Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-08-05
TIE FOURTH IN LONDON.

HOW MRS. A. Z. osGooD SANG THE STAR SPAN
GLED BANNER WITH HER MAJEsTY's GRENA-
DER GUARDS BAND AS ACCOMPANIES.
NJ. d. Conway in recent letter from Lon
don writes of an international English and
American Festival Concert" given at the
Royal Albert hall on the evening Of the
Fourth. Parts were taken by Sir julius Ben
edict, Mr.. Barnett, Antoinette Sterling, Mrs.
Osgood Henrietta Beebe of New York,
Madame Lemmens Sherington and other fine
singers. Mr.. William Carters admirable
choir sang the choruses. Her Majestys
Grenadier Guards band assisted in the mil
itary airs, other aecompaniments being on
the organ and piano. The stage was decorat-
ed with plants and flowers The English and
American elements were apparently about
equal in the audience. The performance of
"The Star-spangled Banner" is thus describ-
ed "The Royal Grenadiers' band perform
ed selections from English and American mel
odies. Home Sweet Home, and Yankee
Doodle waltzed together. The English faces
appeared to me puzzled and serious while
Yankee Doodle was going on. Aud now
came the piece of the evening" The Star
spangled Banner The copyist had left out
the second verse, no doubt only for brevity,
and one or two changes had been made in the
other verses. The word dire had been sub
sttuted for foul, in the line Their blood has
washed out their foul footsteps pollution :;
and for For our cause it is Just, was written
When our cause is just The latter change
looked like sacrifice of meter to English
II. - I A. a
was rather delicate matter to invite her
Majesty's Grenadiers' band to accompany
triumphal melodies about the band that
vauntingly swore, and about the hireling and
slave that mo refuge could save, and some
small softenings of the two phrases may be
pardoned under the circumstances But
these miigations occurred only in the printed
book of the concert Mrs. Osgood ignored
them. That American lady who in her petite,
almost childlke form, carries enough love of
her country to supply several eagles, did not
once look at the book She sang the great
hymn as it was written on her heart, and she
she sang it like a seraph 1t may be in part
the estimate Of an ear long starving for just
that song, but not altogether that, when
say that Mrs. Osgoods singing of that piece
was q miracle Of art. 1t was as if she, too,
like some Of the rest of us, had been longing
for an opportunity. 1t does not happen to
an American artist every day-perhaps it
never happened to one before-to sing our
national hymn in Great Britain in its grand
est hall. She scared up on the land Of the
free'-away up, as it were, in the blue-and
held on up there As il she would never come
down again. The audience was fairly stirred.
Some rose up in the stalls and one man lift
ed his wide-awake high up on his cane. This
was a signal for a tremendous encore. The
singer came out and sang the last verse again
better than before. 1t was not the Ameri-
cans only who we're delighted. Numbers of
English people present we're evidently charm
ed by the performance Of this piece 1t was,
of course, the gem Of the evening, though
Antoinette Sterling sang twice with her usual
felicity, one of her songs being The Old
Folks at Home. Miss Mary Cummings also
sang Hail Columbia assisted by the military
band aud choir, the effect in the vast hall be-
ing fine and even impressive. The unique
concert closed with God Save the Queen
though many turned it mentally into a prayer
for the President"