578 MORTON, LEVI PARSONS. 



MUSIC, PROGRESS OF, IN 1888. 



York District. In accepting the nomination 

 he wrote: "It is a distinction which I have 

 not solicited, and I am not sure of my fitness 

 for the place. I have never been a politician, 

 have never sought or contemplated holding 

 office, and am by training and tastes simply a 

 man of business. If, however, in your judg- 

 ment, I can serve the district and protect its 

 interest in Congress, I sliall feel constrained to 

 regard your nomination as a plain call to pub- 

 lic duty, which I have no right to shirk. I be- 

 lieve the Republic has a right to command the 

 services of its humblest citizen, and in obedi- 

 ence to that conviction I accept the nomina- 

 tion." His opponent was Col. Benjamin A. 

 "Willis, a forcible speaker and able politician. 

 Mr. Morton, although defeated, reduced Willis's 

 majority from 2,500 to 400. In 1878 he was 

 renorninated, and defeated Col. Willis by 7,000 

 majority. In 1880 be was again successful 

 against James W. Gerard, Jr. The New York 

 " World," opposed to him in polities, said : 

 " Against Mr. Morton's individual character 

 and his fitness to represent his district in Con- 

 gress, no one who knows him can have a word 

 to say." 



In 1881 President Garfield appointed Mr. Mor- 

 ton minister to France, and he remained such 

 under President Arthur. In 1871 Mrs. Morton 

 had died in their country home, Fairlawn, New- 

 port, R. I. She was noted for her benevolent 

 nature, and, carrying out her feeling, as well 

 as his own, Mr. Morton gave a park of twelve 

 acres to the people of Newport, and built in 

 her memory in Fourth Avenue, New York, con- 

 tiguous to Grace Church, the beautiful build- 

 ing known as Grace Memorial Chapel. Among 

 his other benefactions was the first contribu- 

 tion of one quarter of the cargo for the ship 

 "Constellation," which was sent by our Gov- 

 ernment to the sufferers from the Irish famine. 



In 1878 Mr. Morton was honorary commis- 

 sioner to the Paris Exposition, and he was 

 American commissioner-general to the Paris 

 Electrical Exposition, and representative of the 

 United States at the Submarine-Cable Conven- 

 tion. He publicly received, in the name of the 

 people of the United States, the Bartholdi 

 statue of " Liberty enlightening the World." 

 In 1882 and 1887 he was candidate for a United 

 States Senatorship, from New York. Middle- 

 bury College, where he has recently founded a 

 professorship, arid Dartmouth, conferred upon 

 him the degree of LL. D. He married Miss 

 Street, of Poughkeepsie, whose accomplish- 

 ments and amiability did much to render his 

 foreign mis-ion suc<-ssful and his home mom- 

 orable for its hospitality. They have live chil- 

 dren, and a few years ago selected as their 

 summer home a beautiful place called Ellers- 

 lie, at Rhinebeck, on the Hudson. 



In July, 1888, Mr. Morton was unanimously 

 nominated for Vice-President by the Republi- 

 can National Convention, on theticket with Gen. 

 Harrison, which was successful, and he was in- 

 augurated March 4, 



MUSIC, PROGRESS OF, IN 1888. To the novel 

 productions brought out on the operatic stage 

 in 1887 are to be added : " Faust," a musical 

 drama, in a prelude and four acts, by Heinrich 

 Zollner (Cologne, Stadttheater, December 14), 

 succes d'estime; the third act found the most 

 favor. "Die Camisarden" (formerly "Jean 

 Cavalier "), by Anton Langert, entirely re- 

 written (Coburg, Hoftheater, December 15), 

 conducted by the composer, and received with 

 great applause. "Per Svinaherde " (Peter, the 

 Swineherd), in three acts, by Ivar Hallstrom ; 

 libretto by Christiernson (Stockholm, De- 

 cember 29) ; with success, repeated to full 

 houses eleven times. The music is graceful, 

 at times characteristic, the libretto contains 

 several striking scenes, and the mise-en-scene 

 was magnificent. "Don Pedro dei Medina," 

 an operetta by Lanzini, libretto by Ovidi 

 (Rome, Teatro Costanzi, October), with great 

 success, in which the libretto has no small 

 share, being one of the happiest conceptions of 

 its kind. 



During 18S8 the dramatic-musical move- 

 ment did riot rise above the average. No 

 great accomplishment is to be recorded, no 

 event of significant augury fell to its share. 

 The number of new grand operas produced in 

 France, Belgium, and Germany was scant; 

 England furnished only one ; and even Italy 

 was more reserved than usual. Nor was the 

 field of comic opera worked very extensively. 

 On the other hand, the production of new 

 operettas was fairly overwhelming. In the 

 following we record the facts in chronological 

 order, grouped according to their national 

 origin : 



Operas. " La Dame de Monsoreau," in five 

 acts, by Gaston Salvayre, libretto by Auguste 

 Maquet, Paris, Opera, January 30, was a com- 

 plete failure, in spite of the gorgeous mise-en- 

 scene, and the creditable performance on the 

 part of the artists; the displeasure of the pub- 

 lic was aroused as much by the libretto as by 

 the music. " Jocelyn," in four acts, by Benja- 

 min Godard, libretto by Armand Silvestre and 

 Victor Caponl (Brussels, Theatre de la Mon- 

 naie, February 25), obtained a brilliant suc- 

 cess on this occasion, but it remains to be seen 

 how much of it was due to the influence of the 

 friends of the -composer and the librettists, 

 who had flocked over from Paris ; to the im- 

 partial, the weaknesses of both the musical 

 score and the libretto are evident; the repre- 

 sentation, including the mise-en-scene, was ex- 

 cellent. The opera was subsequently given in 

 Paris, at the Theatre Lyrique du Chateau-d'Eau, 

 October 13, with no particular effect ; the repre- 

 sentation was insufficient, and the mise-en- 

 scene paltry. " Le Roi d'Ys," in three acts, 

 by Edouard Lalo, libretto by Eduard Blau 

 (Paris, Op6ra-Comique, May 7), was given with 

 decided success ; singers, orchestra, and stage- 

 managers deserved great credit. " Le Roi 

 Lear," in four acts, by Armand Raynaud, text 

 by Henri Lapierre (Toulouse, Theatre du Capi- 



