d^arnell Uttincrattg ffiibtarg attiara, ^ttu fork FROM THE BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY COLLECTED BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Library ML 420.F72A2 3 1924 022 456 549 The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022456549 MY MEMOIRS AUTOBIOGRAPHY —OF- Kai^l Formes. PUBLISHED IN HIS MEMORY. Dedicated to the Franciscan Sisters. san francisco : Jas. ]!. Bakky, Book and Job Printer, 429 Montgomery St. 1891. MY MEMOIRS AUTOBIOGRAPHY -OF- KARL FORMES PUBLISHED IN HIS MEMORY. Dedicated to the Franciscan Sisters. SAN fRANCISCO : JAS, H. Barry, Book and Job Printer, 429 Montgomery St. 1891. Copyright, A. D. 1891, by Mts. Pauline Karl Formes. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PREFACE San Francisco, July 27, 1891. To the Reader : I wish to say that this book is published in an un- revised. form, exactly as dictated to me by my dear husband. Not a change has been made, neither in word nor expression. I hope that in this shape it will be most interesting and pleasing to the readers. I have donated this book, in his memory, to the Franciscan Sisters, so that the entire proceeds of its sale may benefit their hospital, now situated on Park Hill. I have given all rights, for all time, to these ladies. I am certain that this disposal of the volume meets my husband's wishes, as he always took the most vivid interest in the establishment of, and progress of, this most charitable institution. I beg all our friends, the friends of the Sisters, and the kind public at large, to add their mite by purchasing this book, and thus generously to help those self-sacrificing, noble ladies, in their sublime work of charity. Respectfully, MRS. PAULINE KARL FORMES. Autobiography of Karl Formes. I, Karl Formes, or, as I was called in baptism, Karl Johaan Franz Formes, was born at Mublheim, on the Rhine, opposite Cologne, on ^the 7th of August, 1815. I was the eldest of aiSe children, seven boys and one girl. My father was the Sacris- tan (Kuster and Cantor) in our little Catholic Church. His salary being small, and circum- stances therefore straitened, I supported myself from the age of eight years. I then began to serve Mass, receiving each time five pfennige, equiv- alent to one cent United States money. At mar- riages and christenings, I and the two other acolytes received whatever the good people wished to give us. For serving at the Requiem Masses, the munificent sum of ten silbergroschen (25 cents) was paid; on some occasions less; so, altogether, I earned from 75 cents to $1.00 per month; this paid my schooling and clothing. My first debut as a singer was made at that age, by singing " Gratis Nunc " in the Midnight Mass on Christmas. On that occasion I received a kron- thaler ($1.25 U. S. currency). The donor was my AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. god-father, Johann Franz Bertholdy. Looking at the silver in my hand, I thought, " Now the. world is mine." With sUch riches I fancied I could buy all my heart's desires. Truth to say, they did buy my heart's dearest wishes. With my parents' consent, I took thirty-six piano lessons of our organist, Rittes- heim. Then my funds gave out. Pater Guardian rhurn, the prior of the Franciscan Monastery, iindly taught me the Gregorian chants and chorals, md the organ. The way in which the good Father Jiscovered that I had a voice was rather unique. One iay I was serving the Mass; the Priest in the choir who answered the responses had a very weak, ilmost inaudible voice; quite involuntarily, at the Qext response, I answered in a loud treble, when, ifter the Mass, Pater Guardian Thurn spoke of my roice to me; I was abashed, until I found that in- stead of punishing me, the good Priest decided to ;ake an interest in me, and to teach me. Singinj^ was my soul's delight; all day long my voice re- sounded. I must not forget to mention that at that time my iToice was high soprano, or rather descant. I sang bigh C with the greatest ease. When I was ten years of age, Herr Pelzer gave oae guitar lessons in exchange for my teaching him ;he choral music. On the feast of St. Clemens (the Patron Saint of )ur town), a banquet was given, at which all the Dhurch dignitaries, as well as the Municipal officers, assisted. The festivities took place at the Dean's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 7 residence. During the evening some one suggested my being sent for, to sing for the gentlemen pres- ent. My father came home to fetch me. Pianos were in those days not yet known. The instrument akin to them was the spinet, which was indeed a very primitive structure, although with its aid Mozart and other great masters composed their fine works. At Miihlheim there were but few of these; my father was the fortunate possessor of one. Our spinet could not be moved to the festive scene, so I borrowed Herr Pelzer's guitar, and to its accompaniment sang " Der Wirthin Tochterlein Am Rosenhiigel hob ich mich empor," and " Land meiner seligsten Gefiihle " by the poet Shier. My audience was exceedingly appreciative of ray childish efforts. Pastor Fils, from the Cologne Cathedral, looked at me awhile, seriously and silently, then said : " My son, you will one of these days be- come a great, great singer." A few days later ' I was called to the chief officer of our parish, Franz Hammerschmidt, and presented (in behalf of the gentlemen whom I had entertained with my songs) with a very fine guitar. Of course I was mad with joy; never had I dared to let my most ambitious fancy roam so far as ever to hope to possess a guitar, all my own. When I was compelled to perform some domestic duty which interfered with my guitar performance, I kept on looking at it, for out of my sight it dared not go. It is not surprising that the interminable playing was more than my father could stand, so AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. the guitar and myself were banished to the attic. Of course, at that time I thought it cruel and inap- preciative that he forebade " that eternal strum- ming and thumping." After awhile, we were eject- ed from the attic also. So I retired with the object of my adoration to the organ loft of the church, where no unappreciative ears heard me, and I was left in peace to play as much as my heart desired, or, better, as much as my poor guitar could stand. Our organist, my whilom teacher, died when I was eleven. As the position paid so little that no one wanted it, it was awarded to me. For three years I held it, fulfilling all my duties to the general satisfaction. I received from seventy to seventy-five thalers ($50) per year. During those years, I often visited Dom Capelle- m-eister Leibel at Cologne (Composer of Songs). He had taken a fancy to me and to my voice, and liked to hear me sing his compositions. With great avidity I gathered up all that he taught me, which was a great deal of harmony and other musical knowledge, as well as other studies. I was a very wild, mischevious boy, loving fun and frolic, but never doing anything absolutely wrong, as I had a strong inherent feeling of honor. In the the tower of our church I kept my dear pigeons. In our town there was a sneaky, hypo- critical fellow, who used to, from time to time, pre- sent our parish Priest with a few nice young pig- eons. Pretty soon I found out that they were my doves which he had stolen. So one day I watched AUTOBIOGlRAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. 9 him sneaking up to the tower after my pets. Quietly I watched him ascend to the top, then went and very nicely rubbed the whole length of the steps leading down with soft soap. He descended quicker than he expected to, and did not in a hurry present our pastor with any more pigeons. We boys had to heat the Sacristy at five o'clock on winter mornings, so that when the Priest came in for the first Mass, the worst of the chill was taken off from the room. We had free access to the Priest's wood-pile. One day, the old woman who was the Priest's housekeeper accused me of " steal- ing " some of that wood. I answered her back very sharply, and was punished for it. " My old wo- man," I thought, " I will get even with you." She was wont to go every morning to the hen-house to gather up the eggs. As soon as I had the oppor- tunity, I got the key and heated it well over the censer to a white heat, then carefully handling it with the tongs put it back into the lock of the hen- house. Didn't she shriek when she ^inlocked the door ! ! ! In our town there lived an "old maid," Mile. Arc, very wealthy, very aristocratic and very ill-natured. Some of us boys v/ere playing ball on the street through which she passed. Unfortunately, my bro- ther Franz's ball hit her on the cheek. The old dame was in a terrible rage and deliberately accused me of having thrown the ball at her. Of course, I was severely punished. " Wait," thought I. I de- liberated how I could repay Mile. Arc. At last. 10 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. with the help of our gardener, I conceived the most remarkable revenge. I got a large bowl and filled it with the saw-dust of oakwood, dampened it from time to time whilst it was standing under our kitch- en stove, carefully and tightly covered for several ' months. On Christmas night I set 'it under Mile. Arc's pew in the church. She did not stay long in the church after her arrival, for, in my bowl of saw-dust (which for that occasion I had un- covered) were myriads of fleas, which, of course, almost tormented the life out of poor Mile. Arc. I think I was suspected, but escaped punishment this time, as the old lady was not well liked. I must not forget to say, that, when I was nine years old, I wrotj my first love letter, to a little girl called Amelia Koch. My father read my poetic effusion and very foolishly gave me a severe whipping for it, which of course only led me to re- gard myself as a martyr and to continue the writ-~ ing of more billets doux. *At 14 years of age, I received my first bitter blow, when one day pastor Riimpler informed me that my services as organist were dispensed with, I being too young, and that another organist had been en- gaged, who was to receive a fixed salary, whilst mine had depended on the kindness of the parish. In my heart I knew that tlie pastor Riimpler had always disliked me, and had evinced that feeling for me even in my earliest childhood. Years after, when my successor and I had become friendly, he avowed to rae that when ray place was bestowed on AUTOBIOGRAPEY OF KAKL FORMES. 11 him, I had played infinitely better, and understood more of music than he did. That late triumph was gratifying. But it did not mend matters at the time, nor did it soften the blow which the loss of my salary was to my parents. My poor dear mother wept many a bitter tear at the deprivation which we had to suffer on that account. All this made my home very unhappy at times. My mother was faultless; my father was a good man, but very stern, and at times too hard and strict with me. So one day I made up my mind to go out into the world with a few pennies in my pocket and my beloved guitar slung across my shoulder. I had a friend, Herr Jungblut, sec- retary at the Mairie, who provided me with a sort of passport, a safeguard on my [^travels which insured a good reception for me and my friend George Becker wherever we wished to go. We walked until we reached Konigswinter, a little town, where we arrived in the evening. We went to an inn chiefly frequented by stage-drivers and teamsters. A lit- tle room was assigned to us, but we went down to the general sitting-room, where there were a num- ber of guests assembled. I sang various songs to my guitar accompaniment. My friend was an adept at the Tyrolese Yodlers, which he sung exqui- sitely. At the conclusion of our concert, which had drawn an immense crowd, George carried the plate around, which was soon heaped with coin by our generous audience. Then they treated us to as liberal a supper as we could possibly dispose of, and we went to bed perfectly happy. 12 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Next morning when we wished to settle our bill the host absolutely refused to take anything, saying that our songs had attracted so many people to the inn that he earned so much with what they had spent on eating and drinking, that really he was indebted to us. Encouraged, we visited many towns and villages, repeating our successes of the first night's impromptu concert, and filling our pockets with money. We went our way to the famous Drachenfels and arrived there on a beautiful, bright autumn day. The impression which the wonderful view of the Rhine towards the south made on us is inexpressible. We both fell on our knees, and I exclaimed: " 0. God, how beautiful is the world!" At the inn on that wonderfully beautiful mountain we gave another concert, with our previous success. This tour lasted three months. We went as far as Basle, in Switerzland; then returned home, our pock- ets filled with money. Now came a great change in my life. Something 1 had to do to help my parents ; my father meant it all for the best, but the pain was dreadful to my heart when he forbade me to become a " musician," for which profession he had a great contempt, apostrophizing it in terms more remark- able for their force than their elegance and justice. He proposed all sorts of trades, none of which pleased me, as all my ambition and dreams were for my be- loved music. The following episode will bear witness to my in- tense love for art : AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 13 The great actor Essler had come from Munich to Cologne. Every one spoke of him. I devoured 'every word I heard or read about him in the paper. Every evening a procession of people went from Miihlheim to Cologne, to attend the theatre. My heart and soul longed to see and to hear the great artist ; but how to do it ? I dared not broach the subject at home. One day I was the possessor of five groschen (twelve cents). I deliberated how could I get to the theatre for that sum. It was enough to pay the entrance fee to the gallery, but there was the toll on the bridge — two pfennige to go and return. I could not afford to take four pfennige out of my funds. What to do ? At last a happy idea struck me. It was an intensely hot summer day, and I wore a linen suit. Down I went to the bank of the Rhine, took off my clothes and tied them in a bun- dle, and fastened them around my neck. At the place called the " Katzen Kopp " on our side of the river I jumped in, and, being an excellent, fearless swimmer, gained the other shore safely, coming out at a retired place. I donned what was rather dry of my clothes, the rest I dried in the sun, and then dressed myself. I walked on towards the theatre; when I was near it I saw a tall, distinguished looking gentleman with a satchel in his hand coming out of a house; I asked a man standing there: " Is that not Herr Essler ? " The answer being affirmative, I approached the great actor, saying: " Sir, will you permit me to 14 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. carry your satchel ? " at the same time taking it out of his hand. He looked at me greatly surprised, but permitted me to take it. On arriving at the theatre, I handed it to him, bowing low; he asked me how he could repay my service. " Sir," said I, " I am amply repaid by be- ing allowed to do ever so slight a service for so great an artist." He answered: "Young man, you express yourself like one of superior education." EncouEaged, I told him how great had been my longing to see him, and how I had accomplished it. Very much pleased, he gave me a pass for every night on which he played. I was indeed happy then, but my hap- piness did not last long. It departed when Essler left Cologne. Shortly after that event I was one day visiting one of my mother's relatives, a brewer at Cologne (all my mother's relatives were brewers or farmers). He offered to allow me to stay with him, and to teach me his business. Liking him very much, and as I was obliged to choose some trade, I accepted his offer. I was very happy, as I had my evenings free, and could play and sing to my heart's con- tent. This opened a new era in my life. My voice had changed from a high soprano or rather descant, to a low baritone. By degrees it became lower, until I was twenty-four, when it reached the stage of basso profundo. Here I must digress to relate a little incident, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. ^ 15 One of our relatives, a Priest of the Cologne Cathedral, had heard me sing one of the soprano airs in the " Magic Flute " when I was a boy. After my voice had developed into a " basso pro- fundo," he, having much love for, but little know- ledge of, music, requested me to sing the same song for him. Naturally, I could not grant that request, but sang the " Qui sdegno " from the same opera. He was very much surprised at the change in my voice. Now, to return to my apprenticeship in the brew- ery. All day I worked very hard; the evening I passed musically. I and a few other young men had formed a little club of our own, ^nd sang quar- tettes, part songs, etc., etc. Indeed, our perform- ances were quite acceptable, so that by means of them I formed the acquaintance of the Conductor Kelch, and of the Poet Jean Baptiste Rousseau, of Bonn, who was the contemporary and ^intimate friend of the Poet Heinrich Heine. These gentle- men, having listened to our impromptu concerts, had become interested in me ; later, Kelch became my teacher. Behind the brewery was a large garden, which contained a pavilion especially for the use of the military officers, who there exercised gymnastics, fencing and shooting. The fencing master, Franzen, took a great fancy to me, probably on account of my immense bodily strength. I easily held an iron weight of 100 lbs. on my little finger, and whilst holding it wrote my name on the wall. Franzen 16 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. taught me fencing and pistol shooting, in both of which I became an expert. In after years I found both of those accomplishments of great service to me. In 1851, when I was engaged as primo basso as- soluto at the Imperial Italian Opera in St. Peters- burg, I made the acquaintance of several officers, who invited me to join them at target shooting. I never missed my aim. Hitting it even while firing at command, at the distance of fifteen paces, I accomplished the feat of firing my initials, " K. F.," on the target, which I did thus : The letters were written in broad, black lines, about an inch wide, the height of the letters being one foot. By firing six shots a day, and never miss- ing, I soon succeeded in accomplishing my feat. A near relative of the Emperor Nicholas (him- self a famous shot) heard of my exploit and tried to outdo it. However, I beat him, which at first displeased him ; but when I taught him a certain trick in the management of the wrist, by dint of which one rarely misses fire, as it steadies the hand, we be- came fast friends. To show his appreciation, he sent me for a Christmas gift a complete suit of Cir- cassian armor, consisting of a coat of mail and hel- met of the finest steel, ornamented with platina, a brace of pistols, two daggers, a sword and' a rifle. But to return to the brewery. There I stayed till the age of twenty, when, according to the Prussian AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 17 law (which is the same for the prince and for the beggar in the streets), I had to enter the army, where I served for two years. I entered as a volunteer in the 25th Regiment in Ooblentz. Karl Anchiitz, who died in 1870 at New York, was the conductor at the Opera, and of the symphony concerts at Ooblentz. Through his in- fluence I obtained music pupils, having received the permission from my superior officers to teach in my free hours. For guitar lessons I received two gros- chen, six pfennige (ten cents), for piano lessons five silber-groschen (twelve cents). I earned about five dollars a month ; for this I obtained many comforts which the other soldiers had to do without. Whenever I had a chance to sing I did so — how- ever, receiving no remuneration in those days. One year I stayed in Ooblentz ; after that I was transferred to Oologne, and when I obtained the rank of "Unter-offizier" (sergeant), I received permission to return to the brewery. While I was stationed at Ooblentz, I, one day, for some slight defect^ in my duty, was confined to the barracks for twenty-four hours. This came very in- opportune, for it was in carnival, and I had invited a young lady to go to the grand ball. I was on very friendly terms with the family, and my full dress evening suit had been sent by the tailor to their house, as I intended to dress there, going out in my uniform as prescribed. My gallantry revolted against disappointing the young lady; at last, after much thinking, my fertile 18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. brain struck on an expedient to leave the barracks. On the top floor of our building was a large room devoted to the tailor's use. It was filled with tiny- little scraps and ctittings of cloth. The walls and floor and ceiling were all of heavy stone. So, in the evening, I swept together all the rubbish in the room (the tailor of course not being there that day), and set it on fire. It burned beautifully, thick smoke coming out through the windows, and the smell filling the whole building (of course there was no danger of the fire extending). In the meantime, I had descended to our floor, and shouted with all the strength of my lungs, " Fire," " Fire." My screams, the smoke and the smell, caused the imme- diate arrival of the fire brigade and engines. While they were busy looking for the fire and extinguish- ing the burning heap of rags, I made good my exit from the barracks. I had taken a portfolio under my arm, and proudly passing the sentry, merely saying, " Ordinance," I went to my friend's house, dressed, and took the daughter to the ball. All was very pleasant for a while, when, all at once, to my horror, I stood face to face with my captain, Konig. "Formes," he exclaimed. With great presence of mind, I ignored him ; up he came to me, laid his hand on my shoulder, and asked me if I were not Formes. " Sir," I said, "what do you mean? I do not know you !" and very • proudly walked away from him. But I made an apology to the young lady; put her in charge of some friends, and, leaving the ■ AUTOBIOGRlPHY OF KAEL FORMES. 19 ball-room, ran as fast as I could^to her parents' house, where I quickly changed my clothes for my uniform, and ran back to the barracks as fast as my legs could carry me. Arriving there, I walked quietly past the sentry again, saying "Ordinance," and gained my room. Fortunately, my room-mates were asleep. Hardly had I got into bed, when Captain Konig, who had hastily returned, going the rounds, reached my room. Of course, I snored and slept very soundly, and was very much surprised when we were all sud- denly awakened. Notwithstanding his suspicions of the extraordinary likeness of the gentleman at the ball with myself, my innocence was so firmly estab- lished that he could prove nothing. Had I been found out at the time, my trick would have been very dangerous for me. It would have meant nothing less than, at the very least, ten years' arrest ia the fortress. Many years after, I met Captain Konig at a recep- tion at the Court, and related it all to him ; then, of course, he heartily laughed at it. One day, we were quartered in a small town, I and a friend of mine at a certain Baron's house. Here we were only passably well treated. Another friend of ours was in the home of a certain Count, where he was not made over-welcome. My friend and I called on him. Finding that he was out, I said to the servant at the door, " Tell that soldier who is quartered here, the Count X., that Barons A. and B. have called on him." Immediately the servant became extremely polite, 20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. and we three were feted and treated right royally, which we accepted with great condescension. On the last day of our stay, to our disagreeable surprise, we were invited to a dinner, at the same time with otir superior officer. Of course we sent " regrets." The following morning at the parade, our superior officer said, " Will the new Count and the two new Barons step forward ?" which we did. We received nothing worse than a reprimand, and an injunction not to do so again ; but the officer could not refrain from smiling. I must not forget to mention that my songs at the barracks, being heard in the surrounding houses, caused many a roast chicken, piece of roast, or ham, and even occasionally bottles of wine, to be sent to me by admiring cooks and housemaids. When I returned to Cologne, I resumed my for- mer life, working hard all day, and accompanying and lightening my work by my songs. In the even- ings, my former companions and myself resumed the practice of our music. Now comes the episode of MY FIRST LOVE. Her name was Mathilda. She was a tall, fair, handsome, Juno-like girl. My courtship was very romantic — quite troubadour-like. Every evening, before retiring, I serenaded her with my best songs, to guitar accompaniment. Her window looked into our garden. When, at the close of my performance, I saw a slight waving of her curtain, I retired happy, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 21 knowing that my adored one was awake, listening. The signal denoted " good-night." After some time of this musical courtship, we be- came finally engaged, with the consent of our pa- rents. Now, in Germany, an engagement is consid- ered a very serious and binding affair. All was ar- ranged. After awhile, I was to begin a brewery of my own. (I understood the business perfectly, be- ing now the head of my uncle's brewery.) After that, we were to be married. I was obliged to go to the country for some busi- ness ; and when, upon my return, I hastened to my darling's house, was astonished at the very cool re- ception given me by her mother; Mathilda I did not see at all. Finally, the mother told me that they, including Mathilda, had changed their minds ; she had a wealthy suitor, and all of them thought it best for her to accept him. I could hardly believe my ears, that my dulcinea could be so false and faithless and could so coolly discard me; I really was dreadfully hurt, my nature always liaving been very sensitive to slights and depreciation. I could not bear to think my idol of gold proved to be clay. No longer could I remain in Cologne, particularly as my young friends teased me about the girl I had so venerated. I went back to Miihlheim, and re- solved not to break my heart for her. I made the motto which I have guarded ever after : to "take the world as it is and not as it ought to be." This happened in the year 1838. In 1850, after the close of the London season, I came to Cologne. ' 22 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. At the hotel I listlessly took up the paper. Glancing over il, I saw advertised^, at a creditor's auction sal6, the brewery, and all property connected with it, of the widow W . That was the first time in many years that I had ever seen or heard more of my first love, Mathilda. " Now," thought I, "for my revenge." I sent for my friend, the auctioneer K , and gave orders that he should buy up everything, but bound him by oath not to reveal my name in the. business, but simply to tell the widow that she could continue, that all debts were paid. I gave him carte blanche to use as much money as he wished, and stock the brewery with all necessary ma- terial, also to engage workmen. Soon, I left Cologne, and forgot the whole concern. In 1852 I returned again. One day, a lady was announced, and in came Mathilda. Throwing herself at my feet, she exclaimed' : " For heaven's sake, Karl, not this kind- ness; I have not deserved it." For a long time she iSobbed and cried, and then begged my pardon for what I had suffered through her in my youth. I quietly raised her, and said, " Mathilda, I have had my revenge." Once more she expressed her thanks, then quietly left for her home. Now I will return to the y«ar 1838. When I re- turned to Miihlheim, I tried to forget my troubles by, close application to my work (at a brewery), of which I had plenty. At that time, my father's health began to fail, and many of his duties at the church devolved upon me. Voluntarily, I instructed a choir of eighteen choristers in the Gregorian AUi;OBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 23 chants and chorals, and perfected them so that the Miihlheim choir became famed in all the surround- ing country and cities Never have I heard better chanting, and seldom aa jiod. Once I was very proud, when, at a great feast, the church dignitaries, who came from Cologue, brought their own choir. When I heard of this intention, I was rather nettled, and took such pains that my choir sang even more excellently than usual ; and when I afterwards heard that the clerical gentlemen acknowledged the superiority of the Miihlheim choir over that of the Cologne Cathedral, I was, indeed, more than repaid for my exertions. My friends, George Becker and Joseph Gerber, and I sang, my faithful guitar accompanying us, on every occa- sion that presented itself, both at Miihlheim and at the surrounding towns. Besides that, we made occa- sions for displaying our musical accomplishments, by serenading all the young ladies we knew, on all possible occasions, such as their birth and Saint's days. One of my duties', in my father's 'stead, was to at- tend the parish Priest when he was called to the sick and the dying. I must relate what happened on one of those occasions, to show my readers what is the really heroic life of A NOBLE PRIEST. The night was terrible, beggaring all description, absolutely one of the worst I ever remember. It was in the end of November ; the wind blew a tem- pestuous gale ; the snow, and sleet, and rain beating 24 AUTOBIOGKAPHY OP KARL FORMES. against us so that we could not raise our heads. lu this terrible storm I had been called to accompany Vicar Engels on his visit to administer the last Sac- raments to a woman supposed to be dying. (Subse- quently she recovered.) I never have suffered from cold as I did on that memorable November night. A strong gust of wind blew out the light in the lan- tern which I carried. We had to grope our way in the darkness. The place we were going to was fully a mile beyond the town limits. At last we reached our destination, a miserable hut, and the inside was terrible. Such a sight ! In the room (if so it can be called) was not a vestige of furniture, nothing at all. In one corner, upon a few rags and a little straw, lay the appar- ently dying woman. By her side knelt her hus- band and an old woman, both poverty stricken and emaciated looking. On this bitter cold night these poor people had neither fire, nor clothing, nor food. It was a marvel to me that three were not frozen to death. The Priest fulfilled his sacred functions. Those finished, with tears streaming down his face and clasping his hands, he exclaimed : " How ter- rible ! " He emptied his pockets of the few coins he had, and giving them to the man said : " Soon you shall have help." We took our way home un- der the same difficulties that we experienced in com- ing, through howling wind and driving sleet. I was happy when, after seeing the good Priest into his house, I got into my warm bed. That same night, after two o'clock, the night watch AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 25 arrested a man whom they suspected of theft, as at that hour he was out in the street carrying a large bundle of bedding and a huge basket filled with victuals. When one of the watchmen raised his lantern to look at the. suspected thief, to his conster- nation he recognized Vicar Engels. Hurriedly he said : " Gentlemen, let me go to fulfill a sacred duty." On his return home he had packed up his feather bed and pillows, and all the food in the house, to carry them -quickly to the poor people whom he had left in the hovel. This holy man would not permit the watchman to carry the things there instead of him, but of course they accom- panied him. Vicar Engels came of a very wealthy family, who often sent him presents of clothing, linen, etc. As soon as he received these gifts he gave them to the poor. In Germany it is cus- tomary, or was at that time, to have washing done every three months; at some houses at even greater intervals. When his relatives (after having sent a great quantity of new linen) sent for the quarterly washing, there was rarely any to be found; it had all gone to the poor. Vicar Engels was indeed a Saint. After this I had several odd adventures, which, had I not had the presence of mind to investigate them, would have given rise to several GHOST STORIES. GHOST NO. 1. In the year 1838, quite a panic was created in Cologne and the adjacent towns, by frequent church 26 ^ AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. robberies. In our church we had a most valuable monstrance and other rich objects which had been donated in centuries gone by. For that reason my father was notified by the police to watch the church most carefully, particularly as it was isolated, just on the high bank above the river Rhine. My father being sick, this devolved upon me. We kept our guns loaded in case of any emergency. One night the clock had just struck 12. A vigorous pull at the door bell awoke me; at the same time one of the night-watchmen cried out : " Herr Formes, robbers are in the church !" Hastily I donned my clothes, seized my heavily loaded shot-gun, and called my faithful dog " Hurrah." Quickly we reached the church. One of the watchmen was Kallenberg, a cooper, a man of great size and strength, a veritable giant; the other a little fellow, Leverich, a tailor, the very counterpart of his companion; during the day both men worked at their trades; at night they served as night-Watchmen, in that way augmenting their little income. On reaching the church, my "Hurrah" rushed in Bhead, just as I opened the door; not a sound disturbed the silence; perfect darkness reigned ; the only glimmer- of light pro- ceeded from the sanctuary lamp burning before the main altar. Kallenberg held my lantern aloft, when a terribly resounding blow on his cheek felled him to the ground, the lantern of course following, being smashed into atoms. I, paralyzed with terror for a moment, stood motionless. Let my readers imagine the situation, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL POEMES.- 27 the very "uncanny" situation, in which I was placed; the dark church, one of my companions felled to to the ground by a mysterious blow, proceeding from — no one knew where; perhaps he was dead; the other man I knew nothing of. The touch of my dog aroused me from my lethargy, and my presence of mind returned, little by little, ^ I resolved to get a light, going to the altar I took one of the large candles, and lighted it at the flame of the sanctuary lamp; at the moment when I raised up my burning candle, I heard a loud noise, as of wings whirring past just behind me; at the same time I noticed a shadow on the opposite wall. Now, thought I, where there is a shadow, there must be a substance. Encouraged by that thought, I lighted all the altar candles, and took a survey of the church. Right opposite to the altar before which I stood, I perceived "something" unusual on the gal- lery railing in front of the organ. The "something" was very large and now began to move a little, raising my gun I fired and brought down an immense owl, the largest one I ever saw; it measured, from the tips of the wings across, four feet. The bird had evidently, during the evening, come in through one of the sky-lights in the roof, and of course, through its large size, could not make its exit in that way. The shot, resounding through the church in the stillness of night, was heard at some distance and brought several people, two of my brothers and our Rev. Pastor Antwerp; I was still gazing at my booty, when their knocks sounded 28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. on th& door; only when they questioned me did I re- member my companions; their existance had been obliterated from my mind by the excitement to solve the secret of the mysterious presence. We found Kallenberg lying on the iioor like dead; the poor man had received such a shock that it was fully three weeks before he recovered entirely, and was again able to stand on his feet. Leverich, who had not the courage of a lion, we found hiding under a bench, and it took all our united entreaties and explanations before we could infuse him with , courage to come out. GHOST NO. 2. In our town there lived an old woman called Clems. She was in her dotage, arid was considered of uncommon old age; she was so bent that when she walked she appeared absolutely doubled up. The charity of the parish supported her. When my grandmother was asked by the authorities what she knew of Fran Clems, she said that when she came to Miihlheim, a young newly married woman, Frau Clems was there, and was then already old. I said before that our church stood high on a bank above the Rhine, eighty feet above the river". The embankment was formed by a strong stone wall, still remaining from the Roman times. From the river, steps led up to the church. In one wing of the church, the catafalque and all the accessories re- quired at requiem masses were kept. Sometimes, when people lived far away in the country, they brought their dead the night before the funeral to AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 29 Miihlheim, and they were deposited in the * Capp- hauschen," as the people called it. Probably owing to this, the steps up from the river were considered " haunted." As a warning not to go there, was cited the case of a man called " Tong," who had the har- dihood to walk there one night, and had suddenly felt the clutch of a hand on his hair, and ever after • retained the white mark of a hand and five fingers on his dark hair. In those times, people were very particular and strait-laced as to being in the street late of evenings. It was considered highly improper for a young man to brave the public opinion so boldly as to be seen out as late as ten o'clock. One evening, I and a few of my friends had met at the house of one of my companions, and passed "the evening singing, until one of us noticed that it had become the tabooed hour of eleven. Instantly we separated, each to his home. None lived in my direction ; and not wishing to lose my reputation by being seen in the street at eleven p. m., I walked along by the river side until I reached the "haunted" place. Boldly I went up the steps till I came to a sort of landing, where there was a turn, with a kind of niche in the wall, in the curve of the landing. My dog " Hurrah" (who, as usual, accompanied me) to my momentary surprise and alarm refused to go on, whined, drew in his tail, and, shivering and trem- bling, rubbed close to me. Looking around, I saw a flitting shadow depicted on one side of the old wall, in the moonlight. " Shadows," thought I, " are the 30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY Cfp KARL FORMES. reflecfcidn of substances." Not liking to make any further investigations unarmed, I ran home to fetch my gun. My father remarked my excitement and questioned me. He begged me not to return to that " terrible" place. His parting injunction was, "Re- member Tong." I nevertheless went, undaunted, to " lay the ghost," and nearly succeeded in that " too well." Going and returning took about ten minutes. I saw the same flitting shadow as before, making all sorts of strange gestures and motions. I called, "Who is there ?" Receiving no answer, I raised my gun. That familiar gesture inspired my dog, who always accompanied me on my hunting expedi- tions. I fired. Fortunately, the dog was so quick that when he saw me about to fire, he rushed for- ward and brought something to the ground ; so, thank God, my shot went into the wall. Awful shrieks followed ; and what should I see but poor old Frau Clems, whom my dog had thrown on the ground, but not injured. The shot and the woman's screams had by this time attracted the attention of the watchman, who came and kindly took the poor old thing home. After that, charitable people took her in charge,^ so'she could not go out nights any more to frighten people by her childish pranks. GHOST NO. 3. A wealthy old man, whom I will call S , died in Miihlheim. He left a son and two daughters. A month or two after the old man died, the report went through the town that S 's house was haunted. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 31 • The daughters were then living at the house of a rel- ative. People had seen the old man, like a regula- tion ghost, dressed in a white sheet, at the windows, at midnight. There were also lights appearing, and rattling of chains heard by the neighbors. This went on for several months. The house was for sale ; but certainly no one wanted it, with its ghastly inhabitant. My curiosity was aroused ; so one night I went out to see the ghost. Really, as^ twelve struck, I saw a figure in white appear at the window, and heard rattling of chains. The figure waved first a light over its head, and then waved its arms — in fact behaved like a popular spook is sup- posed to behave. I went home and related the vi- sion to my brother Franz, who at first was a little reluctant to go with me next day ; but as my former experience with spooks had ended somewhat natu- rally, he thought, as I did, that we might succeed in " laying" that one also. This time we armed our- selves with stout horsewhips, climbed over the wall into the deserted garden, all overgrown with rank weeds' and populated with cdts. At last, we found a window unlocked, and softly entered the house, and crept along till we reached that part of the house where S 's ghost was usually seen. We^hid in a closet. A few minutes before twelve, quick steps came up stairs, a big chain was dragged up. Enter, the ghost in his every-day clothes. With his back to our hiding-place, he "began to make his toilette, by wrapping himself in the sheet, then lighted the candle, and was just going to the window, when 32 ^ AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. whack came down our two whips on his back. Now the ghost did scream quite unearthly yells ; but we did not desist till he promised " never to do so again." It was old S 's son ; the rascal thought to buy the house at a very low figure from his sis- ters,, who had a share in the property. He begged us .to keep his secret, which we did, thinking that our quieting of the ghost had been suflBcient. As I grew older the wish to become an operatic singer became more fervent. In 1838 I was invited to sing at a concert given in Cologne under the su- pervision of my friend Hofrath Rousseau, Kelch be- ing the conductor. The proceeds were for the fund devoted to the reconstruction of the throne at Rense, where in the middle ages the coronations of the German Emperors had been wont to take place. This concert took place in the Eiserschen Saale (Hall) in the Comodienstrasse. I made a great im- pression by singing " Ein Shiitz bin ich," from the " Nachtlager in Granada," by Kreutzer. I sang it in B flat to suit my voice, accompanied by a horn quartette. My second piece was " In diesen heiligen Hallen" (Magic Flute) by Mozart. Some of the members of the Arbeiterverrein (a singing club), of which Kelch was the conductor and I a member, in their enthusiasm carried me around the hall on their shoulders. Amongst them were my friends, the brewers Johann Nolcken, Bar- doff, Shaben, etc., etc. Altogether, my reception and triumph that night almost bewildered me. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 33 Next day, while I was at work at the brewery, Dr. Rousseau called, accompanied by manager Kock- ert, who was primo basso of the opera as well as manager. . He offered me an operatic engagement, which, however, I did not accept, out of regard to my father's wishes, who, as I said before, was op- posed to my adopting a theatrical or musical career. One evening the following incident happened in a perf .mance of "Don Giovanni" — Kockert the " C^mmendatox-e." Kockert was very apt to become dizzy ; so, in the first part, instead of being on horseback, he stood in the first scene and sang from there, whilst one of the supernumeraries was placed on the horse. This evening, they had forgotten to call Kockert, who was waiting in the dressing-room. The scene begins ; Don Giovanni steps up to the statue, and sings his invitation ; no answer ; he re- peated it twice ; no 'answer. Involuntarily, I, from the gallery where I sat, sing a loud and deep "Yes." That was my first operatic performance. One can easily imagine the laughter and amusement of the audience. There was a universal call of "Da Capo." The police came up on the gallery, and asked : " Which of these gentlemen did that ?" The answer was : "Der steinerne Gast" (the statue). I sang now at many concerts — two of them given by Rousseau, oiae at Cologne, the other at Miihlheim. Gumpert — (the baritone, actor, and later composer of popular songs) — heard me, and animated me, so that I resolved to go on the stage. TheTjrewery I 34 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. had left when I went on the concert stage. I studied with him now Sarastro — Magic Flute; Gior- gio-I Puritani; Oroveso-Norma; Gaston-La Dame Blanche. I also studied acting with Karl Keibel, the celebrated actor and teacher. I continued thus until 1842, when Spielberger, who was now impresario of the opera, engaged me. I made my first appear- ance as Sarastro, in the Magic Flute, on the 6th of January (Epiphany), 1842, at the Stadt Theatre, Co- logne. Not often has a debut been such a triumph as mine was. This opened a new world for me. My salary was forty Prussian Thaler, monthly ($38.50). In the second year, I received fifty Thaler. Imagine, I the Primo Basso To return to my debut : In the first act, the Queen of Night gives instructions to IJamena, her daughter, to kill Sarastro, and gives her a dagger. The negro, Monostatos, overhears the plot. When Pamenais alone on the stage, and says, "What shall I do ?" Monostatos seizes the dagger, and says, "Trust me and love me ; well, girl, yes or no ?" Pa- mena answers, " No." Then Monostatos raises the dagger to stab her. Now Sarastro has to step forward, seize the dag- ger and save Pamena. I, strong as a lion and play- ing my part very enthusiastically, rushed at Monos- tatos with such force as to throw him down. He fell flat on his stomach ; his left foot caught in the prompter's box, threw that over, and revealed the prompter sitting there in his shirt sleeves. Braun, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 35 who sang Monostatos, did not have the good sense to leave the stage now, but stood there with his hands pressed to his stomach, crying out : "0 Lord! Lord ! I'm so sick ! !" The amusement of the audience can be imag- ined. When, later, I sang the " Qui sdegno," and came to the words, "And if a man falls," the roars of laughter of the audience were repeated. The bassos at the Opera House besides myself were " Or- lein" and "Raberg." During my first year Spielberger came on the stage one evening between the acts, and said in his peculiar manner, taking snuff out of his vest pocket in imitation of Frederick the Great: " Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to tell you that the Kaiser- liche Konigliche Hofopern and Kammersanger (ti- tles) Herr Staudigl, from Vienna, the great basso, will do us the honor to stop here on his way to Lon- don, and to give us a few performances." I was indeed happy, for I had heard so much of Staudigl, and, much as I expected, what I heard went beyond all my imagination. I found no words to express my admiration of him. The re- membrance of his performance was so powerful that 1 lay awake night after night, thinking and study- ing about it. After his first performance, as T was leaving the theatre, the other two bassos, " R. and 0.," came up to me, saying: " Well, Formes, what do you say to that?" My answer was: "Gentlemen, ask me next year; then I hope to answer you." 36 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Now I began to study day and night in the season '43. We sang all through the summer. One evening, Spielberger came very excitedly on the stage, telling us that Staudigl would again sing at Cologne on his return from London. "■Herr Spielberger," said I, " I wish to sing in every opera in which Staudigl sings, no matter how small a part be mine. But one thing you must grant me, that on the evening when the great basso arrives in this city, I must sing ' Bertram ' in ' Koberto.' " With his Berlin sarcasm, he answered: " My son, are you resolved to break your neck ? " My answer was : "If I break it, it's my own." In the first, the third and the fifth acts of " Ro- berto," Staudigl made . certain alterations. I had paid particular attention to that and carefully studied his version. During the year which had elapsed between the appearance of the great singer, I lived at the " Ro- merthurm am Zeughaus," a very old building; the walls still stood from the Roman occupation of Koln. My neighbor on the right was a lawyer; on the left a physician. At six in the morning I began to study, either "Bertram" or "Marcel.' Although my neighbors were fond of music, it was too much for them, and they both threatened to move if I did not begin to study later in the day. We compromised by my beginning to practice at 8 o'clock. At the rehearsals and performances of AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 37 ' Roberto," I sang the above-named passages aS written by Meyerbeer. The evening of Staudigl's presence, to the aston- ishment of the audience and my colleagues, I sang Staudigl's version of them, which comprises the range of two octaves from low F to high F. For a moment there was perfect silence. It seemed liked a panic — not a sound. The orchestra stopped. Then such a storm of applause followed as I have, seldom heard. Herr Herman Guillaume tore the sticks out of the drummer's hands, and beat with all his might and main on the big bass drum, screaming: "Hur- rah ! Hurrah ! " After the third act, Staudigl came on the stage, accompanied by the conductor and composer, Con- radin Kreutzer and Spielberger, who introduced me to him. Staudigl tpok me by both hands, saying: "Young man, I congratulate . you with all my heart; you have indeed studied hard this year." Then ho turned to all the principals as well as the chorus, who were all on the stage, and said: " Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to introduce to you my successor." His words pr6ved prophetic. In '45 I really held that position at the Imperial Opera House at Vienna. The reason of his leaving there was, that besides his conditions as to salary being fulfilled, he wanted to insist on having a private box reserved for him- self. That could not be granted, according to the rules of the Opera House. 38 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. My colleagues on that eventful evening of my operatic debut were: "Alice" — Mme. Weichsel- baum, "Princess" — Mme. Lembach; "Roberto" — Shunke. Spielberger was requested that Staudigl and I would appear in one op«ra; "I Puritani" was chosen; he-"Eicardo" ; I-"Giorgio." Staudigl's voice partook more of the basso cantante quality than of the pro- fundo. I noticed on that evening, to my astonish- ment, that the great artist took his tone too "open," so that, when, in the duo, " Suoni la Tromba," he essayed the C flat, he failed for a moment, his voice forsook him, through having taken the " open " (forced) tone. The audience was horror-stricken; it seemed as if something terrible were impending. When the curtain fell, the applause seemed forced and un- natural; it was most painful. " Raise the curtain," I called. " Herr Staudigl, we must redeem our- selves, come on." The curtain rose. We ad- vanced to the footlights; Staudigl bent over the prompter's box, and said to Konradin Kreutzer, the conductor (and great composer) in his Viennese dialect, "Conradin von viirn" (begin again). I do not believe that duet was ever sung, nor will ever be sung a^ain, as we sang it then. He did redeem himself indeed. In the middle (the octave), from Do to. Do, our voices sounded exactly alike, so that one could not distinguish one from the other. I consider that Staudigl was the most perfect , in every detail of the vocal art AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL POKMES. 39 amongst all the great singers whom I have heard, but he was not a good actor. His vocalization, fiori- ture, all was perfection. I consider it a great com- pliment for any artist to be compared with him. I must mention a comical instance which oc- curred at our theatre. The fine actor, Fritz Seebach, had the failing of sometimes drinking too much. One evening when he represented " Gessler " in Wm. Tell, he was in- toxicated, and fell down on the stage. This, of course, scandalized the audience. A few evenings later he played the part of " Holtzmann " (servant), in the comedy, " Gefahrliche Tante." When he ap- peared, the gallery demanded, that he apologize for his conduct in Wm. Tell. He appeared to pay no attention to this demand, but takes up a play-bill and turning to his master, who asks him, " What are they playing to-night?" reads, " Wm. Tell, Grand Romantic Opera, by Ros- sini; Gessler — Fritz Seebach." "No, no, sir; there we do not go; that fellow is always drunk." The gallery accepted the apology. I now engaged inyself to the Royal Theaire, Han- over, under the intendant Count Berglass-Water- ford, to be there on the first of April, 1844. Through Spielberger's intrigue this was frustrated. He managed to have me called to the Manouvre, I having been sergeant-major in the army. I notified the Hanover management of my inability to be there. They, however, accepted no excuse, but sued me for breach of contract. To save my salary I 40 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. had to make other arrangemeuts with Spielberger; my former contract with him was void. We agreed that! should receive five Thalers per evening, and sing ten times a month. This was a verbal agree- ment merely, so I was entirely in his power, and at once he began to pay me very irregularly. Spielber- ger was impresario of five theatres, and nicknamed the A-B-C nlanager, for the reason that the initials of the cities containing these theatres followed in al- phabetical order, thus: A-Aachen; B-Bonn; C-Ooln; D-Diisseldorf; E-Elberfeld. In Dusseldorf, Henc- kel was his co-manager. In thfe fall of the year, the Elberfeld Theatre was to be opened. The poet and playwright, Roderick Benedix, was acting manager with Spielberger. There 1 was to sing during one week four parts " Bertram," " Sarastro," " Marcel," and "Rocco." I told Benedix that I would only sing if I received my salary in advance. This was promised. I had twenty Thalers in gold. At the end of that week I went back to Cologne, and asked Spielberger to pay me the rest of my salary still owing to me, viz., thirty-five Friedrichsd'or. He sarcastically asked me to show him a written contract to that effect (taking his snuff in the afore-mentioned manner). I looked at him for a moment; " Herr Spielberger, I have the honor to bid you farewell," was all I said. That evening I left per post-chaise for Bonn. Then I took " extra post " for Coblentz, for I was well aware that Spielberger would, if he could, have me arrested and brought back to Co- logne for breach of contract. Near 3 a. m. we ar- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 41 rived at Coblentz. The postilion gave his horn- signal (a peculiar one for "extra post") as we neared the "Trierschen Hof " (hotel). Of course a very important, possibly aristocratic, guest, was expected to arrive per " extra post." The doors flew wide open; the host, Massen, the head waiter, and several other waiters appeared, ready to usher the high per- sonage into the house; but their disappointment was somewhat great when there alighted myself, who took my valise on my shoulder, and coolly walked toward the Rhine, followed by the sarcastic laughter of the waiters. I waited by the river-side till 5 A. M., when the night boat from Cologne arrived (the "Concordia"). I at once went on board, told the captain. Van Zandt, who was a good friend of mine, about my affairs; he locked me in his cabin; took the key into his pocket; that was hardly done, when Spielberger, accompanied by a police officer, and armed with a warrant for my arrest, appeared. The captain allowed them to search the ship, but forbade them to enter his own room; so off we were a little while later. When some distance from the shore, I came out on deck and raised my hat to Spiel- berger, who still was looking towards the ship. Safely we reached Mannheim, where Vincenz Lach- ner was Capellmeister (conductor) at the Court theatre. He had some time previous in Cologne offered me an engagement-there whenever I wanted it; so I sang at once. In February, 1845, the celebrated tenor Wild came to hear me, and to report on my merits to the 42 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. " Imperial-Royal Administration of the Court Opera House" at Vienna. He heard me as " Marcel" (Hu- guenots), and it was arranged that I should sing, in the month of July of that year, three times at Vi- enna on trial, Staudigl having left for reasons I mentioned in a previous chapter. Of course, I gladly accepted the honor. On my way, I stopped at Munich, to sing three times under Conductor Franz Lachner, the com- poser. I traveled by post, as it was chiefly done at that time. The weather was bad ; the roads almost impassable. For that reason, we arrived at Passau too late for the boat which was to take the passen- gers to Vienna. To pass the time, I sauntered through the streets. Coming to the Cathedral, I en- tered, and saw the altar draped in black, for a Grand Requiem Mass was about to be celebrated. T asked a young Priest whether I could get permission to look at the organ. He very kindly led me into the choir, where soon the singers began to chant the " Requiem Eternam" in that lazy, draggy, listless way, without any regard for the grand and sacred words, which is but too often the case in choirs. I could not stand it any longer ; all at once, I fell in with all the power of my voice. It seemed as if an electric shock had struck organist and singers. At first they almost stopped in sheer surprise ; then they took, up the spirit of the music, and the rest of the Mass was sung as it should be. When I sang the " Languentibus" to my own organ accompani- ment, I was told that the Bishop (who was in the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 43 Sanctuary) turned around and looked up. The Mass concluded, the young Priest (my guide) re- turned, and invited me to come to the Bishop, his Grace having sent for me, and awaited me in the vestry. I was honored by his blessing. When I told him that I was on my way to Vienna, he expressed his regrets that he could not hear me sing again. The management of the Imperial Opera House at Vienna, as well as myself, were aware of the great difficulty of any one filling the place of Staudigl. Upwards of thirty bassi had sung on trial, and none of them succeeded well enough to be engaged. They wanted me to sing "Sarastro" on my first night ; but I decided to sing one of Staudigl's best parts — "Ber- tram." Heinrich Proch conducted ; the house was crowded to the utmost ; my reception was, according to the Viennese manner, very cordial and friendly. When, in the first act, I sang the passage (of which I spoke before), going from the low to the high F, great applause and hearty " bravos" greeted me. In the third act, when, in the duo with Rambaldo, I sing, "Si ogni fallo e un piacer," a storm of applause followed — verily, a storm — which was indescribable. I had to repeat it. After the air, "Delia Gloria," the audience could not be quieted ; they demanded repe- tition after repetition. The same in the scene at the Cross. In that scene it was that Mile. Liebhart ("Alice"), when. I approach her with the words, "Tu mi conosci ? tu sei morra, morra, il tuo padre e tutti tuoi morran," was so terrified that, instead of holding on to the Cross for protection, as she should. 44 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. with a shriek of horror she ran off the stage. She said "All was so terribly real that she could not stand it;" she thought there was something " diabolical" about me. The audience, believing it a new version of Alice's part, applauded to the echo. In the same act, is the duo between Bertram and Roberto, generally omitted, or, if sung, very much " cut." Perhaps this time was the first that it was sung entirely at Vienna. That "gigantic" King of Tenors, Joseph Erl, sang " Roberto." He was a vo- calist of the old Italian school, perfect in every de- tail, and a remarkable theoretician. Never have I seen any one read music as he did. He would take a new part, never saw it before, hold it upside- down, and sing it without a mistake. Alas, he had no dramatic power. His Arnold — Tell, Raoul — Huguenots, Roberto, Otello, Edgardo, I never have heard sung with such perfection. The cast on that eventful evening was : Frl. Lieb- hart — "Alice;" Mme. Hasselbart — "Princess; "Erl — "Roberto;" Reichart — "Rambaldo," and of course my- self — "Bertram ." Including the finale I was recalled twenty-five times. My appearance as "Bertram" was quite a revelation at that time. The part had hitherto been represented not as a diabolical man, but dressed as the regulation devil of the pantomime, with little horns, a tail, and glittering " folio" under the eyes. I dress the character as a courtier, an emissary of the demon in the guise of a gentleman, all black with some gold embroidery (not much of it), very pale, waxy face, hair combed up over a puff, and AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL KORMES. 45 heels a little high, so that I am taller than any one else ou the stage. The eflfect is very striking. Mephisto, in Faust, I do not dress either as most Mephistos do. I wear black — (a costume of those times) — and simulate a lameness (the horse's hoof5 without showing any defect in feet. On the lame side I drop my arm, also in a manner simulative of inertia. After my debut as "Bertram," I was at once engaged to succeed Staudigl. His words had proved pro- phetic. My second opera was Sarastro; my third. Marcel; fourth, Figaro. It was for the first time in ten years that the last named opera was sung — never since the time when the baritone Fortini had sung Figaro. After I was in Vienna quite a while, and had repeatedly sung all my roles, it happened that one evening, when I had been called before the cur- tain repeatedly, in all. twenty-fbur times, after the third act I was told that a gentleman wished to see me. I had him admitted to my dressing room. There entered a small man, about forty, in court dress. He addressed me in broken German accent, mixed with Italian words, and astonished me by say- ing that I delighted him with my acting, phrasing, voice, dramatic power, conception of the part, etc., and ended by saying, " but you do not know how to sing," or, as he expressed it, " aber du konnen nicht singen." My readers may imagine that I was a little startled. Turning to our librarian, Walters, I asked : " Who is that gentleman ? " The speaker resumed: " I forgot to tell you my name; it is Bassa- 46 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. donna." Up I started, bowed deeply before the great and celebrated tenor and teacher. Professor BassadonnS was the greatest vocal master whom I have ever met. I humbly begged him to repeat his criticism, which he did; explaining that what he meant by my not knowing how to sing was, that my tones were uneven; each one had a different color- ing, and that, as I sang too "open," formed my tone incorrectly, I begged him to grant me an interview, which was appointed for the next day. I at once engaged to take lessons with the great master, and studied with him during three years, while singing at the opera. Then I learned the true, old Italian method; how to save the voice, how to join the reg- isters evenly, without a break, etc. After my third lesson, on arriving at home, I went before the glass, looked at myself, and said: ■' My boy, you do not know how to sing, bilt shall know how before long." And I did learn how to sing. After I was with Bassadonna one and a half years, he asked me to teach some of his pupils. He wished to be assured of my capacity as teacher as well as singer. I satisfied him perfectly. It was then, already, that I began to work, at intervals, at my " Method of Singing," completed only a few years ago. The true old Italian method is the only voice- preserving, and not voice-destroying, method, as so many others are — those so-called German or French, or no matter what the name may be. The Em- peror of Brazil invited Bassadonna to come to Rio Janeiro, and to establish an imperial conservatoire AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 47 there. That was in 1848. He sent the imperial yacht to Versailles for Bassadonna. In Brazil he was received with all the honors due to him; but, alas, very soon after his arrival, died of yellow fever. Bassadonna was contemporary with Nourrit, the tenor and -idol of the French capital. Nourrit's ca- reer had been very short, his voice soon becoming impaired by the method (so-called French) in which he sang, viz., producing his tones forced. He thought to regain his beautiful organ in Italy, and went to live at Naples; but, alas, the beautiful voice was gone. Bassadonna as Otello (Rossini) had made such a marvellous success that the world rang with his name. Nourrit went to hear him; returned home, and in a fit of despair, when he had heard the new star, and remembered what he had lost, he threw himself out of the window, and next morning was found dead on the pavement. So greatly had he been honored by the Parisians, that the city of Paris claimed his body, and had him brought from Italy to the French capital, to be interred with all honors. Some say that it was Duprez's success at Paris which was the cause of Nourrit's despair and suicide. Bassadona told me the following sad story of his life, whilst tears rolled down his face. He was in the zenith of his fame^when his wife, in a fit of cause- less jealousy, put poison in a glass of lemonade which he was in the habit of taking when returning from the opera at night. Fortunately, this did not kill him ; but, alas, it 48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. ruined his voice forever. He left her, but his affec- tion for her still continued — so much so, that he supported her till the day of his death. Sometimes his voice came back for a little while, and on one of these occasions he sang for me (and how he did sing !), " Una furtiva lagrima," from " L'Elixir d'Amore " (Donizetti). Words cannot express what that voice was. The voice was really " una lagrima " (tear). I wept like a child. I could not endure the thought that that voice was gone irredeemably, merely to return like the spirit of the voice and then to vanish. One day my valet announced that an old man wished to see me. When he entered, I noticed his appear- ance was that of decayed gentilit3^ Although his tall figure was clad almost in rags, he was scrupulously clean, his hair silviery white. He introduced him- self in these words : " I am the old conductor, Gir- owitz." Up I sprang from, my seat, as I was in the presence of one who had the honor of being per- sonally acquainted with the great master, Mozart. Girowitz had written some fine Masses and other Church music ; also, some fine ballet music, with which I was familiar. 1 gathered from him that his poverty was so great that on that day he had not yet eaten anything, and that this sad state of affairs occurred very often. I need not say that a meal was prepared for him at once ; then I sent for my tailor and had him measured for a decent suit of clothes. Besides, I gave the poor 75-year old conductor suflBcient money for present wants. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 49 I promised to give a concert for his benefit, and tried to interest all the prominent persons with whom I was acquainted in the project. But wher- ever I asked for aid I was put off with certain in- sinuations against the character of Girowitz. I asked every one what had he done ? "Was he a murderer ; or guilty of theft, burglary, arson, or what? The answer was the same from all sides : "Oh, er ist holt e Bomack" (he is a Bohemian). So his crime was that he was not a Viennese, but was born in Bohemia. I then went to the Kaiserlich- Koniglich (imperial-royal) intendant Count Zethin- itzky. He told me to get director Balachino to inter- est himself in G.'s behalf. Balachino refused even to grant me the hall "in der Tuchlauben." I was simply furious, and told them "something will happen to astonish and shock you all, even at the risk of my position at the Imperial Theatre." However, I waited till my vacation in April. I had given my word the concert "must" take place. Every one was against poor old G., whose great crime and disgrace it was that he was from Bohemia, and that he was poor in his old age. I went to an inn called " Im rothen Hause," I be- lieve in the faubourg "Auf der Wieden," a very re- spectable, plain inn, patronized chiefly by mechanics and trades-people. I announced on posters and hand-bills that the " Imperial-Royal-Court-Opera-singer, Karl Formes, will give a song recital in the large dining hall of 50 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. ^Rothen Hause,' in aid of the celebrated old com- poser and . musician, Girowitz, contemporary and friend of the great master, Mozart." Entrance fee, ad libitum. Seldom has anything in an artist's career caused so much comment as this action on my part. I need not say that the place could hardly hold the people who crowded in. Four gentlemen of the best society aided me by going around during the evening tak- ing up collections. Some of my songs I' accompanied on the piano ; others with the guitar. When I played the latter I improvised a stage by having my chair raised on the large table. It was announced to me that two ladies in a carriage at the door wished to see me. I obeyed the g-ummons, and found a lady of the very highest nx)bility (who shall be nameless), but she was the only one of the Imperial Family, who in the sad days of '48 did not lose courage and bore her head up bravely. The younger lady, her companion, was also of the Court. The old lady was very angry, and said: "How dare you, in your position, undertake such a thing." I answered : " Your — (title) — , I found all doors closed ; even the hall ' Unter den Tuchlauben' was refused to me for my purpese, to aid the poor suf- fering old Girowitz." I had given my word of honor to do what I ■could for the Hof-Capellmeister (court conductor) Girowitz, and certainly was in duty bound to keep my word. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 51 After a shart pause, she asked : " Is it possible for us to hear you sing?" I answered in the affirmative; then made arrange- ments for them to get a room adjoining the hall. It had two doors, one leading into the hall and another into a smaller passage, where the ladies could enter and make their exit without being seen, and from there they could hear me sing. I then sang to the guitar accompaniment, " Laud meiner seligsten Gefiihle," by Klein, tod "Der Stille Zecher," accompanied by Hofcapellmeister Proch on the piano. The great lady left a handsome gift for poor G. When I accompanied them to the carriage, she took my hands, looked fixedly at me and said : " You have a character of iron; I am pleased with you." I kissed her hand, saying: " — (title) — , my heartiest thanks for your kind words." The proceeds were over six hundred . Gulden (florins). It was a sight to see the four cavaliers walk up to poor G., and hand him the plates heaped with money, from the Gulden down to the six- kreutzer pieces. G. wished to come into the hall, but, for fear of an ovation from his friends and of insults from his enemies, we counseled him to re- main in another room and to listen to the music whilst partaking of a good supper. His sad days were over now, for the Princess E., the younger of the two ladies, took pity on the old musician and gave him a regular annuity, so that his old age was no more troubled by want. 52 autobiogkaphV of karl formes. gottdank. The second contemporary of the great Mozart with whom I became acquainted was our stage man- ager, Gottdank, the septuagenarian, who had sung " Tamino" under the great master's baton. The day after I had sung " Sarastro," he came to me and said: "Oh, if the Great Master had but heard you last night how happy he would have been." It was he who introduced me into the room in which Mozart wrote much of his grand work. It was in "Alt-Lerchenfeld " in " Der Bretzen" (name of the inn). There I was shown a mug out of which the great composer used to drink his beer; his inkstand, a few pens* and several pieces -of pa- per, with musical passages written thereon. These were kept by the host (the son of the host who had been Mozart's contemporary) as holy relics. For the evening of my initiation into that, to me, almost sacred precinct, there were invited to meet me, the old Baron Seyfried and the great contra- punctist (theoretician) Segter, Beethoven's friends. Beethoven had always given his compositions to Segter to look over and correct any accidental errors before they were performed. When I entered I looked around the dimly-lighted room, which was illuminated only by one tallow candle in a rude wooden candlestick (the same as in Mozart's time). The room looked weird. I stopped at the door^and sang, " In diesen heiligen Hallen " (in these hal- lowed halls), from the "Magic Flute." The old AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF KARL POKMES. 53 gentlemen arose, doffed their caps, and stood as if Idst in prayer. From this time on, I often visited this room, and sat there long hours alone, accompanied sojely by the memory of the great master whose presence had hallowed this dingy little room. I now studied with Segter " den gezifferten Bass," and "' die Akkorden Lehre " (thorough bass, com- position, and instrumentation). Segter had a very odd habit; every morning before his breakfast he composed a little fuggata, dated it, and laid it on a shelf, never paying any more attention to it, so that at the end of every year there were three hundred and sixty-five fuggatas added to, those already com- posed. For how many years this mania continued, I do not know; but in his library his compositions (all of this style) were piled up so high and so close, that only a narrow passage was left open in the middle of the room, leading to his writing desk, which stood in front of the window. Strange to say, although Segter was the greatest theoretician the world ever saw, his compositions were never of enough consequence for him to attain any renown as a composer. They were wonderful compositions, exponents of musical mathematics so to say, but alas! no soul. Knowledge of the highest order, science, but no genius. Everything which had any connec- tion with Mozart and Beethoven was sacred to me; every place which had been frequented by them was hallowed for me. Through my acquaintance with the old gentlemen of whom I spoke, I heard 54 AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF KARL I'ORMES. much that pleased me, but also much that was pain- ful, about BEETHOVEN. He was accustomed, when composing, to sing all the parts for the different instruments of the or- chestra, and at the same time to make gestures indi- cative of playing those instruments. One of his favorite walks was in the HoUenthal near Baden (a little place near Vienna). One day he walked there singing and acting as usual. Some charcoal-burners, who chiefly inhabit that section, watched him for awhile, and then had him arrested for a maniac. As all musicians know, " Fideiio" was first com- posed under the ,name of " Leonora." The first ^performance of that eternal monument of Beeth- oven's genius was (incomprehensible to us) a "fiasco." The taste of the public was so enamored of Rossini's music that they would have nothing grander or deeper. The following was related to me by Segter and Seyfried, who had been eye-witnesses of the episode. Beethoven swore that tho world should never again hear "Leonora," nor would he compose another opera. Alas! he kept his word in regard to the last. During the time of the second French invasion, Marshall Gerard became commander of Vienna. Having a great admiration and veneration for Beethoven, and being familar with all the sonatas and symphonies, he had a guard of honor placed at Beethoven's door. As is well known, Beethoven's admiration for Napoleon I., before he became em- AUTOBIOGKAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 55 peror, was very great; and when he composed the " Eroica," he named it after the great general. When Napoleon made himself emperor, Beethoven drew a line through the name on his MSS., and wrote under Napoleon's name, "Auch einer von den Saukerlen"(also one of those piggish fellows). Beeth- oven was not an admirer of imperialism or mon- archs. He changed the name of his masterpiece so often, every time pasting a new sheet of paper over the previous one, that at last there was a thick cover enclosing the MSS. The name "Eroica," most suitable for that superb work, . remained. Marshal Gerard went to Beethoven and begged him to give a performance of " Leonora." Beethoven sturdily re- fused, giving his vow as an excuse. The marshal insisted, and at Tast suggested that the vow could be evaded by a change of name, which was effected; "Fidelio" was produced with unprecedented suc- cess. The public of Vienna, who had previously disgraced themselves by inappreciation of the great masterpiece, wished to redeem themselves, and ovation after ovation was tendered to Beethoven. His particular friends had arranged a nice supper for him at the restaurant "Dos Cameel" (the Camel), in the Naglergasse, a street which joins the Kohl- market and the Freiung. The friends were enjoying themselves by eating oysters and other dainties pro- vided for Beethoven, and drinking a good glass of Rhenish wine; all at once, a fellow entered who was nick-named " Der Hofbohm " (the Court Bo- hemian). He was from Bohemia, and was wont to 56 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. court success at every opportunity; his business was to arrange opera music for dances. This fellow took it upon himself, in his Bohemian-Austrian jar- gon, to congratulate Beethoven, at the same time reminding hird of the previous " fiasco, " and ad- vised him to write more for the public taste. It is no wonder that the great' master, in his fury, kicked over the table and rushed madly out of the house. His faithful friends, Segter and Seyfried, quickly followed him at some distance. On they went, until they reached the " Shottenthor," one of the city gates, where Beethoven stopped and gazed a long time up at the heavens. It was at that time very fashionable among the society people of Vienna to promenade evenings on the " Glacis." Of course all the passers-by knew Beethoven. Seeing him stand motionless staring at the sky, many a one remarked, as they often did, " There is the crazy Beethoven." All at once he pressed his hat down over his eyes and screamed out as loud as he could: " The whole world may — '■ !" an expression much more expressive of his contempt of the world than elegant. Then he rushed on towards the Alstervorstadt (a suburb), from there on to his dwelling; his friends watched him till they saw him safely home. Next morning they went to his house after ordering a nice breakfast to be brought there, and everything went on pleasantly; they taking care to make the great master happy by speaking of the unequaled success of " Fidelio ". Laughingly one of the gentlemen spoke of the ludicrous scene at the ^ AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. 57 Schottenthor, and Beethoven's not very courteous invitation to the " world." Beethoven became very serious, but not angry. He took Seyfried's hand, pondered a few minutes, then said: "As long as I said that to the world, they shall af least have it in music," went to the piano and struck the four opening tones of the 0. minor (C. mol) Symphbny. It has been said that the four tones denote the four knocks of fate on the portal of the " future " world. This is the interpretation of an individual who played in the orchestra, and went on errands and delivered messages for Beeth- oven; therefore had the audacity to wxite on his cards under his own name, "ami de Beethoven." It stands to reason that the great master's intimate friends gave me the authentic version of the origin of the C. minor Symphony. mozart's grave. In 1845, it became a sort of rage in Vienna to erect monuments. At last they took it into their heads to put one up over Mozart's grave. Now came the question: "Where is Mozart's grave?" To my horror, I found that not one knew where he had been buried; was it in the Wehringer, or in the Masslinger cemetery? The only thing that was known for a certainty, is that he fills a pauper's grave, or, rather, is in a grave together with twenty- five paupers. My heart aches when I think of it! He was buried on a stormy day, and his wife did not even 58 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. have the deceucy to accompany her hushand to his last resting place. She respected the immortal name, "Mozart," so little that she married an insignificant Danish Baron Niessen. A committee was formed. Archduke Ludwig presiding, to try and find out his grave. I suggested that the best way would be, to erect a pil- lar in the Messlinger and one in the Wehringer cemetery (one is in the east and one is in the west of Vienna), and to build an arch over the city, from one pillar to the other, and place a statue in the mid- dle. This, of course, was a sarcasm on the late respect to be paid to the great master. Drachsler, a jour- nalist (brother of the basso Drachsler), took great pains to try and find the grave. At last we found an old violinist, who had played in Mozart's orches- tra, but, alas, he was in his dotage, and when we spoke of Mozart to liim, all he could do was to burst out crying, and say: "Oh, oh, the great master ! the great master! How I love him; he is my idol! " Mozart's everlasting monument is his great works. Strange to say, the greatest legislator, Moses, and the greatest master, Mozart, both names beginning with the same syllable, lie in unknown graves. One day, our librarian, Walter, presented me with a programme of the first performance of the "Magic Flute," under Mozart. It read thus: "Die Zauberflote," Singspiel, in 2 Akten, von Shikane- der, die Musik dazu, von "Wolfgang Amodeus Mo- zart?' In English — " The Magic Flute, a play in two acts, by Shikaneder. The music is written by W. AUTOBIOGEAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 59 A. Mozart." The name of the opera, and of Shik- aneder, who wrote the (in many parts) most qbsurd text, were printed in large type; the rest, including Mozart's name, in very small, as if of no conse- quence. About this time I met and became intimate friends with the poet, G. M. Saphir. All his peculiarities and quaint, witty sallies and sayings have been so much commented upon and written about, that it is unnecessary to repeat them; but one thing I must mention: One day, the conversation turned upon Italian opera. He said that when any doggerel verse is too miserable to be read, then it is taken for the text of Italian opera. We were wont to meet at the Cafe Francais, on the Stephan's Platz, every day after dinner, to play a game of Tarock, whilst drinking our after-dinner cup of coffee. - Eichard Levy, nicknamed " little Levy," on account of his diminutive size (he was a great artist on the horn), sat next to Saphir, and did, what he had repeatedly done for several days, to our great annoyance, kept on advising Saphir how to play. Moreover, his ad- vice invariably caused Saphir to lose. We both lost patience, and I exclaimed: " You must have taken lessons from my countryman, Meiternich, your god- father, how to meddle with what does not concern you." We had a few words more, and I was after- wards accused of having expressed myself disre- spectfully in regard to Metternich, who had spies everywhere in the city. The Levy family had been Jews, and when they were converted to Catholicity, 60 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Metternicli stood as Richard's godfather. The least remark made not favorable to Metternich, was re- garded as almost blasphemy. My expression caused' nearly a panic amongst those in the cafe. I was sum- moned on account of uttering disrespectful expres- sions about the prime minister, and ordered to call on him and to ask his pardon. I was awfully angry, and rejoined: " My countryman, Prince Metternich, from Coblentz, born in the Metternich mansion"", otherwise called* the ' tin factory' (which was a fact, but why, I could never find out), must really have an exalted opinion of himself, to think that I would do that.'.' In consequence of my remark, I was sen- tenced to fourteen days' imprisonment. The man- agement of the Imperial Opera protested against this as being their loss, and insisted that each time be- fore I was to sing, I should be free for twenty-four hours, so as to be in good trim for the performance and twenty-four hours after each representation also, in order to rest before the next opera. So that my arrest, during the fourteen days to which I was sen- tenced, was only forty-eight hours, viz.: twice I was locked up during twenty-four hojirs, and that of course, in a decent room. I was per- mitted to see my friends. Amongst them were many of the highest Hungarian nobility. Every one brought some present, chiefly wine, such as To- kay, champagne, etc. In the place of my imprison- ment were those who were locked up for debt — many gentlemen of the nobility and even several ladies of good position. The last night I spent AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 61 there I invited my particular friends, the prison au- th6rities, and those parties imprisoned for debt. — gave them quite a banquet with the wines and deli- cacies which my friends had brought. By 3 o'clock A. M. the only ones who remained perfectly sober were Count B. and myself. Those least sober were the authorities. In 1S45 Flotow wrote the opera " Stradella " for the Karthnerthor theatre — the part of " Malvolio " — (robber) — for me; "Stradella" — Erl; AnnaZerr — "Leonora." "Stradella" was, as first composed, a ballet. By my advice, Flotow changed it into the opera. As Balachino, manager of the Karthner- thor, had no faith in its success, Flotow had it sung first in the theatre " an der Wieden," under Pokor- ni. The immense success was then repeated at the Karthnerthor. In 1846 he composed " Martha," by request, for us, the following cast: the part of "Plunkett " — for me; Zerr — "Martha;" Theresa Schwartz — "Nan- cy; " Erl — " Lionel." Now, Halevy had composed the " Mousquetaire de la Reine." We, in Vienna, found too much dialogue in it. The administration of the opera requested Halevy to come from Paris to re- write it with less dialogue, so that is the reason why there are two versions of the opera. At that time our artists, great as they were at Vienna, were not very good in dialogue, as they a^ had more or less of the Viennese dialect. The cast of the " Mousque- taire de la Reine" was the following: soprano — Zerr ; tenor — Erl; baritone — Leitner; basso — "Capi- taine Roland " — myself. 62 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. I interested all the male artists of our theatre and of the other heading theatres to organize a club for our mutual improvement. This was not to- be ex- clusive to the principal artists, but open as well to those singing the small parts and to members of the chorus. At our meeting we discussed all the partic- ulars of the operas, the characters to be represented, their peculiarities, 'time and place of argument, etc., even the costumes, so that they were historically correct. The first thing, however, was to correct the pronunciation, of our leading artists; viz., to get rid of the Viennese dialect and to speak decent German. Thanks to this club it is, that, in 1846 and 1847, the Karthnerthor theatre stood, as a dramatic institution, above any in Europe, When Meyerbeer, on his visit in 1846, to Vienna, saw " I Ugenotti " and " Roberto " at our theatre, he was delighted, and said the tout ensemble of the per- formance, even to the smallest details, was "perfect." It was more than he ever expected could be done. In the seasons of 1845 and 1846, " Stradella," "Mar- tha" and " Le Mousquetaire" had become such favorites that hardly another opera was sung. All the seats were taken for two seasons in advance. OTTO NICOLAI. This great composer of the " Merry Wives of Windsor " was my particular friend. He was a lit- tle man in size, but great as conductor and com- poser. He, not being an -Austrian, had many dis- agreeable things to contend with. At that time, in Vienna, it was looked upon as such a great privi- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. 63 lege to belong to the Austrian Empire, that it was almost a reproach to be a Prussian ; but Nicolai, as well as myself, were quite equal to an answer on that score. Nicolai could be very sarcastic. One day he complained to me that an in- trigue was at work against his operas. In the " Heimkehr des Verbannten " (return of the exile) and " Templario" I had splendid bass roles. The management would take no notice of my anxiety to place those operas on the repertoire, to be sung dur- ing the season, sol requested an audience of the Erz- herzog Karl Franz, father of the present Emperor, Franz Joseph. His Royal Highness promised me that those operas should and must be given. I had not expected that in vain. I well knew his frank, noble character. The success of those operas de- cided Nicolai to -write the " Merry Wives of Wind- sor." The character of " Falstaff" he composed for me. The drinking song underwent many changes before it exactly suited us. At last it was what we wanted. The first few measures, I may say, were my composition, as I suggested them to Nicolai. Alas ! we never appeared before the public together in that opera — viz., he as conductor and I as " Fal- staff." Disgusted with the intrigues against him, he left Vienna for Berlin in 1847, and after a short residence there he died. Imagine, the " Merry Wives," when sung in Berlin, was a fiasco ! The opera which was worthy of Beethoven or Mozart a fiasco ! ! It required the management of the Berlin opera to make a fiasco of such a masterpiece, and 64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. that management was quite capable of any dirty- work, of any sacrilege. Nicolai literally died of a broken heart ; he never rallied from his. disappoint- ment. The intendant, who was the willing and direct cause of the non-success, had the impertinence to say to the great composer, when lie asked for a repe- tition of the opera, and that it be better performed and mounted, etc. : " I do not think you would wish for a second fiasco." An answer to this was beneath my friend's dignity. I did not sing " Falstaff" (al- though composed for me) till the year 1853, in Ham- burg, when, during the fall and winter, I repeated it forty-two times. The success was immense. The drinking song and the duo for bass and baritone, " Wie freu ich mich " (how glad am I) caused un- bounded enthusiasm. I represented Falstaff, not as a fool and buffoon, but as a cavalier, even though he be a drunkard, a rascal and a boaster. I believe my conception of the part is as Shakespeare intended it, and that generally the role is played too coarse and too vulgar. The popularity of the duo became so great that, wherever I went, I heard it sung and whistled. One day I walked in the harbor. " Wie freu ich mich " sounded on the air, and, looking up, I found the voice came from the top of the mast, where a sailor was singing it. The proprietor of the "Apollo Saal" (hall), Kreling by name, begged me to attend a masked ball which he gave one evening. He invited me to be present in his box. I accepted, and, on entering, saw eight Falstaffs; all came to AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. 65, meet me, singing, "Wie freu ich mich," took me up and carried me around the hall on their shoulders to a throne, whilst the throng present took up the air, and all sang, "Wie freu ich mich." This reception had, of course, been all pre-arranged. This opera, causing such enthusiasm, achieving such popularity, had experienced a fiasco in Berlin. What a stain on the pro tern, management of the Royal Opera House. When, in 1846, Meyerbeer visited Vienna, he asked me why I had not yet sung in Berlin. My answer was that I had no connections there. He insisted that I should sing " Bertram " and " Mar- cel " there. I consented. From Vienna he went to Spa, and wrote to me from there that all was ar- ranged; on the first of May I was to be at Berlin, so as to sing there during that mouth. Arriving on the fixed date, I went to the Opera House and in- quired for the intendant, the " ober-regisseur " (chief director). Stabinsky received me, and took me into a room where sat a man with a terribly swollen face, swathed in a bundle of flannel. Very courte- ously he kept his seat, holding his swollen cheek, whilst I told him about Meyerbeer's arrangement, and his answer to my explanation of my presence was, in the Saxon dialect, something like this: "Oh, Lord, that Meyerbeer always does such stupid things; we have a lot of basses here." "Who is this gentle- man," I asked of Stabinsky, who was awfully em- barrassed, and hardly knew how to answer or to apologize. He of the swollen face was Kistner, the 66 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. intendant. He continued in the same dialect, " Oh, Lord, I didn't mean to insult you." " Sir," said I, " there is a degree of ' Flegelei ' (an essentially German idiomatic word; the English, as near as possible, is boorishness) which is so beneath a gentleman's notice that it cannot insult; this refers to your conduct." Once more, in 1854, 1 met the knight of the swol- len face. The Emperor William the First (God rest his soul, better and nobler man never lived) was, when yet Prince of Prussia, in London, and heard me sing at the Covent Garden, Royal Italian Opera, where I was prime basso assoluto. I was invited to sing at a soiree musicale at the Prussian Embassy. Chevalier Bunsen was then Embassador. His Royal Highness asked me why I had never sung in Berlin. I related my experience with the gentlemanly inten- dant. The Prince laughed heartily at the ridicu- lous position of Kistner, but was kind enough to be indignant at the rudeness proffered to me, and said^ "You shall be invited," which happened. Soon after the season of 1853, through Chevalier Bunsen, I had the honor to receive the invitation, and sang with immense success at Berlin, notwithstanding the many intrigues played against me by certain members of the press. One Rellstab, particularly, exerted himself all he could against me, as did also a man belonging to the opera company, who occa- sionally sang basso parts. This fellow was married to the daughter of an inn-keeper; so had a chance cheaply to give dinners to certain people employed AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 67 on newspapers (it were too complimentary to call such, members of the press), who, for the sake of more free dinners, exalted this man, and helped the intrigue against me. This was a drop in an ocean, and did not hurt me. "Vox populi, vox Dei. I left Berlin, after my engagement, not liking to be associated, even on the stage, with such people. I had wished to make my debut as " Marcel " or "Ber- tram," but through one of those intrigues, it was to be "Sarastro." Probably the people mentioned thought that if I were contradicted in this respect, I would not sing there at all; but I did not give them that satisfaction. The Prince's kindness to me was too precious not to fulfill his desire. At the end of the performance, a gentleman, all covered with decorations, but his face, this time, in etat normal came to me and said: "Oh, Lord, now I know, for the first time, how a baritone sings 'Sarastro.' " It was Kistner, who explained to me that in 1843, the tenor Manzius sang at Cologne, " Raoul " to my "Marcel," " Tamino " to rhj "Sarastro," "Belmont" to my " Osmin," in the " Elopement from the Se- raglio" (Mozart). He was accompanied by the Royal Court Capellmeister, conductor from the Ber- lin Opera. Taube, who heard me also as "Bertram " and on his return to Berlin, reported to Kistner that I was a baritone, not a basso profunda. So much for the intrigue against me. One evening, after the third act of " The Hugue- nots," His Royal Highness, the Prince of Prussia, later His Majesty, the Great- Emperor William the 68 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. First of Germany, came on the stage, addressed me very graciously, and turned to the intend ant, Van Hiilsen, of whom I say that his name has one letter too much, the n in the end; according to his capaci- ty he ought to have been named Van Hiilse (the German for empty husk). The Prince said in his laconic military way, " Hier bleiben" (remain here). Upon which Van Hiilse-n retorted, in his " mercantile " manner, when he tried to " bid down" artists, " Zu theuer" (too dear). My contempt of the fellow was so great that I did not deign to notice him, but made a deep salute to the Prince, and next day left Berlin. Cold, scientific Berlin ! I say in German, " Die Kalte Wissenschaft die alles weiss und nichts schafft" (cold science which knows all and creates naught). The difference between Berlin and Vienna is vast. There is more poetry in one Viennese paving stone than in the entire city of Berlin. But the popula- tion of Berlin are industrious and straightforward people ; there is no prevarication in their character. In Berlin, yes means yes, and no means no. After this digression, I must go back to the year 1847, when I saw Meyerbeer in Spa, after the famous Kistner interview. Meyerbeer promised that in his next opera he would write the basso role for me ; that was, " Peter the Great," in " rEtoile du Nord," which later I sang with great eclat in London. DONIZETTI. , Probably there are but few vocalists who do not AUTOBiyGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 69 sing Donizetti's beautiful aria, " La Zingara," and amongst those but few who are acquainted with the history of its composition. In Vienna there existed in my time a place called the " Tan- delmarkt," a market place where, according, to an old privilege granted them, on account of some service rendered to the city in olden times, the Jews sell anything and everything, both valuable and trivial. One day my friend Donizetti and I took a walk there, we both being interested in all things quaint and out of the common. This market place was much frequented by Hungarian and Italian gypsies, most of them very handsome. A splendid looking tall young gypsy woman approached us, calling out in a peculiar tone. " maroni," " maroni " (chestnuts), which she was selling. All at once she stopped short in front of Donizetti' (he had a pe- culiarly fascinating eye), gazing at him as if com- pelled by a charm to look at him. Strange to say, the same seemed to be the case with him. He could not avert his gaze from the beautiful Zingara. Angrily she stamped her foot on the ground, calling, " Non voglio " (I will not), turned quickly, and dis- appeared in the crowd. Very thoughtfully Doni- zetti returned home, did not speak a word, sat down at his desk, and in a short time produced the pecul- iarly lovely composition called the " Zingara." My two friends A. and 0. were sculptors, both of fame; both Italians. Their esteem and friendship for each other was all at once disturbed by their falling in love with the same lady, who, treating 70 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. them cordially, gave preference to neither of them. One day, we three were taking our coffee to- gether at. a Cafe. I noticed that 0. looked and acted very sullen and peculiarly. Finally, A. left us. As he passed out of a side door, C. bounded to his feet and rushed after him. An intuition of something terrible about to pass made me follow him, and fortunately I reached the corridor where A. was standing with his back to us, looking into the street through the glass of the door, and C. with dagger poised to strike at A. from behind. All this happened in a moment. I intercepted . the thrust, and received a deep, painful gash in the palm of my hand. The scar is plainly to be seen still. When C. saw the blood, his mad jealousy gave way to horror, remorse and regret. On his knees he begged my pardon and that of Jiis intended vic- tim. It was granted. I had my hand dressed, tell- ing the attending physician that the wound was caused by an accident. When it had entirely healed, and after a few months I tried to play the violin (which I loved and had played well). I found that I was obliged to give that up, the injury to a nerve being such that I could not hold the bow without a great shock of pain through my palm. Had C. been there I be- lieve I could have killed him, my disappointment was so great. One day, at Vienna, an old gentleman called on me, a very high aristocrat, and at the close of his visit invited me to his house, which I accepted. He AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES'. 71 presented his daughter, a very young lady, to me. The gentleman extended great hospitality to me, and treated me very amiably, so we became quite friendly. One day I called and found him out; the young lady received me, and was dissolved in tears, choking with sobs. She related to me that on that morning the Count had, all at once, told her that he was not her father; that she was adopted, and that he had made a proposal of marriage to her. If she refused she was to leave the house, without any provision whatever. What could I say to the poor thing? Of course I praised the Count's good qualities up to the skies (where should she go, what should she do if she accepted the alternative). At last she became quiet, and soon after! received their cards. But now, as soon as he was married, the old Count became a perfect tyrant. He was so unreasonably jealous of his young wife that he who had been so hospitable closed his doors to all visitors, I amongst the number. I had forgotten all about the people, when, a few months later, I received a note from the young Countess, requesting me to call that evening. Very much surprised I went there. She received me very pleasantly, and said she had much to say to me; and as her husband had that day left for Prague, it had given her the opportunity for an interview. Now she, who knew no more of the world than a little child, and could do nothing to support herself, had learned nothing but some very shallow accom- 72 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. plishments, wished me to tell her how to get away, and how to get work, as she could no longer endure the Count's tyranny and mad fits of jealousy. By this time he had got so far, that he absolutely did not permit her to leave the house any more without him; in fact, she was ^a prisoner. What could I say to the poor little Countess except' to tell her to give up such mad ideas ; that she was utterly unfitted for a battle with the world ; that she must abide by her husband and position, and stand it as best she could. All at once the bell sounds at one door which was the Count's private entrance. He had missed the train and returned home. The poor woman was really frantic with fear. The man who was always searching for causes for jealousy, what must he think now, when appearances, to his mind, were certainly against the wife. My presence of mind did not fail me in this plight, so I jumped up from my seat, tore the Countess's bracelets from her wrists; so vehemently did I grasp her wrists that I hurt her, and she gave a loud scream. I snatched a portmonnaie and watch from the table, pulled off my coat, pushed my hat down over my face, said to the lady, " I am a burglar," and rushed headlong down the stairs right against the Count and knocked him down. So I escaped, and the poor Countess was saved a terrible scene of jealous rage and an in- crease of tyrannical treatment. Now comes the strangest part. Next day he took it into his head to send for me to come to see him. I found him in bed, in order to recover from his rather imaginary AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 73 injuries received from the burglar, and he related to me " the robber story," how he just returned in the nick of time to save his wife, although the jewelry and purse were gone. It is hien entendu that the " burglar" restored the articles to the badly fright- ened Countess. Any way, the little woman sensibly bore her yoke, and .did not make any more resolves to try and earn a living. My vacation at the Karthnerthor theatre lasted from the first of April to the last day in July. In April I sang at Briinn in " Mahren " until the beginning of May. My engagement at Pesth was such that, had I arrived late, I should have forfeited the greater part of my salary. So, instead of going by way of Vienna, I went by Ganzendorf, and took extra post to Pressburg. There we had to pass the Custom House inspection. My trunk contained all sorts of theatrical paraphernalia — wigs, swords, pistols, daggers, etc., etc. One of the officers, after searching the trunks, politely asked me to enter a room. As soon as I crossed the threshold, he slammed the door to, and locked and bolted it from outside. My surprise may be imagined. I hap- pened to glance at the window and saw that it was grated. On approaching it, my eyes fell on a sentinel standing outside. I asked him what all these strange proceedings meant. His answer was, to raise and cock his gun. I retreated, think- ing, in this case, discretion the better part of valor. He then lowered the weapon. After a while an officer passed the window. Indignantly 74 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. I called to him, to demand the reason of my im- prisonment. He seemed irresolute whether to answer me or not. I told him my name and my position at the Royal Opera House at Vienna, and insisted upon seeing the Captain, who at last came. Indignantly, I threatened to have him discharged before four weeks should pass. By my language h could tell that I was neither Hungarian nor Aus- trian, and now modified his manners, which had been ver yrude at first. • After he had read my passport, he became so con- fused that, losing all presence of mind, he begged my pardon, and told me that I had been taken for Tshandor, a robber chief (later I saw him, and re- ally we resembled each other very much). The con- tents of my trunks confirmed their suspicions ; thus my arrest had come about. I arrived at Pesth half an hour before midnight, so was in time to fulfill ray contract. During my season at Pesth a young theological student called and asked me to try his voice, a splendid baritone. He was a member of the choral society, and had foundthat the stage was his voca- tion and not the pulpit. I taught him " Ricardo " in " I Puritani," and he sang the part to my "Gior- gio" in the same season. He created great enthu- siasm. This was the later so celebrated baritone Beck at the Imperial Opera House in Vienna. From Pesth I went to Ofen to sing at the "Arena" in the " Horwarthschen Garden," where the grand concerts under Strauss were wont to take placSe. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 75 This theatre was a covered amphitheatre. The back of the stage could be opened by sliding back the scenery, thus showing in the distance the fortress Ofen, or Buda, and a mountain called the " Blocks- berg, a very picturesque and wild scene. In the wolf s glen in " Der Freishiitz," and in the cross scene in the third act of " Roberto," this produced a grand effect. One night in the " Freishutz," just as I was kneeling in the magic circle calling " Samiel! Samiel! appear! appear!" a terrible thunder clap shook the house; the lightening flashed blindingly across the heavens, and the rain poured down in a tropical torrent. The audience was terror stricken at the fearful realism of the weird scene. " Erl " (Max) was so frightened that he made the sign of the cross a^nd began to pray. The rain was so heavy that we stood up to our ankles in water dur- ing that act. One evening I was invited by a certain Count to a reception. Together with myself, there was an- other world-renowned artist invited (the other an instrumentalist). We had had a great deal of music. I was tired, and, wishing to rest a little, retired to a small room and lay down'on a sofa, with my back to a portiere leading to another room. Sud- denly, I heard the voice of the artist in question appointing a rendezvous for the next day at the Tiirkenbad, in Ohristinenstadt. I recognized the voice of the lady saying, "Yes." The artist had once played a joke on me in Vienna. Now, thought I, I 76 AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF KARL FOKMES. will get even with him. In the morning I took the first boat to Christinenstadt, and engaged the Tiirk- enbad, which was a small hall leading to a subter- ranean bath. It was the only place where one could go without being seen by every one. There was no other chance for a private conversation. I had engaged a place for a period of three weeks for the hours between 9 a. m. and 3 p. m., knowing that the lady had to^be home by that time. The key I kept in my pocket. The boat arrived, and with it "L.," also the lady deeply veiled. " L." hastened to engage the Turkenbad, and found, to his great chagrin, that it was taken. So he had to return crest-fallen to tell his lady of his non-success, and had no chance to speak to her any more for fear of attracting attention. A few days latter I heard, by accident, that he invited her to Schwabenberg to breakfast. I took a carriage, and promised my driver five Gulden if we arrived there first. All these carriages are open, so there was no chance for sentimental conversation, as the driver would of course hear it. My five Gulden answered. I arrived first, and engaged all the rooms for imaginary friends. So when " L." and the Countess arrived, there was not a room to be had; and as the lady's social pos- ition did not warrant her sitting in the public dining-room, they had to return to Pesth, hungry. When soon after " L." returned to Vienna, I accom- panied him to the steamer, Erzherzog Franz-Karl, and then told him why and how I frustrated his endezvous with his beloved one. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OV KARL FORMES. 77 At Pesth, I was well received among the high ar- istocracy, was made much of, and gained many warm friends. I was told that I had been very well spoken of in a very high circle, when a lady whom I had never met said, very contemptuously, that " although the rest thought so much of Karl Formes, she, for her part, would not deign to receive the slightest service from him." Naturally, I was quite displeased at this unprovoked expression of contempt, and thought, " Perhaps some day a chance may present itself for revenge." Pretty soon accident favored me. One night, all the aristocracy crowded the Hungarian Opera House for the performance of the Hungarian opera, "Hunyadi Ladislau." The house was as packed as it could be. All that day dark clouds had hung threateningly over the Carpathian Mountains. Any moment the storm might break over the city. At the moment, when I was entering the vestibule of the theatre, I saw, alighting from a carriage, the lady who had expressed such contempt for my un- proffered services. I noticed that the carriage was not her own, but a hired one. Now, the first rolling of the thunder was audible over the city. A thought flashed through my brain, and I at once acted upon it. Not far from the Opera House was the club of the Law Students. Nearly all of them were friends of mine. The "Bleichiade" was the name of the house. There I went, related my pldn, which was received with great applause and acclamation by ,the fun- loving students; they were all ready to aid me. First, 78 AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF KARL FOKMES. I went home for money; then each one of us went to a different carriage-stand, every one hiring a car- riage to send to some distance, so that it was im- possible for the carriage to go and return in less . than three hours. I knew the opera would be over in about two. The storm increased; steadily the rain poured down, heavier, steadier and faster. The opera was over; no carriages were to be had or seen; the rain came down in torrents 'by this time. Those who had come in their private carriages were lucky; the others had to walk home. Among the last to enter the vestibule was the lady in question. Several gentlemen escorted her, all lamenting the impossibility of getting a carriage. The one she had come in was at a great distance by this time. As she had gone out in a hired carriage, her own had not been sent for. At last one of the gentlemen said, " There is a carriage opposite the theatre." I had remained in the vestibule waiting for my re- venge. I approached the lady, bowing low, and said, "That is my own carriage, but I am happy to put it at madam's disposal." Delightedly she accepted. I called the driver, -gave madam my arm, escorted her to the carriage, saw her seated and withdrew. She called me, and offered me a seat by her side, which I declined, saying, " What would the world say to- morrow ? " I recommended her to read the morn- ing papers to see why no carriage was to be had. That was my revenge. Later the lady acknowledged to many of my friends that her uncalled-for remark had been severely but justly punished. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 79 After my engagement at Pesth and Ofen, I was invited to spend part of my vacation with my friend Count G., whose estate was near Yetschkemeck. In the town near by we saw " I Puritani " announced, so went to the opera. * The manager came before the curtain and announced, with regrets, that the opera must be changed, on account of the illness of the " Giorgio " of the evening. Now I saw a chance for a bit of fun, and communicated -my intention to the Count. He sent for the manager, and told him that I, his friend, could sing " Giorgio," and would do so. Gladly the manager consented, made the an- nouncement to the audience, who, of course, ex- pected to hear an amateur. Quickly I dressed my- self, and was presented to the prima donna as " the gentleman who will kindly sing ' Giorgio.' " She, like the rest, believing me an amateur, kindly told me not to be frightened, as she woald help me through the opera. Then she told me how to walk, how to stand, what to do with my hands, etc., etc. " Just watch me, and I will make you signs as to what you must do; when to walk, when to stand, etc.," she said. I gratefully thanked her, and prom- ised to do my best. When I began my recitation, "Perche mesti cosi?" she looked puzzled; in the duo she forgot to prompt my acting; and by the end of the act she forgot to act herself, and stood staring at me in perplexity. Between the acts my friend and I retired to my dressing room, so no one could speak to me. The duo, " Suoni la tromba," roused the audience to the highest pitch of enthusiasm. 80 AUTOBIOGRAPHY DP KAEL FORMES. The baritone sang well, had a beautiful voice, only he pronounced the Italian with an abominably strong Hungarian accent. The walls resounded with screams of "Elye" (hurrah). Upon our ap- pearance at the encore of the duo, when at last the curtain fell, the baritone said to me, " There are in the world only two who can sing as you do: Joseph Staudigl and Karl Formes. Now, which one are you, Staudigl or Formes? " Of course, the secret was revealed. Another incident happened in Hungary, which was very comical. T visited another friend at Lem- berg, in Galicia. On arriving there, I heard that there was to be a performance of " Roberto," Herr Formes-Bertram. I was nonplussed, and decided to investigate. I took a box and went with my friend. Bertram astonished me by the likeness to myself. His make-up and acting was the exact counterpart of me; the singing quite good. Presently I recog- nized in him my pupil. Held, from Vienna. We went behind the scenes, and I told the Director about the pseudo " Formes." It may be imagined that Held was considerably frightened when con- fronted with me. Tremblingly he begged my par- oion, etc. I ordered him to take oJ0F the costume, donned it myself; and in the third act I came on the stage. It being in semi-darkness, the audience did not remark the exchange, particularly as Held had imitated my appearance so well. "Rambaldo" looked startled when, in the duo, I answered him. The audience was surprised at the difference in the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 81 voice, and finally concluded ttiat this singer was Formes, not the former one. When I was recalled, after the act, I insisted on Held coming out with me, and explained to the audience that he was my pupil, and did honor to his niaster by his good imitation; and that, as I forgave him, they must do likewise. I received another ovation. Held was thankful and happy at my leniency, and the audience was pleased. Before I left Vienna for this tour, I called on the Princess E. She belonged to a Hungarian family; all her estates and revenues were there. She was married to a Hungarian; but, being born in London whilst her father held a high Austrian government position there, she had never been in her own, hut not native country. " Herr Formes, bring me a cu- riosity from my own country," were her parting words. I promised to do so. I have spoken of my engagement at the "Arena " in the "Horwarthschen Garden." Count Horwarth, the poet, was a hunchback. Very kindly he placed a little villa in his garden at my disposal. It was entered like a castle — by a drawbridge. One night, after the opera, as I returned home, I noticed some- thing crouched down in a corner of the vestibule; I approached to see what it was; when there arose a young gypsy woman, of great beauty. These Hun- garian gypsies are a very beautiful race, and have many good qualities. One of them is, they are as faithful as dogs, and the women well behavedi I have heard of many instances where it proved a fatal experiment for people to make at all free with 82 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. any of them. It proved to be death to those attempt- ing it. I asked this girl how she came here, and what she wanted. She was really frightened to death, and begged me to let her stay, as her life was in jeopardy. She had displeased the Queen of her race by refusing the husband selected for her, and had run away. Now, if they found her, her diso- bedience would be punished very severely, probably by death. I told her she could stay anyway till next day; called one of the servants to give her a place to sleep. She made great protestations of gratitude, and really felt it. When in the morning early I arose for my walk, I found her lying outside my door, exactly like a faithful dog, across the threshold. I pitied the poor girl, and at last had a happy idea what to do for her. I went to a family with whom I was very friendly, and asked the lady to procure some plain clothes for the gypsy to put on, instead of her picturesque, fan- tastic costume. When the next steamer left for Vienna, I put her in charge of the captain, with a letter to the Princess E., in which I told her that, in accordance with her bidding, I would send her a great curiosity from her own country. Later, when on my return, I called on the lady, I found that the gypsy had adapted herself very quicklyto civilized manners and ways, and spoke German very well. The beautiful traits of fidelity and gratitude she pre- served, for she proved a good friend to the Princess in dark days; and, although she had many good offers of marriage, she would not leave her benefac- trfisfi. with whom she remained until her death. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 83 Heinrich Proch (the great genius) was a native of Vienna. As operatic conductor I have not, as yet, found his equal. In '46 or '47, there was a grand charity concert at Wiener Neustadt; he promised to compose an overture for that occasion. When I was in the waiting-room of the Southern road (Siid-bahn), in comes Proch, with pens, ink and music-paper and ink-bottle. The overture had been composed according to his promise, but the orchestral parts had not been copied. So I, Erl, Proch and members of the orchestra, were busy during the trip copying out the parts. When the orchestra began to play the overture, the copies were not yet dry. At that time the salary of a Capell-meister (conductor), was very small. In '46, Jenny Lind came to Vienna. She was a most excellent business woman; even her piety (?) was an advertisement. I have heard that when she married the Jew, Otto Goldschmidt, she told some appreciative listeners that, " it was to save his soul." She sang at the theatre " An der Wieden," in the Fauburg, not at the Imperial Theatre. In '45, when I heard her as " La Sonnambula," in Berlin, I was charmed with her. As " Norma," I liked her in the first act, when she sang " Casta Diva," but not at all in the rest of the opera. There was not a vestige of the Druid priestess in her representation; it re- minded one more of a disappointed society woman. At Vienna, great invitations were extended to the press, banquets given, etc., etc. The consequence was, Jenny Lind received grand ovations, and all the 84 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. journals found fault with our prime donne, who had, up to this time, reeeived the greatest praises. Erzherzog (Archduke) Carl Franz took great in- terest in the Imperial Opera House. One morning I had to call on him on some business.connected with our theatre; he wished to see the programme for the week. He interested himself also in the Burg thea- tre (dramatic). The Archduke was very fond of me. During our conversation he wanted to know why Jenny Lind did not sing at the Imperial Opera House. My answer was that " Our impresari, Mirelli and Balachino, take no interest in her." He further asked me why the press were all against our prime donne (he did not like that). I told him, that Jenny Lind ought to be invited to sing at the Karth- nerthor; that then the intrigues against our sing- ers would end. He coincided with my opinion ; told me to speak to Zffdlinitsky, the intendant. I made the proposition to him, and suggested to let Mme. Lind name her own price and repertoire. Zedli- nitzky at first would not hear of it, but at last gave in to the Archduke's wish. Finally Mirelli and Bal- achino received the order to make the contract for Mme. Lind to fill with her own figures, and I -and Shober (head stage manager) were directed to see her. She said she was very much flattered, but made no end of excuses so as not to accept the off'er, and wished to give a verbal answer. Shober would have accepted that, but I refused any but a written one. Finally she gave it, on the plea that her con- tract with Pokorni, impresario of the theatre "An AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 8,5 der Wieden " would not permit it. I suggested that she sing with us after her engagement with Po- korni was ended; but she left Vienna without sing- ing at the Imperial Opera House. However, my ruse answered; our prime donne, Anna Zerr, Mme. von Hassel-barth, Sabina Heinevetter, received no more unfavorable comments. 'The real reason Mme. Lind did not sing at our theatre was, that she knew she could not compete with those ladies. Jenny Lind sang Scandinavian songs to perfection; the voice in itself was remarkable; it had a peculiar ring, which was particularly noticeable in " echo songs." The effect was exactly as if one heard the echo. She was better as concert than as dramatic singer. Her acting consisted of a set of gestures, motions of the hand, steps to right and then to left, which never changed. If you saw her in a part once, you knew exactly what she would do another evening, to the minutest detail. I made a bet one evening with a friend who admired her, but had not seen her as " Noi'ma," that I would tell him every little detail of her gestures in advance. We were in his box. During the first act I told him all, viz.: I said, " Now she will raise her right hand, now will move her left, now will turn her head a little, now tuni up her eyes,"vetc. Exactly as I said, most mechanically she went through the act to the mi- nutest detail, just as I had seen her do it in Berlin. At the end of the' act the gentleman acknowledged that I had won the bet, and left the theatre in dis- gust. 86 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Manager Pokorni^ of the theatre " An der Wie- den," spoke a very odd jargon of German and Bo^ hemian (being a native of that country.) He had most comical ways of expressing himself. His wife died and left fourteen children. We all went to his house to attend the funeral. His rival manager, Karl, for whom he had a great dislike, also came to condole with him. Pokorni was just bewailing his loss pathetically: "Oh, Lord, what shall I do? what shall become of these poor children ? " All at once he spied manager Karl entering ; he added : "Con- found the fellow, must he come here and spoil all my pleasure ! " The German composers were slighted and the Italian ones given the preference. One day, in the " theatre," I met the Archduke Karl Franz, who stopped ■ and spoke to me about it. It was in - consequence of this conversation with me that Flo- tow, Marshner and iiortzing were invited to Vienna. The offer made to Lortzing from the Imperial Opera House was so poor that he preferred to go to the "An der Wieden." Marshner came to us, and gave his " Templar and the Jewess" (Ivanhoe). He was so delighted with the orchestra, that, at the rehearsal at the close of the overture, he turned to Meiseder and Helmesberger, thanked them all, and requested them as a favor to repeat the overture, which they did, this time without a conductor. The perform- ance was a grand triumph. Our club ga ve him a fine banquet at the " Goldnen Tiauben," in the Leo- poldstadt. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 87 The Viennese papers have always been wont to blame the Revolution in France against Louis Phi- lippe, as the inciting cause for the Viennese revolu- tion in '48. That was not the cause. The direct cause was the tyranny of Metternich ; above all, the " censur." The people were almost in the state of mind of "Don Carlos" (Schiller's) when he desires " the liberty of thought." Espionage surrounded us on all sides. We had a little club; most of the mem- bers were countrymen of mine from Cologne ; our place of meeting was the restaurant in the theatre "An der Wieden ;" the landlord, Conraths, was from Cologne. I received a friendly notice from Baron Du Bain, prefect of police, warning us to desist from meeting, as we were to be arrested some evening. Conraths was warned not to permit the club to meet, on pain of his restaurant being closed by the police. On demanding a reason for these severe measures against a social club, I was told : " It is feared that politics might be discussed." The name we had given our club, the " KoUner-Kammer," it seems, aroused Metternich's suspicions. His tyr- anny went so far that it was forbidden to say, " Das ostereichische Volk" (the Austrian people). The order was to say, " Die ostereichischen Unthertha- nen" (the Austrian subjects). In October, 1847, a deputation of literary men and publishers had an audience with the Emperor and begged for a modification of the " censur." Fine promises were made, but all remained as be- fore. The power was no more in the Emperor's, 88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. but in Metternich's hands. Had this deputation been treated as that of the students was, subse- quently, on the 13th of March, 1848, the Revolu- tion would already then have been declared. After we had been forbidden to meet at Conraths' restau- rant, we nevertheless visited it; however, in the public room, where every one sat, but we retaining our own table. On the evening when the deputa- tion to the Emperor had taken place we met there. The affair was discussed at all the tables except at ours. We were cautious, knowing that spies abound- ed everywhere. At one of the tables a man began loudly to denounce and to curse Metternich. A bust of his was on a bracket on the wall. Some one threw an earthen beer jug against it, smashing it to atoms; at the same time a voice exclaimed: "Down with the cur; he has nothing to do amongst honest men." This was greeted by loud " hurrahs." The host at once turned off the gas. When it was turned on again, the room was nearly empty. We who had " free souls" remained quietly seated at our table. At that moment the police entered. We deposed to having heard curses and a crash, but did not know whence they proceeded. This was the first step towards the revolution. The people began to speak independently of Metternich in public places. The brunt of the revolution broke out on the 13th of May, 1848. On that day a deputatioh of students went to the parliament (Herren-haus) to request that the professors of the University be exempt AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 89 from the " censur," which had taken such dimen- sions that not only books, newspapers and plays, operas songs, but also the lectures of the professors, had to be revised by Metternich before they could be delivered. The students were also desirous of joining the union of German universities. A great crowd collected in the streets, quite peaceably, just to see the students pass. As many of them were my friends, I also went to see the deputation. There were about forty or fifty students. The lead- ers were Fiedler, Shering and Paur. Paur was an unusually talented young man, the son of a Jewish banker at Pesth ; later he became converted to the Catholic faith, entered the priesthood, rose by his eminent talent, became the Empress Eugenie's con- fessor, and it was he who blessed the Suez Canal. The deputation entered the building ; a very few minutes after screams of " Help ! murder !" rang out. The perfidious parliament had had the police in readiness to arrest the students as soon as they entered the building, before they had time to say one word ; of course, they resisted, whereupon the unarmed men were hewn down with the bare sabres of the armed police. All the people, I amongst them, rushed into the " Herren-haus," to aid the unfortunate young men ; many of them were so seriously wounded that they died ; others in their excitement and anxiety to escape jumped out of the windows and broke their limbs. The police were driven from the hall and the wounded cared for. While we were still helping these, a Bohemian 90 AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF KARL FORMES. regiment came along, and without provocation be- gan firing at the people, killing and wounding many. When, on the 19th of March, the dead were buried in Wehringer cemetery, the excitement of the populace knew no bonds. The same afternoon the watch, " Am Hof," began firing at the people who were collected there, as yet unarmed. Aroused by this they now proceeded to storm the arsenal. A student, Spitzer, by name, began to address a crowd collected at the Schwanen-Thaler monument. Be- fore he had time to finish a sentence, he was shot down. By evening, all the horrors of the revolution were in full force. I was not a revolutionist, not a " Red Republican," far from it ; was, and am, of con- servative principles ; but no man, who is a man, could coolly see innocent human beings shot down like mad dogs (because in common humanity they aided the wounded and dying) without taking their part. The revolution was not Against the Emperor, but against the tyrant Metternich, the instigator of all these outrages. I joined the students' corps. I can .truthfully say that what we sowed in '48 we reaped in '70, the Oerman unity. I became one of the leaders of the " Academ- ischen corps." The theatre closed for several weeks now. I joined the society called " Die Volks- Freunde," consisting of about fifty. Our duty was to go about each evening to the different taverns, where the lowest class of laborers were wont to meet, and explain the object of the revolt to them ; that it was not directed against the Emperor, but AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAEL FOEMES. 91 against the tyranny of the Prime Minister. We tried hard to keep them within bounds, to prevent arson and pillage. "We explained to them that the purpose was not to establish a republic, but to de- pose Metternich, who had disappeared. I and a few others knew his hiding place, but were careful to guard the secret. The populace were so excited that their intention was to hang him. On March 21st we helped Archduke Albrecht to escape from the city. We induced him to this step, his life be- ing in danger, the excited masses were so wrought up against him, for he was falsely accused of being the one who had caused the people to be fired on. A committee was formed, the " Aula," consisting of the professors of the University. Most prominent amongst them were Pfister, Tiirk and Eadlicher. These ruled the city for the present. The citizens joined with us to keep order, and to guard the Im- perial Palace (the Burg). Now, a word as to my re- tiring from the Viennese Opera. The Karthner- thor-Theatre was "Imperial" by name, receiving, however, no subsidy from the Court. The Court reserved the right to appoint the intendant ; but, Balachino and Mirelli had to stand all the losses. The Court had up to this time paid for their boxes like any one else, but now in these wild times gave them up. This obliged Mirelli and Balachino to re- tire, as the guarantee was withdrawn. The artists now united to sing co-operatively. We were: Anna Zerr, Mme. Hassell-Barth, Mme. Stockel-Heinevet- ter, Theresa Schwartz, Joseph Erl, Ander, Alex. 92 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OP KAEL FORMES. Reichardt (composer of songs), Wolf, Leitnet, Drachsler and myself. I suggested that as soon as we could find a director, to give up the management to him. Pokorni gave 60,000 Gulden guarantee, however, before he undertook the management. He was obliged to await the decision of the Impe- rial Court, who, he was led to believe, took an inter- est in the project. On the 1st of April the Italiaii season was to begin. The people, incensed against the Italians, on account of the revolts in Italy against Austria, would not permit them to sing. I stepped before the curtain endeavoring to quiet the disturbance, but in vain. I could not get speech. At the "Aula " they promised me to aid the Italian artists. Frasini (tenor) and *radolini (prima donna) thanked me on my return to the theatre, but, being afraid to sing before the incensed audi- ence, returned that very night to Italy. At my re- quest next morning all the artists assembled on the stage. I and Erl proposed that Pokorni should undertake our management. Most insultingly was the proposition refused by the others. With dis- gust I left the theatre. Thus ended my connection with the opera at Vienna. As I left by one door, Staudigl entered by the other. He had been await- ing the .result of our conference, in the beer saloon, " Im Pfauen," opposite the theatre, in the Komodi- engasse. I need not say that the insulting answer to my proposition and his return to take my place were premeditated. We ran a great risk from the excite- ment of the low masses, in protecting the "Burg"(Im- AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 93 perial Palace). This state of affairs lasted till the begin- ning of May, when the Emperor was requested to swear to the new constitution, which he did, stand- ing on the balcony of the Burg; holding the old German standard, black, red and gold, in his hand, he took the oath. On the 10th of May he was re- ceived at the " Aula " with great enthusiasm. On the 15th he fled to Innspruck (Tyrol) against his wish. He was absolutely forced to this step by the intrigues of the nobility. This, unfortunately added fuel to the excitement of the mob. Now, they wanted to proclaim " the republic." Let me say a word about republics. I never sympathize with them; I mean European' republics. It is not in the spirit of the people. The Roman republic was the first non- success; all following ones followed suit. There are constant bickerings and dissensions, except the Swiss republic, which is like one family — united. The United States republic is quite different; we have no aristocracy; it has grown up like a plant; is rooted in the soil. The farmer took the iron off his plow in order to make a sword with which to strike for freedom and independence against foreign des- potism. This must prevail. I had not yet heard of the Emperor's flight, and was going out on the morning of the 16th, wearing my uniform. I noticed, as I walked along the Karthnerstrasse, that several people whom I knew bowed to me in a frightened, constrained manner. A.t the " Stock-am-Eisen " a great crowd was assembled. I heard the news that the Court 94 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL I'ORMES. had fled At the " Pest Saule" (column), a fellow, Rottinitzky by name, rushed upon me smilingly, and exclaimed ih a loud voice, " Kepublican, how are you ? " Had I not had presence of mind now, I should have been lost. (The traitor had been the Secretary of our society, the "Volksfreunde"). I seized him, calling out: "Fellow, how dare you speak of a republic because the Emperor has left us ? " The by-standers heard this, seized hold of him and hung him up. However, I heard they cut him down again and let him go. Of course, I did not wait to see what became of him, but dashed into the " Tratner Hof," and escaped. We had to remain barricaded in the "Aula " until the 20th May, when the National Guard came to our aid. One evening, soon after, I stood on the "Glacis," at the old " Kartnerthor," in front of the palace of Archduke Karl. Thoughtfully I was looking down towards the city; not a sound was audible; the fog was very dense; all at once, a door opened in the palace, just behind me, and a man's voice said: "Be careful; go to the Lockowitz Palace and give these papers to General Hoyes." The door closed. I sprang upon the man, knocked him down with the butt of one of my pistols, of which I carried two. "Silence," said I; "if you utter a sound, I'll shoot you." He was very much frightened and promised to obey -me. I thought it best to find out the secret before giving him up to the guard. I told him to go with me, my pistol in hand, and took him to the "Wallfish Gasse," where an old lady, a friend of AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 95 mine, lived. On the way, we passed a guard of stu- dents, and I requested two armed ones to accom- pany us. Arriving at the house, I explained all in a few words to the old lady, and begged her to lend me a room for a few minutes, into which I took the man alone. The students waited outside. He gave me the papers, and what did I read, to my horror! This' very night the aristocracy were to meet at the Lockowitz Palace, preparing measures against the citizens, having already sent for the military to take possession of the city. Had they succeeded it would have gone hard with us, but the. worst of it was, that nay friend, the Hun- garian Prince X — , headed the list. What to do ? I could neither betray my friend nor my party. I left the man, guarded by two stu- dents, at the old lady's house, rushed to the nearest guard-house, and took the fleetest horse there; then rode as fast as I could to the palace of my friend's daughter. Princess E — . The palace was at the " Ball-platz." She was not at home. I rode to the houses of several of her friends. Nowhere could I find her. At last one lady told me she was at her villa. Like lightning I rode and fortunately found her there. In a few words I explained my errand. On horseback she followed me to the city; ventre-a-terre we rode, arriv- ing by ten o'clock. The time set for the meeting was twelve. Fortunately, we found the Prince at his palace. I explained matters to him, telling him that he was 96 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. a dead man if he were found a traitor at the palace, at the same time showing him the papers. He was terribly frightened. " Now," I said, "look here," as I tore the papers in two and threw them into the fire. He could not find words enough to thank me. The paper I burned was the one con- taining the names. After that I went to the "Aula," and gave up the other paper speaking of the conspi- racy, but giving no names. They sounded the alarm, and immediately sur- rounded the Lockowitz palace, and the conspir- ators were arrested, but, as no names were given, nothing could be proved, and they were re- leased. The military had been ordered to swear to the new constitution, but the authoritfes put it off so long that the people were excited anew. On the 26th day of May large bodies froln the suburbs marched into the city, together with the National Guard, commanded by the Academic Corps. The poet "Kaiser" brought the people from "Ober" and " Nieder St. Veit," Hitteldorf and Shonbrun. These were of the lowest classes with many notoriously bad characters amongst them. Baron Loffler from Breslau, Shiering from Rostock, Fiedler and Paur and myself, arrived at the Fran- zensthor. We heard a great tumult in the .Hotel Stadt-Lon- don, and saw in the hall a fellow dragging a woman by the hair. That was too much. With swords drawn, we ran in and rescued the woman; then there were blows right and left. Now we gave per- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 97 mission to the mob to erect a barricade. We did that to keep them busy and out of mischief. One party of laborers went to the house of Baron F — , asking for food. He having none, and the men looking decent, he gave them a ten Guldenshein ($5.00), saying : " Now, men, eat and drink enough." Next morning they returned, asked for the Baron, and told him that they had spent just enough of the money so that each man had a good supper. The balance they returned to him. So pleased was he with their honesty that he reported it at once at the "Aula." I also gave some men money for a meal, and what was left they brought back to me. The custom-house was near the Franzensthor. The bridge of the same name goes over the Glacis. It was reported to me that the mob intended to blow up the bridge. We arrested a number of sus- pected men, and found all kinds of explosive mate- rial in their pockets. Some of them confessed that there had been a plot to set Vienna afire at five dif- ferent points that night. The two leaders were shot, the rest imprisoned at the "Aula." A custom-house officer came and asked us to save two thousand Gulden from the rab- ble, which we did, delivering it to the Mayor. On the 29th of May, on the Stefan's Platz, stand- ing on an omnibus, opposite the Archiepiscopal pal- ace, I made a long speech, explaining to the people the reason and cause of the revolution. I said : " One mistake we made when we ashed for lib- erty. By asking for it, we seem to ^demand a gift. 98 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Liberty belongs to us ; therefore we need not ask for it ; we take it, it being our property. The word lib- erty means freedom and order, and not anarchy." On the 30th of May, 1848, Vienna was filled with disreputable characters prowling around the city. All over the city placards were posted announcing that a grand meeting of l^,borers was to take place at the " Wasserglacis," in one of the suburbs. Strailss' band played there. At the " Aula," the stu- dents, with a military band at their head, formed a procession. They were followed by a great crowd of laborers and loafers. 'Arriving at the place, the mob were soon busy drinking beer donated by the brew- ers. Then the gates of the city were closed against them by the students ; and so Vienna was rid of them for the present. Soon I saw that this revolutionary movement was a Viennese one, and not a German, patriotic one. The word " Auslander" (foreigner) was used for every German who was not an Austrian. I became disgusted, and left Vienna. Whilst ab- sent from there, intrigues were numerous against me. My worst enemies were those I had befriended, particularly two men whose lives I had saved. So many calumnies had been told against me that I was regarded as a dangerous character. All sorts of misdoings were ascribed to me during the October revolution, when I was far away from Aus- tria. I and thirteen others were condemned to death, viz., if they caught us — I, for one, being in the north of Germany at that time. Our names AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 99 were published in the " Spinnerinn am Kreutz" (column), and we were declared outlawed (Vogel- frei). One whom I had to thank for this was the Minis- ter Boch, whose life I had saved at Pressburg, in Hungary, in April, 1848, when the mob wanted to kill him as a notorious revolutionist. He was one of a party of students who went with me to visit Kossuth, the so-called " Hungarian patriot." Then, Boch was a poor student, the son of a lawyer. I must retrogress a little to that time, in order to give a history of my other enemy who owed me his life. As I said before, twelve of us went to Kossuth, whom I always regarded as a visionary, and not a politician. Our mission regarded the union of Hun- garian and Viennese students and universities. When we called on the Hungarian dictator, it was after ten in the morning, and he was still in bed. When he asserted that European liberty must arise from the Hungarian Pustha, I made up my mind that Kossuth was nothing but a dreamer. One day, as . we were dining at the Hotel " Im- griinen Baum," a tumult arose in the street, and we heard that the "Balfier Berg" was to be stormed, burnt down and robbed ; the smoke rose from there al- ready. That was the Jews' quarter. On the sum- mit was the ruin of the old Balfier Castle ; on the side, towards the Danube, the mountain was per- fectly flat, like a wall ; on the other side, it was cov- ered with huts — so many of them that they looked 100 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. more like swallows' nests than human habitations. They appeared to be built one on top of the other. But it was well known that in each one of these miserable huts great treasures of gold and jewels were hidden. The Jews were not permitted to live in the city ; they could only remain there between sunrise and sunsef. When we heard of the contemplated outrage against these poor people, we seized our arms and hastened to their succor. A great number of Hun- garian students joined us, all armed. I commanded them. There were about seventy of us. We did not intend to use any weapons unless forced to do so. Once the rabble fired on us, but none were hurt. Terrible shrieks proceeded from one hut. Loffler and I ran there, kicked a few fel- lows away from the door, tore it down, and found a woman holding her little child wrapped in a blanket inside. The hut had been set on fire, so as to burn the poor inmates ; the poor woman's clothes had already caught fire. We extinguished the flames, and brought her and the child into the open air, rushed into the burning hut again and brought out an old man, very badly hurt. His name was Horo- witz. The whole family lay at our feet, vowing eternal gratitude. By this time, an Italian regiment had arrived, the rabble was overpowered, and the persecuted people saved. During my connection with the. revolution, this family came to see me at the "Aula," and again pros- trated themselves at my feet. A son of the old man AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 101 was with them now, and all reiterated their vows and protestations of eternal, gratitude. These two men had come to Vienna deliberately to act as spies, and tried hard to procure my arrest; but, as I was not implicated in anything to warrant that, their at- tempts were futile. In the October revolution, when I was far from Austria, they were more successful in their infernal machinations, and many a brave student was shot at their instigation. About twenty of us from the Academic Legion went to Holstein to aid in the re- volt against Denmark. Holstein wished to become German. We dressed in civil, not military, and en- tered the " Tannsche Corps," in the sixth company, under Captain von Reiferscheit. I entered as first lieutenant. At Ekernverde a little skirmish took place. On the 21st of July the Tannsche corps was suspended; we twenty returned to Hamburg. All through Holstein, though coming to aid them, we were obliged to pay' for every little thing we had; in one place, even for a glass of water. Those out of the twenty who had any money left returned to Vienna, the rest stayed in Hamburg. I was sick and tired of the revolution, and hung up my sword and gun in favor of the lyre. In 1847 I had signed a contract to sing, in April, 1848, six roles with Director Paison, in Hamburg. On account of the revolution this engagement was not fulfilled. Now, I needed money, so went to Pai- son, who told me that the management had been changed. The artists now sang as a co-operative 102 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. company, and could not give me a guarantee. A committee of them waited upon me, and offered that I sing on shares with them, which I accepted. On the first evening I sang " Marcel." My re- ceipts much exceeded that which Paison had guar- anteed. Next day he came and proposed that I should refuse to sing on shares any more ; that I should demand a Director for the Opera. I told him that, for my part, I certainly would prefer that; I did not like the stage to he a republic ; but I could not make any such demand, when the artists had treated me so well ; that I should consider such an action on my part as dishonorable. In the course of conversation, we spoke of different subjects. We came to discuss the " Thorsperre," viz.: At that time, the city gates were locked in winter a little after eight, and in summer a little after nine. (Hamburg was, in 48, still surrounded by walls.) The poor people could not afford to live within the walls in the prin- cipal streets ; consequently, they were the ones tha suffered by that law ; the later the hour, the higher the admission (a sort of toll). I did not know that already the people were beginning to act against this unjust law, and quite innocently remarked to Paison, laughingly, " That ought to be stopped." The evening of my benefit approached. We sang " The Huguenots ;" I as " Marcel." A few days be- fore, one of the principal papers reported my entire conversation with ' Paison, but so distorted, and so many untruthful additions to it, that I appeared as the reddest of Red Republicans, and as if I were an advocate of anarchy. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF EAKL FOEMES. 103 At once I wrote an article to the other papers re- futing what was attributed to me. This was not published. The day of my benefit arrived. In the morning the former directors, Wurda and Maurice, and Herr Cornet,who had been a celebrated tenor, the poet Glasbreuner, and Robert Heller, editor, called, and begged me not to sing that night, as such a disturbance was imminent that my life wguld be in danger, as the way some of the papers had writ- ten about me had caused many of the good people of Hamburg to imagine that I had come there to head a revolt. The more they begged me to desist from singing the more I insisted that I would appear. The theatre was filled to its utmost capacity. I, "Marcel," came out, began to sing " Herr Eaoul." Such screams, whistles and hisses as greeted me ! ! Singing was im- possible. I took my hat off and advanced to the footlights: "I must beg the indulgence of the audience, particularly of the ladies, for a few mo- ments ; I have a few words to say. As this is my farewell appearance in Hamburg, I wish to tender my thanks for the kind reception which I have re- ceived, and at the same time to say to the Herren Thorsperre-krawall-macher (the gentlemen who are making this row on account of my remarks con- cerning the Thorsperre), that I shall not leave the stage at their bidding." Calls and yells of " Apolo- gize." I boldly stood facing them whilst all my col- leagues ran behind the scene's to escape the shower of rotten fruit, vegetables and eggs which wefe 104 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. thrown upon the stage. The curtain was lowered right in front of me. Peals of the most infernal- sounding laughter rang from the gallery. Now,! was angry. Ferociously I pulled the curtain aside with such force that I tore it from the top; stepping forward, I stood before the audience, this time with my hat on my head, my folded arms leaning on my sword (" a genuine blade "). No more eggs, nor vegetables were thrown; evidently the store was ex- hausted ; but the hisses, whistles and yells contin- ued. During a moment of quiet, I said, laughingly, " Well, that's fine, so many against one man, and not one of you has the courage to come on the stage." One voice called, " What for ?" " To get my answer at sword's length," was my response. One man, wearing a yellow vest, had been particu- larly noisy, so I continued, " You, sir, with the yellow vest, why don't you come up to me, here on the stage; I am at your disposition." A lady's voice rang out, " Herr Formes, please sing." " My hon- ored lady, certainly, I shall have the honor to sing 'Marcel' before you this evening, unless I am carried off the stage in pieces." Some few now applauded me. Out came Paison, stepped to the footlights, and began : " Ladies and gentlemen, please do not avenge on the great artist the faults of the impul- sive young man." I interrupted him. " Herr Paison, when I need a defender, I shall have one of my own ch")osing; you are the last one I should want." He continued: "Does the audience wish to hear Herr Formes or Herr Dalasti?" Cries of " Formes ! AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 105 Dalasti!" The orchestra took their places, and began to play. On the right side I stepped forward. " Herr Kaoul," I began. On the left Dalasti did the same. More cries of "Formes! Dalasti!" The ladies all cried " Formes." The last seven out of the Tannschen corps, who lingered in Hamburg (because they had no money with which to leave it), screamed out, " Hurrah for our Captain !" I took hold of Dalasti by his shoulder, exclaiming : " Silence ! make room for your master !" Quickly he left the stage. Now, the opera began, and finished without disturbance. When in the third act, Valentine sings, " Dost Thou Fear?" and I (" Marcel ") answer, " What ! I fear?" every flower in the house was at my feet. The jew- eled bouquet-holders were thrown with their con- tents (of course next day were returned to their owners). The enthusiasm was inexpressible. It was fully five minutes before the house was calmed down enough for me to proceed. After the curtain fell on the last scene, came Wurda, Maurice and Cornet on the stage. Their emotion was so great that they could not speak for a while; tears coursed down their faces. At last Wurda said: "Karl, go out at the stage door." The others advised me to do the same. " No," said I, " I leave by the front entrance," and so I did, accompanied by the last seven of the sixth company. A great crowd had stopped in front of the theatre, and instead of being insulted I was receiA'^ed with most enthusiastic cheers and acclamations. I thanked them in a few words, and was carried on 106 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. the shoulders of several gentlemen to my hotel, the " Kronprintz." Gruber was the proprietor. Wher- ever I was seen during the two days I still remained at Hamburg I received ovations. Next I went to Bremen ; thence to Leipzig, which city Goethe called "The Little Paris," and I call it "The German Athens." There I met Robert Blum. This good, noble man told me of his intention to go to Vienna. Strongly I tried to dissuade him' from do- ing so. Alas ! he did not listen to me, and paid his courage with his life. Windishgratz had him shot. In Leipzig, I found true appreciation, and still feel grateful for my grand reception. At Frankfort, where I went next, I met my friend Frantz Eaveau. He was from Cologne. He also' was on his way to Vienna. I tried to dissuade him, but alas ! in vain ! He, however, became so dis- gusted with the state of aflfairs there that he left almost immediately. Now I sang at Dresden, with Tiatscheck, Johanna "Wagner and the great Emilia Devrient (Shroder- Devrient). Tiatscheck had a peculiar mannerism in pronunciation ; he, so to say, sang his syllables doubly. His color of tone was almost unequaled, quite as perfect as Mario's. In the second act of '* La Juive," when " Eleazar" prays at the table, and in the same act, in the duo with " Eudoxia," "A chain of gold," then in the F minor phrase of the curse in the last act, when he asks, " Recha, my daughter, wilt thou live," his rendering of these scenes was such, so true, so wonderful, that, after AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 107 all these years, I am moved when I think of it — SO terribly real in " the curse," so intense the pain and love in the last-mentioned phrase. In Mar- schuer's "Templar and Jewess" is a little song begin- ning, " Thou Proud Albion ;" his singing of that carried all before it. His "Florestan" in "Fidelio" I have never heard equaled. In the " Freischiitz," his " Lives there no God" was almost appalling in its intensity, he made so much of passages which gen- erally pass unnoticed. In Weber's " Euryanthe," in, the duo between Adolar and Lysar, is a recita- tive, which was one of his most remarkable per- formances. In Wagnerian operas, I have never heard his equal ; Lohengrin, Tannhauser, Rienzi^- never will his equal be heard. During this Dresden engagement, we sang "Rob- erto," with the following cast : Johanna Wagner — " Alice ;" " Bertram"— I ; Tiatscheck— " Roberto." (Johanna Wagner was a worthy successor of the great Devrient ; she was a niece of Richard Wag- ner.) She was wonderful in the scene at the cross, in the third act. Our cast in " The Huguenots was : "Raoul" — Tiat- scheck ; " Valentine" — Johanna Wagner ; "Marcel" — I. Further, we sang "Magic Flute;" I — "Sarastro." " Le Nozze di' Figaro," I—" Figaro. " " Freischiitz," I— "Casper." "Euryanthe," I— "Lysar." "La Juive," I — " Cardinal." Mozart's " Elopement from the Se- rail," I—" Osmin." " Fidelio," I— "Rocco. " Spohr's " Faust," I — " Mephisto." An extraordinary scene took place when we three — Tietscheck, Johanna 108 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Wagner aad — I sang " Fidelio" for the. last time during this engagement, in the second act, in the trio, " Oh, thanks," as "Florestan" receives the piece of bread. Up to this, we had tried to outdo each other in pinging and acting ; now came the catas- trophe. I — " Rocco" — try to lead " Leonora" out ; she — Johanna Wagner — fell with her head on my shoulder, her frame shaken with sols, and trembling like an aspen leaf ; her teeth chattered, and closed right on my shoulder ; she was altogether in a high state of hysterics ; she muttered, " God, I cannot continue ; I am overcome." The curtain fell. T\ie manager made apologies for Johanna Wagner's sud- den illness ; but after she had become calm, the cur- tain was rung up, and the trio re-begun. This time we finished it without interruption. The ovation may better be imagined than described. Our conductor was the great Richard Wagner. He was anxious for me to sing " The Flying Dutch- man," and said he would re-write it in a lower key for my voice ; but somehow it was left undone. We became very intimate — what we call in German " Dutzfreunde;" viz.: we used the familiar word " thou" (du) towards each other. He intended also to write an opera for me, but that also was left undone. As he did not keep his word to me, I never would sing in his operas. I took a great interest in him. He was then conductor at the Royal Opera House. Many a night we spent together at the pi- ano, discussing the music of the future (" Zukunfts- musik). I lold him that the singer preparing to AUTOBIOGKAPKY OF KARL FORMES. 1Q9 sing his operas required much more training and culture than for the florid, melodious Italian music. The declamatory modern music demands more per- fection in the formation of tone, aijd in enunciation of the words, than the " canto dolce." At that time, already the objection was raised that the Wag- nerian music spoils the voice. I said:'" No; but, alas, frequently the singer spoils the music I The tone must he perfect in its formation for the singer to do jus- tice to the declamatory music, as well as to his or her own voice ; the color of the tone must be perfect, to express successfully the changes from happiness to ■grief, from love to hatred, from reverence to con- tempt, from virtue to vice," etc., etc. I told him that his music will really be the " music of the future," provided the singers be educated and prepared for it ; the perfect rendering of the recitative is more diflB- cult than of an aria. For instance : I have sung " Leporella," in " Don Giovanni," certainly hun- dreds of times, and every time have, of course, heard a " Donna Anna;" but how rarely have I heard " Donna Anna's" recitative (in " Don Gio- vanni"), " Don Ottavio son morto," rendered as it ought to be, whilst often and often have T heard the arias sung excellently. Another recitative which I had, at that time, only heard twice perfectly sung, is the one in " Euryan- the" (Weber) between " Adelar" and "Lysar." The recitative of " Florestan" in " Fidelio" is an - other one I can add to the list, of having heard it sung by only two artists as it should be sung. 110 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. Wagner told me that there were but three artists with whose rendering of recitative — viz.: words and music both — he was entirely satisfied ; these were Schro^ler-Devriei^, Tiatscheck and myself. ' In an- swer to his question, what was to be done to insure the perfect rendering of (his) declamatory music, I said : " The vocalist must be thoroughly prepared for it, must be educated in the right school for it; the old Italian method, which is the only one that gives a perfect color of tone ; if your music is sung in that school, there will be no more complaints of voices being ruined thereby." In the beginning of the fifties, I met Wagner again in London. It was by my infiuence that he received an invitation to conduct the Philharmonic concerts. Alas ! his music was not appreciated. His non-success was chiefly due to an intrigue at work against him, on the part of two conductors, whom I shall not name. One was quite equal to Wagner in conducting ; the other so ignorant as to be beneath ranking-him with the veriest amateur. As both these men were Jews, this was the cause that later, when Wagner was in the zenith of his fame, he wrote' so bitterly against the Hebrew race. Wagner possessed^ the restless spirit of genius. The universe was hardly large enough for him. When we parted in London, little did I think that it was our last meeting. Speaking of Richard Wagner, I may also here men- tion his, and my, dear friend Franz Liszt, whose ac- quaintance I first made in Cologne, before I had vir- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. Ill tually entered my artistic career, when he gave a concert in the new hall of the hotel " Koniglicher Hof," Dietzmann proprietor thereof. He played that evening on a " Lefevre" piano, manufactured expressly for him in Cologne. The singing society " Arbeiterverein," of which I was a member, brought him a serenade. After the concert, I sang the bass solo, in " Ich bin allein auf weiter Flur," and in Kreutzer's " Der Tag des Herren." Kelch was our conductor. Lizst thanked us, and asked, " Who is the basso ?" I was introduced to him ; he was very friendly to me, and invited me to sing an air for him. We went into the hall, and I sang the " Qui sdegno" (Magic Flute) to his accompani- ment. When I finished, he seized both my hands, saying, " Your place is on the stage." When in '42 I was singing in opera, he again came to Co- logne, and heard me sing " Marcel" (Huguenots). After the third act, he came on the stage, saying, " My prophecy is fulfilled." Our next meeting occurred in '47, at Vienna, and we became intimate friend's. The following episode happenec^here: Mrs. G , an excellent pianist, pos- sessed thirty-two manuscript songs by Schubert. As I knew that Lizst was as great an admirer of Schubert as myself, I begged the lady to lend me the manu- scripts to show to him. Kindly she consented. One afternoon, I took them to Lizst, who lived at the hotel '-' Stadt London," and fortunately found him alone. " I have brought something to delight you with/' said I. He was enchanted with the man- 112 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. uscripts. Together we began to look through them , and to try the music. Later, he ordered supper to be brought to his room. Lizst transposed such of the songs as were out of my range, and I sang them. In this beautiful " Schubert night," we went through the whole collection. The blinds were drawn. All at once, it occurred to me that it must be late. I go to the window, draw up the blind, and — it is day- light! the next day ! ! This beautiful " Schubert night !" We grasped each other's hands, looked into each other's eyes, and, with tears in his eyes, Lizst said, "What shall this night be called ?" "The Schubert nignt," I answered, " the beautiful Schu- bert night." We were intimate friends (" Dutz- freunde") until he went to Rome, and he became Abbe. In '54 we met at Weimar, when he con- ducted and I sang. In '69 was our last meeting, at Aachen ; he was then already a great sufferer. Lizst was great not only as an artist, but every inch of him a nobleman. He was of magnificent ed- ucation and attainments. As I had a very extensive correspondence with managers, agents, etc., besides my own »personal friends, I needed a secretary, and took a poor fellow, "Milde" (as he called himself to me), as such. I found later that his real name was Hertzberg, and an- other alias, " Lowe." I engaged the fellow at Ham- burg, but had been previously acquainted with him at Vienna. I corresponded with an old lady of very high rank at Dresden. In those revolutionary times, as poll- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 113 tics was the all-absorbing topic of the day, natu- rally we exchanged ideas on the subject. I kept all my letters locked into a portfolio, out of which my enterprising secretary abstracted what he wanted, by means of a false key, laying pieces of blank paper, folded like the letters, in their place, so that I should not discover their absence. One day he came and told me that he intened to return to Vienna, to^oin the Academic corps, and unsuspectingly I parted from him on the best of terms, giving him a pres- ent of money. On the third day after his depart- ure, I received a letter from my Dresden corre- spondent, begging me to come at once to Leipsic, and to come to see her at the hotel where she was stop- ping. Very much surprised at this peremptory re- quest, I went, and heard on arriving that a certain " Lowe" had called on the lady, and shown her copies of letters, which she had written to me ; he offered to return the originals, if she paid a certain sum of money. I went to" the place, and took out a warrant for theft against my secretary, " Milde." The description of " Lowe" tallied with that of my secretary. The man came to see the old lady. I was in an adjoining room, and found my suspicions correct. My lawyer was with me ; and by threaten- ing him with arrest, and subsequent imprisonment for five years, he gave up the letters. I let the fel- low go. I sang a season at Braunschweig, then returned to Dresden, where, through kindness of friends, I ob- tained a passport, signed by the Austrian embassy, in 114 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. order to return to Vienna to look after my family, from whom I had not heard for a long time; none of my letters having been answered. The passport bore the name of Katzenburg (my mother's name). I had been warned not to go back to Vienna under my own name, as so many calumnies and lies had been reported there until I was regarded as a really dangerous anarchist, so that a reward was offered for my capture. I disguised myself by dint of a wig, moustache and beard, and wore spectacles. In the passport, I was called a merchant. I arrived at Vienna without accident, went at once to the house where my family had lived; found they had moved, none knew whither. The landlady recog- nized me, notwithstanding my disguise, and begged me to leave the city at once, my life being in greatest danger. I did not acknowledge being Formes. I affirmed that I was a friend of his. Whether the woman betrayed my being in Vienna, or whether some one else recognized me subse- quently, I do not know. I deliberated where to go, recognizing the great danger I was in. It was even- ing. I dared not show myself in the streets, for fear of others penetrating my disguise as the woman had done. Down I went to the old " Kart- nerthor" (one of the city gates), went into the " Stadtgraben" (which had been a moat in the olden times), and in that deserted place walked along towards the " Franzensthor" (another gate), thinking I might, perchance, find an opportunity to leave the city. I reached one of the square pillars AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. 115 of the bridge when I heard a patrol of soldiers ap- proaching. "Now," thought I, " my time has come." I carried two pistols, grasped one with each hand in my pocket, and was ready to defend my life dearly. Thank' God ! ^The patrol passed on. I was con- cealed on my side of the pillar. One soldier lin- gered behind to arrange something on his gun, and whilst doing so, stood quite close to me on the other side. But he also went on, without noticing me. Thankful at my narrow escape, I climbed up to the bridge, and re-entered the city at the "Kotheu Thurm" (red tower), and went to the palace of the Princess E , the daughter of my friend wJiose life I had saved when his name had headed the list of the conspirators in the Lockowitz Palace. I was ad- mitted into her presence at once. The noble lady was appalled at my hardihood in returning to Vi- enna, where, she also told me, my life was worth nothing, and that I would not even be given the chance to refute the charges against me, as, there being a price on my head, living or dead, I would be a corpse before I could speak. She promised that, as I had saved her father's life, she would save mine, and hid me in the palace. How it was the suspicion arose that I was con- cealed there, I never knew; but the very next day, a patrol, headed by an officer, came to look for me. I was just then in the drawing room with the princess, discussing plans for my leaving Vienna. We heard the step of the soldiers ; the truth flashed across our minds. In the room was a large Turkish divan, hoi- 116 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. low underneath ; therein the kind lady hid me, and took her seat on the same. The officer was an- nounced, and found her quietly sitting there read- ing. Most respectfully he begged her pardon, but said that his duty forced him to search the house for the " anarchist Karl Formes." Quietly the princess said, "Herr Formes is not here, but fulfil your duty." The search was made, of course without disturbing the lady. My readers may imagine my feelings ! — what my position was, until the officer re-entered, and, with many apologies to the princess, withdrew. My kind friends kept me in the palace two days longer. By that time, the princess had procured for me a passport, assumedly as a Hungarian merchant, speculatingin copper mines. This passport was for Hungary .and Galitzia. I spoke the Hunga- rian-German dialect fluently. The shortest way would have been over Olmiitz ; that I dared not risk, for fear of the custom-house officers recogniz- ing me. I was obliged to take the long, circuitous route through Hungary and Galitzia, taking nearly three weeks for the trip. I, disguised as a coachman in Hungarian costume, drove the princess to the Northern Railway station ; she alighted, bought my ticket"; I was provided with money, and a little valise, and a large Hungarian cloak. Thus the great and noble lady saved my life, in return for my ser- vice to her father on that memorable night. I never saw that good, kind friend again. At last I arrived at Oderberg, still in Austria. There a narrow river, the Oder, divides Austria AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 117 from Prussian territory. I went to a hotel, and from my window, looking into the court-yard, I saw how near I was to safety. This very fact nearly caused me to lose the courage and presence of mind I had kept up during all these dangerous and trying weeks. I became anxious and restless. In the yard I noticed, walking up and down, a Prussian custom- house oflBcer, with grey cloak and green trimmings (the uniform). Down I went, approached him with a cigar in my mouth ; this I threw away, took an- other one from my pocket, and asked him for permis- sion to light it at his cigar. My strange action at- tracted his attention, and he looked sharply at me, then to right and left. Whilst lighting the cigar, I addressed him thus : " Countryman, perhaps you can tell me how are the Generals von Bostel, von Boy, Generals Hellwig, von CuUum, von Hirsch- feld ?" More surprised, he stared at me : " Why, those are the commanders of the Eighth Army Corps." " That is to prove to you that I am a Prus- sian and am anxious to get home again" said I. Now he looked very serious. " From Vienna?" " Yes." He gave a glance around the yard. " Do you see that gig ? In it you will find a grey cloak' ; wrap it around you, enter the vehicle, and go to sleep in the corner." Quickly I went to my room, took what money I had out of my valise, and obeyed the officer's advice. A quarter of an hour passed whilst I lay in the corner of the gig ; the time seemed like eternity. At last the of- ficer entered, took the reins and drove off. When 118 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. we came to the guard-house on the bridge the guard called " Werda" (who there?). An Austrian officer, with lantern in hand, looked into the gig. My officer said laughingly, " Just leave that one alone, he has had too much again." The Austrian laughed, and we drove on. My heart beat fast, when I heard the pleasant " Halt, Werda" (hold, who there ?) of the Prussian guard, as we touched Prussian territory. So excited was I that I jumped out and embraced the guard and the officers, who thought I was mad, until I explained. Now I went — via Breslau, Berlin and Hanover — to Cologne, where I sang for a season. Herr Ebder came with an offer for Amsterdam, which 'I ac- cepted ; also, one at Rotterdam, Leyden, Utrecht, etc., etc. — everywhere with unvarying success. In February, '49, several officers of the police de- partment called at my room (at Amsterdam), and de- manded my passport. I had none, at which I was told that I was under arrest; why, I could not exactly com- prehend. Later, I heard that it was on demand of the Austrian Embassy, as being an " Austrian subject." I was acquainted with some very prominent citizens. These gentlemen induced their friends and fellow- citizens to interest themselves in my behalf, and to vouch for my being a Prussian citizen, so my arrest lasted only four days, and I was merely kept pris- oner in my own rooms; a friend went to Cologne and returned with my legitimation papers, as I, be- ing away from Prussia ten years, had lost my citizen rights, and was obliged to send for them, AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. 119 SO as to obtain Prussian protection; when I proved that I had served as sub-lieutenant under General von Hirshfeld in the 28th " Landwehr corps," all was settled, and the Austrian intrigue came to nothing. The love for art and science in Holland is more general than in Germany even; in that country they regard the theatre not merely as a place of amusement, but as an educational institu- tion. During my engagement at Amsterdam, etc., " Frei- schiitz," "Magic Flute," Sphor's "Faust," "Jes- sanda" (Weber), were, for the first time, sung in Italian. The symphony concerts at Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, were, to say the least, quite equal to the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipsig. And even those of Vienna, and the Philharmonic in London, were not superior to them. All the time I spent in Amsterdam I was very ill. Notwithstanding that I sang; I suffered intensely from fever — a sort of ague prevalent in Holland; thinking a change of climate might benefit me, I accepted an engage- ment for London, with a German opera company. In 1847, "Willard Beale had been at Vienna, and then made me an offer for London ; Roder, knowing this, was anxious to have me go there with the aforementioned German company. Arriving in London, I was so ill that I was laid up for three weeks; had it not been for the skill of a Ger- man physician^. Dr. Freund, I believe I should have died. This gentleman and I became great friends. On the 5th of May, 1849, I arrived in 120 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OP KARL FORMES. London; in June I made my debut as "Sarastro," with immense success, at Drury Lane Theatre. Eoder did not know one word of English, and was a very bad business manager. We had overcrowded houses; the press notices were splendid, the success was perfect, but we did not receive a cent; this could not go on. I bought return tickets for many of the chorus peo- ple, who were in London, penniless. After my first night's success as " Sarastro," I was engaged by the Sacred Harmonic Society to sing in their oratorios; I sang in " Elijah," "Messiah," and the "Creation." Never will I forget the impression those grand mus- ical affairs made on me. Our Rhenish musical festivals are certainly grand„ but not like these. "We had 700 in chorus, 300 in orchestra, the grand organ (full work) 32 feet. The rendering of such choruses as the Hallelujah cho- rus, in " Messiah," the " Let there be light," in the "Creation," were so remarkable for their precision and perfection in every detail as to astonish me. The chorus of Exeter Hall was a hereditary institu- tion; generations after generations were members; the |sanie families succeeded, one generation after the other — the children following the parents. The children in the schools sang choruses from the oratorios — so were educated to it from their earliest years. When I first sang at Exeter Hall I did not under- stand a word of English. A good actor, Williams, gave me lessons in reading and pronunciation, so that I could sing the text. I wrote the words in my AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 121 book in German, as they were pronounced in Eng- lish. It was very comical when in "Elijah," I made a mistake and sang, "Oh, let me dine, Lord," instead of, "Oh, let me die, O Lord." In the "Creation," I once sang by mistake (not under- standing the text), the "6th day," and then the "5th day." At that time Oovent Garden Theatre, the Royal Italian Opera was managed by a co-operative com- pany. The principal singers were : Soprani — Mmes. Grisi, Viardot-Garcia, Persian!, Castellan. Contralto — Mme. Dangri; Tenori — Ma- rio, Tamberlik ; Baritone — Ronconi, Tamburiui; Bassi — Zelger, Marini; Costa, Conductor. Whilst I was singing with the German company at Drury Lane, I received an invitation to come to Covent Garden, to meet the artists I have named; Guy was secretary (later impresario). That invi- tation I accepted. They offered me an engagemen- as primo basso assoluto, and to be co-manager of the company, with the following great artists : Sir Michael Costa, Mario, Ronconi, Tamberlik, Mme. Grisi, Mme. Castellan, Mme. Dangri, Tamburini and Guy. I accepted the offer and joined them, I being the roth. My conditions were all accepted, viz.: My repertoire to be sung for the next season — that of 1860. We had a right to call ourselves the founders of the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Carden. In 1846, Sir M. Costa, Mario, Grisi, Castellan, Ronconi and Tamberlik had left their manager, Lumley, who 122 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. had her Majesty's Theatre, and wfent to Govent Garden, under manTagement of De Lafitte, the rich brewer. During the seasons of 1846-1847, he lost ninety thousand pounds. The next managers were Cramer & Beale, and Persiani; all of them lost for- tunes in the enterprise. Next followed the above- mentioned co-operative company, of which I became a member, and we saved Covent Garden. We made strict rules, that the payment of all expenses was guaranteed before we ten took any of the money for ourselves. My first appearance was as "Caspar" in " Ffei- schiitz" (Franco-arcero). Costa wrote all the recita- tives, although even the " Times" wrongly accred- ited this work to Berlioz. The mise en scene, under the stage management of Augustus Harris, was su- perb — unequaled at that time on any of the conti- nental stages. This was in the beginning of April; (at that time the London season began as early as that). The "Hunters' Chorus" was sung by 120 male voices, the tenor led by Tamberlik, who sang " Ro- dolpho" (Max); thebassil led. A double horn quar- tette was on the stage — on each side one; this chorus had to be repeated three times, so unbounded was the enthusiasm of the audience. The mise en scene of the " Freischiitz " was superb in Berlin, Dresden and Mannheim, but could not compare with this. Next followed " Don Giovanni," with three com- plete orchestras, two on the stage, exactly as in the original score. Tamburini, the greatest " Don Gio- vanni" I ever have heard,'sang the title role (he was the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 123 model which the others imitated); "Donna Anna" — Mme. Grisi, "Donna Elvira" — Viardot-Garcia, "Don Ottavio" — Mario, " LeporoUo" — myself. My third performance was " Marcel," in " I Uangotti;" Mario — "Eaoul," Grisi— "Valentine," Dangri— "Page;" Tamburini — "St. Bris." Marai — "Marguerite de Va- lois." Such a "RaouU" and such a "Valentine!" I never heard their equals. Particularly remarkable was the duo in fourth act. And how Grisi did sing the "Oh, Terror," with me in the third act! Then followed "Roberto;" such a "Roberto" as Tamberlik I have not heard again. Via rdot-Garcia — "Princess," Grisi — "Alice," Mario — "Rambaldo;" myself — "Bertram." "Roberto" and the "Hugue- nots" had met with no success in London until sung with me in the cast; they never had been sung - in Italian before. Mme. Jenny Lind essayed "Roberto" several times, but the performances were failures. The "Magic Flute," followed with the following cast : "Queen of Night" — Louisa Pyne, "Tamina" — Mme. Bosio (who had now joined us), "Tamino" — Mario, "Sarastro" — myself. The three ladies — Marai, Castellan, Dangri. The "0 Isis and Osiris !" was sung in the, second act by eighty male voices. "Fidelio" was sung in the second season, with Mme. Biirde-Ney (from the Royal Theatre, Dresden) as "Fidelio," Tamberlik— "Florestan," myself—" Roc- co." In the third season we sang "Faust" and "Jes- sonda,"' by Spohr. The cast in "Faust" was: 124 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. " Faust" — Ronconi, " Mephistopheles " — myself, "Roschen" — Bosio, "Count Rudolph" — Tamberlik. Sphor did not take Goethe's text for his opera; he had too great respect for the author of the immortal work to do that. Ortleb wrote the libretto; the plot was not the same, barring the characters of "Faust" and "Mephisto," which he took from Goethe's crea- tion. "Roschen" has more resemblance to Shake- peare's "Ophelia" than to Goethe's "Gretchen." Up to this time the dialogue had been spoken; now Spohr wrote the recitatives in place of it. At this, the first Italian performance, the precis- ion in the orchestra, and rendering of the choruses, as well as the mise en scene, were simply superb; I may say, unequaled. Our orchestra numbered 110. If we needed an unsually.large chorus, Costa called upon the Sacred Harmonic Society, of Exeter Hall, who were always ready to come. In "William Tell," in the Riitli scene, 600 people were on the stage, counting the supernumeraries. The three choruses, advancing from the three different direc- tions, consisted each of thirty persons. In the 4th act of the " Huguenots," the chorus numbered 120. This was in the old Covent Garden Theatre, before the fire. The celebrated conductor JuUien, wrote an opera, " Pierre le Grand." One scene represents the battle of Pultawa, Peter the Great, on an emi- nence, overlooking the battle-field. 36 horses were on the stage. Tamberlik was " Peter the Great; " I, " General Romanoff," leader of the Cossacks. This opera had but two representations. In the battle- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 125 scene, the orchestra, chorus, firing of cannon, etc., made such a din that the thunder storm which visited London that night was not even heard in the theatre. In the same year, 1849, the Wednesday concerts began, under Karl Anshiitz. The greatest artists, both vocal and instrumental, took part in them. Bottessini, contre-bass; Piatti, cello; Vieuxtemps, Ole Bull, violinists; vocalists, Ronconi, Alboni, my- self, etc., etc.. They took place in Exeter Hall, and comprised both classical and modern music. The Sacred Harmonic Societies gave their oratories Fri- days. The newspapers were quite wild with enthusi- asm at the fact that Arditi had conducted the "Bar- biere " at her Majesty's Theatre without looking at the music. In Exeter Hall, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was to be given. Costa was engaged for the whole season, and could not undertake more.. Jules Bene- dict, later " Sir," was requested to conduct; but he declined, on account of " not feeling well;" the true reason was his incapability of conducting this work. The Ninth Symphony was beyond his power. Now followed Anshiitz's engagement. The orchestra num- bered 350; the chorus, 700. Anshiitz was a little, insignificant man in appearance; a giant in mind, capabilities and genius. Quietly he entered the orchestra for rehearsal. " Good morning, gentlemen." His entranc^was greeted with hearty applause. The solo singers were: Clara Novello — soprano; Miss Dolby — contralto; Sims-Reeves, tenor;- 126 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. myself — basso. Lindlar, Hayden's contemporary and friend, accompanied the recitative with the 'cello as I have not again heard. He was 85 years old, tall, and white as a dove. Standard Bennett was concert- master. Phelps, or Phillips (I am not quite sure which is right), Beethoven's pupil, played the viol; Bottesini, the first contre-bass; Sainton — first violin; Piatti — 'cello. Quietly Anshiitz advances to his desk and closes the partitur. A movement of surprise went through the assembly. " Karl, what are you doing ? You have closed the partitur," exclaimed I. He answered, coolly: "Qh,Iknow that by memory." And he did conduct that great work all through, without once looking at the music. What the ap- plause was, at the end of the first part, one can im- agine. Anshiitz was the son of Staatsprocurator Anshiitz, in Coblentz. His father had been an inti- mate friend of Beethoven. The original MSS. of the Ninth Symphony remained in the Anshiitz family; the senior Anshiitz had inaugurated the Symphony concerts in Ooblentz. Indeed he deserved his sob- riquet of Beethoven-Anshiitz, and his son was the worthy heir to that honorable name. In 1842 Karl Anshiitz conducted the Ninth Sym- phony in the presence of King William the Fourth, of Prussia, and was rewarded with the title, "Eoyal Prussian Court Conductor" (Konigl-Preussischer- Hof-Capelmeister); the only one outside of Berlin who had received that distinction. When at that memorable rehearsal at Exeter Hall, the Symphony was ended, Lindlar turned to Standard Bennett, say- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 127 ing:- " Please hand me that little fellow over here." Anshiitz went over to him. Lindlar took him on his knee, like a child, and said : " You little giant, you show us something we never would have thought possible; you indeed deserve to have in- herited the title of Beethoven-Anshiitz." Now fol- lowed stormy applause. What the performance was, after such a rehearsal, I need not say. It was An- shiitz who first produced Mozart's " Requiem " at the Wednesday concerts; the same quartette of solo- ists sang at these concerts. Anshiitz arranged th% nine symphonies of Beethoven for wind instruments for the Crystal Palace concerts. The conductor- ship of thosfe was offered to him, but he declined, as he would not submit to dress in uniform. Jules Benedict was an industrious and good musi- cian, and, above all, an excellent business man. His merits as conductor, and above all as composer, were overrated. One Sunday I paid him a visit, and on entering the room, was surprised to see a semi-cir- cle of music desks, each one having an open score on it, Benedict sitting in the middle, writing indus- triously at another desk. He sprang to his feet, in great embarrassment, saying : "Oh, excuse me; you see I was composing." I answered: " Don't excuse yourself, if you are copying." He did not love me any the better for it, that I saw how he composed. Sir Michael Oosta was, after Anshiitz, the best con- ductor I have met. For some time Berlioz received the credit for having written the recitatives of " Fi- delio," as well as for the " Freischiitz" (of which I 128 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. spoke before), both Costa's works, who composed them quite in the spirit of Beethoven and Weber. This I know as a positive fact, as he, whilst writing them, often consulted me about the tempi, which are not given in the original score. In the fall of '50 the first Grand Musical Festival took place in Liverpool, to inaugurate the large, new music hall. The first day I sang " Elijah." On the second day, we sang, for a first part, Mozart's " Requiem," and for the second part, Rossini's " Stabat Mater." The bassi were Tamburini, La- bi ache, Ronconi and myself. Lablache was to sing " Quando corpus ;" Tamburini, " Pro pecca- tisj" and I the solo, with the chorus " Eia Mater." Ronconi had sung the solo in the quartette " Sancta Mater, istud agas ;" now Lablache's voice fell in powerfully, " Quando corpus morietur." At the second "morietur," he, somehow, fell all out of tune. I sat next to him. " Zitto, Papa," I whispered quickly (we always called him Papa Lablache). I stooped down a little and turned, so the audience could not see my face, and without- a pause, sang the phrase over again. Our voices were so alike, in the middle register, that I doubt if aay one in the audi- ence noticed the mishap. Lablache's hand pressed mine with " Grazie, figlio!" I was engaged to sing at all the Court concerts. Besides myself, the regular artists engaged for these were : Mario, Gfisi, Clara Novello, Viardot-Garcia, Louisa Pyne, Madame Castellan, once only Jenny Lind, Madame Criiber (Cruvelli), Lablache, Tambu- rini, Ronconi, Sims Reeves, etc. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 129 At the first Grand Concert in the Crystal Palace in '53 all the singers of the Royal Italian Opera were engaged. I was just singing the air, " Ha, I will triumph 1" from Mozart's " Seraglio," when a thunderstorm shook the building, and the hailstones rattled down on the glass roof, without injuring it, although some of the icicles were two ounces in weight. The storm was such that it broke down the branches from the trees. The architect had taken great precutions in having extra thick glass for the roof. At the sides, of course, many panes were broken. Had the glass fallen from the roof, the panic among the vast audience would have been ter- rible. The first musical festival took place the same year at the Crystal Palace. We sang the " Messiah.' Just when I sang " The people that walked in dark- ness," a heavy fog descended (what a London fog is must be seen to be appreciated; it is indescribable), and I could hardly see the notes on the page in my hand, so dark had it suddenly become. For this festival, invitations had been sent all over England, to the different choral societies, for them to take part in it. Only those were accepted who brought certificates from their leader that they knew the chorus perfectly, there being no time for rehearsals. Four thousand societies had applied, but of course all of those were not efiicient. Over four thousand chorus singers offered their services from Middlesex alone. This is the county in which Lon- don is situated. It is almost worth a journey to 130 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. LoiMion to see that extraordinary structure, the Crystal Palace — to see the place where those splen- did music festivals were held. The great organ has several hundred jegisters. So powerful is it that I have often heard its tone cause the glass panes in the vicinity to vibrate. In London, which is not only a large city, but a world of its own, many strange experiences have come under my observation. One day I dined at ^a fashionable restaurant, in a ■ private room, with one of the chief detectives. I had made the gentleman's acquaintance through his having married one of the singers of Covent Gar- den. We conversed on different topics, when the waiter entered, handed Mr. M. a card, at which he looked displeased, but said, " Let the gentleman en- ter." Then he apologized for taking the liberty of receiving an acquaintance. I did not mind, particu- arly; certgiinly not, when the stranger proved so ele- gant in appearance and manners, and so superior in language and education. He spoke German, Frpnch and Italian; and his own language was such as to make it apparent that he belonged to the- upper classes. Evidently he had seen a great deal of con- tinental life. Finally, during a conversation which had somehow led to the subject, he said to Mr. M. : "What would you say if I prophesy to you that you reach home without your watch to-night? You might lose it." The detective laughed, disclaiming such a possibility. The gentleman offered a bet of a hun- dred guineas that such a catastrophe would happen. AUTOBIOGEAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 131 It was accepted, and I left the gentlemen. That night I sang, and not till next morning near eleven I thought again of that extraordinary wager. Curi- ous to know what came of it, I went to Mr. M.'s house, and heard that he did come home without his watch. The following strange adventure had be- fallen him: Between Piccadilly and Grosvenor Squar-e runs a narrow street. All along one side is a garden wall, even at the present time — '88. The other side, now built up, was then not so. Through this street he was obliged to go, in order to reach his house. One of the few houses in the street contained an apothe- cary shop, and before that there was a crowd of peo- ple collected which hindered his coupe from passing through. Very naturally, he asked what had hap- pened. A police officer told him that a lady was taken with an epileptic fit in her carriage, and had been carried into the shop, and that now they were applying restoratives. My friend officiously left his coupe, passed through the crowd, and on entering the shop, was satisfied that the lady was in good hands; a physician had already been called. Re- turning to his coupe, he rode home, and arrived there, minus the watch! On making inquiries, he found that the whole business was a trap laid for him in order to lose his bet; the sick lady, all, was pre-ar- ranged. The gentleman (?) of the bet was one of the most skillful pickpockets of London, well known to Mr. M., but up to the present time had never been caught. There were no proofs against him, so 132 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES'. well laid were his plans. He belonged to a fine family, and moved in the best society of London, Paris and Vienna. When I lived at No. 30 Gower street (my family being in Germany), I employed only two servants, an old cook, Maggie, and a boy. Always being fond of animals, I had a large dog, a cross-breed of St. Bernard dog and blood-hound; this fine aninial was certainly over two feet high; it was one of the larg- est I h-ave seen. His name was "Barco;"'I had trained him, that, when a stranger was in my room, he was perfectly quiet and docile, but did not permit him to leave the room until I gave the order; so if I was out any one could enter my rooms, but dared not leave them; that would have been at peril of life — the dog would have torn him to pieces. It was enough to frighten any one from the attempt, to see the huge animal plant himself in front of the door, show his teeth and raise his paw, as if threatening. My rooms led one into the other; "Barco" had no objections that my visitors walked through these, but an exit to the hall he did not permit. I trained him also to accept no food from any one but myself, so as to prevent his fate from being the same as an- other pet dog of mine, who had been fed with poi- son by an enemy. Habitually I dined Sundays with a friend of mine, Mr. C, who lived with his family on Denmark Hill, on the road to Suydenham. One day Mr. C. begged'me to go at my leisure with his wife to pick out a piano for her; I had no rehearsal next day, and it was arranged that Mrs. 0. would call for AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 133 me, with her carriage. Early on Monday morning I received a letter from Costa requesting my presence at the theatre at once, as, on account of the illness of one of the artists, the repertoire for the week had to be altered; I told my old cook, Maggie, to request the lady, who would call at about 11 o'clock, to sit down and excuse me, as I would return very soon, and to serve some luncheon on the sideboard, in case Mrs. C, after her long ride, would like to take something. To my shame, I must acknowledge that I remained with Costa until after 12, and had by that time entirely forgotten all about my appointment with Mrs. C. I dined at Simpson's-on-the-Strand, met friends there, spent some time walking with them, returned to Covent Garden, atid after the per- formance leisurely took my way home. All recol- lection of Mrs. C. had completely vanished from my mind, until recalled with a vengeance, on my return to Gower street. My latch-key did not answer — I found the door bolted. In response to my knocks ^ Maggie opened the door, looking terribly frightened. "Oh, sir, I am so glad you are come; it is awful; aw- ful!" Now all rushed to mind; the shock was terri- ble. Mrs. C. — my Barco — the fearful possibility! I stammered, "The lady?" "Oh, no," said Maggie, "she is all right, but the boy." " Thank God !" was my exclamation. The poor boy had tried to force Barco to permit Mrs. C.'s exit, when that lady had in vain waited for my return for several hours; this at- tempt had proved dangerous, for the poor fellow was terribly torn by the infuriated dog. Of course, I 134 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. had the best medical attendance for him, and it was not long before he was quite restored, but it cost me several hundred pounds to pacify his parents, who would and could have insisted that poor "Barco" be shot; no one can teU how abashed I was now, at my seeming great rudeness towards Mrs. 0. The look she gave me was such a one that I dared not even apologize; very angrily she looked at me and said in a cutting tone : " Mr. Formes, please send for a car- riage." My carriage was put at her disposal; she en- tered it, but I had not the courage to do so; 1 sat on the outside with my coachman. After 12 o'clock we arrived at her residence. Mr: C. came out, helped his wife to alight. I had intended to explain my apparent gross neglect to him, but something in his face startled me; I read jealousy there. That made me so angry that at once my injured pride being aroused at such an insulting suspicion, gave me back my presence of mind, and with dignity I said : "H (his Christian name), shall I come to your office to-morrow, or rather this morning, or will you come to me ?" " I'll come to you," he said, very angrily. Mrs. C. had, without one glance at me, en- tered the house. At 11 Mr. C. came; T had given strict orders to . Maggie to permit no one to enter the house that day except Mr. C, and to serve his meals. I asked him to excusd me for a moment, and went out for the day and did not return until 12 o'clock that night. I heard that my friend at first was furious when he found that I did not return, and attempted to go away, but wisely took "Barco's" AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 135 advice, and resigned himself to stay until I came home. He was a little angry when I returned, but on my explaining that I wished to give him a les- son, otherwise he might not quite have credited what had happened to his poor wife the day before, he acknowledged that I was right. I at once sent a telegram to poor Mrs. C, saying : " H. received a lesson from the dog." Next morning he r-eturned home, and our friendship continued undisturbed. In Edinburgh, I received from Lady H. a beauti- ful full-breed Scotch terrier. This dog always went to the theatre with me, remaining in my dressing- room until I returned from the stage. I was ac- customed to say, every time, " Lie' down." I called my terrier, " Millord."- One night we sang, " Frei- schiitz." All went well until the wolf's glen scene. When I arrived on the stage, I found that the lead and the mold for the magic bullets had been left in my room, and hurried back to get them. This time, on leaving the room, I forgot .to say, "Lie down, Millord." Quickly I cross the bridge, come forward, and am kneeling in the midst of the magic circle, preparing to mold the bullets, when — what do I see, but my Millord, in the side scene, wagging his tail and looking at me? " Go back," I said; but he had no notion df it, and remained. As I molded the first bullet, two skeletons came up from the trap. The one at my right had foolishly stepped forward, so the trap went down; and the skeleton, to the amusement of the audience, remained stupidly standing next to me. I was furious; and, pushing 136 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. him with my gun, said: "Step back." Millord, seeing this, now jumped at him, barking with all his might and main, and trying to bite the legs of the stupid fellow, who, one may imagine, left the stage at once. Millord, proud of the defeat of the enemy, now entered the circle, stood by me, and delighted the audience by attacking all the spirits and monsters which appeared. Those who had not heard the opera before, believed that this inter- polation was a part of it, with the dog act. At last, when, with the seventh bullet, " Samiel " appears, Millord rushed at him with such fury that he tore his red mantle entirely off him, and snapped at his legs. Samiel was valorous, kept his post, scream- ing and striking at poor Millord, who tried to bite him. Reichart (Max) and I were called before the curtain; when we appeared, calls of "the dog" were heard all over the house, and his advent when I called him forward was received with as great ap- plause as ours. The family who had given me the animal sat in a proscenium box; at the call of one of the young ladies, Millord jumped in, and for the rest of the evening sat with his fore-paws on the balustrade, nodding his head and wagging his tail, evidently proud of his dramatic triumphs. It may entertain my readers in what an odd way I came into possession of some very valuable pic- tures, steel engravings, some of them 100, some 200 years old, and some even older than that. Behind Drury Lane Theatre, there was at the time I am writing of, a little lane leading down to the Strand . AUTOBIOGRAPEY OF KARL FORMES. 137 Since the embankment of the Thames, those lanes and alleys haye been torn down, to make room for wider modern streets; this lane was so narrow that two wagons could not have gone through it at a time; both sides were occupied by antiquary shops. Later I found that they all belonged to one man, an immensely wealthy Jew. It amused me very much to pass there, and to search among the odd things collected, where I found many an interesting curi- osity. In one shop, once a month, they had a sale of packages of old waste paper, ten shillings six pence a package, of four cubic feet. For the fun of the thing, just to see what it did contain, I bought cSne, and found in it a very valuable book — an old score of the "Messiah," with remarks written on the margin by Handel himself. Amongst these papers I found once, also, an old book, the name df "William Shakespeare" written in it, which an expert told me was a genuine autograph of the great poet. At ev- ery sale I bought a package, and each time found something that repaid my ten shillings six pence, and more. One day I bought my package, and to my surprise and delight, found those twenty-three splendid engravings in it. At once I sent them to be framed and had them hung in my drawing room. Three weeks after my purchase I was standing at my window and saw an elegant brougham drive up; a small man, very finely dressed, entered my house; the name on his card, Mr. Solomon M ,' was entirely unknown to me; when I entered the drawing room, my attention was attracted by the flashing of an im- 138 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. mense diamond, worth a king's ransom, which he wore as a scarf pin; in a quick, nervous, but quite self-possessed, quite "at-home" air, he was walking around the room, looking at my pictures. "Oh, they are already framed," he addressed me. To my sur- prise, he explained that he was the proprietor of all thosashops in the lane; that by means of such shops he had obtained an immense fortune, which now brought him in an income of 1,000,000 pounds a year; and that those engravings had accidentally been packed up with the old papers. Of course, I offered either to pay the full value of the pictures or to restore them to him, but the gentleman would not hear of it; insisted on my retaining them, and lacon,- ically he said: "Bought — paid — yours." His object in calling upon me was merely to tell me of their great value, and to warn me if ever I did part with them, not to sell them under twenty guineas each. With thanks, I accepted Mr. M 's generous gift. " Die Kunst geht in Noth nach Brot bis in den Tod." " Art strives in want for bread till dead." This motto I wrote upon the death of my dear friend Mario. The very good English translation of it is by my friend John C. Freund, of New York, a son of the Dr. Freund of London, whom I have spoken of. MARIO Was a creative artist. Strange to say, by some fatal- ity, such always become poor. I never have failed to see that if the creative artist becomes rich, by some accident or other, he or she is certain to lose all. What remains is " Art." " Der Ktinstler geht, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 139 die Kunst bleibt " — " the artist goes, but art re- mains" — is another motto of mine. Mario, Marquis de Gandia, related to the royal house of Italy, gave up his title and rank, and made his stage name, " Mario," famous for all times. He was as noble a man as he was a great artist. After he married the great Giulia Grisi, his large income went to support the household and for the education of the children. Giulia Grisi's income was put in the bank, in the name of" Madame Grisi," for her children; Mario's name was not mentioned in the matter at all. In '67 or '68 she visited me in Wiesbaden, en route for St. Pe- tersburg, where she was to join Mario; she dined at my house; and I saw her off on the'railroad. Next morning, she was found dead of heart disease, at a hotel in Berlin, where she had stopped over night. The children received the money. Poor Mario's voice was gone; he was nothing of a musician; he was a genius, but not enough musically educated to teach. The consequence was, he lived very poorly. Once, on his last visit to the United States, he visited me in New York. I was just giving a lesson. With tears in his eyes he exclaimod: "Oh, Carlo, how fortu- nate for you that you can teach!" Some friends ( f his in England gave him a pension for a few years, before his death. But alas, the day of his burial '73, his poor coffin was brought as far as the church- yard. It would have cost a few cents more to bring it to the grave. That money not being there, the ^ coffin stood outside the cemetery, until towards even- ing an English gentleman passed, and upon being 140 AUTOBIOGRAPHY QP KAKL FORMES. told why the cofBn was not put into its resting-place, paid the pittance for the burial. But what was the shock when he heard whose coffin it was — that of the great singer, the great nobleman, in every sense of the word — Mario, Marquis de Candia ! RONCONI, The greatest dramatic artist I have known (the same compliment he paid to me, and, coming from him, I regard it as truly a great compliment) had become very wealthy. He undertook the operatic management in Paris. The Revolution of '48 ruined him. Then he returned to Covent Garden Theatre. Now he did not receive as great a salary as before ; his vocal powers began to decline. To- wards the end of 1869 he had become very poor. He, like Mario, was not able to teach. In December of '71, I was walking up Irving Place, in New York, en route to my breakfast. I no- ticed a familiar air about a very shabbily dressed old man on the opposite side of the street. Can that be Ronconi ? Involuntarily I called "Giorgio." It was he who quickly crossed over to me, and asked me where I was bound for. " I am going to break- fast." "Oh, fortunate !" (what a lucky man) was his answer. Astonished, I invited him to join me, which he did. We sat down at a table. Nervously and voraciously he began to eat.the bread upon the table, and confessed that for the last three days he had not had an entire meal. That he had it then, and after that, I need not say. Fortunately, some time after this, his daughter, a superior young lady, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL POKMES. 141 married well, and the great Ronconi was saved from poverty. How did I fare? In the year 1865, as I was leaving Wiesbaden for the United States, to sing a season here, at my first wife's request, I gave her a power of attorney over all my property, as she had expressed a wish to join me in the United States with the children. In Chicago I bought, on refusal (having paid a deposit at once), a large, fine place, now in the midst of the city. I wrote to my wife and my banker on the subject, but received no answer. When I returned to Wies- baden to find out the meaning of this, I found that my wife, by the advice of some rascally friends of hers, had misused the power of attorney, so as to rob me of every thing — my house, my villa, a vine- yard, my munificent jewels, and plate of gold, silver and platina, gifts from all the sovereigns of Europe, besides my money. Nothing was left to me but the engravings, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Solomon M . These and a few trifling things had been forgotten in her inventory, so were awarded to me. That I left her at once, I need not say. I class artists in three divisions — creative, imita- tive and individual. Creative artists are those who endow the composer's work with life and action; they create the part which he has written. The cre- ative artist must have genius. Amongst these rank Mario, Grisi, Ronconi, Tiatscheck, Cornet, Breitirg, Blum, Schroder-Devrient, Hammermeister, Sabina, 142 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Heinevetter. Amongst these, I may name also myself. For instance: Giulia Grisi's " Norma" — what a rev- elation ! In the scene with Adalgisa, when she asks her how it i« that she has abandoned the altar, and Adalgisa relates all to her ; at Norma's words, "Oh, rimembranza" (what remembrance), Grisi raised her veil over her face on Adalgisa's side, in order to conceal her emotion, and turned her eyes heavenward. That one action and look were as if the perjured priestess' evil record lay open on the prompter's box, that the audience might there read her crime. Imitative artists are such that may gain absolute perfection in both singing and acting ; but ever- more they remind you of some other artist whom he or she has taken for a prototype. This may be called perfection, but is not genius. The individual- ist neither. detracts from nor improves the represen- tation, and is, so to say, a nonentity, representing his orher own — self. I sang a great deal in Ireland, where the ap- preciation of music is very remarkable; several very comical adventures that I experienced there are worthy of relating. In Dublin, "La Sonnambula" was announced for the evening : Bosio — "Amina;" Mario — "Elvino;" I the "Count." At 3 p. m. Mario was taken ill, una- ble to sing. High and low, search was made for Tamberlik, who could not be found; he had gone on a yachting excursion. What to do now ? Louisa Pyne and the tenor, Harrison, with a concert com- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL POKMES. 143 pany, were in the city; he was sent for and agreed to sing "Elvino." The house was packed, so that many were contented to stand in the side scenes who could not get places in the auditorium; no announce- ment was made of the change of tenor. "Elvino" enters amidst a storm of applause (the audience thinking it was Mario), then begins in the most atrocious of throaty tones (what we call in German, a "cravat tenor") "Amina mi Perdona;" the silence in the house was most painful. Imagine, the audience expect to hear the great inimitable Mario, and are treated to the throaty guttural tenor of a Harrison; what a difference ! The almost weird stillness ex- pressed more than hisses. All at once in this op- pressive silence, an old woman's voice says in a shrill tone from the gallery, "Oh, Lord; my h-eigh- teen pence;" it is unnecessary to say what the effect of the poor thing's regret at having spent eighteen pence to hear Harrison was upon the audience! The opera could not go on; amidst screams of laughter the curtain had to drop; hastily we were obliged to change it to "Puritani;" as, for "Arturo," we had an Italian tenor. The Dublin people are like those of Cologne; their love for music is so great that they will sacrifice the necessities of life in order to have the means of grat- ifying their love for music and song. In either of these two cities I have known people to take their few possessions to the pawn-shop, so they could buy an opera ticket. One evening, going to the opera house to sing "Marcel," I found the crowd so great 144- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. that I could not approach the stage entrance; to get in in front was, of course, an impossibility. "Gen- tlemen, I suppose you wish to hear the opera; if you do not let me pass that will be impossible," said I, loudly. What did several strong men do ? Before I knew what they were about, they lifted me up, and absolutely handed me over to others, who set me down in the door-way. Whilst handing me over the heads of the people they screamed, "Yohi," like the sailors do. When I entered on the stage as "Marcel," a man from the gallery cried to another one, "Jimmy, that's him-; hip, hip, hurrah !" Amidst hearty cheers, I began "Sir Raoul." Julien, the great musician, had his guard of 100 men — he called his orchestra so — as Napoleon had his guard of honor of 100 soldiers, so Julian had his guard of honor; his orchestra of 100 fine tnusicians; the orches- tra was rarely perfect. He wrote a symphony for Dublin expressly, and took for his theme a popular Irish folk-song, with the refrain, "Farewell, fare- well, my sweet' Mary Ann !" The symphony began, the violins playing the melody, pianissimo with the sordine on; the effect was marvelously beautiful and pathetic; for the refrain the whole orchestra joined. At the last "Farwell, farewell, my sweet Mary Ann !" spontaneously sang out the whole audience. Poor Julien fell back on his seat, broken down with disappointment at the ridiculous climax to his composition; however, he had the satisfaction that tl^e vast audience (the rotundo alone contained one thousand five hundred seats) demanded an encore, AUTOBIOGKAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 145 and when at last he responded, the symphony closed this time without accident, amidst storms of ap- plause and cheering. Speaking of Julien reminds me of a comical epi- sode in the career of Loder. In 1853 we gave "Fi- delio" in Liverpool, with the three overtures played between the acts. Loder conducted. Somehow the orchestra could not come in, in perfect time, at the alia breve in the overture in E. Anshiitz and I were listening in the auditorium; the overture was repeated. Useless. We stepped upon the stage. That we should hear the non-success angered Lo- der very much; in great excitement, he burst out : "Gentlemen, the meaning is this : Damn your eyes I blast your eyes ! go to bloody hell !" — singing the melody to "this elegant, refined, improvised text; but, amidst much laughter, this time the phrases were played in perfect tempo. How I became a land-owner in Ireland is worthy of relating. At Vienna I made the acquaintance of Sir George C , of the English embassy; the invi- tation to visit him on his Irish estate, I now, in 1850, accepted. One morning after breakfast, I went out partridge shooting and remained away until evening. I was eight or nine miles, from Sligo, when there came one of those sudden thunder Btorms prevalent in that country, and in Hungary, accompanied by a really tropical rain-storm, de- scending in torrents and drenching me to the bones. There I was standing, wet through and through, on 146 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. an elevation looking down into the valley where the streaming water was forming little ponds; it was im- possible to get back to the house — at least three hours' walk — so I set out to look for shelter. In the distance I could discern a cabin, it not being quite' dark yet. Towards that I wended my way. Such an Irish cabin is the most poverty-stricken object imaginable. Built of rough stone, so low that one can touch the thatched roof; one little window; a sort of chimney, resembling more a hole in the roof than a chimney; the door opens inward; this is the architecture of the outside. Inside is the dwelling for the family, as well as for the pig. It is this animal which pays the rent for the poor peasant. It is treated with great care and attention. Occasionally, a family is fortunate enough to possess a cow and a goat; these live in the open air. I reached the cabin in question, and knocked at the door. A female voice called, not very hospit^ ably : " You can't come in, father's not at home." I did not wish to intrude, but the drenching rain was pouring down on me; so I opened the door. and remained standing just in the door-way, at the same time excusing myself to the invisible owner of the voice for having trespassed so far, when I had been invited to remain outside. Pretty soon a man came along. " That's father," exclaimed the voice. Politely the man took off his cap, with "your honor," and, introducing himself as the owner of the cabin, invited me to enter. By this time it was quite dark; AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 147 I begged him to light a candle; he had none. I re- quested him to make a fire, so that I could dry my- self; he had not the wherewith. Absolutely, that miserable hut contained nothing; the poor little pig had gone long ago; all they had in the way of eat- ables were three turnips, and kindly the poor man offered me one of them. I handed him some money, asking him to go to Sligo and get the most necessary things — candles, turf, tea, etc.; but no I he could not accept any money from me, as I was his " guest!" This of course was very comical; but was it not noble — that idea? A fortunate thought came to me: I offered to buy the cabin; then / would be proprietor. At first, he could not compre- hend what I wanted; he laughed when I offered him ten pounds for the hut. When he found that I was in earnest, tears of happiness rolled down his cheeks, whilst he called, " Maggie, we are saved !" Willing he was to go to Sligo and do my bidding. Then he explained to me that the " voice" belonged to Maggie, his daughter, but as the poor thing did not have enough rags to cover herself with, she had to remain hidden. I gave him my plaid, which the poor girl clothed herself in, wringing wet as it was, so she could make her appearance. Whilst her fa- ther, went to Sligo, she plucked and cleaned the partridges I had shot. It was not long before he re- turned, bringing a good load with him of candles, turf, potatoes, bread, butter, ham, tea and whisky; some of the latter he brought back inside of him- self, in order to get warm. Well, we had a right 148 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL Ji'ORMES. royal supper; surely one to which these poor, good people were unaccustomed. A bundle of straw in a corner made a bed for me and my dog. At day- break the man aroused me with the cry of " They're looking for you, sir!" I sprang up to meet my friends, who had passed an anxious night on my ac- count, and had been looking for me since the cessa- tion of the storm. So I became an Irish landlord, but have never seen my possession again. I gave the poor people enough, so that, with the ten pounds of the night before, they could get the necessary clothes and steamer tickets to fulfil their darling project of "im- migrating" to " Americky." With the tears rolling down their faces, they kissed my hands, bidding me farewell. I first sang in Scotland, under Cramer & Beale, in 1850. It was a concert tour. Prima donna — Clara Novello; tenor — Sims-Reeves; basso — I; vio- linist — Ernst. The composer, Litholf, was our ac- companist. During this tour I sang "In einem kiihlen Grunde," a German folk-song. I arranged it for concert and composed the accompaniment. This song delighted the audience. After the first part I received a card requesting me to come to the box of a lady of the high nobility. She thanked me and asked me to sing the song over again, which, of course, I did. This added to insure perfect success wherever and whenever I sang it. After this I was obliged in every concert to sing " In einem kiihlen Grunde." If it was not on the programme the audi- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 149 ence would sing it until I complied with their wishes and sang it myself. A friend of mine, Mr. Esmond Ryan (editor of the " Musical World," in Loudon), translated the text beautifully into English. The translation is so perfect that it hardly varies from the German. I published it under the name of "In Sheltered Vales." It is also known as " The Mill Wheel." When, in 1888, I visited England again, I found that its popularity had not decreased. As soon as I struck the first chords of the prelude, I was greeted with storms of applause. So fond are the Scotch of it that they regard it almost as a national song. Both music and words suit their character. The love for art and science amongst the people at large is greater in Scotland than in Eng- land. My first operatic tour through Scotland took place in 1853. Jarrett and I were the impresari; the artists — Mmes. Carradori, Rudersdorff, Van Berke], Dangri; tenore — Pavesi, Alex. Richards (composer of*songs); baritone — Fortini, Mancusi; bassi — Zel- ger and myself. On Christmas, 1853, a gentleman sent me a gift of twenty-four bottles of rare wine; tTOelve of sherry and twelve of port, fifty years old. This wine I ordered to be served at dessert, having invited the whole company to a Christmas dinner. On retiring from the table I gave the order to let the wine and glasses remain just as they were, in case that any one should wish to take something later in the evening. We passed a pleasant evening, all together, in the drawing-room. During the even- 150 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. ing, we had gone back to the dining-room and taken more of the fine wine. That I did not take cold that night, I was certain of; but next morning I was so hoarse that I could hardly speak. From that day on, I have had trouble with my throat. I would be in good voice, and, when least expected, without any cause, the hoarseness would return. It is only now, after all these years, that 1 am again master over my voice. Reichardt sufifered next day as I" did, and has never been able to sing in opera again. Once in a while he could sing a song, and immediately was troubled with the myste'rious hoarseness again. Madam Carradori had the same complaint on the day after Christmas; but she never sang again; her voice was irretrievably gone. Two years later I dined with a friend in London; after dinner his wife said to me that her maid would like to speak to me for a few moments. Naturally I was taken by surprise; but when the young woman entered, I recognized her as the maid whom Mrs. Jarrett had with her on that memorable Scotch tour. "Oh, Herr Formes, I am awfully troubled about something, in which I have had a share; please let me tell you about it. Two years ago Christmas, when you gave the company that fine dinner, you all retired to the drawing room, and left your glasses and the wine on the table. 1 was sewing in Mrs. Jarrett's room, which opened into the dining room; she had left it a little ajar; after all of you had gone, Mme. Carradori came back and acted so strangely that I could not help watching her. She had a lit- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 151 tie bottle in her hand, out of which she poured something into your glass, and also into Herr Reich- ardt's; then she left, the room. I thought some fun is up, and what do I do but pour the wine out of her glass and fill it up with half the contents,of your glasses, then filled your glasses with pure wine. Now I thought, madam, if you're playing a joke on the gentlemen, I'm playing one on you. When all three of you got so hoarse, and she, poor thing, lost her voice, it struck me that the joke was no joke, but a trick of hers; and when my lady told me this evening that you were here, sir, I felt that I must tell you this." I thanked Pamela (that was her name), for this certainly very startling relevation. That Madame Carradori had hated Reichardt I was aware of; she was madly jealous of his great popu- larity, particularly as she topk a great interest in Pavesi, the other tenor, and that she was capable of any trick (in this case, crime) to further her ends, I did not doubt. In 1853, en route for London, after my Berlin en- gagement, I stopped at Hamburg for the first time since 1848. My brother Hubert and I were at din- ner in the hotel "Kronprinz" — Gruber was the pro- prietor. Hubert sat at one end of the table, I at the other, the dinner being "table d'hote;" the conversa- tion became geheral; the topic was on shooting and fencing. Oneof the men said to Hubert: "That your brother is a wonderful artist I admit, but that he is so remarkable a marksman I should like to see." Upon this I sent him my card, ofifering him a wager 152 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. for twenty Friedrich's-d'or. Immediately he apolo- gized, saying that he meant no offense, etc., etc. (However, we did fire on a wager at a target, next day, and I won the bet, for which money we had a superb dinner, at Papa Wilkins' restaurant). A very young lady at the table (later the celebrated actress Fredericka Gossman) asked me, "What is all this about, Herr Formes ?" "Nothing to interest young ladies," said I. Possibly I may have spoken a little abruptly, for the girl began to cry, arousing great sympathy amongst the old ladies, with whom she was a pet. Her father was professor in Munich, and she was in the care of the family Gruber. "I beg your pardon. Miss, I did not mean to offend you; we were talking of pistol shooting, and if you, little darling, have the courage to hold a Thaler in your hand, I will warrant to hit it at twelve feet distance." "I accept," and to my astonishment she insisted on accepting the challenge which I had but made in jest. The room not being very light, the gas was- fuUy turned on, and to the horror of the shrieking old ladies, she boldly stood, at twelve feet distance from me, facing the other way, and firmly held the Thaler in her hand whilst I hit it in the center. I had 'it put into a gold medallion and presented it to her as a memento of her bravery. Marie Seebach played "Gretchen" in Faust at Hamburg; the little Gossman . criticised something in her conception of the prison scene, and read the scene for us as she would render it. All present were delighted, except I, who told her that her in- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FOKMES. 153 tonation was faulty, and that the tone of her cry must be such as to arouse the highest degree of sym- pathy and pity in the hearts of the-audience. She made no answer. Her room was just above mine, and I could hear her walk up and down evenings, whilst studying her roles. One night the clock had just struck one; the most terrific, heart-rending shriek came from the upper floor; all the people ran out of their rooms to find out what dreadful catastro- phe had occurred; as the piercing cry had come from above, we all ran up; the Grubers were already at Miss Gogsman's door, imploring her to open it — no response; frightened as all of us were, I kicked against it till it flew open. On the table, between two can- dles, lay.the open volume of Faust, and the little rascal stood in the- middle of the room shaking with laughter, and asked me, "Was the cry right this time ?" She was one of the brightest young ladies I have met in my career. Now, I returned to London. It was my doing that the composers, Wagner, Lindpainter and Spohr, received invitations to conduct the Philharmonic concerts. Through my influence the tenors 'Ander and Wachtel were invited to Covent Garden; the first . in 1852, Wachtel in 1856. Ander's London debut was in "William Tell." He lived at my house, in St. John's Wood. Count Pulsky arranged a concert at Exeter Hall, in aid of the poor exiled Hungarians, of whom great numbers had fled to England, in 1849 and 1850. Amongst those whose services had been asked were Anna Zerr and I, both 154 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. from Covent Garden; and the violinist, Ganser, pro- fessor at the conservatoire inVienna, who was concert- izing in London, and played also in Covent Garden orchestra. Ander had refused to sing. He tried to persuade Zerr and Ganser from partaking, as they were members of the Imperial Theatre in Vienna. I inquired and found that my singing at the benefit would in nowise injure my position at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. Ganser was a Hungarian, and said to me: " Dear Formes, it cannot injure me in Vienna, if I do play for my poor compatriots." Mme. Zerr did not sing; nevertheless, whan she re- turned to Vienna shortly after, she was ordered to leave the city. Ganser received word from his wife not to return to Vienna until she would tell him to. In those days of the letters sent to Vienna more were intercepted than reached their destination; therefore some friends of mine hit on a very original manner of correspond- ence. Each one of us had the same edition of a certain book, and our letters read thus: for instance, letter 4, line 3, page 6; in this way we spelled out our words and formed sentences. If the letters were tampered with, the ofiScers of the law were none the wiser, as they did not know what book we used. I heard from Vienna that Ander, whilst enjoying my hospitality, acted as a spy against me, reporting : every word that he had heard uttered in my house by Professor Tausenau, Count Pulsky, Professor Pfister and many others whom he had met. Sat- urday evenings I received my friends; amongst them AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 155 were exiles from different countries; such remarkable men as Mazzini (later Minister in Italy), Ruyde- Roulin, Louis Blanc, and many others. Cold supper was served, plenty of tobacco, pipes, and beer. Pol- itics were strictly tabooed. Our conversations were chiefly on art, science, and literature. Ander, al- ways being present, assured me constantly that those Saturday evenings were the most enjoyable of his life, as he always heard and learned something new during our discussions on music and the dramatic art. "Formes, I envy you your circle of friends," he repeatedly said. And it was this very man who^ad the infamy to write to the police authorities in Vienna that my house was the meeting place of dangerous political characters; where plots were hatched against governments, etc. Poor Ganser was virtually exiled. His house in Vienna had been searched by the authorities, but as they failed to find dangerous documents, their spite was vented against the violinist, for having played in the charity con- cert, by exiling him. A great blow it was, when, soon after, his only daughter died actually of a broken heart at being parted from her father whom she adored. Mme. Ganser now came to join her husband in London. She had been one of the hand- somest ladies of Vienna; when she arrived in Lon- don she was unrecognizable. She had become a broken-down, feeble, old woman; what her suffer- ings had been were plainly depicted on her poor, worn face. The Ganser family had been one of the most 156 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. united I have ever met. Father, mother and daugh- ter were one heart and one soul. Professor Tause- nau and I accompanied Ganser to the station to re- ceive his wife. Neither of us recognized the feeble old woman coming towards us, until she called out, " My dear husband!" He stood as if turned to stone for a minute; then, taking her in his arms, cried out : " Jesus, Mary, Joseph ! can this be my dear wife!" My carriage was waiting to take us all to my house. On the way there, he took her hands in his and exclaimed : " May God hear my curse and fulfil it! . May that fellow [Ander] be punished by mad- ness, but have lucid moments in which he recog- nizes his misery, and may that last until his death!" The curse was fulfilled, word for word, on the miser- able spy and traitor. A year after Madame Ganser's arrival at Vienna, I was crossing the " Goethe Platz" at Frankfort-on- the-Main when whom do I meet but Ander coming towards me, in the company of several gentlemen. Gushingly he rushed at me; I stopped short, and said: "This must be the last time that you — liar, traitor, and spy — address me; surely poor Ganser's curse will be fulfilled on you." And so it was, just one year later. I must go back to '46, so as not to omit relating in how odd a manner my Italian engagement was in- terrupted in Milan. Mirelli and Balachino, of Vi- enna, had engaged me for Milan, Naples, Florence and Rome, for the seasons "primo and doppo carne- vale (before and after carnival) '46, '47, '48, '49, up AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 157 until '50. I had been two days in Milan. In the Cafe " Martini," opposite the " Scala," I met Count Sch , of the Prussian Embassy. We sat down at a little table, and I ordered " tutti-frutti" (ice). Be- fore us was a little gaslight, for the lighting of ci- gars. Whilst we were conversing, a man pushed himself between us, lighted his cigar on the little flame, and blew the smoke into my face. " Signor, fume al altra parta" (sir, blow yoar smoke the other way), said I. " Perfido tedesco !" (perfidious Ger- man), exclaimed he. That was a favorite epithet, directed against the Austrians, not Prussians. He went to anothor table, and sat down beside four others. The Count had started up, but I was quicker, and laying my hand on the man's shoulder, asked what he meant by " perfido tedesco!" Again he repeated it, and I boxed his ears, so that he fell over with his chair. I threw my card on the table: " Signore miei, I am at your disposition; I respect others, and demand the same for myself; son Prus- siano" (I am a Prussian). Hardly were the words out of my mouth, when the four, including my as- saulter, sprang up and called out, " Eviva la Prus- sia I" (long live Prussia); "eviva el rey Frederi6o Grande!" (long live King Frederick the Great). Evi- dently they had forgotten that it was many years since Frederick the Great had lived. The one whose ears I had boxed now begged my pardon, excusing himself that when he insulted me he took me for an Austrian. Some Austrian ofiBcers, in their uniform, were at another table, and had witnessed these pro- 158 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. ceediags. In consequence, next day I was requested to call on the adjutant of General Radetzkey, Com- mander-in-Chief of the Austrian army in Lom- bardy. All the oflScers received me in the kindest manner, with pressure of hands, etc.; but laugh- ingly I was told that, for fear of an anti-Austrian demonstration, I must not appear before the public. Mirelli and Balachino were notified, and I returned to Vienna. My season at Hessen-Kassel in 1847, was also in- terrupted by the authorities of that very little realm. Here they imitated Vienna, and had established the " censur" and every other kind of "espionage. At the table d'hote the conversation turned on Schiller's plays; we spoke of "Kabale und Liebe" (love and in- trigue), forbidden in Hessen-Kassel, as the play is the true picture of the times at the end of the last cen- tury, when the soldiers were sold by the Grand Duke of that country (?) to England in order to fill his exchequer, and were compelled to fight against the brave colonists of America. I remarked that I had invented a new name for the play, "Der geile Kurfurst, oder was kostet das Pfund Menshenfleish" (the dissipated Grand Duke, or what is the price of a pound of human flesh?) Some spy reported me at once; next day I was cited to the police and ordered to leave the country (?) within twenty-four hours. - I looked at my watch; it was just 11 o'clock A. M. Coolly I turned to the very pompous police President, saying, "Well, sir, I am happy to have made your very interesting acquaintance; now I AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 159 have time until 9 to-morrow morning, when I shall bid Hessen-Kassel adieu, for it takes only twenty ; minutes to get over the frontier." When, in 1849, I sang at the grand festival for the opening of the Philharmonic Hall at Liverpool, an anonymous note was brought to me requesting me to sing a certain song for an encore; I complied. Next day I received another such note, expressing thanks for my compliance with the writer's request last evening. On that evening the overture to "Eg- mont" by Beethoven and the "Requiem" of Mozart had been given for the first time in England (as in this book I made previous mention of). In this second note the writer begged to know whom I considered the greatest, Mozart or Beethoven. I answered her (evidently she was a lady), that both those masters are fixed stars; all the other compos- ers are but their moons. If Mozart, who is generally better understood, be the sun, then Beethoven must be Sirius, even greater than the sun; each one is a divinity, and permits no false gods near himself. Through these letters a steady correspondence en- sued between me and the unknown (evidently intel- lectual) lady during six years. "What broke off this correspondence was, that my opinion of Napoleon III differed entirely from hers; she had a great ad- miration for his diplomatic powers, which I did not share, although I liked him exceedingly personally. During a tourm Scotland in 1868, at the house of Lady N., I met an elderly lady who introduced her- self to me as my unknown correspondent. She was 160 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. as amiable personally as her letters were interesting, and had won considerable journalistic renown; she had made the tour around the world several times. In 1872 I received a letter from her when I was in New York; therein she coincided with my opinion of her formerly so much admired Napoleon the Third; she admitted that I was right. "He was, from Boulogne to Chiselhurst, a gamester." "Va Banc ! ! !" I made the acquaintance of this ill-fated, undiplo- matic, but charming monarch as follows: Whilst in Vienna, I was very friendly with a certain Bulga- rian Prince, who was particularly fond of hearing me sing " Good-night — farewell," which Kiicken had composed for me. One day he begged me, as a favor, to t6ach that, and some other German songs, to a lady. The lady was the Countess Montijo (later Empress Eugenie of France). I gave the les- sons as Prince M. requested. Then came the revo- lution; and the next time I came face to face with her was at one of Queen Victoria's State Concerts. The concert was given in honor of the French Im- perial couple; and, strange to say, my first number on the programme was " Good-night — farewell." When I began to sing, the gracious Empress gave a start of surprise, and, recognizing me, expressed her pleasure at meeting me again. The Emperor did me the honor to invite me to visit him in Paris, which I accepted, and was kindly invited to dine with him and the Em- press. During their stay at the English Court, I AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 161 had several very interesting interviews with the monarch, whilst walking in the garden at Bucking- ham Palace, at his invitation, with him. What some managers know of authors, will be il- lustrated by the following anecdote: In 1852, I was at Cologne. The " Midsummer Night's Dream " had been performed with great success in StoU- werck's new theatre, in the " Shildergasse." I was taking my supper in a restaurant in the building, when the director of that theatre, in high glee at the success of the evening, entered. Seeing me, he ad- dressed me as follows: "Dear Karl, you can do me a great favor. As you are going back to London soon, you might go to see that Shakespeare (pro- nouncing the name as though it were German), and get him to write me a few pieces, similar to the 'Midsummer Night's Dream.' I'll pay him well." It seems impossible that such ignorance could exist; and yet I had the evidence of my own ears. My tour to Spain took place in 1850, when I was engaged for the opening of the theatre " Oriente," in Madrid. Professor Tausenau, my Secretary, was to accompany me; but I was warned, at the moment of starting almost, not to take him with me, for fear that in Paris he might be arrested, at the instiga- tion of the Austrian Embassy, as he had been mixed up with politics in Vienna; so I went alone with my valet. I must relate how I encountered the great and celebrated Viennese professor at London. I was walking along- the Strand, when a miserably poor 162 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. and shabby-looking man thrust a slip of paper, bear- ing the advertisement of a cheap restaurant, into my hand. Happening to glance at his face, I recog- nized my friend, who, after his exila,had fled to London, and became so reduced as to eke out' a liv- ing in the above manner. My invitation to accom- pany me home, and to remain with me, was not re- fused. We crossed from Folkestone to Boulogne-sur mer. There, amidst a great deal of red-tape, our passports were revised. I was rigidly examined by a gentleman who had asked me into his oflice, and had to sign a legal paper to the effect that I was the owner of Karl Formes' passport. As my pass was from the Prussian Embassy, they could not mo- lest me further, but my poor valet they arrested for Prof. Tausenau who was supposed my companion, and these stupid people took my valet, who could not speak his own language without a patois, for the highly learned professor. As it was not diflicult to establish that the poor Italian was not the great sa- vant, he had to be liberated at once. The poor fel- low was so frighlened that it required all my power of persuasion to induce him to accompany me fur- ther. I stopped at the Hotel Windsor in Paris. The day subsequent to my arrival, a man called Breitbach sent me his card, and claimed to be a former ac- quaintance of mine, from Vienna. I did not even recollect having seen him before,*but he insisted that I must have forgotten him. He was most amiable, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 163 but I mistrusted him; I recognized a spy in him. " I do know you now; probably you have come to look for Professor Fausenau; he thought it "best not to leave London, as on this /ree republican French soil (France was then a republic), his liberty would be in jeopardy." He denied such intentions, but I knew and insisted that my surmises were correct. On that same day, I witnessed a large, but not great, revue on the Champs de Mars, where Napoleon had first reviewed his Old Guard. What a parody this one proved ! A cavalry regiment made an attack; when the signal was given to retire, half of them were out of the saddle. I visited the burial place of Napo- leon I., the Dome des Invalides. It interested me exceedingly to meet the old soldiers who remem- bered the days of the French Revolution in the last century. One of them, with snowy white hair and the three-cornered hat of the Consular time, at- tracted my attention. He had been with Napoleon in Egypt, at Marengo, Russia, in fact in all his cam- paigns. I remarked that better times were in store for France, there being another Napoleon (the prince-president) at the head- of the government. With his head thrown back, expressing proud con- tempt in his face, he said: " Oui, monsieur — un Na- poleon, mais jamais un Bonaparte!" (Yes, sir — a Napoleon, but never a Bonaparte.) At the Column Vendome, I saw the man " with the little hat," and read the names of all the battles. As I stood read- ing " Marengo," the final " o" seemed to speak and to prophesy the future of unhappy France — "0 — ." 164 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. The wail of weeping seemed to hover around that trophy of victory, the Column Vendome. In my peregrinations through the streets of Paris,. I was struck by seeing at all corners, and at every other available place, written " Liberte, Egalite, Fra- ternite." The translation I made of those three words (sacred to humanity, when properly used), ac- cording to the use made of them then and there, in Paris, was, not liberty, equality, fraternity, but (not to disturb the initial letter) libertinism (liberty), egotism (equality), frivolity (fraternity). Every stranger visiting this capital was sur- rounded by espionage. I had letters of recommen- dation to the Prussian embassy from Chevalier Bun- sen in London. One of the attaches and I wit- nessed a very amusing performance at the theatre Porte St. Martin one evening. After that, we went to supper in the cafe opposite the theatre. We spoke in our own language. Probably that my long hair and his military moustache attracted the attention of those present. I soon remarked that something ■ unusual seemed going on. " Baron," I said, "we at- tract such attention, I'll wager that, under some pre- text, they'll arrest us, to find out who we are." My prophecy was soon fulfilled. Not ten minutes passed ere there was a row (put up) at one of the other ta- bles, screaming, and glasses thrown; the police were called; some of the National Guard entered, and all, including ourselves, were arrested. An officer ques- tioned us; my friend at first did not answer, but I gave my name. Nevertheless, we were taken to the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL PORSfES. 165 prefecture, before the Prefect Carlier. When my friend mentioned his name, he was at once dis- missed, but remained till I also was discharged. I merely gave my name, and told him that the rest he could find in my passport, which had been taken at Boulogne-sur-mer, with the prom- ise that in Paris it should be returned to me. It was customary in those days, in France, that in whatever city one arrived, the officials took posses- sion of tbe passport, to be returned at Paris, on pay- ment of five francs. If one wished to continue the journey through France, it cost five francs more. Whilst in Paris I called on the great poet, Hein- rich Heine. At first his house-keeper would not permit me to see him, he being too ill. I begged her to take my card to him, writing under my name, "From Cologne on the Rhine." In the room where I awaited his answer, was a piano; as the woman went out with my card, I told her that I brought a greeting from home for the poet, and if I could not see him I would sing him something. I sang "' In einen kiihleu Grunde" (the mill-wheel). As soon as I finished the last note I heard "Come in, Herr Formes." When I entered his room he seized me by both hands, and with tears streaming- down, his cheeks, thanked me. I remained in Paris one week longer, and during that time, at his request, visited Heine every day and sang a song for him each time. His favorites were " Der Wifthin Tochterlein," by Klein; "Der Blinde," by Keller; Schubert's "Wan- derer;"- "Die Krahe" and "Mein Herz ist am Ehein," 166 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. by Speyer. The parting of the great poet and my- self was very painful; I may say that his tears fell on my hands. I brought letters of introduction to Rossini, but I never could find him at home, notwithstanding my repeated efforts. I heard that he was accustomed to dine at an Italian restaurant opposite the Church St. Madelaine. At his dinner hour I went there and took a room next to the one in which he was. 'In my room there was a piano. I began to sing, " Qui sdegno." After the first words there was applause and bravo ! ! bravo ! ! ! bravissimo ! ! Then I sang " La Calumina," from Eossini's " Barbiere." Now the dooT opened arid the great maestro entered. When I finished he took my hands and said: "That you are a great artist I need not say; what is your name ?" I told him, adding: " Maestro, this is the key to your door, which has hitherto been closed to me." From this moment the maestr ad I became the firmest of friends. One evening at his house, Roger, Barroilhet and T, sang the trio from " William Tell;" when we finished, he was so over- come that he said not a word, but hid his face in his hands; then took each one of us separately by the hands and pressed them. I must remark, that at the great musical festival at Rotterdam, in the be- ginning of the fifties, when Liszt, the King of Hol- land, and the court were present, the trio was sung by Roger, Pisheck and myself. Roger sang French, Pisheck German, and I Italian. Notwithstanding this conglomeration of languages this trio was the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 167 number of the programme. Rossini could be very caustic sometimes. When my dear friend, Maurice Strakosch, brought that little bird, Adelina Patti, to Paris, she sang at one of the great maestro's recep- tions. Strakosch was a good man, an honest, enter- prising impresario, and a gentleman in one word. He was the only manager I ever had of whom I could say all this. But my friend had a habit of changing compositions by adding too much fioriture to show the ability of his protegees. Patti sang "Una voce poca fa," with any number of cadenzas, and runs, and trills, added by Maurice Strakosch. When her exceedingly brilliant performance was ended, Rossini, angry at additions made to his composi- tions, said nothing at all. Strakosch, very much dis- appointed, approached the maestro and asked him: " How are you satisfied?" " What composition was that ?" asked Rossini. " Why, maestro, your own, " Una voca poca. fa," retorted the nonplussed Stra- kosch. " Oh, no, that is not my composition, that is Strakoschonerie'-' (Stra-cochonerie), was Rossini's sarcastic answer. I visited Paris again in 1856, which was the time when I had the honor to dine with the imperial couple Napoleon HI. and the Empress Eugenie. The next time I saw Paris was 1888, when I was there with my dear wife Pauline, en route to Lourdes, to visit the grotto of Our Blessed Lady of Lourdes. At the time I mentioned, my first visit to France, railroad travel was still limited; I, not liking'the in- 168 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. convenience of the diligence, besides my expenses being paid by the Spanish government, I took extra post to convey me to Bayonne; during that short trip I was stopped and required to show my pass- port four times. Yrun was the first Spanish town we reached; the people could or would not speak French. German and English, of course, they did not understand, so I managed with Italian; it being similar to Spanish, we understood each other perfectly. Again I took extra post, but instead of horses, oxen drew my carriage. I noticed a little man in Spanish dress (later I heard that he was a courier); he left the town together with us (he on foot); next day when we reached Victoria, he was there already. At some points the diligence was drawn by fourteen oxen. Generally conveyances were drawn by eight mules, headed by a horse, on which a man rides. Very comical it was to hear the driver without a pause, talking to the animals, calling them by name, etc. The condition of the roads in the Pyrenees was dreadful. Next day when we halted, the courier again arrived at the same time with us. In answer to my question, he told me that his way was to "Burgos," where , he was taking something en- trusted to his care of such value that the sender would not risk forwarding it by mail, and when we reached "Burgos" he had arrived before us. These people are very moderate in eating and drinking; a glass of wine, a piece of bread and a cigar suffice for those Basques for a day; withal they are very cour- ageous. AUTOBIOGKAPEY OF KAKL FORMES. 169 My success in Madrid was immense; I was invited to sing at a State concert; the other singers were : Prima Donna — Frizzolini, Contralto — Alboni, Tenor — Steffani, Baritones — Eonconi and Barroilhet. One day, before the concert, I received?word that on account of the lengthy programme, my two numbers had to be omitted. I went to Duke Narvaez, Commander-in-Chief of the. Army,, and demanded p rmission to leave Madrid at once; one of his adju- tants, a German, tried to pacify me and promised that before twenty-four hours had passed I should have satisfaction for the insult offered me. Next day the, gentleman told me that it was by reason of the Austrian embassy's intrigue that my name had been taken off the programe; on that same day I also re- ceived my satisfaction through Duke Narvaez. I was invited to give a private concert to the court on that very evening; only Alboni and I were to sing; I sang "Der Wanderer" and "Non pin andrai" from "Le Nozze di ITigaro." Queen Isabella delighted in German songs, and requested me to sing one of them. I sang now "Mein Herz ist am Rhein" (my heart is on the Rhein) and "Das Glockengelaute." Her favorite German songs she had translated into Spanish by the poet Hatzenbush, a connection of mine; the wife of my uncle in Schwadorf, near Briihl, on the Rhine, was the poet's aunt. When those songs had been translated I was deputed to teach them to the Queen. Our family was originally Spanish; my ancestors were of high aristocracy. Our name is Formes-de- 170 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. Varaz. One branch of them emigrated to Holland in the commencement of the 16th century; from there to the Rhine. Not having means compatible with the title, these dropped the " de Varaz." I went expressly to Burgos to visit the branch of Formes living there. On this trip I was accom- panied by one of my uncles, my mother's brother, Katzenburg. One of my relatives at Burgos, a dig- nitary of the church, had a most remarkable likeness to me. I stayed several days at his house; and one day he told me to put on his dress, and his own mother took me for him. This family was held in high esteem in Burgos. The Queen honored me by bestowing the order of " Comendatore " upon me. I also received most valuable gifts at this Court. I was almost a witness when Queen Isabella did the following act of great mercy: One evening when I reached the stage, I heard one of the girls of the ballet sobbing as if her heart were breaking. I inquired of the intendant the cause of the girl's grief, and heard that her be- trothed, a gendarme, had been sentenced to death that day, for having, in self-defense, struck his su- perior ofl&cer a blow with his sword, of which Tvound the officer subsequently died. The intendant was of my opinion, that the girl should ask the Queen to pardon him. He obtained permission of her Majesty to bring the girl to her in the foyer of the royal box. The dancer fell on her knees before Queen Isabella, and related to her all the circum- stances of her lover's action, arrest and sentence, AUTOBIOGKAPHY Ol' KAKL FORMES. 171 and prayed for his life. " Do you, then, love him so much?" asked the royal lady. " More than my life, your majesty; I have sworn to love him till be- yond the grave, and if your majesty does not grant my prayer, we go together." This she said looking firmly at the Queen. "Then, as you love him so much, he shall live!" And the Queen signed his pardon then and there. The bull-fights being a Spanish national institu- tion, I attended several. The first one filled me with such disgust that for several days I could not touch any meat, and could hardly eat at all. It is a most horrible sight to see the poor horses all torn and bleeding, sometimes so that the entrails hang out of them. "The horses they use are old and otherwise useless ones, and are blindfolded. I made up my mind not to witness so revolting and inhuman a spectacle again; nevertheless, I did go again, in or- der to see the people, and their customs and ways; for at those spectacles all classes are represented. When I visit a strange country, I find that one must go amongst the people to learn their customs and fashions. The upper classses are the same all over the world; there" is very little variation in their mode of life or manner. The same may be said of the hotels; some are better, some worse; but upon the whole, they do not vary so very much. The general duration of a bull-fight is two hours. If, before that time, all the horses in the arena are killed, then the matador, or piccador, has a right to claim any horse he meets, only he must pay for it. 172 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. In this wise, the spectacle is uninterrupted. The bravery of these men is incredible. I paid for a seat in the aristocratic part of the amphitheatre, but took a seat amongst the people, in order to observe them the better. It was on a Sunday. One Perez, a great favorite and a brave, successful fighter, had no luck this day. Already he had lost three horses, and owed his own life to the action of the " azadores," who, by swing- ing the red mantle, had attracted the bull's attention to that, ,away from the unfortunate Perez. Immedi- ately in front of me sat several young girls of the working classes. One of these was crying bit erly; evidently Perez's ill luck was the cause of it. By what I heard of their conversation, I understood that she was betrothed to him. Another horse was brought into the arena. Up he rode to the presi- dent, and requested that a trained horse, not blind- folded, be given him; this time the combat should be for life or death. This petition was granted. With a sharp lance in hand, he rode around the arena. His manoeuvres, and turnings, and twistings, in order to deceive the bull, were, indeed, marvel- ously skillful and adroit. With every turn of the lance, he succeeded in wounding the bull between the neck and shoulders. The animal bellowed loudly, rose on his hind legs, and appeared as if he would give up the fight through loss of blood, which was very great. For awhile he stood motionless. The movements of Perez's horse were light and swift, like an antelope. With fixed lance, the tor- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 173 reader rode towards the bull, swung around to the left, calling out "torol' (bull), made one more thrust — the bull lay motionless. Such hurrahs! Cloaks, hats, cigar-cases, whatever the spectators happened to hold in their hands, were thrown into the arena, in the exeitement and enthusism of the moment. The azadores and matadores carried the now happy Perez around the arena on their shoul- ders. Then he mounted his horse, rode around to where his betrothed sat, and swinging her up on his horse, they proudly rode off, amidst the hurrahs and plaudits of the audience. My engagement in Spain ended, I returned to London, via Bordeaux. There I rested a few days. One day, whilst dining at my hotel, an elderly man and a little boy entered the dining hall, and the man began to sing an air from an Italian opera, accom- panying , himself on the guitar. At once, I heard he had held a very different position as a singer to the miserable one of the present. After he finished the air, I arose, telling the poor man to remain. I ordered the waiter to bring him wine, and went into an adjoining parlor, where I had noticed a grand piano, and sang, to my accompani- ment, two airs from Meyerbeer — "The Monk" and the "Pif paf," from "The Huguenots." Several local opera singers who lived at the hotel now joined me, and on learning my name, were delighted at our meeting, and treated to champagne, etc. One of the prime donne of the opera joined us. With her I sang, the duo " 0, Terror," from " The Huguenots."" 174 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. After that, I went around and took up a collection for the poor old man, who, as I had surmised at first, was an opera singer, and used to be a member of a traveling company. I headed the collection with a gold piece; so the rest of the artists could do no less. Our singing had attracted a great number of the guests of the bouse, and my collec- tion proved not a little aid to the poor old man. ST. PETERSBURG. My first engagement for Russia was made "in 1851, for the season in October, November, December, January, February and March, up to the Greek lent- en season. I was splendidly received there and sang at all the court concerts; at the first of these the art- ists were Mario, Grisi, Tamberlik, Ronconi, Tambu- rini and myself. Whilst I was singing Schubert's "Wanderer," Czar Nicholas sat gazing dreamily before him at the floor; when I finished he repeated the refrain of the song, "Dort wo du nicht bist dojt ist das Gliick" ("there where thou art not is happi- ness") adding, "beautiful! indeed!" Then he turned to me with, "Herr Formes, whom do you consider the greatest basso of our time ?" I bowed low, "Your majesty, Lablanche is the second." The ready answer pleased him. One evening, after the first act of the "Nozze di Figaro," I was in my dressing room when Prince Giganoff commanded me to the stage, where the Emperor was. When he condescended^to come on the stage, all the personnae of the opera were required to 1-emain, or if already retired, to return. In mill- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 175 tary fashion, my heels together, I saluted the Ozar, who spoke very kindly to me, particularly praising my "Non pin andrai;" "In that you show that you have been a soldier, your step is so firm, military;" saying this, he gave me two of his fingers (that was his way of shaking hands). "I am very much pleased with you," added he. Czar Nicholas, the greatest autocrat, was the Jioblest man of his time; just and honest in his dealings, good to the poor, but woe to the aristocrat who tried to ill-treat the poor and the lowly. To know Nicholas was to love him; his eye was so piercing that but few could endure his gaze unflinchingly; I was one of those few. Like wild fire the news spread through the city that the Emperor had been so gracious to me and had given me his hand (or rather fingers) ; at once I became the recipient of many attentions from the nobility. The very day after my interview with the Czar, I had visitors the greater part of the day, who vied with each other to honor the man whom the Em- peror had honored; with one gentleman I became very friendly. In conversation he one day remarked, "Herr Formes, you are a very proud man." "Not proud," I retorted, "but conscious of what I have made of myself. I never have forgotten that my pa- rents were so poor that from my age of eight years up, I have earned my own bread; what I am, I owe to myself only, and of that I am conscious. Here in Europe there are three Emperors, eleven Kings, a great number of Princes, Dukes, Counts and Bar- ons, but only one Karl i'^ormes, and that Jam." "Evi- dently you have read Goethe," was his answer. 176 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. At that time I gave lessons to a little Princess, twelve years old, closely related to the Emperor. I had been requested to teach her German songs; a few days after the above episode, I went to give my lesson; the little girl bent over the piano and whis- pered to me, inaudibly to her governess, an amiable old French lady who sat at some distance reading, "Prince Q. has related all to the Czar, and he is very angry with you." I thanked the kind little princess and continued the lesson. Two or three evenings later we 'sang the "Hugue- nots;" again I was commanded to the Emperor, who had come on the stage; he did look angry, and fixing his piercing eye on me as though he would read my very soul, began : "So, only one in the whole of Europe." Steadily I returned his fixed gaze, made my low bow, "At your command, your majesty, there is but one Emperor Nicholas in the whole of Europe." His expression now underwent a change, and smilingly he said : "You are a man of much self-possession and presence of mind, and I like that." In the story above me, in the " Male-Million" (name of street), there lived a young nobleman, of very hjgh family, with wliom I was on friendly terms. I was aware that he had a liaison with a lady high at court; who it was I did not know; and great pains were taken to keep the afi"air secret. It was fashionable that winter that the ladies of the nobility wore cloaks of their family colors. On Shrove-Tuesday, as I was returning to my lodging. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 177 from a masked ball at court, between 1 land 12 p. m., I saw a lady walking up the stairs before me. The gentleman from up stairs I had left at the ball, and I knew that he would not return home before three or four in the morning. I, not taking pleasure in such affairs, had looked on a while, and then, as I said, went home, and was walking up the stairs be- hind the lady. As the light fell upon her cloak, I, to my horror, recognized the .colors. Involuntarily, I exclaimed, " Thunder ! how does that' cloak come here ? " By that, she, of course, knew that I had recognized her, although she was heavily veiled. Her position was so high, that the fact of my recog- nizing her would certainly prove dangerous for me; at the very least, I would thereby forfeit my position. Why she did anything so strange as wearing her own colors, whilst paying such compromising visits, I could never understand. Further, if I let her go up stairs, knowing that my fellow-lodger was not at home, I was certain to incur her enmity. My pres- ence of mind came to my aid again. Quickly I seized her by the arm, saying: " You impudent creature, how dare you do such a thing? How dare you wear your mistress' cloak? I shall make it a point to tell her to-morrow, when I go to teach the little princess. BesideS;^ the gentleman you are looking for is at the ball. For this you will get your discharge, I promise you; now go home." Holding her arm, I drew her down stairs, called a sleigh, put her in, and said, "You can yourself tell the man where to take you." As she seated herself in the sleigh she seized 178 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. my hand and pressed it in gratefulness; she well knew that my pretense of taking her for her maid was a ruse, but that her secret was safe with me. Well it was that she had left the house then; not an hour later my landlady, the Baroness von S , had a visitor, who, had he encountered the lady at the house, would have proved dangerous for her. During three years successively I divided my time singing the summer season at the Royal Italian Op- era, Covent Garden, London, the winter at St. Pe- tersburg; from the Czar and the Court of Russia I received the most extraordinary gifts. From the year 1850 until 1857, I sang every season without inter- mission at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden. The year 1868 I passed entirely in Am-erica; 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, I sang again at Covent Gar- den; during the winter I sang in Germany. Dur- ing all these years I had, during my leisure mo- ments, worked at my "Method of Singing," which I have published in 1887, here in San Francisco; this work, into which I compiled forty years of experi- ence as singer and teacher, I based and worked out entirely in the old Italian school of singing; but to the exercises and studies for proper tone-produc- tion and fioriture, I have added such as will enable the student and singer to perform the modern de- clamatory style of music in such a manner that his or her voice may "be uninjured thereby (as I told Wagner), and that justice be done to the composer. Many defects in tone-production and enunciation can be hidden, or rather covered, by fioriture, trills AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 179 and runs; but such is not the case with the modern declamatory music; there, as in- the recitative, the color of the tone must be perfect, the pronunciation clear and distinct. Alas ! that at the present time proper production of the tone is very rare; the forced, unnatural one, which unfortunately arose in France early in this century, has for many years almost superseded the old Italian method — the nat- ural God-given tone. But, I trust that the move- ment to re-enthrone the Italian over the faulty French method will succeed, as the harm done by the latter is very palpable. How is it that so many wonderful talents and voices which cross the musical horizon like meteors, like those, also, fall and are extinguished ? It is because of the method, in consequence of which the talent cannot pi'evail; if the method ruins the voice, then all is lost for the singer. The following will explain in few words the effect of the erro- neous forced method : The color of tone of the soprano becomes by forced singing, in the middle octave, from Do to Sol, like that of & forced contralto; from Sol upwards screaming, the consequence is that the horrible tremolo sets in; this is soon followed by the tone becoming flat. The color of tone of the contralto, from the low La to middle La, becomes like that of a throaty tenor; in consequence the middle- tones become weak, the low ones sound hollow and wooden, the higher ones are lost entirely. Th& tenor and baritone singing in that unnatural, forced guttural method, suffer respectively like the soprana and the contralto. 180 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. The basso profuado suffers most in the loss of the low tones, from G downwards. How many prime donne can now sing "Valentine" or "Norma ?" Many attempt it, but few succeed ! The same may be said of the parts of "Senta" (Flying Dutchman); ."Elizabeth" (Tannhauser); "Elsa" (Lohengrin), etc. It is this very declamatory music which gives such great scope to the singer, to show genius and art in expression and enunciation. It is impossible to enunciate properly if the voice is pressed back into the throat, if the muscles and the vocal chords are all strained and subjugated, instead of having free play to form and produce the tone and words naturally, and permit the tone to be heard at a dis- tance, to soar and fill surrounding space, as it does when the true old Italian, the natural, method of singing is used. After the London season, in the beginning of the fifties, my friend Karl Anshiitz, the violinist Rem- enyi, and myself, took a vacation and visited the islands Guernsey, Jersey, and Sark. We stopped at St. Hiliers, and made many tours around the island of Jersey, which is about seven English miles long, and three in breadth. We saw a tower still left from the Roman invasion, and it is said that Caesar laid the corner-stone, and that the name " Jersey " is derived from " Caesari."- Victor Hugo was then passing his exile at St. Hiliers; on account of French intrigues, the govern- ment of Jersey decided not to permit his longer stay there. Guernsey, much smaller than Jersey, offered AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 181 the author the hospitality of its one small town, and there he was presented with a house. The action of the Governor of Jersey was severely censured, and caused immense excitement. At St. Hiliers all the inhabitants (most of them French) sympathized with Victor Hugo. French was the language of St. Hil- iers.. Two steamers had been engaged to accompany the one conveying Victor Hugo to Guernsey; but two hours before his departure, the Governor pre- vented their leaving, by forbidding any passenger fare to be taken thereon. The proprietor of the Hotel Royal, where we stopped, was the chief pilot. By his favor we got another steamer, put up a notice " free trip," the money was put up by private citizens; I, of course, paid my share also. I need not say that the stedSner was crowded. Victor Hugo's farewell was, indeed,, a most touching spectacle; the whole town turned out to bid him God-speed; the greatest devotion towards him was manifested on all sides. M. Re- naud, my host, the pilot, commanded the steamer himself. We had taken four guns and plenty of ammunition on board, in order to fire salutes. Care was taken that only decent people came on the steamer; many contributed wine and refreshments. When we passed Fort Elizabeth the firing began. Innumerable yachts accompanied us; as the steamers sailed slowly, the whole fleet arrived at Guernsej'- together. It was a picturesque sight. All the flags were raised at Guernsey, the vessels were also dec- orated with hastily manufactured flags; a salute was 182 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. fired on the steamers, and now the cannonade began on the land also. Victor Hugo's entree at Guernsey was certainly a triumphant oner As soon as the poet touched the land, the people who had ac- companied him from Jersey landed also. Such a reception as we had! That day cemented quite a friendship between the great French poet and my- self. Next day I returned to Jersey. One of the most remarkable curiosities of this interesting isle is the cove Grave-du-lac. This can be entered only at low tide. Many lives have been lost in this cove. The tide rises there ^to from thirty to forty feet. The cove forms a tunnel which ends in a sort of nook. At the side opposite to where we entered there was a little bay, which, however, is quite dry at tow tide. Renaud tried his best to dissuade us from going there, but we were undaunted. We carried each, a piece of bread, and a bottle of wine in our pockets, a long stick; and a strong, thick rope. On reaching the above-mentioned place the low»tide had set in, but walking over the wet, slimy rocks was so difficult and slippery, that we were obliged to take off our shoes. In the cave, it was so dark that we were obliged to light the lantern we fortunately had brought. We were compelled to walk on a little embankment about three feet broad; on our other side was water. At last we stood before a rock eight or nine feet in height, almost perpendicular and quite wet and slip- pery. Both Anshiitz and Remenyi were short. I took Remenyi on my shoulder, and he could just feel AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 183 that the top of the rock was level. From my shoul- der, he managed .to creep to the top of the rock. The same I did to Anshiitz, who called to me that on the other side there was daylight. On my side, I held the rope, so that they, one after the other, could let themselves down on the other side, which they safely accomplished. Then they held the rope, so that I climbed up by aid of it. One man alone could never have accomplished this so dangerous as- cent and descent. Now we saw the tide rising be- hind, us, and had no alternative but to proceed or to climb up on the rock and remain there for twelve hours, where the tide could not reach us. What should we do? My companions were in despair; before us, nothing but a quite perpen- dicular wall of rocks, with only here and there a stone protruding from its smooth surface. Made desperate by danger, I managed, by dint of these unevennesses, to climb up and reach the top. So exhausted was I by this exertion and by the ex- citement, that I was obliged, when reaching the top, to lie down and rest, until my apparently exhausted strength came back a little. Remenyi followed me; Anshiitz was the third. When near the top, he called, " Karl, I can do no more." That aroused me. " Hold on," I cried. Starting to my. feet, I tied the two ends of the rope to my stick; holding the mid- dle of the rope, I let down the stick; Anshiitz took this under his arms, hanging over the stick, and in this way, I pulled him safely up. After a rest, we' went on, but shortly stopped at a farm house, 184 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. where they gave us something to eat and to drink. Those people found it incredible," what we had gone through that day. Two weeks previously, two men had been drowned in that very place. South of St. Hiliers, is a large, moss-covered rock, which can easily be reached at low tide. "Dur- ing a storm, the breakers nearly reach the top, and the spray drenches it. One day we took a walk on the shore. Notwithstanding my warning, Remenyi went out on the boulders until he was a great dis- tance from the land. I called to him to return, as the tide was rising. In vain ! In his Hungarian- German dialect, he cried, "The tide will wait!" which it did not do. There he stood on the top of the rock, every few minutes calling: "How beautiful! how beautiful! you come up here!" By six o'clock the tide was so high that there was no thoughtx)f the violinist's return ; he had no prospect but that of pass- ing the night up there, unless a boat could be got. Anshiitz and I returned to the hotel for aid. The wind had risen; a thunder-storm was evidently ap- proaching; by the time we reached home, the light- ning began to iiash; in a little while, the storm was at its height; no boat could live in the turbulent breakers, and poor Eemenyi had to pass the night out there. At daybreak we went to his aid; but the boat could not approach the rock; the waves were too wild. There he had to remain until six in the morning, when the tide was low. Half frozen and half drowned, we got him down from his too ele- vated position. It is needless to remark that his ar- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 185 dent admiration for the fine view was considerably cooled. At our hotel all the guests being on friendly- terms, most of our excursions were made together. One day we decided to pay a visit t9 the Isle of Sart/ Remenyi and his violin amongst us. In our party were a young couple; the young man rather stupid and heavy, but very wealthy, the wife very handsome and jolly. She wished to join our party, but he would not. At last it was decided that she should go under the chape- ronage of some other ladies. The entrance to Sark harbor is a very risky one, if the wind is from the north or north-east. In fact, then it is almost im- passable; therefore we did not return the same day, as we expected to. Twice a week the mail steamer visited the Islands. The day after our departure, it left Jersey for Sark, with the young man on board; he intended to take his wife home. When we were on our return trip, the steamer passed our yacht. Of course we knew nothing of his being on board, so when they arrived in Sark, we had reached home. A few days of rough weather now followed; ho was detained in Sark; so the jwung people were invol- untarily separated, which, however, did not in the least prevent the young lady from thoroughly enjoy- ing herself, as every evening we had an impromptu concert, and the younger people a dance. At last, after three days' absence, the young man returned, but, as may be imagined, not in the best of humor. One summer, after the close of the Covent Garden 186 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FOKMES. season, I passed a part of my vacation at Plymouth, where I took lodgings in one of a row of houses built on a projecting rock. In stormy weather, it seemed like on board ship. The spray came dashing in at my windows. That is what I liked. One day, as I was taking a walk on the quay, I saw a sailor crying over and embracing a beautiful Newfoundland dog. I stopped and asked him the cause of his emotion. He told me that, being on the eve of his departure on a man-of-war, for the Crimea, he was much dis- tressed at leaving his dog without a good master. I offered to buy " Flora " (that was the dog's name), but he would give the dog to me, but not sell it. We compromised. I accepted the Newfoundland, and the sailor accepted a present of money, which I made him. I was accustomed^to take long walks by the. sea side, my dog accompanying me; and on one of these, I remarked a nurse-maid standing conversing with a young man, whilst the little child in her charge played dangerously near the edge of the road. 1 led the child to the girl, saying: "My good girl, you must be more careful; this child was in great danger, playing so near the edge of the rocks." "That is not your business," she impertinently answered. I walked away, but had gone but a short distance, when a scream of terror made me turn around. The child had again , strayed away from the careless woman, and had fallen into the water, from the high rocks. Hastily I made a sign to Flora to fetch the child. The intelligent animal jumped into the water. With the help of my cane, I slid down the slip- AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 187' pery rocks. The dog caught the child so that its head was above water, and brought it to me. The now very humble and penitent servant begged my pardon, and took the badly frightened, but other- wise uninjured, child home. It belonged to a very prominent family. Both father and mother came to thank me that same evening. Next day I had innumerable callers, all ladies; or rather Flora had callers, for they all asked to see the " dear dog." So many of them cut off locks of the poor dog's hair, that by the afternoon the Newfoundland began to' look shabby. When I lived at Wiessbaden, Germany, gambling was at its height in the Kursaal. A law was passed, forbidding the inhabitants to play. Every citizen had a right to arrest any one trespassing against the new order. One Sunday afternoon, whilst walking near the Kursaal, I noticed a peasant girl in the dress worn near Ingelheim, on the opposite side of the Rhine. She was counting money tied in a handkerchief. I stopped and asked her what she was doing with that monej'. Alarmed, she said: "Ohi sir, I will not play, surely not." I knew that that was the very thing she had intended to do; and, just for fun, told her to come with me to the Kursaal, and that I would see that she was not arrested. I put one of her pieces of money ^own on the table; it won. I laid one down again. A gentleman came up and spoke to me. Whilst answering him, the ball rolled again and again. For a moment I forgot about the money; and when I turned and looked. 188 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. quite a little pile of gold stood on 14. The ball, rose again; 14 wins, and behold, the girl is the lucky owner of two thousand and some hundred Gulden. At first she could not realize her fortune; then she began to tremble, and finally was nearly mad with joy. I thought it unsafe to let her carry so much money. I gave her a receipt for it, tell- ing her to send her father next day, to get the money at my house, and saw her off on the train. Next morning early, she came with both her par- ents, and not long after, she came again with her betrothed to invite me to their wedding. That was my first and last experience at the gambling table. I never play for money. A terrible experience which I had once, caused me to make a vow to that effect. In '42, in Aachen, I was with a friend, who, almost in m'y presence, only a few steps distant from me, just a tree between us, shot himself, on account of losing all his own and some of a friend's money at the gambling table. He had just spoken to me; we were in the garden; he walked away; I heard a report, and there he. lay dead. Inspired with hor- ror, I made the oath,, which I never broke. In '57, UUmann made me a brilliant offer for the United States, for six months, which I accepted. The company consisted of Prime Donne — Lagrange, Gassier. Contralto — Dangri. Tenore — Timberiui, Steffani. Baritone — Gassier. Basso — myself. Bassib- cantante — Susini. Anshiitz — Conductor. Aush'utz had previously been engaged to conduct the Phil- harmonic Concerts at New York. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 189 Arrived there, I stopped at the Everett House, where under his leadership, I was serenaded by the Handel and Hayden Society — a chorus of 500, and an orchestra of 200; and also by a singing society of male voices, called the Liederkrantz. Such a serenade has but seldom been heard, probably not again in New York. Tliey sang: "Das ist der Tag- des Herren," "Wer hat dich du shoner Wald," "Was ist des deuschea Vaterland;" chorus and orchestra to- gether performed the choruses in the fourth act of the "Huguenots," the Hallelujah from the "Messiah," and the finale from "Fidelio." We opened in the Academy of Music with " Rob- erto." The night before the sale of tickets opened, the people stood around the theatre, awaiting a chance to buy them as soon as the box-office would open. A lady told me that on the first night she was accidentally passing by the theatre, and was positively carried up to the gallery without a ticket. This night the cast was: "Roberto" — Steffani, "Ram- boldo " — Timberini, "Princess" — Mme. Gassier, "Alice" — Mme. Lagrange, "Bertram" — myself. The opera suffered no cut; it began at 8 sharp, and ended at 1 A. M. In Wiessbaden I had become acquainted with the great Senator, Stephen Douglas; he came from Washington to attend this first night. This great man and I were remarkably alike. His voice was deep and resonant, and he wore his hair like I wear mine, long; only he was not as ,tall as I, but for all that, we could be taken one for the other. Between 190 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. General Logan and myself there was also consider- able resemblance. Douglass was a most remarkable man, truly " a little giant." Our triumphant ope- ratic tour included New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. After the opera season we made a concert tour; the same artists including the pianist Satter, and Thomas, the violinist. All the principal cities were visited; in the west, as far as the Mississippi river; in the south, we extended our tour to Memphis; always with unvarying success. During my first season in New York, everything was "Formes," Formes neckties were advertised, etc. I wore a Spanish hat with rolled brim. It was no time before they were the rage; a well- known hatter called on me, begging me to accept a Panama hat of the finest and most costly braid;' I was told that consequently he made a fortune in Panama hats. During that summer that beautiful hat had a sad fate. Whilst visiting a friend in the country I went out shooting and brought down a pretty little animal, of a species unknown to me. I noticed three young ones of the same species, half hidden under some brush; they looked something like kittens, and I determined to bring them to the house with me, which I did, but not to my friend's delight, as the little pets were pole cats (skunks); my hat, as well as my clothes, had to be destroyed at once. In Vicksburg, on the Mississippi, I made the ac- quaintance of three pleasant gentlemen, who had the same passion for exploring expeditions as I, so we AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 191 determined to go west on the Red River, as far as we eould; we four took along six negro servants; three boats were well equipped with ammunition and provisions, a couple of dogs accompanied us; all was well until the third day. We reached the first cascade; here we had to land and the boats had to be carried; at the second cascade, of course, we did likewise; my companions, instead of going on to the third cascade, determined to camp awhile. I de- cided to go further on my exploring expedition; one negro accompanied me. Well armed as I was, I must have appeared rather savage; I wore a large straw sombrero over my very sunburned face, a Mexican serape (blanket with a slit in it to pass the head through), a coarse red shirt, high boots, a brace of pistols in my belt, my large bear knife at my side, and my gun on my shoulder. The scenery here was wondrously beautiful, the vegetation tropically lux- urious. One thing struck me as most extraordinary — to see the palm and pine grow side by side. We left the river and went inland. My friends had shown me how to find springs; there were many such. It is customary for any one discovering a spring to tie the branches of the nearest shrub together, into as large a bundle as admissible, so that the next comer may know by that signal that water is near; al- though we were in a thick forest, the heat was very- great; I sent my negro (the slave of one of my friends) to get me some water; he wQnt, taking the rifle he carried, with him; that was the last I saw of him— he did not come back — whether he ran away, or that some accident befell him, I never knew. 192 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL Jj'ORMES. In this region there were many black American panthers; this animal is very cowardly; attacks hu- man being^ only while they are asleep, or if two of the animals are together, as they generally go prowl- ing around. Hunters camping out keep them off by having a fire lighted all p.ight, which they are afraid to approach. "Cows and goats are their favor- ite game. Night was approaching; having no com- pass, it was hard to know which way to turn. I fired several shots in the hope of being heard by my friends, but no response; instead of going towards the river I left it; at last I saw in the far distance a light which I approached.and found that it came from a farm house. When I arrived there it had grown quite dark; two large bloodhounds greeted me with barking, and I had a regular combat to keep them off" me; several shots which I fired into the air caused them to desist, and an old Mexican to come out of the adobe house I called to him that I wished to speak to him, and that I had only fired to attract somebody's attention; upon that he came nearer to me and called away his dogs. I related to him that I had lost my way and requested hospital- ity for the night, which he did not deny me, but asked me to give up my arms to him before I en- tered the house. I did as he requested, but one of my pistols, unseen by him, I slipped into my pocket. He led me into the house and gave me a very good supper, also quite a good bed, which I certainly ap- preciated, being tired out. Next morning I was treated to a good breakfast by the old Mexican. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OJF KARL FORMES. 193 I strolled around the place for awhile, saw no one but a few negroes at work. I remarked that they, as well as my host (who treated me very well), kept aloof from me. In the corner of the room I saw an old spinet. I sat down and began playing on it; its tone was not at all bad. All at once the head of a very young girl, with large black eyes, appeared in the door of the adjoining dining-room. A§ I sang, she was attracted by the music and entered. I ad- dressed her; but, unlike the old man (her father), she did not speak one word of English. I did as I had managed in Spain, and spoke Italian to her; so we contrived to converse and understand each other. She told me that I had frightened them all greatly; that, through nty wild appearance, I had been taken for a Comanche chief by the whole fam- ily. She ran^to explain the error to the rest; and they were not quite satisfied that I was not an In- dian until I rolled up my sleeve, so that they coul d see that my arm was white above, where the sun did not strike it. Now the family — consisting of the fa- ther, two sons and the daughter — made me heartily welcome, and urged me to remain with them for awhile, which invitation I willingly accepted, as the country around there was very beautiful. By my description, they could locate my friends; and the two young men accompanied me to them, who were in the greatest worry about my prolonged absence. They remained in the tents, and I in the hospitable Mexican's house. The distance was not great; we met every day, and had fine shooting and fishing together. 194 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAEL FOKMES. One morning I was awakened by the loud barking of the dogs, and saw a large panther in the chicken yard. Hastily I dressed, and, seizing my breech- loader, went out. The animal had entered over the fence; but this not being straight, but bending to the inside, the panther , could neither jump nor climb out. The young girl — a good shot — followed me with her rifle; but when she saw the large, animal, was frightened, and retreated. Of course I shot it down at once, which piqued her; she did not like that a man was more courageous than she. I was fortunate enough to come back to the farm from one of my shooting expeditions to save the poor girl's life. At some distance from the house, a hammock was hung between the trees. On that particular oc- casion, I noticed the girl fast asleep in it, and was horror-struck to see a panther crouched near, just ready to spring upon her. As I said before, they kill sleeping human beings. It was probably the slight, lessening motion of the hammock which had, up to the present, deterred the animal from spring- ing upon the sleeper. When my shot started her up, and she saw the animal which I had killed, she was frightened. In this region I first discovered what, later, I often remarked in California, that the moon looks like a great globe, or ball, in the sky, not like in other countries, where it appears like a flat plate. This must be owing to some peculiarity in the atmo- sphere. On another occasion I was taken for an Indian; AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 195 it was on the Oakland (Oal.) landing. I was en route for New York, and just boarding the train, when three Piute chiefs came up and addressed me in their' language, which, of course, I did not under- stand. I told them in English that I could not un- derstand them. One said, in broken English, "What tribe you chief of ?" My long, black hair and sun- burned face had misled them. They seemed mysti. fied at my denial of being an Indian, and a little displeased. At Eeno, where they left the train, they came up and shook hands with me. In my second American season, we began our concert tour in Canada. Madame Laborde, from the Royal Opera at Brussels, Madame Boisson, dramatic soprano, from the Grand Opera at Paris, Satter pi- anist, Anshiitz conductor, and myself, constituted this company. In Canada it is customary at the end of every con- cert to sing "God save the Queen," and, of course, this was expected in our concert at Montreal; all the first people of the city were present, the front rows oc- cupied by civil and military officers and ladies whom they were escorting. I was ready to begin the "God save the Queen," when the two ladies declared they would not sing it. Laborde was quite excited that such a thing should be required of her. The first verse, generally is sung by the soprano; as she would not, I sang it, transposing it for my voice; that verse ended, the two prime donne standing on the stage, Anshiitz modulated again for- the soprano, neither one would open her mouth, but to defy the 196 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. audience, remained standing on the stage all the time. In vain I entreated them to sing. "No French woman could sing the English national hymn," was the firm or rather obstinate answer. One of them called out quite loud, when I asked her for the last time to sing, "Non voglio," "I will not." During the hymn the' audience always stands, so great is their respect for the Queen. Now the row began; hissing and whistling from the English part of the audience, applause from the French. It ended in such a demonstration that they came to blows, whilst we hastily retired to the hotel; the mob fol- lowed and smashed the windows; the disturbance became so serious that the militia was called out; the two prime .donne escaped through a little door back of the hotel and hid in the house of a French family in the neighborhood, from where next day, they went on the train, disguised as poor working girls. They entered a third-class car, and it was only when reaching United States territory that they dared to rejoin us. My man Patrick was the most honest fellow I ever met. He had been a soldier. In the South, at that time, they had different currency in the different States. This constant exchange was both a loss and troublesome. In the banks, I had no confidence whatever, so I carried my money with me until I reached New York aga'in. I ordered two belts in ■ which the money could be carried; one I put on, the other I gave to Patrick to wear. This contained $7,000. On the way frord West Virginia to Buffalo, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 197 we reached a junction where one of the third-class cars was detached in order to attach it to a train going in a different direction. Patrick had come to me during the day and begged permission to go into one of the third class cars, where he wanted to join some laboring men. Not having any objection, I readily gave him the desired permission. Arriving at Buffalo I find no Patrick. The keys of my trunk he carried, ditto my checks. Not being able to get them, I had to sing that evening in my travelling suit. (That happened once in Detroit, Mich., also, as the trunk had been miscarried.) Patrick and $7,000 were evidently gone. I entered no complaint against him; for really I was ashamed of my folly in entrusting such a sum to my servant. I had been in Buffalo four days, when a knock came at my door, and enter Patrick, viz., first the legs, then his back, and at last his much embarrassed face. " Sir, I ought to be horse-whipped and kicked. What business had I to go to sleep and remain in that car, which they hitched on the other train and sent to Paris, Mich., and you in all this trouble, sir." Whilst saying this, the poor fellow unbuckled the belt and handed it to me. He had taken the great- est pains to spend as little as possible for his daily use. I was so touched by this goodness and honesty, that I felt tears in my eyes. I gave Patrick enough to buy a good farm — the desire of his life. He sent to Ireland for the girl of his love, and when they were married and settled down there, I visited them. At New York I received notice that I had been made 198 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. honorary member of the musical (?) Society "Lieder- krantz," which used to meet at Pythagoras Hall on Sunday evenings. A year after I had been made a member, I went there one evening. It was quite sociable. The ladies, respectively wives and daugh- ers of the members, were actively engaged knitting and criticising their neighbors. However, these people were quite respectable. They also sang. On this evening, my ears were tortured by the perform- ance of the duo from "Lucia" (the one sung by Lucia and Ashton). The young lady was not with- out talent, but sang badly, and hqjd a most imperti- nent manner. As this out-of-time and out-of-tune performance continued, I took the liberty of correct- ing the performers, but very politely and consider- ately. The young person flew at me like a fury, de- claring that " she knew more about it than I." It was impossible to argue that. This was my first and last visit to the Liederkrantz. The next day, I sent back my certificate of membership, with the words: " Gentlemen, I am very much obliged." There was another similar society in New York, called the " Arion." Here there was neither knitting nor gossiping, no ladies were present. The enter- tainment was confined to beer-drinking and singing, Anshtitz being conductor, I went with him once, but not again. But then — the members were perfectly respectable. At that time I was a strong smoker; I used to smoke fifteen of the strong- est cigars, and over, a day. I found it was begin- ning to injure my health, and I gave it up at once. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 199 I mention this, as so often people say they " cannot give up" any habit they have contracted; but I con- fess that it was very hard to do so; I must acknowl- edge that I have positively walked behind men smoking good cigars, so as to inhale some of the fumes. I had been a great snuff-taker, as in Europe most of those connected with arts and sciences, are, I often came to Buckingham Palace, as I was deputed to teach songs to. the Princess Royal (now dow- ager Empress Victoria), the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburg, when they were children. One day we were rehearsing for a state concert. H.er Majesty Queen Victoria was present. I took snuff; and an atom getting into my throat, I began to cough; the Queen smilingly raised her finger in warning to me. Bowing, I said: "Your Majesty is right, I shall not take it again." And never have I touched it since. Her majesty and Prince Albert were ever very gracious to me. Of Prince Albert I cannot say enough. "Would that there were more like him — great and good, learned and wise ! I passed a few weeks at a watering place in one of the New England States. A great reception was tendered to me _at the Mayor's residence; all the- prominent citizens being present. The Prohibition law being in full force here, no wines or liquors were to be seen amongst the refreshments, neither at the supper table. During the evening, my host invited me into the library. We entered; he locked the door carefully, and, moving one of the book- 200 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. cases forward, displayed shelves well stocked with fine liquors and wines on the other side of the book- case — viz., the case was so constructed, that in front was a set of shelves filled with books, at the back, a set of shelves filled with bottles. As I never take any liquor, and but seldom wine, I fear I did not appreciate this contrivance enough. Of course, I returned this invitation by another grand recep- tion which I gave, and sent to New York to ask a friend of mine to forward me two cases of wine. It had not occurred to me that it was not permitted openly to bring wine into the town, except a very little which could be bought at the druggists' for medical purposes. The day before the reception, I was notified that two large cases of " holy bibles" had arrived for me at the railroad depot. I was nonplussed, and could not understand this at all, when a -letter arrived from my friend which ex- plained the mystery. My cases contained the wine I had ordered, but it had to be brought into the town surreptitiously; therefore, for safety, the boxes had been labeled " holy bibles." BLACK TOM. New York by gas-light has many quaint phases. I had received a letter from a friend at San Fran- cisco telling me of his departure for New York and requesting me to meet him at the landing. When the steamer arrived, I met my friend, and sent him to my house in the carriage waiting. I excused my- self to him, wishing to remain a little longer at the Battery. The evening was lovely, very warm, and AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAEL FORMES. 201 gloved to watch what I call the " floating palaces" — the ferry-boats — gliding to and fro on the river. I lighted my cigar (that was before I stopped smok- ing), and walked up and down Bowling Green, un- der the trees. Being thirsty, I entered a neighbor- ing saloon, took a glass of soda water, and then re- sumed my walk under the trees, when up comes a tall, strong man, and very brusquely demands "a light." Quickly I drew my Colt's revolver, put my cigar in the muzzle, and offered him " the light," saying, " Take your chances, and light your cigar ! come on!" " Oh, the devil, you are a sharp one !"he said, " I forgot my cigar." Holding my revolver with one hand, with the other, I took a cigar from my vest pocket, and offered it to him. He accepted it. I removed mine from the revolver, took a few whiffs to -relight it, and then presented it to him. " You are a gentleman," said he, leturning my ci- gar, "I hope to see you again." ''' You'll always find me ready," was my reply. We parted. At- that time there was in the Bowery a place called the " Volk's Garten," on the site where later the German theatre was built. This place was fre- quented only by decent people. It comprised a theatre, a dancing hall and shooting gallery. I went there one evening to see what it was like. A well dressed man came to me with: " Good evening, Herr Formes." Wha»t was my astonishment when I rec- ognized in him the man from the battery. Very politely he invited me to take a glass of wine with him. Curious to know more of the man, I acciepted. 202 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. We sat down at a little table and had a bottle of Rhine wine. " Herr Formes," he asked, " have we not met before?" "Oh yes," said I, "but I did not ex- pect to meet you again ; I thought that ere this you'd be ." I made a sign of hanging. Laughingly he said: " Oh, I have not come to that yet, I am a wild one, but not as bad as that." He was de- termined not to let me know more of him; so after a little conversation on general topics, we parted. The Five Points had the distinction of being the worst place in New York. One night a fire alarm was given there. The engines drove up and down the surrounding streets, the fire-men calling out: " Where is the fire?" They did not want to find it, so as to allow a good part of the place to burn down before extinguishing the flames. A friend of mine, Dr. Schiitte, and myself were witnessing this ruse of the firemen. All at once my mysterious acquaint- ance stood at my side, with: "Good evening, Herr Formes." This time he was dressed like a laboring man. We were standing just opposite a beer saloon, where a crowd of people were going in and out. The mysterious one invited us both to "take something." I made a sign of acceptance to my friend. Together we crossed the street. " What's up there?" said he suddenly as we entered the saloon. An old man and Two elderly women were behind the bar; the women were crying and the man trembling. The place was •filled with the lowest class of rowdies, who helped themselves, without paying, to all they wanted to drink; breaking bottles and glasses, and cursing. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 203 Many of the fellows, on seeing our companion, nodded to him, and tried to slink away. The doctor and I made a motion to leave the place when we saw the mob; but the unknown begged us to remain, and being anxious to know what was going to hap- pen next, we stayed. He placed himself with his back against the door, so that no one could go out, and requested the " gentlemen " to pay for their drinks; to which a few acceded, but the majority refused. Furiously he knocked his fist on the table crying out they "must pay," and " they'd better not forget that they had to deal with Black Tom." The effect was magical; they all paid. At last, I knew the man's name or rather sobriquet. He now accom- panied us to our omnibus, and wished us " good- night." One evening, not long after these adventures with "Black Tom," a reception was given in compliment to me, at one of the first houses of New York. I related the aforementioned incidents to several la- dies, when one of them, the wife of an intimate friend of mine, a prominent government oflBcial, expressed a wish that she could go around one even- ing and see New York in all its many phases of life. I told her that that was an impossibility for a lady; she, however, a true daughter of Columbia, a perfect lady, with undaunted spirit and courage, insisted that I was to be her escort on an exploring tour; at last I consented, provided that her husband, who just happened to be absent in Washington, had no objection. I did not think that^Mr. X. would con- 204 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. sent to her going, although she had appointed an evening. The appointment had almost passed from my mind; I was at my hotel when a young gentle- man was announced to me, waiting in the parlor; going there I saw a lad of eighteen or nineteen, who on seeing me burst out laughing, and behold ! it was Mrs. X.; no one would have supposed her to be a lady, she looked so boyish. Her carriage was at the door, but that I sQnt honie; I dressed very plainly and put my two revolvers safely in my pock- ets; in an ordinary hired hack we drove down to the neighborhood of Water street; there .we alighted; first I escorted her to the "Volk's Garten," and then to the "Tivoli," on Chatham Square; that was not enough for her; she wanted to go farther, and notwith- standing my strong objections, she insisted on en- tering an underground saloon, which proved one of the worst type. We sat down at a little table, I or- dered two glasses of beer, just for a pretense; of course, we did not touch it. I lighted a cigar and my companion a cigarette; a hideous monster of a woman came up and laid her hand on my head; I old her not to do that, as "my hair has teeth and bites." Mrs. X. now lost courage and showed her fear, horror and disgust of the surroundings so plainly as to attract attention. A red-haired fellow with a horribly mutilated face, one mass of scars and bleared eyes, with a short clay pipe in his mouth, approached, saying, "That chap is a nice boy." Now, I knew that my companion's shrinking and fear had betrayed her. I stepped before her. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 205 telling the fellow not to come any nearer or I would fire, at the same time drawing my revolver; he dared me to fire, and I shot the pipe out of his mouth; at this moment it struck me that the stairs on which we had descended were taken away; the light nearest the entrance was out; only two dim gas jets were burning in this den — so we were entrapped. Words cannot express my horror on account of my poor companion; in this awful moment, just as the fellow seized hold of me, a man jumps down from the sidewalk, a distance of fully eight feet, and rushes at me, screaming, "What the devil are you doing here ?" Thank God ! it was "Black- Tom." My aggressor let go my arm. "Lights !" screamed Tom, and the lights were turned on. "Put on the stairs !" he commanded, and strange to say, without an objection all his orders were fulfilled. "Take that boy away," he said to me, "and keep your revolver ready." Without any farther impediment we reached the street under his escort; by this time poor Mrs. X. was more dead than alive; trembling like an aspen leaf, she clung to my arm until" we reached the place where we had left the hack wait- ing for us. Tom advised me never to go into such a den again, which visit I had not the least in- clination to repeat; I did not desire to see any more of New York low life. When we reached the carriage, I shook his hand and begged him to tell me his name, and how he came to have such power over the rabble we had been amongst this evening. He refused to tell me anything. 206 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL FORMES. «' You just call me Black Tom." Politely he turned to the lady: "Beg pardon, madam, but I knew you at once notwithstanding your disguise. Never do that again." There was no fear of that. Poor Mrs. X — .'s wish to see New York by gaslight, was more than satisfied. She was indeed happy, but alnost hysterical, with the experienced fright when she entered her own home and began recounting her almost fatal adventure to her friends. After a long interval, I saw the man once more. When the army was forming in '60, I saw " Tom." I was in New York with an Italian Opera company, amongst whose members were Mme. Gassier; Stigelli, Gassier and I respectively tenor, bar- itone and basso. I was about entering the Acad- emy of Music when a gentleman in officers' uniform touched my arm. It was " Tom." Taking his hand, I said, delighted to see the man again, " Black Tom !" Seriously he answered : " Herr Formes, that nonsense is at an end; now we have entered serious times." He told me that his name was Bed- ford, captain in a cavalry regiment. " We must save the Union," were his parting words to me. I • never saw him after, neither heard of him. Prob- ably he shared the fate of the many others who fell in that cruel war. The tenor, Timberini, was of very dark com- plexion and had rather broad features. When our company was in Baltimore, some gentlemen, amongst them Mr. Moseby — later, the celebrated guerilla colonel — invited me to take a glass of wine with them-. XUTOBIOGKAPHY OP KARL FORMES. 207 Timberini, who was passing, jestingly slapped me on tiie shoulder twice. One of the gentlemen struck the tenor in the face, so that he reeled and fell to the ground. Greatly astonished, I asked what such conduct towards my friend meant. With many apologies, the gentleman explained to me that he had taken Timberini to Tae a mulatto, and, in that case, his temerity of joking with a white man would have demanded punishment. In Richmond I witnessed, for the first time, the terrible scenes of a slave market. It was a most heart-rending sight to see the separation of children from parents, wife from husland. Not a particle of feeling did the dealers exhibit for these wretched people. It was as if so much cattle were being sold. A strong mulatto boy of about sixteen years looked at me most pitifully, saying: " Oh, massa, massa, do buy me! I would like to be your boy." " What shall I do with you?" I asked. " Oh, I know how to wait on a gentleman very well." When the poor fellow was put on the stand, he still turned to me, and his pleading eyes torched me. I bought him for several hundred dollars, and he was a good^boy to me. Now a girl took the place upon the stand. Rarely have I seen so beautiful a woman. Perfectly white, with large, brown, gazelle eyes, and golden hair, al- most as tall as I, and dressed in faded elegance, her appearance denoted not a slave, but a lady. I cer- ■ tainly was astonished. As customary, the auctioneer cried, " Show your teeth." She was obliged to open her mouth, exactly as at a cattle or horse sale. When 208 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL yOKMES.' he cried, " Show your feet," she remained immov- able. The dealer cried it for the second time; she did not move; th'en he went to her, and with his cane raised her dress; she stooped down to prevent him, crying out, "Oh, mon Dieu!" I tken decided that something was wrong, and asked the fellow to let me speak to the girl, as I wanted to buy her. I asked her if she spoke French. " Yes, sir — French, English and German." (At that time, the planters often employed German governesses and tutors on their plantations.) Money was no object to me in those days; I made up my mind to buj'^ the poor woman, of course in order to free her. It was terri- ble to see the poor uncultured negroes on the stand; but a modest, refined white woman — that was too much! In German, I said, " I'll buy you." " May God aid you!" she replied, knowing by intuition that my action was inspired by humanity. A young man bid against me up to $2,500. I was ready to bid more, when he asked me for a moment's private conversation. The dealer granted us ten minutes, when we went apart from the bystanders. "I see that your intention is to buy the girl, I presume to give her her liberty; I wish to do that mvself; I am. commissioned to do so by her lover, who is in France awaiting her, to be married upon her ar- rival." He further told me her history. She, al- though a slave, had never been treated as such. The family to whom she belonged had,.on account of her beauty and talents, taken such a liking to her as to bring her up and educate her the same as they did AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL FORMES. 209 their own daughter. When the son came from col- lege, and told his parents that they loved each other, and insisted on marrying her, without prejudice as to her descent, they managed that he went to France on business, intending to return shortly, and made use of his absence to send the poor young lady (such she was) to the slave market. When the young planter departed, he had entreated his friend to watch over his fiancee, which he faithfully did. I notified the dealer that I gave the slave up to the gentleman. He took her away. I accompanied them, and saw that he gave her her emancipation papers. Words cannot express her happiness, after the dread of being sold " down the river" into the horrors of slavery. Then she departed for Paris to join her lover. In the year '60, at Paris, she and her husband, Mr. Clinton, called on me at my hotel. They were very happy, living in that city. From Richmond we went to Charleston . One day I went to ray window, and saw a flock of large, black birds (buzzards) swooping down on the roofs. A few alighted on a roof some distance under my win- dow. I took out my revolver, and was just ready to take aim; in that rnoment, the chambermaid entered with towels; " Stop, sir," she cried, and explained that a heavy fine was imposed for the shooting of a buzzard, as they were the scavengers of Charleston; viz.: the market was held in an open square in the morning till twelve; what was left over of meat, if ever so slightly tainted, and the fish not sold, had to be left on the place. The buzzards came at twelve 210 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KAKL FORMES. sharp, and two hours later not a vestige remained but a few bones. Further we went to Savannah, Atlanta, and to Montgomery on the Alabama river. The rich trop- ical scenery on this stream is unequaled. Between Atlanta and Montgomery there is a junction, where a steep declivity descends to the river, on one side of the railroad track. There our car, the last one, went off the rail and hung down over the declivity. I had been sitting near the door, at the further end, on account of the great heat, and quickly sprang out. All that kept the car from going down was the at- tachment to the forward car in front of ours. The employees were helping the rest of the passengers out, when I "recollected that I had left inside a small chest of homoeopathic medicines, which my friend Dr. Bering had presented me on my departure from Philadelphia; also, a small writing-desk containing money. Through a large window on the side of the land, I climbed into the car. As I stooped over to pick up my things, I saw a pair of feet protruding under a mass of light baggage, rugs, etc., and found a small- sized lady in a faint, with a large gash in her fore- head. The shock of the car had caused her to faint through fear, and in falling, she had evidently re- ceived the cut. I handed her out through the window first, and my baggage after. When I got out, the other ladies had taken her in charge, and were restoring her to consciousness. My chest came in handy; with some plaster I closed up the pretty deep gash, and gave her something to quiet her nerves. As AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP KARL PORMBS. 211 during my military period, I had been assistant to the surgeon, in the hospital, for three months, I was not quite unskilled. This earned for me the title of " doctor" amongst the passengers, and I could not persuade them that I was not one. Immediately after I had got out of the car the last time, the at- taching chain gave way, and down it rolled into the river. It was providential that I had returned into the car, or, as the little lady traveled alone, no one missing her, she would have lost her life. In Montgomery, her husband, Mr. McKenzie, awaited her. Nothing would do, but that I must visit them on their plantation. Together we pro- ceeded on board the steamer Alabama, on the Ala- bama river, to Mobile; from there to New Orleans. I had quite an adventure on that steamer. Being a beautiful moonlight night, and very warm, I remained on deck. I appeared to be all alone. Sud- denly I was startled by weeping, on the other side of a low partition, against which I was leaning. Naturally I went to investigate, and found a young lady weeping bitterly; I asked her what was the matter. Quite desperately she answered: "It is no use; and still I will tell you, you may help ine; any way, don't betray me, and even then, things cannot be worse than they are."' Then she proceeded to tell me that her father, a rich planter, had but recently died at Alabama. When the will was read she learned that she (per- fectly white) was the illegitimate daughter of the planter and of an octoroon; therefore, he not hav- 212 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAKL POKMES. ing emancipated her, she became the slave of her sister; she believed that her father could not have been so careless and had freed her, but that the papers had been made, away with. From the moment that the dreadful truth was revealed, her sister treated her as a slave; (next day I noticed that the sister of this girl was very much darker of complexion than she;) the slave was registered on the boat as such. Further, she told me that, before her knowledge of her true position, she had engaged herself to marry a gentleman who would probably await her at the station where we were to stop during the night; whether he would keep to the engagement with a slave she did not yet know; she had made the ap- pointment, but the only answer she could receive would be a personal one; only to-night she remem- bered that being no more a free agent, how was she to get ashore ? A slave would not be permitted to leave the boat; "My misery is too great to bear," she said. With this I could not but coincide; however, I thought I could help her, and finally did. I went down to Mme. Laborde's cabin, knocked and begged her to lend me her shawl, bonnet and vail for awhile, and to ask no questions; the good natured prima donna complied. I gave the articles to the girl, who put them on, then offered her my arm,walk- ing up and down the deck with her, and from time to time addressed her in Italian, so that any one notic- ing us should take her for Madam Laborde; pretty soon we arrived at the landing where they took cotton on board. With the supposititious Mme. L. on my AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 213 arm, her vail down, I approached the captain. "Mme. and I are going on shore for a little walk." "Very well, sir; only be back when the bell rings." "Oh, certainly." Her lover awaited her anxiously; for him she was not a slave; she was his beloved, as before her misfortune; she could not stay with him there; our ruse would have been discovered, and the cruel sister would leave no stone unturned to find and claim her; anyway, there were but a few houses and negro cabins at the station, and no way out of it except by the river boat. Escape here was impossible; I promised my aid to the gentleman, and advised him to go to Liverpool to the "Adelphi Hotel," and await his fiancee there, as I would do my utmost, and had no doubt of success, to send her to him from New Orleans on some English vessel. She begged him to hold no more communication with her for fear that in that case her sister might sell her at New Orleans. Safely we got back on the steamer; the girl and I parted; in the morning I re- turned Mme. Laborde's clothes; the slave and I never as much as looked at each other when we met, for fear of betrayal; an old negro woman watched her very closely until we reached New Orleans. These people stopped at the same hotel as I, the St. Charles. I made the acquaintance of the sister, who seemed to take a delight in speaking of her "slaves." must have an accomplice for my plot, so I confided in good Mme. Laborde,who promised aid and secrecy; at once she gave me a dress, shawl, bonnet and vail, which she had worn very often; the slave and Mme. 214 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. L. were almost of a size; then I went down to the harbor to look for an English vessel. I saw one and was just about to ask for the captain, when I hear "Herr Formes, I am glad to see you;" this was the very man for me— an English captain from Liver- pool, whom I had met there. I related my adven- ture to him; at first he feared to take the girl aboard; it were too dangerous an exploit to abet the flight of a slave. At last he gave his consent, as he was to sail next morning; often had Mrae. Laborde joined me in walks by the river, mornings before breakfast, as she liked them as much as I did. Next morning the pseudo Mme. Laborde left the hotel, together with me; I called a carriage; we drove down to the river,[,walked up and down a few times; baggage she had none, except a little bundle hidden beneath her shawl; a little money her fiancee had given her; Captain Pearson brought her safely to Liverpool, where the gentleman met her at the "Adelphi Hotel." This happened in February, 1858. In '60, when I came to Liverpool, I met the happy pair, or, rather, trio; for now they had a beautiful little boy. In the evening of the day on which Cap- tain Pearson had sailed for England, the sister aroused the whole hotel with her indignation at the " ungrateful slave," who had evidently run away. Had I been suspected I should have paid dearly for it; but, on the contrary, I sympathized with her, and coincided that herislave's " black ingratitude '•' was execrable. Our tickets were bought for- Mem- AUTOBIOGRAPHY 01' KARL FORMES. 215 phis; I was about leaving the hotel; the trunks were already loaded on the wagon. "Herr Formes here ? " A hand touched my shoulder; it was Lady Lowe, from Edinburgh, an elderly lady, quite renowned as a journalist. She was now on her second tour around the world, accompanied by her daughter. By her literary talents she had earned a large for- tune. When she heard we had three weeks' vaca- tion, she insisted that I should remain awhile, and go by another boat. The tickets were good till the end of the year, so we decided to postpone our de- parture, and to leave on Sunday by the same boat, instead of that day, Thursday. The hand of Provi- dence was in this. At Baton Rouge the boat blew up; more than sixty passengers lost their lives, A week later, when we passed the place, we saw what was left of the wreck. At Memphis Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie left the boat for Chattanooga. I renewed my promise of visiting them after the season. Now we sang at St. Louis, where I met my dear friends Hecker and Dr. Hammer. From there we visited with great success, Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, and closed the season at New York. Then I made my promised visit to the Mc- Kenzies. From Pittsburg to Louisville I went by steamer, where Mr.. McKenzie met me, to take me to the plantation. Now I saw what life on a plantation really was — that is, with a kind master. Mr. McKen- zie's daughter, a girl of ten years, had a pony which had thrown and considerably injured her. Her father insisted that the horse must be sold. An old slave, 216 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. with snow-white hair, approached Mr. McKenzie: " Master, it was Missy's fault, not Lizzie's " (the horse). Then he told his master that he wished to buy it; and i'eally, the old negro returned from a neighboring town, where Lizzie had been sent for sale, leading the horse by the bridle. Mr. McKen- zie permitted the old man to keep the animal, re- turning the purchase money to him. Many of the negroes raised chickens and cultivated flowers, in their spare time, the proceeds of which they were per- mitted to keep; frequently, the master was the pur- chaser. One of the slaves had eight hundred dollars in the bank. One of the negro cabins was situated on an elevation at a little distance from the house; the view from that place was superb; I am a great lover of nature, and at my request this cabin was cleaned; furnished, and arranged for my habitation. A quad- roon came every day to clean my room, and a boy was to wait on me. One morning I could not find a single pair of shoes, the boy had taken all my three , pairs away to clean them and did not bring them back. As I could not make my appearance at breakfast, Mrs. McKenzie came to see if I were ill; when she heard the state of aflfairs, she sent for the boy and scolded him, but to me she said it is useless to try and be served properly by the negroes, unless one gave them a little trifling sum for their service. I gave the boy ten cents when he brought the boots. "Oh, massa, if you had shown me that before, your boots would have been cleaned long ago." I now knew how to be well served and took advantage of AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KAEL FOKMES. 217 my discovery. The quadroon Edith, who had to clean my room, was a tall, good looking woman of eighteen, she could read and write and took every opportunity to ask me questions about the "fre6 States." By her remarks, I noticed that she had evi- dently given much thought to the boon of freedom. One day I returned to my little habitation and found the woman weeping bitterly at her work. On my questioning her as to the cause her trouble she said: "Oh, Massa, to think the nigger's free in the North." I paid my two servants well for their ser- vices ihe day I left the plantation. In '59, I was stopping at the house of my friend. Dr. Herring, at Philadelphia. I was surprised when one day an old negress called on me. She begged me very humbly to come to her hotel, a small respectable one down by the river; a person wanted to see me there; more she would not tell me. My curiosity was aroused and I went. I was ushered into a scrupulously clean parlor; then there entered, to my surprise, the slave Edith, who in her longing for freedom had run away. She related to me that she kept the blood-hounds, sent after her, at bay with knife 'and revolver. She had been hidden for three days in the swamp, then had swam three small riv- ers; her courage had not deserted her even at sight of the great Ohio river, she swam through that. On the Ohio side of the stream she was free. The money I had given her paid her fare to Philadelphia, where she had found out so many colored folks were living. Arriving at this colored people's hotel, she 218 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. saw my name in a daily paper; finding out my stopping place, sent the old negro woman to me. She had not the courage to go out, fearing that as a runaway slave, she could be apprehended; her friends shared her belief, that is how she came to send for me. I assured her that she was free; she fell on her knees calling out, " Lord! Lord! free! really free! !" The poor creature was very happy, and soon after her arrival, married a very respectable, well-to- do white nan, a vegetable gardener. When, about two years later I was at Philadelphia again, these good people called upon me, and begged me to stand god-father for their little boy. I accepted, and de- posited a sum in the bank for the little fellow, not to be paid to him till his twenty-fifth birthday. In 1860 the Prince of Wales visited the United States, and was coming to Philadelphia, where I was at the time. Two gentlemen of the reception com- mittee called, and asked me what opera ought to be given in honor of the Prince. I said " Martha," as I knew he did not care for grand opera. My suggestion was accepted. Ullman and Maurice Strakosch were the managers. On this occasion, Adelina Patti made her debut as operatic prima-donna. Patti~"Mar'tha," Adelaide Phillips — " Nancy, " Brignoli — " Lionel, " myself — " Plunkett." Adelina Patti I always re- garded as a vocal phenomenon. Her voice re- sembled a golden bell. The probe of criticism must not be applied to her, for one knows not where to begin, nor where to end. According to mu- sical theoretic rules, all is wrong; her runs ara not AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. 219 legato, but are arpeggio; her trill accentuates the lower instead of the upper tone. When other sing- ers imitate her (what may be termed) musical man- nerisms, and take the same liberties, they are very severely criticised, and deservedly so; for the per- formance is anything but pleasing to the critical ar- tist's ear. But when and what Patti sings is beauti- ful; for she sings as do the birds. I call Adelina Patti in the morning a larh, in the evening a nightin- gale. When I returned from my tour in the Southern States, I visited the Niagara Falls for the first time. The last time I was there was in February, '82, en route to Canada, where I went on a concert tour. My dear wife Pauline, Miss Emma Thursby, Man- rice Strakosch and others were of our party. The cold was so intense that year that a heavy, strong ice bridge had formed from the United States to the Canadian side. It was like a fairy scene, the bright sun shining down upon myriads of icicles. My first visit to Niagara was in summer, and hunting and fishing were the order of the day. At the fine hotel were several Southern families whom I had known before. My attention had been attracted to a young German filling the position of boot-black and knife-cleaner. He not only spoke excellent German, but also expressed himself in a manner much above his position. One day I said to him, " You have not always been a 'boots.' He related to me that in Germany he had been a doctor, but that through reckless extravagance he had become reduced 220 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KARL FORMES. to this capacity. One eveniiig, a gentleman re- marked that his wife was very ill, and that he had just sent for a physician. An hour later the boot-black came to me. " Herr Formes, what shall I do? Mr. X. sent for a physician for his wife; here, now, they give me a prescription to be filled at the druggist's which is enough to kill a horse, let alone a woman; if the lady takes that over-dose, it will kill her; but I cannot tell them; they'll never believe the 'boots.' " I at once sent for Mr. X., and the "boots" spoke to him in my" die Kunstbleibt" (the Artist goes, but Art remains-). Please God, his art, and what he has done in its be- half, will ever live after him! My dear husband was as great a man and Christian as he was ah art- ist. He only possessed good qualities,_aiid is an ir- reparable loss to the world; and what a dreadful and inexpressible one to His loving wife, ■^ Pauline Karl Foumbs. h^uM. ^-UoU. HArfiAM -^ .'^^WtW ^c*<$ /S^vtC ^