OUR PARIS LETTER.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2164, 22 May 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

OUR PARIS LETTER.

|¥ROU OUR OWN COUUUSI'ONPKXr.] Paius, March 24. Thk piano, it has been said, in the enemy •if man, and Theophile Guiltier hold such an instrument was in D.inteV* Inferno, but that the keys, when touched, emitted no sound. Tho arch priest of piano playing is at present in this capital — the Abbd Franr. Liizt. The eminent Hungarian first came to Paris when he was twelve years of age. His talent wan admitted to be precocious, but he was not such an "infant prodigy " as Mozart, who made his debut at Paris when he was but nix fears old. Liszt makes no secret that tho present in his life-urlieu. He has always been a pet with the French, and the reception he met with on Sunday last at the Colonel concert proved his popularity hud not diminished. One of hi« two daughters | wa« the fiist wife of Emile Ollivier, of " light heart " memory. The second was married to Richard Wagner. Perhaps his romantic career has not a little contributed to high ten the celebrity of the Paganini of the piano. His fits of austerity and deep religions gloom provoked much sympathy. In 1801 his expected marriage with Princess Wittgenstein created a sensation. The Vatican, after authorising it, withdraw its consent. Four years later ho was privately received into holy orders. Since then he as composed only religious music, and orgaui-ed concerts fur Catholic charities. He is tho honorary vicar of an Italian parish, and to make up for its absence of church rates the Hungarian Government allows him an annuity of 15,000fr. The Emperor of Austria bestowed on Liszt a title of nobility, which He locked up in his trunk, along with hundreds of decorations. Some antiharmonUts assert that Liszt accepted conversion as a mea culpa for having abused piano playing, and so prevent any return to apostasy. One can hardly believe on looking at the aged: snow-haired composer, that in 1830 he composed a "revolutionary symphony." However, his magical execution of the works of Bach, Handel, Beethoven, and Weber made that freak of gonitis be forgotten. George Sand told Liszt nothing ever satisfied her except sitting under his piano while he played. The piano had no difficulties for him. His inspirations wore marvellous. He could adorn the ni'nt brilliant themes with the most astonishing variations. There was much that was bizarre in his execution. He displayed more power than taste, much inequality with prodigious talent. His fingers are exceptionally and wonderfully shaped. His " masses " are excellent, while recalling inoro of the noisy style of his son-in-law, Wagner, than "the religious sentiment of the early masters. They are in a word dramatic. Since the advent of opera, religious has had to submit to the influence of theatrical musio. Mozart, in all his masse*, has had to yield to the influence of the Archbishop of Safzbourg. Even in bis Requiem this is v-Mble, and iv any case was favoured by the employment of the orchestra. The best composer, without departing from the severity and simplicity of religious stylo, who han best 'dramatised mass music is Cherubini. In addition to being a composer, Liszt is a distinguished critic. It was he who first made known Wagner, and when the latter, exiled and unfortunate, despaired to see Lohengrin represented, it was Liszt, later his father-in-law, who snecended in bringing out that opera in Germany. The famous Gran mass, written for the consecration of the cathedral of th.it name in Hungary, will be executed here in the Church of Saint Eustache, under the superintendence of Liszt, after an interval of twenty yeais. It is tho pearl of his great works. "In my Hfo of artist," said Liszt, " there are three drawers. Tim first contains the compositions of my juvenile renown, tho key of which I have thrown into the sea, the second contains some pages that I pardon on the account of intention, and tho third encloses my true works." The Senate has voted the Primary Education Bill, which inalces all such instruction henceforth, obligatory, gratuitous, and secular. This will add additional charges to the Budget* and will deprive those teachers belonging to the religious orders from receiving State grants. Tho republicans are resolved to support only lay institutions. Attention is drawn to the delicate signs of an improvement in business as evidenced by the augmentation of exports. May the '•'boom" atill continue. Satisfaction is expressed that this increase signifies that foreigners prefer French products, despite their higher price and the duties levied bv other countries on their importation. It would be a day-dream for France to flutter herself that she can compete with manufacturers who turn out goods cheaper, and what suits a market is what soils. She ought also to remember that she indulges pretty freely in protection tariffs herself, and she is not specially taxed more than other shippsis on exports to any country. Thero is nothing to be gained by fostering delusions. Since private initiation fails to achieve a knowledge of foreign trade, the Minister of Commerce intends cieatmg a body of State commercial travellers, to visit distant trading centies, and keep the Homo merchants supplied with facts, figures, samples and prices of what their competitor* m& doing. The French cannot move a step without leaning upon the Government crutch. Financial people are wholly engrossed with millianes and millions. The Ministry is receiving applause for deciding forthwith to bo hemest by presenting the Budget, law a false bottom. In other words, in being truthful. The ordinary Budget was tho dust thrown in the oyw of tho tax-payer ; the second, or extraordinary ono, was that wherein the legerdemaiu tricks for "colonial expansion " and shr.ilar^ blunders weie executed, and the little bill leapt out of sight till it amouuted to a few millions and then a loan wan announced, as at present, to cover tho deficit. The political situation of England, undoubtedly weighs on the prosperity of the continent. The French proas is at be» us to what the upshot of the imbroglio of tho Irish Question will be. Since Mr Gladstone's foreign policy proceed* on the same linos as his predecessors, he has lost caste. He is viewed somewhat as. — " The glory, jest, riddle of the world." Tho Tempi), which has more fits of cool judgment than many of its contemporaries, doesmot believe Ireland will be conceded a native Parliament, as such would bo a stepping stone to separation. That journal does uot belie re in an independent Ireland, and divorce would be a serious loss of worldpreatige 1 for the British Empire. Deprived of the aid of English capital, left to hor own resources, Ireland after vegetating for some time, would disappear. And there it nothing to gained by keeping up social disorder, which sooner or later, would have to be cruabed, like the American Secession or the Commune. Neither would Foreigners loan money to Ireland : She has not the material guarantee. Nor would England's difficulty be her opportunity, as the political combinations of new Europe do noc now permit of her being employed as any useful factor, and beside* the " unionists," as compared with the "separatist!," are estimated by French statistician*] in the ratio of two to three. No journal counts upon the English taxpayer advancing the millions to buy out and replace the Irish landlord*. One paper advocates, that the liishAmericans subscribe to* purchase money, and so enter inio -fJosnession of the Green I«le, while the^ Kropotkina sheets nvge the •• have nots," to " boycot " all the owners of land, whether peasant or peer proprietors. These are tho tactics the socialists are practising at Docazcville, and that it may be expected will, if not stamped out, extend to other collieries and mine«. And after taking the Utter, which feed the works and mills, why not be logical, and clean out the shareholders? Beati possidens—is Bismarck's motto. There are eight daily papers published at Athens; all are ever filled with articles on the war. Never were discussions no lively, or read more eagerly, not even when Byzantium was entered by the Turks. They display the skill of— "e'en though vanquished they argue still." The Athenians want the king to lead the land forces, say up a hill and then down again, and for his son to take command of tho fleet His Majesty replies to all the stop-pressediti >ns, by saying to his Ministers. "Do you desire war, if so, I am ready to sign your decree? Do you wish for peace, lam equally prepared to sign that decree also. I simply aim to obey the wishes of the nation?" Only the minute minority that has resided abroad see the folly of their countrymen in demanding to be led asrainst three times their number of veteran Turks. Com-, merce is dead in Greece, even in raisins and currants, so plum puddings and ditto cakes must suffer ; all the youth of the kingdom is under arms ; almoit every one's voice is for war, and, oddest of all, no one appears to. be sad or gloomy. Never was a

carnival ••eason ho sprightly as that just hold. "<Jiion vult ]>erdeie Jupiter dementat prius." Mr Pasteur .still fills the public eye : he marches fn'in hucco-s to siicchwis. Tlio jubucription list for his school hospital is swelling r.ipidly ; he lias b^en furnished with the plan* for the structure, and having the necessary funds to complete th« foundation, he intends demanding the credit Foncier to» aiJv.mcc the walk, by advancing tho cash, trusting to tlio benevolent to make up the latter. No time is to be lost, , the harvest is eieit : formerly putieuts came bingly, now they conic in battalions from all fioints. Perhnpa rnilwKys may yet have to organise hydrophia trains, or at ic.vst compartments. It is quite a spectacle to pass by Pasteur's laboratory in the morning, at injection hour, the dog-bitten sufferers comprise, types of various nationalities, and tlicir costumes are extremely picturesque. The children attract most interest and marked sympathy : the aged \ iew Pasteur as a St. Vincent de Paul It may not I>° generally known that although the eminont scientist discovered a jirntcntivo \.iccinc against rabies, he never inoculates, as he is not a surgeon. Just as Mr de Lcsseps, who is being eclipsed by Pasteur, tor lives aro more importance than cwul*, is not an engineer. The St. Thouiubps appear to be all now converted to Pasteur's discovery, which will keep lo the front in the history of humanity. Many believe that the discovery has heen. the result of a thought and a few minutes of a test. It is the outcome of a life of laborious and Benedictine patience in experiments, the latter delicate, lucid, and precise. He first commenced.hia researches on the nature of fci - ment"i on the alteration in wine^, vinegar, beer and the diseases of the silk-worm : then he took up the mitigation of the terrible charbon in live stock. Pasteur's experiments commenced with a tnicrobe-r* name bestowed by Sbdillot in the " infitiinieut petit*." Pasteur laid down that fermentation was caused by animalcules, by microbes, and that it was not a mere mechanical reduction of matter, due to oxygen. And he found the microbe, isolated it from all particles of enveloping matter. Fermentation was duo to tho microbes seeking their sustenance, in a situation destitute of free oxygen, and to U\o, likf all life, the microscopic hemps obtained their quantity of oxygon by feedIng ni».>n— and so liberating their necMaary supply. It was Pastour's refutation of the theories of Floureus on spontaneous generation, that drew vivid attention to his silent, but sure plodding. Flourent* held that with air and pntres cent matter animalcules would result, and hence spontaneous generation. Pasteur put the conditions iv presence, but extracting the animaloulos when no generation ensued. Ho replaced the conditions and the microbes swarmed. The microbe produces the malady : isolate it by culture, that is to say, take a liquid in which there is no pntreseible germs, pnt into thi? liquid a drop of diseased blood— before 24 hours *fter decease, aa then a different animalcule, a vibrion is generated, the liquid will breed myriads of microbes. Allow a day to elapse and pour a drop of this) liquid into another prepared liquid, and so on for ten time3 in succession. At this tenth culture, if a drop of .the lirfutd still swarming with new generations of the microbe, be injected into the tissue of an animal the latter will succumb. This culture presents the mysterious fact that the microbe becomes diverted of its excess of energy, is domesticated, and capable of taining or weakening tho action of an original mortal virus. It is in these principles the hydrophobia cure of Pasteur rests, aud that he hops* will prove the open sesame {or tho secret of consumption and fevers. A clerk in the Bank of France has accidently discovered an infallible detection of forged notes. He placsd the forged and a genuine note in tha objective of a steieoscope, where the two images ought to over-lay each other, and form, on© picture. But the loops of tha forged letters did not over-lap, proving that the notes were not printed off the same plate. A leading physician states that the throe diseases French deputies aro most liable to are cerebral foyer, heart disease, and diabetes. He reciracnds representatives not to read too many newspapers, or write too many lettors— twenty per day is their average number. Above all not to indulge in excited speeches. Such runs tho Moid from the heart to the head, aud death ensues, as in th i case of Mirabe-m. There are 1">,30'.i stranger-* naturalized in Franco, land 740,(i:>8 noti-naturalued. Among the 'latter aro 2(5,003 English, Irixh, and Scotch, and 0,851) Americans. Odd, there aro 9,82(1 who have no n.itiona'itv — "ul citi^rtns of ti» w.ul 1. M. Herve Fay svvs that half the liqunnr glass of pure absinthe is an unfailing remedy against diarrhraa. It is taken boforo' breakfast or setting out on a voyage.