New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-13
NOTES FROM LONDON.
LAURENCE oLIPHANT--M DE BLoWIiz-
GILBERT AND SULLIVAN
aEDITIONS DE LUXE"


laurence Oliphant, whose death we are al re-
,,rs.tiro NAV q, NAV not have secured perma-
no,. ,lao. IN literature. His books were unde-
r,oh,r o,Aves and those which dealt with reli-
g;ous or abstruse subjects had the stamp Oh SIN
certv and Of individual thought. 1t is for pos
teritv IN say whether they viii read them or not
mt he has at any rate a permanent place IN the
memories Of those who knew him. lie had wha'
a man SO seldom has he had charm Oh cnarac'er'
uo WAS an accomplished man OF the worio VIM
eould. and did over and over again, renounce 'ae
world at a moments notice. lie was III ni go. i"'-
to.dav. the ornament and life of smart ainner
marty. tomorrow he was of for southern nu''i'
70 look after suffering Jews, or 10 r""'0'A.
meditate in his lonely hut on the deepest pioo'e'
Of life and of thought Nobody nao ieu "''.
various life. Nobody had seen the woslo on HUI
,ides. Nobody could tell you mort ou,io1s
amazing experiences than ohpnan'' NJ -.
p,t of.en thought that one Of the most s'riKih.
80 .ho,t him was his perfect simplicity OF
rrann.r II vou did not know him ana Know
ono,, him vou would not guess that TINS ouie"
rravN bearded gentleman, who conformed scrupu'
,s,r 20 the incest code of social behavior, WAS
the hero of o hundred strange adventures
there was anything not quiet about him. IL was ,l'
svcx In them burned the consuming nrc WIZ, 10,
Ia never LET him rest He talked readiy
.h.r. .rrth,nr hut himself and talked raciv anu
we'll But what was more delightful tnan MS '"'N
uus Oliphant himself. Very likely ne nau D. ~,
round the world since you saw MN 81. NIL III
AFRO. but he walked into the room Us nc 40" ~
come from the next street. lie was . W.
London society so long as he chose W o'oI -
might be absent for years, but he resu~eu us
80 xrbenever he chose, and was as great
t,,or,t., as ever In soul he was csus"uer'
a,.,r,arested. devoted, chivarons, and ever feaay
to abandon anything he most cared ZOE ~ a'0
s,nmons of what ne deemed duty, OF au'no3i"
higher than his own.
oB,hant is responsible for one act when Is
known to journalists but little KNOWN peln" w
outside the profession. He is the inventor % ~.
a. xIorvitz the Paris correspondent OF Inc
Tx,,os Olipbnut was himself for whie ,nc
representative of the journal in France anu "a
de Blowitz was his secretary, or pernais eA'r sa
at first in some humber capacity haVo 49,
a story which sounds as II the at'el n,sN,s.
~ +rre A friend was dining with Oiiphant.
servant came in with message. oaiu onp r.
A. his guest: One of my staff is mere on ous'-
,.oss 10 vou mind his coming in? Inc gueSs
Ala not mind and he of the staff was sumnoheu
81 enter Olphant spoke to him as ne stooo Ny
a.. table. nave him his orders and glass Oh VINE
and cent him about his business. III was AL 40
plawitz. Whether he was then calleo ny us
yresent name. or NJ Oppert or NJ opper' uo
p1o,ri+z ~ had finally blcssomed into d. DC
Rlouitz. / cannot say. NJ oppert he certainty
twas in the beginning. There is, or was US
tineuished Frepchman named Opper'' VINO u.so
to find himself oonfounded with nus Done Ia
pamesake and did not like it IL was nc WV ...a
mo ~ the confusion. l use the word Bohemian
in its geographical or ethnographicai ssnss tn
rbant-the story is well known-quitted Inc
1Ymess one day very suddenly; on summons
from his spirtua chief Harris, or for some similar
reason. He teIegraphed the manager In LONDON
.bo, ba was Obliged to sail at once Tor Americas
and eouM make no arrangement for suosl.u"'
nor had any successor to propose, but tnat theIe
,va. sbarp fellow in the Paris office who eouio
look after things for day or two VII they eous'
send somebody over The sharp fellow was VI ue
nlo,,;tz and be has looked after things In Paris
ever since; or until very lately, for there Is
rumor that his duties are now, OF soon wiz We
hardly more than nominal
NJ Gilbert says he means never TO wrlte
.no,hsr SERIOUS play. Well 50 long as the Gilbert
sullivan partnership continues and prospers' ne
,ssll ma able to struggle on, il Brantinghame
Haus should have successor. Ihere is OF
.nrrse > third member of this theatrical firm, Mr.
T,Oyly Carte, the owner Of the Savoy Theatre, not
the least important Of the three DO not mean
TO draw comparisons Considered as members OF
the most successful theatrical combination ever
known. the three stand on level more IMAM
once their hold upon the public has been threat
srod or has been proclaimed uncertain. More
than one of the Gilbert-Sullivan operas has been
anpounced next morning failure, or as con-
+ainino no elements of permanent prosperity. Inc
very latest of them was doomed to an early death
hv the press But the press is one thing and the
pnblic another and the public sometimes carries
presumption SO far as to have an opinion OF us
GUN and act on IT, For the first week, perhaps,
the hostile critics had things their own way. There
e always a powerful body of persons who adopt
the judgment of the paper they have rcad mat
morning, and by night firmly believe IL 70 DC an
iuspiration of their own brain Ihls trlDe wen'
ahout declaring The Yeomen of the Guard toe
dun for words; the book dull the music ouiL
aGilbrrt has written himself out, and Sullivan
has NOT A new air in his head" cried they. But
tbev did not prevail The Yeomen OF the
c,uards has caught on" in spite OF them. The
SAVOY IA filed. II you meet Mr. DOyly Carte In
the street. he wears smiling face. Mr. Gilbert
forcets the yexstions which have beset him ID
connection with Brantinghame Hall as he scans
the nightly returns Of the Savoy. Sir arthur
sullivan is bubbhng over with new tunes; oil
merry.
T vas in Scotland when this opera was brought
out, and it was only the other night tnat saw !.
or heard il. The theatre agent to whom Wen
yor t,ekets answered, Not seat to be had,
Init lust then two returned stalls arrived. Ih'
house was crowded: though with curious audi
cnce. believe all the London theatres go through
similar experiences If new piece succeeds May
fair and Belgravia, Baywater and South Ken
sington, throng TO see it. Night after night TN
houses are smart" But the number OF In
habitants in these aristocratic and sem-aristo
cratic quarters is limited. They make way, afte
a time. for less favored and fashionable mortals
These Al their turn are followed by the suburban
and provincial public. 1t is the suburban perio'
AZ the Savoy: with Just sprinkling OF ceebri
ties like the Master Of the Rolls and Lady Esher
Sir Frederick Leighton and Mr.. Arthur Lewis