San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-18

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story of Touch the Harp Gently"
Samuel n Mitchell ought to be a rich
man today from the proceeds of the $50
| songs which he has written, and which have
been set to music and sung in every habita-
Die part of the earth.
When it is stated that Mr.. Mitchell is the
| author of Touch the Harp Gently, My
| Pretty Louise, when the Whippoorwill
| Is Calling, 4" Put My Little Shoes Away"
| "The Lane That Led to School" my Dear
Savannah Home" and "We Deck Their
Graves Alike Today" his title to a place in
The Globes roll of honor cannot be dis.
puted.
A New Yorker who published many of
Mitchell's songs lives at Newport in SO,
600 cottage" but Mr. Mitchell, the author,
was found by The Globe correspondent
down in the basement of a newspaper Office,
mis- shirt sleeves rolled up, and the fingers
which had penned the most delightful of
ballads niunbIy plying a long, thin brush
with which he was painting the news bull
letins for The Pawtucket Evening Times
MILLIONS SOLD.
Modest as is Mr. Mitchell's income as
mailing clerk of The Times, he reaps more
from it than from song writing, nCtwith-
standing the fact that Hopkins s. Cew, of
London, sold 100000 copies of his Touch
the Harp Gently, My Pretty Louise"
81 don't believe shall ever write ballads
again" said Mr.. Mitchell 81 think that
if should count every penny received by
me for the 600 songs | have written the
sum would not exceed $1,000, and yet one
London musical firm, according to it's own
showing, cleared over $4,000 from the pro
ceeds Of one song, and that one, too, for
which never received a cent. 1t was stolen
bodily and carried off to London, where in
a pothouse, it was shown by Jack Tur
ridge, one of Kelly & Icons MINISTRIES, to
Charles Blamphin, the composer who,
struck with the lines and their possibilities,
set them TO the music with which the song
is so familiar today
THE song became the rage of London,
and when Lydia Thompson brought it
back to this country in the extravaganza
of Blue Beard it became as famous on this
side of the Atlantic as the other.
at never occurred to the publishers on
either side TO give the author so much as a
sou, but then did not write that song for
money | wrote it for love"
"The Louise of the song was your own
Louisen''
"No indeed. She was another fellows.
but come to think of il she was not even
his. She did not marry him"
Him" it appears, was the hate +. p
Kendall, manager Of the once famous Der
ger family and bosom friend of Mitch
ellis Kendall had been signing like fur
mace in the poets corner of their joint
Office, and finally told his friend that he
was badly hit in the direction of Miss
Louise Berger, who had so captivated him
that he proposed to have her or perish.
Now it happened that the well known Sol
Smith Russell entertained the same sort of
feeling for Louise Berger, who, by the way.
was an exquisite player on the harp
Mr. Mitchell thought out plan for help
ing his friend He would write song en-.
titled, ''T0uch the Harp Gently, My Pretty
Louise" which he would dedicate to Ken,
dali and have it published The words and
the dedication would be understood by the
lady, who would, of course, succurnb to the
sweetness of the song and give encourage.
ment to his suit
In less than half an hour the song was
written and on it's way to The New York
Clipper, which published it AT once.
But alas! Louise thrummed not her harp
gently nor otherwise for Mr.. Kendall. who
in moment Of madness undertook to sing
it, he being at that time possessed of the
most unmelodious voice in the United
States.
The experiment proved fatal to his hopes,
for although Miss Berger often went TO
hear the song sung by singers of repute,
she fed 2recipitaJely from Kendall's pres
ence whenever he manifested symptoms of
a desire TO sing it
SOME OTHER SONGS.
Mr.. Mitchell used to write many songs
for the wife of Lingard, who used to sing
them at the Boston Theatre Comique, then