Springfield weekly Republican. [volume], April 06, 1911, Page 6, Image 6

About Springfield weekly Republican. [volume] (Springfield, Mass.) 1851-1946

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6
CASPAR PURDON CLARKE DEAD
DIRECTOR OF TWO BIG MUSEUMS.
Career nt EnaH»b Kniahi Who »«<l
Much for the Metropolitan In New
York and the Sooth Kensington In
Lnndnn.
sir Caspar Purdon Clarke, formerly di
rector of the Metropolitan rouseuni in
New York, died last week Wednesday at
London, and so one of the world s best
critics of the fine arts has gone. His
was a life of less than the traditional
three score years and ten. a life full of
fruitful effort and well-merited success.
His executive faculties were as keenly de
veloped as his critical functions, and hr
was as exacting in the one as in the
other. His creed as a director was clear
iv and tersely expounded in the state
ment he made when assuming control of
the great metropolitan institution, to the
effect that there should be artistic ap
preciation of works of art with small
thought who created the work, or where
it was created, so long as it was beau
tiful. For the genuine masterpiece hr had
an appreciative eye. and as to the Spurious
he was seldom in error. The result
was that he brought order out of chaos in
New York, and marked without hesitation
many falsities that had long been in mas
querade. His work in this country, al
though it covered the too brief period of
fire years, left a lasting impression, not
only upon New York's museum and Amer
ican artists, hut greater still upon the
masses who struggle to comprehend art.
It was for them that his greatest efforts
nere exerted; it will be by them that his
work will be ultimately most appreciated.
Sir Burdon came to this country in the
face of a storm of protest from the English,
who had long acknowledged his worth as
director of the South Kensington museum
in London, but who had rewarded his labors
and intellect with the Customary niggardly
English salary. It was said then that he
w ent to New York because he was. offered
*IO.OOO a year more. This may have had
weight when he came to form his final de
cision. but there were other things which
counted more. He saw a great, opportunity
in the newer country, a great museum in
»lmost the chrysalis state, the chance to do
great missionary work, as well as to leave
•he stamp of his individuality and the mark
of his ideals upon a collection which all
believe will ultimately be the most import
ant in the world. He found the museum
ixtorly organized and arranged to fulfil its
work. He rapidly instituted sweeping
changes, both in administration and detail
of exhibition, and he left the Metropolitan
on June 27, last year, when he resigned his
directorship because of poor health, in ex
cellent condition and with greatly increased
daily attendance figures.
Personally the man was attractive in
every way. He was gracious, gently genial.
and unostentatious. Of medium hight. he
had the slightly stooped shoulders which
mark the savant. His hair was gray, as
was his mustache, and his eyes were bright
and keen. Some held that he was an icono
clast of the worst sort, but those who knew
him best will remember him as a friendly
optimist, ever ready to talk and always
ready to listen to the opinions of others,
bitt equally ready th frankly disagree with
these opinions if they failed to coincide
with his. He was fitted for bis work to a
degree, and John Lane, in a tribute to him
io one of the art magazines, put it well
when he wrote : He appears to be chemist,
•scientist, artist, craftsman, antiquary,
‘archeologist and alchemist combined. He
‘also has the instinct Of at once recognizing
•the genuineness of an antique, as well as
'its beauty."
Caspar Furdon Clarke was born at
Richmond. County Dublin. Ire., in 1841.
the son of Edward Marmaduke and Mary
Agnes Clarke. and received his- primary
education at Gaulteefs school in Syden
ham and at a private school at Boulogne.
It was in 1.862 that his real education in
the arts began at the National arts train
ing school in South Kensington. He was
the medalist two years later, and the fol
lowing year won the national medallion for
his architectural designs for an o'# English
house. This was the first honor conferred
on him by the famous Bromptrm institu
tion in which he was to play so important
a role and of which he was later • he
referred to as the ton. S-.-- - af-er ■ a
graduation ho won r*- z~ - r r v a ««
of plans for the heating and i*n'. v tg
of the Hou*"’ of Parliament w- - ; - e»d
so adequate that the young mas rw p—-
moted to be director of ■ e r .so n de
partmental works. He ’-o- ' t - »-
once to auperintsr i - r»prod -.—-»
work being done f - . • K» .- '*
museum and from to Eg — ;
and Palestine to buy er ••• - oot It -* >• -
1872 that b» built tm ■- .- of s >f-*rk
at Alexandria, and t » • •- i.tg *•
years were deroteri to build ng rga- n
houses in Teheran and other eastern eftfev
for England. Later he traveled much in
Russia. Gieete. Stria. <:n Its • and
Germany, anl it is said that was not
only familiar with th* <oliections in s.l
the great continental museums, but those
in the private homes as well.
In 1878 he was appointed architect for
the British royal commission for the Taris
exposition and was agent for the Indian
government as well. His design of the
India pavilion won him the cross of the
legion of Honor, and he was awarded
several lesser art medals for design. It
was in 1880 that ho returned to South
Kensington, being directly connected with
the department of Indian art, and for the
following throe years ho did much buying
and collecting, his success being recognised
by the jewel of the order of the Indian
Empire. In 1884 he came to this country
to investigate homes and dormitories for
women prior to designing Alexandra
House in London. It was during thus trip
that he aroused the ire of Vassar college
by saying that it was "too aristocratic for
‘him." The government of India had him
arrange for the colonial and Indian exhibi
tion in 1885. nnd the colonial exhibition
the next year. In 1887 he designed Lord
Brassy's famous museum in Park lane
and was chief of the British-India section
of th* Paris exposition in 1889, which
brought his work as an architect to a
close.
H* began his close association with the
South Kensington museum in 1892. when
appointed keeper of the art collections,
and at once began to show the influence
exerted over his early life by Sir Wools s
ton Franke, hie close friend and probably
th* greatest antiquary of the 19th cen
tury. Clarke had spant much time with
Franks while the latter was doing hie
expert work at the British museum. In
Clarke was promoted to the assist
ant directorship of the Brompton treasure
house, and three years later to the direc
torship. which ho held until UMKt. when
। he accepted n like position with the Met
• ropolitan. It was in 1902 that ho was
| created a knight in recognition of his
I work. While at South Kensington he
; found time to accept royal commissioW
! ships to the Taris exposition of and
I the St Louis exposition in 1904. as well
j as to write almost countless papers which
j were rea»l before various art institutes or
published in the art journals.
After the death of Gen di Cesnola. the
first director of the Metropolitan museum,
the trustees began to look about for his
successor. J. T. Morgan was then com
paratively now in the presidency, and it
has always 1 een thought that he was
chiefly responsible for engaging Sir Prr
don. as the two were lose personal friends
and had been rivals at the important art
sales for years. Sir Purdon. according to
his contract, was to hold office for life,
but resigned in 1910. and was given a sal
ary of S3OOO a year for the remainder of
his life, as well as being chosen honorary
European correspondent of the museum.
He was abroad when his resignation was
accepted, and never returned to this coun
try. He married Frances Susannah Col
lins. and they had eight children. Sir Fur
don received several honorary degrees from
universities, in .addition to being made a
companion of the Victorian order. He
was a member of the Royal society of
antiquaries, of the Royal society of Brit
ish architects, th* Asiatic society, the Roy
al academy of Madrid, .and several Lon
don clubs.
THE TEN AMERICAN PAINTERS.
One Had Nothing tn Offer So There
Are Only Nine Who Exhibit.
The Ten American painters are holding
their 14th annual exhibition in the Mont
rose gallery in New York, only they are
nine instead of 10. Mr Simmons has
been so busy filling decorative commis
sions that he had no time for exhibition
pictures, so is not represented among the
21 canvases. The exhibition is said to be
unusually attractive and the pictures
vastly different. The Boston Transcript's
New York reporter, in writing of it
saysr—
The four brilliant improvisations of
Robert Reid strike the ton note in thia
all-star cast of joyous performers. This
?° t thieves its most brilliant crescendo
in the nervous vibrancy of color and hand
ling of rhe nude figure, seated in profile
on the floor with hands clasped across the
knees l°°kmg up at the white crane on ,
“The Japanese Screen.” from which the
picture derives its name. He has seldom,
if ever, done better painting than is re
v^aled in the pearly flesh tones of this
figure lightly and loosely crosshatched
■with strokes of rose madder and touches
of delicate blue and light yellow. Retain
ing all hj^ oldtime vivacity of color and
virtuosity of handling. Mr Reid has ac
quired of late a certain fresh vigor, vital
izing his recent achievements with some
thing of the pulsating spirit of life that
makes living realities instead, of anemic
splendors out of his delightful version? of
remminity. This new- quality is very evi
dent in the fine. Rented portrait of a young
woman in a black hat wearing purple
black furs, with a Japanese screen serv
ing a? background against which the figure
stands out substantial and very. real.
Tainted with admirable verve and vi
brant with light, that makes, of the shad
ow* a sort nf lambent veil, this is a very
personal application of <hp principles of
impressionistic painting quite unlike the
work nf any man T know of either here
or abroad. More luminous, more pris
matic in color and exhibiting a more
facile touch are his two harmonies in blue
and. gold and violet, called “The Reflec
tion and the “Crystal Ball.- which are
different versions nf the same model in
a warm violet robe, seated before a mir
ror. in which her image is reflected, gaz
ing at a crystal delicately poised on her
between her slender fingers.
These gracefully posed figures harp an
inconsequential gayety of line arid color *
that find their counterpart in the sunnv, I
airy, out-of-door spirit of Mr Benson’s j
single contribution called “Summer." in !
which a group of white-clad young women
are sunning theniselrc* nn a sloping, weed
grown bank with a windswept blue sky
end *ea beyond against which the auburn !
tresses nf thn figure in thp foreground I
makes a telling note, vivifying the whole !
canvas. Fainted with a light touch, in j
Mr Benson s freshest and most sponta
neous manner, it presents vividly the
charming grace and naturalness nf our •
young women that is In striking contrast I
Choate hype rest hpficism of!
Thomas w. Dew log’s figure nf a "Ladv
Listening” to the faint echoes of the i
pe.sL one fancies, so quietly is she sitting
m her wicker chair. This harmonv in
duri golds, gray greens and faded pinks. I
with the metriculous rare of the |
mm.atuHat ha« an old-world air about it.
«-*zg*xtire of past splendors. It attracts
■ * its very evasiveness, wooing you by
mmoet self-effacing reticence and its
**r*u» distinction that is not flustered by ;
•he blare of prismatic trumpets.
.-.-ra f rom the foregoing to Childe I
Hasssm's auburn-haired woman ip a blue
s v - n the "Breakfast Room—Winter
Morning." as from a dream to a flesh and
' vod reality that is substantially human;
rhe’ ires and moves and has its-being in
an atmosphere that is respirable and sur
'harged with light that penetrates every
iwh of the canvas. In its broad treat
ment of a mass of detail—the jortquils on
the little round table, the platter of fruit j
on the window seat against the delicate :
silvery, blue-gray curtains veiling the dim
ly glimpsed view of the city—in its deli
cate tonalities and in its successful ren
dering of the soft light, diffused yet re
taining something of sparkle in its play
on fruit and polished table top. ip all of
this is revealed Mr Ha«sam at Jiis host.
His view of '‘Gloucester" from the bight
overlooking the harbor with its shipping
i« a fine, cheerful performance, while liis
"Times Building" at night is os disap
pointing as is .1. Ahlen Weir's view of noc
turnal "New York," with its lobster pal
aces and girating electric signs making
the night hideous with their blaze of
lights.
But Mr Weir causes one to forget this
unsuccessful experiment with the ineffable
spirit of childhood in his little "Lizzie
Lynch" holding her spotted eat in Iter
gently folded arms, in this, ns well as
in the figure of a young Woman arranging
"pnssv willows" In a blue-gray bowl, he
reveals a diStinguishel vision coupled with
a mellow tenderness of treatment that
make of these harmonies of opalescent
greens and pinks, grays and delicate low
tones blues things of gemlike beauty. His
work has to a high degree the power of
evocation, revealed with no less force and
subtlety in his landscapes. when at his
best, than in his figure pieeda. as is am
ply demonstrated by the serene, lyri-n!
quality of his bit of river bank "Near Nor
wich. Moreover, it has □ robust mas
culinity of treatment that gives to his
landscapes an appearance of weight and
substance. The art of Willard L. Metcalf
looks rather fragile and insubstantial in
this company. His delicate, snow-comred
“Cornish Hills" is wel) painted without
being particularly appealing or convincing.
These landscapes of Nir Metcalf are want
ing in elemental force rather than in
craftsmanship. H» is like a well-equipped
orator who has but little to sav and he
leaves us listless and indifferent. Mr
Weir’s art at least is always invitingly
provocative when he is not absorbingly
interesting.
Mr Bryan's presence in Washington in
dicates that he experts to have sortie slight
influence with this Congress.
THE SPRINGFILLI) WEEKLY REPUBLICAN*: THURSDAY, APRIL 6. 1911.
OUR BOSTON LITERARY LETTER.
j FRANCE. KNOWN AND UNKNOWN.
1 First and Second ( anse* — “I nfre
rjncntrd J rnnor"— A ncient Habita
tion* and Habitant* — Jerrold’*
••Heal France,” and I ureal l*hnn
fa»inaaoria.
' L. 'iu t>ur Sptclnl Correspondent.
RosTox, Tuesday. April 4.
Popp, no more ntheistic or deistic than
many of the priests who have had that for
, a title which he trad for a surname, opened
i his "Universal Prayer," once so well
known and much quoted in New England
among the Jeffersonian democrats, in this
daring fashion: —
Thou First Great Cause. least understood.
Who all nr. «eu«e confined
To know but this.—that Thou art good,
Aud that myself sm blind;
her csv'st me in this dark estate
Ln know the good from ill;
Anri binding Nature fast in Fate.
Left free the human will.
To-day 1 am not speaking of First Caifses.
arithmetical or otherwise, but of second
causes' in human affairs, which are in
numerable in history; but among which
there has been one persistent second cause.
! ever since Caesar called attention to that
‘ great region which is now- the republic of
• France, but was theft all Gaul, and was
i divided into three parts, in which lie
marred and massacred for years, while
I building up a lame and a party, an army
and a fleet, which in time made him dic
tator of the Roman world. Ever since
58 B. C. and for an indefinite petiod
earlier, what is now Ip plaisan pays de
! Fran-'e has been a political and social
’ second cause of great potency, yet more or
! less unknown at its periods of highest
I potency. Caesar revealed some of the
' Galli • mysteries, but left others more con
fused.—the Druidical power, for example.
; and the forms of racial or tribal govern
i ment. Then came the early Christian pe-
I riod. with its impossible traditions and
| prodigious fables, in which Marius, seven
! times consul of senatorial Rome, was con
founded with the Virgin Mary, and later
saints were scattered through France and
Belgium in wild profusion. Then the
Arabs and Charlemagne appeared, leading
the improbable and the impossible in their
train, and introducing a whole new lit
erature of heroes and warriors, as inter
esting and as historically unfounded a* the
Hebrew Samson and thp British Arthur.
Next Joan of Arcs raised her honest peas
ant countenamr among the dignitaries of
church and state, and put them all out of
countenance to such a degree that they
burnt her alive, and now worship her as
a saint, —much : -thp same way that the
southern- confederates have dealt by Lin
coln since t.hey r assassinated him. Arid
who really knows the truth about French
Calvinism, or thp French Revolution, or
what became of the Dauphin, nr the tfiys
teries of the Bonaparte family?
Miss Botham Edwards, who always
writes intelligently of Franco and the
French people, whom slie knows so well,
has brought out a new hook. 'Tnfre,-
quented France.” printed at Bread-street
hill, in Ixmdon. but published in New York
by the .Stokes company, and finely illus
trated in the newer English manner. She
proceeds through the valley of ihe Marne
• the Matrona of Caesar) 10 Provins,
which he mentions under another name,
and which now. iustea<l bf the 80.(10> peo
ple it is said bhoc to have had. coiints but
soOO. and and vet has ad the apparatus
of civilization that larger cities require.—
a town library, museum, theater and vari
ouk fear nod socidtirs. besides ruins and
caves and poets. Tn he sure. Weimar
has hardly, mom people, and Concord h:uP<
much Urs when it was most famous. Milsp
Edwards savs:— : -•. ' '
The rich, red Tnsp.^onftfibftly Ffor^.
enrp rose, is in reality ihe .rose nf Frnvlna,
hating b?on introdceed tn'tills - itv-of chain
pagne by the-<ruSader^ from the Holy Land.
Gardens nf this rn<e may jstili I ' found at
Provins, though little piiltlvated now fnr
•'nmmprcial purposes. Prnveiup. th*'land nf
the Troubadour#, has .therefore no- claim
whatever upon rose-lovers.
She then passes on to Bpsqncnn, which, as
Vesontio, is famous jn Caesar’s storv of
hi* Gallic wftrs; she pays little attrition
to the conquerbr. but visits the natural '
curiosities.—eaves, mountains, ruins, etc.
Not so the learned of the regions which
•'aesar made iTlhstrious in his Com
mentaries: they have been commenting and
controverting, and lately have been dig-
•
relics nf the battle* and sieges of the
hero. Tn France the fashion was set by
Louis Napoleon; in the preparations made
for his imperial life of <’aesar: and many
have followed in that track since 18(50-
Among those who aided Louis Napoleon in
his ta«k was a Col Stoffel.-an Alsacian.
I infer, who in 1890 published an interest
ing volume, with map? and plans, on the
campaign of < aesar against Ariovistus. the
German warrior, in which he has not only
deciphered ’ansar> whole plan of ram-
piigia and order of march and battle, but
comments sensibly on the material fur
i nish*d by CiTsar for a history of earlv ।
■' France, and for instruction in the art of I
! war: which, says Stoffel, is an art and -
: nor a science to ho learned by practice, ;
- then, and not from bbok». Nevertheless. ‘
he blames the French schoolmasters for I
not making more use of Caesar's war
record in Gaul. He says:—
The seven books of the ' Gallio War." die- i
- tntod by < afar, contain the oldest historic
i information about the peoples who tn his '
I time dwelt In the regions between the tthinc. ’
the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees i
and the Atlantic. So France is the only :
country which can boast of having for Its
geographer and first historian one of the
greatest intelloets ever on earth. And ret. In
this France, his t'bmmeiitarlos Ohly 'serve
io teach schoolboys a little Latin: whereas
it should bo the one book io interpret the
history of their ancestors. Formerly. It is
true. Caesar, when first read, seemed some- i
i what dry. hut it 1* so no longer- on th*
contrary, since the pnbibation of the third
i Napoleon s History of .Inlius Caesar, with
nil the discoveries made therein; upon the re
searches ordered by the emperor. It has ac
quired the greatest Interest. We ought to
have a good French version of It. with notes
and a g»t of maps; thia book should then he
one of the chief fext-hook« for national
schools. Pupils led by masters anil profes
sors. should then visit the famous places
sites of Gallic towns, battlefields, Celtic and
Roman roads, etc.
This would be a good thing, and perhaps
it has been done since rhe veteran coldnel
wrote. lio is firm in the faith that the
French are neither a Tintin, nor a Germanic
race, in spite of the fact that their laiignage
is bastard Latin, and that they ware often
itiraded and governed by Germans. They
are Celtic in habit and character. b P says,
much at Caesar described them in his sixth
book. At that time their number was eight
millions, ho says, or less than a third of
their present number in the same limits,
though some parts were more populous than
■ now.
Miss Edwards describes boating ou tlie
River Tam. amid volcanic cliffs and crags,
in language a little too artificial. blit im
pressive as th« scenery itself must bo:—
Only the gentle ripple of the water, onlv
the sorlll note of the cicada nt Intervals ■
. breaks the stillness W r win to have quitted
the precincts of th" familiar world, through
the wrtals of another, strpondous walls of
limestone, not fa be srgled hr the foot or
measured by the eve. hem In out wav The
Cirque vies Baumes Is a double wall line.)
with gigantic .area and grottoes Fairies of
old. of giant race, hate surely bom) making
merry hero. One and nil have vanished- th*lr
vast sunlit caverns opening sheer on the
glassy water, remain intact; high above mnv
their dwellings h» aeon, alrv open chambers
under the edg» of diffs; deep cm-rldors wind
ing through the wall of rock: vaulted ar
cades whence a spring might Ite made Into
the cod oaves below,,
On this subject of caves and cgvo.dwell
era more will follow; but for the present
I tim drawn aside hy one of the most
special of Fronth learned books, that of
I'tanrnla Xavier Michel who valle.l hint
self in the whimsical French fashion of
disguising his baptismal name. "Fran
cfsqiimMich»l." ft# title is “Researches
I Into the Trade, Fabrication and Use of
; < luths of Silver and Bilk. and Oth
! ' r ./ Tissues, in Western Europe.
• chiefly m Fram’d during the Middle
Ages. It was published in 1852 and ded
j o/Hed to a Greek manufacturer in Lyons.
• A. i emeniz. who is described as "the most
fastidious collector of Greek .literature of
: all ages, and of medieval French litera
ture” and a great ■patnm of choice book
hmder*. in his rich library at Lyons. This
is a bowk such as but few Frenchmen
would w-rite. and yet such as all men
• 'flu read with pleasure, provided they
know the half-dozen tongues and dialects
» in which the authorities are quoted,—
! only n few of whieb does ho translate.
He says in his dedication:
A thousand time.-- in mv .areer h« editor
i nave I met with the nam?« of t?«s«ea more
i or less cpstjy. whosc^ French equivalent I wds
I ever unable to find exactly. With y^u for
■ guide. T harp hfed n fine opportunity to earry
light where the learned till now bad found
! nought but un<rrtain.ty or doubt.
Hence this boqk of quarto pages,
n hich. taken with the pages folio of
Du ( ange’s glossary (which Michel some
times corrects! give the moaning, with
examples and citations, of all the names
for,stuffs and garments which Roman
emperors nr popes, and Frankish kings
i and medieval abbot# and cardinals and'
i ^ore. Barragan and Camelot.
Bauarat and Rocpran, Ceudal and Cotsa
mit. < ‘hrysoclarnm apd Diarrhqdon. Frit-,
sain* and I uridaturn.,lniizillns and K.audj
-with all th> stuffs, ami styie^ coni in g un
<iCr al! the letters of thn alphabet,, riiak* l
my studies nbydless. fnr here is she c whole
story io]d. with many ilhiminating ahcc
dotrs. It seems that, for gold la ring,
woolen cloths were first used in Greece;
soon after thefn came in silk from China
or India, or both; but pnt in such abun
dance as lateff but for the inweavihg of
gold and silver threads. Sicily and other
parts of Enrobe grew famous after the
sixth Christian ceiMury. and kings and
queens and churchmen went tn great cost
in this vanity. Saint Louis, of the later
crusades and king <>f France, wore camel's
hair or camiot from humility; but in the
years of Francis I and the "field of-the
doth of cold” nnbjes and priests wore
the woodland or the null, arid sometimes
a whole village op their backs in guise
of breed clothing. Before thp time of
either Lours l X or ^Francis I costly ap
parel was an evil to be rebuked. aS St Je
roihe had re bilked ft in hia day. Coni ment
; ing nn the simple dress of Charlemagne
and his grandson- Louis the German, Mi
chel. says:— , .
They presrribed the use of silk, nf gold
ajid of silver in. garments .«a fashion widely
spread eren jn <ooventsi. But such laudable
efforts oould not long prevail against luxury
Ih dress, thp taste for. which is always more
keenly felt in people of a less advanced civili
zn.uon; ami nt thfall, of the Caroliugian*.
or even sooner, ta^pfoiertbed stuffs reap
peared^s good as new.- Do we not see. In the
first crusade Godfrey nt .Bolllon and. the
'funer r-reneb- -blu^a* appearoiig. hofotp- the
gihltPriv. . Alexis, .Comnenus. wearing
rj.-U .-(..tJi.-s ;lUj i costly, furs. "su. h ns the
r rrnch princes used to weftr.’’ sars an early
author.. ......
Fhe cave ilKdlert and flip wearers, of.
cloth o,f gold teueh elhotvs in France,•
where, at'cortiihg to that unwearied an-,
thor. Baring Gould, there are-still rock
habitations and cave dwellings occupied
and found cbmfort^bfe bv contemporary
L r .t. , L t ‘ 1 L ll <'"“Pwives. Mr' Gould in his
knff, Castles and Care Dwellings of Eu
rope. published rn America, bv’ I.ippin
cott tells of a visit.Jie made to Troo on
the Loir inpt th.q Loire, a better-known’
stream! last year,, rp .whirh Infndn .iq of'
the inhabitants live ynder ground, in cares
hollowed out in th? ,sidp of cliffs, one
above another. pere’ afb less than 800
inhabitants in all, and the sanitation is
strange but there is no board of health,
and perhaps they die ho faster than in
Boston under’ Dr Dilin s sanitary des
mitism. Other dwellings of a like charac-'
ter are foundjin J’Mnw: and there are.
Cate and cliff aivejH& jn pthet parts of
Europe, even in Eftitiihd where thev are
now and agaifP ffndfiflf fault n,P
gypsies., whose consiis has late-’
h- been taken- wgiiesHetl- at.': Bht if is
France of whi^fe: F'sitrite.'.'fcinf' fhefe in
the tune of .Julius.’Caesar; were numerous
care dwellers in southern France. One
of these. Ctr’ilis. igna here of insur-’
reetion in Plutarch and Tacitus Ves
pasian was the emperor against whom” be
rerolted. and by whdm SaMniis an ^ hj s
wife Epponia were put td'd,<?atli. They
were allies of Cirilis: hid themselros in a
care under their castle.-and lived there
nine rears undetected. Mr Gohld here
loses a pretty story he might hare told
about Eppoms (whom Plutanffi in his
"Lorre Stories' calls Etnponai of whose
constancy and adventure's Tacitus meant
to say something, bof that parr of his
history is lost. Pintarch enlarges on it.
howeror. and It would make a French
novel, wetl • spun out " •
They were rich proprietors near Langres
in the time of Vespasian, who plotted a
t evolt with Cirilis. and had some success
against Borne, but finally, being beaten.
Sabinos took refuge in great cellars under
his villa-, and had the buildings burned and
" "1 I 1 co u .n. or onn nvau, —not
even ndtrfymg Epponia of his retreat. She
grieved so much at the news of his death,
that ho feared she might kill herself, ami
so ho notified her that' he was living in
safety, .arod for hy - two faithful freed
men. and bad merely turned cave-dweller.
She joined him there, and for years they
lived in this underworld, where she gave
birth to two boys, ope of whom Plutarch
says he know afterward at Delphi, which
wa« near the Chernncan home of the bi
ographer. Finally both husband and wife
were captured and executed by Vespasian:
having first been fold by the faithful wife
that "she lived more happily in that duu
geop iti Ffatfre (han he did in his palace,
at Ronfe'."- The tale is told in n'long Pla
tonic dialog between' Plutarch lin'd his
neighbors, and it is need to show what a
virtue constancy is iit good -women.' Tlie -
exact words describing her last days are
these:—
The emperor put hei to death: but for that
death he suffered the penalty; for in a short
time all hts ra.-c lm.| fifed off. Anil nothing
old that des; >tisn. endure, more abhorrent,
or of a worse aspect In the sight of gods and
the good Powers. Iler courage and magna
niniiiy. however, extorted pity from the by
standers. and this parfi.-ularlv enraged Ves
padan. Having lost all hope of life, she
b*de this nord go io him. that she. In that
darkness underground, bad lived more pleas
antsy than he playing the despot, in Rome.
Fnhnlmis as this may be. though not im
probable. it can hardly.be farther fton) real-,
ity than Laurence Jerrold,—a person su
perficinlly knowing in "The Real France,"
which John Lane has lately pubiislmd. Not
ding
liracti.-ai Sense of the mass of provincial
Frenchmen, ' with something to lose, and
not the least intention of losing it." ns Srd
ney Smith said of Englishmen, does atcadi-
I ly hold the unsteady French pnrlianmntarv
। leaders to th«ir anchorage. Thai is strik
ingly true, nnd makes the Republic safer
than any French monarchy has been for
4H conseoutireyears. But these leaders are I
not such pasteboard creatures as he deftly
caricatures them; he is merely Indulging
tn smart writing, so common and so catch
ing nfiw in England. Put Mr Jerrold him
self info a respcmsible in th* govern,
ment of SO.OOO.iXto people, and .ho wduhf
either fizzle Ont nt once, or he would cease
smart writing nnd turn to th* prosaic busi
ness of ruling, ntid obeying the popular
voice. Nations ar* not governed for a term
of years by such men of straw, set up to be
knocked down, such talkative nlbnles. n* he
describes in Franc*, during th* past dec
ad* and mor*. I must again quote that govl
saying of th* English observer. Daniel cen- ’
furies ago, who said: —
Men find that nerlon is another thing
From whnt they In discoursing papers read-
Fl;* worlds nfin.rs require In managing
Mnr» arts f;w, SP wherein vou clerks
prArpra
Those chapters wore plainly written fnr
.a tmwapapor nr a magazine, ffhd for an
immetllatc sensation: they picture, in some
sort, th* daily events of France; h U f fh* v
do tint reach th* Soul of things, and will
be as forgotten three years hence, as th<*
iVA P n ’’'hii’n they were originally
scribbled.
! A HALF-CENTURY OF DANCING.
— ——-
: T. A. HOLLAND'S LONG CAREER.
He Han ThukM the l.Htle nnd
Mailer* for SO Years the Terp-
• ilchorean Art.
I These are the days in which the gentle
’ art of th? dance has fallen into the neglect
( uhirh is bound • tn overtake the dear old
. fashioned things bi the tearing rush of
modern life. The minuet of .colonial days,
with- its graceful curtseys and tight steps.
i treaded with slow, even measure to soft,
। leisurely music, simpiy cannot be done to
• day, the age is too swift for it. Instead
Jw© have the barn dance, for instance,
Hr Iff ch destroy^ tbw.jjlastoj' in the nVombe
| low and scatters the fair curls of the ladies
’ from* one eerd of Mie hall to the other.
Mourn it as wo may, without doubt the
■ ehl stately (lances are. passing and their
substitutes cause the old-time dun-ing mas-
HO
THOMAS A HOLLAND.
tbrs td writhe arid thW disciples to look
with, cqpteippt bn the mad romping of the
boisterous youth. ,
Within the remembrance of almost every
adult the square and contra-dances were
in favor, and the old-timers can many of
them take a part in a quadril' or- lancers
with-the courtly, eyep steps and flourishes
that made the dance charming and. .dig
nified. In country places they 'Still mix in
a few of‘the contra-dances and on the card
'will be seep “T.ady of the Lake?* "'Haste
to lh p Wedding." “Hull's Victory,”' or
'.‘Pop Goes. the Wcasef.’' whi.dh psi'd to. be
n prime favorite. Even, when. these are
danced now. however, the object is more
to have violent young America's idea of a
good tinle than to exhibit any of the ideals
of grace, and as a consequence the digriified
Virginia reel becomes a stampede.
It would- be interesting to' know how
'.large a proportion oFthe people of Spring-'
held-, and/of Western Massachusetts, for
that matter owe what grace they possess
tq-the instruction.of Thomas A» Holland.,
the veteran dancing master, who.. has
taught generations the graceful art. of the
old schdol. It is wi.tlt feelings of regret
■that hiA ptipits. present and past, heard of.
his intention of giving up his lifelong ac
tivity and of bringing to an end .those,
evening exhibitions and soirees which hare
always marked the end of the dancing
year,. with'tliq.bug 'hHd in Apollo hail'du.
Friday pvehinc: ' • >
MrH-oUand has. beep, at.it for artitpsif..S).
years, and' for- 45 joears' a • reception has
been held annually. With that record^ be
hind him ho is. qua rifled Io speak with
authority bn the cbursb'of the art arid its
modern trend and indications, He might
also, if he chose. compare the .amount of
natural grace possessed by the grandchil
dren with that of their elders.. hut he wise
ly refrains. Modern .. times are full of fads
in dancing, as in everything else. and. the
favorites, of, early days are now urikijown.
in the days when Mr Holland first took
up the work every one went to darning
school and as a matter of fact was obliged
to if he wanted to know how. to dance.
Nowadays one may go to a few parties
and. imitating the rest, get a kind of a--
whirling motion and a hippity-hop info
their feet which passes for dancing and at
which they, have the good . time they are
looking for. Ball-room dancing can be
taught by.anybody because there is so
very little to learn to it. A ball of to
day lias only the three dances, waltz, two
step and shhottiShhe on the program. and
these .arc. enough fbr.fhose who .go to them.
Mr Holland was born at Imicester in
1537. and learned the machinist's Trade
in 'Worcester. Hr came to Springfield in
wartime. 1861. and worked as a machinist
ar the armory. A congenial spirited group
of friends arranged a series of dapbing
parties, and Mr Holland's ability in the.
line having been discovered they persuad
ed him to teach the. rest of them. There
wore 15 couples in the group, and the
school opened in the dining hall of a
hoarding-house On Walnut street. The
work taken tip; mory as a lark than as
s'-ridus business appealed to \fr Holland.
mid having a natural aptjtude for it he
gave up hja other .ocenpatmn and studied
Iht- art for himself w ifh masters’ in Boston
and New .Vqfk.' He .then becan to'take
‘up his xrork wijli ehildroii, in which he
lias been ^highly successful. Fred Fruit
rif fids city was the lifst boy' in his
classes, which' numbered eight children at
first. Of late years they have numberqd
2H<(. Th* exhibitions were begun 45 years
ago. and the skill nnd grace shown at
them on the part of the gatuia pooph* al
ways called forth ad miration. When held,
in the old City hall they were important
social events with crowds in atfCtfdnnie.
In 1882 Mr Holland joined the Ambri-.
can society of ■ professors of dancing, in
■w hich he held’offices Mid jn whose affairs
he figs taken nn. active part. Al. the
uieotings of the society the condition and.
status- of-' daneitig ate itist-Wsdefl ami help-,
fill bints exchaugeil. -The mCniliCra .bring
new ideas for steps aiwl dam’cs r and in
flit- reports of the society uro the descrip
tions.of many (lances which are original
with Mr Holland. One of the most effec
tive of these was carried out Friday
evening, the Spanish qiiadril. which is
difficult nnd requires rtimli practice nnd
grace: It wns presented bj Mi Holland
at the socletj- meeting in ’19O!1. ami met
M itil instant fntor. The society dors not
njhiw flic art of Terpsichore lo deteriorate,
and opposes np.v fantastical and freakish
modnrh tcndemi'S. Just now there is an
effort on their part to bring hack tjie old
niiiiimts into popularity, bill the fact that
they hare no pracili'aL value in the bail
room is ngainat .thyia.
The present <vngc for esthetic-danying,
says Mr Holland, is -litrhi-els* than a
craze, awl will soon pass It ir. not pmc
ticablo for the general piihlir. nnd will
not rerclve general furor, ft <nnn-'t bo
taught to children, or grown people either,
in a class, as out of a class of 20 thorn
would l>c probably about three who could
do the Movements. The phjfsicnl culture
purl of the business, two. is i<q a thint of
pinctnnl mine. Knch ideas ihimt bi ihriOd
for each individual, and to try and fpjtcll
them in a class Is impossible nnd absurd.
Those who dafice on the stage have-spent
their lifetime In pvactico,, and tpoy urn
few in comparison to the nttmbers who
g*> to dancing school. Most of the largo
number of pupils who IniCc iHtsW.I ththngh
tHb cotirfo in "(laticlhg and dcprirlniFnt"
realize th* value of thoh- instriwtion. and
me eager to have their children have the
same opportuuity Mrs Holland has al
ways been the collaborator with her hus
baud in teaching deportment and attend-
ing to the manners of the young lads and
l issies in the dressingToonis. where with
■'nt a supervising eye the lessons of the
hall would be thrown to the winds in a
minuto and bo replaced by a general
rough-house. The little folks have al
ways been made to feel iit home and that
Mr and Airs Holland were interested in
them. Their interest was and 'is of the
strongest, and nothing pleases them more
than to receive the child or grandchild of
one of their former pupils into their
classes. The pleasant ntnmsphrre of the
c'nssrobm. which has been in Memorial.
; Fail fur some time, is the result of un
t limited tact, which is rts necessary for
। the daneirig master ns a knowledge of the
stops. Ihe conduct of n class such as Mr
Holland s has had the effect of schooling
those who attend nnd educating them
since a knowledge of the stops is no easv
thing to'Acqtiire.
Il is .no easy matter for oric to wholly
give up his lifework at once, especially
in the face of protesting solicitations,
spoil as Mr Holland is hearing on all
sides. Die demand on his strength ranged
bv the exhibitions, howeve/, lias forced
him to, abandbn them, although his in
terest in his art continues as strong and
fresh as ever.
HOLLAND FAREWELL RECEPTION.
Apollo Hall Filled With Children and
Their Parent, for the Closing Ex
hibttion.
I homas A. Holland, who - for nearly
half a century has fati^ht dancing to the
boys and girls of Springfield, brought his
career ns a dancing master to a close Fri
day night with his 45th annual and last ex
hibition, complimentary .jo his classes for
misses and masters. It was an exhibition
of the standard wall-known to those who
have attended these exhibitions in the
years that Mr Holland has been leading
little people into the grace of pretty move
ments bf body and feet, arid Well might
hh bo proud to present Friday's classes
as the culmination of not only the past
seaspn's drill,' hut of his long experience
as a master of dancing. Apollo hall had
every bit pf available Space occupied by
parents, big brothers, sisters, aunts and
others who. were interested to see what
the ehildron in Whom they were particular
ly interested could accomplish and. also to
enjoy the pretty figures made by all the
little dancers. The platform Whore’ the
Philharmonic orchestra played was oc
cupied, in part by about 15 dancing mast
ers, many of whom came from outside the
city to attend.
No prettier sight can be imagined than
that made by the many little girls and a
few boys upon the large dance floor. Pink
and blue and white in varying ;shades were
the dainty dresses which brightened the
seine, and the stockings and dancing
pumps in as many colors as the dresses set
off the scores of little feet that tripped in
.rhythm,to the music, and With a speed not
easy for the eye to follow. The program
wa.s delightful throughout and there was
riot, a number that did not win applause
that demanded a repetition, although it
was not always possible for the dance, or
parts of it. to be done again. The entree
was an old-time cbtillon. followed by a
two-step, Trish lilt'arid buttei-flies’ frolic,
dqne by the ' first-year class with' great
skill.
A classAlay minuet and waltz were fol
• lowed by a tennis dance, origins text by
Mr Holland; done by the older pupils in
eScellCut form and winning the apprecia
tive applause of the audience Another
original dance of Mr Holland's; a Spanish
quadrille, was featured by three little
maids in costume who gracefully xvCut
through a number of intricate- movements. •
A sehottische an w hich the beys imperson
ated 'flames and the girls -moths had un-.
usual* features that amused as well as
pleased the eye ns; the danw* movements
were gone through. The children got a
deal of fun out of -this dance. Twoylittle
girls dressed in sailor rigg- damced aqsail
-.■ot's hornpipe-in a spirited fashion that al
most ..brought to the ofeerver"a whiff of
the salt , sea and, the-.roll qf a good .ship,
as they jigged across the waxed boards. -
. puiling-the lines taut and mak-iiig all-ship
shape. The audience insisted that this
number of the program be repeated, .and
the midshipmites did it. with as much vim
the second time -as they, did it at first.
A Spanish .circle, .danced by all the little
girls of the classes, presented a bright
scheme of colots' as the dancers carried
wreaths of flowers , and scarfs, and in
this dance, which closed the program, was
io be seen the care with which the little
ones had been drilled. There were many
twists and. turns that required that the
little heads be kept in control as well as.
the feet.’ find the pretty flowers, bright
scarfs and Happy faces hiade a beautiful’
pictute."
Albert F„ Jacobs, who has played at the
exhibitions of Mr Holland for 30 years wa 3
at tile piano Friday night. Refreshments
were served during an intermission of 15
minutes, which came at the close of the
Class program, after which general danc
ing was on the- program and the older
people were given an opportunity to dance
a list of 10 dance numbers. Many 'of the
mothers of the children in Friday's ex--
hihition had been in Mr Holland's classes
when they .were girls, and nearly every
one was anxious for an opportunity to
congratulate the dancing -master on. the
• successful evening in view of th* fact
thit heis now to retire from the work.
BIG TUNNEL COMPLETED.
Lftetwchherg Bore is Third Lwrikest in
Knrope, Being Nine Mlles in
Lenntli.
-The final obstruction to the Loetschberg
tunnel through the Bernese Alps was
pierced by the laboints at 3.50 o'clock Sat
urday morning. after 5Vi years' work and
the expenditure of $20,000,000. The fun
nel, which is the third longest’in Europe,
measures 14,500 meters, or approximate
ly nine miles. IVith the completion of the
Loetsehlierg tunnel, which was planned
to give Hie Simplon tunnel railway line u ;
direct' connection with the railways which
tin verse Switzerland fropi north, to south,
there.will be a direct through route from
Milan to Berne and thence to Calais. The
distance from Milan to Calais, by this
route will be about 075 miles, or nearly
8(1 miles less than the existing routes. The
tunnel will be double-tracked throughout. •
'life Lot’tsChbpfg tiitincl at its highest
point Is -1051 feet above the sea level. It
ts not, quite so long as the St Gothard,-
which is l»G miles long, or the Simplon,
w hich is 12*a miles in length. The Loetsch
berg tunnel Ims a grade of only seven
motors per UKh» meters, is nine yards wide
nnd IpL, foot high. It ivas first planned
as.a. single-track, line. -The gauge is stand
ard. being L4SM (4 feet BL> inchesl. Com-
I rcssed nir was used for drilling it. The
entire lino from Spiez on Lake Thun to
Briguo will be operated electrically.
BIG < Hom s FOB MUSIC FESTIVAL.
flans for the musical festival ,in
this city arc now sufficiently com
plete to warrant the management
in • promising one of the best fes
ticnls' the association has yet llblr,. Tlic
les|ivtil chorus, now being drilled under
.lolm .1. Bishop, numbers over "Ob voices,
the largest company of shivers who have
token |t»rt in the festival In recent veers,
nnd the gronter part of those uro trained
siUgnra who have sung at previous fee
illals. This year for the first time flic
* entire Orpheus club is singing with th*
f’ -tbnl . hortts which will give n splendid
volume of male voices. ' Eli in h" will b*
Hu big chornl work to be .lone, and as
this Ims nm boon sung since 100-4 it
nbrmld be hoard with great interest The
list of firtlMs is not quite complete, but
enough have already been engaged m mark
II a- otic of the strongest the association
Ims jot se. nroii. The star of th* festival
•"i'l IW Mme Izmisn Homer, prima ddnna
of the Metropolitan opera -company find
on* of the greatest artists who have ever
sung in Springfield.
NOTES OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS
BUSONI AND HIS NEW SCALE.
' —i .LVi.. i. j k.
The Italian Pianist’* New Work on
Musical KMhelfc*.
The pianist Kiisdrii has ju&t published
through Rudolph Schirmer of Netv York
n book entitled "A New Aesthetic of Mu
sic,” in which he makers tlie revohitKfriary
suggestion of a scale based not on seiiii
tones, but on intervals equal to a third of
a whole step. To support , this view he
says:—
The tripartite tone (third of a tone) has
set some time been demanding admittance,
.and we have left the call unheeded. Who
ever has experimented, like myself (in a
modest way), with this interval, and intro
. dm ed either with voice or with violin two
equidistant intermediate': tones between the
extremes of a whole tone, schooling bis ear
and his precision of attack, will not have
tailed to discern that tripartite tones are
wholly independent Intervals with a pro-
DOtniced <4i:iracter nnd not to be confounded
with ill-timed semitones. They form a re
finement in chromatics based, as at present
appears, on the whole tone scale. Were we
to adopt them without further preparation
we should have to give up the semitones
and lose our minor third arid perfect fifth,
nnd this loss would be felt more keenly than
the relative gain of a system of 18 one-third
tones. But there is no apparent reason for
giving up the semitones for the sake of the
new system. Ry retaining for each whole
'tone a’ semitone we obtain n second series
of whole tones lying a. semitone higher than
the original series Then by dividing thL
second series of whole tones’ into third tones
each third tone in the lower series will be
matched by a semitone in the higher serie.-.
Thus we have really arrived at a system of
whole tones divided into sixths of a tone,
and we may he sure that even sixth - tone*
will some time be adopted into musical
speech. Rut ihe toua! system above sketched
out must, first of all train the bearing to
thirds of a tone without Alving up the semi
tones. To summarize: We may set up either
two series of third tones with an interval
of a semitone between the series or the
usual semitonic series thrice repeated at the
Interval of one-third of a tone.
I he suggestion of usfiig quarter-tones has
been made often enmigh, and' supported
with easy referenops to the supposed Chi
iirse Scale, the details of which are not
very well known. Mr Busoni- begins more
modestly, but lie carries us in the end even
further with his hint of a subdivision into
sixths of a whole tone. Wonld such a
scale, it may be wondered, differ material
ly from the singing 'out bf tune which is
already sufficiently prevalent?
As for subdivisions of the Scale, it may
be remarked that in practice a good singer
or pJriyer upon the yiolin unconsciously ob
serves even finer distinction?. On the piano
a whole tone is a whole tone and a half
tone a half-tone, and whatever variation
there may be in the tuning is not adjust
able. Byt oh thy viojin, the player makes
some intervals a little more and Others a
little less. The leading tone fs commonly
sharped a little as compared with the same
tone on the piano, and the major and
minor thirds vary perceptibly from the
tempered scale. Any violinist can test the
ifitei-vajs very precisely by playing any
convenient scale that offers open strings- -
D niajor, for example, and comparing the
Scale pitch’ with the requirements of har
mony. Let him establish the second de
gree of the Kcale by making the note E
a perfect fourth below the open A string,
ns-may easily, be done by sounding them
together. Then keeping the E,_ Jet him
in the, samp, fashion tune carefully a
smooth major sixth to C sharp on the A
string, and compare the tone thus obtained
wish fhe'C sharp as he Would'play it in
a scale. The whole'musical system is a
Bring of compromises—hence its possibil
ities as well as its annoying- inconsistencies
Possibly in time the h tub an ear may be
educated to the third-df-a-tone scale which
Sir Busoni proposes—man may. for that
matter...one day. have three cars instead
of drily J wo. JVo need not wait so long
to’ bbgin exrVerimentirtg. but Singers and
violini&'^wTlLdo with
th^ir- sejise rps pitqlu They naay prQfi.tablv
Wved?xi>erlments -with scales’ to the
acousticians and -to pianists, whose sense
of pitslr docs uo-t;. matter-if -the tuiieK ,is
trustworthy.
. Furp.aa contrasted.,.witp tom.P.ered in
tonation is commonly thought of as affect
ing harmony rather- than melody,, but the
experiments of Thaddeus Ca'hill. the in
ventor of the telharmonium have given a
’Striking demonstration of the ralae'of a
i true scale even for a sipgle melody. For
; the lest Of this the telharmonium is pecu
liarly well adapted, because this wonderful
invention which converts electric waves
into sounds, not only produces tones of
absolute purity, but can give a perfect
nnd invariable assonance. The struggle
tn develop the great possibilities of this
fektiire of the instrument has been the
most difficult as well as the most brilliant
part of-the achievement to which Mr Cahill
Tias given 20 years of thought and experi
ment. Tim technical aspects of the prob
lem' of the long-desired enharmonic key
board instrument, in perfect tune in all
keys, may be put to one side. Tile point,
of j'chgvaHt interest is that in his testu
on musical listHicvs Mr Cahill has found
that a pure scale makes much more differ
ence -with the. character of a .’melody, than
is commonly recognized. It is troe that
the effect of tempering is not So ronsc-ious
ly observed ag in- sustained harmonics,
where the "heat" of ope tone-against- »n
---othen forces .itself upon the ear. But the
difference is none the less notable, and can
he specially well tested by the telharmoni
um because it gives scientifically exact and
invariable intervals, while the most per
fect, violinist may not. play the same pass
age twice alike. - even ..though; tire finest
car cannot detect the difference. It-, will
he seen ihat the 4wo kinds -of investiga
tions lead in exactly opposite directions
Busoni's toward a new- mechanical sub
•dHision with smeller but yqual miifs, and
Cahill's toward the far move, subtle niaWr
of restoring the infinitesmal-warfiftldns
w hich Nature bits - inexorable fixed; and
which any equal-divisimi ignores.’. -.One
would reform the human- car. the other
inerelv perfects musical meebanism, a uuc h
more ’ hopeful task. In, referring to" Mr
Busoni's plan.- IV. J. Hendersou in the
New York Sun discovers.the Mature and
origin of the tempered scale:—, **;
•It may be said that ttmjjust scale IS found
ed on the computation of the ratio oL the
vibrations of the.-successive, notes..., When
Hie scales of the. Various.keys are thus con
structed it Is found that a JmaH irtterval
exists bet ween speh notes ds 4 abifrp and G
flat Homie tn-order'to haw a piano on
whb'h -tbo scale of Its major-ami D flat-could
both be played in .lust temperament v* *
Should have to have two different piano keys
for F sharp . ami ,G flat. Some, kind man
onee took ttiif trouble to compute that in or
der t» make a piano in Just tempernmeut.
■ apnble of being pUyon 1h alt the major' and
minor scales we should hare 84 keys to the
octave Radi and Bamoan <n ere simultane
ously nt work on evpcrlmems which led ibeiu
In show how by Klizhfiy. altering the seUntl
fl*- Intervals here and there the equal or m*au
* tempered soilles could- be produced, and that
with those the modulation.-of keyboard In
strumenta through nli- thn tonalities could be
ncrompllsbed’ without extending tp* limits
of Its extant keyboard.- -Tn other words, they
made It possible for tbc littman hand to grasp
tiio entire range of modern harmony^ They
mad* th* plaqo compositions of BobuSsv and
Ilrykn po-sb-ie They made it possible to ar
■ tango a must- drama Of Wagner for piano
They made fh* modern plane concerto pos
slid*. rnrthsrforff. th* system of efliial
temperament, .as wo have nosed. I* wnat
makes, modern orchestral muale practicable
if we still had. pist tynmoiament the or
rheatra would have to cmtflno Itself to a few
simple tonnHtlob. Mr it n'onld be hopelessly
out of tune If it departed from them Now
th* interesting: question arises whetban Mr
Busoni would not he entirely gratified by th*
reatorgyoh of Just teniperaroent tn the
strluga of th* orchostrn, wlioi-o It, is per
rm-tly practicable, wlill* the wind, except
perhaps tire nccommodntlnc trombones, might
retain the moan temperament. We should
vfirtaimy thus arrive nt a mat series of new
combinations. We should be able to ronsttuet
umlodlos with. Intervals of less than a semi
timo and we should acquire a substantial
body >'f haimbnh- matevlnk wholly freed
from the dnnMnntldn of the present'eode of
laws The nresSnt code of harinonlc law
cannot •erjmisiy nlftrni any composer except
when he Ie dealing with fundamentHl har
inonles. and then of course be has to, be a
good boy. Blit fit any miibr fltbe th*r« la
no possible or impossible ’-oinblnatlon of
1 tones which be is not permitted to uag.