The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-08-24
A SWEET VOICE SILENCED.
Tho Remarkable Career OF Sister Mnry
Agnes.

NHS A"hhi SRIecF u sister tnr-
Agnes.
The Baltimore papers announce th,
death at midnight IN Sunday last of Sis
ter Mary Agnes, a nuu who had becom,
famous as tho posscssor Of phenomena
voice OF great sweetness and of such ex
traordinary compass that, while it coult
De called neither soprano or alto, it haC
the range OF both, and who was, perhaps
the most distinguished teacher of voca
music connected with the Roman Catho
lie Sisterhood in America.
Almost thirty years ago beautiful
young woman with q miraculous voice
charmed the musical people of Phila,
del1h'a: The voice was phenomenal in
l.. w ..derful compass. Its owner, dis,
daining all attempts at cultured ventrilo
quism-the vocal gymnastics acquired by
teachers misunderstanding from The
love of harmony that had its ontgrowth
i'll her soul, and because in melody che
found the greater pleasure Of her life
This girl was Louise Gubert, the Sister
Mary Agnes of the Convent of Mont de
Chantal at Wheeling, West Virginia,
where she lived until within week OF
her death, Oil Sunday last. She Vas 4
daughter of Theopholis Gubert, French.
man, who somo fifty years ago kept Il
grocery in Philadelphia. Her mother
was the eldest sister of w. Milner Rob.
erts, civil engineer, who died in Brazil
about year ago. Louise WAS one OF
twelve children. Her father, Theopholis
Guoert, was musician as we'll as a
grocer, and his wife was also tho nos.
SCISSOR of considerable musical ability.
For many years Mr.. and Mrs. Gubert
sang in the choir of st. Johns Catholic
Church, in Philadelphia. Louise's father.
after acquiring a comfortable income,
sold out his establishment. AT this time
his daughter Louise was not over ten
years of age, but her remarkable voice
had already attracted much attention
among her parents friends The circle
In which she was thrown was musical
one. Among the visitors to her fathers
house were Prof. Augslus Fortunatis,
dos Santos. the Portuguese refugee, noble.
man and polished gentleman, who taught
music, and Edward Christian, quaint
old aesthetic who lived and died before
nstheticism became so popular. 1t was
In the society of such people as these
that Louise Gubert was reared. When
she was fourteen years of age sho was
placed in the charge of Parini for musi.
cal instruction. The anecdotc il told
that when her mother led the girl to tha
teacher and inquired his terms for tuition
he replied, after hearing the child sing ::
Let the remuneration be the poor priv
ilege that Parini can state that once
Louise Gubert WAS his pupil"
HER WONDERFUL VOICE.
The remarkable qualities of her voice
soon became generally recognized, but
the young singer was dreamer. When
a child she passed some years in the
Georgetown Convent, where she received
most of her education. She became
deeply imbued with n desire to live a
pure and heroic life, to devote her talents
to the welfare of the Catholic Church.
and to ignore all personal and self-ambi-
tious motives. Her father died in 1S4g.
Wnen she was II years of age, and she
then resolved to enter q convent, but for
a few years she allowed the persuasion of
her friends to deter her from this course.
When Louise Gubert was IL years of age
she made her first appearance before an
aaaiencc. 1t Tas ii Musical Fund Hall,
and she sang in the oratorio of the Mes.
siah. A few weeks afterward she repeat
ed her part of the oratorio in Concert
Hall. 1t was the custom in PHILADELPHIA
at that time, during public performance
OF amateurs, to erect a guaze curtain
across the stage, which concealed the
features but not the outlines of those on
the platform. AS louise's voice arose in
the triumphal notes of the oratorio. at
the performance in the hall, the audience
was 80 stirred by the intense pathos and
beauty Of the clear tones that the hearers
rushed to the platform en- n,asse and tore
down the screen which concealed the
girl. The following day hundreds of
valuable presents vera :siIt TO her home,
The anonymous gifts she sold and de-
voted the money received for the benefit
of tho poor, but the others she returned
to those from whom they came. 4 few
months later she sang in Pittsburg, but
the fattery she everywhere received an.
noyed her, and following out her child.
iRh conception Of noble life, she en-
tered the Convent of Georgetown. where
she had been educated. Al division of
the sisterhood, she was transferred to
Mont de Chantal Convent, the Sisters
School in Wheeling, W. Va: She taught
music there. and it was there that she
sung at different times for Parepa Rosa,
Liszt, S:rakosch and RubenBtein, who
one and all pronounced her voice une-
quailed: parepa Rosa frarkly acknowl-
edged that her voice was th -eetest she
had ever heard. Liszt, the :eat pianist,
recorded in his journal, published since
his death. that at Wheeling he had heard
the greatest cantatrice known to the
world.
Max Strakosch heard of the sweet
singer of De Chantal and visited her.
Sister Louise sang for him, and so eD.hu.
siastic was the empressario that he offered
her csc, 900 for season Of ak months in
concert. Bishop Whalen declined to per.
NIT her to accept, and she remained at
the school, where she devoted her talents
&c he: s!-sys large clssees. Che was
herself more fond Of simple ballads than
else. Her voice was too sweet
TO be marred by machine music, and it
was her habit while accompanying her.
self on the harp or piano to strike the
key note, and not until the last echo of
her voice died away did her fingers again
touch the chord.
Sister Mary Agnes was a victim OF
consumption. The disease recently de.
veloped itself SO rapidly that her asso.
ciates became alarmed. She was taken
to St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore in
a special car. Her aged mother stood by
the bedside of her dying daughter, and
Mrs. Gubert is now the last of the family.
A Dutch Judge, on conviction of q
culprit for having four wives, decided
HE hssh punishment plenty; I lifs mil
onep'
Only her husband: Mrs. McCoble,