We never feel angry
with a woman except when she per-
sists in doing something to diminish
the delight we take in complimenting
the sex.”
BONNY DUNDEE.
There are some who wait impatiently
for the verdict of boards of health, ex-
perts in food, stomach specialists and un-
attached, but busy reformers on the pur-
ity of orange marmalade. Docs the flav-
or of orange come from the peel? Are
the oranges peeled by bonny Scotch
lasses singing songs of Burns or some
hymn of faith and confidence to the
grand old tune “Dundee,” or do rude
boys'search sidewalks, gutters and gar-
bage pails? Let us not burst in ignor-
ance, for if marmalade is good for break-
last, there are deep thinkers who believe
that breakfast is merely a pretext for
^yalade. Eggs, fruit, buttered toast, a
^ f bacon unless you are a confirmed
vegetarian, these are all good enough
in their way — but what is life between
7 and 9 A. M.. without one spoonful of
marmalade? Who. pray, invented mar-
malade? Say not, the question is a fool-
ish one. Did not Mr. Herbert Spencer
delight in asking why sheep have their
eyes on the sides of their heads and
why a duck waddles? We know who in-
vented Boston baked beans : “Which
his name it was Gilson. \\ ho invented
marmalade?
AN OLD MARE’S NEST.
There are certain mare's nests
that are discovered by literary in-
vestigators. and rediscovered at In-
tervals. They reappear with the
regularity of a well behaved comet.
They excite interest, are discussed
wisely, are at last exposed, and then
they disappear for the allotted
period. One of the most famous of
these mare's nests is the statement
that the Rev. Charles Wolfe stole his
poem, “The Burial of Sir John
Moore,” from "Lally Tolendal.” Over
sixty years ago F. J. Mahony\
•Father Prout.” amused himself and
,-nanv others by translating poems of
CHESS AND BRAINS.
The Saturday Review of London
doubts whether a great chess player
is often to be regarded as a man of
powerful intellect. "It has never been
shown that the greatest masters of
the game were men with big brains
for anything but chess.” Hazlitt ex-
pressed the same opinion in a more
condensed form when he said a
great chess player is not a great
man, for he leaves the world as he
found it. “No act terminating in it-
self constitutes greatness.” On the
other hand it might be argued that
to excel in any one thing is a mark
of powerful and concentrated in-
tellect, and the one that excels
should not be required to shine in
any other way. The greatest masters
of the game might have been great in
spine profession or calling, but they
preferred to play chess, as others to
practise law, mMicipp or the art of
war. A list of names might be drawn
up to dispute the Saturday Review’s
proposition. Philidor, for instance,
was for some years the most distin-
guished composer of France In the
line of opera-comique, and Philidor
was a mighty chess player in his
epoch. He astonished the world by
beating three men at once when he
was blindfolded.
SCULPTORS AND FLATS.
An esthetic person calls our atten-
tion to the influence of the flat on
sculpture. This is the era of the flat
in our cities, as there was once an
era of the mansard roof, an era of
the photograph album. Our friend
remarks: "Unless the sculptor sets
himself to care for the flat dweller
his work will never be accorded that
universal attention which he justly
claims as his right.” There is a good
deal taken for granted in this sen-
tence, and still more in the following
words : “It is only now and then that
a public body needs a life-size monu-
ment. No sane man would wish to
fill his drawing room with a col-
lection ot contemporary busts but
every person of taste would like tc
have about him little statuettes and
sculptured groups of a size propor-
tionate to his home.” Not big and
heroic statuettes, but “little statu-
ettes,” things for the ’mantleplece and
parlor tables. Our friend forgets the
Dresden china shepherd and his
sweetheart and the Rogers groups. Is
he not content with them? Are they
not “of a size proportionate” to his
flat? If he craves statuettes he should
also in his flat read novelettes and
sermonettes and edltorlalettes and all
the other "ettes" instead of literature
suited to a three-story house with a
cellar and a back yard. W hat is
wanted apparently is a Michael Angelo
for a seven-room flat. But are there
not reduced copies of famous statues?
Are there not girls from Tanagra? Me
remember the "esthetic" parlors of
twenty years ago. They were all dark
and In green or yellow and everything
was covered with Morris designs,
which were said at the time to look
like the entrails of plants. There was
much talk about the dado and the
frieze; there was a gloomy portiere
over the door, a heavy drapery over
the mantlepiece; there were cushions
galore, and lilies, sunflowers and, in defi-
ance of superstition, peacocks’ feathers ;
there were plush monkeys, toy spiders
and all manner of creeping things and
Japanese animals; there were fans on
the walls and there was a tambourine
or a banjo with blue or yellow ribbons,
sometimes painted with figures of
storks, and it hung over a Japanese
screen. There were no statues or statu-
ettes.
Such living rooms were in a curious
clutter. What has become of all the
encumbering, out of place stuff? Now
that we are flat dwellers, must there
be a stone age in decoration .’ Must
there be gods and goddesses, heroes
and nymphs, proportioned to the
fourth floor without an elevator? It Is
true that one would feel uncomforta-
ble in a flat with a “stone gal” of life
size, though ah Apollo Belvedere
might hold a hat and overcoat. And
If there are to be a lot of statuettes,
so that the sculptors may live, the
flat should be well heated. A room
thus decorated and without heat in
the radiator would be doubly depressing.
her cbai’tfclers speak of a 'inn re as “kit-
tle cattle to shoe.'’ A more singular
use of the word occurred in a review of
a dramatic performance in London :
"Cleopatra is a kittle character for a
London theatre, unless played by some
French actress, who has no character
tc lose” — a delightful example of in-
sularity and international courtesy.
MR. PADEREWSKI.
So Mr. Paderewski, the eminent |
Polish hypnotist, is really going to
leave his chateau and come to the United
States next season. lie will bring with
him his “latest symphony,” which will
be produced here by Mr. Muck with
the Symphony Orchestra. This "latest”
symphony is also his first. Mr. Apthorp,
who, alas, has been too long in Europe,
saw the' score of it some time ago and I
praised it highly. When Mr. Pad- !
erewski first came to Boston in 1891
he played his own concerto, but it had
already been performed here by Mme.
Uive-King. Later he played his own
Polish Fantasia. We understand that
the performance of this symphony will
he the first, and it is naturally antici-
r a ted eagerly by many, although Mr.
Paderewski is, first of all, a virtuoso
of a peculiarly fascinating temperament,
; nd he will be remembered as such rath-
er thau as a composer.
A BELATED TRUST BUSTER.
Prof. Arthur M. Wheeler of Yale Uni-
versity, in the course of his attack on
the Monroe Doctrine as “the embodi-
ment of national greed and selfishness,”
deplored the present chase after money
and the existence of "great combinations,
with their betrayal of public trust.”
Let us see. Did not Yarn University a
year ago, with tears of gratitude, ac-
cept the sum of three millions of dol-
lars from, perhaps, the one great head of
the most nefarious of all these com-
binations, and did not a prominent grad-
uate at the alumni dinner exclaim in a
line burst, “Bring on your tainted
money?” Did Prof. Wheeler, on that
joyful occasion, lift up his denouncing
voice?
FRENCH OR GERMAN?
Mr. John D. Rockefeller has ordered
a monument to be erected at Oswego,
N. Y., in honor of his ancestor, “J ohann
Peter Rockefeller, who came from Ger-
many.” This should put an end to the
story that Mr. Rockefeller is of French
descent; that his name was originally
Rochfeuillc, just as Bumpus is a cor-
ruption of Bompasse and Dabney a cor-
ruption of d’Aubigne. Mr. Rockefeller’s
present fondness for France might lead
one to believe the story of bis French
origin. By the way, where is Pastor
Wagner? Has be not responded to
Mr. Rockefeller's invitation to join him
in the simple life at C'ompiegne? Or
was the story of Mr. Rockefeller’s reck-
less tipping on the steamer too great a
shock ?
KITTLE CATTLE.
An English writer on racing charac-
terised certain horses on a track as
"kittle cattle” and explains laboriously
the meaning of the word "kittle” as un-
certain, capricious, variable. But the
word is a good dictionary word, and it
lias been in use for over three centuries.
It originally meant ticklish, then diffi-
cult to deal with, requiring caution or
skill ; then, naturally, risky, precarious,
uncertain. George Eliot makes one of
AT POINT LOMA.
Mr. Lyman J. Gage was eminently
right in saying that it is no business
of the public how he amuses himself
In his years of retirement. We like
to think of him studying the life and
manners of the Theosophical broth-
erhood. First, Mrs. Katherine A.
Tingley, the great high priestess,
must be an ever-flowing fountain of
joy and entertainment, for her mem-
ory goes back to 1200 B. C., and
many things have happened since I
that date. The men of the colony, it
seems, are dressed “somewhat as the
ancient Greeks and Romans were
wont to array themselves”; they
wear undershirts, pyjamas and a
piece of cheesecloth over the shoul-
ders. Somehow or other we do not
instinctively think of Caesar, Cicero,
l’lato and Alcibiades in pyjamas of
a uniform color or variegated, but
Mrs. Tingley’s memory is said to be
wonderfully accurate. When Mr. A. G.
Spaulding of baseball fame arrived at
Point Loma with his bride, they
were welcomed with "Homeric
dances and other fancy steps,” an
honor greater than that ever paid Mr.
Spaulding's old friend “Pop” Anson.
No wonder that Mr. Gage prefers
Point Loma to Chicago even though
for breakfast he has only “a quar-
ter of an egg,” a little dry toast, two
or three walnuts and a few raisins.
MICROBIC NAPKINS.
We had always supposed that the
Lancet arrogated to itself the privi-
lege of frightening people out of their
wits by finding death-giving microbes
in everything, even on bell knobs, so
that the prudent person never pulls
one without first putting on antisep-
tic gloves. But here comes Prof.
Kron, a deep thinker in Germany,
who sounds an alarm against the
waiter's napkin, "a deplorably un-
hygienic piece of linen which should
be abolished in all civilized countries.”
His article is. Indeed, a trumpet
call. It seems that a waiter made in
Germany wiped the guest's plate,
glass, knife and fork, the sweat of his
own brow, and the beer foam from his
own lips with one and the same nap-
kin: and yet he expected a tip. What
would the learned professor say to
the Boston stew, which has been de-
scribed by envious restaurant-keep-
ers in other cities as an oyster stew
in which the waiter Inserts his
thumb when serving it?
J ^ 7 / z- / f o
SEX AND HANDWRITING.
Experts in handwriting are still
taken seriously, witness tbe appear-
ance of one in the incredible divorce
case in Pittsburg. There is a maga-
zine in Paris devoted to graphology,
and in a recent number, Mrs. Walter
Behrens advances theories of her
own. She thinks that the state of
health of the writer is revealed by
the way the pen runs, which is not
v beyond belief. She also thinks that
the corset influences handwriting. "It
is due to the conventional ‘figure’
that women’s handwriting is more
uniform than men’s.” A woman “en
pelgnor’ — in a delightful state of re-
laxation— does not write in the man-
ner of one corseted; she writes more
naturally. This point might be dis-
cussed in the present trial. Do the
leading experts subscribe to this in-
valuable magazine?
POETS’ ERRORS.
A Wisconsin poet wrote sweet
verses for the Milwaukee Sentinel
and one line reads: "There’s the chat-
ter of the chipmunk, as he leaps from
tree to tree.” A prosaic soul files ob-
jections. He says that a chipmunk
does not chatter, and that, like the
elephant in the old conundrum, he
cannot climb a tree. It is true that
the chipmuck, or chipmunk, is gen-
erally described as a ground squirrel;
yet Mrs. Kirkland, a close observer of
forest life? spoke of the “vagaries of
thfe little chipmunk, as he glanced
from branch to branch,” and he is
generally characterized as merry; in-
deed, some go so far as to say the
colloquial appellation may come from
"chip” or “chipper,” and a chipper
person generally chatters; but Bart-
lett thinks the word came from the
Indians. The Wisconsin poet may
plead poetic license. In poetry animals
and plants do all sorts of things;
| otherwise of what use is much lauded
imagination? Mr. Phil Robinson who
I lifts written entertainingly about
poets in connection with birds, beasts
and nature, should have taken judicial
notice of the chipmunk. Aesop makes
the squirrel give the fox a shrewd
answer, and in the Edda, he is a mis-
chief maker.
NOT IX IOWA.
Sarah Bernhardt has been for some
years the heroine of many legends,
but the latest is by no means the
least romantic. The story, as now
told, is that she was born Sarah
King, at Rochester, la.; that she
worked for some years with her sis-
ter in a millinery store at Muscatine,
and one night she finished' her sup-
per before her sister — an impetuous
eater, this Sarah King — and disap-
peared. Her sister has never seen
her since; but she learned that Sarah
joined an "Uncle Tom’s Cabin” com-
pany, to play the part of little Eva,
not one of the bloodhounds. It is
also said that Sarah “a few years
ago” decorated “the graves of her
•folks and carried away some stones
from the old home.” The story is
told with plausible detail.
Unfortunately, when a pupil enters
the Paris Conservatory she is re-
quired to show her certificate of
birth, and they are fussy about this
certificate in France., Turning to
Constant Piere’s "Dictionary of the
, Laureats of the Paris Conservatory,”
1 we find this note: “Bernherdt (Ro-
sine, called Sarali), born at Paris
Oct. 22, 1844). But • no doubt there
will always be some who believe that
Sarah wua born in Iowa, as there are
those who swear that Marshal Ney
was ' not executed ; that he escaped
to Georgia and passed his remaining
years there as a more or less honest
farmer.
RIVAL SHOPS.
A man said lately that he did not go
to his club because he would not run
the risk of being bored. The old answer
might have been made that any one
capable of being bored must be himself
a bore, an answer that assumes much
and is hardly logical. He condescended
to explain himself: There were too
many at the Porphyry who talked shop.
But a man appears to best advantage,
as a rule, when he is talking about his
own shop and the hearers all have dif-
ferent shops. One of the most brilliant
talkers that ever enlivened the world
was William Ilazlitt, if the testimony
of excellent judges who knew him can
be accepted. Yet Hazlitt wrote: “I like
very well to sit in a room where there
are people talking on subjects I know
nothing of, if I am only allowed to sit
I silent and as a spectator.” If a clubman
I would only confine himself to his own
’"shop” and not irritate you by showing
how little lie knows about your shop !
Golightly is all for golf and he has
! much to say about his record in the last
game. If be talks vvitli enthusiasm, be is
much more endurable than if lie were
to assign Ibsen his true position among
diamatists. While he talks about bunk-
ers and putting, listen to him, and won-
der at the interests and pleasures of oth-
ers. If you show an interested face, he
will listen courteously to your disquisi-
tion on realism in fiction and, no doubt,
ring the bell, which you forgot to do, al-
though the waiter several times has
passed through the room.
DISMAL ROMANCE.
When the statue of the younger
I Dumas was unveiled a month ago in
the Place Malesherbes, in Paris, where
(stood already the statue of the glo-
rious father, some one, discussing the
plays of the former and the romances
of the latter, prophesied that fifty
years from now there would be only
one Dumas known to the world, the
author of "The Three Guardsmen,”
“Monte Cristo” and other marvellous
tales of inexhaustible and cheerful
entertainment.
Reading “Sous le Fardeau,” by the
two brothers who sign their work
"J. H. Rosny,” we were struck by the
remark about the elder Dumas. The
entertainment offered by too many of
the modern French novelists is a
pressing invitation to be gloomy.
Take this story by Rosny, which is
told simply and without any appear-
ance of wishing to shock or harrow
up the reader. It is told as though
the episodes described were those of
everyday life.
A young physician who, beginning
to be successful, is making about
$5000 a year, has a sister with a neu-
rasthenic husband, and there are
also poor relations to whom he feels
himself obliged to contribute. Among
his patients is a carpenter, Gilbert,
who supports his father-in-law, the
children of a sour-minded brother
who dies suddenly, and his own chil-
dren. There is Marcellne, the wife of
a brute, a sort of tramp, who comes
back to Paris only to rob her of the j
few francs she has saved up by hard
work for the benefit of two rickety 1
children. There is Gabrielle, a pretty
young woman, who Is dominated by
her brother, a beast of a fellow. There
is also the beautiful and poverty-
stricken Madeleine, who lives shab-
bily with her brother, a slaving clerk,
and her mother, who looks after the
house in a street where murder is the
only diversion from grinding toil. The
physician endeavors to help the lot.
Gilbert turns out fairly well, but In
the course of a strike he was jailed
and he swears never again to be on
the side of order. Gabrielle, who has
been outrageously treated, is rescued
from her brother, and her husband — -
she finally marries — revenges her by
shooting the scoundrel. Marceiine,
placed by the physician in a sort of
colony in Normandy, is discovered by
her husband, who beats her to death.
Madeleine, after thinking over the
matter, calmly sells herself for an as-
sured Yncome. And what is the re-
ward of the good physician? He
marries the widow of a friend. She
never loved her first husband, and
she tormented the doctor wooing her
by her coquetry.
The Rosny brothers are men of
more than ordinary attainments and
sympathy and they stand high among
contemporaneous novelists. They are
only two of many French writers of
fiction who dwell persistently on the
inevitable bui-dens of life a.nd hail
death as the only deliverer. What
wonder if men and women look back
gratefully on the elder Dumas and
prefer to read again the wonderful
adventures of Porthos, Athos, their
sly companion, Aramis, and tha most
dashing and dazzling of the four im-
mortals?
CONCERT FOYER
Thoughts as Suggested by
Dancers and Their
Costumes.
INTERESTING STUDIES
IN LONDON MUSIC HALLS
Miss Aida Boni, a leading dancer at
opera houses in Paris, London and
Brussels, stated a few days ago that it
made no difference in a dancer’s move-
ments whether her skirts were short or
long. Personally, she prefers them to
hang below the knees. In “Armide,”
this season, she will wear skirts that
reach to the ankles. Miss Boni is di-
vinely tall, graceful, and "she suggests
the joy of living"— whatever this may
mean. She took the leading part in the
production of Messager’s ballet, "Les
deux Pigeons,” at Covent Garden, and
her costume was thus described: “Over
the regulation muslin bush she wears
a blue silk skirt reaching to the knees;
that is, it gets there sometimes. This
compromise seems all that can be de-
sired; certainly with regard to Miss
Boni.” Is this last remark a compli-
ment, or does it reflect on the dancer’s
structure?
Some of the readers of The Herald
may remember the case of Miss Eva
Sarcy. Engaged by the Isola brothers
tr. dance in their production of Masse-
net’s "Herodiade,” she withdrew just
before the first performance, on the
ground that she would not and could
not be compelled to wear the costume
designed for her, a costume that in-
cluded a wide-sleeved lunic, a Persian
iionnet and a sabre. She brought suit
against the Isolas for breach of con-
Thev insisted in the course of the
trial that the costume to which she ob-
jected was historical. She replied that
it was beneath the dignity of_ a pre-
miere danseuse to wear anything but
the traditional “tutu.” Now the “tutu”
is a little gauze petticoat. Clad in
“tutu” and with a smile she was wil-
ling to dance in “Herodias,” "Herod, "
“Salome” or any old thing. The court
decided in her favor and ordered the
historically correct Isola brothers to
pay her f.1200.
Scene for our old friend, the his-
torical painter: Miss Sarcy clad in
tutu triumphing over historical accu-
racy: the Triumph of the Ideal Over
the Real.
On the other hand, the King of Cam-
bodia, Sisowath, or, to give his full
name, Prea Bat Samdoch Prea Siso-
wath Chamchrocrapong Hairirach Bra-
minthor Phouvanavkravkeofa Sobape-
dey, visiting in Paris, says in his
frank breezy Cambodian manner that
all French women should wear only
two garments: one fitting close to the
skin, the other covering the first. "Be-
sides, says the observing monarch,
“your women harness themselves so
tight that none of their motions are
free.” With that he summoned some of
his dancing girls to illustrate his
meaning.
Unfortunately, there are contradic-
tory statements about the precise na-
ture of their dress. The New York
World says it is made of gold wire,
and fits tightly the figure. The Lon-
don Globe says the costume is of silk,
yellow, red, blue or green, with inter-
lacings of gold and silver filigree. The
dancers’ hair is cut short, and they
wear gold helmets studded with gems.
A costume is worth from $7500 to
$10,000. Not only are they loose and
reckless dancers, but some of the dances
in which they ravish the eyes of the be-
holder and turn his knees to water are
pantomimic and mimodramatic. The
favorite musical instrument that
spurs them on is the languorous, sen-
sous xylophone.
The London journals anticipate
great pleasure in seeing the Cambo-
dians' in London, where the ballet was
for years, beginning with 1702, a pop-
ular amusement. The London Times
'reprints each day some curious para-
graphs that appeared in its issue of
100 years ago. We thus learn that
on the night of June 9, 1806, there was
a great and brilliant audience at the
opera. The leading soprano was Gras-
sini, who, courted before she died by
both Napoleon and Wellington,
charmed the eyes and ears of De
Quincy, full of laudanum negus. She
and the other singers were applauded
that night. “But the ballet of ’Ninette
a la Cour,’ which was first brought
out on Thursday for the benefit uf
Mile. Parisot, notwithstanding all the
delightful attitudes and fascinating 1
witcheries of that accomplished per-
former, received but little of the pub-
lic favor. The disapprobation in-
creased considerably toward the con-
clusion, and the dancing of Des Hayes
and Parisot was absolutely stopped.
When it was found that the audience
were not likely to be in good humor,
and the hour of 12 was close at hand
the curtain fell rather abruptly before
the termination of the piece."
This shows the cultivated taste of
a London audience long before Marie
Taglioni was the idol of the town, the
great Taglioni, who, although incom-
parable for grace, lightness of step
and bounding strength — “she seemed
to fly the stage as from a spring-
board “never showed so much as
, r k ,‘? ee ’ n facing.” She, then, were
she alive toc.»y, would agree with Miss
Boni.
Journals df London tell today of
ballets and "nudepartures” in that
city. Some of them are indeed of a
surprising character. We do not be-
lieve, from the descriptions given,
that tile King of Cambodia, were he
[ to see these shows, would find the
j women too heavily clad or tightly
harnessed.
| There is a new Eastern ballet at the
Alhambra, ‘L'Amour,” with a scenario
by Mrs. Ritchie and music by Francis
daughter of Darius, the Assyrian
King, compete in javelin throwing at
the golden apple on the tree of life
, 1 * 1 ® fav ° rite Prince Nashar Is helped
, ta, who shields his eyes from
the light that flashes from beneath
the branches. His javelin cleaves the
apple, but it is then ordained that he
shall be tempted by beauty, and the
women that tempt him are not always
Mylitta. There is one exciting scene,
it is reported, where the prince “tries
to rob ills disguised lady love of her
gauzy garments and threatens to
leave her ’mid nodings on,' ” not even
her tutu. We are reassured when we
a i e told by an enthusiastic reviewer
that ’sometimes beauty unadorned is
adorned t lie most, and only the ultra-
prudish could find offence' in this in-
cident.”
The same reviewer says: "Nobody
cares greatly for the story of a bal-
let, and, indeed, the only approach to
weariness in the new production came
i of the attempt with an excess of pan-
tomime to make plain the plot. There
| was much flashing of eyes and gleam-
ing of teeth and waving of hands and
arms; but these things did not im-
press." It was not so in the old days
of the ballet, when the dancers were
accomplished mimes, and there were
elaborate plots often with tragic end-
ings.
In those days the scenario was care-
fully considered by managers, dancers
and critics. The descriptions by Theo-
phile Gautier of "Giselle” and “Le
Diable Boiteux” with minute analyses
have been thought worthy of preser-
vation in his “Souvenirs de Theatre ”
an! the poet who wrote the scenario
of “Griselle” had as much to sav about 1
the pantomimic talent of Carlotti
Grisi and Fanny Elssler as about their
marvellous dancing.
Gautier, by the way, in his praise of
Grisi, refers to the “decent and volup-
tuous abondon of Taglioni.” The cos-
tumes worn by her and her contempo-
raries and also by the famous dancing
women of the Paris opera in the 18th
century would seem prim and old-
maidish in these days of frank bodily
revelation and "nudepartures.”
What, for instance, would Mmes.
Taglioni, Grisi, Elssler, Cerito and
Grahn have said to the exhibition of
Miss Vulcana, Miss Irma Lorraine and
"La Milo” in London music halls?
Miss Vulcana is a "statuary imper-
sonator” at the Pavilion. At first
“sisters" were to assist her, but the
manager, for some reason or other,
changed his mind, and Miss Vulcana
I displayed her “opulent physical
beauty” in weight-lifting feats.
Miss Lorraine, at the Holborn Em-
pire, presents a study in sculpture,”
entitled “Klio,” which is heartily rec-
ommended as “the outcome of five
years’ study and research.” This an-
nouncement might draw archaeolo-
gists and custodians of museums. The
manager showed his knowledge of
the public’s taste and long-felt want
when he added that “Klio” » is “a
startler for tne most blase.” Miss
Lorraine impersonates 10 “famous
statues”: "Salambo with the Snake,”
“Diana,” “The Venus of the Capitol,”
“The Nymph at the Fountain. ” “The
Bacchante” (not the one bought for
the Boston Public Library — not the
same not the same) and others. She
wears only dead white skin-tight
fleshings. But the reporter for the
Referee was not at all shocked. “The
impression conveyed is that of be-
holding a beautiful marble statue,
perfect in form and graceful in pose.”
Luminous fountains arise as the cur-
tain closes on each statue. There is
music, there is general excitement.
“La Milo” has been impersonating
statues at the Pavilion. From all ac-
counts she may justly be character-
ized as a corker. She measures 8
inches from her throat to her shoul-
der; the circumference of her throat
is 13% inches; the circumference of
her ankle is 8% inches. She is 5 feet
8 incites, in height; the circumference
of her bust is 37% inches. All sorts
of intimate measurements have been
taken, recorded and published, all for
the sake of art. She is 21 years old
and she weighs 162 pounds. She is
also good to her mother. The pro-
gramme announces that 'the impecca-
ble correction of detail in La Milo’s
poses must disarm the most austere
censor.”
Boston is, indeed, a slow town.
Of course “La Milo” is a name as-
sumed to remind the spectator of the
famous statue. What is the imperson-
ater’s real name? Higgins? There was
a time when all the Spanish dancers
who thrilled our gilded youth by their
fire and passion in the eachucha, zapa-
teado, manchega, jaleo and bolero came
from South Boston.
Perhaps "La Milo” is Miss Gerty
Miles in private life. Miss Leginska was
announced to give a piano recital in
London a fortnight ago. A romantic
story was told about her in advance. A
little girl, she set out for Vienna to
study with the great and only Laschet-
itzki. who refused to hear her play, or
even to see her merely to confirm his
suspicions. She tried several times to go
to him. "She hung about his door one
morning for six hours, then sent word
ihat if he would hear her play for five
minutes, she would not trouble him ?nv
more.” He relented, but at the end of
five minutes he would not let her leave
him; he said to her, “Play on.” and at
' the end of two hours ne hurst into t
passionate flood of tears and swore that
he would teach her for noth. Mg. She
made such progress that he was eager
to attend her recital in London. Not
long after the publication of this pa-
thetic story a statement that Mr.
Leschet'tzki had not the slightest idea
of going to London was also published.
And does Miss Leginska come from
Warsaw or some other romantic town
in the fair land of Poland? Oh. mo. She
was born in Hull. Eng., and her name
is Leggins.
The readers of The Herald have al-
ready been informed that the music of
"Always in the Way” is suited to a mil-
itary funeral, though the title of the
story is perhaps inappropriate to the oc-
casion. The band ot the marine corps
at Olongapo played the music at ilie fu-
neral of a private. This provoked Mews-
paper criticism of an adverse nature; a
soldier wrote a condemnatory poem
against an officer in the more violent
style of Mr. Rudyard Kipling; and final-
ly an investigation was ordered The
board reported as is stated above, and
added that the music was the best the
band could play and the repertory of
the band was limited.
It is true that cheerful, even gay. mu-
sic is often played after the burial of a
soldier, either by way of dramatic con-
trast or to cheer the survivors. It
would seem, however, that some care
might be exercised in the selection of a
title. We regret to say that we are not
familiar with "Always in the Way." We
do not know the tune or the words of
the song— if it be a song. The title is
I enough to prevent its use at a funeral
| whether the music be solemn or lively,
i and any officer of common sense and
ordinary feeling would have ordered
absence of music, if this piece was "the
best the band could play." or chosen one
of the pieces in which they were less
proficient or whether "Always in the
Way' were played as the soldiers
marched to the ceremony, during the
ceremony or after it had nothing to do
with tlie case.
It also appears that the newspaper in
j Manila which first published an article
' protesting against the selection was "se-
verely condemned." Why? Was not the
statement of fact correct? Was not the
remonstrance reasonable and decent?
Or can the military do no wrong to
which a civilian may object?
IN A BUSINESS WAY.
Dr. Patterson, an expert in criminolo-
gy, not long ago "a respected and pros-
perous physician," now a “physical and
mental wreck” in the Denver jail, says
he is by nature a criminal, but his in-
stinct was not developed till he delved
or broke into criminology. "I could not
be straight if I wanted to be straight.
Nearly all the men convicted of crimes
are criminals by nature.” Thus does he
return to the doctrine of original sin.
There are students of criminology who
believe thnt many professional criminals
are not at all perverts or insane, but
go into crime as an industry, to main-
tain a certain standard of comfort for
their families. Thus burglars break
into banks and dwelling houses that
they may be able to pay promptly the
landlord, grocer, dressmaker. They feel
that they must discharge their duty to-
ward wives and children. They are like
Frederick in Gilbert's "Pirates of Pen-
zance.” A slave to duty often becomes
intolerant, bigoted, fanatical. It is a
pity that these criminals cannot live a
broader life. In jail they change the
scene, but not their nature. It is a
well known fact that distinguished bur-
glars have shown fine taste in the deco-
ration of their homes, and displayed
even in the hurry of choosing silverware
much discrimination. So they have
been influenced by something more than
what Waif Whitman called “the mania
of owning things.”
renewed incidents in Venezuela." She
sees America “under a gloomy' phase."
The world is topsy-turvy; It is In a
state of evolution and not only of
revolution. But, dear madam, revo-
lution is perceptible evolution. We
are at present the victims of our own
discoveries. We have conjured up
conditions by electricity, by' the auto-
mobile, by the telephone, “by the
means of acceleration that belongs to
everyday life." In three generations
we may' become habituated to them.
“The buildings In San Francisco
courted their doom, not merely' be-
cause of their weight upon the earth,
but because they attracted the de-
structive fluid In the air, which Is the
true fire of heaven." This opinion
j settles a grave dispute. The death of
Curie, who with his wife discovered
radium, is significant. He was run
over by a common wagon, harnessed
to a lumbering horse driven by a
peasant. “Is not that fate for you.
this crushing out of a man. the high-
est product of intellectual civilization
by the brute instruments of nature?”
There will be civil war between mas
ters and workmen. The French ar-
tisan has a desire to live well and
his pay is inadequate. He wears an
overcoat instead of a blouse, a “soft
and stylish” hat instead of the old
cotton bonnet. He must be placated.
There must be old age pensions.
There will be a revolution. “It is
inevitable. I do not care to print that
WITH WHISKERS.
The nurses of the Hahnemann
Hospital in New York have been
haunted for several nights by a
ghost “with a stubby growth of
whiskers.” For some reason or other
we do not associate ghosts with
■whiskers, whether they' be zymos,
Galway sluggers, mutton chop, or
Piccadilly weepers. We all think of
apparitions as pale and close shaven.
When' we begin to reason in the mat-
ter, it will be seen that the ghost
■would not be readily identified if he
•were not facially the same as to
hirsute decoration. Many die In hos-
pitals with a stubby beard or slight
mustache. Nor is it reasonable to
suppose that there would be any
material difference in post mortem
whiskers whether the hospital were
an allopathic or a homoeopathic insti
tution. The nurses were perhaps ac-
customed to his whiskerage of a few
days. It is a nice point In spookology
one that is worthy of investigation
by societies of psychical research.
GRACEFUL RECOGNITION.
The Evening Herald alluded re-
cently to the craze for decoration —
the wish to sport a button or a rib
bon or some less familiar Insignia.
“You uns there, with the gewgaws
on,” as “Andy” Johnson remarked,
pointing to foreign ambassadors and
ministers on a ceremonial occasion.
There are times when a decoration
may be presented by a government
■with a peculiar grace. Sir Conan
Doyle, in a late number of the Corn-
hill. related the history of the
pamphlet he wrote In defence of
England during the Boer war. Over
300,000 copies were sold in England,
end the pamphlet was translated into
all the European languages, includ-
ing Welsh. The first appeal for help
in the cost of publication brought in
12000. but a great part of the money
was subscribed by governesses on the
continent. Sir Conan adds that for-
eigners who publicly stood by Eng-
land, as Messrs. Yves Guyot, Talichet. |
Naville and others, were awarded "a
very handsome gold cigarette case,
•which was suitably inscribed. But J
how if some of these sympathizers
do not smoke, or are members of an
anti-cigarette league? From any
ether European country they would
have received a decoration.
IN DUCKS.
It has been said of late that the Eng-
lish are steadily growing more tolerant.
They shudder no longer at the thought i
of straw hats for men in summer ; they I
do not all wear constantly their hats in
the House of Commons ; they now admit
that ice may be something more than
an ornament to a winter landscape. The
fact that Mr. Gerald Paget wore a pair
of white ducks at Ascot occasioned re-
mark even in the staid Pall Mall Ga-
zette. “No similar exhibition has taken
place for some time.” So the English
are not yet wholly civilized. We do not
insist that they should wear white duck
yellow nankeen arc infinitely prefer-
able. Would that they could now be
easily obtained in Boston! But cer-
tainly a man of ordinary sense and
aware of the flying season should be
permitted, yea, encouraged, to suit his
taste and comfort. But listen to this
covert sneer of the Pall Mall: lei-
haps the last man to be seen in white
ducks in London was the late G. A.
Sala, who had brought back a supply
from India. lie wore them into the
Reform Club, and ho came out alive;
but the street boys were too much for
him, and he had to take them home in
a cab.” G. A. Sala, forsooth ! The
name of that prince of journalists was
George Augustus Sala. and lie v. as
worthy of having it spelled out in full,
fov the name suited him and his style.
in prophecies, because it alarms peo-
ple and does harm to commerce.”
Unfortunately' we are not told how
lime, de Thebes acquires her private
information. Does she go into a
trance? Does she hear voices? Are
letters left on the centre table by
spirit hands? Has she a crystal in
her bedroom? Is there now and then
strange handwriting on the wall?
JiAjUj / V ( 1 J b
AVENGED.
A Gustave Flaubert Museum was re-
cently inaugurated at Croisset, where
the author of “Madame Bovary” lived
long and worked hard. It is a pity that
he is not alive to describe satirically
this museum and the bourgeois staring
at this or that relic. His one dread was
the entrance of the commonplace and
the expected into his life and works.
His dread became bourgeoisphobia. He
saw the awful shape, stupid and more
boresome than the teredo spoiling the
landscape, art and life. He saw it with j
diseased eyes and perturbed brain. His
last work, which he did not live to fin-
ish, was a monument to his gigantic
hatred, so gigantic that it was absurd.
And now the bourgeois is avenged.
There is a Flaubert museum, and he can
visit it.
A PARISIAN SIBYL.
There is a renowned sibyl in Paris,
and her name is Mme. de Thebes
It was she that foretold the recovery
of King Edward and the fire at the
Bazar de la Charlte. This was glory
enough for one sibyl, but In her
Almanack for 1906. written last Octo-
| ber, she prophesied the disaster at
Courrleres, and her remark about the
“unlooked for shock” in the I nlted
States might have referred to the -an
Francisco disaster.
Mme de Thebes is described by
journalist who talked with her recent-
ly as handsome and debonair. He
drawing room reminds one of an
ancient Egyptian temple, and there is
a professional smell of incense, but
<*he wears no sorcerer's costume, she
holds no wand, no lotus flower; her
gown does not bear the zodlaca
signs; there is neither skull or crystal
ball on the table; no black cat or
frog sits by as a familiar. Mme de
Thebes has no make-up. She Is a
woman of the world, who is recog-
nized in Paris as one with the gift o
prophecy. . ,
The year 1906, she says, is the mad
year. There are all sorts of troubles j
for South America, "great difficulties
in Brazil of a political nature, and I
UNCOVERED MEAT.
The Herald spoke not long ago of
the reprehensible practice of carry-
ing meat unprotected against dust in
the streets near the markets, meat
that Is also exposed to contamination
from the coat, shirt or neck of the
bearer. The Herald then suggested
an easy and inexpensive protection.
In certain European cities meat car-
ried or exposed for sale is covered
with a kind of gauze. Certain Eng-
lishmen In a highly nervous state
over the revelations in Chicago and
also In English towns have been con-
sulting the ancients. They tell us,
for instance, that the Romans had
three classes of butchers — one for
providing hogs, another for providing
oxen, sheep, etc., and a third for re-
ceiving them at the slaughter house
and carrying out the necessary oper-
ations; but the wise men have not
been able to learn whether there was
any' law against dust, though they say
street traffic was not often great and
the chariots seldom held more than
two persons.
OTHER HEROES.
There was more than one hero in
the Dreyfus case. In the army there
was Col. Picquart, but it may be said
that it is the business of a soldier to
be heroic even when he knows he is
most unjustly treated. There were
heroic civilians, however, who had,
as much to lose as Picquart. There
on by their colleagues, hooted at by
their pupils, and in some instances
removed from their positions and
thus apparently disgraced. There
was Anatole France, the gentle Pyr-
rhonist, who for once was not scepti-
cal; his lambent irony grew hot with
righteous indignation till it blazed
and consumed the fetishes of mili-
tarism. Above all there was Emile
Zola, whose famous letter with the
repeated and inexorable “J’accuse"
may outlive the mighty structure o£
his romances which deal with life
under the Second Empire. These
names, honorable in themselves,
would long be conspicuous if only
for their association with that of Al-
fred Dreyfus.
MORTUARY DISAPPOINTMENT.
Mortuary amateurs have awaited
Impatiently, and so far in vain, to see
what Mr. S. Baring-Gould would say
about the character of the obituary
articles that followed the false re-
port of his death. They were not
all complimentary, for some regret-
ted that he had written so much and
apparently in haste. It is said that
he was “annoyed” at being reported
dead, which reminds us of the old
Vermonter who remarked to a friend
condoling with him on the death of
his wife that he had never been so
"mortified” in his life. Mr. Baring-
Gould should have followed the ex-
ample of Mr. Richard Croker. Some
time ago a Tammany friend west to
his house at Wantage and blurted
ojit: “The New York papers said you
were dead.” The boss answered; “Oh!
Did they'say where I went to?” How
did Mr. Baring-Gould take his obitu-
ary medicine? Did he pity the
critics’ lack of appreciation, slap his
forehead in fine frenzy and call on
Time the Avenger? Did he way down
in his heart feel that they were right?
Prominent men, in fact all men,
should prepare their own obituary
notices for the press, and, if possible,
see a revised proof. Some might go
still further and imitate Mr. Kume-
kawa of Kobe. He celebrated his
77th birthday not long ago by having
a mock funeral of himself. There
was a procession, and he walked at
the head of his own coffin. There
was the prescribed service. “The
Qoral offerings from friends were
1 very large,” said the local journal, |
which gave a full and commendably
accurate account. Possibly there
were fireworks, and, if there were,
Mr. Kumekawa saw them. Funerals
are often managed foolishly, and it
would not be a bad idea if punctili-
ous and fastidious persons should
hold full dress rehearsals, with the
privilege of criticising the “remarks
to the mourner s.” __
NOT A BIT OF IT. .
Now that Mr. Paderewski will re-
visit the United States next season,
he should surely play before the r«i-
pils of Ennas Conservatory of Music
in Des Moines and hold a reception
after the concert, if only to clear his
own name. For about two months
ago Prof. Frank J. Fitzgerald, “wide
ly known as a composer and instruc
tor” — let us see, what is the name of
that sweet thing he wrote? ad-
dressed the graduating class and said
in the course of his instructive re-
marks; “Musicians as a class are
cranks, and Mr. Paderewski is in-
sane”; and again; “I do not believe
there is a group of physicians in
America who would not send Pad-
erewski to the insane hospital if he
were without his music and sent to
them for examination.” He forgets
that Mr. Paderewski can play with-
out his notes. The learned profes-
sor did not even qualify his opinion
by specking of Mr. Paderewski as a
remarkable instance of the influence
of “emotional insanity” over an audi-
ence. Those who have had the pleas-
ure of conversing with the distin-
guished pianist know that his most
surprising characteristic as a man
< and thinker is his sane view of life
and mankind. If he were insane for
a moment, he would have no control
over his audience. He weighs cun-
ningly every effect; he makes delib-
erately his points. However hysteri-
no doubt amused, perhaps a little
bored. He is a witness to the truth
of Diderot's paradox.
/■/ ^
On the one hand, some deplore In
England the popularity of musical
comedy, the amount of money spent on
the productions, the temptation to
which young composers with a melodic
vein are exposed, the pernicious -in-
fluence on young singers who earn
money easily — when they are physical-
ly attractive and put aside ambition—
the debasement of public taste. It Is
true, they say, that many musical
comedies fail and one of the best of
them cost the manager about £10,000,
but managers, composers, singers, and
the public will have at present no
other form of musical stage entertain-
ment except grand opera. The true
opera comique finds no place or wel-
come for itself.
On the other hand, the musical com-
edy is taken seriously by many. The
Herald quoted last Sunday a statement
by Mr. Baughan to the effect that there
were better actors and actresses in
musical comedy today in London than
on the stage of the spoken drama. It
is also said that the public would be
bored to death by the old-fashioned
opera comiqrre of the French and of
the Germans if even the best examples
of the respective schools were to be
performed in an English version in
London.
Yet “See See," produced last month
at the Prince of Wales, Is praised as a
comic opera, pure and simple, as writ-
ten and composed, acted and sung, so
that "See See” marks a movement in
the direction of the despised form of
musical entertainment. “Lancelot” of
the Referee is unusually serious about
it. “Musical comedy has positively de-
generated. and the sort of play which
I hare before now described as a half-
way house between the theatre and the
music hall has become very much of
the nature of a variety entertainment,
song and dance, and simple buffoonery,
all strung together, like beads on a
thread. You may hear people say they
are sick and tired of that sort of thing;
that they are craving for something
that is not so aimless, brainless, and
formless; but it seems to me that the
public taste has been debased to such
an extent by the lower class of mu-
sical plays that I shall watch with in-
terest and anxiety the effect of the
experiment at the Prince of Wales.
The fate of comic opera Is ‘on the
knees of the gods.’ ”
It might be added; the fate of mu-
sical comedy is on the knees of the
chorus girls.
“Veronique” had a long run in Lon-
?i? n l but -Lancelot” is not consoled by
that fact, for Messager’s operetta is
characterized by him as “comic opera
doubled with musical comedy ”
Significant, some will think, is the out-
“Tti/p 1 !? st n f*T , muslcal comedy,
. . B ® Ile Mayfair,” in which Edna
May takes the heroine's part. The libret-
to is said to be intolerably dull Mr De
Foe in a letter to the New York World
also complains of the show girls in the
piece, who gesticulate “with the angular
precision of Dutch windmills.” Listen to
the blasphemer: “If the American show
girl is the abomination of our stage the
English variety of the breed is a hope-
less curse, fche Is meek, bovine, angular
and entirely without animation. De-
signed originally as a piece of moving -
scenery for the display of millinery, she
does even this badly. She has not even
fl ? e , ?. a ' -v '^ ry ?, hlc ° f the American chorus
girl. Mr. De Foe speaks well of Mr.
Farren Soutar, “a manly comic opera
leading man,” but he does not care for
many of the people on the stage nor
does he cudgel his brain to exprefs sub-
tly his contempt. “As a lot. the other
comedians are a painful crew. They are
not as boisterous as American musical
comedy actors, but their devices for
coaxing laughter are about as juvenile
elementary as a painted monkey
climbing on a stick ” v»i
MUSICAL COMEDY AND
ITS POSITION IN ENGLAND
Afe C.ANDIA
AMUSING DEFENCE BY
GEORGE GROSSMITH, JR,
VI r. Nikisch as a Conductor
and Some Remarkable
Performances He Gave,
(Mr. George Grossmith, Jr., has been I
seen and heard in Boston, so we might
' express an opinion as to the reasonable- [
ness of his conjecture, were this rea-
sonableness a subject for thumb screws
or strappado. We remember him vague-
ly as skipping about and singing “Beau-
tiful, Bountiful Berty.”)
Then there is Mr. Bernard Shaw, who
also takes a low view of musical com-
edy and boasts that he has visited the
Gaiety Theatre only twice in his life,
and the second time was on business.
“Mr. Sliaw did not say what was the
nature of the business. Possibly it was
to call for some manuscript.” This was
the best answer Mr. Grossmith could
climbing on a stick.” Yet he admits that
they sing “rather well.” 1
Why this ferocious onslaught on the
English chorus girl? We all have Seen
some that were not “half-bad.” as the
Englishman says when he wishes to be
especmliy enthusiastic. When a band of
them appeared in a musical comedv in
laris, they were hailed as a revelation
of .^ rai tean d sprightliness. The eminent
critic “Willy” exhausted his rich and
surprising vocabulary In praise of their
marvellous discipline, their concerted
dancing, singing and general action
Cohesion,” said “Willy,” “ is the Engl
lishman s and Englishwoman’s greatest
gift. Perhaps Mr. De Foe does not care
tor cohesion as a characteristic of clior-
us girls.
Young Grossmith in Defence.
In the course of the last season Mr.
George Grossmith, Jr., made a defence
of the musical comedy at a meeting of
the O. P. Club in London. He admitted
that this species of drama is a pet sub-
ject of vituperation except among those
who profit by the performances and
among the vast majority of the paying
public. Mr. Tree, we believe, once re-
ferred I ghtly to the musical comedy
as the primrose path of drama.” This
seemed to be more injurious to vountr
Mr. Grossmith's feelings than the com-
mon expressions of objection, “inconse-
quential rubbish” and "pestilential
trifling. Musical comedy had once been
described by a dailj' newspaper as “stu-
pidity and long legs,” and this charge
Mr. Grossmith thought, was “almost
personal.”
make, and no doubt the expression of
his face and the bitterness of his tones
helped some, or else there was a good-
natured person present, for the pub-
lished report of the meeting stated that
1 the repartee was followed by laughter.
Mr. GrossmitlTs feelings were also in-
jured at a famous playgoing club, for
the ‘guest of the evening,” a distin-
guished young actor, spoke despondent-
ly of the drama and said the best news
was that Mr. George Edwardes in all
likelihood would spend most of his time
ln . America, whereupon tire chairman
said he saw no reason why the drama
should not soon be lifted from “flic
slough of indelicate musical comedy.”
There is a general indictment, added
Mr. Grossmith, against the modern
iorm of the musical play: it lacks wit,
p ot and cohesive construction, and the
players are not actors, they are en-
tertainers.
Ibis was before an English court
handed down the opinion that any stage
woman who speaks only one line should
be ranked as an actress. And in Ameri-
ca is not any mute but shapely girl in
the second row or in the background de-
scribed as an actress by the newspapers
the , moment site becomes through anv
foolish. extravagant or scandalous con-
duct a supposed object of Interest to
the reading, gaping public?
Futile Points.
Mr. Grossmith was more fortunate in
repeating the attacks on musical com-
edy than in his defence of the form of
drama in which. he shines. He could not
understand why there should be large
audiences, if the -’’play were without
action and the music “trifling and remi-
niscent.” He wished that he could give
the names of people whom he saw night
after night in the Gaiety — “some of the
greatest names in Europe.” He insisted
that there is “just as much plot in the
average musical comedy as there is in
the average comedy”; but he was ready
to admit that in musical comedy the
story becomes “subservient to the inter-
est of the songs, the interpolations, and
tlie personality of the operas”; that “the
experienced exercise of his personality
enables the players in musical comedy
to entertain his audience.” He also
argued that if the dialogue of a musi-
cal ,P la . y were “continuous and consist-
ent, ’ it would be successful at first;
'but after a few months, the inadapta-
bility of the play would become a sen 1
ADELINA -STEHNF.
AND F.D oAKBI ,N
I ous handicap. It is rvo more inartistic
to sing a song on the stage than it is
to speak m blank verse, “but no one had
ever suggested that Shakespeare was in-
p’jLstic. Oh, yes they have— from
Pepjs to Voltaire, and from Voltaire to
Mr. Bernard Shaw. Mr. Grossmith end-
ed with a glowing tribute to Mr. George
Edwardes, “the maker of musical com-
heai-t” Sreat ma nager with a great
This defence was for the most part
scattering and futile and occasional-
ly entertaining chatter. Mr Gros-
smith spoke the truth when he put a
high value on the “comedian with
fuliy developed individuality” as a
box-ofnee lodestone. The people go to
a musical comedy to feast eyes on
tne girls in the play, and to be amused
by the pranks and gambols of a come-
dian known to them as a funny fel-
low- It is, first of all, his comic in-
dividuality that appeals to them,
whether this individuality be exer-
cised legitimately, within the frame
ot the piece as designed by the libret-
tist, or ‘developed” without regard to
the action and situations. The music
must be quick and chirpy, and there
is no popular objection to one or two
sentimental songs; but the girls must
be physically attractive, full of steel
spring's and ginger; the chief come-
dian must be a spouting geyser of
gags,^ quips and nonsensical sayings,
and if he have amusing personai
mannerisms, so much the better.
Mr. Grossmith believes that a “con-
tinuous and consistent dialogue” will
soon rum the run of a piece. How
about Gilbert's dialogue? How about
the dialogue written by Meilhac and
Halevy for Offenbach?
1 here can be no doubt of one thing:
musical comedy has driven true comic
opera off the stage. Attempts to re-
vive a genuine interest in true comic
opera have failed. And why should
any one wish to disturb the great
public, the Ephraim of the Bible?
Let it alone.
On the Continent.
Musical comedy is an English institu-
tion and the English smile at all en-
deavors to give imitations in foreign
cities. A member of the Referee staff
visited European cities last season, and
although he was apparently amiably dis-
posed he kept shaking his head and
saying, “This will never do.” In Vienna
be liked Mizzi Guenther and her “sunny
style, but he wondered at the taste of
the Viennese. The librettist of "Die lus-
tige Witwe,” which was a great success,
has no wit or dexterity in the manasre-
ment of intrigue. “He takes it easy and
the audience takes it easy, too. It is a
way they have in Vienna. An important
character walks on the stage without
the least preparation for his entrance
; and starts to sing a song, and, having
sung , „ hl ® , son £, walks off without a
i word. The uses of light and color are
unknown. The visitor was amazed at
abject poverty” of another musical
comedy “Hug-dietrichs Brautfahrt ”
I which he sav. tl the Carl Theatre. “Pro-
fessedly comical it was accepted as such
as Carmen
by the too agreeaole audience; out the
humble humors of a pantomime king
and the buffooneries of a green dragon
with the voice of a foghorn procured me
only a feeling of deep depression which
neither the music nor the actors did any-
thing to dispel.” And all this was in
Vienna where they make much of musi-
cal comedy.
Our friend went to Paris to see a new
musical comedy which was the rage
“A more brainless entertainment I never
wish to see. Coarse humor, crude acting
and cheap finery— et voila tout. But the
costumes, I was told, were going to
i make me open my eyes. Open my eyes, I
[Tie hanged! The whole dreary, blowzy
gbow produced exactly the opposite ef-
fect upon me, I can assure you. It woke
me up a bit. however, to hear the music,
lor you may imagine my surprise when
|1 heard, one aftijr another, familiar
tunes from our English musical plays,
actually including 'The Spring Chick-
en. The dramatid motive of “The
fopring Chicken” was taken from a
h rench play. Why should not the French
he neighborly and appreciative and in
turn lift a tune or two?
And why, we ask again, should this
question of musical comedy be taken
(seriously in any country? A few of these
pieces have pretty music, none of them
lias music that perplexes the average
listener. They afford an opportunity
ior the display of girls and the “indi-
viduality ’ of this or that funny man.
1 ou may not care for Mr. De Wolf
Hopper, but Mr. Jefferson De Angells
throws you into fits of laughter, while
your friend the eminent geologist never
fails to see Mr. Hopper when he comes
to town. “I like port,” said Mr. An-
drew Lang to Mr. George Moore. “Oh
do you? T like sherry,” said Mr. Moore
to Mr. Lang. Yet there are some to
(Whom all musical comedy actors are as
small beer.
Mr. Nikisch Again.
Mr. Gericke lias gone, Mr. Muck will
come, and yet some even in Boston are
still interested in the doings of Mr.
Arthur Nikisch. They remember certain
brilliant performances led by him in
Boston and forget performances that
were indifferent or slovenly.
Mr. Nikisch is undoubtedly today
ranked among the very first orchestral
conductors in concert. There are some
who say that he is without a rival, and
they, as a rule, are those who live in
cities where lie leads only one or two
concerts, and programmes are carefully |
chosen by him with a view to the
dramatic display of his own musical
nature. In Leipsic and in Berlin, where
he conducts series of concerts, there is
discriminative criticism and not merely I
unalloyed or hysterical eulogy. If he
conducts in a flaming and superb man-
ner romantic works that appeal to him
lie is comparatively or wholly ineffective
when lie leads a symphony or a sym-
phonic poem that does not lend itself
naturally to an extravagantly passionate
interpretation.
TJ 1 ’®. is surprising, for even Mr.
Ixikisch is mortal. When he was here he
gave memorable performances of Schu-
mann s , symphony in D minor, Tsehai-
kowsky s Romeo and Juliet,”
overtures
hv v.iimer He also conducted concerts
when showed oulv too plainly that the
Dieee had not been thoroughly rehearsed
and that he himself fol i£V 'hlVoes not
hUuate to^ring^nto^romlnence a figure
n the accompaniment to the detriment
of tite composer’s scheme in the matte
of proportion. Now, as then, he dellgnts
in "freedom of interpretation — that is,
o"f Ihe'l-omposer ‘w^ar^told that he
I&S3& «W«ov^£t
ofTwhalkowsky's ''P^thet.c’symphony
Kjssrsn.,?. si,ss
jgffiSS .ViJXJWS A>
“grVa"^freedom '^^"it^erpretatTon^’ was
excused or father lauded; for we quote
Cmrductor/^publfshe^h^^h^^at^y^News
iSSPISS
E a y "Tns Wa me P nlaf i0n fl br e e "was "toug
Tough, but devilish sly, might be 88111^
NUdsch f C(m'ducTe 3 d Brahms’ first sym-
SSStoblte*’ than t, ’usual.’^ The second
movement was sung with irreststifue
charm; the Allegretto had too ,7r a ,V T \*i
grace The final Allegro was built up to
a stupendous climax, but one was cqn-
Si ious that Mr. Nikisch was trying to
make Brahms utter sentiments rather
foreign tohim.” According to Mr
1 Baughan. there is no conductor in tlie
world who can get so much from las
men as Mr. Nikisch. whose interpreti-
i Uon of tlie “Tannhaeuser” overture
! made the critic think that a great con-
ductor is, after all, a creator. In Rich-
ard Strauss’ ’’Death and Transfigurai-
tion.” Nikisch’s interpretation wal.
grander and more imaginative than that
of the composer.
PERSONAL.
The Herald publishes today portrait^
of Mme. Maria Gay, whose Carmen was* j
recently praised at the Opera-Comique* |
Paris, and at tlie Monnaie, Brussels, as*
one of remarkable dramatic originality*
and intensity; of Adelina Stehle and
Edoardo Garbin in Montemezzl’s new
opera. “Giovanni Gallurese”; of Mme.
Eleonora de Cisneros, as Candia della
Leonessa in “La Figlia de Jorlo, and
of Francesco Paolo Tosti, the cele-
brated song writer. Mme. de Cisneros,
who will sing with Mr. Hammerstein’s
company next season in New York is
an American, and as Miss Broadioot
was a member of Mr. Grau s company.
She has sung in South America, at
1 nndon and in continental cities with
mticbsuecess. * Mr, Tosti. born in 1846 at
Ortono. has made London his home for
the last 30 years, where he is highly es-
teemed as singing teacher and com-
talking recently with a re-
poster regretted that poor health alone
bail prevented him from completing a
i second string quartet and a trio.
M, \V W Cobbett ami the Musicians
Companv offered prizes to the best six
I “phantasies” for string quartet. B e
r hief prize was awarded to W. Y. Hurl-
stone P Who died lately, and his piece
and five others were performed June I
22 in London. Sixty-seven manuscripts
had been submitted. The term ' phan-
tasv” is now applied by the "Worshipful
Companv of Musicians to certain com-
positions of smaller dimensions and
lreer structure than the traditional
string quartet. The name “Phantasy
goes back to "Fancy,’’ a title given in
England in the 17th century to instru-
mental pieces. Among tlie other five
prize winners was Mr. Joseph Hol-
brooke. whose “phantasy is said to
have true individuality.
At the recent Ilandel festn al in the
Crystal Palace the London singers num-
bered 2700, and 500 singers from the
Yorkshire. Bristol and Birmingham fes-
tival centres assisted. There was an or-
chestra of. 500. -
Mr Mark Hambourg offered a prize of
P>0 to English composers this year and
last year for the best new piece of vir-
tuoso" piano music. He played the suc-
cessful piece, “Tteme and \ aviations,
hv Beniamin J. pale, at ins piano re-
cital in London. Jime 17. There was an
audience of about 2000. Mr. Dale is M
pupil of the Royal Academy of Music,
and this theme anrfl variations aie said
to be “the tiiree latter movements of a
sonata in D minor.” Tlie Times said.
“How far Mr. Hambourg, having vir-
tually acquired the piece by awarding
it prize has an ‘artistic right to pie-
sent it in a version varying at so many
no hits from the written indications of
the composer is not for us to decide.
K,it as before presented tlie piece bad
an artistic unitv Which it lost in Mr.
Hambotirg’s version. « in of W force ™ve"re
oHcrations of shades ot rorce ''ere
made apparently for the mere sake of
M^Dal™ was" too Invest® to appear be-
fore them."
CHEESE IT.
Every gTam (nearly one-thlrtleth
of an ounce) of fresh Emmenthaler
cheese contains almost 100,000 living
germs. After two months the num-
ber increases to 800,000. Cream
cheese after a month and a half is a
home for 2.000.000 animalculae.
“These figures apply only to the cen-
tre of the cheese, while close to the
rind families numbering 5.500,000
bacteria may be found in every gram
of cheese.’’ These are not the state-
ments of some envious Dutch. Ger-
man. English. Italian, Herkimer
county cheesemaker; they come from
the authoritative mouth of a profes-
sor of the Swiss Dairy School at
Sonntal. Well, what of it? As the
man said in the old story: “Are there
so many critters in this bit of cheese?
Here goes. I can stand it if they,
can.”
reins made long ago by Mayhew in liis
hook on the horse. The instruments of
torture are still in use, and the docked
tail, a hideous and cruel deformitj", is
preferred by the genteel to any natural
caudal line and length.
The Londoners prefer, it seems, the
word “blinkers” to “blinders,” and
probably the term ’’blufts” is local.
“Blintfer” recalls the most atrocious
conundrum we ever read or heard. It
was published in Vanity Fair, and un-
doubtedly killed that humorous weekly,
though some say the civil war put an
end to it. The conundrum was some-
thing like this: What is the difference
between a Venetian shutter and a wager
won from a sightless man? One is a
blind over a window and the other is a
win over a blinder.
/
7 tw
THE ABUSED DOG.
Writers wise about dogs are now dis-
cussing the question whether Gen.
Lafayette was ,the first person to send
any St. Bernards to the United States.
Any one interested in the discussion
should look at the article in Watson’s
Dog Book, Part VIII. The St. Ber-
nard. -of course, is a noble animal in
winter, and he is highly esteemed by
some because he carries about bis neck
a little barrel of brandy or generous
wine, but during an American summer
lie seems out of place. A question of
equal if not more engrossing interest is
this: Why should an intoxicated person
be said to “have a dog”? "I saw John-
son yesterday, and, my, didn t he have
a dog !” The origin of the old expres-
sions, “drunk as a lord” and "drunk ns
a fiddler,” is not hard to seek ; but why
“drunk as a biled owl p ? He had a
skate” is graphic, but, we repeat, why
does a drunken man “have a dog"?
PARALYZED.
Many a true word is spoken from
the chest, as Mr. Tommy Tompkins
remarked. The victim of alcohol In
common speech is often “paralyzed,
and now the scientist after careful
study says that the victim is con-
stantly paralyzed, that is, even ex-
tremely minute doses of alcohol
paralyze the white cells, which pro-
tect the body from microbes or de-
stroy them. According to Metchnikoff,
the white ceils in tlie blood inclose
or eat microbes, hence their name
phagocytes. Our immunity or sus-
ceptibility toward a microbic disease
depends on the state of these “eating-
cells.” Recent experiments conducted
in widely varying methods are in |
concordance with one another, and ;
prove that the presence of alcohol
makes the white cells inactive. Metch-
nikoff sums up the result of the ex-
periments made by him and by man>
investigators under the stimulus of
his work: “Besides its deleterious in-
fluence on the nervous system and
other important parts of our body,
alcohol has a harmful action on the
phagocytes, the agents of natural de-
fence against infective microbes.” In
other words, give the phagocytes a
chance, or they will sulk.
BLINDERS.
AUSTRIA.
There is a peculiar pathos in the
words of the ex-Empress Eugenie to
the Emperor of Austria. Both have
known many and heart-breaking
so-rows in domestic life, and if
Eugenie lost an empire, how long will
Franz Joseph’s last after his death?
It may be said that many distin-
guished statesmen have denied the
inherent strength and stability of
Austria. Metternlch called the coun-
try a state, and not a nation; Gort-
schakoff said it was a government
and not a state; Cavour insisted that
it was solely a dynasty and not a
government. The soldier patriot,
Garibaldi, said “Austria is only an
assassin,” and Gladstone character-
ized her as the negation of all civil-
ization. Furthermore, she has fared
badly in the common speech. There
is a Prussian saying that the Bava-
rians are the connecting links be-
tween Austrians and men. But what
have the Saxons, Bavarians, the peo- j
pie of Hanover and Hamburg not
said of the Berliners? The Emperoi
is a most courteous gentleman, and
he will be gallant toward Eugenie,
more gallant than the French were
toward Marie Antoinette, “the. Aus-
trian woman.”
London has a yearly parade of work-
horses, organized by the London ' an
Horse Parade Society, and this year all
winners of first prizes (red rosettes)
were presented with a diploma by the
Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals. There were 240
entries, whereas two years ago there
were only eighty. The horses, it is said,
were generally in excellent condition.
“Their well-groomed, glossy hides at-
tested systematic good treatment. ’ Now
comes an ironic touch. A correspondent
of the Pall MAll Gazette wrote after the
parade: “I would like to suggest that a
prize might be given in each section for
the best horses without blinkers. If
every owner of a blinkered horse was
made to wear a shade half over his eyes
whenever he went out, he would soon
realize how cruel blinkers are.” How is
it in Boston? How many horses are
without blinkers, or blinders, or blufts?
Some of our readers may remember the
o..,, I p nirainst curb bits and check
THERE AND HERE.
The recent tragedy in New' York
moved Mr. George R. Sims to write:
“More Tinned Filth from America. It
Is the White Brand this time," and he
hopes that the English journals are
not going to put this “potted abom-
ination” on the breakfast table every
morning. But Mr. Sims also looks
about him at home. He finds a cheap
coffee made by Germans for his
countrymen out of burned turnips;
milk adulterated with boric acid, |
colored with coal tar and other dyes;
candy with arsenic in it, and he
smiles a grim smile as he mentions
native sausage. "A short way with
adulterators,” he says in his wwath.
“would be to make it part of the pen-
alty to compel them to bear the cost
of the public Advertisement of the
particulars of their convictions, and
to exhibit the same in a conspicuous
position on their business premises
for six months.” If he would only
abstain from poetry!
••The Human Ostrich swallowed pins.
But people paid him for his feat.
We swallow wliat we find in tins. ,,
And pay. ourselves, for what we eat.
He also talks of "uncleanly men in
filth-befouled boots,” standing amon*
fish or meat and doing all sorts ot
nauseating things. Truly, there is a
great awakening.
ARCHAIC COC’KXEY’ESE.
A character in a recent English novel
of contemporaneous life uses the phrase
“Drat your imperenee.” We remem-
ber in connection with this Mr. George
R. Sims saying not long ago that tlie
phrase passed put of currency while
Queen Victoria was still alive ; tlmt it
is as dead as the Cockney’s “v” for “w”
and ”v” for “v.” Mr. Sims went on to
say in explanation : “Nor even in a
music hall sketch would a costermonger
today talk of White vine winegar,’ or
address a pal as ‘Samivel’ or A llliam.
Much of the cockneyese in Dickens is
already archaic. “Vilikins” no longer
stands for “Wilkins.” and “Evans is
is still heard for “Smith." The coster-
mongers in the heart of London still say
“wif” for “with” and "fink" for “think.
It would be a pity if all their distinctive
speech had disappeared.
“Imperenee” was perhaps a portman-
teau word, to use the phrase of the
author of “Alice in Wonderland”; a
blending of “impudence” and “imperii
nencc” ; hut might it not have been
merely a contraction of the latter, or a
slovenly pronunciation of “impudence ?
It is said, by the way, that the cockney
language in Mr. Bernard Shaw’s “Cap-
tain Brassbound’s Conversion” is not a
bit like the real thing.
VP THE AISLE.
Mr. Clarence Eddy, the distin-
guished organist, played the organ at
his own wedding, July 10. He timed
the march with admirable precision
so that when the bride reached the
altar he struck the final chord and
stood up like a man before the min-
ister As his wife is said to be a
sweet soprano, one might reasonably
have expected her to sing “The Voicej
That Breathed O’er Eden,” or "Blest
Be the Tie That Binds,” as she went
up the aisle. Mr. Eddy has thus set
a precedent. When the bridegroom|
is an organist a church wedding is
the thing, though some can work-
wonders with a reed organ. A violin-
ist would have the advantage of a
double-bass player in marching to
the altar, but the finest fellow of all
in this romantic situation would be
the slide-trombone man, and let him
go up the aislv with his bride, pro-|
claiming sonorously his pride and
joy, instead of waiting to meet her as
in the days of courtship. Nor need;
the drummer be ashamed to an-
nounce to the assembled guests the
bridal approach, and thus to sym-
bolize the beating of his heart.
AROUND THE NECK.
Girls in New York who are on
strike against the Neckwear Manu-
facturers’ Association have heard
that the strike is hitting the supply
of Ascot and four-in-hand ties. “The
strikers do not work on the made-up
ties, and they pointed out that no
man who gets into the habit of knot-
ting his own tie will ever wear a
made-up tie again.” These girls are
shrewd observers; furthermore, they
are on the side of beauty and truth.
Years ago a study of the cravat with
pictures of cravats then in fashion
was published in England and trans-
lated into French. It was a dignified
study of a dignified thing. Would
that some amply qualified person
might bring the book down to recent
years! What essays might be writ-
ten on the Lord Dundreary, a sort of
plastron, with a piece of elastic to go
over the collar button; the Brother;
Sam, heart-shaped, loud in colors,-
with a cardboard foundation; the
Stanley, popular in the seventies, es-
pecially with those who took no note
of time in changing shirts; the made-
up sailor's knot with a tab and a pin; j
the big French bow, a*so made up.
All these ties were as the abomina-
tion of desolation to The tier of cra-
vats, who also scorned the string tie,
which, slipping and showing the
knot under an ear, suggested t e
halter. Then there is the made tie
that is not snug in the collar, but
shows a tract of shirt below the but-
a no-man's land of linen. The |
wearer, conscious, may tug and ug.
The hideous thing slips and blackens, j
as It slips. Yes. every man should
sit under his own vine and fig tree
and tie his own cravat. The made
tie should be reserved for flat dwe
5 .
DREYTFUS’ future.
Now that Maj. Dreyfus has been as-
■ a a crack regiment it may well
rSw whStw «». »»>««
u, e will be no, a liabPJ »
fcrtable one. Dreyfus.” The
and cries out, -justice ha* -
world at large rejoices tha j
been done, though it is "^^aUitncl
perfect. Bu ^ ^ d the outrageously
of the army toward ui ^
'II not absurd race feeling still pre-
1? Will not the fact that he and his
(porters exposed the criminal machi-
(ions of officers high in rank set him
•art as one disloyal to military tradi-
)ns? Unfortunately for him and for
ranee the great majority of French
fficers are not Picquarts, and the belief
hat the army can do no wrong is not
onfined to the army.
has been on the stage ; he, too, has been
in Arcadia. Mr. Belasco should re-
cover quickly from his surprise and re-
member that human nature enters occa-
sionally into art.
ELAT HORSEMANSHIP.
UNDUE EMOTION.
The trial of Mr. Thaw continues to
be conducted In certain New York
newspapers, and now a change of
lawyers for the defence may arouse
the drooping interest of the public.
“Emotional insanity” was a defence
long before the Cole-Hiscock case.
When George Borrow took his fa-
mous walks in Wales he attended at
Llangollen the examination of a
butcher charged with attempting to
cut the throat of a rival in trade. The
accused said that he merely wished
to mark his man, and he talked sane-
ly. as was his habit before the as-
sault. The surgeon of the place, on
being asked his opinion with respect
to the state of the prisoner’s mind,
said he believed that he might have
been “laboring under a delusion” at
the time, but what this delusion was
he did not say. Borrow held his
tongue, but made this note: “Judg-
ing from his look and manner, I saw
no reason to suppose that he was
any more out of his senses than I
myself or any person present.” Some
have called Borrow a "bounder,” but
no one ever accused him of being in-
sane, and he was a shrewd judge of
men and their actions.
"ENJOYS GOOD HEALTH.”
A man was corrected ^yesterday for
remarking that he "enjoyed good
health.” The purist said to him: "Of
course your health is good if you
enjoy it. Could you enjoy poor
health?” and thu? he spake by the
card and not with due reflection. There
are persons who enjoy their poor
health. It absorbs their attention. It
keeps them busy, going from physi-
cian to physician, consulting wise
Women and wonder-workers, trying
all manner of remedies from the ani-
mal, mineral and vegetable king-
doms. It gives them an endless sub-
ject of conversation. It draws them
close to fellow-sufferers and makes
them sympathetic. In like manner a
man may enjoy good health. He is
radiant with the mere flush of life.
He walks as though he were in the
air, he smiles on the passers-by. He,
too, talks about his health. “Never
knew a sick day.” He plumes him-
self on the fact that he never took
medicine, as others say with an intol-
erable air that they have never
known the taste of ale, beer, wine,
strong liquors or tobacco in any of its
pernicious forms. It is hard to say
which of these two enjoyments is
| more trying to those who move in
the immediate atmosphere.
WHY SURPRISED?
Mr. David Belasco has on many occa-
sions— on first nights of plays, on the
witness stand, and in conversations with
! reporters — shown a philosophic calm
| and the aplomb of a man of the world.
It is therefore the more surprising that
he should be wildly excited over the
marriage of Mrs. Leslie Carter. “I
would as soon think of the devil asking
for holy water as of Mrs. Carter taking
a husband.” This remark — say rather
cry — is neither reasonable nor gallant.
Why should not Mrs. Carter take a hus-
ji band, as long as she does not take some
t other woman’s husband? Many men
find her attractive; there are women
I who would fain exert her drawing
power. She is not a boarding school
miss to whom man is a romantic being,
'clothed in thunder, irresistible. Mrs.
ii Carter has reached years of discretion.
■,:She is able to exercise judgment. She
J knows what sue wants. Nor is her hus-
' band one under a spell exerted by a
' heroine of a drama, one to whom Haz-
j litt’s bitter line might be applied: "To
marry an actress for the admiration she
excites on the stage is to imitate the
man who bought Punch.” The husband
The physician orders you to ride
horseback in the country and you
J cannot afford to take the prescribed
medicine. We once heard of a man
who used to ride a sort of mechan-
ical horse in a room with a window
that looked on a public square with
trees. This exercise had been recom-
i mended to him by a medical crank or
supposed quack. The patient be-
lieved that he was much benefited;
he said the ride was better than one
in the open air; and he actually
gained in health. We told this story
to a physician and he was not sur-
prised at the patient’s enjoyment and
gain. "The bedroom ride,” he satd.
“was a symbol. Realities pall upon us
because we are accustomed to them:
shams give us a peculiar satisfaction
of their own.” And he added as a
confirming illustration that the
chauffeur who takes his wife out
in his master’s automobile has a bet-
ter time than the owner of the car.
(Perhaps this is the reason why the
chauffeur is occasionally reckless,
and criminally indifferent concerning
the rights and lives of others on the
highway.) If there Is so much in the
symbolism of a rocking horse, and
the popularity of merry-go-rounds
might well be brought forward as a
proof, the exercise should be within
the reach of many. The story of the
bronze horse may be only a parable.
VOCAL NATURE.
The Mt. Vernon (N. Y.) board of
health has passed an ordinance
against cocks, hens apd ducks. “The
owner of poultry which persist in
disobeying the ordinance must either
kill the fowl or take them beyond
the city limits.” It seems that a Mr.
Hubsch kept a diary and “proved” by
it that he had been awakened over
100 times last winter by Mr. Tier’s
domestic animals. A light sleeper!
Also a methodical man, for the en-
tries showed the day, hour and min-
ute he was disturbed and the precise
nature of the disturber. Cocks crow,
hens cackle, ducks quack, for ’tis
their nature to. Poets and novelists
of the pastoral class have delighted
in barnyard activity — at least in
print. A cock that does not crow is
a loathsome object, and there is only
one more delightful sound than the
quack of a duck in a marsh heard by
the half-awakened sleeper in the
morning, and that is the cawing of
crows as they fly in groups of nine.
Mr. Hubsch is as nervous as Herbert
Spencer or Octave Feuillet. He
should live in a great city, where the
constant din lulls, so that a sojourn
in the country frets at first the
nerves. Herbert Spencer tried the
experiment of putting an offending
Icock under a bucket, but all in vain,
as the readers of his curious auto-
biography remember. But why not
try the animals in court? A cock
was tried at Basle in 1474, convicted
and burned alive for having laid an
egg.
WOMEN JOURNALISTS.
An able defence of that much
abused person, the woman journalist,
was published recently in The Herald.
The writer might have stated facts
that are not known to those who live
only in the present or in the future.
The first daily newspaper in the
world was published in London by
a woman, Elizabeth Mallett. The
newspaper was one sheet of two
columns, and it professed to give only
foreign news. TJie publisher confessed
that her venture was “to spare the
public half the impertinences which
the ordinary papers contain,” nor
were there any editorial comments;
the readers were supposed “to have
sense enough to make reflections for
themselves.” Was not the first news-
paper in Rhode Island owned and
edited by Anna Franklin? Did not
Clementine Reid found a newspaper
in Virginia to support the Colonial
cause? Was not tne 'Massachusetts
Gazette and Newsletter conducted by
Margaret Craper, published even
when Boston was besieged? It is true
that there are contradictory state-
ments in certain instances: Thus
some say that Mrs. Mallett’s journal,
the Daily Courant, was started in
1702, and others that 1720 was the
year, for man, the lord of creation,
and made in the image of his Maker,
is occasionally in doubt or inaccurate.
SEEN AND UNSEEN.
Mr. William H. Thompson at work
on the “televue,” a device "which will
enable a person talking over the tele-
phone to see the face and figure of the
person to whom he is talking,” is no
doubt a most ingenious person, but the
value of his invention is questionable.
One of the chief pleasures in using a
telephone is the consciousness that your
face is not seen. Suppose, for instance,
you are obliged to deceive the person at
the other end, to tell a white lie to save
trouble or annoyance. The deceived one
has no opportunity of seeing your face,
which might betray you. A pleasant
voice belonging to some unknown
woman asks information or some slight
favor. The voice is caressing, it has
flattering tones, it is appreciative. It is
surely the voice of beauty, and you mod-
ulate at once your own and are eager to
do all that is in your power, whereas
if you saw at that moment the woman,
hatchet-faced, with the thin long golden
line of American dentistry and with a
fine development of bone, you would be
more cautious in yielding to the vocal
touch. Or suppose that Mr. Marcellus
B. Graves reminds yoit of the little loan
which you have neglected to pay. How
much better for you not to see his face,
whether ir be cloudy In anger or piteous
in appeal ! Furthermore one will be
obliged to dress for the telephone
Neither the statesman nor the lover will
dare to answer a call, as at present, un-
shaven and in pyjamas.
CONCERT FOYER
Show Girls and Chorus Girls
in View of the Tragedy
in New York.
NEWS OF MUSICIANS
HERE AND IN EUROPE
Naturally there has been much talk
lately about chorus girls. The Stan-
ford White tragedy has furnished
texts for entertaining, and in some in-
stances preposterous, sermons. Thea-
tre managers have spoken in warm
terms of the artistic and moral char-
acter of the chorus girl, who is now
daily in evidence in the newspapers,
though it is out of the season. Miss
Jume Coughdrop, who knew young
Mrs. Thaw well, tells the world all
about her. Miss Flossie Bilberry is
the intimate friend of a girl who once
was on speaking terms with Mrs.
1 haw, and therefore Miss Bilberry’s
portrait, taken apparently when she
was in the bath, is published, no
doubt to her extreme annoyance. Miss
linger me Jumper saw Mr. White sev-
eral times, and she declares that he
was an “elegant gentleman, just as
polite and thoughtful as he could be.”
Mtss Jumper’s portrait is also pub-
lished, and we see at once that she
believes in high living and high- kick-
ing.
It should be understood that nearly
all these chorus girls are “actresses.”
The recent decision of a London court
about a Gibson girl settled this dis-
pute. If a chorus girl speaks a line,
or even two words, in the course of a
play, she is an actress, and in the cat-
alogue with Bernhardt and Duse. An
amusing skit founded on this decision
was published not long ago in the
Pall Mall Gazette. Mr. Frank Rich-
ardson wrote, it, and here it is:
She was not exactly an intellectual girl,
* Ut * slie hoped to illuminate the stage
* , anc * she wasn’t pleased with her
position in the chorus. The young man
loved her very much, and fed her a great
deal fit the Savoy and Romano’s.
It s an awfully hard world for women,”
she said despondently as they were sitting
at lunch.
I “Nonsense,” he replied loyally. “You’re
allowed to say ‘Hurrah’ in the second act
now, as well as in the first act. and deuced
well you say it! You’ll get the Aspirate
m . . ,\ n he added thoughtfully.
She bridled:
The Aspriate? There's no part in the
piece called ‘the Aspriate!’ You mean ‘The
Maharajah.; Well, if I doft’t succeed in
'the ^ profession I shall commit suicide I
fion t care tuppence about being- buried in
unconcentrated ground.”
For many years certain, classes of
young 1 women earning their living
have been a mark for dealers in flip-
pancy and cheap wit, and for profes-
r* 1 s f„ tirlsts - In the. days of the
Greeks it was the flute player, and
^seldom was she described with the
sympathy shown by Pierre I.ouys in
in I >h Jirf lte - , V ator u was the weav!
glr ’ and sll <‘ remains a tradition
wiIL” 8 .! son8 ' Popular among col-
, n the seventies — perhaps it is
today- — 1 1 is in some of the col-
lege song books, but al! the songs in
these collections are not sung:
Says I to her. what is your trade?
Says she to me I'm a weaver's rnaid
CHORUS.
A rig-a-jlg- jig and away we go, «tc.
so ! 1 - s ’ ls a " old one, and its ama-
tory sentiment has been much chast-
*“« d ' n the course of the years. Did'
not Montaigne make some wise re-
marks about weavers’ maids? |
'Tif "(oman book agent became a
mark. Later it was the turn of the
stenographer, then the typewriter and
they are still marks. Tmlay it is the
chorus girl who provokes jests that
are often foolish and seldom compli-
l ™?'? tary rrhen the girl with good looks
modesty addltlonal charm of reasonable [
According to the paragrapher and the i
inventor of thrilling specials all chorus I
girls prey on lobsters, tire human live
and broiled live. The intimate lingerie'
ot these girls would excite the envy of 1
any European queen; their fingers I
bleeze with precious minerals. They
walk only on the stage. Outside of the
theatres they dash about in cabs, whizz
m automobiles, lounge on yachts. The
only water they drink is of a gaseous
nature and with something when they
are low in mind. The earnest student of
sociology is terhpted to believe that
Society for Physical Research were
founded exclusively for them, although
ja Society for Providing Indigent Worlt-
ln ? ,9. lrIs with Birds and Bottles was
established two or three years ago in
Boston. The list of its members Is a
ong one, and subscriptions to the cause
have been liberal and constant.
These girls that have easily won noto-
riety are show girls; they are not chorus
girls. They either have a naturally
piping voice which in an emergency
resembles the “shrill edged shriek of a
mother dividing the shuddering night”;
a bass voice; or a low voice of fog horn
quality. They have little or ng vocal
skill; they are not musical; the con-
ductor groans and swears and sweats
at rehearsal, hammering the notes into
them, trying to make them sing in time.
Nor can they act. They are seldom
vivacious, spry, slyly attractive. Many
of them are as stockvard beauties.
They are simply show' girls, to be
shown, to be seen— and like good little
children, not heard. The show girl is
a variety of a long established class.
Sometimes she is dull and amiable, tak- I
ing without thought what her gods give
her. Sometimes she is calculating and
malicious, in assumed coldness toward I
the male. Then there are show girls !
who are supreme leg pullers and of
historical significance.
The true chorus girl is often hard |
working and self-supporting. A “For- |
mer Chorus Girl” gave reasons some
days ago why girls join and quit the
chorus. Whether a woman -wrote the
article or whether a newspaper man
with whiskers thought tne signature
a plausible one is here not to the
point.
Well educated girls are sometimes
forced suddenly to earn their living.
They have neither the time nor the
money to fit themselves for any busi-
ness, and they have not the courage
to work “as beginners on a beginner's
Salary” in the shops. “A girl of in-
telligence and beauty or style can
usually obtain chorus work. The sal-
ary ranges from $15 to $30 per week.
This work enables a girl to travel and
to, stop at good hotels. She studies
operas, expression, dancing, poise, etc.,
instead of slaving behind the counter
in t lie city at $8 per and living in a
hall bedroom. Many productions are
rehearsed several weeks without sal-
ary.”
But how many chorus girls are paid
so that they can “stop at good hotels”?
W’hy do chorus girls quit the stage?
Some get discouraged because they
are not advanced; some find the life
intolerable. “Former Chonls Girl”
takes a more cheerful view: "A
bright, good looking girl usually gets
married after a few seasons, for she
is placed before the public and the
right fellow happens to see her.” Yet
our informant has known downcast
hours. Although she has left the
stage, she still sees the awful appari-
tion of the "paid instructor of the
chorus, usually a man of more stage
cunning than education and breeding,
who considers it thoroughly unbe-
coming to his position to treat the
chorus workers with respect. Some of
these men shout and swear and strike
their canes on the floor in frenzy;
some study sarcasm and smart say-
ings, and mimic and ridicule. They
often call girls by their surnames
only, or by nicknames. 'Move your
long shanks lively,’ they will say; or, ■
‘You haven't got no more ginger in
you than that chair.’”
Our informant says nothing about the!
young woman who is ambitious to be)
Ian opera singer, who is willing to begin
las a chorus girl, for she knows that'
I some day sh'e will be applaunded as Aida, j
Leonora, Bruennhilde. There are many
of these girls whose struggle is heroic. I
The great majority drop out. Some
teach and some marry. Some are ad- I
vanced to the dignity of a minor part, j
(some end in the hospital. Here and
'there a girl arrives at the goal. They
make a brave fight, they endure much,
but as long as they are sustained by am-
bition, they would lead no other life.
To accuse them recklessly of light be^
h'avior is eminently unjust and cruel.
[They should never be confounded with
show girls.
Mrs. Rosalba Beecher Collins, a mem-
ber of the McCaull Opera Company in
the early eighties, was married July 12
to Lloyd G. Hartshorne. Otto Lohse’s
second wife, an opera,
ruhe, where Mr. Lohse is conductor, at-
tempted to 1:11! herself by jumping from
a hotel window in Cologne. His first
wife was Katherine Klafsky, and he
came to this country when she was a
member of Mr. Damrosch’s opera com-
pany. The New York Sun states that
Leoncavallo is anxious that Mr. Ham-
merstein should produce his opera
“Fedora.” First let Leoncavallo write ;«
"Fedora.” The opera of that name was
composed by Giordano.
It is said that Mr. Hammerstein has
engaged Pauline Donalda and Folia Lit-
vinne for his opera house. Miss Don-
alda has been well advertised this season
in London. She is now betrothed to
the opera singer Sevellhac. "He dis-
covered her and brought her out." It
will thus be seen that sopranos, like
republics, occasionally are grateful.
As The Herald has stated before this.
Miss Donalda’s name is Pauline Light-
stone or Lighstone, for the name is
spelled both ways by the passionate
press agent. She is a Canadian of Jew-
ish descent and took the name Donalda
because she received a pension from Sir
Donald Smith, “founder yf the Royal
Victoria College. Montreal, which insti-
tution she entered, being called, as are
all the girl students. 'Donaldas.' ” It was|
in recognition of Sir Donald's generos-
ity that she chose his name as a stage
patronymic. And so she is twice grate-
ful. Felia Litvinne has sung here in
opera. She is a very large person and
as a singer is “massive and concrete."
Will Puccini conduct the first per-
formance of his “Mme. Butterfly” at
the Metropolitan Opera House in Janu-
ary? Will Mr. Conrled produce the
opera, or has Mr. Savage the exclusive
right for this country? Insatiable Mr.
Hammerstein : They say he is trying to
engage Mme. Calve, who has broken her
contract for concert engagements in the
t'nited States next season. Mr. Ernest
Hutcheson gave a piano recital in Lon-
don last month (June 25). He was criti-
cized with discrimination-. It appears
that he "touched off with agreeable
neatness” pieces by Beethoven and Men-
delssohn, but he “made too much use of
his strength" in Schumann's sonata in
G minor and “assailed the ears of his
audience sornewliat fiercely." Mme.
Belle Botsford. a violinist “who hails
from Boston, .F. S. A.,” was announced
to give a recital in London on .July 5.
“She now returns to the concert plat-
form after some years' absence."
northern Italy or see Santiago in Chili,
singer at Carlis- What pleasure did Mr. Beit derive from
his superfluity? Only to give some of it
away ; and what incredibly rich man is
confident that his charity is not misdi-
rected? A driblet put in the hand of a
will be said in paraphrase: ‘A woman's
crowning glory is her (red) hair.’”
But why should Mrs. Carter be so
earnest in defence? Like Massachusetts,
she needs none. Aunt against niece, and
in the matter of hair we side with the
ful to any >*>ung man who reads a
novel for moral instruction. But a
novel deliberately didactic Is not a
work of art.
needy soul rejoices the giver ; but who latter We do thfa knowing the ancient
knows the future of charity in a lump prejud . ce; how thg Egypt5ans cere _
and pompous sum and under the con- ( moniously burned aIive red -haired
trol of t rustees? women ; how Southey figures cruelty as
CORRUPTION OF YOUTH. red-haired ; how Brahmins were forbid-
It appears by the action of the board den to marry the red-haired; how Judas
Cesar Thomson, the violinist, will give
30 concerts in this country after Jan. 1.
He played in Boston some years ago
with little popular success. Ysaye will
not come here next season. “As he and
ms manager had a stormy time in his
last tour here, the news that Ysaye had
declined to come hack created no sur-
prise in musical circles." Is it another
case of too much Johnston, this time
[with a “t”?
| Vladimir de Pachmann and Ramil
Pugno will play the piano in this
’country during the season of 1907-8.
The former says it will he his last
tour in America. Ossip Gabrilowitch.
the pianist, will begin a tour ot the
United States and Canada in Novem-
ber. Musical America announces the
engagement by Mr. Hammerstein of
Victor Capoul as “artistic director of
the new Manhattan Opera House.
There are sound, ripe musicians in
Scranton. We nave a right to , e .T
this from a paragraph published in a
Scranton newspaper: 'Mr. JOoepn
Whitekofsky of U23 Meade avenUe at-
tended the birthday party ot Mrs.,
Wesler in South Scranton last evening
with his new accordion Which he got
from Vienna. He certainly is the best ,
accordion player in Gernnuimusitin
Scranton. He plays all over at most
any social affair at a reasonable
^"'Plie New York Sun publishes a
rumor that Saint-Saens visited New
York several years ago on his way
from South America; th ®t he came in-
coenito and “remained concealed in a
French hotel until the departure of
of education committee in Philadelphia
that school teachers of that city have
been using slang phrases and thus cor-
rupting youth. Henceforth they must
not say, “Skidoo, Get busy, Cut it out,
Quit your kidding, Fade away.”
"Skidoo” is undoubtedly slang, but “kid-
ding” is an old English term and of
reputable provincial authority : “Kid, to
entice by conversation, to make a per-
son believe an untrue statement.” Why
hould any one object to “Get busy,”
or “Fade away”? The former is terse
and stimulating ; the latter is poetic and
used by poets. The committee also
objects to "Beat it while your shoes
are good.” But the shrewd expression
of this sound advice would have delight-
ed Benjamin Franklin. Nor should we
discourage the use of the phrase
“Eighteen and a bottle of milk” merely
because we do not understand it. The
wings of slang are swift. As the learned
college president in Worcester remarked,
slang is language in the making. The
slang of a few years ago is in the ortho-
dox dictionary of today, and lexicog-
raphers of a dozen years hence will
quarrel over the derivation of “skidoo.”*
“Eighteen and a bottle of milk.” A
I phrase that is sonorously cryptic. We
should think twice before disallowing it.
was probably red-haired, and so on. But
the old Romans liked red-haired women,
and let us be sternly Roman toward
Mrs. Dodge’s niece.
A still more re-
markable story
he New Y^ork w -
of* ' noblest
a years ago in Europe and America
a, Sig Bravara, and taught sine-iog
£ °A Vonl!rt n “of music calculated to
o f the* a u d feiTc e' " 'was 9 V 1 v e n ' re c e n 1 1 y
sal^°tlm° prospectus, ^'th^pro'framme. |
Concert givers m Losion |
take note
/ c, o n
wn- ka ble* *s to r V r I s that' published by
the New VorkWorH to the effect that
- 2 'O ‘ j
MEDIAEVAL.
A private censured in rhyme the
officer who permitted the playing of
“Always in the Way” at the funeral
of a marine in the Philippines. His
rhyme was published in a Manila
newspaper. Mars and Apollo are
not always fast friends, and the imi-
tator of Mr. Kipling was brought
before a prosaic court-martial. Ac-
quitted, he was soon afterward “ex-
iled to a dreary army post in Zembo-
ango.” We know not the place, not
even on the map. The word Itself
has a dismal sound. Zemboango!
“The post is near the equator.” That
Is enough. It suggests leprous trees,
huge snakes, foul scum on stagnant
water, carnivorous and roaring
beasts, fever and ague, shooting
pains, deathlike lethargy, creeping,
poisonous things, an absence of but-
ter and ice, treacherous natives —
what does it not suggest? But what
mediaeval vengeance! It reminds
one of some of the fine old Italian
tales, In which men are put out of the
way, neatly, without any mess due to
sticking or carving, and wives sus-
pected of Infidelity are compelled to
pine In a poorly furnished tower in a
swampy region until they died a ma-
larial death.
HER GLORY.
Mrs. Dodge, the aunt of Mrs. Leslie
Carter, speaks out in meeting with the
freedom of a blood relation : “The same
thing that made Leslie Carter marry
her was just what made him divorce
her. It was her mad impetuosity, her
violent emotionalism, her red hair that
attracted him, and it was her impetuous
nervous temperament, her violent emo-
tionalism and her red hair that caused
all the trouble.”
When Mrs. Carter was last playing
in Boston she freed her mind to a re-
porter of The Herald. “I wish most
emphatically to deny the theory that a
red-headed woman has more temper,
loses her temper more easily, is more
quick-tempered than any other woman.
Temper is a matter of temperament. It
has nothing to do with complexions or
skin pigments.” Then Mrs. Carter said
ENOUGH.
There has been wild guessing about
the fortune left by Mr. Beit. Some say
it is below $50,000,000; others that it
is $625,000,000. A million for each day
in the year would seem to be a liberal
sum for one who, like Mycerinus, was
warned by the gods he had only a cer-
tain number of months to live. Mr.
Beit had had his stroke. Above a cer-
tain amount of money the rest is vexa- _
tion. What this amount should be (le- tha£ the hair of Rosalind, Desdemona,
pends on whether you are demente Imogen, Viola was red, or tinged with
with the mania of owning things. Lor red> while Katherine, the shrew, had
Saltire told Mary Corby thac he was faven b]ack ba ; r she referred to
going to leave her £20,000. Believe an r pjtj an 's glorious women, and ended
old man wl'.eu he says that more «ou with this tine burst: "Eventually, when
be a plague to you.” It would be some tbe art j st ; c sensibilities of mankind re-
thing to know that you would be sure S p onc ] t0 tbe beautiful in art and nature,
of $4000 a year the rest of your li e , re( j-haired woman will be enthroned
then you could smoke calm pipes in ag tbe Q ueen 0 f n ear t s , and of her it
THE REASON WHY.
The Gaulois of Paris is deeply in-
terested in all anthropological and
sociological questions. It lately asked
100 men why they wore mustaches.
The answers were as follows: Sixty
“because women do not like clean-
shaven men” — but how about play-
actors, are they not pursued by many
women? 17 to please themselves; 7
for the sake of their health; 6 on ac-
count of the trouble of shaving; 3
because it improves tho air they
breathed; 3 to avoid colds; 2 to
please their wives; 1 to hide his long
nose; 1 to hide his teeth. How can
a man hide his nose by growing a
mustache unless he uses his nose as
a pergola and trains the hair over it?
We know men who shave the upper
lip because they are passionately ad-
dicted to black bean soup and green
corn. Then there Is the man who Is
never satisfied with Ills face and is
constantly changing it. The only
way to deal with him is not to show
surprise at any dispes d of his facial
fungous growth.
MENTAL SURGERY.
This news about “Black Bart” Hol-
shay, the Wisconsin bandit, is re-
assuring, but a little vague. He was
sent to prison. “It was believed his
efimes were due tj a diseased mind,
and an operation was performed. I
Soon after his character changed,
and his criminal Instincts seem to
have disappeared.” Did the surgeon
operate with a knife on his mind?
Where was the incision made? In
other words, where is the seat of a
perverted mind? The ancients, who
were cocksure of many things, had
v.-rious opinions about the seat of
any sort of mind: they named the
train, the heart, the spinal marrow,
the liver. With some a disposition
to do dark deeds is undoubtedly in
the liver, though some insist that an
undue pressure on a part of the brain
incites the victim to arson, murder or
watering of stocks. The theory has
been advanced that if a criminal be
caught young and operated on, he
will be at once converted into a be-
nevolent and industrious person.
There Is talk of obtaining a pardon
for Mr. Holshay, probably with a
view to studying his future out of
prison walls.
A MODERN “BIBLE.”
It is said that the new pocket edi- I
tion of Mr. Meredith’s novels is caus- j
ing a revival of interest in his writ-
ings. “ 'Richard Feverel,’ which has
been called the young man's Bible, is
an artistic as well as uplifting bit of
literature to read in the summer hol-
idays.” Who called this novel “the
young man’s Bible,” and why? It Is
undeniably entertaining and often
brilliant, but what lessons of profit
does a young man draw from it? To
be prudent in the choice of a father.
The true tragedy Is the failure of Sir
Austin’s preposterous system. If the
book be a Bible, it Is one for fathers.
Richard Is merely an Impossible
young person sacrificed on the altar
of parental pride and vanity. What
Is there in his life for any young man
to imitate or avoid? His episode with
Bella is fantastical; it is in the dry
light of Congrevian comedy. In this
novel Mr. Meredith’s view of human-
ity is that of the wise youth Adrian:
“A supreme ironic procession, with
laughter of gods In the background,”
and this is not the view of a Bible.
Mr. Meredith's "Adventures of Harry
Richmond” will be much more use-
SCRAPED PLATES.
The periodical What to Eat tells a
“good homemaker” how to provide
"a fine table" for two at a cost of $5
a week. “Don’t throw away the little,
clean pieces of butter kept by your
husband on his plate. Better still,
train him to take just enough. Do it
in an unassuming way. so that he |
can’t call you stingy. Do it almost as
a joke. When you have a criticism
of that kind, laugh, about it, and see
how soon the man of the house will
take the hint.” This is dangerous ad-
vice. The success of the experiment
will depend wholly on the character
of the man. Few husbands like to be
criticised in any way, and any re-
flection on their table manners drives
them wild. Nor is the advice prac-
tical. What man of you sitting at
table knows exactly how much but-
ter he will need for buckwheat cakes,
or in the glorious season of green
corn? Laus Deo! This season is com-
ing. In old days there was a sound
reason for cleaning a plate after the
manner of a hungry cat.
O. never sit down at thy table
When llie number is thirteen;
And lost witches 1 m- there,
l'nt salt in your beer
And Hcrapu yonr platter clean.
Does any wife of refinement find
pleasure in the sight of the loved one
scraping a plate with knife or spoon
to the detriment of the crackling?
Will the loved one relish economical
knagging? It should be remembered
that the ordinary every day husband
likes to have his wife laugh with
him, not at him.
DE FOREST’S NOVELS.
The name of J. W. De Forest, who
died last Tuesday at New Haven, Ct.,
is not known to the younger genera-
tion of novel readers. It is probably!
as unfamiliar as that of Richard B.
Kimball, the author of “Was He Suc-
cessful?” and “Saint Leger.” R. H.
Newell is remembered by some as
"Orpheus C. Kerr” and as one of the
husbands of Mazeppa Menken; but
how many have read his “Avery Gll-
bun.” a story of New York in which
men and women 'who frequented
Pfaff’s are introduced? Yet some of
De Forest's stories would repay read-
ing today. In “Miss Ravenel's Con-
version” he drew a satirical and
highly entertaining picture of New
Haven society, and hi; description of I
a college belle was a masterpiece in
an unpleasant way. This description
was more than once reprinted in Yale
college papers when an editor or a
contributor felt himself unappreci-
ated by the young women of the
town. New Haven apparently did
not resent Da Forest’s satire, for he
lived there many years, liked and re-
spected, and as ho drove about he
was a conspicuous figure. His best
novels eontaiij both incident and
character drawing, and they are the
work of a man who had seen much,
thought in his own way and done
deeds.
THE FESTAL MUMMY,
j A Paris correspondent writes that
medical debates, monopolizing conversa-
! tion, throw a gloom over dinners in that
city. The diners have symptoms of all
diseases from Potts' to “housemaid s
knee,” from ichthyosis to malignant
pustule. Furthermore, digestion is no
longer fearless and catholic. “Many
men and women have their own regime,
which they are bound to follow under
pain of ‘distress.’ The festive board is
garnished with bottles of digestive pow-
der and with extracts of various sorts;
it could hardly be more depressing if a
death's head presided.” Each newspa-
per has its physician to frighten or re-
assure subscribers by his article on the
latest fashionable disease. “Docteur
Ox” of the Matin, for instance, wrote
so alarmingly about the activity of the
common fly in the dissemination of in-
fectious germs that an anti-fly associa-
tion was immediately founded.
All this is nothing new. The Paris ■
public for years has been deeply in-
terested in the discussion of symptoms
I and diseases. Noble dames in the eight-
eenth century attended medical leituies
Mini operations. We remember reading
in a book of memoirs of some courted
beauty who took about with her in her
carriage as she was making visits a Jeg
that she might not suspend for too long
a time her dissection of it. At present
there is a movement against (lie op-
erative zeni of the Surgeon. French doc-
lors talk freely to reporters, and Prof.
Dieulafoy of the Academy of Medicine
gave as his opinion before a meeting of
bis colleagues that many are operated
on for appendicitis who do not have the j
disease at all.
Talks on medical subjects are not only i
intimate,” they shape stage dialogue j
and suggest strong situations. A drama ,
called “'Chirugien de Service” was
played some time ago. The authors were j
two young doctors. A dying man is '
brought ou the stage, and the scen§ rep- j
resents the kitchen of a Paris hospi- -
tal. The resident physicians are busy
,nt bridge whist. They ease the condi-
tion of the patient, telephone for the
uirgeon on duty and resume their game.
Ueanwhile the patient dies. Naturally
there were outcries and protests at this
representation of hospital service, but
it was proved that, according to the
rules, no resident doctor may operate
on any case; he must ring up the sur-
geon on night duty ; and at that time, |
hough it seems incredible, there was
inly one surgeon on duty for the thirty
lospitals of Paris.
I he authorities on etiquette warn
their readers against talking at dinner
> in any company about their health,
hey forget that men and women are
terested respectively and chiefly in
eir own individuality. There is no
wee ter flesh than that which sticks to
eir own bones. One's symptoms are
momentous importance, but Mrs.
pnes should he willing to listen to Mr.
fou Iter’s account of his physical con-
e tion after lie has courteously heard
r to the end.
(■)
LIFE OF CESAR FRANCK,
BY VINCENT D’lNDY
>1
l?l
‘ Vincent d’Indy’s )ife of Caesar Franck
I is been published by Felix Alean,
! arls. The volume is the second In a
iries “LCs Maitres de la Musique,”
3 i ted by Jean Chantavoine.
Franck’s, life was not an adventurous
ne and he was not a romantic person-
ge. An entertaining book could be
vritten about Lull!, Handel, Haydn,
Muck, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Schu-
mann, Liszt, Chopin, Berlioz, Wagner,
r Tschaikowsky with only a few ref-
.rences in each instance to the strictly
nusical career of any one of them and
.vithout any study of the quality of
their music, Franck knew not court
intrigues; noble dames did not conspire
for him or against him; lie was neither
a man of the world nor a self-torturing
analyst with a journal that reminds
one of Rousseau or Senancour. Were
he to figure in a novel of Parisian life,
he would not be unlike the German
music master in “Cousin Pons;” the
latter is perhaps the more sharply de-
fined character. Yet it is not hard to
see why the disciples of Franck speak
of Franck’s life as heroic.
Mr. d’lndy is one of these disciples,
end h e frequently reminds the reader
of the fact. He knew Franck well as
musician and as man and he admired
and loved him when It was not the
fashion to be a Franckist. As he him-
self says, and not without a flavor of
bitterness that seasons other pages the
title "pupil of Franck" was not always
considered a glory. "I have known the
tune when a young composer who had
ventured to go to his'liome in the Boule-
vard Saint Michel to ask advice from
tile master, just to see him, would have
veiled his face, if he had been ques-
tioned concerning his relations with the
organist of Sainte Clotilde, and would
have replied, as Peter, to the high
priest, I know not this man,’ ”
Personal Characteristics.
Hr. Johnson is known to us by his
‘‘brown coat with the metal buttons
and the shirt which ought to be at
wash,” asthmatic gaspings and puf-
fings, drumming with his fingers, tear-
ing his meat, swallowing floods of tea
touching punctiliously all posts in his
walk, treasuring Jpits of orange peel
He is a more distinct figure than many
whom we meet in the street or at the
club. Some of Plutarch's men and of
Clarendon’s friends and acquaintances
are so well known to us that we shall
recognize them at once in the next
world. There will be no need of a for-
T a . introduction. Aubrey, Brantome
Saint-Simon, had this happy trick of
portraiture. There are biographers who
have a soul above trifles. What to them
the precise whiskering or the taste
at table of the man whose life they
take? But we know Hazlitt all the
better on account of his pimples, and
.it would be a pleasure to know the
brand of tobacco used by Charles Lamb
.lust before lie wrote the famous ode of
renunciation. Disraeli tells us of the
curtain of violet velvet, the Axniinster
carpet, the table of ivory marquetrv
the inkstand— a Naiad with a golden
urn— vases released from an Egyptian
tomb and ranged on a. tripod of malach-
ft HE CHARACTER OF
THE GREAT COMPOSER
(Described by His Chief Pupil—
His Books and His Tastes
—First Article,
Portrait of a statesman and
the bust of an emperor that, were in
fcidoma s library. The reader at once
wishes to know how Disraeli’s library
was furnished.
„Mr. d’lndy has written a volume of
Plot’s about Cesar Franck and only
‘Hi ol them are of a purely biographical
nature.
How did Franck look to the passer
"'as short in stature, with a
highly developed forehead, with a quick
and loyal glance, although his eves
were buried undef the arch of his eye-,
brows ; Ins nose was prominent and hi .4
chin retreated under a large and extra-
ordinary expressive mouth; he was
round faced and lie wore side whiskers
One of his friends told us that he
looked like a respectable lawyer in a
small French town. In no way did
iranck call to mind the artist of the
conventional type created by romantic
legends or dear to Montmartre.
Whoever jostled this man in the
street, a man always in a hurry, with
the face of an absent-minded ‘ person
constantly making grimaces, trotting
along rather than walking, with a ba“-
gy coat and trousers that were too
snort, would never have suspected how
Je was transfigured when, seated be-
fofe the piano, lie explained or com-
mented on some beautiful work or
wh , en ' . Wlth , on e hand on his forehead
and the other about to combine the
stops of the organ, he prepared one of
his grand improvisations. Then music
as an aureole wholly enveloped him’
then, only then was one struck by the
conscious firmness of his mouth and
chin, and only then did one remark the
close identity of his broad, high fore-
head with that of the creator of the
Ninth Symphony: one felt himself over-
come, almost frightened, by the palpa-
ble presence of genius shining around
the highest and noblest figure of a mu-
?ni’, lan P ro< 3 u eed in the France of the
19th century.”
His Married Life.
Little is said about Franck's domestic
life. He married in 1S48 a young woman
of the stage, the daughter of Mme. Des-
mousseaux, a tragedian of some fame.
He married her against the wishes of his
parents, who were shocked at the
thought of a theatre woman coming into
the family. Franck was then in strait-
ened circumstances. He was the organ-
ist of Notre Dame de Lorette, but the
salary of a Parisian organist lias al-
ways been small, and many of his piano
pupils had left him. They were with-
drawn by thqir parents on account of
the squally political outlook. Perhaps
the one romantic event in Franck’s life
[was on his wedding day. The nuptial
party was obliged to climb over a barri-
cade on its way to the church, and the
bride and the groom were helped in gal-
lant fashion by the rioters behind the
improvised fortification.
Mr. d’lndy says nothing about Franck’s
married life, and lie mentions a son
Georges, only incidentally. We have
heaid that Franck was sadly henpecked -
his wife constantly reminded him of the
tact that his music was not popular- she
begged him to compose in lighter vein,
tc follow the example of Jules Massenet
and others; it is said that she knagged
him m many ways. Perhaps her terrors
have peen exaggerated. The wife of a
n istmenushpri man- ic* — ?
(Q
A,
i#
w
V
y i
/
it!
i i
Ml
M
y
SCENE FROM “LA TRAVIATA.”
Sobinoff — Pa-a-ri-gio ca-a-a-ra!
Storchio — Pa-a-ri-gio ca-a-a-ro.
distinguished man 'is often misunder-
stood by his friends, possibly because she
suspects the sincerity of their devotion -
possibly because she has found out that
the feet of the idol are clay. However
irritating Mrs. Franck’s tongue might
have been, she might have coaxed her
husband to wear trousers of a proper
length. Dreamers, mystics, even sternlv
practical men of distinction have been
careless in this respect. It is commonly
rumored that the late Johannes Brahms
wore his trousers at half-mast, and there
are pictures that unblushinglv confirm
tile report that should be whispered
The main question is this: Did Franck
know that he was henpecked? A Grecian
matron asked how she coukl endure her
husband s foul breath, made this noble
reply: I thought ail men smelt so ”
Franck mignt well have thought in hi«
simplicity and purity that all women
were as his wife. Ironical or not as the
?££* m »y be, he dedicated to her a song
"SofA’y.. and the c bild,” and his
-Beatitudes.
At Work.
Franck was an indefatigable work-
er. Winter or summer he left his
bed at half past five and worked for
tw'o hours "for himself” at composi-
tion. After a slight breakfast he set
out to give his lessons in all parts of
the cits', “Even to the end of his life
this great man occupied the most of 1
his time in teaching the piano to am-
ateurs, even in classes at boarding
schools or colleges. Thus all day on
foot or in an omnibus he would go
Lorn Auteuil to the Saint Louis, from
Vaugirard to the faubourg Poisson-
nierc.” , As a rule lie did not return
to his calm lodging in the Boulevard
feamt Michel until the evening meal,
and, though he was tired out with
the labor of the day, he, nevertheless,
found a little time to orchestrate or
copy his scores, when he did not set
apart the evening for his organ pupils
or for those to whom he taught com-
position. to lavish on them all dis-
interested, precious counsel. His
chief works, the masterpieces that
will, resist the teeth of Time, were
meditated, planned and written in the
early morning hours or in the few
weeks of vacation from his duties at
the Conservatory.
Franck’s Tastes.
We are well informed as to the lit-
| erary and artistic tastes, the views
on social, political, religious subjects
of certain. celebrated composers,
Berlioz, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner
wrote many articles for publication;
they had facility of expression in
words as in notes. Weber also wrote
feuilletons easily and witli force.
Furthermore the correspondence of
Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner gives an even
more intimate insight into their
tastes, opinions, beliefs. We know
what books Beethoven read and the
authors that he esteemed highly. He
himself was one of Plutarch’s men.
Haydn kept a diary in London and
was a shrewd observer. There were i
^contemporaries of Chopin who have j
(told us much about him and his ;
characteristic fastidiousness in all
1 matters of life and art. We know
that Verdi was a simple man. hap-
ipiest when on his farm, but his let-
ters, especially those written about a
proposed opera based on the story of
King Lear, reveal him as a fine, dis-
criminative critic. And what do we
not know about Tschaikowsky! , A
man of wide reading, he gave in his
letters and journal the reasons for his
admirations and his hatreds, and with
such keenness and gusto that the
reader is convinced, for the time at
least, and is ready to dislike that
which once was dear to him. Fur-
thermore, Tschaikowsky had a grim
critical humor, as is shown in his
parody of the modern French real-
istic style.
Mr. d’lndy assures us that Franck’s
industry in music did not fbrbid ac-
quaintance with current manifestations
of art, and especially of literature. In
the summer he rented a little house at
Quincy, and there he reserved some
hours for reading books, both new and
old, often books of a serious nature.
One day, seated in the garden, he kept
smiling as he read, and one of his sos
asked him the title of such an amusing
book. Franck answered: “ ’Kant’s
Critique of Pure Reason’ — it is very
amusing!" Mr. d’lndy adds: "Are not
these words coming from the mouth of ,
a believer and a Frenchman the most j
subtle criticism that can be made on j
the heavy and undigested work of the
German philosopher?” De Qulncey. who I
wrote a ludicrously savage attack on 1
Kant for "his hatred to pure Chris-
tianity,” and argued from the paradox
that “in all probability ICa lit never read
a book in his life,” would have been
delighted at this summary disposal of
the great philosopher. Mr. d’lndy, in
turn, might have borrowed De Quin-
| cey’s adjective "incondite,” i, e., "with-
out composition or digestion” to char-
acterize Kant’s diction.
A Noble Nature.
Franck was a man of singular mod-
esty. He wrote neither for money, im-
mediate success, nor future glory. "He
never pretended to do anything else
save to express, as best he could, his
thoughts and sentiments with the aid
of his art." He was not feverish in his
longing for honors and distinctions. It
never entered his head to intrigue, or
to solicit votes, for a chair at the insti-
tute; "not that, like Degas or Puvis de
Chavannes, he disdained the title, but
because he naively thought lie had not
done enough to deserve the honor.”
Singularly modest as he was, he had
confidence in himself when he wrote.
It was his delight to assemble his pu-
pils and play before them a new work;
he would invite their criticism, and if
their suggestions seemed well founded
he would follow their advice. He was I
most appreciative of the good works
of others, even of contemporaries, and
or. liis deathbed he expressed, though
suffering, his warm liking for Saint
Saens’ “Samson and Delilah.” The
phrase “J’aime" was one of which h
; was never weary in praising a work r
i s ’j me <^ etai l ln it. The personificatir
I of goodness in life and thought, he w
not of a placid -or cold nature; on the
contrary, he was passionate, and his
works bear testimony to this. He was
; righteously indignant against bad mu-
sic and lie would thunder against his
pupils when they were careless or stu-
pid He knew not suspicion or jeal-
ousy He was disinclined to believe
evil of any one. Not that he was a re-
cluse or a fanatical ascetic, as some
have thought. He gladly dined with
friends or spent the evening with them.
He was a devout Christian, but lie was
not by nature or through disappoint-
ment monastic.
Biographical Notes.
' The few important facts in the life
of Franck have been told by Coquard,
Imbert, Servieres, and are to be found
in the modern encylopedias of musical
biography. Mr. d'Indy has added cer-
tain details that are interesting in them-
as one of its own. The Institute was 1
not represented, for although it had
welcomed nonentities', it never opened
its doors to one of the greatest of
French musicians.
"Of what importance, however, are
these fleeting labels, these shabby dis-
tinctions to those who as Veuillot in
literature. Puvis de Chavannes in paint-
ing. Cesar Franck in music, have
known by the beauty and the sincerity
of their work, to deserve the free name
of creative artist?"
The Herald next Sunday will consider
Mr. d' Indy’s judgment of Franck the
composer, and bis Investigation of the
influences that shaped him in his crea-
tive work;
selves or throw light on Franck as a
composer.
•Franck came of a \\ alloon tani.lv
Which was in the 16th and Lth cen-
turies a dynasty of painters. In ms
‘youth Cesar studied drawing and tin
taste remained with him when lie reached
maturity. We shall speak of the pos-
sible influence of this miieriteu and
natural taste over his music in the
second of this series of articles. I ranch s
father, a harsh and masterful man. was
connected in some way with a bank, nut
he had many acquaintances in the
world of art and lie decided that lus tw o |
sons should be musicians. Mr. d Indy ,
savs nothing about the career ot Cesai s
brother, Joseph. We have been told
that this brother drank immoderately,
and did not hesitate to call on Cesar for
sums of money when the lattei could
il' afford to give it. Some of Joseph s
music for the church is in the Brown
room of the Boston Public Librarj •
The father exhibited Cesar as a chhd
pianist in cities of Belgium, and the
bov met Pauline Garcia, then also a
child pianist. (Mine. Viardot was a year
older than Cesar, and her firs L piano
lessons were given to her in Mexico \\ hen
she visited America with her parents.
She afterward studied m Paris wita
Meysenberg and Liszt, ljut in lbo7 sue
made her first appearance as a singei at
Brussels and abandoned the career ot
a pianist.) Cesar, brought to Paris in
1835. entered the conservatory in 183j,
1 ut the year before he took private les-
sons of Reicha. A volume of ills manu-
script exercises is in the collection that
Mr. Brown so generously gave to tne
Boston Public Library.
Why did not Cesar, who took prizes
at the Conservatory with astonishing
i ease, compete for the Prix de Rome. It
appears that his father wished him to be
a piano virtuoso, and thought he would
thus gain fame and money ; that he made
' the youth dedicate his first piano trios
to King Leopold I . and. building tan-
t as tic hopes on an interview granted at
the palace ill 1S42, withdrew Cesar from
the Conservatory. Little is known about
the two following years, which were
spent in Belgium. In 1S44 the farm >
again settled in Paris, and was largelv
dependent on the earnings oi the two
sons. Cesar worked day and night from
that year to the year ot his death. 1890.
Shortly after his marriage he left his
father’s house and made his own home.
He was exceedingly happy when he was
appointed organist of Sainte Clotilde, for
the organ was at the time one of Ca-
vaille-Coll’s masterpieces, and it still re-
tains its admirable qualities.
When the Franco-Prussian war broke
out Franck was too old for active ser-
vice but liis patriotism ran high, and.
reading an article in heightened prose
published in the Figaro, he set music to
it- "I am Paris, the queen ot cities.
This ode for tenor and orchestra was
never published. Mr. d Indy says that
this was the first attempt of a composer
to set music to a prose poem.
Mr d'Indv, speaking of i 1 ranch s ap-
pointment as organ teacher at the Con-
servatory. says: “From that moment lie
began to be exposed to the amniositj ,
conscious or not. of his colleagues, who
always refused to consider as 'one of
themselves’ an artist who placed art
above every other consideration, a musi-
cian who loved music with a sincere and
disinterested love." He gives instances
of this animosity shown tow aid !• i anck
and his pupils. He assails the govern-
ment for its neglec t of this genius. It
is true that the minister of line arts,
ashamed, perhaps, of breaking an en-
■agement with Franck lie had prom-
ised to attend a private performance of
"The Beatitudes"— endeavored to make
him a teacher of composition at the
Conservatorv after Masses retirement
"but Ernest Guiraud, the author o
'Mine Turlupln' was preferred to the
author of 'The Beattitudes . And then
the government granted Franck a dis-
tinguished favor: "It raised him with
the 6 tailors, the bootmakers and the
tradesmen of all sorts who dealt with
official persons to the h'gh dignitl of
officer of tlie Academy. W hen kiancK
was given the ribbon of the Legion of
Honor some years later lie received it
..s a functionary who had served ovei
10 years and not as a composer who
had honored his country. . .
It was not till 1890. the year of his
death, in ids 68th year, that one of lus
works, the superb quartet, aroused the
enthusiasm of the audience, and then
Franck pleased with his first success,
-aid to a pupil "See. the public is be-
’inninu: to understand me. .
’ In May of that year the pole of an
omnibus struck him in the side, and he
Oid not recover from the shock. In to*
autumn he had a serious attack of pleu-
r .sv Complications followed, and he
died His Imrial was as simple as his
life Mr. d'Indy takes a morose pleas-
ure in calling the roll of those who
should haw been present, from the
representatives of the government to
the officers of the Conservator! . Am
bioise Thomas, the director, who. all
liis life, poured out dithyrambic com-
monplaces over less worth} tomb,
hastened to put himself in bod when
thev announced to him the visit of one
of Franck's family calling to. invite him
to the ceremony." Fourteen years
afterward when Franck s statue^ was
inaugurated in the square of sainte
Clotilde. in the presence of an enthusi-
astic throng, the Conservatory that had
ignored him living claimed him nroudlv
NOTES.
The Herald publishes today a carica-
ture of Rosina Storchlo and L. Soblnoff
In "La Traviata." The caricature ap-
peared originally in the magazine Ars
et Labor of Milan.
The Worcester (Mass.) Festival, the
49th will take place the first week in
October, a week later than before. The
conductors will be Messrs. Wallace Good-
rich and Franz Kneisel. Handel’s “Israel
)n Egypt” will be performed on Wednes-
day night. Oct. 3. and Verdi's Requiem
and Brahms' “Song of Destiny" on
Thursday night, Oct. 4. Cesar Franck 6
Symphony and suite by MacDowell wil
be among the orchestral pieces. Mist
Louise Ormsby, Mme. Isabelle Bouton,
and Mr. Frederick Martin have been
engaged for the performance of the ''Re-
quiem.’’ Miss Bessie Collier, violinist,
will play at the "Artists' Night” concert
The programme book will be prepared
by Mr. Arthur L. Curry.
The Mendelssohn Glee Club of New
York purposes to raise a permanent fund
In the Interest cf Edward MacDowell, a*
one time conductor of the club, whose
health has become Impaired to such an
extent "as to preclude the possibility of
his ever again being able to contribute
to his own support. The committee
would like to enlist the co-operation in
this work of every person throughout the
country who is interested in MacDowell
or his music. All such will please com-
municate with the secretary of the fund \
(former president of the Mendelssohn i
Glee Club). Mr. Allen Robinson, No. 60
Wall street. New York city.
Elgar's “The Kingdom. Part I.. Gran-
ville Bantock's “Omar Khayyam," Hol-
brook’s “The Bells" (after Poe), and
Percy Pitt's Pinfonietta in G minor will
be the new works performed at the Birm-
ingham (Eng.) Festival. Oct. 2, 3. 4. 5.
The chorus and orchestra will number
500. The prospectus tells us that young
Mischa Elman, the boy fiddler, wall be
"the bright particular star.” Listen to
this : "He possesses not only perfect
technique, but an exquisite, tear-com-
pelling expression that is awe-inspiring
in one so young. Wherever he goes he
nonmioro eimnh' nf i r St 1 1)lC
or clubmen muzzy over a bottle of the
celebrated Hoodoo whiskey may now be
6pen, even through a glass, darkly. The
sporting pictures — race horses, the ride
to hounds, the old stage coach series,
pugilists- — these are excellent in an old
ale - , house. Mythological subjects are
pleasant to the sight of the casual vis-
itor" and of those stranded on the bar ;
but Venus should not be represented as
urging a particular brand of cham-
pagne, Diana should not be drinking
any specific beer after her emergence
from the forest stream. The famous
pictures in the bar-room of a New York
hotel were admirably chosen, and their
educational influence on guests from the
country should not be ignored by writers
on the growth of art in America.
in unc .ywuiife, »• . i
conquers simply by virtue of irresistible
genius. To have listened to his playing j
is to have added a treasure to one's store-
house of memory. Like Rubinstein at
the niano. Mischa Elman on the violin is
unforgettable. He is an incarnation of
Apollo himself." This is not Brum-
magem ; this is the real thing.
9*^*1 ) e !°b
AT NIGHT.
A tear-stained voice is heard in
New York deploring the fact that
Americans do not know how to wear
pyjamas, and Englishmen know very
little more. "The average American
goes to bed with pyjamas flapping
about his ankles.” It is said that in
Japan they are rolled up until they
do not fall below the knee. But
what are pyjama legs for? Men
that are still faithful to the old-fash-
ioned nightgown, or "nighty," say they I
are warmer In winter and cooler in
summer, just as there are men who
drink whiskey in winter to keep
warm and in summer to be cool. If
the pyjama leg Is to be rolled above
the knee so that the wearer may be
cool, there might well be a return to
the habit before the Tudors of sleep-
ing wholly without clothing. Anne
Boleyn’s nightgown was of black
satin, bound with black taffeta and
edged with velvet of the same color,
and Queen Elizabeth's nightgowns
were black or purple. A still more
, striking instance of coquetry was the
1. preference of blondes for black
sheets. The complaint of the New"
Yorker seems to us groundless. The
truly wise man wears a nightgown
in summer and pyjamas in winter.
He is not heroic or sculptural in
either.
A NEGLECTED FOOD.
Dr. Field of Harvard was the chief
cook at a supper given by Dr. Sumner
to biologists at Wood's Hole. Sea food
was served ; cheap, but nourishing and
appetizing, so the guests said. The squid,
whether fried or pickled, was not prob-
ably a fragment of the great squid, the
food of the sperm whale, the squid
which, alive, few whalers ever see and
return to port to tell of it. One of the
entrees was boiled snail. Snails, espe-
cially land snails, are not a favorite
article of diet in this country. In cer-
tain New York restaurants you will see
Frenchmen eating imported snails of
Burgundy, but the American who swal-
lows the raw" Oyster fearlessly, in spite
of typhoid fever scares, shies at the
snail. The land snail is a cleaner
feeder than the water snail, for it lives
chiefly on vegetables. It is also more
delicate. A snail is said to contain 70
per cent, of water, 16 of nitrogen, 7 of
fat, 2 of salts and 5 of undetermined
matter. >’et the poor thing is called un-
palatable by the great majority. In
England the garden kind is called the
“poor man's oyster," and there is an
effort to bring it into favor. Thrushes
in this respect are more accomplished
gourmets than English or Americans.
The snail was used in household medi-
cine years ago. Mrs. Delany wrote in
1758: “Does Mary cough in »he night?
Two or three snails boiled in her bar-
ley water or tea wuter, or whatever she
drinks, might be of great service to her ;
taken in time they have done wonderful
cures. She must know nothing of it.
They give no manner of taste. ’ The
household medicine of that century
looked favorably on remedies that were
really nasty.
ART IN BAR-ROOMS.
What forms of pictorial art should
bang in bar-rooms when inflammatory
political cartoons disappear forever.'
Our friends, the prohibitionists, w.ould
recommend "The Drunkard's Home’
Cruikshank's "Bottle,” yet they would
not insist on an engraving of Rembrandt
ppale’s “Court of Death as the chief
decoration in the waiting room of a
physician. Advertisements picturing
thinly clad ladies sipping champagne or
bulky heroines of the Bruennhilde type
pouring down libations to Gambrinus,
A HIGH FOREHEAD.
A Philadelphian writes, and as a
man of authority: "I do not admire
the style of hairdressing w"hich makes
a woman look as if she had no fore-
head. The forehead is the seat of
reason, and a bro»d one is supposed
to indicate the possession of brains.”
What he likes to see. no doubt, is a
domelike forehead, a brow bulging
with thought, a forehead like a
porcelain door-knob, with hair
brushed tightly back. Measurements
of "Ideally beautiful” women are
taken from year to year and pub-
lished for the benefit of the palpitat-
ing world, also to give the women
readers something to do on a rainy
day when no visitors are expected.
We happen to have the measurements
pf Miss Joyce and of "La Milo.” Thus
"La Milo” measures eight inches from
her throat to her shoulder, and the
circumference of her ankle is eight
and one-half inches. The waist of
Miss Joyce is twenty-five inches in
circumference and her "skirt length
is fdrty-three inches. The bust
measurement of Miss Joyce and of
••La Milo" is thirty-seven and one-
half inches, while that of "the artis-
tic American woman” Is thirty-five
inches. The measurements of the two
physically distinguished women, Miss
j oyce — not Laura — and “La Milo” are
so minute as to satisfy the most ex-
acting. but there is nothing said
about the height of the forehead, and
for a good reason: a low forehead,
like a low voice, is an excellent thing
in woman, and it is expected of pro-
fessional beauties. Poets, painters,
sculptors and deep thinkers have long
agreed on this point. “The forehead
is the seat of reason.” But have the
famous women of the w"orld, the
shapers of man’s destiny, all been
reasonable ?
WITHOUT CEREMONY.
It is not the fault of the newspapers
if table manners are not constantly
improved. “In many households where
there is a regular waitress there is a
rule sometimes that nothing shall be
handed by the members of the
family. In offering to serve any one
at the table use one of these forms:
'May I help you?’ ‘May I offer (or
send) you?' ‘Let me give you, etc.’
The form, 'Will you have?’ is out of
place save for a waitress." Thus is a
cheerful family meal turned into a
grim formality. We know husbands
who are now compelled by their wives
to sit at dinner where everything is
served separately. They sigh for the
years gone by when the roast beef
and the vegetables were all put to-
gether on the table, and there was
miscellaneous helping. "Jennie, dear,
give me a little turnip?” "Bill, just
hand over that Worcestershire
sauce!” The sitter near any dish
was expected to help others and him-
self. Thoreau. when asked at table
what dish he preferred, answered "the
nearest”; but suppose it had hap-
pened to be a gravy boat. Who does
not like the personal attention of a
host? "Here is a bit of the fat I have
saved for you.” "Sir, a glass of wine
with you." The host in Keene’s draw-
ing, flushed with hospitality, asks:
“What gentleman says pudden?” A
guest answers: "No gentleman says
‘pudden’ ’*. He should have been
booted from the room. The picture is
both snobbish and cruel, and the two
adjectives are often synonymous. Or
was the daughter of the hostess ever
more charming than when she served
you with her own lily white hand,
which held a spoon you envied.
Gentility now forbids this social in-
tercourse. A serving maid may be
comely and graceful, but in her heart
she is indifferent to your comfort, and
the serving man, sometimes called
butler, even in the house of a tee-
totaler, scrutinizes your appetite and
table manners.
) 2- y &(<?
FOR THE THIRD TIME.
So the Putnams will try for the
second time a reissue of the maga-
zine that was an honor to the family
and to the American literary world.
The first, volumes, published in the
fifties, are a monument to the taste
of George William Curtis, who edited
them, and it is doubtful whether even
the Atlantic Monthly in its best days
had a finer flavor. The attempt at a
re-issue made by the Putnams some
years ago was not successful, and no
wonder; for there were not the con-
tributors that made the original vol-
umes famous. The coming experi-
ment will be watched with interest,
especially by those who remember the
magazine of the fifties, or by those
still luckier who have the bound vol-
umes for present enjoyment.
AESTHETIC FERVOR.
Some may have smiled, others may
have been shocked when they read of
the beauty contest at Deed Lick, Ta.
"One of the two successful beauties is
dying, half a dozen young men are un-
der arrest and many of the town folk
are in hiding.” The contest had lasted
for several days, and Miss Stringer and
Miss Belmont were far in advance of
the other competitors. A “rooter” for
Miss Belmont was attacked by Miss
Stringef, and then all took a hand in
the proceedings. Hatpins were drawn
and not only flourished. There is no
more dangerous weapon, but it was a
club that laid Miss Stringer low. These
disputants were in earnest. Beauty to
them was something more than a sub-
ject for lyceum debate. They bravely
dared and did. It should be remembered
that where there is no dispute over a
question of art. there is artistic stagna-
tion. At present there is an interreg-
num at Deed Lick. There must be a lull
between aesthetic commotions. Let us
hope that the nows of Miss Stringer’s
condition is exaggerated ; that she may
again lead a party of definite and pro-
nounced aesthetic ideas.
•Ihra. « — r ’ •;.-**!
LORD ALFRED DOUGLAS.
Lord Alfred Douglas 4s. indeed, a
chlvalric husband. Instead of dis-
couraging his wife from writing po-
etry, he assails the critics who do not
hail her as another Sappho. Lord
Alfred himself is a bit of a poet, a
sweet singer, and a volume of his
verses was published some years ago
in Paris; but he is not a “boss poet,”
to use a phrase of Artemus Ward.
Douglas also translated Oscar Wilde's
“Salome” from the original French
'into English. There is, by the way,
a reprint of this drama, no doubt on
account of the present interest in
Richard Strauss’ opera. We well re-
member the sensation made by
Beardsley's illustrations when the
drama was first issued by John Lane
In London and by Copeland & Day in
Boston — a firm that is no more. Two
or three of the illustrations were sup-
pressed, but were kindly given to
some of the friends of the locVl pub-
lishers. There was no reason why
they should not have appeared in the
volume. We also remember that at
the time of the Wilde trial his pub-
lishers in London dropped his name
from their catalogues. Now that
“Salome” is famous and Wilde’s
dramas are played in Germany, they
have seen a great light.
“STOP THAT KNOCKING!”
Whether the tappings in the Newport
bouse were in a choked gas pipe ; whether
they were made by earthly and jocose
hands ; or whether they were the an-
nouncement of a spirit anxious to com-
municate dread secrets — these are seri-
ous questions. Woodpeckers on the
roofs of Cape C'od cottages alarm the
superstitious early in the morning, for
rapping is still thought by many to be
a favorite pastime of spirits. It was
stated recently that the first to hear
rappings were the members of the Fox
family at Rochester. The statement is
not accurate. Michael Weekman of
Hydesville, Wayne county, N. Y., was
so troubled in 1847 by knockings on the
door of his house that he moved out.
John D. Fox, a respectable farmer,
moved in, and the knockings continued.
Fox had three daughters, Catharine,
Leah aud Margaret. Kate, then nine
years old, observed that the sounds she
made were imitated exactly, and this
led to communications. The spirits be-
came so pressing in their attentions that
Kate went to Rochester to get rid of
them. The spirits followed her, and
there was so much talk about the mat-
ter that a lecture was given Nov. 14,
1848. Catharine married a French-
man, Leah became Mrs. .Underhill, and
Margaret married secretly, as some
insist, I)r. lvane, the Arctic explorer.
The story of her relations with Kane,
as told in "The Love Life of Dr. Kane”
(New York, I860), is certainly a curi-
ous one.
A WOMAN’S DUTY.
We read of a woman who is going to
establish “a class in carving for pros-
pective bridegrooms.” Each pupil will
be required to cut up all kinds of meat
and he will r.ot be granted a degree un-
til he has learned to locate and sever all
joints. Each lesson will cost 50 cents.
This class should be for brides, for in an
ideal household th p mistress carves as
she did in o.u times. She has no more
graceful and hospitable duty. Some
will remember the innkeeper of the
Tete d'Or in “The Cloister and the
Hearth,” a young woman cursed with
| white teeth and lovely hands, “for these
1 beauties being misallled to homely feat-
I ures had turned her head. She was a
j feeble carver, carving not tor the sake
of others, but herself, i. e., to display
her hands.” All young women, those
with matrimonial hopes aud those who
look down on man as a poor, weak
creature, should learn to carve aud also
ihe name of the operation when applied
ic a particular meat, “divide,” “bruise,”
"break,” etc. There will be another in-
ducement to care for the hands; the
men at table will be more amiable;
and it should be remembered that a
woman’s foot on an impregnable duck
! in a prettier sight than a man’s.
IDENTIFICATIONS.
The Philadelphia Record published
lately a curious article on~tlie odors of
diseases. By their smells ye shall know
them. Rheumatism smells sour; chronic
peritonitis, musky; scrofula, like stale
beer; intermittent fever, like fresh-
baked brown bread ; hysteria, now like
violets and now like pineapple. (O,
pineapple! a blessed word! We never
see or hear it without thinking of the
retired mariner sweeping the offing with
a spy glass, while near his hand is a
case bottle of pineapple rum.) Aud in
like manner, measles, epilepsy, diph-
theria, *ach has its characteristic odor.
Poor humanity! What curious treatise
lias the Record been consulting? A
Frenchman some years ago wrote a
pamphlet, in which he discussed the in-
fluence of odors on Zola as a novelist,
and there is a singular treatise on odors
by a deep-thinking German, a book that
is for the alienist rather than for the
young person. It is said that the nat-
ural smell of a healthy, clean white per-
son is indescribably offensive to certain
African tribes. To Thoreau at night
every dwelling house gave out bad air.
like a slaughter house, and he thought
scent a more “oracular and trustworthy
inquisition” than sight. Man may be, as
Sir Thomas Browne exclaimed, a noble
animal, “splendid in ashes and pompous
in the grave” ; but, even in the beauty
of his vigor, what is he without soap?
And when he is sick, his body antici-
pates the mortuary question of Ilamlet.
J ^ 7 2 j~ / / * 6
A CUP OF TEA.
Albert P. Rose, “one of the most
expert tea tasters in the West,” died
lately at San Francisco. “On one
occasion 200 varieties of tea were
steeped and placed before him and
by taste he was able to tell name,
quality and value of each.” But was
he fond of tea? Did he drink it with
the impartial frenzy of Dr. Johnson
or with the fastidiousness of a con-
noisseur? Did he go to afternoon ,
teas? It was surely a brave woman
who offered him a cur. There is an
old belief that girls in a candy shop
never eat candy, that barkeepers
never drink. This is not strictly true:
as the boy says, “We’ve seen 'em do
it.” We like to think of Mr. Rose
enjoying tea outside the warehouse,
particular as to the thinness and dec-
oration of his cup, drinking in soli-
tude or with one congenial friend.
We cannot imagine him at a formal
“tea,” however lovely the women
pouring or sipping:
Their chattering makes a louder din.
Than fishwives o’er a cup of gin;
Far less the rabble roar and rail.
When drunk with sour election ale!
And as it was in the time of Swift,
bo it is today.
WHISKERS AGAIN.
A correspondent of the New York
Sun asks “What man shall wear a
beard?” He notes the fact that many
physicians wear “germ catchers,” but
lawyers, as a rule, are without them.
Young physicians, before there was
so much talk about microbes, wore
beards to give them age and au-
thority. A beard contributed to the
impressiveness of a bedside manner.
The physician stroked it thought-
fully during the diagnosis. In short,
a beard was considered to be a sym-
bol of wisdom. But a beard is a mat-
ter largely of geography and chron-
ology. Should waiters be allowed
whiskers or a mustache? Certainly
not a beard. After all there is no
reasoning about the matter. George
Borrow said that all jockeys should
have whiskers, but no genuine jockey
should wear a mustache “which looks
Coxcombical and Frenchified.” Might
not luxuriant whiskers lessen the
speed of the ridden horse. The wind
bloweth where it listeth, through
whiskers or along smooth cheeks. The
man who has been told that his mouth
is like Cupid’s bow will shave his up-
per lip. Perhaps the smooth-faced
lawyer thinks that he thus shows
shrewdness and an iron will. The old-
fashioned jury lawyer was essentially
a play actor, and his mobile face
should not have been covered by any
concealing hairy growth.
COOLING DRINKS.
There is much discussion about a
I cooling drink for the dog days, a non-
| alcoholic soft drink. Some without a
sense of humor recommend vermouth,
with plenty of gaseous water. Possibly
they do not know that innocent appear-
ing vermouth harbors much alcohol —
hence the surprising strength of certain
cocktails. Elderberry blow is urged by
a reformed drinkmaster, and there are
heroic souls whose heat is relieved by a
Jersey sunset — applejack and Angostura
bitters. Soft drinks, temperance drinks,
as a rule sour, or sweeten, or inflate the
stomach. The clink of ice has only an
optical effect. Hot tea is more cooling.
In our boyhood there was nothing like
the hayfield beverage into which mo-
lasses and vinegar entered, but we should
not have the courage to take a swig of
it, though fortified as to our heart by
pleasant memories. Even a strong heart
may have a cowardly stomach. After
all, it is a pity that John Phoenix’s
bingo, a summer drink, is not sold at
the apothecary shops or given without
charge to sufferers in baked streets. The
recipe is a simple one. Perhaps The
Herald has already published it ; but
eacji year brings new readers, and the
recipe is of eternal worth : Three parts
of water gruel, two of root beer ;
thicken with a little soft squash and
strain through a cane-bottomed chair.
For recent converts to temperance the
parts of gruel and beer may be as two
to three.
JONAH’S WHALE.
The contributors to the New York
Sun, having discussed at great length
the question whether the chipmunk can
climb a tree, are now exercised ovei
scriptural texts. The Rev. Mr. Cook of
Bayonne insists that the Bible nowhere
uses the word “whale” in connection
with Jonah. Mr, Snyder of Poughkeep-
sie quotes Matthew xii., 40, in reply.
Mr. Conger of Cooperstown says that
“whale” in this lagt text is a transla-
tion of "Ketos,” which is used of any
large fish.
Do not these disputants know the
hymn beginning :
The ribs and terrors in the whale,
Arched over me a dismal gloom.
While all God’s sunlit waves rolled by.
And lift me deepening down to doom.
Do they not remember Father Map-
pie’s sermon, preached at New Bedford
in the glorious days of whaling? And
Father Mapple had been a harpooner.
Jonah is dropped in to the sea. The
yawning jaws await him. “And the
whale shook, to all his ivory teeth, like
so many white bolts, upon his prison.”
And how did Herman Melville, the
whaler, in “Moby Dick,” a far greater
book than Mr. Bullen's widely adver-
tised volume, define the whale? “Waiv-
ing all argument, I take the good old-
fashioned ground that the whale is a
fish, and call upon holy Jonah to back
me. * * * A whale is a spouting fish
with a horizontal tail.” Furthermore,
the sperm whale has been in the Medi-
terranean, and at Joppa, now Jaffa,
where .Jonah set sail, the Vast skeleton
of a whale stood for ages in a temple,
though the inhabitants believed the
bones to he those of the monster that
Perseus sJew. This skeleton was after-
ward taken to Rome by the victorious
legions.
/
2. £ //o £
itudy of Mme. Isabelle Bou-
ton, Who Finds No Musical
Atmosphere Here.
)NE THING TO TEMPT
HER BACK INTO OPERA
Mme. Isabelle Bouton has at last sat-
isfied the curiosity of a gaping world. “I
refused to sing at the Metropolitan Opera
House after one season's experience with
Conried, because I felt that my artistic
standing was being injured, and that my
surroundings were of such a nature as to
make it impossible for me to continue
there.” This is rather hard on Mr. Con-
ried, after his losses in San Francisco
and in view of the activity of Mr. Ham-
mersteln.
Pray, what parts did Mme. Bouton im-
personate at the Metropolitan? We have
a vague remembrance of her in Boston
as one of the hojotohoing Valkyries. She
afterward sang at a Cecilia concert. She
then wore a striking, glittering costume,
and made little out of the music by
Charpentier and Debussy ; but she showed
her appreciation of art by applauding
vigorously the conductor and the chorus.
She sang with much bodily expression at
an Apollo concert, and last season she
was truly effective as Amnerls in a con-
cert performance of “Alda" by a visiting
choral society and some solo singers.
Mme. Bouton lias a full and emotional
voice, and as a mezzo-soprano has given
pleasure at music festivals in various
parts of the country. Her name is not
yet as a household word ; nevertheless,
she has much to say, and she said some
of it to a representative of Musical
America.
Why is not Mme. Bouton, as a member
of the Metropolitan company, causing
Miss Edyth Walker to turn green, giving
Mme. Fremstad white nights, and driv-
ing Mme. Jacoby to strong waters? “I
abandoned grand opera for the broader
field of oratorio and concert work, pri-
marily because of the conditions existing
at the Metropolitan Opera House and
subsequently because I came to like the
work much better.” She Is naturally
pleased with her success — and she admits
that she has been successful — but what is
fame in comparison with patriotism. I
am far more proud that I am an Ameri-
can product by birth and by training..
Her early years were not spent in a i
stiffing city' with its pernicious in-
fluences. Her home was in pastoral
Connecticut, in the town of a once dis-
tinguished humorist, the Danbury News
man. There she began to study. I
took singing lessons from a teacher
whose name I will conceal for the sake
of her family.” Is not that a neat
swipe? Is it not more effective than
any demonstration of displeasure with
sandbag or stiletto?
In New York there was “the great-
est vocal teacher this country has ever
had,” and Mme. Bouton studied with
him. He knew everything about the
mechanism, habits and vagaries of the
throat. He had been through it with a
dark lantern. He had experimented on
it with a piece of pork and- a strip of
red flannel. Mme. Bouton has authori-
ty. then, for saying: “Tone production
became natural with me.” And the gen-
erous soul discloses a secret of her art ,
for the benefit of beginners: “A num-
ber of people who have heard me sing
have commented upon the fact that the
muscles of my chin are contracted
when I sing. I do this because by con-
centrating all muscular effort upon the
little muscles of the chin below the
lip, I relax those of my throat and
consequently can sing naturally. I do
not know that any other singer has
ever utilized this method.”
The chin has not been sufficiently
utilized by singers to display fully
their art. Many of them are "chin-
ners,” but not in a strictly musical
sense. Mme. Bouton, however, has had
a predecessor. On June 7, 1830, Mr.
Michael Boai appeared at Egyptian
Hall, London, before a large, surprised
and delighted audience. Mr. Boai was
known as “the chin performer.” "When
the cavity of the mouth,” says a deep
thinker learned in acoustical matters,
is lessened by the voluntary action of
the muscles, it will resonate higher or
more acute tones than when in its more
expanded state. The tones themselves
may be produced in some other way;
but the audible pitch may be varied in
a remarkable degree by variations in
the size and form of the interior of the
mouth.
Mr. Boai depended on the rapid
changes in the shape and size which
he gave' to the cavity of his mouth.
His method of striking his chin
something like that in which the flint
and steel were formerly used in strik-
ing a light," clapped or slapped the
lips together. The sound was thus
P u° dl i ced: the P itcl1 was regulated by
the shape of the mouth. Mr. Boai was
accompanied by a violin and a guitar.
No doubt an orchestra with a discreet
conductor would be still more effec-
tive. And Mr. Conried let Mme. Bou-
ton go. And Mr. Oscar Hammerstein
j has r.ot yet engaged her!
When Mme. Bouton was at the Met-
ropolitan Opera House she pleased the
critics and the audience. There is no
reason why this fact should be kept
from her, for she herself does not
deny the truth of the statement. But
“certain conditions prevailed there
which made it impossible for me to
continue.” How simply she describes
the state of affairs! “The Conried
performances were utterly inartistic”
— “utterly” even when Mme. Bouton
took part in them — "hut, leaving this
aside, the conditions existing there
made me leave a field of endeavor
which had great possibilities for me.
There is only one thing which
would tempt me back into opera. I
have an overwhelming desire to be
heard as Ortrud, my favorite role. I
have an idea that I can sing it as well
as most artists, and I w-ant a chance
to convince the public. Some years
ag"o I sang Ortrud to Nordlca’s Elsa
in Providence, and I was the only one
to receive a ‘bravo.’ ’’ We had thought
better of Providence. Is Mme. Bouton
wholly sure that the audience did not
shout “brava”?
Wild horses could not drag Mme.
Bouton from her beloved land to study
in any European city. “I shall prob-
ably go to Berlin to hear and see and
to absorb the musical atmosphere,
which is almost totally missing in
this country." No “musical atmos-
phere" in Providence, where Mme.
Bouton was highly appreciated with a
noble disregard of the rules of gender
in the Italian grammar? No musical
atmosphere in Symphony Hall, Boston,
where Mme. Bouton was wellnigh
overcome by the work of the chorus
and the conductor? No musical at-
mosphere in Worcester, where she
will sing early in October? Artemus
Ward lamented bitterly that America
had no Tower of London — the Tower
that is a sweet boon.” What would
he have said If he had been told that
America is without a “musical atmos-
phere”?
The Herald spoke last Thursday of
j the decision in a London court which
declared that any woman in any show
who speaks a line is an actress. The
Pall Mall Gazette published this edi-
torial comment on the decision:
"At the third time of asking the Gib-
son girl has obtained the decision with
I its useful pecuniary corollary, that she
| is not a super, chorus girl, show girl, nor
anything less than an actress. No doubt
the same important decision applies to
a Bath Bun, provided that she has lines
of her own to say. As everyone who has
read the case or who saw 'The Catch of
the Season' knows. Miss Thomas tthe
present Mrs. Hawkins) did have lines to
say: 'I am a perfect wonder at spotting
winners, and I hardly ever lose at
bridge.’ and ‘Dear old Hyde Park.' Sure-
ly there was plenty of opportunity to
'express her individuality’ even in the
shorter sclntilation. One might say
'Dear old Hyde Park' In non-committal
fashion, as if one were reading the les-
sons In church, or with rapture, scorn,
flippancy or boredom. There Is an effort
of individual memory required to re-
member that it is Hyde Park and not
St. James' or Battersea, and an effort of
enunciation in giving 'Hyde' its 'h.' Also
there is the temptation to introduce 'gag'
to be resisted. A lady who lias to go
through all these intellectual a-nd artiST
tic processes, and not merely to come on
and 'Gib' about the stage, is an actress,
surely. How many of us co.uld be trusted
not to say, '1 am a perfect spotter at
winning winners'?”
The Herald described not long ago
some of the extraordinary sights to be
seen by the fortunate in Lodon music
halls and in theatres devoted to the bal-
let. Miss Ruth St. Denis appeared at
the Aldwych Theatre July 5, and the
Referee assures us* that a fairly large
number of spectators "followed her do-
ings with evident a-.id eager interest.
Miss St. Denis is strong in East Indian
dances, and "darkens her skin so that
the necessary local color shall not be
wanting." Let us hope it was uniformly
distributed. A dancer In spots is deaj
neither to gods nor me.i. She first ap-
peared as the “Spirit of Incense."
"There was a lot of incense with very
little spirit." Our fellow-countryman.
Mr. H. W. Loomis, wrote the music for
the dances, a series of wriggles. Miss
St. Denis then impersonated a snake
charmer. “She seemed with remarkably
sinuous movement to turn her arms into
living stiakes, with the emeralds on her
fingers for eyes, while the rest of her
supple person represented the charmer
keeping the reptiles in order.” Great
snakes! The spectators, however, began
to grow uneasy. What they wanted was
lively dancing.
“It came as with a whirlwind in the
third section of the programme, which
introduced Radha, the deified wife of
Krishna. She posed as an idol in a beau-
tiful Hindu temple, and her worshippers
waved Incense and scattered flowers in
her honor. And presently she arose and
came down and drank from a bowl and
was filled with ecstasy and started on
her gyrations. She dealt with five cir-
cles each typifying one of the five
senses. But the circles were formed with
such amazing rapidity that it was im-
possible to count them. They were not
five, but 500, and they were formed with-
in a minute and a half. The play with
the dancer'^fcirt was astounding and
delightful. "MM*! Hot stuff! To quote
from a disftBsajttihed New York state-
man. '
Every day there is a statement or a
denial of a statement concerning the
operatic war between Mr. Conried and
Mr. Hammerstein. It is now said that
Saint-Saens will conduct a performance
of his "Samson and Delilah” at the
Manhattan Opera House and that the
chief singers will be Dalmores. a tenor
of the Monnaie, Brussels, and Mme. de
Cisneros, formerly Miss Broadfoot. Of
course, the “scene painters are already
at work.” When the opera was per-
formed at the Metropolitan. with
Tamagno as Samson, it attracted little
attention or comment. It lias had a
curious fate— oratorio lovers have char-
acterized it as too operatic, and opera-
goers have yawned and dubbed it an
oratorio. T „„
Another rumor is that Leoncavallo
will conduct performances of "Pagliacci
at the Manhattan, with Bonci and Mme.
Melba as Canio and Nedda. Lanio is
not one of Bond's conspicuous parts.
He Is a purely lyric tenor. Nor is It
probable that Puccini will conduct his
"Mme. Butterfly” at the Metropollitan,
for Puccini is not a conductor.
Another story is that Raoul Guns-
bonrg will supervise the production of
Berlioz's "Damnation of Faust' as an
opera at the Metropolitan. The "Surac-
tif Gunsbourg,” as Jules Claretie calls
him. has worked wonders at Monte
Carlo, and we believe it was lie that first
put Berlioz's work on the stage as an
opera. But Renaud. the baritone, whose
Mephistopheles, according to Berlioz, is
famous, will be at Mr. Hammerstein s
house. , ..
Carl Burrian, the heroic tenor of the
Dresden Opera House, who is well
known at Covent Garden, will take the
place of Heinrich ICnote at the Metro-
politan. and Georglana Russ, an Italian
dramatic soprano, will join Mr. Ham-
merstein's company.
j Walter Rothwell. who conducted Mr.
Savage's "Parsifal" admirably, will con-
iduct “Mme. Butterfly,” as produced by
Mr. Savage. Mme. Elza Szamosv of
Budapest will be the leading soprano.
Many will be pleased to learn that Ade-
laide Norwood, who has been studying
and singing in Euiope for two or three
years, will return to America this next
season as a member of Mr. Savage s
company. The first performance ot
"Mme Butterfly" will be at Washing-
ton, D. C., Oct. 15. Performances will
afterward be given in Baltimore and
Boston, and early in November the
opera will be produced in New 1 ork.
Elizabeth Dodge, an American so-
prano. who has been studying In Paris
tor several years, sang in London tor
the first time July 12.
Marguerite Claire of Atlanta. Ga., sang
at a Marchesl concert in London the
following day. Irene Ainsley. the hew
Zealand contralto and protegee of Mme.
(Melba, has. it is said, a. warm a nd
sonorous voice of an extended compass.
She still lacks ease and authority, ac-
j cording to Musical America.
IN THE PARK.
We read with regret that police com-
missioners in various cities are opposed
to spooning in parks and other public
places. But what are parks for? Are
they only for the whizz wagons and the
carriages of the rich and for those who
walk or sit up straight? Open-air court-
ing is a healthy and invigorating amuse-
ment, and it should be encouraged, espe-
< ially in Massachusetts, if a recent sta-
tistical report is to be believed. If a
young woman leans her head on her
sweetheart’s shoulder, under the sky,
careless of the world’s scorn or laugh-
ter, then is the time when policemen and
sentimentalists should leave quietly, as
those who tread unwittingly on holy
ground. If this wooing is to be visited
with fines and other penalties the by-
laws of “Cqpid’s 10 O’Clock Club” at
Logansport, Ind., may well be enforced
in Boston : Calls are limited to two a
week, and “good night” must be said —
and without sweet but undue repetition
— before the stroke of 10. Miss Flossy
Moore, the president of this club, "a
daughter of one of the oldest families
in Logansport, hopes to make the 'club
a national organization. Does she ob-
ject to courting in the parks? As she is
only 18 years old her heart cannot be
wholly granitic.
TAINTED.
There was a joyous oyster supper last
winter at the house of Mrs. Apgar in
Morristown, N. J. The money taken
from the guests was given to the church.
The trustees accepted it, but the pastor
declared that the money was tainted, and
ns the trustees insisted on keeping it, he
has resigned. The money was not
"tainted” because there was any com-
plaint about the quality of the oysters;
but there was dancing, and the maidens
and matrons and members and laymen
disported themselves in the mazy. “A
violinist, accompanied by a mouth or-
gan, served as an orchestra.” Applejack,
judiciously used, is not incompatible
with piety, but the pastor drew the line
at* dancing, not, as some fastidiously
musical might suppose, at the mouth or-
gan, however sweet-breathed the player
may have been. It was the Rev. Mr.
Jones, pastor of a negro church in Cleve-
land about fifty years ago, who remarked
in the course of a sermon reported by
Artemus Ward : “Whar there’s dancing
1 here’s fiddling; whar there’s fiddling
there’s unrighteousness, and unright-
eousness is wickedness, and wickedness
is sin ! That’s me — tha t’s Jones 1 ”
POPPAEA REDIVIVA.
When in doubt, the beauty doctors
go back to the wisdom of the ancients.
As is well known, Poppaea, one of
Nero's wives, bathed in the milk of
she-asses, and kept for this purpose
500 of them, which she took with her
wherever she went. She bathed to
whiten her skin and keep it free from
wrinkles. Now in Paris the women
whose profession is that of beauty,
first clean the body and face with
wadding soaked in a mixture of olive
oil and cognac or olive oil and cologne
water. The skin is then dried and
they are ready for the milk bath.
Anna Held bathed in New York milk
— possibly her bath was condensed,
or perhaps there were still enough
goats in Harlem. Some playactresses
prefer a champagne bath as more in-
vigorating, and they take it inter-
nally and externally as the Parisian
beauties take milk. What a change
in Paris! The noble dames at the
court of Henry III. and of Henry IV.
seldom, if ever, bathed in water. Even
at a much later date the aristocrats
did not count cleanliness among the
household virtues. The memoirs of
the various courts renowned for their
“brilliance give curious information
about the personal habits of famous
Frenchmen and women, and the read-
er in his amazement sometimes for-
gets to hold his nose.
A CHANGE IN ETIQUETTE.
The Philadelphia Bulletin gives inter-
esting information concerning the “eti-
quette governing jewels” in the city of
brotherly love. The etiquette has
"changed greatly.” "Diamonds at the
breakfast table are no longer vulgar be-
cause they are universal. We tolerate
all ornaments save the tiara.” Phila-
delphia once prided herself on the fact
that every workingman had his own
home. Now, it seems, he wears dia-
mond^. There was a time when the
American woman only wore them at
balls, formal dinner parties, on the
verandas of summer hotels in the after-
noon and at hotel dinners during the |
gr«eu corn season. Gamblers wore dia- [
monds, also a white plug with a
weed on it. As the Bulletin says, the
etiquette has changed greatly. A young
woman in New York a few days ago
took off her white petticoat in a jiffy
to bandage a boy wounded by a trolley
car. She would not give her name, but
“she wore diamonds and fine clothes.”
Yet, we regret to say, even in Phila-
delphia they are a little behind the pro-
cession, for the gem of the season is
the amethyst. Queen Alexandra set the
fashion and you can buy a beautiful
stone the size of an almond for $12. The
best come from Ireland, not from India,
as in Pliny’s time. It is a useful stone,
for the wearer is kept from injury, ob-
tains favors from the influential and
mighty, and it protects a farmer from
hail, grasshoppers and seventeen-year
locusts. There are decent amethysts to
be had for $3 — only three bones.
THE INSULAR EYE.
Each country praises the beauty of
its own women, though in each there
is vague talk about the surpassing
loveliness of the Circassians. It is
also true that each nation is inclined
to doubt the beauty of the women of
a rival. We read recently an English-
man’s sketch of the famous Allee in
the Bois: "How rare to see a pretty
face!” and he repeats with pride the
polite remark of a friend just re-
turned from London, who was en-
thusiastic over the "types of feminine
loveliness to be met with, broadcast,
over the British capital. After an
evening spent at Covent Garden, his
verdict was that no such galaxy of
fair women could be found the world
over.” The Englishman admitted,
however, that the English woman
hangs on her clothes in a certain dis-
order; "they do not envelop her as
do the French woman’s; on the other
hand, she shows greater personality,
and, consequently, more picturesque-
ness in her style.” This is not far re-
moved from the unprejudiced opinion
of the Squire in “Harry Richmond.”
ile had never been in Germany, but,
when his grandson returned from a
visit, he asked the accompanying
clergyman about the German women:
"They’re a whitey-brown sort of
women, aren't they? with tow hair
and fisheyes, high o’ the shoulder,
bony, and gone teeth, so I've heard
tell. I’ve heard that’s why the men
have all taken to their beastly smok-
ing.” And we remember that at a
meeting of Platonists in London last
spring some one explained why the
women of North Germany were plain
and unattractive: because by the
wedding of money-bags to money-
bays from the days of the Hanse
towns onwards, they hac^ lost touch
with the universal. At the same time
this close observer paid the American
woman a graceful compliment, so we
record and make no comment.
American women are beautiful, he
said, because they are free to follow
their own personality in their quest
of their universal, and the facilities
for divorce in the United States gi\e
them unusually wide scope.
Tarriage of justice in Italy that came to
ight this year. In 1803 Lieut. Pnsquiui
it mess left his overcoat in the hall. A
pocket of this overcoat contained 6000
ire of regimental money. When he re-
turned the money was gone, but he did
□ot like to accuse anyone, and he said
oothing until the money was needed.
Court-martialled for embezzlement, he I
tvas degraded from the army, and con-
iemned to ten years’ imprisonment. The
degradation was sustained by him,
“with a courage which won admiration
sven from those who considered him
guilty.” As he was taken to prison he
saw a detachment of the Bersaglieri
and then he wept. The soldiers stopped,
and the commanding lieutenant stepped
forward and, embracing him, said :
“Courage, dear innocent one.” Many
could and would not believe Pasquini
guilty, but there was no way of proving
bim innocent. A few months ago a cer-
tain officer died after confessing that he
stole the money from Pasquini’s coat.
Pasquini is to he rehabilitated. But
think of the ruined life, of the shame of
forty-three years ! A prominent lawyer
of Boston once said to us : "I do not
believe that one man in prison in this
state sentenced for any serious crime is
innocent.” What a pathetic belief in
the divine working of human justice.
Even physicians are not so cocksure in
their treatment of the sick.
FRIENDLY FIRE.
“Miss Goodell destroyed a lot of
letters before leaving home.” There
was nothing suspicious or sinister in
the action. The wise man said:
“Never write a letter and keep all
that you receive”; but it was the
thought of a knavish mind. Life is
not wholly business, and letters are
written to relieve emotions. It is
seldom that the writer and the re-
cipient are in the same mood. The
most affectionate or sensible letter
may, therefore, irritate the reader.
The beloved one may commit sole-
cisms which do not disturb the
wooer when he sees her face to face, ,
but a recorded slip in grammar or a]
poorly expressed thought sets him
. a-thinking. He asks in his vanity:
“Is she really worthy of me?” The
son disappoints the expectations of
his mother. If he looks over the
letters she wrote in her years of
anxiety and hope, they are as stabs
to his conscience. He is easier if
they are destroyed. It is better,
after all, to burn all letters except
those which you may need in self-
preservation against the unscrupu-
lous. The remembrance should be
enough without the affidavit. Or
what man or woman relishes the
thought of the indifferent or the
morbidly curious reading letters as a
funereal duty? A letter should be
burned after it is answered prompt-
ly. Sometimes it is better to burn
it immediately. And forget it with-
out answering.
PASQUINI’S CASE.
It is siugular that in connection with
:he Dreyfus case and that of Beck in
[.ondon, no one has referred to a mis-
DE SENECTUTE.
Gustavus Flowers, who had been a
watchman in department buildings at
Washington, D. C., for sixteen years
died a few days ago, heart broken, ex-
claiming "the government has mur-
dered me.” He had been discharged,
an old man, with seven other old men,
for the sake of economy. What was
there left for him? And men who
become feeble after long and faithful
service in the employ of corporations
or individuals are thus discharged
daily. The atrocious crime of being an
old man! Even the new hotel in New
York for working girls and young
women bars women of 35 years and
over. The builder of the hotel looks
upon the woman of 35 “as somewhat
settled in her views of life and likely
to be bored by the giddier pleasures
of the girls from 18 to 25, who will
make up the majority of the clien-
tele.” What is this hotel for? For
the harborage of chorus girls? “The
only restrictions imposed are those of
having a position which pays $10 or
$12 a week and a sufficient capital of
youth.” But are there no working wo-
men over 35 who need a decent, com-
fortable home? Are all women over
35 ascetically disposed? Why should
not women of 40 chirp and frolic,
even when they earn only $10 a week?
Some, alas, do not earn this amount.
Yv’hat-is^to be - done with-the : old
This is more and more of a problem.
Homes for the old' and needy might
bo of more advantage to the commu-
nity than library .buildings construct-
ed after one and the approved pat-
tern.
V COUNTRY clubT
Mr. Auger cannot understand how
Mr. Johnson can be happy away
from the Porphyry during the sum-
mer. Occasion drew the eminent so-
ciologist from Clamport to the city,
and Mr. Auger, meeting him,
plumped the question: "Don't you
miss the talk at the club?” "But
we have a club at the store,” an-
swered Mr. Johnson, "and mail time
answers to the live-o'clock at the
Porphyry. I hear the same subjects
discussed in about the same way.
The Thaw case, the future of Russia,
what Mr. Moran is going to do, the
state of the weather, a surgical oper-
ation — and what matters It whether
the patient be a clam digger or a
brilliant financier? — -the play that is
to be performed in a few weeks at
the town hall, a realistic drama of
Cape Cod life, the price of ice — why,
Auger, the topics are the same, or
nearly the same. The discussion is
now spirited, but not from alcoholic
ingurgitation; and now slow, but not
because tongues' are thick. The
repartee is quick, and there are irrel-
evant personal attacks by way of en-
livening digressions. If I shut my
eyes I am in the Porphyry. Fur-
Ihermore, there is this resemblance:
the same topics are discussed day
after day without an arrival at any
conclusion.”
PI.ATOXISTS.
Y e heard Mr. Bronson Alcott say
with a bland smile in Oosmian Hall,
h lorence (Mass.), that the millennium
would be here when every working man
was provided with the complete works
of Plato. It may be remembered that
Emerson thought the'-'publication of
translations of Plato in Bohn's library
one of the chief benefits yielded by the
cheap press. But Platonists in congress
are not helpful persons. We read the
report of a recent meeting in Loudon.
Dr. Reich observed that history is one
long ebullition of passion. Only middle-
class persons believe that passions are
“low.” The true Platonist does not at-
tempt to suppress them. He cultivates
them with a sophrosyne. But where do
you buy a sophrosyne? At an apothe-
cary s, or at a hardware shop? Three
manifestations of passions are alcohol,
avarice and love. Plato believed it is
better to control a passion than to
efface it, so he took his regular glass of
wine and his occasional gin and bitters.
A teetotaler once invited Dr. Reich to
take the pledge. He replied that she
was insulting his mother, a repartee that
went over the teetotaler’s head. If you
suppress the passion for alcohol, it will
break out in homicidal mania or in a
taste for tea, which is ten times worse
than opium.” Avarice, “within its
limits, ’ should be encouraged. The
French are thrifty and gay. “They re-
joice over every sou they do not spend”
and therefore are constantly cheerful.
Love is “the most artistic expression of
tne universal.” How? as our village
friend Mr. Marcellas B. Graves would
say. Montaigne, Spinoza, Mr. Hall
Gaine and Mrs. Ella Wheeler Wilcox
all admit its universality. Platonic
love, as it is generally understood, is
impossible in the case of mature per-
sons. A thwarted passion may break
out into protectionism or the invention
of airships. A discussion followed the
lecture. W hat is woman's strongest
passion? Some admitted that it was
love of admiration ; others hurrahed for
maternity. Then there was the question
w-hether maternal affection is not an in-
stinct instead of a passion. “A hen has
it, ’ said one excited disputant. It wms
voted that womatris essentially monog-
amous. As Mr. Oliver Herford re-
marked. “Why do men marry Lillian
Russell?”
9 years old.” Perhaps she will ’yet
I catch it. The young lady "absolute-
ly disputes” the statement that Poe
was born In Boston. The statement,
however, rests on fact, and the poet
himself on more than one occasion
referred to this city with peculiar
sentiment, though he delighted in
roasting the New England literary
school. Miss Poe would take away
from Boston a great honor, but it is
something of a consolation to know
that "she resents having been born
in Philadelphia.” She, too, is a bit
of a poet. "She inherits from her
melancholy and poetic ancestor much
of his striking originality of thought
and action; but with her there is a
brighter setting, and she could
hardly be guilty of anything so grim
and unhappy as the greatest works
of Edgar Allan Poe.” Any jury of
ordinary intelligence would acquit
her. This “appreciation” of the
; master of terror and exquiiite sound
reminds qs of the illuminative criti-
cism that was published in one of
Chambers' volumes some years ago.
Edgar Allan Poe, an eccentric
American poet. It may seem absurd
to say that he belonged by birth to
the aristocracy in a country where
no aristocracy is recognized. Still,
It is a fact that Poe was an aristo-
crat.” Mr. Barrett Wendell should
remember this when he revises his
encyclopedia of American gentle-
men who have dropped into litera-
ture.
JuUj if,
MANNER OF COMPOSING
des cribe d by dindy
His First Favorites in Music
— Three Periods in
His Car-s-er, i
,, expression —
111 ' true sense of the word,
as not Flemish or Dutch.
artistically related to the old
He was ammiv <in.> i «.*«*. ^ %...w ~
Vrenc-h cathedral builders, both In t
beauty and the rhythm of his music
line* and In absolute sincerity and co..
scientlous naivete. He was never music-
all, successful In the expression of an
o il sentiment. When lie would fam
sing of Satan and all his works, his
voice was that of Meyerbeer. His soul
was with the angels, and when lie chose
the pagan story of Cupid and Psyche, he
paraphrased it mystically and the
amorous dialogue was between the
celestial bridegroom and the soul.
On the other hand, Franck, by reason
of his sense of order and proportion, by
reason of his logic in diction and the
expression of his thought, was indis-
putably French.
Franck’s Musica Likings.
Franck's first favorites in music were
among the French composers who
nourished toward the end of the ISth
contury. He delighted in the music of
Monsigny — especially his "Deserter"; of
Dalayrac,' from v^liose operas ^he took
themes for his first piano fantasias; of
Gretry, and he could not in the years
of his maturity read certain pages of
Gretry without deep emotion. The mu-
sic of Mehul was dear to him. and
"Joseph” filled him with enthusiasm.
For at least 20 years the influence of
Mehul was anparent in his own com-
positions. Themes in the piano trios
find in "Ruth” might well he signed by
Mehul, although here and there, faint-
ly expressed, is the unmistakable in-
dividuality of Franck.
His love for certain masterpieces by
Gluck. Bach, Beethoven absorbed him,
so that in reading them he would for-
get time and the pressing duty. His
pupil, Duparc, remembers him giving
pia.no lessons at the College de Van-
girard, but, instead of hearing scales
and exercises, Franck would play with
infinite gusto and with instructive com-
ments an act of “Iphigenia in Tauris.”
pieces by Bach, or pages of “Eu-
ryanthe,” and soon to his consterna-
tion the hour was at an end. Franck
also admired greatly Schumann, the In-
timate melodist, and the songs of
Schubert were for him an abiding joy,
“He had even an inexplicable affection
for certain works of Cherubini, and
also for the preludes and the ‘songs' of
Ch. Valentix Alkan. whom he ijponsid-
ered to be a ‘poet of the piano.’”
Here speak the prejudices of Mr,
dindy. There was also a time when
I Franck was passionately Interested in
Wagner s works, although he could not
be reckoned among the Wagnerites of
his period. As Coquard says of him:
KETM h r°V e - Stly e „ n -> oyed all that was
with wnl f U1 ■ con teroporaneous art. and
with what simplicity did he do justice
T°^ e success ful colleagues! The
2 'Y ln S bad no more kindly and fair-
I Connnd 'Y, hether they were named
Gounod, Saint-Saens, or Delibes.”
Are there proofs of his musical nre-
ferences and affections in his own
There ' EY 1 of any us , e to Point them oui."
There aie some melodic phrases that
remind one of Bach; the initial theme
or the symphony recalls the que"t™n
tAe U ern eS l eln? P, u t by Beethoven 'a"
the end ot one his quartets - th<» in
fiuence of Meyerbeer seen fil some f
the infenor pages “The Beatitudes ”
and that of Wagner in tho symphonic
P°a enl 'rT Les Eo'idos” and in "£?e
I lu 2 T e ' , Choral and Fugue” for the pia^o
"thatYt " 0t thmk ' ” says Mr. d’Indy
that it is necessary to attach much
I importanoe to melodic or oth-u resem .
• TIle sreat contrapuntists and
t t h h e e : fess a o"r d 1
rnaTy Um^tFe^LTT'TAe me" ” Y-E
Ef' S FEnc a k e w a a a s de s d
could afford these few deliberate or Un-
conscious reminiscences.
I A Composer at Work.
How did Franck work?
The Jesuit Balthasar Graclan preached
a short sermon in his "Art of Worldly
I °" the text: " Kee P t0
self the final touches of your art.” The
, teacher must always remain the superior
master. He must teach an art artfully, i
The srurce of knowledge need not be I
i I s out ’ no more than that of giving.
Ay this means, a man preserves the re -
spect and dependence of others " re '
do not know whether Franck or
dindy were familiar with the little
hauY reS bu e t Cte n T° highly by Schopen -
nauer, but it was not in Franck’s
! ? at iu e to , conceal anything perta?nin®
j to the art he dearly loved in his com
versations with ins pupils. At the
same time not even a favorite pupil can
teil how a man like Franck ach evtd
certain things. He can describe only his
external methods. J s
-cA2w rdins ' to Mr - d Indy . and he here
speaks as a composer who has fuilv
mastered all matters of technic, there
three periods, absolutely distinct
in the composition of a .work: concept
tion, disposition or arrangement, ex-
ecution.
The conception may be subdivided
into two different operations: synthetic
and analytic conception. Suppose a man
girds up his loins to compose a sym-
phony. First, he establishes the great
lines, the general plan of the work; then
lie fixes the constituent elements, the
themes, tile musical ideas which are to
be the essential features of the plan.
These two labors are, as a rule, suc-
cessive, but they are connected and
may be modified; for the nature of the
"idea,” which is purely a personal ele-
ment, may lead the composer to change
| the preconceived disposition of his plan,
while, on the other hand, the nature of
the plan may bring in certain types of
musical ideas that will exclude others.
"Whether the conception be synthetic
i or analytic, it is always independent of
the hour, the surroundings; I may say it
almost independent of the composer’s
will.” He is not able to continue his
work until the materials are presented
Jo him in a wholly satisfactory form.
1 his mysterious period is often very
long, especially with the great com’-
'The Herald last Sunday considered
Cesar Franck, the man, as portrayed
by Mr. Vincent d'Indy. Let us today
consider Mr. dTndy's study of the influ-
ences that shaped Franck in his creative
work, and Mr. dTndy's description of
his manner of composing. His volume
“Cesar Franck" is published by Felix
Alcan, Paris.
It has been said’that Franck was a
Fleming by birth, and. therefore, a mys-
tic. He was a Walloon, and the Wal-
loons are active and passionate rather
than mystical. His ancestors in the 16th
and 17th centuries were painters, and,
as was said last Sunday, he thus inherit-
ed a taste for drawing. Mr. d’Indy
hints that Franck's mastery of combina-
tion, shown even when he was a young
pupil in the Paris Conservatory, “an es-
spntinl email tv in tlio n n m nminrlino- n f
POOR POE!
Poor Poe! His life is to be taken
again, and this time by the daughter
of a second cousin. She has "pur-
sued a literary career since she was
I-’ f i F 1 1 in 1 1 it jl cli io GUfioci v ritui j , till
sential quality in the compounding of
that bizarre and useless form of scribble
known as 'The School of Fugue.’ " was
also an inheritance from old Walloon
contrapuntists.
Franck's father had something to do
with a bank, but he knew persons in the
artistic world. We are told that he was
a stern, authoritative man; that he or-
•dered his two sons to be musicians; that
he wished Cesar to be a virtuoso pian-
ist. Nothing is said about Cesar's
mother. We learn nothing from Mr.
d’Indy about her character or her tastes.
It is a pity, for a great man has much
of iris mother in him. The other son, Jo-
seph. wrote correct and undistinguished
music, drank too much, and often lived
and drank on Cesar's money. Mr. d’Indy
does not give this information. He is
not inclined to be anecdotioal.
Nor are we told anything at all about
the home life of the young Cesar. He
studied. He travelled as a child pianist
when lie was 10 or 11 years old. He left
the Conservatory in his 20th year, anil
he worked with the utmost industry and
energy until he died in 1990, when he was
almost 68.
Genesis of Franck’s Work.
But Mr. d’Indy studies carefully what
may be called the genesis of Franck’s
work, and he knows that any one who
wishes to judge sympathetically and
honestly the work of a genius should
go back to the first causes and try to
discover the trunk and roots of the
richly flowering branch.
Franck, according to him. was in no
way connected with the men of the re-
naissance. Tlie art of the renaissance,
seeking nutrition in the sap of pagan
art which had already dried, in spite of
glorious efforts could produce only ster-
ile forms without true aesthetic signifi-
cance. Franck did not regard form as
an end. He looked on “this manifesta-
tion of the work which one calls form”
only as a corporeal part, the clothing
of the ideal, which he named "the soul
of music”; and in all his works the
form changes constantly, according to
-the nature of the idea. Franck, by rea-
son of his clearness, light, vitality, was
nearer to the Italian painters of the 14th
and 15th centuries. His. art was one of
clear truth and serene light, a light
without any violent color, for he was
posers— see 'the sketch books of Beet-
hoven; "for their artlstie conscience
forces them to extreme severity In the
j choice of expression: but mediocre com-
posers. or those intoxicated with their
?i Wn su PP°sed merit, are satisfied with
"‘'St material that comes to them,
although its bad quality can make only
!a fragile, perishable monument.”
I During the second period, that of dis-
| position, the composer, using the deter -
n ?. material, fixes definitely the plan
I ?J- me work, both as a whole and in all
its details. Even in this period he must
invent, and there is often much hesita-
tion and harassing doubt. “It is the
moment when one undoes in the morn-
mg that which lie laboriously did the
night before; it is also the moment of
full enjoyment in the knowledge of close
communion with beauty."
At last, when the heart and the im-
agination of the composer have con-
ceived, when he has planned everything
through the force of his intelligence,
then comes the final period, that of exe-
cution, and this is only an amusement
for the musician who is a master of his
trade. There Is the labor of writing; of
scoring, if the work is to be orches-
trated; there is the "plastic presenta-
tion on paper” of the completed musical
work.
One composer will wait patiently for
the dawn of an idea; another will try to
hasten its coming, and he will stimu-
late his fancy. One. like Beethoven, will
write at fever heat a mass of differ-
ent sketches for one musical idea; an-
other, like Bach, will not put his
theme into writing until it is shaped
definitely and irrevocably in his mind.
this is Mr. dTndy's explanation of
the process of composition when the
composer is a man of true creative
force.
Cesar Franck’s Method.
Franck, like Gluck and many others,
needed stimulation. It is told of Ring-
lake that when he was at work on his
"Invasion of the Crimea,” he would
write in the morning a certain num-
ber of pages, but he would leave
bldnk spaces for the fitting adjectives.
Then he would ride horseback for an
hour or two, and on his return write
down the missing words. Franck
round inspiration in music itself..
How often have we seen him," says
M !;. d In u dy ’ J ‘‘P°unding on the piano
with a hard and constant fortissimo
the prelude to ‘The Master Singers ’ or
a piece by Beethoven, Bach, or Schu-
maiin. At last the deafening din
would sink to a murmur, and then
there would not be a sound — the mas-
ter had found his idea.” Throughout
thus coveted inspiration.
One day when he was at work on one
ot his last pieces, a pupil found him
ruthlessly massacring a piano piece
P U PA was astonished at the choice
°r the music, but Franck answered-
Oh, that is only to excite me. When
1 wish to find a really good idea I
P} ay ,°Y er " rhe Beatitudes,' for that
still helps me best!"
He was fortunate in this: he could
conduct at the same time two musical
operations without in.iurv to either- he
couId/3*ume immediately an abandoned
task without taking time to put him-
self again in the vein. He gave his les-
sons with the conscientiousness that
characterized him in all walks of life,
but lie would often walk suddenly to a
corner of the room and jot down some
measures which he did not wish to
forget, and then return to the demon-
stration or the examination. Important
works were written in this manner,
from notes taken here and there, and
the connection was logical and without
a break. He was especially busied bv
the task of disposition, for, although in ’a
way he was classical and even" tradi-
tional, he thirsted all his life for new
forms in the constituent elements and
m the structure of a work. As soon as
Beetbo\*_*n after innumerable experi-
ments settled on his theme he apparently
established at the same time its devel-
opment and he sometimes forgot to note
Us course in his sketch book. Franck
filled and erased many pages before he
determined definitely the disposition of
a composition. He w-as a stern critic
of himself, and when he was in doubt
concerning a relative key or the pre-
cise course of a development he liked to
consult his pupils, to share with them
his anxiety, to ask their advice. The
three versions of the "mother idea” of
the string quartet (published on pages
167-9) show Franck's labor in search of
perfection. He was at times active in
composition, for during the two months
oi his vacation in 1S89 he wrote this
string quartet and sketched the two last
acts of his second opera "Ghisele.” Yet
l-.c searched a long time for the prayer-
like phrase of the larghetto. and Mr.
d’Indy remembers how one day. when he
went to visit his master, the latter ex-
claimed even before shaking hands: "I
have found it! It's a beautiful phrase.
You will see,” and they went at once
to the piano.
Three Periods.
Mr. d’Indy is one of those who be-
lieve that the majority of great creators
whose life is sufficiently long present
in their work three modes of expression.
This, he believes, is a law of nature.
To argue this point would now be irrel-
jevant. It is enough to say that Beet-
ihoven and Verdi showed a continuous
j and logical advance from youth to then-
last year. Whether three successive and I
absolutely different modes of expression
characterize tlieir work is another cues- !
tion.
Franck’s first period, according to !
Mr. d'Indy, extended from 1841 to about I
1858; the period of the four piano trios I
ail the fugitive piano pieces, many I
songs, and, as the chief mark of the i
period, his first oratorio, “Ruth ”
The second period extends from 1858
to 1872. the period of strictly religious !
works, masses, motets, organ pieces '
with the oratorio. "The Redemption ” I
as the climax.
The third period includes all the or-N
chestral music from 1S75, the admirable
string quartet and piano quintet the i
two operas, the organ chorals, and -is i
a -r C l° n « 1 ' et f-i ex , pre ^ sion - Ule sublime epic.
"The Beatitudes. 1
The chief characteristics of Franck's
style are: (1) the nobility and the worth i
ot the melodic phrase; (2) the originality -
( o£ the harmonic aggregation; (3; thi
THE INFLUENCES THAT SHAPED
FRANCK IN HIS CREATIVE WORK
solid eurythm of the musical archi-
tecture. , . .
An examination of these claims of
Franck’s use of the cyclic style, the
fugue. and the variation in an evolution
of the sonata form, and of his peculiar-
ly serene and lofty expression must be
reserved for next Sunday’s article. But
it may here be said that as Tschaikow-
sky’s music, by reason of Its savage in-
tensity. barbaric love of color and mo-
notonous rhythm, or simple declaration
of personal emotion with, at times, a
childlike blurt, does not appeal to the
fastidious and the ingeniously super-
refined, so the noble qualities ot Franck s
music are not quickly recognized by all.
Mr. d’Indy. speaking of Franck s love of
order, style and meditative weight, says.
"Perhaps It Is for this reason— I like to
think that their attitude is ? ot ,,
had faith or ignorance of art— that tne
Germans do not yet understand his mu-
sic. the luminous logic of which is not
to be assimilated easily by minds how-
ever profound they may be, which will
always lack the sentiment of true Pro-
portions and of good style. He cites the
Wallialla near Regensburg, the pictures
of Boecklin and the too long tone poems
of Richard Strauss as flagrant proofs of
I this lack. , ...... ...
Hazlitt sometimes thought that the
i most acute and original-minded men
make bad critics, for they see every-
I thing too much through a particular
medium. "What does not fall in wltli
their own bias and mode of composition
strikes them as commonplace and tact -
tious What does not come into the di-
rect line of their vision, they regard
Idlv. with vacant 'lack-lustre eye. Men
wlio have fewer native resources, and
are obliged to apply oftener to the gen-
eral stock, acquire by habit a greater
aptitude In appreciating what they owe
to others. Their taste is not made a
sacrifice to their egotism and vanity,
i and they enrich the soil of their minds
with continual accessions of borrowed
strength and beauty.” A man like Haz-
litt’ s friend Joseph Fawcett has the true
I critical spirit: "That is the most dellc-
! lous feeling of all.” he would exclaim,
I "to like what is excellent, no ma.ter
whose it Is.”
MUSIC MOTES.
The Herald publishes today portraits
of Iridi Motto, Ladtslawa Hotkowska.
Oliva Petrella and also an Italian cari-
cature of Mr. Caruso at San Francisco.
Iridi Motto, a soprano of Turin, and a
pupil of Giulo Tanara. made her first
operatic appearance about a year ago at
her birthplace, as Santuzza. Nanon is
one of her best parts. Ladislawa .Hot-
kowska. here portrayed as Amneris. is
a Warsaw singer, who has sung recently
with success at Cremona and at Trieste
in Tommastno's "Medea. Oliva let-
rella a young Italian singer, was in San
Francisco in 1905. She is here portrayed
aS Mr 01 Ernest Tirfehs. the general repre-
sentative of Messrs. Steinway & Sons
will have charge of the concert tour of
Mr. Josef Uhevlnne. the distinguished
Russian pianist. Mr. t rehs has had
much experience in the handling of large
musical undertakings. He was an active
manager of the New York Arion So-
oietv’s European tour in 1S92, and in 1S94
he was in full charge of the great Saen-
gerfest in Madison Square Garden. Mr.
Lhevinne will play Rubinstein s col }™; r * 0 »
In E Hat with most of the leading Amer-
ican orchestras next season. The con- j
oerto is seldom played in this cmintrw
It was heard in New York about if
vears 'ago. and It has been played once
in Boston. Mr. Uhevlnne chose it for his
first appearance in New 1 ork las«. spring
'inf! made a sensation.
The Rembrandt festival at Amster-
dam this month inspired these pieces:
\ svmphonic poem. ' fcaul and David
(after Rembrandt's picture), by
i Wagenaar of Utrecht; a cantata, with
text bv Van Moerkerke, music by Die-
penbrock and an orchestral prologue
I by Bernard Zweers.
I A symphonic prologue to Spitteler s
"Hympischer Fruehllng," by the tewiss
composer. Walter Courvolsier. has been
performed at Mannheim. ,
1 Mr. Rudolf Krasselt. once first cel-
list of the Roston Symphony orchestra,
has been engaged as conductor at the
Danzig opera house.
“Automobilhymnos. for chorus and
orchestra, by Carlo Galione, a pupil of
Rhetnberger. has been performed at
Milan.
Mrs. Richard J. Hall of Boston gave
n concert in Paris June 1. when she
played several saxophone pieces writ-
ten for her, which have been performed
here at the concerts of the Orchestral
Club. Mr. Renard, the baritone, assist-
ed. and Mr. Dongy led the orchestra.
The Guide Musical and the Courrler
Musical spoke highly of her per-
formance.
m§
.ODWA PE/TREL1A-/A
a. a CtfORI-aA
/
'/(? C?
IX THE KECK.
The story of Mr. Fred Smith's desire
to be the executioner in Denmark is a
good one. The Danes are in need of a
“reliable, sturdy executioner,” and offer
S3G4 and expenses for each performance.
Mr. Smith, it seems, is weary of serving
beer in Bethnal Green, and he has en-
deavored for seven years to secure a
positiou as public executioner some-
where. The excitement, he thinks,
would be good for iris health, and he has
long been accustomed to chopping wood.
Is tlywe a history of executioners worthy
of their deeds? How many know that
the familiar apparatus, the derrick, was
named after a Londou headsman? Do
not some believe that .John Ketch was a
legendary character? There are passion-
ate collectors who treasure bits of rope
that have served, and other memorabi-
lia of executions. Has any one a com-
plete library of all books pertaining to
punishments and executions? There arc
headsmen in admirable literature, as in
Merimee’s comedy attributed to . the
Spanish Clara. And what a wealth of
pictures ! We see even now with a shud-
der Cruiksliank's “Burning of Lnder-
bill” and “Mauger Sharpening His Ax.”
k VERBAL SEDITION.
As is known to close students of the
surprising German Emperor, there has
been for some years at his instiga-
tion a warfare against all words in
common use that were taken from the
French, Italian or in fact any modern
language. A society for the rigorous
preservation of German* was formed
some years ago and it has published
little dictionaries and pamphlets. Thus
the words “bureau,” “billet” are for-
bidden in railway stations and in thea-
tres. Of course the rules are applied to
Alsace-Lorraine. A professional spirit-
ualist named Epstein — a good German
name — was giving exhibitions not long
ago in these provinces. He did not have
his little dictionary with him and he
could not think of any German word
for “seance,” so he used on his posters*
the French term that has been heard in
Germany for years. He was at once
hauled before the commissary of police
and solemnly warned. The police were
instructed to correct the posters. This
they did by posting “soiree” over
“seance.” Yet there are admirers of
everything made and done in Germany
who insist that Germans have a sense
of humor.
MR. SAGE'S WILL.
The relatives of the late Mr. Sage
should read Ilazlitt’s essay on will-
making. The thousand and one phil-
anthropists who are eager for other
men to give in charity might also
read it with profit. It opens in a
manner that expresses their feelings
better than they could do it: “Few
things show the human character in
a more ridiculous light than the cir-
cumstance of will-making. It is the
latest opportunity we have of exer-
cising the natural perversity of the
disposition, and we take care to make
a good use of it. We husband It with
jealousy, put it off as long as we can,
and then use every precaution that
the world shall be no gainer by our
deaths." But a kindly disposed man
might say: “Mr. Sage acted gallantly
and wisely. lie paid his wife the last
compliment in his power. Knowing
her sound sense and charitable na-
ture, he wished her to distribute much
m
Hk A '
,s .. &> '?
1 ripe/ Motto
A
v-
\
Caruso a-c
i
of his wealth. She had not had, while
he was alive, the opportunity of grati-
fying her benevolent desires. Now
she can spend his money as she
pleases, and hers will be the glory.”
“The art of, will-making,” says Haz- \
litt, "chiefly consists in baffling the
.importunity of expectation.” Mr.
Sage was, then, in the eyes of many,
a great artist.
NEARSIGHTED.
The appearance of many school chil-
dren with spectacles leads some to pity
and »ome to the opinion that, the race is
degenerating. No doubt the children of
former generations suffered from head-
aches and nervous strain because their
eyes were neglected, though it is not nec-
essary to believe that all victims of nerv-
ous dyspepsia, as Carlyle, Darwin,
Spencer, would have been cheerful and
robust if they bad worn glasses suitably
curved. It is also true that many chil-
dren in the sixties were looked on by
School teachers as little liars when they
said they could not see diagrams on the
board, and parents were ignorant or
careless. The belief that an acquired
parental shortsightedness can be trans-
mitted is now exploded, as is the theory
that a shortsighted eye is weak or de-
generate. The modern theory has been
stated as follows: The prevalence of
shortsightedness is an instance of adap-
tation to environmental needs. Civiliza-
tion involves reading and writing the
use of the eye at short distances, not-
withstanding the fact that the eje
which we have inherited from our an-
cestors is one which is used without
effort at long range, merely containing
within it an apparatus enabling it. at
the cost of nervous and muscular effort,
to be used at short range.” Perhaps it
would be better to, have an eye which at
rest would be focussed on near objects,
but could be accommodated to se? things
afar off. This may come in time.
NEXT SEASON.
Again there is a threatened change
in men’s evening deess. Our^ old
friend, the “high clbss tailor” in
London, is even now at work on
models. The coat will be blue, with
Lapisdava Hotkowska
AS
a velvet collar and silk facings.
Trousers or knee breeches will be
optional, according to the substan-
tiality of the leg. Men whose legs
are immaterial, as Hood said of
Lamb's, will wear trousers, yet men
are very vain, and they are self-de-
eeivers even as to their legs. The
leg covering will be of black cloth.
Trousers will have two rows of braid
on the side seam. This fashion may
change the next season, and then
where shall we be? There Is talk of
gilt buttons. This reproach has
been made against the conventional
evening dress — that a “gentleman ’
Is not easily distinguished from a
waiter. The proposed dress will
make him look like a footman. And
why should not a “gentleman” look
like a waiter? We are all waiters;
we all serve some one. and the pro-
fessional is often more courteous,
tactful and honest in the act, nor is
he the only one who expects a fee.
Will the knobbed and tasselled cane
be carried next season? Canes have
their pedigree, and a well authenti-
cated one, though it be of common
malacca with plain silver top, may
easily bring £100. Ever since we
read “The Rape of the Lock” in
boyhood we could n6t thijik of a
prodigious swell without his ' “clouded
cane.”
/ I
SPEAK GENTLY.
When we were in* school we used
a singing book which contained songs
that are no longer in common use:
•‘Wild roved the Indian girl, s
clan's Serenade,” "Lulu is our dar-
ling pride,” and other masterpieces of
sentiment. A song that we all used
to roar with peculiar fervor was
-Speak gently! It Is better far." Few
carried this precept with them Into
life's struggles. Yet Miss Dottie
Gore's voice— she was a telephone gir
in Westchester— won the heart of the
son of a prosperous real estate agent
and politician. He could not resist
the appeal of her soft "Hello,
went to his heart and ear. feo they
eloped. He thoughtfully telegraphed
his fht’ner, who leaped into the air,
-angrily tore the telegram to bits,”
and” swore that he would not give son
Edward a house and lot. But wai
till Dottie uses her voice on the fathei.
See on the other hand the effect of a
harsh telephone message. Miss Rosie
Koch in New York called Mr. Kauf-
man a fool over the telephone, and he
ungallantly says she prefixed "fool
with the word which is used With
thrilling effect in “the glorious old
English comedies.” to quote from
Boston Museum playbills. They me
afterward. He said to the magistrate
that Rosie bashed him with her para-
sol and satchel and he exhibited a
crumpled collar In evidence. Rosie
and bluo and she put them in as her
exhibit. Here was no thought of
elopement, and all because the rhoral
of the old song was not a rule in dally
conduct.
HISTORICAL NOVELS.
The Master of the Rolls was obliged
to make a speech at the presentation
of prizes in an English girls’ school.
He urged the importance of reading
Judiciously chosen novels as one of
the best ways to acquire historical"
knowledge. It was perhaps natural
that he should say in the course of his
remarks: “Look at me!’’ He told the
girls that he triumphed in a scholar-
ship examination by one mark be-
cause he remembered “The Three
Musketeers.” He was thus, enabled
to answer the question: “Who was
the mother of Louis XIV.?” Many of
us have read the delightful romance,
but who was Louis’ mother? No
dcj^bt much historical information can
be learned from novels by Scott and
Dumas, even if one does not go so far
as Sir Edward Burne-Jones, who
spoke of Dickens and Thackeray as
the only English historians. He might
better have said that Fielding, Jane
Austen, Thackeray and Trollope were
the true English sociologists. When
Thackeray was at work on “The Vir-
ginians” he spent hours trying to find
out whether Gen. Wolfe wore wliite
or blue trousers. The reader of his-
tory should visualize it, but does ac-
curacy in the matter of Wolfe’s
trousers make amends for the .por-
trait of Washington in the samt
novel? Pitt declared that his knowl-
edge of English history was derived
from Shakespeare, but is not the dra-
matist’s Richard III. largely fantas-
tical, a stage bugaboo? Then there
are so many worthless "historical”
novels. Where there is one “Cloister
and the Hearth” there are a hundred
of the Muehlbach order. But there
. have been very few Charles Reades,
and the eat novelist, now neglected,
will have again his glorious day.
SAVED!
It is a close race between the Lan-
cet of London and Prof. Metchnikoff
of Paris in the endeavor to frighten
simple people who wish to move
along the line of the least digestive
resistance. The Lancet warns sol-
emnly against microbic danger in all
things eatable, drinkable, touchable.
It warns and does not at the same
time comfort. The eminent Russian
diligently at work in Paris hastens
with preservatives and remedies.
Does he find out that gray hair is
caused by the “chromophage” who
expels the coloring pigment? Run a
flatiron heated to 140 deg. Fahr.
over your hair; this will cause the
chromophage “most extreme dis-
gust.” Prof. Metchnikoff shows us
that strawberries introduce into our
systems parasites, ova and infectious
germs. Therefore strawberries
should be boiled before they are
served. Eggs are dangerous, espe-
cially when they are new laid. The
entozoa make them palatable. Drink
great quantities of sour milk daily,
and you can eat eggs fearlessly, even
after the manner of Mr. Roosevelt.
The Bulgarians live tn an extreme
old age — that is, when the Turks let
them alone — because they drink
much sour milk. Sour milk con-
tains thousands of benevolent mi-
crobes who war against the malevo-
lent; they war while you are court-
ing or in church or addressing a pal-
pitating crowd or sleeping. Inci-
dentally, the professor has given a
recipe to a firm in Paris that will
benevolently furnish you with these
kindly microbes for use in milk
for a consideration.
sA Ufl / l f
for she prefers art' fcf The temporary
success of the variety theatres.” Sup-
pose, for a moment, that this story be
true, would it not have been better
for her to have accepted the offer for
at least one season? Was it not her
duty to accept it? At present she, is
unknown, except to her immediate
friends. She need not be wholly in-
artistic in vaudeville; in fact, she
might learn many valuable lessons
that would make for her artistic fut-
ure. By refusing the offer she jeop-
ardized the comfort of her family.
She stood between art and duty. But
duty may be art.
IMPORTANT, IF TRUE.
Lord Ivor Charles, 7 years old, the
younger son of the Duchess of Marl-
borough, curled himself up in an
elevator in Sunderland House, and
when the elevator descended to the
basement he rolled out on the floor
and shocked chef, assistant cooks
and the scullions. A full report of
this important occurrence, one of in-
ternational interest, was cabled to a
New York newspaper. The Princess
Yolanda, 5 years old, and the eldest
daughter of the King of Italy, re-
cently said to her 4-year-old sister:
“Mafalda, just look at your finger
nails. They have gone into mourn-
ing.” This sparkling play of fancy
was telegraphed from Rome to the
Pall Mall Gazette. Thirty and forty
years ago there was a famous re-
ceptacle for such stories: the Edi-
tor’s Drawer of Harper’s. But-the
newspapers have changed the policy
of magazines and usurped some of
their privileges.
(j
ART AN D DUTY.
The passionate press agent of a
young fiddler in New York tells a
pathetic story: “Only last week x a
well known vaudeville manager of-
fered to book her forty-two weeks
at a salary of $200 a week, but she
declined his proposition, although she
is the sole support of an invalid
father, mother and younger sisters.
ON COLONELS.
Note the dramatic opening of this
story cabled to the United States:
“A ragged, wild-haired Russian ar-
rived at Lyons the other day. He
I had two grips, his only baggage.”
Is not this enough to excite curiosity,
to lure the reader on? But now see
the great gulf fixed between Euro-
pean and American life: “He elicited
suspicion at his hotel by calling him-
self a ‘colonel,’ a rank which was
not well supported by the condition
of his collar and his general shabbi-
ness.” Does the collar make the
“colonel”? Are there no “colonels”
under a temporary cloud, but shabby
only in the eyes of the superficial ob-
server? We hear voices both indig-
nant and pathetic from life-saving
stations in cities and groceries North
and South. Kentucky is not the only
state of gallant men who have served
outside the army. Even under a
prohibition sky the proudest collar
may wilt and soon be ready for the
ash heap.
IGNORANT PREJUDICE.
It surely was in execrable taste for
a tailors’ journal in London to com-
ment on Mr. Bryan’s frock coat as
“heavy and shapeless.” Mr. Bryan
was a visitor, an untitled, free and
roving ambassador to all parts of the
earth, and he should have ambassa-
dorial privileges. Furthermore, the
attack shows a painful ignorance of
American life. A heavy and shape-
I less frock is the distinguishing coat
1 of a western statesman. Would an
English tailor have a man like Mr.
Bryan necessarily flippant in a bob,
a sack, a Seymour? The “sombre-
ness” of the frock was “quite hurtful,
and even offensive, to the English
tailor’s taste.” Mr. Bryan is a deep
thinker, and deep thinkers are som-
bre. It’s their business to be som-
bre.' The tailors’ journal hinted at
something of English design and
manufacture, something in gray, but
with the coat a frock. Does it think
for a moment that Mr. Bryan would
venture to show himself in Lincoln
dressed in an English suit? He is
jnot a gaudy goldbug.
- — __
THE LUDWIGS.
So Duke Ludwig of Bavaria, now
75 years old, wishes to contract a
third morganatic marriage. His sec-
ond wife, now living, is only 3 5, but
she is too old. The duke is now in
love with a young singer at the Mu-
nich Opera House, and, as he is a
I proper man, like Werther in Thack-
eray's immortal ballad, there must
be a divorce and then a marriage.
The Wittelsbach Ludwigs have not
been fortunate with women. Ludwig
the Strong, in the fifteenth century,
suspecting his wife’s fidelity, pitched
1 the lady-in-waiting out of a window
| and sent the wife to t he scaffold.
Lola Montez played the mischief
with Ludwig I., and Sophie Char-
lotte, who, as the Duchess d’Aleneon,
was burned in the bazaar fire at
Paris, might have made Ludwig II.
reasonably happy, if for some reason
— several were widespread in Mu-
nich — he had not broken the be-
trothal. And now the old duke is
hunting trouble. Of course, if the
young singer does not become Lud-
wig’s wife, she will come to either
the Metropolitan or the Manhattan
Opera House. We see Messrs. Con-
ried and Hammerstein bidding for
her. But the New York public may
not be so musically easy as the duke.
IN THE BARN.
Dr. Johnson of Glen Ellyn, 111., is,
like Ulysses, a much enduring man.
Eight years ago his dearly beloved
spouse Ida eloped with his coach-
man. He obtained a divorce from
her, but she was soon at home and
threatened to kill herself unless he
remarried her. He did not wish to
be disobliging, and he did not relish
the inevitable mess, so there was an-
other ceremony. The coachman re-
appeared, and for six months the
doctor has been sleeping in the barn.
Once or twice he said he was tired
of the hay and would like to live in
his own house, but the coachman,
who seems to be a particular person,
threatened to shoot him. “I can
stand it no longer,” now cries the
doctor. It would seem to the fair-
minded that if the coachman insists
on living with the physician and his
wife he should sleep, ex officio, in
the barn. Many years ago an Eng-
lish woman who married a coach-
man against the wishes of her fam-
ily settled in a Maine town. She was
a handsome woman of considerable
force; she used vigorous language
and smoked a clay pipe— at least
such is the tradition in the family.
She never allowed her husband in
his own house, but she made him
comfortable in the barn until he
died. Occasionally, she would take
dinner or supper with him— but in
the barn. The children played with
him— but in the barn. Dr. Johnson
should cite this case to his wife and
her friend.
THE GALAPAGOS.
The story of the proposed sale of
the Galapagos Islands to the United
States is not new in this country,
however surprising the tale may be
in Ecuador. When the rumor was
published two or three years ago.
The Herald gave a description of the
islands, the Encantadas, or En-
chanted Isles. Herman Melville’s
account of them, first published in
the old Putnam’s Magazine, still
works a strange spell over the
reader. It was Melville that com-
l pared the islands to “five-and-twenty
heaps of cinders dumped here and
there in an outside city lot; imagine
some of them magnified into moun-
tains, and the vacant lot the sea ”
Yet two or three of these cinder
heaps have seen strange sights since
Cowley the buccaneer named one of
them with his own name. But why
should the United States pay $5,000,-
000 for these volcanic isles? For
the tortoises, the wild dogs, the sul-
phur, or possibly for the hidden
| treasure which led Maj. Maude to
sail from Coquimbo two years ago in
his yacht, the Chevalier, with two
j guns and 100 rifles? Oh, no. “The
islands are of strategic importance.”
Mr. Dooley should be summoned as j
an expert.
Lea L I ‘f 0 L>
JOHN L. TOOLE.
The late John L. Toole visited this
country over thirty years ago, when
it was n jit the fashion to wax enthu-
siastic'over everything English. His
engpgemem was a disappointment to
him? and his English friends, for even
the; most unprejudiced American
fouhd his humor hard and his art in-
herently vulgar, and he wondered at
the' actor's popularity in London.
Tocfle was, first of all, a character
actor, and the characters in which
he won his reputation at home were
chiefly and distinctively London
types, unknown, to Americans and
incomprehensible to them, so that
perhaps they were not qualified to
appreciate his talent. For he must
have had true talent to have won
thej favor of both skilled English
critics and the public. The types he
delighted in were parochial, not uni-
veifeal, and he was a broad carica-
turist rather than a subtle portrait
paijhter.
CHURCH IN ELVVOOD.
! There is pleasing religious news
from the West. The Men’s League,
composed of 300 “business men and
yoqng men” of Elwood, Ind., resolved
in Solemn congress that during Au-
gust the members would attend morn-
ing and evening church services in
thjir shirt sleeves. They will not
evjn carry a coat thrown over the
anji, or a waistcoat in a green bag.
They have no east wind in Elwood,
or perhaps they are a hardy race.
Nothing is said about the question of
suspenders or belts. Aestheticism
cries for the belt. A man looks sin-
gularly undressed with moist sus-
penders over a bulging soggy shirt.
Tlte shirt for church service should
ofj course be of the kind known as
"fatigue,” and the colors and patterns
shbuld be chaste; besides the shirts
wi|h simple black and white designs
wash and wear best. Pictorial shirts
representing baseball players or bai-
led girls do not commend themselves
I to Jpersons of fine taste. Some years
agp a popular clergyman out West
preached in his shirt sleeves, not at
calnpmeeting, but in the pulpit, and
thjjs won souls and showed all the
erfor of their ways. How will it be
at? Elwood? Will the preacher be
coatless or will he be permitted to
wear a Monna Vanna gown?
AN EPISODE.
No one should be surprised if it
turns out that Lafcadio Hgdrn mar-
ried a negress in Cincinnati. Hearn
was unfortunate in this: his face was
singularly repulsive by reason of the
abnormality of an eye— he saw only
w'fth this, and he was in other re-
spects physically unattractive, so that
hejsettled in Japan, it is said, because
there for 1 the first time he was not
mide conscious of the fact that he
was not as other men. Furthermore,
the negress, Mrs. Foley, was hand-
some 30 years ago, a woman of in-
disputable fascination, according to
the testimony of those who knew her.
It is not necessary to assume that
she had just landed from near the
Congo river. She may have been
only a rich brunette, but even if she
were of the Congo type, no doubt her
friends and the passer-by wondered
hqw she could endure the presence
oft Hearn. Baudelaire’s tenderness
arid loyalty toward a negress is his-
torical, but she was wholly unwor-
thy. She was a drunkard, unfaithful,
avaricious, stupid. Yet the poet loved
her, and she was the inspiration of
some of his most remarkable verses.
Hearn had much more excuse, and
if he married Mrs. Foley he paid her
the greatest compliment in his power.
TOO LATE.
It is said that Mr. Frohman rests
fojjn' months, even when he is osten-
sibly. at work in London, for a Lon-
doner does his business between 11
Af M. and 3 P. M. Not long ago
Mir. George R. Sims warned his fel-
low-countrymen that they were suf-
fering commercially from their habit
of beginning the working day too
late. He said that Germany is at
business at i, Paris at 8, whereas in
London it is difficult to find a prin-
cipal before 10:30. Professional
men in London are much earlier in
their habits than business men. Doc-
torS and lawyers are generally ready
abqut 9. and authors and journalists
are. both late and early birds. They
hold their, own, said Mr. simc- is
the business man who has begun to
starL work too late and leave it off
too earlv, and has thus played into
the hands of his early- rising and
hard-working continental rivals. It
may here be said that business hours
are earlier in Boston than in New
York, but as more and more dwell at
a distance from the city, the hours
of beginning may grow later. In
hot weather the euriier the better,
and there should be a long rest in
the middle of the day. It might not
be practicable to follow the example
of those in the old Arabian town
who in the most sultry days kept
open market only at night.
IRRITATING MILDNESS.
Mr. S. T. Jennings of Geneseo, N.
Y.i has been playing the flute with
great diligence and some skill in his
office, onq of many in a block where
lawyers, real estate agents and insur-
ance agents do congregate. His
ethereal tooting and tootling are un-
appreciated, for his neighbors have
obtained an injunction against him.
and in it his musical enthusiasm is
described as "a public nuisance” and
“obnoxious.” They do not like to
hear “Will You Love Me When I’m
Old?” ai^d "Should Auld Acquaintance
Be Forgot?” when they are en-
grossed in '’sordid speculation or in
problems of litigation. Pan would
be more welcome in Mall street, at
least he was to New York’s banker-
poet. It must be confessed that, in
spite' of the associations with Fred-
erick the Great and Mr. Dick Swlv-
eller. the flute is a singularly irritat-
ing instrument, chiefly by reason of
its insistent mildness. The cornet-a-
pistons has an impudence, a devil-
may-care defiancethat almost winsre-
spectj A trombone is pontifical. The
flute is monotonously sentimental,
and nothing is so distracting in busi-
ness hours as sentiment blown
through a waterlogged instrument
by a mild-mannered person, with or
without spectacles and lavender
necktie.
chesi is an extraordinary woman. She
is now SO years old, nevertheless she
teaches singing, busies herself in the
interests of her pupils, and will even
cross the channel to attend a con-
cert given by one of them, as she did
recentlv. German born. Ior .
maiden' name was Graumann, and her
hirthDlace was Frankfort, sne n,a
true German persistence in repeating
disagreeable statements. , freely
A few days ago she tf lk « d ;Ef® a l |
with a reporter about American
nuD ji s their voices, their mental
equipment, their manners or lack « f
manners The quality of these Amer-
ican voices is admirable, but their
musical education has been shocK
ingly neglected” in their childhood
^"They ' haven’t the most .?lfJT eI i Iftle
conception of art and those little
graces and courtesies which bespeak
I careful training and are so indis-
pensable to an operatic career Their
parents spoiled them by giving them
an injudicious freedom. TW "
from one study to another without
retaining much lasting benefit
any Then when they have spent
vears filling their brains with a showy
surface knowledge of many subjects
they come abroad, only to discover
that they know practically
languages, or art and music. This,
Mme. Marches! says, is true not onlj
of her pupils, but of nearly all the
young women from the United States
that she has seen. The American
young woman hajs none of those m
tie social niceties which are ingra, I\te
in the European. She does not rise
when an older woman comes into the
room; she seldom even °« p J s hPI ®;
chair; she does not know how to enter
a room gracefully; she ca nn°t ma . e
the slightest courtesy; , she y all ? a
foolishly; in a word, she 13 n n n ^ tu hP in
awkward and she has not been
trained.
A NEW BOSWELL.
“I am confident that there is more
good than bad in the world, and I am
full of the joy of living. I believe in
men. Do that and the world is bound
to seem a good world to you.” And )
who spoke these words more precious
than the ointment that ran down upon
the beard, even Aaron's heard? Who
but Mr. John D. Rockefeller? His whole
life in France, as Dr. Biggar assures
us, was a benediction. He went about
scattering five-franc pieces — or were they
louis? — among the simple peasants, and
he himself was “discovered” on a formal
occasion bringing home a basket of
greens from market, just as the judge in
a New England town forty years ago
would take home a salt cod in a piece
of brown wrapping paper under his arm.
Mr. Rockefeller loves Fiance, but he
loves America more. Hear him : "Yes,
all the hard things that my country-
men say of me can never be cruel
enough to offset love of home and coun-
I try.” But Mr. Rockefeller in France
mingled also with the upper classes, and
found them “charming.” The women
have “a vivacity not found in women
I here.” Sly dog! But-Aheir feet dis-
tressed Mr. Rockefeller and his physi-
I cian. They were the first to discover
that the French women are not well
shod. The extracts from Dr. Bifgar's
reminiscences make us long for bis forth-
coming biography. Johnson had his
Boswell ; Grant his Badeau ; Bismarck
his voluminous admirer, and now Mr.
Rockefeller hns his Biggar.
CONCERT FOYER
Mme. Marches! has been talking
this way for over 20 years. We re-
remember that she spoke in exactly
the same words in 1883, when she
numbered among her pupils Mme.
Melba, then Mrs. Armstrong; Miss
Rose Stewart, now living and teach-
ing in Boston, and Mme. Emma
Eames, who was then unmarried.
Mme. Marchesi was never so happy as
when ridiculing the manners of her
American pupils, their mothers
their friends, even when the puDtls
were paying a high price for lessons,
and mothers and friends were there-
fore makin- personal sacrifices. No
doubt Mme. Marchesi talked in like
manner of American women before
she knew them, before she became a
fashionable teacher in Paris. She has
always had a lively tongue
She insists that a girl who Intends
to be an opera singer should begin
studying the piano when she is eight
years old. Of course, few girls of
eight vears have any definite thought
as to "their future. And how do the
parents know whether a child of eight
will have a voice? This girl should
also "practice continually composition,
sight reading and beating time from
the day she can find any meaning in
them. But she should not "take up
singing" before she is 16.
And here Mme. Marchesi talks in a
sane manner for a few minutes: What
the American girl frequently does is to
start cultivating her voice when she is
young, and then she changes teachers
each year, as if they were rungs on the
ladder of fame. This Is a grave mis-
take. but quite, in keeping with the su-
perficial transatlantic way of studying.
Thev come to me, their voices patch-
pupils. How few were the young wom-
en Who bore themselves with any ease
or dignity, who walked, stood, bowed
with grace or composure! We remem-
ber only one who was really at home
on the platform, and she had been for
a season or two seasons in a comic
opera company.
As for the general behavior of Ameri-
can pupil's toward older women. Mme.
Marchesl’s remarks are of general ap-
plication to young women who are con-
spicuous In society. A gentlewoman of
the old school, one of the Brahmin cast
in Boston deplored bitterly not long ago
the shocking lack of manners among
young girls who should he otherwise
distinguished "It seems to be the fash-
ion now for ypung women to be rude,
especially to those that are older.” But
this Is a sociological rather than a
musical subject. , ,
Mme. Marchesi’s remarks about her
pupils who come to her after flitting
from one study to another may be true
of "parlor pupils.” who have not been
brought up with a view to a profes-
sional career, but the ordinary pupil
who looks forward to an operatic life
has studied little but singing, and pos-
sibly the piano. As a rule she has at-
tended the public schools up to a cer-
tain grade, then she has been obliged
in large measure to support herself, by
singing in church, or in concerts of a
humble order, or by work in an office
or in a shop. She has seldom had time
to read or for general improvement.
Not infrequently she lives In a cramped
and disheartening manner, denying her-
self little comforts, pinching and saving
that she may finally go to some cele-
brated European teacher for further
instruction. This girl does not deserve
ridicule even from the self-privileged
mouth of Mme. Marchesi.
jjeyer-Foerster’s play, "Old Heidel-
berg." has been turned into an opera,
"O Eidelbergla Mia," with music by
Ubaldo Paechterotti. There is an op-
eretta. "Old Heidelberg,” with music
by Mllloecker.
A singer. Ugo Africano, in speti of
his denials, was condemned in Milan
not long- ago to 40 days in jail for
theft Sailing with an opera company
from Naples to Palermo, he threw ntm-
self overboard and was drowned. It
is thought that some one taunted him
with his unmerited or merited dis-
Sr A Ce iawyer In Brussels, Mr. Durant
organized and conducted an orch 1 ®* t T^{
concert. Furthermore, ^ brought out
his own symphonic poem. ^ Amo
Maudit." in which a critic, found the
rhTef themes of The Rin&. .
Mrs. Antoinette Arntzen has mi _ent-
ed a method of " in ® re . as i" g H J 1 , l e J £
nanc#* of the voice by inserting
Snde? the roof of the mouth.” perhaps
wHh a view to the Festhalle to be
built in Frankfort. The hall
25,000 seats; there will be ro< the
4000 on the stage, and the cost of ,th
building will be about $ ^• 000 ' 0 e ° e 0 ( j s
ordinary German singer needs
'" ° a" v i o ll n i s t F n a m ed D 0 r ‘ t 'll e”
Madras’ “of high caste , Ga T mk H la *1®
daller parents played In London for
the Referee to observe. To be sen
taught is commonly mentioned as a
proof of being rarely of
of fart it is more indicative oi
n ]nvq thr violin as he would a ceiio.
gripping its low f r edges bewee^ h.s
poser was the nephew of a famous Mu- I
n Mr b August Spanuth, the music critic
of the Staats Zeitung. New \ork, has
moved to Berlin. He gave Mme. Nord-
ica a parting shot in his review of the
New York opera season published In the
Silnale of Leinsic. According to him
.La 5 c “firrowing old and her voice has
fost in strength and fulness.” When her
voice was most brilliant she never made
a convincing argument to the lover of
Wagner who listened with more than
his ears, for she lacked dramatic emo-
tion and the intelligence that conquers.
"Now that her voice, her best posses-
sion. is leaving her. there is H\tle left
to admire in her performance except
good intentions.”
Friedrich SDlro. the Roman corre-
spondent of the Signale, says that Ital-
ians do not know how to interpret a
northern dance. They do not under-
stand that in the polonaises of Chopin
there should be a stately, rhythmic feel-
ing. This was said apropos of a, per-
formance in Rome of the finale of
Tschaikowsky’s well known orchestral
variations in Suite III-
Massenet, now in his 6oth year, is at
work on an opera. “Therese. which will
be performed at Monte Carlo next Feb-
ruary. His new opera "Arlane ’ will be
produced at the Paris Opera about Nov.
1 with Lucienne Breva as the heroine.
'Glazounoff wrote a hymn for chorus
and orchestra, which was performed at
the opening of the Douma. There was
no music for the dissolution. That music
I Is yet to come.
PRUDENT DEFEATS.
“Mr. Rockefeller beat his doctor free-
ly at golf while they were abroad.” Of
course he did. The physician thorough-
ly understood bis business. Grevy used
to play chess with the sacristan of St.
rhilippe du Route, and as President of
the French republic he continued to
play with him ; but what was his sur-
prise to find that as President he al-
ways beat the sacristan, while as pri-
vate citizen he invariably lost. One
day the sacristan applied for a little
; patronage. Grevy exclaimed: “Check-
mate!” and the sacristan got nothing.
The physician is said to be more for-
tunate.
i 7.r»c
! b')}
Mme.Marchesi s Harsh Words
on American Pupils and
Their Manners.
NOTES OF MUSICIANS
HERE AND IN EUROPE
Mme. Uathilde de Castrone-Mar-
Th ey'comT'to* me ,th e i r" v o ic e s pate h - hope^ to aa e some day a
work of several different methods, and -^euist varying the . Ibonotony of r | g
rely on me to straighten them out in a cltal by holding his instrum
few months. Now a girl must remain though it were a fiddle.
d...o —
as . ....... ....... .r ... T
Marchesi’s most distinguished pupils woman , and she showed true
had been well taught before they went some worn, . ,
to her for the finishing touch, or for
the name of it, or to secure her in-
fluence in' obtaining an operatic en-
gagement. Mme. Marchesi said to the
reporter: “I never had but one profes- ,
sor, and that was Manuel Garcia.” but |
did she not study tn Vienna with Nico-
lai before she went to Garcia .
It should also be said that Mme.
Marchesi has been most fortunate in
this; not only had several of her most
distinguished pupils been well taught
before they went to her. but they had
by nature remarkable voices. If she
had taught them only the little social
niceties” and taken with true profes-
sorial dignity their money, they still
would have been to her a credit.
Unfortunately for American pride,
Mme. Marchesl’s ridicule of the man-
ners of her American pupils when they
come to her is not without cause. They
are as a rule self-conscious and awk-
ward or fresh and thoughtless.
This may also be said of nearly all
American young singers, and of many
who are older; for. of course there are
no old sopranos or altos. How many
I voung women who appeared In concert
last season in Boston saluted the aud -
once with graceful dignity, or acknowl-
edged applause with any grace? The
great majority nodded carelessly when
thev came on the stage, or if they saw
a friend sitting near smiled at her.
Some came on swinging their arms as
though they were walking across fields.
Some gave an unconscious imitation of
Miss Lewis as the "tough girl.
It may also be said that certain fe-
male pianists were singularly ungrace-
ful in their entrance. Mme. Samaron.
who fascinates easily by her personal-
ity and her abilities as a pianist, was
surprisingly awkward in this re ®P e ®;t.
“surprisingly,” because she was reared
in France.
It is a pity that teachers in Boston do
not pay more attention to the stage de-
portment of their pupils. We were
( obliged last season in the discharge of
duty to attend three or four concerts
and a few operatic exhibitions given by
some v
sSSs *• sk
0r The 0 London corrMMHdent ■ of Die Mu-
HiSfiii
register, but her |r be posse ssed
i a They® have n muelc worth hearing in
) Livingston If the Enterprise is, ^In-
fluenced by Gateway City band
music was felt and appre^ some
asleep in loving arms.
Gen. Adolf de Ahna, the fatl )f''' m ' la ^
of Richard Strauss, is dead. They say
he showed his fiery nature when _ Rich
ard proposed for the hand of his daugh-
ter even though the then young com-
merry monakchs.
" ft ne likes to think of Alfonso of Spain
g&Thg about among bis people as any
private, careless man. taking his wife
to a pastry cook’s for tea and cakes,
.driving in a public cab, disporting him-
self gay and crownless. A king should
■ have some privileges and perquisites,
and the greatest of these is privacy in
ithe crowd. The splendid Calif Harun
iaWRaSChld, disguised and watching,
ijipjcb amused, in the wondrous tale the
fextraordinary aquatic and festal pomp
Fo'f the false calif lording it on the river,
was by far the happier. Then there
was the Peruvian ruler in “La Peri-
cbole,” who acted Harun’s part, but
only to try the temper of his people, and
ire - was deservedly punished. If it be
'■said that this ruler — was he a vice-
jo*.? — i s purely an opera bouffe char-
ajfer, it might also be said that the Em-
T'erbr William in one of his gregarious
moods is also opera boulfe. Never is he
’’’less democratic than when he puts
aside his crown as a head covering.
Nero, disguised by cap or wig, would
enter taverns and ramble about the
streets in sport, but he was on mischief
bent, for he would break into shops and
them, and beat his subjects, who, if ,
i?lify in ignorance resisted him, were |
thrown into the common sewer. Never-
theless, he, too, reckoned himself an af-
fable and merry monarch.
BENEVOLENT FOG.
There is complaint against the
weather all along the coast. On Cape
Cod the oldest captain does not re-
member as man and boy ever to have
seen so much and so long continued
fog. When it is not foggy, the sky is
cloudy. The sun may shine from II
till 4, but he rises as though he re-
sented the presence of visitors and
he goes to bed with the utmost
privacy. Neither men nor women
should rail bitterly against the
weather. Fog encourages concentra-
tion of thought. Deep thinkers think
in fog which often gets into the ex-
pression of their thought. Fog is
restful unless you happen to be out in
a boat, and why should one without
an Imperative business call lea»e
land, to which he belongs, for he is
terrestrial, not aquatic. Fog lowers
the vibrations and thus rests the |
nerves. Fog is the best and sarfesc
face-wash for women. Nor Is this
fog anything like the pea soup of
London, that looks and feels and
smells unclean, yet the English boast
of it.
NIIIIL FIT.
Poor Napoleon! They will not let
him alone. He must endure the fate
of so many men who accomplished
much. Specialists have examined
their lives and deeds and used the
great to confirm a theory or as shock-
ing examples. All famous men, it
seems, were either mad or epileptic,
neurotic or troubled as to their eyes,
and some would have them all de-
generates, or at least with the in-
stincts of a pervert. Dr. Cabanes, the
author of three or four curious and
entertaining volumes, "The Indiscre-
tions of History,’ discusses the ques-
tion whether Napoleon was an epi-
leptic. The conqueror whittled pieces
of furniture, pinched the ears of
ladles to whom he whispered compli-
ments, suffered from "unilateral
headache," was irritable and had a
slow pulse. But no one ever saw him
in a fit. On the contrary, the generals
of France's foes were in the habit of
having fits when they heard of his
terrible approach. It may be that
Napoleon lost the battle of Leipsic
because he ha^l eaten too heartily of
mutton and could not concentrate
his mind. Was it, then, his alleged
epileptic condition that won so .many
battles?
miliar with arf article oT' clothing
known as "drawers.” In Artemus
Ward's thrilling short story, the hero,
about to Join a pirate ship, Insisted
on board and washing, and he ex-
plained that the fatter consisted
every week of "a shirt and a drawer."
But "drawers” Is the word in com-
mon use. Reading the other day Dek-
ker's "Lanthorne and Candle Light,”
published in 1608, we found in it a
short dictionary of slang. “Drawers"
is there given as the cant term fori
“hosen.” Now hosen, or hose, was
the name of a tight nether garment!
worn by men, and only later was it
applied to stockings. Slang is only
language in the making; that which
is fit survives and is Incorporated.,
Booze, that fine old Egyptlan-Ara-
blan term, is in this dictionary, but
it is spelled “bowse.” “Dudes” is also
there, and Dekker gives it as a syno
nym of clothes. Did our “dude” come
from "dudes,” and is It of close kin
to “duds”? In this dictionary are one
or two coarse words that are still
found in the slang of today.
CRITICAL REVIEW BY
A FAIR BIOGRAPHER
Early Experiments; Inferior
Music for the Church;
Renovation of Form,
NOT YET.
The heads of the Natural History
Museum in England have requested
the director, Prof. Lanlcester, to re-
sign on account of his age.^He is 59
years old, "robust and active and
does not look his age." He refuses to
resign, for he believes that he has
many more years of usefulness as di-
rector. Nor is he tempted by a pen-
sion of £300, for his salary is £ 1200.
Fifty-nine and too old? Nonsense,
he’s in the flush of mental activity
and physically able to hold the eel
of science by the tail. It is not neces-
sary to name the men that did famous
deeds after 60, from Sophocles to
Verdi. The mere fact that Prof. Lan-
kester is aggressive in his refusal is a
cheering sign. Too many men in pub-
lic or private employ begin to shake
in their shoes as soon as they are 45;
some even dye their hair and whis-
kers or shave close, or attempt in
other ways a youthful make-up. A
bold front impresses even the young
Napoleons of finance and business.
There’s nothing so terrible as a mid-'
die-aged man at bay, especially when
he is fighting for his family and Is
suspicious that after all it may be
true— he may really be a fossil, or
"all In.”
TEARS, IDLE TEARS.
A contemporary thinks that “the
decline of weeping” has much to do
with the "present ebullient and
storm-tossed condition” of woman's
soul. If she should weep freely, she
would be docile and satisfied, ac-
quiescent and domestic. "Not to weep
is to practice self-control. Self-con-
trol Is the progenitor of many virtues
of character." And so one might go
on, starting afresh with "character.”
Women do not weep constantly in
the novels of today. The heroines are
always chipper when they are not
wholly fresh. They grit their teeth
and smile. What has become of all
the old sentimental novels in which
Laura was represented on two pages
out of three as “suffused in tears”?
The German women in fiction and
poetry are always snivelling. Mr. Job
Trotter was a covered bridge in com-
parison. The French still weep copi-
ously in fiction, especially the hero,
who, whether he is pursuing his
friend s wife or is wondering how he
can get rid of her, is always burst-
ing into a passionate flood of tears.
But in English and American novels
this epoch is tearless.
OLD SLANG.
They reckon ill who leave slang
out in their consideration of a lan-
guage. We are all more or less fa-
NO TRESPASSING.
Everywhere, along shore and in
mountain region, is the same cry
"The rich are grabbing all the land.’
Thoreau, in his essay, “Walking,’
one of the three delightful essays on
this subject — the others are by Haz-
1 it t and Stevenson, Walt Whitman’s
“Song of the Open Road” should be
added — spoke of his being able to
walk easily any number of miles,
starting from his own door, without
going by any house or crossing a
road, "except where the fox and the
mink do.” That was in 1S62. But
he foresaw the evil days to come, the
day when the landscape "will be
partitioned off Into so-called pleas-
ure grounds, in which a few will
take a narrow and exclusive pleasure
only — when fences shall be multi-
plied and man traps and other en-
gines invented to confine men to the
public road, and walking over the
surface of God’s earth shall be con-
strued to mean trespassing on some
gentleman's grounds. To enjoy a
thing exclusively is commonly to ex-
clude yourself from the true enjoy-
ment of it. ' Mr. E. S. Martin lately
praised the sea, for the rich, he said,
can deprive us of land, air and light,
but not of the full enjoyment of the
ocean. Yet a woman at Boulogne
who took two buckets of salt water
from the sea was a fortnight ago
threatened with a fine, for an unre-
pealed law of Louis XIV. forbids
the taking of sea water, lest the
taker extract the salt and defraud
the revenue of the salt tax. And
there ^re seaside towns where the
rich cottagers would fain shut off
even any close view of the ocean
from the public. Witness certain
incidents at Newport. R. I.
SEMICOLONS.
The Atlantic Monthly discusses
certain punctuation t points. “The
semicolon has nowadays a much
closer relation with the comma than
with the colon. In the days of the
scribes it shared with the colon a
function now confined to the period,
viz., of denoting a terminal abbre-
viation." It is all very well for a
writer to be fastidious in the matter
of punctuation, but let him discrimi-
nate nicely between semicolon and
comma, between colon and semi-
colon, and what proflteth it him?
Punctuation in the great bulk of
printed matter is determined by the
compositor; in certain publishing
houses that pride themselves upon
"artistic work” by a learned proof-
reader who knows something about
five or six languages and has a
pathetic confidence in books of rhet-
oric. The average printer has a prej-
udice against semicolons and colons.
A comma is always good enough for
him, and the tendency today is . to
leave out commas whenever It is pos-
sible. How the famous sentence of
two pages in which Hazlitt sums up
Coleridge's career — the most remark-
able long sentence in English both
for brilliance of thought and manner
of expression — would perplex and ir-
ritate any proofreader of today! But
change Hazlitt’s punctuation and the j
sentence loses charm and force.
| Mr. Vincent d’lndy is not one of
those biographers who are idolators.
Examining the complete works of Cesar
Franck he does not believe in their
plenary inspiration. Nor does he think
it treasonable to say that although
there are certain interesting features in
the early works of Franck there is little
in them to foretell the great composi-
tions of his third and last period.
The first epoch of Franck’s produc-
tiveness (1841-1858) Included four piano
trios. piano pieces, songs, the oratorio
"Ruth” and an opera in three acts,
which was never performed and, ac-
cording to Franck's own wish, it has
not been published. There are traces of
both Beethoven and Meyerbeer in the
trios; of Liszt in the piano pieces; of
Franck’s favorite French composers of
the 18th century and of Mehul in the
songs. No doubt the majority of the
piano pieces were Dot-boilers, foi
to Franck's futher the temple of art
was at tlie end of an avenue of prosper-
ous business. Some of the songs writ-
ten in 1842-3 are known to us; “L'Emir
de Bengador,” which was sung in Bos-
ton by Mr. Gardner Lamson, the first
time that Franck’s name appeared here
on the programme of a public concert-
“Robin Gray’’ with Florlan's words;
and is not “Passeztou jours.” which Mr.
d’lndy dates 1872, a song of the earlier
epoch? Of these early songs only
“L'Ange et i’enfant," “the first of
Franck’s angelic expressions.” reminds
one of the higher qualities of the com-
poser.
The piano pieces are all cast in the
same mold, and they are monotonous
by reason of an absence of modulation.
“Ruth,” which has not been per-
formed in Boston, is melodlcally fresh
and ingenuous, though the melodic vein
often reminds one of Mehul and the in-
fluence of Meyerbeer may also be de-
tected. Mr. d’lndy points out a curious
and striking resemblence between the
motive of Boaz's tenderness written by
Franck in 1843 and that of Des Grieujfs
passion for Manon, written by Massenet
40 years after. The motives are almost
identically the same. The embarrass-
ment, the timidity, the monotony that
characterize nearly all the early works
of Franck are also found in “Ruth ”
There is almost nothing in these early
works to foreshadow Franck's quintet
violin sonata, quartet, portions of “The
Beatitudes” and "Psyche." Yet the
piano trios deserve a special note, and
not merely because Liszt and Von
jBuelow were struck by certain novel
methods of expression in them. Readers
of the latter’s correspondence, will re-
member several allusions to the trios
and although Mr. d’lndy does not men-
tion these letters he quotes from D
Mason s "Memories of a Musical Life.”
in which Mason, a pupil of Liszt, noted
m his journal of 1853 performances of
two of Franck’s trios by Liszt, Lank
and Cossmann.
Renovation of Form.
Mr. d’lndy says that Franck’s thought
was constantly nourished by tradition
and was not the slave of conventional-
ism. Mr. Paul Dukas finds that the
classicism of Franck does not consist
in purify of form. “It is not merely a
more or less sterile filling of scholastic
frames, such as the imitation of Bee-
thoven has suggested by the hundred,
later the imitation of Mendelssohn, a
yearly product, due to the respect for
lutue traditions.” The music of Franck
is not beautiful by reason of reproduc-
tion of the form of the sonata and the
symphony. Because Franck’s thought
was classic, it found its natural, inevit-
able expression in the classic form; not
because there was obedience to a pre-
conceived theory, not because reaction-
ary dogmatism subordinated thought to
torm. “Productions of this kind, like
unto organisms in which the function
creates the organ, are as different from
the majority of the planned works of
the neo-classics as a living body from
o wax anatomical figure."
Mr. d'Indy quotes Mr. Dukas at some
length ana approvingly. He himself
points out that Beethoven in his later
works, written from 1815 to 1827, showed
the path to others on which he himself
hardly entered, oeethoven indicated,
perhaps unconsciously, the transforma-
tion or the renovation of the sonata
form which had been imposed on all
composers by virtue of its harmonic
logic ever since the 17th century. He
added to this form two other forms that
till then had been essentially separate.
One of them was the fugue, which had
m Bach's time a moment of ineffable
grandeur— and it may be said that com-
posers for a period of years thought in
fugue torm; f lie other was the “grand
j variation," which should not be con-
founded with the “theme and variations"
dear to so many later composers and
f hearers. These torms were languishing
when Beethoven revived them, as in the
piano sonatas, op. 106 and HO and the
quartets op. 127, 131. 132.
Beethoven died, and no one saw the
inestimable worth of the new’ form in
Italy. France or Germany. Italy with
its splendid 16th century was in the
course of a glittering degeneracy
France was under the influence of
Meyerbeer, and there was no orches-
tral music worthy of mention save
that of Berlioz, which was far re-
moved in thought and expression from
that of Beethoven. “Neither the ele-
gant symphonies of Mendelssohn nor
those of Spohr brought a new element
to the ancient form. Schubert and
Schumann, true geniuses In the song
or ill tile piano piece of small dimen-
sions were ill at ease in tile sonata
(O'- the symphony, perhaps beeause
they did not know enough of that
which Spohr and Mendelssohn know
too much. Brahms himself, in spite
of a sense of development which can
without exaggeration be likened unto
ttiat of Beethoven, did not know how
to take advantage of the precious in-
formation left by the master of Bonn
for the future, and his mass of sym-
phonic work ran be regarded only
as a continuation, not a progress.”
It was toward the end of 1341 that
Lesar Iranck, then 19 years old. "took
up the thread of the Beethovian dis-
course and attempted to knot it to his
own thoughts and to make with it a
solid band of new musical forms and
expressions.’ But how did lie con-
ceive the idea of establishing in his
first piano trio an Important work on
the base of a single theme competing
with other motives equally recalled i
in the course of the work, and of I
! creating a musical cycle? This will
remain, a mystery. Liszt, according to I
Mr. d Indy, hafi a glimpse of this i
torm but he never succeeded in the
perfect presentation of it. This trio
v.-itn cw , generative rhemes, treated
either in fugal manner or after the
manner of the variation, as the later
Beethoven conceived It, was, indeed
the source of the synthetic symphonic
school which arose in France toward
the end of the 19th century.
Second Period.
The second period (1858-1872) was
one almost wholly of music for the
church. The charming songs "Le
Mariage des Roses" and “Lied” were
however of this period, which reached
| its climax in the oratorio, “The Re-
1 demption.”
Mr. d’lndy does not rank Franck
among the greatest, or even the great,
composers of music truly suitable for
church service. He makes, first of all I
the bold statement that the origin of I
music, as that of other arts, was in re-
llgion. The first song was a prayer ’’
j This may well be disputed. “To praise
God. to celebrate religious beauty lov
and even terror, was the sole object of
all arLstic works for nearly 800 years.
hds * be ar ^ s I s then expressed life
tlmi t « 1S inco Sa ?’ man .’ s thoughts and emo-
tions, love, hope, joy and sorrow, in a
manner, it may be said in passing far
more profound and true than those Who
under pretence of portraying actual life'
are able to express only the decoration’
, t I 1 ®,. ext n e ,r i lor ' wh i. ci ' >s futile and fleet-
ing. . 1 he Renaissance, obedient to a
talse idea, produced certain individual
masterpieces, but from that epoch a sort
of conventional art arose in church
music. Ihe rhythm of the old monodies
generated with stupifying ra$ditv n
fashion “it P>™ng of °the prilling
century, £ ^ ^YiqueuYYf ^
fnThe 18th al to h ’ S C ° Urt: 11 was fr lvolous
bVdam Yhn ?™, use the Iords and no-
a sen-k? ? T„ left a slJ PPer to yawn at
in the „ f a f, b °m'geois and formal'
tlle Juste-milieu," and
this st j ie, without the nobility of the
K5:“CF
*HsS «-
•wssarS'
its
oSe? cl,se e wa n s e & t g °o r f an i °° n *- ^
organkst and C \ ersy eou nted on the
f ? rnish
»v stasr^ " m,i
penod are ’ l 'Ti 1 0 e US R^ V i 0rks hls second
ZM S B Y 1 great* 3 m a s ter^who
VpXt,^ Ji!, te s r taX k I S n SMg&S
fi“t' im h e e thW ^'Iherately f e o de X'
tecture with Bgncjpies of tonal archi-
Bmidiy experimented Ye^hi^ 11 ^ 0
Of this oratorio are'of unequal* wor?h &eS
Third Period.
of T Fran th i r<i ^ Sreat creative Period
in M b WaS m° m 1872 UnUI hiS death
1S90. It would seem that at last he
was sure of himself and through with
is
frlSsF* & » We threshold
u U h of 5 °^InT\^ d anti
a^YhTwilY 6 had b ° th th ® k -w!ed e g n e’
Mr. d'Indy says little about the sym-
phonic poems and the two operas He
f r oe ® dnd , in tbe latter themove'ment
ir, advance winch characterizes Franck’s
other music of this period. The operas
are Jess dramatic than his oratorios
f.t n °t wholly the fault of the
librettists Franck’s genius was not in
any way theatrical. He could not coA-
ceive music solely for stage effect or to
catch the votes of an opera house ami;
cnee. He did not search for any ^ew
oramatic expression, and the libretto^
suggested none to him uorettos
Nor do we think that the symphonic
THREE PERIODS OF FRANCK’S
WORK DESCRIBED BY D’INDY
,vith the possible exception of
_o Failles.” will have long life. "Les
Djinns” (after Hugo's fantastic poem)
is far from the spirit of the poet, and
there hardly seems to be any attempt
at transliteration. In "Le Chasseur
Maudit" the most successful episode is
the suggestion of a peaceful Sunday
morning with a serene landscape and
church bells Inviting the faithful.
Franck was not an adept in musical
demonology. Me knew not how to
press diabolical passion and rage. He
saw celestial visions; he had no power
to sing of hell, its ruler and his hosts.
It is surprising that Mr. d’lndv onsets
ever the wonderful piano quintet with
only a line and says little about the
symphonv. On the other hand he dwells
oil the quartet, the three organ chorals
end "The Beatitudes.” "e cannot un-
derstand the implied subordination of
the quintet, which is to us Franck s
masterpiece. Mr. diaries Martin I^oef-
Her. one of the keenest. , most discrimi-
native and illuminative of critics, as lie
is one of the few composers of marked
distinction now living, once finely said:
•‘When everything has been discussed
and disputed let every musician retire
with tile score of Franck's quintet, and
soulless must he be that does not ex-
claim: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy! at such
music **
What Mr. d'Indy says of Franck s
piano music of the third period is in-
teresting chiefly by reason of an incom-
prehensible omission.
It will be remembered that Franck
wrote piano pieces in his first period.
For manv years afterward he neglected
the piano. ,Mr. d’Indy. commenting on
this neglect! says: “After the avalanchel
of fantasias and the plethora of con-
certos that burdened the first half of
the 19th musical century. It seemed that
the instrument, heir to the masterpieces
thought for the clavichord by Bach
Haydn and Mozart, and conqueror of
the title of nobility through Beethoven,
was doomed, artistically speaking, to a
barren decadence. If great specialists
uf the piano adapted their talent in-
geniously to the new technic; If a Schu-
mann found for the expression of the
poetry of his soul in little compositions
of genius a style more orchestral than
his orchestration and spreading Itself in
charming and intimate sonorities; if a
Liszt, demolishing at a blow the whole
scaffolding of classic 'pianism. enriched
the instrument by means of combina-
tions previously unsuspected, and gave
a decisive impetus to virtuosity, no mas-
ter however had brought new artistic
material to Beethoven's monumental
work; in a word, if the technic and the
piano writing had become quite trans-
I cendent the music Intended for tne in-
strument alone had rather degenerated.
Now every form that does not progress
ends by withering and disappearing.’
Not one word about Chopin, the su-
preme composer for the piano! Is it pos-
sible that Chopin does not exist for Mr.
d'Indy? We are aware that the music
of Tschaikowsky, with its fierce inten-
sity unreserved emotion, and barbaric
splendor is distasteful to him; but is he ,
unable to find new forms of exquisite
beauty and rare and personal emotional j
expression in the music of Chopin? The <
omission of this great name i« simply
inexplicable. Nor do Mr. d'Indy s fine
words about Franck’s ''Prelude, Choral
and Fugue” console us for this exhibi-
tion of prejudice or lack of artistic ap-
preciation. , A , .
In his remarks about Franck s sym-
phony Mr. d'Indy reminds the reader
that In the lustrum 1SS4-S9 there was in
I France a curious return toward pure
symphonic form. Three composers.
Lalo Saint-Saens and Franck, came
; forward with true symphonies that de-
mand most respectful attention. Lalo’s
in G minor, classic in form, is remark-
able "through the seductiveness of the
motives, and still more by reason of
I the charm and elegance of harmonies
, and rhythm." This symphony is not
known in Boston to audiences of the
| last 15 years, If It has ever been played
! here. We are under the impression it
had one performance. (Books of refer-
ence are not now at hand.) The sym-
phony in C minor by Saint-Saens.
charged with indisputable talent, seems
as a challenge to the traditional laws
of tonal construction, a challenge sus-
tained with much eloquence, but the
final impression is one of doubt and
sadness. The symphony of Franck, on
the other hand, is a steady flight toward
pure joy and vivifying light.
There is a careful and detailed study
of Franck's quartet. In his preparatory
remarks the biographer says that a
string quartet, if it is to have any
artistic significance, must be a work
of maturity. He does not know one
good quartet written even by a genius
in his youth. The best quartets of
Mozart were composed when he was
33 years old. and that for Mozart is al-
most old age. Beethoven did not ven-
ture to write a quartet until he was
In his 39th year, and his truly char-
acteristic quartets were not written un-
til he was 52. Mr. d’Indy incidentally
says that Grieg, “a charming impro-
viser of more or less popular songs,
is not at all a symphonist and probably
will never be one. Nor is it true that
he who can write for the orchestra
should a fortiori be able to write a
quartet. “There is hardly any connec-
tion between the manner of thinking
and realizing an idea by means of the
strings in the orchestra and by achiev-
ing the same operation for a chamber
quartet: the foundation, the form, the
manner of writing itself are, in this
latter sort of compositions, nearly the
opposite of what they are in a sym-
phony for orchestra.” Franck first
hought of his quartet in 1SSS, and no.t-tdl
the spring of 1889 did he make the first
sketches— when he was in his Gith year.
“The Beatitudes.”
The Sermon on the Mount urged
Franck to composition long before he
sketched the plan of "The Beatitudes.”
He loved the sacred text and read it
constantly. 'When he first began his
career as a church organist he wrote
an organ piece entitled "The Sermon on
the Mount.” but the manuscript of the
unpublished piece is lost. He gave the
same title to an orchestral piece, a
species of symphonic poem, composed
about 1S46. This work was never pub-
lisehed. but the manuscript is in the
possession of Franck's son Georges,
Franck wished a versified text for his
oratorio, but lie had no confidence in
his literary ability, and he was per-
suaded to take a version prepared by
Mme. Colomb. after he had sketched
the plan of the poem as he wished it.
The gallant Mr. d'Indy says that while
Mme. Colomb’s verses are not remark-
able as poetry they didn't hamper the
composer and were to be preferred to
those that would have come from a
professional librettist. Franck worked
10 years on this epic, as Mr. d'Indy '
names the oratorio.
And Mr. d’Indy has much to say about
oratorio and epic. "At first a mythical
opera, the oratorio soon became purely
lyric and then approached the sym-
phonic form by changing into the can-
tata; but in our modern epoch, one full I
of doubt and trouble, when faith sub-
mitting to the assaults of skepticism no
longer finds its natural expression in |
art. the musical oratorio was led in-
I sensibly to replace and continue the
I epic, a' species of literary work wholly
abandoned." This "lotus of literature.”
which is named the epic, flowers in-
variably in times of trouble, periods of
gigantic wars or intestine strife, sub-
lime acts and monstrous crimes. Such
are the Homeric poems, the Aeneid—
which crosses the boundary that sepa-
lates the pagan world when it was most
skeptical from Christian civilization
with Us burst of enthusiastic faith.
Such Is the “Divine Comedy." But
when there is an attempt to produce
an epic out of its "milieu.” then it
loses in part its significance, and Mr.
hlnctv names the 'Fharsa ua,"
dise Lost”— but was not the condition
of affairs, political and religious, in the,
England of Milton's time favorable to
an epic? Among musical epics Mr.
<J Indy ranks Beethoven’s Missa Solem-
nis. Schumann's “Faust." Berlioz' 0
“Damnation of Faust." Wagner's
"Bing" and Franck's "Beatitudes." He
tevlews Franck's work at length, find-
ing in it all the requisite conditions in
i lassie times for the constitution of an
epic poem: unity, grandeur, a subject
of abundant interest. He names it in
short the "Expected work of the end
of the Nineteenth century, a work which
in spite of some Inevitable weaknesses
(sometimes good Homer nods) will re-
main as a superb temple solidly built
on the traditional foundations of faith
and music, rising in fervent prayer
above the tumult of the world toward
heaven.” .. ,
The fourth and last article on Mr.
d'Indv's remarkable study of Cesar
Franck will be published in The Herald
next Sunday, when there will be consid-
eration of Franck as a teacher of the
“chool that he unconsciously founded,
and of Mr. d'Indy's personal attitUv.o
and characteristics as a biographer.
MUSIC NOTES.
The Herald publishes today a portrait
of Mr. Cesar Thomson, the distinguished
I Belgian violinist, who will next season
I make his second visit to the United
States. Mr. Thomson, who is in his 50th
year, succeeded Mr. Ysaye as first violin
teacher at the Brussels Conservatory.
He was born at Liege and studied with
his father. Dupuis, and Leonard. In 1S73
he went to Italy to join the orchestra of
the Baron von Derwies, and there he sat
at the same desk with Mr. C. M. Loeffler.
After concert tours in Italy he became
the concert master of Bilse's orchestra in
Berlin. In 1S83 he went to Liege to
teach at the conservatory of that city,
and made Liege his dwelling place till
1S9S. when he moved to Brussels. He is
wldelv known as a virtuoso of the first
rank. The portrait is from his latest pho-
tograph.
The Herald also gives portraits of
Italian youngsters who have taken part
in operatic performances. The portraits
were published originally in Ars et Labor
of Milan.
The London Times said of Miss Eliza-
beth Dodge, the American soprano, who
gave a recital recently in London : "Her
voice is of lovely quality, even through-
out, of great compass, and in things like
the mad scene from Thomas' ‘Hamlet’
she sings with rare brilliance and pre-
cision. Her command of the four usual
languages is complete, and in style she
excels as well in Mozart and Bach as in
modern songs.”
The Pall Mall Gazette thus spoke re-
cently of Mr. Francis Macmillen. the
young American violinist : “We need not
use more than a few words concerning
Mr. Macmillen, because we are not yet
convinced that he has reached (as we
already said in a previous notice) the
summit of ills ambition or the completion
of his artistic work, to which goal, how-
ever. he is now advancing rapidly. In
Paganini’s Concerto in D major he was
spirited, and his technique showed a
marked advance upon the technique at
which he had arrived when last we heard
hint. After all, the idea cannot be too
extensively propagated that nobody can
reach any great accomplishment in art
without completeness of technique. Mr.
Macmillen has this particular character-
istic, that he gives one the Impression of
industry, so that we may trust that his
work, as he feels more and more the
depth of musical thought, will attain to a
high accomplishment.''
“UNCLEAN!”
Mr. George Rossett, the Syrian leper,
is finally at Elkins, where he started in
his attempt to go back to his native
land. He has been carted about and
gaped at as though he were a wild beast.
In the states where he has thus been
treated what advance in civilization is
there from the old days, when the leper
was publicly and pontifically declared
unclean and forbidden to seek shelter
and food and water, wheu all were
warned against helping him, when hej
was obliged to signal his approach by
sounding a clapper or a bell? There
was a time when lepers were common in
England, but there were hospitals for
them and they were cared for as persons
cruelly afflicted yet not wholly under
the ban.
VOCAL ENCOURAGEMENT.
The news that a permanent con-
sultative racing committee has been
formed by the French minister of j
tio-rlnilture in order to place horse |
racing in that country more than
ever under governmental jurisdiction
reminds us of the curious manner in
which the first French Derby was
run at Chantilly seventy years ago.
when the Jockey Club gave a prize
of f.6000. Most of the spectators
were on horseback and rode by the
side of the horse chosen by them as
winner and cheered him on by fran-
tic yelling. The spectators thus an-
ticipated university games of football
and baseball. But racing at that
time in France was considered to be
merely a concession to Anglomania.
Horse racing was not really acclima-
tized there until Napoleon III. insti-
tuted the Grand Prlx. Now the min-
ister of agriculture purposes to “cre-
ate a centre” for the study of all
matters relating to breeding and rac-
ing.
DESIRABLE LOOSENESS.
Mr. George B. Winter, the English
“sartorial artist” who was imported to
give the American soldier a “dressy”
appearance, is now, safe home at last,
satirical over inis American brethren in
the calling. The gilded youth of New
York are described by him as "the most
foolish looking young dudes” -he has seen.
“As for the trousers, they only fit where
they touch.” But trousers for warm
weather — and Mr. Winter was here in
summer-'-shouId not touch except at the
waist, for if they do, they stick. But
have the English never worn large and
loose trousers? Y'es — the Spanish slop
and the skippers galligaskins were in
fashion shortly after the dentil of Eliza-
beth, for the English then borrowed the
cut and style of their dress from the
Dutch, Spanish, Gascons, Swiss, Danes,
Italians. Look through the volumes of
Punch and mark the frequent appari-
tion of the flapping - trousers. At the
same time Mr. Winter remarks that the
American will soon be the best dressed
soldier in the world — thanks to Mr.
Winter’s skill, taste and personal super-
vision. The Emperor William exclaimed
recently in a fine burst; “Anti-mili-
tarism is an international pest.” Pos-
sibly the reform of our soldiers’ dress
will change the hearts of all misguided
Americans now clamoring for peace.
CRAVAT HUMOR.
There are many varieties of the
practical joker, and among the less
dangerous have been reckoned the
man who creeps up behind you and
slaps your back by way of a cordial
salutation, and he that pulls your
cravat to Its undoing, especially In
the presence of women before whom
you would fain shine. A friend— he
Is always a warm personal friend
pulled the cravat of Mr. Joe Anderson
“just In fun.” Mr. Anderson “hap-
pened” to be wearing a "rag" collar—
from which we infer that he occa-
sionally wears other brands and
when the cravat was pulled the collar
strangled him. He fell unconscious,
and therefore unappreciative of his
friend's exqulsit£_iyimor. He turned
black in the face before the cravat
could be taken off. He has our full
sympathy, but the question will not
down: Is such an assault more deadly
with a self tied cravat or a “made
tie”? The latter would seem to be
the less dangerous, and yet should
the well-grounded prejudice of years
against this form of cravat be re-
moved through fear of a like catastro-
phe? For the humoristic tie-puller
is not confined to New Brunswick.
He is in the village store; he walks
the streets of Boston.
HEARN’S FRIENDS. I
The story of the late Lafcadio|
Hearn's marrjage to a negress and the
editorial and descriptive article about
Hearn published in the New York
Sun have called forth letters of pro-
test, which show that the gifted and
unfortunate ■ author had many warm
friends who are loyal to his memory.
Some even go so far as to deny that
he was physically repulsive in any
way. Among these letters the most
sympathetic and simply eloquent is
one written by Mr. Elwood Hendrick,
who sojourned In Boston for some
years and now dwells in New York.
It is to be observed, however, that no
direct and conclusive evidence against
the alleged marriage has been pro-
duced, if such evidence were neces-
sary or even desirable to the admirers
of Hearn’s work. That he afterward
married in Japan a woman of that
country has nothing to do with the
case. A brilliant writer, now dead,
who settled in Boston years ago, mar-
ried In this country, although his first
wife was still living in a foreign land,
and when he was reminded of the
existence of No. 1, he answered in a
childish manner: “I thought crossing
the Atlantic was in itself a divorce."
In connection with the present rumors
and correspondence it is interesting
to note the forthcoming publication of
the “Life and Letters of Lafcadio
Hearn” in two volumes by a Boston 1
firm.
the demanded price? We were once
summoned as a witness into court on
the island of Jersey — where the cows
come from. A fellow-lodger kept a
cock, which, after the manner of his
kind, crowed early in the morning.
His clarion call disturbed two elderly
women in the adjoining house — one
was epileptic and had a fit in court.
They charged him with maintaining
a nuisance. The case was conducted j
with great dignity; the proceedings,
except the examination of witnesses
and the summing-up of the lawyers,
were in old Norman French; and the
cock was solemnly brought into court,
where he behaved himself admirably.
In 1474 at Basle a cock was tried for
having laid an egg to assist a sor-
cerer in a malignant preparation. In
vain did his advocate insist that the
laying was an involuntary act and
therefore unpunishable. The poor
fowl was condemned to death and
burned at the stake, together with his
egg. For it is well known that cocks'
eggs are rare and highly prized by
professional sorcerers. Furthermore,
in Switzerland animals were admitted
as witnesses, and so they were in
Savoy as late ns the last century.
When a person died at night in a
j house not his own, the solitary house-
holder was not believed possibly In-
nocent, unless he brought forward a
dog, cat or cock that had witnessed |
the death. He swore in the presence
of the animal that he was innocent,
for it was thought that if he swore
falsely, the Lord would move the ani-
mal to contradict him. Again we ask,
was the cock brought Into the Wil-
mington court, and if so, had he any- I
thing to say?
7 , tfv b
A RULING PASSION.
THREE IDENTITIES.
A woman “with three identities” is
of interest to others than psycholo-
gists. Mr. Ribot was, we believe, the
true inaugurator of the psychological
movement, and Messrs. Charcot,
Binet, Janet, Richet, Fere and others
owed much to him. Alfred Binet’s
essay on double consciousness was
translated into English at least six-
teen years ago and published in Chi-
cago. Much has been written since
then, but as Ribot bravely said: “Psy-
chology should, like any other science,
resign itself on many points to tem-
porary ignorance and not be afraid to
confess its ignorance. In this respect
it differs from metaphysics, which
assumes the duty of explaining every-
thing. Why should not a woman
with three identities or rather a triple
consciousness, other things being
equal, be for certain restless and
craving souls the ideal wife? It has
been said that Don Juan was merely
a disappointed searcher after the
ideal. It has also been said that in
an ideal community a man would
have three wives: one to look after
the house; one as a mate and for the
family; the third, artistic, spiritual,
a psychic companion. Why should
not these three be in one at the same
time, like Mrs. Malaprop’s Cerberus?
Or would the psychic third forget to
order the dinner and see that the
water was not too hot for little Jane’s
bath? There should be schools for
the cultivation and also the self-con-
trol of three or possibly four “identi-
ties.” Psychology is still in its in-
fancy.
A CROWING WITNESS.
A negro in Wilmington, Del., sued
another negro for the possession of his
gamecock. The sued admitted posses-
sion, but demanded seventy-five cents
for the board and lodging of the fowl.
There was a compromise, and forty
cents was paid. But was the cock
brought into court to show his condi-
tion and whether the board was worth
It is not surprising that at least one
nephew of “Uncle” Russell Sage pur-
poses to contest the will. What he re-
vives by its provisions is only a drop
in the bucket of expectation. What was
written long ago is of singular force in
:his instance : “Men like to collect
I noney into large heaps in their life-
j lime ; they like to leave it in large heaps
ifter they are dead. They grasp it into
1 iheir own hands, not to use it for their
j >wn good, but to hoard, to lock it up, to
nake an object, an idol and a wonder
>f it. Do you expect them to distribute
It so as to do others good ; that they
will like those who come after them
Jetter than themselves ; that if they
were willing to pinch and starve them-
selves they will not deliberately de-
iraud their sworn friends and nearest
rindred of what would be of the utmost
ase to them?” On the other hand,
ihould not the last wishes of a man be
■espected, however small and disap-
pointing they may be, lest the over-
ihrow of what is mean may be used as
t precedent for diverting or thwarting
i generous and noble purpose? The old
lormula, “In the name of God. Amen,”
Is today without significance in too
nany families and courts.
TO BARREL ORGAN.
Mr. Birrell spoke in one of the de-
bates on the education bill of “the
acquirement by children of the charm-
ing and graceful accomplishment of
Sancing, even if it were only round
a. barrel organ.” This accomplish-
ment is acquired in Boston by chil-
dren from the North end to the Back
Bay. The youngsters in the streets
off Hanover and in those near the
Revere House are more unconflned
and bacchAntic in their joy than the
private school children occasionally
seen in BoylstdK- street above Fair-
field, who dance demurely and with a
sense of necessary physical exercise.
The Westminster Gazette, Commenting
on Mr. Birrell’s remark, quoted one of
Jane Austen’s characters as saying:
"I should like to see you dance, and
I’d dance with you. We used to jump
about together many a time, did not
we? when the hand organ was in the
street?” The Gazette also quoted
some lines from one of Mr. Laurence
Binyon’s “London Visions,” but cu-
riously enough it did not mention a
grim poem on the same subject, a
depressing parody of “Tarara-boom-
3e-ay” by Mr. John Davidson. Dancing
in the street is perhaps not so pretty
as dancing on the village green, but
THICK BLOOD.
Here is another instance of how much
thicker blood is than water. The
dramatic critic of the London Times
began his review of “The Prince Chap,”
by E. W. Peple, a play produced at the
Criterion Theatre, by saying: “Ameri-
cans are fond of reminding us, justifi-
ably enough, that what we call Ameri-
canisms often repijeseut old English
idioms that have become obsolete in
their native land.” Yes, and some of
these “Americanisms,” if not the ma-
jority of them, are still heard in cer-
tain English provinces, and are to be
found in Wright’s Dialect Dictionary.
The reviewer added: “Contemporary or
Rooseveltian America offers us some
other products which, though they may
have the superficial appearance of be-
ing home-grown, are easily recognizable
as early Victorian English things,
though in transit across the Atlantic
they have naturally suffered a sea-
change. One of these is a rich and
sirupy sentimentality in fiction.” Mr.
Peple’s play was characterized as an
American variant of some Christmas
story by Dickens. “An American vari-
ant, one perceives, because the genius of
Christmas is called Santa Claus, and be-
cause the dialogue is strewn with such
words as bully (in its adjectival use)
and jamboree.” So Santa Claus is
known only to Americans, and not at all
to the Dutch, and “bully” is never
found as an adjective in Shakespeare’s
plays or in other Elizabethan dramas.
Mr. H. R. Roberts “is, we understand,
an American actor. He is pleasant
enough, and would be still more pleas-
ant if he did not say ‘to lay down’ when
he means ‘to lie down.’ ” Mr. Anthony
Comstock would enjoy this play. For
the hero, William, is a sculptor whose
“noblest moment is when he refuses to
let Blandia — aged eight — pose as a
cherub, because cherubs do not wear
clothes.” .
T
imperious manners.
As is known to sociologists, every
profession and trade has its peculiar
etiquette. There is a strict etiquette in
any sport, in burglary, in the boozing-
ken. We do not know whether any
pamphlet on telephone etiquette has
been written for private or public circu-
lation, but we learn that a peculiar eti-
quette must be observed in Germany in
talking to the Emperor over the wire.
He never gives his name; he does not
open the conversation with a friendly
“Hello, Heinrich,” or "Hello, Johann,”
but with “I command that,” and when
he is through commanding he stops, like
a gramophone, without “Good-by,” “So
long” or any other signification that he
is at an end. This behavior is not
dignified ; it is imperious, not imperial ;
it does not become a father of his peo-
ple ; it is simply an instance of bad
manners. Even Mr. Chucks, Marryat’s
boatswain, who was decided in his
opinions and succeeded in conveying
them forcibly, displayed the finest flower
of courtesy at the start : “Allow me, my
dear sir, to insinuate in the most de-
licate manner in the world that you are
a blankety, etc., etc.” “Noblesse ‘oblige”
is a French phrase and therefore prob-
ably obnoxious to the Emperor.
’ PEACOCKS’ FEATHERS.
The superstitious remember that the
late Lady Curzon wore at the Delhi
Durbar a dress with a design of pea-
cocks’ feathers, and that she was told at
the time that she was courting mis-
fortune. In spite of the old superstition
that these feathers are unlucky they
may now be seen as ornaments in houses I
; whose inmates prefer to see the new
moon over the right shoulder, and would
not kill a spider though it were weav-
ing over the bed. Young maidens in
England were taught to believe that
these feathers forbade their marriage and
that minor misfortunes would happen,
| just as the voice of the peacock is sup-
I posed to foretell rain and even death
The origin of the superstition is not
easy to find, though it is traced back to
Juno’s anger excited by the plucking of
her favorite bird. Yet among the
ancients the peacock was a symbol of
immortality, and Pythagoras himself
was once a peacock, with a tail no doubt
into which the eyes of the dead Argus
passed. Nor was the peacock among the
old Hindus an unlucky bird. Many have
found fault with him without regard to
bad luck, and said of him that he hath
the voice of a fiend, the head of a ser-
pent and the pace of a thief.
NOT A MATERIALIST.
Mr. Clews, a son of the well known
banker, has written in collaboration a
French play in verse and it has been
published in Paris. It is said that an
English version will be performed in
New York. The object of the play is to
show the inadequacy of wealth to secure
true happiness. The preface — for the
playwrights here follow the example of
Mr. Shaw — contains an estimate of
American civilization. The hero is there
described as “the new man, without
traditions of any kind ; in other words,
the American. He does not feel the
need of loving or of being loved. * * *
In his hours of idleness at his club he
is plunged into a kind of material
Nirvnna. He is a materialist and Walt
Whitman is his prophet.” Mr. Clews
and his friend do not know Whitman.
No one has sung more nobly of the soul
than the Good Gray Poet. If he praises
unashamed the body and its functions, it
is because to him the body is the holy
temple of the soul. The intensity of
Whitman’s spirituality is oriental, and
he almost swoons in rapture at the
celestial vision of never ending life.
There are passages in “Leaves of Grass”
that might be in the “Upanishads.”
A STANDARD.
At the trial of Thurtell, a witness
asked how he defined a respectable per-
son answered: “He always kept a gig.”
That is the old Story ; the witness really I
answered :• “He always maintained an
appearance of respectability and kept
his horse and gig.” And so Carlyle spoke
of gigmen, narrow-minded persons of the
middle class, to whom “respectability”
is the chief concern of life, and he also
coined the words, gigmania, gigmanity,
gigmanhood, gigmanism, gigmaness, etc.
This is not the only whimsical standard
Invented or rather first expressed in
court. It was held recently in London
that neither frequent intoxication nor
the habit of driving about in hansoms,
“nor even the combination of the two
luxurious practices, is evidence of
means sufficient to justify an order 1
against the sybarite on a judgment sum-
mons, though both are evidence of the
possession of a certain sum of money,
since cabmen and barmaids who will
consent to allow credit are painfully
rare.” It was regarded as a sound prin-
ciple at this trial that “a man’s liability
to income tax can not be estimated in
direct proportion to the freedom and in-
tensity of his alcoholic excitements.”
There is to be sure the old saying, “as
drunk as a lord” ; but many lords are
impecunious. Furthermore there are
qualitative as well as quantative con-
siderations, for a man may be highly
stimulated on blue ruin as on cham-
pagne, on beer as on port with a bees
wing.
> ? '?•
FOR EXPORT ONLY’.
The news that the Ivernia carried
the first shipment of 300 barrels of
apples to leave here this year will
strike some with dread for the com-
ing winter. Last season the ship-
• ments* of apples were enormous, and
-the fruit left for sale in this country
was scarce, expensive and as a rule
poor in quality. Mr. G. R. Sims of j
the Referee wrote last winter con-
cerning the disappearance of Eng-
lish fruit from the London market ,
and the American invasion. To many
apples are not a luxury, but a neces-
sity. There is no more wholesome
and appetizing fruit, and it is a pity
! that it is not within the reach of all.
Fruit growers naturally accept the
liberal offers of commission mer-
chants, and here is another instance
where true patriotism does not enter
into business.
IN WAX.
. It has been said that no man is really
great until he stands or sits in wax in
: Mine. Tussaud’s galleries. There are
some who would be willing to figure in
(he Chamber of Horrors, rather than be
ignored, as yet unworthy. Mr. John D.
Rockefeller is now in the Eden Musee,
which is certainly a step toward su-
preme fame in life, lie is bending oyer
a golden cradle, which holds an infant,
•supposed to be his grandson, but the
child has no silver spoon in his mouth
and thus is free from the suspicion of
being an infant Bryanit?, nor does he
Jpibibe from a soothing bottle of stand-
ard oil, The golden cradle is a signifi-
cant touch. Even Miss Kilmansegg did
not thus rest in babyhood.
At tier first debut stir found her bend
On u pillow of down, in a downy bed.
With a damask canopy over,
though she was afterward fed from
a golden boat with a golden spoon. We
Wipuld have preferred Mr. Rockefeller
iff' the act of distributing louis d’or
among the peasantry near Compiegne or
addressing a Cleveland Sunday school on
’the true explanation of certain passages
in the New Testament concerning the
licit.
SOCIABLE PASSENGERS.
•A New Yorker and his wife recently
boarded a surface car, and a Mr.
Strauss boarded the car at the same
time and sat by the wife. He took
pfC his hat to her and. being of an
optimistic, cheery nature, said that
R 'was pleasant weather. He smiled
as he spoke and, like the man in
Lear's immortal Limerick, he contin-
ued to smile, until the wife summoned
her husband, who promptly bashed
Mr. Strauss. The smller had the
husband arrested and the magistrate
remarked: “You had no right to
strike the man. I fine you five dol-
: lars.” The decision is an interesting
fjrte and it invites discussion. Should
or should not a husband be proud of
the admiration of other men who thus
proclaim the excellence of his taste
and wisdom of his choice? Should
not fellow passengers, exposed to the
hardships and dangers of a car-ride,
be agreeable one toward another?
Perhaps Mr. Strauss has a rietus and
cannot help smiling. It surely Is not
Insulting to say to a neighbor: "It is
pleasant weather, mum.” Is not a
smile preferable to a gorgonizlng
stare ? It might be said that the hus-
IWnd. not wholly convinced of his
wife's charms, thought that Mr.
Strauss was guying her; but this
would be an Illiberal, ungallant con-
clusion.
mouths of men nor his fist upon their
mouths. His wife no' longer lives
with him, not because fortune has
wholly forsaken him — he gave her
£8 for a dress for the Oaks — but be-
cause he deserted her and in the pas-
sion of leave-taking tried to choke
her. She must be a woman of con-
siderable reserve force, for she seized
the opportunity to bite his fingers.
Why does not Mr. Palmer keep a
pub? Many of his distinguished
predecessors in the profession have
thus made money ari'd fought their
uattles o’er again. We remember
with pleasure Mr. Paddy Rypn In
Albany, N. Y., thus dispensing hospi-
tality and rude eloquence.
TATTOOING.
It is said that there is a movement to
do away with tattooing in the navy, yet
it is hard to think of a true tar whose
body is not decorated in India ink with
a ship or a crucifix, a flag or a brace
of hearts with an arrow through them.
The famous captain who was exhibited
for years and suggested to Gillam the
cartoon that excited the indignation of
Mr. Blaine’s friends was over-tattooed.
There was neither the wild irregularity
that is' often a beauty nor the simplicity
of design, the few lines and points that
made Herman Melville’ssweetheartin
Typee the more adorable. The history
of tattooing from its origin as a re-
ligious rite is a strange and interesting
one, whether the practice be studied in
Africa, New Zealand, Madagascar or on
the Pacific isles. And when did sailors
first adopt the practice? It was said
some years ago that degenerates in
fashionable life in London were^much
given to this ornamentation. The old-
fashioned sailor is fast disappearing. As
long as the species survives, he should
no more be deprived of his India ink
pictures than of his quid or loose
trousers.
would 'have ••spected; a rSRe-helly I
person, he was a member of the
Hell-Fire Club that celebrated its
orgies in a house on a Dublin club.
And his companions were pretty fel-
lows! Buck Sheehy jumped on a
I wager from the top window of Daly’s.
Buck English killed a waiter at an
| Inn, because his steak was a trifle
' overdone, but with a fine sense of
justice he had him charged in the
bill: Item, one waiter, £20.
Buck Whaley ran through his for-
tune of £400,000 and Into debt to
the tune of £30,000. He had need
of money, and therefore wagered that
he would go to Jerusalem and back
within two years. Some of the bucks
present insisted that there wds no
such city. The sum of £ 15,000 was
raised and Buck Whaley started off
gayly as a crusader. He came back
with proofs of his presence In Jeru-
salem long before the allotted time
was over, and the people of Dublin
lit bonfires in his honor. The trip
cost him £8000, so he was in £7000.
He wrote an account of his journey —
hut there is no mention of the book
in Allibone’s. The manuscript was
found by accident In a London auc-
tion room, after It had been passed
about among collectors who for a
century had been attracted by the
richness of the binding.
Bucks do not always live to the
age of rouge and plumpers. This one
died at an inn when he was 34 years
old. “As the body, inclosed In a
leaden coffin, lay in the assembly
rooms awaiting interment, a man
danced over It a jig. A grotesque,
but hardly Inappropriate requiem for
so strange a career.”
CONCERT FOYER
terest to tell concerning his mother’s
friends than about her.
“THERE WOULD I BE.’’
Mr. Johnson, in his endeavor to
lead the simple life, is now painfully
distracted. In a Virginian or West
Virginian town, two rival ice compa-
nies are not only giving away ice
free in the frenzy of competition,
tut each Is. offering free beer as an
inducement, and one brewer, with
an artificial ice plant, promises a lib-
eral supply of beer for a term of
years to the one that will take his
ice. This reminds Mr. Johnson of
the glorious old days of Mississippi
steamboating, when a line would
add the inducement of a bottle of
wine to free transportation. But
the emirient sociologist read last Sun-
day of the town of Klingenberg in
Germany, where taxes are unknown,
and the sum of 200 marks was paid
thi£ year to every citizen from the
profits of the municipal brick works.
I Mr. Johnson, in Ciamport. is now
:pfwlng SO cents a hundred for iee,
-**d the village went no license; fur-
thermore the tax rate is from $13
to $14. How happy, would he be in
either of the two Elysiums on earth !
But even to go to the Virginian town
requires some cash in hand, however
ridiculously small the sum may
seem to thousands.
THE PASSING OF PEDLAR.
Lovers of the manly sport hear
with regret the passing of Pedlar
Palmer, the once famous light-
weight. There was a time when he
was earning over £2000 a year. He |
himself has no illusions. He told a ’
London magistrate not long ago:
"I'm not the Pedlar Palmer I was." I
He turns a penny by appearing at
race meetings and music halls, but
his name is not constantly in the
IN VIENNA.
Dr. Richard Gluck of the Vienna
police department has been observing
the conduct of New York policemen
and finds them noble specimens of
manhood. After this his remark that
they are no worse as regards corrup-
tion than the police of any other great
city comes as an anti-climax. It
would be interesting if he were to
compare the New York janitors with
those of Vienna. Dwellers in the lat-
ter city are becoming tired of paying
a small fee to get in or out of theih
own houses after 10 o’clock at night,
and they demand at least an hour’s
extension. For in Vienna, as many
know, the tenant is not allowed a
house key. After 10 P. M. he must
ring up the porter. The landlords
and police aithorities insist on the old
rule and allege as a reason “public
safety.” But it is really a matter
of thrift. The “Sperrgeld” induces
house-porters to serve at very low
wages, and the police department
also economizes. It is said that the
custom originated in 1848 when the
government used the house-porters
for the purpose •pf spying on the
tenants.
AN OLD BUCK.
“Buck Whaley’s Memoirs,” edited
by Sir Edward Sullivan, Bart., and
published in London by Alexander
Moring, gives curious glimpses of an
incredible period in any country, even
Ireland. In the eighteenth century
the term '“Buck” was applied to a
spirited, gay person rather than to a
fop. The latter use Dr. Murray tells
us came forward early in the nine-
teenth century and the term still sur-
vives, though it is somewhat archaic.
In the slang of the eighteenth century
a bold, dashing woman was also
called a buck. No longer ago than
1889 a London journal spoke of an
“ancient buck” last seen at the age of
84, wearing a wig, stays, plumpers,
rouge, padding and anointing his face
daily with a compound called "Skin
Tightener” and washing it with
“bloom of roses.”
Buck Whaley was a contemporary
of Henry Grattan and a member of
the Irish Parliament, but he is not Re-
membered as orator or patriot. He
was a swell, libertine, gambler, duel-
list; wasteful with money, he was an
adventurer whom even Casanova
Life of Antoinette Sterling, by
Her Son, Is Full of
Anecdotes.
NOTES OF MUSICIANS
AND STAGE DISPLAYS
Mr. J. Sterling MacKiniay, M. A., has
written the life of his mother, who
waS known for years in public as
Antoinette Sterling. The book, en-
titled “Antoinette Sterling' and Other
Celebrities," is published by Hutchin-
son of London and the price of it is
1(1 shillings net, an absurdly expen-
sive book.
The life of this singer both in Am-
erica and in England was neither
stormy or adventurous, except in this;
toward the close of it she suffered a
“heavy financial loss." She was ex-
ceedingly popular in England as a
ballad singer, and her performance of
"Caller Herrin’,” "The Three Fishers”
and "The Lost Chord” was commonly
described there as “superb." As a
singer, pure and simple, she had little
art. She sang songs of the heart and
home with great intensity, or, to use
the language of her worshippers, with
"great expression.”
Some musicians admired her or
said they admired her. when she was
in her prime; thus Liszt was "enrap-
tured," while Rubinstein remarked
that she had never "lived” and had
no heart. The fact that she refused
to wear a low neck dress when she
was commanded to sing at Windsor
endeared her to many. No doubt Mr.
Anthony Comstock puts her at the
head of all singing women. Queen
Victoria was not offended by Mme.
Sterling’s scruples, or bad manners,
however ber conduct strikes you, for-
gave the refusal and "honored her.
There are many anecdotes in the book,
stories about Mme. Sterling, her friends
and acquaintances. Here is a sample
one: She once went to the Savoy chapel
at the hour of organ practice and in-
quired for the Rev. Henry White. Told
that he had left the church, she wished
to send after him, but there was no one
except the blow boy to do the errand.
“Oh. I’M do that for you till you come
back, if' you’ll run over for him, she
said to the boy. And she was as good
as her word.” One has a right to expect
more entertaining stories for 16 shillings
net. The book is not a heating one.
There are stories about Manuel Garcia,
who died recently, Leighton, Holman
Hunt, Patti, W. G. Willis, George Ber-
nard Shaw, Elizabeth Robbins and oth-
ers. Mr. MacKiniay in spite of the fact
that he Is an “M. A.” has not given his
days and nights to Addison, P. a l er > ° r
any class book of rhetoric. Alluding to
the swarm of Americans who boast of
ancestors that embarked in the May-
flower, he exclaims: “Oh. Mayflower,
mammoth of elasticity! Oh, Truth, as
elastic.” But he modestly excuses him-
self for writing the biography, saying
that he has much mor» of greater in-
It has been said that "to any one who
is gifted with' a voice his own method Is
practically the best.” There is truth in
the remark, and yet a treatise on tone
production is published once a month.
Here Is a recently published book, "Sing-
ing. or Method of Song and Speech," bj
A. Singer (London: Elliot Stock). There
is Both sense and nonsense in this vol-
ume. The author discusses many things
soul effusion, the round earth, consci-
entious nervousness, the elliptic, collars,
the houses of Parliament, deficient circu-
lation of the blood, indigestion, nightmare,
intoxication (alcoholic, not uewhetlc),
and a disease which the author describes
as “rubbed up.” .
He thinks that sensitiveness is not a
fault; on the contrary, it is a virtue, for
it is a proof of the highly strung constl-
tution of the artist; and fie also has
Invariably found that claret is the best
thing for singers.” but it should be taken
in moderation. Furthermore, he has
much to say about neurosis and the psy-
chology of the voice.
Giovanni Clerecl Is the author of Per-
fection in Singing." The book Is Pub-
lished by O. Newman & Co. of London.
There is need of bodily gymnastics if you
wish to produce tones properly. Here is
an example: "The lung on the right side
will, owing to the raised (right) arm,
expand more than the left. Now change
arms and repeat the breathing, noticing
carefully whether the^ left lung is filled
as the right one was.”
The Herald of Aug. 1 published in its
evening edition an editorial article en-
titled “Art and Duty,” which called
forth a letter in reply. As the editorial
article is short, we republish it here,
fir it is concerned with a musical mat-
for it is concerned with a musical mat-
selves how some misread or “read be-
tween the lines":
art and duty.
The passionate press agent of a young
fiddler in New York tells a pathetic story .
“Only last week a well known vaudeville
manager offered to book her 42 weeks at a
salary of $200 a week, but she declined his
proposition, although she Is the sole sup-
port of an Invalid father, motherland young-
er sisters, for she prefers art to the tempo-
rary success of the variety theatres. Sup-
pose for a moment, that this story be true,
would it not have been better for her to
have accepted the offer for at least one
sen son? Was it not her duty to accept it?
At present, she is unknown, except to her
immediate friends. She need not be wholly
inartistic in vaudeville; in fact, she might
learn many valuable lessons that would
make for her artistic future. By refusing
the offer she jeopardized the comfort of
iter family. She stood between art and
duty. But duty may be art.
The letter in reply is as follows:
BROOKLINE, Aug. 2, 1906.
To the Editor of The Herald:
In your edition Wednesday, Aug. 1. occurs a
short" editorial headed "Art and Duty.” to
which much exception might be taken. What-
ever raav be tin- Intention of those who insti-
gated tlie article or the individual who wrote
Ft an impression tnit-lit bo gained from glean-
ing it that to my belief is most erroneous. I
refer to til" Inference that vaudeville and art
are incompatible. Tills supposition is. I -tan
sure, as absurd ns the one that the stage ns
an institution is immoral. There is hardly any
class of theatrical entertainment that I have
not seen represented in vaudeville, and some
of it lias been most aitistlc. Another Impres-
sion used that | s wholly incorrect is “the tem-
porarv success of the variety theatres.” A suc-
cess in vaudeville is the reverse from tempo-
rary; quite an eontralre It will last for years,
'flint there exists among certain artists a tinie-
hoitored prejudice against vaudeville Is true;,
also that a certain portion of the uninitiated
shrug their shoulders at anything "in vaude-
ville" Is obvious. Happily this belief is fast
disappearing and the conviction fast appearing
that lit vaudeville one must not he less clever
hut 10 times more clever titan the so-called
legitimate artist. ARTHUR ROW.
Of the 23 orchestral works unknown In
London to be produced at the Promenade
concerts which begin the isth, six are by
British composers' Granville Bantock’s
prelude “Sappho”; J. H. Fould’s "music
poem,” entitled “Epithalidm”; George
Halford’s “In Memorialin'’ overture;
Joseph Holbrooke’s “Bohemian” suite;
Norman O'Nefll’s overture, "In Spring
Time,” and Vaughan Williams’ ”A Nor-
folk. Rhapsody.” Novelties by foreign
composers are Gllere's symphony, Enna's
symphonic poem “Maerchen,” George
Dorlav's symphonic poenr “St- Georges
and "Finlandia” by Sibelius, and pieces
bv Blockt, Br> lr| pai>. Busoni, Arensky.
Borodin. Moussorgsky, Liadoff, Boehe,
I Fini Henriques. Egon Petri and Fibick.
I It is rumored that Mabelle Gilman,
who itns been studying with Jean de
Reszke. will sing at the Opera Comique,
Paris, next season. When and where
did she get the voice? Her other quali-
fications for an engagement at tills
onera are indisputable.
Julian Edwards' new cantata. The
Redeemer,' was performed for the first
time at Orean Grove, ‘ N. J.. July 29.
' The Greater Love," a four-act drama
based on “romantic episodes” in the life
of Mozart and written by Ivy A. Root,
a niece of Mr. Elihu Root, will be pro-
duced at Columbus, p„ . Sept. 3. Mr.
Aubfev Bouctcault will take the part ot
the composer. The death scene, “ending
In the singing of the Requiem, will be
given with fidelity.” Selections from
Mozart's works will be performed in the
course of the play. Several dramas
with Beethoven as a hero have been
produced- and one of them, a singularly
sentimental and dull piece, with Mr.
Bispham as Beethoven and Miss Julia
Opp as the heroine, was performed in
Boston at the Hollis Street Theatre.
Stradella. Haydn, Chopin and one or
two other composers have been chosen
as the heroes of operas.
Mr. Baughan of the London Daily
News wrote apropos of Mr. Ben Davies
at the recent Handel Festival:
“It is not generally held that the
Poems.
opera stage is
oratorio, and many think that tho two
styles of singing: are Incompatible, but it
is largely the early opera training of Mr.
Santley that gave his singing such ease
and forte of emphasis, and experience
on the opera stage has done the same
thing for Mr. Ben Davies. No tenor
who has not sung in opera could have
given so much variety and point to the
recitative, 'So will'd my father.’ A no-
th cable point was the singing of t lie
dying patriarch's 'Hesolve. my sons, on
liberty or death,’ which Mr. Hen Davies
made the utterance of 'expiring breath.’
The high notes of the part were success-
fully managed, but it is well known
that Mr. Ben Davies cannot pretend to
achieve them with the ease which was
:-o remarkable In the singing of Mr. Ed-
ward Lloyd. On the other hand, the
great oratorio tenor left something to be
desired in respect of dramatic force and
emotion. The ideal tenor for oratorio
would be an amalgam of Mr. Ben Davies
and Mr. Edward Lloyd, but. as most
ideals, It is unattainable, and. for my
part, I am well content to hear the
music sung with the dramatic point
which Handel evidently Intended.”
Saint Saens’ cello sonata was played
in London for the hrst time July 12 by
Mr. Hollman and the composer. It was
composed in 1904, when Saint Saens was
at Biskrah, and played for the first
time In Paris last year. The work Is said
to have much freshness. The scherzo
concludes with a set of variations on
the opening theme. The third movement
is described as a charming romance.
a good preparation roi"| carried with it a settlement of
£25,000 if she would quit the stage.
Look at this advertisement In the
Era — that is to say, the paragraph
appeared In the advertising columns
of that weekly: ‘'Mr. Louis Brad-
field, while in Australia ten years ago
with the Gaiety company, was able
to render an important service to a
gentleman of enormous wealth,
whose gratitude was such that he
immediately, it is said, made a will
In Mr. Bradfield’s favor by which
the actor would benefit to the extent
of over half a million. Difficulties
have, however, arisen, and Mr. Brad-
field’s legal representatives in Aus-
tralia are trying to bring-- about a
satisfactory settlement.” The pre-
cise amount over which “difficulties
have arisen” is £780,000. Mr. Brad-
field says so himself.
Maeterlinck’s “Mdnna Vanna” has been
made Into an opeTa and with music by
Fevrier, a pupil of Gabriel Faure, will
be produced at the Monnaie, Brussels.
Fevrler’s opera, "L’Aveugle,” short and
mystical, was produced In Paris last
season and harshly criticised by some.
Mr. Blackburn protested not long ago
against the habit in London of naming
any young violinist who is brought to
the fore by his surname, “without any-
thing else (so far as one may judge)
attaching to his reputation.” He then
referred to “Florls.”
“We should like to know why this
young man should be described sim-
ply as Florls, just as we speak of men
like Gluck, Mozart, Joachim, Wagner
and the rest. In any case, despite
the obvious intolerance which is engen-
dered by tnat habit, it may be stated
that he was born at Prague some 23
years ago and received his first lessons
from his father, who. following a tradi-
tion, which now begins to J>e somewhat
tiresome, taught him how to play the
F sharp minor Concerto of Ernst, the D
minor of Wieniawskl, and Mendelssohn's
Concerto. It says much, however, for
his father, who publicly, opposprl the
Idea of the child prodigy, and who sent
his son to the Prague Conservatory
where the examining committee, as we
are informed, were excited to wonder by
his playing.” We understand that “Flo-
ris” is a brother of Mr. Ondricek of
Boston.
^ /fo C
TOO SOLID FLESH.
When Mr. Link, tailor in New
» York, married his Sarah, she was
isvelte and clinging. Happiness agreed
with her, and from month to month
her waist measurement increased,
until now she weighs 225 pounds;
but as her happiness and flesh were
enlarged, his love waned, until he
began to neglect Sarah and he did
not take her to balls and parties.
Perhaps the fact that, according to
tradition, he is only a ninth of a
man made the disproportion seem
greater in his eyes. Unfortunately,
we are not told whether she is of he-
roic frame or short; whether she is
Amazonian or architecturally like
unto a gasometer. At any rate, Mr.
Link deserted her, and Sarah has ob-
tained a limited divorce. Her hus-
band said in court “with a trace .of
the old-time affection” that if she
would reduce her weight to 130
pounds he would have the divorce
annulled. But would the prize be
worth a Banting or sweating proc-
ess? Did he not take her at the altar
for fatter or leaner? Mrs. Link said
when she heard of his proposition;
“I don’t know what we shall do. No-
body can tell what may happen in a
few years.” A truly philosophic re-
mark. Flesh comes and goes. t Ten
years from now Sarah may be a liv-
ing skeleton. Nor should she forget
that there are men who admire rich-
ly upholstered women.
OUT OF FASHION.
In a certain way Mrs. Edna Wal-
lace Hopper is out of fashion, for
money was not bequeathed to her or
even offered to hereon the con-
trary, she has failed in her attempt
to break the will of her stepfather.
ART IN HOBOKEN.
Messrs. Busigilona and Hintz dis-
puted in Hoboken over the credibility,
the realism and the literary style of
Mr. Sinclair’s slaughter-house ro-
mance, or bundle of human and ani-
mal documents, or what-you-will.
Mr. Hintz in a fine state of aesthetic
fury threw the book into Mr. Busig-
ilona’s face. Not content with this
in the fight over an idea, he drew a
butcher knife — expert testimony — and
stabbed Mr. Busigilona repeatedly.
We had thought that only in Paris
could there be so great interest in a
literary subject, and, mark you, this
dispute was not in any one of the so-
called literary centres of the United
States, Boston, New York, Indianapo-
lis, but in Hoboken, which is asso-
our readers may recall the pleasing" in-
cident. A London student of sociology,
“W. F. W.,” made the comment that
the (lancer’s name was in headlines and
his fame was assured, but the accom-
panist was unknown, although he
played the whole time. "Though this
was a performance not less remarkable
in its way than was the other, he re-
mained in his original obscurity. As a
father once remarked in reply to kind
inquiries: ‘Everybody asks after Mrs.
Jones; nobody asks after me.’” “W. F.
W.” draws a moral. The accompanist is
not always a pianist ; he may be the
statesman’s secretary, the lawyer’s
drudge who condenses the evidence and
finds the cases, the husband of the lead-
ing lady. The more indispensable he is,
the farther is he from the limelight.
Born to play accompaniments, he does
not sulk or rebel. “Once he did assert
himself. ‘Did you paint that picture?’
he was asked that time. ’No,’ he said,
triumphantly, ‘I made the frame.’ ” Un-
fortunately for “W. F. W.’s” argument,
the name of Mr. Guattierro’s accom-
panist was published, “which it is,” ac-
cording to the London Globe — for we
saved the clipping describing the his-
toric event — Mr. Poli Luixi. According
to another journal, It is PiSliluigi. But
“W. F. W.” might argue that this con-
fusion in a name is an indisputable
proof of obscurity. |
/ f'
AN EMPRESS DOWAGER.
Several descriptions of the Empress
Dowager of China have been pub-
lished recently, but no one of them
, , is equal to that in Mrs. Archibald
elated chiefly with steamship^, beer Li ttle's “Round About My Peking
Garden,” which appeared last year.
and picnics. While the benevolent
may deplore the manner of ending
the discussion, those interested in the
arts will welcome the incident as a
proof of the steadily growing atten-
tion paid aesthetics throughout the
land. Where there is no fierce dis-
cussion, where men and women are
not willing to die for a principle, art
is stagnant or non-existent. Even the
recent outrageous conduct of Mr. An-
thony Comstock will be of service to
art by reason of the storm of indigna-
tion he has raised about him.
REMOVING THOUGHTS.
The ancients, who wore sandals and
knew not tight boots, had corns. Many
were the heroic cures recommended in
their treatises on medicine and surgery.
Thus a hole was bored in the corn and
a fiery acid was poured in through a
quill. No doubt Cleopatra, Caesar’s too
celebrated wife, Lais, Phryne, Thais
and other noble dames, even the spotless
Lucretia herself, were visited by
chiropodists. Years afterward a deep
thinker thought he had solved the prob-
lem by declaring that corns are only a
matter of digestion, but it was reserved
for New Thought to give an unfailing
remedy. You bare the corn, then pass
the finger tips of the right hand over
it slowly and with personal affection,
and at the same time send vibrations
from the brain to the offender. For a
soft corn 413 vibrations a second will
do. You repeat slowly this speech : “I
am now sending a current of thought
I force into my corn, and so separating,
deducing, disintegrating, rendering,
splitting, sundering, splintering, snip-
ping, dweliicating, whittling, dispersing,
dislocating, eliding, divorcing, pulveriz-
ing, slashing, slicing and dissecting it,
that presently it will pass away.” This
you say thrice, and then add : “Avaunt !
avaunt ! avaunt ! The universe is mine.
I am it!” But if you are the universe
you include corns, and they have as
much right to be on your feet as miles
away. Our old friend the Count of
Monte Cristo exclaimed wAh a famous
gesture — we see Fechter in the tableau
now — “The world is mine !” Is it pos-
sible that the count was tormented by
icorns?
She saw the Empress and had a
pricking in her thumbs for long af-
terward. The face is a pleasantly
flattering one, with falsity written all
over the apparently good humored
surface. This reminds one of the
Prussian seen by Coleridge on the
packet from Yarmouth to Hamburg:
“Amid all his droll looks and droll
gestures, there remained one look un-
touched by laughter; and that one
look was the true face, the others
were but its mask.” They say the
Empress Dowager’s smile chills even
foreign ministers. Mrs. Little thinks
her type is common wherever society
exists. “Were she an English mother
she would marry all her daughters
to eldest sons, irrespective of whether
they were lunatics or confirmed dip-
somaniacs. She would smile and say
pleasant things as she pressed for-
ward over her enemy’s dead body,
(without even a thrill of pleasure ini
the doing so.’’ It was thought a year |
ago that a disease, probably diabetes,
would carry off the Empress Dowager
in two years’ time.
ACCOMPANISTS.
Last month in Paris the champion
But only a short time ago Miss Billie Italian waltzer, Mr. Guattierro, offered
Burke entered into the joy of a leg-
acy of several thousand pounds, and
I Mlss Vesta Victoria, although her
name suggests a parlor match con-
fessed coyly to London journals that
she had received and refused an
anonymous offer of marriage which
a prize of 1000 francs to any one who
could outwaltz him. Three Frenchmen,
an Italian and a Russian entered the
lists, but Mr. Guattierro, waltzing un-
ceasingly for fourteen hours, danced
them to a finish. Two hundred and
fifty-(*vo dances were played. Some of
BLUE DRESS COATS.
The Herald some time ago described
the efforts of certain London tailors
to introduce the dress coat of blue
cloth this season. Opponents, revolu-
tionary and conservative alike, ob-
ject to the innovation on the ground
that the new coat is “flunkeyish.” By
saying this they insinuate that it is
an imitation of a new livery devised
by King Edward for his household,
with this exception: black buttons
are substituted for gilt. Nevertheless
the blue coats have been seen re-
cently in both the opera house and
the theatre. The Daily Mail inti-
mates that the color will be gener-
ally chosen next season. The Pall
Mall Gazette is of the contrary opin-
ion and gives a plausible reason: “In
a community such as this, where
classes slide into each other without
yawning gulfs to mark the divisions,
there are plenty of people who do
not get a new dress coat every few
months, and the more courageous
among these would certainly stick to
the old black, with the result that
many wearers of blue would be sus-
pected of snobbish pretences to be
‘better’ than they really are.” There
are many men who have a new dress
suit once in ten years, and they insist
that there is no exaggeration in style
of design and ornamentation; that
the dress is modest and self-effacing.
The more pronounced a style is the
more violent Is the reaction. Black j
has been the prevailing color for I
many years and it will no doubt main- |
tain its authority for many more to
come.
THIRSTY HOUSES.
The amount of money spent on
drinks in the House of Commons
during the year just ended was
equivalent to $40,000, an increase of
$10,000 over that of the year before.
We hasten to add that 100,000 bot-
tles of mineral water were consumed,
but we fear that most of them were
used to temper whiskey. Strong
drink is raging even in the House of
Commons, for only 2400 bottles of
light wines and champagne went
down the throats of the legislators.
In the old days English judges and
statesmen were mighty drink mas-
ters, though no one equalled the
great Gallaspy, who drank seven in
hand; that is, "seven glasses so
placed between the fingers of his
right hand that, in drinking, the
liquor fell into the next glasses, and
thereby he drank out of the first
seven glasses at once.” It is said
that Lord Oxford more than once
was ingloriously intoxicated in the
presence of Queen Anne, and when
Walpole was a young man his father
always poured for him a double por-
tion of wine, saying: “Come, Robert,
b’ou shall drink twice while I drink
once, for my son in his sober senses
imust not be witness of the intoxica-
tion of his father.” But for many
years it has been considered dis-
graceful for a member of the House
of Commons to take his seat when
overcome by wine or strong waters:
witness the dramatic scene in Trol-
lope s ‘The Way We Live Now”
Iwhen the great speculator elected to
a seat attempts to address the House
early in the night of his suicide.
eh
MORE DISTINGUISHED
OF HIS DISCIPLES
Fourth and Last Article on
Vincent d' Indy's' Life
of His Master.
Mr. Vincent d’Indy, the biographer of
Cesar Franck, fights ingeniously his own
battle in recounting (he life of his mas-
ter. His description and approval of I
Franck’s manner of composing and style |
are a defence of his own. When he
comes to the portrayal of Franck as a
teacher, he seizes the opportunity to re-
new his war against the - Paris Con-
servatory, and to praise indirectly the
instruction offered at the Schola Canto-
rum. Mr. d'Indy is at the head of this
school, and the instruction in composi-
tion is supposed to be similar to that en-
joyed by Franck's private pupils. There
is today dispute over the true char-
acter of the Schola Cantorum and the
“pretensions" of Mr. d'Indy, who bv
rigid adherence to the principles of art
as he understands them has made bitter
enemies. He has on all occasions spoken
plainly his opinions concerning official
and commercial musicians, whether they
were living or dead. It. is not surprising
that he in turn is assailed.
A witty attack on him was published
in the Mercure Musical of last June, and
in July the attack was answered. The
assailant. Mr. Emile Vuillermoz, gave
an amusing description of the Schola
Cantorum. He spoke of the establish-
ment of the school as apparently praise-
worthy, but the real purpose of the
chief was soon exposed. "In place of
furnishing simply to young pupils the
means of drawing freely from the treas-
ures of science and history, it seems to
have been in the chief's hands an instru-
ment of systematic pedagogy, a sort of
lists where this obstinate fellow put the
worth of his dogmas and rigorous for-
mulas of art to the proof. He drew high
barriers about his new disciples, and
said unto them: 'You are my beloved
sons in whom I am well pleased; I
wish to create you in my image, and the
universe will belong to you. Here in mv
garden you will find the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. When you
have eaten its fruit, you will be iike
gods. Do not mix with the crowd that
surrounds you. for it is nourished on
error, and here only will you find the
divine food of truth.’ And with the
ascendancy which characters of tem-
pered steel always exert, this inflexible
captain quickly persuaded his young re-
cruits that thp official conservatories
were homes of heresy and imbecility
and ..that tile Schola Cantorum would
change the face of the world. Timid
persons, amateurs, sons of families and
the young who had been rejected at the
entrance examinations of the Conserva- ,
tory hastened to his side.” These words
are put into tire mouth cf one reporting
CESAR FRANCK AS A TEACHER:
' STUDY OF EACH PUPIL’S NEEDS
as a committeeman years hence on the |
question of whether an e ?humed I name
“Dindv" or “d'lndy" should be admitted
to a biographical dictionary. The words
of Mr. Vuillermoz grow more and more
biter, as when Mr. d'lndy is described
as discrediting all harmonic studies that
put into play sensorial and innati
faculties, and choosing "a system of me-
chanical writing. an automatically
sonorous arithmetic. which reduced the
divine exercise of inspiration to a
patient game of chess.”
Franck's Pupils.
Cesar Franclt was the teacher of the
organ at the Paris Conservatory. He
was never a teacher of composition at
that institution. He was talked of as
the successor of Victor Masse, one of
the Conservatory teachers of composi-
tion. To quote Mr. d'lndy: "Ernest
Guiraud, the composer of 'Mme. Tur-
lupln,' was preferred to the composer
of ‘the Beatitudes’”; but the latter's
organ class was, according to Mr.
d’lndy, for a time at least,
the ‘‘true centre of composition
study.” In 1S72 and for some years
afterward the three teachers of ad-
vanced composition were Masse, ”a
composer of operas-comiques, who had
no idea of the symphony" and was con-
stantly sick; Iteber. “an old woman,
of a musician, with narrow ^and anti
ouated ideas,” and Bazin, who had,
no suspicion of^ what musical eomposi-
^The'^organ pupils at the Conservatory
naturally came under Franck s influ-
ence, the late Samuel Rousseau, Pierne,
Chapuis, Dallier. Marty, Vidal and
others. He influenced in a measure no
doubt his colleagues in the National
Society of Music, Chabrier, Gabriel
Faure, Dukas. Guilmant and certain in-
terpretatlve artists as the violinists
Ysaye and Armand Parent.
There were more intimate pupils, how-
ever. those taught composition by him
at his dwelling in the Boulevard Saint
Michel. “They contributed to estab-
lish and preserve the high traditions of
his instruction and to prove its excel-
lence by their own works. In a
lormer article The Herald has told of
me™ that studied with Franck stealth-
ily as though ashamed. Now tl.at his
name is illustrious the name of
“Franck's pupil” is legion, and the
majority of composers who lived in his
period pretend that they drank from the
cup of his wine and fecund mstruc-
Who were the true pupils of Franck,
according to Mr. d’lndy? Those who !
studied composition with him before
the war of 1870 were Cahen, Coquard
and Dupare. Then came the cavalry
officer, Alexis de Castillon. After 187-
the intimate pupils were dlndy. Camille
Benoit. Augusta Holmes, Chausson, de
Wallly, Kunkelmann, de Breville. de
Serres. Ropartz, Vallin, Bordes and the
lamented lelceu. With the exception
of Messrs, d’lndy, the most talented,
de Castillon. Chausson and Lekeu, are
dead. Coquard is known in this country
onlv by one song. Augusta Holmes,
known here chiefly by her songs had
other teachers and shows little of
Franck’s spirit or knowledge in her
music. Dupare, a composer of a few'
remarkable songs, has long lived in re-
tirement on account of his health. The
music of de Wailly that we have heard
h-is little distinetion. Mr. il Indy him-
self is the most conspicuous and ap-
parently the most talented of these
"intimate pupils,” who. lo use Mr.
d’Indv's words, were closely acquainted
with their teacher and able to enter
into mental intimacy and heed lus vivi-
fying counsel: “they alone knew what
one of Franck's lessons in composition
was, the united effort of master and
pupils to gain one and the only goal, |
^Aml vet a distinguished composer who
reverences Frank 'and admires Mr.
d’lndy as man and musician said to
us not long ago: “The general scheme
01 Franck's sonata form as in his quar-
tet, symphony and sonata may be
found most masterfully expounded in
d'Indy’s works. In the works of all
the other followers, however, this
scheme becomes annoying, tedious, and,
above all, foreseen. A scheme of cast
iron!”
At Conservatories.
Vincent d'lndy entered the Paris Con-
servatory as a member of Franck's
organ class. As a conservatory pupil,
he took a minor prize; he then left the
institution to be Franck's private pupil.
He has never lost an opportunity since
his withdrawal of showing his dislike,
contempt is the better word, for that
school, and as the biographer of Franck
ho has much to say against the Cont
servatory and its shabby treatment of
Franck and his pupils. Thus he insists
tl.at the majority of the teachers in
Franck's time were wholly Ignorant of
the music of the 18th and 17th centuries
: 1 of much of ISth century music; that
they looked on Bach as an unmitigated
bore and laughed at Gluck — they found
"(ifths” in "Armide.” "Now it is all
changed, and any young pupil would
th.nk himself disgraced if lie, did not
ornament his pieces with a multitude of
parallel fifths more or less exposed to
view. Other times, other fifths'.” Bizet s
•Carmen” found no favor with the pro-
fessors or w'itli many of the pupils:
some accused the composer of extreme
Wagnerlsrti! others veiled tiieir face' be-
fore tile "coarse subject" and cried
“Shame:” There were pupils vyho re-
MISS SEXTON AS LUCIA.
fused to read even masterpieces for fear
of "harming their individuality.”
And w'as it much better in other con-
servatories of Europe?
"To teach an art with good results, it
is necessary first to know the trade, the
business, then the art. and, finally, the
pu ,i who is to be initiated into the art.
Mr. d’lndy believes that in all the music
schools oi Germany and France— except,
of course, the Schola C&ntorum there
are very few' teachers of composition
who know how to teach art. because they
scarcely know' art themselves and prac-
tise it only empirically. Now, the me-
chanical part and art itself are two dif-
ferent things, though they are often
confounded. "In my time at the Paris
Conservatory there were some profes-
sors of composition who did not know
well the mechanical part and were whol-
ly unfit to teach it to others. As for
any knowledge of the pupil and his in-
d. -idual gifts, requirements and char-
acter. the whole system of musical in-
struction in France is based on the lev-
elling of different minds. How, then,
can these teachers be expected to clis-
c. minate and differentiate? They pour
the same and commonplace instruction
into young minds that may differ wide-
ly. They do not suspect that musical
food which is good or, at least, inoffen-
sive for one may poison another; that a
precept necessary for a pupil of limited
intelligence will be intolerable and in-
jurious for one more highly endowed.
At a conservatory, especially at that
of Paris, where the chief aim is to pro-
duce first prize men. the professors usu-
ally succeed in turning the pupils into
rivals who often become enemies. I he
teachers also urge their pupils to com-
pose much, for practice, to gain facility
Pupils in these schools feel themselves
obliged to perform tasks, but in art
there is no such thing as a task, a duty,
something obligatory; no more in music,
than in painting or in architecture.
“Everything,” says Mr. dlndy, that
CLARA SEXTON, SOPRANO.
Ho was most conscientious in the
examination of the exercises and
pointed out at once the fault. Pic
was pitiless toward any error in con-
struction. He would examine for a
long time a doubtful passage, then say
"No I do not like it;” .but when he
found even in the stammering of
musical expression some new modula-
tion or an attempt at a new detail m
form he was happy in exclaiming, I
like it; I like it. He was ncvei
ha.stv in judgment, nor had he a Pf 0 ’
erustian bed of opinion and prejudice
on which he stretched his pupils
Franck insisted on his pupu-’. Y 1 ^’*7
ing. not much but well. He did hot
ask for a quantity of exercises, lie
demanded that what was brought,
however little, was most carefully
considered and worked out. ...
When a pupil had completed with
him the study of counterpomt-he
wished the counterpoint to be intelli-
gently woven and melodic- and the
study of fugue, In which he sought
after expression rather than comnina-
. . . • • i - ^ ,1 the “m VR_
master in a spirit of religious enthusi-
asm and worship.
Mr. d’lndy as Biographer.
Mr. d’lndy as man and composer is
known and honered in Boston, for
even those who were unable to ap-
preciate wholly his noble, second sym-
phony realized the sincerity of the
man and the dignity of his art. It was
to be expected thart his life of Caesar
Franck would be a careful, discrim-
inative, illuminative study of the
great composer. He is eloquent, but
his eloquence is not extravant, and his
love for Franck does not blind him
to the existence of inferior composi-
tions signed by the loved name.
It may be in writing certain pages
that Mr. d’lndy has furnished "an elu-
cidation of himself and his proceedings
in composing at the same time.” It may
be that in his zeal for the welfare of
OK LI let 1 in Axrci.1 j Vi
than in pamuiig m m < *• * ^ • * * *- » - ^ ~ • .. onmhin:i - the Schola Cartorum, he has gone out
“Everything,” says Mr. d’lndy. “that after expression. rather .than combina q£ hlg xvay t0 attack both the living
one produces in art should be. not a tion he then Initiated him in the W8 and the dead as when he describes
•pensum/ but the result of some tones of composition, ". oll £ T™ Gounod, leaving the concert hall of the
suffering in which the young artist has |i according to him. on tonal eonstruc^ conservatory after the first performance
left a bit of his heart, and Ion the ex- non. He built yP_ mu h s 'f. “ s Musical of Franck's symphony, surrounded by
pression of which he employs all his in- tec t an endu ring .house Mu'ical jnce „^ burners of each sex and say-
phrases, like builder's material, how-
ever beautiful, are as naught they do
not constitute a musical work unless
to form, but he gave the pudiI liberty
to apply it. His teaching was liberal,
for "respecting more than any one
else the high laws of our art. laws of
nature and tradition, lie knew how
to apply them in an intelligent man-
ner by conciliating them with the
right of imitative individuality. se-
vere in his denunciation of vices in
construction. lie was indulgent to
faults in detail, nor was he shocked
bv violations of eonvei»tional rules.
He would say: "That is not permitted
tellectual faculties.” The system of .re-
quiring each pupil to produce much is
not good for the majority, because it ac-
customs them to writing something, no
matter what, and to being satisfied with
all that flows from the pen as long as
the flow is copious. They have, then
no idea of the leading part that should
be played by that faculty of the intel-
ligence which is called taste, which de-
termines the choice of material and the
orderly and fitting arrangement ot it.
To this mistaken instruction is due the
production of w-orks hurriedly thought
and useless to art that are heard in
theatres and concert halls throughout
I Europe. _ , .
Franck’s Teachings.
It is not necessary to discuss Franck's -^-^ Con&prvator ^ but I like it.”
mastery of technic in considering bin never said merely: “That is bad.
~~ n teacher Mr. d’lndy analyzes other Do it over for me;” he sought out the
characteristics that made him. as he reason wh^U was bad and explained
says, a pre-eminent instructor In com- Hr , taugnt a j so by example. If a
position First of all. he had the gift ot pupil found a difficulty in the course
tboronehlv acquainted with of construction. Franch would take
eneb mipil ' with his abilities and his , a volume of Bach, Beethoven. Schu-
f imitations He studied no doubt un- mann, or Wagner, point out a pas-
ronsciou«ly the psychological character sage, and say: "lou see he had the
htmselV; 0 *st ucl'y S< these "m^asures^^irid
I individuality and tried to preserve it in \ the
developing nnd training it. ' This Is | solution.”
why the musicians of his schooling, all His affection for his pupils was so
solidly educated under him. have kept g r <. at that he bore them constantly in
in their music an individual aspect. m i n( t,and informed them of what he
Franck loved his art passionately ana thought might interest them. Often
exclusively, and his teaching was found- 1 late at n j g ht after he was through,
I ed on love. He was not bound by strict i a3 on ,. wou]< j think, with teaching.
rules, by dry and fastidious theories.
' He was a father as well as a teacher to
j each pupil, and such was his kindness
! and affection that the pupils were not
i only devoted to him. but were closely
I ~ c /l u'lMi nnntlioi' art that thprp.
UL r idiiuiv a uijjuuiij i j
incense-burners of each sex, and say-
ing pontilically that the symphony was
the "affirmation of impotence pushed to
■ > T-» . ^ d t-,1 nelrt tVllC
not constitute a musical ™ork unless dogma perhaps Gounod made this
their place and relation are ruled 1 > | ech> perhaps he did not. Some of
sure and logical^ laavs^ the disciples of Franck are too much
busied jn addin g to the legend of his
martyrdom. Franck was not the only
omy ut’vuuju iu mm, out v. * “ •
I joined one with another, bo that there
| was no disputing, no envious, sour ri-
I valry, and since his death there has
i been no clouri on their relationship.
do uii' " wui't miiirw, »**».»* ' • ,
he would write at length and with
pains advice to pupils in the coun-
try. No wonder that this master is
still gratefully and lovingly remembered
as “Pere Franck” or that Mr. d'lndy
when he was in Boston spoke of his
martyrdom. amneu nut
composer who was long unappreciated i
bv colleagues and critics, and in tills
respect he is in line with Mozart. Bee-
thoven. Schubert, Schumann. Wagner.
Especially to be regretted is the pub-
lication of one sentence in Mr. d Indy s
book. After speaking of the influence
of Franck's love for humanity, truth,
art and God. his biographer says: "We
know onlv too well, we men who live at
the end of the 19th century, that never
can truth manifest itself by hate, and
all the monstrous 'j'aecuse' are and will
remain powerless in comparison with the
simple 'j'aime' ot Pere Franck. But
this “monstrous ‘j'aecuse’ brought
truth to light, saved the honor and the
glory of France, restored to humanity
belief in justice.- France has had many
illustriou>s men. and among them Cesar
Franck: but the name of Emile Zola
may well be remembered in honor when
the score of "The Beatitudes” will havo
chiefly historical interest. For art is not
everything, nor is the creative artist the
only herd. The man who risks all in
the cause of humanity and nobly dares
in the face of public opinion and of
rulers and judges to lift up his voice
for the oppressed deserves better ot a
fellow countryman than this ill-con-
sidered speech. ... .
One or two of Mr. d'lndy s statements
oi fact are open to discussion. lus
readers will be under the impression
t> at Franck barely scraped his way
through life as a poor piano teacher.
Some of his intimate friends in I aiis
spy that his income must have amount-
ed’ to about 28, 000 francs a year, and to
a man of simple tastes in Paris, this
h come is by no means poverty.
,' Va ? Fraheij of Walloon dtescei-
•'V • “Outot dc Mouv 1, cousin to Franc. .
, , ‘ rn he was in Boston, spoke of
I ranck s parents as Germans or of Ger-
A( tn descent. However tills may be,
ols, music is not essentially French, as
; that of Saint-Saens, Debussy, and
(lio Massenet of "Mnnon” and "La
Nnvarralse.”
We have already questioned the date
c the composition. “Passes:, passez
loujours,” as given by Mi-. d'Indy. Was
not the first performance of “The
Beatitudes” as a whole at Dijon?
f he Herald has endeavored to give its
(readers a fair Idea of one of the few
remarkable works In the field of mu-
sical biography. Seldom has the life of
a groat composer been written by a
musician of Mr. d’ Indy's calibre. Sel-
dom is any biography written with like
understanding, artistic conviction, con-
tagious sympathy. Seldom is biograph-
i- al enthusiasm tempered by sane crit-
icism. Pages that will be helpful and
stimulating to all who are seriously con-
cerned with music are riot merely
digressions to sw-ell the volume. They
are connected intimately with the ca- I
-cer of Franck. The book Is written
by one who has thought deeply on |
problems of life and all the arts, and |
in raising this monument to his master j
Mr. d’Indy has honored himself.
The biography should be translated i
into English, but pot in .haste, not as !
a perfunctory task for pay. It should !
hi Englished by a musician intimately I
acquainted with French a? used b.\
a composer of original ideas and fas-
tidious taste. -No better translator
could be found for this purpose than
Mr. Charles Martin Loeffler. Would that
ht might be persuaded to do this work
and enrich the volume with his anno-
tations!
MUSIC NOTES.
The Herald publishes today a portrait
of Miss Clara Sexton, lyric soprano;
also a portrait of her as Lucia. Miss
Sexton, born in Springfield, studied in
Boston with Mr. W. L. Whitney and Mr.
B:mboni, and in Florence with Messrs.
\ annuccini and Lombardi. She made
her debut last season at Gergamo as
^Lucia, and sang during the engagement
ile to he in s-. nq.ri In lie inti’s!
scientific thought. They are no more
modern than were the Greeks, who rose
in the theatre and remained standing
until a stranger, an old man, had found
a comfortable seat.
CELESTIAL SPEECH.
Mr. Johann Martin Schleyer, the
Inventor of Volapuk, now 75 years
old, told his friends who celebrated
with him his birthday: “I shall soon
make my last and longest journey.
My reward will be to hear the angels
speaking and singing Volapuk.” Dotes
tills mean that volapuk is the pre-
vailing language in heaven, or that
it Is merely an accomplishment, as a
New England singer gives a recital
with 4°ngs in three languages? Swe-
denborg tells of the strange language
of the" fiends, and Berlioz put music
to a demoniacal text in the finale of
his "Damnation of Faust." There are
deep thinkers who insist that the
speech in the Garden of Eden was in
low Dutclj. Paul, who had celestial
visions when he was caught up to the
third heaven and heard "unspeakable
words}- which it is not lawful for a
man to utter,” spoke of the “tongues
of man and of angels.” Does Mr.
Schleyer believe that the “unspeaka-
ble words” were in volapuk? Of
course the advocates of Esperanto
can sky nothing. Esperanto was in-
vented for commercial purposes only.
AMOROUS BLUFF.
A female philosopher has given
counsel to men in the matter of the re-
who lmd reached the age of 10G. Opium
was not strong enough for him in his
youth, so he abandoned it for the mer-
curic ohlorid, and increased gradually
the dose until for upward of thirty
years he had taken sixty grains daily.
Lord Elgin and others knew him, and
he assured them of his intense happiness
after swallowing the stuff. Today there
is Capt. Vetrio, “a young American
genlleman,” who made a stir at the
Queen’s Hotel, London, not long ago
by dining in the presence of a few
favored guests on Paris green, strych-
nine, blue indigo, phosphorus and atro-
pine. Each plate in turn contained its
green and blue and white powders, and
the gallant captain regretted bitterly
that he was unable to add to the feast
in consequence of the stringent laws
that control the sale of poisons in
England.
M a month with genuine success. She
lien sang at Barcelona In Massenet's tention of a woman’s love and
Worther.” After a visit of a month at n . , an ° respect,
her home in Springfield she sailed yes- une 01 her maxims is this : Don’t be
terday on the Canopic for Italy to fulfil mean to a woman or to any one in her
ngagemehts for the coming year
The London Times thus spoke of Mme.
Melba’s Violetta: “In spite of its famil-
.irily, Mme. Melba’s Violetta always
takes us by surprise every, time we
hear it. For It is surprising as well
as refreshing to hear coloratura sung
nowadays as she sings it; it all comes
pouring out with amaziig spontaniety
and that splendid sense of enjoyment
which makes one feel that here, at any
rate, coloratura is not an artificial pro-
duct, forced by the singing teacher for
•he mere caprice of the operatic com-
poser, but the natural expression of the
person who is singing, just as it was
n the eighteenth century when people
.--ok to singing and made a virtuosity
of it, much in the same way as we do of
he piano. Mme. Melba is, in fact, the
ink that connects the twentieth cen-
.ury with the golden age of singing. Her
costume may also be regarded from a
chronological point of view, for it was
at least a couple of centuries ahead of
every one else’s on the stage and rather
presence.” A woman, it appears,
despises a niggard “as she hates a spot
on her nose,” even when she herself is
obliged to be economical. IVe once re-
proached a girl for ordering extrava-
gantly- at a restaurant when she knew
her companion had a small salary. She
answered : “He had no business to in-
vite me if he couldn’t give me what I
wanted.” Yet she was of a thrifty na-
ture, and was often obliged to deny her-
self things that to many are necessities.
The philosopher says you should tip
nobly , a waiter or cabman, and if you
endeavor to conceal from your com-
panion the amount of the tip, she will
. - judge the amount by the reception. A
more than oO years too soon for the pe- , , ...
l-iod in which Dumas places the scene dangerous philosopher, both as sociolo-
gist and- economist, one to make trouble !
She should be denied pen and ink.
She should be : shut up. Yet the follow-
'd the original story. Our ancestors
knew what they were about when they
clothed themselves in the fifties; how
long will it take us to realize the charm
and beauty of the fashions of that peri- . , , ,. T . ,
od? It ought not to take the manage- remark-may save her: “If you have
ment long, at "any rate, to realize the not the money to be generous in actual- the pavement may compare with most
incongruity of mixing up tile costumes , ., , . , ^ ■
■ — ...... i ty , be at least generous in thought and
SLANG AGAIN.
Some time ago, to show that slang
was only language in the making,
The Herald called attention to a few
words published in Dekker’s “Lan-
thorne and Candle Light,” three cen-
( turies ago, words that today are in
respectable colloquial use, but were
then used only by thieves and rap-
scallions. Some of the editions of
“The History and Curious Adventures
of Banyfylede-Moore Carew, King of
the Mendicants” — the first was pub- j
lished in 1745 and now brings $10 or'
$12 in the second-hand book shops —
contain a list of words that, generally
used by beggars at the time the list
was compiled, are, now in colloquial
use and some of them in literature.
Carew, an extraordinary rascal, visit-
ed the “plantations in America”, and
gave a description of Boston with its
harbor defences. He considered the
town safe from the approach of any
sea foe, and found it was impossible
“for any ship to be run away with out
of this harbor by a pirate.” Nettle’s
I Island was worth two. or three hun-
I dred pounds to the owner. Col.
Shrimpton. Carew described the
streets as “broad and regular,” and
the houses of the richest merchants as
“stately, well built, convenient.”
There were five printing houses, “at
one of which the Boston Gazette is
printed and comes out twice a week.
There were nine churches: “Old
Church, North Church, South Church,
New Church, New North Church, New
South Church, the Church of England
church, the Baptist Meeting and the
Quakers’ Meeting.” “The goodness of
of Van Dyk with the latest ‘creatons’
from Bond street.” We quote this with
peculiar pleasure on account of the un-
warranted stories that have been told
about her passing as a singer.
The press agent of Mr. Josef Lhevinne
speaking of the birth of a son to Mr.
Lhevinne’s wife— she is also a musician—
ommented on the “fact” that children
are seldom, if ever, born from a union of
distinguished musicians, and he made
the astonishing statement that Robert
and Clara Schumann were childless.
Thus did his passionate pen contradict
all statements of biographers and also
the birth certificates of Robert and
Clara's little ones. The press agent also
said that De Beriot and his wife, Marie
Malibran, were childless. H-m-m. Pleas-
ant news for their son, Charles Wilfrled
de Beriot, born at Paris in 1833, and still
known there as a piano teacher and com-
poser, unless he died recently.
This reminds us that Raff's symphony,
“In the Forest," was performed recent-
ly at the Greek Theatre, Berkeley, Cal ,
and gave much pleasure to the' corre-
spondent of a New York music iournal
who wrote: “It demonstrated that Raft
also can write in modern style, with
surprising changes of key and unusual
orchestration.” Raff was called roman-
tically modern before he died ”4 years
ago. It is a pleasure to learn that'he is
still modern in another world, and that
much may reasonably be expected of
him.
'f ut >
THOSE NORWEGIANS.
The Norwegians are, indeed, a strange
folk. In Christiania they are mortified
by the conduct of Mr. Paul O. Stens-
Inud, and not merely because he ran
mvaj. They hope that the incident will
tell her how you would like to give her
this or that. That will be sufficient for
the average good-bad woman.” Thus
does she encourage bluff. One word of
caution to young wooers : Do not try
this bluff in a restaurant. Neither the
adored one nor the waiter will listen to
it patiently. Denied her broiled live
lobster, she will leave you for a
“lobster” who will supply her «eanni-
balistieally. She may accept an oyster
stew and a glass of beer if you order
firmly and without apology. If you say :
“I wish I could give you a bird and a
| bottle,” you will lose her.
“COLD PIZEN.”
It seems that in Italy, where there
are many suicides, there is a change in
the methods. Twenty-one years ago the
favorite ways of passing through the
door, which Epictetus described as al-
ways open to anyone, were by firearms,
dropping from a height and carbonic
acid gas. Now an Italian contributor
to the Lancet shows that shooting and
hanging are out of fashion. Poison has
taken their place, and is equally in
favor with both sexes. There is a reason
for the change ; the greater ease with
which corrosive sublimate and other
forms of mercury may be procured. So
not injure the character of Norwegian- Gemma, as well as Dinah, in the Eng-
Americans in the eyes of the world. In Hsh cockney ballad, ends her woe with
a. western state they are opposed to the a “cup of cold pizen.”
re-election of two legislators who advo- The preventative would seem to be a
cated a bill to put to death men that poisonous diet administered to children
have passed a certain age on the ground from their earliest years, as Mithridates
that they are useless citizens. These was nourished, as the maiden in Haw-
N’orwegians are shocked at this lack of thorne’s story breathed with impunity
respect shown toward the aged. Thus, the odors of the poisonous flowers.
At home, they do not seem able to recog- There was at Constantinople a century
nize “smartness” in business operations, ago a highly respected person, “Soly-
nnd in the United States they are not man, the eater of corrosive sublimate,”
of London; to gallop a horse on it is
(three shillings and fourpence forfeit.
(The conversation in this town is as
polite as in most of the cities and
towns of England: many of their
merchants having traded in Europe,
and those that stay at home having
the advantage of society with trav-
ellers; so that a gentleman from Lon-'
don would think himself at home in
Boston, when he observes the number
of people, their furniture, their tables,
their dress and conversation, which
perhaps is as splendid and showy as
that of the most considerable trades-
men in London.”
But to the words used by beggars
and now respectable “Bamboozle”
may be looked on askew today by the
genteel, but it is in common use. “To
best” any one was then a low phrase,
as was “to blow in” — we give them
to show their age. Another now fa-
miliar phrase in England was “It’s
the cheese” — the correct, the proper
thing. A knowing person was “fly”
and a showy one “flash.” “To hike"
meant “to run away,” and a child was
a “kid." Flashy, showy dress was
“loud." “To put the kibosh on any
one" was to slander, run him down,
degrade him. “To queer” anything
was to spoil it. “To get the sack”
had the meaning it has today, and so
had “seedy” and “stunning.” Clothes
were “togs,” and “to tip” was to give
or lend. “Welcher” was in use among
the low, and it is now in the mouths
of lo.rds on race tracks. But why was
"bandore” in use among beggars and
rogues both as musical instrument
and “widow’s mourning-peak”? The
name of the lute-like instrument was
probably brought from Spain by
fcgrypsles. They. Introduced many words j
into the English dictionary, as “jock-
ey,” for we are not of the opinion that j
“jockey” is a variant of "jacky,” di- j
minutive of "jack,” as -some insist.
pS? U.J /ty**' f & £ -
AFTER MANY YEARS.
A man in Maine, after chewing to-
bacco for eighty-one years, resolved
Oil his 95th birthday to abandon the
habit, nor will he smoke,, snuff or
dip. “Much ceremony attended the
declaration,” and now his fellow-
townsmen are betting on how long
he^will keep his pledge. But why
should he give up so late in life a
habit that must have given him
much pleasure? Surely not because
he will thus be more agreeable to
women. Not because it is injurious
to his health. Will he take a suc-
ceda, neum, flagroot, slippery elm,
(ibvage, gum? Let us hope so; oth-
erwise there is something pathetic
( in the thought of those quiet jaws
after years of constant activity.
Those jaws suggest a song, a ballad
of the heart and home modelled on
Grandfather's Clock.” Meanwhile, j
he is undoubtedly watched night and
day by his sportive fellow-townsmen.
DIVORCE COURT SKETCHES.
The president of the divorce court in
London has announced that newspaper
Artists are henceforth forbidden to
make sketches in court, “as the prac-
tice is embarrassing and prejudices wit-
nesses, and because it is not in the pub-
lic interest to draw attention pictorially
to divorce cases.” The news of a like
prohibition in courts of this country
would bring grief to many who are
unable to attend the trials. We all
know the remarks that follow the in-
j speetion of these pictures :
I Mrs. Johnson : “He looks like a bfute,
and I am not surprised that no decent
woman would livp with him. She can-
“not be a very refined person.”
Mr. .Johnson: “Well, I don’t know,
Eustacia ; she is rather an attractive
woman, I should say.!’
Mrs. Johnson : “Humph. Have you
read the testimony about her? Yon
men have such unaccountable tastes.”
Mr. Johnson: “But just see the mug
of the chief witness against her. I
wouldn’t believe him under oath, and,
remember, he was paid tq discover evi-
dence. It’s a jail-bird face.”
And are such aids to reflection and
conversation to be tabooed? Perish the
thought !
LOST JOYS.
The state board of health of Indi-
ana is determined to do away with
, ail the perquisites and joys of ehild-
i flood. \\ e do not refer especially to the |
first rule that will be put on tfie DuIIetin 1
hoards when the schools open : “Do
not kiss any one on the mouth or
Allow any one to do so to you,” for
kissing will undoubtedly have a finer
flavor some years, hence. But it is
the purpose of the state board to
keep happy children from swopping
•apple cores and Jackson balls, from
■’f litting their fingers in their mouths,
^from wetting the fingers so as to
turn over book leaves, from licking
out a sum on a slate, etc., etc. The
t;me will come, no doubt, when the
children will be forbidden to runout
the tongue when they are writing in
copybooks. “Peel fruit or wash it
before eating.” This is a hard rule
even for many grown persons. I No
.apple cut with a knife is so sweet as
the one bitten into. To many the
true pleasure of apple eating is in
“chankings” — some prefer the
variant “chaunkings.” And what
affectionate little girl would think of
refusing to eat the red apple that
came straight from the pocket of lit-
tle Johnny, or first /, putting it under
the pump. “Learn to love fresh air.” |
, To do this in most schools the boys and I
j girls must play hooky.
ENGLISH FRUIT MARKETS.
Tne Herald referred a few days
-ago to the first exportation of apples
this season from- Boston. The quesl
tion may be asked whether England
nas not enough fruit of its own We
have before us statistics of the Eng-
-• foreign fruit trade for last year
and they are .surprising. In August,
!!)(>•>, plums were imported into Eng-
land to the sum of £315,545, pears
to the value of £154,542 and grapes
'tb the value of £ 112.312. Vegetables,
'.too, are imported in great quantities.'
In one week last September the Eng-
lish received from abroad 310,168 1
bushels of onions and 10.1J3 orates of
tomatoes. There are Englishmen who
say this state of things is their own
fault; that British grown fruit has
been driven out of the market by
“superior packing and the system of
grading.” Furthermore, the Northern
Railway Company of France does
much to help French fruit growers.
SWb special fast trains from the south
of France reach Calais so that the
consignments arrivp in time for the I
English markets the next day. But
some of (hese lamenting Englishmen
forget that for many years England
did not produce many fruits or vege-
tables. Even in the fifteenth century
the general produce of the kitchen
gardens was ridiculously meagre when
compared with those of the Nether-
lands, Italy and France, and the few
vegetables grown were all boiled
with meat, though some Englishmen
began timidly to know t lie virtue of a
salad. As for importations of fruit,
they were known in the thirteenth
century. Pears came from Rochelle,
pomegranates, citrons, oranges, figs,
grapes from Spain. The time may
come when native apples will be more
expensive in America than grape fruit.
j t s~ /jot 5
KISS ALBUMS.
: Some may remember the mental
photograph album craze which caused
suffering to many amiably disposed.
"Who is your favorite poet?” “What
‘virtue do you admire most in wo-
man?” “Who would you prefer to be
if you were not yourself?” etc. These
albums have passed away, but a more
dangerous if not more foolish one is
now in England, the “kiss album.”
It is passed to you, if you are looked
on with favor, and you are expected
to kiss a carmine-tinted pad. “What-
ever the stuff is, it comes off on your
lips. Then you kiss a page of the
album and the stuff, coming off again,
leaves a lasting record. Each kiss is
said to be a marvellous exhibition of
individuality. A London sociologist
of a flippant nature asks what kind
of kiss should be given : “the sort
that one would administer to one’s
wife, or to one's grandmother, or to
a sticky infant, or to a police court
testament? Probably the right way
is to endeavor to confuse the book
with its owner.” No consumptives, of
course, need apply. But what a nasty
album, even when the kissers are
guaranteed as sound and kind! What
a waste of raw material!
the young woman thus described, all
.steel springs and ginger, high in the
good graces of the captain, irritat-
ing by the exuberance of her vitality,
With a razor-like voice. Remember-
ing her, we like to think of Mrs.
Longworth quiet, reading an improv-
ing book.
HOMEWARD BOUND.
It appears that some of their fel-
low passengers complained that Mr.
and Mrs. Longworth were not in-
clined to be sociable on the home-
ward voyage. Mr. and Mrs. Long-
worth did not "notice” anybody on
deck or below. Carefully watched\
they were not "seen or heard to ad-
dress one word to each other” for
three days. They sat, "each with a
book.” But what did the fellow pas-
sengers expect? That Mr. Long-
worth should be the hero of the smok-
ing cabin, slapping everybody on the
back, calling this one “Old Sport”
and that one “Say” ? That Mrs.
Longworth should tell the women all
about her adventures? Mr. and Mrs.
Longworth must have been thorough-
ly sick of the whole thing, monarchs
and queens and jukes, dinners and
suppers, chatter, games, theatres.
M hat wonder that they were quiet,
almost morose. It would not have
been surprising had they sought the
seclusion that the cabin grants. Even
the strongest nerved cannot be on
parade the whole time. Was it rea-
sonable to expect Mrs. Longworth to
be “the life of the whole ship”? Some
of us have, no doubt, crossed with
DISTURBING NEIGHBORS.
The tenants in a New York apart-
ment house complained of the sing-
ing in the next house on account of
its vigor and long continuance. Work
as there lightened by song, and joy
'found in robust bravura its full and
free expression. The proprietor of
the house inhabited by those who
had no music in their sojuls put up a
'spite fence” of corrugated iron
seventy-two feet high, and now the
neighbors relieve the strain on their
voftal chords by hammering lustily
on the iron work. Neighbors in en-
forced proximity are often fussy. We
■remember a case in a suburb of Lon-
don where the owner and occupiers
of one house attempted to restrain a
woman from committing a breach of
a covenant by which the owners of
the estate agreed among themselves
that the purchasers of lots should
not carry on any business or trade
except that of doctor or apothecary.
The woman against whom the com-
plaint was brought was charged with
lodging "persons of weak intellect.”
One of these lodgers found pleasure
in sitting in the sun combing her
hair, like, the Lorelei; another would
go to the side of the garden, fix her
eyes on a hedge and stand there
staring at it. All this prevented the
ladies next door, they swore, from
.having tea on the terrace. Why
'■Should it have prevented them?
P here was something more to see,
something more to talk about, and
the woman's hair might have been
beautiful. Furthermore, has not a
woman a right to comb her hair in
any part of her lodgings or to stare
“GENERALLY I NTELLIGENT.”
Your cheeks would flush if anyone
were to deny that you are a “generally
intelligent” person, and vet how nanny
of us could answer offhand many of the
questions in “General Intelligence Pa-
pers,” by Mr. Gerald Blunt, M. A., F.
R- G. S., headmaster of S. Salvator's
school, St. Andrews, etc.? The British
army qualifying board determined “to
test the general intelligence of expres-
sion” among candidates for a commis-
sion, and the “service crammers”
adopted as a standard manual iu their
coaching establishments Mr. Bluut's
handbook.
W hat would you say, for instance, to
this: “Discuss the truth of the follow-
ing housemaid’s theories: (a) That the
sun streaming on a grate puts the tire
out; (b) that a poker thrust into a
dying fire revives it; (c) that a poker
placed vertically over a (ire draws it
up." Wc have read of an English
youtji — the story was told by Mr. Basil
Tozer — who thinking to gain expert
testimony consulted a housemaid, who
answered that “she hadn’t never heard
no such stuff and nonsense, and would
trouble him to keep his sauciness to
himself.” Perhaps she was suffering
from housemaid’s knee and was there-
fore irritable.
Here is an apparently easy one.
“What is meant in botany by fruit? Ex-
plain with examples the fruits known
as achene, capsule, drupe and berry.” Is
the watermelon a berry? The tomato is
thus classed. How do you account for
the limits of the frigid zones? “Explain,
with diagram, the mechanism of (a) a
meat jack; (b) an aneroid barometer;
and (c) an Otto’s gas engine.” IIow
would you explain these terms: Ecliptic,
isobar, perihelion, llanos, selvas, pam-
pas, brave west winds, “roaring
forties”? The applicant is expected to
create as well as define. “Write an essay-
on : “American Sensitiveness,” or “Some
English Verses on Apple Blossoms."
Why “American sensitiveness?” After
the essay and the verses are written you
will please name the planets in their
at a hedge? “Persons of weak in
tellect,” Any.citizen might -bring] or< ^ er ^ rom the sun > and state the period
| this charge against his neighbors. If
the persons next door sing continu-
ally, buy' a mechanical piano, a
gramophone, or hire a pile driver for
backyard practice in rhythm,
THE VOYNICH COLLECTION.
Mr. W. M. Voynich, for some time
known in England chiefly as the hus-
band of his wife, the author of “The
Gadfly," “Jack Raymond" and a few
other works, began to attract atten-
tion as a collector and seller of rare
books. He had suffered cruelly as a
patriot from Russian persecution, and
know-n the horrors of prison and the j
excitement of escape. Safe in Lon- i
don he and his wife for a time also ,
knew bitter poverty. Four years ago 1
he exhibited a collection of 160 vol-
umes consisting exclusively of un-
known or lost books. This exhibition
Is said to have been the first of its
kind, and although an elaborate cat-
alogue was published, no second copy
of any one of the books has been re-
ported. Mr. Voynich found the books
in various European countries, and it
may here he said that many of the
books sold by him came from Italian
monasteries. The monks part with
them, fearing confiscation at the
hands of the government. The exhi-
bition was opened four y'ears ago, but
the library, the most unique one in
the world, was not sold until recently,
when it was secured for a public in-
stitution in London. The delay-, which
seems surprising, is thus accounted
for: the variety of the collection was
its w-eakness, for collectors are no
longer omniverous. The collection j
covered many subjects, from early
books on acrostics to Fathers of the ,
Church; from Icelandic printing to
medicine. Mr. Voynich insisted that
the collection should be sold as a
whole. We remember the catalogue
and that in the whole list of those un-
known books only one or two would
have been of interest to the general
reader or the average collector. Per-
haps the books were deservedly- un-
known or lost, and it will be interest-
ing to know if they will be disturbed
in their new dormitory-.
occupied by each in revolving round the
sun, if you wish to be considered rea-
sonably intelligent, and if you are not
willing to be thought an incorrigible
dullard you will explain and derive this
list of words : Amorphous, hydrosphere,
pliocene, physiography, nitrogen, palaeo-
zoic, terrigenous, agonic, anemometer,
eocene, pterodactyl, ethnology, crypto-
gram, thermometer, pelagic, ozone.
“Enough is as good as a feast.” The
compiler of the book quotes this saw
and asks the reader : “What does this
seem to presuppose?” How would the
-generally intelligent” person answer
this? Would it not be easier for him to
explain by means of a diagram the meat
jack's mechanism?
“JOHN OLIVER IIOBBES.” !
The death of Mrs. Craigie will be
heard with deep regret by all those
who knew her as “John Oliver Hobbes,”
the author of several striking and un-
usually entertaining novels. It is true
that one or two of her books shocked
genteel and the prudish into a reali-
zation of life as it is; but Mrs. Craigie
did not write simply to shock, nor was
her view of society hopelessly cynical.
She was sincere when she was most
epigrammatic and paradoxical. She was
not “smart” merely for the sake of be-
ing thought “clever.” She was au un-
usually- brilliant woman and she was
womanly in her brilliance. To say that
she wrote like a man would belittle her,
nor does her reputation as a writer need
such patronage. A man could not have
written her stories from the very fact
that he was a man. Mrs. Craigie
knew the world and its phantasms,
and she also knew the lord of
creation with all his weaknesses.
She had the great gift of being
able to stand apart from the pass-
ing show in which she found amuse-
ment and food for the incisive and
wholesome moralization that her artistic
sense suggested to the reader, for she
was never platitudinous or didactic.
MR. PUTNEY’S CLAY.
Mr. “Hen" Putney, the New Hamp-
shire editor, is "addicted to a well
seasoned clay pipe.” It is nrobabli
a T. D., and there is none better, or,
as the poet of Lone Jack sang for all
time:
Or 6eek no farther;
Better can’t be found.
The clay pipe lends itself to all
emotions and mental phases of the
smoker. It Is dignified; it suggests
the deep thinker; it is the friend of
labor; short and black, it is easily
furious or cocky. There is a certain
affectation In a thinker's use of a
meerschaum or even a briar, and
there are so many deceptive briars
today-! Coleridge once classed devo-
tees of circulating libraries with
others who attempt to reconcile in-
dulgence of sloth with hatred of va-
cancy — who swing on gates, spit over
a bridge, con word by word all the
advertisements of a daily newspaper
on a rainy day-, quarrel tete-a-tete
after dinner with the wife, smokers,
gamesters; but the smoker of a clay
is not a species of this genus. He
does not attempt to blow rings. Nev-
ertheless a fantastic pipe represent-
ing a death’s-head would be singu-
larly appropriate in the mouth of a
New Hampshire editor today-.
PEGASUS IN BOOTS.
Mr. Joaquin, otherwise known as
“Whackin’” Miller, the poet of Walk-
er, the filibuster, and the Sierras, is
now at Saratoga and it is a pleasure
to learn that he still wears the leg
boots which made him famous and
proved the substantiality of his
poetic gifts in the hot and stifling
drawing-rooms of London. Not the
identical boots, hut boots of the same
historic species. At Saratoga he
tucks his trousers into them during
the day, .but at night he wears the
trousers o'txliide. This shows that he
has aged and his fiery poetic spirit
is in a measure tamed. In London,
when he first went there and was
hailed as the great poet of a great
continent, he tucked his trousers into
his boots by day and by night, and it
is not unlikely that he slept In them.
Both noble dames and distinguished
literary men of London — among them
Mr. Swinburne — looked at the boots
and wondered. Here was a new and
true art. A friend asked Mr. Miller
at Saratoga to go to the races. Mr.
Miller answered, “piano, piano,”
meaning "softly, softly.” Pray Just
what did the poet mean? “Not on
your life?” “I'm too old?” And what
would he have meant, had he said:
“forte” or "mezzo piano”? How could
even a poet go “piano” in those boots?
PERFERVID RHETORIC.
There are clergymen in this coun-
try- who, following the example of
ihe distinguished London priest, give
vent to fervidly rhetorical denuncia-
tion of the “rich and the fashionable.”
They attack women who belong to
bridge whist clubs and “Wall street
millionaires” who own ratehorses
and play poker. There Is much ex-
aggeration in their diatribes. A
London journalist, discussing Fr.
Vaughan’s attacks, hinted that he
was Inclined to take the “penny nov-
elette view,” which, however thrill-
ing it may- be, leads to misapprehen-
sion. A nobleman is not always a
reckless libertine; a millionaire is
not always a fit subject for a dun-
geon cell. There are excellent wives
snd mothers who understand the
rules of bridge. There are good men
who enjoy a friendly game of poker.
The “rich and the fashionable” have
their uses. Many of them support
churches and are tolerant as well as
benevolent, so that they contribute
largely to the salary- of the clergy-
men who denounce them; they occa-
sionally invite them to dinner, after
they have hidden the faro or roulette
apparatus, which, of course, is in the
house of every "rich and fashiona-
ble” person along with stewed meats
and clarets.
A NEW HEART.
Mr. John D. Rockefeller’s change
of heart is beyond doubt and perad-
\enture. Only a Diogenes with leaky-
tub and shattered lantern would now-
refuse to believe it. Mr. Rockefel-
ler is positively boyish in his kindly
Joy. He slapped a reporter on the
back in Cleveland, and we are in-
Ined to give cretfiTT to the report
iat he called him "Oirf Sport." “Do
u know, I find newspaper men and
ven magazine writers a charming
class personally?" We are glad to
see he makes a distinction by his
masterly use of “even." “They im-
pressed me as being a really sincere
type of men." How he has grown in
mental stature and in discernment
within the last six months! “Of
course, I had but a limited opportu-
nity of becoming acquainted with
them, for which I am sorry." But
there are newspapers in Cleveland,
Mr. Rockefeller, and the offices, no
doubt, are open evenings. Why don’t
you visit the boys and swop stories
with them? After you have accus-
tomed yourself to them you should
become familiar with magazine writ-
ers. They are not all .pariahs, nor
are they all cold, haughty, unap-
proachable. You might begin by
calling on Miss Ida Tarbell.
MR. BONAPARTE’S REMEDY.
Mr. Bonaparte, recommending a
“severe but not a public whipping"
for Anarchists who offend in minor
ways, said: “The lash, of all pun-
ishments, most clearly shows the cul-
prit that he suffers for what his fel-
low-men hold odious and disgrace-
ful, and -not merely for reasons of
public policy.” Whipping Is now and
then recommended for wife beaters,
and there are some who would have
this punishment for other offences,
yet the use of the post either'ln prison
yard or in public square would be
a return to licensed barbarity. Un-
fortunately there Is cruel whipping
in American prisons today. Witness
the recent investigation in the Mis-
souri state penitentiary. Three cen-
turies ago Infirm and unemployed
persons were recklessly flogged in
England. They were “vagrants,” and
that was enough. The law read that
they should be stripped 'and beaten
through the market town or other
place “till the body should be bloody,”
and not till 1791 was the flagellation
of female vagrants forbidden by Eng-
lish statute. The descriptions of flog-
gings inflicted in the old days are
most revolting and the wonder is that
human beings survived the punish-
ment. Furthermore, flogging brutal-
izes those that flog, nor^ would the
floggers be contented with inflicting
the punishment only on Anarchists.
The strange history of flagellation
shows that the whipper experiences
a peculiarly horrid enjoyment in the
performance of the task. By the way,
what are these “offences of less grav-
ity” that are committed by Anar-
chists? Would Mr. Bonaparte have
Prince Kropotkin flogged for a maga-
zine article, if the prince were living
in Baltimore or Boston?
MADE IN GERMANY.
The Germans in their own land were
nee prfe-eminently the nation of pipe-
bokers. When Coleridge first landed at
lamburg he was struck by the pipes
nd boots of the natives: “Pipes of all
tapes and fancies — straight and
reathed, simple and complex, long and
tort, cane, clay, porcelain, wood, tin,
lver and ivory.” The 1 pipe generally
ad a silver chain and a silver bowi-
wer. You will see marvellous pipes in
lood's pictures to his “Up the Rhine.”
hit for many years the cigar has driven
at the pipe in the larger cities of Ger-
lany. Now the American consul at
•lauen reports that there is agitation
■ or the harmful effects of smoking, in
>ite of the fact that German cigars
re “light in comparison with those of
■her countries,” and that some factories
re now producing cigars known as
flee of nicotine, ’ and “poor in nico-
ne. The latter have been made in
iermany for many years and the former
re not unknown to foreigners who there
pent otherwise happy student days,
igars made from the plant named by
ohn Phoenix “stalkus cabbagieusis”
ere in high favor in Berlin in the
ighties. They were made in large
uantities at Bremen, and were sold
or two and a half cents apiece. Yet
conomical Berliners thought that only
Americans could afford such luxury. In
hose days a curious fact was noted:
*he higher the price until twenty-five
cents was reached, Hie worse was the
flavor of the cigar. The Germans are
indeed a heroic race, if only for their
bravery in tobacco. By marking cigar
boxes “free from nicotine” or “poor in
nicotine," they are now showing a truth-
fulness in business that would be reck-
less did it not disarm invidious eom-
| ment.
CONCERT FOYER
Glance at the Summer Park
Concerts in View of the
Complaints Heard.
ORCHESTRAS, MUSICIANS
HERE AND IN EUROPE
There is seldom agreement as to the
precise nature of music that is “desir-
Jable for^ either summer or Sunday con-
certs. We note complaints made about
summer music both in London and in
Kansas City.
j Alderman Bulger of the 5th ward of
the latter town offered a few days ago
f resolut >on that was adopted by the
1 The a Kan a ^ ea ^^ U ^ l ^ n ^ el ^^' lc P^rks 6
lmfoif £ ty ,J° urna -l finds the reso-
man Bulwr Sh «”° y unequivocal.” Alder-
n Bulger is not a euDhuist "Ha
» in e fhfs the ! a . me ntable decadence
or nn H- munlclpulity -' He stands
?iL , ? n this unmistakable assertion
that art is on the bum in this town ’ '
m-cbr 0 ,°^<! h T, d ° "S? ^'hhlnc-to form
thin?, ?? or 50 Players, and seek
the conti acts that now are obtained by
elgner ” GSS accompllshe d imported for-
What would Mr. Glover and others
say if they were to examine the person-
nel of the leading orchestras In the
United StateB? How many native Amer-
icans would they find In the Symphony
orchestras of Boston, New York,' Chi-
cago, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Cincin-
?nU ? , Wh ® n Mr - Vincent d’lndy came
Ito Boston last season to conduct a series
rLl°, nCe \ t3 given by the Symphony or-
chestra, he regretted before the first re-
flu ™ S h , l u t he dld not s P ea k English
fluentl.v . He was astonished when he
learned how few Americans were mem-
bers of the orchestra.
<JuL^2 lerI , ci } n by birth and musically
educated solely In this country conducts
a series of Symphony concerts in any
one of the cities .lust named.
It appears that the band which was
awarded the contract by the park board
was the lowest bidder, and the Musi-
cians’ Union made a protest at the time.
The band is not composed wholly of pro-
fessional musicians. Many of us know
what happens when a cornet is in the
hands of a passionate amateur.
The Journal maintains that Kansas
g a y de S ” a T t f P tiC n ed V Cation is on the "up!
graae. The people are paying a good
puce, and they should have good rmisic
In the parks, “the best that local talon?
Jourr?aT? ide , Wi , th its nmft t atfl°on1 I ’' ta The '
Journal concludes: "It is certainly Tin
is 'almost th3t in i the be ^ innln S of what
?n,? n 1 a - renaissance there should be
apy Provocation for jl members of the
the” “?rea C t° UnCi1, presuma bly representing
officially th a C t°™T? peopIe ’’ t0 declarl
° a ? L ia . i i art s on the bum.' ”
But does Alderman Bulger comDlain of
out i n?i s t" ttousor'of the performance? The
“onRhR m° U ! d S n y th u at art cannot be
on the bum when there is any com-
rinrnsi aS f nst , Unfortunately, the
deflate i? ? eS i1 }, its ed ‘torial article no
£?£ U V# ormatl °n concerning the char-
tre'atmnnV 1 ? that is chosen for mal-
treatment in the park. We are forced to
a° n ?,° r , two ^ray References
that the band itself is of the variety
known as the “sheet iron.” This species
is common in villages. p es
care °f the members after the
establishment of the organization is to
secure showy uniforms on credit. They
then try to agree on the hour of weekly
practice. Sheet Iron bands play music
fOrRh^ 8 t 2- hav f been written expressly
for them. You do not hear the pieces
played by other bands or by theatre or-
chestras. You never hear them in an
m? nSC !!I ent for P lano °r gramaphone.
the music is obtained is a mys-
B ^ -sounds alike and is a com-
mon repertory for all bands of this class.
oityAM be the i pl i sic hear d in Kansas
™ ay be . Pardoned
There are music schools in all these
cities, but the great majority of the pu-
pils study the piano and singing. There
are violin students and a few And their
way at last into these orchestras, but
pupils in wind-instrument classes’ are
| comparatively few, and they seldom
reach a high state of proficiency. The
reason for this is not hard to see. The
student argues that there will be com-
paratively little for him to do, that he
will earn only a scanty living, and there-
fore he chooses the piano, violin or or-
gan.
It is not true that the conductor of
these large orchestras are all preju-
aj c ed against players of American
birth. Any conductor would welcome a
virtuoso whether he were born in Ber-
gamo, Eisleben. Barcelona of Terre
] 1 au ^,’ ™, he great question is: “Can he
play / Then comes tne question: “How
much experience has he had?”
thought i wo voices were worth twenty
of It He heard In the same place a
new instrument, “the arched vlall,” but
lie was “quite out of love’’ with it. At
Jl 1 ® 2JmL bouse be listened to “Mr. Pell-
win by Promise, Walling-
ton and Plgott, the former whereof, bc-
n ve ,‘T bttle fellow, did sing a most
«R < l < u! ent ba f?’ a *jd yet a poor fellow, a
working goldsmith, that goes without
gloves to his hands." This reminds u»
li' ternM , Ward's astonishment at
meeting out West a remarkable per-
former on the bass drum, who <lld not
have a tooth in his head
It appears that about 20 years ago
there was some sort of attempt made to
provide vocal music in London park
concerts, but the experiment failed, lias
^ e S P T ment eve , r been ma fle serious-
ly in Boston at parkconcerts in summer?
Mr. Frank Richardson contributed
this story to the Pall Mall Gazette:
The band on the pier at Toad-in-the-
Hole- super- Mare was grinding out a tune
that suggested a motor car suffering from
indigestion.
■ T. he ybol® affair worried the kindly
visitor fr#w Waybackville, Wls. Said he
•A h< L. conduc . to1 '- after he bad got through
with his trouble:
Say, what’s that ... toon ... any-
way?" *
"It’s called ‘The Death of Nelson.’” an-
swered the baton-hrandisher, not without a
touch of improper pride.
“Jee! What a death!" replied the Amer-
ican, sadly, as he turned away, toying with
the shaving brush that grew upon his chin.
A large orchestra must have a busi-
ness head and it must be managed as a
business, otherwise there will be no op-
portunity for the display of art. The
conductor must not only be a man of
ability and force, he must draw audi-
ences unto him. If there were any
American conductors who had pro-
nounced skill, large experience and also
the personal qualities that excite men
and women to gather themselves to-
gether to see and hear, no matter how
high the price they pay for the privilege
managers would at once besiege him
and implore him to listen to their suit.
the manager of an orchestra cannot
afford to give a young man of promise
a n opportunity for development. This
is the epoch of virtuoso conductors, and
mand virtuos ° 3 are foreigners and in de-
London, it is true, has its Henry Wood
Mr. Wood may or may not be, as
some say, merely an imitation of Mr
Nlkirsch. This is certain: the English
believe in him and have made possible
Ins indisputable success. At the same
time, it is a significant fact that conduc-
tors of foreign birth and training are
often invited to conduct English music
festivals for Mr. Richter, though he
now lives in Manchester, cannot be
called an Englishman— and men like
Messrs Richter and Weingartner are
then advertised as an attraction.
In London there has been talk of
vocal music in the parks, and the
parks and open spaces committee of
the London county council has the
parent body's approval for a recoip-
t ha t S art"? " r0lr ? . 1 he dep t h of h i s despair
tiiat art Is on the bum.
The complaint in London comes from
theatre conductors and musicians. The
London professional orchestral player
was in the habit of looking forward to
a summer engagement at some popular
seaside resort. Now, it appears there is
a habit, encouraged by the municipal
authorities in these resorts, to import a
foreign orchestra, or to accept “a cut-
down price from agents who exploit Ser-
vice bands for profit.”
A Service band employs 30 to 40 musi-
cians. These “famous” bands are hired
I out in sections of 10, 12 and 15 players,
and announced as ”H. M. Coldstream
band," or “H. M. Royal Marine band,”
at p’’,.^ h f e ^® as ea ?h is only an "instal-
ment of these military bodies. Or Lon-
ZR^ ntS , e ? nsult a “farming band-
??rt S ? cr ’ who lm P° r ts foreign musicians
every season. Unable to speak English,
V sported cannot join the regular or-
the len S c ’m bUt i ll l ey are gIad to Play at
arm sa , as .'d e during the holiday season,
them th r?‘" r °, Ut - ,ne knowledge prevents
{ lom being troublesome to the
enon? : f t< rr' {q three months they learn
enough Engiish to enable them to stay
S£d later, as Mr. J. M. Glover of the
Rf ary Lan e Theatre puts it, “the or-
nui?, tras kondon are flooded with
a ,"® n au srmentation which is to the det-
cian ° f the Brltisb rate P ayin g musi-
t, n Ap d f eo, with t i lis “ Un fai r ” competi-
nn n Lr,eR e BrItlsh orchestral player has
ahov?? “ agement and does not rise
thplLr a i/nP» ctable mediocrity with
average pay” " SS a Week which is his
stJt h emZ e ( . leSraph - . commenting on this
mou e s m ^R^ ays: , Considering the enor-
ex°er?itn*+ mbei ' ■ °, f Professionally-trained
s£L n ii musicians in the metropolitan
lools alone, it is strange indeed that
i mendation that application be made to
the next session of Parliament for
authority "to arrange for vocal mu-
sic to be provided as an extension of
the music now provided under its
existing powers relative to the pro-
vision of bands, ard to make charges
for programmes and for the use of
seats and chairs at band perform-
ances.” The Daily Telegraph dis-
cusses this proposition, but, we ara
sorrv to say, it makes no appeal in
favor of^.free programmes and free
seats. Park concerts are for the peo-
ple, and all should he served alike,
ihe price asked for a programme may
be small, but it is a nuisance. A
scat should be for any one w r ho is
able to secure it. First come, first
served, is the dam.ocra.tic rule.
The Telegraph says that if vocal
music is introduced it cannot be op-
eratic or partfike of the nature of the
entertainments provided in the
Champs Elysees at the cafes concerts.
Nor, on the other hand, can It be
merely music hall.’ ” The Telegraph
also thinks that solos, “especially fe-
male solos," are practically impossi-
ble. But why can there not be op-
eratic music as well as glees and
madrigals, wdiich are suggested by
the Telegraph? Sirbply because the
concerts would be given as a rule on
ounday : I s it more in keeping with
the proper observance of the Lord’s
day to ask money for a programme?
1 would seem that the remark
of the Telegraph refers to open-air
operatic vocal music on any day. The
idea of any vocal music at these con-
certs was not original with the com-
mittee. Various suburban choral so-
cieties approached the council with
reference to glees and madrigals to
be sung Id- male voices. If the Lon-
doner must hear "Glorious Apollo.”
Comrades at Arms" and "The Three
Chafers, why should he not also be
allowed to hear choruses, operatic
ones, for mixed voices, or a quartet
or even a calliope of a German so-
prano or a foghorn English contralto
moaning of "Daddy” and his bereave-
ment.' The open air would not injure
such solo voices.
There are allusions to vocal music and
open air singing in Pepy’s Diary. He
preferred the vocal to the instrumental
music of his day. Thus he described a
concert in the General Postoffice: “Me-
So Mme! Guilbert and Mr. Chevalier
will give entertainments together in this
country next season. Or is the state-
ment a rumor? When Mme. Guilbert
was last in London the Pall Mall Ga-
zette hinted that it preferred her in
French songs. "Our English songs are
so exhaustive, and leave so little to the
imagination, that the suggestive artist
finds in them much less scope than in
the delicate chansons which say so little
and know so much; merely hinting at
things on which the singer may put his
or her own construction, and, having
done so, take the audience into his or
her confidence. There is no one else
who can. convey all that Mme. Guilbert
conveys with the most elusive materials
and by the most elusive means. The
wonderful subtlety of her voice, which
seems to have a complete language of
its own in no way dependent on words,
is, of course, a great help. With' noth-
ing in the way of make-up she sits
down on a chair, and it is not necessary
to know a word of French to see be-
fore you a very old lady thinking fondlv
and tenderly of her youth. Even a deaf
man could be under no misapprehension
on that point; it comes out in some sim-
pie and apparently unconscious move-
ment of the hand or of the body; It is
.mi t( ^ see even when she is silent and
still. fehe rises from her chair and
walks to the pianist to learn what she
l f to Jo next. You can mark her sudden
transformation on the way.”
L They do not care for “L’Arlesienne”
e\en with Bizet s music in London
Listen to this: "Frederi, the alleged
hero, beg-ms talking of suicide very
early in the day, and the only question
is how long he is going to take about
w 18 a °t a very pleasant
play. This might be said of “Hamlet.”
t Hans Richter will conduct the forth-
oming Birmingham (Eng.) festival,
[pie. Blanche Marchesi sang as Le-
onora and Santuzza in operatic per-
formances given in English by the
Moody Manners Company last month
ni die Lyric Theatre, London. Mme
Clementine De Vere-Sapio and that Tx?
cellent tenoi Joseph O’Mara were also
jof the company. The Pall Mall Ga-
zette asks why a conductor of London
promenade concerts should hunt for
works by Fibich, Enna, Henriquez and
neglect "hard working English musicians
gitted with a serious outlook upon music
and with talents that are more than or-
dinary. seeing that these concerts are
g’lv eri in England, and, naturally, ,to a
certair^ extent, for the sake of English
music As The Herald stated Hast
Thursday, six of the 23 unfamiliar works
announced for performance at these
M? F “I 6 R y Br , itish corn P°sers.
Mi- E. A. Baughan wrote of Caruso
as Don Ottavio in “Don Giovanni” that
an “evident attempt to re-
strain his exuberance, he sang in too
triclc r of a intrnd a " d emp,oye d the Italian
i„fk of introducing aspirates and un-
tioLl ?ffect n ” f ° r Ul ® Sake of em °-
/ y / y <=
i for the toilet.
We all know now that gray hair —
‘‘hirsute pallor” is the description pre-
ferred by scientific enthusiasts for an
everyday phenomenon — can be deferred
or changed by the diligent use of a very
hot flatiron. The ironing discourages
microbes which like a colored life and
seek it in human hair. Whether the hair
may not fail out after faithful ironings
is another question. Has any deep
thinker pondered the possible effect of
eating green' corn on the cob with salt
and butter ou whiskerage? Does the
combination of corn and butter with a
trifle of salt act as an encourager to
shy and retiring whiskers? Does it
promote a luxuriant growth of mustache,
beard, siders, In fact, whiskerage — we
believe Mr. George Meredith invented
the word — and give a desirably glossy
appearance? Is it at once a fertilizer
and a precious ointment? And to fur-
ther the good work should the cob be
moved gently across the mouth or
passionately, as in delirium of enjoy-
ment? The corn season is not always
with us. Deep thinkers should think at
once. Let them defer to winter and the
return of ice the inquiry into the con-
dition of compositors in Europe before
the discovery of the printer’s art.
“DECIDED.”
It has been held by poets, anthropolo-
gists and sociologists that the blonde is
saccharine in summer, while the
brunette is acrid; that the blonde
is good natured and indolent, the
brunette lively, agile, brusque in
manner and rather sharp in speech.
There is confirming, reassuring evi-
dence. We refer to an interesting
episode in life at Riverhead, L. I., Miss
Adelaide Corwin, 16 years of age, a
blonde, was walking in Griffing avenue,
when Miss Margaret Schaeffer, only a
year older, bashed her on the mouth and
slapped her twice with a newspapet.
Miss Schaeffer told the magistrate that
Miss Corwin made a remark in passing
that “caused her blood to boil. Theie
was an apology and, although all are
bursting in ignorance. Miss Schaeffer
will not repeat the heating remark. But
here is the true point. Miss Schaeffer
is a brunette. The New York Sun
adds, “a decided brunette.” Her
decision was unmistakably shoA-n.
Had she been a blonde, weak, vague,
vacillating, lazily charming, she would
merely have said: ‘‘You're another,
or “Go bag yourself,’ or some other
ineffectual phrase in repartee.
A NEW YORK HUMORIST.
I Households have been divided and
j lovers separated on account of the
1 manner in which an egg should be
boiled and the precise number of
minutes that insures perfection.
Some insist that the water should be
piping hot before the egg is put into
it; some are inclined to think the egg
itself should be submitted to a cer-
tain preparatory temperature— but
why renew the discussion that arose
with the first combination of egg and
hot water? All will agree to this: A
husband w r ho throws around soft-
boiled eggs so that the walls of the
dining room are disfigured is waste-
ful. His esthetic taste is deplorable.
He is not a restful person. Mrs.
Butler of New York is therefore
suing for a separation. She alleges
that Mr. Butler occasionally ran after
her with a carving knife or dragged
her about by her hair, threatening to
shoot her, but she did not mind se-
riously these household calisthenics
and vocal exercises. The eggs that
stained the walls broke her heart.
We are inclined to the opinion that
Mr. Butler is a humorist of an un-
common order. Witness his taste in
mural decoration. Furthermore, he
hung a notice on the dining-room gas
fixture to the effect that his daugh-
ters should pay *7 a month each for
their rooms, and that his son should
pay $6. There was a postscript: “No
meals to be served or washing done
in my house. Have your meals
when and where you please.” When
friends called on the daughters, Mr.
Butler conceived the happy idea of
going into the parlor “scantily at-,
tired" and with appropriate remarks.
If the visitors did not laugh heartily
and spontaneously, he would turn
off the gas and put out the furnace
fire. But humorists are often uncom-
fortable persons to dwell with and
they are often misunderstood. Hence
this suit.
rising in the distance. Today the west-
ern statesman wears a thick frock coat.
It will be remembered that Mr. Bryan s
excited the scorn of London tailors,
who, we are assured by one of Mr.
Bryan’s most intimate friends and sup- 1
porters, were jealous. Is Mr. Bryan s
massive brow bared to the elements or
does he wear a statesman’s stovepipe?
In an account of Lincoln’s first jour-
ney as President from Springfield, 111.,
to Washington, Artemus Ward de-
scribed him as eating gingerbread at
a way station. This gingerbread he
had put into his hat with "true
statesmanlike precaution" before
leaving home. Let us hope that Mr.
Bryan is not depicted as reading a
speech. Better the sight of arms in
a semaphoric gesture and eyes and
mouth in heroic frenzy!
&
STATESMA XLIKE.
The Bryan reception committee bas
eceived from Mr. Bryan a photograph
f himself taken recently. “It shows
Jryan standing in a statesmanlike atti-
ude. This will be the Bryan official
licture in the coming campaign and will
ie on all the stationery of the Commer-
ial Traveller’s Anti-Trust League.' A
latcsmanlike attitude ! Years ago the
American statesman was portrayed as
itanding, solemn, portentous, one hand
;rasping a roll, the other pointing to the
:enith. A purple curtain was at one
side of him and a thunder storm was
MR. TUTT’S ISLAND,
An island in the Pacific off the
coast of Washington has disappeared.
Mr. Tutt bought it and purposed to
make there his summer home, but,
cruising up and down and across, he
cannot find even one of the alleged
ten acres. The man who sold the
island says: “Lor - ! How singular!”
and tells Mr. Tutt it must have gone
down in the sea at the time of the
San Francisco earthquake. Sad as
is Mr. Tutt’s plight, it is not so sorry
as the mysterious loss of a room in
New' York, as described by Fitz
James O'Brien, the room for which
the lodger gambled with strange and
riotous invaders and lost forever.
We like to think of any man owning
an island and thus realizing a dream
of youth, even though as a trust-bug
he is not tempted to engage in
piracy with a plank in good working
order and the Jolly Roger flaunting
in the breeze. On his island a man
need not fear neighbors. He can
walk undisturbed by motor cars.
No bore will say to him with a hor-
rid laugh: “Your veranda looked
lonely, so I thought I’d drop in, ha-
ha!” It is something for an Ameri-
can to be monach of all he surveys,
and for this reason the island should
be well out at sea. Let us hope that
Mr. Tutt’s discouraging informant is
seismically in error.
FEMALE PEDLERS.
The New York Pedlers’ Benevolent
Association has passed the law' that
no woman shall be allowed to peddle
unless she be a widow, and no ped-
ler shall send his wife out with a
pushcart. If this be gallantry, theye
are women who would prefer rude-
ness. How about a divorced woman
or one abandoned by her husband?
Suppose the husband is incapaci-
tated? There are men w'ho will buy
from a woman w'hen they heed not
man’s importunity. Like the un-
fortunate Inca of Peru, they cannot
say* “no” to any woman. Thirty
years or more ago households in New
England feared the approach of
lightning-rod men, sewing machine
agents and book agents. There was
then a fond belief in lightning-rods, in
spite of Herman Melville’s fantastic
diatribe; sewing machines were at a
high price before the lawsuit against
the combination, and subscription
books were as thick as blackberries.
Suddenly appeared the female book
agent, and the first in the field made
much money. They did not waste
time at dwelling houses. They
sought the merchant in his store, the
| banker in the bank. They were al-
most always physically attractive,
pleasingly attired, and with a soft
and persuasive voice. They were
pedlers, but they encouraged a taste
for literature and earned a living.
Why should not women be allowed
to peddle in a New York street? The
calling is old and honorable. The
goods are often needed. They are
thus brought to the homes of the
poor, who cannot afford the time to
haunt shops, and the housekeeper
bas more confidence in the recom-
mendation of one of her own sex.
Furthermore, the female pedler
makes a drab or mean street more
picturesque.
GUEST-ROOMS.
A newspaper recently published liints
to a housekeeper on the disposition and
care of a guest room ; how she should
sleep from time to time in the bed to
test it ; how the room should be aired
daily when not in use; how there should
be a good light near the head of the bed
for reading, etc. The article was sensi-
ble, although the description naturailj
fell below that of the ideal guest room
in Ueade’s “Woman Hater.” If any
guest should find the like in an Ameri-
can house, he might not be blamed for
following the example of the Chevaliet
Ned Strong, who, invited for a night,
stayed three or four years. But a house-
keeper famous for her hospitality in
city and in country assured us yesterday
chat if she should build another summer
“cottage,” it would be small and with-
out any guest room. The summer, she
argued, is the time to recuperate, to
summon up strength and courage for
the pleasures of the winter. The most I
thoughtful guest distracts and disturbs. |
The mere process of selection in guests
is burdensome. If you have no guest
room, no one will feel slighted. You
and your servants will have a chance to
enjoy life. You can live iu great meas-
ure as you please. You have no feeling
of responsibility. If J’ ou have guest
rooms and they are not filled, their
emptiness reproaches you for selfishness,
egoism, meanness. You think of those
that would be thankful for a change and
rest, and you are driven to invite them
at your own loss of peace.
(UNCERTAIN RESULTS
j h AND CERTAIN DANGERS
Amusing Foreign Comment
4 . Concerning Dr. Muck’s
4k Engagement.
Some Sundays ago The Herald dis-
jtussed the question of librettos for opera
fend spoke of the tendency to turn plays
and books into lyric tragedies or come-
idies. D'Annunzio, for instance, writes j
ia play, and Franchetti at once deter- |
Imines to set music to it. The two are j
(photographed together in the composer’s j
'study, and each one conceals Imperfect- j
ly the knowledge of his own artistic j
(superiority.
Look over the announcements of forth-
Koming operas. Goldmark is at work on
la version of Shakespeare s Winter s
Rrale.” De Musset’s “Chandelier” will be
, arranged and Messager will set the mu-
laic to it. The libretto of a new opera.
t“Marcelle,” by Giordano, is derived from
fa play by Sardou. Puccini is endeavor-
ling to win Rostand’s consent to an
iop'era based on “Cyrano de Bergerac."
Maeterlinck’s “Monna Vanna” will be
produced in Brussels next season with
music by a young French composer,
Fevrier. Rostand is reluctant to h av ®
Cyrano turned into an operatic baritone
or tenor, and Maeterlinck has no liking
for any music. Yet the latter s Ariane et
■Rarhp Bleue ” with music by Patii
Dukas, will be put in rehearsal at the
Opera Comique next December.
Det us look for a moment at the lbreUos
of three operas produced r f£® bt F' k *12
first need not detain us. The book of
“D’ \nniversaire” is by Jean Ferval, and
the music by Adalbert Mercler, a pupil of
Gabriel Faure and Xavier Deroux. The
opera was produced at Bordeaux.
The wife of Matjteo, a farmer of Dom-
bardy, was untrue to him, and, dying,
confessed her fault. He endeavors, but
in vain, to learn the name of her lover.
It Is Sandro, the son of his old servant,
Severina. The villagers celebrate the
festival of All Souls, and, as the na fa® s
of the dead for whom they gray are Pro-
nounced, Matteo, naming his * lfe - ™
■marks the confusion of Sandro, bus
pec ting him, he questions and recel vcs
answer. There is a duel witn
knives! Sandro is killed. Thus l is vlr ue
respected and due honor .P* ld
stage to the sanctity of the marriage
Here is a plot in direct line with many
other short shockers from Cavalleria
Rusticana.” SomemiglUsayofthese
^vamnipfi of the “Verismo school mac
they remind one of Hobbe’s
human life: “Short, br “ t ^' 1 f v'Lhet^are
hut these operas are not nasty, t^y are
too often dull. The operagoer in modern
Italy sups full of horrors.
De Lara’s “Sanga.”
Mr. de Lara, whose friendship with
ithe Princess of Monaco, a New Orleans
girl, secured his admission to the opera
house instead of his ejection from the
husband’s territory, has composed three
or four operas that have been praised
highly by a few of the London critics.
His “Mess £d itae,” It may be remembered,
frightened certain music lovers in Bos-
ton who remembered J uv ® aal the onera
tion of the noble dame, and the opera
was not performed here, rnuch to the
a t m c. pnirp. who acted the
part of the heroine in New XorK wi.u
much intensity, it was said. The state-
ment was recently made that “Messa-
!lino" has been performed over 300 times.
We doubt it. ,
They take Mr. de Lara seriously in
'London, and much attention . was paid
'to the production of “Sanga at Nice
‘last spring. The opera will he produced
In Fiance, Belgium and Germany next
season, and the score for voice and
piano is already published. Lancelot
of the Referee was moved to commend
the progress made by the composer
“since the days when, in a rich baritone
voice, he sang 'The Garden of Sleep
and other amorous songs of passionate
Intensity to devoted admirers at Steinway
Hall. Such progress not only indicates
talent, but a brain that can assimilate
new ideas and remould them into fresh
shapes." Unkind persons, who remem-
ber that Mr. de Lara's real name is
Gohn, say that he is a passionate assim-
ilator of other musicians' ideas.
Messrs Eugene Morand and Paul de
Choudens are the authors of the
“Sanga” libretto, which is "untainted
by the languorous spirit of the bou-
doir" Sanga is one of Farmer Vi-
gord’s servants. The farmer is a
close-fisted, hard-hearted old man
■who insists that his only son Jean
shall marry Lena, Jean’s cousin. But
Jean and Sanga love each other, and
they sing about a night spent in the
mountains. “It would have been eas-
ier to have counted the stars than
the number of our kisses,” says
Sanga, who perhaps had read the fam-
ous lines of Catullus. Jean is more
modest: “We were alone.” “No,” says
Sanga, "the mountain was our wit- ,
ness,” and she makes him swear by it j
that he will be true to her. Old VI-
gord enters, tells Jean he must marry
Lena, calls Lena in, and gives her
flowers, saying lean gathered them
for her. These flowers were given to
Jean by Sanga as a pledge, and when
Lena goes out wearing them Sanga
snatches them from her. The young
women squabble and Vigord tells
Sanga to leave the farm. Jean says
if she goes, he will go with her, but
Vigord retains him by informing him
that his mother is dead in her room.
“Ma mere!” Of course Jean does not
go. but Sanga does, and curses the
farmhouse and ail within and about it
• — a comprehensive curse that might
have pleased Dr. Slop.
Sanga climbs the mountain and
calls on the snow and rocks to fall
and crush the house from which she
i has been ejected. A storm starts an
avalanche. The curtain rises and vi-
gord, Jean and Dena are seen cling-
I fng to the roof of the house. The
! waters increase in force and fury. The
i farmer goes mad. The others pray.
Sanga puts out to them in a boat,
hut she will take only Jean. The
! house collapses and Sanga saves lilm.
When Jean has recovered conscious-
ness he reproaches her for not having
i rescued the old man and Dena. He
sees the ghost of the farmer pointmg
at Sanga, who is not unwilling to
die. Jean begins to demolish the
boat with a hatchet. The curtain
falls as he curses love as the “snare
of man,” while Sanga in a fine burst
blesses love as the “eternal master.
Here we have straight, old fash-
ioned melodrama, with chorus of
happv villagers, prayers, jealousy, as-
sorted curses, madness, the dark and
revengeful woman opposed to the
soubrette in a straw hat, the young
man that does not know his mind,
and opportunities for the stage car-
penter, machinist, and scene painter.
A Pastoral.
On the other hand how simple and
truly rural is the story of "De Clos,” an
opera produced last June at the end of
the season at the Opera-Comique.
Micael Carre based his story on a
novel by Amedee Achard, hut the novel
was published long ago, and as It is now
unknown or at least forgotten, the
librettist cannot be accused of trusting
In the popularity of a familiar romance.
“Percival" of the Referee says that Mr.
Carre ‘‘might have put George Sand’s
name on the programme as well as his
own.forifyou will pardon my brutalway
of putting it, the book suggested ‘Da
Petite Fadette’ in a state of perspira-
tion.” "Percival” says nothing of
Achard's romance, and some will find
little of George Sand’s in the libretto,
although these words from her preface
might serve as motto: “Direct allusions
to present misfortunes, an appeal to
fermenting passions— here is not the
path of safety; better a gentle song, the
sound of a rustic pipe, a tale to put
, little children to sleep without frighten-
ing them or giving them pain than the
spectacle of real evils strengthened and
, made still darker by a fictitious color-
1 Ing.”
Genevieve is the daughter of the old
village constable. She loves her play-
1 mate Simon, and is loved by him, al-
though she is very poop. The rich man
of the neighborhood «s the grasping
Hennebaut, and his son Pierre, passion-
ately in love with Genevieve, at last
eusec’d® In obtaining his father's con-
I sent, although he has forgotten to - go
through the formality of asking Gene-
' vieve. He thereupon goes about the vil-
lage telling of his good fortune and, of
course, like a true hero of opera
comique, invites everybody to drink witn
him, and to his betrothed. The con-
stable does not like this fresh behavior^
and he gives the hand of his daughter
to Simon whereupon all those who had
drank with Pierre now laugh
But the constable owes old Hen: pLrre
money, and the angry father of Pierre
proceeds to sell the close, the ®Jd dwell
fng house and its simple furnhu .
Simon cannot endure the th ,?p§ rcl ' va i®
sacrifices himself, or j o
writes* “Jean Simon is as good as
young men set to tnusic always are^So
he goes away with a gulp f^ndkerchief.
loid collar packed in a red handkercmei.
^ly»l^Lf^|gSthan
is quite necessary, and her nen
Is lealous." „. n ., otter Pierre
Simon goes to be a sailor at rjenevleve
has sworn that he will make Gene\ ie^ e
happy. The old constable cues mm
(OPERA LIBRETTOS BASED ON
NOVELS AND OF FREE INVENTION
Genevieve, In the third and last act,
has mourned him for a year. She is
now a devoted daughter-in-law and a
cool, calm, respectful wife. Pierre fears
the return of Simon, who does come
back. The neighbors speak of having
seen him, and Genevieve wishes to look
again on her old home. What if the
former lovers should meet there? Pierre
takes his gun and hides in the old house
of the constable. Genevieve and Simon
meet in the orchard, “'you are not hap-
py,” exclaims Simon; “they have told
me so and I see it is true. Pierre has
not kept 'his oath; I am no longer bound;
I shall take you away with me.” There
is the report of a gun. "Pierre was
there,” cries Genevieve, “and in despair
he has killed himself. No, we have
killed him!” She bids Simon leave her
for ever and she endeavors to break
into the house. She weeps and is be-
side herself. The door is opened and
Pierre stands smiling. He had thus
proved her; he clasps her in his arms
and swears that now. sure of her love,
he will make her truly happy. She de-
clares to him that for the first time
she knows the meaning of love.
Novels and Librettos.
Mr. Henri de Curzon, noting the fact
that this ending made the audience at
the Opera-Comlque smile, says that
there was reason for laughter at this
sudden and apparently illogical conclu - 1
sion. He adds that librettos based on
romances seldom give satisfactory ex-
planations. As for the composer, how-
ever he may struggle to follow situa-
tions and to characterize in music the
puppets, he does not save them unless
he transforms them, and if he does this,
he makes them all the more false. “It
is not enough," adds Mr. de Curzon,
“for a novel to present a dramatic sit-
uation to make it therefore effective on
I the operatic stage, and I am now the
more convinced that such situations
i should remain in a novel and not be
transferred to the theatre. A situation
that is dramatic by reason of the study
of certain characters and their evolu-
tion rather than by dramatic strokes
always loses immeasurably when it is
found In the midst of the rapid and
summary action that suits the stage.”
And here is the danger in basing a
libretto on a novel in which there is any
study of character, In which the interest
is largely psychological. Mr. George
Parsons Lathrop wrote the libretto of
“The. Scarlet Letter” so that Mr. Walter
Damrosch might set music to it. As a
piece of literary work the libretto was
worthy of praise, but it was Impossible
to reproduce in opera the mental strug-
gles of the clergyman, the wife, the grim
avenger of his wrongs. What could pos-
sibly have been made, if the librettist
had dared, of the minister’s awful vigil ?
Or what becomes nf ffarHv’c
CHARLES SILVER,
Composer.
ESTER FERRABINI,
Mezzo Soprano.
Or what becomes of Hardy’s “Tess
when H., is turned into an opera? An
Italian librettist and composer have cho-
sen this subject, and Mr. Schenck has
set music to a libretto in English. To
turn a novel into a play was bad enough
sible Pera n tf T SpIrlt ° f Har<J y is Im Pos :
Tschaikowsky s “Eugene Oneghin”
was performed again in London some
weeks ago, and one of the leading critics
pronounced It a dull work. “The storv
1 self though full of blood, love, and
thunder, is quite good and lends itself
to many dramatic situations; but it
^°"L d , as , though Tschaikowsky
aared f ° r a dramatic setting of the
nnoX a symphonic commentary
• S ut the °harm of the storv it-
self is in the study of character. 'The
S , not distinctively one of blood
and thunder. Tatiana is not an ordinary
heroine of melodrama. No composer
however alive to the requirements of the
stage, could reveal by music, vocal or
Aaracter 0 ’ 16r Strange and fascinating
Excellent critics have insisted that
a is founded on a novel, this
novel should not exist for critics or aud-
ience The play's the thing. There
shou d be no thought of comparison
^Ist h, P ? yVrlght follow ‘he nov- i
-list step by step or wander far from
lim is a matter of no importance. The- ■
iretically this attitude Is right. TInfor- 1
unately it is practically impossible. If
'oil see Don Quixote or Tess on the
tage, you cannot escape from tlieknight
u from toe woman of the book Vn,
udge the character and theactor °or
hy your own conception of the
lovehst s description and endeavor In
■v e en° P r r etter e fn iSk - ° f disappointment is
^ csi eater, for in opera there can Ha
leither rapidity of action nor psycholog-
cal reflation. The moment the ehar-
'J; j er .,hegms to sing, absurdity enters
nd if the character be already a f™
lmr one. the absurd conventionalism™*
lot at once accepted. ls
When Mr. Blackburn says of T=chai
-owsky s opera, “it is all very melod?an ' I
Lc, very ordinary, and. we must add' I
lull he unconsciously attacks
f urn ' n £ romances into operas
ushkm s romance is not very melodrain
tic; it has uncommon distinction -it in'
Tosses the attention. ° ' 1 en '
Dr. Muck in Boston.
The Pall Mall Gazette published this
uriously misinforming paragraph- “Bos
on is forever doing Its best to make its
eputation for culture, and for the en
ouragement of art, more and more'
ecure. We all know how well the
owers that be have worked in that
otable city to advance the cause of
rt and of real originality in thought
t is, therefore, one thinks, something
f a pity that Nikisch cannot be lured
ack to the city of American culture
nd that his refusal has now been defini
itely published. Nevertheless, the name
of Carl Muck, who is the Hof-Kapell-
meister at Berlin, is in future to be as-
sociated with the Boston Symphony Con-
certs- ® os t on has a somewhat eccentric
method of doing its business, and Dr.
Muck s engagement, so one hears, is at
the present moment for one year only.
One of the most humorous points, how-
ever. is the fact that if he gives satis-
faction his engagement will last for 10
years. Of course, we have nothing what-
ever to do with the sense of dignity as
compared to the desire for work which
i naturally should attach to so great a
conductor as Dr. Muck; but we are fain
to confess that his attitude is something
lacking in dignity. Nevertheless, it is
much in favor of Dr. Muck’s record that
he has conducted at Zurich, Salzburg
land Prague. The remaining details as
to whether he will or will not go to
Boston seem now to be finally settled,
and we trust that he will make a great
success.
Is not this a delightful instance of the
foreignor s condescension that moved
Lowell to write his famous essay.
How has Boston shown eccentricity In
its method of doing business?
The statement that if Dr. Muck gives
satisfaction, “his engagement will last
for 10 years” is, indeed, humorous. The
humor lies in the misstatement.
And why is it "much In favor” of Dr.
Muck s record that he has conducted at
Zurich, Salzburg and Prague? Would
Mr Blackburn feel surer of the con-
ductor s ability If he had exercised his
s Eisleben, Chemnitz, Manchester
and Glasgow?
., It „ i ?- reassurin & to Enow that the Pall
Mall Gazette at last, though with a cau-
tious seem,” admits the engagement
ot Dr. Muck in Boston. Not long ago
the Pall Mall Gazette discovered that
Tschaikowsky had written an opera
Pique Dame”— It was produced over 15
years ago— and that the composed Boro-
d In was a distinguished chemist.
Musical America publishes a rumor
from Berhn that should Dr. Muok "prove
satisfactory” in Boston, “he will obtain
a cancellation of his contract with the
Imperial Opera, of course with the
sanction of Emperor William." We
suppose the reference is to the “Royal"
opera.
Dr. Muck has been engaged to con-
duot the Boston Symphony Orchestra
for the season of 1906-07, and for that
season only. He has signed a contract
to conduct after this engagement at the
Royal Opera for a term of years. Con-
tracts with royalty are solemn Clings,
as singers who have broken them have
found out to their cost.
It may also be remarked that doubt-
ful things are “mighty onsartin.”
The London Choral Society has
been Increased to 300 voices and these
works will be produced next season.
The Kingdom,” the completing third
part of Elgar’s "Apostles,” Bossi's
’ Paradise Lost.” Dalhousie Young’s
Blessed Damozel,” Saint-Saens’
Samson and Delilah,” and Brahm’s
Requiem.”
The San Carlo Opera Company will
open the fall season at Covent Gar-
den. Oct. 4. Among the operas to be
performed are Giordani’s “Fedora,”
Catalanl’s "Lorelei,” "Andrea Chenier,”
tcur of Puccini’s operas, “Mefisto-
rele,’ “Aida” and "Don Giovanni.” Mine.
Melba will sing. There will be six
(Classes of reserved seats between 12s
6d and 4 s.
T,T Th Sv Referee (London) states that
Mr. Hammerstein will pay Mme. Mel-
ba J2000 a night and that he offered
Jean de Reszke $3000 a night, but the
tenor refused the engagement.
Van Dyck, the tenor, has engaged
Covent Garden for January and Feb-
ruary 1907. He will provide for a
Wagner season.
There is talk in Munich of a theatre
to be built for the purpose of per-
,°P eras -comiques exclusively.
The University of Goettingen has put
one orchestra at the disposition of its
teachers of musical history and aes-
thetics so that works studied may be
performed by way of illustration.
Miss Elizabeth Parkina has been
engaged as leading soprano for the
Worcester (Mass.) Festival, which will
take place the first week in October.
MUSIC NOTES.
The Herald publishes today portraits
of Charles Silver, the composer of
“Le Clos” to which reference is made
in the feuilleton; of Marie Thiery, the
soprano, who created the part of Gen-
evieve in this opera, and of Ester Fer-
rabim, who will be the mezzo soprano
of Leoncavallo’s company in this coun-
try next season under the manage-
ment of Mr. Aronson.
ir, C iafis le w Sil y e I- T as born at Paris
in 1868. He studied at the Paris Con-
servatory under Dubois and Masse-
a “d . took the prix de Rome in
1891. His opera “La Belle au Bois
£ 0I imt nt produced at Marseilles
in 1902 and it has been performed at
Brussels. He has written the orchestral
valesque ” reniC6 ” and “ Poem Carna-
, Fer rablni of Milan studied
with Toledano. She made her debut
we are informer, as Marla in Monte-
mezzl s Giovanni Gallurese” at Milan,
and afterward at Brescia in the
same part, was warmly praised for
quality of voice, technical skill and
dramatic temperament.
^ ZO
REPEALED?
Correspondents from summer re-
sorts write that the women from
certain states, even when young and
in natural bloom, “make up a little”
by day as well as by night; that a
dab of powder, a suspicion of rouge,
a skilful use of the pencil are too
much in evidence, although the artist
has known only a season or two.
An act of Parliament was passed in
li (0. That all women of whatever
age, rank, profession or degree,
whether virgins, maids or widows,
that shall from and after such act
impose upon, seduce or betray into
matrimony any of his majesty’s male
subjects by the scents, paints, cos-
metic washes, artificial teeth, false
J hair, Spanish wool, iron stays, hoops,
high-heeled shoes, etc., shall incur
' the Penalty of the law now in force
against witchcraft and like misde-
meanors, and that the marriage upon
conviction shall stand null and void.’’
Was this act ever repealed? Was
there one like it in the colonies? We
doubt whether Mr. Roosevelt, with
his fondness for a parental govern-
ment, would approve such legislation.
MR. GIBSON’S RESOLVE.
The discouragement of Mr. Charles
R. Gibson has not received due atten-
tion. It will be remembered that Mr.
Gibson some time ago renounced black
and white, and the pictorial type of girl
imagined by him and named after him.
He announced that he would henceforth
MARIE THIERY,
Soprano.
paint in oil. He would not be a land-
scapist or a seascapist, but lie would be
another Velasquez, Rembrandt, Titian.
His friends and admirers immediately
ranked him with the masters, and at the
end of a few weeks wondered at his in-
activity. It seems that Mr. Gibson has
been making an “extended tour” of great
art galleries in Europe, and his eyes
have been opened. He now thinks that
it will take him “a year or two” to be-
gin at the bottom and work up, and he
saw no reason why he could not thus
labor in New York, but his friends per-
suaded him that an “artistic atmos-
phere” would be of great value to him.
Now Mr. Gibson intends to sojourn in
Paris, where he can keep “bis eye true
and his ideas high.” He undoubtedly
lias talent, and inasmuch as he at last
realizes the nature of the task before
him, may he succeed! If he fails, let
him remember the saying that even the
ludest tavern signs show that a
Titian once lived.
MISS OR MRS.
The Portland Oregonian informs us
(hat, whereas women registering in
hotels usually wrote their names until a
few years ago with the prefix of Mrs.
or Miss, they now when travelling alone
put their names on the register without
tne prefix, and also without spelling out
the first name. But there is a still
more confusing and objectionable habit
among women, that of writing to a
stranger and signing the name as though
il were a maiden name, and without
distinguishing Mrs. or Miss. Thus Mr.
Johnson receives a letter asking for in-
formation and without an inclosed and
propitiatory postage stamp. The writer
sends her “thanks in advance” — a vile
phrase — and signs herself, say : “Jennie
Maud St. Clair.” Is Jennie the wife of
some George or Ezra St. Clair? How is
Mr. Johnson to address her in reply if
he be foolishly good-natured? It has been
suggested recently in France that women
ever SO should be called “Madame”
whether they be married or single. If
a woman of 35 or 40 is not “Mme.” she
should be. Ingenious reasoning! But
Jennie gives no hint as to her age, and
Mr. Johnson is helpless. He does not
know hut she may he an “ex-Mrs.”
THE MARTIANS.
Mr. Percival Lowell, who has spent
time, money and scientific enthusi-
asm in making us better acquainted
with Mars, should at once enter into
consultation with Miss Pauline Corri
and Mr. Sackville G. Leyson. The
former received a visit six years ago
in London from an inhabitant of that
planet. He was a “shadowy, gigan-
figure covered with hair.” He
had one eye, and that was in the I
centre of his forehead. Miss Corri
does not say how he came into the
room — perhaps he found the chim-
ney convenient— but her flesh crept |
and she heard a voice: “He is a spirit
from the planet Mars.” He vanished
without offering any explanation of
the much discussed canals. Mr.
Leyson, president of the Society for
Psychical Research in Syracuse, N.
Y.,‘ sent his spirit,- or astral body—
there is a difference — to the planet a
few days ago. He saw two kinds of
men, very large and dwarfs, all
hairy. The giants had only one eye
and breathed crosswise. The dwarfs
had two eyes, no nose.^and, web-
footed, they walked gayly up perpen-
dicular walls. The trees were all of
rubber. What an opportunity for a
trust! On the other hand, Mr. H. G
Wells, in his romance, describes the
Martian as a sort of terrestrial devil-
fish. Leave Mr. Wells out, for he
would not look you in the eye and
swear that he wrote from personal
knowledge. But Mr. Lowell should
.submit Miss Corri and Mr. Leyson to
an examination, so that there will be
full agreement in description of the
one-eyed species. Did Miss Corri no-
,ice a "crosswise expansion of her
visitor’s lungs?
QUICK OH ROTARY?
Mr. Frank Coombs, the head of the
Cleveland health department, has
"made a study” of the quick lunch
and quick lunchers, and come to the
conclusion that no girl should marry
a confirmed quick luncher, for her
life would surely be unhappy. The
quick lunch habit engenders irri-
tability. f leads to divorce and a
wrecked home. The victims often
lead shocking lives and “plunge
razors and carving-knives into their
gizzards.” Yet only a few days ago
we read’that Gov. Harris of Ohio sits
at a counter and “rubs elbows with
men covered with grime.” Let him
heed the warning before it is too late,
before consequent irritability induces
him to veto recklessly all bills. What
does Mr. Coombs think of the rotary
lunch in Paris? You and yc/ur friends
sit at a table laid in the car of the
Big Wheel. At a given word the
wheel begins to turn and you eat the
hors d’oeuvres that look so appetiz-
ing until you settle the bill. The
wheel has made one revolution. Tur- j
bot is served with chablis, and the
wheel goes round again. A revolu-
tion for each course. You eat with
the wheel. What will be the effect
on the domestic relations, provided
that no luncher Is with his own wife? i
StruweTpeter. especially in the story of
i he had boy Frederick.
He caught the ^ ^ringf'
And then tore nil tneir . the cha | rs .
H AJd U threw e thl kitten down the stairs.
Now listen to the learned Heller:
••Hie barbarity of Frederick, who in <ti
,. xin respects embodies the type of moral
'insanity is not calculated to inspire in
ous weak-minded children feehngs
o abhorrence, but is likely rather to I
„ iw rise to that perverted form of mind
which causes morally deficient persons
to enjoy written descriptions or
representations of crimes and evil do
!'" • But Prudy and Dottle Dimple
3d not have played with Frederick^
"Z / / f
“SOPHIE MAY.”
Many who found delight in the
“Prudy Rooks” when they were little
girls — and there were also boys that
read them — did not know whether the
author wore alive or dead until they
were reminded of her and their debt of
gratitude by the obituary notices. These
volumes were to girls what the “Rollo
Rooks” were to boys of an earlier gen-
eration, and though there was no im-
mortal Jonas in them they were truly
healthful and less priggish. Before
“Sophie May” wrote, young girls whose
parents were prejudiced against fairy
tales were obliged to read stories that
were, for the most part, dry as a covered
r.rldge or didactically mawkish. To-
day there Is not so great care exer-
cised in the selection of books for
children, and even the Sunday school
libraries would have raised the hair
of the superintendent and teachers
of the sixties. On the other hand.
There are parents still found who
look skew-eyed at fairy and folk
tales, just as George Cruikshank de-
plored the immoral tendency of Puss
in Roots.” which, as he thought, taught i
the benefits to be derived from lying, ol |
"Hop o' My Thumb,” and of other
stories, so that he rewrote “Cinderella
and ’‘Jack and the Reanstalk" as tem-
perance tracts. And only recent !\ a
,'P German thinker, Dr. '1 hcodorc
lleller, discussed in an elephantine way
"the potentialities for evil in the
"TYPICALLY AMERICAN.”
A “charming American” who looks
on London as the omphalos of the world
and would not be persuaded by gold and
precious stones to live in her native
land is “typically American,” the Eng-
lish think, “in her cool nerve.” Taking
the wrong train not long ago, she dis-
covered her mistake, pplled the bell rope,
stopped the train, jumped off and
walked back on the track to the sta-
tion. thus impudently violated two
reasonable and just rules. Let us as-
sure our English friends that this be-
havior is not “typically American.
Some time ago a young wom^n on the
North Shore flagged an express train
by waving a red petticoat, but she was
taken to task for the offence. As a
rule the American travelling in his own
country obeys all regulations and puts
up with inconveniences and wrongs that
would provoke scenes and “letters to the
Times” and lawsuits in England. The
American has the reputation of being
"good natured.” He is often foolishly,
fatally gbod-natured and submits him-
self to all sorts of petty but none the
less tyrannical oppression.
GOETTINGEN.
Is it possible that two violent earth
shocks disturbed the composure of
Goettingen? What a pity that Heine
is not alive to read of Nature’s im-
pertinence! Heine had three bitter
enemies, he said, and the fate
of the third was the most ter-
rible; he still remained professor at
(he University of Goettingen. And
how the poet-satirist described the sleep-
iness of the town for all time, as he
thought, not expecting earthquakes.
Then there is the famous song written
by Canning to which Coleridge con-
tributed a verse, the song of Rogers,
who fell in love with Matilda Pottingen,
the only daughter of his tutor at the
university. And now an earthquake
shakes in the night this peaceful town,
and Nature shows again her love ot
ironv. Earthquakes that excite a gay
or bustling city given up to pleasure or
trade are. not incongruous, but Goettin-
gen has long been famous for deep and
quiet, some say sluggish thought. I er-
haps the seismic shock may accelera e
or even change the course of think-
ing, so that Heine’s gibes may seem to
be without foundation.
entered Maginn’s word in his neolog-
ies! dictionary ot English: "Clvila-
» Ion, by ellipsis, or more properly by
syncope, or. rigorously speaking, by
hiccup, from ‘civilization.
ON HIS FEET.
That Mr. Rudyard Kipling, who Is
a good (Teal of a ”bounder" in litera-
ture and what he is pleased to cay
politics, had stage fright at the mere
thought of making a speech at a dis-
tribution of prizes Is not surprising.
The boldest men in print are in pi i-
vate life often painfully shy and con-
strained, just as the lion tamer, ac-
cording to popular belief, is usually
henpecked. Mr. John Morley, expe-
rienced as he is. says he never rises
to address the House of Commons
without fear and trembling, and he
is not at ease till he has been stand-
ing for some time. Whiteside, who
had a great parliamentary reputa-
tion and was chief justice of Ireland,
confessed that he always felt faint
when he beard the speaker pro-
nounce his name. More than one
man has failed in legislative bodies
from sheer bashfulness. In these!
instances the crippling emotion was
not concealed from the fellow-mem-
bers by the show of audacity and the
reckless volubility that aid some suf-
ferers in private life. "Mr. Kipling
cannot be persuaded to speak a
short notice.” Would that he had not
been persuaded more than once to
write at short notice, as though his
gun were always loaded for the hair-
trigger.
A SHORTENED WORD.
Timidly are some of the recom-
mendations for the shortening of cer-
tain English words being adopted by
journals, magazines and book pub-
lishers. "Thru” for "through” may
be phonetically delightful, but the
gain is slight. That no one of the
earnest reformers has taken a hint
from Dr. Maginn Is unaccountable.
The word “civilization" Is much usad.
What is the portion of the word that
has significance? "Civil," of course.
The rest of it has no true meaning.
Now, we are prepared to follow Ma-
ginn. According to his paradox no
man reaches the apex of civilization
until he Is drunk. Previous to this
the man may be a promising subject,
but "otherwise than in posse it must
be premature.” Maginn, haxing
teached this apex, was anxious to
proclaim the sincerity of his conver-
sion; but after 10 P. M. he abridged
“civilization,” to which he constantly
referred, into "civilation,” as the for-
mer form is “distressing to a gentle-
man taking his ease of an evening.”
Thereupon De Quincey, a lover of
words and a master builder of state-
v.. ffinwinp- nnri sonorous sentences.
AT FRIEDRlCHSHOF.
Kings have their perquisites, ameni-
ties and duties. When they meet and
farewell each other they kiss, and with
especial fervor when the onlookers are
many. Do they reckon this osculation
among the perquisites or duties i Kiss-
ing was once as common among men as
' it "is now between men and women, and
ir. certain European nations the kiss is
now no more than an ordinary hand-
shake. It should be remembered that
King Edward is not a stolid Englishman
by birth, an\l the Germans are a race
of kissers. There was an English mon-
arch, however, I without German blood
who was an inveterate kisser— James I.,
“our cousin of Scotland. Many re-
member, undoubtedly, the description of
him in Dickens’ “Child’s History of
England,” one of many striking poi-
traitures. and' they remember how he
used “to loll on the necks of his favorite
courtiers, and slobber their faces, and
kiss and pinch their cheeks.” Kings
kiss each other today in public to re-
assure the crowd, and the crowd ap-
plauds as it would at any- show, though
some may recall an oriental episode:
“And Joab said to Amasa, ‘Art thou in
health, my brother?* And Joab took
Amasa by the beard with the right hand
to kiss him. Rut’ Amasa took no heed to
! the sword that was in Joab’s hand; so
he smote him therewith in the fifth rib.
There could be no suspicion of treachery
at Friedrichshof, for Edward is a loyal
man and William is a swashbuckler, not
mediaevally diplomatic. 1 he latter, it
seems from his conversation with a isit-
ing Americans, burns with longing to
meet Mr. Roosevelt. Will there then be
rapt embracing? We like to think of
them slapping each other on the back
and simultaneously exclaiming: “Ion re
a wonder!” A stimulating scene for our
old friend the Historical Painter, wno
- already preparing a brilliant palette.
- > Uvoe 2 3 / o *
hieroglyphics! The boy that had read
this quaint blue book declaimed, “I am
monarch of all I survey” with superior
knowledge and a greater gusto. Eater
he was told by Herman Melville of the
courage of Juan Fernnndez in boldly
venturing the experiment of standing
broad out from land, whereas before
him Spanish ships from Peru to Chili
kept close to land, fearing lest the trade
wind would bear them to limitless
waters from which they would not re-
turn, and so a. vessel starting on a
voyage of ten days, beating against a
continuous head wind, or becalmed,
would spend four months at sea and
then be cast away. Nor did Robinson
Crusoe wholly drive out the memory of
Selkirk. Still we see the latter’s head-
dress and goat, as we still remember
joyfully the costume of Lydia Thompson
as Robinson.
CONCERT FOYER
Why They Persist in Giving j
of “Faust” — Study of
Performances.
DEBUSSY’S REMARKS
ON GOUNOD’S GENIUS
The London Times said recently
apropos of the performance of Gounod’s
“Faust” in English at the Lyric theatre
— Mme. Clementine de Vere was the
Marguerite-that it must have been wel-
come “for those wno are not too blase
to enjoy the melodies and not so supe-
rior that they can dismiss the whole
thing as a ‘pot-boiler.’ ” The Times
spoke of the excellent chorus and added:
“It must, indeed, be hard to keep up the
pretense that the Soldiers’ chorus is ’pot-
boiling.’ ” Such was the joy of the au-
dience that this chorus was repeated.
It is the fashion for many to sneer at
Gounod's “Faust.” They say that it has
not the "Spirit of Goethe’s poem”; that
the love intrigue is conventional and
characterless; that the hero has noth-
ing to do; that the music is for the most
part sugary and not dramatic and
that the melodies built on a phrase le-
peated in successively higher positions
are constructed tunes rather than true
and native melodies. It is easy to say
these things, and they are saio in Ger-
many, England, the United States and
even in France. ... ,.
Yet “Faust,” no matter how poorly it
he performed, still draws the crowd
and gives delight.
7
A FAMOUS ISLE.
It would be a pity if the isle of Juan
Fernandez were to be henceforth on ,\
a name, like the kingdom of Ys or the
island of Atlantis. The boys of forty
years ago were as familiar with it as
though they had summered and win-
tered on it with Alexander Selkirk. Me
well : remember the book that containe
the record of his adventures. It was
and - square, and* bound in blue
boards. There were curious pictures,
wood cuts, and we see now Alexander s
strange headdress and the expression of
a faithful goat. Would that we had the
volume now, with the s ", n
Rook,” and a copy of Mother Goose in
Not long ago the dramatic critic of
the Pall Mall Gazette, sojourning in the
heart of Sussex, saw a placard announc-
ing that in the Theatre Royal in Mr.
‘s meadow “the immortal tragedy of
‘Faust’ would be enacted by a selected
London company.” The “Theatre Roy-
al” was a canvas cert lit by oil lamps,
the reserved seats were wooden kitchen
chairs, a pianist seivcd as an orchestra,
and the price of a reserved seat was
sixpense. The performance was a stir-
ring one. “The company was the most
polypseudony mous we have ever seen,
one gentleman under three names play-
ing as many parts, and most of the
others under two, essaying a couple.
Pottle was the Mephistoplieles, in total
red and very robust, and his scene with
Martha in the garden was a glorious
triumph of busy farce. Siebel was a
stout dark gentleman who. all too
obviously, had not shaved for two or
three days, and when Margaret said to
him ‘I love 'Enry and him only,’ his fa-
cial expression of sorrow was the most
side-splitting piece of silent acting we
have seen since Penlgy in ‘Charley’s
Aunt.’ The Martha wore her wig care-
lessly, another joyful matter to the un-
reserved crowd, who howled aloud when
perspiration and indifferent spirit-gum
caused it to slip conspicuously from its
centre, and the Valentin had a strong
pink tights stitched here and there with
purple cotton, we recognized the orches-
tra suddenly promoted, and the verdict
of the crowd on his erformance was that
it was ‘martal fine.' ”
The professional critic did not scoff.
He, too, thought the whole thing "mar-
tal fine.” and remembered that Ed-
mund Kean emerged from some such
company. The mummers were "honest
people earning honest money.” He
learned that they had been together
for several years, that they did fairly on
the whole and that every month they
sent a couple of pounds or so to a priest
in a poor parish, who had confirmed
some of them and befriended them all.
This performance by strollers could
not kill the play. Nor is Gounod's
opera dead in <pite of many mediocre
and many wretched performances, some
of which have been loudly applauded by
“cultivated" and "representative” audi-
ences.
We have seen performances in Ameri-
can cities— it was -25 or 30 years ago—;
when the garden was represented by a
flower pot. over which Miss Litta and
Mr. Lazzarini vowed their love, and Mr.
Castlemary as Mephistopheles put the
jewel box on a kitchen_chair in front
of Marguerite's uoor. we nave se-.
pterrormances with a chorus of eight or
W, and with an orchestra of two fiddles,
double bass, piano, cornet, trombone;
posibly there was also a flute. We have
(seen performances with whole scenes cut
out, and Incredible as the statement may
seem, with the 'Soldiers' Chorus’ omlt-
| ted. And yet, never did the music Itself,
poorly sung, distorted, tortured, fail to
make an emotional effect.
Cast season at Covent Garden Mr.
Marcoux appeared as Mephlstopheles for
the first time In London. His imperson-
ation was described as "strangely origi-
nal.” Mr. Blackburn of the Pall Mall
Gazette said: "To our mind, he real-
ized the subtlety and the grimness of
the character much more nearly than
do those otherwise artistic exponents
of the part, who are a little inclined,
perhaps, to make It rather clownish.
There was something, particularly in
the garden scene, of a quiet grimness
and of a hidden cruelty, which brought
the true and elemental meaning of the
story out with remarkable effect.”
It Is a pity that Mr. Marcoux does not
come to Araerka. Of late years we have
seen few Mcphlstopeles of any marked
dramatic distinction. Mr. Edouard da
Reszke plays the part as he plays that
of Leporello, or almost all other parts,
without finesse, heavily, undramatfcallv.
He Imposes by sheer bulk. He is fatally
good-natured and inclined to be farcical.
The spectator expects to see him amuse
the villagers in "Faust” by other tricks
than that with the wine cask, by giv-
ing an imitation of a bumble-bee o'r of a
man with the asthma sawing wood, and
then producing a live rabbit out of Sie-
bel’s doublet. Never for a moment is
there a suggestion of the fiend’s mock.
Never a thought of the fact that the
Prince of Darkness is a gentleman.
Mr. Plancon is a singularly accom-
plished singer, and he makes Mr. Ed-
ouard de Reszke’s vocal rough places
smooth. He is not an actor of spon-
taneous force; he has not naturally a
dramatic temperament; but he has been
well schooled, and he carries himself
well. As a singer he is most excellent
in whatever he undertakes, and in a few
parts that are inherently suited to him,
as the fanatical father of Valentin in
'The Huguenots,” the Spanish General
in "La Navarraise,” the Friar in “Ro-
meo and Juliet,” he is dramatically im-
pressive. It is said that his Menhis-
topheles in Boito's opera is singularly
fine. His Mephistopheles in Gounod's
opera is familiar to us all. It is a pol-
ished. courtly impersonation relieved by
certain melodramatic touches, c
But a singer doe; not portray
Mephistopheles simply by biting his
swerd in the kermess scene or by one
or two harsh, grating Ha-Has. When
M-- Plancon appears suddenly before
the old Faust in the study the spec-
tator after looking at him is tempted
to cry out: “What a fine figure of a
man!” There is no thought of , the
supernatural. No current from an-
other world sweeps across the stage
and chills the audience. And through
th opera the sympathy of men and
women is with Mephistopheles — a
good man gone wrong.
Now it is not necessary for a dra-
matic singer to follow the example of
Mr. Schaliapine, the Russian, who
made a sensation at Monte Carlo as
Mephistopheles in Boito's opera by
covering the skin above the waist
with a .‘‘phosphorescent paint,” and
then exposing it to the audience. Un-
les there be something, back of the
skin, the artifice is in vain. Several
years ago the Mephistopheles at the
Castle Square moved and stood and
sang and laughed to an electrical ac-
companiment. Never was there such
a lavish use of the mysterious nu,d
in an operatic performance. Tet the
more snapping and crackling and
whizzing there were, the clearer was
the fact revealed that a low comedian
was endeavoring to play a subtly
tragic part.
Castlemary was .the last Mephis-
j topheles in this country who was
onen sinister. He had seen Faure.
Some of The Herald readers may re-
member Jamet. whose impersonation
was truly subtle and
constantly effective!
At first only the soldiers’ chorus was
honestly enjoyed. The scene of the first
meeting the choral (so called), much of
the garden music, the profoundly tragic
episode in the cathedral, the death of
V'alentlne— these supreme pages in the
work were then thought "too scientific.”
The music was not sufficiently "melo-
dious,” just as today there arc persons
who are unable to find melody in the
music of Claude Debussy. Poor Gounod
had made his sacrifices to the mob.
There was a waltz of happy villagers;
there was the jewel song for lovers of
vocal virtuosity; there was a Walpurgls
Night ballet for the Jockey Club; and
when ''Faust” was taken to London the
composer added "Even bravest heart”
for Santley and a ballad tune for the
Slebel. But the music was "too scien-
tific.”
Mr. Debussy recently wrote a short
I article in answer to the question put by
! many in France, and not musicians,
; “Why do they persist in giving 'Faust'
at the Opera?” His answer is, "Be-
cause the art of Gounod represents a
moment of French sentiment or feel-
ing.” "Let us further add,” he says,
"that there are many reasons why
things are preserved in the memory of
men, and it is not always necessary that
these reasons should be of great weight.
To move a majority of one's contem-
poraries is one of the best mefins.” If
Gounod was unfaithful to Goethe’s
thought, so was the German Wagner
to the old German legend of Tann-
haeuser. There are some in France
who "understand” music and boast of
being "musical.” They never compose,
but they encourage others. They have
much to do with founding a “school,”
and as Gounod was not of any school,
they will not listen to even his name.
The "lovers of music” in society beat
the drum for this or that one, cheer the
name of the celebrated or the author-
ized-all this passes as the shape of a
hat. The crowd persits in liking
"Faust” and the Opera gives perform-
ances of it.
Modern French music has suffered by
imitation of Wagnerian formulas. "If
Gounod did not describe the harmonious
curve we wished, he should be praised
for having known how to escape the
imperious genius of Wagner, whose
wholly German concept does not justify
itself clearly in the fusion of arts as
he wished it.” Gounod with his faults,
whatever they may be, is necessary.
He was a cultivated musician, who
knew both Palestrina and Bach. “He
recommended Mozart rather than Gluck
to the young— a proof of his disinterest-
edness, for he never sought his inspira-
tion in Mozart’s music. His relations
with Mendelssohn were more trans-
parent, for to him he owed his manner
of developing melody after the manner
of a set of shelves, a method that is
very convenient when a composer is not
in the mood ” Gounod allowed Bizet to
pass him. The latter died all too soon,
and although he left behind him a
masterpiece, the destiny of French mu-
sic is still questionable. “Behold it now,
like unto a pretty widow, who having
near her no one strong enough to guide
her, allows herself to fall into the arms
of strangers who bruise and maim her.”
The whole article by Mr. Debussy—
and it is not a long one— was published
in Musica of last July, and it is worth
reading.
manner. This shipw
all conventional, t’nf
eek scene Is not at
irtunately, the lim-
itations of the stage in the Osterville
bull prevented any adeq-^te representa-
tion of this scene, whf^ will tax the
ingenuity of the stage ca >enter and the
electrician. Even wlthoil the engross-
ing picture to the eye aud the conse-
quent thrill, this act is of great novelty
and interest, for It presents a careful
study of life saving service, with due
attention to t he correct representation
of uniforms, the regulations, routine and
discipline.
The piay is much more than a series
of episodes strung together. The plot,
though simple and in a way conven-
tional. is well constructed, continuous,
logical, reasonable, interesting, and the
conventionalism is that of the life In a
coast village, and Indispensable to the
realism of the life presented. There may
lie conventionalism in the portrayel of
stirring adventure, and whoever is fa-
miliar with village life knows that there
is sentiment, pathos, tragedy In the
routine that strikes the occasional or
superficial visitor as conventional and
drab.
Some Quaint Characters.
There are the sea captains, Cy, a true
philosopher; Bill, once a coastwise mar-
iner, now given up to "shrimpin’ and
quahaugin’; Eli, "master mariner and
proprietor of the Ne Plus Ultra Ice
Cream Parlors. Clambakes managed,
also embalming and undertaking. Music
supplied for all occasions."
There Is "Cy's” wife, who “entertains
summer boarders casually and perma-
receivod.” Then there is a new gramo-
phone with a generous repertory, from
Caruso’s tune in "The Elixer of Love”
to “,/aspar.” At least two kinds of
health foods are served at breakfast and
fruit is liberally provided. IIo for Bal-
maoaan ! Though some may prefer to
(Stay at the Marshall Field’s. Young
Marshall has just bought an army of
British toy soldiers, and he has a tutor
who “speaks five languages fluently” —
including English, Cockney and York-
shire, no doubt.
-2. V
SEES THE LIGHT
[Special Dispatch to the Boston Herald. 1
OSTERVILLE, Aug. 23, 1906. A new
and original comedy drama in four
was truly subtie and consistently and ac ts. “Down on the Cape, ’ by R. A.
Barnet and R. M. Baker of Boston,
was produced here this evening for
the first time, for copyright purposes
and for, the benefit of the Village Im-
provement Society. Mr. Barnet was
It might be said that the character
of a performance of Gounod’s “Faust"
is pitched by the treatment of the
scenes between Mephistopheles and „ . „ T TT A „
Martha. As played by Mr. de Reszkel^ 6 * ta f manae:er and Mr - N - H - A1Ien
and Mme % Bauermeister these scenes
were farcical, fit only for the ground-
lings. Martha is a foolish woman to
be sure, and of kin to Sir Pandarus
of Troy, but she is not a farce corn-
ed;, freak, and the introduction of
rank burlesque ruins the harmonious
beauty of the Garden Scene. When
Mme. Bauermeister first played the
part in this country she was proper-
ly subordinated or she was one of an
ensemble. Mr. de Reszke, a good-
natured soul, by his low comedy in
this scene stimulated his associate to
rivalry, until Mme. Bauermeister, who
he been hitherto known as a useful
and versatile substitute or filler-in,
■willing and conscientious, suddenly
began to take herself seriously in
bread farce. We regret to sav that
audiences encouraged Mme. Bauer-
meister and toward the end laughed
with pleasurable anticipation as soon
ai she appeared. Now any woman
who essays the part is disappointed
if the newspapers do not say with
reference to her Martha that she ‘‘ex-
cited much merriment.” But “Faust”
is not a serio-comic opera.
It is to be regretted that it is the
fashion in certain quarters to cry
down the music of Gounod. This com-
poser had first of all the great merit
of individuality. There is no mistak-
ing his music. It is not that of an-
other; it was not suggested by ad-
miration of another. Compare
! "Faust” with other works of its per-
iod, read the criticisms called forth
when it was produced, and you will
see that Gounod was then a man of
the future. The pages that were
then misunderstood, unappreciated or
scouted as “German,” or “too scien-
tific” are the pages that are fresh-
est today.
the business manager.
The performance, with scenery, cos-
tumes and light effects, was in Union
Hall. The players were dwellers in
Osterville, with the exception of Mr.
Barnet, and he has a summer cottage
in the pleasant village. The public
was admitted to a dress rehearsal last
night and the hall was crowded with
a deeply interested audience.
The hall was also crowded this
evening, and the verdict of cottagers
and summer guests from all parts of
the country was as decisive and favor-
able as that of the villagers, who were
perhaps better able to appreciate the
realism of the scenes and the truth and
the force of the dialogue.
There will be a third performance
on Saturday night for the benefit of
Mr. Barnet, a tribute of appreciation
from his associates in the perform-
ance.
The events in three acts are sup-
posedl to occur at Squetague corner,
Cussonhlsset Point, Cape Cod. They
might occur in any coast village on
the cape, and any one acquainted with
the life from Buzzard's Bay to Prov-
ineetown who may see this play per-
formed by professionals — for there is
to be an elaborate professional pro-
duction— will be at once persuaded
that the playwrights found their ma-
terial in
nently," as her sign gives notice. There
are ''Cy's'’ sons, Martin, the hero and
keeper of the life saving station, and
redeems .his vicious years by saving his
brothers life at the loss of his own.
his vicious years by saving Ills brother's
life at the loss of his own.
There are the woman who keeps the
smallware and candy store, the girl
who "hires out" in summer and ''tag's''
in winter, “Cy's” daughter, the young
heroine, summer guests, a shipwrecked
Londoner, the avenging brother of the
wronged girl, who is not seen on the
stage, the men at the life saving station,
and the gifted female novelist, who vis-
its Squeteague and questions and pokes
about in search of “atmosphere” and
copy.
The dialogue Is unusually good. It is
spontaneous and natural. The quaint-
ness is not caricature, and in the humor
there Is no suggestion of farce-comedy.
There is true wit in the drollery, and
there is humor in the Elizabethan sense
and as it is understood today. The part
of Captain ''Cy,” a true, fresh and most
sympathetic part, played tonight with
much appreciation and sincerity, might
well tempt any accomplished and au-
thoritative actor, and while “Down on
the Cape” is by no means a one-part
drama, this character would be enough
to make a far Inferior comedy a suc-
cess.
Play Well Performed.
The performance throughout was con-
spicuous for the naturalness, the sin-
cerity and the harmony of the ensem-
ble. Great credit must be awarded Mr.
Barnet for his training in rehearsal and
for his stage management. The per-
formance was convincing by reason of
the desire of each one of the players to
contribute to the general effect, and
also by the fact that for the most part
the players have lived the life they por-
trayed or it has been known to them
from childhood.
Mr. Barnet's skill In rehearsal and
his knowledge of stage effects prevented
In great measure the exhibition of the
extreme naturalness which is paradoxi-
cally Ineffective, for there must be in
all dramatic performances a certain de-
gree of artificiality.
The cast was as follows: Capt. "Cv”
Hadley, G W. Hallett; Capt. Bill Her-
sey, R. A. Barnet, Capt. "Ell"
bprlnger, H. L. Tallman; Rebecca My-
rlck, Mrs. H S. Parker; Judas Good-
win, Maurice G. Crocker; Charles
Dabney, Azor D. Hall; Hannah Had-
ley, J. M. Leonard; Sally Jones. Miss
ley, J. M. Leonard; Salley Jones, Miss
Genevieve Leonard; Myrtle Hadley,
Miss Marcia M. Hallett; Dr. Lambert.
Robert M. Daniel; "Mat" Hadley, Wal-
ter I. Fuller; ''Willie," Miss Annie L.
Crosby; E valine Knight, Miss Mary
H- u Bea » r / e A Arabella Perkins, Mrs.
Robert M. Daniel; Arthur Brooke, Har-
” ld T? r £?. b A ; Dlck Armstrong, Ernest
w DeWitt; men at the station, Dex-
ter Pattlson, J. W. Tallman, Jr„ Owen
B. Lewis, W. E. Jones, Jack Driscoll,
Mr. Lewis Introduced a song of his
composition, “Mr. Howe,” and Mr
Barnet also sang a ditty.
IN SOCIETY.
A New York newspaper publishes en-
tertaining gossip about titled and un-
titled members of the American aristoc-
racy now living j u England. \Ye were
especially pleased with the news about
Mrs. Bradley Martin. Not because the
peasantry welcomed her at Balmacaan
with processions, flags and music, but
because she threw new pennies out of a
bag on her triumphal way. We should
prefer to think of her as scattering
guineas or at least half crowns, but the
pennies were bright and shining, and so
the children cheered “the good lady and
the golden pennies,” and there was much
excitement, the festivities were pro-
longed at her expense for two days after
her arrival, there was much ale, aud no
the village which he hap-
pens to know best. For the atmos-
phere is not merely parochial, and doubt an ox was roasted whole. We are
also informed that Mrs. Martin has left
Cod manner.
Thrilling Rescue Scene.
nothing undone for the comfort of her
guests. A professional golfer has been
The scenes of the third act are at the engaged to give lessons to those who
“Monotaumet life saving station," and wish to boast with greater reason. Let
the act ends with a rescue in a highly U s hope that he is placarded: “No fees
original and thrillingly melodramatic
INEVITABLE.
The meek lover of nature sighs at
the thought of trolley cars to Paul
Smith’s in the Adirondacks. The
time no doubt will come when there
will be a line from Keene Flats to
the bowlder that marks John
Brown's grave in North Elba; when
Adirondack Village, the deserted
iron works, will be a station on the
way to Beede’s; when the Ausable
ponds will be connected and the
Gothic mountains assume still more
fantastical shapes in horror at the
invasion; when the conductor's bell
will be heard in the Indian pass.
Places that were wild thirty and
forty years ago are now smoothly
combed and brushed. Gone are
many of the simple, unpretending
inns, often little more than huts,
with the delicious trout and johnny-
cake and the saleratus bread which
was dear to the natives from J_,ake
Placid to Lake Colden. The time
will come when true solitude will be
sought in unfrequented city streets
or on the tops of sky-kissing build-
ings after business hours.
“I DARE YER!”
Me had thought that the willingness
to do some foolish deed in answer to “I
dare you” or “you dassent” went with
other childish things, yet an athletic
young woman met her death a few days
ago by diving because she had been
“dared.” It is true that she had just
eaten a hearty dinner, had then rowed
violently, and the lake water was very
cold. Any kind of a bath after eating
was forbidden by the ancients, especial-
ly for one who had consumed much
peacock. Prudent timidity is a blessing
of middle age when apathy is more con-
genial thanflamboyantspectacular ac-
tivity. On the other hand a young
widow was married last month at Den-
ver “on short notice.” A “mine magnate
and clubman” — for a wonder he was not
a “prominent clubman” nor was he “a
member of exclusive clubs,” but only
a “clubman” — said to the widow; “I
dare you to marry me,” and she
Answered: “I never took a dare in my
life, and I won’t now.” An hour later
they were married. So there may be
danger in not “taking a dare,” for mar-
riage may be a sea rather than a lake of
trouble. “Prepared for either fortune”
is a fine old rule, “but it is better not to
dive after a hearty meal and to marry
one whom you have known for at least
a week, even though there be a jeering
“dare” or “stump.”
THE STRONGER SEX.
Prof. W. I. Thomas of the Univer-
sity of Chicago holds that life at the
beginning was female; that for
countless ages woman was the supe-
rior and ruled man; that she is more
active in courtship than man. But
these views are not original or start-
ling; they are known to every an
i thropologist and sociologist. Woman
is still the stronger. This is proved
by her endurance and fortitude in
housekeeping, in shopping and
her pursuit of social pleasures. Last
June Mr. Glenn of Port Richmond
47 years old, went shopping with his
wife. They went from counter to
counter. After it was all over he
fell unconscious in the street and
died of heart disease. AVhat man of
you could go through the daily rou-
tine of an ordinary housekeeper or
that of a professional society woman
and be able to exert mental or
physical force at the end of the
third day and night? Neither Mr.
Thomas nor Mr. G. B. Shaw was
the first to show that woman was
the more active in courtship. A
supreme artist, she conceals her art.
Thackeray said that a woman can
ORIGIN
READ'S THEORY OF THE
wv OF “NEGRO FOLK SONGS
marry any man she wishes to marry,
and his remark is only a faint echo
of past statements. On July 10 Miss
Khoda Emily Crosby of Mahanoy
City, Pa., started for Loudis. Cal., to
marry a man she had never seen.
The headline summed up the mat-
ter: ‘'Determined to wed a man she
never saw." It is true that the man,
a fruit grower, sent her a railway
ticket and money for incidental ex-
penses, but had he not thus aided
her in her purpose she would have
got there just the same. The won-
der is that any bachelor or widower
escapes. 1
AX INTIMATE JOURNAL.
A dishonest Prussian major kept a
diary “in which he entered most of his
shady transactions and his doubts and
fears as to their entire honesty." He
analyzed his character ; he entered vows
for reformation; he expressed his de-
spair at his inability to reform. This
diary might truly be called a human
document. IIow many in Boston en-
gaged in business, or in a profession, or
idle and weary of "leading the life of
a gentleman,” would have the courage
to enter in a journal all the transactions
and thoughts of the day ; and if such
a journal were kept honestly for a
month, who would be found to publish
it? A Belgian once said that there was
a little pig in the mind of every one.
The art of life is to keep the pig little,
to keep its squeals from other ears, and
not to listen sympathetically to these
squeals, however restless or hungry the
animal may be. Even those justly reck-
oned good might shrink from confessing
everything to a journal. No one acts
from a single motive, and in the sweet-
est, kindest deeds one of the motives,
If examined closely, might well bring
uneasiness and even shame. It is doubt-
ful whether the frankest and most un-
blushing narrators of their lives, as
Casanova and Cellini, did not shrink
from recording certain acts and finally
refuse to preserve the memory of them
in writing.
I A GUEST THAI r viu.n.
■m
wm
ADELINA BADET, DANCER.
MARY GARDEN IN “APHRODITE.”
major and u'lm accepted by
ine oi Lite muiivco) nor.” Thi3 is ^ ^ t e ly for Mr. Head 3
■jEZtfSSi INVESTIGATION BY FOLK
LORISTS IN ENGLAND sttyBBttg r» —
[America Has No True Folk
Songs — Plans for the
' L Worcester Festival,
A queer story comes from a Penn- [a
onfy°in Scottish ‘folk 'tunes.
An Old Quarrel.
It may be noted in connection with Mr
It may Lo uis La loy, in a
Head s article that ..The Mu-
...
S' ® L c„.» *
Mr. Angelo M. Read contributed to American, and for
A queci otui j
y , •as** 1 p”m,, rjas « e
„ ,he would hm visit <t t" t»» „„d I BBL 'SSa^tWKSSjItt.'SE
oon visit her in the TTigbtenment does it not seem ?a y 'what ha^been^of^n .said Folk^Mu-
untry. She did not keep her prom- Btrange that there are people, that" the I Scf”
The Greens claimed $2 dam- them lecturers, who claim that tlve Africans, of th areasers that have
es for their disappointment, but American Negro melody is purely A - the^Creo^
...... Uouov nf Kpmmertown decid- rican . scribed as Arne „ r jein “arc not
try. qrc vi * * *
The Greens claimed $2 dam-
res for their disappointment, but
mire Haney of Kemmertown decid-
t against them. The tale Is a pa-
etic one to the true sentimentalist,
ever mind the practical side of it.
aw Mrs. Green probably set her
ouse in wondrous order, filled her
,-dcr to bursting, killed and cooked,
rican
Mr. Read argues that for genera-
tions the negro, a slave, and in contact
with the “enlightened" white race
changed in nature so that he e\entua
became AmeRcan hi life. ^nguageand
song- v ^settlers were largely
o^Scottlsh descend 6 The J'egro ln^ihose
i£ser^;ilne\c^ejF'F-
songs, d vTateveT their ongin not
American folk a naif-breed, then
be a negro, a creole or a haii folk
&\y r birth or descent none otthew
use in wondrous oraer. ,\ p par i y settlers were mege** songs is oi juul as akm to
dcr to bursting, killed and cooked, »v?o e «» n m«
ought out fine llnen-thls is meta- parts « ok or na ^ r d aU ii^ r ." These melo- ™nt ur y. There , is no comparison^ a
— ’ - Prefer d& Wo«~ of nefro I
tunes. , . , ... „wr,,„nriate this music and Jong-knoaji^I ^ ^,j ie American has
lorical, for possibly they prefer
,tton sheets in Jackson township—
id prepared herself and Josiah for
,e arrival. There were the nelgh-
,rs who had been told of the com-
ig visit. They were agog, and some
- them secretly envious. So are the Jj ye Africa for a ^° re s J™o<mded C by“a
ther country families disposed when encan^ p ^ his own.
king honors one by his acceptance and associated with ^the^wmte^ ^ gu _
f hospitality. Mrs. Green was “set
p.” She had talked of Mrs. Gedrich,
er charm of manner, fine taste,
,’ealth, position. The appointed day
rrlved and with it the stage, or per-
iaps the Greens drove over to the
rarest railway station. No Mrs.
Jedrich! Surely there was some ac-
cent. A telegram or a letter would
•xplain. But the days went by, and
10 Mrs. Gedrich appeared. The I j g moreoV cr, "^^rTls'n'thesuT-
icighbors began to whisper, then to |cotch
,-huckle. "Thought you said >our catch or snap, fwtnd ^in both, the^ gag
mmSM
tour entirely and bee me it The negro
to creature (?) nei e c a han t” of bis na-
threw over the simple c ‘ a er esslve Am
tiye Afnoa for a "o^prog^ by :
ire super!
and associated w.tn me «--- h r sll
p^im-s ed in ra education during his earlier
*Wr. Read 1 adds: “If wetrace the source
of these sla^ e-songs ^ of the maj-
tonic scale is u ? ed alp with a minor
or, and the minor sc minor songs,
seventh for many °* H\ e y ’"learly, the
This substantiates pretty was im -
assumption that 4 a ® tch music, which
pressed by the * S ted upon these
fatter is also c ° n however, many of
scales. There are -. l l lt _ ls and Shouts
the finest Negro Sp cltua^ ana ^ ru _
constructed “PP 11 , in fi U ences. There
•suit no doubt of Joe* tl which lends
is moreover, another jn t b e su d-
force to the argumen ■ wordSi Scotch
den syncopation, m other^o the Scotch
o — » > c atcli or snap, f This may have sug-
v friend was cornin’ down to visit anrl 8 called rag-time, attr !^“
And the Greens asked only ^ed to the Negro which o ^ecentIy
as balm for the disappointment! reacb^so mne^c g a fallacy
th Clive in India, they might well prQn mlgated b . 5 ' T^^Negr? m usic the
nder at their moderation. Sarm* i?* t ,^at*n.^o5
the music is pot National t enlisht-
ened 'colored ^people a and they chiefly
local.”
A pentatonic scale is a five-tone scale,
which . av : : -^- se Plli 0, ILvpnth degrees in
and long-known American has
the Russian PeeP' n 3t . approach to it
' no folk song. I he nea^st api , , phen
are the more tunes
C. Foster, a bora a merican qualities
reflect truly certain nie me iodies were
|^tn m orlgln of the true folk
60 ?L 1S e O arly 0r s|tlers of ^ 1 . counWlJf
the north sang psam^n^ t j le church.
with W 7 *rds even without ki lhe
We hav 9 heard a ^o^^cpp Mv TI tie
cradle t» hen I E aa land ( F r express-
dear” and a *" s “‘ 0 ing to work
lug morning joi.Wfore^o g^ a
by shouting ■, • The words
Stretch thy Winga ag did
of those hi mu® . common and
the Bible. into t do i e f U 1 tune
tamiliar speech- r - a uetatlv at funerals
• China' heard frequently Qr Mar .
was often whistled v . , 1,0 chores,
conus. While be was iJ°^ E t0 U ^hee°' is
Today Nearer MV men and
sung by children r o^ straw ride .
maidens, on P lC fi‘ cs f gon gs in the
But these are not folic
true meaning of the TT rd B ead that the
Wc ‘ 1 ‘r’L 'cLl ed Negro f oik songs
majority of . so ' cal i e ? he tunes sung by
are perversions of t e t“J r or heard
the mistress in her p Negroes
at camp-meeting. -'rude chants"
brought few ,f J p n v fr ican coast, for
with them from he Airman t of
those natives were not * , nBtru .
was^Fe’drtim ajavorite by rea-
son of noise and rh5 t ' • na turally mi-
The negro and t 0 sa y with
metic. It 1 s not n e ■ • { mimicry
Coleridge, that the talent m p human
peemS ic degraded; that the poor
very lowest stamp alone satirize bj
copying.”
Songs of Somerset.
Compare for a moment the folk-
songs of England with the alleged
tolk-songs of America. The Eng ish
for centuries were given to singing,
at their work, in the street, in the r
rriflkine in their drinking. It is
a pi tv That more of their folk-songs
a Viftfurd in our own concert i
balls The storehouse is vast, and
many of the songs in all conceivable
moods are not only quaint but beauti-
<u k n e of these songs, and an exce
lent example of quaintness cyn
■ r»aa anno- here last season )
« Yvette GTilbert-''The Keys
Heaven.” Mr. Plunket Greene sang
in Boston several years ago. It w
be remembered that the woman w
« not won by promises of a coa.ch-
or by jewels, finally melted
when the wmoer offered her the keys
nf his heart. There is another ver-
sion n which the last sentimental verse
does not apear. The heroine was per-
dlded by the gift of a "broidered silken
g0 Mr d Cecll Sharp, an enthusiastic col-
0 f old Somerset folk-songs,
cave a concert lecture in London
foward the close of last season. He
paid in the course of his remarks that
fhp punposedly dull-pated yokel was
a mer^y fetlow at heart and a brisk
lover - some of the songs are charged
wiVh ’the spirit of adventure, the love
r/ V roving open-air life, witness
“Th<f Wraggle-Taggle Gipsies." There
Ik no false sentiment in them, no
tfngoism, no ‘mother-klss-me-in-my-
d ream s’ sort of a thing— remember
l ow Foster's maidens are as a rule
cither sleeping beneath the willow or
fn the last stages of consumption.
tones may be plaintive, as in
“Lord Rend™” and "The Unquiet
Grave” but they are not mawkish
K are often cynical, and remind
one of the Somerset farmer's conten-
tion that "women are like kippers,
when they’re bad they're terribly bad,
end when they're good they're only
m The 'folk-song in Somerset is Pass-
ing away, and Mr. Sharp believes that
pone will be heard there after the next
10 years. The average age of the
singers who contributed to his colie
tion was about SO. He told ofa
tenarian in an infirmary who was co
fined to his bed and thought his next
neighbor— "that young fellow (|etat
SO) could help with a verse or a t ui ,
"the while he himself, having Sung
ills verse, nulled the sheet over
head and, lost to view, pondered on
another verse.” An old woman
sang of Nelson admitted that she
knew nothing about his deeds, but
suppose he "wur a tumble great war
rior man." An old dame OVer -'O l <
old sans on a workhouse bed to mr.
Sharp ft ditty shortly before she died
The title was "I'm Seventeen Come
Sunday," and the story ls of a hoi
ersetshire lad who went out on a MM
morning at sunrise and met a ra
maid.
Her shoes were bright, her sfoehlngs white,
Her buckles shone like silver,
She had a black and rolling eye,
And her hair hung down her shoulder.
With my rue dum duy. fol the diddle dcd
Fol the dol. tho diddle dum the day.
How old are you, my fair pretty maid,
How old are you, my honey?
She answered me, quite cheerfully.
I'm seventeen come Sunday.
With my rue dum day. fol tho, diddle dol,
Fol the dol. the diddle dum the day.
Then there is the stirring song of
Henry Martin, the gentleman who
“turned a robber” "for to maintain my
two brothers and me.”
Mr. Shay described the English folk-
song as originally "in a state of flux,
never fixed; belonging roughly to the
last strong man who sang it; evolved,
not composed as we know composition;
communal not individual; full, as a rule,
of merriment and jollity.”
From Other Counties.
A collection of songs from seven Eng-
lish counties, among them Sussex, York-
shire and Kent, was published in the
eighth journal of the Folk-Song Society.
The collector is Dr. R. Vaughan Will-
iams. A Middlesex song was heard by
Dr. Williams sung by a trio of ballad
singers in a London street. It tells of
William and Phyllis. The girl is some-
what emancipated and when her father
refuses William, a sailor lad, as her
lover, she determines to go to sea.
William is no egotist. He tries to dis-
suade her.
It will hurt your constitution; anl your
lingers are so small,
So stay at home, and do not roam our cable
ropes to haul.
But Phyllis answers: "I have clothing
for the sea, .So we will go together to
America.” The voyage was a stormy
one, and the lovers were obliged to trust
themselves to a small boat. Then they
suffered, for “their drink it was salt
water, and that alone was sweet; they
tore their clothing from their backs, for
they had nought to eat." At last "they
met with kind assistance” and prospered
in Ameri-kee. The tune is said to be a
version of “On the Banks of Sweet Dun-
dee.”
“In Oxford City” has a darker color.
A lover, jealous, finds his sweetheart
"dancing with some other.” He hands
her a glass of poisoned wine, and says
to her: “I have drinked of the same, my
jewel; I soon shall die as well as thee.”
“A sailor in the North Countree" is ,
melodramatic with a happy ending. A
“noble captain” longs, for the wife of
one of his sailors and sends him off to
the West Indies. The sailor goes cheer-
fully, for “little did he dream the Cap-
tain’s heart was so inflamed." Then the
“noble captain” attempts to “seize the
poor sailor's wife.” She remembers her
husband far away and shames the
“noble captain" with these words:
The King shall lose his crown — before my feet
you shall lie down.
Or before I will be at your command.
The subject of “The Devil and the
Ploughman” Is old and to be found in
more than one country. It is a whistling
song:
The devil he came to an old man at plough
(whistle) * * • saying
One of your family I must have now, to my
fol-de-ral- little- law -day,
It is not you nor yet your son,
But your bad scolding wife that you have
got at home.
To my fol-de-ral-lit tie-law -day.
*But when the wife had been in hell
for a short time, the fiends found
their torment hotter and they sent
her back.
Dr. Williams is an enthusiastic col-
lector, but some of these “folk-songs"
seem to be broadsides of the Cafcnach
variety. A hundred years from now
broadsides and music hall ditties mav
be confounded with folk-songs and
See there she goes, my own Sophia,
Swinging, by Jove, on the daring slack wire,
a fl d , “T.JVr,£? u soes r in&ing for Sarah,”
with Vlllikins and His Dinah,” and
the ballet of the Palmers may excite
the respectful attention of folk-lor-
ists. .
In France.
[and the works to be' performed. Tin
| t0 be , performed are Handel’s
Israel in Egypt,” Wednesday night,
\ e C? ! 3 .“Requiem" and Brahms’
Destiny” on Thursday night,
tlsts , nl ElH" on Friday. Tho
hony con cert will be on
y ^ aftern 5 on - and d Friday af-
w/n'rm? , ,M nT' 0, k a Samoroff, pianist,
", p >! ay ;,r ahe conductors of the festival
be Messrs. Wallace Goodrich and
rw.‘V Z , Kllei 5 eI .’ The Boston Symphony
The le nrth!i = f ti° me F lias been engaged,
ine artists thus far engaged include
OrnWthv Parkina . Miss Louise
iPnhbm ?°P raI 2° s ;.and Mrs. Margaret C.
belPe Rnolnf' Lodls e Homer. Mme. Isa-
oeiie Bouton and Miss Grace Munson
Bedd r ni t0 r s: Pau ' p ofault and Daniei
Beddoe, tenors; Emilio De Gogorza and
Befl Gnu - Mart iV basses. Miss Bessie
UsI.s’Mght/ V10 ” niSt ’ WiU play 011 Ar?
be*for£ n 1 olr," S ? ng ' of Des tiny'' has never
mi™ e , b ? e ? 5 ven at the music festival
dnL SO ir ls S o 01 ’ the “Requiem” will in-
Mr Martin T? by ’ , Mme ’ Bouton and
iyi-. Martin. The tenor will be an.
raei n in d Effvnt” T1 ,‘, e 0,0 sin &ers in “Is-
Mr Dehuh Mta D be o rs ’ Rabold and
c! ’ Mlss Parkina, Mr. Homer
rn a,.?' G ,°Sr?rza and Beddoe will sing
ni8h , t ’ The Annual Bulletin
nszr&jn* « tsrziT,
. t a new opera,
i arm altrul, which will be performed
at Venice.
There is talk of publishing a catalogue
‘hree volumes of all the musical
manuscripts in the British Museum.
1 1 "c first volume is ready for the press,
and it gives the titles of the vocal
sacred music. The music catalogue of
the Boston Public Library is now in
course of preparation for the printer,
it will be an unusually elaborate one
• An opera, “Zierpuppen,” based on Mo.
here s “Frecieuses Ridicules,” with mu-
sic by Goetz, will be performed at tlm
Opera Comique, Berlin, this next sea-
Rossinl’s “Barber of Seville” has put
Paisiello s opera of the same name in
the shade, but the latter was performed
at Turin recently and found to be still
lively, fresh and graceful."
At the new theatre in Cairo an Italian
company gave performances of 20 differ
ent grand operas in 26 days.
✓f 1 7 / ^ 0 (y
We had intended to write somewhat
at length about Mr. Maurice Lefevre,
who has talked about and produced
with singers Frencli folk-songs at thd
Figaro Five O clocks ' and in various
halls in Paris. According to him, the
tunes of the earliest of these songs
and here he follows Tiersot, Wekerlin
and other writers on the French folk-
songs— were inspired by the music of
the church. The peasant at work
the week in the field or among!
the hills remembered the music of'
Sunday, or the feast day. N ot till
17th century was there a change 1 for
greater melodic freedom. B IOr
But the wealth of French folk-song
is known to all students of music, and
the subject has been treated often
both gravely and in an entertaining
manner. The songs are historical
satirical, military, emotional ama
tory, pastoral— for all moods and feel
ings. eel
In one of the quasi-historical songs
Mr. Lefevre finds fancifully the “dawn
of the Entente Codiale.” % lr e! yoZg
English drummers pass gaily bv the
window of the King of France 7 in
the window s its his maiden daughte.
One of the drummer boys offers f o he r
the rose he carries in his mouth if she
will give him her heart. “You are?
poor drummer boy.” He answers 4
have ships and I am a King’s son ’•
The father hastens to sav: “You shall
wed my daughter.” “Thank you, sire
but there are girls in my country as
pretty a s she.” y as
How far are these songs, English
and French, both in text and in me £
ody, from the negro "spirituals” and
the Indian chants, which some insist
noisily are “American folk-songs.”
WORCESTER FESTIVAL.
Details for the Worcester music festi-
val which takes place Oct., 2, 3, 4, and 5
in Mechanics’ Hall, Worcester, are suf-
ficiently completed to authorize an an-
nouncement of tho chief artists engaged
MUSIC NOTES.
„ f Th , e . Herald Publishes today portraits
of Mary Garden, as the heroine in
Camille Erlanger’s opera, “Aphrodite,”
founded on Pierre Louys’ romance, and
of Adelina Badet, the Parisian dancer,
whose success was chronicled some time
ago in this journal.
Miss Blanche Fox of Roslindale, who
as Biamca Voipe. sang with much sue
m .-,? pera las t season £ Italian’
cities, will sail for Europe tile 20fii
a 5’ear s absence to increase her renei-
& and accept engagers Miss Fox
£ as a 5 11 ,®? 20 s °Prano voic® of good qual-
lty.and liberal compass She has studied
industriously and intelligently and ^she
^ now acquiring experience , ^ifch is of
much more value than theorizing about
tone production after a singer i™
re The e Refere t e ail ?r Sta f e ° f P roficd ency.
,, lne Referee (London) stated that
froni‘M^ e w a iS t0 rece * ve $2000 a night
from Mi. Hammerstein, and The Herald
sunf Is $4000. ay C ° Pied the 6tat ™e,U. The
Mr. Sterling MacKinlay, the son nf
Um hfe 6 of thl e i!, i t nS 'W PUrp ° ses
fi r . e of the late Manuel Garcia Mr
Ernest Newman, one of the leading
music critics in Europe, has resfgnel
his position as critic of the Manchester
haT&a 0 ! 301 " the Staff of
Felix Mottl of Munich and Dr. Viotta
?en£' 1 «,^? rdam wiP conduct during the
four-weeks season of opera at Covent
Garden beginning Jan. 14 under the di-
In addiBnn E t neSt Van Dyck, the tenor,
delin ”-ne, t0 °P e r a s by Wagner, “Fi-
tann’e «qPit --^eischuetz” and Sme-
tana s Sold Bride will be performed.
nbnn?r rCbes j ra w111 be the London Sym-
phony, and our old friend, Mr Carl
Armbruster will be chorus director.
o£er? S ■^ t ]i el -M Smyth ’ S new and third
opera, Les Nauprageurs,” will proba-
Mme 6 ^ r ,? du< r ed ft Prague in November.
rPTfi -o’ P a , ni .i". 111 glve 30 concerts in
o P. rit: ir n t lls faIb sbe wil1 be sup-
ers 1 tuJ Mme Ada Crossley and oth-
eis. The Carl Rosa Opera Co. will in-
S e J” lts repertory this fall Verdi’s
Pthello and Nicolai s "Merry Wives
V mdsor. H. E. Haines is compos-
ing thy music for Seymour Hicks’
new musical piece, “Everyone’s Dar-
ling. C. M. S. McLellan is writing a
new piece for Edna May, “Nelly Neal,”
■noth music by Ivan Caryll. It will be
produced m London next October. Leon-
I S °r celebrated his 50th birthday
Aug. 15, at his home in Brisago, Switz-
j erland. Among his presents was a
bronze statue of Zaza. The music dic-
ii?o anes say be was born on March 8,
loDo.
The London Times said of a recent
performance of Tannhaeuser" at the
Lyric Theatre: “We take the world
nowadays less romantically than we did
60 years ago; we are not so stirred as
we used to be by the medieval legend
of the young man who could not de-
cide whether he was more bored by the
monotonous respectability of German
court life or by the monotonous naugh-
tiness of the inhabitants of the Venus-
berg. The moral upshot of the case,
too, leaves us cool enough; we do pot
really care whether the j’oung man
eventually succumbs to Venus or the
Vatican. No— Tannhaeuser is surviv-
ing at the present day not because of
its romanticism but because of its
beauty; ‘the age of chivalry is gone’
and the moments that come back to us 1
are those in which Wagner forgot that
he had to be romantic and merely wrote
beautiful music because he could not
help it. We forget the Pope as we for-
get Walther von der Vogelwelde; we
cannot help remembering the sextet in
the first act, the finale of the second,
and such a thing as Wolfram's song in
the third, which is so beautiful, not be-
cause of the romantic situation, but
simply . owing to the loveliness of the
music.” It is a pleasure to learn that
the Bacchantes in this performance
were "conscientiously skittish.”
The New York Symphony Orchestra
will give eight concerts in Carnegie Hall
next season. Mr. Walter Damrosch will
conduct. They will be on Saturday
evenings and will be followed i n each
instance by a concert on the Sunday
after. Among the soloists will be Mmes
Gadski and Schumann-Heink, Messrs''
Lhevinne,, Rosenthal, Schulz and Ysaye’
It is said that Miss Mouromtseff, the
daughter of the president of the’ late
Douma. will ' be a professional singer
She purposes to sing Russian folk songs
in Paris next winter.
Another opera founded on the pecu-
liar marriage ceremonies at Gretna
Green with music by Edmond Wau-
campt, a military bandmaster, is an-
nounced for performance in Brussels
It is entitled “Gretna Green.” Orefice'
who wrote an opera, “Chopin,” with
the themes taken from that composer’s
A NEW CHAPTER.
Mr. Herkimer Johnson is now col-
lecting material for a chapter on ice
cream to be published in the eighth
volume of his colossal work “Man as a
Social and Political Beast.” He hopes
to show the origin of ice cream, the dis-
tribution of the habit of eating it, its
present influence on manners and health.
Iheie will be a wealth of illustrative
anecdote. Mr. Johnson informs us that
he has ascertained the earliest appear-
ance in Boston of the Sunday dinner of
turkey and ice cream, a dinner that is
now held out as a lure to prospective
boarders. There will be a portrait of
the mayor of Piano, III., who recently
journeyed to Chicago and pleaded with
the ice trust to supply the little town ;
for in consequence of t&e ice famine, the
ice ci cam saloons were closed, and young
women, therefore, could not be properly
courted, all to the detriment of the race
and the growth of Piano, Mr. Johnson
is endeavoring to find out why ice cream
became, in a way, a guarantee of true
love. When Miss Annie Lang of Jersey
City suggested to Mr. Samuel Beldner,
her betrothed, that they should celebrate
thejr reconciliation by eating ice cream,
he replied .* Nothin’ doin'. I won’t spend
my money on such stuff.” Miss Lang
foiled to recognize the admirable quality
of thrift, and also the prudence that
fears ptomaine jjoisoning. Tcxlay they
meet as strangers. She eats ice cream
alone.
AN APPLICANT.
So Mr. Marcel Prevost wishes to be a
member of the French Academy and is
willing to make the humiliating visits.
He is best known by a novel “Les
Demi-Vierges,” which is demi-Iiterature,
and his “Lettres de Femmes,” an amus-
ing volume for elderly persons. He has
written more sedate books and even a
volume of good advice for the “jeune
fille,” but the two just mentioued made
his reputation. Mr. Prevost wishes the
seat vacated by the late Albert Sorel, a
master of historical writing, yet Mr.
Prevost has described a phase of Paris-
ian life, and in a way he, too, is a his-
torian. It was said at the time of
Theophile Gautier’s rejection that the
academy named his “Mile, de Maupin”
as the cause. The times have changed.
Mr. Prevost’s earlier volumes may not
be an offence in academician nostrils. If
Mr. Prevost be rejected, he will be in
good company ; he will be with Balzac,
Gautier, the eider Dumas, Baudelaire,
Flaubert, the de Goncourts, Daudet, I
Verlaine, Zola.
& / f & (j
“URGED.”
Mr. Frank S. Buttenvorth of New
Haven and of football fame remarked
to a reporter: "Don't say that my
friends have urged me to accept the
nomination. I have always been am-
bitious for a public career and will
seek the nomination.” How refresh-
ing it is to find a man who is not
ashamed of proclaiming his wants!
We read that “Mr. Leander Ferguson
has accepted a position,” etc. As a
matter of fact, Mr. Ferguson moved
heaven and earth to get the position.
He bored his friends and even com-
parative strangers for letters of
recommendation. He pulled all wires
that were already stretched and he
rigged new ones. He haunted the
office and was on the doorstep be-
fore breakfast. Yet after the pro-
prietor, or the manufacturer, or the
banker, wearied by Ferguson's im-
portunity, gave him the job, Fergu-
son declares that he was "urged,”
“persuaded” or “prevailed upon," and
! after “much doubting and long con-
sideration," he "accepts.” There are
Fergusons even in politics.
6
A CEREAL TRAGEDY.,
Mrs. Buttner of Alleghany sued for
divorce on the ground of “cruel and
barbarous treatment.” Her story Is,
Indeed, a sad one. Her husband, a
dentist by profession, became a slave
of the breakfast food habit. He tried
one preparation after another, from
the kinds that are baked, boiled,
stewed, roasted, fried, singed, to
, those that are eaten , ; in their cold,
[ naked deformity; from the kind that
looks like stale chicken feed to that
cast in the form of a pocketbook.
He insisted that the wife of his bosom
should join him in his cereal de-
bauches. She was willing to humor
him in a measure, but though she
sighed for beefsteak, a chop, sausages,
a bit of liver, eggs, hot cakes, he de-
creed them taboo. Yet he loved her
in his wild way, and that she might
digest the breakfast foods, he forced
her to ride a bicycle immediately
arter eating, and, we regret to say, he
swore at her violently when she was
unable to keep up with him — for, like
Jehu, the son of NJmshi, he driveth
furiously. The commissioner did not I
regard these facts as evidence of cruel
and barbarous treatment, although
Mrs. Buttner showed him that her
clothing no longer fits her. Is it pos-
sible that he was biased, that he, too,
is a victim of breakfast foods and
abstains from sausages and buck-
wheat cakes on the same plate and
with plenty of maple syrup?
THE MILIEU,
A whimsical sociologist of London
who signs his articles “W. F. W.”
saw a well dressed man at dinner.
We regret to say that he also de-
scribed him as “well groomed,” a
term that suggests the work of a
valet with a currycomb and the pe-
culiar hissing sound that accompa-
nies the operation. The observed
one misused his knife and had no
idea of the misuse till he was about
to misuse it again. “Then he re-
membered that this was not the old
‘milieu,’ where a knife blade may
chase and dispose of the elusive pea
and no susceptibilities be thereby
ruffled; where the purist who should
preach the use of forks would stand
at once convicted of a solecism.” “W.
F. W.” then argues ingeniously. Thus
a sweet and low voice is raised and
becomes more strident when the
street is filled with the women from
the shop dr the factory; the repose
of Miss Vere de Vere in a “milieu”
rot naturally hers suggests an in-
quiry concerning her health. We do
net think it unreasonable to say that
tiny man of refinement and educa-
tion forced to live in certain villages
or rough towns would, after a few
months, become careless as to gram-
matical niceties, nor would he be dis-
quieted by grease spots on coat and
waistcoat. Coleridge, arguing against
Wordsworth’s theory that rustic life
supplies necessarily the truest poetic
thought and expression, insisted that
not every man is likely to be Im-
proved by a country Jife or by coun-
try labors. It Is a question whether
rigid preference for a fork in a house
where the knife is recklessly used is
not a gross breach of courtesy, an
insult to human fellowship.
3 & > / & (a
“fore”- words.
It is a pity that Mr. Booseveit bv
ukase has not settled the spelling
fore -words. Should not the spelli
ot the prefix show the derivation of t
word? Should not the final “ e ”
“fore” be used only when the pre
gives the sense of anteriority of pla
or time? The dictionaries give “foi
close,” but tlie word is from the 0
French “forclos”— and so it is wi
“forejudge.” Is the rule a sound oi
that where for ’ corresponds with tl
German “ver,” as in “forlorn,” the
should be no final “e”? There shou
be no final “e" in “forgather.” On the
other hand, “forebear," an ancestor,
should have the “e.” Why “forward"?
By reason of its connection with the
German “vorwaerts”? Some time ago
Mr. Marshall Steele exclaimed, and not
without heat: “In these days of democ-
racy it is needless to complain about
things democratic ; yet despite its utter
futility one voice is ever raised in ve-
hement protest against that abomina-
tion of these latter days, democratic
spelling, or ‘speling,’ as the shameless
authors and practisers of it would write
the word.” But Mr. Steele, a conserva-
tive Englishman, admitted that the base
iconoclasts "gather strength and fresh
excuses for their vandalism from the di-
visions of their stanchest opponents,'
and Mr. Steele, by the way, spells
stanch with a “u.”
CONCERT FOYER
Fenn’s New Libretto Dwells
on Reverence in Which the
Egyptians Held Cats.
MISS YAW IS TO LEAVE
CALIFORNIAN PARADISE
As is well known to Macaulay's school-
boy. the Egyptians reverenced the cat.
Woe to him that killed one even by
accident! The cats had superb tombs
at Bubastis, of which no doubt Baude-
laire and Gautier and Champfleury, all
cat lovers, often dreamed.
The librettist of "Amasts, or the Egyp-
tian Princess,” Mr. Frederick Fenn, has
used this Egyptian affection and worship
In constructing his plot, and if the critic
“Carados” of the Referee may be be-
lieved. Mr. Fenn has written a “witty
and deliciously satirical book.” Indeed,
some of the London critics go far in
praise and say that this operetta libret-
to is of an unusually high order. I be
operetta was produced Aug. 9 at toe
N f>?,n T e h e el ^nho^o?' Memphis writing
a poem in honor of his mistress,
disturbed by the yowling and ,. ta V;i\r
wauhnl of a sacred cat. extraordinarily
sacred b^cause Its body .er,closcd th«
’ al f "of °a ^brick'^^at hefand Killed
Sne C Ptolemy. the emba ™ a.W-mnd
crocodiles, was a stern '°f*^ tes H \ v eJe
^r.Hturn, was piquant and captlvaflfig-
The wives of the -Memphis mercha. s
are df - crlbed as pretty and bewitch!,
••particularly when haying been de-
prived of some of their clothing bv
jealous husbands, they In .chorus sang
to curious man. you mustn t look.
Tlie music of this operetta was com-
posed bv Mr. Philip Michael Faraday.
It is said on the whole to be admir-
able.” Having said this, the critics af-
ter the manner of their tribe proceed to
show why it is not admirable. The
composer has not always set his text
truly. In some Instances the words
stumble so awkwardly over the rhythm
adopted as to suggest that they were
written to the music. Instead of hemg
its inspiration. The melodies aye not
always as bold and decisive in character
as they should be. but this, in a meas-
ure, is atoned for by their P I i evai ’ a ' g
refinement • * * The purely comic
songs show less originality than ac-
quaintance with what has been accepted
before the time of Amasis the Ninth.
Is not Miss Ellen Beach Yaw, once
widely known as a sky-rocket soprano,
coming to Boston next season? The Los
Angeles Sunday Times tells us how she
spends her leisure hours on an orange
ranch, and there are pictures of her:
Miss Yaw among the roses; Miss Yaw
calling her flock of chickens; Miss A aw
sitting with an old spinning-wheel and
playing that she Is Marguerite. .
Kor her home life is ideally simpi
and Ideally American. Perhaps there is
not another singer of note In the world
who has been less affected by cosmo-
politan training and earth-wide expei i-
ence." They apparently never touched
" This gifted soprano speaks French
‘•like a Parisian," but thereporter lf sl ie
ens to assure the great public that she
has made Frenchiness conspic ouslj ab-
sent from her home. To clinch this,
the reporter adds: ''She goes about the
farm vard In a sun-bonnet and a Sing-
ham gown”— not in a low-cut dress of
Parisian make, not even in tights
ing the chickens, entering into debates
on orange cultivation, discussing late-
fertilizer?, and even talking oyer the
fall plowing." She can also spread the
tablecloth and set the table.
there is her maid Andrea, a
silent tawny-skinned, yvory-toothed
maid ” And Andrea, too. ^should come
to Boston with her ivory teeth. Force-
lain-toothed women are not uncommon
i® New England. Mr. Stlwson m his
"Jethro Bacon.’’ says that down on the
Cape a porcelain *et Is always numbered
among the W9dding a°Span-
women are rare. Andrea has a bpan
Tsh name hut her sober countenance
and unspeaking lips testify to the pure
tn dlan blood which flows In her veins
She Is a graduate of the Sherman Insti
tU Miss Yaw loves her home! “The broad
^hieldin 0 ’ orchards that surround it, the
mallstlf blue mountains that rise in the
background, the soft peaceful w inc {
blows in every day from the far-distant
sea-these are the furnishings of her
naradise.” Yet we are assured by man-
agers and press agents that Miss Yaw
may be persuaded to leave this paradise
—for a consideration.
Marie Tempest will sing four songs
for a limited number of nights at tne
Palace Conceit Hall, London, next
month, and at the end of the engage-
ment appear elsewhere in a new play.
She is "tempted to sing in a music
hall by an offer of a reco rd salary.
Well, she is worth it. Vi hat a pity It
is that she ever left comic opera! No
one has taken her place. Miss Ruth
Vincent is a wholesome woman — in a
milk-maid manner, a pleasure for the
eyes, and she sings much better than
many of her colleagues. Mme. Tem-
pest Is unique. She is subtlest when
she is apparently frank. "A dainty
rogue in porcelain” described her even
when she appeared as Carmen.
Mr. Edward A. Baughan, the music
critic of the London Daily News, is the
author of a volume of essays, "Music
and Musicians,” published by John Lane
of London and New York. Mr. Baughan
was described by Mr. Blackstone as one
belonging to "that modern school of
criticism which for good or for ill, but,
surely, chiefly for good ignores to a
large extent the technicalities of musi-
cal expression, and. by means of a
cultured and expressive style delivers
his views in a manner naturally under-
standed of "he people/ " The Herald has
often quoted from the reviews of Mr.
Baughan and its readers are already ac-
quainted with the soimdoess and teu-
crocodlles. was a stern ‘"|*‘ c 7“tes"w.ere ery of his opinions and the force of his
gued that he andh-s a-’ some - expression
S„K/,nie.s Now the prince has h
Mr. Paderewski will play here with
the Boston Symphony orchestra on
Jan. 4-5.
The London World says of Puccini's
manuscript scores: “Puccini’s scores
are the study of a lifetime, and there
is only one man in Messrs. Ricordi s
office in Milan who has mastered the
art of deciphering them. Sometimes
the page looks as if a fly had crawled
over it. sometimes as if an elephant
with Inky feet had trampled on it. and
everywhere are weird flourishes and
thumbnail sketches and notes, seem-
ingly superfluous, which have over-
flowed into the margin, and blots in-
numerable. It is easy to understand
that if such is the case with scores
written in the- ordinary way, that of
•Mme. Butterfly’ was a still greater
puzzle to the reader. A fac-simlle has
been published of it, which makes
one wonder how the composer himself
could And his way through it. An-
other specimen of his caligraphy.
taken from the end of 'La Boheme,
shows a page covered with illegible
notes, and in one corner a large draw-
ing of a skull and crossbones, under-
neath which is written In large let-
ters, 'Mimi.' ” .
Mme. Melba’s son, George Arm-
strong, Is betrothed to Miss Ruby Ot-
way, the daughter of an English
colonel. _ _ . . i
Alexander Georges of Paris is at
work on four operas. The subjects
of two of them, “Cleopatra (text b>
Jean Richepln) and "Aucassln and
Nicolett” have tempted several com-
posers, but without conspicuous suc-
Ce A* London daily journal sensibly
remarks: “The story that while -in
Ireland Mischa Elman attended 20 Irish
Fels Ceoil. and there obtained Irish
traditional tunes, which he intends to„
Incorporate into a composition already
far advanced, will All with anguish
the heart of the unhappy programme
writer to whose lot shall fall the
analysis of the work. For him it is
enough when the orthodox number
of themes Is used. The sympathy. of
all will go out to him who has to
analyze a composition which, vttien
far advanced, suddenly has a score
more of tunes superimposed upon
those which form the original basis
of the work. Are’20th century com-
posers in the habit of working In the
manner implied by the introduction of
something new and strange into a
work already far advanced.
“Lancelot” of the Referee suggests
that abridged versions of old °ra-
torios be performed with effective
fflhleaux ’’ He mentions Samson,
“Esther” and “Jephtha.” Costa’s
“Naaman” and "Eli would afford op
portunities for gorgeous spectacles. |
No doubt; but the spectator could not
escape some of Costa's music.
Mr. Max Heinrich and Mr. H. Whit-
nev Tew propose to make Boston their
headquarters during the coming sea-
son.
X He has his own view as to that which
t critic should be. “He should have
leep musical knowledge, both practical
and theoretical, and, in addition to this
knowledge, he should possess a sensitive
and poetic temperament, balanced by
keen judgment, and above all, a fine,
" M r° B S 1 ackbu rn , S o bserv I ng‘ t ha t t h e past
foVVhe declared l that n and ‘h^“
SFSJSSK mounted ^,,5
served e fo? a hcro^andswore J^e^kined InU^ mann^ quesUon is depend ent
the cat. Amasis was n chelro
ed Amnerls. She eou embalmer’s t on a matter of moods. It is he who
serve as materal ar. old l en 'tcrs into the absolute mood of the
skill, so she too ^ d n led - forth to die composer who. If he b e articulate In la^.-
I Sieved if there passed by a guage^ makes^the heUer^crlt.c^
accused. #<helro head over heels
A .^ un ^,h C amasis could not see her
3/
serve advantage ot ar. um enters into
skill, so she too Jed forth to die composer who, ii ne ;ie " -~
law: That any if there passed by a guage, makes the better cidtlC.
I M Wished she “ ■
w^ n »sfe &K
I ter'knew "things 'whhflv he had not told
| her but he had to , give * ay. w erc
! "rSb
| tried "o embaljn the body^by^a patent^in-
Aloys Hadrviger of Graz, a new
Parsifal at Bayreuth, is said to have
a "fine and expressive voice/’ and to
make “awkward gestures.” In other
words, his gestures are of the modern
Bayreuth school, all xs and > s. -there
is Mr. Burgstaller, fo* example, who
_ i „ . . f AT vn n I 1 ftoi TYI IL W
I IV?; 1 , ^e^^p^ocets" 0 Perhaps ‘he was ^^- he B “ r p 8 p U a, <5? r M^. CosYmT’Wag-
I not familiar with It ^ perhaps someUvlng ner’s eye before hc consented^to^slng
converted into ^Mr. Conrljd. P Only
twinkling of an eye
a royal mummy. ■
Unfortunately for the judgment of the
critics, they give extracts from the
dialogue. Here is one. “bebak s off
cial report concerning tbe crocodiles
was the cause of genc-rai merriment
•Twenty-five of your Majesty s suWecU
vv^'- n° "^8^ M ^ u'g 'i'll' ss
,V° U a topical song for
Ptolemy ^who slngd of . ^e Poplar
u O JJ1 VUUVW.v... . -
sifal ” Like “Leftenant Carter's Only
Ion ” he was naturally a likely and a
comely youth, but how he uvisted
himself into double-bow knots when
he wished to be dramatically intense!
He broke his cross-bow and threw it
a wav as though he were about to
make a long distance jump from a
springboard, and saw the ladles rain
ing sweet Influence in the gallery. If
Mr Hadrviger were not awkward he
would not be a promising Wagnerian
tenor of the later Bayreuth. ,
Mr. Albert Spalding, a young Amer-
ican violinist, will give f ° ur ~ ®?.Tr
phonv concerts” In London in October,
November and December. Mr. Landon
Ronald, a brother of Henry Russell,
singing teacher and impresario, w-ui
conduct, and the programme will in-
clude new works by British compos-
ers. Mme Clara Butt is well again,
and will give her "annual concert
with her husband, Mr. Rumford, Oct.
13.
IX DEFENCE.
The Herald has several times com-
mented on the abuse of the toothpick,
not as an article for the privacy of the
toilet, but as a mouth decoration, or as
a substitute for gum, lovage or tobacco.
Now comes one "Medicus,” who lives in
AraityviUe and insists t ha t the preju-
dice against the use of a toothpick in
public as unrefined and as an evidence
of bad breeding is not founded on a
reasonable basis. He talks of a “false
standard of politeness,” says that the
teeth should be picked immediately after
eating, and asks why the use of the
toothpick at table is any more disgust-
ing than that of a fingerbovvl. He omits
1 to say whether he prefers a quill, a
wooden toothpick, an ivory one worn as
a , watch charm, a jacknife, or a table
fork. Poes he insist on tooth-picking af-
ter each "gnaw” of corn on the cob audj
after each, forkful of corued beef? Or
why should not a diner brush bis teeth
at the table as German officers brush
hair and mustache as soon as the soup
is served? There are pretty tooth
brush guards of silver, and they might
be utilized for pocket purposes. A wom-
an could wear hers pinned to her cor-
sage, as some wear a w r atch. Perhaps
the best time for simultaneous action at
a formal dinner would be just befoie
the Roman punch is brought in.
OYER AYEIGHT.
The Herald has received a pathetic
letter from a correspondent living in
European towns according to Ins
caprice. There is a fly in his jam
pot. Some of his friends in Boston
oo not realize the fact that foreign
postage is five cents per half an
ounce, and the rule In foreign coun-
tries is that double rates are collected
on delivery of unpaid or short paid
letters. “On one occasion I received
a letter weighing over an ounce and
a half and stamped with a two-cent
stamp; as the prepayment ought to
have been twenty cents, I had to pay
thirty-six cents for its delivery! But
this was an extreme case.” It ap-
pears from what he says that busi-
ness men and important commercial
houses are as remiss. “The regular
office paper and envelopes are calcu-
lated on the whole ounce basis; the
paper is handsome and two sheets of
it and an envelope together weigh
over half an ounce. The letters, when
written, are given to the office boy
to stamp: many of them are doubtless
domestic, but some are foreign, and
the boy does not take the trouble to
read the addresses, but puts two-cent
stamps on all. Thus the foreign ones
are eight cents short paid and the
recipients must all pay sixteen cents
for their delivery. You ask, can such
things be? I answer that they can
and are, and that frequently. The
manager of a branch of an imP° rtat ^
firm in Jamaica- AV. I., told me a few
years ago that their business cor t®
spondence with one house m the
United States cost them, on an av
rage, T80 a year for short paid letters
received. Many of the letters were
double or treble, and all were prepaid
with two-cent stamps. No expostu-
lations seemed of any avail.” We ad-
mit that there should be a reform but
at present we are more interested In
a lack of 'domestic postage, where
some one writes, asking for informa-
tion with “thanks In advance, and
neglects to inclose a two-cent stamp
or a properly, stamped envelope.
Je/j* /
“SIIOOTIN’ CRAPS ”
Mr. Norman Lucian Parker, a negro
of 7° years, was reproved by a New
York" magistrate for “shooting craps.”
Asked whether he were “too big for
the sport, he answered memorably :
“Why no cullud gemrnan am evah too
big to shoot craps. I jes’ had foh saints,
iedge. and I piled dat into oue buck and
two hits in lais dan half an howah.
Hat am easier dan totin’ bananas oft
dat fruit boat whah I wuk, jedge. Pie
court interpreter hastened to explain to
the magistrate that a “buck” is a dollar
and two hits are twenty-five cents. The
game of “craps” is an old one and, like
K olf, appropriate to the wisdom of ma-
ture yr>ars. Is the word itself a corrup-
tion of the French “creps,” a favorite,
-mme in the gambling halls of the Pal-
ais Royal in the 18th century? Bes-
cherelle says it was a game played with
dice and of English origin; that the
name was sometimes written “krabs ’
and the word was spoken when one suc-
ceeded in throwing 2, 3, 11 or 12 at the
first cast. English dictionaries shed
little light on the subject and we do not
remember any allusion to the game in
novels or plays of the 18th century.
The New York magistrate should not
have, been surprised at Air. Parker s
interest in tlie game. The mania of
gambling is not cooled by the advancing
years and the civilized and the savage,
the cultured and the primitive, are vic-
tims alike.
STILL UPWARD.
The inmates of the Isle of W ight
workhouse live, it is said, on nine
cents a day. They have three square
meals “A visitor recently saw them
enjoying a meal of pork, new pota-
toes, green peas and rhubarb pie.
The choice of pie material after pork
was peculiarly felicitous: otherwise
we should have expected bilberry
pie, which Mr. Sims in the ^latest in-
staiment of his “Mustard and CresA”
or “Custard and Mess." assures us
half a dozen times, and in the em-
phasis of separate paragraphs, is de-
licious. Here, then, perhaps, is the
one spot where the price of living is
not much higher. We read only a
few days ago that the prices of meat,
fish vegetables, groceries, milk— al-
most everything edible and potable
—have gone up. in Vienna, and are
still rising, so that the “Mensa Aca-
demics,” the cheap restaurant for
university students, may be forced
FORGOTTEN OR NOW UNKNOWN T
,,„ t FORMER FAVORITES IN OPERA
1 tfO 4> :
> close. Nearly 1600 students dine
nd sup at this restaurant in term
me. The' meals are simple, there
re no tablecloths — a blessing in a
heap restaurant — and there are not
o many waiters. The dishes are
larked at a price that just covers
re cost of the raw material, and the
?nt, wages and all expenses of man-
gement, a total of about $7500, are
rovlded by subvention from the uni-
erslty and by donations. Now it is
npossible to raise the prices; it is
Iso Impossible to serve smaller por-
ons and satisfy the natural hunger,
nd the reserve fund is nearly ex-
austed. It is not only in the United
fates that the cost of living has in-
reased out of proportion with any s
dvance in wages. Wherever you go
Europe you hear the same story,
nd travellers find higher prices
harged for food even in the less fre-
uented and humbler villages in,
witzerland. Ask our distinguished
"iend and eminent sociologist, Mr.
lerkimer Johnson, what the result
ill be, and he shakes his head after
he manner of Burleigh in Sheridan’s
lay. "It’s the same in Clamport”
; his only verbal answer, ‘‘whether
ou Jive on nuts, fruits, meat, fish,
ggs or yoots and herbs.”
AIDS TO CONCENTRATION.
A new theatre will be opened in Berlin
his fall. It will contain ‘‘only’ 232 1
uxurious seats, and is to be dedicated
tv the production of those modern plays
or which the authors wish the utmost
oncentration of attention.’’ This proves
gain that the Germans at large, in spite
f Jean Paul Itichter and the famous
ilunich comic paper, have no sense of
itimor. The German fears above all
hings ventilation at home, atHhe office
mid iu the theatre. The Combination of
classic German play, say Lessing’s
‘Nathan the Wise,” and the foul air in
German theatre will overcome the
nost earnest student of the drama.
There is no reason to hope for improved
eutilation in the new theatre; therefore,
f playwrights wish the audience to con-
entrate attention the seats should not
je luxurious, they should be like kitchen
■hairs, or the settees found in country
own halls and 'chapels. Lessing and
Schiller are dead, and are probably not
much concerned with the behavior of
audiences, but the living pant for pres-
ent recognition. They are the ones to in-
sist on hard and straight seats, with a
cross bar that hits the spectator in the
small of the back. Put a German, full
of Zungenblutwurst, Sauerbraten mit
jvartoffel-KIoesse, Berlin Roilmops or
Geduenstete Hammelkeule mit AVeisse
Bphneh and beer, and he needs aids to
concentration. An exposed noil in the
seat or the Back of the chair might help
some.
^ '? a 6
RIVALRY OF THE
NEW YORK MANAGERS
•Igar’s New Oratorio and His
Partisans- - Cambodian
Music in Paris,
Some one once said: "When I hear
auch talk about a new book I read an
Id one again.” The Herald publishes
oday portraits of four singers from
'holographs taken when Mmes. Clara
■rouise Kellogg, Annie Louise Cary,
’elda Seguin and Paola-Marle were ap-
ilauded and eagerly discussed.
How many of the younger generation
mow whether Mrs. Kellogg-Strakosch
s alive or dead? If they have any
bought of her, they associate her
vaguely with wandering English opera
roupes, not knowing her triumphs in
his country and in England In the early
sixties. They have no idea of the
purity of her song or the extent of her
repertory.
Some of the younger generation have
aeard of Mrs. Oary-Uaymond; they
jeiieve she came from Maine, was an
ittractive Amneris and Siebel, and now
TAOLA
lives in JNew Vork. This they have
heard from friends.
Mention the charming Zelda Seguin to
them and they will shake their heads.
They know nothing of the historic fam-
ilv.
And who, pray, was or is Paola-Marie?
There was a Galli-Marie who died a
year or two ago. Let’s see — didn’t she
create the part of Carmen? A singer
in Paris had three daughters. The most
famous of them was the creator of
Carmen. There was Irma-Marie, an
opera-bouffe singer, who came to the
United States the season after Tostee in-
troduced operettas by Offenbach into
this country. Then there was Paola-
Marie, who visited us much later.
Capoul was a member of her company.
As a singer, pure and simple, Mme.
Paola-Marie had a cafe-chantant qual-|
ity of voice, considerable vocal skill and
genuine dramatic ability. AVe remember
her specially as Mlgnon and as the hero-
ine of "La Mascotte.” Before her com-
ing, operetta singers in this country had
turned Bettlna into a dainty soubrette.
Paola-Marie showed us a true peasants
girl, foolish, sly, malicious, good-na-'
tured clownish, and withal eminently
desirable. How admirable her entrance!!
Yet the realism of her impersonation
disquieted some of the genteel who were
not appeased by her grace and woman-
liness in the last act. An excellent
artist In her way!
Is it, or is it not a pleasure to recall
the singers of former years? To re-
member Kellogg's Marguerite. Susan-
na, Catarina, Seguln’s Cherubino and
the boy In "Maritana," Cary’s Am-
neris and the Bettina of Paola-Marie?
Tostee did not spoil us for Aimee or
Paola-Marie or even Alice Oates? But
where are the successors to Mezieres
and Duplan In operettas by Offenbach
and Audran and Lecocq? Are there
operetta tenors now in English to be
ranked with Drew in the Oates com-
pany as singer and actor? AVho has re-
placed John Howson? What became of
Jones, wonderful as the spy in "The
Daughter of Mme. Angot”?
We know of nothing drearier than
a revival of an Offenbach operetta
with "a grand cast,” "a sumptuous
production”— witness the revival of
"The Grand Duchess” and "La Peri-
chole” with Lillian Russell as the star.
Yes, there may be one thing drearier,
a revival of one of Gilbert and Sulli-
van's operettas without knowledge of
the Savoy traditions and with come-
dians who, not sure of Gilbert’s lines
and not fully appreciating them, ven-
ture to introduce their own cheap wit.
The Rival Houses.
Reading of unknown singers engaged
by Messrs. Conried and Hammerstein,
singers as pawns matched against each
other in the operatic war, observing
the laborious efforts of the press agents
to excite Interest n Signor Spaghettinl
and Signora Rtpicchiata, Herr Hunde-
bett and Frau Turner-Hammelkeule,
glories of parochial opera houses, we
think of former days when useful sec-
ond tenors as Lazzarinl and superb
basses as NannettI had no advance
trumpeters with brazen lips and cheeks.
Does Mr. Conreid announce a tenor
from Dresden or a soprano from Ham-
burg, Mr. Hammerstein promptly
counters by the engagement of some
“Sembrich of Italy.” It may be said
truly that renowned singers have been
engaged for the two opera houses;
but why this fury in rivalry over the
second and third rate who will fill out
the respective companies?
Then there is the strife over Puccini
and his operas. Mr. Conried has en-
gaged the composer to come to New
York to superintend the first per-
formances in Italian of “Mme. But-
terfly,” which will be sung in Janu-
ary by Mmes. Farrar and Homer and
Messrs. Caruso and Scotti. Mr. Puc-
cini is not a conductor, so he will be
able only to advise, threaten and
storm at rehearsals. He will also give
his ideas about the performance of
"La Boheme.” “Tosca” and “Manon
Lescaut.” For this he will receive, it
Is said $8000.
Naturally the idea of Mr. Savage’s
earlier production of "Mme. Butter-
fly” in English is not palatable to
Mr. Conried, who has endeavored with
the assistance of the composer and
TOES . a£,&uiK.
CL ATS. A LOCtl-SE. VCE/bLOGCy.
his publisher to dissuade or prevent
Mr. Savage from carrying out his fell
purpose, but Mr. Savage is not a man
easily to be dissuaded or prevented.
Meanwhile Mr. Hammerstein is left
out in the cold, as far as the produc-
tion of operas by Puccini is con-
cerned, and the New York Sun is
moved to deplore editorially the pure-
ly commercial nature of the operatic
war. If managers would only contend
for a lofty artistic purpose!
But opera has been for years merely
a plaything of fashion and shrewd
managers have used the gilded youth
and glittering dames to line their
pockets. If certain women, wives of
the suddenly rich, cannot gain access
to the show boxes of the Metropoli-
tan, what more natural than that
they should beseech or command their
husband" to support Mr. Hammer-
stein. AVe have every reason to be-
lieve that Mr. Hammerstein is sin-
cere in hfs purpose to give excellent
performances of opera. Nor should it
be forgotten that he is musical. Did
he not compose on a wager the music
for a one-act opera or operetta in an
incredibly short time? Did he not do
it in a few hours— or was It half an
hour? The fact remains that he has
a strong company and he has an-
nounced the production of interest-
ing novelties, among them Gluck’s
"Armide."
Certain Novelties.
AVhy should Mr. Conried revive
“L’Afrlcaine” at this late day? A re-
vival of "Robert the Devil,” "Dinorah”
or "The Star of the North” would be
more to the purpose, if It is necessary
to search Meyerbeer’s baggage. Or
why should "The Damnation of
Faust” be produced as an opera at
cither house? The great epic — as Mr.
d’lndy calls it — is a series of gigan-
tic sketches, and there Is no contin-
uous dramatic action.
Mr. Conried is wise in engaging a
French conductor to lead French op-
eras. AVhen he had Messrs. Mottl,
Hertz and Vigna in his employ no
one of them was the man for "Car-
men.'’
The "great event” will be the produc-
tion of Richard Strauss’ “Salome” at
the Metropolitan. The heroine will be
impersonated by Mme. Olive Fremstad,
a high contralto by nature, who is anx-
l lous lo sing music written for sopranos.
Richard Strauss cannot leave the Berlin
Opera House, therefore Mr. von Schuch
of Dresden, an admirable conductor,
who led the first performance, will come
over.
AVill there be protests against the pro-
duction of "Salome" on account of the
Introduction of John the Baptist and the
scenes suggested by the meagre account
of the dance and consequent murder in
the New Testament? When Massenet’s
“Jongleur de Notre Dame" was an-
nounced for performance in London the
Pall Mall Gazette said: "An interesting
little point, however, to note will be
precisely how the British public will ac-
cept a miracle play which obviously be-
longs to a time before the development
the English church out of the various
teachings of the Middle Ages. The sub-
ject, indeed, is treated reverentially
enough, but It will be a moot point as to
whether an ordinary audience will be
inclined to treat with reverence a sub-
ject which to many an average English-
man and Englishwoman is scarcely
sympathetic. As we ourselves have at-
tended the dress rehearsal, and as our
notice coincides with the appearance of
this column, we may for our own part
say that the story is a very beautiful one,
and that only people deeply colored by
religious prejudices would object to so
sweet a legend so sweetly told. We
make no comment here; but. as we have
said, we shall be curious to note pre-
cisely what kind of effect a play deal-
ing with a statue of the Virgin, a mon-
astic— presumably Cistercian— order, and
a conclusive miracle worked on the
stage will have upon so mixed an audi-
ence as that which forgathers night by
night at Covent Garden. On these par-
ticular grounds many a religious play
has before now come to grief. In the
face of this somewhat audacious mount-
ing of the opera, one wonders precisely
what people would have thought con-
cerning Wagner's 'Chrlstus' if he had
ever lived to complete the work, even
for so sacrosanct a place as Bayreuth.”
But Massanet’s opera was pro-
duced in London without social com-
motion or any perturbation of na-
ture. Mr. Blackburn was encouraged
to ask when "Salome” would be pro-
duced? There is nothing that can
really suppress a work of art.” The
great success of the performance at
Gratz led him to write: "It only
show that the geniuses of the world
are bound in the end to win their
way, despite all the prejudices, all
the disfavor, all the opposition of those
narrow cliques which think that, be-
cause they belong to an earlier per-
iod of art, art, therefore, should come
come to a standstill when they them-
selves have finished practically with
art. It is so absurd to think that
new things and new ideas can
never be produced upon the face
of the earth, that history, which,
despite the old dictum, never re-
peats itself, should, at all events,
show that every development ip nov-
elty, when set before the world by a
real genius, is bound to take its
place in the long line of those who
have suffered and worked and died
for art, and who, despite all opposi-
tion, will continue so to do, in defiance
of the fear or the favor of man.”
Elgar’s New Work.
Sir Edward Elgar’s new work, “The
Kingdorp,” will be produced, as The
Herald has already stated, at the Bir-
mingham (Eng.) Festival, next month.
The solo music Is written for the Blessed
Virgin, Mary Magdalene, John and
Peter. There is an orchestral introduc-
tion. The first scene, “In the Upper
Room,” is at Jerusalem. The subject is
the inauguration of the ministry by the
disciples. The second division, "At the
Beautiful Gate,” is concerned with the
morning of Pentecost and the three
Holy A\ r omen. The third division, “Pen-
tecost,” contains two scenes: "In the
Upper Room." with the descent of the
Holy Ghost; "In Solomon’s Porch,” the
beginning of the ministry of Peter and
John. The fifth division, "In the Upper
Room,” contains three sub-divisions: “In
Fellowship,” "The Breaking of Bread,”
"The Prayers.” The composer will con-
duct. "The Kingdom” will complete
“The Apostles,” and the latter work
will be performed at Birmingham, Oct.
2, the evening before the production of
the new one.
Mr. Blackburn’s adoration of Elgar is
well known by this time to the readers
of The Herald. It grows more and more
hysterical. Not long ago he asked in the
Pall Mall Gazette, “When, we should
like to know, is the triumph of .Sir Ed-
ward Elgar to cease?” He felt a cer-
tain hesitation because Elgar's "magnifi-
cent work” and "magnificent genius”
have been so quickly accepted and un-
derstood the whole world over; at least
Mr. Blackburn insisted that this is the
case. Elgar, he said, is essentially Eng-
lish in his thoughts and ideas of music
and in His “solid and splendid feeling
for the scoring of music.” He has “in-
herited the mantle of Purcell”; lie has
restored to England the proud name or
being in the van of music. Only one
countrv has yet to bo conquered, France.
And then Mr. Blackburn blew a fanfare
for his own land: "When all is said and
done, we In England have most as-
suredly done more toward the advance-
ment and progress of musical art than
any other country in western Europe. .
It is all very well for people to talk
about us as an unmusical nation as of
a race of men who do not consider the
fineness and the sweetness of the high-
est art. Nevertheless, wnen you come
to look at the history of things, it will
b found that no country save England
has done so much for the advancement
of musical art and for the encourage-
ment of musical genius. And why this
blare of trumpets In England s honor .
Because, forsooth, "we have welcomed
Richard Strauss, we have applauded
him, we have understood his genius
from the outset, and to us he is indeed a
hero.”
Elgar in France.
' As our readers know, Elgar s "Dream
of Genontius” was at last performed in
France at the Trocadero under the pa-
tronage of the Dowager Countess Gref-
fulhe. The performance was in May
(the 25th), and The Herald at that time
stated that the audience and the ma-
jority of the critics were bored, just as
the oratorio bored nine-tenths of the
hearers when it was produced in Boston.
Even one of the more well-disposed of
the Parisian critics, Mr. Jules Guillemot,
was forced to admit that the phrase was
too eftor. lest in vagueness, and he
likened'the musical painting to flat tints.
But Mr Blackburn was profoundly
grieved by the "very narrow point or
view" taken by Mr. Alfred Bruneau, who
honestly said that "The Dream of Ge-
rontius” never moved him. All we can
sav in this connection, exclaims Mr.
Blackburn mournfully, “is that we have
iust the smallest respect for Mr. Bru-
neau's opinion in this matter. Of course,
it is a law between critic and critic that
one should not advance a theory against
another in any sort of heat of tempera-
ment; but that a man like M. Bruneau
should find The Dream of Gerontius
heavy, without character or tenderness,
seems to us so extraordlnarv that it is
perfectly clear that litis fine Frenct
critic has not yet begun to understand
the meaning of Elgar's work.”
He quoted against poor Mr. Bruneat,
"Mr Villars. one of the finest rrn cs 01
our time.” who found the chorus of de-
mons to be real devilish and the chorus
of angels "quite angelic. He then dis-
missed all the incompetent, the mis-
guided and the invincibly Ignorant with
these words: "The matter need not be
discussed farther, because as a matter
of fact one cannot mind what word;
anybody may write In depreciation 01
Elgar’s masterpiece any more than ono
can mind an attack upon Beethoven s
Ninth Svniohony or Bach s Matthew
Passion. Nevertheless, just at that mo-
ment one does feel a slight tendency
toward annoyance when one finds that
a man of really competent judgment at-
tacks a work which has now been ac-
cepted through the whole of Europe as
an immensely great production of the
human brain. It is true that Elgar is
now a musician of European reputation,
but we should like to know why it nar-
pens that in France alone that re, Po-
tion is not yet taken for granted. El-
gar, Bach and Beethoven!
But did not Mr. George Moore sav
that Elgar's music reminded him or
holv water in a German beer barrel .
Win' does not Mr. Blackburn tilt at
him? Mr Moore dearly loves a shin-
dy Of course America does not
count in Mr. Blackburn s eyes, vt e
are not on his musical map.
Mr. Newman Disappoints.
Even Mr. Newman by his contribu- :
tion on Sir Edward to John Lane’s ser-
ies "The Music of the Masters” has
disappointed Mr. Blackburn. Mr.
Newman Is always inclined to deal,
not so much with the esthetic side of
anv musician, but rather with that
descriptive element in his work which
is a little dry in the reading, al-
though it is doubtless very learned
In the construction.” Mr. Blackburn
does not wish to hear that the libret-
to of "KlngOlaf” is very defective, but
he would like to know how far Elgar
nad advanced In his art before ne
wrote the music of "King Olaf. ^ r *
I Newman, it seems, is ‘‘too hyper-
! critical from a literary point of view,
in his discussion of "Caractacus. Mr.
Newman actually dares to describe
Elgar’s music as lacking in dignitj ,
he does worse, he blasphemes bj
speaking of a"pleasant orchestral pre-
I lude," followed by a chorus which Is
not a success.” He is fhppant, for t
him that "famous melody Land ot
Hope and Glory” is dressed in clothes
that seem "several sizes too ’^ gR .J,°p
it” "He does not appreciate The
Apostles’ so keenly as he does 1 he
Dream of Gerontius;’ this Is quite in-
telligible. but we are sure he hill
1 change his mind in the long run. So
there is a chance for Mr. Newman to
’epent anl raise himself in repent-
ing to the height from which Mr.
Blackburn surveys in wonder, love
and praise the complete works ot
Elg&r.
The question Is. how does Sir Ed-
ward stand this nauseating flattery .
From remarks made by him in lec-
tures since the production of The
Dream of Gerontius we are inclined
to believe that he welcomes it. Me
l hear him saying to Mr. Blackburn.
I -put it on thick. Vernon, my good
fellow. Why don’t you use a trowel
Put it on thick. I say. I like it.
And although Mr. Blackburn hardly
recognizes the musical existence of
the United States, he should hold this
country in deep affection. U was at
New Haven. Ct.. that President Had-
ley of Yale University solemnly pro-
claimed in the sight and hearing of
the people that Sir Edward riehlv de-
served an honorary degree, because he
was the greatest living composer.
Cambodian Music.
We have heard much about the cos-
fumes and the dances of the ballet
that accompanied His Majesty Slsso-
wath to France; how the choregraphic
evolutions tell a story and point a
moral' how only after years of labor
is a dancer a true Cambodian artist;
how some who really are proficient
copy the movements of the elephant,
and are yet graceful in agility; how
others are trained in the real !' rench
minuet; for when Siamese ambassa-
dors visited Versailles in 16S6 to pay
homage to Louis XIV. they were fas-
cinated by the elegance of the dances
at the court, and, returning to Lang-
kok. they carried with them the state-
ly minuet. We were also told not long
ago how Rodin, the great scu ptor,
spent hours drawing out "the simple
natures of tlu-se dancers” and sketch-
ing "their supple movements, graceful
poses and all the strange symbolism
of their religious dances.' He accom-
panied the dancers to Marseilles and
would fain have gone witn t.iem to
to Indo-China. He admired the per-
tection of their forms. He admired
other things; "there Is a rhythmic
shudder that passes along them from
the tip of the right-hand finger to the
tip of the left-hand finger, undulating
through the shoulders, (hat is a
veritable joy, an undreamed joy to the
artist.” The nurest marble would not
do justice to these forms I think of
the - noble, severe simplicity of the
E But t 'httlf r has t6 been said about the
Cambodian music or instruments.
The orchestra and the chorus is sub-
sidiary whether the dance be panto-
mime y or mimodrama. Mr. Juhen
Tiersot who has made careful stuules
of exotic music, describes the instru-
ments, almost wholly of a pulsatile
nature "like the Javanese gamelang,
but of a more acute and less vague
sonority ” Nor is the accompaniment
apparently an improvisation. "Certain
pieces that gave the rhythm to the
dance seemed to be true symphonies,
with a well designed contour, with
movements that changed and were re-
newed to suit the dramatic action.
There were developments almost as
regular as those in our classic com-
positions.” Mr. Tiersot found occasion-
ally a use of ternary rhythm— chiefly
lo.g— which he had before this observed
rarely in preceding performances of
music of the Far East. Furthermore
he was amazed to find in this ancient
music harmonies which existed when
in European countries there were only
“melopees” or songs in uinson. He re-
gretted that the difficulty of notation
by dictation would be great, especially
since the Cambodian music is complex,
and he would ike to see phonographic
rolls that have received these “subtil
modulations” by the side of the chief
works of Palestrina, Rameau, Beeth-
oven, preserved In libraries.
Slssowath’s Orchestra.
The orchestra was described in detail
by a Parisian correspondent as a very
strange medley of instruments. There
are boat-shaped and formidable xylo-
phones with keyboards of bamboo.
There are instruments like a rectangu-
lar box mounted on wheels and with
S*/*r V
7 CONCERNING THE CZAR.
Russia, as well as Spain, is a coun-
try o£ proverbs, and some of those in |
winch the “Little Father” is mentioned j
are of peculiar significance today. The i
proverbs are old for the most part, but i
even in the middle ages some were as
ironical as fulsome. "A Tsar, if he were a j
leper, would be cousidred clean : "One
must bow even before a blind Tsar ;
"The Tsar's crown does not protect him
from a headache"; "Even the Tsar’s
hack would bleed if it were knouted.”
And here is one apparently made for
these times: “The Tsar's ukase is worth-
less unless God says ‘Amen'” For "God
i he ultra-co nservatists would substitute
the names of the Grand Dukes.
AT GOLDFIELD.
The men of Goldfield, Nev., decided
that it was right for women to sec the
prize fight, and that there was no need
of masking veils.
With store of ladles. whose bright eyes
Rain influence, and judge the prize.
The miners decreed that “any one
who had any objections had better say
inAhing.” If any effeminate or genteel
man of the East be shocked by the in-
terest shown by ladies of Goldfield
and the neighborhood in Messrs. Gans
and Nelson, we refer him to a wish of
John Keats. The poet saw the famous
mill between Messrs. Randall, the non-
pareil. and Turner in 1818. Describing
the fight to Cowdeu Clarke,, he tapped
his fingers on the window pane to give
an idea of the Nonpareil's blows, and,
rhapsodizing over the splendor of the
si°-ht, he exclaimed: “Had there been
a proportionate mixture of women in the
immense ring formed by the crowd, it
would have been a very brilliant spec-
tacle ” At the same time we cannot
side with those who desire the presence
of ladies at a mill solely for their
“humanizing” influence. We remember
the behavior of the Vestal Virgins, swell
women in their day, when they were
excited by the gladiators.
daughter came in to help. Today
there are few, If any. New England
girls of huirfble origin and life who
are willing to be called servants.
Tlicy prefer to work in ft factory or
to stand behind a shop counter. How
hard It is In any large city to find a
"general housewotk girl” who is com -
petent. even when the family is small,
and how many girls of American ori-
gin are to be met in an intelligence
office in Boston? Suppose the daugh-
ter of a New England household Is i
suddenly forced to earn her living.
She tries to give piano lessons, for |
which she is not competent; she will
do anything but "serve.” even as ai
nurserymaid. Have the Englishwomen
less false pride, or are they at last
forced to serve or to starve?
CONCERT FOYER
Opinions of French Singers on
the Present Condition of
the Art of Song.
MISS LUCIENNE BREVAL
COMES TO THE RESCUE
S *i[)t
■notes” of metal plates or scales. There
is a carillon with a chime of copper
bells “All the musicians are armed
beat with a baton. His duties as ^
srA'rfKw “S™* sre 1
P A universal virtuoso, he plaj s any ..
1 strument when he is commanded by his
^Rodin’s description .of the music^too
vague for pedagpo mU sic is od-
le t ve Rie"n^mhl? could accompany this
SHES,?; act HOW shall I tell in words
vaTue for“ C red»c;use and “yet it
leaves an impression. Thi
mirable; no other could •
religious act. How shah - f ~ bat ' ?inse r
of the emotional P rontinuously on
the 0S same "tone .^unb r oke m^u a a
dull “ra' beats the unchanging
measure!” mmbodian rhapsody by
Last s< *ason , a Camboamn ^
Bourgau U-DucoudW w club. The
Boston by the -jf t K tl 3 bee n said, witn
piece was written it the m in-
a political view, at a tlme^ interest tha
lstry m P o w „ If ' S q* h e composer, who
nation in Gambod.a .^ purposes of mu-
had visited the east ic -mbodian themes
si cal res> arch appropriate
^r 0nJ From e the ton. ^"forman^m
the S 1 rh ap s ody ' served to bring the two |
nations closer to gether ^
SYMPHONY concerts.
The interest which has been excited
1 „ thp natrons of the symphonj
among the p . t-ipw con -
7s?s. , zrg£2&? ; ,
the date of the auction sale of seats^
The sale will take place, as usual, in
The sa October, Monday and
the first week of _ Octone d belng
Tuesday, the first an fQr the re _
given to the L a ' R ° da | a nd Friday, the
liearsals. and Tliursaay o£ seats f0 r
fourth and fifth, to tnc rehe arsal and
the voncerts. Tlie ii ^ Frlday after-
concert will be g e day evening.
if his kind ln d)nar y strong list
preparing an exuao Q > g th em will
°f solo artists, cmi [b thelr only
he Paderewski and Aieum^ r; Ro _
appearances In Bosto sc hnikoff and
senthal Gabnlowltsch, PeWcnnu frQm
Cesar Thomson Dr. muck ^ bpen
Bremen on Sept, to- , n Bavreuth.
spending h>s the conductors of
where he was one oi th j s month
ar sSo.».»~- •<
the opera in Berlin.
“■WELCOME!”
It is said that the national char-
acter of the Germans has altered in
wi.nm th. i«t « ^
From art illustration with text -n a
German periodical we infer -
nation is still sentimental in ^
display. It is still the custom to
hang garlands and green wreaths
with the legend “Willlcommen^ to
greet the homecomers from vaca
tion. the annual “Sommerfrlsohe.
K the house or flat has been closed
the scrub woman decorates the front
door with a framework of greenery
and the friendly word in huge let-
ters The American husband’s greet-
ing is usually “Why didn’t you stay
longer?” and then he rushes to the
telephone to break, with apologies,
an engagement for the eve ” ”
which he had thought his own. Does
the janitor of the a P artm « nt .^°^ a
see to it that garlands and legends
welcome those coming home this
To use the language of Arte-
mus Ward: “O no; I guess he
doesn’t he.” The Americans have
been called the most sentimental na-
tion on earth; but that was years
ago.
WITHOUT WAGES.
Read any English “ladles’ journal”
and you will find advertisements like
these: “Quiet home offered in return
for practical domestic help.” “Gentle-
woman wishes another who, in return
for home, would do work of house.”
••Wanted, young ladies for domestio
duties; no servant.” In plain words,
young women of the “middle class
are willing to act as domestic ser-
vants for their bed and food. Mr. G. R.
Sims Is not extravagant when he says,
commenting on these advertisements: 1
“It is a sign of the times, and by no
means a cheering one. Behind it lies
a great problem for the only possible
solution of which western civilization
will shrink for many a year to come.”
Forty years or more ago young women
in New England towns, women in
families of some means and much re-
finement, were not ashamed to do
chamber work and prepare the meals.
Tf they had guests, a neighbor si
The intellectual exercises of certain
newspapers during the Silly Season ex-
cite the scorn and ridicule of the super-
ficial and put a song into the mouth of
the drunkard in the street. The Silly
Season, unlike Indian Summer, is not
peculiarly American. There is a Silly
Season the world over wherever news-
papers are published, news Is scarce,
and men and women are Inventive if
not imaginative. Mr. Frank Richard-
son in London suggested recently cer-
tain subjects for discussion: Does Bald-
ness Denote Brains? Can Curates Wear
Kilts? Does Radium Benefit the Work-
ing Man? Are Oysters Good Fathers?
Can Homicidal Tendencies be Cured by
Homoeopathy? Are Actors Vainer than
A.c tresses?
Grave periodicals, weeklies, monthlies
have their silly season. Look for in-
stance at the music journals in European
countries. One Is publish ng a series of
depressing articles on The .^ a . 1 ’ rnon ^ iT ? ir
Richard Wagner." Another is ‘fussing
the amatory relations of Robert anil
Clara Schumann. Another fievof® 3 music
space to a consideration of Aiab mus.o
ln Musicaf published in Paris, has opened
an inquiry into the present condition of
the art of song with questions concern-
ing the influences of W agner on singWi,
whether there will be a revival o£
canto ” whether modern composers write
?nt n elligently for the voice, what cm be
?°on e s are by® no means new but. put to
men and women of knowledge and v> 1 .
they may easily furnish material for
entertaining arti cles.
The questioners for Musica are
Messrs. Georges Pioch and Henri de
Curzon, and they go about button-
holing and no doubt at times ejacu-
lating the French equivalent o£
"How?” They consulted Mine. Pau-
line Viardot. the sister of Malibran,
and of the Garcia who died recently
over 101 years old. Mme. Viardot,
once a famous singer, for manV
., a wtineuished teacher, the triend of
a truly remarkable wom-
an, is now in her S6th Year, but
I is not a driveller, she is not slow
•She admits that there is a ' ooa >
revolution. Some rnlBll ‘i„.?m e .ffi r on ; n
word "evolution,” for a revolution in
music, as De La Lawrencie
pointed out. is an evolution that is
suddenly perceptible. I he pr ogress
of evolution is underground and
silent; it leaves contemporaries indif-
ferent. But allow Mme. Viardot ner
word: She admits that this vocal
revolution, from a strictly musical
point of view, is a step forward, from
a purely vocal point of view it is a
question mark. Singers who shine as
Wagnerian singers are, with very fe
exceptions, good for nothing in Ital ‘an
operas. They are poor colorists, and
they do not have the versatility and
the suppleness which come fiom a
classical vocal education, and
manded imperatively by the °P®’' as
this classic school. ’ It is certain that
if Wagner limits the technical and
vocal domain of the singer, he A®’
velops his musical nature and artistic
intelligence.” The Wagnerian singer
I should he as much of a musician as
! V Mme! t- Viardot doubts whether there
will he a revival of the old Italian arj
of singing. "How can there be one that
Is Independent of a renaissance of works
to give the old style of singing value.
For a long time singers have refused
to devote their time to the studj of the
old principles for the many years de-
manded. And yet is "hel. canto am
thing else but the art of singing " ? '
To know how to sing well, to have
trained the voice by assiduous practice
in the old Italian school, is still the
best preparation for singing Wagflers
music (witness the .example of Mr. Jean
ill' Reszke). 'me Italian sonooi is the
best for Utc mastery Over t he breath,
and the Lord knows that you must be
able to manage your breath f£ you sing
Wager's music. I!' there were a return
to "be) canto” would It bo possible for
capable singers, as Rubinl, Tamburini,
Lablache (and even Mario), Glula Grisl,
Pisaronl, and later Alboni. to sing on
an established stage and in successive
performances In the style of these cele-
brated men and women In "Norma,”
"Don Pasquale," or "The Elixir of
Love"? Composers should know how
to sing before they write for the voice.
Those who do not sing usually write
badly for it, and this should be a shame
to them as if they were ignorant of the
orchestral instrumets with their resour-
ces. As for tiie betterment of the art of
song, all Hint can be said Is "Learn to
sing,” "Learn to sing.” These are the
eminently sane opinions of the great
singers eulogized for all time by Hector
Berlioz.
Many of our readers remember Miss
Lucienne Breval, the French dramatic
soprano, who is not a French woman,
but a German, or Swiss-German, born
at Berlin and afterward educated at the
Paris Conservatory. She is a well-
trained lyric tragedian of classic author-
ity. Mr. Pioch introduces her in his
article with a great flourish of trum-
pets. "Her emotional genius dwells in
a body of surpassingly proud beauty."
l es, inded. Miss Breval is a line figure
of a woman. She is like unto an Orien-
tal caught young and reared by Aspasia.
The contrast between her sultry tem-
perament and her classic pose and car-
riage makes her eminently desirable in
the eyes of the connoisseur. But listen
to Mr. Pioch.
"There is not, and there probably
never was, a more full and rounded
mistress of song. She is the incarnate
cantatrice. An adept in occultism could
Prove to us in a learned and irrefragable
manner that Miss Breval could here
below in obedience to mysterious forces
be only a prima donna.” He adds that
there are singers, some of them accom-
plished. who might also have shone at
a cashier's desk, behind a counter, in
the kitchen. Miss Breval as Bruennhilde
or Armide "does not accomplish a task,
she fulfils a destiny.” And all this
about a poor singing woman, as Messrs.
Pope and Arbuthnot once described the
peerless Faustina.
Now as a matter of fact Miss Breval
unfortunately cracked her voice some
years ago in Paris, and when she visited
America there were holes in it t Never-
theless she made a deep impression on
some of us by the sombre richness of
many of her tones, the grace and dig-
nity of her stage bearing, the finish of
her act as revealed especially in man-
agement of the phrase and in general
diction. Furthermore her beauty was
as a devouring flame. But even the most
ardent of her admirers never suspected
her of being a deep thinker or. a bril-
liant essayist.
According to her the Wagnerian move-
ment could not be an error, for it is sig-
nificant of musical evolution. Lucienne,
Lucienne, who told you this? Wagner
continues the tradition of dramatic
truth taught by Gluck, Rameau and
Weber. "I have therefore never un-
derstood that it is necessary for a singer 1
to adopt a special style to sing Wagner's
music." Only those who are capable of i
interpreting other classic masters are !
able to sing Wagner's music as it should
bo sung.
Miss Breval is the sworn foe of all
useless ornamentation in dramatic song.
Only that which is vocally emotional
appeals to her. She demands the logical
force of musical drama. Applause is
disagreeable to her when she is on the
stage, though it may be permitted at the
end of an act. "If you mean by ’bel
canto,’ the melodic phrase, sustained,
bound together firmly, and truly ex-
pressive, let me tell you that this 'bel
canto’ is of all countries and of all
I styles; it need not be born again, for it
lias never died.” There are purely vocal
passages, roulades, that may be used
to express laughter or anguish.
Tnese when they are in the logical
construction of the drama cannot be too
carefully sung, or too heartily enjoyed
by the audience. Miss Breval might
have given as an excellent example the
ornamentation of Marguerite’s song in
the prison scene of Boito's "Mephisto-
pheles," where the wildness of the vocal
runs is in direct keeping with the girl's
madness and remorse. It is possible,
says Miss Breval, that composers write
badly for the voice; but since the music
of the future is that in which the song
fits exactly the text, rest assured that
composers will not write too distant
intervals and passages that ruin the
voice. If a composer makes a singer
smg above or below her voice, lie has
already compromised the truth. She,
too, says the only advice to one anxious
to Smg is: "Learn to sing.”
but unless they have submitted the
larynx to exercises in vocalization— long
and difficult exercises -their career will
be short. Many teachers make their
pupils study airs of Gluck which are
apparently easy. This is a serious mis-
take. To interpret these airs artistically,
the singers should have first studied
diligently the works of the Italian mas-
ters, who wrote specially for the voice
and 'bel canto.’ ”
Mr. Timotliee Adamowski will he
the solo violinist at the Worcester mu-
sic festival which will be held the first
week in October.
"Les Merveilleuses," a new musical
comedy, founded on a play by Sardou,
witli music by Hugo Felix, will be
produced at Daly’s, London, the mid-
dle of this month. “Aladdin.” with text
by J. T. Tanner and music by Ivan
Caryll and Lionel Monckton, will soon
be produced at the Gaiety, London.
“Tlie Forty Thieves” in a new version
will follow this production.
Mme. Kirkby Lunn has been engaged
as one of the contraltos at the Metro-
politan Opera House next season. She
will take Miss Edyth Walker’s place,
but she will not fill it. Miss Walker, it
is said, has been unwilling to accept Mr.
. Conried’s terms. Like Mme. Olive Frem-
stad, she yearns to sing music written
for dramatic sopranos only. She in-
sisted that she should appear as Bruenn-
hilde, Elisabeth and other soprano hero-
ines. Mme. Fremstad is equally dis-
contented with the vocal range that
nature gave her; but she will sing at
the Metropolitan and be the Salome in
the first performance in this country of
Richard Strauss' opera. Mme. Kirkby
Lunn, who is known in Boston, both in
concert and in opera, has been singing
recently at Covent Garden. She will
appear as Kundr.v at the Metropolitan,
where she sang a few times under the
reign of Mr. Grau.
Richard Strauss, they say, is at
work on a new opera, "the details of
which he is trying to keep a profound
secret.” But these details, ascertained
or guessed at. are already published.
Strauss has selected “a subject from
Homer, and— Electra will be the leading
character!” The opera will be "saturated
with the Greek spirit, and it will con-
tain some features as startlingly novel
as does ‘Salome.’ ” "Fabulous sums
are to 'be spent on decorations, dresses,
Greek and Olympic deitifes." Surely
Aphrodite's costume need not be a
costly one if Mr. Comstock could be
prevailed on to keep quiet. By the
way, how are “Greek” and “Olympic”
deities to be distinguished easily?
Geraldine Farrar, they say, was em-
inently successful as Elisabeth at Mu-
nich. Even the heart of the widow
Cosima was touched.
An English music periodical discussed
'the subject of national anthems. This
led the Pall Mall Gazette to observe
that the English national anthem was
"made in Germany." Was there an
English anthem before the Hanoverian
succession? “Neither the Tudors, nor
the Stuarts, nor the Dutch (as repre-
sented by William of Orange) seem to
have left any record of a universal song
of nationality. Battle cries there were
many— witness the cries of 'So-ho' in
the Monmouth rebellion and on the
field of Sedgmoor; but there was no
martial tune to rouse the heart and
stimulate the brain." Correspondents to
this periodical mentioned by the Pall
Mall Gazette found the Russian anthem
the most musical. "It has sweetness,
and it is singularly beautiful, and with
none of the barbarism of the great
phalanx of modern Russian composers.
Next we should rank, for classic dig-
nity and refinement, the Austrian hymn,
composed by Haydn, and appealing to
one by reason of its quiet depth of feel-
ing which is at times even more appeal-
ing than the splendid barbarism of the
'Marseillaise.’ Here we have a composi-
tion of brilliance and swing, which
its way, is unsurpassed. But is it fitted
for a national anthem? We shall not,
for our own part, answer the question;
nevertheless, we may give it as our opin-
ion that such an anthem should be the
musical expression of a nation from
generation to generation, and not a mo-
mentary cry. Splendid as is the ‘Mar-
seillaise,’ it is something of a moment-
ary cry.” Was it Goethe who described
the “Marseillaise” as the song of the
canaille?
■fi/i/y /ft'iS
Mr. Thomas Salignac, w^ll known to
us all as an earnest tenor with a voice
too light naturally for his dramatic
ambition, a throaty, nasal, quavering
tenor, has much to say about the ap-
proaching decadence of vocal art. He
curses the thick and heavy modern in-
strumentation which obliges a singer
to force tones that he may be heard.
It ne gains In force he loses in color
and in other qualities that charm.
Fi ?™ p ? + se , rs w /. lte so . badly for the voice
that it is often difficult to say in a
l>ric drama whether the singer is
naturally a tenor, baritone, or bass
Thus does Mr. Salignac by observa!
by n ,° me 5 ns devoid of truth of-
fer an apology for his artistic life.
Mr. Gailhard, the director of the Paris
Opera House, was once a singer and his
Leporello and his Mephistopheles once
excited remark. He complains of the
neglect shown the old Italian masters.
From them only is pure vocal art to be
A ® a proof of this, he says
that when there is talk of reviving an
old classic at the Opera there are no
adequate interpreters to be found. "To
smg in modern works, certain artists
can make an effect by means of a
sonorous voice and good enunciation.
•‘MISUNDERSTOOD.”
In a recent divorce case in England
Mr. Justice Deane discoursed on the
ethics of friendship between women
and men. He had never heard that
a married man was not to have an
affection for any woman but his wife.
"If it were an innocent affection, not
diminishing his love for the wife her-
self, it could not be classed as ‘cruel-
ty’ in a suit for divorce." This is a
high and philosophic view; but, as a
reporter of the case remarked: “There
are certainly wives who cannot rise
to its impartial note.” It was an
English wojnan who wrote: "If a man
cannot have the woman, he can put
in a very excellent and enjoyable time
with a woman, especially if she is
pretty and bright and the woman is
for the time forgotten. If a woman
cannot have the man, she feels all the
time she is with a man how lovely it
would be. if only it were some one
else!" The writer noted the fact that
the man has his business, sports, club,
many interests which ejaim and di-
vide his attention, whereas the wom-
ans’ centre is her one particular man.
“And then there is the one often ig-
nored but^all-powerfui faefoi-' that
should never be forgotten— that man
is by nature the lover of many and
woman the lover of but one— at a
time." When the husband is delighted
with another woman and has an Inno-
cent affection for her, he is often an
egoist, vain, selfish, who has come to
the conclusion that his wife does not
appreciate or understand him. In
other words, ..she has forgotten to
swing thick incense under his nose or
is tired of acting as thurifer.
GRADUATED SCALES.
| Some may smile at the thought of
a “Darktown 400" and a “negro blue
book" in Chicago. The graduated
scale of barbers, “boa'din’-house
keepers,” waiters, porters, shoe blacks
and others, may also furnish amuse-
ment for a moment. But to the intel-
ligent inhabitants of the air the de-
grees of precedence at court or at
dinner and court almanacs, social'
registers, books of the peerage, are
equally absurd and incomprehensible.
Wherever men and women in a primi-
tive state do congregate some will at
once declare themselves superior to
others — not in strength, or in brains,
or in goodness, but for wholly imag-
inary qualities— and the most sur-
prising thing is that some will take
these pretensions seriously, and ac-
quiesce, admire, support. Some snobs
are born, others are made. It mat-
ters not what is the color of the skin.
If there were a race of blue-faced
men, all of indigo, some would insist
that their blood was bluer than that)
of the rest. As for the distinction
between barbers, waiters and the
others is there not a difference
recognized' in society between the
wholesaler and the retailer? And we
know that in England the brewer is
far more highly esteemed than the
drysalter, the manufacturer of chairs,
the linen draper. A vat fits into a
eoat-of-^rms more neatly than does
yardstick or mortar and pestle.
SOME PREFACES.
Some of the volumes jn that excel-
lent series of reprints, Everyman’s
Library — it is said that the series will
include a thousand volumes — con-
tain a preface by a more or less dis-
tinguished writer. There are pref-
aces that are justly famous, as Gau-
tier’s to the collected edition of Bau-
delaire’s works, de Maupassant’s to
the Letters of Flaubert to George
Sand, Emerson’s to the “Excursions”
of Thoreau, but too often they are
fulsome “appreciations” or irritating
depreciations in which the writer
wonders at the fame of the book that
follows. In this new series Mr.
Watts-Dunton has a great deal to
say about himself and his views in
the preface to Borrow’s "Wild Wales,”
and the reader begins to think that it
would be foolish to read the book
that follows. Mr. Watts-Dunton fur-
thermore insists that Borrow in “Wild
Wales” did not make “excursions into
the realms of fancy” and ignored the
gypsies in Wales because, forsooth,
his wife and stepdaughter accompan-
ied him! But would Borrow have
been restrained by the presence even
of Mrs. Boffin? Sixteen pages of
preface, and the final word is a hur-
rah for the prowess of the Welsh in
football! An inquiry into the present
condition of ale in Wales .would be
much more to the purpose, for Bor-
row’s book smells of ale, from the
first scene in Chester where he spir-
ited it out of the window as "not
lap for a dog, far less drink for a
man.”
Mr. Arthur Symons writes only five
pages to introduce Coleridge’s “Bio-
graphia Literaria,” but how thought-
fully considered, how illuminative
they are! Criticism, he says, is a
valuation of forces, and it is indiffer-
ent to their direction. “The aim of
criticism is to distinguish what is
essential in the work of a writer; and
in order to do this, its first business
must be to find out where he is differ-
ent from all other writers.” He then
discusses in a few words some of the
great critics and praises Coleridge
for nearly reaching in criticism the
unknown point where creation begins.
’ I
If the "Biographla Literaria” is ‘‘the
greatest book of criticism in English,"
It is also “one of the most annoying
books in any language,” for the
reader must pursue Coleridge’s
thought across stones, ditches and
morasses.” These few prefatory pages
tempt quotation at every line. “To
the true critic a living insignificance
is already dead.” “No perfect thing
Is too small for eternal recollection.”
Another admirable preface in this
series is that of Mr. Belloc to Car-
lyle’s “French Revolution.” It would
not be rash to say that this introduc-
tion of eleven pages is the fairest and I
also most truly appreciative view of ;
Carlyle's dithyramb. Mr. Belloc as
the author of works on Robespierre
and Danton, is intimately acquainted
with the historical material; a knowl-
edge of French character was his
birthright. Carlyle was imperfectly
acquainted with the French language
and had little or no acquaintance
with French character: he understood
the mob but not the gentlemen in the
tragic play. His pictures of Louis
XVI. and Robespierre — the sea-green
Robespierre as he constantly and er-
roneously calls him — are failures.
His “sheer creative force enabled him
to project upon his screen the actual-
ities of which he had read.” As a
rhetorician lie often forced the note.
“His art is spoiled by a perpetual
tautening of the bow.” Mr. Belloc
himself is no mean rhetorician, as
when, quoting the passage ending
“The very witnesses summoned are
tike ghosts * * * they them-
selves are all hovering over death and
doom,” he writes “It falls and ends
like a gong sounding the word
‘Doom.’ ” And mark the final sen-
tence of this rarely critical preface:
The Revolution filled him as he pro-
ceeded, and was, in a sense, co-au-
thor with him of the shock, the flames
and the roar, the innumerable feet,
and the songs which together build
up what we read achieved in these
volumes.”
a /* f / £ S f C> £
CURED HICCOUGHS.
A woman in New Haven, Ct., hic-
coughed steadily for a year. A few
bights ago she took a walk. Some ond
told her that her house had caught firej
find that ten persons had been burned
to death. Fright stopped her hic-
coughs. Men and women have died of
the hircoughs .even when they spelled
the word "hiccups.” The word itself is
not derived ; it is imitative ; and to us
the imitation is closer with ‘‘cups.” A
physician tells us that nine cases out
of ten come from stomachic causes and
are cured. The hiccoughs that lead tt>
death come from an unknown cause. He j
advises as a remedy two teaspoonsful
of vinegar to be swallowed fearlessly.
Early in the nineteenth century there
tvas a kind of sherry which was sup-
posed to be a cure for the gout. It was
railed in the trade "Specialite.” A
basket of it was sent to Lord Derby in
hope of eliciting a letter of approval
from him. The letter came : "Dear sir,
I have tried your sherry and prefer the
gout.” There are old wives’ remedies
for the hiccoughs as there are for rheu-
matism. We have heard of a rheumatic
woman who was cured by a stroke of
lightning as she stood near an open
window. We hasten to add, she was not
killed. Fright cures some ailments, but
it often substitutes others for those
which, perhaps, had no existence save
In the imagination.
A SWAMI AT HOME.
A Swami — way down upon the
Swami river, or in the town, or high
up on the hijls, or on the plain, or
wherever he may be. In the air or in
the bowels of the earth — is always
saying something. "Let ’em fade,"
said Artemus Ward of roses, “it’s
their biz.” So it is the business of a I
Swami to talk. There is Swami 1
Abhedananda. Returning from a
Hindu mission in benighted America,
he spoke at Madras and compared the
Hindu religion with the other re-
ligions of the world. In European
and American countries the people
put on Sunday clothes and go td
meeting houses of various kinds for
various purposes. “For instance,”
said the Swami, "doctors go to church
on Sunday to secure patients, lawyers
to get clients, maids to find hus-
bands, bachelors to select wives, and
people in general to keep up appear-
ances. In India the people live on
religion, eat religion, sleep religion
and walk religion." Now this does
not sound like the speech of a real
Swam!. The Hindus are a most
courteous folk and never more cour-
teous than wljen speaking of the
religion of another nation. From his
remarks about physicians, we infer
that the Swamt Abhedananda has
been reading "Pickwick" and gener-
alizes from the well known case of
Mr. Bob Sawyer.
taken suffering from blood pois u-
ing; "he playfully bit my cheek. He
bit harder than he intended and
caused the wound.” Then there is
the famous instance of hard lips in
the poem:
Th» monkey married the baboon'’ slst'-r.
Smacked hla lips and then ho kissed her.
Kissed her so hard he raised a blister.
She set up a yell.
BLINDED JUSTICE.
The Herald recently alluded to a
sort of Dreyfus case in Italy. We
are now told of a singular miscar-
riage of justice in a criminal case in
France. About forty years ago a
hard drinker, one Allegrain. return-
ing a foggy night from the village
tavern, fell into a pond. He shouted
for help. Gremotn and his wife, in
a cottage near by, heard him, and
Gremoin left his bed and went to the
rescue. He was too late. Allegrain
was pulled out dead, with his lantern
in his hand. His wife and his two
stepchildren, then 16 and 17 years
tld, were arrested, for they had often
iiuar relied with him, and they i^ere
accused of throwing him Into the
pond. Gremoin, called as a witness,
swore he heard Allegrain shout “Je
me nole!" (I’m drowning). The
judge remarked that the words must
have been “On me noie!” (They’re
drowning me), and the humble Gre-
moin did not contradict him. The
girl was released, but the wife and
her son. Gautier, were sent to jail for
life. The woman died. The young
man served 10 years and was then
released on ticket-of-leave.ji He is
now trying to clear his reputation.
He urges that Mrs. Gremoin. who
was prepared to swear she heard
the words, “Je me noie!" was not
called as a witness, and that the plan
shown to the jury was incorrect, for
it represented Gremoin’s cottage to
be so far from the pond that they
could not hear the shout. There was
recently an investigation at Domont,
the scene of the accident The evi-
dence of Mrs. Gremoin was taken,
and the investigators convinced them-
selves that a shout from the pond
could be heard inside the cottage.
The judge Is dead, so is Gautier s de-
fender. By the law' Gautier cannot
be cleared unless he produce a
new fact, and Mrs. Gremoin is not
reckoned legally a new one. But he
was at the investigation, and Is de-
scribed as following the proceedings
with a resigned interest. "Time has
I ripened his view of the case to an
indulgent philosophy. It is so easy
to make mistakes, he says.” Thus is
j lie more philosophical than lawyers
j and Judges in criminal cases. Will
the President pardon him for the
1 Krime he did not commit?
A DOUBTFUL OBJECTION.
An English physician has advanced
the theory that motoring hardens tho
lips, and is, therefore, Inimical to
kissing. The layman would argue
that hardened lips might be, there-
fore, less microbie. The opinions of
play-actresses have been published.
Miss Marie Studholme, an enthusias-
tic automobillst, bravely says that
motoring will go out of fashion be-
fore kissing will. Motoring may be
ephemeral. Kissing is eternal. A
basic, glorious thought! Miss Ga-
brielle Ray "doesn't go in for kiss-
ing.” but "thinks it a pity to dis-
courage those who like it, because
they seem to be so pleased with It.'
Sly Miss Ray! Miss Kitty Mason
states another proposition: Motoring
causes wrinkles rather than hard
lips; people screw up their eyes;
“you cannot kiss with screwed-up
eyes.” The testimony of one expert
is hardly sufficient. In South Car-
olina a few days ago a devoted lover
showed his sweetheart proofs of his
affection. “Theo kissed me,” she
id in the hospital where she was
NONE IN ENGLAND?
Mr. Frank Richardson of London,
talking with a Frenchman outside a
Parisian cafe, assured him that the
"angular spinster with projecting
teeth, so often depicted in the French
papers,” does not exist in England. ;
The Frenchman smiled and told him
to keep his eyes open. Within a few
minutes at least twenty of Mr. Rich-
ardsonfs non-existent countrywomen
passed by, to his amazement and
horror. “They wore teeth projecting
like inverted tombstones over their
under lips. They were human squl—
rels.” Mr. Richardson swears that
creatures like this are not to be found
in England. He asks where .they hide
their teeth when they regain their
native land. “Do they wear respi-
rators to conceal their snappers? I
doubt It. I think the solution must be
that some enterprising dentist sup-
plies these mature maidens with a j
special line of ‘Artificial Teeth for
Foreign Travel,’ or ‘Damsels’ Dent-
ures for External Wear.' ” Women
thus toothed are to be found in every
land, Mr. Richardson, even In Ken-
tucky, among the Circassians, along
the Hudson River, wherever women
famed for their beauty are also to be
found. Nature delights in these an-
titheses. The woman with teeth pro-
jecting like a reef has passed into
folk-song:
was nothing to b e done. liowevcr. sat [
to let him go his own gait. He won
after two unsuccessful attempts, the
r 'n was in°lS4'i that he arrived In Rome,
which seemed to him a "country town,
vulgar, drab, iind dirty. He was home
sick. His melancholy was cured only
by work. His well-known songs The
Valley” and ‘Evening, were then com
posed. Little by little he saw Rome with
a more favorable eye. He was at first
| disappointed when he hea rt P^tetdna^s
sic.
For she used to live In Shinbone Alley
And the boys they called hei Snag-
toothed Sally.'*
St * 7 ifoL
The Herald has more than once re-
ferred to the excellent series of biog-
raphies, “Les Maitres de la Musique,”
edited by Mr. Jean Chantavoine and
published by Felix Alcan, Paris. Mr.
d’lndy's life of Cesar Franck was the
second volume of this series.
Henry Laurens of Paris is publishing
a series of biographies, "Les Musiciens
Celebres.” The purpose is to acquaint
the general public with the lives of
famous composers: "Collection d en-
seignement et de vulgarisation In
other words, the series is intended to be
“popular." We may apply to one of the
volumes, at least, the .remark of the
newsboy whom Richard Grant \\ bite
saw eating pie: I don t think tnis
P wl ar refer’ to the life of Gounod by
p -L. Hillemacher, a volu ™.?. VT?
nages Paul and Lucien Hillemacher
arf two brothers who were horn^n
-p or (c Paul in 1852, Lucien in 1860. 1 ne>
both studied at the R ari ®, a ^n’
and each was a prix de Rome may-
They compose together and sign
names to operas, cantatas, orchestral
works songs and piano pieces. Perhaps
They dress 5 alike and smoke the same
brand of cigarettes No doubt they are
alwavs • photographed together,
nobfle fratrum! Unfortunately, none of
their music has distinction, in spite of
their fraternal ambition, neither Paul s
nor Lucien’s nor that of the two to
S There has been no adequate biography
uisappomiea ivneu
music. He found it strange and disagree
able. Not long afterward he P. ut .£"S*
trina by the side of Michael Angelo.
He himself wrote a mass which was
performed in a Homan church in honor
of Louis Philippe's birthday.
Fanny Hensel. Mendelssohn a sister,
knew him in these Roman days and de
scribed him as extravagantly Pos-Jon-
ate and romantic : perhaps only In
comparison with the prim and pr-ggish
Mendelssohn. Gounod at the end of tne
appointed time visited Vienna where a
requiem by him was performed success-
fully; Berlin and Leipsic, where Men-
delssohn paid him the compliment of
. ailing together the Gewandhaus or-
chestra out of season and letting him
hear the symphony in A minor, tne
•'Scottish” symphony
On his return to Paris Gounod became
e church organist on the condition that
lieVshould have undisputed charge ot the
music. "I shall be the cure of music.
His religious exaltation became mysti-
cism. He enrolled himiseilf in the asso-
ciation of John the Evangelist, which
was composed of young ar J lst ,*
hoped through art to regenerate human-
ity He studied theology at the semi-
nary of St. Sulpice; his spare moments
were filled with metaphysical and re-
ligious questions. He sigend an essay
nn logic. “Abbe Charles Gounod.
He did not become a priest. He wrote
“Faifet” and “Romeo and Juliet, and
for a long time, to his cost, he was un-
der the spell of Mistress Georgina W el-
d '?n old friend of Pauline Viardot. he
wrote inspired by her. his opera
“Sapho” (1851), which obtained only a
success of esteem. though Berlioz
praised the music. HP wrote music for
Pnnsflrd's tragedy Trlysee (18o-), ana
in 185" he married. His opera, "La Norme
Sanglante,” based on Lewis once fa-
mous novel. “The Monk.” and produced
In was a complete and deserved
failure, although Gounod had much . t .°
sav about the machinations of the di-
rector of the Opera. As though dis-
gusted with the pomp and vanity of the
citaere he composed an oratorio. Tobie,
amf his ' St. Cecilia mass The stage
called to him and he wrote his 1 aust.
A Note on “Faust.”
In his Italian student days Gounod
passed a summer at Capri, and there,
reading Goethe's poem, he dreamed of
music for “Walpurgis Night.” Seven-
teen years later he made the acquain-
tance of Carre and Barbier librettists,
and he spoke to them of a "Faust.
They all went to work, and Carvalho,
the director of the Theatre Lyrlque, en-
couraged them. Suddenly a melodrama
with Faust as the hero was announced
for production at the Porte Saint-Mai-
tin. Carvalho. disturbed. begged
Gounod to put aside bis "Faust and set
music to a comedy of Moliere. Gounod,
then, composed his “Medecin malgre
lui ” which is ranked by some among
the very best and most distinguished of
his works, although it has never been a
favorite with .the Public. The melo-
drama "Faust failed dlsmalb. Ine
opera was produced March 13, 1850.
The part of Marguerite, created by
jlme. Carvalho, was written for Mme
or stedy of Gounod, man and musician.
Mr. Louis Pagnerre’s V c jl ar K s L a°“tore-
hou V se If documents f
one > who e has n Uie' patience to search.
The book is without order or ■ Plan.
Much space is given to that ,u’ hl Hille
unimportant. The volume by the Hi lie
msrhers is at least orderly' and coher-
ent and there is some discrimination
shown in the critical remarks.
Before “Faust.”
The authors naturally make a free
use of Gounod's Memoirs, which stop
brusquely at the time he became famous.
They also rely on documents furnished
by the family and on the reminiscences
of some of the composer’s friends. While
it is not our purpose to retell what may
he found in any dictionary of ™osteU
may not be amiss to recall a few tacts
and to state some that are ge ner<uu
UI Qounod's mother was the daughter of
from the full accomplishment or ms
... s'), PS. lie died when Charles was abou J
five years old. She supported her.
and two sons by engraving and by
giving piano lessons. Charles ■was
born musician, but his mother no ^
^illian^student, tend
and she would fain ha '‘®. 0 r‘h\gh
m Sl the U 'churr '. r0 ^H? 0 wa^ r subjected *to
many sever- tests In t the h W« t.. ■« Jus
passion ter umslc might be cooiea. iner-
ax me. cai vamy, -■
Ugalde who wished a dramatic rather
than a bravura part, and It was taken
away from her in a rather brutal man-
Tt is often said that. "Faust" at the
beginning was a failure. The HiUe-
machers dispute this statement. They
say that the first audience was com-
posed ill equal numbers of convinced
partisans and excited detractors. Tlw
lattter insisted that the garden scene
should be cut out. There was unani
mous applause only ter the chorus of
old men and for the soldiers chorus.
The Hillemachers themselves say:
“The success of the first night was ex-
tremely lukewarm.” Why. then. do
they speak afterward of the legend of
the initial failure"? (The Soldiers
Chorus, by the way, was originally a
Cossack chorus ter the opera Ivan
le Terrible,” which was never per-
formed.) The Hillemachers quote
favorable and unfavorable contempor-
aneous reviews. The McncStpel in May,
]fe9, spoke of the increasing interest in
the opera, and described it as nothing
less than a masterpiece. Gounod sold
ail his rights for France and Belgium
in "Faust” for about $13-10 to < houqens,
who did not like the work, and when
his children were naughty threatened to
take them to the Theatre Lyrique to see
it. Gounod in 1878 sold bis Polyeuete,
a monotonous and boresome opera,
the operatic director. “Romeo et Jul-
iette” ( 1 867) was composed in lSiib
at St. Raphael on the Mediterranean.
Its success was immediate. Even now
there is a dispute as to whethei
"Romeo et Juliette” or “Faust is the
greater work. The Hillemachers find
the great merit of the two is the dis-
tinct physiognomy: "the youthful pas-
sion of Romeo has borrowed nothing
from the persuasive seductiveness of
Faust: the naivete of Juliet Is .tat
different from the ignorance of M a r -
guerite and although love leads both
f 0 U tragic catastrophes, each expresses
passions in very different accents of
sublimity." There are scenes in
"Romeo" of a higher intensity and
elevation; but thero^are elements of
the picturesque in "Faust which ate
sought for vainly in the rival work.
After Gounod's return from
in England. "Polyeuete” was produced
(1878) and failed. The year before
"Cinq-Mars.” in which dialogue alter
nates with music, obtained only an
ephemeral success. Le Trlbut de
Zamofia" (1881) was a lamentable fail-
ure. We have forgotten to mention a
little opera, “La Colombe, which
quickly disappeared.
Random Notes.
The Hillemachers have much to say
about Gounod's adventures in England,
the place of refuge sought by him In
1870; about the' strange story of his
intimacy with the Weldons and tljo
farcical-tragic ending of this intimacy.
The story has often been told, and
Georgina Weldon’s books on the sub-
ject now command a high price- Cer-
tainly her friendship with Counod was
lucrative for a time. She exploited him
to her own advantage as a ®m|er, sh
made him write pot-boileis, sne
kept him from accepting the director-
ship of the Paris Conservatory in 18il,
she became ids private secretar: y. AT-
ter he rvas carried away fiom her by
members of ills family m lSG she
raged. She tried to keep his mam
scripts. Tlie ambassador of France in
London endeavored '' ainl - v
them. There were articles in the Pails
Journals. The Figaro stated t ‘ ia
Gounod was cracked, and thus ex
plained his conduct. 11 f is „
but it is the madness of a man or
genius." Georgina sued the composer
for £30,000. A court reduced the sum to
£10,000, and Gounod did not dare to
step foot on English soil. He had
only one faint consolation: When the
sentence was pronounced against him.
Georgina was serving a sentence of
six months in jail for libelling an or-
chestral conductor. And all this trouble
and anxiety and bother because Georgina
was a woman of singular beauty. i he
head of a young girl crowned with
luxuriant chestnut hair was set on the
body of an imposing woman Her eyes
were large, gentle and Intelligent, hei
mouth was small and perfectly bowed,
her hand, white and aristocratic, was
that of a chljK. And in her womanly
and charming aspect there was yet
something passionate and vindictive.
A 'sain GSa’ens' 0 expresses the opinion in
Gouftod’s^'operas 1 are 'orf "dusty ‘shelves in
libraries and known only to antiquari-
ans. his “Cecilia" mass. Redemption
and "Mors et Vita” will remain to tell
future generations of the great French
musician of the 13th century. But balnt-
Saens delights to make astonlslnn-,
bt Tlfe n ' Hillemachers are not of Sairit-
Saens' opinion! Gounod worshipped Mo-
zart. yet lie condemned the w .°rlciline^
of tiie Requiem. "He speaks to God as
he does to us. These are phrases which
have more than the hat on the head
and one should not enter the church in
fhis manner " The Hillemachers com-
nlatn that Gounod in his "Redemption
So- ^‘address the Lord reverently
though the composer preferred it Hysteri-
cally to all all his other compositions, to
L'emoine for $20,000.
The Herald recently, in a I hursday
evening music article, commented on
inquiries into the reasonableness of
tlie popularity of “Faust” and quoted
from Claude Debussy’s curious and
cynical article. Let us pass on to
later works.
Later Operas.
The Hillemachers characterize
“Philemon et Baucis” as an “amiable"
work that too often shows a lack of
invention. "La Relne de Saba’ (1862)
called for descriptive music, and Gou-
nod’s genius was not for description.
The Hillemachers might have told the
story about Bizet’s Willingness to
fight a duel in defence Df this opera,
or more likely in defence of the
superb Balkis, one of the most fas-
cinating women in history or legend
—and history and legend a.re seldom
to be distinguished. ’Mirellle (1861),
which contains charming music, was
mangled and ruined at the start by
even though- he holds his hat in his
hand The music of his chief sacred
works is theatrical; it is for effect,
there is too much anxiety for the suc-
cess of the singers and the orchestra.
There are a few pleasant jiages about
Gounod, the amiable man, the charming
conversationalist, happiest when talk-
ing about art or with women or Pay-
ing music of Bach on his house organ.
According to the Hillemachers. the
uihuenoe of Gounod on French music,
though it is weak today, has been con-
- id orable and they are inclined to be-
hove beneficent! for it incited a reaction
xg-iinst music (hat was only of a super-
fiffai charm. They cite Bizet, even the
Rizet of “L' Arlesienne, as influenced
1 st' onglv bv Gounod. The latter's songs
were heard in all the concert halls. His
“Faust" was in the repertory of every
''put Gopnod did not grow in musical
stature as Beethoven. Verdi, Wagner,
gi-'w He was never obliged to struggle
m covert v. Ho was not a revolutionary,
he w it not a born wrestler. His char-
acter was distinctively feminine. He
was much of a sentimentalist. He was
both mystical and erotic. 8et. though
his music is feminine rather than mascu-
cui'.ie sentimentally orotic ratliei th an
passionate, his individuality was pro-
nounced. There is no mistaking a phrase
hv Gounod, even when we hear it in ar
onera by an ultra-modern Italian com-
pose- To move a majority of one's con-
temporaries. as Mr. Debussy remarks, is
indeed a reason for tlie preservation of
n The™ H'llemachers might have en-
largedSon the subject of Gounods in-
dividuality. They preferred te sum up
a;; follows: "After more than 1200 per-
formances at tlie opera, docs not
■Faust.' always attracting the same en-
i h xsiastic crowd, continue to make the
handsomest receipts a thrifty manager
could reasonably expect? .....
There are a dozen illustrations of httie
value. Tlie photograph of Mme. Car-
valho was taken in 1891 on the occasion
of the 1000th performance of Faust.
A portrait of her in 1859 would be more
to the purpose.
At Bayreuth.
A eorrespondent of the Pall Mall
Gazette wrote from Bayreuth that
Walter Boomer of Leipsic, the Kur-
venal, is the "coming man.”
His voice is described as deep and
EIFE 0
THE HILLEMACHER BROTHERS
A BIOGRAPHY FOR ' I
THE PEOPLE AT LARGE
Discrimination in Eulogy —
Londoner at Bayreuth —
Music Notes,
rich, sweet and resonant; furthermore,
h<-»*s an excellent actor. Marie Wlt-
tich was a very fine Isolde; "Her voice
has grown fuller and she feels the
part.’ Yon Bar y was unsatisfactory as
Tristan.
‘Burgstaller is not here. An artist
who has sung in New York gets about
the same reception here that Tannhaou-
ser did when returning to the Wart-
burg. But a new Parsifal appeared,
Alois Hadwiger, a striking-looking
youth, trained in the Wagner school,
under the eye of Mme. Wagner, but
yet with an individuality of his own.
His young, unworn voice is a true ten-
or, and he declaims well. Naturally,
his appearance and slight athletic
form were in his favor. The Kundry,
Mme. Leffler-Burchard, played well to
urn, and her voice is very beautiful.
Herr Rudolf Berger, of Berlin, filled
the unpleasing part of Amfortas, and
our old friend Paul Knuepfer was a
Jelightful prosy old Gurnemanz.”
But why is the part of Amfortas
unpleasing”?. We have always under-
stood that the ladies sympathized with
the romantic invalid. At Bayreuth in
1882 they were all in a flutter every
time Reichmann was brought on the
stage, nor did his false intonation
iispel the charm. We confess that
ye like Amfortas; we like to hear him
•oar.
In the "Ring’’ Bertram was “a su-
>erb Wotan. to the surprise of many,
vho scarcely expected even to hear
iim. as it was known he underwent
in operation on one ear three days
>efore.” There are many other Ger-
nan singers who might be benefited
>y this operation. Mr. Cornelius, a
Jane, was the Siegmund. "He had
nuch to contend with, being a Dane
md singing for the first time in the
Jerman language. He had also but
me piano rehearsal with Dr. Richter,
et h e was perfect in his part. His
oice is mo'st sweet, pure and power-
ul, and he is a novice to the Bay-
A
MISS EMMY DESTINN,
Soprano.
euth tricks. Long may he remain
o !”
The performance of "Seigfried” is
escribed as "thrilling.” Our old
riend Kraus was the hero, "an ideal
uegfried. He must have reduced
is weight. After the forge scene the
udience ‘ rose and roared.” “This
ras wrong (undoubtedly), and there
ras trouble after that. One wishes
here was as much reproof for the
ew ladies who dare to keep their
ats on when ’strictly forbidden to
nter with them,’ as there is for the
utburst of pent-up enthusiasm. it
> worse to enter the Festspielhaus
nth vour hat on than for a woman
® a- church without one. In the
econd act Kraus was tired, and the
ird made too much noise without
weetness. One yearned "for the
r,f te /v, del i ne * SS a- an<:| the musical
ones of the lost Siegmund, destroyed
y W otan’s will and the craft of
.The dragon was also a
raud,, a helpless, impotent dragon
ut in the last act Siegfried was
lmselt again, all powerful, magnifi-
en . *:• Tl1 ® awakening of Bruennhilde
0 life and love was very forcible, and
1 e long duet with Bruennhilde (the
fo V l e ’li t0 " be ^ -surpassed Gulbranson)
'as the realization of an art dream.”
MUSIC NOTES.
The Herald publishes today a por-
fait from a recent photograph of Mme.
hila Plaichinger, a dramatio soprano
f Berlin, who will sing at the Metro-
olitan Opera House next season; also a
ortrait of Miss Emmy Destinn of Ber-
n, who sang last season at Covent
arden with great success, especially in
Mme. Butterfly”; and a portrait of
tiss von Mildenburg, a dramatic so-
rano of Vienna, who fang last season
>r ^he first time in London and won
oth praise and blame as Isolde.
We are .told by a passionate admirer
t Mme. Plaich.nger that while she is
not beautiful off the stage, she makes
most effective appearance amid
neratic environment” and that “con-
uous of her unattractiveness in private
fe. she invariably refuses to see a
lanager before he has seen her in cos-
fme on the stage.” All this must be
teasant for her husband, Mr. Carl
rledrichs; a singing teacher in Berlin
■erhaps, looking at her within the
omestic walls, he sighs and savs to her
ke the man in the story: "Get up dear'
nd sing. Yet Mme. Plaichinger, who
about 30 years old, is not so plain as
le press agent insists, if the p'noto-
raph does not flatter her beyond due
leasure.
It is not generally known, even in
oston, that Dr. Muck was considered as
te conductor of the Symphony Orches- I
’u ld , In the sPcbig of 1S93, I
hen Mr. Nikisch left so suddenly
egotiations were begun with Hans
.ichter with a result that a contract
•as signed by him whereby lie was to
>nie to Boston for five years. At the
:st moment he begged off, pleading that
e was afraid to cross the Atlantic, al-
lougli, as a matter of fact the very
msiderable inducements offered him in
Vienna to stay there were more likely
the reason of his not coming. In the
correspondence which followed he ur-
gently recommended young Muck of
Berlin, as one of the coming men of
Germany. It was learned, however,
that Dr. Muck would not at that time
consider an offer from America. He had
been in Berlin but two years and had
extraordinary success there. So it was
that the final choice settled on Emil
Paur, who had succeeded Nikisch in
Leipsic. This is all the more interesting
in that Muck is classified by European
critics as belonging to the . school of
which Richter has been the chief ex-
MISS VON MILDENBURG,
Soprano.
TT? stla)1 contradict him? Mani I
ffst’y not the critics, for the spectacle of
(adagio, please) critics critically criti-
' set the criticised
ponent rather than to that of which
Nikisch is so brilliant an ornament.
Alderman Bulger of the 6th ward in
Kansas City, deploring the cheap grade
of music played in the public parks of
that city, lifted up his voice and de-
clared that “art is on the bum.” The
question was discussed not long ago in
one of The Herald Thursday evening
music articles. It is a. pleasure to an-
nounce that art is no longer "on the
bum” in Kansas City, for a committee
of five has been appointed with full ju-
risdiction over "paintings, mural decora-
tions, stained glass, statues, bas-relief.”
We quote from the Kansas City Jour-
nal:
“Pay?” asks some one from the rear seat
of Kansas City’s 350,000 population theatre,
i “No, Manure dear, they serve for nothing,
for glory, for Kansas City, for culchaiv, tor
the sake of keeping 'Kansas Citv’s art from
being on the bum,” answers the ordinance.
Mrs. Jules Roberts, president and mu-
sical director of the St. Cecilia Choral
Society of Dallas, Tex., "agrees with
Juan Almagia” that the Lambardi opera
company, now in Mexico and about to
invade the southwestern and western
states, “presents grand opera much
better than the Metropolitan company,”
except in the matter of costumes. Mrs.
Roberts says that Miss Adaberto, the
prima donna, has a voice “far superior
to Emma Eames,” but she was pained,
to see her as Aida, “wearing long silk'
gloves in place of bare, stained arms,
and high-heeled shoes instead of san-
I (.1 SL 1 s * *
Dr. Otto Neitzel, in a late number of -Astor that she never set bridge whist
the Signale, praised warmly Dr. Muck’s tables after her dinners; she relied
conducting of "Parsifal” at Bayreuth. ., ..
He praised the leader’s fine sense of on the conversation of her guests for
rhythm, the freedom given the singers, entertainment. How distrustful of
the prevailing elasticity, the intimate ... .. .
knowledge and the appreciation <51 the their own conversational ability and
score. “The Old World has long valued that of their guests are the great
him and the New World will soon value
him." Dr. Neitzel spoke pleasantly of Mr. majority of dinner givers even In
Allen C. Hinkley’s impersonation of Boston, where there is supposed to
Hagen. l
Vincent d'lndy is writing the music of To Food talk,” as Dr. Johnson pu,t
a new opera, "Phedre et Hippolyte,” with it! Last season it was the fashion
text by Jules Bois. . ...
Eugen Gura, baritone, who died re- her& t0 hire a singer or a pianist or
cently, was born in 1S42 in a Bohemian chamber music players, who began
village. After studying at the Polytech- ,, .. . , , s ,
nicum and the Academy in Vienna and at operations of voice or hands al-
Munich both art and song, he made his |most immediately after dinner, so
first appearance in opera at the Munich ... , , , ,,
Court Theatre in Lortzing’s "Waffen- *bat the men had hardly time for a
schmled” in 1835. He was afterward en- fleeting cigarette, and a full and
gaged at Breslau, Leipsic, Hamburg- and „ . , .
again at Munich, and he won a great comforting cigar was out of the ques-
reputation both as an opera and a tion. The guest, stuffed, was assailed
concert singer. He formally withdrew . _,.
from the stage in 1898 at Munich, when " music. There was no oppor-
he sang Leporello to his son Hermann’s tunity for talk with man or woman
Don Giovanni. He wrote a volume of , , .
reminiscences which was published at ^ le s * n F er warbled emotions in all
AFTER DINNER.
It has been said of Mrs. William
Leipsic last year.
Conrad Ansorge has gone to Buenos
Ayres to give a series of piano recitals.
"Lancelot” of the Referee, gives his
colleague, Mr. Baughan, a pretty shot
apropos of the latter's volume “Music
and Musicians.” The precise nature of
Mr. Baughan’s opinions atmthe present
moment might be difficult to state, but
his passing impressions are firmly given,
and one of them is, or was, that England
does not possess an ideal musical critic.
Since this assertion obviously, includes
languages but English, her own; the
pianist avenged himself on those who
had eaten more sumptuously than
'he; the chamber players rehearsed
for their next concert. Bridge whist
is to be preferred to this form of en-
tertainment, for there is at least a
sense of general interest and a com-
mon desire for gain. Is conversa-
tion a lost art? Are host and guest
MME. THILA PLAICHINGER,
■ouejdos
too tired or too lazy to talk? Are I
they mentally below the level of the |
walrus and the carpenter?
J i /> r // / j o 6>
JACKETS ON.
In these days of dietary anxiety and
precaution the potato is both attacked
and defended. Suppose you have passed
the roaring forties and are now aware
of your liver and kidneys. One special-
ist will say to you : “And above all, eat
no potatoes.” He is as firm and honest
in this opinion as was Cobbett when he
exclaimed at his tria.1 that he would
see laborers hanged and be hanged with
them rather than see them live upon
potatoes — and how Cobbett abused the
tuber in his "Northern Tour” ! Another
specialist will smile when you ask the
question, and he will say: “Yes, I am
aware there is a prejudice against pota-
toes. I recommend them to you, but
not fried!” We read a few days ago in
the medical advice which is given al-
most daily by certain newspapers that
we should all eat potatoes with the
jackets; that the jacket or skin con-
tains the good of the tuber. The skins
of little baked potatoes are good eating,
either with salt and cream, or with
liver, or with sausage. In happy child-
hood days we mashed skins with- that
which was inclosed, just as we broke
up doughnuts and put them into coffee.
Should we all now return to the prac-
tice? There is an out. Potato skins are
used in cleaning the insides of water
bottles, and therefore must have violent I
properties.
THE REASON WHY.
The captain of the Harvard crew
gave the true explanation of his de-
feat: The Cambridge crew rOwec
faster. Nevertheless there are many
who are not contented with that
which is obvious. They endeavor tc
display their own ingenuity by as-
signing remote causes. We call their
attention to the following passage
from the works of Artemus Ward, a
passage that appeared originally in
one of his contributions to Punch:
"Whenever any enterprisln country-
man of mine cums over here to scoop
up a Briton in the prize ring I’m
alius excessively tickled when he gets
scooped hisself, which it is a sad
faek has thus far been the case — my
only sorrer bein’ that t’other feller
wasn’t scooped likewise. It’s differ-
ently with scullin boats, which is a
manly sport, and I can only explain
Mr. Hamil's resunt defeat in this
country on the grounds that he wasn't
used to British water. I hope this
explanation will be entirely satis-
fact’ry to all.”
PROPER PRIDE.
Our friend, the Earnest Student of
Sociology, is busy from sunrise till mid-
I night in the clipping of material for his
■ gigantic work, "Man as a Political and
Social Beast.” Mr. Johnson informs us
that he has not time to sort the clip-
pings that come from newspapers all
over the world. He showed us an item
which suggests to him several pages. A
young lady in Wyoming shot the fore-
*ntan of a ranch tw’ice and thus bored
through his hip. And why ? I* or she is
a young lady of liberal education and
high breediug. "To impress upon him
that he coidd not talk to her as though
she were one of the servants. Mr.
Johnson mused, and then remarked : It
I is a singular fact that there are wives
who knag their husbands by saying ‘I
wish, George, that you would show me
the consideration you show that girl
out in the kitchen. I notice that you
have a solicitous tone when you speak
to her ; that you are afraid she has too
much to do, or does not have enough to
eat. I heard you asking her if the
kitchen wasn’t too hot for her. Now
don’t be ridiculous and ask me if I am
Jealous. Oh, you are anxious for my
sake. You are afraid she will leave.
That’s it, is it? You left a magazine
out there, aud I was not through with
|it. Perhaps you think her mind needs
I cultivation. I wonder if all men are
like you.”
St pt /V i‘(OL)
CONC ERT F OYER
Note on Mr. Dunning’s Report
on the American Vocal
Students in Italy.
the fa. ts agree to the proposition that
the Milan Conservatory of Music Is
•by all neans the best place for the
American student. It may b £.A h n
i.nqt fur the student in
but th^re fire other cities and othe
teachers. Milan is an Important town
In this respect: it ta the home of OP ^
atlc managers, and it Is in JU11
report
is In the advice and the ^formation
concerning the details of stn^ent
In Milan rather than in his estnctic
° P If possible, learn the names of Ital-
ian families who will take boarders^
Be able to talk a little m Italian be
fore you sail. It is possible to get
good board and lodging in Milan xor
n or ft a day. and even tor t.* one
can find a clean and respectable place,
but there Is more comfort and better
food In America for §L a „ d * y 0 ' n in
possible to live on f135 ’ n .\, the
an upper story, if one remains In tne
house a long time and is willing to
live humbly. Butter i« ^ x tra. as a
r 1 1 1 The water is safe, paiaiauu.
Look out for the wines. Meats are
coarse and bad, and in The
with less than rue b- 11
would f not Infrequently be embar-
ra There are only a few good teachers
out of the large number. '‘The consulate
never recommends one teacher as again,
anv other." Thus the consulate is wise
in its dav and generation and fears not
poison or the stiletto. What is said of
the teachers in Milan might be said
with equal truth of those in Pans. .Ber-
lin, London. Boston, New York. There
are few good teachers.
CONRIED’S COMPANY IN
NORTHWESTERN CITIES
The American consul at Milan. Mr
J. E. Dunning, has made a report
concerning the dangers that beset
young women who go to tlmt city o
study singing In hope of an operatic
career. This report was published
In The Herald last Monday. To quote
from the preface In "Dally Consular
and Trade Reports” of Sept. 7, the
consul "presents the difficulties in
darit colors, and warns his country-
women against going to Italy unless
guided by their own teachers and with
a full belief that their career, cannot
La nphifived in any other wftj • .
Mr. Dunning's report should be read
thoughtfully by any young *' n h f e > "
knows that she will some day be a “
tlneuished Aida, Bruennhilde 01 Mar
guerlto If she only has the opportun-
ity for foreign study. Certain thing,
that he says by way of
discouragement might be sald or
musical life in anv leading European
citv An article was published m **‘e
New York Sun last May in which
singing girls were warned against
Paris. "Six hundred 3 tri\ lng lor tn
success only a few attain The high
strung American temperament suffers
under the climate and the
Teachers no better ,? t h0 “i c
These were alarming headlines. i oc
wrfter of the article warned the young
singers against the for* ‘six
ihe short, dark days and ram for six
months of the year. May be the cli
math- conditions are In a great meas
ure responsible for the failure of girls
who undertake operatic careers with
natural gifts n their fa\or. The
American girl Is lacking in temper
•iment call It explosiveness, passion,
emoUon. tf vou will. She is ambitious
but that ambition may reach such a
pU.naele that It absolutely ceases to
Ka a virtue In other words, the
American girl ( g e n f r a 1 1 z i n g ) »c or ns
to do the drudgery work of the pro
fession and would reach the t p
the ladder In a single day. In e' ery
case where a singer has arrived sh.
has done so through her own effort
altogether unaided by the lnH . uo i " cc n o t
a teacher." This statement is not
true.
To go back to Mr. Dunning s arti-
cle. ms statement that Milan is still
"the centre of vocal music Instruction
In Europe’’ might well be disputed.
Nor will all who are acquainted with
What Mr. Dunning sqys about the
trials and tribulations of a young singer
endeavoring to appear in opera In Italy
is of general application as "The whole
attitude of the foreign music field
American singed wtotave. won repu-
tation in European cities were as a
rule, unaccompanied by a miner- ,!
sten or putative. A father may be a
serious injury to his singing daughter
hv trumpeting her acquirements andac-
comphXenfs, by haunting the offices ,
of managers and newspapers. ,
If Mr. Dunning's report dissuades any
voung woman, whose voice is only; an or. ;
ainaryorgan, whose will is not indomi-
table whose health Is not firmly estab-
lished, from going to an Italian city 'to |
fit herself for the operatic stage, it -has
not been written in vain. The young
woman, who from any sound or foolish
reason is convinced that she will be
ereat will pay no attention to Mr..
Dunning's warnings; she will make notes
of the prices named; she will then en-
gage passage as soon as she has a
reasonable sum of money according to
her own view and she will embark gaily
with or without papa.
The girl who is bound to have a ca-
reer will not listen to any argument
against her purpose. She is willing to
undergo hardships, to submit to annoy-
ances and temptations. If she has the
true stuff in her, her experiences and
adventures will shape and color her
emotional song in the after years. If
she becomes merely an Inconspicuous,
poor singer she need not regret the
wasted time: she can teach, and as a
rule she finds admiring, devoted pupils.
"You kow madam studied many years
in Italy, but the operatic . life was dis-
tasteful to her— it was so immoral She
thought she could do more good by
teaching.”
Here 'Is a curious distinction made by
the Pall Mall Gazette between the bore-
dom of "Lucia” and that of "The
Huguenots.” The latter, with a libretto
bv Scribe Is a more compact bit of
drama, "set to music rather than the
bunch of mellifluous melodies tied to-
gether with a thread of drama. Al-
though In principle far more modern
than Donizetti. 'The Huguenots' Is out
of date, while 'Lucia' Is old-fashioned— .
an apparent paradox wherein there Is a |
world of difference.”
Mr. Conrled lost so much by the San
Francisco earthquake that he vowed he
would never make a long tour with Ills
company. It is a pleasure to note in
connection with this vow that his com-
pany will give in the course of the sea-
son performances in Northwestern
cities, even as far away as Seattle, Spo-
kane, Portland, but only the Italian
contingent will go beyond St. Paul and
Minneapolis.
Ysaye will not visit the United States
this season. This is Mr. Johnston s
latest statement. "He comes— lie will
not come — he comes — he comes not.
Now there Is talk of 1907-0S. Meanwhile
we note the fact that Mr. lluga Goer-
litz, late manager of Mr. Jan Kubelik,
has sued the young violinist for breach
of contract to the tune of $ 15 , 00 n dam-
ages. Mr. Goerlitz says: "Kubelik failed
utterly In society." In other words he
has few parlor tricks and behaves him-
self in a dignified manner. Mr. Goerlitz
also says: '"the terms we had were Im-
possible, and so It Is with every great
artist. Their exorbitant ideas of the
greatness of self and contempt for the
labilities of the manager will sooner or
later land the manager In the poor-
house.” , .9
Mme. Clara Butt will give concerts In
I Australia next season. Albert baleza,
| the tenor, will sing in February and
March at Monte Carlo and at the Opel a
Coinique, Paris, at Marseilles and Ly-1
ons for the rest of the season. He lias
vthollv recovered his health. Emilio ae]
March!, the tenor, is singing -n Mexico.
Two lives of Bach have been pub-
lished recently': one by Plrro in Pari-,
the other by Philipp YVolfrum. conduc-
tor and organist at Heidelberg. The lat
ter shows that Bach was obliged to
spend his life "amid persistent annoy-
ance, envy and persecution."
The Pall Mall Gazette found Mr. Her-
bert Witherspoon's interpretation ol
Wotan’s "Farewell” at a recent prome-
nade concert in London "a little exag-
gerated.” Nor did this journal Ike
Zumpe's orchestral arrangement of the
music of Siegfried and the Rhine naid-
during the season's! ISKJl-’Jls. I
The soloists engaged for the Philadel-
phia Orchestra's series of 20 afternoon
nuhlic rehearsals and 20 evening sym-
phony concerts are Mines. Bloomfield-
Zeisler Gadski, Samaroff fachumann-
Helnlt and Messrs. Dubinsky, Lhevmne.
Nason Petschnikoft. Randolph. Rich,
Rosenthal Mines. Gadski. Schumann-
Hefnk and Mr. Rosenthal will each ap-
pear at four concerts. The orchestra
will give five concerts in Vi ashington
and also in Baltimore; four in Wilming-
ton- tlmee in Harrisburg; two in Tren-
ton ■ and one in Easton.
Mr Gardner Lamson, formerly of
Boston will make his appearance at
Collenz where he is now engaged, as
Wolfram in "Tannhaeuser," early in
October. ■' Kt I
for next summer.
Now that the season of straw hats
is approaching Its end,- It may be of
interest to many to know that In
England, where the straw hat is no
longer looked on as an "American
informality, but Is recognized re-
spectfully even In the House of Com-
mons, a new disease, the ’ straw hat
headache,’’ has been diagnosed. The
disease comes from the attempt of the
wearer to keep his hat on when there
is a wind. The muscles of the fore-
head are then wrinkled up till they
“bag painfully." The wearer rolls
his eyes to see If the hat Is there
until they show "a large white space
under the pupils" and "glance side-
ways, as If in fear of the police.”
Clerks have been affected so that
they could not add up figures, and
therefore lost their positions. But
there is no need of growing panama
or plain straw Into the ash barrel,
instead of guarding It carefully for
next summer. Put a strip of flannel
Inside the hat when the signal Is
given next season and tie a hat string
to a button hole. Then, if a Greek
name is invented for the disease, and
a specialist hangs out his sign, every-
thing will be in order.
JllUblL Ui *o 1 1_ f-> f- ivv* (.(i . , ^
ens at the beginning of the third act of
"Dusk of the Gods”: “We Had a great
admiration for Herr Zumpe, and his
work in Munich ranks very high among
the achievements of modern conductors.
He had a very keen- instinct for mod-
ern productions in these days; out it
was an infinite nity ihat he applied his
talent to any ‘arrangement (as the old-
fashioned phrase goes) of a f?reat ^ara-
matic scena from Wagner s woik,
which, by the teaching of Wagner him-
self, needed the inclusion of every sin-
gle component, both ot drama and of
mus.ic, to make for its complete suc-
ks’ It not late in the day to protest
against these arrangements. J\agner
himself countenanced them so eager was
he to have his music played in any
manner. The programme of this Prome-
nade concert was certaiffiy miscellane-
ous. One of the songs was Meet Me
by Moonlight Alone.”
Thorel and de Grammont have turned
Hauptmann's "Hannele” into an opera
libretto and Camille Erlanger has set
music to It. The opera will he produced
at the Opera Comique.
As The Herald has already stated,
Mr. Frank Richardson contributed the
following story to the Pall Mall Ga-
zette:
He was a very silver-glided Jontlr. on his face
a look of anxiety as he entered a hairdressers
shop in Bond street. Earnestly he put the
Q 'wou n snppb- MIss St Biniie Beano ot the Gaiety I
Theatre with powder, don't you?
"Yes. sir.”
"Is It nnlte harmless?
"Absolutely. It is invaluable for the com-
plexlon.” .
Yet ho was not satisfied
“But is It digestible? he Inquired.
"Yes? S Vs'St digestible, If taken Internally?”
The assistant opened wide eyes of astonish-
"'• ISiit Miss Birdie Beano doesn’t take it in-
ternally!” he exclaimed.
"No. no, no, of course she doesu t. But I
have to.”
As is known to many, the story of
"Pagliacci” is like that of Catulle Men-
des’ tragi-barade, “Tabarin s ” if®-
The story is older, for there is a Spanish
play on which "Yorick s Lo\e was
founded. Leoncavallo tells us that the '
chief incidents of the libretto occurred
and were brought out in the trial ot
Canio when Leoncavallo's lather was
the judge of the court, but jealous
comedians have killed woman or rival
on the stage before and since Pagu-
accl” was produced.
A new version of the story, a one-act
play. "The Mummer's Wife," by Kinsey
Peile, was produced at the Shakespeare,
London. Aug. 13. A booth Is set up for
the pleasure of villagers. A strolling
player, Raymond, a London star de-
graded by the bottle, has for wife. Bl-
anca. his leading lady. He hates Theo-
dor another stroller, who nearly suc-
ceeds in winning Blanca. Theodor came
to the company, a fugitive from justice
starved. Bianca pitied, fed and hid
him. Raymond is told this by Quelch.
a player whose advances had been re-
jected bv Bianca. Raymond suspects
her fidelity, and in the rehearsal of the
play he snatches a sword from a lord
who looks on, searches out his rival,
who is concealed behind the curtain,
and stabs Bianca. The spectators ap-
plaud, but seeing Bianca’s blood, they
leave, horror-stricken, the scene. The
* two chief comedians were Miss Phyllis
Relnlr and Mr. Robertshaw. I
Mr George Edwardes’ purpose is to re
light the sacred lamp of burlesque at
the Gaiety and to keep It lighted. The
receipts at that theatre from musical
comedy were about £12,000 in ad\ ance
of those of the previous year The
profits were £17,196 as against £9031. The
directors thought the shareholders
should be contented with a lo per cent,
dividend, and they wrote the asset
“stage properties” ty a sum of £b_uU
more than last year.
At the end of the five weeks season
of the Moody-Manners English opera
companv in London Mr. Manners made
a speecii in which he said that instead
of a loss of £1000, as he had anticipated,
there was a profit of that sum.
Mr. Joseph O'Mara, as the chief tenor
of the Moody-Manners English Opera
Company in London, was highly praised
by all the critics. The Pall Mall Gazette
b "Too much praise cannot be given to
Mr. O'Mara for his Immense contribu-
tion to the enjoymen< of the present
season. It seems strange that lie should
be singing nearly always out of London,
for he is far more accomplished, as
actor and singer, than many tenors
who Reclaim to us in any language but
our own in Bow' street."
Listen to Mr. Blackburn again on h s
knees before Sir Edward Elgar. He Is
eager to w'orshlp Sir Edw'ard s new'
work "The Kingdom.” "There Is no
necessity," says Mr. Blackburn, to
make a superfluous comment upon the
style and title which Sir Edward has
given to his work. It is for him, not
for us, to choose; and we shall be very
much mistaken if it is not found that,
in the long run, he has chosen rightly,
with that perfection of choice which can
only belong to the greatest artists.
* ‘ * • Elgar’s has been a career, in
Its way, full of change and storm as
have ever occurred in the career of a
great artist. He was born to scoff at
the schools (without meaning so to
scoff), to be. therefore, disliked by the
schools for that very reason, to reach
honors by sheer genius, and to be be-
littled by many because of his genius
All that is good. Elgar can now afford
to laugh at pygmies.”
Mr Blackburn remarks in the course of
his dithyramb, "enthusiasm, of course.
has its limits.” Not when Mr. Black-
burn Is moved to chant the praise of
Sir Edward. Mr. Blackburn s enthusi-
asm is then limitless. So are his chants.
It is said that Fritz Kr9 . , ® ,e [': I' 19
violinist, will give concerts in the l. ni ted
/ *7 o ft
A NEW ENGLAND STOIC.
A respectable and estimable elderly
woman died of starvation in New'
Haven, Ct., a few days ago. She had
supported herself by doing housework
until she became feeble — she was 73
years old when she died— and then
she would neither accept aid nor go
lo the poor house. Persons passing
by her house saw no signs of life, and
at last the door w'as forced open.
She sat, dead, fully dressed, in a
I chair, and there she had sat for some
days. The story is one of grim
pathos. It recalls one of Morrison s
tales of mean streets. Hawthorne's
Hepzibah was of like stuff. There
are women whose pride towers above
the conviction that they are useless,
’ superfluous. If they can no longer
support themselves they welcome
death and deck themselves In their
poor best to do honor to the last
visitor, who Is to them a kindly de-
liverer. Perhaps they are hopeful of
more generous treatment. They cer-
tainly are stoical, and In New Eng-
land towns and villages are stoics
who put to shame Zeno and the
ethers that talked gravely in the
Painted Porch at Athens.
NOT THE FIRST.
Mr. Gelett Burgess has divided
mankind into "bromides" and "sul-
phites.” The bromide says things
that are obvious and to be expected.
It Is he that says cheerfully when the
barge Is crowded at the railway sta-
tion, "There's always room for one
more." He Is almost always cour-
teous and he is a confirmed optimist;
therefore he Irritates, maddens. But
Mr. Burgess was not the first to col-
lect these familiar sayings and class
the sayers of them, though the pe-
culiar name he gives the class is no
doubt his own. There was a famous
horn player, Eugene Vivier, a great
practical joker and a friend of Na-
poleon III. It was Vivier who, by
some trick, succeeded in playing
chords on his horn. Living at Nice,
he wrote a little book, "Un peu de
ce qui se dit tous les jours,” to which
Philippe Gllle contributed a preface.
The book is a collection of phrases
and speeches wTiich resemble those
noted by Mr. Burgess. Thus the
bourgeois host says to his apologizing
guest: "Better late chan never,” "All
these vegetables come from our own
farm,” "I assure you there is not a
bit of headache in this wine.”
FENCES' OF THE LATE
EUGEN GURA, BARITONE SINGER
HE DESCRIBES HIS
OPERATIC ADVENTURES
Men and Women Whom He
Met — Notes and Go::ip
About Musicians,
The Herald mentioned the death of
Kugen Gura, the celebrated baritone,
who died not long ago, and it also men-
tioned the fact that a volume of his
reminiscences was published last year
by Breitkopf & Haertel of Leipsic and
New York. This volume has received
scanty, if any, attention in’ the United
States and England, yet Gura was a man
of mark in his day, both as an operatic
and concert singer; he was a devout
Wagnerite, and his Hans Sachs is said
to have been an incomparable imperson-
ation.
The memoir's of a singer, popular or
distinguished, should be interesting by
reason of anecdote, gossip and opinion.
We know of few more entertaining
books than the memoirs of Charles
Santley, and few books are more in-
structive to a young singer who is medi-
tating his art. The reminiscences of
Michael Kelly — they were written by
Iheodore Hook — are amusing. They
throw light on the operatic and social
life of Italian towns. Vienna and Lon-
don, and they will always be treasured,
if only for the view of Mozart at home, I
playing billiards and drinking punch ,
and on the stage busied with the nro- I
Auction of his “Marriage of Jfigaro ’’ in I
which Kelly took part. Blangini’s book
is also amusing, by the display of his
vanity and his fatuous hinting at his
success among court ladies, but Blangini
was a singing teacher and composer
rather than a singer. Then there are ;
the memoirs of Emily Soldene, a book
that is not so well known as it should
T e ~ a book delightful in its impudence,
rank revelations and assertions.
The great singers, as a rule, have no
more of a story to tell than had Can-
ning s needy knife-grinder. A pen dis-
concerts them, and they are lazy or dis-
inclined to dictate memoirs of their
stage life and anecdotes about men and
women with whom they were associ-
ated. Here and there one is actually too
modest. But what would you not give
Y°lume of memoirs by Farinelli or
Kubini or Lablache, written with the
good sense and shrewdness displayed by
•Santley! Or think of memoirs of Faus-
tina Hasse, Patti, Lucca, Melba, Calve
written with the assurance and humor
of Miss Emily Soldene! Who would not
like to read Cuzzoni's recollections of
her association with Handel? What a
valuable book would Mr. Jean de
Leszke s own account of his career, of
Ids adventures among singing teachers,
of his artistic struggles and growth, be
to any intelligent beginner!
Early Years.
Gura himself declares at the end of his
volume of 124 pages that he is not a
writer by profession; yet there are
pleasant pages of description in the
book, pleasant by reason of their hon-
esty and simplicity. These pages sel-
dom have anything to do with music,
and any one who expects to benefit
himself by learning Gura’s views on
vocal art or Operatic impersonations will
be sadly disappointed.
T, he r so , n of a poor school teacher in a
little Bohemian v.ilage, Gura, in his last
years, looked back on his boyhood with
pleasure and described it with gusto.
He tells of tho one room that served
t le family as living room, parlor, music
room, kitchen, dining room, workshop
and bed chamber. He describes his
lather as an excellent musician, who
save him at an early age piano lessons
and sat up nights copying music for his
use-all the sonatas of Beethoven— and
when the boy was old enough played
nnafnc! tv- i f H v, n „ r . 1 1 _ n , •
MISS GERHARDT,
Soprano.
Gura at first determined to be a paint-
? a 5 el l ts grudgingly gave their
consent, and he entered the Art Acad-
emy at Vienna. In 1863 .he moved to
Munich to enter Anschuetz’s school At
a student s jollification, which Gura de-
scribes with relish, he sang songs by
Schubert and Beethoven's “Adelaide,”
and those who knew” decided that he
had a beautiful lyric tenor voice which
should at once be cultivated. The
nhi pS °/ ! he Conservatory heard him,
objected to his use of the falsetto, made
him sing a scale, and then exclaimed:
Y P U ^ 4 - te v? r * You are a bass,"
-wmmv T a i felt , llke answering him:
Which I have known for a long time."
Pie entered the Conservatory, studied
singing with Herger, and took up again
piano lessons, much to the disgust of
Hauser, the director, who thought seri-
ous study ot the piano injurious to a
i 5 ?-° er ' .Cura sang for Lachner, and in
i, ^!r ade . a three years’ contract with
the Munich Opera. The salary was
small, but It was to be bettered yearly
His engagement began April 1 , but it
was not till Sept. 14 that he made his
?A h i'<, a .?^r a £ anoe r as Liebenau in Lort-
zing s Waffenschmied.”
violin sonatas with him. He tells ‘of Vis
nights in the garret, where in summer
lie heard the music of frogs and crickets
outside, and in winter the complaining
and moaning of boughs or the flutter
of bats. He went to school at Rakonitz
and became acquainted with the piano
scores of operas by Mozart and Weber.
One fine day he was enchanted by
’ T’annhaeuser, and, reading it and
playing it, he was influenced, as he de-
clares. tor his life work. Gura at the
end of three years, went to the Poly-
technic Institute at Vienna. Who pro-
vided the money for these and other
studies he does not say. At the age of
18 he saw an opera for the first time,
“"a? , Tannhaeuser,” and Gura then
felt that he must be a singer. In 1861 he
V ienna the famous performance
of Lohengrin.” when Wagner h *ard
his own work for the first time. Seeing
the composer in the street, Gura fol-
lowed him, as a small boy follows a
brass band. He has much to say about
the performance of the opera and Wag-
ner s speech after the fall of the cur-
tain, and he closes with this fine burst
a ? ro P°^ of “Parsifal” in New York:
And Wagners swan song, the last,
sublime work, one far removed from ali
sensationalism, shall today fall prey to
the greed of American speculators!"
There are other remarks that Mr. Con-
ned would no doubt regard as highly
opprobrious, if not libellous. ^
At Breslau and Leipsic.
He was eager to sing the part of the
Hunter in “Nachtlager,” ‘ottakar in
“Der Freischuetz,” but Lachner kept
putting him off; “That’s always the
way with a beginner at our opera
house.” Furthermore, there was an old
fellow named Simon, who claimed tho
parts. He finally fell sick and Gura im-
personated Ottakar, on a night when
there was a real waterfall in the Wolf’s
Glen. He also sang the part of the Hun’-
ter in Kreutzer’s opera, but this was
taken away trom him by oid Kinder-
mann, who wished to show how young
?8U wi 10 v he Still was.” (This was m
1860. \Ve heard ICindermann at Bay*
reuth m 18SL. He was then 65 years old
and sang dismally false with tones of- a
bassoon in agony). At last, discouraged
lle was kept to un ‘mportant
parts, Gura went to Breslau, where he
appeared first as Nevers (Oct 4 1S67)
i He soon came to grief as Luna in “I!
! Trovatore. He was hoarse, the orches-
trai pitch was higher than at Muivch
ildn the music was sung in the origmai
keys. It took him a long time to re-
deem himself m the eyes of the public
and his only consolation was his mar-
A a ” e , t0 lt S o beloved Therese.” But on
j Aug 1, 1808. he made a sensation as
| Gessler in ’'Tell,” and in the sceTe of
the cioss-bow and apple, bore away the
honors from the hero of Rossini’s opera
(Guia quotes constantly from his diarv
and never fails to tell how much an-
plause there was.) The newspapers be-
gan to stop asking why no really good
(baritone had been engaged for the Opei e
House. His first appearance in a Was-
nerlan opera as Wolfram was eminent] v
successful. Gura informs us about this
at some length. Yet liis life at Breslau
was not happy. He was obliged to take
many small Vrts and to act in spoken
drama. A erdi's music seems to have
been his hoodoo, for when he had to im-
personate tlie father in “La Traviata ”
he. had a bad cold. The Franco-Pru’s-
an war broke out. and the manager
"°be. who lost all that he had gained in
Jussia, disbanded the company. Th
Breslau public was ignorant and easily,
bored. The “best people” were seldom
in the Opera House. There was no reg-
ular subscription audience. Gura de-
scribes the public bitterly.
nr^o became a member of the Leipsic
opera company in 1871), and made a brill-
iant. first annearande as Wolfram (Sept
MME. DONALDO,
Soprano.
5). He sang Telramund for the first
time (Sept. 19), and Sachs (Dec. 9). The
latter was his most famous part, anu
Gura tells us how distinguished this
impersonation was. He became known
as a concert singer. He was the first
to sing a song by Franz in the Gewand-
haus (Feb. 22, 1872). He did missionary
work for Laewe and his ballads, which
had been neglected or despjsed. In 1372
he took part in the Duesseldorf music
festival, when Rubinstein's “Tower of
Bah^ was produced. You should read
Guras account of how he swept every-
mg before him in a miscellaneous con-
cert after Parepa-Itosa with Donna An-
na s song had sadly disappointed ex-
pectation. “Then I came on the stage
and was enthusiastically received and
flowers were thrown at me. After each
*song by Franz there was fanatical ap-
?his* Se ’ e * ;c ” e * c ’ There’s a page of
Later Years.
In 1876 Pollini of Hamburg offered
Gura a yearly salary of 19,400 marks
($4850) with a vacation of three
months. Gura accepted the offer, and
made his first appearance at Hamburg
as Wolfram (Sept. 3, 1S76). In 1880
he created the part of the Demon in
Rubinstein’s opera (Nov. 3), under the
composer’s direction. Rosa Suclier was
the 1 Tarnara. In 1877 he had made a
concert tour in Holland, and in 1SS2
he went with a German opera com-
pany to London. The company was
composed of distinguished Wagnerian
singers: Mmes. Sucher, Malten and
Hermann Winkelmann were among
them, as was Mme. Peschka-Leutner,
who sang in Boston at a peace jubilee.
While he was in London Gura sang in
concert in Rothschild’s drawing room,
and the __ aristocratic company — the
present King of England was there — -
chattered and made unseemly noises
during the music. Gura also sang at
a state concert in Buckingham Palace,
and was amazed by the “oversumptu-
ous costumes” and the “millions in
diamonds displayed 011 the shoulders.
MME. FLEISCHER-EDEL.
arms and necks of noble dames.”
Albani and Christine Nilsson also sang.
The Prince of Wales politely said that
he was delighted to hear him twice in
a short time. Gura was the Sachs in
the first performance in German of
“The Mastersingers” in England (May
30, 1882). He was much Impressed, as
was TschaikoWsky, by the equipages
and horsemanship in Hyde Park.
In 1883 Gura again became a member
of the Munich Opera company, and not
till June 3, 1896, did he withdraw from
the stage. He then sang Leporello to
his son Hermann’s Don Giovanni. But
in 1901 he appeared at the opening of
the Prinzregenten Theatre in the third
act of “The Mastersingers.” He had
played the part of Sachs 114 times. After
his retirement from the opera house he
continued to sing in concert In 1893 he
appeared in a court concert in Berlin
managed by Dr. Muck, and much to his
disgust the Emperor insisted on his
singing Pressel’s “An der Weser” and
Becker’.s “Trompeter an der Katzbaeh.”
At Munich he sang many parts. Out-
side of the Wagnerian opera he delight-
ed especially in impersonating Lysiart
in “Euryantlie,” Petruchio in Goetz's
“Taming of the Shrew,” Don Giovanni,
and the Barber in the opera of Cor-
nelius. He detested Nessler’s ’^Trumpet-
er of Saekkingen” and Thomas’ “Mig-
non.” Of the former he writes: “It is
hardly possible to believe that the same
public which is apparently enthusiastic
over Wagner’s ‘Mastersingers,’ ’Tann-
haeuser’ and ‘Tristan’ will open its ears
with the same attention to the ‘Trum-
peter.’ ”
Gura gives interesting information
about private performances of “Parsi-
fal” : at Munich. All private perform-
ances for Ludwig as the solitary hearer
began late and the King kept everybody
waiting — sometimes for hours— but all
the performers were obliged to be ready
at 9 P. M The orchestra was ordered
to be absolutely still. No instrument
could then be tuned. One night when
Titurel in his grave exclaims over the
wonder of the illuminated grail, the man
appointed to see to the illumination
slept, nor could he be awakened. Gura
as Amfortas, and all the others on the
stage expected an outburst of royal dis-
pleasure. Ludwig, however, sent a court
officer to Gura to tell him: “Never has
Mr. Reichmann sung so beautifully, so
impressively as tonight. He has sur-
passed even himself.” This must have
been a sad blow to Gura’s self-esteem.
Men and Women.
A young man, Gura was greatly im-
pressed by Julius Schnorr von Carols-
feld, the creator of Tristan, and he
marvelled at his expressive head of
curly hair and dark brown beard. He
saw him as Tristan in the first per-
formance; Eric, a part which he, as did
Niemann, raised to heroic proportions,
and George Brown in “La Dame Blan-
che,” in which Gura says the tenor
showed much grace and great finesse.
A woman whom lie admired greatly
was Mathilde Mallinger, the soprano,
who afterward became a glory of the
Berlin stage, although she often sang
false. (Gura does not mention this fact.
No German singer is easily disconcerted
by false intonation, whether he sings or
listens). He praised her intelligence,
poetic feeling, "spontaneous vocal tal-
ent,” graceful acting. Pier voice was
not a powerful one, but he describes it
as even, flexible and full of color.
.TgL^ _ i n'l n) l r% thft tenor, tlifiit
JtS "ol.i and declares that he was
atlll^wondi : fully impressive. (Gura was
liil mm
i v2f C pxDerience<' an iinheard of tiling.
I Vnt e ionK P aeoa fellow from l.oipslc came
^andhe s u a-S'm telling you the trui.j
I samr-is it possil>ie?-he sans one o
M S' 'lio vou know this man? 1
n» „ 1S You must in-
! Sife Wni to me, for 1 should like to
k Gm’a h t n eiis us how highly Rubinstein
i^M-ldorf festivah bef!“?‘ mentioned.
I I’honish festival would pay more atn
| Hon to living composers and less to Ut aJ
i “There is. naturally, frequent reference
* « w.irner wltose operas ill l>,t wete
tells us how Wagner was present, at a
performance of Spohr s “Jessoml.i. v ■
delighted by his impersonation of l ris-
tan d’Acunha. and praised hint oi ' uy
in a letter to a Leipsic music journal—
the letter is in Wagner’s literary woi ks,
he tells us how he wished to be the
Wotan at the first Bayreuth peifotm-
ance Of "The Ring.” and he studied the
music, but was, at the end. ' ""tinted
to take the part of Gunther and ot Uon-
ner; how Wiemann. the tenor, wept w ith
emotion when for the first time the mo-
tive of Wotan’s farewell was sounded
by the full orchestra; how; M f\f. ner
scolded Mrs. Gruen for singing ii.iisa-
beth’s prayer, as cut for Berlin use,
1 how Wagner praised Loewe as a true
and pure German composer; how vmi-
helmj told a long-winded story m his
Frankfort-Wiesbaden dialect or a pet
d< Gura admired Rosa Sucher’s Isolde
for its realism and tire. all saw
Mrs. Sucher in this part in Boston, but
slie was then gross and her voice was
worn. A tornado of a woman, she
sJoldod in shrieks. Milka Tern.na
showed us another Isolde, the woman
> of legend and romance.
In London the baritone called on Jenny
Ltnd, though she first called on him.
Ho describes her as unusually ami-
able.” He became acquainted wit"
Alma Tatlema, also with Hubert Her-
komer. The latter wished to paint him
as Hans Sachs, and Gura regretted that
i the wish was not followed by the deed.
T There are descriptions of summer
* places visited by Gura and cf his villa.
He love<l nature and was happy m w rit-
ing about it. His description of an un-
fortunate railway journey is amusing
by reason of the seriousness with w inch
he relates his misadventures. Had ire
had a keerir sense of humor, he might
have pruned his self-laudation and
omitted the newspaper notices let his
egoism is after all not extraordinary . an
opera singer, he moved in a world ot
vanity. His notes on his art-collecting
show a more pleasant side of his nature.
The volume contains a portrait ot
Gura a sketch of his birthplace, and
; sketches made hv hitn of Landsberg am
Lech and of scenes near his villa on
Starnberger See.
I BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESRA.
[ Complete announcement concerning
I the coming season of the Boston Spm-
phony orchestra will he contained in the
(papers of next Sunday, Sept. 23. This
I will include particulars concerning the
1 auction* sale of seats, the list of soloists
and the programmes of the first four
crmeertSj^s begn recc | vc< j directly from
I Hr Muck, saying that lie is quite well
land has never had any doubt about
sailing for America on t lie Kaiser
' Wilhelm der Grosse from Bremen on
• Tuesday', Sept. 25. This should put at
1 rest the various reports of his illness.
The basis of the reports is unknown, but
the facts seem to be that, immediately
after the Bayreuth festival. Dr. Muck
wont to a little watering place in Styrla
to get completely rested before sailing.
Dr. Muck will be accompanied by
Mrs. Muck, and an apartment has been
taken for them in a hotel within a walk-
ing distance of Symphony Hall.
BOSTON SYMPHONY CUARTET.
! Since the first of the month Messrs.
Both, Ferir and Warnke have been
with Prof. Willy Hess at Ogunquit, Me..
rehearsing twice daily for the coming
season of the Boston Symphony quar- ,
t( tte. As usual, six concerts will be |
I given iu Boston, but this year they will
lie given in Chickerlng Hall instead of
in Jordan Hail. The dates are Monday
evenings. Oct. 20. Nov, 19. Dec. 1*. Jan.
21 Fell. 25 and Apia I 1 Prof. Hess has
some interesting no . cities which lie will
play in the course of Hie winter.
WORCESTER FESTIVAL.
I | The 49th annual festival of the Worces-
' ter County Musical Association will be
hold at Worcester Oct. 1 to 5 inclusive.
Rehearsals will be held on Oct. 1 and 2
and the mornings of 3, 4 arid 5, with • "r-
•I ’ I certs on the evenings of Oct. 3. 4 an 1 5
1 and tiie afternoons of Oct. 1 and 5.
j On Tuesday afternoon at the rehearsal
! a new feature will be inaugurated. A
■ chorus of 300 pupils of the high schools
1 wilDsing with thr Boston Symphony or-
i cheslra. ,
The management has engaged ]■>
artists the largest number ever engage!
for a Worcester festival. They ar
I pianos Miss HI z.ibetli Burkina. Miss
Louise Ormsby. Mrs. Margaret L. Ka-
boirl Mrs. Viola Waterhouse; evi-
I traltos Mrs- Louise Homer. Mme. lsu-
f l.elle Bouton. Miss Grace .Munson. Mrs.
| Grace Preston Naylor; tenors. Daniel
_ .. ■ siut Paul Dufault;" WFTt'oii hi
K? iWogorza; basses? Frederic Mm-
* jrn , Torn Daniel; pianist, Mme. Sam-
t,n 3 l - d viomiists Timcitliee Adatrbwslu
ar °. M.ss HessieVollier. The condm to: s
Messrs. Wallace Goodrich ml
k concert Wednesday, Ot. 3. Ua .-
Mrs! \V ater a o u se.^M i s^Muns'mi. Messrs.
^Thursday 3 ;*! ternoon! Oc t. 4, Symphony
ssrSbisr iv«i'
Saint-Saens "Introduction and LonJo
Caprice for Violin,” Op. 28. „ c „
Thursday night. Oct. 4, Brahm .-
of Destiny” Hirst time In \I orct S. 1 ’ ■ ,
Verdi s "Requiem.” Miss Louise Orrmsby ;
Mme. Bouton, Messrs. Beddoe and Mai
1 Friday afternoon, Oct. 5 , Symphony or-
chestra with Mrs. Grace Preston >‘W> or
find Mine Samaroff. soloists. .M me.
Samaroff will play Rubinstein’s ooiicerto
for piano, No. 4. in D minor. The or
chestra will play (for the first time m
Worcester) Mac Dowell s The Beautiful
Alda” and "The Saracens fiom tlu.
''^ridaf n?ght Ph Oc?: 5. artists' night.
Miss Parkina, Mrs. Homer, Messrs Bod-
doe and DeGogorza. Miss Collier will
P The ^ticket sale will take p la=s in
Washburn Hall at 10 o clock A. M .
Tuesday Sept 25 With the exception
of about 250 seats in the middle °f tha
floor, which will be held i^W'^lhere-
full course, the price will be $o. as neie
tofore, exclusive of premium.
NEW WORKS.
Joseph Holbrooke's "Bells” (after Poe),
to be produced at the Birmingham Fes-
tival next month, opens with an orches-
tral prelude of some length, which is an
epitome of the work. The choral part
consists of four numbers. “Sledge Bells,”
"Wedding- Bells,” "Alarm Bells,” "Iron
Bells.” The chief theme is given out
by a horn in the prelude and is used
throughout. The “Alarm Bell” section
! is in eight vocal parts. (Jullien's “Fire-
man's Quadrille" might be introduced
here with thrilling effect.) "The instru-
ments include every kind of b^l and a
concertina, the latter used to secure a
rapid ringing crescendo. Mr. Holbrooke
conducted at Ostend on Aug. -3 a con-
cert of British music, and his new
"Dreamland Suite.” composed tor the
forthcoming Hereford Festival was UH-n
ilayed for the lirst time Mr. Black
nlaved for the lirst time. Mr. BlacK-
Sum wrote recently; "We have often
referred to the really exquisite talent of
Mr. Holbrooke, and there is no "fed to
emphasize the fact that among Tn d ?x
English composers he takes an ex
.tremely high place. Whatever may, be
the opinion of the academic writers o
music — and we know that opinion only
by U hearsay— we, for our own Dart place
him very high in that new school of
English music which Purcell came to
found, which Handel destroyed, anc
which a very few modern English corn-
nosers have restored again to us.
It will be interesting to mark, at
the forthcoming Birmingham festival,
how far Mr. Granville Bantock has
caught the genuine spirit of Omar
Khayyam in Ins application of it to
modern music. Eight hundred years
or so have passed by since the dust
of the mystic sensualist, the Philo-
sophic dreamer, was gathered b ^‘ c ' e
the rose trees of which he sang,
where he himself prophesied that his
last long rest should be. Mr. Ban-
tock is clever; he has originality, and
he has considerable command of in-
strumentation; but he is not very
dramatic. This, however, is perhaps
not a very great drawback in any
setting of the Rubaiyat. What eve
want here is emotion, thoughts in
music that . are primeval in Hmir tre-
mendous simplicity. Will Mr. Ban
tock give us this? Or will lie over-
load his theme with superfluous
ornament? There was one musician
who could have composed the requi-
site music for such an ideal as that
which the Persian poet puts before
^s-the creator of “Cosi fan tutte,”
Inf HI Seraglio.” of "Die Zauberfloete
I —the unique, incomparable Mozart.—
Pall Mall Gazette. , . _
\n orchestral suite formed from Bu-
! soni's incidental music to Gozzi s drama
' “Turandot” was played for tlie first time
in England at a promenade concert In
T ondon Aug. 21. (The suite was pro-
duced in Berlin last winter.) Turandot.
a Chinese princess, has many suitors,
and, averse to matrimony, she insists
that she will marry only the. successful
euesser of three riddles. The unsuccess-
ful are beheaded. Prince Kalaf guesses
I correctly, and Turandot is so \exed that
she threatens to kill herself rather than
marry him. He proposes that she shall
-ness one of his riddles. If she solves it
he will kill himself: if she falls she must'
wed him He presents himself in dis-
guise, add the riddle is ills identity, fhe
princess gains the necessary Informa-
tion ’ the prince makes his arrangements
for suicide, then Turandot first knows
that she loves Kalaf. and the two are
made one. The suite is supposed to have
“Chinese atmosphere." One of the move-
ments is named after 1 rufaldino. the
chief of the eunuchs in the i play- T here
is a grotesque march, and there Is a |
"nocturnal valse.” in which the waltz |
tin me “steals in on muted \iolms with
In derie effect which is maintained to.
In extent that suggests a valse of ghosts
dith shadows for partners.” The finale
s i combination of a funeral march and
a Turkish quickstep, which is described
as a "tootling tune." The thematic In-
vention is said to be poor as far as the
I whole work is concerned.
MUSIC NOTES.
The Herald publishes today portraits
from recent photographs of Mme. Kath-
erine Fleischer - Edel, Mme. Pauline
Donalda— the two ’will be members of
the Metropolitan Opera House company
this season-and of Miss Elena Ger-
' hardt. a mezzo-soprano of LUpsie,
whose song recital in London last June
' «■.„ praised extraordinarily. Mme.
| rieischer-EOol of Hamburg was the
BrhngaenifT af Bayreuth this year,
though the music is not suited to her
\ nice. She also appeared as Sieglinde.
Mme. Donalda. born I.ightstone. is now
the wife of Sevoilhac, who will also
be of the Metropolitan company.
Air. Hcnrv Russell, director of the
"San Carlo" opera company, which
will give performances this coming sea-
son in the United States from coast to
coast, says “To hear Nordica in one
of the classics at S3 for the best seat
in the house should satisfy anybody.”
Mr. Russell is a sanguine' person.
Saint-Saens has written to Musical
America (N. Y.) concerning his alleged
habit of disappearing. He insists that
iiis residence is always known. "Twice
I have been in South America to give
I concerts. This is not a good way to dis- i
appear. Both times 1 returned directly
to Paris, the first time via Cherbourg,
the second time l»y way of Lisbon. I
have never been in the United States.”
Adelina Patti will end her profession- 1
al career by giving a ''tarcweli vo..
cert in Albert Hall, London, Dec. 1. At-
ter that date her farewell c01 jcert will
be a biennial and not , a " h ani lp a J pAin"
Lady Halle, one of the few living
violinists that have the grand style,
win give concerts in London and a
number of provincial cities this season.
She is now in her 68th year.
The New York Evening Post says,
apropos of the recent Mozart * esti-
val at Salzburg; "The great event
was a performance of the ninth
phony of — Bruckner! It was to have
been conducted by PVti^hard’ Strauss
?o°i l k d his 1 "place’. a ^e Ri s C u h c^ d edfr U fo!
cite Richard Wallaschek. after a i
single rehearsal, in g lymg a a £ t ®
fnrmuncf of Individual character.
What we heard was not m ® r jHy a
repetition of the Viennese Produc-
tion but everything was fiesher,
concert audiences In Boston, and .this
pe^ P y ni here S ^? P fk® y o^ bSes ^f^ e '^ n a| P
Mr Gericke Mr. Finck exclaims pas-
!S : for‘' S L iel fcw B y?’'ars? gfe S
fSer and
pass round the D hat ^ aHen^ among
believe that Bruckner’s music has
b °Mmf C Yv d c r ue e Gu,lbcrt will appear
Ss^^p as;
Mr Victor Maurel, in his lecture on
”’rhe question of Distance. teaches
fhirtnetrine that a new method of
Ssis 52 k
Pl'%’
oughly t-lie knowledge
^ e ^? e carr7ng powe°r of the voice It
of the carry nig i s j n g e r, however
iS St ea f r rom on point of view,, can
S’ n g °c o lit r a ft c> a a t S t h e ^s't a d t Theatre in
Hamburg.
/if i 'J < 9^^-
A NEW DISH.
t> •
Sr,
One of the distinctions between a
gourmand and a gourmet is that the
former is very seldom a wit. He has
but one thought, one care in life, the
distention of his stomach. The gour-
met may be a comparatively light
eater. His mind must be kept clear
for nice appreciation. Run over ie
list of famous gourmets and you \\ i
name many wits, as the elder Dumas
and Rossini. The following story is
to the point: A gourmet at |
last summer, was so well known and
highly esteemed for his gastronomic
! skill that he was allowed to explain
to a head cook the latest secret fo
cooking a peach-fed ham in cham-
pagne and stout, Plus his ow _ secre^
the one thing that makes the d.sh
memorable. Kindness'versonified. he
even confided to the cook the name of
the dish. The next night there ap-
peared on (he bill of fare of the table
C note dinner; Jan.oon a lLpion
Sinclair.”
Srpi / % ' 7 ^
LETTER BOX TRT ( iv -
’ Under a truly paternal government
all stuffers of letter boxes would be ,
arrested and fined. "W e re er '
conscientious and indefatigable < 1-
tributers of circulars— invitations to
attend religious meetings cards o£
old clo’ men, provision
tradesmen and repairers of aUkind^.
It is the impulse of eyery P
locking his box and finding a mass
of waste paper to throw the stuff an-
grily on the steps or the sidewalk.
The steps or the doorways of apa: t-
ment houses are often thus disfig-
ured. The. unlocker is on the way
to his office or he is returning home.
What is he to do with all this paper?
Cram it into his pockets? Take it
tenderly upstairs ana then put it in a
yvaste basket?
THE MORAL OF IT.
Two cats, 1 'inkey and Blaokie. living
in Wilkesbarre, i'a., had a life interest
in the income of .$40,000 set aside in the
will of their master, the late Benjamin
P. Dillcy, or Diley. for informants
differ as to the spelling of the testa-
lOr’s name. Requests of this nature
have not been uncommon. The curious
will find instances in Gabriel I’eignot’s
book on singular wills. The two cats 1
were cared for luxuriously by a nurse.
They had soft beds and daily baths.
They exercised their claws on rosewood
and mahogany, and no doubt were
visited by a manicure. Holes had been
cut in all the doors that they might
prowl or frolie at will. I’inkey had “a
tumor in her throat” and up and died.
In all probability her death was the re-
sult of a life of foolish luxury, and
Blackie will follow her example. A cat.
to reach the highest physical, mental
and spiritual development, must know
anxiety, suffering, remorse. Whether
male or female, it must experience the
joys, sorrows and excitements of the
area and the back fence. Like the hero
in the old song, the cat must be able to
say: “I know what it is to be lacking
a meal.” As it is with men and yvomen,
sc it is with cats. The heights are
reached only by climbing through
prickly bushes and over stony places.
Only the tempest tossed know the
supreme value of serenity and ease.
rURER DRAMA.
Those interested in the “elevation”
of the stage and the “cultivation” of
the drama, all who deplore the ruts
into which modern playwrights fall,
should tatfe courage., A short piece, a
sketch if you will, is now popular in
the music halls of London, and the “re-
form” of the theatre must begin in the
hall. A Leadenhall street banker, a Mr.
Moses, has a beautiful daughter. He
also has a,, son, a fine fellow, and a
caretaker of his bank, one Perkins, an
Englishman, with whom the daughter
falls in love. The spirited son loves
with the most honorable intentions a
“lady typewriter” in the bank. Nothing,
it would 6eem, could be fairer than this.
But Mr. Moses, hearing of his son’s
passion, threatens to turn him out. Per-
kins exclaims, “Then you turn me out,
too,” and he leaves, having first helped
himself thoughtfully to bullion in the
bank’s strong box. Mr. Perkins is thus
able to provide himself with Sunday
clothes for every day, and to bedeck
himself with diamonds. He appears in
this disguise at Moses’ house as a man
of enormous wealth, and a suitor of
Miss Moses. The banker, not recogniz-
ing him. encourages the suit. The dis-
covery is made that the plutocrat is thfe
I thief, but the young woman is faithful
! to him, and the curtain goes down on a
triumphant and highly respected Per-
kins. The indefatigable objectors to
problem plays and symbolical pieces
now have an opportunity of welcoming
the real thing, something “pure an
wholesome and refreshing.
~ ABBREVIATED.
Max Beerbohm, Jack London, Bart
Kennedy, Tom Masson! These ab-
breviated names are employed in good
faith by publishers and certainly the
authors themselves make no sign of
objection. Yet Mr. Beerbohm’s first
name is Maximilian and Mr. Ken-
nedy’s Bartholomew. Why not Bill
Thackeray, Hank Fielding, Tom
Hardy, Georgie Shaw, Lizzie Brown-
ing. Mamie Corelli? Or to speak of
other arts, why not Mike Angelo,
Dicky Wagner, Joe Verdi? Mrs.
Craigie was terse, direct, epigram-
matic to the last. Thus In "The
Dream and the Business" she said of
her Lady Navenby: "Half the time
she does the greatest violence to her
feelings in order to be true to her
mannerisms,” and she referred to
e who wished
ovidence as an English gentl
large fortune, perfect morals, an
xlety to frustrate the foreigner and
wish to feed, rather than to meet,
the poor." hut , Mrs. Craigle never
thought, of signing her novels Jack
Noll Hobbes.
SMALL O’ THE BACK.
A correspondent of the New York
B 'Sun does not understand how Jethro
Bass, in Mr. Winston ChurcliiH’s novel
“Ooniston,” could sit "on the small of
his back.” He does not know the mean-
ing of the phrase. Is the phrase ‘‘idio-
matic’’ or "modern”? "I perhaps do not
know where the small of the back is
located. I thought it was near the
waist.” The correspondent explains his
ignorance by signing himself “A Dull
Reader,” and we note that he lives in
Asbury Park, where the behavior of
life is sternly regulated. Did he never
see a man “sitting on the small of his
back"? Let him go to any theatre, con-
cert hall, churclb club. The attitude of
this sitter is not a respectful one; it
looks exceedingly uncomfortable ; yet
there are many who delight in it. Just
as putting one’s heels on veranda rail-
ing, mantelpiece, chair, table, rests the
heart and brain, so perhaps sitting on J
the small of the back may comfort the
kidneys or soothe the spine. As for the
phrase itself, it is an old one, used free-
long before Asbury Park was known
to geographer or postoffiee department.
SHERRIS.
The King of Spain, taking sherry
to Cowes, brought it into fashion
again as a dinner wine, but good
judges of wine and fashions believe
he use will be only temporary. Pop-
ular in the Elizabethian period, the
ivine came into favor again about the
ueginning of the nineteenth century,
’or the Prince Regent professed the
treatest admiration for it and for a
ime drank nothing else. About the
niddle of the Victorian era sherry
vas again the drink of table drinks,
is we learn from the novelists, the
rue historians of manners and cus-
oms. Its use was universal. Every
ommercial traveller on the road had
- right to a pint of sherry with his
iinner and a decanter was placed at
he side of each guest at the com-
mercial ordinary in the inn. The
lanchester Guardian says that people
egan to say "no’’ to the question
sherry, sir?” about 1880. Mr. G. R.
urns says that sherry began to go out
s a dinner wine when the boom in
laret began. Claret and hock were
t turn succeeded by whiskey and
oda. Sherry is still poured in cer-
iin American private houses as an
arly wine when there is an absurd
inous profusion, but it is a better
ash ion to serve only one wine and in
ome houses this is spelled whiskey.
A NOVEL IN POLITICS.
The Minneapolis Tribune has read
r rs. Wharton’s "House of Mirth,”
nd It can no longer dream sweet
reams of waving and gigantic crops,
t sounds alarm bells. It draws pict-
res, so that the unlettered may not
e uninformed of the “phosphores-
ent moral corruption of commercial
ociety” of New York. Listen to this:
The men are mere gross animals,
eaping up more money than they
an spend to wallow in it like sur-
aited swine in a trough, without ed-
catlon, without rational intellectual
iterest, without honor or decency in
usiness or social life. The women
re beautiful toys, as degraded in
heir relations to the male market as
he inmates of a harem, but far less
t’tractive in their callous selfishness
;nd unbridled appetite.” Hot stuff!
s the New York politician remarked
t a Buffalo convention, with a final
Wow!” It looks as though Mrs.
Wharton’s novel would be used as a
olitical document in Minnesota. Her
ren and women are supported by
he money gained through monopo-
es and a protective tariff. At least
he Tribune says they are: "If ship-
pers and minority stockholders,
armers who pay twice as much as
’anadians and Mexicans for the same
gricultural implements and work-
ngmen who cannot meet the in-
reased cost of living with their high-
st wages, want to know where some
' their money goes, let them read
ouse of Mirth.’ ’
ANOTHER TObMAN.
A man who has made a fortune in a
western city called on us yesterday. He
is not much over 40 and he is not will-
ing to be idle, but like Mr. Tolman in
I rank Stockton s story, be wishes to
carry on some business which be can
attend to himself, one that will bring
him into contact with people of all
sorts — people that will interest him.
He does not wish to work hard ; he
wishes a “snug and comfortable” busi-
ness. It is his purpose to open a bureau
of general information. He will have
reference books of all kinds, files of cer-
tain journals, card references and in-
dexes, etc. Suppose you wish to know
whether Pauline Markham is still liv-
ing, the tonnage of the first steamship
that crossed the Atlantic, the name of
Lohengrin’s mother, the vote cast
against Gen. Butler when he was elected
Governor, some of the more striking
laws of the Medes and Persians — all you
have to do is to go to this bureau and for
a small fee the information will be
given. There may be a scale of prices
according to the difficulty of obtaining
the accurate, guaranteed answer. For
instance, there is much talk about
Esperanto. Do you know who invented
the language? Go to the bureau. After
a few moments of consultation the in-
former will hand you a slip : “Dr.
Ludwig Zamenhof, born at Bialystok in
1859. A practising oculist at Warsaw
He is thoroughly familiar with Russian,
Polish, German, Yiddish, English,
French and Hebrew.” How useful this
bureau would be to the community !
What a pleasant occupation! It has
been said that a knowledge of human
nature is best learned in the office of a
lawyer or of a newspaper, but the
knowledge to be gained at this bureau
by the furnisher of information would
he richer and more widespread. Only
one class of searchers would not be wel-
come, genealogists. If welcomed, they
would take up all the informer’s time.
II is better for them to browse and dbze
at the State or Public Library.
fn^r^D? a voM” IV « I of ! ••LaicSiV" and
and the to^ ^sTo
Mine s’lmbrleh < ! f tbe hk,cIei1 bandits!
remember” U^scene ? *° Ura * e ’ Do you
I a „ 8 n rvant ' ‘here’s no denying
a figure that a not much amiss
f M me r Sem^rioi lnSplred , Eng,ish version.
oC will embrich ma y also take the Dart
Mr‘ n ronri ‘!‘ T* ^ arrar aa Ka
oii .„ von ried announces that Mme
?rino Pre T start ls now a full -fledged so
Prano and no longer a contralto not
sonSte sIfome 0P n an0 ' ? lle wl " imper-
Rlnt” • Bruennhilde in "The
whlfii for e =o her0 , ne in "L’Afrioalne,"
C some incomprehensible rea-
be revived and sung in Italian
te?fly S ” Pl Manner 1 slng , 1 ,? "Mme. But-
Juliet.” M 0n Descaut,” "Romeo and
Mr. Conried speaks confidently of
Kerta Morena’s appearance In spite of
the rumors concerning her poor physi-
cal and, as some say, mental condition-
and he says that if Luisa Tetrazzini
sings at all in New York it must be un-
der his control, for the contract which he
made and she broke has four more years
to run. What Implicit confidence Mr. Con-
1 rled has in Jean de Reszke’s judgment!
Tiie eminent Polish tenor recommended
one of his pupils, Ferdinand Soubeyran,
land Mr. Conried engaged the youth with-
,bUt ¥ arl , ng him. Mr. de Reszke recom-
mended Mme. Serena to Mr. Savage last
?lnp° n, R a ? d aI1 rem ember Mme. Se-
W Ac M° ta c. Newman, who was a mem-
ber of Mr. Savage s company, now calls
herself R ta Fornia. She studied re-
cently with Mr. de Reszke, and she. too.
& engaged for the Metropolitan
Then thare ls Franz Steiner, a young
£t r 7 la ?,’ w , ho ., ls sald t0 have a re-
markable voice, but he has never sung
in public. Trustful Mr. Conried! Ric-
cardo Stracclari will succeed Campanarl.
Mr3. Rappold of Brooklyn, who made
her first appearance last season, has
Palls s ^ udying at Bayreuth. Munich and
The season will open on Nov. 28 with
Faust or "I Puritani." In the course
of the winter a Saint-Saens concert will
be given by the opera company and the
composer will conduct.
f^{- 2 D -if VC?
CONCERT FOYER
Announcements of the Two
Rival Opera Houses
in New York.
OPERATIC WAR WILL
BE A MERRY ONE THERE
Mr. Conrled’s announcement -of his
plans for the season is interesting in
many ways. What he said or is reported
to have said about Riohard Strauss'
"Salome” may. serve as a text for the
leading music article, in. The. Herald of
next Sunday. It appears that Mr. von
Schuck, who conducted' the first per-
formance at, Dresden. will not cotne to
America, but. .Alfred Hertz, who will
conduct the performances in New York,
bas talked about the score with Mr.
von Schuck and also with tire’ composer,
!? d ls . thoroughly' familiar" with all
vl r ?. u ?. s , theories” about the music. Let
Us hope that Mr. Hertz's memory is as
heavv* as dds eonductorlal hands are
A Frenchman will conduct the French
TwjS?’ ^mcm Bovy, who comes from
Toulouse This will, be as it should be.
, and Vigna are not the
' or , Fr6ac h operas and even Mr.
wben he was here; although- he ls
tnendly toward the French, and favored
rrenen composers when he conducted at
Carlsruhe, was tame, if riot inefficient,
as a conductor of "Carmen."
»iiiT 5 e, he . 0p , erls new t0 New York
will, < a 8 'Adrienne Lecouvreur,”
the famous beauty Lina Caval-
JjSFi, a P. d Caruso: Giordano's "Fedora”
a tenor and soprano; it is
tba J- ] lls “Siberia" is not con-
inot 6 DMt ai ( d " Andrea Chenier” is
Iwao the repertory, the latter
RnfmF er / 0rr F!? d n New York and in
K?m^,, by ..^ a P Ieson ’ s Imperial Opera
V TI,e Damnation of Faust” In
0 •D form wlth Miss Farrar and
Messrs. Rousseliere and Piancon.
given C 'fi 1 u Mrne - Butterfly” will be
The sanfe L by Mr '. Sav age's company.
Tvhrnu ar ^ e coni poser s "Manon Lescaut,”
,„„. c _ ls , ann ounced for performance,
year. Produced in New York some
Infnc? SR by a wandering Italian com-
snbfif flig 6 °PS ra ls charged with a
"Man nn ” f „ rom that of Massenet’s
’on T \ e former ls intensely pas-
iiMmr i d t. ragic I the music of the, 1
raantal i .^ <5 M S ' tely graceful and setl-
Dresden a £? Manon is a dainty bit of
a^esden china, broken, alas, in the last
for eI Mml S O 1 Buritani” will be revived
HR™??- S err >brich and Caruso. This
Mr Mo 3 great opera, but Bond is with
iur. Hammerstein. Mme. Semhrich will
Meanwhile Mr. Hammerstein swears
that he will produce “La Boheme” in
spite of Puccini, his publishers and Mr.
Conried. He, too, will produce “The
Damnation of Faust” as an opera with
Edouard de Reszke as Mephistopheles.
But why the logey Edouard, when he has
f t J? iS r> dispo i aI the accomplished and
subtle Kenaud, whose Mephistopheles in
the operatic performances of Berlioz’s
work has been most highly praised 7
I did not mention the name of Mme
i etrazzmi in my prospectus," says Mr
Hammerstein. "as there is some doubt
about her coming. . I wish to make no
promise I cannot keep, even to tlfe
announcement of one prima donna "
His company is a strong one, an un-
usually strong one. His sopranos will
be Mmes. Melba, who will first sine In
La Boheme"; Regina Pinkert. a Pole
(who has a great reputation in Italy as
|a bravura singer; Georgina Russ.' an
Italian dramatic soprano, who is a fa-
vofite in Russia and South America;
Regina Arta, a dramatic soprano, said
to be an American of European experi-
ence; Pauline Donalda. the young so-
prano who auickly made a great repu-
tation at the Monnaie, Brussels, and at
Covent Garden; and Lina Pacarv, a dis-
tinguished French dramatic soprano
Then there are Emma Trentini and Gina
Severina, of whom we know little
nothing.
The chief mezzo-sopranos are Mmes.
Bressier-Gianoli of the Monnaie, Brus-
sels— she sang in New York about two
years ago with much success— and de
Cisneros, who, as Eleanore Broadfoot.
was once a member of the Metropolitan '
Opera House company; since then she
has made a .high reputation for herself
in Europe.
The list of tenors and baritones is
even a stronger one. Messrs. Bond,
Bassi, Altschefsky and Dalmores are
reckoned among the leading singers of
Europe, and the baritones are Messrs.
Renaud, Sammarco, Ancona, Gilibert
and Seveilhac (the husband of Pauline
Donalda). Mr. Renaud is without doubt
one of the chief dramatic baritones now
living an actor of unusual finish and
Istrength, and Mr. Sammarco stands very-
high in the roll of Italian singers
Messrs Ancona and Gilibert are well
known in Boston. Among the basses are
Messrs Ed. de Reszke,® Herman Irag
and Vittorio. Arimondi. who at the be"
ginning of his career visited Boston as I
a member of the Abbey. Schoeffel and" i
Grau company. Young as he was then. 1
there S diaf- ri , c - h and sonorous, and
There wm h nCtl0, l m his bearing,
chestra b >. a eborus of 300, an or-
dudort ? f u! 5 V a ? aIlet of 60 and the con-
panim nvd T be , Messrs . Cleofonte Cam-
^ r rV-,^ an( * ^ ean dro Campanari.
anret 80 subscription perform-
al Mt S S begin on Monday, Nov. 19.
eraHnn a th™1 rste j n ' aner Wuoh consid-
gokl fn.- fav- orably of red and
house decoration of his opera
rpil mhJ hav ? got to ?et back to
Th ’ whatever color you start with.”
firemen f S U sympathy with the
tloHf n^ h flna J>y determined the ques-
1 the en Flne-house.
•vr or , operatic war will a merry one
gain aS As Mr y bU \ the Publfc wfii
e<Ain as Mr. Hammerstein said to a
reporter of the New York Sunf "Apart
from my own material Interests I am
mv y oDei^a° U rt- t0 -n a Y e P ublic support for i
my opei a. It will be a ereat thine - for
tile artistic credit of New York if iT yvill
prfs P e°s rt No°n?, UCh enter-
dn it r the t ci y ln the worI d can
New’ yIwI- 1 Id h ?, p , lne that 1 ma y help
world. k 1 this exam Ple to the
A new musical comedy, "The Lord of
tlie Last," book and lyrics by Fred A.
Ellis, music by Percival Knight and I
Dunham Harrison, was produced at the I
Camden Theatre, Aug. 27. “The Lord of
tile Last.” is a retired bootmaker, who is '
busy in dodging the attentions of a
mournful, middle-aged widow. The Ref-
eree (London) says: "The piay is full of
piore or loss ancient wheezes, mostly
more, but the characterization of certain
of the dramatis personae is clever, and
the music is far better than the play,
which needs a good deal of pulling to-
gether.”
Australia keeps sending singers to
London and continental cities, and they
are invariably described as “nlght-
i*? g M es -'' ’Ph® last one, Miss Florence
liallara, studied in Australia and Ger-
many and is now engaged at the Court
Theatre at Mecklenburg-Strelltz. She
sang recently at a promenade concert in
London, and is said to have a mezzo-
soprana voice of considerable power and
range and also to have “dramatic intui-
tion.”
Miss Clara Clemens, contralto, a
daughter of Mark Twain, “will make her
debut in this country at Norwalk, Ct„
Sept. 22, when she will be assisted by
Miss Marie Nichols, violinist, of Boston.
But did not Miss Clemens sing in public
a few years ago? We remember a con-
cert by her and a Portuguese baritone
of huge bodily size was announced in
tins city, and then postponed indefi-
nitely. Miss Clemens made her first con-
ce rt appearance ln Florence, Italy.
Mr. Petschnikoff, the violinist, who
wilj visit America professionally the sec-
ond time, married a Chicago girl, who
will assist him in his tour. He will play
here at a Symphony concert.
It is now commanded by the Emperor
William II. that the German soldier, in
addition to his many other duties, shall,
while marching, lift up his voice and
sing. With surprise and sorrow his
majesty has found in going over the old
time-honored marches that these had,
for the most part, “not suitable texts,”
and in hot haste two poets of Berlin
and Munich, respectively, have put their
heads together and produced a little
'band - book of easily - remembered
'marching songs,” with the carolling of
which Hans, Hermann and Fritz will ln
the future beguile their steady tramp,
tramp, tramp. By the way, has not
trie foreigner sometimes been puzzled as
to why a German marching regiment
will, on occasion, suddenly and with one
accord start stamping? The "stamp” of
all the rank and file follows on a sharply-
given order to "salute” some passing
officer, and the "salute,” when on the I
march, is given with the feet!— Pail Mall
Gazette.
Mr. Charles Clark, an American
who has lived and sung in European
cities for some years, will sing the
music of Judas in Elgar's "Apostles”
at the Birmingham festival. He will
give recitals in London.
Mr. Ernest Sharp of this city will
give three recitals in London Oct. 25,
Nov. 1, 12, with programmes devoted
to songg by Wolf, Reger and Ameri-
can composers.
1 Joachim quartet, assisted bv
Muehlfeld, the clarinetist, and oth-
j ers, will perform nearly all of
Brahms’ chamber music in London
between Nbv. 21 and Dec. 5. "This
scheme is a little trying to the com-
poser." But how about the audience?
Gliere’s symphony ln E flat was
xju.wv.viu i oaiu U L l L . L lit; VV O IIN IS
strictly orthodox in design, the coun-
terpoint is academical in correctness,
and the Instrumentation neatly bal-
anced.” The mu?ia of the andante
"tries to get Impassioned toward the
close, bdt it is as the passion of a
pretty women who never permits
herself to look unbecoming.” "Lance-
lot" ends with this fine burst; "As I
listened I could not help thinking
that there werfe many- far more at-
tractive works by British composers
waiting to be heard, any one of which
would have brought more shillings
to the box office than this symphony
by an unknown foreign musician.”
The symphony was performed in Ne\v
York last season. The composer was
born at Kieff in 1874, and stud'ed at
the Moscow Conservatory.
Sorrie time ago The Herald dis-
cussed the controversy over Lazzari’s
opera. “La Lepreuse,” which was re-
fused for a time by the manager of
the Opera Comique, Paris, on account i
of Henry Bataille's astonishing li- |
bretto. The opera will be performed j
at that theatre in the course of this I
season, as will Dukas’ "Bluebeard,”
with Maeterlinck's libretto and "The I
Dream of an Autumn Night.” book
by d'Annunzio and music by Torre
d’Alflna. Mme. Georgette Leblanc,
Maeterlinck’s wife, and Mme. Lit-
vinne have been specially engaged
for the operas last named.
Miss Eve Simony, a brilliant so-
prano. made her first appearance in
London at a promenade concert Aug
23. She was born at Namur. Belgium,
and her mother was an English wom-
an. Miss Simony is now a member
of the Monnaie company at Brussels.
Lilli Lehmann had a hard time of
it as stage manager of "Don Gio-
vanni” at the recent Mozart festival
at Salzburg. The people on the stage
did not obey her, and apparently did
not try to obey her. nor could she
have the stage for a full rehearsal till
the day before the performance.
Berlioz once declared that there
were no contraltos in France. It is
now said that tenors are scarce In
that country. "Physicians think the
I deficiency is due to violent exercises
young men indulge In under the guise
of sport, which ruins the vocal cords.”
I H-m-m!
LETTERS SEVEN.
There are advertisements that disi-
I turb the landscape and deface, nature.
Others, as polychromic and joyous post-
ers, signs carried by sandwich men,
startlingly dressed shop windows, elec-
trical displays, are for r "url*an use and
contribute to the general esthetics of the
rue, a subject which interested Mr.
Gustave Kahn to the extent of a volume
five years ago. But how wouid an ad- j
vertisement now displayed in a shop j
window in a western town of England
be classed? The firm doing the adver- |
tisement has seven letters in its name, |
and in a window are seven rabbits. One |
of the letters of the firm’s name is
branded on the back of each rabbit, and
a prize of £10 is offered to the person
who first secs the rabbits lined up so
as to spell the name of the firm. Such
advertising amuses children of all ages,
from 7 to 70, and thus contributes to the
gayety of the street. Even if the rab-
bits accidentally spell the name, will
they stay put while the "first person
rushes into the store after a corroborat-
ing salesman, and will not the name of
this “first person’’ be legion?
HAPPY HOMES.
A man in a Californian town, an old
soldier, now 74 years of age, is willing
to live with his wife on the condition
that they shall not speak to each other,
that they shall not even notice each
other. The story is s sad one. The
wedding was in 1902 and the quarrelling
began in the honeymoon. Once when Mr.
Ackerman ventured to go into the
kitchen to ask a civil question — whether
the pump were working satisfactorily,
or whether she were out of kindling
wood — his wife threw a saucer of hot
blackberries at him. One night the wife
went into the library and urged him to
go to bed lest he might catch cold. En-
raged by this encroachment on bis per-
sonal liberty he said he had a right to
sit up as long as he pleased, and he
would choke her if she bothered him
again. Furthermore he told his stepson
to stop loafing, and he showed him a
newspaper advertisement of a rich
widow in want of a young man. So, too,
in St. Louis a rich contractor has sat
at table with his wife for six or seven
months and not spoken a word — not even
cursed the cookery. When he learned
that she had brought suit for divorce, he
i chuckled, he guffawed. In more than
one New England village man and wife
have lived for years in the same house
without speaking to each other. The
neighbors soon were used to it and, call-
ing, chatted impartially. For a stranger
the situation was trying. In such in-
stances silence Is not golden, nor is this
silence such as is praised by Maeterlinck
in his famous essay.
fore them that the applicant for the
office of shochet must prove his abil-
ity. He must know how to put a
razoriike edge on his knife and he
is obliged to kill three fowls in the
presence of the court. In very small
communities the rabbi acts as the
shochet.
7 1
J O k?
CONDUCTOR MUCK AND
THE LIST OF SOLOISTS:
The Twenty-Sixth Season
Promises to Be One of
Unusual Interest,
St/>
• c
THE SHOCHET.
gentile
East side dealer in New York has
been tied up through the strike of
| his shochets or kosher chicken kill -
I ers, and dealers have been selling as
j kosher chickens that were not killed
! kosher. We read not long ago an
I interesting account of the shochet in
London, whose death tariff is four
cents each for turkeys and geese, and
two cents each for pheasants, ducks,
pigeons, quails and fowls. The
shochet must be able to pass an ex-
amination in Jewish law, he must be
specially versed in the passages of
the Law of Moses which relate to
food, as recorded in Leviticus and
in the unwritten law of killing, which
has been handed down by verbal tra-
dition from the time of Moses. It
provides that animals shall be slain
with the least pain possible, and it
gives minor and curious provisions,
as that the animal must be slain
with an uninterrupted cut. “If a
bullock happens to struggle under a
knife and the blade quits its throat
but an Instant, rendering a second
cut necessary, the carcass may not
be eaten by Jews.” The shochet in-
terviewed in London said that eight
or nine out of a score of bullocks
slain by the shochetim are rejected
as unfit for Jewish food and go to the
Christian butcher. The meat is in-
spected by a shomer, a skilled anato-
mist, the moment it is slain. If there
be any doubt the shochet does not
decide; the meat is taken to the
judges of the Beth Hamedrash, the
“House of Learning,” and it is be-
The 26th season of the Boston Sym-
phony orchestra, which will open Oct.
12. 13, promises to be one of unusual
interest. First of all there is the en-
gagement of a new conductor. The en-
gagement of Dr. Karl Muck is a radical
departure from the traditions. He is
the first conductor of an established,
■widely recognized reputation who has
been engaged to conduct the concerts
of the Symphony orchestra. The others,
Messrs. Henschel, Gerlcke, Nikisch and
Paur, were at the time of their assum-
ing the leadership comparatively un-
known men as concert conductors. Mr.
Henschel was known only as a singer,
pianist, composer; Mr. Gericke was one
of the conductors of the Y lenna Court
Opera; Mr. Nikisch was the first con-
ductor at the Lelpsic Stadt Theatre, and ;
Mr Paur, after serving as opera con-
ductor in Cassel, Koenigsberg and Mann- I
helm, succeeded Mr. Nikisch at Leipsic
and then at Boston. Only one of these
four conductors had had much experl - 1
ence as a conductor of symphony con-
certs : Mr. Paur had led the subscrip-
tion concerts at Mannheim. No one of
them was then ranked among the great
virtuoso conductors. They all had their
reputation to make, and much of their
reputation today is founded on their ,
work with the Boston Symphony or-
chestra. ..
Nor should the respective service of
each one in turn to the orchestra and to
the community be forgotten. Mr. Hen-
schel, as the first in order, ha.d an un-
enviable task, but the catholicity of his
programmes and the fine taste displayed
in making them broadened the knowl-
edge of the public and raised its level
of appreciation. Mr. Gericke made the
orchestra a virtuoso instrument, on
which Mr. Nikisch played romantically
and poetically. Memorable performances
were given by Mr. Henschel's succes-
sors: Performances of Schumann s sym-
phony in D minor and Tschaikowsky s
’■Romeo and Juliet” under Mr. Nikisch;
of Tschaikowsky’s “Pathetic'' sym-
phony. Strauss' “Thus Spake Zarathus-
tra” and the entr'acte from Chabrier s
“Gwendoline” under Mr. Paur; of sym-
phonies by d'Indy, Franck and Mahler,
i and of Strauss’ ''Don Juan" and Don
Quixote” under Mr. Gericke— we name
at random, for the history of the or-
chestra is full of brilliant, glorious
< ^ < But the connection of Dr. Muck with
the important opera nouses of Berlin
and Prague, with the Vienna Philhar-
monic orchestra, with the Wagner fes- Y
tivals at Bayreuth, and his many ap-
pearances as a “guest” in the opera
houses and concert halls of Europe have
made his name familiar to all who fol-
low the news of the musical world.
They know him as a virtuoso conductor,
one of the “stars” who now rival fa-
mous prima donnas, tenors, violinists
and pianists in exciting attention, ap-
plause, and hot and long-continued dis-
cussion.
Natural Curiosity.
No matter how greatly the departure
of any conductor may be deplored, as
soon as he is gone there is great curi-
osity concerning his successor. Nor
should the sensitive regret this attitude
of the public, the willingness, the desire
to welcome a new man and a new order
of things. As soon as The Herald made
the announcement last spring of Mr
n a-^Uq'o ilormriiirn — ,n*»TVR thflt WRK ail-
and will have some little' Wine to ac-
quaint himself with his surroundings be-
fore he begins rehearsals for the first
concerts.
Nature of 26th Season.
The orchestra will be away from Bos-
ton six weeks Instead of five in the
course of its 20th season. The change is
due to the placing of the western tour
of one week in the middle of the sea-
son instead of at the beginning, as it
was last year. The artistic and financial
success of the tour in the middle West
the first week of October. 1905. was so
great that arrangements were at once
in the making for a repetition of an
early October tour this year, but the
date of the Worcester festival was
changed to the first week of next month,
and as the orchestra, or at least a la-rf ®
part of it, will play in this festival, the
western trip at this time is out of the
question. .
It has therefore been decided that the
orchestra should go West in the last
week of January. It will leave Boston
on Sunday evening. Jan. 27. Concerts
will be given as follows: Rochester on
the following Monday evening. Cleveland
on Tuesday evening. Detroit on Thurs-
day evening. Indianapolis on Friday
evening. Cincinnati on Saturday after-
noon. The orchestra will return to Bos-
ton on Sunday, Feb. 3.
Boston will not lose by this. The -4
public rehearsals and 24 concerts will be
given as in past years on Friday after*
noons and Saturday evenings respect-
ively, but the last pair will come on
May 3, 4 instead of on April 26, 27.
The first public rehearsal will be g iven
on Friday afternoon. Oct. 12. and the
first concert on Saturday evening, Oct
13. Until May 3 the public rehearsals
and concerts will be given on successive
Friday afternoons and Saturday even-
ines except Nov. 9-10, Dec. 8-9, Jan. 11-12,
Feb 1 - 2 , FeS. 22-23 and March 22-23. Ac-
cording to the established custom the
public rehearsal which would come or-
dinarily on Friday afternoon, March 29,
Good Friday, will be given on the after-
noon of the preceding day, Ihursday,
the 28th.
Auction Sale of Seats.
There will be an advance, but one more
apparent than real, in the required
prices of seats; an advance from $7.50 to
$10 and from $12 to $18.
The purpose of this change in the
nominal prices of the seats is to shorten j
and to simplify the auction sale. Sev- j
eral years have passed since any seats,
either for the public rehearsals or for
the concerts, have sold for less than a
premium of $2.50 on the $<-50 seats, and
records show that in the past few sea-
sons only an insignificant number of
seats brought a premium of less than $6.
The sale by auction of over 5000 seats is
at its best a long and tedious process.
By increasing the required price to a
figure which is still most reasonable.
.-PL — onv liP'-ht whatever, the time
viewed in any light whatever, the time
consumed in selling the seats should be
m, rhe S auct?on Lsale of seats will begin
on Monday, Oct. 1, at 10 o clock, when
the $18 seats for the public rehearsals
will be sold. The $10 seats for the re-
hearsals will be sold on Tuesday mom-
ini at 10 o’clock. The $18 seats for the
concerts will be sold on Thursday morn-
ing. Oct 4 at 10 o clock, and the $10
seats for the concerts at the same hour
on Friday morning.
Who Dr. Muck Is.
And now a few words about the new
conductor, the soloists, and the pio-
grammes.
Dr. Muck has been described as “a
man of medium height, of slender and
graceful buil.d, who wears his clothes
with distinction. His pictures show a
well-shaped head, covered with short,
black hair, which is brushed back from
a high forehead, strongly limned by fine-
'y cut features; his eyes are dark, yet
bright. An attractive face, decidedly
the face of a cultured gentleman, keen,
alert and with markings of a sense of
h ”le°cornes of good stock. His father,
Dr J Muck, was a Bavarian councillor,
who iived in Wuerzburg, where the son
was born on Oct. 22, 1869. The father, a
lawyer, and a gifted amateur musician,
planned that his son should follow in
his footsteps, but the latter decided at
an early age to subordinate law to music
tnd he finally devoted his life to 'the
preferred art.
Vile dUUGUUUCillYUl. *UO|,
Gericke's departure— news that was an-
nounced authoritatively for the first
time by The Herald— the ouestlon was
immediately asked even by Mr. Gericke’s
warmest admirers: "Who will be his
successor?” During the three months
In which Mr. Ellis was ca-rying on his
negotiations in Berlin, the rumor-mon-
ger was Indefatigable. Hardly a man
who wields a baton from Land's End
to the Golden Horn, from the White Sea
to the Boot of Italy escaped him. One
after another was engaged at a salary
Incredible even in these days of extrava-
gant incomes. Yet the problem had been
solved for some time so far as Dr. Muck
and Mr Ellis were concerned. The
question of his coming rested wholly
with the Emperor of Germany, who was
loath to lose his conductor at tne Royal
Opera House. At last Dr. Muck received
a leave of absence from his duties m
Berlin for one year. Ic Is not too much
to say that only the Boston Symphony
orchestra with its reputation in Europe
could have brought about this result.
Even then the rumoi -monger was not
discouraged. The contract was signed
and sealed: Dr. Muck was at work on
JUs programmes and making prepara-
tions for his departure; lo. the rumor-
monger magnified an attack of lanrn-
gitis into a mortal sickness, long after
the patient had recovered.
Dr Muck will sail for New Y ork from
Bremen the day after tomorrow on trie
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosae He will
arrive in Boston at the end of 10 dajs.
His musical education began with des-
cons on the piano and the violin and in
counterpoint. These lessons were gi^cn
by his father, and they continued while
he was in the gymnasium at \\ uerzbur„.
His first appearance in public was at
the age of 11. as a pianist. In the suc-
ceeding years he played often, usually .in
chamber music. He also played the vio-
lin in a symphony orchestra. In lbtb
he went to the University of Heidelberg
where he remained a year. He then
went to Leipsic, where ,^ or j ^ ed r .hf 1 ^
his degree in the umt ersity P“.
osophy, classical philology and tlie rns
torv of music. At the same time he
studied In the Leipsic Cormervatory,
under E. F. Richter and Kail Reinecke.
In 1880 he received his degree of Ph. D.
from the university and he
debut in the Ge\y&ndhaus as a pianist.
Although he was successful as a
nianist he had long determined to be
S' conductor.*' Ho therefore left Leipsic
to act as chorus master of the Zurich
.opera (1880-81). He conducted at Salz
, ourg (1881-82), and for two years <188-.-
84) he led the opera at Bi umn As
opera conductor at Graz J ’ . h . . n • h c
the first performance in Austria of d he
KM’SSoi
?le° n c 1 om%o?e r r UCk F^o r m , ^to^ |e led
fkp nnpra in the German Theatr .
mannin St^Itersbu^ and Moscow per-
havlXd Ber!ln%vith Neumann’s com-
"Cavalier! a Rustlcanm M eber-Mahler s
Since 1892 he lias been conductor at the
Berlin Royal Opera House. He has also
led in Berlin the oratorio concerts of the
Royal Opera chorus and concerts of tne
Wagner Society. He has conducted the
Silesian Music festivals since M94 . and
in 1901, ’2, ’4, ’6, he conducted Parsifal
in Bayreuth. x
As a “guest” he has conducted at St.
Petersburg and Moscow (Philharmonic
concerts of the Imperial orchestra); at
Bremen (1895, eight stage performances
of Rubinstein's “Christus ). Copenhagen
(Philharmonic concerts); Madrid (con-
certs of the Royal court orchestra); Par-
is (Philharmonic concerts), Budapest j
(concerts of the Court orchestra), Lon- 1
don (Philharmonic concerts and German
opera). , _
Facts and Rumors.
Although Dr. Muck has never visited
America, it has not been for lack of op-
portunity. As long, ago as 1893 he was
considered as a possible conductor of the
Boston Symphony orchestra. It will be
remembered that after the sudden de-
parture of Mr. Nikisch a contract was
made with Dr. Hans Richter whereby he
was to become the successor of Mr. Ni-
kisch but Dr- Richter, for some reason
that has not been explained, broke this
contract. When Mr. Ellis was in Berlin
last spring Dr. Muck showed him a let-
ter which Richter had sent him at the
time, in which he urged Dr. Muck to go
to Boston as his substitute. Dr. Muck,
who had just completed his first soason
in Berlin with great success, would not
listen to any proposition for hint to
leave the city and his position.
In the last year of Mr. Maurice Grau s
direction of the Metropolitan Opera
House of New York. Mr. Grau endeav-
ored to persuade Dr. Muck to come to
New York for the opera season, and he
made him an offer of a salary which
was unquestionably the largest that had
been offered to a. conductor. Dr. Muck
refused to consider this offer. Since that
time at least one other attempt has been
made, but in vain, to induce him to
come to this country.
One of the many absurd statements
which have been published in this coun-
try and in Europe since Dr. Muck’s en-
gagement is that he will come to Boston
“on trial.” A man of his reputation does
not go anywhere “on trial.” His posi-
tion in Berlin Is one of the most desira-
ble ami the most coveted in Europe. His
services are constantly demanded by
leading opera houses and orchestras of
the continent. And what counts even
more than this in Germany— he has for
years enjoyed the personal friendship Qf
Emperor William.
That Dr. Muck has engaged himself In
Boston for only one year is due to his
own desire. His leave of absence from
his duties had to come directly from the
Emperor. His first request met with a
refusal. Only when it was pointed out
to the Emperor that his consent to the
engagement would be accepted in Amer-
ica as another token of his undoubtedly
kindlv feeling toward this country and
that the Boston Symphony orchestra
was wholly an artistic and not commer-
cial enterprise did William decide to
grant a leave of absence.
List of Soloists.
Aside from the first four programmes,
which are given below, little is known ol
Dr. Muck’s plans for the season, what 1
his general scheme will be, what un-
familiar compositions he will Introduce.
All this will be learned after his arrival.
In the mean time, an unusually strong
list of soloists has been prepared. Sev-
eral of the engagements have not yet
been confirmed, pending the arrival of
Dr. Muck, so that the following list is
incomplete. „ . . , -
At the head of the list of singers stand
the names of Mmes. Melba and Frem-
stad. Mme. Melba will come to the
United States in January to be the lead-
ing lyric soprano of the new Manhatt8,n
Opera House, directed by Mr. Hammer-
stein. She will sing in a few concerts
while in this country. One of them will
be in Boston with the Symphony or-
chestra, and this will be her only ap-
pearance in the city. Mme. Fremstad,
one of the most talented of the younger
singers, will return to the Metropolitan
Opera House for this season, and sho
will impersonate the part of Salome in
Richard Strauss’ opera. She. too. will
sing in a few concerts.
In the list of pianists are, among the
women the names of Mmes. SamaroiT,
Szumowska. Katherine Goodson and
Olga Radecki. Mme. Samaroff, it will
be remembered, played with the orches-
tra last year. She is one of the best
liked and most admired of the younger
pianists. Mme. Szumowska needs no
introduction, for she has long had an
admiring audience in the city where she
lives Katherine Goodson, an English-
woman, will make her first appearance
in America with the Symphony orches-
tra. She is highly recommended. Olga
Radecki, once well known to Symphony
audiences, will return after a long ab-
scncc. ,
Messrs. Paderewski, Rosenthal and
Gabrilowitsch are in the list of the Pian-
ists. Mr. Paderewski will come to this
country late in December or early in
January for seven performances with
the Symphony orchestra in Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wash-
ington and Brooklyn. His new gym-
phonv will be produced by the orchestra.
Mr Rosenthal, one of the most distin-
guished pianists now living, will return
to America after an absence of several
vears. Mr. Gabrilowitsch, an excellent
artist, who is said to have grown great-
ly in musical stature since he last visit-
ed Boston, will be warmly welcomed.
Messrs. Cesar Thomson and Alexander
Petschnikoff are among the violinists
announced. Mr. Thomson is reckoned
as one of the greatest living masters of
the violin, and Mr. Petschnikoff is said
to have gained in artistry since he was
in this country. , , ,
Messrs. Willy Hess, Timothee Adam-
owski and Heinrich Warnke. ipembers
of the orchestra, will also play as solo-
ists Mr. Warnke has brought with him
from Europe a new violoncello which
is said to be an extraordinarily fine m-
S *Other