Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-09
A MUSICIAN'S STORY


it impossible to sleep after O'Clock that
morning, and, indeed, the influx of the
visitors had continued increasingly all the
preceding day. 1t seems wonderful that
they could all have found Judgment in the
little chalet cottages, seemingly so made
quate to their numbers. l was studying
music, with five other young students,
under the Herr WenZel at Munich. My
self and one other were English; there
fore the Herr paid us the compliment of
taking us under his wing on the present
occasion; and, having relatives living at
&ttal. easily bespoke bed for us and Sc
cured seats in the Erster Logon Platz,
under cover to see the play. The theatre
was crowded with a vast audience of {. 900
persons, of all nations, OF all cTeeds and
of all stations in life. The country folks
sat down below US. Some had been all
night walking many, many miles, even
then looking faint with fatigue. What
would they'be after witnessing a perform
ance of eight hours! The prince and
princess were not far from us; behind us
a large party Of the De Rothschilds; on
one side MOnsignOr Capel, on the other
an English bishop, a Roman Catholic
duke and marques, also English. In our
immediate front were two very distIn-
guished Germans, with their ''suite" on
either side, who behaved most ObseQui-
ously to them, giving us the impression
that the young gentlemen We're of high
rank. They were young men Of about my
and my fellOw-student's ages. namely, IS
and 20; tall and handsome, especially the
elder, who, besides a most elegant figure,
possessed straight, refined features and a
more intellectual brow than his brother,
who, though sufficiently resembling him
to denote their relationship, was broader
in the shoulders, and with features of a
darker, bolder-ca and more restless be-
haviOr, for he stood up, lOrgnetteS en- main,
surveying the audience on all sides, as if
in the stalls at the Decentralization par
tlcularly scandalizing to many near us,
who had come in reverent and devout
spirit. The young noble had evidently
the intention to amuse himself by criti-
cism-perhaps to ridicule what he con-
sidered drama. Eight o'clock struck,
three guns were fired and the first notes
of the orchestra were heard, causing a
sudden silence of the hum in that enOr-
nous audience. Whilst the symphony
conducted by the village schoolmaster
was being played the elder of the young
gentlemen before us put his hand on his
brothers arm and | heard him say: ''Sit
down; why dOst thou behave thus irreV-
erently, my brother! At whom gazest
thouV AT an angel; look for thyself,
Fritz" He turned his head and eyes sig
niticantly to the right, and his brothers.
and mine simultaneously followed in the
direction indicated. Yes, he was right
a young girl, very young girl-perhaps
scarcely Is years of age-Was seated near
us, the most incOmparably lovely creature
l ever saw in my life before or since. A
divine light Illuminated her pure face, and
the blue eyes that expressed devOut feel
ing and solemn expectation of the holy
scenes about to be represented, gazed
straight at the proscenium, the prosceni-
UNI being open to the sky; the other be-
hind it was covered in; under this COW
cred part some of the scenes and all the
tableauX took place. The everlasting
mountains, with their atmospheric effects
and real light and shade, impressed me
with sublime feeling l cannot describe
something that exalted me out of myself,
the one glimpse assuring me there is a
spiritual life which we shall enjoy in an
other and beautiful state-the one glimpse
vOuchsated me of a look behind the veil.
Directly the last notes of the orchestra
had died away, the Chorus, in their sup
posed character of guardian spirits, came
forward, their leader explaining the mean
ing of the first tableau and its bearing on
the coming scenes on PassiOnssplel. After
the plan Of the Greek plays, the chorus
Cnen divided and retired a little to the
right and left and the curtain rose. dis
closing tableau representing Adam and
CDOflS
sang strOphe while the tableau lasted
and the curtain tell, only to rise again in
few minutes with q second living pic
ture. During this time | could not keep
my eyes from watching the emotions of
the lovely young girl seated near us. She
grasped the arm of an aged priest, who
was her escort, probably a relative. What
a sweet expression on her earnest face,
though tears rolled slowly from under her
eyelids. She did not lose a word uttered
by those on the stage, quite Identifying
herself with the characters. 'EThis young
girl must be full of feeling" thought /,
''fOr how quickly her soul receives i'm
pressions of grief and happiness-Of good
and evil! When love animates her heart
she will love indeedp' | was not the only
one who studied her; both the young gem
tlemen before us looked at her far more
than at the stage. More than once they
exchanged remarks in whispers, which,
fortunately, [ failed to catch, in conse-
quence of two persons seated behind me
persons, l am sorry to say, who We're my
own country people, of whom l felt heartily
ashamed, for they would make comments
in loud soto voice l could not avoid
hearing.
''Ive never seen such a set of guys in
my life," said a male voice; "call them
angels, indeed!i
Il call it downright prOfane," whis-
pered his female companion. "Fm very
sorry Pve come, Henry"
"Hush'' said some one near at hand.
which silenced them for the time.
The priest accompanying the charming
young girl was very aged; his long white
hair fell over his shoulders, his thin face
was wrinkled as l never saw face, vet
he was in full possession Of his intelIi-
gence, his mind concentrated on the scenes
represented; every now and then he
crossed himself and his lips moved as if
in prayer. His young companion was
mOtiOnless, and as the interest of the ia
bleauX progressed, she clasped her hands.
actually trembling with emotion; it was
the fourth scene-the Garden of Geth-
semane-the scene was darkened, when l
observed her suddenly fall backward; the
vivid representation of what, had 1 been
asked, / should have declared too sacred
for enacting, had been too much for her
she had tainted. l sprang up; but both
the young noblemen seated before me did
the same. The eldest one, who was the
nearest to her, lifted the slight young fig
ure in his strong arms, as easily as if she
were child, and, carrying her in such a
manner as not to IncOmm0de the specta-
tors, bore her to the fresh air. The old
priest stood up helpless and frightened.
L went 10 him, whispering that when the
present tableau was finished ! would
contact him to the young lady-who no
doubt was in good hands. Fortunately,
when the curtain fell it was y o'clock, and
there would be an hours interval given for
the repose and refreshment of both the
actors and the audience. Amid the con-
fusion OF the exit, / led the venerable
priest through the crowd and soon discOv-
cred the young girl, who he said was his
grandniece, sitting on a bench under the
trees. She had recovered, but still seemed
agitated. Both the young men were with
her; one held wine in glass, entreating
her to taste it, the younger one was fam
ming her with large leaf he had plucked,
for it was midday and the heat very great.
On seeing her granduncle she fled to him,
threw her arms around the good mans
neck, bursting into a flood of hysterical
tears.
So left them, but saw that every atten-
ton was being rendered by the young
gentlemen and their suite, and that they
were being conducted slowly and careful
ly to the village.
EPISODE U.-LONDON.
In the year 1878 l PLACED the violin in
the orchestra of the HBizarrerieI Theatre