The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-04-13
LIST AS AN IDOL.
The Great Musician Was Petted
by English Royalty.
A SOUVENIR OF THE MASTER.


The Singular Memento That Was Sa-
eredIy and Secretly Treasured by a
Cold, Rigid and Rather DisagreeabIe
Old EnsIishwoman.
when was a very small boy in
deed" writes Ford NJ. Hueffer in Har-
per's, "when I wore green velveteen
clothes, red stockings and long golden
curls. thus displaying to an unsympa-
thetic world the fact of my pre-Ra-
phaelite origin, l was taken one day
to very large hall. In front of US
was a wooden platform draped all
in red. Upon the platform was a
grand piano.
I'm front of me the first row of the
stalls had been taken away, and in
place Of them there had been put three
gilded armchairs, before which was
a table covered with a profusion Of
flowers that dropped and railed to the
ground. Suddenly there was applause
"a considerable amount of applause.
A lady and gentleman were coming
from under the dark entry that led to-
the artists room. They were the
Prince and Princess of Wales. There
was no doubt about that even for a
small boy like myself.
"And then there was more applause:
What applause! It volleyed, it rolled
round the hall. All were on their feet.
People climbed on to their chairs,
they waved hands, they waved pro-
grams, they waved hats, they shouted,
for in the dark entrance there had ap-
peared, white and shining, a head
with brown and sphinxlike features
and white and long hair and the eter-
nal wonderful SMILE
'"They advanced, these three, amid
those tremendous shouts and enthusi-
asm-the two royal personages lead
ing the master, one holding each hand.
They approached the gilded armchairs-
Immediately in front of me, and the
prince and princess indicated to the
master that he was to sit between
them at the table covered with flowers.
"He made little pantomimes of mod
esty, he drew his hands through their
grasp, he walked quickly away from
the armchairs, and because was just
behind them he suddenly removed me
from my seat and left me standing un-
der all the eyes, solitary in the aisle of
the center of the hail. while he sat
down. \ do not think was frightened
by the eyes, but know I was terribly
frightened by that great brown, aqui-
line face, with the piercing glance and
the mirthless, distant, inscrutable
smile.
"And Immediately just beside me
there began what appeared to be
gentle and courtly wrestling match. A
gentleman of the royal suit approach
ed the master. He refused to move.
The prince approached the master. He.
sat indomitably still. Then the prin-
cess came and, taking him by the hand.
drew him almost by force out of my
stall, for it was my stall, after all.
"And when he was once upon his;
feet, as if to clinch the matter, she sud-
denly sat down in it herself, and with
a sudden touch Of good feeling she
took me by the hand-the small soil
tary boy with the golden curls and the
red stockings and sat me upon her
lap. I, alas, have no trace Of the date
on which sat in queens lap. for it
was all so very long ago; the king is
dead. the master is long since dead.
the hall itself is pulled down and has;
utterly disappeared.
81 had a distant relative-oddly
enough an English one, not a Ger
man-who married an official of the
court of Weimar and became a lady in
waiting on the grand duchess. AS far
as I know, there was nothing singu-
larly sentimental about this lady.
When I knew her she was cold. rigid
and rather disagreeable. She had al
ways about her a peculiar and disa-
greeable odor, and when she died a
few years ago it was discovered that
she wore round her neck a sachet, and
in this sachet was half smoked cigar.
''This was relic of Franz Liszt He
had begun to smoke it many years be-
fore at dinner which she had given,
and, he having put it down unfinished.
she had at once seized upon it and had
worn it upon her person ever since.
This sounds inexplicable and incredi-
bic, but there it is"
Settling a Bill.