The times., 1899-04-16
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He had one such experience with New
York physician, who asked him, first, what
| he had come to America for; second, if he
were a portrait painter, and third, how
much he charged" This gentleman
subsequently ordered a portrait Mos
cheles also has something TO say
about the slipshod manner in
which the custom house is conduct
ed; but with these exceptions he is very
kind to America. He says cautiously and
rather shrewdly:
America is a country of contradictions; that
is safe way Of putting it, as the same can lie
said of all countries. Wherever he goes, the
! stranger with his eyes, feels with his
own heart, and. above all, judges according TO
the state OF his own liver. One man practices
! his bump of yeneration on all he meets another
travels the nil adInirari principle Golden
threads traverse the road of either, and so do
rotten threads. The first man seizeS the golden
! ones and is happy; the second picks up the
rotten and makes himself equally happy
with those Both come home triumphantly to show
their threads. and to say: Behold, that IS
what found.' II must be difficult for the same
hand TO pick up both sorts OF thread, and 10
present them impartislly, weighing set
against the other and Judging dispassionately.
There are some strong who do it, and
there would be more OF them, believe if il were
not for that liver. In my case, that organ may
have been in satisfactory condition, and have
!
Some of these "reminiscences are less in
teresting than other some but there is no
I question as TO the chapter on Browning,
! which is illustrated with an excellent por-
| trait Of the poet. One of the anecdotes of
/ this chapter concerns a painting which
Moscheles calls the ''shell-picture' the
| conception of which came to him in
1 sort of day-dream. In discussing this
/ picture several passages which might seem
to ha Ctt1af afaof tod nd fn11I.
Moscheles suggested in a note TO Brown
! ing that lines might be written which
should exactly express the meaning of the
work. He added:
''Why not in default OF real poet sign an
imaginary name. Grelice di Nspoli. for in
stanceg' Grelice meant for an Italian
sion Of the which | had composed when
first met the Crete Yho was to link her name
TO that OF Felix The psendonym adopted,
and we are best known TO friends in every
part OF the world as The Grelix.' / suggested
then that Grelice di Napol should have said
something OF this kind:
And ! walked along those lovely Shores
and hreathed the air OF hany climes I waking
dreamt of living forms that welded opalescent
shells; OF peace, and rest, and blissful harmo-
nies.''
/ was at work the next day when the post
brought Browning's answer. and / read it /
broke into hearty fit of laughter. He had
written five lines of poetry and signed them
And as wandered by the happy shores.
And breathed the sunset air of balmy elirnes
! waking dreamt Of some transcendent shape
A womans-framed By opalescent shells,
Peacefully lued by Natures harmonies''
A day or two later he 10 bring me an
other version which, he explained, he thought 1
should like better" This was adopted and
the picture was christened The Isles Enchant-
ress, and described by the following lines:
'Wind-waffed from the sunset o'er the swell
lprca
Came shorewsrd, in her iridescent shell
Graded, the isles enchantress You who keep
A drowsy watch beside her-watch her well.'
1t had occurred to me that some of the friends
] had invited TO meet my Enchantress might
like TO have copy of Brownng's lines; SO
went round one evening TO 90 De We're Gardens to
ask whether he had any objections to their be-
ing printed
'.None whatever" he said, in answer TO my
question.
/ thanked him and added ''To be sure want
10 put your to them
''oh, you can't do that" he said; 'they are
not mine, they yours
Mine. Why, you know ] couldn't write
verse TO save my life
'.Ah, but you did; you sent me the sub
stance and put it into blank verse"
BLANK yerse!' Blank was my establishment
and felt Ike the in Moliere when he was
told that he had been speaking prose all his life
Well, sat by the freside in that drawing.
room o. his and discussed the matter and he
would have II that ] the author and that
he had only put my idea into shape
III ] had suggested alterations in your pic-
ture." he said, 'or Il / had advised you to in
troduce corsl-reef here and dolphin there.
would that have justified me in signing your
picturef'
mo. perhaps not,'' agreed, ''but If you had
laid on the last coat Of paint the one the pub
So"
And the skirmishing went on, with varying
fortunes, till. by some happy fuke, hit upon
an argument which settled the matter in my
favor.
WELL" said. 81 can't give you reason for
it-in fact, have never been able to under
stand why it Is sc-but il is au undeniable fact
that the public win make a marked difference
between your style and mine and il your YER
sion is to be adopted, 1t must stand in your
name"
''very well, then" he said: ''have I, your own
way am sure you are welcome TO anything
can do for YOU
and plucLy. too. beg you to believe, for don't
a pin if the people do say: There goes
Moseheles hanging on 10 the tail of Pegasnsn -
meant 1t then, and / mean it today. You
may laugh, il you like, but ] have the best OF
It; it isn't everybody who boast Of having
written iye lines of poetry together with Rob
ert Browning,
There is also story of certain Italian
lodgings of Browning, which he chose
because of a peculiar view from the win
dow. The windows of the opposite house
opened straight through TO a glimpse OF
the beautiful hill-country, and It was like
Browning to delight more in such
glimpse and suggestion than in a free out
look. In some ways such gossipy, frag-
mentary book as this is like that vista from
Browning's window-it is more fascinating
than the apparently unobstrllcted light NJ
the biography written ION purpose" (New
York: Harper G. Bros. s2.50)
JacLsou and His Times