Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-10-26
DEW EY AND PATTI.
New the Admiral Came to Heal Her
DIng In Marseilles IN 1865.

Mr.. George W. Van Horne was one
Of Abraham Lincoln's consuls in Eu'
rope. He was in Marseilles, France,
from 1861 to 1866. He was, perhaps,
the youngest man in the consular serv-
ice, being only %. His wife tells the
following story of visit by Admiral
Dewey, then Commander,
in that port:
I'm the month Of January, 1865, the
booming of cannon in the offing told
Of the arrival of some foreign MANOR
war. In the course of couple OF
hours group of naval officers entered
the consulate, the spokesman intro
ducing himself as Lieutenant George
Dewey, stating that the Kearsarge was
in port, that he and his companions
had come to pay their respects to
Uncle Sans representative and that
the others of the ships officers would
follow.
"Lieutenant-comma Dewey was
then man of some twenty-eight
years. Energy was shown in every
movement. He had kind smile, but
for the most part was grave and seri'
Gus. | liked him from the first, he
looked so good, so trustworthy. His
extreme neatness, too, impressed one.
He was natty from head to foot.
"The Kearsarge's officers were most.
ly young fellows of % and 30, full of
life, and delighted at being on shore.
Lieutenant Dewey was like an elder
brother to them in everything, and
they looked up to him accordingly.
"We lunched one day on board the
Kearsarge and were shown over the
ship, the place being pointed out
where the vessel had been torn by
shot and shell from the Alabama.
But it was necessary to hurry home
from the luncheon in question for
many o the ships company were to
dine with us, and 60 in the evening
to hear Adelina Patti in the ever popu-
lar Barber of Seville
"Ths indeed was no ordinary event.
Patti had been booked for the first
time land for one night only in Mar
settles ten days before the arrival Of
the Kearsarge, and all the seats to the
utmost limit of the opera house had
been sold. The boys were wild to hear
Patti, for we claimed her as an Ameri-
can, but admission without seats could
not be obtained. What was to be
done? Patti the divine arrived in the
city. Mr.. Van Horne and myself went
to call on the famous diva at the hotel.
Bhe seemed so glad to see us and
was most cordial and demonstrative.
When she heard of our dilemma, she
turned to her manager and brother-in-
law, Strakosch, and told him that he
must make room for the officers of
the Kearsarge, He replied that 1t was
simply impossible, and emphasized his
words with shrugs. Patti remarked,
No seats, no opera And she meant
1t, too. 1t was finally arranged by
Patti herself that the party from the
ship were to have seats on the stage
behind the scenes. On our bidding
her adieu, she thanked us etfusively
for the privilege of comforting a favor
on our sailor boys, and gave me
warm kiss and her photograph, both
of which ! dearly prize.
"Mrs. Morse, the vice-consul, and
myself went to see the mayor, a per-
sonal friend, to try and procure a seat
for Dewey in the mayors box. As
great favor he let us have two for that
evening. 1t fell to me to do the most
talking, as Dewey modest then as
ever did not seem inclined to air his
French. We looked from the box,
which was the second tier above the
stage, and waved our hands to the
boys below us and heard and saw
Patti at her best"