Newspaper Page Text
6 CHRONICLES OF A WANDERYEAR. ACROSS THE FRONTIER TO STAIN. The Glories of the Cathedral at Bnr vos—The Tomb of the lid—Some Beantifal Country. XXIV. Bibgos. Castile. March 25. 1911 Mg Dearest:— Soon alter writing you last from St Jean de Luz. we started from that place one lovely morning about 10 o'clock for the fashionable Spanish watering place of San Sebastian. At the frontier of Spain. Irun is made a rather unhappy place for travelers by a searching examination of all one's belongings, but having wisely sent most of our baggage to Paris, and entering Spain very much "a la touriste, we were soon free to find places in a new train,—necessarily a new train, as the gauge o 'changes trout one country to the other. After Irun, the first point of much interest is the harbor of Passajes, so thor oughly landlocked one is almost deceived into thinking it a lake, and amazed to see ships in it. Never haung myself ap proached it from the sea, 1 shall employ the words of a certain Chaplain Greig to describe it to you. . , In a book called "The Subaltern, which is not a novel, but so interesting account of the experiences of one of Wellington's command in the peninsular war. he says: "Perhaps there are few ports in the world mote striking, in every respect, than that of Passajes. As you draw near it. you run along a bold, rocky shore, in which no opening appears to exist: nor is it till he hat reached the very mouth of the creek that a stranger is inclined to suspect that a harbor is there. The creek itself • annot be more than 50 yards wide; it runs directly up between overhanging cliffs, and presents altogether the appear ance of an artificial cut than of a cut of Nature's forming. From the bare faces of these cliffs various kinds of dwarf trees and shrubs grow out in rich luxuri ance. and their summits are crowned with groves of lime and cork trees, and passing through the creek, we arrived in a spa cious harbor." Although this description is of a cen tury ago, it is as applicable to-day as it was then, for rocks and sea belong to the unchangeable. We of America, too. may have a special interest in this harbor, because it was from here that the mar quis de Lafaydtte set sail when he came to help us in our rebellion against the mother country. From this place to San Sebastian is but a few minutes' ride, and we were soon looking about us in a new land and having the first experience of a new tongue. Our hotel, the Continental, said to be the best of the many, was al most on the beach, and large windows in he dining-room afforded a lovely view of the bay. It i« Hot unlike Biarritz, the saud the same warm brown color: but the bay is not so wide, and nt each end is a high, bold diff, while the island of St Clara, in nearly the center of the en trance. with a shoal between it and one diff, makes the entrance comparatively rarrow. The beach is smooth and stoneless, and no doubt presents a gay sight in summer weather. The chateau, used by the king for his royal residence, is situated high on the hill up which the city climbs away from the sea. and as it has pleasant-look ing grounds, is attractive, and its royal dwellers may lonk ar the sea and ignore the dirty, forlorn town underneath. For much of San Sebastian must be ignored if one is to take pleasure in their sojourn there. A Trip to Hemani. A lovely afternoon tempted us to a drive into the hills to Hernani. a quaint Old place, with narrow streets and over hanging houses, and an old church which has some celebrated wood carvings, gilded and colored in the way the Spaniards love to decorate their altars. What interested us even more than the carvings in this church was an inscription on the wall above the burial place of a native of Her nani. Juan de Urbtta. who was knighted by Charles V and called "the deliverer of Fa via and captor of Francis I." We were not fortunate at Hemani. as at Sare, near St Jean de Luz. in following in the wake of King Edward, and found no such clean, if humble, tea place. Instead, a tumble down. slovenly-looking restaurant adver tised "English drinks." and. hunger tempt ing. we with some doubtfulness ordered "tea," only to bestow it in large part upon a timorous waif dog and wretched looking i-as. who. scenting unaccustomed food front afar, crept in from the street to beg of tender strangers. Beautiful dis tant views of the Pyrenees are the reward •or climbing Hernani s hill, for the town itself. once seen, ends curiosity, and one is only enticed there by a sort of indefinite sentiment for Victor Hugo. Leaving San Sebastian at an earlv hour fall the good trains in Spain start with the < row of the cock), we were soon fairly on our Way to Burgos. The first hour or two we. went through lovely mountain coun try. peopled still by the thrifty Basques, whose tidy, whitewashed homes were a contrast to the habitations farther on in Castile. Later the country began to look more strange, less fertile, and less pros perous. and from Miranda all the way to BurgOs seemed one vast desert. We were perhaps traveling at the wrong time of the year to receive a pleasant impression, for that part of the land which was not rocky was plowed, and probably planted, bat no sign of a growing crop, except at interval*. It was a curious picture, and ofie I shall long remember, for no state ments of conditions had ever given mo any idea of the desolation. It was a gray day. and we were traveling across what seemed to he an endless plain, with mountains on each side in the dim distance, so dark and lowering, so destitute of evidence of life. 1 could only liken rhe scene to one of the conceptions of Gustave Hore. In Plctnreaqne Castile. This part of Castile is said to be rich \ in minerals; no one knows how rich, be- j cause, like dogs in their mangers, the Spaniards will neither take the trouble to find out themselves nor let anyone else more enterprising do it. The belief, how tver. appeared to be upheld by the colors in the various plowed places, some a rich red. as if iron were present, others deep brown, or yellow, or gray, making the Whole 100 k like a vast mosaic. One can hot speak of the "fields.” because there is but one large one. and not the slightest attempt nt divisions in any way to be seen. After leaving the Basque country, too. there were no more pleasant, comfort able-lookifig farm homes, but all seem to dwell in communities. A church makes a center, and around this huddle, in more or less tumble-down forlornness, a few stone houses, built of the native stone, so nearly the color of the earth one hardly distinguishes a vil- j lago, except by the church tower, until nearly upon it. Even the riles on the roofs are almost ns indistinguishable. In til this region there is not a tree, not even a bush, to be seen, and a few flocks of sheep and herds of donkeys were driven about over the planted fields to nibble here and there what scanty green had be gun to push through the ground. It all suggested the words, "abomination of desolation," Few human beings were to be seen, and these, always single nnd alone, wrapped like "Lo. the poor Indian"’ in shawls from head io foot, only served to accentuate the desolation. It is said that Castile was once covered with forests, and that the people, having a superstitious idea that trees wore harm ful. had waged destruction against them until therh were no more, and their climate ruined. Certainly, if an object lesson is needed by those who are trying to save forests in the United States, it is to be found here, and I think no one who over sees the desert which the havoc has cre ated will ever wish to wantonly sacrifice a tree again. The Arrival at Barcos. Of course we were all curiosity to see What Burgos might be like, especially as not being a larger city we might fairly I cxpp< t to inert with some, if not many, ! of the hardships with which wo bad been threatened by informing friends. Our train arrived on time about 3 o'clock in | the afternoon, and 1 mention this fart ' be«anse if a train which toddle^ serenely along at 20 to 25 miles an hour cannot ar i rive on time it surely has very little else to recommend it. particularly when it . has the impertinence tn tall itsdlf a “ra- I pide!” Ringos received us a- kindly as i it could, being all smiles and bows when I languages failed, but cold and rain and i mud wore damping to the internal mind 1 as well as to the external body, and it i was with some forbodings that w depos -1 ited our traps at the hotel and asked if a carriage < nuld be provided to take us to i the cathedral. The “carriage.” an ancient landau, was i ordered, and soon hearing a stamping and clattering in the little court which seemed to betoken readiness we descended to find seated on the box the most unwashed. < ol larless travesty of a coachman it has even been my fate to be driven by. He held in a rather helpless, furtive way a pair of ancient reins, while the martre d'hotel on one side, and the ’’boots” on the other held or tri^d to hold by their heads a restive mule and an ancient gray mare who appeared to be searching for words to express her indignation at her trace companion! Ar a given signal when we were seated, the gates, nr doors, were opened, and we nlungcd headlong into the nr nil Jr"wUO&tS I ! vs? WWi”* WHIMBI mi I THE COFFIN OF THE CID. street as if the “de'il himself" were after us. The ' nthedrat. The cathedral was really, if we had but known it, .only a few steps away and wc soon were safely within its walls with only threatenings of mishaps, and in a most unfittingly hilarious mood with which to approach one of the great archi tectural wonders of the world. In the presence, however, of this won derful beauty all feelings except awed admiration quickly subsided and "e weie absorbed in the effort to appreciate the feast. It is not so large as many ca thedrals wc have seen, and rhe effect of the Size it has is much diminished by the whole center of the. church being taken up bv the choir and the I apilla Mayor, but the elaboration of ornament every j whrrp. on pillars, on capitals and arenes, i the wonderful carvings on wood, stone, I marble, and alabaster, all combine to make it the most exquisite casket torot the most lovely works of ait of which the mind can conceive. It is somewhat astonishing if one has not known it before, to discover that all this beatltv is the conception of a German, for one hardlv comes to Spam with the idea of finding cither German or l-rench art. but so it is, and this which some people call "the most beautiful church in Spain" is due to t rench ideas adopted and assimilated by "Meister Hans of Co logne" brought to Spain by an English man. Bishop Maurice. This bishop him self has an elaborately carved bronze tomb in the choir, but it paies as. indeed, does almost every other, in comparison with the wonderful marble effigies in the "( 'apilla del Condestable" of the Consta ble Velasco, viceroy of Castile, and his wife. Those recumbent figures carved in marble, with marvelous details of lace work and embroidery seem to be almost, living, breathing beings, and the pillows covered with intricate tracery on which their heads are resting to be or softest down, so exquisite and true is every tiny d< ln i the little sacristy of this chapel there are a most lovely alabaster relief of the Virgin and Child and also a painting by a pupil of Leonardo da \ inci of the peni tent Magdalene, which closely recalls the famous Monna Lisa. A very sympathetic sacristan, who fortunately spoke French, showed us about and through the beautiful chapels, both this first afternoon and the next dav when we hurried back to the cathedral in the morning to hear high mass bring celebrated for the feast of high annunciation, ami through his kind interest the Child was not merely allowed, but kindly assisted, to take many photo- graphs. , . . The fesstdav drew somewhat of a crowd, partly of the curious, but appar ently mostly of the devout, for a large proportion of them listened to the bishop’s sermon oh their knees, fortunately not upon the cold stone, but even so, a proof of derotion not often to be seen. For my self I had hoped for fine music, but was doomed to disappointment as it was most mediocre both ns to character and rendi tion ahd the sermon being in Spanish, to It's an unknown tongue, wo soon passed on io see the cloisters and more chapels. The cloisters are very lovely Gothic with exquisite tracery and from them opens the ancient sacristy which is chiefly inter esting hr reason of carved nnd painted capitals representing scenes from “Don Quixote.” The Tomb nt Ft Cid. In an adjoining chapel Of ’’Corpus Chris ti” is the tomb and the recumbent figure carved in stone of the "head cook” of Henry 111. So much were cooks beloved in those early days! Also in that chapel is the "coffre" or trunk of the Cid sus pended on brackets against the walls. Theophile Gautier in his "Tratels in Spain” calls it "la doyenne dos malice du monde." and the story is that the <'id. "cl Theed" the Spaniards call him, filled it with sand nnd pledged it to the Jews for WiO marks, thev supposing it to contain gold ami jewels! His admirers say that Jie honestly redeemed it Inter, hut it is quite in keeping with many tales if he did not, for he seems to have been a sort of Span ish Kobin Hood, an inexplicable mixture of fine impulses, bravery, and cruelty. Burgos was the birthplace of the Cid, and we went to see the spot, marked by three stone monuments bearing his arms add those of Castile, which mark the foundation of the house where be was born. After a long ano most varied life, having raised bitnself from the humblest origin to being governor of Valencia, hav ing served first Moor, then Christian, who ever paid him best, he made, according to the chronicles, an exemplary end. receiving the sacraments at the bishop's bands, and I "satisfied that he had done hie duty to i ward his God." Whatever may have been his character I while living, and whether loved or hated, dead he is a hero in the hearts of his , people, and romance surrounds his name. : The Child and 1. thoroughly bitten by this j same spirit, determined to see his burial . place and Io add our homage to the mighty list of his worshipers. Ri his ex ; pressed wish, appearing in his last will, he wks to he buried with hl* wife Ximena, at the convent of Ran PedrO de Cardens. ' This was done, and his favorite charger, THE SPRINGFIELD WEEKLY REPUBLICAN: THURSDAY. MAY 4. 1911. Habieva, js said to have boon also buried near the gateway of the <on vent, but for <ome reason the bones of the Cid were moved about from place to place, and even at one time, to Germany, though they now repose in the Hotel de Ville in Burgos. To the Cardona, then, the first and real “last rosing place” of the Cid. we deter mined to find our way, but. alas! the roids about Burgos at Ihi> season arc mud holes. ami wo finally succumbed to the generally expressed opinion that there was not a pair of horses in the town which could lake us there! I seless to mention automobiles, for Burgos is the one place we have yet seen where they do not exist, and except for an cncasionai unwar' tour ist who attempts a “run” on Spanish roads, they are not even known. Finding that we must content ourselves with the actnA 1 resting place ar the Hotel de Ville, “dosed on holidays.” we succeeded, in spite of the "festa.” in persuading the custodian to show us the so-called “chapel” where the hero lies. A small room, hardly more than a closet, with an extemporized altar. A small sar cophagus of brown marble tu< ked into a corner, and recalling in its ugliness, if not its size, that other hideous memorial to a great hero in the “Invalides” in Taris, such is the last unworthy resting place for the bones of Spain's most romantic hero. With so many beautiful examples before them of tombs which arc such ex quisite works of art one would almost be willing to be dead to lio under them, it seems a travesty of hero-worship.' I have hardly begun to tell yon of the wonders of the cathedral. and can only take time to say that no words, hardly even pictures, van give a realization of what it is until one has seen it for one’s self, and that if it were the only work of art I should see in Spain, the memory would more than repay the discomforts and fatigues. Haring spent an afternoon and a morning in the cathedral, and time being limited, we reluctantly gave a last look, and in spite of weather, drove about Burgos to see some tine specimens of patrician homes: the old castle where Edward 1 of England was married to Eleanor of Castile, and still earlier, the Cid to his Ximena: a curious old gate, or ■'Arco de Santa Maria." built to please Charles V; and many other things of in terest. A writer of the 17th century says that after the time of the great emperor "Burgos vegetated." and Baedeker sari lit is now "a thriving town." Our verdilC would be. I think. that it still “vegetates." unless, as we get more familiar with Spain, we find other towns still more dirty and more dilapidated. It has its won drous monuments, however, atid can af ford, perhaps, to ignore decay in the memorials of past glories. Outside the city are the “Hospital del Rey.” which was used as a lodging-house for pilgrims, with a lovely old gateway and courtyard; the convent of “Las Huelgas." still occu pied by noble ladies, and further off, a long climb up to its hill, the “Cartuja de Mira flores." The Convent of Mlrnftore.. This is a Carthusian convent founded by King John 11. and was rebuilt, after a fire, by the same Hans of Cologne who made himself immortal by file cathedral. It is still occupied by Carthusian monks, and a very reverend, toothless, white robed “brother” showed us with courteous pride the great treasures, of which three are unsurpassed. They are. first, the won derful carved monument, octagonal in shape, a marvel of decoration and infinite detail, with the roeurnbent figures of King John and Isabella his wife; second, the tomb of the Infante Alonso, with a kneel ing figure, hardly less elaborately beauti ful than the other: and third, in the chapel of his name, a figure of St Bruno carved in wood. This last, slightly colored and life-size, seems really to speak to one. so marvelously is the verv “breath of life" portrayed. The marble tomb of King John and Isabella could be studied for days with out exhausting its details and exquisite workmanship, and no other carving, not. even that of the “Condestable,” is its equal. It suggests an endless train of thought and reflection, and seems a com mentary.op this strange land of Spain, a country of tragic contrasts, —luxury and poverty, art and barbarism, cruelty and rotpantic deeds of bravery. The kindly old brother mumbled to us iti his toothless French about the injuries we noticed in the carvings, and shook his Imad sadly ns he told Us of the miseries of wars. When We asked who had per petrated those vandalisms, he sighed and shook his bond, saying. “The Spanish say ‘the French.' and the French say ‘the Spanish’!" At least they have the grace to bo ashamed of desecrating an art work wo at this date cannot hope to equal. The same train which dropped us at Burgos ' (there is hut orte a day) will pick us tip and deposit us. we trust, at midnight to morrow in Madrid, and soon there will be more to tell you. Your devoted PktKCESS. MORE RECORD PRICES. 91r Thnmii* MalOr>*« Mnrte (TArtbnr nrinKw *42,R00. If tran flhnouri^pd Rt the afternoon so*- >ion of tho Hop library sale nt Now York Monday that an autograph letter of Henty W. Longfellow, dhled 1856. and re lating to hie bonk "Outro Mor.” with a copy of which it war tn have been sold, is missing from the collection. Th* sa’c* company dislikes to believe that it can ba\c been atolen. hut is unable to account for its lose, letter and book are valued nt or more. Prices that rip the despair of collectors continued yesterday. J. P. Morgan's li brarian bought for .<12,^00 Sir Thomas Malory's Morte d*Arthur, the only per feet ropy known of Claxtxtns edition, printed in ,1485. It was last sold at an» tian for $0750. when it was bought in 1885 bj Bernard Qunritch. the P/mdon dealer, for Mrs Norton Q. Pope of Brook lyn, nt whose death Mr Hoe acquired it at private sale for an a mount no! gr*n erall.v known. In 1695 it sold for 68 cents. G. F>. Smith was the other bidder, with 4 De winning bid is the roc- ond highen! over made for n printed book nr manuscript. The record price Is OOD, for the <»nttenberg Bible sold nt tJiiw name sale to Henry E. Huntington. thr California collector. Another rerord price yesterday afternoon was the .<2300 paid by Quaritch for a Greek grammar printed in 1476 by <MnMantiniiß IxiHenris the first hook printed in Greek. Hoe paid .<3lO for it in 1891. The farm value nf the corn ctob of the United States is 11,720,000,000. NOTES OF MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. THE TAULIST CHORISTERS. l ine Mnfeinc at Cvnri Square Theater the Famous ' hb afto t hole of Men and Haysi A striking demonstration of the possibil ities of boys' voices was given Thursday afternoon and evening at Court Square theater in the too well attended eon <erts by the famous Chicago choir of the Paulist choristers, conducted by Rev William J. Finn. To say that nothing like it find been heard tn the city before is simply to say that it was the first visit of this organization, which is by general consent the foremost of its kind in the country, Its evolution is the work of lbw Mr Finn, an enthusi ast. who has developed this concert society n> n supplement to his church choir, and has taken it upon several tours for the sake of arousing an interest throughout the country in music of this sort. The pope's letter proprio motu excluding wom en from choirs was rather glumly received by many in this country, but Bev Mr Finn is entirely in sympathy with it. believing that the colorless character of the puerile voice i« better suited to the religious serv ice than the warmer and more emotional tones of "omen's voices. In theory, of course, the beauty of boy choirs is granted by all; in practice, specially in America, there are serious diflo ultics in getting the proper material and in applying the need ful training. He has shown that they are difficulties that can bo overcome, and he believes that what hr has done iu Chicago can bo done elsewhere. That he is nn excellent singing master was apparent as soon ns the chorus be gan its first selection, a "Salvo Regina" by S. I'. Waddington Specially striking were the pure intonation and perfect en semble of the chorus of boys and men. and the sweetness and case of the soprano tones. The volume was quite adequate, but nover forced, and the dear light head tones were excellently used, giving a sweet carrying tone with no strain or fatigue. His interpretations. too. were in excellent taste, simple and refined, with light -shad ing and none of those explosive contrasts between pianissimo and fortissimo in which many choruses take pride. Spe cially beautiful was the Mozart "Ave Verum," which came next, and was in in teresting contrast to the more sentimental Gounod sotting of the same text that fol lowed. From Chadwick iwo numbers were given. "Light of Life" and "Parvum qttando cerno Deum." in the latter of which are several figures that were sung with remarkable brilliance. By no Incans all the music was cccicsi astieal; very charming indeed wore the Gevaert numbers “Chanson de Mai." "Musette." and "Rondo." The grace and lightness of the boys' roiecs in staccato passages was delightful. Very pleasing was the little serioshuniorous chorus by Sullivan "Joy and sorrow alternate" —the first syllable of "alternate." by the way, being sung like “all." which may be the Chicago motie. The first part of the progibm closed with Gounod's elegiac can tata "Gallia." written after the defeat of France by the Prussians. The final was repeated, in rckponse to an encore. The solo pearls were taken by Walter Curran, who lias a smooth, agreeable tenor that lils in very well with 'ho boys' voices, and by the boy soprano, Harcourt Browne, whose high tones are notably clear and beautiful. He sung also in the Chad wick “Parvum qttando." The second half of the program opcaod with an exquisite "Angelus" by Elgar, And included a pretty serenade by the Russian, Arensky, a bt -zarre chorus, “Neath bur.earth in gloomy hades," by F... Kdnemau,- which comes near making a: -imh'kM'y. of the "perduta gehte.”- and settings’ s>4; “Ave Maria" by Gounod and Cesar, il; fanck. The ai t oni paniments were aduallably played by AVal tor Keller and it. is .to be. regretted that there was no organ Tor Jiim on which he could play his solo numbers. Altogether it was a performance, of exceptional merit, and it is to he hopoil that the tour will promote the interests of this kind of cho ral singing. ' In the evening an Italian motet entitled “Alla Trinita deata” was given in place of the Sullivan number. The last two choruses were left off and in their place was sung a. number by Gounod. "Praise ye the Father.” Two settings of the “Ave Maria" instead of three were given, olie by Arcadelt and tile, other by Gounod. AS THE SEASON CLOSES. Mnslcal Xoveltios of the Season In \ew York. Those who like to keep track of new music may be interested in the list of nov elties heard in New York this season, which the Now York Sun has compiled:— October 28—First performance here of Will iam Waiiace s Rymphohic poem, “Villon.” by the Svmpbony orchestra at the New theater. November 2 Revival of long silent A major violin sonata of Franz Benda, by Emanuel Ondricek. November .’’- Henry Hadley ? songs. ' Stille traumende Fruhling&nauht” and "'Morgenpe sung,” sung for the first time by Janet ,Spen uer. . . . . November 6—American production of Fritz. Deliust’s “Brigg Fair’.’ and Saint-Saens's “Oc cident and Orient'* march. November 7--Production of Victor Her bert’s operetta. “Naughty Marietta,” at the Now York theater. November 12—First New York pefform^n’ h of Gustave Strube's “Puck’- overture: by- the Boston symphony orchestra: November 15—First American; performance of Claude Debussy's “Rondes de PHntemps,” by the Philharmonic, society. November 15 -Sgainbatl's B flat pi&fio quin tet receives its first Introduction into a Knelsel quartet prd^ram. November IT—Liadow’s “Magic Lake" and • Kikimora.” produced by the Russian sym phony society. Novembpi 17- First American performance of Erich Korngold's trio in D major by the Margulies trin. November 27 First performance here of Henry Hadley's third symphony by the Sym phony society. Frederick Stock s “Symphonic Waltz” also produced. November J - Xavier Sebafw'enkji s foyrth piano concerto produced at ir PhH'bannonic Foeiety concert. • December i Debut of Kathleen Ta plow, violinist, w ith the Russian’symphony orches tra. ■ ■ ■ • December I Edgar Stilman Kelley's “Mac beth" overture revived by the Volpe orches tra. December First concert of the Barrete ensemble. Novelties. Joseph Holbrook’s “Miniature <haracteristic Suite” and Rex ualdo Hahn's • Le Bal de Beatrice d’Este.” December lo Rubin Goldmarks piano quartet in A major, produced hr the Kneise! quartet December 22—Verdi's "Pater Nostar.” sung fnr the tir^t time tn this country at a Musical art society concert. January 3 Suite by Georges; F)nc<ro and DebnMsj s ■ Iberia,' produced at a f’hilhar monic <ourn|f. January !* Dlifnor. by PneScn. and a "Pe-. life Suite by Lmbus^y. produced at cert of the Rarrer^ ensemble. January 17 Phttner'a overture. “Das Tn » Hei I bran. ” brought out bv the Philharmonic society. January lb - RlmskpKnrßßknw’s "Christ Eve • played for the first time here by th** Rnsman symphony society. January 31 Rfzet's "Rsmi" suite, played for the first time here by the Philharmonic society. I'phrimrr 2 "Flnnlah Rh»p«<Mlr." by iho Bii.ajnn a.vmphony orcUen- l-ehnury r> run) hukiHA .ymnhony In C prortuml by flip Symphony Horkqv. Fobrunry « Third concert nf th. R.rrere , Noreitin, "Aqm>relle« Hnllnn- Hh|«, i hrlntlnn Krl*n«. < »prlne nn RuxaiHn D’nl’h »ls«. Bninl-Bn»nn. nnrt Ktraiisan ln I’ A"* ,n >' 10 Inatmmant*. Ffibrnary 12, f'rnifu<'tlr>n ot Ernaal Chana ^"Jtv' n ' pho " J ' ln B n,lt br ,h * f ’. Tm r , h''hT Fobinary 12 First performance of Arthur Farwell« 'nomaln of Hurakan" by the I olpo orchestra ,V l ,! (llazoun<>v « "Frane, from the Minnie Agee and Rm-hmanlnnWa fantaaln tor two planna. produced nt a concert of the nuenlnn symphony orchentra. February 1; First performance of George 1 aympbony In I flat by the Symnho ny society. Februaiy 21 Performance of Jean Marl* Leclair's sonata for two vIoHm. opus 12, a concert of the Flonzaley quartet. February 21—Italian program at a .Philhar monic concert. Novelties. SinigaglKa over ture “Le Ba ruffe < hioaotte. " Martucd's B fiat minor piano ccnnerto, Busoni's. "Ber reu»;e IJegifque” aud Bossi's “Intermezzi tiolflnmnni. * ! ehrunry 28^ Saint Sacus s Psalm CL., pro du^ed by the Oratorio society. March o -UhabricrV unfinished opera “Pris ois. produced by the MacDowell chorus. Moussorgsky’s cantata “Joshua” and frag ments from Borodin s opera “Priuce Igor,” beard for the first time at the same concert. ■ '-Introduction to third not of Mix ^hillings s "PfHtfettag," produced st a Fhll harmonic concert. March p-Sonata for ’cello hr Wilhelm de Escb .played by Boris Hambourg. Alnrcb 10-^-GrelFs “Mis«a Solcmnis.” re viied by the Oratorio society. Marcb P 2 Victor Kolar s symphonic poem Hiawatha. ’ played for the first time in ' or k at a Symphony societv concert. March 14 Production of Frederick Stock's quartet in E minor by the Knelsel qua Wet Maren First performance of Chatles Mnrtirt .Lwfflcr's chorus "For One Wfin Fell Rattle,’ by the Musical art societv. March IP-Sigismund Stojowski’s ‘ “Sym phonic Rhapsody” for piano and orchestra, produced by th* Symphonr orchestra. Nir SMfrtwski pinyins the piano part. Man-h Sl^Two movements of Wagnere juvenile symphony in C, played hr tlie'Svm phony society. Ivancls Hoßera on the Craze for Op era. the well-known American baritone, Francis Rogers, writing in the New Music Review, regrets the craze for opera and for phonographic records of stars like Caruso, but is not pessimistic in his view:— The present situation .is neither wholly good nor wholly bad. Opera appeals lb many people oho are incapable of eniovihg n symphony, nn instrumental or a serious vocal concert, and operatic music, especially that of the great masters of the operatic form, is infinitely better than no music nt nil. Therefore lot u« enjoy and encourage the operatic cause generally. Absolute music mid lyric song are needs of our inmost being, needs of which wc are constantly, even If sometimes Imperceptibly, becoming'more con scious. Xo amount of the meretricious or sensational In music can destroy though it mav retard, i 'Wess toward higher Ideals. Music, the most Ideal of nil tbc arts, is mov ing ever onward to that "golden end" of which William Watson speaks;— Beauty: -the Vision wbereunto I.U ioy. with paintings, from. afar. ThrOitglj sound and odors, form dntl fine And min'd mid clay and worm mid star— Now touching goal, now backward Iniried— Tolls the indomitable world. I.et us accept Caruso, the prima donnas operas, phonographs, pianolas, orchestras string quartets, instrumentalists, song re citals mid every other form of uuislc IIS means toward the "golden end."- But at the same time let us not forget that we have critical duties to perform and that the real' purpose of critical effort is, ns Matthew* Arnold says, to seo in all brtinehes of art "the object as in Itself it really is." Criti cism in the sense of Arnold s definition pre cedes ami prepares the wav for artistic cre- I.tion.', Let us then be honest and faithful critics, confident that if wc perform our dutv unflinchingly and indefaligabtv wc shall he advancing the longed-for day of musical crea tion m America. Other Note and Comment. How seriously they take choral music in England, says the Music Review, is indi cated not only by the generally admirable performances by the important choruses, but by the honest toil that the singers, themselves put into the task of prepara tion for concerts. Chorus members do not expect, titer there, that the. conductor will do most of the work for them. A new illustration of this thoroughness is found in a little book Of 10R pages, written by Sir Henry J. Wood, and distributed among the choristers for the coming sum mer's Sheffield festival. The book is de voted entirely to instructions on singing Bach's B minor mass, and is divided into sections for the several voices. Each cho rus is gone through in detail, with definite instructions as to pronunciation, tone color, phrasing and Other matters. At the end of every section are reprinted special choral passages,. which are to be used as'vocalizes fbi; daiijr practice, HOre is an .example:— ' ■ Bass: No 17. Bl Restiirexit: p. 14E~This page always sounds thick, dull and heavv. never conveying the idea of the words. "Anri again hr wilt come with glory, iiidging the qutek and the dead." If the whole page is Sung in five breaths it will go with much more life. Get the tone very bright and metali'-; do not contract the eyebrows or even look fierce, hut. sing with real exnltatlon. with the greatest vitality and brilliaiiev. getting Hie words tn the teeth, the tone to be open irerel- dnlt, <-nnfldential or covered, and mo«t important of all. sing it from memory arid look the amlieiice straight In the race. Some light on the value Of program' music is thrown by a sad misadventure of the critics which the New York Sun rc cords. in reviewing the orchestral music of the season:— The composition which made the most cer tain Impression was the “Villon" of Wnl lace. This Sympathetic: poem ought to be played several times in the course of the next two or three seasons In order thni this public may become familiar with its form and content. It bad a very unsatisfac tory Introduction last autumn because of a hlnmler In the program notes. These pr6t fcred a description and .analysis of l‘iclhis’9 “Brigg Fair." which'was not. performed till the following week, and in this manner many persons who tried to follow the descriptive content of the piece were so bewildered that they were unable to make anything at all out of the composition. This misfortune he tell even some of the professional writers for newspapers, and they were foolishly twitted for their confusion. Of course those who did the twitting were so clever that although they read the name “Brigg fair" on the program n6tes. and carefully perused the notes themselves, they perceived while listen ing to the music that It was at! about Fran ’’n<i fbgf T "as composed, not nr-IWiiTS Inn by- Wallace, Persons who are pepetlutlmr and vcudltJ< as t hin do- not have to publish their comments ■ the next mw-pmg.. . • • ■ Moan while, recommends the Sun, “let us hear 'Villon' again, for it has the mood of medieval Paris.” Specially when labeled, apparently. Much interest is being shown in the famous Sbo/Held choir of England. 200 sirong. which is making a tour of the world and sang Inst week in Chicago, where a reporter la Iked with the composer. Sir Ed-’ ward Elgar, who gties with the choir as special conductor. Sir Edward was much pleased with American orchestras, and while' declining trfihmke comp*risotis. said that ho considered them nfiar the top. especially the one in T'Ait-ago. -He -was greatly impressed with the piusicsl taste and intelligence of the West and ascribed it to the influence of the late Theodpre Thomas, “one of the great- ’ cat men of his kind in the world.”. Sir Ed ward’s new syfnphou.v. his secpnfl, is to be produced nt the end of May. and he has also written the march- and offertory music for Iho coronation of King George V. He has never written an opera, he says, because none of the many libretti offered him has been satisfactory: he hopes to write one if he eier finds a text to suit him. The choir Is also accompanied by Lord fampden. heir nf the carl of Gninsborougli. and Lady Norah Noel, daughter of the earl of Gains borough. . . '■ The i-ompdsci Pm-cini ft to be btib of the linns of the festivities at Rome, where tie is to be present at the production of "The Girl of th* Golden West” at the Costanzi theater June 1. But before tbat’he will su to London to assist in bringing It Out at Co-, vent Garden May 15. It will also be given at Brcsfia, Budapest. Berlin and Monaco, as well ns in the provincial English cities. Cape Colony and the United States. But rncciui will take a well-earned rest after the production at Roni", emiping about the Mediterranean In hts little yacht and declining even to glance at. tit# librettos which have bred showered upon him by ambitious author* of all. Europe and all America. Sir Henry J. Wood st London last week confirmeil the report tb*t he hail received nn offer to boronte the conductor of the I’hilharmonic aocicty of New York. He stated that n representutivc of ibe society was going to London to confer with him on the suhiect and until then nothing definite would J>o settled. India rubber nail* for use in places where ordinary nails are liable to corrosion are * German novelty. ARMY TEAMSTERS IN CIVIL WAR. THEIR LOVE FOR THEIR MULES. A Much-Ma|ioAed I.ot Who Were Beatty Kind to Their Animals—The 'lory of the Gamble and the Brown ■Mute. [Written by cam W. a. MOitTOX for The Republican.} The men who drove mule teams in the army during the civil war were as noto rious as the commanding generals were famous. They achieved notoriety mainly for their supposed -cruelty and brutality. It is my purpose to correct the miscon ceived notion that prevailed in regard to the mule drivers. They were a necessity and played an important part in every campaign, but On all campaigns their repu tation was the same. The imputations against them are approved by a story told on Gen Grant, i bis story < ontirms the commou charge that the chief delight of the army teamster was to whip and "cuss" the mules of his team. It is said the only time Gen Grant uttered a profane oatii during the war was on an occasion when he saw a teamster whip u team which pulled one of his headquarters wagons. I be general was justified in his profanity on Ihe score of righteous indignation. Thenceforward the army teamster stood tn greater disrepute than ever. The fact is. the general was dealing with an exceptional teamster, though he seemed to be of the same class as others. All teamsters possessed many traits in common, like other craftsmen, yet they differed in point of intelligence and tem perament; some were excited to a fury by a mere trifle, while others were cahii and patient under the same circumstances. In my experience with them I found that their reputation for brutality ’was due more to the use of voice than whip. They dealt largely in epigrams not found in Sunday-school literature. Their lingo was novel, and pointed and punctuated with profanity that would have startled a pa gan, while their voices were developed <o a pitch that could bo Hoard above the roar of a cannon and din of musketry. When their wagons were stuck in.the inud their resonant voices were as horrifying as the -warwhoops of linages, and. wiHi the added mopping flf Whiplashes, the be holder- could not- help tlililking that the most loathed condition on earth was that of an army mule—yet as a rule the worst feature of the fury: was mere noise; vocal violence. I became acquainted with the true In wardness of army teamsters tut the march front Atlanta to the sea. Sixty to 70 were in the Wagon train of which I had charge on that march. I learned that the average teamster, who had a team of well-mated mules, was not only proud of it. but. more over. fonetty dO’voted to if. He kept his team tiicoh" 'grbhlnOd "and Woll fed. if it wore possible, and was al nil times kind to it, though when occasion demanded, his voice roared and his whip popped as lend as any in the train. He would steal feed, if necessary, and-would suffer no man to abuse a mule of his team. The most savage fight 1 over witnessed occurred between two teamsters on the 1 march through Hem-gin. one of whom be longed to my train. We had halted to let a division of one of the army corps pass; One of the drivers in the passing train saw a mule in one of my reams which he thought had formerly worked in his loam. He therefore laid claim to the animal. Soon .the quartermaster appeared on the. scene and demanded the mule: then my wagonmaster appealed to me to protect our teamster’s rights. All mules looked; alike to me. and the best I could do was 10. say. "If, the mule does not. belong to ns, we must surrender it." However, as the quartermaster said he eduld not identify the mule, the question of identify hinged upon the .evidence. of the two teamsters, each of whom .was equally certain that it belonged. to his team: but my teamster-, had possession, though the quCsfjtm of ownership..remained, unsettled!. Couytegies, were iuter.qha.nged for a. while, then words became hot. and finally the other man ac cused iMy teamster of having stolen the. mule. At that they mixed, I. started to the rear to get a .corporal and a.file of men to arrest the combatants, when the wagonmaster called me mu-k, saying. “The war Is over.” My teamster had won the battle, but it was at, the expense of many, bruises, and much blnod. For a week after, he wore plasters .on his face, placed then' by the.surgeon of the pontoon train. But he kept the mule he had fought, fo’r. as the quartermaster of the division train made nd demand for the animal at the end of the combat, in which his teamster was well whipped in a fair fight. It was characteristic of a majority of drivers to improve their teams by getting mules that mated. If they could riot effect a trade with other drivers, they would draw from a neighboring corral, and when they acquired' a team that suited their fancy they were satisfied and happy. No society Woman is more solicitous for the comfort of a pet poodle than an army teamster wfts of. a* teatn that in every particular -eamh tip to. his idea of perfet:- tion. -l -wns forcibly, impressed with this fact when we ascended the first hill on the march to the sea. where many of the teams were unable to pull up. and the strong ones had to aid them. When the man who drove the team which pulled my headquarters wagon was told to unhook his team and go back to pull up a .wagon, he was not only surprised, but deeply pained AT thA order: but when directed Io .go down the hill and pul! up another team, be showed sighs of revolting. He; was not insolent: he pleaded for mercy to the'‘coalies.” The six "coalies”: w ere coal-black Slid,s.O thoroughly groomed that thcl'r hair glistened like a freshly polished slide. It was a handsome team, perfectly united. the wheelers large and well, formed, the swing team somewhat smaller, and the leaders smaller yet—form ing a symmetrical taper—to my notion the handsomest mule team in Sherman’s army, and true ns steel in every emergency. The driver contended that the coalies had the heaviest wagon in the train to pull, and he did not like to abuse, them by making them do extra service. Many a lime I, watched them when they milled their heavy load through -miro arkl swampy places. Every one of them would bend his hack, strain nerve and muscle to-the limit, and pull every pound in his power with the steadiness of a machine. It Was' a team that did not get stuck on the march through Georgia, and it was the driver’s boast that “nary one of them coalies was hit with a whip On the trip from Atlanta to flic tea." Other teamsters in the train wore equally kind to their teams, hut none possessed a team that rivaled the coalies for beauty. Jim Gamble, chief wagonmaster of the pontoon train, was not only an admirer of mules, but One of the best judges of them in the army. He could estimate the capacity of a mule at a glance, and was the best driver 1 ever know. and. more over, nn expert in selecting and mating teams. His knowledge of mules was ex celled only by his attachment for a well mated and propeHy harnessed team. A day or two after our departure from At lanta I noticed that he was mounted nn a mule that I had never seen. My thoughts had been so taken with accidents and in cidents of the march since leaving the city that 1 han no time to note matters of minor Importance, but the mule Gamble rode was so perfect a type of equine beauty that it attracted my attention. It was as shapely nnd lithe as a deer, and handsomely groomed. I asked him where ho found the animal, and his reply was. "Oh. it is one that I took out of the cor ral." I pressed him for no detail, for there Were business matters connected with moving the train calling for considera tion. Later on 1 had Occasion tn borrow the mule while mv horse was temporarily un fit for service, and 1 soon discovercd'that. handsome us it was. its qualities as a traveler far. excelled its superb form. Re sides, it was trustworthy under all cli enmatances. neither crack of rifles nor roar of artillery disturbed It. It would Stand anywhere unhitched until Its rider was ready to mount, and when it moved Its step was easy, springy and graceful. It yielded to the touch of the rein like a well-trained horse. It is easy to under stand why Gamble wrfs so proud Of it. He irntted it and talked to it as teamsters do to horses they lore. As a- rule, mule drivers; however: tender; qud -affectionate to their mules, do- not fondle .them nor speak .loving w'oids"to theifi,"blit ft is the fault of 'the' ■ nude?, mot of the driver. Mules encourage: no sueh-treatment— they do not appreciate it. They are for serv ice, and true to their instinct to serve, nut Gamble's mule was an exception. heyeral years after the war T met Gam ble in St Joseph. Mo. he was operating a dray liue. I took dinner at his home. In discussing the events of the march through Georgia, the dark sorrel mule w-as a conspicuous topic. Three cabinet-size photographs-of the mule, taken at Beau fort. S. were placed before me. Gam ble s term of service expired at Beaufort, and he was mustered out there. Of all sad thoughts that depressed him. the most painful was that he’ was compelled to part company with the mule that had carried him on the march from Atlanta. It was impossible to ship the animal to St Joe. so he had three pictures of it taken, all a different pose—two with Gam ble in the saddle,-one a front and the other a side view, while the other showed him standing by the mule: in every one the whip he had carried on the margh was coiled round his neck—the whip which, although always in hand, had never been applied to the faithful mule. His eyes gleamed with delight as be gazed mi the picture aid descanteji on the many fine points and Superior qualities of the much-loved animal. “When you asked mo one day where I got that mule." h" said. "1 told you I got him out of the corral, and that was the truth, but I did not say what corral.” After a moment's pause be said: “That, mule came from Gen Thomas's corral. I swiped it one dark night while wc were camped near the Chattehooche river.” Then he related how he saw the mule one evening while on the way with a team from Atlanta to camp, and was so fascinated with the animal that an irresistible desire to possess it seized him. Accompanied by a trusty teamster, he went back that night, and. gaining ingress to the corral, identified Ihe object of his search, though the night was pit<li dark, and returned with it to camp. He cited me.to the fact that a staff officer of Gen Thomas's command came 1" our camp, accompanied by a teamster, and asked permission to search my corral for a mule which had strayed from the headqnartors corral.' Permission was granted, and Gamble wns instructed to accompany the officer and give him an opportunity to make a thorough search. Tlie missing mule was not found. Late in the day the same officer returned to make another cxamhiittion. but the sec ond search whs unsuccessful. The object of search was .miWntime quietly standing in seclusion not 100 feet away, safely hidden in -a plmo where no person would think of looking. TwO pine trees had been felled in such manner that the top of one lapped over the top of the other. A passage had hCi'B cilt and the mule led in. after which flic tree limbs were placed nt ihe opening. Thus obsetlrefl. the mule stood till Thomas's anny bad crossed the Cbattchooelic river on the way to Na-h ---ville. Tenn. When it was known that Thomas's ariby was destined to Nash ville, the sequestered mnlc was brought out and assigned io a place in the corral, and became the vested iwopcffy of the ■pontoon train, the same as those that worF drawn on an approved requisition. This method of obtaining live stock, how eier questionable it may seem now. was not uncommon in war tiniCs. and.' obar itable judgment ihen imputed to it no sei i oiis wrong. If .a soldier lost, his gun. ,he did not think of replacing it by purchase, although it was soon-replaced. If a cav alryman wnnterl a better horse, he man aged to obtain if "by'book or crook," and the army tea meter who did not improve his team, if lie had a sorry one, was con sidered nOnprogrosiSve.' yet tq this day twoy nb.qi’c flunk tlie clfizhns of the con fqderhtb States were flip ones who fm nikliedAho suiqißcs' yvKicfi were appropri ated by The Union soldiers "by- hook or crook.” Gamble was an 'enterprising wagnnmas for. vigilant and faithful, kind to the mules and humane to the teinnstors. No man. on the march through Georgia did harder work 1 bun he. and no one on the march was 'more intensely interested in his duties o r finq keener sense of the r< sponsibilities devolving upon him. ARMY AND NAVY SNOBBERY. (From the Chicago Evening Post.] It is said that the persistence of Presi dent Taft id following up the affront of fered Miss’Katherine Heers at the natal ncademy is dug to his friendship with Miss Beers’s lather. Prof Henry A, Beers of Yale university. This friendship exists. There is no doubt about its wurnilh. Bui the facts of Prof Beers's life, rather than friendship, are probably the determining influence in the president's- mind. For it happens that no matt in the university community has sac rificed more to the bringing up of a large family than lias Prof Beers. He has brought tip not only his own children, hut also those of hear relatives, responsibility for whom was thrown upon his Shoulders by death. He has done it tremendously well. There is no finer household in New Haven than bls. And he has done it all upon the meiiger salary of a teacher. Thal one of these children should be affronted by soihe snobbish monkey in uniform, must sting Prof Beers's friends like a whiplash. While those whose in quaintance with him is confined to bls charming and witty volumes upon Yai and the'English" language will also feel something of this personal resentment. It nuist he intensely disagreeable for Miss Beers and for her father to be made the central point of this most unpleasant incident. But How that they have en dured all the notoriety of it; the naval a cademy'should be forced to take its modi cine down to the last hitter dregs. Secre tary Meyer has been complaining ralorous ly of the public's discrimination against the sailor's uniform, hut he docs not seem able to nppreeiaiv this flaring, instance of the uniform’s discrimination against the people it is supposed to protect-and honor. There ate many forms of snobbishness in this land of equality. Hit the most viru lent, cruel and groundless is that which flourishes in the army and itavy. THE loixc, WOMIYS •STATIS." [From the Chicago Tribune. ] "It grew out of a misundersfanding of the status of the young woman." This is the infelicitous way in which the secre tary of the navy explains and apologizes for the snobbishness of the superintendent of the naval academy. He rebuked a mid shipman for inviting a certain, young worn an to a bop. because he believed she was a gbvorne*a a wage earner. Subsequent ly the superintendent found opt that she was not a "menial." but a friend of Hie family w hose children she looked after Her "status'’ was not what he thought It was; she had a social standing. Tn fhfi opinion of the superintendent it depends on n woman's “status" Whether site is a proper per Son to ask to a navy dance. The secretary of the navy seems to share his opinion, If they had said It depended on her reputation, on* could un derstand them, hut what has "status” meaning social status—to do with it? The navy Is not n society function: Midship mon pre not appointed with an eye to the social status of their parent*. The naval academy is or should bo a purely demo eratit institution. No man should be tol erated at the head of the academy who tries to tench th* midshipmen that they must be governed by "Mn tiie" In picking out dance partners. Any respectable, well, behaved woman, whether she be the daugh ter of a millionaire or has to earn her own living is eligible for a navy dance. That is whnt Secretary Meyer should have said, instead of oxplaining Jnboriom ly that there had been a '‘misunderstand ing of the status, etc. The head of th" navy ought to be the first to put his font on any outcropping* of snobbishness m the navy.