Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-12-12

A''A 'Ne OPSidtoh " QUIZ NOT take more
Than 10 minutes. and. ~. rhe spoke. her
voice and her face. were SO full OF
sympathy that he could not help WELD
Ing AS he took closer look at her
he saw the trace OF weeping In her
eyes.
They found n bright fire ia the par
Tor stove. = warm twilight filled the
room Herr Wagner's face was all
aglow. he sat in his shirt sleeves.
while Fraulein was plying her needle
on MS unfortunate Prince Albert.
Excuse my coat sleeves he said
every little while
'Ach. You know it's Leo's fault.
not yours s!c answered. carefully
avoiding TO look at him. mo. Leo isn't
to blame either. de was so down
hearted be didn't know what to do.
poor creature
The dinner To which Herr Wagner
bad been invited was out of the ques-
tion; 1t was nearly s O'clock. SO II
scented something far away. something
seen In a dream.
FRAU B.nde offered h:n cup OF cof-
foe and piece of cakc. He tried 70
decline. but the room vas 30 warm and
comfortable. Frau Binlc insisted so
sincerely and he was SO hungry that he
accepted. with thanks AMI apologies.
The old woman went back TO her work.
Fraulein Einde sighed again and again.
10 did Herr - a2ner. between sips and
bites. st 81 ..hc Sa.l.
"Lco's n!asier was ON OF our board
ers.~
'Was he"
Annche'.'a story WAS not slow in
coming.
Herr Wa .u,~ was interested. did
you cry" Hc asked. She nodded sew
etal times. There was j sot IN her
throat: She could not speak. Presently
she said: "Ilc l. gone. gou,.. gone. and
all that remains OF hin is Leo-dear
Leo. iii never part with him. When
l look ri hiol. I thlnk OF 4 ri Zimmel.
l feel both sad and happy" She burst
Into tears once moro.
Don't cry" Herr Wagner said ten
derly. Hell come back tu YOU. mark
my word"
He began pacing the floor and then.
suddenly stopping in front Of her. he
said, with great aeitation:
Its something like my own case.
fraulein. l am In love. fraulein. Yes.
I'm in love. Every fiber Is afame I'm
me-" Annchen looked up from her
sewing. completely absorbed. 1T was
to play my declaration 10 her that !
was going To her fathers house. She
would have understood me know
sLe would. Every note would have ad-
dressed itself 10 her heart Ii is based
on my theory. Richard Wagner is all
the rage nowadays. Even the French
who hate us because we are better
than they. even they play him. And
yet and yet-the last word has not vet
been uttered. Verdi is naive. bis
melodies eNpress-what do they ex-
press? Nothing. Absolutely nothingi
They convey neither the character nor
the sentiment OF the persons. It's
candy music. But Wagner fell into
the opposite extreme. His music is
expressive It's art. But It's heavy
dull. indigestible. So say. let us
combine the two. let us produce operas
or expressive melody, OF melody which
should speak for itself. unaided-nay.
untrammeied, by words. What would
you think OF a painter who should
mark his every figure. This Is man.
and he is sad This is n dog. and IL is
running after fox II music can't
tell Its own tale. let us write poems.
Nerdfs music Is like a fiower-Odorous.
sweet beautiful, delightful. hut with
out meaning. On the other hand. Wag-
ner. in his revolt against the old school
committed another blunder Why can't
we have sweet tunes full Of meaning? d?
i am going To show humanity that II
can he done. am working on an
opera without n libretto and if II sue
ceeds | have ideas for more. all Of
which are bound to produce a real rev
olution in the world of music Is il not
significant coincidence that my name
should be Wagner"
Annchen said Yes" She did not
know what he was talking about. vet
she laid down his coat for minute
and running down to her mother. she
said:
That gentleman talks no nicely,
mother! It's all about operas and
flowers and wise things. He is n
music teacher. and he's awfully
smart" And without giving the cid
woman time To put In word she
hurried back TO the parlor. few min
utes after she said
The song you were going 10 sing TO
your sweetheart must be awfully
pretty"
Herr Wagner sat down 10 the old
piano and hammered out his decla-
ration.
"Wunder schoen! Wunder schoen!"
she exclaimed. lifting her eyes 20 the
ceiling.
well, | owe il all TO myself" he
said My father was q poor school.
teacher. had to starve for IL.
couldn't afford to engage a teacher. To
go to a conservatory. ] was my own
conservatory. | have shown some OF
my music to publishers. They send 1t
back. Some musicians envy my genius,
because they are afraid OF me- Others
say It's pretty good. but they are lot
or liars. They only want to get rid OF
me. Only one man was honest. Look