Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-10-31

interposed and frustrated the discreditablt
intention. ..................
This experiment of Fosters, if it feI
short of the expectation of his friends
pose, for 1t led him to a critical invsetiga.
tion of the school of music to which it be.
longed. This school had been-was yet
unquestionably popular. To what, then
was 1t indebted for it's captivating points
1t was to its truth to Nature in her simplest
and most childlike mood. .....
Settled as to theory, Foster applied him
sell to the task of its eXemplifcation. Two
attempts were made while he yet remained
In Cincinnati, the pencil and drafts o.
which, however, were laid aside for the
time being in his portfolio. His shrinking
nature held timidly back at the thought OF
venture before the public; and so the
case stood until he reappeared in Pitts
burgh.
OF 1874, and the continuance in eXistance oil
some after the campaign ended, the sketch
continues.
y Among other organizations tiiat thus
fingered on was one, composed of half a
dozen Joung men, Slice grown into gf aver
habits, with FOster-home again, and link
ed once more in the circle of his intimates
at its head. The negro airs were still the
1avorites; but the collection, and frequent
repetition, at length began to grow stale
One night, at a revival measure for the
club. and as an opportunity for himself
Foster limited that, with their permission,
he would offer for trial an effort OF his own.
Accordingly he set to work; and at their
next meeting laid before them a song en-
titled, s'Louisiara Belle" The piece elicit
ed unanimous applause. Its success in the
club room opened to it wider field, each
member acting as an agent of dissemina-
tiOn outside so that in the course of few
nights the song was sung in almost every
parlor in Pittsburgh. Foster then brought
to light his portfolio specimens, since uni
versally known as sUncle Ned" and 20
Susannar' The favor with which these
latter were received surpassed even that
rewarding the !" Louisiana Belle" AL
though limited to the one slow process OF
communications from mouth to ear,-their
fame spread far and wide, until from the
drawing rooms OF Cincinnati they were in
trOduced into its concert halls, ,and there be-
came known to Mr.W C. Peters, who at once
addressed letters requesting copies for pub
lication. These were cheeriully furnished
by the author. He did not look for remu-
neration. For "Uncle Ned,' which first
appeared Tin 1910, he received none; 20
Susanna!' soon followed, and ''imagine my
delight" he writes, lin receiving one hun
dred dollars in cash! Though this song
was not successful" he continues, ''yet the
two fifty dollar bills received for it had
the effect of starting me on my present
vocation of song writer!'' In pursuance of
this decision, he entered into arrangements
with new publishers, chiefly with Firth,
Pond & Co., of New York, set himself to
work, and began to pour out his produc-
tions with astonishing rapidity.
Out of the list, embracing about one
hundred and fifty of his songs, the most
flattering received among his negro melo-
dies were those alreaky enumerated, fol-
lowed by NELLY was Lady," in lS49; "My
Old Kentucky Home'' and '.Camptow wn
Races" in 1850; "Old Folks at Home" in
1851; ''Massa's in the Cold Ground,'' in
1852; 80. Boys, Carry Me Long" in 1858
"Hard Times Come Again no More" in
1854; sway Down South" and 30. Lemu-
ell" in 1858; 'Old Black Joe,'' in 1860; and
(noticeable only as his last in his line)
Don't Bet your Money on the Shanghai -
in 1861.
In all these compositions Foster adheres
scrupulously to this theory adopted at the
outset. His verses are distinguished by a
naireite characteristic and appropriate, but
consistent, at the same time, with common
sense. Enough of the negro dialect is re-
tanned so preserve distinction, but not to
offend. The sentiment is given in plain
phrase and under homely illustration; but
it is a sentiment nevertheless. The melo-
dios are of twin birth literally with the
verses, for Foster thought in tune as he
traced in rhyme, and traced in rhyme he
thought in tune. Of easy modulation, Sc
verely simple in their structure, his airs
have yet the graceful proportions, animat-
ed with the fervor, unostentatious, but all
subduing, of certain of the old hymns (not
the chorals) derived from our fathers of a
hundred years ago.
That he had struck upon the true way to
the common heart, the success attending
his efforts surely demonstrate. His songs
had an unparalleled circulation. The COM
mission accruing to the author on the sales
of ''Old Folks" alone, amounted to fifteen
thousand dollars. For permission to have
his name printed on its title page, as an ad-
vertising scheme, Mr.. Christy paid five
hundred dollars. Applications were I'M
ceasiDg from the various publishers of the
country for some share, at least, of his
patronage, and upon terms that might have
seduced almost any one else; but the pub
fishers with whom he originally engaged
had won his esteem, and Foster adhered to
them faithfully. Artists of the highest
distinction favored him with their
friendship; and Herr, Sivori, Ole Bull,
Thalberg, were alike ready to approve his
genius, and to testify that approval in tine
choice of his melodies as themes about
which. to weave their witcheries of embel-
lishment. Complimentary letters from
men of literary note poured in upon him {;
among others, one full of generous en-
cOuragement from Washington Irving,
dearly priced and carefully treasured to
the day OF Fosters death. Similar mis-
sives reached him from across the seas
from strangers and from travellers in lands
far remote; and he learned that, while
30 Susanna ~ was the familiar song of the
cottager of the Clyde, "Uncle Ned" was
known to the dweller in tents among the
Pyramids.
OF his sentimental songs, ''Ah, may the
Red Rose live awayw "Maggie bv my
side" ''Jennie with the Light Brown Hair,''
willie, we have missed you," 81 see her
Love" "a duet, the words adapted from a
well known scene in Romeo and JulieD,
and 'Come where my Love Lies Dream
ing" (quartet), are among the leading fa-
vorites. 81 see her still in my dreams' ap-
peared in 1861, shortly after the death of
his mother, and is a tribute to the memory
of her to whom he was devoutedly attached.
The verses to most of these airs-to all the
successful ones-were of his own compost
ton. Indeed, he could seldom satisfy him
self in his settings" of the stanZas of 9TH
ers. If the metrical and symmetrical fea-
lures of the lines in hand Glanced to disa-
gree with his conception of the motion
and proportion befitting in musical in
terpretation; if the sentiment were one
that failed, whether from lack of appreci-
alton or sympathy on his part, to command
absolute approval; or, if the terms en-
ployed were not of a precise thread and
tension-if they were wanting, however
minutely, in uibratory qualities-of COM
mensurate extent would be the failure at
tending the translation.
The last three years of his life Mr.. Fos-
ter passed in New York. During all that
time, his efforts, with perhaps one excep-
tion. were limited to the production of
songs of a pensive character. The loss of
his mother seems to have left an inefface-
able impression of melancholy upon his
mind, and inspired such songs as 81 Dream
of my Mother" "I'll be Home TO-mor
;, ~ No MAthnI. J, nIll