Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-10-31
Mr.. HASBEEN SINGS.

A Hint for Old Gentlemen Whose Homes
Are Freqented by Church Choirs.
When old Mr.. Hasbeen got home
from the lodge meeting, the choir was
still rehearsing in the front parlor, and
with his usual cordiality the genial
old gentleman went in and proceeded
to make himself agreeable.
'.You young folks do first-rate,' he
began, as soon as a lull in the concord
of sweet sounds gave him an oppor-
tunity; .'but, after all, the singing we
used to have in the good old times had
more genuine music in it, and the old
man smiled benignly on the little COM
pany, while the eldest daughter went
out and tried to coax her mother to
''come in and call father off. y
"Why, they used to take as much
pains to teach their children to sing as
they did to teach them to read. Oh,
yes; by note, too; yes, sir; by Do, Re,
Me, Fa, Sol. Many's the time I've
driven five miles through the drifts to
singing-school. And such voices as
we used to develop in those times you
don't often hear nowadays. [ used to
sing bass, and they did say [ could get
my voice down nearer my boots than
any fellow in the section.
Cant you sing US a solo now, Mr..
Hasbeen?' queried one of the COM
pany.'' Fa n -
s"Well, Idon't know; aguess I've got
about the same voicecI was always en-,
doWed with, but | pa afraid car'tquite
remember any pieces all through. But
then, | don't suppose you want any
thing very heavy; Til just sing you a
little ballad called The Bride of Blk
bysburg.' Did any of you ever hear
itP'' t
As nobody had, the old man seated
himself at the organ, just as his daugh-,
ter came back and almost tainted away
on the sofa. And then the old man
began, using! one chord with no varia-
ton: go
Oh once in town called Bixbysburg,
Away down in the far Southeast
There lived man with daughter fair,
beautiful lass with golden hair,
Who was sweet as sugar, at least.
CHORUS.
Oh, alas! for the maid of Bixbysburg,
And, alas, fer the luckless swain,
For the pa-ri-ent stern
Was quick to discern,
That their hearts he must restrain.
The ballad up to the sixtieth stanza
was mainly descriptive, at which point
81.
The gal she promised her lover then
That to him she would be true
And for no other man would she care fig
Not cen if he came with horse and gig,
And raiment of gorgeous hue.
The door was heard to open softly at
intervals, but the old man sang on;
and although his voice grew hoarse
and wheezy, he was otherwise as fresh
as when the contest was begun. He
conscientiously rendered the chorus in
connection with each stanza, and the
night rolled slowly along. 1t was with
infinite pathos that Mr.. Hasbeen gave
the sad denoument, when with stanza-
1896
They laid the pair to rest at last
In the Bixbysburg burying ground,
But the pa-r-ent never re-len-ti-ed,
MOI e en- Wnen MS cnlld was colo ana DEAD
Down under grassy mound.
There, that's the kind of ballads we
used to sing when Twas young" said
old Mr.. Hasbeen, as he mopped his face
and whirled around on the music stool,
prepared to acknowledge any amount
of applause; but except for the family
cat asleep by the fender, the room was
deserted, the fire was out, and the clock
on the mantel-piece struck two.-C. N.
Hood, tn Puck.