New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1859-07-21
Written for the New Orleans Crescent.
soIeather Cultlvates His Taste for Music.

another thing, and you won't DO saying, That
Soleather il always boring me with his Insignificant
troubles" IS some other folks do say.
That curious young woman over the way there
next to the preachers is at it againI mean, Jonh'
she ID singing opera again. She gets that way every
evening about this time and she sathers away just
a. long a. she has got strength to bang her piano.
They do say that she has been In that fix for long
time. You ought to see that poor young woman,
John, when she's taken bad She spreads her hands
to both ends Of the piano. and braces her feet against
the peddles, and throws herself back till her curs
hang half way to the floor, and then her head flies
omen, aud-out comes the last opera. And she
trills and MARBLES " and shakes her curls, and
smiles . painful colicky" smile, and bangs with
her hands and kicks with her feet, and yells, and
rips and tears around till she gets away up to where
II sounds like screeching nail across windowgla
and that note she hangs on to nearly minute, and
then down she comes again to first principles. When
she gets through she only just pus her breath out,
"Whu.h!" and wipes the sweat of, and goes in
again. Now, she's regular brick, John, is that old
gal-but wish she would quit doing that way, or
else 80 and board somewhere else-she makes me
nervous. And mind what tell you, John: she'll
+" bust some day, now-see if she don't. Mz~
But like music, John-that is, if it's the right
sort, you know. New, it is hardly worth mention
ing, maybe, but will say, nevertheless that used
to do little in that line myself When Ole Bull was
here, bought secondhand fiddle at auction, and
after had learned to play portions Of all the one
string kind Of tunes purchased three more strings
and improved little on that curious old animal for
tell you, John, that before many days could play
"Old Lang Syne "--barrin the blasted mistakes-
hAAn Tua hoor lin told
then, up in Locust street; and there was fellow
there in the room under mine who was actually laid
up with nervous headache sometimes he would get
clear out OF his senses with it. felt sorry for the
poor wretch, John, and used to try to soothe him
with my music. would take my fiddle down to his
door sixteen or seventeen times a day, and grind
I" Old Lang Lyme" through and through, and wrong
end foremost and up the middle and down the sides,
and fore and aft and so on, and peep in to see the
effect on the patient Now, it was astonishing how
that man would roll about, and squirm, and even
groan with pleasure. It did him more good-that
music did-than all his headache medicine. had
. way Of winding up that tune with peculiar kind
Of sera~nch" and it was perfectly delightful to
the invalid initiate it with his body. Maybe you
wouldn't believe it, John, but as sure as You are born
"scraunched that fellow clean out Of bed one
day. Poor devil !-sometimes when he was out of his
head he would get to dancing Saw-w.w, saw.see
saw.w.w saw" trying to mimic my fiddle. WE'LL
was doing all could for the man, and think I'd
have finished him in another week. if it had not been
for the meddlesome redheaded girl OF old Mrs Pen.
dergrasses. never did know her name, John, but
know one thing about her-she gets mad mighty
easily she's no sardne when she's in her tan
trums She happened along one day when was
6dding before the sick mans door, q tell you, John,
was just NOUN him) and what do you think she
said? Why, she said:
Mercy sakes, what stupid brute forever and
everlastin', mother says, poking your nose around
wherever there's chance to do any mischief; and
you don't seem to know any better-g'way from that
door!"
I ,oas astonished. had never seen the kangaroo
but once before, john and then was not introduced
to her. l felt hurt-mortifed Although / was
stranger to her. john honestly meant not the least
offense in the world by the reply made. Resting
there on one foot, and holding the fiddle under nv
chin with my left hand, while pointed the bow at
her with my right bent my gaze impressiyely upon
the girl, and said:
"Look-a-here, sorrelTop, don't want no nonsense
out Of you, now"
SorrelTop!" said she, and her eyes spit fire,
:" I'll teach you to call people Names you-you-you
pup, you and she swelled up and came at me.
You know that bell.crowned hat used to wear,
John, tipped SO daintily to one side Of my head-well
she snatched my fiddle and smashed that beautiful
hat clear down over my shirtcollar with it, and she
never stopped till she wore the instrument out on me-
Maybe the name wasn't exactly the thing, you
know, John, but surely didn't think she would get
mad about such thing as that It is not worth
while to tell you any more, John, only that when
came ont from under the bed, and found the coast
clear, packed up my other shirt, and withdrew my
patronage from Mrs. Pendergrasses clearinghouse.
(5he busted the next week, John.)
/ took lodgings at Mrs. Marmadale's, John, higher
up in Locust street, towards the big church, mean
the in the construction Of which the least little
bit in the world of Christian vanity sticks out-for
do you know, John, that that edice reminds me Of
the steamers John ]. Roe and r. ]. Lakeland? Yes,
she does You admire the craft at distance, but
when you step aboard you astonished to find that
what you thought was all cabin, isn't and what you
thought was all church, isn't, either, by considerably
more than good deal. No, John, it's all sham.
There's bulkhead amidshps, and behind is place
devoted to baerope and buckets in the one case, and
in the other.
lcit Uuu auOut NY utpdTteu uuuley Jonu, ana L
worried about it good deal, too. The landlady no.
tced it, and spoke of it to the other destroyers of
beefsteak. And 1 overheard her. She is an elderly
lady, John, is Marmadale and wears cap. When
discovered her. she in the middle of her grafton
she had just blown her nose, and was standing near
the hair sofa, with her apron spread her right
hand ready to apply it to her nasal organ as soon as
she got to the end of paragraph.
"Poor wretch" said she, 81 think he's leete
bit deranged. He mopes, and mopes, and mopes
around with that battered old hat of hsn tilted onto
side Of his head the queerest way and looking as
miserable as chicken with the gapes And he's
externally and everiast-nly got that poker, and a.
sawin' an asawin, an a'sawn' away across his arm,
80, (and the old female attempted the sublime fiddle
posture) for the world Is if he was payin iddle-
(attended to her neglected nose and departed,)
found couldn't live, John, without music, and
thought would go and get another instrument; but
you see wanted the privilege of playing on it this
time; therefore, thought would fix that matter
beforehand. met the andlady in the hall next day.
and said /:
Marmadae ("
Curious way to dress Ady-Sir!"
Like music?"
Sometimes yes, m sometimes no-why?"
Cause I'm going to bring instrument here-'n'
don't want nobody to go to kickin' up any shindes
about it, if / do--understand
@ reckon you can bring it along"
/ went down to the auction.room, John, but the
fellow said he out of fiddes and he was glad of