On May 29, 1895, a Black musician named Myrtle Hart played the harp at a graduation ceremony in Indianapolis. A program for the event is among the papers of Paul Laurence Dunbar, who was working as temporary editor of The Indianapolis World at the time.
The first commencement of the Indiana Law School was held last night at Plymouth Church. W. P. Fishback, dean of the school, was master of ceremonies. Following the address, a harp solo was given by Miss Myrtle Hart. She thrummed the harp with the grace and skill of a professional musician. She is a daughter of the well-known colored musician.
"Home-Made Lawyers." The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana). May 30, 1895. Page 8.
First Annual Commencement of the Indiana Law School
Plymouth Church, IndianapolisOrder of Exercises
Harp Solo, Miss Hart
Program for Indiana Law School commencement, May 29, 1895. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 3).
Paul and Myrtle probably met during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Paul was employed at the Haitian Pavilion and Myrtle played her harp at the Great Britain Pavilion nearby. Several weeks after the graduation ceremony in Indianapolis, Myrtle wrote Paul a teasing letter full of inside jokes. She was about 17 years old and he was 23.
Dear Mr. Sensitive Poet,
The natural scenery here is so perfectly beautiful and I am as "horrid and despicable" now as I was on the day of our memorable stroll. With the beautiful scenery and my horrid and despicable self, I am quite sure you would have been inspired to say all sorts of unkind things to me. I must confess, however, that I miss those unkind words exceedingly. Here, with dear papa and a few very sincere friends and a thousand and one insecure, flattering acquaintances, I hear and know nothing but kind words and kind deeds. At times, I have wished you were here -- just for a few moments -- to say a few "delightfully unkind things." They would at least have the charm of novelty. I think alas that we fail to fully appreciate kindness unless we have the good fortune of knowing someone like "Mr. Paul Laurence," who takes delight in saying unkind things. I have heard something so perfectly lovely about your dear mother that I am quite anxious to meet and know her. I want you to give her my love but please don't tell her, as you have told me a thousand and one times, that I am so horrid, despicable, crazy and provoking.
Sincerely
"The horrid and despicable girl,"
Myrtle HartMyrtle Hart to Paul Laurence Dunbar, July 4, 1895. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 1).
Myrtle's letter was written on stationery from the Wawasee Inn, a lakeside hotel in northcentral Indiana. Myrtle and her family provided musical entertainment at the inn. Lake Wawasee is about 20 miles north of Warsaw, Indiana, where Paul attended the summer conference of the Western Association of Writers in 1893, 1894 and 1895.
During the week at Wawasee there have been a number of enjoyable entertainments. Tuesday evening there was a concert at the clubhouse in which Mr. W. P. Kappes, Mr. Thomas Layman, Miss Myrtle Hart, Mrs. Eli Lilly, Miss Sarah Lyman, Col. Eli Lilly, Mr. Henry Hart and daughters and Mrs. Durand took part. Other entertainments will follow this week.
"Society Events." The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana). August 2, 1891. Page 11.
Miss Myrtle Hart, the only colored harpist in the world, is in Chicago. She came here with her father, Prof. Henry Hart, took part in a musical program at Quinn Chapel, last night, and returned this evening to Wawasee, Ind., where she and her father and sister nightly furnish music for the entertainment of the guests at Wawasee Inn, a pretty summer resort. It was not the first time that she had been heard here, for she played in the British exhibit at the World's Fair.
"A Gifted Harpist." The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana). July 25, 1895. Page 3.
Miss Myrtle Hart, harpist, is the recipient of many flattering offers from concert managers over the country. She has the distinction of being the only colored lady harpist in the United States, and since her debut before a Chicago public a year ago, the offers she has received have been many.
"City News Notes." The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana). November 10, 1896. Page 5.
Paul wrote a romantic poem about a woman who played the harp.
Thy tones are silver melted into sound,
And as I dream
I see no walls around,
But seem to hear
A gondolier
Sing sweetly down some slow Venetian stream.Italian skies -- that I have never seen --
I see above.
(Ah, play again, my queen;
Thy fingers white
Fly swift and light
And weave for me the golden mesh of love.)Oh, thou dusk sorceress of the dusky eyes
And soft dark hair,
'Tis thou that mak'st my skies
So swift to change
To far and strange:
But far and strange, thou still dost make them fair.Excerpt from "To a Lady Playing the Harp," by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Published in Lyrics of the Hearthside (1899).