Godey's Lady's Book

GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK
Philadelphia, March 1850

JULIAN CRAMER. "OUR MUSICAL EDITOR."

BY HENRY B. HIRST
(See Plate.)
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"JULIAN CRAMER" (of course, a nom de guerre; for "our musical editor" is a quiet, unpretending business man, enjoying a much less romantic appellation) is still on the sunny side of thirty. He was born in Connecticut, a State which has become celebrated for the number and distinction of her literary and scientific men. He was originally educated for the bar; but, after graduation, like Pinckney and Hoffman, abandoned his profession – not, as one might suppose, for the flowery paths of literature and song, but for the less romantic, though certainly more lucrative walks of active commercial life. The merchants who daily throng Mr. Cramer's counting-room, would smile at the idea of that gentleman possessing a moment's time to devote to such apparent incongruities as literature and music; and we have but little doubt that the recognition of his portrait in the March number of the Lady's Book, will create quite a sensation in Market Street.

Perhaps this very incongruity of which we speak induced Mr. Cramer to adopt a nom de pume in the indulgence of his favorite pursuits, lest the world's knowledge of his attachment to what business men would entitle ephemeral occupations might militate against his success in life. Devoted to business during the day, at night he seats himself at home, in the bosom of his family – for he has a wife and children – and consumes the tranquil leisure of his winter evenings in producing "concords of sweet sounds," or in creating those delicate conceptions which fall, like drops of ambergris, from the passionate poet's brain.

Mr. Cramer does not profess music; he only confesses to a humble amateurship, and would smile with contempt at our comparison of any of his efforts with the works of the great masters of song; yet his musical taste, judgment, and ability are, perhaps, unequaled, certainly not surpassed, in private life, in Philadelphia. The department over which he so successfully presides in the Lady's Rook, necessarily contains but a few of the many existing evidences of his musical genius; yet its management has won him hosts of friends and admirers among the almost innumerable readers of that periodical – indeed, we have never heard a single voice raised in judgment against him.

Rut Mr. Cramer's poetry has, perhaps, attracted more attention than his musical compositions; for, like Barry Cornwall's, his appeals are directed more to the heart than the imagination. Some six or seven years since, a poem entitled "Greenwood Cemetery," an article of so much promise as to excite considerable inquiry as to its author, appeared in the "Knickerbocker." The well-deserved applause which was bestowed on this remarkable poem, induced a collection of the author's fugitive pieces, and their publication under a similar title. The edition was large; it sold rapidly, and the book is now entirely out of print. He is also the author of the beautiful ballad of the "Lonely Auld Wife," a poem which attracted the attention of the composer, DEMPSTER, who set it to music, and has since sung it in almost every concert-room of the United States. It was, and still remains, one of the most successful songs of the day. In addition, Mr. Cramer has contributed to most of our magazines and leading annuals, in which his position has been foremost, among the principal contributors.

Latterly, Mr. Cramer has given very little time to literature, and has contented himself with ministering, like an unseen spirit, to the musical wants of the readers of the Lady's Book;, only occasionally indulging them with one of his exquisite poems. * His later efforts evidence that his musical acquirements are rapidly advancing toward perfection, and that his literary abilities, instead of decreasing under the iron anxieties and occupations of business, are increasing in the same ratio. Julian Cramer, if we speak what we think will be the voice of his readers and admirers, will not long enjoy his incognito.

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