Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-06-10
LOFE'S STRATAGEM.
-Hdrper'S Magazine.

1t was little village called Blunder
not III Fairy-land but in Maine land
Just out of the shadow of the solemn for
ests, 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 village, for, although it
had only one street and church and a
Bchoolhouse ooh and a blacksmith
shop, it was the most uneasy little place
fmaginable-and so conceited.
In the middle house of the right-hand
row lived the musician of the place-a
little wrinkled old man, with a wooden
leg, ratty hair and hooked nose, and a
face that was always wrinkling up, as if
it were making a 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
"olIye branches, took lessons of him.
And on summer evenings, when he
used to sit playing Herr Wors5anadrum's
adagio movement in G double sharp
minor, all the village used to gather
round his house, and say, softly, one to
another:
What great man is the professor,
and what wise and enlightened and
noble and art loving people are we Blum
dernarians -
He was very absent man, this pro-
lessor; for his brain was so full of
crotchets and quavers that he couldn't
tell cup Of coffee from a sheet Of mn
sic and wore his wooden leg u,ssi..s
down half the time; and whenever lis
daughter Martha (who was a sort of
Maine fairy, and kept his housein order.
and his queer oldideas Strengthened out)
would say, Father, the squire's daugh
ter, or the doctors daughter, is waiting
for you, of went the professor like
shot-his faded dressing-gown stream
ing in the wind, his ratty locks uncov-
cred, and his sound foot, without shoe
or stocking, hopping through the streets
Ike mad; and then all the BIunder-
narians would raise their hands and say
once more, one to another:
"Oh, what great man is the pro-
lessor p
But, after a while, there found his
way to the village a young man, with
dark, thoughtful eyes, and long, curling
hair, who Unpacked his trunks and set
up huge sign, announcing that he was
aprofessor also. And all the neighbors,
as they went by, used to sniff at it and
say:
d" guess he can't play Herr Worst
anadrum's pieces p' 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 doubie-sharp
minor, he sat down to his piano; and
all the Blundernarians laughed-for the
first few notes were not bit like Herr
Worstanadrum's
He heard the laugh, but he played
on; and, presently, there came through
the window sounds like the rustling OF
pines and the murmur of water, and the
songs of birds, and shouts of children,
and tinkling of bells and all the Blum
dernarians who didn't carry handker-
chiefs fell to wiping their eyes on their
aprons end jacket-sleeyes and bang !
rent the window of the professor, who
liza been listening. Ind all that night
he sulked in his easy-chair, and
wouldn't speak word to his daughter
Ma' tha when she urged him to go to
1 J.
liter that, the squire's daughter
found out WHIT handsome eyes the
worm professor had, and told the doc
tors daughter and then all the Blum
dernarians discovered chat the old pro-
faaaor was out Of date, and shabby, and
crasty, and queer, and goose instead