HR
CHINA
FRIDAY SUPPLEMENT, JUNE 10, 1938
TE was there at "Tristan," he was there ht "Parsifal,” "Lohengrin" and "Rheingold" saw him at his familiar spot.
One, I judged, who took his pleasures sadly; a little fierce-fac- ed man, with grey, steely eyes, his mouth drooped to an expres- sion of almost comical melancho- lia.
I am a fairly regular opera- goer, and for three years I had not missed him from his place in somewhere about the third or fourth row of the stalls. He al- ways came early, among the first to enter the theatre, and when I arrived my eyes would wander automatically to the spot where I knew that I would find him.
I used to weave romances round him to account for his condition; I imagined some past love affair which had ended disastrously an affair with some singer, perhaps, for I felt that his story could not be far apart from his love .of
opera.
One evening if I remember- rightly it was at "Mastersingers" -I sat next to him. Not once throughout the performance did any spark lighten the gloom of his countenance; it was as though the music transported him to another world. From time to time his eyes strayed round the thea- tre, as though searching for some familiar face.
After the performance I some- how found myself seated opposite him at a supper in a neighbour- ing restaurant. Almost sub- conciously I had followed him, and, nodding familiarly, had seat- ed myself at the same table. For some time I talked easily and at random about the weather, about current politics, about the food, the wine, the waitress, and kind- red subjects. He replied in monosyllables, until I felt remorse at having so forced my apparent- ly unwelcome company on him. At last I came to my object with a direct question.
the
"What did you think of opera?" For a moment I thought that he would spring at me, and then, as though pulling himself together, he took a gulp of wine and replied:
.
"German! Heaven alone knows the lighter stuff is bad enough. Mozart's Italian comic. operas,
Short Story
and all that, 'Figaro,' 'Don Gio vanni,' and even 'Cosi Fan Tutte,' they at least have a little tune in them; but to see hundreds paying money to hear discords crashed out with a sledge-hammer”
He broke off with a hopeless, disheartened ehrug of his should- ers, as though the situation was too much for him. For a period of time neither of us spoke, and then suddenly, either because of the wine, or that he felt that at least an explanation was needed, he began:-
“My real story starts at my christening. My father's name was Jones, and by some
ironic
Orchids and
Opera
working of fate I was christened William Siegfried. I didn't have much of an education in the aca- demic sense of the word, but as far back as I can remember I took an interest in botany.
"I obtained a position as gar- dener to an ederly German, who lived for nothing but chrysanthe- mums and orchids.
"I got on well there, and after three years' varied experience I became somewhat of an expert on orchid culture.
"I travelled a great deal with the old German, and finally when
By Gibson Cowan
over
he d'ed from a snake bite on one of our expeditions I took the work of orchid hunter off my own bat, managed to persuade a big London firm to finance me, and made a number of journeys and a comfortable income.
"I had one other interest, a col lection of marsh plants, and be tween my travels abroad after or chids I used to settle down at a little village on the Norfolk Broads. While I was there met Minnie Pearce.
"I fell in love with her I didn't receive much favour in her eyca to start off
another fell she was keen on
named Alfred Lugg, who used to stay round
nights and recite. poetry or talk about opera.
I
"Missing an academic educa- tion, I never read poetry and knew nothing at all about opera, so I used to sit on the bottom step and smoke cigarettes while Minnie and Lugg would go. on talking for hours.
"One day I took my courage in both hands and proposed to Min- nie. She looked at me Borrow- fully for a moment before she in replied, "William,' says she effect, I like you, but as a hus- band you're not in the running. Never could I marry a man with the name of William 'Jones.'
"I had always up to that time considered the name a sound one, and told her so. I said that at least there was as much poetry in 'William Jones' 18 in 'Alfred Lugg', which in fact conveyed nothing to me but a vision of crawly red things on the end of a hook. Minnie. looked pained. "The name,' she said, 'is full of poetic associations. King Alfred himself was a poet, and as for Lugg, it is a contraction of the old German name Ludwig. Arthur told me himself.
vious. My full name William Siegfried.":
"To my surprise Min- nie's face lightened. It appeared that card I had been keeping out of sight under the pack as a red two spot in a black flush turns out to be the Joker. himself.
"Siegfried,' she re- peats, with the noise wo- men make when they suck ripe peaches or delight ovér particularly raw- looking infants, 'Sieg- fried,
"After that Alfred and I were on a more equal footing. I could see Min- nie was hard driven to de- cide which one to ac-. cept, and finally it was settled by chance. All the evening Minnie and Alfred had been talking - äway at their favourite sub- ject, Germans, and final- ly I hear them start an ar- gument about the date of birth of a certain Wagner.
"For a long time
"My full name is William "Siegfried," I said, blushing deeply. To my surprise Minnie's face lightened.
they argued, Minnie Bay- ing it was 1817, and AI- fred saying it was much later. After about an hour of it, I turn- ed to them and said, Excuse me, are you talking about the great German Wagner? If so, he was born in 1813.'
"Minnie and Alfred looked sur- prised, and Alfred said I was guessing, and finally they looked it up in an encyclopaedia, and found that I was right. Minnie's eyes glowed in a way that was pleasant to see.”
"Oh Siegfried,' she said, 'do' you really know all about Wag- ner? Why haven't you said so before??
"Minnie,' said I, 'I have never had occasion to remark upon Wag- ner's genius, but naturally I am glad to find that you hold him in such high esteem. The lives of our great men should be fam- iliar to all.' "'
'How elegantly you put it all,' says Minnie, and, to think that all this time→→→
"Well, to cut a long story short, that night, after. Alfred
gone, I came back and I had
proposed
to Minnie. This time she accept- ed. Neither of us believed in long engagements, and a couple of months later we were married. I had decided to give up orchid
"From then on I gave up hope, but I till hung round Minnie, rather to inconvenience Lugg than hunting altogether and in hope of personal success, until one evening, while the two of us were sitting out on the porch with Minnie, the question of names came up again.
4
>" "William,' said Minnie, 'sure-
you have another, name?' "My full initials,' says I, 'are W. S.
>
not Samuel?' says
Minnie.
"No," I replied, blushing deep- ly, I have been open with you, Minnie, but my reasons for sup- pressing this hitherto are ob-
down quietly somewhere to e a reasonable living as an expert on orchids,
"It was on our honeymoon, which we had agreed to spend in London, that the first shock came. Minnie wanted to go to the opers,- and I didn't; I have never to this day been able to bear opera, there' is something sickening to me in it. I said I was willing to do anything for her, but she must excuse me from all opera. I never could stand it,
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