The third surprise of the evening took place after the doctors had left the table and adjourned to the large hall and drawing room. When they had all assembled, the lights were turned on and before them stood in a row like statues their wives, ready to be received, with a smile on their faces, the only visible indication of life in them. They reminded me of Mrs. Jarley's wax figures, standing in a perfect line while the demonstrator illustrates their beauty and natural abilities as "first-class wax figgers." It was too bad the camera missed the expression on the faces of those fourteen men, dressed in full evening attire, and staring at the faces of their wives, it seemed to me, for ten minutes or more. At last one of them broke the spell by quickly stepping over to his wife and calling her by name. He kissed her and said, "I am delighted to see you." The others followed suit. The next half hour was spent in telling how they managed to keep the secret, and to so arrange matters that in the future the ladies would be included in the select gatherings of the medicos. The next hour was spent in listening to some clever speeches and interesting papers, which were very amusing and teemed with jokes and sharp hits of sarcasm. At the close of the reading I was once more called upon to repeat some of the songs that I had sung for them. We all gathered in a spacious music room where for an hour I sang for them their favorite selections, closing with "Home, Sweet Home," in which all who could joined in the chorus. Thus ended one of the most delightful evenings spent in the hospitable home of Dr. and Mrs. Shannon.
The members of the club who were present were: Drs. E.M. Keys, A.H. Pratt, M. Lewis Emerson, A. Liliencrantz, J.M. Shannon, Samuel H. Buteau, J.W. Robertson, E.J. Boyes, O.D. Hamlin, Francis Musser, Herbert N. Rowell, Guy Liliencrantz, I. Frank Lilly and Chas. A. Dukes.
It was in the small hours of the morning before the last auto wound its way down the spacious drive towards Oakland.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LEE TUNG FOO
Y experience in developing and placing the human voice extends from 1882 to 1912, thirty years. During that time I have had a wide and varied experience with men and women and girls and boys of all ages. The perfecting of the art of tone production in each individual case varies with each student. No two persons can be taught the general principles of the art only. The individual must be studied and the voice analyzed as a doctor diagnoses a special case. Every nation has also its peculiar way of using the voice in singing folk or national songs. As we have in the bay cities a cosmopolitan population, it has been my opportunity to study the different nationalities that have applied to me for private instruction. The Italian and Spanish are the most susceptible students. They live in the realm of music from childhood. It is a part of their existence; they seem to have a natural interpretation of songs and singing. After the first placement of the voice I have had only to lead and give them the picture of the work before them and my task was a pleasant hour spent in portraying the poetical application of sentiment to their own individual understanding. The English, Scotch and Welsh voices are known for their fine tone production, unusually strong voices, clear, high and sympathetic, especially the Welsh female voice. They sing high, most of them, and clear as the meadow lark. The Germans sing with enthusiastic spirit and most of them with Wagnerian effect, hearty and robust in their chorus singing, a loud tone quality is their aim. It is the teacher's art to bring out and to modify all these extreme faults and change all these varied ideas and different accents of speech into a harmonious blending and acceptable whole.