The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1875-10-15

Anu 30 Jebbtc euhb ~ 80 '~-~3
sweIled out as the young sibyl sang,
with the words: lF
Thus freedom nows so seldom wakes a
| The only thr0b she gives
Is when some heart indignant breaks,
| 10 show that still sne lives.
And the minister's wife cried and
] went home.
| One afternoon. the next week, Madame
Reuter- came down, and Mrs. King
brought Slgnor Pazzani into the Brook
ses' parl0r and lett nlm.
1t was not much preparation the
Br0okses had been able to make for
their distinguished guest; they could
not Ill his room fulr to overf0wing with
Bellies flowers, that grew and blossomed
in every window the winter long. As
for the table 1t was always q miracle OF
snow and. silver and parsly-trimmed
dishes, and 1t was impossible for them
| to make much difference. They found,
though, that 1t was of no consequence,
for the signor was Indifferent to every
| thing but bread and fruit and salad, and
presently looked about him for the young
lady who was to sing. "You are she" !"
he said presently, TO Jessie, and began
talking to her about her music while he
crumbled his bread. But it was not till
some hours after they LETT the table that
he came down from his room and de-
manded to hear what she could do.
Poor Jessie had no more idea of hesi-
tating or refusing, than L. an angel OF
annunciation had appeared and bidden
her. She went instantly to the piano,
though Belle had to play the prelude
twice over before Jessie could command
her voice; and in the first measures 1t
trembleI SO that she was afraid she
would have to stop, aud she was pale as
death. 'Courage, courage, my child"
cried the siguor, and she took little
and went on; and soon she forgot the
signOr and her fright, and was singing
as freely as bird in the wild weod.
sit Is grandl 1t Is deliciousp cried the
signor, in his own tongue, which Jessie
and Belle understood tolerably. .'It is
q voice in q thousand. In thousandf Z
A voice in miillonsl 1t is the nightin.
gale'sl and it must have care, study,
training-Italyp
Jessie shook her head. and felt very
much like crying. She knew, il she ever
showed the least desire tor Italy, her
father would cramp himself, her mother
forego her comforts, the children deny
themselves everything; they would sell
the piano, and move into meaRer house,
live on little, give nothing away. She
had never intfmated that she thought
the thing worth while. Now she shook
her head and ventured to say In such
Italian as she had: SIT is impossible.
Please don't speak Of it, 1t would only
make grief here. But thank you for the
kind Words" And then the signor
gazed hard at the lovely face with its
Mad0nna-like oval, and its great soft.
dark eyes. and said: 'sNothips Is Inn.
possible. Now l must seek mY violin.
1t was to come by express, but has not.
the good house mothes says.n
No; 1t had not Come, and, what was
more, IL never would come In Its old
shape. The express had met with an
accident, and all its contents had been
shattered. The violin that the Queen OF
Holland had given Signors Pazza al, that
jacques Stainer had made himself In the
Tyr0l two hundred years ago and more.
was nothing but handful OF chips. 1t
would have been lndicrous, il it mad not
been in reality narrowing, to see the
Signor's grief and rage when he heard
OF the destruction of his darling, and had
the broken bits put into his hand. He
remembered nothing more about Jessie's
voice or about the concert; ne sat down
among the fragments, like Marius in the
ruins of Carthage, and bewailed him
self.
1t was an intensely cold and still win
ter's day; there was not sound to be
heard in the village save now and then
distant sleigh-beIl, the dropping of some
huge icicle, or the loud report OF some
nail as it sprung with the frost In the
rafters. As the signor sat there with
hand, and the other hand wound in his
hair distractedly, one Of these nails went
OFT as you might say, with more of an ex-
plOsi0n than usual upon the frosty eli
lence of the afternoon, followed by a
clear, resonant note that for half q mo-
ment seemed 10 fill the house with siI-
very vibration. They all heard it, and
looked bewildered; and suddenly Jessie,
with O joyous CRY, sprang to her feet and
darted from the ROOM The garret door
had been lett open by somebody, she
found. In moment she was back and
mad placed in the hands OF the signor.
whose mood offrenzy had been succeed
ed BY one of silent desperation, The little
black fiddle
..it fell from its nail" she was saying,
SIT was that we heard. 1t wanted 10
come and comfort you, you see. Is it
own with itf 1t IL SO oddi'
'Why do you bring me this, my child p,
be asked sadly, but took it and ran his
eyes over 1t. Something seemed to
strike him as he did su. Lie bent his
head quickly, lifted the violin to, his ear,
and tapped 1T and listened, ran bis fin.
ger down its lines, took out his hanlker-
ehiet and busted 1t mlnutely. HIS hands
began to shake; he was holding his
breath; he was comparing the measure
ments of the little black fiddle with GER
tain figures in q memorandum book
drawn from his pocket. He peered into
every dimension in sort OF mad haste.
He took magnitier, and then with q bit
OF channels leather began rubbing the
end OF the little black fiddie as ii he were
polishing a jewel. ALI at once he cried
out:
"Ahl Behold IT! 1t is herei II %
herel Read IL, my children, readi Soto
La discipline d'A, Stradivarius Cremona.
II S? IL 10 his, the Giuseppe dei Jesu,s
when the great Antoine Was his master.
That is his seal, .IHs. Oh, the re<uel
But he knew mlsicl And Antsine Sire
dlvarius has had it in kis hands: fas
looked at its sides, ite table. irs otlies.
its lustrous varnishs has drawn the bow
across it; has said it was good! Quick
where are ~; stringsi We win see; we
will sees There l. no bridge. Tpat is
all right. The bridge would not have an
LsWered. My Stainer bridge is whole