Le masque d'amitie cachant la jalousie,
Les pales lendemains

"De ces jours de triomphe ou le troupeau vulgaire
Qui pese au meme poids
L'histrion ridicule et le genie austere
Vous mets sur le pavois."[112]

M. Saint-Saens has now grown old, and his fame has spread abroad, but he
has not capitulated. Not many years ago he wrote to a German journalist:
"I take very little notice of either praise or censure, not because I
have an exalted idea of my own merits (which would be foolish), but
because in doing my work, and fulfilling the function of my nature, as
an apple-tree grows apples, I have no need to trouble myself with other
people's views."[113]

[Footnote 111: C. Saint-Saens, _Harmonie et Melodie_, 1885.]

[Footnote 112: C. Saint-Saens, _Rimes familieres_, 1890.

You will know the lying eyes, the insincerity
Of pressures of the hand,
The mask of friendship that hides jealousy.
The tame to-morrows

Of these days of triumph, when the vulgar herd
Crowns you with honour;
Judging rare genius to be
Equal in merit to the wit of clowns.

]

[Footnote 113: Letter written to M. Levin, the correspondent of the
_Boersen-Courier_ of Berlin, 9 September, 1901.]

Such independence is rare at any time; but it is very rare in our day,
when the power of public opinion is tyrannical; and it is rarest of all
in France, where artists are perhaps more sociable than in other
countries. Of all qualities in an artist it is the most precious; for it
forms the foundation of his character, and is the guarantee of his
conscience and innate strength. So we must not hide it under a bushel.

* * * * *

The significance of M. Saint-Saens in art is a double one, for one must
judge him from the inside as well as the outside of France. He stands
for something exceptional in French music, something which was almost
unique until just lately: that is, a great classical spirit and a fine
breadth of musical culture--German culture, we must say, since the
foundation of all modern art rests on the German classics. French music
of the nineteenth century is rich in clever artists, imaginative writers
of melody, and skilful dramatists; but it is poor in true musicians, and
in good and solid workmanship. Apart from two or three splendid
exceptions, our composers have too much the character of gifted amateurs
who compose music as a pastime, and regar