Scan 50
Musical Courier 1897-11-03: Vol 35 Iss 922, 1897
73 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1A MYSTIC ROMANCE.
3In Kentucky lived fair Jessie
4Falconer, a matron ready
5In the household and the garden,
6F. F. V., slim fingered, steady.
7John Gray loved the handsome Jessie.
8Pedagogue was he and haughty,
9Read "Mort d'Arthur," had ideals,
10And he would do nothing naughty.
11Brave was John as any hero,
12Quick of eye and strong of muscle:
13Fought an editor and panther
14In a rough-and-tumble tussle.
15Long he tried to ease the heartache,
16Strove in vain against his mania,
17Wed at last another woman
18In the State of Pennsylvania.
19Jessie heard the news with sadness,
20But in sorrow did not languish;
21Sold some land and built a mansion,
22Wore fine clothes and checked her anguish.
23In the choir unseen these lovers
24Now with skill their gold harps handle,
25While ideals round them glitter,
26Here a lighthouse, there a candle.
27—S. W., in Nashville Banner.
29HERE you have "The Choir Invisible" set to sparkplug verse. Mr. James Lane Allen will feel complimented.
31Anna Held is out of "La Poupée" cast; indeed she was never in it. Florence Ziegfeld is mad, Mr. Hammerstein is mad and Miss Held—well, according to the Journal, she consoled myself in a kissing match with Mr. Julius Steger at the Hotel Martin. There was a wager, and at 156 kisses Miss Held threw up the sponge. Beware of Steger, he's dangerous—a dangerous Geisha!
33"Gus" Cook was acquitted of attempting to stab his wife, but there is a divorce suit on.
35The will of Howell Osborn's mother stands, so Fay Templeton does not get her $100,000.
37The Hungarian Gypsy Bands have at last rebelled against the tyrant; they have thrown off allegiance to Dr. Leo Sommer and have organized a musical union on their own hook. But will it not be jumping from the frying pan into the fire?
39Virginia Earl is dangerously ill.
41Louis Schmitt, the violin artist, showed a letter he got the other day which called his attention to a certain brew of lager beer. An indorsement of the beer was signed by those four valiant musicians, Xaver Reiter, Louis Kloepfel, Carl Hamm and Josef Reiter. Come, come, this will not do. I wonder if these men signed without permission of the Musical Union? Beware the wrath of Bremer!
43Ha, ha! Shaw calls the boys idiots for not understanding his play! You remember that in my review of "The Devil's Disciple" I said Barney Shaw delighted in digging dramatic pitfalls for the critics, and that the principal one in this play was its real hero, the minister. This is what Shaw said of the American criticisms in the London Daily Mail:
45"There is only one New York daily paper that gives the story of 'The Devil's Disciple' accurately. The part played by the husband, whom you have been misled into calling a villain, is altogether heroic. When he calls for his horse and rides off his wife thinks he is running away to save his life, because she is a silly, romantic creature. The critics, being also silly, romantic creatures, think the same. What he actually does is to raise the countryside, organize resistance to the 'Continentials' (the English) and force Burgoyne next morning to treat with him and release 'The D's D.' The point is, of course, that when the same emergency comes upon the two men the devil's disciple shows the instinct of a saint and goes to martyrdom, whereas the pious minister throws off his black coat and acts like a practical man and a first-rate soldier." Here follow quotations from the play.
47"I think you will find this plain enough for plain people who look at a play for what is to be found in it, and not for opportunities of making foolish remarks about the 'cynicism' and 'brilliancy' of the author.
49"You will remember that in 'Arms and the Man,' when the soldier mentioned that he carried chocolate in his cartridge box, the romantic heroine, who had never thought of a military hero as needing anything to sustain him but fresh air and glory, concluded that he meant confectioner's chocolate, and was disgracefully addicted to the eating of sweets. You will also remember that our critical colleagues, almost to a man, took the young lady's view and conveniently accounted for its silliness by my 'cynicism.' Well, that is just what has happened in New York. If the minister in 'The Devil's Disciple' had called for the sword of his ancestors, sworn never to sheath it until he had rescued Richard or fallen a cold corpse in the attempt, and dropped ele. antly on one knee and kissed the hilt in pledge thereof, the critics would have understood perfectly and admired my simple and straightforward knowledge of human nature. Unfortunately, instead of doing this the minister roars for his boots, sends the messenger flying to the inn for a fast horse, divides all the money in the house with his wife, refuses to 'bid her farewell' because it would waste twenty seconds, and dashes off to the rescue. His words are just ambiguous enough to take in his 'silly, sentimental wife,' and her silly, sentimental compeers in front. But at all events she sees her mistake when her husband turns out to be a bigger man than she thought. The compeers in front see nothing, even when it is not only shown to them, but explained in the unmistakable words I have quoted.
51"Is it worth while, do you think, to trouble oneself about the opinion of such a flock of ganders (including, I am sorry to say, one flattering goose)? I blush for my profession.
53Yours truly,
54G. B. S."
56"Scott was all gold, and even the nuggets are not enough; the gravel ought to be sifted and the gold dust gathered in. For Scott had such an affluence of knowledge, legend and poetry that he did not write by measure, but put his hand into his pocket and threw out money that any might pick it up. What one is afraid of is that Scott is being raised to the elevation of a classic, and that is the same thing as taking a man out of the House of Commons, where he is an active figure, and placing him in the stately seclusion of the House of Lords. I do not know a single page of Scott that is not readable, and I do not know a single page that would shake a man's faith, nor bring a blush to a woman's cheek. Why do not people read Scott as they ought to? Some say that he is not interesting, and others object to his style. Why, Carlyle himself brought the charge against Scott that he was amusing. Amusing! One of the grandest functions of fiction is to be amusing in the right sense—that of lifting up the weight and care of daily life from men's minds by leading them into regions of sentiment and romance."
58Ian Maclaren wrote that. I wonder if he thinks his kailyard slop amusing?
60In the newly published Elizabeth Browning letters this about Georges Sand occurs. Of Georges Sand she had said before her marriage:
62"If Madame Dudevant is not the first female genius of any country or age, I really do not know who is. And then she has certain noblenesses—granting all the evil and 'perilous stuff'—noblenesses and royalnesses which make me 'oyal.'"
64In 1852 she saw her, announcing to her husband, "No, you shan't be proud, and I won't be proud, and we will see her." The impression is recorded in detail:
66"She received us very kindly, with hand stretched out, which I, with a natural emotion (I assure you my heart beat), stooped and kissed, when she said quickly, 'Mais non, je ne veux pas,' and kissed my lips. She is somewhat large for her height—not tall, and was dressed with great nicety in a sort of gray serge gown and jacket, made after the ruling fashion just now and fastened up to the throat, plain linen collarette and sleeves. Her hair was uncovered, divided on the forehead in black, glossy bandeaux, and twisted up behind. The eyes and brow are noble, and the nose is of a somewhat Jewish character; the chin a little recedes, and the mouth is not good, though mobile, flashing out a sudden smile with its white projecting teeth.
68"There is no sweetness in the 'ace, but great moral as well as intellectual capacities—only it never could have been a beautiful face, which a good deal surprised me. The chief difference in it since it was younger is probably that the cheeks are considerably fuller than they used to be, but this, of course, does not alter the type. Her complexion is of a deep olive. I observed that her hands were small and well shaped. We sat with her perhaps three-quarters of an hour or more, in which time she gave advice and various directions to two or three young men who were there, showing her confidence in us by the freest use of names and allusions to facts.
70"She seemed to be in fact the man in that company, and the profound respect with which she was listened to a good deal impressed me. You are aware from the newspapers that she came from Paris for the purpose of seeing the President in behalf of certain of her friends, and that it was a successful mediation. What is peculiar in her manners and conversation is the absolute simplicity of both. Her voice is low and rapid, without emphasis or variety of modulation. Except one brilliant smile, she was grave—indeed, she was speaking of grave matters, and many of her friends are in adversity.
72"But you could not help seeing (both Robert and I saw it) that in all she said, even in her kindness and pity, there was an undercurrent of scorn. A scorn of pleasing she evidently had; there never could have been a color of coquetry in that woman. Her very freedom from affectation and consciousness had a touch of disdain. But I liked her. I did not love her, but I felt the burning soul through all that quietness, and was not disappointed in
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