Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-19
THE TOPICAL TALKER.
An Old OanonsburS Boy Gone TO His Rest
Experimenting with National Airs-As TO

An Old OanonsburS Boy Gone TO His Rest
Experimenting with National Airs-As TO
Stage Realism.
THE DISPATCH chronicled a couple of days
ago that the Hon. Eugene NJ. Wilson died of
malarial fever at Nassau, Bahama, on April 10.
Tue newspapers talk of him as distinguished
lawyer of Minneapolis and Minnesota Con-
gresham and public officer but he is remem-
bered by several Pittsburgers as handsome
and generous boy at college 40 years ago. Mr..
Wilson was at Jefferson College, Canonsburg
from 1850 to 1853, and a classmate of his said to
me yesterday: Young Wilson was one of the
fnest-looking young men ever remember see
ing. He was a good fellow, too, and pretty
bright He came from Morgantown, where he
had lovely home. DR.. Riddle. of Allegheny,
will remember him, no doubt and his chum and
roommate was W. 7. Playford. one of the lead
ing lawyers of Uniontown to-day.
Wilson drifted away from this part of the
country after he left college. Naturally he was
Democrat, and after the war he entered poll
tics actively in Minnesota. He ran unsuccess-
fully for Governor In Minnesota last year.
a GOOD experiment is to be made at the
Bijou Theater next week. At the close of
the performance Mr.. Phil Weiss excellent
orchestra will play Hail Columbia" and other
National airs. The idea is borrowed from
England and Canada where the National air,
GOD Save the Queen" is always played after
the performance The National anthem seems
to have the effect of making the exit of the
audience sedate and orderly. At present our
audiences scramble headlong for the door.
But the virtue of playing Hail Columbia"
and other National airs in our theaters is the
patriotic feeling it encourages. Any means to
attain such laudable end is worth trying. We
do not pay enough respect to our National
airs. There should be one with which every
American should be familiar, know the tune and
the words by heart. At present there is not. as
has been proved over and over again whenever
mixed assemblages of Americans have at
tempted to sing National song impromptu as
it were. A melancholy failure of this kind,
which occurred couple of years ago on board
a TRANSATLANTIC line, is still vivid In my mem
ory.
oWHAT splendid lesson to modern real
ism," says Henry Arthur Jones' in this
weeks Mirror, ais conveyed in the few hundred
lines at the end of the second act and the be-
ginning of the third act of the second part of
Henry w.! First we get the tavern scene at
the Boar's Head, a bit of the frankest. most
uncompromising realism, the Prince and his
fellow roysterers done to the life with photo
graphic fidelity, but with such a gust and
wealth OF comic creation; Such vivid. riotous
quickening and marshalling of the sordid de-
tails and disreputaDe personages into mas
terpiece of jocund, careless, glowing, baccha-
nalian revelry; such delightful rough-shod
triumph over virtue, morality, respectability
and responsibility, broken in upon only by the
grave. compunctious reply of the Prince to
Peto's message
By Heavens, Poins, feel me much to blame,
So idly to profane the precious time.
Give me my sword and cloak. Falstaf good
night
such sustained warmth and vigor and jovial-
ity as quite redeem the scene from the imputa-
tion of mere realism. What a reproof to the
modern clamor for ugliness. vice and disease
for their own sakes! Every stroke is real lite
itself. and yet what fine impression of genial.
healthy, rollicking life it leaves!