Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-02-07
W'ashinaton Standard
OILY TpIi, WASH.
lhlpil MORNING. FEBRl All :. 1905.
All Hail the Merry Widow

: the name of a new composition Ivy
Fran I.rhar. a uatiN" uf AUSTRIA
Hungary. that vi. rubalm his name.
in more %rra,ful. from h"in1 more
cushing. memory Of a~es Bc>id"
L. thr Hur pam,bc i Il Sow
moving, if not >tagnant. stream Of
melody. 1t * an inspiration. 1t is
the pul>tting. irrrSi>tin@ monarch
ul thu ball room and the merry >hit
keeps running through the brain
OF the statesman or pillow boy. the
buc"lic bachelor or merry maiden.
Its melody packers every lip to pro
ducc Il mere echo or revive Il faint
memory of its seductive charm and
Irresistible power
1t is not here yet, and We have yet
to experience one of the supreme
Joys Of life. 1t is now only in antici-
patton that We can realize the bliss
Of that new felt joy. as the muse of
the many twinkling feet for the
first time cause two brains to pulsate
with 4 single thought, two hearts to
beat as one.
Some conception of the seductive
power of the Merry Widow" waltz,
may be inferred from its name, and to
aid imagination, we copy descrip
ton OF Il writer who has been a care
full observer of its effects. He says
"Onc would almost have to bury
himself to get away from this capti-
waiting dance. You start to draw
your razor across the strOp in the
morning. when 10, there pipes up the
maid across the court, and the keen
blade gets few extra trips over the
leather, for you can't resist the in
gratiating glide of the music to save
your life. You seat yourself with
cigar and newspaper to read of the
stock market or the days sensation,
but through the tight closed window
creeps the seductive waltz, and you
find your slippers doing one and two
and three!' You go for stroll be-
side the river at night. There are
the twinkling shore-lights ripping on
the gloomy water, the faraway echo
of paddle wheel, lights green, red
and white arise from the bosom of the
stream and with them The Merry
Widow, waltz. The great ocean racer
steams up the bay amid tumult of
shrieking whistles, the dipping of
flags, the cheers of the multitude, and
above the din Scars the music of the
band playing The Merry Widow
waltz. At the humble cottage ga tie
it welcomes you, and at the portal of
the fashionable hotel you find it wait
ing in splendor to greet you. It's a
world conquering thing, this magic
waltz. It won t down. 1t had Europe
whistling, humming and jigging be-
fore we ever heard of it or its creator |
Stolid, fog-drowsy London listened
to it, shook off its lethargy and be-
came really human under the spell
of the music. Vienna, Paris and Ber-
lin all were long before entangled in
the measures of it's catchy rhythm.
Then it was waited across the At
lantic and set New York a-flutter as |
nothing had before in years"
The composition is the climax of a
beautiful little opera, and the waltz
works in the plot in manner SO in |
geniOus as to command admiration
of the most skillful play-writer in |
the world. Very few comic operas
possess plot, but simply the frame
work of an improbable, fantastic
story, that by the widest stretch of
lenient judgment passes as a safe
excuse for stringing together some
sweet flowers of melody, to embelish
highly-colored and generally gro
tesque picture of what might have
been had the composers imagination
been given a free hand to arrange
probabilities to suit the subject in
stead of attempting the legitimate
object of drama to hold the mirror of
Nature up to cold, stubborn facts.
The merry widow is a being of such
wonderful personality that the ut
most limits are afforded for inven-
tive genius, with a solid foundation
for its acceptance as both probable
and PLAUSIBLE.
That it was an inspiration is shown
by the fact that Lehar had composed
many songs and written two operas,
which were not successful, while his
Merry Widow" waltz leaped atonce
to the pinnacle of ballroom fame and
has already electrified two continents
by its potent spell.
AN ISLAND WHERE WOMEN PRE-
DOMINATE. Pitcairn Island, in the
South Pacific Ocean. on rarely