Milford chronicle., 1913-04-25
CHAUTAUOUA At MILFORD.

Chautauqua comes to liven up things
everlastingly for people who are materi-
ally prosperous already. tits not new. 1t
is a revised and condensed edition of
the old Lyceum that flOurished in New
England when Emerson demanded as a
lecture fee, in addition to the regular
five dollars, four quarts of oats for his
horse. Then a favored town not too
far from the main Travelled road was
treated to a dozen lectures in as many
weeks. The audiences were crowded
in draughty halls in the winters and
suffered the well understood consequent
ces of being frozen and toasted by turns
by the heat of the old fashioned wood
stove. Still the ambition of few was
satisfied, and the Lyceum has prospered.
The Chautauqua that will come to
Milford has stolen its name and its out
Of-doors habit from the great summer
school that has sprung up on the shores
of Lake ChautauQua in New York. In
its aims and its running scheme it is
entirely original. Sam Jones said, 1--WE
are not religious enough to run a camp
meeting and County Fairs have gone
out of date, so we organize Chautauqua.
He was jesting, but he gives one the
idea. Chautauqua is a solid week of
snappy lectures, tart entertainments
and taking music, punched under a
tent spread among the trees of a vacant
lot or park in the town. There is a
fence about the grounds to keep out
troublesome hanger-on. Inside the en-
closure are a splendid lot of college
students from Swarthmore who act as
rOustabouts. A local committee takes
care of the tickets at the gate. The
Platform Superintendent is in charge of
the whole.
First day in Milford and at ninety
other towns which pass their enter
tainers along in a progress partv stvle
Band Day" The tWenty-three dark
fenced FlOrentines that make up the
1913 Chautauqua Band, branch of the
famous Victor Band, play classical
music and make it irressistibly appeal-
ing. The crowds go home humming
snatches of Peer Gynt, IL Trovatore.
and Lucia di Lammermour ! Last wear
in a certain Chautauqua Town. for
months after the tent was down. the
music store was rushed for a different
sort of record and piano roll than ever
had been popular before. The newest
Broadway hit was neglected. Music is |
so generally popular that second con-
cert has been arranged for the second |
day. Tyrolean Fountain Singers keep
everyone in the audience shouting at |
the vocal antics they perform. Amature |
attempts at yOdeling are unspeakably |
bad, ibut the inherited twist of tone
that these singer gives US is as thrilling |
as bird-music.
For another afternoon during the
week, Henry Such, who has PLAYED be-
fore half the crowded heads of Europe.
is billed to give the violinists half of /
the program. The Brodbeck- Such Com
pany cooperate with the Florentines
in tempting people to cast the popular
rag time music rack into the garbage.
The music of the fourth day comes in
along with the other Stunts of the
joyous Deitrics who employ powers of
magic to help them entertain the crowd.
The Commonwealth Male Quartet, billed
for the fifth Chautauqua Day, give a
great number of stirring selections, of
course but they, toohave quite re-
pertoire of medleys, and banjo lullabies
which exactly suit the mood of a summer
Afternoon. To wind up the weeks
musical program the National Grand
opera Company furnish bit of the sort
# thing that one sees on the stage of
ne Metropolitan Opera House in New
FORK.