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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1908)
THE SUNDAY OREGOMAX, TORTLAXD, JANUARY 26, 1908. mm BY ALMA A. RODGERS. THE small boy of Austrja celebrates his Christmas with much the same sort of Santa Claus as the patron saint of the young American, "with the additional feature of -a red devil. This devil, who is called a Krampus, and who seems to .be a forerunner to clear the way for the good saint, visits all bad little boys on the eve of December 6, the feast-day of Saint Kickolo. . Now, all little boys, irrespective "of country, are bad, so the Krampus- gets busy early. He was on his" rounds In Vienna as soon as he had time to throw a long, red gown over his working clothes and cover up the' day's grime with a grinning false face. For his jires t'hee being requlKcd in so many places at once, the Krampus is compelled to em ploy aids, who, however, are so perfect ly representative .of their chief that rib urchin with a guilty conscience the nor mal condition of the small boy can pos sibly detect the difference. T,o grown-ups the. work-hardened hand that closes over the silver coins you must notfail to prof fer as a peace-offering, explains. Does not age always explain, and find therein Its bitterest penalty? The devil carries a chain which -clanks terribly as he approaches, and under his arm a bundle of switches: When he 'called at our house he was accompanied by an "angel" robed in white, with long white hair aureoling a white mask with a wonderful" smtle angels smile, whereas devils grin and ve,ry pink cheeks. The ncavy snoes protruding from the em broidery ruffle of the angel's petticoat proclaimed the visit he had made to his mother's wardrobe to fix up for his lark. For a. week or more before Saint Nicko lo's 'feast, the shop windows are full of little red devils with tails and horns and lineaments of so fearsome an apsect that they must certainly strike terror into the. hearts of the trusting little ones who crowd the pane. Nevertheless, so great is the fascination of the terrible, it is the ambition of each child to possess the toy. and -I have seen more than one chubby-faced youngster trotting- along with a little devil gripped proudly in one hand and til's mother's in the other. On Saint Nickolo's Eve we went down on the street to look for the Krampus. because, having been very .good and worked faithfully, and being strangers, and Americans at that, we - feared he might not think it polite to call. There was a slight buzz of the unusual In the air. Eager groups of children whispered together and then darted off. One little hoy was excitedly declaring something to his companions. We stopped to hear. He had seen the Krampus It was true in his mother's -kitchen not ten minutes be foreshe gave him money and he didn't use the switch and he clanked his chain there, can't you hear it coming? The children' were fled. We continued to walk up and down peering into courts and turning corners in the hope of sat isfying curiosity. But we got not a glimpse of him until he appeared at our "wohnung" by special permission of the ' housebesorger. who is old and disillu sioned and fonder of her bottle than the sports of Saint Nickolo's Eve. Abundance of Holidays. T believe every form of monarchy has always recognized the necessity of fur nishing amusement to the people". The in. ference is obvious.. In Austria are so many feast days and holy days that I wonder how anybody but the church of ficials can keep track of them. Not long ago there was a holiday when everybody went to the cemeferies and said prayers for the dead, 'accompanying them with floral offerings. The Christmas celebration' includes three days 24th, 25th, 26th the 26th be ing the chief day. and the eve the proper time for the Christmas tree. The Christ mas tree Is much used, and the holiday markets everywhere in the city are full of them. In the yard of the Karolinen Kirehe near our dwelling there must have been at least 1000 little fir trees Mffered for sale. ' On one side of the church, which is a very ordinary one. Is always a -vegetable market, where the pcustint women sell the produce until 10 o'clock in the morning. When, two' weeks inVvious to Christmas, all the rest of the churchyard whs occupied by the Christ-, mas trees, it did not seem possible that they could be sold. But' on the day be fore Christmas not one remained. The prices ranged from a krone (20 cents) for a tree two or three feet in height, to 12 . of ir. kronen for a line large one, fitted Into pieces of wood to keep it upright. . lilke Oregon J-'lr. That churchyard was a very delightful place to linger in while the firs lasted. We always contrived to pass daily and Inhale the delicious balsamy odors that reminded us of rhe. firs- of Oregon. There was a holl(Jy stir, too, that drew many p cple. The peasant men and women busied themselves selling, and fitting crosspieces Into the tree stems, standing tiu-m upright as soon as fitted, so that by day the place looked like a miniature for- 1 est. At night the trees were bunched in large heaps, with the additional protec tion of an encircling rope and an unsleep ing watchman. Coming borne from the W agner Ring at nearly 1 A. M. we would find him moving about, or sitting by the red coals of his gypsy fjre, in the latter Instance a mere silhoutte, against the dull -glowing. The stream of concerts and musical per formances of every kind flows on without any appearance of diminution, .-though I am told that after January begins dancing will take place in the diversions of the Viennese. The 'fashionable . season for opera and kindred attractions must there fore be neaf its close, but the Philhar monic concerts go-on, and the opera is a fixture, and perhaps the only difference to the public will be that of less difficulty in securing seats. Popular Concerts. The weekly Thursday afternoon con certs at the coffee-house in the Volks garten are good 'almost beyond belief. The orchestra of forty or so Is not equal to the Philharmonic, but if one cannot al ways have cream, there are times when milk Is very acceptable. It costs one krone to get in here, and another one before you get out, for you must order a melange, an Ice or a beer, and there are fees for checking wraps. The programme for December 12 will give an idea of what may be heard. It reads. POPULARES ORCHKSTER .KONCERT Im K. K. Volksgarten (Dirigent Ktistav Gutheli) PROGRAMM. . P. ' CornMiuff Ouverture zur Ooerr.Der Barbler von Barilad I van Beethoven. Sechste Sinfonte iPastorale) (in five movements! F. Smetana Aus Bohmens Hain und Flur (ninionische iJichlunK) L. van Beethoven Wiener Tanze R. Wagner ; . . Ouverture zur Oper: Der Flietrende Hollander I think; I have said before that this place is always crowded with'a very ele gant company of people. It has the best coffee-house music in Wien. The atmos phere, -too, is not so bad as in other places, for though smoking goes on, there are revolving ventilators in the ceiling that give circulation of pure air from the outside. ' . Devil That Goes After AllChildren Who . Have Been Naughty Richard Strauss, Idolized as:Greatest Composer, Yet Scorned by Others Poor Imitation of Japanese. "Madam Butterfly", is still running at the Hofoper, but it must be said that the presentation falls much below the Hofoper status. It is lavishly and beautifully staged, as everything in the imperial playhouse is, the voices ere as usual, the gowns are very ele grant, and the orchestra is, as always, close to perfection. But it is not truly Japanese. I must say the Ravage company gave a more artistic performance last; year in Portland than the Madam Butterfly we saw here. The Oho Cho San vas in comparably better than f raulcm Forstls rendering: of this difficult and charming- role. Madam Samowsky (I'm not sure of the spelling) was a true butterfly in her conception of the spirit of the part. That is exactly where the Viennese artist failed. Though she has a beautiful voice which she uses to advantage in Occi dental roles, she seemed to have very little idea of anything Japanese. Her best work was in the .love scene with Pinkerton and with her child, two situ- jsaNsafc mm- -issf! I . . .Tie8 V tfSV 1 , by Viennese ' H -FrKlr I 37npu&y Sj w rni i MBS uiST : -S''!B"1- at ions that strike the .universal chords of the heart. The Japanese manner with the en tire 'company was so stilted as to be at times almost ludicrous. They did not walk Japanese, .wear their kimonos Japanese, or - in fact have - real kimonos. These were the creation of an art dressmaker (the court artist, a man) whose determination to "im prove" upon the real Japanese'garment resulted in a sort of a modified hquse gown, iac-king utterly the long grace ful lines of the kimono. The last scene is somewhat modified, perhaps on the side of art. for in stead of committing hara-kiri in the presence of her child, Cho ChoSan here sends the baby out to play and dies plone. , Not even Pinkerton .appears, though his voice is heard calling to her. m Mrs. Pinkerton, who may be remem bered in Portland as a'modern woman with a voice, here is actually . comical. She wars a coetume of 50 years ago. und says never a word, just looks in on things once or twice, and then trips away in her balloon hoops, as thin and prim as any New England spinster of .Mary VVilkins' creation. Strauss Idolized and Scorned We neard Dr. Richard Strauss con dut one of the Philharmonic concerts recently. The Strauss name seems to be idolized by the Vienese, past and present. The author of' Salome and many other works, who is no relation to the composer of the Blue Danube waltzes, was received with such rap ture . that, he certainly can be termed an idol of toduy. The people shout ed and threw their hats in the air and compelled him to return and bow his tall personage again and again, and thun again. His conducting has been very popular for years in Germany and Austria. Francis Richter considers him the greatest conductor he has heard in Europe, with Herr Schuch, of Dresden, a close second. Dr. Strauss manner is quiet yet very vital. His ins-trumenls melt Jnto one voice, with a smodthness and ,brilliance of nuances than only a master conductor can com .mand. Numbers by- Spohr, Wagner. Drbussy and Strauss constituted the pro gramme. The Strauss composition, which bears the title of Symphonia Domcstica, was performed for the first time by the Philharmonic Orchestra, though, not its' initial presentation. Some of it was beautiful, but other parts were painfully Strauss-esque to ears not educated to the long succes sion of frightful dissonances he makes and calls music. I am assured by those who know that it : Is music, too, but as for me there were times' when I felt h had let loose all the discords in Pandora's box. However, Strauss must be a, great man. for people hold exactly opposite opinions of him. I have heard him characterized by musicians, "as the greatest of living- composers. - a king of music. the creator of a new era. On the other hand the" devotees of the classic smile with scorn when his name is mentioned, for it Is synonymous with the . breaking of rules and the disregard of tradition. The judgment of another generation .will probably be required to settle his. status with the world maybe several. But there is no doubt about his being popular in his own time and with his own people.' W inter Weather.' While On Christmas topics I forgot to mention the weather. H is worth while, too, -because on Christmas day it was exactly like that pf Oregon. The sun shone brightly, and the uir was as mild as early Spring. Then 4it turned cold, tried to snow and end ed In rain, which in turn has been succeeded by skies so gloomy that on the day of this writing (December 28 AV2A TISS A C&MJZf&U. we had to turn on the light at noonday In order that. Francis Richter's teacher could see the notes of his music. Last year at this time the ground was deep in snow. At least two Oregonians are thankftll for each day that' the mercury veers away from the freezing point. Our best efforts fail to keep us comfortable even in mild weather with the. wretched heating apparatus these people use. It is almost Incredible, but it is true, that - well-to-do people do not have fire. The houpe-inspector and his wife called one cold evening when we were huddled around the oven. In the course of the conversation he expressed his astonishment that we had a fire, and remarked that they, had made fire but twice this Win.ter. When I told him with fine sarcasm that this was not really a fire, we were only trying to have one. he seized the poker, raked up the handful of coats reposing in the tiny firebox, de clared the oven would be. red hot in three minutes, and at the expiration - of that time in all seriousness requested me to put my hand on it to prove it. Knowing from past experience that the experiment could bo made with perfect saftty, I did so. The- tiles were about lukewarm, and' at a distance of three feet no- radiation of heat could be felt. But even so much is luxury,, according to the European standard. '- .' BOXES OF WHISTLES" IN CHURCHES A GOVERNMENT bulletin on the manufacture .of .musical instru ments, just out, sliows that the liirccst and most expensive and most crfect .of all instruments for "the pro duction of harmony, the pipe organ, is peculiarly a product of Massachusetts. The continued supremacy of the Bay ytAte in this department of instrument making, which, of course, partlcularly concerns the churches of every Ameri can city, is risht in line with the tra ditions of American musical history. Pipe organs were introduced for the ilrst time in North America at Boston, Hlid. as was the way in colonial times, vigorously opposed, since there was Mill larjre debate among the Puritans as to whether music was of God -or of the devil. The running tight that last- 'd for a century or more in eommuni-" 4ios of New Kngland and the Middle Hates as to whether the church organ might or might not be properly used in worship seemed somehow to be basrtrt on such misconception as that of the worthy mechanic who complained to a Scotch clergyman: "i have no objec tion Uo the organ, hut I understand whenever the organ is brought in there is to be an attack made on the doctrine of the atonement."' As late as 176- a subject for public discussion at Har vard College commencement was. "Does Music Promote Sanation?" and al .though the matter was decided in the affirmative the decision was not leached without much bitterness of spirit. lespite or perhaps because of in tensity of the feelings engendered by such arguments the leadership in the manufacture of pipe organs seems to have been preserved by the Jiew Kng land capital from early days 'down to lior. when, according to the census lMilletin Just cited, 137 pipe organs were constructed in Massachusetts. The ag gregate value of these was. $520,887, representing about 25 per cent of the value of all made in the United States and by far the largest percentage of high-priced organs since two . other states, Illinois and Ohio, made as many pipe organs but of a far smaller aver-, age value. The church and concert or gans that come out of Massachusetts workshops averaged about J3800 each, wliile the average for the whole coun try was only $2200. y Behind the making of these pipe or gans there is a long line of trade tra ditions dating from the first American church organ built in Boston, in 1745 by Edward Bromfleld, Jr. This man, only an amateur at the business, planned an instrument of 1200 pipes, but, dying at the early age of-23, he left the work only partially completed. Professional organ building in this country began at Boston in 1752 in the shop pf Thomas Johnstone. To guide the efforts of the earliest American organ builders good models were already at hand. Pipe organs "boxes of whustles," - as the Scotch called them were brought to these shores long before they were made herei At Portsmouth, N.- H.,' is still played the oldest church organ in 'the United States, one that was imported from England in 1708 by Thomas Brat tle, a noted citizen of Boston and one of the founders of the Brattle-Street Church. U was left at his death in 1713 to the church bearing ills name the condition that if this Puritan body did not accept it the instrument was to go to .iving's chapel, representing the Church of England in New Eng land. Brattle street politely but firmly re fused it, and the organ was installed in Boston's Episcopal Church, later to be sold' to a chapel of the same denomina tion at Newburypnrt.. and finally to be set up in St. John's Chapel at Ports mouth,' where during the peace confer ence it pealed forth its notes of "peace and good will, to men." It is only a. little organ, of course, as compared with the big ones of today an affair eight feet two inches high, five feet wide and two feet seven inches deep but it was well made originally and it has had good Care. It is probably more often examined by curious sightseers than any other mu sical instrument in the United States, for everybody who goes to Portsmouth wants to see the first specimen brought to this country of the glorious instrument which Abt Vogler invented. Another very famous pipe organ from abroad was installed in New England at a mnch later Bdate. and at a time when American manufacturers were doing cred itable work, though not yet equal to that of the Germans and the Fench. About midway in the Civil 'War Dr: Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose interest in" music was very keen, wrote an enthusiastic and often quoted description of the first big concert organ to be set up in this country, one which was made for Bos ton's new Music' Hall by a famous Ger man firm. That installation in 1S63 was the be ginning of American interest in .the pipe organ as used for ' other than church purposes. Since then large, concert or gans have been put up in New York-. Cincinnati, Philadelphia and many other American centers of musical . activity. The original one in Boston had an event ful history. Through the later years of the Civil War and hose succeeding it was frequently usejd. Many of the most famous of American musicians of the '70s delighted to play on it, though it had its defects. When, however, in the early '80s the symphony concerts began to crowd Music Hall, . fhe organ was found to take up too much room. In 1SS1 it was sold to Willinm Grover, who presented It to the New England Conser vatory of Music, then occupying its his torical quarters in Franklin Square, where Lillian Nordica and many other famous musicians received their train ing. The conservatory management found that the largest of 'American con cert organs was more or less of a white elephant. They had no hall big enough for it. and as there were some technical objections to its mechanism, no good reason, appeared for building a hall spe cially to shelter, it. Finally the metal and lumber in the bigrgan, which was in reality as far -ahead of its time as was the Great Eastern among the steam ships, were sold to local instrument- makers and reappeared doubtless in smaller and more, usable instruments. . The "New England conservatory un doubtedly benefited by not attempting to keep the famous' instrument, for when, a few years later, a removal took place to .the admirably equipped conservatory building on - Huntington avenue, one of Boston's merchant princes, Eben D. Jor dan, equipped for the uses of the school and the visiting musicians who find in Jordan hall the finest American concert hall, one of the largest and most com plete pipe organs ever put together. This instrument, built in Boston and provided with every possible facility for musical expression, stands at the modern end of the long line of. pipe organs that have been constructed in America since Brom fleld's imitation of an English pipe organ firsft scandalized the more rigid Puritans. It. was built in the intelligent technical way in which the census bulletin, just out, states that "almost every pipe organ is practictlly built'-to order to -accord with the architecture or acoustic, qualities of the room or auditorium in which it is de signed to be placed." The same institution of .musical education has altogether 14 pipe organs in daily use by pupils and teachers. This is more than double the number of organs contained under any other single roof in the world. In spite of eraly complaints that "the service of God is most grievously abused by the piping of organs, ringing of bells and singing and trowlling of chants from one side of Ihe choir to the other, with the squealing of chanting choir boys and such like abominations which are an offense to the Eord." much of our eaTlier 'American music was written for the pipe organ. John Knowles Paine, a professor, for many years at Harvard, began as an organ vir tuso. as did Horatio Parker, now profes sor of music at Yale, and one of the most famous of American composers. Dudley Buck, whose fame and popularity were certainly national in. the days .when men wore Dundreary whiskers, ' was one who delighted in the opportunity afforded by the big blow pipes in Music hall. TO KEEP YOUR GOOD LOOKS, SLEEP Little Jim Jones read his composition in school- It was so very poor that teacher declared she would have to write a note to Jim's mother-about it. "Go ahead an 'writer to 'er, ef you -wants to. I doan care. Mother wrote it herself." A WISH woman who knows all the - secrets of the professional beauty . has turned her attention away from the complexion and the, color of the hair and is making a study. of sleep. "Sleep is the most important aid to beauty in; the world," she . says, "and 1 regard the beauty nap as an 'alieolute essential to a woman's good look?. "Lack of sleep will make a woman otd and 'yellow, while plenty of sleep wili make her young and gay." Most women think it is enough to sleep at night, but the beauty sleep taken during the day is' immensely Important. "The woman who Bleeps sufficiently .will have hair, that keeps its natural color; her eyes will sparkle and her skin will be clear, her step will be elastic and her voice will keep its pretty, even tone Every one knows how quickly a woman's voice lose its youth. That Is on acepuni of the lack of beauty ' sleep. . "Faces can keep young if their owner will keep rested.' 1 have a beautiful pa tient wlro makes a study of looking rest ed. She always steals a beauty sleep be lora dinner. ' "A very luxurious patient of mine is in the habit of giving her face a beauty bath. She uses diampagne and milk and she daubs her face with a little sponge saturated In the mixture. Then she takes a short nap, and when she awakes she is as bright asa button. "It isn't necessary -to spend a great deal of money for the facial bath. A dash of diluted cologne would do almost as well as champagne - and milk, and there are nice lotions of violets and spir its of cologne -that answer the same pur pose and can be made at home. "The beauty nap is a thing that must be oultivated. Getting up too early kills the bright eyes of many a woman. It is a good thing to lie in bed as long as you can. - "Falling asleep is easy if you know Its science. Counting sheep as they jump over a wall will not put you to sleep, but .cool air will speedily make one sleep?. - - "Open the windows so that a gentle breeze strikes ycfur face, cover yourself up warmly, sniff a little perfume and you will drop asleep. After you have formed the habit" you will not need the, perfume. "A New Jersey beauty has an open-air sleeping pal lor where she. takes her daily nap. Winter and". Summer. It is on the sheltered side of the house. In this quiet, cool spot the bea.uty sleeps. - "She has a Japanese bed. all'matting and rugs, and over this in W'iivtur there i an abundant feather bed. with another feather-bed for - a coverlid. The result Is a delightful beauty nap at a minute's notice. . "The pillow nap is something new. It is specially noted as a complexion nap. . "The essehtials are pillows, dozens of fhem, all -heaped upon the couch In such a way as to rest the nerves. The pillows are filled with various compounds. "One of my patients has three little rose-leaf pillows which she places under her . head. She calls thfnt . ear pillows. They are just about the size-of tiie hand. "She has also three square pillows filled with pine needles?, loosely packed, and she has several clover-top and lavender pillow?, These are shaken up daily and placed in. a warm spot to coax them to send out their fragrance. - "I tell my patients to heat their pillows. A hot pillow is a great comfort. The hop pillow, which is covered with a red flan nel cover, can be heated very hot and used at the back or the feet, wherever the tired ache may be. "Kose pillows should be kept cool; their odor comes out best when .they are cool and slightly moist. "Green is the soothing color for the beauty nap. I advise my patients to have a green room. "It does one's looks no good to sleep cold. The pretty woman who lies down witli cold feet and who drops into troubled sleep still shivering will not benefit by her sleep. "She must have a pair of warm" slip pers, lined with down, and her coverlid must be warm. "The odor of pinks sends many a wom an to sleep; and when a patient cannot afford to buy fresli pinks daily for a head rest I advise her to make a spice pillow, which answers the purpose quite as well. It is almost a soporific; it lulls one t sleep instantly. "The important thing about restoring one's beauty by sleep is that the body shall rest thoroughly. The woman who sleeps with her hair in papers is -not rest ing; her scalp will he tired. The woman who does her hair up tigTitly before going to bed. who braids it closely or in any way tires tho scalp will wake up with wrinkles in. her face.' "The mind is a very inroortant factor of the beauty nap. -Don't - worry iT you want to sleep -sweetly. "Don't go to sleep thinking ugly thoughts. Only the sweetest and most agreeable fancies should engage the mind in the five minutes before one drifts away to dreamland. The woman who cries herself to sleep will wake up with gray hairs and deep lines in her brow. "In the great retreats where women go to become young they make the patient exercise before going to bed. Bodily ex ercise of the most vigorous nature is part of the programme. "An American woman who went to a German cure expecting to be petted and pampered as when at homo received a rude shock. Insomnia had been her com plaint from girlhood. Hearing of the cure she went to Germany to take It. "For breakfast this pampered child of luxury had a. cup of coffee, some cold ham and brown bread. " 'I cannot eat a mouthful,' she com plained. " 'So much the better,' said the direct ress. "The coffee was only a substitute, mostly burnt wheat; and as for the breakfast, you are better oft without eating.' "Her exercise was quite unconventional. On raw days she was set to washing the inner side of the windows, and on warm days she was told to sweep the garden, walks. " "It nearly killed me," said she' in re counting the tale to an indisnant -audience afterward. " 'But did you recover from your in somnia?' asked some one. - '" -Recover!' said the woman with a laugh. 'I never thought of it once :fter 1 got there, I was so mad and so tired."
