The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1874-12-27
MORNING STAR AND CATHOLIC MESSENGER SUNDAY DEcEBE
tul would be so kind" she answered joy.

faI would be 30 kind" she answered joy
Without more words he seated himself
| at the instrument, which seemed to become
| inspired beneath his mastery touch. Ex
| quisite movements, chords Of richest har
mony, phrases rare in expression, deep and
| tender, filled the listeners with rapture.
Beethoven ceased abruptly, and gazed be-
| fore him lost in thought. The sudden
silence first seemed to remind him of his
visit he saw before him the gentle girl in
| tears, that welied ur unbidded from her
| soul. The young man approached him
and said
"sir do tell me your name-who arc
youf"
Without replying, Beethoven played
and at the evident admiration he had ex
cited. When he had finished the young
man came again.
T am not deceived" he said, .'you are
surely Ludwig Beethoven, the great mu-
II am," he said, and arose from the in
strument, with the intention of departing.
But the pleading look of the girl and the
mans earnest entreaty compelled him to
| reseat himself. With a gentle movement,
and forgetfui for the moment of her natural
shyness, the girl placed her hand on his
shoulder, and whispered to him:
''Play3it once more, we may never hear
you again."
The moon had risen and shone into the
apartment in which there was no other
light. Her mellow rays fell aslant upon
the fisor, bringing out more evidently the
poverty of all within their reach.
As if in a dream the musician arose and
walked to the window. He lifted his eyes
to heaven, and gazed with admiration too
deep for words, on the radiant beauty of
the simmer sky, rich In the soft lustre of
the full moons light.
1.-THE rising moon has hid the stars
Her level rays: like golden bars,
With shadows brown between.
All was calm in the street below, the op-
posite houses flung from them their dark
| shadows, and basked bright whilst they
could in the silvery rays of the night
! luminary. Ideas and impressions the
! most poetical flashed across the composers
mind he returned to the instrument there
| it was he could give life to the emotion g
which struggled in his soul for expression.
His hands strayed over the keys, he was
composing a sonata. Meeting with those
who loved to hear him play, who had faith
in his abilities, and in the power of his
! genius, he became as one inspired all the
rich and gifted strains of his usual compo-
sition were now combined in the sonata he
played. 1t contained noble harmony,
bursts of rapturous melody, of exquisite
emanations from the realm of sounds, and
the most expressive powers of intense feel
ing.
The hearers were held spellboupd in a
Joyous trance, their hearts were full OF
bright memories, OF happy feeling, and OF
all that mixture of concord and bliss which
we truly term felicity.
1t is over; the musician leans back in
his chair, his eyes arc closed, his mind is
absent; and in the room half lit by the
moonlight, stands the man trying to sup
press his emotion; whilst the young girl
was reawakenipg to live on this common
place earth, which but q moment since was
tinged with hallowed golden hues.
"Adieu," the musician said, rising
hastily, and on his cheeks there was yet the
trace of emotion 'sAdieu my friends,
must make haste home, and note it down.
He advanced to the door, but turned
upon the piano, then upon the two figures
standing half in the shade, half in the silver
moonlight.
"Farewell," he said again "God will
bless you for the happiness your admiration
has impaired to a weary heart
He was gone the great man hastened
home to note down this happy effusion OF
hie gifted brain.
When the morning stars grew pale from
watching, and fickered family, ere the
first flush of crimson dawn came to their
relief, they looking into the musician's
room, beheld him bending over the piano
which we may presume was afterwards
handed to an admiring posterity.
l We gather some very interesting statis
tics from the book just issued by the Ma
tional Prison association, and written largely
by the learned and indefatigable secretary OF
the association, DR.. Wines, of Springfield