The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1905-06-23
SIGHTS At THE MUSICALE.
The Listener Sees and Hears Things
That Are Truly Up to
the Mark.

The most important part of a muai-
Gale is the listener, says the New York
Sum-
He fastens himself to camp chair
by means of his legs and feet, which
he winds around the rungs and which
do not trouble him much, as they be-
come numb during the opening num-
: Der and he forgets that they are there.
He remembers them again when he.
rises to let the late ones pass in the
diminuendo passages, but it does not
hurt him so much, as he knows he de-
; serves to be hurt when he sees tho
way they look at him while he stands
on their trains.
Not more than Is of these go by
! during the second and third selections.
but later he has to put out the cop-
! f1agratiOns among the wax candle
! shades. This he does as deity as pos
sible, but it is an epidemic, and he
covers eight fingers and two thumbs
with melted wax before he discovers
how annoyed people are with him for
creating disturbance.
BY the time that Bach and Beetho-
ven are over and the performers are
working through the Schumann and
Schubert he again fastens himself to
| the camp chair with a creaking sound,
which increases with every heartbeat
and grows to Fourth of July serenade
as he reaches for his pocket handker-
chief. He would like to look at his
watch, but this would mean a fusillade
q nd hob 1xr
| chair
So he refrains. He does not rise
again for anything. He could not.
The room holds Is, and 45 are packed
and Theoretically sealed in it, besides
the grand piano, two violins, cello
and the performers. Everybody who
! comes after this stands around the.
door in the hall, and there they say
how sorry they are to disturb the mu-
sic.
All the musicians are waiting for.
the end Of the piece so that their turn
may come, but the listener waits for
the end Of everything, so that he may
go home. His is the grander view.
When the piece is over he says:
"How lovely" and tries to get his arm
from under the fat lady's elbow who
covers him on the right. The musi-
clans are very kind to the listener and
say: "They hope he isn't bored"
They do not mean to patronize him.
but they know he cannot understand.
He does not reply, because it is time
for the next piece. And now they have
got to Brahms and perhaps to Strauss.
Very few can sing Strauss and fewer
still can listen to him. But the listen
er has to, for nothing but dynamite
bomb could got him out.
There is punch in the next room
with ice in it, and some of the ladies
have fans
1t would be better for the listener
If there were no encores, for he is the
only one who does not know their
names. He gets badly mixed up in
the programme and cannot plan for
the future
Still he knows the end will come.
for it always does. The piano, the
cello, the two violins and the people
in front with the open mouths are the
music. He says with Lady Macbeth:
Leave all the rest to me-
When the music is over the listener
has his inning. He takes of his camp
chair and asks the ladies to give him
punch and sweet biscuit and ask him
to come to their musical next Monday
He says he is sorry he can't sing or
play, but his mother didn't make him
practice when he was boy He al
ways loved music and had a very nice
teacher and an ear. And they say:
"Oh, but you can listen," and then he
knows that he is the most important
part of the evening.