The Washington bee., 1912-01-20
LIST AS AN IDOL.
The Great Musician Was Petted
by English Royalty.
A SOUVENIR OF THE MASTER.
The Singular Memento That Was Ss-
credly and Secretly Treasured by
Cold, Rigid and Rather DisagreeabIe
Old EngIishwonan.

when l was a very small boy in
deed" writes Ford NJ. Hueffer in Har-
pers, 'when I wore green velyeteen
clothes, red stockings and long golden
curls, thus displaying to an unsympa-
thetic world the fact of my pre-Ra-
phaelite origin, was taken one day
to a very large hall. In front Of Us
was a wooden platform draped all
in red. Upon the platform was a
grand piano.
''In 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 q profusion Of
flowers that dropped and trailed to the
ground. Suddenly there was applause
"a considerable amount of applause.
\ 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
small boy like myself.
"And then there was more applause.
What applause, 1t yOlleyed. 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 aTmcbairs
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
from my seat and left me standing un-
der all the eyes. solitary in the aisle Of
the center OF the hall, while he sat
down. / do not think I was frightened
by the eyes. but l know l 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 a
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 cIinch 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 curlg and the
red stockings-and sat me upon her
lap. I, alas, have no trace Of the date
on which I sat in a queens lap, for II
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.
SCI had distant FelatiVe-Oddly
enough an English one, not Ger
man-who married an official Of the
court Of Weimar and became a lady in
waiting on the grand duchess. As Tar
as [ know, there was nothing singu-
larry sentimental about this LADY.
When l knew her she was cold, rigid
and rather GisagTeeabIe. 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 sachet, and
In this sachet was half smoked cigar.
This was a relic Of Franz LisZt. He
had begun to smoke 1t many years be
fore at d 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-
BILE. but there il is"