The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-01-23

ooulAWCSt lo"alo tue SlIy VI NAoue'
but being still two days Journey away
from it. When the sun had turned to.
ward the west, and all the shadows
pointed cast, the sailor began to sing.
His voice was barytone, but it was so
high that had an Italian singing master
had the training of it. he would have
pulled it up into a tenor. He would
have done this because the Italian of to-
day scorns the medium registers, and
would rather sing high than sing we'll.
But John pricked up his ears TO hear the
song. 1t was old enough, and was plain
ly enough suggested by tine scenery, and
it was very we'll sung indeed, although it
was written for the Ierlna CT "Fra Dia-
volo." who is not usually barytone.
Suddenly he paused, looked up at the
sun, aud said: "i;s ist drei Chr zwanzig
Minuten. Qtis twenty minutes past
threel.
He was not proud of his voice, but he
was of his skill in telling the hour by the
sun.
But John understood it as challenge,
and he at once took up the air and
carried it on.
And they understood each others
operatic Italian.
Johns voice was a good clear tenor,
and when he took his high notes with a
fine flourish of his arm, who ever ap-
plauded prima donna as the sailor did
John! and they nodded and smiled in
great glee. So then they quit ezra Dia-
volo," and the sailor broke into the duet
between Lionel and plunkett; and thus
the two road-mates sang much Of the
opera OF "AIartha" to the rocks of Anda-
lusia. But what entertained them best
was the discovery that they could sing
to each other what they could not say.
When the sailor thought to compliment
John by "God Save the King" John
stopped him short by "Iankee Doodle"
and this was palmer than a passport
could have been So the sailor again
embraced him, and said something about
Chicago, which John replied to by de.
nouncing the anarchists and by singing
"Old Hundred" He chose this staid
and ancient melody, not because it bore
upon anarchy, but it seemed to him at
the moment the most peaceable and
orderly tune he knew. AS the sailor
joined in with him he supposed he
understood him. and it seemed more like
the "Doxology" than ever.
Then the sailor stood still by young
tree and sang some of the soprano part
from "Tannhauser" in as good falsetto
as he could command, and fell on his
knees before the sapling aud looked
norooctl1 Tohp fo0l- fhio RI tnpaD
that he greatly admired Wagner, as in.
deed he did; but still more deeply did
he adore certain Fraulein who sang
Elsa, and this was what he meant, and
when he rushed forward to embrace the
sappling, aud then fell back suddenly
and in great detection, he meant to ex-
press the hard-heartedness of the prima
donna. 1t was astonishing how many
condolences they gave one TO the other In
song, and that neither understood made
no difference, because it is always sweet
to tell, even if we are not comprehended.
1t was, however, to very pretty
Spanish woman that John sang Schu-
bert's "Wanderer," and so explained
why they were on the road. She lived
in little house up high among the
rocks, where the goats seemed more at
home than human beings; but when
John had sung to her. and the sailor had
by the drinking song from Lucretia Bor-
gia asked her for wine she went into her
house and brought out her guitar and
sang to them.
This pleased them greatly, because her
voice was as pretty as her face, aud she
had store of ballads they had never
heard. One of them she taught john,
who had used a guitar in the days when
he was chorister and had o sop. auo
voice. 1t would be hard to tell which
of the three was best pleased, and they
were as courteous to each other as gran
does of Spain could lie.
When the sun set they separated.
John took the road down the hill to a
village where he meant to spend the
night. and the sailor struck out for
the high road where coach passed each
evening just before dark. When they
parted the two men embraced each
other, and the German kissed John on
both cheeks, and John kissed him on
the lips as he would his little brother.
TO the woman John gave his silver
match.safe. and the German followed it
by a silk handkerchief. And then, cx-
changing walking-sticks, they parted.
They made. each in his own tongue,
many promises to meet again. and this
each well understood and thoroughly
meant. And they never forgot each
other. John never went near port OF
on q vessel without looking for his Ger
man friend in Spanish service, but he
never found him.
His chances, however, would have
been better had he gone in search of a
German baron who had followed an
opera singer TO Spain, and who, having
failed to win the lady by his love and
his rank, had schemed TO try love and
romance. And it would have greatly
pleased John, who wished his roadmate
good fortune, had he known that the
story of this adventure told with en-.
thusiasm and eagerness. had made the
singer pardon the intrusion of re.
jected suitor, and that the baron, losing
no advantage, had at last bent the sap.
ling and won wife. And it would
also have amused John had he known
that wherever American miliionaires,
who are known to be as eccentric
as they are rich, were congregated,
there did the baron look for his
friend. But. after all, it probably
was the Spanish woman who had the
best in the end, because when she went
to Granada with her husband. who was
a matador, how many operas and how
much music did she not hear while she