The Red Cloud chief., 1883-05-11

~
l sought
And .hisl~s % he -eri. foe -=ni ~
\ Thought
II va. probably . memory Of hi. hoy
hood time which prompted Dryden
when be linked the jingiing lines 20
gether which head this article. for Ger
tainly no man can read them without si
once catching the whole sentiment Of
the couplct.
Because John DRYDEN. the poet and
dramati-,. was buried in Westminster
AbbeY and lives In history. IL i. no, im-
probable tina; Johnny Dryden. the boy.
often whi-tl-d his way through the
lanes of Aldwinckie TO confess. on
reaching his home. hat he had for
gotten one ii the many mo- important
articles his mother had sent him after.
Bows whi,'led in the seventeenth cen
iury Just rs they whistle now. In fac;
whi.,liny has always been and always
will be one Of the prrrogaii,cs II boy
hood. and he whose ability 20 whistle
lives with him to maturity or old age
has always q reserve force with which
to blow aside many Of the aches and ills
If n lifetime.
Where Is the boy who has not hsd a
lear companion whose face was no
more promptly recognized than his
whistle? Every boy has a memory Of
the signal which so often reached his
ears. and his alone. from the chun who.
knowing that il was against rules and
regulation. To be out al doors nj night.
per-isiently ~pucker-d his lips aud blew
temptations terrible To resist and no,
always overcome.
How MANY a boy has lived. who. per
haps able To whistle in but n fashion.
has envicd his more accomplished friend
who could give the calls in two or three
different ways? What a paragon Wa
the boy who could perform the act of
whistling in all known styles!
How We BOYS used to stare wonder
ingly and with admiration as the cham
pion whistlcd with four fingers filling
his mouth. with two fingers. with any
one finger and even with the thumb and
in each instance causing n shrill shrek
loud enough To be heard half n mile
away. Then with what n %patrUniziny
air the champion wonld sink his skill Ia
indulgence in the ordinary lip-whistle
or the almost ~ ommon and very
sOnorous doubled fist-whistle, TO again
Jump with bewildering brilliancy TO that
chef d'9uyre Of sifilcmcnt-the tongue
and-teeth whistle.
1t is surprising how many are the
moods Indicated Enthusiastically by a
boys whistle. There is the whistle in
which the head is held erect, the eyes
look straight ahead. but ut nothing in
particular, the lips show the utmost
...... -
checks prove total Indifference to APP
p%earances and the noise. a strain most
m~onotonous. because il ends in the
wrong place. only TO again take up the
first note and give a repetition to the
erratic finale over and over again,
totally obliviOus to all surroundings.
Then there is the disconnected whistle.
doubtful. often false. and generally ac-
companied by n slow pace. n hanging
head and a general indication Of regret
and unwillingncss to do ANYTHING but
whistle. Again there is the boy, often
grown tn manhood. who does not know
n note from another, yet who insists
on whisiling constantly. in a hopeless
effort to catch a tune which he heard
the band play at the county fair.
ZIG 20 sbtfh tt II abihV W iii 4
measure is wholly unknown and I'M
thought of. Perhaps the man and his
whistle are a bore to n majority of
people, but il is bread and meat TO him.
II is an unconscious sanitary measure,
doing much TO keep lungs and stomach
on good terms with each other.
Where is the boy who has not often
.'whistled aloud To keep his courage
up" while busy in the attic at some
mischief or slyly in the pantry search
ing out the cake box. How many
wives and mothers live and love
their boys whistling because it re-
minds them of the time when they
used to listen for the whistle Of the boy
of long ago who now sits over there i'm
the great armchair with spcctacles on
his nose, legs crossed and the heel and
toe Of the free boot rocking in time 10
the whistling of the young nan who,
having mastered a new operate aria. is
putting on his hat and gloves in the
hallway preparatory To going over to
let his sweetheart know of his latest
accomplishment.
1t is only among boys that whistling
becomes a fine art. and it is often aston
ishing to observe the perfection which
some of the artists attain. a hundred
boys will attend the production of n
new opera, and the next day fifty of
those boys will be heard whist
ling selections from that opera.
each one having chosen the air which
most pleased him. In this way have
the regulations Of song-writers been
made. Fritz Emmett's Lullaby"
William Scanlan's "Peek-a-Boo." and
many of the old-time Foster melodies
are notable examples Of popular songs.
and the first herald Of that popularity
were the boys who whistled the airs
all over the streets of America. Much
Of the success Of "Pinafore," THE
Mascotte." of that oddity The Turkish
PATROL" aud of numerous other compo-
sitions, is directly attributable to the
boy who whistles. Detroit Free Press.