The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-03-17
lIrE roPrcs AMOUR TO WV.

" 10 Nv iHuslNHi IuUllN VI lIlla w w hl9
particular excitement. This company, OF
which 80 much has beon said ard 10 little seen,
has been fer months In process Of organization
and even now II has not gotten beyond that
stage in which The artists are now being en-.
gagged" So there Is plenty Of time for the pub.
lie to secure seats and Notwithstanding tho
fact thnt the company Is announced TO sing ut
tho Academy Of Music at II ;imc when 1t WINS
supposed that theatre woIld be occupied by n
melodrama, there need hc no fevefish excite.
mcnt about tie programme for the oycning
night. Emma Eamcs IL said to have been en-
gagged by the company. and negotiations nrc
under way with n famous I~5ussiap tcIor."
II Is extremely doubtful II Mmc. flames has
been engaged, aud the tenor Is probably Jean
de ResZke, and It Is perfectly safe to say that
while there Is opera under the management Of
Abbey Il Grau I'm New York city, jean do
Rcszke will be lending his talents to that or.
gan!zation. II has often been said that there
are no singers In Eurorc who could he brought
to this country with any hope % rivalling the
collection controlled by the impressarios at
present in charge OF the opera house.
This IS perfectly tru,, and the fact that the
new company announces the engagement OF
Nine. EnInes ms their particular strength shows
how barren the European field Is. She is the
one great singer there who has not come to
America this year. Walter Damrosch has tho
best out of Germany, and the most famous
French and italian singers are with Abbey q
Grau. II Ia not very likely that these two man.
ayers will lose their artists to the advantage OF
n company which Is not to be located at the
real home Of opera In this city-tho Metropoli-
tan Opera House. There are no Calves, Mel
has, De Reszkes. and Plancons around Europe,
nor are there artists likely to approach them
in favor here. Even If there were, it is a ques-
ton II this city has not OF late had II little more
opera than IL can probably support. There
were many nights ut the Metropolitan last win
ter when this conclusion was forced on the
minds ~ tho. spectators. 1t has not yet been
announced whether or not Walter Dnmrosch
will reorganize his ompany for next season.
and even with the enormous receipts OF some
Of tfo the mSo,pp% eT do1ptsn{ w, Iai st. winter iIba;: i is on
But the new imperial Italian Opera. Com
pany =" ls not yet tangible enough to make 1t "A
very moving factor in New York musical life.
The Lenten diversions Of society assume a
less tiamboyant form during the forty days of
penancc. but they continue In about the same
frequency and regularity. In fact. the tennis,
skating, lowing. Badminton. and other clubs
that come into life when Lent begins manage
to keep their members actively employed.
These sober diversions are particularly pat-
ronized by many people whose social lives dur
Ing the other periods OF the year are by no
means so busy that 1t would seem necessary
for tnem to have entertainment of n chastened
f fHam au an4 the hs" tinn rns d RaIis, ne Ysw aS Y"rk9s
winter season are devised chiefly for the de-
butantes and the married people. There are
so many young girls who have just come out
In society or made their debut within n year or
two that they are the particular persons for
whom most social events are arranged. The
older girls OF three or four years standing In
society have to give place TO them ard wait their
opportunity, until the Lenten evenings come.
Then they have their innings. and at these
club enterteinn'nts they shine. Ths per
Tie Older girls have their seasons show at
the meetings and at the subsequent sGances Mt
supper, which is likely to take the party to an
oyster house or gather them around a chatting |
dish.
Some of the curious adventures Of the DAM
rOsch opera company when II made its tour of
the country in a special train are beginning TO
be told, and they are as amusing as could be
expected from the unusual situations which
were brought about by this train load Of Is0ldes
and BrInnhilies. HiOtdns and SieGfrieds, and |
the unaccustomed situations in which they
found themselves. A quiet Southern town
like Nashville. for instance, must have been
moved to it's foundationswhen this train halted
for n performance and disgorged its unfamiliar
load to the view of the astonished natives.
of the singers nre said to have had the
national taste of the Germans for travel and
exploration. and promptly set out to see what
there was in the town. Doubtless there will
be told In years to come stories as remarkable
sudden visitations. Mime. Bernhardt travels
on the t sFl Freec faF do an e ls 1i% SGnf Tha Edu stGFiseIy
ing proceeds with as much regularity as
though the actress were in her Paris home,
stops at a town which Nine. Bernhardt has
never seen. When there Is time enough for
actress gets into n carriage and drives through
the principal streets until the time for the
train to depart.
An old man with a white beard. walking with
difficulty and supporting himself on a cane,
was seen on lower Broadway the other day.
He was BILLY" Birch, the old time minstrel.
and he had gone out to look for the store which
now occupies the building in which the san
Francisco Minstrels appeared first as an organ
cation. Somebody had told him that the ring
which marked Off tho parquet seats was still
to be seen there. and he had gone down TO look
this scene OF his earlier successes In New
fects of a stroke OF apoplexy, but he manages
to get around to the variety theatres, and he
takes the interest or a philosopher in observing
and those of a time in which he was active. He
Is the one surviving founder of the old company,
and he has no means to show as u result of so
many years of work. He lives modcstly on
Seventh avenue. at times kept In tho house for
home. unless II he ut the theatres. without the
society of n faithful dog, which keeps close TO
MN lllODTh anu Out. Many years ago Ilrcn
was a figure in a very different phase of New
York life. lie owned fast horses, and nobody
drove them on the road on those days with
keener enjoyment or appreciation. Only n
few months ago his situation vas so hard that
his friends organized II benefit for him.
New York has an interesting Bohemian
quarter" said n Health Board physician. 1T
Is between Sixty. eighth and Seventy second
streets, over near Avenue A, and last sum.
this was included in my visiting district.
These Hohcmians have an Unnecessary num-
her Of consonants in their names, and | never
made an effort to pronounce them. IL was
that nearly every Bohemian family
had their name on their hall door. 80 that one
could easily find them In the hig tenemcnts
they live. Their door plates are home
made. and they attract a~ttcntion as soon M
you enter a house illled with Bohemian fami-
lies. The name Is cut in n thin strip Of wood,
with n fret saw, and each ono
strives to Guido his nclghhOr In rnRmcntn
effects. Tho door plates are of assistance n
tie Health Inspectors, though | don't believe
that the Bohemlans put them mp for any such
purDOsp.h