The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-28

HHIS theatrical season has been re- 9 marhaOle for the absence of
 comic operas. In fact, it seems that the modern musical comedy has supplanted such old favorites as "The Mascot. Fra Diavolo." Bohemian Girl. and Said Pasha." Yet there is a cer- tain fascination about these light operas that appeals to music lovers and even when presented by the most indifferent companies they do not lose all their charm. Although there have been many comic operas written and musical come dies are too numerous to count, La Mas cot" remains, from a libretto point of view, the peer of them all and modern composers will have to bestir themselves to surpass in beauty of harmony or theme this gentle story of pastoral love told in strains of music that are never forgotten. In spite of the popularity of musical comedies, comic operas permit of per- haps more elaborate staging and the op- portunities of the comedian are certainly as great. 1t is not hard to see just why musical comedies have largely superseded comic operas. The taste of today tends more to variety performances and the more vaudevllian features in a produc- ton the more it pleases. All that is now desired is a bevy of stunning girls who can sing and deport themselves graceful ly; plenty of color both in scenery and costume, and large installments of indif- ferent fun-making. "The Bostonians' hold their prestige well, but their excel lence is such that success is almost as- sured. But even they. with their match less performance of Maid Marion" and Robin Hood" do not draw the houses that greet such productions as "The Prince of Pilsen," or "Florodora,' in it's palmy days
 Although "The Moonstone," "The Wo- man in White and other incomparabie stories of Wilkie Collins are not so popu- lar as some of their more recent success sors yet they are still read and there are many book-lovers who persist in believ- ing that "The Moonstone" is the greatest detective story ever written, not except ing The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and the fascinating stories of Sir Conan Doyle entitled "The Adventures of Sher- lock Holiness" Each of these is powerful No one can deny that, but they appeal to the imagination differently. For instance HThe Moonstone" holds the reader en- thralled by it's subtle plot. Mystery sue ceeds mystery in such rapid succession that the average mind is bewldered and the eye devours page after page in order to reach solution of the snarl. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" fascinate one by its very horror. Although Dupin solves the mystery perhaps better than any but character in fiction could do, the story is masterpiece of it's kind. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are entertaining, 1t is true, but these stories are not strong enough to cause a reader to lose sleep over them.
 Much has been written on the subject and many protests have been made but school teachers continue to be the most poorly paid toilers in the land with the possible exception of preachers. There seems to be an impression. especially in rural districts and other localities where manual labor is in order, that a school teacher leads an easy, lazy life, and con sequetly does not earn good salary The result is that he, or more often she is forced to work for starvation