The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-12-28
NEW BOOKS
An Interesting Work on InSanity--The Semi.Insane
Geniuses of Literatme-Dr. Van Dykes
"lie Music Lover" .-NOteS.

1.-THE Music Lover" By Henry Var
Dyke. Moffat, Yard & Co, New York,
This appropriate holiday publication !:
an artistica1ly printed brochure in idylli'
prose form written in that graceful STYLE
which permeates most of DIR. Van Dykes
works and makes him so widely read ant
loved. It is short-a mere sketch-describ'
ing what passes through the mind of tbs
Music Lover as he sits in his favorite seal
listening to the orchestra playing Beetho-
ven's great symphony in c minor. 1t !:
something OF a literary cameo, just wahf
one has earned to expect from the we'll
known Princeton man. This pleasing, at
~tractive form in which 1t Is printed, and
the frontispfece from the painting OF Sigis-
mond de Ivanowski, showing the Music
Lover gazing dreamily down from his bal
cony seat upon the conductor and players,
make the small book a delight to the eye,
Just as the contents delight the fancy.
The Music Lover, Or. Van Dyke writes,
fnsd arrived at an oasis IN the day. Since
morning he had been toiling through The
Sahara OF the city's noise; arid, senseless'
inhospital NOISE; roaring OF wheels, clang-
ing Of bells, snriejyinG Of whistles. clatter
OF machinery, s%quawking of horns, Raucous
and strident voices; confused, bewildering'
| exhausting noise, a desolate and unfrisnoiY
desert for the ear. Now all that waste.
I bowling wilderness was shut out by The
massive walls OF the concert hall, and he
found himself in a haven OF refuge.
Watching the conductor Tightly beckon
here and there with magical persuasion
the entranced gazer fell into a dreamy
meditation about the orchestra, at h same
time fully drinking in the beautiful music.
This Is how DIR. Van Dyke puts it:
He watched them as IL in a dream,
fascinated by their regularity, their sim
plicity in detail, their complexity in the
mass-watched them with has eyes, Wnle
his heart was carried along with the nood
OF music More and more the impression
of a marvellous unity, n mechanical GER
tainty Of action. grew upon Ulat half OF MS
mILd which was occupied with the sight,
and gave him a singular satisfaction anu
comfort. 1t was good to be free, Ter a
little while at least, from the everlasting
personal eqration, the perpleXing interest,"
in human individuals, the mysterious and
disturbing sympathies awakened by con-
tact with other lives, and TO give ones
self to the pure enjoyment Of an impe;-
sonal work OF art, rendered by the grear-
est of Instruments"
As the allegro ended and the music
came to o. halt. with momentary elaxation
OF nerves and muscles on the part OF the
players the dreamer began to wonder now
strange was the power that could SO easiy
reassemble them. Then there passed
through his mind the fact that the COM
ponent parts of the big band were more
than mere wood and wire and sheepskln
and horse-hair and metal ESQ cur1ously ana
grotesquely fashioned when one came 10
consider them)." They were men, human
beings. trained and disciplined to common
action" and so:
Here was the wonderful hidden system
of communication, more magical than any
mechanism, Just because it was less per-
feet. lust because Il left room, along each
separate channel, for the coming IN OF
those slight, incalculable elements of per-
sonal emotion which lend the touch or n1e
to rhythm and tone. The instruments
were but tools. The composer was the
niaster-designer. The leader and ms or
| chestra were the wearers OF the rich rooe
of sound, in which alone the hidden SPIRIT
of Music. daughter OF Psyche and Amor
becomes ~perceptible to mortal sense.
And while he followed the music me
other half of his mind was watching the
plavers. no longer as a group, a unit OF
Disciplined action, but as individuals, per-
sons for each of whom life had a distinct
colour and tone and meaning He real
lied the complexed, individual humanity
of each man, who even as he gazed, might
be 'in love, in hatred, in friendship, IN
jealousy. in gloom, in resignation, in cour-
age. or in happiness"
"And out of these stories, because they
are human, has come the humanity OF tne
players: the thing which makes IT possiple
for them to feel this music and TO play II,
not as a machine would play, grinding IT
ont with dead monotony, but with all the
colour and passion of life Itself
Presently came the great finale, long
| expected, surprising, victorious. sweeping
all the instruments into its mighty cur
rent. pausinE for a moment to take up the
most delicate and mysterious melody OF
the scherzo (changed as If by magic INTO
something new and vague), and then NOV
ing on again, with hurrying, swelling TIDE
until it breaks in the swift-rolling thnn-
derous pillows Of unreasonable 1uoila-
ton"
The Lover of Music drew a long breath
and sat motionless In his seat while the
people filed out.
presently a cane was stretched Out
from the second row behind him ano
touched him on the shoulder. He turned
around and saw the face of HE frieno' tne
Dreamer. the Brushwood Boy, with his
bright eyes and disheveled hair. ana pc
side him was tho radiant presence OF the
| Girl Who Understood.
" 'Iieber Meister.' said the Boy, you
are coming now with us. There Is q bite
and a sup and a pipe and an open hre
waiting for you in our room. Bitte
komm.'