By his side sat the Queen of Sheba, counting out her money.
Suddenly, there was a strange vibration, a marvelous tone. The queen paused. The king smiled. The angels went on with their sewing. (According to Rabbi Abarbanel, they were knitting. This created a schism between the schools of Cracow and Cordova, which lasted four centuries.)
'Why smilest thou, Oh Solomon?'
'I smiled, my dear queen, because you and I became, just now, unwittingly, the parents of a strange being.'
'Why, Solomon—how you talk!' exclaimed the Q. of S.
'Yea, for the ring of thy gold, oh my Queen, and the last chord-tone from my harp mingled in mystical unity and made a sound unheard before on earth. And the spirit of that sound, which is of money and of music, is the spirit whereof I spoke.'
Then the queen marveled greatly at the wisdom of Solomon, and gave him a shekel. The king rung it on the table and touched his harp. Again the strange tone thrilled out loud.
'There he goes!' quoth Solomon. 'My blessing on him. And therefore the sprite is called Blessed to this day, which in Latin is Benedict.
Thus was Ullmann born, who was the first who ever sold music; and, whereas before his time music was only iron or silvern, after he took it up it became golden—very fine, and ra-ther ex-pen-sive. Howbeit, he loved music as well as money, and gave the people their money's worth, and many a jolly opera and fine tenor did he bring out: yea, had it been possible he would have engaged Don Juan Tenorio himself, so that Don Giovanni might have been produced as perfectly as possible—the Don Giovanity of vanities.
Apropos of music, there is among the novelties of the season a French 'operetta,' entitled 'Les Noces de Jeannette,' in which a very peculiar bridegroom distinguishes himself, like Christopher Strap in 'Pleasant Neighbors,' by smashing the furniture. This recalls something which we heard narrated in the opera foyer the other evening.