The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-10-22
King Ludwig's Encore.

King Ludwig's Encore.
I am told that in German concert or
opera they hardly ever encore song ;
that, though they may be dying to hear
it again, their good breeding usually
preserves them against red duiring the rep
etition. Kings may encore that is quite
another matter it delights everybody to
see that the king is pleased, and, as to
the actor encored his pride and gratifca-
tion are simply boundless. Still. there
are circumstances in which even a roy
al encore-but it is better to illustrate.
The king of Bavaria is a poet and has
poets eccentricities, with the advantage
over other poets of being able to crafty
them, no matter what form they may
take. He is fond of opera, but not fond
of sitting in the presence of an audience;
therefore, it has sometimes occurred in
Munich, that when an opera has been
concluded, and the players are getting
off their paint and finery, command has
come to get their paint and fnery on
again. Presently the king would arrive
solitary and alone, and the players would
opera over again, with only that one in
an audience. Once he took an odd freak
in his head. High up and out of sight
over the prodigious state of the Court
Theatre is maze of interlaced water
pipes, so pierced that in case of fire in
Vulnerable little thread-like streams of
water can be caused to descend, and, in
case of need, this discharge can be aug
mented to pouring food. American
managers might make a note of that.
The king was the sole audience. The
opera proceeded. It was piece with
storm in it. The mimic thunder began
to mutter, the mimic wind began to wall
and sough, and the mimic rain to patter.
The kings interest rose higher and
higher it developed into enthusiasm.
He cried out
'It is good, very good, indeed But
I will have real rain. Turn on the
waterp'
The manager pleaded for reversal of
the command, said it would ruin the
costly scenery and splendid costumes ];
but the king cried
'No matter, no matter; will have
real rain. Turn ON the water"
So the real rain was turned on and be-
gan to descend in gossamer lances to the
mimic fower-beds and gravel walks of
the stage. The richly dressed actresses
and actors tripped about singing bravely
and pretended not to mind it. The king
was delighted his enthusiasm grew
higher. He cried out /:
bravo bravo More thunderI More
lightning Turn on more rainp
The thunder doomed, the lightning
glared, the wind ragged, the deluge
poured down. The mimic royalty of the
stage, with their soaked satins clinging
to their bodies, stopped around ankle
deep in the water, warbling their sweet
est and best; the fiddlers under the ewes
sawed away for dear life, with the cold
overflow spouting down their necks, and
the dry and happy king sat in his lofty
box and wore his gloves to ribbons ap-
plauding.
''More yetl' cried the king, ssmore vet;
let loose all the thunder turn on all the
water. will hang the man who raises
an umbrella"
When the most tremendous and effec-
tive storm that had ever been produced
in any theatre was at last over, the
kings approbation was measureless.
He cried Z:
Magnificent magnificent Encore
Do it againl'
But the management succeeded in
persuading him to recall the encore, and
said the company would feel sufficiently
rewarded and complimented in the mere
fact that the encore was demanded by
his Majesty, without fatiguing him with
a repetition to crafty their own vanity.
During the remainder of the act the
lucky performers were those whose parts
required changes of dresses the others
were soaked, bedraggled and uncom-
Portable lot, but in the last degree pic
turesque. The stage scenery was ruined,
trap doors were so swollen that they
wouldn't work for week afterwards, the
fine costumes were spoiled, and no end
of minor damages were done by that re-
markable storm.
It was royal .idea-that storm-and
ro5 ally carried out. But observe the
moderation of the king. He did not in
sist upon the encore. If he had been a
gladstone, unrefecting American opera
audience he probably would have had
his storm repeated and repeated until he
had drowned all these peop1e.-Mark
Twain.
How TO CAN CoRN-In order to can
corn, says the Country Gentleman, boil
the corn on the ear a few rninutas. tba,,