New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05
By Grenville Vernon

Our good nature. How we pride
ourselves upon it, dotc on it, revel in
1T. NE inay rack fire or Imagination,
but thank God, we are good natured,
Good nature will turn aside the wrath
of even Bclshevlk. Good nature is
the twin brother of common sense,
compounded of a good digestion and a
plentiful lack of passion. With it as
our guide We can attain all-eXcept
the heights and the depths. Hand in
hand with safety first, it conducts US
over the smiling plains of life. Our
national consciousness, unable to OBJ
literate the grave, greases the run
way thereto. Our ideal is to slide
evenly through life, making on the
way many motions 20 assert that we
are not sliding at all, and smiling,
always smiling, not the smile of the
HAL WIN 4ONSS llle III d4t IT'S Tragedy
and bids it an ironic defiance, but the
glucose grin OF idiotic faulty. And
when at last we plump over the edge,
the grin suddenly vanishes and we
disappear with a look of panied as
constituent. Our grin has collided
with truth.
These somewhat cursory thoughts
have risen after ten seasons continu-
Gus attendance at the Metropolitan
During that period we remember only
one single lapse in the audiences i'm
perturbable good nature, and that was
among the Italian element behind the
rails. For the rest the audience has
sat undisturbed through some of the
worst singing ever heard in New York,
and has often politely applauded it,
The singer was doing his best, and a
best is always worthy of applause,
and if he could do better he probably
would not need applause so much.
The spirit of the Metropolitan au-
diences is truly Christian-aside from
the despised Italians behind the rails,
who, We feel, would often hiss if they
dared to. In the orchestra, boxes and
at least the lower balconies, there is
nightly a feast of brotherly love. A
plenary gift of benehcience descends
upon the house. Good nature reigns
IN its seventh heaven, even when a
part Of the audience arrives during the
second act and leaves during the third
If the singers aria is obliterated or
the orchestra is drowned by shuffling
feet and rustling wraps, good nature
must surely not limit itself to the do
lngs on the stage. We apologize for
desiring to SIT the opera through, and
smile when our corns are tread upon
Ii art be so foolish as to collide with
good nature, art must take the con-
sequences.
They are not so good natured in
Italy or III France. Latin audiences
have an extraordinary perversity
which insists upon expression. They
really take the opera seriously. In
Italy between the acts perfect strang-
ers enter into critical discussions from
box to box During the performance
the audience Will applaud a singer one
minute and hiss him the next. Sing
ors and audience are a unit. An Of
Tense by one is an offense to all the
rest. There art is truly democratic.
The Latins do not believe in live and
let live as a doctrine for art; they
believe very firmly, very passion
atcly in the survival Of the fttest.
They believe in popular ana audible
selection and election. They are cruel
but they are stimulating That is
why only the shadow Of the night
stick lies between the standees at the
Metropolitan and frequent and even
riotous expressions OF disapprcval.
Their denominations are at present
limited u those Of approval in which,
it must be said, they are often badly
misled by paid clacque. With
the standees opera is vital force
But they live in Mulberry and Blocker
streets and in other social Betias and
they speak broken English or none at
all. Before We are to consider them