Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-03-27

PIC Wcli' les, IL Is HTeuJ luUU, my
friend, with good laws, and good gov
ernment, and although l am rs say
attached to it, yet IL is not my own
country, my dear Fatherland, my Ger
many. All! there the musician is at
home, there is the land of harmony! l
grant you that of late years much has
been done here in that direction, but
it all is so new, so unaccustomed. In
Germany are the memories of great
composers, whose living forms we do
not remember, but their works are left
us, and we are conscious that they are
our countrymen. l think of them,
Mozart, Handel, Mcndclssohn-but why
name them, you will recall them all,
and you know, too, the impetus the
memory of such mon give to the art of
which they were the apostles
The old man paused, and Paul, who
was burning with patriotic anxiety to
defend the musical honor of his native
land, forcbore to interrupt with his
voice the reverie into which the old or
ganist seemed TO have fallen, and wait
ed patiently for him to continue. In
few moments he resumed:
al need not tell you the story of my
early life, for it would have little inter
est for YOU 1t was quite unevcntiul
| and filled with hard work. When /
was about twenty-five an event oc-
Cured; rendering of Handels Mes
| siah was to be given in the town where
lived. and the organ was intrusted to
me. The soprano came from neigh
boring town, and perhaps you will be
incredulous when tell you that never
before nor since have | listened to
voice equal to hers; dear and sweet and
powerful, and full of the sympathetic
| quality which is so seldom an attribute
of the soprano voice. When she first
sang | was startled, but when as the
oratorio progressed and it came to her
| ut last TO voice the greatest song man
ever wrote, held my breath to listen.
81 know that my Redeemer liveth"-
Oh! | knew it then; never before had
the blessed knowledge been so revealed
to me. My fingers trembled on the
keyboard, and my heart was full of
praise and thanksgiving. Later, when
the Hullelujah chorus came it was the
halleluiah of my own heart to which
my fingers gave melody, and never was
the dear old organ more obedient to
their touch, or the voices it sustained
more in harmony with its guiding
tones.
when it was all over, the soprano,
Thekla her name was, came to me and
said: "How grandly the organ sound
ed in the Halleluiah; it spoke to me-"
remember so well how she looked; her
sweet eyes shining with pleasure, and
her face gloriiied with the genius of
song. That was the beginning of our
acquaintance. you can imagine how it
ended.n
"She was your wife?" said Paul,
gently.
Yes" said the old man, "she was
my wife, my darling, my angel wife,"
Paul silently pressed the old organ
lists hand and waited.
Eyes, within year we were married,
and Thekla sang in the church where |
was organist All, me, how happy we
We're! She was not strong, and after
few years her health failed so rapidly
that could not blind myself to the
agonizing truth that she must leave me.
She was obliged to give up her church
singing and it broke my heart to listen
to n voice. not hers, singing to my ac-
compartment. And yet we were happy,
| she in my love, | in hers. She was to
leave me, we both knew that, butit was
only going before, she is to wait for
me to come to her, | to wait to 90 to
her All! dear Paul, the love that is
eternal recognizes no separat on; when
the agony of the short parting is ac.
complished the Joy of the reunion is in
prospect.
ut was some months before she be-
came so very ill that we knew her
departure could not long be delayed
at was late winter and she was anx-
ious to live until the Easter bells made
said, 4 should like to hear you play
the Halleluiah once more, and if God
will be SO good to me, pray Him to
grant me strength to go to church on
Easter day and sing the song love.
And we prayed to God that He would
grant us this wish.''
1.-The spring was late, and when
Holy Week came the weather was still
cold and cheerless, and we were afraid.
On Good Friday the sun shown warmly
and Saturday was lovely spring day,
the sky blue and the air balmy. There
was to be choir rehearsal at five
o'clock, and rs it came near that hour
the sky became cloudy, and although
the air was still warm, there seemed to
be rain in prospect Thekla said to me
Dear love, the church is near, it is
warm to-day, perhaps it may not be SC
tomorrow; to-day is ours, let me 90
with you to the rehearsal. If l wait
until tomorrow it may be too late
tried to dissuade her, yet in my heart
wished to see her in the old place once
more, and SO, warmly wrapped, she
went with me to the church. She
seemed so bright and happy that my
foolish heart began to hope, although
knew that hope to be sweet delusion.
"Reaching the choir gallery Thekla
took her old place, the soprano who
had supplied it forcing her to do so,
with many eXclamations of delight.
How happy Twas; the organ responded
to my will rs it had never done before,
and the voices it sustained were full OF
melody. l looked at Thekla whose
face was radiant. AT last when the
time came / tried to prevail on her not
to sing, but in her pretty coaxing way
she insisted, saying she had longed for
it SO, and | must not deny her.
struck the first two chords of the mel
ody, and her voice rose clear and sweet
. as that of an angel: i know that my
Redeemer livcth' Those who listened
We're startled at the unearthly lowell
ness of her tones, and the tears which
glistened in their eyes We're tribute to
her power. AT last it was over, and
Thekla sank back exhausted but with q
glory in her face which blinded me.
rose from the organ to go to her, but
she motioned me not to do so. The re,
hearsal was over and the singers de,
parted, leaving with Thekla many kind
words. When they Were all gone she
said to me: Now, Ernest, play the
Hallelujah for me- | obeyed, and the
grandeur of the melody reverberated
through the church; when had fin
ished, turned to my wife and found
she was leaning back, it seemed to me
unconscious. / FASTENED TO her ano
found that she had tainted. She re-