The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-05
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VIEW YORK.

with his phlrnI little knees dimpling pink
and white between the bottoms of the
trcuser legs and he tops of his fancy stock.
ings, with his dainty feet encased in shin
ing patena leather slippers, with his flow
in. blouse only half concepling the infant lie
curves OF his cherubic figure, his peachy
cheeks flushed with a faint crimson Of eX-
element, his cherry lips parted to give
his signs free egress, his celesti al blue eyes
filmed over with the far away vision Of a
heaven-born seer and his golden locks
floating around his seraphic head like ar
aureole, with his lit lie fiddle tucked under
his baby chin, discoursing music which
surely the angels must have whispered
10 him, with a marvellous insight and emo
ton, Of which he himself cannot have the
slightest comprehension, but which must
have come o him from unseen voices speak
ing to his hearth
That il what he average sentimental
woman, who Is carried away not by the
music, but by the little boy, asks. OF
course sine never considers the music apart
from the musician, She does not do that
even when the musician is an adult; how
is she to be expected to do it when he is a
child? What has criticism to do with ma
ternal yearnings?
Nor does woman stand alone in her ina
bility to associate the art from the artist.
Men are very prone to regard the piano
playing or singing of beautiful woman
as a pretty fine art icle, and they are even
open to tho influence Of the performances
Of pretty little girls at the commenoements
of musical institutions.
The desire to hear children perform
difficult music is general and old. The
desire to Iolr them perform sentimental
music dwels perennial in the human breast,
Now what lies at the basis Of these desires?
Nothing under the stars but the wish to
hear children doing something which is not
normal to children, and that is precisely
WHY the critics go right on asserting that
the children ought not to do it.
Let us set this thing forth this Sabbath
morning in the guise OF sermon. There
are then, LIAR brethren, three principal
reasons why children should not appear
upon the public stage az musical soloists:
First because such appearances cater
only 70 the public's desire to be astonshed;
secondly, because grown-up performers can
interpret the music much better than the
children and therefore are more beneficial
20 the art, and. thirdly, because these public
appearances arc injurious to the children
both as children and az artists.
or course we all like to be astonished. We
love TO watch the conjurer drive the sword
through the basket in which he has fastened
his wife, to see him presently open the
receptacle and show that it ia empty, and
TO discover his wife walking down the CEN
ire aisle Of the theatre, smiling and I'M
harmed. We all like to see the man throw
three somersaults, which the acrobats tell
ia ia for general Uses an impossible feat and
usually fatal We like to see the graceful
lady swing carelessly across the void from
one trapeze 10 another, turning several
tines in the air as she goes, and seemingly
not caring whether she catches the swing
inc bar or pitches headforemost into the
net below.
When we haven't any money on 1t, we
like to get up in the morning and read
in our papers that Nlisnt has won the
Galley West Handicap at 20 to /. or that
Cornell has lost boat race, or that Devery