Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-07-01
THE STORY OF A TROMBONE.

j
proprietor of that great, gloomy lodging
house over town. = My rest is disturbed
my waking hours tortured by this rasping
fend of a horn! The blast of this trum-
net over my head is worse to me than that
of the angel Gabriel to condemned soul
You may, if you please, charge me for
their empty room, but either this man and
his wife leave the house or | do"
Make yourself easy, Mr.. Van Tassel,
said the proprietor "They shall leave
when their month is up"
! went back ts my room, counting the
days of the fortnight left them, as the
woman IN the fairy tale told over the fatal
beans:
On looking from my window at the bit
of blue sky visible between the high walls
of the factory and the tenements close by,
found swarm of sparrows rapidly de-
scending upon the window-sill above
mine, voraciously intent upon liberal
supply of bread crumbs dealt out to them
by the delicate and shapely hand of a
woman A little boy from the opposite
tenement waved his crutch to the birds
and smiled his little, wan, sickly smile. |
suppose, in the whole of his lifetime
which was not more than the seven years
had lived there-he had not, like my
self, seen such Il sight.
That night the man, contrary to his Gus
tom, remained at home, and. despite the
closed windows and the high wind out
side, there came TO me, note by note, n
quaint old hymn of Heber's and a little
French song, of which the chorus, ia
mais, annals" sung in the clear, sweet,
sonorous voice of the woman, seemed
treighted with the lost hopes of the
vrctched creatures within reach of her
melody
Not until the hour of midnight did the
wind cease to bring me the prolonged toot
of this monster u brass!
They enjoy it, them | said as went
% bed so much the worse for them"
week after we had one of those sud-
den changes of weather for which our
climate is alike famous and detestabe.
The sun came out bright and warm, light
iieecy clouds floating over a blue sky.
The dingy squalor of the city shone mis-
erably in the brilliancy of summer sol
stice, My moidy room became sutfocat-
ing with fctid vapors, and as | leaned out
OF the window to breathe the air subtle
perfume fell upon my nostrils. SO faint,
80 sweet, il seemed almost dead, and, with
The only warm heart | had ever known,
buried ost of sight. Straight down from
heaven, whittier that pure soul had fled,
came the almost-torgotten fragrance, and
looking up ! was suddenly blinded by a
smart shower from a watering-po held by
mat same lavish hand over a box OF mign-
ouette that rested upon the broken old
stones Of the windowsill.
uttered an involuntary exclamation
over popped a braided head
PardOn" said the lips, smiling the
Tee, frank, ardent smile of a woman.
drew back and held my breath in sud.
1en bewilderment
For ten long years had been dead to
curiosity or care concerning my fellow
Creatures The world might have been
grcmated by famine and pestlence, and
would have been as impervious TO pity
or terror as fossil imbedded in antedi
-l'Ian strata. But this word and this
smile, seeming TO come straight from the
motive power that fed starving birds and
"A'ered taint,ng flowers, caused me tC
wonder as to the limit of this perennial
i'9nt OF generosity at the top of this dingS
oltdng in the heart of the seethng CITY
How happy thought |. lis thi,
""cfiched enthusiast of man above me
.th this woman for his wife and thi,
crooked piece of brass for his foible, b,
an DEFY the wrath of the world 1t is no
--te-sary, | added with twinge OF re
-,mhrance for the waning days of theil
.-'}nl ght, " that they should remain her,
@-I distract to The verge of insanity ont
much more isolate than they Soth,
-als went by There were but three left
N".l, as sat writing at my table on
Enln:, there came faint rap at the door
ar-Ed again that one word Pardon. >
Eng had suddenly before me the braide,
1T the shining eyes, the sweet. full lip
nal woman from the room above.
ne pen dropped from my hand. 20
-,12 my feet