Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1872-06-15
play, or that some accident would h.ppcn


play, or that some accident would happcn
/ him.
He burst the bellows of hisinfernal ma.
chine one night, aud managed 10 get to
sleep at midnight. hoped it would take
at least month to repair the the thing,
but I'll be hanged if he didn't re. another
to practice on while his was being mended,
and it was worse than his own.
The original melody returned at the end
of o week, aud that glad genius held high
carnival thercat. lie made night hideous,
he felt so good.
Patience, for accident or development
Of that musical bud, ceased to be .
virtue. Those who would be free them.
selves must strike the blow resolved to
strike. .e.4~n, ,n
The door Of his room was always open,
and person could enter during the day
aud examine that musical torment II lie
wanted to. ! WANTED to.
procured an ounce Of powder. Itoek
out the musical stop Of that accordeon,
and emptied the article into the bowels
thereof l arranged q PERCUSSION cap
uuder the wind-valve of that instruments,
in such manner us to explode things if
he went to pa'ronzng that Aapper with
the snap and vim that he usually bent hin-
self to.
Night came and I waited Inc result
with fendish delight. / didn't wish to
murder that man out and out, but If I
could permanently disable that instrument
of his, even If he escaped with six weeks
iu the hospital, thought should be do
ing good thing for science and the com.
munity generally. .-
That night he attended free concert.
He went to pick up some new tunes. He
had picked up hundreds in this way, aud
then returned home to pick them out on
his ACCORDION.
1t was about 10 o'clock that night,
heard him coming up stairs whi>tling the
Devils Sonota," and l knew that he
had picked that up and was whistling
it as he came along, so as to keep it in his
head. a,a. st
He rushed into his room. He did not
even stop to light the gas. He loved to
rhapsodise in the dark. So do cats. He
seized the accordion. He ran his agile
digits over the keys several times. a
He worked carefully over the sonata
for few minutes. until he had picked his
way through it after a fashion, and then
began to swing it out.
The ACCORDION groaned, squealed, and
wheczed. He was getting warmed up to
his work. He played faster and faster.
The ordinary movement Of the bellows did
not supply wind enough to give expression
to his feelings. He resorted to the wind
valve. siJ
He resorted to it once too often.
There was sharp snap. followed by an
exaggerated, explosive grunt. There was
yell. There was also rattling Of crock
cry ware aud furniture. Also wild
shaking Of windows, fash aud rush for
the door. g
heard that musical genius bump tho
several extremities Of his anatomy on the
floor and up against the partition.
heard him shout FIRE" and " murder
rushed to his recue.
There was every evidence Of thorough
work. We lit the gas and sought for an
explanation. Everything in the room was
overturned. That musical genius was
paralyzed with fear. He stood trembling
10 the corner, and no hesitatingly asked
me If the house was not struck by light
ming.
There wasn't enough Of that accordeon
left to make respectable toothpick Of.
turned to look at the genius. He certsiu-
ly looked as though he had been struck BY
lightning or something quite as effective.
His moustache was gone; also bis eye.
lashes and eyebrows. His hair wa. shorter
than it was. and his whole make up was
sadly out Of joint.
The persecuted boarders gathered 10 his
room. They voted it musical mystery.
The landlady said il served him right for
playing the Devils Sosata, while the
others concluded that it was all owing to
his throwing SO much feelingsinto his exc
cution. N
Itold him I thought it was the work of
the spirit Of the dead composer, who could
stand the torture no longer. and ia this
the genius appeared to concide, for he has
abandoned music aud is now busily en-
gagged in cultivating eye winkers and hair
on his upper lip. s
u Moses, the u,sn who hauled down
the flag Of the United States from thsrsm.
parts Of Forte Sumpter. and vas franticallv