Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-30

generously at supper and had sent up sew
eral requests suddenly bethought himself
that he ought to tip tho leader. He had
| Just settled his bill with the waiter and
tumbled through his pocket for a douceur
| for the musicians. The harvest was indeed
| light and finally he slipped something into
an envelope, q relieved smile spreading
over his face as he sent the waiter scurry-
ing toward the musicians gallery. What
the leader found In the envelope was q
ticket good for a half dozen Turkish baths
| in the citys most fashionable establish
! ment. ..F ''',. Fst+. ss - -@4-ts
| A Threat with . Tip.
] 1t was on last election night that jolly
crowd Of young men entered the same cafe
to be greeted by the, tones ofsthe too, too
familiar "Miserere." As the minor air
died away a waiter-carried an envelope to
the leader. who read thereon these words:
'Ff you don't play a real live Irish
melody we'll put this place on the bum,
and in short order"
With a flushed face, the musician started
to tear the envelope in pieces, when with
the first rip something caught his eye. In
side the envelope lay a $40 bill, which he
had neatly torn in twain. 1t goes without
saying that the young men heard the Irish
air and the $40 bill received a dose of
mucilage.
In what is known as a family restaurant,
where many apartment dwellers take their
dinners each evening" the leader one night
was astonished to receive through a waiter
this note:
when / am In the restaurant, please
never play Jerusalem or The Holy City
My little son, now dead, sang these in the
choir"
Folded In the request was a IS bill. The
leader to this day observes the request. and
the woman, still gowned in mourning, dimes
there nearly every night.
Walters. as a rule, make ludicrous mis-
n takes in carrying verbal requests for cer-
tain pieces Among the titles which after
ward proved garbled requests for the inter-
mezzo from "Cavaleria" may be mentioned.
Tom o'Leary'' and "Corolla Bolla Cigar
ro." The most ingenious take-onf on the
famous sextette from Lucia di Lammer-
moor was "succotash CT something or
other" 1t was a Jewish waiter who carried
4 up a request for Holly Boily." and when
the orchestra played "Hurly- Burly." the
leader instantly recognized from the ex-
preston OF the diners face that he had
misinterpreted the title. He made a trip
In person to the table and learned that tho
original request had been for Holy City"
NOrthernern Call for "DIxie."
Experienced leaders say that there seems
TO exist little or no connection and sym
pathy between requests and their senders
Jew will ask feelingly for Killarney"
and sharp-faced bachelor maid will de-
mand "SWeet Sixteen" The man who has
been having the time OF his life seldom be-
! comes. maudlin so far as his musical tastes
lare CONCERNED, but asks for something in
MIGRATING like "oh. Didn't He Rambler"
And the woman who asks regularly for
Dixie" has probably never been further
south than Asbury Park. N. J.
Among the tricks OF trade employed by
leaders Of oTchestras In the quIeter cafes
where the musicians balcony is close to
the tables. is to study the programs car
ried by large theater parties. and then.
being sure OF the play they have seen. ofier
its most popular airs. This invariably wins
favor for the establishment.
Those there are who try the soul OF the
leader by lnsistently demanding music Of
the cheap, popular sort that has been worn
threadbare by street musicians. Others. es-
pecially in New York. where player folk
sup, spy a comedian or tenor who has pop
ularized a song and In a conspicuous man
ner they request that his hit be played.
This shows the familiarity Of the patron
with actors, but Il brings anguish TO the
poor actor who is singing II with innumer-
able eneores eight times a week.
"An Afternoon with Wagner"
The leader OF three musicians and who
himself plays first violin tells this very ex-
eellent story on himself He had Just
finished a rendition Of Nancy Brown" one
night. when a strikingly gowned woman
sent him a request for The Magic Flute"
entire. As the demand came from a reg
ular patron OF the restaurant. he crossed
to her table and explained that It would be
impossible for him to give even half a
dozen numbers from the opera, let alone the
complete score at that time Of the night.
Moreover his two assistants were not thor
oughly familiar with the opera However.
n she was so fond Of grand opera he would
be glad to arrange for an afternoon At her
own home. for which he would make her a
reasonable rate and Give his musieiARs the