very destruction of most of his contemporaries. The greater the richness and variety of technical resource, the greater must be the nature of the artist, the more simple, strong, wise, and clear of vision he must be, if he is not to fall into the fatal error of attempting to real ize all possibilities at once in his design. The plan should determine the means, and the clearer and more definite the plan, the more purposeful and controlled will be the employment of the means. But the modern musical scheme, coupled with the vague and questioning aspect of much of modern thought, presents to the music-builder a maximum of means together with a minimum of plan; the composer since Wagner confronts a limitless and dizzying array of new technical possibilities, with only the still, small voice, often very still and very small, to tell him what worthy thing to do with the new-gained wealth. Wagner developed this infinity of means simply because he needed it in the carrying out of so large a plan. But later men with lesser vision and plans more vague, not having the sharp outlines to direct with purpose and authentic individuality their structural labors, have fallen into enslavement by those very means which a master spirit would have commanded to his definite purpose. The result in the more immediate post-Wagnerian music was that if a composer escaped the actual Wagnerian idiom itself, he ended by wandering aimlessly through a maze of keys and motives, in which he could not perceive the difference between liberty and license.

One thing alone has brought each composer in his turn out of this Egypt into the promised land of art, wherever he has attained to an appreciable redemption-namely, clarity and definiteness of individual purpose. And since artistic purpose results from a conception in the artist's mind, the true artist is the one who, while at work, sees and shapes nothing but his own conception.

Humperdinck, being a reflective man, probably perceived at a very early stage of the Wagnerian movement the chaos which was to result from the invasion of the lowlands of contemporary musical thought by the rising sea of Wagnerian

possibilities. He therefore betook himself to higher ground, and from the vantage-point of the popular legend, as Wagner from the myth, was enabled to produce an art not dictated by dehumanizing technical impulse or mere emotional or intellectual extravagance. Beautiful and enduring a thing as is the legend, and quite safe to stand upon, still this alone would not have sufficed in Humperdinck's case, had he not had a nature capable of remaining true to itself, and of retaining only as much of the Wagnerian equipment as could be applied with artistic truth to the carrying out of his conception. his conception. He wisely retained the newly developed capacities of harmony and orchestration, and took with him a practical stage technic, as the result of his labors at Bayreuth. But it must stand particularly to his credit that he had the strength to resist, as the basis of his musical structure, the leitmotif, a weapon which Wagner fashioned to his own especial artistic need, and which has worked frightful havoc ever since at the hands of composers who were never destined to sing the "continuous melody." Here again Humperdinck showed his humanity and wisdom in replacing the avoided leitmotif, not with vague and technically interesting tonal wanderings. but with folk-song, or with simple melody of the folk-song type.

Thus in "Hänsel and Gretel" came to birth an opera possessing qualities of distinction which gave it an immediate and world-wide reputation, and a place apparently as permanent and as frequent in the German repertory as "Faust" in the Parisian.

But for the origin of the peculiar charm of the work and of its direct appeal to the sympathies we must look, not to artistic principles, but to the spirit of the man who conceived it. Like most, if not all things worth while," Hänsel and Gretel" was not planned for the sake either of fame or wealth, being written, or at least begun, for the children of Humperdinck's sister, Frau Wette, the author of the poem. Its sudden leap to fame surprised no one so much as the composer, who without doubt was wholly unaware that the quality of his sincerity and simplicity was of the nature of genius. It is doubt

ful if Humperdinck gave much thought to the artistic principles involved in this first important work; having his conception, he went straight toward the execution of it, without haste, with the patient application of the German mind, but, above all, with the preservation of that element of the child nature all too rare in maturity, the world over, but which after all is perhaps the determining factor in heaven's gain or loss. Humperdinck had taught at the University of Barcelona and at the Conservatory at Frankfort, but during the composition of "Hänsel and Gretel" was living in a small village on the Rhine, where he was engaged to Fräulein Taxer, now his wife. To her he played, each evening, as much as he had composed during the day. A maid of the Fräulein once condoled with her over this, explaining that her fiancé, a baker, when he called evenings, would do nothing but bake bread for her. It was about this time that all Humperdinck's earlier compositions were burned up in a fire in the attic of his father's house-" a good thing," he said.

Humperdinck's subsequent life at Boppard on the Rhine reflected much of the disposition and temperament of the man. There he had a villa of ample proportions, overlooking a long sweep of the Rhine from a little distance up the hillside. The household, a busy and most hospitable one, consisted of the composer, his wife and three children, his wife's sister, and the servants. Humperdinck interested himself actively in his extensive gardens, which bore an abundance of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, and he looked frequently after the welfare of the household animalspigeons, chickens, rabbits, cats, a lamb, and the little dog Loki. The latter, Humperdinck said, when questioned as to his breed, was "ein Feuerhund." There is a constant overflow of quiet humor in Humperdinck's conversation; his spirit within is always at play; but he is a silent man, and ordinarily speaks but little. In appearance he is a rather large man, above the ordinary weight, with brown hair and beard, and a clear and kindly eye. Though slow in motion, he is quick in thought. In his walks through the woods or the quaint little

village, in the Boppard days, he would observe many things minutely, apparently taking the same unalloyed pleasure in this that a child would with its first freedom to roam and look about at will. Despite his silence, Humperdinck is a linguist of unusual attainments, speaking, besides his native tongue, Italian, Spanish, French, possibly some Russian, as it is unlikely that he would let slip his opportunities while in Russia, and some English.

Humperdinck finished "Die Koenigskinder" at Boppard, and composed the "Moorish Rhapsody" there. His workroom was in the second story of the villa; there, by a large window overlooking the Rhine, he had a desk arranged by which he could stand while at work. His wife had a seat in the window, and was usually with him while he worked, and the piano was near by. Evenings Humperdinck was one of the family group, reading, smoking a long pipe that reached to the floor, and occasionally joining in the conversation, especially when an opportunity for a subtle touch of humor paved the way. Upon other evenings, when a fit of work was on him, he would remain closeted in his study. In social intercourse friendliness, good will, simplicity, mark Humperdinck's character. He is utterly unassuming and without self-consciousness. No reflections upon his fame interrupt the simple joys of his daily life. He is devoted to his children-Wolfram, Edith, and Irmgard— and, while seriously ill in Berlin, caused himself to be taken to Boppard that the children's Christmas day might be lacking in none of the anticipated festivities. Geometry, of which he is very fond, and new inventions, are among his extramusical interests. He gets and tries every available new invention that can be applied to the management of the household, and takes pleasure in mastering their mechanism and principles.

Humperdinck lives at present at Grunewald, a suburb of Berlin, where he is a near neighbor of Richard Strauss

the chanter of simple perfect joys dwelling beside the singer of the unattainable. A bringer of joy and peace is Humperdinck, and in this troublous musical epoch it is little wonder that the world has given him a glad welcome.

Em

HE German peror is unquestionably the foremost statesman and most skilled diplomat of the contemporary period. In his capacity as King of Prussia he rules absolutely over a monarchy of thirty-five million inhabitants. Owing to his passion for government and his determination personally to control the conduct of affairs in every branch of national administration, he is his own Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finance, Minister of War, Minister of Public Works, Minister of Trade, and Minister of Education and Public Worship-all centered in one person.

The nominal Ministers who hold these positions are mere puppets in the hands of their King, who is responsible for every movement which they make. In his capacity as German Emperor he controls the destinies of four Kingdoms, six Grand Duchies, five Duchies, and eight Principalities, which comprise the Federal Empire, inasmuch as the Kaiser can declare war and make peace, conclude alliances and treaties with foreign States, summon, open, adjourn, and close the Imperial Legislature, and holds the supreme command of the entire German army and German navy.

The Kaiser personally controls the relations between Germany and other countries, directs the entire foreign and colonial, military and naval policies of Germany, and consequently holds the peace of the world in the hollow of his hand. The Emperor William inherited this gigantic task at the age of twentynine; and seventeen years of practical

experience have enabled him to become, in the prime of his life, an expert in the government of men and in the control of Imperial destinies.

He is equipped with a marvelous accumulation of theoretical and practical knowledge on all subjects connected with the welfare and progress of the human race. All his life William II. has been, and continues to be, an untiring student of all subjects. He is versed in many branches of science; in art and literature, as well as in law, philosophy, and political economy, and he has some practical acquaintance with the industrial and commercial interests of a modern country.

It is desirable to bear in mind that the Kaiser is a man of exceptional personal attainments and of encyclopædic knowledge, in estimating the influence which he has exercised and will continue to exercise in the future on the history of the world.

Since his accession to the throne seventeen years ago the German Emperor has been uninterruptedly pursuing the realization of one single aim-namely, the elevation of Germany to the position of supreme political power in the world. This ambition is based on the Kaiser's absolute personal conviction that the Germans are destined by God Almighty to uphold the Christian religion and Christian morality on earth.

This idea of the "special mission" of the German race has been expressed again and again in the Kaiser's public speeches. It is only a few months since the Emperor, in a remarkable public utterance at Wilhelmshaven, referred to Germans as "the salt of the earth." To do him justice, it must be admitted that the Kaiser's belief in the destiny of the German nation is not based on sordid

considerations of mere political ambition or aggrandizement for the Hohenzollern dynasty, but rather on the religious conviction that the Germans have been really marked out by divine selection as the instruments of God's will on earth.

He has therefore pursued his task of increasing the power and prestige of the German Empire, not only with the zeal inspired by personal ambition and patriotic enthusiasm, but also with that almost fanatical fervor which can be produced only by unshakable religious faith.

Notwithstanding his idealistic tendencies and his somewhat fantastic theories of history and religion, the German Emperor is in many ways an intensely modern man. He combines in his person the most striking contrasts. He is as progressive in some respects as he is reactionary in others. Some of his ideas are mediæval; others belong to the twenty-first century. Sometimes he is a despot, and at other times a democrat. No monarch exacts more personal subservience from his environment, and no monarch is so free and unrestrained in personal intercourse.

It is thus fully in accordance with the other contradictions of his character that the Kaiser should be simultaneously a dreamer of political dreams and a hardheaded, common-sense, practical man of business. There is no living monarch who has a more adequate conception of the part which commerce plays in the affairs of the world than William II.

Notwithstanding his military tendencies and his faith in his vast army, so often publicly expressed, the Kaiser is fully aware that the prosperity of the German Empire is based, not on the strength of armaments, but on the development of industry and commerce. The Kaiser's appreciation of trade was probably inherited from his practical English mother, to whose influence he owes much of his success in life.

The Emperor's personal intercourse with the great merchant princes of Germany has naturally strengthened and extended his belief in the supreme importance of commerce. The late Herr Krupp, the owner of the most colossal industrial undertaking in the world, was the Kaiser's most intimate friend.

Herr Ballin, the Managing Director of the Hamburg-American Steamship Company; Herr Wiegand, the Managing Director of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company; Herr Bleichroeder, the great banker; Herr James Simon, the great merchant, and other leading manufacturers and men of business, are now included in the circle of the Kaiser's intimate friends. Thanks to this intercourse, the German Emperor has acquired a sound knowledge of the fundamental requirements of all branches of industry and commerce.

He is acquainted with the details of import and export trade, of mining and manufactures, of ship-building and Stock Exchange transactions. The acquisition of this knowledge has persuaded the Kaiser that the world-supremacy of Germany must be based primarily on the world-supremacy of German commerce. He is convinced that the development of German trade and the creation of new markets for German products will do more to build up the power of Germany than the acquisition of new territories and the extension of the boundaries of the Empire.

This was evident in the recent Moroccan crisis, when Germany took energetic action, not to secure a portion of Moroccan territory, but to maintain the principle of the "open door" and an equality of commercial opportunities for all nations, in opposition to the efforts of the French to monopolize the trade and industry of Northwest Africa.

As soon as France conceded the right of Germany to obtain a fair share of the commercial spoils of Morocco, the serious political crisis which at one period menaced the peace of Europe was speedily terminated, and France and Germany are now co-operating in the restoration of order which will enable business enterprise to be initiated in the Moorish Empire.

One important result of the Kaiser's comprehension of the supreme importance of commercial prosperity is his recognition of the fact that the maintenance of peace is essential to the prosperity of the Empire. The Kaiser believes that nothing but the maintenance of peace will enable Germany to attain that commercial