The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-12-10
WAGNER AND THE BARBER,
How the Great German Composer Had
Hts Hair shinsIed-The TonBorial
Artists Dilemma.


Hts Hair shinsIsd-The Topsorisi
Artists Dilemma.
Wagner, the composer Of the music
of the future, writes q correspondent, is
sojouining in bis Town hired house at
Naples, whore he is preparing new
work, and being lionized to an extent
that must fill his soul, so fond Of adula-
tion, with sweet content. The maestro
Is shaved by certain Neapolitan knight
of the brush by the name Of Gennaro,
and good story is told in this connec-
tion. The barber thought he had ga
soft thing of it," and bargained in ad-
vance with certain worshipers of the
composer to sell them locks of the hair
which he should cut from the maestro's
head, and the shaver had in consequence
a nice little sum in anticipation.
He went gaily to the Wagner villa
The composer was waiting. Don Gen
naro tied the towel around his neck and
began operations. "Not too short"
said Wagner. "Its dreadful hot,
maestro; you will feel hundred times
better after the operation" said Don
Gennaro, slipping his scissors into the
salt-and-pepper GIRLS Hardly had the
barber said these words when he turned
white as sheet The scissors nearly
fell from his hands, together with the
first lock of the precious hair. What
had happened? If were a novel writer
and not o correspondent, / might take a
barbarous satisfaction, at this point, in
writing continued in our next" which
would keep your nerves twitching for
~ n..f II e..
What had happened? Had Don Gen
naro, from over-excitement, cut the
skin as well as the hair of the illustri-
GUS head he held in his hands? Was it
remorse for having sold the spoils
which made him tremble? Neither the
one nor the other. Nine. Wagner, with
measured steps like one who fulflls
sacred mission, had come to his side
with an open ebony casket, and the in
slant that each lock fell she caught it
on the wing and laid it reverently on
the blue satin lining of the box.
Imagine the disappointment, the Or
gasm of Don Gennaro! How he man.
aged to finish the job 1 don't know, but
l do know that he came home thor
ouShly desperate; in fact, completely
"'AeoNt i'Oiilu lclcSii, Ills WIG, Thought
something dreadful had happened.
"What shall do" cried he, after re-
counting his terrible story, "what shall
I do with all those Germans? Alasl l
must refund the money, because theypaid
half in advance. Who could imagine
this?" "Don Gennaro," said his wife,
severely, "when I married you thought
you had more brains in your head. Will
you drown yourself in a glass of water?
The maestro is great composer, no
doubt; but his hair is salt and pepper
like our neighbor, the butchers" A
word to the wise. At the present writ
ing there are fifteen or twenty houses
in Germany where, in the place of honor
in the parlor there is small lock of
salt and pepper hair in frame, and be-
low it in gold letters in German "Lock
Of hair of Richard Wagner, cut in
Naples, March %, 1880" Don Antonio,
the butcher, has never been able to
make out why Don Gcnnaro, the bar
ber, insisted on cutting his hair, as it
were by force, on the morning of the
twenty-fourth of March, 1880, the fol.
lowing Sunday being his day instead.