Year: 1878

A"N 4"VN"


An idle married woman who does not
care for her husband, who either has no
children or else takes no interest N
them, must have something to give
flavor TO life. Take The case OF a woman
who has risen from the ranks and attain.
ed that social position which the judicious
expenditure OF large fortune can gen.
orally give, at least in London. She
must take up something to make her
footing secure, She mnst discover
Using star in art, science or literature,
and bring him before the public Per
haps she succeeds in persuading herself
that the passion of her life is for music.
She is utterly ignorant of the subject,
and without any natural taste, but
meeting, by chance at an evening party,
youth with long hair and nimble fin
gers, she decides that he is the composer
of the future, and invites him to call
on her lat home" As he turns out to
be even more eccentric than she could
have hoped, he is at once adopted as a
child of the house, and given fOotstoOl
at his new mothers knee. He comes
after breakfast and remains to lunch.
The silent and len suffering husband,
who expresses no paternal feeling toward
him, is compelled to retire to his club,
while the wife plays duets with the rising
genius True, the poor youth has GER.
tain fatal facility, and can ring changes
on feeble motive, with a dexterOus ac-
compartment formed out Of the common
chord. But his compositions, though
numerous are always slightly incOherent.
There seems no particular reason why
they ever began, why they should ever
end, or why they should ever be counted
as compositions at all. They seem in.
variably to be studies OF chords of Sc
uuence from various haphazard roints of
view. Here and there a truly sweet
little air is begun, but it vanished untin-
ished, and the attentive listener is sad


dened by his ears nearly as much as is
the critic by his eyes on beholding the
rough sketches of promise. Nothing is
finished, nothing completed; there is
certain amountOl talent, but no industry;
there is fancy, but it ends in failure.
Naturally his adopted mother sees moth
ing of this. She hears pleasant jingle,
and is more than satisfied. She talks to
him of his wonderful heaven-sent origin
ality, his poetic,touch, his thrilling tones
Then she begs him to play over again
that air for the left hand. As he looks
up from the piano he sees her sitting
spell-bound on the sofa. She is in a
morning-dress Of white muslin, evidently
not don1ed from vanity, for nothing
could well be more unbecoming to her
portly form. She rises with deep
drawn sigh, and declares that, sooner
than believe a talent like this can be
wasted, she will renounce her belief in
future state of existence. She startles
him, but being mystical and impression
able as an imperfect musician must needs
he he rises to the occasion, and endeavors
to refresh her religious belief bya sketch
of his own. A new mission presents
itself She must save her boys soul, if
anv one has a SOUL which she very much
donhts. He must come daily and spend
the morning beside her at the piano.
She buys his " Hymn to. Sardsnapalus, "
and invites him to her grand evening
entertainments to play the accompani-
ments. Afterward, when he Is very
tired he is allowed to improvise on the
latest opera boufe, and, as great treat,
to give rendering of his latest sacred
piece, which be oompo,cd 70 be played
on the organ in the Albert hall. Next
morning she tells him that she alone
can understand his yearnings and his
genius; that she, too, has inspirations
which none bui no can fathOm, and
then only through the love he has for
her. Hereupon a great horror seizes
him, for her manner is more than ma