Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-10-29
MR.. B0NFIGs PR0TEGE,

Ebenezer Bonhg was a widower between
fifty and sixty years of age, fresh-colored and
alert, exceedingly dapper and natty in his APP
pearance, very well to do, and member Of one
or two something more than respectable clubs.
1t had been long ago forgotten tlat onfg's
father had made his fortune by the discovery
and extensive sale of an esoteric compound
known by the title of Luncheon Tickle;" and
the son had never been tainted on account of
his sires connection with trade since he had left
college, where of course the nickname of
''Pickles" had been affixed to him. But Ebene
Ger was no tuft-hunter; not in the least ambi-
tious or DESTROYS Of passing himself off for what
he was not, and took the thing with great and
undisturbed good humor, till the term lost all
trace OF contemptuous expression, and became
transformed into kindly jocular epithet, used
by his particular chums in moments OF endear-
ing expansion. After leaving college, BOnfg
married, led an even, childless existence, mated
to lady of a temperament as calm and equable
as his own until death dissolved this stOrmless
partnership. and left him to nurse in solitude q
crowd of sweet and cOncOrdant memories.
Yet EbeneZer had one ruling passion; if in
deed a sober, worthy crochet deserves to be
dignified by such name. He dotted on music
and musicians. He was steadfast subscriber
to the Italian opera; attended every philhar-
monte. sacred and classic concert, where good
musical fare was a certainty, and was generally
tOlerably well posted upin operate gossip The
storehouse of his recOllections was rich with
anecdotes of singers of worldwide fame, many
of whom he had known personally in his
younger days; and to get BOnfig on to his pet
subject was common trick, practised with con-
siderable JUNCTION by his friends at the club and
elsewhere.
Sir" Ebenezer would say, his pleasant rubi-
cund face glowing with modest Triumph 81
had the honor of being on speaking terms with
the great Malibran-the great Maria Malibran
herself. We shall never see her like again. Pat
ii, Nilsson, Tietjens, don't talk to me of any
of them, sir; great artists in their way no
doubt, who command our gratitude for the
pleasure they give us, but not one of them a
touch upon Malibran. That woman sir, wasn't
woman at all when on the stage; she was an
angel and fury by turns, as the occasion re-
quired. Wonderful! wonderful! And do you
know what she used, to keep her up to the
mark? Porter, sir-good honest porter; she
would drink whole bOttleful just before going
on the boards; and, by CAD, you should have
seen the world of good it did her! What a
power it gave her! have handed her the glass
she drank out Of scores of times. That was
singer if you like, or I'm a Dutchman!'
A host Of the best singers were all familiar
persOnages to him. He had either known
them from his stall at the opera house; OF. what
was even better, made their acquaintance at
Some OF those celebrated garden parties, given
by still well-remembered impresario of former
days. BOnf1g had cOntrived to make himself
extremely popular in their society, and got to be
received with genuine smile of welcome,
where men OF high rank and, title were only
more or less tolerated on account of their social
influence and standing. Indeed, on one or two
delicate occasions, his good offices had been
solicited to shake the unbendng obduracy Of
some recalcitrant prima donna; and it was
mainly due to his persuasive good humOr and
plausible serenity, that a storm in a tea-cup,
which might have proved serious to managerial
interests, was averted. Artists knew they
had an enthusiastic, sincere little friend in him;
ready to eXult with them in their success and to
console them with graceful tact in their failure
His bouquets, flung with superb flourish and
with unerrlng aim. were things to be remem-
bered and his honest face, beaming with undis-
guised rapture. was looked for as a sympathetic
stimulus useful antidOte to fashionable
British frost.
1t must not be supposed, however, that Bon
hg was master of the craft himself. He could
not have deciphered single bar of music to
save his life; and was only known to have at
tempted to sing once, when he was so fright
ened by the hdeOusly discOrdant sounds which
came from him, that he retired quite discomfort
ed and upset. He simply had an unlimited Ca
pacity for appreciation; reverend admiration
Tor anything like a decent voice and tie power
OF using 1t. He would have risen from a sick
bed. rather than miss performance of artistic
consequence, and postponed his most pressing
engagement to put himself at the disposal of a
singer. The grasp Of peers hand would not
have afforded him a 1.-THE of the qualification
which passing nod from Lablache gave him.
and as for one of Malibran's smiles, he would
not have bartered it for a kingdom. It was
mystery, too, whence he derived his eXtraOrdi-
nary prediction. Bonfig seniors soul had
never scared for an instant above pickles. and
the account at his bankers; but then to be sure,
problems OF greater intricacy remain to this mo-
ment unSOlVed.
After the death of his gentle companion, who.
far from checking EbeneZer, had done her very
best to share his enthusiasm, he still continued
to interest himselfin musical matters; but his
interest grew less active, and found it's vent
rather more in the retrospective than in the
present or prospective. The inapresariO who
had looked upon BOnfig in a measure as coun-
sellOr and staunch ally, had found q successor;
new artists had taken the place of the old, and
EbeneZer-a Rip Van Wrinkle, in an old world
became new, without his even been asleep-was
fan to content himself with making his appear
ance as usual in his stall, and indulging in re-
grets OF glorious past, whenever he got the
chance of doing so. The modern school of song
had, OF course, degenerated in his opinion; and
with II, the modern school Of lyrical compost
ton. He was a bitter anti-Wagnerite and for
the life of him could not see what the public
found to applaud in the music of that con-
founded German which to him was all noise
and no melody"
But he was shortly to be reused from this
comparative state of apathy. One day he called
upon an old college friend, home from India
and staying at a boarding house situated in one
of the squares of the West-Central district
While the two were talking together amicably
in the somewhat dngy drawing-room Bonfig be-
came suddenly disgracefully inattentve to the
conversation. and strangely absorbed in listen
ing to the sound Of voice which seemed to
shoot up from somewhere about the basement
of the house.
1t was, however, a voice well worthy Of atten-
ton. A mans voice of pronounced tenor quail
ity, rich, strong, agreeable and Of extreme pur-
ity; one of those voices which, in ordinary sized
rooms, shake the chandelier glasses and cause
a sense OF vibration in the diaphragm of the
listener; but which, in large hall, lucky in its
acoustics, swell into ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
waves of sound, as full and majestic as the notes
of church organ.
BOnfig's eyes twinkled with excitement.
'Hark.' he said; ''sOme one is singing: YOU
didn't tell me you had an artist in the house {"
Pooh, it's no artist! it's only Louis, the ser
want. or waiter, or whatever you may call him"
answered Ebenezer's friend contemptuOusy
The voice was clearly neither a novelty nor
pleasure to him.
"A waiter" exclaimed Bonfg Indignantly
Is man with VOICE ike that uo;tar To