TOE SUNDAY OREGOXTAN, PORTLAND, JANUARY 14, 1912.
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I. THE COM WO PROBLEM.
DA.VID seated himself comfortably
before the fire to enjoy his even
lag paper. With much reluctance
I brought out the flrst-of-the-roonth
bills and laid them upon the table. It
needed, some f Inanclerlng to make
thinars come out right.
"I hate to disturb jrou. David dear." I
brtun. apologetically, "but when this
Is the only time I see you to talk to"
"In the morning r" be questioned,
without taklnjr his eyes from the edi
torial he was reading:
"In the morning you swallow a cup
of hot coffee and bolt for a car." I ex
postulated. "Sunday?" he suggested.
"When you want to sleep and com
pose your mind for the next week's
tussle "
"Well." he laughed, throwing; down
his paper, "let s nave at 'em. then.
What's the trouble?" In a few mo
ments he looked up from the neat col
umn of figures he had set down.
"Whew! Bad as that? It does kind of
takd the heart out of a fellow, doesn't
Ur
sula Mast Be Met.
"And where does your new overcoat
come In?" I asked. "And Tad ought
to go to the dentist, and we must have
more wood and oh! I did so hope we
could go to hear Kubelik this time."
"Well. I don't see any Kubelik or new
overcoat either In this symposium." He
ran his fingers through his hair, re
flectively. "Tou take your birthday present- and
go and hear him. anyway."
"I hadn't the heart. Just then, to tell
him that the birthday present had al
ready gone to pay for Mldvet's Winter
coat. A man doesn't have to know
everything.
We returnej to the fitrures In a
chastened mood. "Could we do with
less meat?" be threw this out as a
feeler. "It's mostly liver and soup
meat as It Is." I explained. I had ex
pected better things of that month's
planning. It had taken plenty of
scheming and much time to convert the
cheap cuts Into something resembling
good living. "I've tried It with vege
tables and nuts, and it doesn't come
out very differently. The fact of the
matter Is. everything- costs too much."
Heat PraMesa Ureal.
"We might perhaps find a cheaper
house But I was ready for that sug
gestion. I bad been looking In that di
rection, too.
"Tl-ere'e a duck of a bungalow out on
the Beverly line. It has Just enough
room for us. If Victor and Tad share
their bedroom, and It's i a month
cheaper than this."
David bg.in to look hopeful. "It's
the bullt-to-rent kind." I continued. "I
looked up the builders who did the work
and Investigated their style. Single
floors, unsheathedwalls. skimpy paint,
no laundry trays'and no furnace. It
would take twice as much fuel to keep
even moderately warm and we should
have to pay car fare every time we
poked our noses out of doors."
The question of how to fit the most
modest kind of comfort to the monthly
salary was left hanging In the air that
evening, but It was the haunting, all-day-long
thought of us both for many
a day thereafter. It came to the point
where It had to be met. squarely, about
a month later. I felt Iavld knew I
had news for t.lm as soon as he opened
t :e door thai evening, and I caught him
looking- at me over his dinner with a
kind of foreboding expression.
IJtra Jab la IMwrr.
When Midget hed been cuddled and
kissed before the tire and tucked Into
bed and the boys had gone to their room
we had our quiet half-hour together
a hen we sat hand In band and ex
changed confidences. I had to begin It.
Mr. Mae Dunn, the landlord, sent
word through his sgent today that the
rent will be advanced $J"
Iavtd took it quietly. "I had expect
ed It. property In tcis district is
l:ic too valuable." Then It was his
turn l.i break his tidings.
s- J
w J
l-
"Jlorley. the manager, has been dis
missed. The firm has taken in a urn
- & of lasaa u-Ui-tte reorgia
MlliiiMli!iiliM
yuD or OFPORMrr
i ' i
Ixera. The whole office force Is to' he
readjusted, and some of us will have
to go."
I tried to look at the matter hope
fully. "Perhaps your salary will be
Increased." I suggested. "You've been
with them so long."
"I'm afraid not. Gordon has been
with them three years longer than I
have, and he got his walking papers to
day." I gasped. This was. Indeed, coming
face to face with stern reality.
"What would you say." Iavld sug
gested, "to giving up the whole despe
rste struggte and getting out Into the
country where we could get hold of
something that would belong to us?"
He felt the rashness of the suggestion
and waited tensely for my answer.
"Iavld. dear: It's Just what I've been
wishing for. but
Oaea Air la Dream.
That's It.' he supplied. "Wf don't
know a thing about farming nor how
to go about It. Yet I remember that
when I was a boy people didn't have
such an anxious time. There was a
chance to enjoy life as one went along;
a sort of sanity and peace about liv
ing that we seem to be missing, try
as we may. They kept a couple of
cows and had a vegetable garden. Their
orchards gave them plenty of fruit the
year 'round and It was out In the
open air. It had breadth and freedom
In It. There wasn't this perpetual striia
about trying to make things come out
even this sense of futility "
"Getting and spending we lay wast
our powers' " J supplied.
"That's- Just it." he smiled appre
ciatively. "The whole thing Is getting
to be a farce with the laugh left out."
It was plain that David carried tha
thought with him as he went off to
his work again the next day. and It
abode with me. a dim. chimerical vla
lon of something sweet and unattain
able, as I attended to the day's duties
and planned my customary and Inevi
table economies.
I a ad Lare la Felt.
David brought home an armful of
country life literature from the library
and we spent evenings trying to find
out how to go about making a living
from the soil. We had no definite plan
of reading, but plunged at once In ma
dias res.
"What." I questioned, as I endeav
ored to undcrstaad an Important-looking
bulletin. "Is a silo?"
"Its a s'ort of tank or storage vat
or something." David replied, wisely.
"Oh." I replied, "and you feed cows
from it?"
-That's the Idea. I believe."
"But. David. It must be very in
convenient for the cows to have to
climb up on the barn roof "
"Yes." he replied vaguely. "It does
seem so"
David was reading attentively an ar.
tlcle on the rearing of calves. It con
tained much Information about carbo
hydratea and protein. lie read aloud
with earnestness: "Cottonseed meal and
rich, well-matured corn silage consti
tute an excellent ration "
"Rut. David." I Interrupted. "We
can't grow cotton In Oregon; It's too
far north."
"That's so." assented David.
It la curious when one's mind begins
to take in information along any line
how opportunities offer to enlarge one's
mental grasp.
Far as Waat la Obaeasloa.
As it was said In the days of Rome's
glory, all roads lead to Rome, so now
it seemed to us that all subjects led to
country life farming, out-of-door pur
suits, the lure of the land.
David brought home more literature.
It blaxoned these words for all tha
world to see "Oregon, the Land . of
Opportunity." We turned to the pre'ss;
It was all of the big tTilngs to be done
In the West not Iowa or Wisconsin,
hut real West our own Pacific slope.
Kven the conservative Eastern maga
xines came out with articles telling of
the amazing growth of the Far West,
Its need for settlers. Its vast resources,
its unparalleled richness. I had heard
these things all my life but they had
a new meaning now. It seemed that
we were missing
was the land of
around us and
wore we, dolus;
we were missing some big thlnga Here
f opportunity lying all
wanting us, and here
oar Uuls daily round
KATMINE MAYNARD
'
of dry as dust duties and letting; tha
great achievements go br.
Soon, it seemed, at the rate at which
we were told settlers were coming In
to possess the land it would all be
taken. There would be no place for
us and In our own Oregon, too.
David' prediction In regard to the
new manager was not a mistake. He
brought new capital and new methods
Into the conservative business firm.
Instead of enlarging the scope of Dav-
I - ' rn.V kj,wAVAr am, plvillff him
I larger opportunities, his department
was made a mere adjunct to that or
Stanton's and the chance for advance
ment dwindled to less than a prob
ability. Vlaloa Craws A 11 ariose.
Under this new regime David grew
restive. The vision of a home of his
own with all it meant of independent
work and definite results bee am more
and more alluring. If we bad only had
money enough saved up to buy a farm
that was producing an income we
should not have hesitated longer. But
there was the rub. A search through
the advertisements of farms for sale
failed to bring to light any which
could be had for so Inadequate a sum
as we possessed. And yet the yearn
ing grew.
Only to have our own land under
foot. Just to be free from the grind
of work done over and over again for
the other man's advancement while one
received from it a mere pltance. To
know that so much definite toll would
bring certain results and to feel the
solidarity of ownership. That was the
desirable thing.
We talked much of our farm. It be
came more and more attractive as the
chances for breaking loose from city
life grew less certain. If we could
not save money on a definite salary,
how should we be able to live without
Jt?
I uao a 1 r a 1 1 u k riuu i . iu, una
night, "that If I had a spader and a half
acre lot I would be rich."
"Potatoes " I suggested, sententlous
ly. "They're a dollar and a half a
sack now and going higher."
"And the room of It," David urged
"room to grow. To live one's own
life and be 'one's own master. The
glint of the sun on the wet meadow,
grass In the early morning bird songs
instead of the creaking of a city's ma
chinery. Fruit from one's own trees"
Bota Dreasa of Pstmre.
"It takes them a long time to grow."
I Interrupted. David paid no atten
tion. He was seeing things. "No more
banging on straps in crowded street
cars "
"Nor lectures nor concerts ever "
I suggested.
"No more five-minute lunches in
crowded cafeterias "
"Just bacon and potatoes the year
'round." I soliloquised.
"Room to swing an axe and feel one
self a conquerer "
"And perfectly terrible stumps left
In the ground." I added.
"I'll grub them out," he asserted de
fiantly. "You don't know how." I reminded
him.
"I can learn. . I'm convinced that
farming today Is more a matter of
brains and persistence than luck."
But what could we do without capi
tal. "That's what I'm going to find
out, he asserted positively, "and be
fore I'm a week older.'
So, after all our talk it came to this,
that David would see some real estate
men and find out what a man could do
who was willing to work his way. but
hsd so little capital that It wasn't
worth mentioning. He had some diffi
culty in preventing his friend, the real
estate man to whom he went, from
selling him a corner lot In a most ac
cessible part of the city. This was a
suburb that the friend himself bad re
cently discovered, and he was Inordi
nately proud of the achievement.
Real Ketate Maa Repalaea.
"Loox here," be had proudly asserted.
"See what a magnlfloent view of the
city. It's all at your feet, 0-foot
streets, ten-foot alleys. 13000 building
restrictions, water mains, gas mains,
11-foot sidewalks with the curbs all
planted to roses: why. man. a lot here
will doubla in value la five years; you
can mortgage the lot for enough to
build the house and there you are."
And gently, but decisively. David had
answered. "My friend, I am looking
for neither gas mains, ten-foot alleys,
building restrictions nor street assess
ments. If you planted the whole tract
to roses and a mortgage grew on every
bush I wouldn't buy It. What I want
li a place where I can swing; an axe
and plant potatoes."
And sadly the real estate man had
brought him back to town. For it
really was a most Inaccessible suburb,
and the building restrictions and street
assessments were both extremely high.
We discussed advertising our wants
and framed a few after this manner:
Wanted A piece of land where a
man with energy but no capital can
swing an ax and grow, potatoes."
But David was afraid it might attract
the attention of the authorities of the
state Insane asylum, so we gave up
that idea.
Aaythlag Acceptable.
David's ardor for hla own piece of
Oregon land, no matter what difficul
ties the clearing might present had by
this time mounted so high that he saw
posslhllitles In every suggestion; If I
had urged It he would have taken up
a homestead, but the difficulty there
was tlw lack of school facilities for the
children. Anything else, from an aban
doned timber claim to a three-acre
chicken ranch looked Hko the begin
ning of our fortunes.
Finding him really determined to go
beyond the furthest streetcar lines and
out of the weary crowd that throngs
the aisles. Jams the doorways and
gives and receives umbrella prods for
a weary hour, morning and evening in
the hope of cheating a landlord out of
a moiety of his -rent money, the real
estate man finally reluctantly produced
a description of a tract of raw wood
land that seemed to be within the lim
its of our slender means. David
promptly applied for a day's leave of
absence from the office and by leaving
Saturday night was able to go out into
the woods and Inspect It
It probably would have made no dif
ference what sort of place It was. Da
vid was by this time In the frama of
mind that tantalises a small boy when
there Is some grinding penalty to be
expiated at school and the world, new
made over night, with blue distances
and cloud shadows, watts to be ex
plored. I wondered all day Sunday
whether he would even ask the practi
cal questions that suggested themselves
to me: Was there water was the land
light or heavy clay how near would
there be a school what crops could we
raise?
Bargain la Inevitable.
For I knew he would take it. The
mere prospect of owning a piece of the
world real ground .with real trees on
It ground that could be dug ground
that would grow potatoes would, I
knew, so captivate him that a bargain
was inevitable.
In the midst of the demonstration
that attended his home coming, even
while he was struggling out of his
overcoat in spite of Midget's detaining
embraces, he was telling me about our
new possessions and when we could
talk uninterruptedly I heard of many
of Its fine points.
It was no common piece of woodland,
this. The trees were taller and
stralghter than those on other people's
land; the water was clearer and colder;
It had cedar as well as fir, and we
agreed that cedar is a valuable asset
In short, it was all we could have imag
ined if we had had It made to order.
Best of all was the agreement David
had made with old Uncle Terry, the
ownei a queer old Irishman who had
formerly owned most of the country
'round about our prospective home.
He had persuaded the old man to let
him work out part of the purchase
price by doing odd Jobs that the old
man could no longer do for himself.
David was to trim his orchard, build
fencee and so on. at the common wage
in the country, tl 60 a day. In addi
tion to this concession he had persuaded
the old man to take his payments In
yearly Installments of $100 each.
Worldly Possessions Few.
We counted all our worldly wealth
and found we could Just compass the
first one. Where the next was to come
from we did not know, but we had faith
in each other and in a beneficent Provl.
dence. We felt assured Just why. It Is
hard to say that we should not starve
and that somehow we should work the
problem out.
When David went down to the of
fice the next morning, he had safely
tucked away In his inner coat pocket,
"his letter of resignation. The big step
was taken.
It was Interesting to hear how the
other men of the office force took the
news when it became known. Predic
tions ranged all the way from that of
our untimely death by starvation to
that of Harder, who saw David rolling
into town In a speedy six. Jovially toss
ing out half eagles for the rest of the
men to scramble for.
Office Associates Frleads.
There was Bretherton, pale, anaemic,
sllk-hosed and soft-fingered." who ven
tured the opinion that David was
"nutty, you know clean daffy to want
to go out In a beastly wilderness to kill
himself working" and there was
Moore, who only wished: "Gee. but I'd
like to Join you In that game; great
sport, old fellow; eh, to be your own
boss and to be able to live out doors!"
If only his wife would consent to live
on a farm he'd have done that same
thing years ago but she wouldn't;
afraid she'd miss a bridge party or
something.
But when the time came for David to
leave, there was from every one the
warm handclasp, the fraternal God
speed, that between men says so little
and means so much.
And then David outfitted himself
with the fewest and simplest of uten
sils and went off to begin his self-appointed
tasks and the children and I
were left in that incomplete state that
such decapitation of the head of the
family entails.
(Continued next week.)
Repartee.
Ferton Rraley in the Popular Masaxlne.
Says the captain of the tun boat to the skip
per of tha barge:
"I hain't anything agin' you. but. to take
you hy an" large.
Ta'r a fuxxy-nosed gorilla that la always
craxy drunk.
An' you otta be a-runnln' of a etore fer eell
ln' Junk;
Ta're a lubber that la cro-eyed. and yer
brain la buckwheat rakes.
An' I gurss the way you got here someone
-wished you' on the Lake"!
If they aold you fer a nickel It would be an
overcharge." .
gaya tha captain of the tugboat to the aklp-
pr of the barge.
Says the skipper of the coa! barge to tha
captain of tha tug:
There'e a paddad cell awaltln' fer jrer ape-
clal kind of bug:
I aln-t g"t a thing again" you 'cept the
color of Tr hair.
An' yer looks, an' ways, an' action, an" the
kind of clothes you wear.
I'm Just klnda sorry fer you fer yer tem
per an' yer ahape.
Aa a human ya re a failure, but you'd -make
a handaome ape.
I would git a Job aa wild maa If I had yer
awful mug."
Says tha skipper of the coal barge to the
captain of the tug.
Then the captain of the tugboat climbed
upon the coal barge deck.
An' the akipper of the coal barge fell upon
hia brawny neck.
An- they wraatlrd. an- they pounded, an
they ahouted. an" they awora.
An' it looked the way they acted they
waa out fer blood an' gore.
8aya tha captain of the tugboat: "Well. It's
good to meet you here."
Bara the skipper of the coa! barge: "Same
to you. Bill. -Have a beer?"
An' tha two old pals an' cronlea arm In
arm they goea below
j-er -twaa Just to show affection that thay
euaaed each other aol
ENGLISH BARONESS DENIES THAT
AMERICAN WOMEN BEST FENCERS
British Champion Declares She Is Willing to Meet Any Woman Here, if Judges Are Present New York Girl at
Biarritz Scoffs at Prudish European Critics of Bathing Costume.
jpB
vv - t,
lvs5 Ellen M.StoiJj
. ---rr ? set . ;fV M
NEW YORK, Jan. 13. (Special.)
The Baroness de Meyer, the cham
pion woman fencer of England,
denies that she was beaten with the
foils by Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish, Jr., and
Miss Adelaide Baylis. When the Bar
oness came to America two weeks ago
she lamented the fact that she could
find no woman clever enough to fenoe
with her In this country. Two days
ago. according to the stories, she was
defeated by Mrs. Fish and Miss Baylis
at the Fencers' Club. She says that
the meeting was Informal and that
there was no referee present, and fur
thermore she does not believe that
either of the women had any advan
tage over her. She says she is quite
willing to meet any woman fencer that
America can produce, but she Insists
upon having qualified and cosmopol
itan Judges present.
a a a
Miss Dorothy Taylor Is the New York
society girl who created such a lot of
Interest at Blarrita because she went
In bathing without the conventional
skirt. Miss Taylor called her critics
prudish silly people with naughty
GERALDINE FARRAR HIGHLY PRAISED
FOR WORK IN "LE DONNE CURIOSE"
Italian Composer, Wolf-Perreri, Arrives in New York Day Following Opera's Presentation at Metropolitan.
Toscanini Carries Off Honors Stage Settings Are Venetian Scenes of Rare Beauty.
BY EMI LIE FRANCES BAUER.
a. EW YORK, Jan. 13. (Special.)
Jl There were two all Important lea
s' ' tures at the Metropolitan this
week, the first was Monday afternoon,
when Mme. Matxenauer replaced Mme.
Fremstad in the role of Kundry, which
she had never sung until this time, and
the first performance In this country
of "Le Donne Curlose" by Wolf-Ferrari
the Italian composer who arrived
Thursday In Ume to read the lavish
press notices which the work enlisted
after Its presentation the night before.
The principal roles were sung by
Geraldine Farrar, Rita Fornia, Bella
Alten and Jeanne Mauborg, Scottl. Di
dur, Jadlowker, Plni-Corsl and Da Seg-
urola. . .
Miss Farrar represented a young girl
of tender years, and there could be
none more captivating, more beautiful
or more winsome than she and she de
serves the utmost credit for letting her
self Into the ensemble as she did. aa
her part is hardly more significant than
the other roles and she did not commit
the usual prima donna sin of command
ing the center of the stage.
Mme. Alten has found a role almost
as sprightly as her Gretel and she
achieves most effective results. The
presence of Scottl Is enough to lend
artistic distinction to any picture, and
his style and polish are of the utmost
value to a comedy of manners as this
may be termed.
Toscanini Is Star.
Upon Toscanini. however, fell the
honors of the evening, because the per
formance had all the finish of one for
years in the repertory and all that a
master mind and hand could bring to
bear upon the artistic delivery of a
work which would suffer unspeakably
from any less finished performance.
The stage waa one series of beautiful
pictures, which reached a climax in the
night scene in Venice with gondolas on
the canal, the calls of the boatmen far
away and especially effective was the
familiar boat song which Liszt used In
his "Venezla e Napoll" as played by
one single instrument out of the great
orchestra. .
Wolf-Ferrari has twice disproved the
old saying that one cannot make some
thing out of nothing. He did it in the
charming little opera, "The Secret of
Suzanne." given at the Metropolitan
last season by Mr. DIppel and his
forces, and he did It again in Le
Donne Curlose." "The Inquisitive Wo
men" might open up suggestions of all
sorts of hair-raising episodes, but
these curious women only wanted to
know what went on at the club be
hind the ominous sign "No Women
Need Apply-" The scene was laid In
5 ;'r2C'
i - Ink i - 1
f .: ;' ' !r.;.-'' ;j I ' -" L - t
I I . .
- ik mmmm : i " -1
2
minds She is a great swimmer and at
Biarritz she often covered the three
miles around the Rock of the Virgin, a
feat few men have been able to accom
plish. She has come out in favor of
the Grizzly Bear dance and says the
attack on this dance Is Just another in
stance of American prudlshness.
A new American Countess was for
merly Mary Constance Knewer and she
first married Henry Coleman Drayton,
of the Astor family. She got a divorce
from him four years ago and now has
married Count Jean Louis Suzannet.
The Countess was one of the two
daughters of Benjamin Knewer, a
wealthy New Yorker. Their second
cousin, Virginia French, married Count
Louis de Suzannet. of Paris, and they
had two sons. One of these, whose
first name was Alan, married Margaret
Knewer, and the other has Just mar
ried her sister Mary. The Knewer girls
have an Income of $20,000 a year each,
a a
"Ellen Stone is returning to Turkey
as a missionary. Ten years ago while
she was a missionary in Bulgaria she
was held for ransom, to the disgust of
Venice around the middle of the Eigh
teenth Century.
The usual mediums of extorting se
crets from the sterner sex are in order
cajoling, bulldozing and hysterics,
the latter, as a matter of course, being
the "open sesame" to the situation, but
not of the married pairs. These hys
terics were precipitated by the young
girl, and such an exquisite young girl
was Geraldine Farrar, upon the young
man who was so desperately in love
with her, that keeping a secret from
her was not to be considered within
the power of mere man. So deliciously
coercive were Rosaura's methods, that
It was easy to understand how Miss
Farrar has her own way under every
condition, especially aided and abetted
upon this occasion by her maid Colom
bina. charmingly portrayed by Mme.
Alten.
Methods Are Bnnglesome.
How women who wanted to achieve
a purpose could bungle things in such
an Inconceivable manner is not to be
understood In this day and date of
skilled specialists in the fine art of se
curing such results deftly, but these
women after having gained the keys of
the club, each in her own way, left
these keys in the door to be found each
time by some one else, until frenzied
with the determination to force an en
trance, they descended in a body of
four upon a poor wandering clown
courting Colombina, and who, with the
additional Inducement of unlimited fi
nancial consideration lets them Into
the anteroom. Here in breathless an
ticipation of seeing their husbands and
sweethearts losing fabulous fortunes at
cards, or finding the "philosopher's
stone" or making fearful discoveries in
alchemy they tumble one over each
other to peer through the opening of
the door until they fall Into the room
headfirst without ceremony and dis
cover to their horror, no doubt, that
the poor. Inoffensive men are only en
Joying an innocent dinner among
themselves, who Instead of waging war
upon the Intruders make them welcome
and they celebrate by dancing a de
lightful minuet.
So much for the book, in which there
is some light humor for those who can
catch it, and Pini-Corsi. always one of
the most unctuous of amusing artists,
adds much by his contribution of the
Venetian dialect in his delivery of the
role of what might be designated as
the steward of the club and leading
spirit.
But the music Is another matter, and
must be taken in all seriousness. This
is also the second time that one has
wondered in connection with Wolf
Ferrari whether he is the composer who ,
5
III I
1 Mil! lit ) .
the State Department, which was
obliged to go to her rescue. The Gov
ernment at Washington was distinctly
hopeful that Miss Stone had had
enough and that she would retire from
the public eye. She Is a perfectly good
old lady, but no benefit she may have
brought the heathen would offset the
trouble she made at Washington.
- a a a .
' -Miss Jane Laurel, an actress, has an?
nounced her enjrapement to Robert Jor
dan, a Boston millionaire. They are to
be married this month and will sail for
Egypt to pass several months there.
Miss Laurel will quit the stage. She
began her professional career with Mr
Sothern. playing small parts. After
wards she appeared with William Gil
lette In "Sherlock Holmes." She was
two seasons with John Drew.
a a a
Society Is greatly worked v up over
the reported separation of the William
A. Mannings. Mrs. Manning, who was
the beautiful Louise Leavltt Kobbe,
has left her husband and Is living with
her mother. The Mannings were mar
ried in 1908. He is the son of Davis
Manning, president of the Kings Coun-
ty Bar Association.
will make the first step back to Mo.
zartian principles, as most of the music
is entirely of this description.
Slaghig Is Brilliant.
In the performance of "Parsifal," one
of the most beautiful that Alfred Hertz
has given In the way of orchestral sup
port and general finish of detail, chief
interest lay in the Kundry of Mme.
Matzenauer, who Joined Edith Walker
and Kirkby-Lunn, both contraltos who
have Bung this role successfully. She
sang with superb brilliancy, takilig the
high tones with ease, and only from
the psychological side was her interpret
tation open to question.
"Parsifal" cannot be separated from
its symbolism and from this viewpoint
Kundry of the first act is a malevolent
spirit, sexless and almost sodden, the
medium of the Evil One (Klingsor),
who operates through her. Her first
and only sign of personal conscious
ness is at the close of the first act,
when she staggers from the stage as
a heavy sleep falls upon her. In the
second act she brings every conceivable
allurement upon the "Guileless Fool,"
who is to redeem Amfortas from his
suffering and Kundry from her sin,
and although she appears as the tempt
ress there is no suggestion of personal
desire and nothing of feminine wile ex
cept to effect the fall of Parsifal as an
evil force in the garb of woman bring
ing every power to awaken Parsifal
from his simplicity.
Mme. Matzenauer made her Kundry
of the first act a woman, accentuated
by a dash of red used as personal
adornment, and It was duly inharmoni
ous. This woman suggested sex, not
savagery purely and simply, and In the
second act Mme. Matzenauer's Kundry
became a woman fighting for her own
desire, and when she was baffled, hers
was the disappointment of the woman,
not the rage of the evil spirit who
had lost its prey. In the third act
Kundry has but two words, "Dlenen!
Dlenen!" She desires nothing but to
serve, she is merely the spirit of wom
an cleared from all that is worldly and
wicked, and at the close of the great
scene as the dove of peace descends in
the glory of light, Kundry is discovered
at the base of the altar, her face to the
ground, a great Mary Magdalen.
In this act where all but two words
Is dependent upon the suggestion of a
state of mind. Mme. Matzenauer brings
to bear the power of the theater, and
she achieves splendid and telling ef
fects " of pantomime, rich in dramatic
feeling and intelligent in conception,
but they are of the theater and not of
the spirit in which this role must be
felt to make the entire symbolism of
"Parsifal" consistent-
A
M