History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 84

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304

USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Wisconsin > Part 84

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"Were it not that his hair is as white as the snow which falls from heaven, the most careful observer of Mr. Bull's face and physique would say that he is not by a decade and a half as near the ' three score and ten ' mile-post as he really is. But Ole Bull will never grow old. His towering form is as straight as an arrow ; his soft gray eyes light up with youthful fire as he engages you in earnest conversation ; the grasp of his long, strong hands is as firm and hearty as a half-century ago ; his nerves, that have undergone the exhausting tension of a wonderful inspiration during his long and triumphant reign over the musical world, are as much under his control as when his boyish hand first grasped the bow. Fifty years of conquest over millions of hearts that have almost ceased to beat as he held his magical scepter over them, have not chilled the warmth of his noble nature nor made him conscious of his imperial power. Fame rests upon him lightly. One forgets Ole Bull, the worthy wearer of Paganini's crown, when talking with Ole Bull, the man. Suggest to him some phase of European politics, some evidence of the coming disinthralldom of thought and the establishment of liberal constitutional governments all over the monarchical territory of the continent, and the musician gives place to the enlightened and pro- gressive statesman. Let him discuss, in his animated, impetuous, yet candid and critical man- ner, the recent splendid triumph of republicanism in France, and you instinctively begin to speculate upon the resources of the protean intellect this man must possess."

The same writer continues :

" He is the welcome guest of every court in Europe. In every considerable town in the United States his face is familiar, and his music an historical event. He speaks fluently, besides his native tongue English, French, German and Italian, and possesses sufficient knowl- edge of every European dialect to be at home in any province. He is also a classical scholar, and an enthusiastic patron of literature. He has done much to revive an interest in Norse literature and history. None of his mature life has been allowed to waste nor his splendid faculties to suffer by disuse. He is all fire and action. Ole Bull never consciously imitates; and this is the secret of his playing. For this reason, also, no artist can play his scores, neither does he himself play them twice alike. His music is materialized inspiration. His famous compositions are only written in his memory. The orchestras that have played his accompaniments have seen only their own parts ; Ole himself never saw a note of his own score written out. Hence his compositions are personal-a part of himself. He is a great admirer of the national melodies of his own land, and has little love for anything that is void of a noble theme. His own music is the outward form of a sentiment, generally a patriotic, liberty-loving sentiment.

" Speaking of the manner of holding a violin, Mr. Bull said that in his early attempts to play he endeavored to imitate the positions of great players, but found that he could do far better in a way of his own. 'The violin,' said Mr. Bull, 'being the national instrument of Norway, and interest in its management then running very high on account of the cotempo- rary artists, there were plenty of critics to condemn my style, but I clung to it. My independ- ence and my success gave me plenty of enemies. Why, when I first began to play in Germany, my staccato notes with full length of the bow were violently attacked by the critics. On account of the manner of holding the bow, none of the artists had been able to execute successfully staccato notes with more than the lower half of it. The papers went so far as to say that my pretensions to do anything more than this were mere clap-trap, and warned the audiences to notice that when the Norwegian reached the middle of the bow the strain and exe- cution were taken up by an accomplice behind the scenes !

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

""" When I first came to America in 1843,' continued Mr. Bull, ' I found plenty of critics, who pitched into me right and left. James Gordon Bennett, the elder, came to me one day and said, " Mr. Bull, I notice that some of the busy newspaper writers are trying to prejudice the people against your playing. I want to say to you that the columns of the Herald are open to you at any time to defend yourself." I thanked him for his courtesy, and good- naturedly replied that the critics might write and I would play, and trust to luck as to who should come out ahead. I never replied to the critics except with my bow, and I managed to make friends of most of them.'"

The Madison writer continues : " One of his violins is a very ordinary looking affair, and to our uncritical eye appeared to be worth about 20 shillings. It is worth to Mr. Bull $25,000 -that is to say, he would not part with it for any sum which will ever be offered to him. This is the violin he uses in concerts. What a wonderful piece of work ! and what heavenly melo- dies its master can call out from it. It has held millions spell-bound, as its delicious notes have rolled out from under that inspired hand. There is no evidence of its value apparent. It is evidently old (about four hundred years), is perfectly plain in every part, the varnish is slightly effaced where it has come in contact with the chin, and that is all the writer could see about it. To be sure, there is a luster, deep and soft, about the varnish, but we should have guessed have guessed that any babinet-maker could have made the same effect had we not known different.

"' Why is it,' we asked, ' that the violin-makers of to-day cannot duplicate these instru- ments?' 'Because,' said Mr. Bull, 'they cannot secure the right kind of wood, and because the receipt for making the varnish used by Gaspar da Salo is a lost art. Ambitious violin- makers are doing all they can to discover how those old masters made their varnish, and have succeeded tolerably well in making a good article, but the Cremona school of makers died with their secret untold. There is a wealthy Parisian who owns a receipt which he will not divulge or a fortune. A Brooklyn man has made a few excellent instruments, but has not attempted › go into the business on a large scale.'

" The other violin which Mr. Bull showed us has an interesting history, which we will itempt to relate as nearly as possible in his own language. This instrument is a gem f workmanship, and impresses one with its worth far more than the concert violin. It is as _ne-toned as the other, but Mr. Bull does not play it much in public, because it is less powerful and the keys are so small there is danger of breaking them in impassioned execution.

" 'Why don't you have larger keys made ?' we inquired. 'Because,' said Mr. Bull, ' that would necessitate marring the beauty of the carved work about them, and that I could not be induced to do; ' and the bare suggestion affected him visibly.

"' Tell us its history, please,' we begged ; and Mr. Bull said :

"Gaspar da Salo, the only violin-maker who can be called the equal of Joseph Guancrius, lived and worked at the commencement of the sixteenth century. He had made a violin with so much care, and he was himself so satisfied with his work, that he desired Benvenuto Cellini to carve the neck. The head of the instrument forms a lovely cherub's face, which is sup- ported by a smaller head and a bust of a maiden, the features being of exquisite workman- ship. The rest of the neck is most beautifully cut and gilded, and the colors are clear and bright, though they are now over 300 years old, as the instrument was made in 1532. The wood from which Gaspar da Salo chose his material grew on the mountains between Brescia and Verona, where it was so finely developed by the even temperature prevailing there that the veins of the wood are exactly an even distance apart. The mountains near Brescia are entirely denuded of trees. It is impossible to find such wood elsewhere, and the instruments of this master are unique in this respect, and cannot be imitated. Cardinal Adalbrandini bought Gaspar da Salo's and Benvenuto Cellini's violin for 3,000 ducats, and presented it to the Treasury of Innspruck, from which it got its name of the 'Treasury Violin,' which it has since retained. When Innspruck was invaded by the French, in 1809, it came into possession of a soldier, who gave it over to Rhaczek for the insignificant sum of 400 guilden.

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

"'In 1839, I visited Rhaczek, saw the violin, and bid all I possessed for the instrument, offering as well the proceeds of the concerts I was then giving in Vienna. 'Give me the fourth of Vienna, and then we shall sec,' was Rhaczek's reply. But he promised me if he ever parted with it I should have the proference. Two years later, in Leipsic, Liszt and Mendelssohn were dining with me, and while we sat at the table a servant brought in an envelope bearing a great seal, which I put one side.

"' Open your letter,' cried Liszt; 'it has a large seal, and may be important.' It proved to be from the son of Rhaczek, and imparted the news of his father's death, and that 'a clause in his will directed that the Treasury violin should be sent to Ole Bull.' Of course my delight knew no bounds, and I told the good news to my friends. 'What a wonderful violin it must be to cost so much money,' said Mendelssohn. 'We must play the Kreutzer Sonata together the first time you use it in public.' When the instrument came it was found that there was no bar in it ; and it had, therefore, never been played upon. As soon as possible, it was put in order, and, as Mendelssohn had suggested, it was consecrated to art by the playing of Beethoven's ' Sonata.' Its tone was found to be worthy of its great beauty. I paid the 4,000 ducats ($8,000), which was my standing offer for it, most willingly.'

" Money could not buy it now, though Mr. Bull uses it before assemblages of a semi-private

nature. When he is made the guest of his distinguished friends, he accedes to their request for music by playing the 'Treasury.'

"Mr. Bull composes his music as he walks and talks. His most celebrated pieces were arranged under great pressure. We can only allude to a concert in 'E minor,' one of his most brilliant productions, that he arranged in Prague, upon which he worked two days and nights without cessation. This incident he related with a charming naivete, and we only wish space would allow us to report it here. His famous 'Polacca Guerriera ' has an equally interesting history, and we reproduce it here. Said Mr. Bull : 'In 1838, I spent three months in Rome, during the carnival. I lived in the same house with the celebrated Norse landscape painter, Thomas Fearnley, and was having a gay time with the artists then in the city. A concert was to be given the following night in Casa Lepre, upon the programme of which I was announced for a still unwritten composition, entitled 'Polacca Guerriera.' Mr. Fearnley knew that not a single note of it had been written, and was greatly distressed lest I should make a total failure of it. He communicated his fear to his friends, who also besought me to go to work and leave pleasure alone. At 10 o'clock the night before the concert, Mr. Fearnley and I retired to our room, where the artist again implored me to compose my piece. 'Now, said I, 'I am sleepy, and am bound to have my rest.' At that I leaped into my bed and soon snored loudly. I heard my friend sorrowfully soliloquize, 'My conscience! what a reckless man he is, anyway; just hear him snore. Bull !' he shouted, "Mr. Bull ! won't you get up and go to work ?' But I refused to stir. Fearnley finally went to sleep, and then I cautiously stole out of the room and began the scores for the orchestra. At 6 in the morning, all the parts were written out in short-hand and sent to the copyist. Then I noiselessly returned to my room and was soon asleep. Very soon Fearnley shouted, 'Bull ! Bull ! had you not better get up and write ?' 'No,' I replied shortly, 'I wish you would let me take my rest.' 'This is terrible,' said poor, distracted Fearnley. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I stole away from my friends, and had a secret rehearsal with the orchestra, and the ' Polacca' went off splendidly. Meeting Mr. Fearnley, who had sworn he would not go to the concert under any consideration, I said to him, 'How now, Fearnley, will you not go to the concert to-night?'

"'No, indeed, I will not,' he answered; do you suppose I want to be a witness to your disgrace ? You do not know the Italians; they will tear you to pieces.'

"I told him to come, stand near the door and be ready to retreat at any moment. Albert Thorwaldsen, the famous sculptor, who had been of our party the day previous, was also in a great state of alarm about my apparent indifference, and just before the concert asked Fearn- ley if I had yet done any work on the 'Polacca.' Mr. Fearnley assured him most dolefully that I had not written a note, and the two were utterly cast down in their sympathetic sorrow.

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

Fearnley was a constant chewer of tobacco, and used an enormous quantity at a time. When he was excited, the quid was made to gyrate vigorously from one cheek to the other, while he expectorated like a steam pump. Well, to cut the story short, the concert hour came, and the vast building was crowded. I played two numbers before the main piece came on, and in look- ing over the audience, I saw my anxious friends just inside the door, pale and disheartened. Finally the 'Polacca Guerriera' was announced, the orchestra took its place, and I began. Every part came in with perfect success, and I began to wonder how my friends felt. I looked over by the door, and there they were, faces beaming with surprise and delight, and what struck me most forcibly, was Fearnley's tobacco quid, which, even at my distance, I could distinctly see was changing positions with lightning rapidity. The Italians who were going to tear me to pieces seemed to go crazy with delight, and I was repeatedly recalled. In the midst of the applause, my now overjoyed friends appeared upon the stage, and Thorwaldsen actually embraced me in the presence of the audience."

"Mr. Bull was next inquired of as to whether he had not had some lively experience in saving his violins from harm."

" Yes," said Mr. Bull, laughing, " I have, One night, when my party was quietly floating down the Ohio River, the boat blew up, and 200 people were drowned. It was the 4th of December, and the water was fearfully cold. To add to the confusion, the boat was partly loaded with kerosene, which spread out over the water in one appalling sheet of flame. I seized my violin case, sought a place where there was the least kerosene and drowning people, and sprang into the river. It was midnight. When I reached the' bank I found it steep and of slippery clay. Though nearly drowned, I managed to throw the case up safely on shore, and, after a terrible struggle, followed it. It was an uninhabited section of country, and, though nearly frozen, I wandered about until morning before I found shelter.

"Then, again, when in Iowa, one night, I was awakened by cries of fire, and found that the hotel was in flames. I was pretty well up to the top, and hence did not stop for ceremony. I caught up my violin case, groped my way down through the blinding smoke and appeared upon the street, where the thermometer was down to zero, arrayed simply in my night shirt. But I saved my violin."

A writer in Bergen, Norway, gives this account of his funeral :

"The last sad rites are over, for the great man has now gone from us. It is impossible in the short space of a letter to give any idea of the honors which have been lavished upon him. King and peasant, all classes, have united in one universal testimony that ' Ole Bull was Nor- way's greatest man and most beloved son.' The first intelligence of his death was conveyed by the steamer Bjarne, which went into Bergen with its flag at half-mast. Instantly, as soon as it could be done, every flag in the harbor went down, and as the message spread, hundreds of flags all over Bergen, with the four on the common, which are never used save for royalty, were displayed at half-mast. The Common Council met at once and passed resolutions desiring that he should be interred in Bergen, and offering to Mrs. Bull the central place in the cemetery, a place which it had been decided should be always reserved for celebrations of the birthdays of distinguished men buried there. It was desired for Christie, Norway's great statesman, whose statute is on the common, but was refused. It was given at once spontaneously, and a sub- scription started for a statue to Mr. Bull. The steamboats offered their services free, and on Friday after his death, 400 people came out to see his remains, leaving as many more which the boat could not carry. Yesterday, a large steamer, with 150 people who were invited, family and intimate friends, came out, and the funeral services were held in the hall where the remains lay in state. On Sunday, a steamer came to bring flowers, and his casket was loaded with exquisite floral designs, among which were a beautiful floral violin, crowns and wreaths.

"Fifteen large steamers met the one carrying his body, before reaching Bergen, and escorted it in, with signals fired, church bells ringing, and thousands upon the strand, and the streets, as far as could be seen, were one sea of heads. The quay was decorated and spread with green, as were also the streets through which the procession passed. The house where he was

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born was decorated, and the procession halted while words were sung composed for the occasion. The body was borne from the steamer by peasants in uniform and placed upon a catafalque, drawn by four black horses. The casket was so high that it could be seen above the multitude which filled the streets. His own American flag preceded him, and many more of beautiful designs. Twelve young ladies, with crape badges, bore his trophies, and all the city authorities were in the procession. Much, much more than I can describe, was done, all that human hande and human hearts inspired by the tenderest love, could devise.

"The best of all, that which touched and thrilled every heart, was after the Bishop had ended. The grave, with the sides lined' with flowers and the bottom covered, was in the most beautiful spot ever seen anywhere. Bjornson, himself a King, who came from Chris- tiania to attend the funeral ceremonies, arose, and, looking upon the casket below, covered and surrounded with flowers, pale and full of emotion, said : ' He was beloved, Ole Bull.'

" Every heart seemed stunned, and the vast multitude, numbering not less than 25,000, were silent as the one below. Bjornson talked nearly an hour, and every word was a jewel. He thanked Mrs. Bull, for all present, that she had made his last days so happy, and said to all that Ole Bull's last request was that Norway should love and cherish his wife, who had loved him and smoothed his pathway. The half cannot be told; it should have been witnessed to be understood. The newspapers are doing what is only done for royalty, devoting one side for a week to notices, poems and sketches of his life, with mourning decorations. The King tele- graphed his condolence. Bjornson and Lund returned with the family to Lyso, and, as they left, signals were fired."

WILLIAM B. SLAUGHTER.

William B. Slaughter published in 1878 a lengthy autobiography in a work entitled " Reminiscences of Distinguished Men," an abstract of which is here given :

"I was born on the 19th day of April, 1797, in the County of Culpeper, in the State of Virginia ; the son of Samnel and Francis Slaughter, both of English descent ; and both well educated. My father was an excellent Greek and Latin scholar, and his taste in English litera- ture was formed by reading such authors as Johnson, Addison, Goldsmith, Swift, Steele and Parnell. His children, of whom he had thirteen (three sons, of whom I was the eldest, and ten daughters), were educated at home in private classical schools under his own observation. I completed my education at William and Mary College ; although I was there but a short time and not a class student, I learned rapidly and rarely forgot what I learned.

"From William and Mary College I went to Halifax County, Va., to study law with my uncle, William B. Banks, a man of genius, learning and eloquence.

"During the two years I remained with my uncle I read law, history, commentaries on gov- ernment, the great speeches of the great men of the world on law and civil polity ; likewise the poems of Homer, Virgil, Dante, Camoens, Shakspeare, Milton and Byron, many of the strik- ing portions of which still remain in my memory.

" The two years' confinement in my uncle's law office was too severe a tax upon my nervous system, and my health gave way. I spent one summer at the White Sulphur Springs, receiving but little benefit ; the next in Culpeper among my relatives ; and in October, 1824, I joined a party of three hundred persons who chartered a boatat Alexandria, Virginia, to take us to York- town to welcome the Marquis De La Fayette on the plains of York, on which Lord Cornwallis surrendered his sword to the American arms on the 19th of October, 1781.

" Having recovered my health in 1825, I anticipated Horace Greeley's advice to young men, and went West. The most practicable mode of travel in those days was on horseback, and thus I proceeded on my journey. I reached Charlestown on the Kanawha, in October, 1825, remained there two months with my relatives, thence went to Lancaster, Ohio, where I became acquainted with Thomas Ewing, the first distinguished man I met in the West, and with whom I formed a friendship that lasted during his life-a life fraught with honorable deeds, with pat- riotic sentiments, and with generous sympathies.

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

"In Jannary, 1826, I rode with his father on horseback from Lancaster, Ohio, to Columbus. " After remaining a week at Columbus, I proceeded on my journey to Kentucky, the then El Dorado of all Virginians, and the ' ultima thule ' of my heart's desires. On my way Ispent one night at Circleville.

"I arrived at Bardstown, Ky., in February, 1826, and found as many Slaughters as I left in Virginia, uncles, aunts and cousins innumerable, one of whom, the daughter of an uncle, I married. Kentucky was settled principally by Virginians, many of whom inherited the lands they lived on.

" Through an uncle residing in Kentucky, a warm personal and political friend of Gen. Jackson, I received an invitation to visit him, at the Hermitage, which I accepted in 1827. My uncle had published a pamphlet entitled "Philo Jackson,' advocating his election to the Pres- idency, which was distributed in almost every State in the Union. It was written with much vigor, and doubtless had a decided effect. The General's gratitude to my uncle was manifested by repeated acts of kindness to me. Through his influence, direct and indirect, I was retained in public office seven years.

"I remained two years longer in Kentucky, reading and practicing law, and then pro- ceeded to Bedford, Ind., expecting to make it my future home. The second year of my resi- dence at Bedford I became a candidate for the Legislative Assembly and was elected ; during the session of the Legislature, Gen. Jackson's proclamation on the subject of the South Caro- lina Nullification was issued, which agitated the country from the center to the circumference. I was the author of the Indiana resolutions approving of that proclamation, which were passed in the Assembly with but ten dissenting voices, and by the Senate almost unanimously. The next year I was appointed Register of the Land Office at Indianapolis, by Gen. Jackson, and the year following transferred to the land office at Green Bay, then in Michigan Territory. In December, 1835, I was elected a member of the Legislative Council of Michigan, which met at Green Bay January 1, 1836. I was, as a member of that body, the author of a memorial to Congress requesting the establishment of the Territory of Wisconsin, to embrace the Govern- ment lands west of Lake Michigan. The act of organization of the Territory went into effect on the 4th of July, 1836. In February, 1837, I was appointed by Gen. Jackson Secretary of the Territory of Wisconsin, for four years. At the close of my official term as Secretary, I retired to my farm near Madison, and was no more in public life until appointed by President Lincoln Commissary of Subsistence, in 1863, and in 1864 Quartermaster, and was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. In the fall of 1864, I resigned both of these offices, and since then have remained in private life. I was occupied in 1875-76 in writing biographical sketches of the eminent and self-made, men of Wisconsin for the American Biographical Publishing Com- pany."

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History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 84

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1304

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304