Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-12-08
Alexander Bull Relates Many
Incidents About the
Great ViOliniSt.
His Early Suffering a Source of
Advantage to Him Later
in Life.
madison DemOcrat.O

!
the great Norwegian violinist, in COM
pany with Prof. r. B. Anderson, late
United States minister to Denmark.
How much like his respected father,
thought the scribe-not in appearance,
but in action-highly entertaining and
genial.
The son of the great musician is about
so years of age, and has for many years
made his home in France. He is pass
ing through the country, visiting not
only his Norwegian countTymen, but
many other people.
Il shall remain in beautiful Madison"
he said, until my old friend Prof. An
! derson gets tired of my company. We
are almost like twin brothers. He was
the first man met, to converse with,
when on my first visit to Madison about
"a years ago. Yes, we met across the
street at the Villas house. 1t was a
happy meeting. l had received news of
my fathers illness, and | hurried on
from Paris. l came some years after
ward and made Il pretty lengthy visit
with my cousin, Prof. Storm Bull, of
the state university. This is my fourth
visit to your beautiful city. 1t is a
grand little city, indeed"
MIR. Bull and myself have been talk
ing about Frances crisis said Prof.
Anderson.
YES" added Mr.. Bull. Il think a
great deal of France. Her condition
has improved very much under Presi-
dent CaInot; although think now he is
| quite seriously alarmed over the situa-
ton, and that he contemplates radical
changes in order to satisfy the people.
The president is an honest, honorable
man, and he loves his country. He has
| the interests of the people of France
at heart"
| Mr.. Bull referred to his father with
great feeling, and called him a born
viOlinist After looking over a late in
| terview had upon his arrival in New
York, Mr.. Bull said: Yes, that is true"
In this interview the visitor from
! France said: Il think one of the great
! est sources of my fathers power was
| his magnetic influence. After long
years Of familiarity with his playing l
am almost persuaded that he exercised
species of hypnotism with his violin.
! There is a tradition that very few peO-
pie could hear him render such piece,
for instance, as Home, Sweet Home, or
his own composition entitled A Mother
Prayer, without being moved to tears.
! Keenly as he. felt the raYlShment OF
thronging audiences and great as was
his power upon the platform, | do not
think that he was ever at his best out
side his own home. / remember during
his intervals of rest from pr, fessional
labor he used frequently to retir" with
his family to Valestrand, our old family
country seat in rural Norway, near Ber-
gen. Here, under his own roof and IN
the midst Of his family, his soul seemed
to gather peculiar inspiration. Often in
the gray twilight l have sat and list
ened with a rapture | shall never for
get the strains that he alone could
draw from his favOrite instrument,
while we who listened were carried
away to higher sphers. At times his
lofty flights of thought and passion
stirred me so deeply that before l knew
it the sound of my own SObbmg aWOke
me to my senses. Philosophers may
attempt to account for this eXtraordi-
nary power with learned theories, but
to me it was delightful hypnOtism.
There was a woman in Spain who dur
ing one of his performances fell so com
pIetely under his mastery as to beray
all the outward signs of meSmeriSm.
My father was man of immense phys
ica1 strength, and from this, l have no
doubt, his magnetism proceeded. He
had a very deep chest and long sfnewy
arms and a nerve not easily disturbed.
"On one occasion, while he was play
ing in Madrid, he was visited by a
newspaper writer who had basely mis-
represented him in the public prints.
Nv father requested him to retract
what he had written. He refused to do
so. whereupon my father seized him by
} the collar and, throwing open the win
, dow, held him outside at arms length
J; 1t is needless to say that he very soon
changed his mind.
Owing to his peculiar build he had 6
) method of holding his violin and also Of
) handling his bow which cannot be sue
: cessfully initiated by ordinary players
His bridge was so nearly fat and his
: bow so heavy that when occasion re
quired he could play continuously upoT
: four strings of the instrument at once
or upon any one of them. This re
quired a nicely and precision of eXecu
; ton possible only to a man possessed
of great muscular power and extreme
l steadiness of nerve.
? "When he was in England during his
early life an incident occurred which
illustrates this remarkable strength
with which God had blessed him. Nal
! ibran was to sing at a great festival il
| Liverpool. Shortly before its occur
renee, however, she died, and the man
agement sent in great haste for my
father to take her place as the star Of
the occasion. He was unwilling to 90
being on a professional tour. But a:
an emoIument of 800 pounds was of
fered he postponed his engagement and
: undertook to appear. SO vast was the
auditorium and so great the audience
that ne found it extremely difficult t.
make himself heard. The physical
strain upon him was SO great that whe1
he had finished the blood flowed from
beneath his finger nails and from hi:
l mouth for some moments after his per
? Torrance.
: Il think, also. that a great deal O
2 my fathers power came from suffer
Y ing. While he was very young MAJ