Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-05-26
our Itlnerant Musicians.

tracted composer is standing at his win
7. dow, in one of the old-fashioned man
sions of London, which stands at the
corner of street now probably known
by its moldiness, and interesting only to
the antiquarian or the novelist. Around
the musicians window are congregated
every variety of noise.making animal
and instrument from the rosy country
lass, with her milk-pail, singing at the
top of her voice, to the old clothes man,
who announces his peculiarly venerable
occupation in the confidential and singu-
larly monotonous monotone, old clol'
We cannot help feeling = sympathy for
the unfortunate exile, as be elevates his
fiddle. bow in anguish OF spirit, and tears
his hair in frenzy Of despair. What,
therefore, must be the state of our feel
ings when called upon to sympathize
with certain class of our refined and
gifted citizens whose delicate organiza'
tons are daily suffering the pangs of
that enraged musician flom the mechan-
ical grindings of our city barrel-organ,
the scraping of itinerant fddles, and the
twanging Of catarrh afflicted harps. 1t
appears that Alderman Stone has been
singled out by Divine Providence, and
the sufferings of his fellow. citizens, to
open the crusade against the peripatetic
musicians. Certain persons, it would
appear, have asked City Attorney jamie
son if some means cannot be taken to
secure quiet to pedestrians and the
habitues OF beer saloons against this
alarming and daily increasing tidal
.ro,,o &c oo,nJ Wban Tho ohoarvon nj
wayfarer contemplates the average beer
saloon, with its floor OF sawdust and its
aroma of smoke, lager and German
sausage; when he thinks of the little
group of three and four who daily waste
the precious hours in swilling the stolid
liquid and playing dominoes and other
intellectual games; when he further re-
members the "biano," and its infinite
variety of players" with the slightly
discordant sounds which characterize
the Teuton in his cups, it is indeed a
melancholy reflection that such abodes
of refinement and ease, such sweet
scented grottoes of rare delights, should
be invaded by the unwashed Italian and
mnistered to by the Harp that ence
through Tara's hall the soul of music
she'd" Can our German brothers not
enjoy their sweltzer case in peace, and
be permitted to perfume the air we
breathe to the satisfaction of their met
aphysical souls, without the additional
aid of the concord OF outside sounds?
While we sorrow with those to whom the
beer saloon is I" thing of beauty and a
Joy forever" what must we say for the
pedestrian, whose ears, from early morn
to dewy eve, are regaled with sounds
that Hogarth in his most inspired mo-
ment never dreamed of 1t is not
enough that the virtuous and unofend.
ing citizen must have his feelings lacer-
ated by the poor one-armed soldier at
the crossing, who daily sends his thoughts
back to Malachi, and his collar of
gold" through the pleasing numbers of
"St. Patricks Day in the Morning, or
tortured by the youthful and dirty.faced
urchin who scrapes upon his well-worn
fiddle and dances q horn-pipe in the
recesses of street CARP Must he also
endure to have the best feelings of his
nature wounded by day and by night,
while listening to the aggravating
sounds produced by his fellow
man through the medium of disused
tonsils and a catarrh-affloted windpipe
Sweet are the sounds of the most dis
mally constructed street organ compared
with the volley Of oaths which daily
adorn the national conversation OF every
street corner, and the most atrocious
scraper that ever rasped The Beauti.
full Blue Danube out of crazy old
fiddle is q perfect Paganini to the mer
camille orator who greets you by the
wayside with This preparation, gentle
men, is perfectly genuine. 1t is war
ranted to remove paint spots, grease
spots, ink stains, dirt or other foreign
substance which may or may not adhere
to the garment" or the corpulent show
man, whose voice is as compound of
bad whisky and chronic hoarseness, ana
who shouts in your sorrowing ear, Walk
in and see the wonderful mammoth
ehe.ild, the most wonderful prodigy OF
the age, weighing 45O pounds and ac.
knowledged by all the crowned heads of
Europe to be the greatest living prodigy
of ell time" We have some sympathy
for the pedestrians, and also q word
to say for the musicians; but we can
not say that the beer saloons deserve
the slightest compassion. 1t may
be safely asserted that they make
more noise than all the rest put together,
with the additional advantage of scent
ing the air in a manner which may be
highly conducive to health, but which is
anything but pleasing to the olfactory
senses. The poor organ-grinder is try
ing at least to make an honest living.
He is often a MANNED and disabled sol
der, who has served his country in its
hour Of need, or a poor woman, with
children to support and drunken hus-
band to turn her earnings into liquor
Street musicians are not the nuisance
here that they are in London or New
York. Indeed, the fashionable resi-
dences and homes of our city are com
paratively free from class who, at the
worst are only annoying to a NOR
bidly sensitive ear, and are at all
times a pleasure to the children, and
even source Of eradication to older
heads, whose musical taste has not ar
rived at such hight as to enjoy nothing
lower than Beethoven to the classical
masters. Speaking on behalf of the
pedestrians, we are convinced that the
greatest nuisances in the way of sound
now to be met with in the heart Of
Chicago are the beer saloons themselves.