The Planters' banner. [volume] (Franklin, Attakapas Co., Lou.) 1849-1872, 1851-01-16
The Frenchman and his Fiddle.

/ VIII tell you an anecQ0to OF Oh
Capt. P, of the U. S. ship of wal
H, AS it came from his own lips, yo1
may swear to the truth of it. The cap
tain is a good-hearted old dog, but ha
some very peculiar notions, and viii
have his own way of doing them, lie
what will come of it.
During late voyage, he had oil
board a French sailor, of very diminu
tive stature, and most inveterate fid
dler. 1t is we'll known that sailors are
fond of music, and every evening
Pierre and his fiddle were in requisi
ton. Now, of all things, Capt P de-
tests a fiddle most, and the eternal fid.
ding of the Frenchman almost set him
crazy. How to stop it, though, without
breaking it over the fellows head, he
didn't know, and this he couldn't find
the heart to do. At length an idea
struck him. One morning, after having
been bored most awfully over night, he
met the cook of the ship who was also
a Frenchman.
"Antoine," said the captain, "that
id fiddling must be stopped. If
hear it again Pll have you thrown over
board.n
Here was a fine kettle of fish for poor
little Antoine, for he knew that the cap
tain was a man of his word. He
couldn't tell why he had been selected
to pay for the music" but it was suff-
cient for him to know that such was the
case, and that unless the fiddling was
stopped, he should become food for the
monsters that dwell in the great deep.
Half dead from fear, he could only NUT
ter that it was Pierre, and not him self
that :" did y the music.
"True enough. you scoundrel, but
don't you know where the lamp oil is to
be foundl Let me hear that fiddle
again, and I'll heave you overheard in
a triceD
The hint was sufficient, and Antoine's
star was once more in the ascendant.
That evening the sailors, as usual,
were assembled, Pierre and his fiddle
in the midst, 10 have a little funn
"Come," spoke up weather-beaten
tar, "give US something lively, my
hearty.o
"Yes, such as old Bob used to play
US aboard the Sally Ann, during our
cruise in the Mediterranean. He's
gone overheard now, poor fellow, and
is below, playing for the mermaids to
dance"
:..Vell, den, give you Won leetle
piece have learn fIom Paganini. 1t
was play at un grand ball of de Duke
Of
"Oh d-n your dukes and their balls,
give US the tune now, and the eyplana-
ton some other time, comrade," growl-
ed an old salt, as he took fresh piece
of pig-tail.
.'Vell, den, ] gives you de tune"-
Suiting the action to the word, Pierre
brought his bow across the strings, but
no sweet sound" followed the opera
ton.
"Ah, by gar, some rascal has rub off
de rosin from my bow" and the process
of rosining the bow " was gone
through with, and again did he essay
to make music, but in.yain, for no effect
was produced by the contact of horse
hair and cat-gut, except that of causing
a volley of mingled French and Eng
Iish oaths.
Mile tonnerres!' exclaimed the
Frenehman, "some d-n rascal has play
me voa trick. He have put vot you
shall call some grease on my bow. By
gar shall kill de d fellow, if | know
who has play me dis trickw
As might have been expected, this
sudden ebullition of wrath took some of
the tars rather aback, as they knew
nothing of the cause until they saw the
effect As soon, however, as they knew
the cause of complaint, and were
aware that some one had played trick
on the choleric little Frenchman, each
one swore vengeance on the guilty
one, If they could find him out, but
there was the rubm Find him out
they could not, for no one suspected
Antoine, who was of all the crowd the
most fond of the music. In vain were
uttered Pierre.s sacres" and "ton-
nerres de Dieu,n for the offender was
never discovered, while the fiddling
was efectually stopped for that voyage,
at least, as the creased bow could not
be replaced until they got into port.
Antoine, instead of getting thrown
overheard, received handsome present
for the faithful manner in which he
performed his part
Old Capt. p still lives, and often
chuckles over the story of how he stop
ped the little Frenchman's fiddle.