Middletown transcript., 1876-07-01

| tueu Sdiu, euaiI Wo NV PA~J
our great saint, John Nepomucene, to
assist us 2" ~.
eyes, to St. John Nepomucene. .
answered Frederick.
.Then do you begin. sister, and |
will follow" answered the boy.
The little girl then said her prayer.
and ended by asking for the interces-
sion of the Bohemian saint, the little
boy repeating the prayers after her
and both were so earnestly engaged
with what they were about, that they
did not perceive a man, Of somewhat
advanced age and Of noble and distin-
guished appearance. who stood at some
little distance from the tree beneath
which they knelt. >,
"Our PRAYER is finished. brother"
said the little girl.
"And granted, too" said Wolfgang'
rising in his turn
Already" exclaimed his sister:
eyes, thought Of something while
you were praying" answered Wolf
ssThen St. John Nepomucene must
have whispered it in your ear" replied
his sister.
II do not know whether it was st.
John Nepomucene, or not; but this Is
what came into my head; You know |
have little talent for playing on the
piano; but, indeed, if mamma had not
so often said that we must not be vain,
I should say that I do not compose
badly And you, Frederick. though
you have not SO much power over the
instrument as have, yet for your age
you do not play SO ILL.,"
.sThere's a conceited child, said
Frederick.
"Do not interrupt me, dear Frederick.
or I shall forget what | thought Of
Now, let us set out some fine morning,
and walk, and walk long way. Some
times we shall come to castle, and then,
Frederick, you shall begin to sing. and
somebody will come to the gate; and
then the people of the castle will say,
"Oh the poor children !" and ask US to
come in and rest ourselves; and then |
shall 60 to the piano"
'If there is one," interrupted the
little girl.
"As if there were not pianos every
where in these day !" answered the boy.
but you provoke me with your inter.
ruptions I say then shall 60 to the
piano. shall get up on the stool. and l
shall play, and play, and everybody
will be enchanted They will embrace
us, and give us sweetmeats and play
things, and to you they will give neck
laces and ribbons; but we shall not
take them, and I shall say, Pay US, if
you please, that we may take the money
to papa and mamma"
"Ah, you little rogue, how ambi-
tious you are !'' cried Frederick, throw
ing herself on her brothers neck.
"But that's not all" said Wolfgang;
"let me finish my story. The king will
hear US talked about, and send for us.
I shall wear beautiful coat, and you
will have a beautiful dress, and we
shall 60 to the kings palace. There
they will take US into saloon full Of
beautiful ladies, the like Of whom was
never seen, and gentlemen all in en-
broidery, and furniture all gilded, and
a piano. Such piano! the case all
made Of pure gold, with silver pedals,
and keys of fine pearls, and diamonds
everywhere. Then we shall play, and
the Court will be delighted. And they
will surround us, and caress US, and
the king will ask me what I should like,
and I shall say, whatever you please.
king. And then he will give me
castle. and I shall have papa and man.
ma to live. and"
A burst Of laughter interrupted, in
the midst Of his recital, the intrepid
young performer on the piano. Wolf
gang frightened, looked at bis sister,
then. turning his eyes. he perceived the
stranger, who, hidden behind tree
near to the two children had not lost a
word of their conversation. Fearing
that be was discovered, he approached
them, saying:
do not be afraid, my children I
wish only to make you happy. am
sent to you by the great saint, John
Nepomucene."
At these words the brother and sister
exchanged look. and then turned their
eyes again upon the pretended messen-
ger of the saint This survey was
doubtless satisfactory; for the little boy,
running towards him, took hold Of his
hand, and with charming simplicity,
exclaimed "Ah, so much the better !;
are you going to grant me my wishes ?"
"No. sir; not all at once," answered
the stranger; then seating himself on
the spreading roots Of tree. and bid
ding Wolfgang stand before him, while
his sister, older and more timid, kept a
little aside, he said, II shall give you
whatever you wish, on condition that
you answer me truly all the questions
I am going to put to you I warn you
beforehand, that if you tell lie, I
shall know it !"
"Sir, you must know that I never
told lie in my life," replied Wolfgang,
a little offended
"That is what we shall see" said the
stranger.
"What is your fathers name ?"
"Leopold Mozart"
"And what is his employment 2"
HE is maaitre de chapeHe; he plays
on the violin and on the piano but
best on the violin "
''Is your mother alive still ?"
Eyes. sir"
"How many children are there Of
you ?"
As the little boy remained silent, his
sister answered this question.
''There were seven of US, sir; but
now we are only two. my brother and
mvselfo .