The Coolidge examiner., 1932-07-15
Great Things
g
By FANNIE HURST
(G by Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.)
(WNU Service)

.DEOPLE expected great things of
Aline Davis.
And well they might. She
had grown steadily from a preco-
cious, unusually gifted child into the
most brilliant girl in her high school
and college classes, delivering the
valedictory each time she gradual
ed and generally rated by faculties
as a girl with marked future.
Then what did she turn around
and do, with all her accomplish
ments of language, laboratory sci
ence and dramatics to choose from,
but develop a voice!
Verify, the gods had smiled upon
Aline. AS her friends put it Ga little
wistfully perhaps). Aline had ev-
erything. Youth. Culture. Beauty.
Intellect. Varied talents and now
voice! To say nothing of the
fact that the son of one Of the fore
most bankers of Buffalo, n. Y.
wanted TO marry her.
She made her selection brilliant
ly, as she did everything, throwing
everything over, including the son
of the Buffalo banker, to follow the
career of a singer.
1t meant struggle. Aline was not
blessed in worldly goods, but scholar
ships were forever showering her
path and it was made possible, what
with the patronage OF a philan-
thropic woman in Aline's home
town, and q scholarship offered by
her university, for her to take up
the study of voice and harmony
with two of the most influential
teachers in New York.
With her usual ability for doing
whatever she did outstandingly
well, in her third year of tutelage
she attracted the attention Of a IA
nous impresario who arranged her
an addition with the opera.
She came through ii with flying
Ing colors and the offer of a con-
tract to sing minor roles with the
greatest opera organization In the
world.
"Of course, / told you SOL" said
all Aline's friends. But still 1t was
little breath-taking to have her
walk into one honor after another,
as casually as If contract to sing
in opera were not the mecca OF
girls from almost every corner Of
the globe.
Aline continued her studies and
made superbly good in her opera
work that first year. SO good that
at the beginning of the second, she
was understanding the famous Don
ma Bella.
Critics and teachers predicted a
magnificent future for her. The star
Of her destiny seemed never to flick
er in its steady light. And It must
be said of Aline that she did not
depend upon destiny to keep that
star lighted. She was an indefa-
tigable worker. A painstaking stu
dent, a musician at heart and at
soul.
1t was when her star seemed so
sure and so true and so almost In
evitable that Aline met Kronald
Blau.
Blau was young Swiss fellow,
only ten years in America, and en-
gagged in laboratory work at the
Rockefeller foundation. A student.
A scientist devoted to research. His
work was the study of the loath-
some disease Of leprosy. Blau was
said already to have made some dis
tinguished contributions TO the ale
Walton of that foul disease and was
hopefully working toward the solu-
tion of making it 100 per cent cur
able.
Not romantic background.
Scarcely fellow with the type of
mind calculated to capture the In
terest Of a beautiful and promising
young opera singer, on the verge of
her big success. Blau himself was
unprepossessing enough. A tow
haired young fellow with a thought.
full face and kind eyes magnified
by high-power spectacles. A stu
dent in aspect and manner. A stu
dent by temperament and equip
ment.
Aline met him by chance at the
home of a doctor friend.
1t was a matter of love at first
sight.
1t was remarked by those pres
ent that, from the moment she en-
tered the room, Blau never took
eyes Off of her and after they met
1t was all Aline could do to keep
her own gaze from boring back
against his.
Aline always said of herself that
she did the wooing. In any event
it Is doubtful If young Blau would
ever have had the courage to follow
up this first meeting with the bril-
liant young singer.
Aline saw to that. Aline saw to