Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1879-12-11
Jud BrOwnin's Account of Rubin
STEMS Playing.

y
play when you were in New York"
II did in the COOL"
swell tell us about it."
"What! me7 might as we'll tell you
about the creation of the world"
Come, now, no mock modesty. Go
ahead"
"Well, sir, he had the blamest, biggist,
cattycornedest pianner you ever laid eyes
on; somethin' like a distracted billiard
table on three legs. The lid was hoisted,
and mighty well it WASH if it hadn't
been he'd tore the entire inside clean
out, and scattered EN- to the tour winds
of heaven"
"PIayed we'll, did he2"
"You bet he did! but don't interrupt
me. When he first sit down, he 'peared
to keer mighty little bout piayin', and
wished he hadn't come. He tWeedle-
ieede'd little on the treble, and twoodle-
oodled some on the bass-just foolin'
and boxin' the things jaws for bein' in
his way. And says to a man settin'
next to me, ST: "What sort of fool
playin' is that?' And he says, 'Heish 7
but presently his hands commenced
chasin' one another up and down the keys
like pascal of rats scamperin' through
u garnet very swift. Parts oft was sweet,
though, and reminded me of sugar
squirrel turnin' the wheel of a candy
cage.
Now" l says to my neighbor, she's
shown off, he thinks he's doin' of it,
but he amt got no ldee, no plan OF no.
thin; if he'd play me tune of some
kind or other I'd
"But my neighbor says 'Helshr very
impatient.
II was just about to git up and go
home, bein' tired of that fQsllshness,
when I heard little bird waking up
away in the woods, and call, sleepy like,
to his mate, and 1 looked up and see that
terest in his business, and sit down again.
1t was the peep of day; the light came
faint from the east, the breeZes blowed
gentle and fresh, some more birds wake
up in the orchard, then some more in the
trees near the house, and all begun sing
in sogother. People began to stir, and
the gal opened the shutters. Just then
the first beam of the sun fell upon the
blossoms leetle more, and it techt the
roses on the bushes. and the next thing
it was broad day; the woods fairly blaz-
ed, the birds sung like they'd split their
little threats; all the leaves was wavin'
and hashin' diamonds of dew, and the
whole wide world was bright and happy
as a king. Seemed to me there was
good breakfast in every house in the land,
and not sick child or woman anywhere;
it was fine mornin'.
and says 10 my neighbor, That's
music, that is
But be glared at me like he'd like to
cut my throat.
presently the wind turned; it begun to
thicken up, and kind of gray mist came
over things. l got low-spirited directly.
Then q silver rain began to fall. I could
see the drops touch the ground; some
flashed up like long pearl earrings, and
t. rest rolled away like round rubies. 1t
was pretty, but melancholy. Then the
pearls gathered themselves into long
strands and necklac IS, and then they
melted into thin silver streams, running
between golden grayels; and then the
streams joined each other at the foot of
the hill, and made brook that flowed
silent, except that you could kinder see
the music, specially where the bushes on
the banks moved as the music went
along down the valley. could smell
the flowers 10 the meadow. Bnt the sun
didn't shine nor the birds didn't sing; 1t
was fogy day, but not cold.
The most curious thing was the little
white angel-boy, like you see in pictures
that run ahead of the music brook and
let it on, and on, away out of the world
where no man ever was, certain l could
see that boy just as plain as l see you.
Then the moonlight came, without any
sunset, and shone on the graveyards
where some few ghosts lifted their hands
and went over the wall, and between the
black, sharp top-trees splendid marble
houses rose up with fine ladie sin the it-up
windows, and men that loved 'em, but
could never get a-nigh 'em, and played
on guitars under the trees, and made 'em
that miserable could have cried, because
| wanted to love somebody, l don't know
who, better than the men with the gui-
tars did.
.sThen the sun went down; 1t got dark;
the wind moaned and wept like lost
child for its dead mother; and could
got up then and there and preached
better sermon than any ever listened
to. There wasn't thing in the world
left for, not blame thing, and yet
didn't want the music to stop one bit. It
was happier to be miserable than to be
happy without being miserable. couldn't
understand it. l hung my head and
pulled out my handkerchief, and blowed
my nose loud to keep me from cryln'.
My'eyes is weak anyway;I didn't want
ANYBODY gain at me snivlin,' and its
nobody's business what I do with my
nose; Its mine. But some several glared
at me as mad as blazes. Then, all of a sud-
den, old Rubin changed his tune. He
ripped out and he rar'd, he tipped and
tar'd, he pranced and he charged, like
the grand entry at the circus. Feared
TO me that all the gas in the house was
turned on at once, things got so bright,
and ! hilt up my head, ready to look any
man in the face, and not afraid of nothin.'
1t was circus and brass band and a
ball all goin' on at the same time. He
lit into them keys like thousand Of
brick; he give 'em no rest, day or night;
he set every livin' Joint in me agoin'; and
not bein' able to stand it no longer l
jumped up.sprang onto my seat, and jest
hOllered,
500 it, my Rube'i'
''Ever7 blamed man, woman and child
in the house riz on me and shouted, Put
him out! put him outr
"Put your grandmothers grizzly gray
greenish cat into the middle of next
month"; says. Tech me if ye darel 1
paid my money, and you jest come a
nigh me!
ssWith that some several policemen run