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Show PATRIOTIC OLE BULL. What "was It that made Ole Bull undeniably the greatest political In-. Huenco In tho history of modern Norway? Tho riddle Is easy to read. Although ho voiced tho peasants, his own voice was that of no peasant, but " one of the most severely learned of European utterances. His Instrumental Instru-mental mastery was complete, and tho technical difficulties of his compositions com-positions have loft them for tho most part unperformable. But Mozart was his chosen incme, worshiped with such an aiur of consecration that tho whole range of his works had for him no secret. His fame, therefore, was of that order that opens all doors. Statesmen and chief captains like Bismarck and Von Moltko were his intimates, and ho was their confidant. To world artists like Liszt, Chopin and Mendelssohn ho was own brother. broth-er. Indeed, a curious physical resem- bianco betwen Liszt and himself, led to many amusing contretemps on this score. And sovereigns, diplomats and great nobles were all proud to name him among their friends. In him, then, Norway had found one who could stand for her in tho highest ranks of the nations, learn for her the secrets of statecraft and recover in her behalf the trick of thinking like a king. For this Is one of the losses entailed en-tailed on a people who are governed, by foreigners from a foreign seat-that seat-that they forget to think of their country as a whole, tho habit that is the secret of rulers. Yet it was only as a man and not by any means as a politician that an autocrat could claim tho friendship of tho distinguished artist. His own sovereign felt that ho had cause for grave offenso when tho news reached Stockholm, in 1848, of his heading a procession In Paris to present the Norwegian colors to Lamartine. But even royal anger could not resist the good stories told on the next visit, and tho king stood biting his lip at tho careless bonhomlo of Olo Bull as he turned suddenly and said, "By tho way, sire, you should have been with us the other day in Paris when wo went to acclaim Lamartine," Margaret Mar-garet E. Noblo In Century. |