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Show ANECDOTES OF THOMAS. The death of Theodore Thomas, a great orchestra or-chestra leader and a greater man, has revived a number of good stories about him. In his younger days, according to his friend, Gustav Kobbe, Thomas used to travel with his orchestra through small towns where it was necessary for him to write ahead and find out what facilities for giving giv-ing a concert were to be had. Of one of these occasions, oc-casions, Kobbe writes: "He received a letter from the owner of a hall in one of these towns, in which the writer said he was sure the hall would suit and that Mr. Thomas could depend upon having a large audience aud-ience if he had two good 'end men' with him. "On another occasion Thomas was entertained after one of his concerts, and, being introduced to a prominent citizen of the place, asked him how he had enjoyed the playing of the orchestra. " 'Well,' " said the prominent citizen, 'I don't know much about music. But, I tell you what, Mr. Thomas, the way those violinists turned over all the leaves at once is one of the most remarkable remark-able things I've ever seen." Here is another anecdote of these early days told by Kobbe: "Thomas was probably the only orchestra leader lead-er for whom an audience has waited patiently until un-til 1 o'clock in the morning. On one of his early Western tours his train was blocked by a freshet. After much delay he succeeded in chartering a train by another road, but by such a round-about way that he know it was impossible to reach his destination on time. It got to be 8 o'clock, nine, ten, eleven, midnight and still he and his c-chcstra c-chcstra were en route. Meanwhile, at 8 o'clock the audience had gathered in the hall. Announcement of tho delay and the cause was made. The audience aud-ience promptly decided to wait for Thomas and his orchestra. From time to time bulletins were read from the stage telling of the progress of the train, each bulletin being greeted with enthusiastic enthu-siastic applause all of which helped to while away the time. When at 1 a. m., Thomas and his orchestra or-chestra at last filed on the stage, the audience still was in its seats, waiting for them; and, naturally na-turally remained to the end, which came about 3 a m., the conductor and his orchestra receiving an ovation." Calm and suave as Thomas appeared at the conductor's desk, he was an autocrat with his orchestra and with the public. Regarding this, the following anecdote is told: "On one occasion when he was conducting Mendelssohn's 'Midsummer Night's Dream," at the Central Park Garden, he was greatly annoyed by the talking of some persons in the first row. He quietly conveyed a signal to the drum-player, and suddenly the loud roll of a drum rattled through the delicate measures of Mendelssohn, while Thomas turned and fixed his eyes on the conversationalists, who were as startled as the rest of the audience and very much confused when they realized that they were responsible for that long drum roll." A story of the extraordinary sympathy that existed between Mr. Thomas and the men of his orchestra is told by a Chicago journal, in connection connec-tion with a music festival given in a southern city: "One number had an orchestral prelude, the chorus to come at a certain phrase. "Four bars before the cue note, was one somewhat some-what similar, and when that note was reached, the chorus, being over-wrought, or seized by some mania for blundering, promptly came in four bars ahead of the proper place. "A frightful discord arose, and the manager, standing In the wings, literally tore his hair. The whole performance seemed falling about his ears in hopeless ruin. "But the next inBtant he found, to his amazement, amaze-ment, no more discord, but orchestra and chorus moving along so smoothly that only those familiar with the score suspected the Imminent shipwreck. ship-wreck. So to the end it went smoothly and perfectly. per-fectly. "When it was over, big-eyed and still mopping his brow, the manager went to Mr. Thomas and gasped: " 'Say, I wish you would tell me how you did that. " 'Oh,' said Mr. Thomas, 'I just jumped the orchestra or-chestra ahead four bars.' " Here Is another anecdote showing what a remarkable re-markable ear for absolute musical pitch Mr. Thomas had: "It is on record that In an orchestra so numerous nu-merous that it included sixteen 'cellists, the ensemble en-semble in a certain passage displeased him; whereupon where-upon he located the trouble in the group of 'cellos, 'cel-los, and finally narrowed it down to one 'cellist, who was blowing the passage not necessarily in a wrong manner, but differently from the others. This blemish, so Infinitesimal, his quick ear had discovered." Of Mr. Thomas' marriage, Br. Mason, his life- long friend, writes as follows: 1 "Employed at Farmington, as a teacher, was a IH New York girl, who lived down on the west side jH of town, below Fourteenth street. She was a jjH splendid specimen of an American woman, efil- jjH cient, self-reliant, and capable. We met her ,H every time the quartette wont up there to play. H Thomas was at that time twenty-nine. H "One day, after we had finished our concert H and were waiting to take our train, he asked me H what I thought of Miss Rhodes, the young teacher H I have referred to, as a possible wife for him, I jH was astonished at the question and told him imme- H diately what I thought. jH " 'Your education has been so different from H hers,' I said, 'Uiat I don't know whether H you will be happy or not. Miss Rhodes is thor- oughly American for instance, she goes to church H on Sunday and I don't believe you ever went to H church in your life. It seems to me that your jH rearing has been too different for you to be M happy.' j But they were married, and I am afraid that Mrs. Thomas had some hard times at the outset. H Theodore was very determined and firm then, al- j though ho grow much softer in lator years." Mr. Thomas' unique musical library will go, It Is believed, for the most part, to a public library. The library is a collection of original scores and iH parts of manuscripts. Mr. Thomas had been a M persistent collector of such manuscripts all his M life. This collection is valued at three hundred H thousand dollars. The Argonaut. H |