The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-06-23
A MYSTERIOUS PIANIST.

A MYSTERIOUS PIANIST.
About year ago I observed in the
columns of the Journal an article in ex
planation of certain aural phenomena
which are frequently ascribed to a super
natural agency. Many similar events
must frequently occur which are not re-
corded, and whose cases, owing to SUI
perstitiOn or fear, remain undiscovered.
An investigation of all such seeming
mysteries at the time and in the place
where they occur, might save many a
can inhnity of discOmpOsing thoughts,
which not seldom end in the reception
of most absurd belief If the veracitv
of the following narrative be questioned,
names and places can afford no proof l
can therefore only assure the reader that
the narrative is true to the minutest
particular, and was jotted down while
the circumstances were fresh in my
memory.
On the last day of 1879 I left home to
pay my annual visit to my widowed
mother and deliver my New Year greet
ings in person, On my arrival l found a
number of old friends assembled to ex-
change good wishes and usher In the
dawn of the new year. As the COM
pany was dispensing some one suggested
a song; and, as [ was credited with some
ability in that direction, was at once
appealed to. / consented, and we ad-
jOurned TO another room, where nv sis
ter's piano had stood untouched since
her lamented death, which had happened
two years before. 1t was an old instru
ment, of six and a half octaves, Of the
cottage shape, with nothing remarkable
about it save that solid substantial look
which is so foreign to many articles of
modern furniture I sat down and rat
tied off few rollicking dities suited to
the occasion, winding up with the ever
new "Auld Lang Syne as our guests
departed. noticed while playing that
the instrument was much out of tune,
and that several OF the levers were dis
ordered or displaced | specially noticed
that one wire of the C in the fifth
octave was much fatter than the other.
which gave the note a peculiar and
easily recognizable sound.
As was to sleep in the apartment,
sat down by the fire to smoke a pipe and
muse on the changes time had wrought
on the little world of my boyhood. The
keyboard of the instrument glistening
in the freight insensibIy led my
thoughts to that vanished hand that
had SO often nimbly and skilfullY
pressed it, Only two short wears ago
she had sat there singing my favorite
airs with the rich, mellow voice that
was hers alone. As wave after wave of
memory surged over my heart, became
so abstractet that / fanCied | heard the
ooIov.ao. oF bor hoo,,t,f,,I IN. a.,
distant echo in Dire IN ! remembered
too, that the last song 1 heard her sing
was that touching me 'Ody welded to
the words of Burns weird song, Open
the Door to Me, Obi" With my minds
ear heard the pathetic wall with which
the melody concludes, and was Just on
the point of awaking from my day
dream, when the plano at my side slowly
and distinctly repeated the last simple
bar of the music, with the faulty for
the Keynote. | was not startled; the
mysterious accompaniment was so in
unison with my reverie that it was some
minutes. before / realized what had oc-
Cured. My first idea was that, by long
disuse, some of the hammers had become
relaxed and had fallen forward on the
strings But on trying the notes |
found they responded readily to the
touch. For some time I tried to solve
the enigma; but at length coming to the
conclusion that | had been duped by my
own ears, | shut down the keyboard
and. jumped into bed, where I was soon
unconscious of mortal and spirit al Ike.
had slumbered for some time, when
! suddenly awoke with that stinglng
Rsation over the whole body which,
with me, always betokens nervous ex-
citenient and 10! the piano was sound
ing. Il sat bolt upright; tried to shake
of the halIucination. and listened again.
There was no denying the fact Some
invisible mower was touching both the
bass and treble notes. / struggled
against a queer feeling that began to
creep over me, and tried to reason.
Judging from a former experience. /
thoHeht 1t might be some animal traveTs-
ing the wires; Int then ] reflected that
that was impossible in their perpendicu-
lar position; neither could any animal
agitate both treble and bass at the same
time, as my ear informed me was be',ig
done. Mustering courage, jumped out
of bed, and approached quietly, when
the performance. suddenly ceased. L
opened the keyboard and the top lid,
peered into every nook and Granny, eX-
amined the floor and wall; but could
discover nothing, i stirred-up the fire,
and sat down with my face toward the
instruments IN this positionI distinctly
saw several of the keys move with a
gentle undulating motion; but no sound
followed While I sat, this was repeated
more than once, and the popularity was,
that when the keys moved there was no
sound, and when the sounds were pro-
duced there was no pereeptible motion
of the KEYS. Ifelt the eerie feeling steal
over me again, but still sat and watched
for a repetition of the music. m
NV patience was all but exhausted,
when all at once themystieal performer
resumed bis playing, at first In an unde-
cided hesitating manner, gradually
merging into plaintive irregular kind OF
notes. of which the faulty O was again
the key. When the sounds first stIuck
the ear, they seemed TO be weak and
faint, butgradually increased in volume.
The treble movement was now and then
accompanied by chromatic movement
on the bass notes, which though not in
accordance with the rules of harmony,
was not UNPLEASANT 10 the ear. AT times
run to the highest possible note;
too, the treble made rapid
then after q pause, the irregular notes