The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-03-08
LOVES sTRATAGEM,
THE pAnK.EyEp STRANGER AND THE
wRINKLED OLD MAN
By MARLEY GowRy.


forests. and where it could see and flash
back the smile Of the restless, dancing,
moaning sea; and perhaps that was the
reason that it was such busy little vii
lage; for, though it had only one street,
and a church. and o school-house (oh!
and a blacksmith's shop,) it was the
most uneasy littleplace imaginable-and
SO conceited.
In the middle house Of the right-hand
row lived the musician OF the place--a
little wrinkled old man, with q wooden
leg, ratty hair, and a hooked nose, and
face that was always wrinkling up, as
II it were making net TO catch ideas
They called him "the professor" and
the squire's daughter, and the doctors
daughter, and the lawyers wife, and
the two rich old maids that are TO be
found in every village, and six OF the
minister's ''olive-branches," took les.
sons of him. And ON Summer evenings,
when he used to sit playing Herr Wors-
tanadriim's adagio movement, in G
double-sharp minor all the village used
to gather round his house, and say, soft
ly, one to another;
"What great man is the professor,
and what wise, and enlightened, and
noble, and art-loving people are we
Blundernarians!''
He was very absent man, this pro-.
fessor; for his brain was so full of crotch
cts and quavers that he couldn't tell
cup of coffee from sheet of music, and
wore his wooden leg upside down half
the time; and whenever his daughter
Martha (who was sort Of Maine fairy,
and kept his house in order, and his
queer old ideas Strengthened out, } would
say, "Father, the squirrels daughter, or
the doctors daughter, is waiting for
YOU" off went the professor like shot
his faded dressing-gown streaming in
the wind, his ratty locks uncovered, and
his sound foot without shoe or stocking,
hopping through the streets like mad;
and then all the Blundernarians would
raise their hands and say once more, one
TO another:
"Oh, what great man is the profess
sort'
But, after awhile there found his way
to the village young man, with dark,
thoughtful eyes, and long, curling hair,
who unpacked his trunks and set up q
huge sign, announcing that he was
professor also. And all the neighbors.
MS they went by, used to sniff at it and
say:
II guess he can't play Herr Worstan-
adrum's pieces!' And there was a
greater crowd round the old professors
house than ever.
The young man, however, didn't seem
to take it much to heart; but one even
ing, when his neighbor had finished the
adagio movement in G double-sharp
minor, he sat down to his piano; and all
the Blundernarians laughed--for tho
first few notes were not bit like Herr
Woistanadrun's.
He heard the laugh, but he played on;
and, presently, there came through tho
window sounds like the rustling of pines
and murmur of water, and the songs Of
birds, and shouts of children, and tink-
ling of bells; and all the Blundernarians
who didn't carry handkerchiefs fell to
wiphg their eyes on their aprons and
jacket sleeves; and bang went the win
dow Of the professor, who had been lis
tening. And all that night he sulked in
his easy-chair, and wouldn't speak
word to his daughter Martha when she
urged him to go to bed.
After that, the squire's daughter found
out what handsome eyes the young pro-
fessor had, and told the doctors daugh-
ter; and then all the Blundernarians dis
covered that the old professor was out
of date, and shabby, and crusty, and
queer, and goose instead of a swan;
and in little while his pupils had all
dropped of. And the crowd was around
the young mans window, who had al
ways something new to play; and the
old man sat scoEling in his easy-chair,
or played Herr Worstanadrum with the
loud pedal, and half suffocated Martha
and himself, because he wouldn't have
the windows opened,
Poor little Martha went around with
her blue eyes swimming in tears, aud
her rosy lips quivering all the time and
whenever she passed the young mans
window, she used to dart such savage
glances at it as, if they had been pistol
balls, would certainly have made an end
OF him-as he always happened to be
there when she went by.
So matters went on, till one evening,
when Martha was almost as sulky as her
father-because that day she had lost
one of her two handkerchiels in her in
dignation Mt the professors presumng
to bow TO her, the door opened, and the
dark-cyed stranger came quietly in.
holding her handkerchiefs as flag Of
truce.
Martha Redeemed. and her father was
so tart and crusty that she was fright
ened; but the young man would not 90
till he had heard Herr Worstanadrum'
adagio-w hereupon the old professor,
who was flushed and angry, played it,
terribly out Of time, made false notes,
and at last got his poor old hands so en-
tangled that he gave terrible bang and
came away, vowing that the piano was
entirely out of tune.
There was quite a silence. and then
the stranger rose TO 60; but the surly old
man fancied that he was frightened at
Herr Wortanadrum, and would not hear
Of his stirring till he played likewise.
With a deep sigh, the young man
seated himself at the instrument. The
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