Books › The violinist, 1903 › scan 5
Scan 5
The violinist, 1903
12 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1What Santa Claus Did
2SANTA CLAUS brought THE VIOLINIST a nice, new print shop, filled with the brightest and latest styles of type and all the labor-saving things that delight a printer and go to make up a model printing outfit. Guttenberg, Caxton, Roycroft and others of the early printers, never dreamed of the art at which they labored (about the time of the Amati family of violin makers), reaching such perfection. The result to our readers will be later news, greater regularity in delivery and an improved appearance. We will make no further claims at present but leave to time the pleasant surprises in store.
4An All-Night Concert
5FORT DODGE is graced with a music school that inflicts a program of thirty-one numbers on a meek and suffering public—mostly parents. Unfortunately there is no law against this criminal practice—in Iowa. Number 6 on the program is a "Good Night" song, very appropriate, but the music continues with varying vigor until the 23rd number, when the violin politely suggests that we "Sing, Smile, Slumber." Quite impossible, all three. "Leave me not" is the plea of 26, followed by an "Evening Song," after midnight, and running down (or should we say winding up) with a realistic "Sunrise," at three o'clock. We do art programs in a style to please, but if ever you see the choice product of our print shop at Fort Dodge you may be sure we got fifty for the job; one-half for the triple-length program and the balance for loss of dignity.
7The Faculty of Decision
8YOUR intention may be all right, but unless there is decision to act back of it you will accomplish nothing worth while—and it is only the worth while things that are worth living for. You may intend to practice three or four hours a day, but, lacking decision the result will be nil. A great many people look for results before they have set up any cause. Results do not come in that way. Cause and effect is the great law by which we live; if you will think about it you will see that a universe of harmony could not exist in any other way. Perhaps you want to understand music in all its interesting moods, its heights and breadths, you must set up the right cause, you must have decision to study. Temperament does not just happen to come to Kreisler and Ysaye, and leave you out, cold as ice. Warm up towards somebody and everybody; thaw out, forget the $ once in a while, forget yourself and surroundings; then your higher nature will feel free to come out and express itself. It would be a terrible thing, both for you and the world, if you could get results without the corresponding cause. You intend having THE VIOLINIST sent to you for the year 1903, but intention must be backed by decision to act, before our subscription man can possibly be induced to place your name on his roll of honor.
10The Effect of Thought
11SOME of our violin makers hate each other so much more than they love their calling, the art of instrument making, that hate is the dominating act and fact of their lives. If, as science lately suspects (and almost proves), thoughts of hate and other passions have their colors, what an awful cyclonic wave of dreadful hate color would be seen about a few of these fiddle shops by a camera plate sensitive enough to make the record! But our minds are quite capable of making the record, and actually do, in some way or other, and we are impressed with the smallness of the man who thinks this world not large enough for anyone but himself. Nor is he going to win favor among those who are in need of his wares; with all that can be said or insinuated against an absent person, we always take it with a grain of salt (altho' the story is already rather spicy), and afterwards, prompted by the curiosity that is strong in all of us, we are certain to look up the accused man, if only to see for ourselves how black he is; and then, in all
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.