Morning journal and courier., 1880-04-20
A Rustic View of Rubinstein.

SSAAS0SSS somethin' like distracted billiard table on three legs. The lid was hoisted, and mighty well It was. If 1t hadn't been he'd tore the entire insides clean out and scattered 'em to the four winds of heaven.
 Played veil? You bet he did but don't in terrupt nae. When he first sit down, he pear. ed to keer mighty little bout playin', and wisht he hadn't come. He tweedle-leed'ed little on the treble, and twoodIe -oodled some on the base-ju foolin' and boxin' the things jaws for bein' in his way. And I says to man sittin It xt to me, says I: What sort of a fool playin' is that ?"And he says 'Heish," But presently his hands commenced chasin' one another up and down the keys, like par eel of rats scamperin' through 0 garret very swift Parts of it was sweet, though aud re- minded me of a sugar squirrel turnin' the wheel of D candy cage.
 'Now," says to my neighbor "hes show in of. He thinks he's a-doin of it, but he ain't got no idee, no plan of nothin'. If he'd play me tune of some kind or other I'd"
 But my neighbor says ''Heish !" very impa- tieat.
 I was just about to git up and go home, bein' tired of that foolishness, when I heard little bird waking up away of in the woods, aud call sleepy-Gke to his mate, and I looked up and see that Ruby was beginning to take some interest in his business, and sit down again. It WAS the peep of day. The light came faint from the east, the breezes blowed gentle aud fresh, some more birds walked up in the orchard, then some more in the trees near the house, and all begun siDgln' together People began to stir. and the gal opened the shutters. Just then the first beam of the sun fell upon the blossoms a leetle more, and it techt the roses on tho bushes and the nsxt thing it was broad day; the sun fairly blazed, the birds sung like they'd split their little throats; all the leaves was moVin', and fash in diamonds Of dew, and the whole wide world was bright and happy as a king Seemed to me like there was Q good break fast in every house in the land, and not 8 sick child or woman anywhere. It was fine mornin'.
 And I says to my neighbor That's music that is"
 But he glared at me like he'd like to cut my throat.
 Presently the wind turned; 1t begun to thicken up, and kind of gray mist came over things; got owspirited directly. Then @ silver rain begun to fall. I could see the drops touch the ground; some flashed up like long pearl earrings, and the rest rolled away like round rubies It was pretty, but melan- choly. Then the pearls gathered themselves into long strands and necklaces, and then they melted into thin silver streams, running between golden graveIs, and then the streams joined each other at the bottom of the hilI and made brook that flowed silent except that you could kinder see the music specially when the bushes on the banks moved as the music went along down the valley. I could smell the flowers in the meadow. But the sun didn't shine, nor the birds sing it was 8 foggy day, but not cold.
 The most curious thing was the little white engel-boy, like you see in pictures, that ahead Of the music brook and led it on and on, away out of the world, where no man ever was, certain. I could sse that boy just as plain as see you. Then the moonlight came, will and ShOna Ina yards, 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 ladies in the lit-up windows, and men that loved 'en, but could never get a nigh 'em, who played on guitars under the trees, and made me that miserable could have cried, because l wanted to love somebody, don't know who, better than the men with the guitars did.
 Then the sun went down, 1t got dark the wind moaned and wept like lost child for it's dead mother, and I could a-got up then and there and preached better sermon than any ever listened to. There wasn't thing in the world left to live for, not a 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. I couldn't understand it. l hung my head and pulled out my handkerchief, and blowed my nose loud to keep me from cryin'. My eyes is weak anyway; I didn't want anybody to be a-gazin at me asniylin', and it's nobodys business what do with my nose. It's mine. But some several glared at me mad as blazes. Then all of a sudden, old Rubin changed his tune. He ripped out and he rared, he tipped and he tared, he pranced and he charged like the grand entry at circus. Feared to me that all the gas ill the house was turned on at once, things got so bright, aud htlt up my head ready to look any man in the face, and not afraid of nothin. It was circus, and Q brass band and big ball all goin' on at the same time He lit into them keys like thousand of brick; he gave 'en no rest day or night he set every Twin joint in e go1n'. aad not ben' able to stand it no longer jumped, sprang onto my seat and just hol- iered
 Go it, Rube P
 Every blamed man, woman and child in the house rig on me and shouted, Put hlm out Put him out!"
 'tPut your great -grandmother's grizzly gray ereenish cat into the middle of next month '" says. Tech me if you dare paid my money and you jest come near me "
 With that some several policemen run up, and had to simmer down. But I could aft any fool that laid hands on me- for was bound to hear Ruby out or die.
 He had changed his tune again. He hop light ladies and tip-toed fine from end to end of the key board. He played soft and low and solemn heard the church bells over the
 
 one; I saw the stars rise The great organ of eternity began to play from the worlds end and all the angels went to prayers. Then the music changed to water, full Of feeling that couldn't be thought, and began 10 drop-drip, drop drip, drop, clear and sweet, ike tears of joy falling into lake of glory. It was swester than that. It was as sweet as a sweetheart sweetened with white sugar mkt with powdered silver and seed diamonds. It WAS too sweet. I tell you the audience cheered. Rubin he kinder bowed, like he wanted to say, ''Much obIeeeed, but r rather you wouldn't interrup' me-"
 He stopt moment or two to ketch breath. Then he got mad. He ran his fingers through his hair, he showed up his sleeve, he opened his coat tails a leetle further, he drug up his stool, he leaned over, and, sir, he just went for that old pianner He slapt her face, he boxed her jaws he pulled her nose, he p nch- ed her ears, and he scratched her cheeks un- til she fairly yelled. He knocked her down and he stampt on her shameful. She below ed, she bleated like calf, she howled like hound, she squealed like pig, she shrieked like rat, and then he wouldn't let her up. He ran a quarter stretch down the low grounds of the base, till he got clean in the bowels of the earth and you heard thunder galloping after thunder, through the hollows and caves of perdition and then he fox-chased his right hand with his left till he got way out of the treble into the clouds, war the notes was uu5E Gudu tuo plutS OL CdLuUIlC u66u1o6, duO you couldn't hear nothin' but shadders of 'em. And then he wouldn't let the old pianner go. He for'ard two'd, he crost over first gentle men, he chassade right and left, back to your places, he all hands'd aroun', ladies to the right, promenade all, in and out, here and there, back and forth, up and down, perpetual motion, double twisted and turned and tackled and tangled into forty-eleven thousand double bow knots.
 By inks it was a mixtery. And then he wouldn't let the old pianner go. He fecht up his right wing he fecht up his left wing, he fecht up his center, he feeht up his reserves. He fired by file, he fired by platoons, by company, by regiments, and by brigades. He opened his cannon-seize guns down thar, Napoleons here, twelve pounders yonder- big guns, little guns, middle sized guns, round shot, shells, shrapnels grape, canister, mor- tar, mines and magazines, every Twin battery and bomb a-goin' at the same time. The house trembled, the lights danced, the walls shuk, the floor come up, the ceilin' come down, the sky split, the ground rokt-heavens and earth, creation, sweet potatoes, Moses glory, ten-penny nails, Sampson in 8 'simmon-tree, Hump, Thompson in a roodle- oodle-oodle- oodle-rud- 1Jn IIa r,lJ 511