The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1889-01-19
THE PIED PIPER.
BY HARRIET LEWIS BRADLEY.


Der that ever was, l stood in the lower
right hand corner-room of a wonderful
old German house and the bakers
wife-this same lower, right-hand cor.
ner room being now used as a bake
shop-brought out the family photo
graph-album, and opened it upon the
counter. Among the pictures there
was one showing a young man in fan,
ciful dress, with plume in his hat and
fife in his lips.
"That is my husbands cousin, Will
helm," said the bakers wife. "He
was the Piper on the six hundredth an.
niversay. The first day, he wore q
black mantle, and went through the
town piping and all the little children
dressed in gray, to represent rats and
mice, danced after him, down to the
river. And the second day." continued
the bakers wife, "my husbands cousin
Wilhelm wore many-colored dress
and then the little children followed him
out of the town over to the Koppen
mountain. 1t was exactly as it hap
pened in Hamelin SIX hundred years
ago."
"And do you think 1t really hap
pened, then?" 1 asked.
"They say it happened" answered
the bakers wife wisely. "Ot course
there is no one to ask"
In the bake shop were boxes of bon.
bons for sale, each box holding 81,
sugar mice and a diminutive tin fife
and when, later, l wandered through
the streets of Hamelln, 1 noticed thai
every shop-window contained rats anc
mice and merry-looking pipers, made
in porcelain, paper, bread, or chocolate
The marrow by-way, on one corner O
which stands the wonderful old house
is called the "Drumless Street :" for Csc
the bakers wife told me) since that da,
of misfortune, six hundred years ago
when the children danced down thi
by-way to the music of their loveo
piper, neither the sound of drum no
fife nor any other instrument is allowed
within its limits.
The old tradition of the Pied Pipe
has become widely famous through two
well known poems, one by English
the other by German pet.
How much of it is true one can no
exactly say, and, as the bakers wife re
marked, there is no one to ask. Blu
certain 1t is, that something curiou
must have happened once in ''Hamelil
town." tor every traveller who strays to
day through the Drumless Street, ant
looks up at the old house On the cor
ner, can read this inscription
AMMO 1884
On the day of ST. John and St. Paul, on the 2sG
of June, 100 children born in Hamelin were le
away by piper dressed in divers colors, and los
on the Koppen.
Upon an old house in the market
place, called the Wedding house, from
being used formerly for wedding festivi
ties, are these words:
After the birth OF Christ, 1884, 100 children Dor
in Hamelin, were led away by piper and lost 0
the Koppen.
Thus run the inscriptions, printed il
old fashioned German, above the sec
ond- story windows of these two curiou
houses.
Every school child, except the ex
ceptional one, knows the story of tn
"Pied Piper" and that
| "Hamelin towns in Brunswick
| By famous Hanover city,
For the exceptional one, who ha
yet to read these familiar lines, here
the story told IN prose. 1t is story {
too many rats and mice. The paste
could not preach his sermon. Th
teacher could not hear his class. Th
old danes could not enjoy even CON
Portable gossip at their spinning wheel
without being unpleasantly interrupted
There were rats who had a habit {
rambling through the church during tn
service there were mice which dali
danced across the school room floor
there were rats and mice which met tc
gether every evening, and held nois
festivities in the walls, and under tn
floor, and over the ceiling of the spin
ning-room. AT this time of great nee(
when the Burgermelster was worn thl
with perplexity, a tall and handsom
stranger appeared in Hamelin. No on
knew whence he came, but the lit
children loved him at once. because (
the sweet music he used to play
them upon his fife, and the older pee
Pile were never tired of hearing tt
songs he was always ready to sing. Th
stranger came to the Burgermeister an
promised that for a certain sum
money he would free the town of
plague, to which condition the Burge
meister gave joyful assent. When tt