The mirror., 1920-10-14

together.
AT the office of the Mirror he set the
lines down on paper. He handed the
manuscript to George Pope Morris, the
editor. Would his good friend approve
or disapprove? Would he pronouce the
poem for Russell good or bad?
"My dear boy" Morris declared, "this
is not song 1t will never do for music
but it is very nice little lyric. Let me
take it and publish it in the Mirror
The editor should have known he was
talking about, for he had supplied the
stanzas for "Woodman, Spare That Tree"
and other successes OF, the period. But no
human being is infallible, and he was
wrong.
Sargent consented, and "A Life on the
Ocean Wave" was published soon there
after. A few days intervened before the
author met Russell on New York street.
"Where is that song?" he asked.
81 tried my hand at one" Sargent said,
"but it was failure"
"How do you know that?"
morris tells me it won't answer"
"And is Morris a god?" flashed the
composer "Hand me the piece, young
man. Let us go into Hewitt's back room
at Park Place and Broadway. Well see
what we can make out of your lines"
They passed through the music store,
went to the rear, and Russell seated him
self at a piano. He fixed his attention
upon the lines as he read them over. He
hummed an air or two in an undertone.
After running his fingers over the keys, he
suddenly stopped as if nonplussed; but he
was really finding his way.
Then bright idea seemed to dawn up
on the musician. Was a melody floating
into his brain? He began to hum softly
and to sway. He struck the keys tenta-
lively few times, but soon confidently
launched forth into new air.
"Pve got it !" he exclaimed ."I've got it,"
1t had been the work of few minutes.
Sargent pronounced the melody a success.
Russell did not hesitate to reveal his en-
thusiasm for the completed production.
"The copyright of the song proved very
valuable" Sargent asserted long after
ward, though l never got anything from
it myself. 1t at once became a favorite.
Soon the bands were playing it in the
streets. Within year or two l received
from England copies of FIVE or six diff
ferent editions that had been issued there
by competing publishers"
Epes Sargent lived from 1913 to 1880.
He was born in Gloucester and died in
Boston, Massachusetts,. He gave up
collegiate course at Harvard to devote
himself to literature. He had pleasant re-
lations with Daniel Webster, John c. CAL
houn, Henry Clay, and other noted char
acters. Clay said that Sargent's memoir
of him was the best and most authentic in
existence.
The most popular of his song poems
was "A Life on the Ocean Wave" which
Morris had thought unfit but Russell had
avidly grabbed. 1t has long been fav-
orite with all classes of people that appre-
ciate 'the salt of the ocean,"
Over eight hundred songs were either
written or composed by Henry Russell. In
his particular style he had no rival
This son of Hebrew merchant had an
ambition to become great singer, but he
did not have the proper sort of voice.
When his prospects appeared cloudy he
went to Canada and on to Rochester, New
York, where he accepted position as an
organist at three hundred dollars a year.
1t was in this thriving city that he heard
an Grafton which proved the turning point
of his life.
"If Henry Clay could create such an
impression by his distinct enunciation of
every word" he asked himself, SHOULD
it not be possible for me to make music