Ways of Living.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 358, 19 March 1903, Page 7

Ways of Living.

THE LADY JOURNALIST. 3KPJ9SADY journalists hare not figured mifi£* cre ditably just lately. Not 2|Jjsb that they are any worse than male journalists—only mistakes seem to look so much worse when made by a woman,.don't they? The new society reporter had just returned from the first wedding ceremony she attended in a professional capacity. ' Did yon get all the facts ?' asked the editor. ' All that are of any importance,' replied that young woman. 'I have a description of the bridal gown, and the trousseau, and the flowers, and the wedding presents, and the objective point of the wedding tour, and the names of the bridesmaids and the officiating clergyman, and the reception days ' ■ Who is the bridegroom ?' interrupted the editor, 'his name has been printed four different ways in the preliminary announcements.' ' The groom r faltered the young woman. •Why—why, I forgot to ask about him, and nobody else appeared to think of him, except may be the bride. But they had all the important details ready for me.'

A SONG COMPOSED FOB EIGHTPENCE.'-

The public is occasionally surprised to read how small a Bum various popular ditties of both concert platform and music-hall stage have been sold for by their composers. It is rarely more than a few pounds, frequently only' a solitary guinea, while the fortunate singer and publisher may net a considerable amount if it only happens to 'catch on.' A guinea for si single song, however, wOuld be like a dream of El D>rado to the luckless individuals whom necessity compels to write songs for a certain class of twentieth.rate comedians who have,:toj sing 'their own stuff'—that is to say,' original songs which are being sung by: nobody else on the boards. Sunday morning is the great time for doing business with these people, and the composer's bed sitting room in Camden Town, Hammersmith, Kensington, or Peckham, as the case may be, is usually, in the busy season, a meeting place for the bulk of the white-faced embryo Dan Lenos in the neighbourhood. Words, Foubpence Extra.

Competition is now so keen that ic is possible to get the words of a song set to original music for eightpence. This music, however, which is, of course, in manuscript, is nota pianoforte copy, but what, by a pleasing fiction, is known as a.' first violin part.' A casual glance at several of these gems of melody gives one the impression that they would be just as useful to tie drummer, the only intelligible parts about them being the time signature and the key. Still, as these songs are never Bung to any particular tune, and the average smoking-coaeert pianist is a past-master in the art of vamping, it matters little to him whether he plays from first violin or any other copy. The words are usually supplied by the comedian himself, but in many cases the composer has a stock in hand, and is willing to supply a set for an extra fourpence, making a total of one shilling for the complete song. If our comedian has attained to the dignity of appearing at a music-hall which boasts an orchestra of any description, he will necessarily re* quire band parts for his songs. These do not, however, involve any considerable outlay, as two shillings will purchase a set complete for first and- second violins, violoncello, flute, cornet, clarionet, bass, and piano, which is about as high as the average mnsic-hall soars in s>n orchestral direction. . Extra parts for outside instruments can be procured at fourpence for each, instrument. Ah OvercrowdedMabket.

Even at such a starvation rate of remuneration, the ranks of this class of comic song writers are overcrowded, and latterly there are instances of authors and composers amalgamating, and supplying a song complete, with words and music, for the sum of eightpence, which has bitherto been recognised as the stereotype fee for the music only. The majority of these song composers are themselves public-house smoking-concert pianists, a fact which materially assists them in ekaing but what would otherwise be an impossible living. It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to mention the fact that the comedian of little experience is apt to find that the prices quoted above have suddenly risen when he seeks to increase his repertoire of songs, but he soon learns how, by threats of change of patronage, to reduce them to their average market figure.