Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-25
STORIES ABOUT LISZT,
Wagner Burned Up Furniture When
He Got No Wood
From the Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe.
IF you only heard List play, and didn't
see him you lost half the pleasure" so
wonderful was his personality
A young Magyar tried to play a sonata
OF Beethoven before him one day
Piano, piano. cried List. piano, soft
ly. Let it sing-let it singt Can't you see
piano written there?" cried he, still more
sharply. but the young patriot only grew
more nervous, and played the harder.
At last Liszt took his hands from the
keys, saying, half-angrily, half-laughingly:
DO you know, my young friend what
the Held sergeant does when the recruits
cannot tell the difference between right and
left? He ties a bundle of straw on their
right arms and a bundle of hay on their left,
and then gives the command, Hay strawr
We shall have to try this plan with you for
piano and 'fortev Now. then, give old
Beethoven a chance. Hay! hayl hay! well.
more straw and List laughed till the
tears came. Straw, straw, nothing but
straw
Here is an anecdote of his early life, as
related by List himself. Richard Wagner
Bulow and | We're all quite young when we
lived together in Leipzig, and had good
time. That is, / enjoyed myself but Wag-
ner was already fermenting with his po-
tucal and philosophical IDEAS and our
prosaic circumstances offered little ground
for the idealists of the future. We called
Bulow 'Kritikus.' and we-especially I-al-
ways feared his sharp tongue a little. OF
course, all of us had little money, but Wag-
ner put our slender purse to great strains
He could not bear money worries, and we
let him feel them as little as possible.
Once, after long autumn. it became
cold suddenly, and Wagner with his nerves
suffered from the sudden change in the tenn
perature. He demanded a heated room at
once. For two whole days the debate ragged
between him and Bulow as to the inme-
pIIrch9Sh q wi
purse.
q was not asked, because Bulow knew
that / would yield, but he, as treasurer
commended that it was ridiculous to buy
wood in the month of September But
am freezing said Wagner, in rage to
which the memorable Bulow suggested that
he go out and get warm by running or
warm himself by his muse. Laughing at
his cheap, spiteful advice, Bulow and went
out
But when returned, after two hours
We were thundefstruck to find Wagner in
the room heated to sufocation. He sat at
his writing table, deep in his work. His
face was red.
Where? began Bulow but the words
room showed him how Wagner had helped
himself. Several chairs and our work
tables lay on the floor, permanently Grip
pied; Wagner had cut off their legs, and
made the fire with them Bulow was
speechless with rage. But I stood at the
door, and laughed till the tears came at
this ingenious way of helping oneself. Bulow
lamented that we would have to replace
the landlady's chairs and tables and that
he could not sit down or work.
Wagner answered. spitefully: have
what I needed! Fellows like you, who do
nothing but go walking, need neither chairs
nor tables. If you had given me the money
right off, your valuable furniture would still
be in existence-you wished 1t sol Fire
wood would have been cheaper,' Next day
received a little money, and bought fire.
wood and new chairs and tables. Wagner
picked out the best for himself. and T said
to him. laughingiy: Say, you. listen! am
going to insure this new furniture against
loss by fire Immediately