The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-06-03

to their origin. endeavored to opor
the front; but it resisted my efforts;
and as did not wish to alarm the house.
hold, | drew the piano forward from the
wal, gave it parting shake, and once
more curled myself up in the bed
clothes, not without fervent prayer
that the player might transfer his enter
tainment t. Il more appreciatiye au-
dience.
All, however, was unavaiIing; for he
shortly began again as brisk as ever; so
bowling to the inevitable, endeavored
to convert the disturbing performance
into wellintentioned lullaby As |
thus lay in half-sleeping half-waking
state, no longer interested in the cause
| o.. the phenomenon, | WIS conscious OF "a
curious result. The strains seemed to
adapt themselves to Snatches - mere
snatches, of familiar airs, curiously
blended and interviewer. As soon as an
interval occurred that reminded me of
anoth r jingle, it was Immediately taken
up only to give place to another. The
range Of the treble seemed to be con
fined to the third below the faulty note
and the fourth above, which of course
accounted for the plaintiye character OF
the music. cannot say how long this
curious phase lasted have, however,
hazy consciousness Of dropping off to
sleep, iullcd by these unaccouD.lbla
note.ramblinQs.
I'm the morning learned that none OF
the inmates had heard anything unusual
during the night. Being, however, de-
termined to solve the puzzle, ! lost no
time in returning to the room armed
with Il screw-driver. When ! had laid
bare the front of the instrument | OBJ
served that the wires Of the note adjacent
to the faulty one had snapped, and its
perpendicular lever had cen disjointed
from the hammer and fallen forward on
the strings, thus forming an opening be
tween the back and front, and estab-
fishing communication between the
wires and the lower or horizontal lever.
to which the worries are attached. Sail
no kew 70 Ike riddle presented itself. |
tncn proceeded to remove the levers one
by t, and had partially accomplished
the task when the Cordan knot of the
III ',tery was severed in rather prosaic
manner pushed the instrument back
to its original position, when out scamp
cred not one mouse but two, by the
sit in the back which serves for u
handle. They ran along the wainscot-
ing, which happened to be on the same
level, and disappeared in press in the
corner of the room. 1t was plain that
my mystic performer had resolved him.
SELF into the commonplace of couple of
mice, whose performances had been
prolonged by the cutting off of their re-
treat Still | comlorted myself with
the thought that if kept my own coun.
sci there was material enough to prove
ne frst-cla.s Spir,ua istic medium!
An examination Of their mOdUs Opc
ra"d explained in very simple manner
the awe-inspiring phenomena of tho
previous night. MoWc No. J. on pop
pi = through the u ching in the per
pcndicuIar levers, climbed the broker
one that lay handy purched upon tho
end in contact with lhe wires, and, il
his efforts to ascend farther, or in the
mere pleasure of the sound, produced
the melody before referred to. Mouse
No. = meanwhile condemned to play
second fiddle, amused himself by creep
ing through between the snapped wires
and scampering up and down inside
where there WAS barely room for him tC
pass, and thu contributing the rumbling
bass and the occasional sharp runs on
the higher notes. 4 cross.bar iOl
strengthening the foot gave him foot
hold and vcstigcs of his fur on the
larger wires rendered the explanation
more than applicability, The motion o
sounds must have been occa-ionrd By
their altering on the extreme ends o
: the horizontal levers, the majority o
, which found to- be- somewhat worn anC
loose in their sockets The contingent
, phenomena | believe to have been
I the unconscious prumptings Of my own
mind, or of what may he termed my
musical Imagination
On rccountiug the adventure at the
break fast table | discovered that the
mysterious sounds had been heard by
another member Of the family on a
quiet Sabbath afternoon some weeks
previous, She, however had been de-
tered from mentioning the ,rCum-
stance from fear OF the ridiCule she
supposed would have followed her re
cital ] may me ton that the press in
the room contained goodly store of
things seductive " the stomachs of
mice in general. That they disrcgardcd
the tempting viands and bctook them.
selves to the unpr ductivc waste Of the
interior of piano, must help 10 prove
that the love of music often ascribed ia
this little quadrupcd i, n fact of natura
history re ting ON u more solid foun Il
ton than exceptional ccccntricity.
Though at first sight the foregoing
tale - the truth of which is vOuchet
for by our contributor may appe il
somewhat weird, we gladly place il
before our readers as offering additional
testimony to the fact that unaccount
able sounds" are capable of being relc-
gated to natural causes. A little
trouble bestowed upon their careful
investigation would. as our writer says,
"saye many one an iniinity of dis.
composing thoughts"