Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-05-28
A RrsrIc EIEW OF RuBMsTEN.

it hadn't been he'd q tore the entire in
sides clean out, and scattered 'em to the
four winds Of heaven.
Played wellP You bet he did; but
don't interrupt me. When he first sit
down, he peared 10 keer mighty little
bout playin', and wisht he hadn't come.
He tweedle-leed'ed little on the treble,
and twoodle-oodled some on the base
inst foolin' and boxin' the things jaws
for bein' in his way. And l says to a
man settin' next to me, says 1 "What
sort of fool playin' is thatPn And he
says, Heishi" But presently his
hands commenced chasin' one another
up and down the keys like a parcel of
rats scamperin' through a garret very
swift Parts of it was sweet, though,
and reminded me of a sugar squirrel
turnin' the wheel of candy cage.
" Now," l says to my neighbor, "he's
shown off He thinks he's a-doin' of
it, but he amt 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
impatient.
| was just about to git up and go
home, bein' tired Of that fOolishness,
when l heard q little bird waking up
away off in the woods, and call sleepy
like to his mate, and 1 looked up and
see that Ruby was beginning to take
some interest 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 walked up in the orchard,
then some more in the trees near the
house, and all begun singin' together
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
dav; the sun fairly blazed, the birds
sung like they'd split their little throats
all the leaves was moyin', and flashin'
diamonds of dew, and the whole wide
world was bright and happy as a king.
Seemed to me like there was a good
breakfast in every house in the land, and
not o sick child or woman anywhere.
II was a fine mOrnin'.
And ! 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; it began
to thicken up, and kind of gray mist
came over things; got low-spirited di-
rectly. Then a silver rain begun to fall.
/ could see the drops touch the ground :;
some flashed up like long pearl ear
rings, and the rest rolled away like
round rubies. 1t was pretty, but mel
ancholy. Then the pearls gathered
themselves into long strands and neck
laces, and then they melted into thin
Ill gNr hot
gravels, and then the streams Joined
each other at the bottom of the hill, 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. | could smell the flowers in
the meadow. But the sun didn't shine,
nor the birds sing it was foggy 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
led 1t on and on, away out of the world,
where no man ever was, certain.
could see that boy just as plain as I see
you. Then the moonlight came, with
out any sunset, and shone on the grave
yards, where some few ghosts lifted their
hands and went oyer the wall, and be-
tween the black, sharp-top trees splen-
did marble houses rose up, with fine
ladies in the lit-up windows, and men
that loved 'em, but could never get
a-nigh 'em, who played on guitars un-
der the trees, and made me that miser-
able | could have cried, because |
wanted to love somebody, l don't know
who, better than the men with the gui-
taTs did
Then the sun went down, il got dark,
the wind moaned and wept like lost
child for its dead mother, and / could
= got up then and there and preached a
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. II was happier to be miserable
than to be happy without being miser-
able. / couldn't it. l hung
my head and pulled out my handker-
chief, and blowed my nose loud to keep
from cryin'. My eyes is weak, anyway T.;
/ didn't want any body to be a-glarin'
at me a-sniylm', and it's no bOdy's
business what do with my nose. It's
mine. But some several glared at me
mad as blazes Then, all of sudden,
old Rubin changed his tune lie ripped
out and he rared, he tipped and he
tared, he pranced and he charged like
the grand entry at a circus. 'Pearcd
TO ne 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'. IL was circus and a brass
band, and big ball all goin' on at the
same time. He lit into them keys like
thousand OF brick he gave 'em no
rest day or night; he set every livin'
joint in me a-goin', and not bein' able
10 stand IL no longer, jumped, spang
onto my seat, and Jest hollered;
500 il, Rubeln
Every blamed man, woman and child
in the house riz on me and shouted,
" Put him out! put him outln
"Put your great-grandmother's grizz-
lygray greenish cat into the middle OF
next month";" | says. "Tech me Il
you darel paid my money and you
Jest come a-nigh mel
With that some several policemen run
up, and had 10 simmer down. But
could aft any fool that laid hands OF
me, was bound to hear Ruby out Of
die,
He had changed his tune again. liz
hOp-light ladies and tip-tOed fine from
end 10 end of the keyboard. Heplayet
soft and low and solemn. | heard tn
church bells over the hills. The candle
of heaven was lit, one by onei saw tn
stars rise The great organ of eternit
began TO play from the worlds end {,
the worlds end, and all the angels wen