The Washington herald., 1906-10-30
AT THE
COSMOS CLUB.

Much Of the clever talk that enliyens
the Washington clubs is missed by women
unless the latter are blessed with hus-
bands who, like phonograph records. may
be set going at home. Such husbands are
rare, but occasionally something inter-
esting does filter to a woman's knowledge
through a mans unwary utterance.
over at the Cosmos Club a discussion
Of talent was ur,ler way, and an out-of-
town member. who Is "a close friend OF
the French composer Saint-Saens-whose
serious illness depriyes the Boston Sym
phony orchestra Of its chief attraction at
its first concert contributed The follow
ing:
1T is a curious thing how great part
the excitation Of the auditory nerve plays
in the work Of composers and writer's
over in Paris, FOR instance. a hub-bnb
and a tumult seem to produce the physi-
cal conditions best calculated to set go
ing a mans hobby of genius. Take Saint
Saens, as an example. I have spent hours
In his company In the thick OF crowd,
and found him absorbed and happy. The
greater the noise and the more confus-
ing, &c me, the tumult or sound, the deep
CT was his satisfaction For a long time
/ could not understand IT, or why lie led
me by choice 10 the thickly congested
districts OF Paris, and the crowded re-
sorts of jewellers. Finally he confessed
that II was part OF a Frcnchman's char
acter that, having acquired the love Of
noisy Paris, the indescribable Babel act
ed as a whip lash 10 his faculties and his
fancies. AS Il brain stimulant. there is
nothing Ike a pandemOnium Of sound for
Saint-Saens. and he told me that in the
noise Of multitude he found the motifs
of his best operas. When I expressed sur
prise, Saint-Saens quoted Verlaine, as
another who found rich inspiration In the
babble Of Paris. This poet habitualIy
visited the crowded cafes of the Bohe-
mian quarter when in a mood for cOmpo-
sition. Odd, wasn't u?
The theory interested me extremely
and / began 70 look around for further
evidence Of nOise-invoked talent I dis
covered that Stuart Mil regarded music
as an inspiring motive for his philoso-
phies. His sister was accustomed 10 play
upon a piano IN an adjoining room, and
as she was iH no way noteworthy per-
former. music hall ballads OF the iightest
order were the melodies that inspired
the philosophers subtlcties. This sister
used 10 get tired and her musical roper
toire was easily exhausted. but If she
veHtured to let up on the keys, while
theory was being evolved in the next
room. her brother would roar out Go on;
go on, For Heavens sake, don't stop
Then. there was old Darwin, who
clung 10 his fiddle, and squeaked up and
down the strings while he fastened the
oretical tails 10 our ancestors.
While / was deep in the discovery Of
such irrati0nalities. 7 dropped IN upon
CarOlus Duran in his studio one day. de
was incoming at his big grand piano and
did not rise but began az once 10 tell
me in detached sentences about a now
picture he was outlining I said. Why
don you get TO work skctching it?' And
he replied Bless your soul. old man: il
is just what / am doing. couldn paint
d picture without playing il OUT on the
plano first
You fellows learned in your histories
that Napoleon declared the noise Of cam
non cleared his BRAIN and gave him wIt.
penetration, and even gayety. ] doubt
IL you ever happened to hear. though. that
Theophile Gautier consiuered the cata-
waling OF felines so enchanting that he
kept always. from ten 10 twelve cats 70
facilitate his writing
Now the thing / have noticed myself
is that cerebral circulation is produced
frequently by the local excitement OF Ger
tain nerves Of the face 1 have watched
different writer's at work One scratches
bis head. another pulls at his mustache
another bites al his lips or rubs his nose
The eXcitatOn OF the mastication nerve
enters into literary composition. also
Cooper used TO cat little honey cakes in
lnordinate quantities while ne wrote
Louise Alcot nibbled apples when the
writing mood was on. and ten ordinary
men out Of twelve VIII gnaw their I'm
ger nails and their penhandles when they
write letter To a restless creditor
What is your own pct incentive TO
composition somebody asked. after "a
round Of sherry and egg.
Oh, ! leave that for you fellows 20
find out, laughed the out-of-toWu lion.
but / am Ike the President in one re-
spect. I want a bunch Of fragrant flow
crs on my desk when / write