Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-01-11


of the gloom and GOODNESS of the warning ell
sments Goskin, mixing up E. cup of hot egg
nog, advanced and remarked cheerily:
s'Here, stranger, brace upl This is the real
stuff"
The man drained the cup, snacked his lips
and seemed more at home.
been prospecting, hey? Out in the noun
tains-caught in the storms Lively night,
this!n
pretty bad" said the man.
''Must feel pretty dry"
The man looked at his streaming clothes
and laughed, as if Goskin's remark was sar-
casm. .How long outs' asked Goskin.
-Four days.
"Hungryq'
The man rose up, and walking over to the
lunch counter fell to work upon some roast
bear, devourng it like any wild animal
would have done. As meat and drink and
warmth began to permeate the stranger he
seemed to expand and tighten up. His feat
ures lost their pa]lor, and he grew more and
more content with the idea that he was not
in the grave As he underwent these changes
the people about him got merrier and hap
pier, and threw off the feeling of de-
preston which he had laid upon them.
do you always have your place decorated
like thissn he finally asked of Goskin.
'This is Christmas eve" was the reply.
The stranger was startled.
December twenty fourth, sure enough"
''That's the way l put it up, pard."
s'When l was in England l always kept
Christmas. But l had forgotten that this
was the night I've been wandering about
in the mountains until I've lost track of the
feasts of the church"
Presently his eye fell upon the piano.
''Where's the player" he asked
'tNever had any," said Goslin, blushing.
81 used to play when l was young"
Goskin almost tainted at the admission.
STRANGER, do tackle it and give us a tune
Nary man in this camp ever had the nerve
to wrestle with that music box" His pulse
beat faster, for he feared that the man
would like all others, refuse him.
''Ill do the best can," he said.
There was no STOOL but selling candle
box, he drew it up and seated himself before
the instrument. 1t only required few sec
onds for hush to come over the room.
''That old coon is going to give the thing
a rattle"
The sight OF a man at the piano was some
thing so unusual that even the faro dealer,
who was about to take in fifty dollar bet
on the tray, paused, and did not reach for
the money. Men stopped drinking, with the
glasses at their lips. Conversation appeared
to have been struck with a sort of paralysis.
and cards were no longer shuffled.
The old man brushed back his long, white
locks, looked up to the ceiling, half closed his
eyes, and in a mystic sort Of reverie passed
his fingers over the keys. He touched but
single note, yet the sound thrilled the room.
1t was the key to his improvisation, and as
wove his chords together the music laid its
spell upon every ear and heart. He felt his
way along the keys, like man treading un-
certain paths; but he gained confidence as he
progressed, and presently bent to his work
like master. The instrument was not in
exact tune, but the ears of his audience,
through long disuse, did not detect anything
radically wrong. They heard succession of
grand chords, suggestion of melodies here
and there, and it was enough.
siSee him counter with his left!" said an
old rough
''He calls the turn every time on the upper
end of the board" responded a man with a
stack of chips in his hand.
The player wandered off into the old bal
lads they had heard at home. All the sad
and melancholy, and touching songs that
came up like dreams OF childhood, this I'M
known player drew from the keys. His
hands kneaded their hearts like dough, and
squeezed out the tears as from a wet sponge
As the strains flowed one upon the other,
they saw their homes of the long ago reared
again; they were playing once more where
the apple blossoms sank through the soft air
to Join the violets on the green turf of the
old New England states; they saw the glo-
ries of the Wisconsin naples ard the haze of
the Indian summer, blending their hues to-
gether; they recalled the heather of Scottish
hills, the white cliffs of Britain, and heard
the sullen roar of the sea, as it beat upon
their memories vaguely. Then came all the
old Christmas CAROLS such as they had sung in
church thirty years before; the subtle music
that brings up the glimmer Of wax tapers,
the solemn shrines, the evergreen, holly, mis-
tletoe and supplied choirs Then the re-
morseless performer planted his final stab in
every heart with ''Home, Sweet Home"
When the player ceased the crowd skunk
away from him. There was no more revelry
and devilment left in his audience. Each
man wanted to sneak off to his cabin and
write the old folks letter. The day was
breaking as the last man left the place, and
the player, laying his head down on the
piano, fell asleep.
81 say, pard," said Goskin, ''you want
little rest2'
81 do feel tired" the old man said. "Per-
haps you'll let me lest here for the matter of
day OF So"
He walked behind the bar where some old
blankets were lying and stretched himself
upon them.
81 feel pretty sick. I guess won't last
long I've got brother down in the ravine
his names DriscolL He don't know I'm
here Can you get him before morning?'
Goskin started. He knew Driscoll well.
'sHe your brothera I'll have him here in
half an hour"
As he dashed out into the storm the musi-
clan pressed his hand to his side and groaned
Goskin heard the word "HurryI' and sped
down the ravine to Driscoll's cabin. 1t was
quite light in the room when the two men
returned. Driscoll was pale as DEATH
''My God! 1 hope he's alivel l wronged
him when we lived in England, twenty years
ago.
They saw the old man had drawn the
blanket over his face. The two stood q mo-
ment, awed by the thought that he might be
dead. Goskin lifted the blanket and pulled
it down astonished. There was no one therel
''Gone!" cried Driscoll wildly.
'Goner' echoed Goskin, pulling out his
cash drawer. len InotlSanQ collars IN Cne
sack, too"
The next day the boys followed horses
tracks through the snow, and lost them in the
trail leading toward Phoebe.
There was man missing from the camp
It was the three card monte man, who used
to deny point blank that he could play the
scale. One day they found a wig of white
hair, and called to mind when the stranger
had pushed those locks back when he looked
toward the ceiling for inspiration, on the
night of Dec. "a, 1s61.-Sam Davis in Carson
Appeal.
The Next Census
The census for 1890 promises to show in the
United States a population of more than TO-
100000. The population in 1880, according