ON THINGS IN GENERAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12210, 4 March 1903, Page 3

ON THINGS IN GENERAL.

' MADAME MELBA. Nothing lias been talked of in social circles during the past week but "the great diva," as the newspapers call Madame Melba, andguinea seats. And probably for the whole of nest week nothing will be talked of but her concerts and the people who were there. Guineas must surely be plentiful in Auckland, judging from the appearance of the Opera House last night. It is to me astounding where all the money comes from that is spent in Auckland every week on amusements. You meet Mrs. So-and-So and say to her, " Of course you are going to hear Melba," and she replies with alacrity, "Oh, yes," as if it was a matter of indifference to her whether a seat cost one or 20 guineas. I have only heard one man say he could not afford to go. _ " I like to pay my way," he said, by way of explanation, and then he launched into a philippic against those who had always money for amusements, but not for their tradesmen. But my friend is a trifle oldfashioned and particular. I don't know, however, that with all our scheming we could stand- a course of guinea concerts. We can manage the thing once in awwaty t but I warn all the other great singers of the world that if tempted by Madame Melba's success, they should rush us, they must not depend upon being able to sell seats at a guinea each. This price must not be taken for a precedent. We pay it now because Madame Melba or her managers have asked us to, but we are not going to pay it again. .That, at least, is our mood at present. And we are made up of moods and tenses. As for Madame Melba herself I congratulate her on her magical power of inducing all this unwonted extravagance. I know, of course, that I ought to talk of Art and ,so forth, of the ennobling influences of Music, of the soulful spell of divine melody, but, after all, the pedestal upon which all art, or nearly all art, stands, is composed of pounds, shillings, and pence. And I know of no easier or pleasanter way of earning money than by singing, provided, nature has bestowed upon you a marvellous voice. The great tenor commands the income of an Emperor, and lives, moves, and has his being on some sort of astral plane far removed from the common lot of ordinary mortals. The great diva is like man's recollection of his Fall—a thing apart. She stands alone, superb and glorious. And yet, after all, what is it that they do? They write no songs, they compose no music, they need never cudgel their, brains for one original idea, or soil their hands by five minutes' hard work. They toil not, neither do they spin. They sing the songs that others have written, they interpret the music that others have composed. They are what they are because through some mysterious process of nature they chanced 'to be born with a more perfect throat and chest than anyone else. Lucky beings! But without them the world would be distinctly poorer. It is the absence of "the feathered songstresses of the grove" that makes our New Zealand forests so sad, sombre, and depressing. THE GREAT DIVA.

When I began the foregoing paragraph I had in my mind a notion of saying something of a gossipy character about Madame Mel'oa, suggested by the interview with , her which appeared in yesterday's Herald. I notice that the interviewer speaks of the difficulty of getting access to her 'presence. The Melbourne pressmen found this out. Only two succeeded in getting an interview with her. The other interviews which appeared were " faked" up. As a matter of fact most of the interviews were done by Miss Gill, Madame Melba's private secretary. She. received the reporters and gave them what they wanted. It seems that Madame's pet aversions are interviewers and photographers. The former tire her; and the latter vex her. She does not take well, and hardly ever gets a decent photo. She has, it may be stated, a repertoire of 2-2 operas, and her favourite is "La Boheme." She is fond of boating, and when in England spends a good deal of her spare time at Mat-low, a charming little place not far from Henley, the scene of the great English regatta. She is, too, a great lover of books, and reads pretty widely, especially in French. When in .London Madame resides at 30, Great Cumberland Place, the beautiful house originally owned by Mrs. Hwfa Williams. 1 - Here she is at home during the London season, and here she delights. to rest during the few weeks in .the year she is free from professional engagements. The whole house, according to Miss Gill's description, is furnished in most perfect taste, with a scrupulousness of detail to be found only in the homes of those interested in household decoration. Everything has been chosen by Madame Melba herself. To the right of the, hall are the library and the dining-room—'most beautiful pair of rooms—with ornate white carved walls and furniture -in the old French style of gilt frames, upholstered in green satin damask and curtains and carpets of harmonising tint-.' Above ± the music-room leads into the drawing-room, a veritable chef d'oeuvre, to the beauty and luxury of which no photograph can do justice. The scene of colouring is pink, and the style of furniture Louis Quinze. There , are many beautiful bibelots in this room, and scattered around one notices autographed photo grabs, in - gold frames, of the King and Queen of England, the King of Sweden, the King of Saxony, the Prince of Wale? r the Duke of Cambridge, the ' Duchess of Sutherland, Verdi, and Gounod. Madame has also a charming home in Paris. As for her wardrobe, that would require a column to itself. Queen Elizabeth's was poor in comparison with it. And to think that the owner of all these things was a few years ago a little school girl at Ballarat! Perhaps to-day there is some deep-voiced lassie going to school in Auckland who 20 years hence will be universally acknowledged to be the greatest singer in the world. COUNT YOUR TEETH. Let me warn all and sundry to count their teeth when they are extracted, so as- to be certain that none are missing. For thereby hangs a tale. Three years ago an Auckland lady went to a dentist and had a number of teeth extracted. Since then she has suffered from the most racking and' distressing cough. Fearing that her lungs must be affected she consulted her doctor,. but was assured that so far as could be ascertained there was nothing the matter with them. Still the cough continued, and though all sorts of remedies were tried no relief was found. Now, a strange thing happened. . The other day, during a more than usually violent paroxysm of coughing, the lady brought up from her lungs a large tooth which had been there for three years! You see, therefore, how important it is that you should count yourteeth before leaving the dentist's.

POETIC FAME. , . • Wasn't it jesting Pilate that asked what truth was. Nowadays he would have asked what fame was. The lines quoted by " Mercutio," in Saturday's Herald, and which were sent to him by a friend at the Cape, at the commencement of the war,' were not, as might be supposed, " made in South Africa," but in Melbourne. They , are from a poem entitled, " With Death's Prophetic Ear," and originally appeared in the columns of the Melbourne Argus, being.written by a very clever member of its literary staff, Mr. John Sandes (" Oriel.") Some time afterwards some anonymous plagiarist sent them under his initials to a Cape paper, where they appeared as ,an original poem. ' Here they seem to have attracted: more attention than in their native setting, for they were extensively quoted in the English press, and eventually found their way back to the colonies, still credited to the 1 supposed anonymous Capetown bard. Such is fame. Those who would like to peruse the whole poem will find it in " Ballads of Battle," by the same author, a little book of verse published in-Melbourne three years ,ago, and:in its ,way,,quite as clever as Kipling's " Departmental Ditties." The General.