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Show No Violins In Cremona. In Harpers for June. W L Alden bus thit the Cmnoncso dlsllko violins, and jells amusingly of his search for a violin In Cremona x "UUng In Cremona, I naturally went In search of .lollns 1 hid a vnguo Idea lhat ; might Ick up a btradliarlus, nn A mull, a lluirnerlus, and perhaps other treasure of the kind, for next to nothing, like thoso fabulous personH who nre said to pick up In.alualile furniture and priceless price-less old books for a mem musla hull song, of course I did not llnd any .alu-able .alu-able violins, but, whit was still stranger, 1 did not see or hear n slngln .lolln tho whole time 1 wns In Cremona In every Italian clly th.ro are dozens of shonB de.otcd to tho sale of musical Intlru-merits Intlru-merits of all sorts, and, among these, violins of all slzts nnd conditions, from tho young soprano violin to tho venerable vener-able and gouty contrabass, nre exposed hi the windows. In Cremona, however, there Is not a violin to be sold, and 1 am persuaded that there Is not one n ine possession or 11 single Crcmon.se At tlrst I could not understand this ms-tery. ms-tery. .Neither could 1 understand why no one to whom 1 spoke seemed to tnke the slightest Interest In the great vlo. Iln makers nt tho town, llaedekei us. serta that the houso of Antonio blrndl-.arlus blrndl-.arlus Is still to be seen, nnd I went In search of II. 1 found only a vacant lot where the home had stood, nnd 1 whs Informed It. a policeman who looked nt me sternly and with o.ldent suspicion, that the house of Htradl.nrlus had been lorn down I askid htm why so valu. able a rello had betn destrord, nnd he replied by sukgesllng thnt If I would accompany him to the headquarters of the police, 1 might possibly recel.n on answer to my question. I left hhn more In anger than ln sorrow, and asked no more questions of the Cremona police. 1 rom what I afterward, leirned In con- VerBatlon With Ml.P.,l nf Ih. t.nHln.. porters nnd street .weepers of thn place, 1 camo to the conclusion that the peo-plo peo-plo of Cremona had for so many weary J ears been askld b strangers concern-Ing concern-Ing iho Cremona violins and their makers mak-ers that In a lit of ju.tinnble rngo they had resolved that the entire subject nf violins should be Ignored both b. them-selves them-selves nnd the strangers who mlkht veil, ture w thin their gates I cannot say that 1 blame them Their lown has pic. turesuue architecture, a school of art of is own. and a history that It has u right to bo prpud of. but the stranger never thinks these things worthy of .notice, nnd coneel.es of Cremona exctusl.ely as the birthplace of certain fiddles. I no longer wonder that It Is unslfo for a mnn to speak of violins 10 the Cre-mpnese Cre-mpnese 'lhey nro a itlte people, nn.l u long-suffering people, but they aro tired of violins, ami the stranger who visits Cermona will cT he Is a itrutlcnt man. remember this fact " |
