A FAMOUS CENTENARIAN

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1679, 4 May 1904, Page 19

A FAMOUS CENTENARIAN

(From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON", March 18. In Paris yesterday Senor Manuel Garcia, the teacher of Jenny Lind and many other famous singers,- celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birthday. To look at Senor Garcia one would certainly not imagine he had passed the psalmists limit thirty years ago, for thou eh his hair is snow white and his kindly olive tinted face bears wrinkles by the hundred, his eye is still bright and his bearing that of a man not long past his prime. He still rises early, and goes to bed late, takes a daily constitutional, enjoys an occasional visit to the theatre, plays a good game of chess, and finds no difficultv in reading newspapors or books. When Madame Sterling died Senor Garora and his wife travelled from Parrs to be present at her funeral—a formidable undertaking for a man approaching his 100th year, in such inclement weather as obtained at the time. Senor Garcia haa had a wonderful career, and it is still unfinished, for even to-day yorrng singers are anxious for his advice and tuition, and he has several private pupils still, under his care. In 1825 he visited America with. the first Italian Opera Company that ever crossed the Atlantic, but on his return to Paris he adopted teaching as his profession. Ho remained in France until after the Revolution oFIB4B and then came to England, and one of his last public appearances on the operatic stage was when ho performed as Figaro in London to his father's impersonation of Almaviva, his talented sister, Mine. Malibran, appearing in the role of Rosina. For many years he was a teacher at the Royal Academy of Music and only retired from that post about ten yeara ago. Longevity runs in the Garcia family. Senor Garcia’s sister, Mm©. Viardit Garcia, who taught Madame Antoinette Sterling, is still living in Paris at the age of 86, his mother lived till well past four score years, and many other members of the family attained to the dignity

of octagenarians. Alanuel Garcia had a very romantic experience three-quarters of a century ago. He was touring in Mexico as a member of his father’s operatic company, when the troupe was held up by brigands and after being stripped of £6OOO, the fruits of eighteen months’ touring, Manuel and liis colleagues had to sing for hours to entertain their captors. A very similar story is told of Mr Santley. The scene again was Alexico, and Santley and a few others were captured by bandits and robbed of their scanty stock of money and valuables. The rascals, not content with such limited spoil, threatened to hold the captives to ransom. This prospect so depressed his companions that Santley, by way of cheering them, struck up an inspiriting song, and soon his captors fell under the magic of his voice. One song followed another, and ho was liberated a, few hours later as a recognition of the pleasuro lie had given his hosts.