Show I HIS ms H He Was W Only Oaly Jean 3 11 n ties d he ta Great Gnat Operatic Washington During the past couple cople couplet f years ea ITe never heard a man ma IlE that tW 1 t I sort of flushed i p ip and 54 felt fell hangdog said aid a Washington club mail n between the acts acta of pt per performance p fone at one on of the theatres the theother t theother other or night UI I shall allow aw you yen tc to t judge Ju whether I good p reason r for to feeling feUn that way Two years y ago this winter putter shout a half bait a dosen d of ot ac us down dow here hf went wt c over ove to New York to attend at att d the th wed wedding we wedding ding din of a chum eOm We a ar mite qt M Of rooms rm together tor at one O of pt f r rth the he hyphen hyphenated sted hotels hote On the night before bf the 1 day of ot the wedding four fou n of our 0 party ty sat down to a quiet qu tittle it game of draw dw in the th hotel hl suite le We II been playing very ver long Ion before a man manin J mann in jn n the th suite next to ours ou began b to sing 1 1 He was trying t his b voice tutee v with wt a plane accompaniment First he began to tc Fn lp Umbel limber up his bil tones te by running ru a loJ 1 i II of queer slurred sinned stales scales s occasionally 1 hitting a chord chr on the piano paoo pW to keep kp himself hil in line ln and nd then t he h began to drift into snatches of operas o He had bd a fine voice olee alt all a right r anybody i by with wih half bf an n ear e could cd tell teU thai but buthis buthis his hla singing annoyed anye us U a whole wb lot all al the th same ame People Pp plying playing pl poker like to do d so with comfort find and a in I peace e and we took tk it as a rather an as a impo imposition Ip imposition to that tt this tb fellow few should ah inflict his h vocal vol practice upon Q us UI Just ut at the time we happened to te be b t to en es enJoy I Joy a little quiet draw I think we all al began b to wriggle about b in our chairs at the same s time and aD I guess we all al broke bloke bt rut out ft simultaneously with a Drat Dt that singing 1 Idiot The singing ann man mn started to t hum the t Evening Star Sr song BD train from f haur and nd from humming hun his bl tones t gradually ally aily groaned aly ne became loud lou and high bb and aa we all 1 Some drummer drum r for a necktie house bW we e said sid to each eb other or who thinks he b knows how bow hw to t sing and nd who wh is too to selfish to give other G folks f la In i a hotel a show Iw for their white lt alley ly lyT T Troyes the tl man maa m doing the vocal f there stunts nt drifted fe tote Into tt a ren rendition I rendition I An of o L bi the u first er art act at of the opera 0 of that t nan Darn nd d although I ra in a reasonable real enough enu state of ot mind na at the ti time t to t i admit ami as a much even we to t myself I am a bound bun to say sy that the th fellow fe sans sang the difficult music mule uncommonly well wel But Buthis But Buthis I his bla performance under un the circum circumstances circumstances U stances with our attention wrought up to an acute ete point pint on O the poker game e which had hd developed into int pe a pretty pty nifty and ad Interesting affair the tb sing singing singing 1 ing Ine was W simply an n aggravation of the t worst wort sort and nd all U of us 1 at I gan p to t bawl imitations of the Ike singing It 1 was w beastly bad b manners ra of o course cur and unpardonable from fro every lver point of ot view vew but but as I say 1 we fig figured 4 figured ur that the singing fellow tellow showing much consideration for forn us usand usand and n we disposed in Ira consequence Uce to be very ver lenient with wih him Se we all took tok up his hl refrains in I a horrible discordant chorus chor and a at t the th top to of I our voices vole We t any ny sooner Ir done dO that tbt than th the singing in the th other oe suite JI and ae the on the th piano sud suddenly a suddenly denly ceased e We were Just ju p going back b to our Or game s with wit renewed w inter interest interest I est Nt when there ther was a a gentle pate tap tp on n the door dr and ad a tall taU looking man mn stood atO in the th doorway dow when wh one on of or orth the th chaps answered anaw r the tap tp The T tall taU tallman taUm tallman man m with the foreign look lO had a emit I U Ing Ine expression of ot countenance and aad 4 we wt observed Ored that he was very ver gl graceful in inthe the tb way wy he handled his hi hands handshe be had bad hadin hadin in fact tac such ah a distinguished look lok that I confess we were a bit overwhelmed A minute later lur when he h began bP to talk tah we was felt bally bly good and ad ashamed a of o ourselves sure sur J enough M Gentlemen said s the tall foreign foreigner II er f In li a decidedly foreign for fore accent I r fear that Is I I Infer ine Unit t my 81 singing annoys Ua you I IOb Oh Ob dont mention It old ol map man ma I said laid 14 a couple of us In III unison al We Vie Wew Wey w were re only y Joking oo Go G ahead ab and I ng I like Mke And overtook verlo our din as much a as u you OU An ve I had bad b manners nn if you yeu yu plea pl ew w were W I Ioa only oa course c indulging in 10 a bit bt of o deviltry of o I Ic The Th tall tn man mn smiled ale amiably again and way IY nd bowed himself out ot of o the ts door doorway A doorway 1 But Bet Bt I shall ht cease c nevertheless rv h b he ad said and rad he was w gone cone n We ought to t be b for fo a pack of remans nn said add one on of ot our fellows I t a mighty civil sort of a duck dank d I and n a nay ay han his bla face fa something li familiar about abt it to you ya fellows Allows 1 r rIt rI It I had decidedly Every E one O os of us ustad tad had b been struck by the mans countenance coun C and we all 1 felt a s If w ta bad i I seen him hm somewhere or o oh other before 1 We forgot fort about abut the th Incident in the t 1 Interest of ot the t game cm however until unit U f t the manager r of the te hotel with whom w we were all aU chummy cane came cu up ut to in the t suite anite along ao toward tor bedtime to t see If I t there comfort was anything he be b could do for our o I emr By B the way said sid I to the hotel bt manager then the singing incident re recurring r recurring cur to my mind min who is I that toppy PP ling looking chap chan in the next nut tune le who wh i amul amuses himself by singing and then i iI I went ahead aha and told the manager of the he incident He amazed me by b exploding ex exploding ex pl tato litto It a at fit of laughter and then thene he be e toppled d onto a couch and nd rolled roiled around We all demanded what the Sickens dickers ailed him but It was WN about live five minutes before bt fore he could sufficiently command himself t to speak Then Thea be between tween t gasps gaspa he said saidI I suppose you fellows would like to o know the name of the singing n chap c chapu chapas u as you call him whom you treated ao so cavalierly and mocked and all aH that sort of thing and then he be fell feU Into tato another mother fit We sure suie would like to know we replied not without a certain feeling of ot apprehension Well said Raid the hotel manager maer in Inthe inthe the he most mo t offhanded way he was w only Jean de df Restate the greatest g and high ht highest h est eat priced operatic tenor in the worlds history Jean de d gentle gentlemen gentlemen men mn that all that you yuu ou tried to snub and ind an 1 th there rp AO am al millions of o enthusiasts ia ts upon this earth who would give sf aiU thing hing but an arm to have hae ha the U JeP of at sitting in the next room while k M Ids was wu limbering up p his hIa voice volee We were incredulous at first t but butu the u manager er soon convinced us u that e t s had bad been telling the truth and on the following follOw day clay he be completed our confusion not to say ay our oUt utter rout by Introducing the pack of us to M MJean MIan Jean 1 Ian de df Reake who greeted us so 80 cor cordially dilly and was so 80 generally pleasant paid pad Decent about the tile affair that we all 1 felt like thrashed schoolboys |