Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-07-11
STORY OF A SONG.

Perhaps the most popular song eve
written was Ever Of Thee"
1t is not untruSto state that no SOM
ever written had such sale, and Ger
) tainly no publisher ever reaped so mucf
profit from a song as did Mr.. Turne
from the publication of "Ever of Thee.
But there is a romance attached to il
which until now has not been written
1t happened in this way: On a colo
day in the January of 1850 the door Of
Mr.. Turner's music shop, in the Poultry
LOndon.2 nervously opened, and q
most unclean, ragged specimen of hu
manity dragged himself in. He looked
as though he hadn't been washed fol
months. His beard was unkempt, and
dirty, and matted. For boots he wore
some folds of filthy rags, and in all he
was a specimen of the most degraded
class of the community.
One of the clerks said to him, 'Y ou
get out of here"
Two ladies who happened to be in the
shop noticed his wOe-begone look, and
were about to offer him some money,
when a Mr.. Ia. clerk in the estab-
lishment), seeing the poor fellow shiv-
ering with cold and apparent hunger,
pitied him and brought him into the
workshop so that he might have a "warm
up" by the stove. A few minutes after,
Mr.. Turner, the proprietor, came in, and,
seeing the ragged individual, asked him
what he wanted, and "whO allowed him
in?"
| II did" said Mr.. T; ''the poor
fellow looked SO cold and miserable |
couldn't send him out in this piercing
wind without giving him warm, and,
besides, he says he has got some bust
ness with you"
business with me?"
''YeS, sir; | have song l should like
you to listen to-"
Turner eyed him from head to foot,
and then laughed outright.
The miserable looking object at the
stove began to grow uneasy, and begged
to be allowed to play the air of his song,
which he then unearthed from his rags
and handed to the music publisher.
Turner looked at it and said:
"Who wrote this!"
81 did, sir" came from the rags.
"You! Well, I'll have it played over,
and if it's any good I'll give you some
thing for it."
81 beg your pardon, sir; I'd prefer to
play it for myself"
oil i'm
up to the piano room when he gets warm
and We'll humor him."
In few minutes the bundle of rags
was seated at the concert piano, and
'Ever of Thee" was played for the first
time by its composer, James Lawson.
His listeners were electrified when
they heard this dilapidated looking
tramp make the piano almost speak. -
His touch was simply marvellous, and his
very soul seemed to be at his finger tips.
When he had finished he tnrned to his
little audience and said:
I'D like to sing it for you, but have
terrible cold. l haven't been in bed
for five nights. l am hungry, sir, and l
feel l could not do it Justice"
Turner was almost dumb with amaze
ment. The air would take; he knew it
this man had history which, perhaps,
might advertise the song. So he deter
termined to cultivate him, and in fiat
tery (as he thought) pressed him to sing
"just one stanZa." Lawson protested,
but finally agreed, and if Turner was
amazed when he heard him play, he was
positively enraptured when that hungry
voice, hungry with love, hungry physi-
cally, poured out in the sweetest of ten
Ors the first stanZa of the song in which
his soul lived.
1t was the story of a lost love, but he
cherished it, and as he sang it was easy
to see that he lived and breathed only
for that love. "Ever of Thee" has new
er been so sung since. But that trial
verse made its success, and TO the eXpe
rienced publisher, Mr.. Turner, it was
decidedly apparent that he had secured
a great song.
Addressing Mr.. T, he said: "Mr.
T, take this man along; get him
bath, shave, some decent clothes; in
fact, fix him up like a gentleman, and
then bring him here and we shall see
about this song"
T ''tOok him along" He took
him to bath, and while the unclean
was being made clean, he bought for
him shirt, pair of shoes, some socks,
collars, cuffs and underwear. Then he
had him shaved Then they hied to a
clothier's, and having removed the rags,
Lawson was quickly clad in fine raiment.
The change was beginning to tell.
Already the tramp seemed to be the
guide and treasurer. He was a splendid
looking fellow, and had quite distihgue
appearance. But the hat was still
there, and a mirror-like chimney-pot
was purchased to complete the make up.
r laughed when all was finished
He was in his working clothes, and this
unfortunate looked like a duke. The
good clothes fitted him, and they suited
him and his appearance much too well
to continue the assumption that Mr..
Lawson was tramp. He was gentle
man all over, and he looked it. T
said to him:
"Mr Lawson, wish you would go
into the Shop before me. Ihey won
know you, and it will be such joke.
81 don't mind that, Mr.. T, but
won't you let me havea a drink? Iwant
it-pleaSe let me have drink"
T refused to stand the drink; he
told Mr.. Lawson that if he wanted
dinner he could have it, but drink he
could not have. Finally the two went
into the Ship and Turtle dining rooms,
and over chocolate and surlOin steak the
author of "Ever of Thee" told the fol-
lowing story:
81 was once rich, Mr.. T. You
know what l am now. You were as
tonished to hear me play the piano so
well. That little song has been the only
companion from which | gained any
comfort for the past twelve months. 1t