Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1878-09-20
"SWEET BELLS TANGLED"


The firm of Shiel & Mac Neil is pretty
we'll known in the printing line; but, as
the song says,
"When they began, they'd no meat in the PAM
and before they were fairly on their legs,
80 to speak, Mac Neil went and married
"a lass without tocher." She'll had
yearned over this extravaganza himself;
and going down one day with his partner
to the old place where they had learned
their trade, hearing from the press-room
the old sweet, familiar voice singing the
old sweet, familiar tunes, Shells heart
throbbed to the measure, and he said to
Mac Neil, with big blush on his broad
cheeks, that he supposed his partner
had forgotten little Jenny Burke, but
he, for one, would never forget her
while the world went round, and he was
going in to see her that very day.
Whereupon Mac Neil began to redden
too, and led the way so readily to the
particular press that the young English
girl was feeding, and Jenny met his ap-
proach in such shy, trembling glad
confusion, poor Shiel felt his heart sud
denly faint within him, and stole away
after minute or two, to be alone with
singular pang of desolation that had
swept over him. When Mac Neil joined
him, Shiel was himself again, but there
was something in his face that led Mac
Neil to ask him what was the matter.
Had be lost anything?
"No-yes," stammered poor Shiel;
then added, piteously: "Why didn't
You tell me Mac, that you had kept on
with Jenny? thought it was bargain
we shouldn't think of marrying till the
business was well started"
$50 it was, Shiel," said Mac; "but
you know what a sweet voice she's got.
Deuce take me, if it didn't haunt me
night and day. You don't know what it
is to have a musical ear; and there's no
harm in being cheered by song or two"
"Tush, mani broke in Shiel. "Do
you love each other?"
"Im afraid so, Shiel."
'"Then the sooner she's out of that
nasty press-room, the better"
If you'd board with us, Shiel, be.
heve we could save money by going to
housekeeping and think how nice it
would be to have snug ingleside of our
own 7"
Shiel WINGED little from this proposal,
but couldn't find courage to reject it so
they took rooms near their place of bust
ness, and for the first twelvemonth or so
neighborhood. The boys dropped IN
for chorus three nights out of four,
and all went merry as marriage-be bell,
till the feeble pipe of an infant was
added to the refrain, which suddenly
subdued all other music in it's vicinity,
to the immense delight of Shiel, who,
not being able to raise note himself,
was somewhat tired of the melodious
conceits of others. He did not know
that the child's speak was singularly low
and sweet, and as it gained volume it
also acquired melody. Shiel was disap-
pointed to find the little girl an exact
reproduction of her papa, but could not
believe that the fates had willed she
should share his weakness for music.
He declared it was the monkey that
amused her, whereas the baby's soul
was given over to the hurdy-gurdy.
Now 1 take this premature and striking
proclivity as misfortune. Infant pro-
digies are always more or less of nui-
sance, and little Miss Jeans precocity
grew to an alarming extent as the years
went by. The firm of Shiel & Mac Neil
hourished. Jenny saved the pennies,
and the only extravagencies were in be-
half of little Miss Jean, whose waxen
face could only be coaxed into glow by
1 the aid of some sort of melody. And
the older she grew, the wider her taste
expanded, 80 that after q while q new
4 piano was maneuvered and engineered
up the stairs, and almost filed Jenny's
4 little parlor. Many a familiar knick-
knack had to go to the wall or be tucked
out of sight to make room for this noun
tain of mahogany.
'It's burnin' shame" said one of
the boys, ''to give up the dear old fd-
die for the iinglin' of them ivory pup
pets. Every new piece of Miss Jeans
sets fellows teeth on edge. One can't
have any more fun at Macs; he's hung
up his fiddle and his bow; and for my
part I'm sick to death of the infant
phenomenon"
So we're the rest of the cronies-they
fell off one by one, and in few years
none we're left but Shiel; he, poor fell
low, sat night after night with his head
up against the wall, the music going in
one ear and out of the other, till it
seemed to him he had become simply
sort of hollow melancholy tube for the
accommodation of echoep.
What could Mac do, who had alone
kept pace with his daughter, and appre-
ciated to the full her remarkable pro-
ficiency-what could he do but long for
a larger, fuller, prouder scope for her
The ceilings were low in their humble
floor; the acoustic properties were
entirely wanting in that cramped but
cozy vicinity. Alas alas the nest was
all too small for its full l-Aedged inmates,
s and the neighborhood was not what it
had been. Macs business increased
day by day. He was getting to be quite