The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1859-06-07

son Applause | regret 10 have felt
compelled 10 express myself 50. and to de.
nounce a speech delivered by gentleman
with whom have no personal acquaintance ::
but | am prepared to 90 TO the world and
make good every position that have laid
down, on any field of warfare, of any sor,
or description that any man can name"
The editor of the Nicksburg True
SouthrOn attempted to reply TO Foote, but
Got along but slowly. and the Convention
adjourned.
From ih- \. Eyeains Post.
THE AUTHOR or THE NEGRO MEI.o-
DIES.
The musical composer who really fur
nishes the great majority of our songs and
whose productions have the widest popu-
larlty among the masses Of the people. is
known Ia very few of them, even by repu-
tation. The new melodies that greet the
public ear month after month, aud hummed
by thousands-that are thumped on piano.
tortes, thrummed on banioS, breathed on
flutes, tortured into variations and modit.
cations, aud ENJOY wide, though, after
evanescent popularity. are chiefly the pro-
duct of one fertile brain-and that brain.
as Mr.. Mlcawber would say. is the brain APP
pertaining to MIR. Stephen c. Foster This
gentleman Is "A native of Pittsburgh, and
has spent all his days there. excepting
three years at Cincinnati and two At New
York. lie was born on the 4tk of july.
1876, (the very day that John Adams and
Thomas jefferson died and is, therefore,
now in his thirty third year. His father.
MIR. William Il. Foster, was Pittsburg
merchant, member of the State Legisla-
ture, afterwards Mayor of Allegheny
City. and subsequently occupied an official
post under the Federal Government. His
Oldest sister is the wife of Rev f. Y. Bu-
chanan, the only brother of the President
of the United States. Stephen &. Foster
is the youngest of his family.
He enjoyed but limited opportunities for
musical instruction, and took but few les
sons. When nineteen years old, he COM
posed for 4 social 1uartette club. of which
he was a member, his first successful song,
the popular favorite, Uncle Ned" II
was shortly afterwards sung at public
concert in Cincinnati, and received such
applause that Mr.. William c. Peters, a
music teacher of that city, requested the
privilege of publishing it. which was at
once granted. Mr.. Foster next composed
Susanna" which was more simple in its
style, and became even more popular. In
a private letter, Mr. Foster writes:
Il had up to this timo neither received
nor thought Of any pecuniary remuneration
for my efforts in the musical line. Imagine
my delight, therefore, on receiving for my
next song one hundred dollars in cash
: Though this song was not successful, yet
the two fifty dollar notes which received
for it had the effect of starting me in my
present vocation of song writer
+ 1t would render the article too niue!
like catalogue of popular and standard
music. to give a list of Mr.. Fosters songs
Massa's in the cold: ground Old Ken
lucky Home, " Ho, Boys, carry me long,
Nelly was Lady" and ''Old Folks a
Home" may be mentioned as among tn,
most popular. His 4" Susanna" melody ha
been seized by many pianists (among whom
may be mentioned Hertz and Thalberg), a
a melodic theme peculiarly suited for trea.
ment with variations and some of the othe
negro melodies have obtained an equal popu
larity. Nor is this popularity merely
local one. In many Of the Southern State
Mr.. Fosters songs have been adopted b,
the slaves to cnliven them in their corn
huskings and feld-labors. Their fame ha
also crossed the ocean. In private lette
from one who has recently returned iron
an extended pedestrian tour through tn
border-land of Scotland, where the song
of Burns and the older oral Scotch ballad
are known and sung by every one, occur
the following passage
spent several weeks amid the poeti
hills Of Ettrick, along the braes Of Yarrov
SO famed in Scotch border minstrelsy, an
there found some of Fosters earlier mel(
, dies were almost displacing, in the estim;
ton Of the shepherd boys and cottage girl
the songs of Burns and Ramsay Otter
! in the Scottish cottages, after the bagpip,
have droned out their Accomplishments
| Scots wha haze and Lord Athol's Cour
| ship voice will take up one of the:
: American melodies. and all gathered arouu
S the ingle-side will join in the simple refrain
t and thus the plaintive, touching strains TIL
q are first sung in the dark, sooty town
= Pttsburg, on the Monongahela. rise wa
1 above the smoke and steam Of the city iii
e float across the Atlantic, and are heard u
e on the heathery bills of Et,rick. and amor
the birks that grow on the braes Of Va
: row..
e Favorable mention has been made
}, them from California. China. Australi
:. and even the deserts Of Africa, throus
T the foreign and home correspondence of o.
# newspapers.
j. Ethiopian mirstrelsy, as it is called, ha
0 however, eliminated, and is now on its d
9 cline. Approaching this fact, Mr. Fost
has lately somewhat changed his style, al
= abandoning the use Of negro jargon,
:. now writes songs better adapted for geBer
e use While the melodies exhibit decide
; improvement. the words are rythmical, {
c ways une1ceptionable in point Of NOR;
e aud as good, POLITICALLY considered. as Il
s majority Of songs. We do not say that NJ
It Fosters melodies can be compared wi
n those that immortalized the names of Burr