The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-04
Another of Nym Crinkle's Prodigies.

Another of Nym Crinkle's Prodigies.
The bottom having fallen out of the cowboy
pianist who got his lasso tangled round Beetho-
ven and fell into Gopher hole Of criticism, let
me introduce to you another prodigy This time
I think the '.bottom" is one Of genuine merit
am speaking of young man who came down
from New Hampshire, three or four years ago,
in his farm clothes" and told New York he
wanted to write an opera. He was young, and
lank, and homespun, and fresh, and he had never
heard an opera in his life. He had taught him
self to play the piano. and he made run on the
key board with two fingers.
He came very near starving to death in this
city, and some benevolent relative put him into
Clahin's wholesale dry goods establishment, in
the packing box department. The superintend
emit of that department. told me himself after
wards that he was not worth his salt; that ne
caught him dreaming and writing music on the
boxes, and when he asked the young man what
it was he wanted to do in life, he replied that he
wanted to write an opera. Then the superin-
tendent gave him some sensible advice, and
discharged him.
1t must have been year later when one day
the late Dan Hopkins. Of concert fame, came to
me and said he had found musical genius, and
he was going to bring him out He wanted me
to hear some of his music. Having natural
months passed, aud then was invited to go and
hear an opera called 1.-The Jolly Bachelors"
which had been produced by Murtha at the
Windsor Theater. I believe JEANNE Winston
was in it.
did 60 Such mess of insane rubbish as
the story proved / never listened to. But /
prcked my ears at the music It was curiously
fascinating and had Distinctly new flavor.
saw that 1t held the vast audience. / heard
quaint little gavottes rondos. subtle bits of ro-
manzas. budding and dying before you could
catch them; fragile Rossini fragrance to it; a
mixture of voluptuous Orientalism and that far
away pathos that used to hover round Stephen
Fosters melodies / remember that some of
those bits buzzed like blue bottlefies in my mem
| DRY for days
| asked, with surprise, who did this and found
| that il was the New Hampshire boy, Edward l.
| Darling
made his acquaintance. / found him just
what have described to you. He had the gift
of melody. It oozed out of every PORE But he
had no knowledge; no musical education. be-
| came deeply interested in him. had boxes at
both operas, and l made him go night after
night got old DIETRICH to take him pupil,
and for a year and half he threw himself into
music with mad hunger that was strange to
see.
| DIETRICH told me he had never met such a re-
| markabe case of musical aptitude. He seemed
| to grasp the abstruse problems of harmony in
| stinctively. During the winter of 1884 he went
| to work at another comic OPERA with chastened
| pen. Meanwhile 1.-THE jolly Bachelors" had
| gone for year all over the country dragging
| the rubbish Of G libretto with siren wings.
have not seen him for a year. But met
! Emma Abbott the other day when she was here,
and she told me she had bought his OPERA The
Gentlemanly Savage and had given 5000
cash for it. bravo, packing boxes" She was
enthusiastic over it. and went to the piano and
/ sang Bobolink song from it
! When morning clouds
| Break in the east
| To let the sunlight through
10 blossoms pink
| Comes bobolink
To take his drink of dew.
Chewink!
Recognized the old charm. It was the same
boy.
Isee that the Abbott company intend to pro-
| duce this opera in Detroit the last week in
! April
1 intend to 60 there and hear it, for watched
i the boys who made the lbretto and score and
am curious to see how public that never heard
| of them will use them.
But fancy this New Hampshire lad walking
/ about with S., 600 in his pocket l wonder what
| that superintendent of Clafiins thinks.
OF course, now you'll say that l wrote the
/ libretto.
Well, all the answer can make is that wish
| I had written it. NYM CRINKLE