Albert Kinross

“ Sopwith's friends and patrons—and their tale was legion—had come to to a certain extent lacking in the discrimination of the cheaper seats, these later arrivals were better dressed, and most of them had come in their own carriages. They leavened the floor of the house, they leaned over the cushions of half the boxes. A certain satisfaction as of proprietorship overspread their features; the sense of an almost personal share in the evening's doings flattered agreeably. ”

“ A great crowd manifestly attracted by an exceptional occasion—this unique performance—was swiftly gathering. Years had elapsed since the work of a British-born composer had been presented in this classic house.
An air of expectancy, of anticipation, hung over the huge theatre. The performance that was about to open had been heralded with no common vigour. Long before the door had flung back a swarming queue had gathered about the entrances to the cheaper seats. ”

“ Mingled with these dilettanti were the politer members of the profession, wearers of the laurel wreath, musicians of assured renown, middle-aged or grey, who had come in to assist at the enterprise of a junior; a polyglot community of carefully groomed lions, leonine too in the richness of their hirsute adornments; men and women whom the platform had set unmistakably apart from the pursuers of a less florid career. ”

“ Secure upon pedestals whose stability no new arrival could endanger, these famous champions twirled their moustachios, and indulgently suffered the scrutiny of an admiring public. The younger generation was seated with its seniors, symbolising the Millennium. ”