The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-05-07

iIatCTeSl edCu IL III otdSh "Auh WaAoS
neck tiles, were also of the company, the
one armed with an immense bronze-plate
the other fenced in by a species of kettle.
These grave p~ersonages, seated around
the candelabra, some with inflated cheeks,
others with drum-sticks raised in the air
all with serious faces. impressed me as SO
g~rotesque that I stood transfixed, ike one
in a dream. Selsam, without arising,
gravely assigned me a chair, and M. the
Conservation of the Museum continued his
explanations.
'tThis, gentlemen, "said he, sis the famous
buscatibia of the Swiss; its power Of sound
is tremendous; it can prolong an echo
it resounds above the breaking of the bill.
lows. If M. the Counselor Theodore
wishes to try it, / doubt not he can draw 7
from it magnificent sounds"
He handed me the pipes, with an air oil
%solemnity, and then addressing himself to
NJ. Kasper Marbach:
"Your drum, sir, is the most admirable
of its kind; it is the kardbO of the Egyp-
tians and Abyssinians. The jugglers have
recourse to it to make serpents and baya-
deres Dance"
"And those?" inquired Marbach, waving
alternately to his right and left land.
"Fine!-all fine! You can not fail to
succeed"
And as for NJ. the Dean, he has
but to give a blow from time to
on his plate, the famous tam tam,
the lugubrious sounds Of which re,
semble the knel of the great bell
of our cathedral. The effect, under any
circumstances, would be grand, but in the
silence of a night it will be superb"
"Do you understand everything, gentle
men?"
"Perfectly."
"Very well, we can CO."
"One moment" said the Doctor. SIT will
be necessary to advise Theodore of our de-
termination" Then addressing himself to
me:
"My lear friend, the case of your
worthy aunt demanded a powerful
remedy. After giving the matter care
full deliberation, a brilliant idea en-
lightened me. What is her trouble:
f hern00s the abase Of Music. fese Good:
What action does sue a case demand?
The most radical is to combine in the same
treatment the principal of Hippocrates-
COntraria contrariis curuntur-and that of
our immortal Hahnemann-Stmiid SinsiLi-
bus curantur. What is there more unlike
the insipid and sentimental music of our
opera than the wild, fantastic music of the
Hebrews, the Caribs and the Abyssinians?
Nothing. So l borrow their Instruments
execute an air of the H%ottentots in the
presence of your respected aunt, and the
principle cOntrariG cOntIariis is satisfied.
On the other hand, what more closely re-
sembles music han music? Nothing.
Hence the principle sinailia sinailibus is also
satisfied.
The idea appeared to me sublime. "Sel-
SAM" / exclaimed, 'you are q geniusI
Hippocrates has established the thesis and
Hahnemann the antithesis of medicine; but
you have just created the synthesis. 1t is
q wonderful discoveryw
Eyes, I am well aware of that" said he;
Shut allow me to finish. I laid the matter
before M. the Conservation of the Museum
of Travels, who not only consented to lend
me the TAM tam, the busca-tibia, the kardbo
nf his n0lIacti0n- huf kin6lv volunteered
his cooperation by offering to play the
fife himself, which completes our harmonic
Improvisation in a most happy mannerW
1 Bowed profoundly to M. the Conservation
in recognition of my deep gratitude. He
appeared touched, and said:
"M. the Counselor, I am happy to he of
service to you, as well as to Lady Annah
Wunderlich, whose numerous virtues are
obscured by this most unhappy exaggera-
tion of musical enjoyments and abuse of
in bringing her back to the primitive and
simple tastes of our forefathers?"
"Why not?" I cried.
proceed, gentlei1en," said Selsam;
ssproceed."
We all descended the main staircase.
The clock struck eleven. The night was
dark; not a star shone in the sky. A rising
wind-storm caused the weathercock to
creak and the panes OF glass in the street.
lamps to rattle. We glided along within
l Uu6 SuduOW VI UnO j. n CdCh
one concealing his instrument under his
! coat. Arriving at my aunt's door, I noise
lessly introduced the key into the lock,
and, Selsam having lighted a taper, we
entered the vestibule in silence. There
bedroom, and with his instrument in
readiness, awaited the signal. All was ac-
complished so far with so little noise that
nothing had stirred about the house. Sell
sam gently opened the door, leaving it
/ ior. fbar, o1IohtIxy r.oicfnr hfc uniaa coiI Z.
"Begin!n
1 breathed into my bagpipes-the tam
tam, the fife, the EdrdbO, all resounded
simultaneously. Impossible to describe
the effect of this wild music. 1t is a Won
der that the roof of the vestibule did not
fall through. We heard a cry; but, far
from needing it, we seemed to be melted by
a sort of frenzy; the k~ettle-drum, the tam
tam, redoubled their noise with such effect
that I could not even hear the sound of my
pipes, whose din would put thunder itself
to silence; but the tdn-tdm was louder yet
its long, lugubrious vibrations awakened
in us a feeling of indescribable terror, such
as one might experience on the eve of q
feast of the cannibals, at which he ex,
pected to figure as a roast; our hair stood
on end-the trumpet of the last judgment
sounding the resurrection could not pro-
luce a more tragic effect. Twenty times
Selsam calledsto us to stop. We were deaf
a sort of diabolical frenzy had taken pos.
1 SVSSloh III uSs AcSi oaS "
breath, and unable longer to stand, Sc
fatigued were We, the horrible tumul
ceased of itself! Then Selsam, raising hi.
finger, whispered:
"Silence! Listen!n
But our ~tingling ears could not detec
the least ound. After a moment, the doc
tor, slightly anxious, pushed open the doc
and entered the chamber to observe the eff
feet of his remedy. We impatiently
awaited his return. His ~protracted alb
sence made me uneasy, and was about t.
investigate the cause of it when he re
appeared, as pale as a ghost. He looked a
US strangely.
"Gentlemen," he said, tive will depart p
'But what is the result of the expert
!, ment, Selsam!"
laid my hand on his arm; he turne'
away abruptly, and replied:
"WelI' (hesitatingly) .she is dead!"
Dead" L cried, recoiling.
"Yes; the electrical commotion was to-
violent; it has destroyed the ascarides, but
unfortunately, it has also destroyed tn
. central molecule. However,, this prove
nothing against my discovery; quite tn
contrary. Your aunt died cured"
And he walked out.
, We followed him, pale with terror. Ono
in the street we dispersed to the right, t
the left, without exchanging a word; tn
denouement of our adventure had terrific
us.
On the morrow the whole city learne
that Lady Anna Wunderlich had died sud
e denly. The %neighbors and ervants pre-
tended to have heard strange, unusual
? terrible noises, but as there happened t
9 have been a violent storm that night, tn
police did not investigate the matter
Moreover, the physician called in to ascer
tain the cause of death, declared that Lad
D Annah Wunderlich had died by a stroke
r apoplexy while playing the final page {
THE Great Darius" She was found seate
e in an armchair before the piano.-Tran'
e lated from the French for the San Francis,