Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-04-24
YOUNG LADY WHISTLERs.
The Art by Which They Reduce Their
Mouths and Give Their Tongues
Play.
New York Herald


The familiar air of "The MOcking Bird
was whistled through west 46th street
yesterday morning, but the music was not
that of the flute, the tiageOlet, the piccOlo,
the clarionet or the fife. A reporter of the
Herald who was passing along the street
stopped to listen, for save pretty young
lady standing on door step, no one was
in sight. Still the twitteIing and bird like
solo continued to vibrate down the block
1t was the young lady who was whistling.
and the reporter took the liberty Of ex-
pressing his astonishment to her.
"Were you whistling?' he inquired OF
the young music maker.
The young lady smiled, turned three
difficult corners in the tune, worked in a
tremolo half a dozen bird like trills,
stopped and answered:
"Yes. Why?"
Because You whistle so beautifully,
and
"Well, l think / ought to-" she inter
rupted, 1--WE been taking lessons long
enough, and my mouth has grown five
eights of an inch smaller since l began to
practice regularly"
"YOu take lessons and your mouth has
grown smaller 2" echoed the reporter.
yes; you needn't look as if l was tell
ing story. OF course l take lessons.
Lots of girls whistle now because it's
fashionable"
"Who is the professor
"a colored man, who used to wait on us
at Long Branch"
Where is his conservatory?
''Oh, he comes to our house twice a
=, IL =. lr
says it's James Francis Cecil Clay AccOmac
Upshire, junior to John Wise, of North
ampton county, Va. He is wonderful
musician"
Then whistling will make the mouth
small?"
why, of course it will. A girl that
has four inch mouth can reduce it to
three inches by regular course of study.
Besides, the puckering of the lips makes
them fuller and gives them a nicer color. "
How long does it take to dock an inch
off an ordinary sized mouth ?" asked the
reporter.
''Oh, ] don't know was the answer. "a
girl must never sing, use large tOOtbrushes
or take big bites out of apples Then If
she practices all the time when she is in
the house she will probably reduce the
size of her mouth in about two years.
Why, l can whistle everything, even scien-
tifc sacred music, and you see how small
my mouth is 1t is different from singing
in choir The overture from Tampa"
is perhaps the most difficult selection in
my repertoire. 1t requires SO much active
tongue movement. But a fine whistler
must have good ear, and good teeth that
are not too widely apart"
"Will you kindly describe the method
by the professor in lessons to beginners
well, he doesn't allow new pupils to
sound a note until they have become per-
feet in the control of their mouths. He
illustrates silently with his lips how they
should be drawn up and the students
watch him and endeavOr to initiate him.
Oh we are going to have concert this
spring and then You may see and hear for
yourself"
Professor" Wise was found in an up
town billiard saloon, occupied in the seden-
tary employment of watching two athletes
from Columbia College struggling with a
game of pool. He was a short, grizzly
pated man, of gamboge tint, with smooth
face and large lips.
"Yef, sar, Pm Profess WISE" he said
with tantilizing slowness, 'an' I'm an in
structor in de art oh moOsic. YET, sar; it's
whistlin' wha' teach to do young ladies
of society. YET, sar; sum pipe like de
plovar an sum like de dam ole jay bird. /
cud al'ays whistle putty tolebel smart as a
chunk of boy, sar, an den at Long
Branch whar l spen' de summers de hotel
folks dey hab me to whistle to 'em. YET,
sar; an de young ladies dey like to larn,
an so l come here, an am provessah.
I've twenty-free scholars, sar, all in de
ubber ten at lees so da say, sar," and the
warbler walked slowly away.