The record-union., 1898-06-19

Apropos of the passing of Italian
opera read the following opening para
sraph OF review of the first work of
the London opera season from 1.-The
World'':
AS this is to be pre-eminently a Wag-
ner season at Covent Garden, it was
only IN keeping with the spirit or the
tllne, that the campaign should open
with Lohengrin." And, as though to
emphasize the triumph of the Teuton,
1t was given in German-with certain
reservations. Alas, poor Italyi The
epithet italian" is now formally di-
vorced from opera at Covent Garden,
and in the list of new singers one looks
IN vain for a single recruit from the
peninsula There are Germans galore,
and no lack of French and American
singers, to say nothing of a Dutchman
ana Croatian, but not a single Italian.
the nearest approach is an artist named
costa, but he styles himself Herr not
Signor," halls from Mainz, and turns
out 10 be declamatory Wagnerian
singer. Only Signor Mancinelli re-
mains. and the chorus, who, by su-
perHuity Of cruelty, were condemned
or expected to sing in German on the
opening night. Some, whose loyalty
3
their patriotism, grappled for a. while
with the uncouth Northern tongue. At
least. they sang something which dis
tinctly resembled German. But in the
later acts they gave it up as a bad Job
and relapsed into their vernacular
SHAKESPEARE IN GERMANY.
According to information from Leip-
zig, says a Berlin letter in the Pail
Mall Gazette the center of the Ger
man book trade, scarcely any work was
sold last Christmas in such large num-
bers as the Shakespeare of the German
Shakespeare Society, in the celebrated
translation by Schlegel, Count Baudis-
sen and Dorothea Tieck, Frederick
I1ecks daughter The book bound
costs only three shillings, and it con-
tains all the plays. An edition with
Gflberts well-known illustrations. is
pelng sold at the low price of six shii-
hngs. Of the cheap popular issues Of
shakespeare, as many as twenty-four
large editions have been disposed of
within the space Of seven years-a.
striking proof of the incomparabIe nom
ularity Of the great English author in
lnis country. There are. of course. a
large number of other German editions.
among them many editions de luxe in
various translatiOns. But that bv
Schlegei-Beu -Tfeck maintains its
superiority unapproached, and is used
almost exclusively in all theatrical per-
formances. Emperor William. like his
grandfather, father and mother, is a
member Of the German Shakespeare
Society, to which he pays his subscrip-
ton like every other member.
TWO REQUISITES FOR A POET
from Literature: Two things go to
the making of a poet-somethfng to saw
ana a way OF saying it. Each of the
two things, thought and expression.
must be personal and distinctive:
poetry must be something more than
adequate-it must arrest attention. or
the world has no need Of it; we are
always eager to hear new stories but
the old songs and lays suffice us. In
snort, we go out into the highways and
tne hedges to look for a fresh novelist.
pul poet has got to impose himself
upon somewhat reluctant audience.
" course, he may tell stories cleverlv
anu Iorclbly IN verse, but unless the
central emotion interests more than the
1acls, MS ballad remains a mere piece
OF clever writing. For instance Mr.
Stedman tells you how a lady lion
tanner revenged herself on a tickle lover
py pushing him in among her beasts.
ana 1t is an effective tale. but one
classes 1t simply among short stories.
Ihe same thing could be done as we'll
or better, in prose, and that is its final
condemnation as poetry. The truth is
that we read a novel or a tale for the
story itself: but poetry for the sake Of
the man who Is behind IT. The essential
thlng IN the poet is temperament. the
charm or the force of his personality.
ne mas got TO say the same things that
countess poets have said before him,
Yet he has to say them as If they were
rs" discoveries and say them in a way
that IS impressive and beautiful. The
thing is possible, because the world 4
new to each one Of us and because
nature never repeats herself exactly:
1t Is extremely difficult, because the
world is very old and because every
man is extremely like his predecessors.
and the resources Of language are
familiar. Neither temperament without
style nor style without temperament
will save you.
a TOWN OF LIBRARIES.
Amherst, Mass, with a population Of
4,Soo, claims to be better supplied with
Tree library facilities in proportion to
It's population than any other COM
munity Of which the record is avail
able. The libary Of Amherst College.
of nearly 10000 volumes, is open to
all corners for thirteen hours a day.
and Is largely resorted to by the teach
ers In the town, pupils in the schools,
members OF the various study classes,
the Woman's Club. etc. The State Col
lege also opens TO the people it's choice
library, mainly scientific, of 10000 vol
umes. Besides these reference libraries.
there are two free town libraries one
Of 1900 in the fine Town Hall at the
center, and another of 1890 volumes
in its own neat building at North Am
herst, two miles away. The town also
pays for the carriage of the library
books to South Amherst, two miles in
the other direction, where there is a
delivery station. The result of all these
facilities is that during the year 1897.
25.0O0 volumes We're circulated from
the town libraries, or more than five
books for every inhabitant, man, wo-
man and child
1t is interesting to add to this record
of a single town, the fact noted in the
eighth report, just issued. of the Mas
sachusetts State Library Commission,
that only ten towns in the State Gem
bracing about one three-hundredth part
Of the population) are now without free
public libraries.
New Hampshire, under the stimulus
of its recent law requiring every town
&,:.