Sealed Lips — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

14 SEALED LIPS. than his advice—for his independent will did not bend to others—made some predictions that he re- membered on the day that our story commences. “You are like,” said this sinister prophet, “those unlucky ones who build an inn on ‘a mountain road the very day before arailroad is laid out which passes belowit. You are adreamer and a poet. Your talent consists of color, passion, tenderness, and enthusiasm. What the devil can one do with that in an opera? Are you blind? Do you not see that to-day the public discuss the beautiful as coldly as one discusses the thickness of a bridge’s iron beams? Art, like the Romish church of old, under- goes its reform. Two or three little Luthers led by one great one will undermine the edifice of our old musical creeds. I doubt if they have time to de- stroy the temple. Already these very serious and convincing men, much more learned than we, for they have not genius, have put their strong hands upon the grace notes. We now pass, thanks to them, for idolaters worthy of pity. To the stables with all statuary! to the fire with pictures! No more images in the sanctuary, only those cold gray pictures that the engineer’s compass traces, a hiero- glyphic mixture of straight, crooked, and broken lines. Ah! To be sure! You choose a fortunate moment to offer your sparkling gold, your azure skies and voluptuous, satin flesh. Certainly, Iam easy as to the future, as true as there has been a Mozart, melody will come again, but these illusions GEomiucl O)( 0) KS (Cl O an)