San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-02-06


being misunderstood, fancying that neither
was understood at all They told each other
stories, and laughed together, and pointed
out what they liked, and grumbled over what
they did not. They gathered chestnuts and
acorns as two children might, and about noon
they lunched together under the shadow of
rock on which pine tree grew When they
opened their napsacks, and one brought out
wine and the other olives to eat with their
bread and cheese, each nodded approval, and
like good fellows made free Of each others
pro isions, being sure Of welcome. Then the
sailor took I'D some salt and laid it in the
PAIN of his hand, and John taking a pinch
frorl it, the two of them ate salt together,
and the German embraced the American,
and they both again laughed. But really the
air was so exhilarating, and they were both
20 young, and full of vitality and happiness,
that they laughed as babies cry, because it
was the thing they could most easily do.
Whether the sailors road was the same as
his own, John did not know but they kept
on together, going steadily southwest towards
the city of Granada, but being still two days
journey away from il. When the sun had
turned toward the west, and all the shadows
pointed east, the sailor began to sing His
voice was baritone, but it was so high that
had an Italian singing master had the train
ing of it, he would have pulled it up into
tenor he would have done this because the
Italian of today scorns the medium registers,
and would rather sing high than sing well.
But John pricked up his ears to hear the
song 1t was old enough and was plainly
enough suggested by the scenery, and it was
very well sung indeed, although it was writ
ten for the Zerlina of Fra Diavolo, who is
not usually baritone.
After singing few bars, he paused, looked
up at the sun, and said: "Es ist drei Uhr
zwanzig Minuten."
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 a challenge, and
he at once took up the air and carried it on.
And they understood each others operate
Italian.
Johns voice was good clear tenor, and
when he took his high notes, with fine
flourish Of his arm, who ever applauded
prima donna as the sailor did joint And
they nodded and smiled in great glee So
then they quit Fra Diavolo," and the sailor
broke into the duet between Lionel and
Plunkett, and thus the two road mates sang
much Of the opera of Martha" to the rocks
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 Yankee Doodle" and this was
palmer than passport could have been. Sothe
sailor again embraced him, and said something
about Chicago, which John replied to by de-
nouncing the Anarchists and by singing odd
~.
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 and looked earnestly on it. John took
this to mean that he greatly admired Wag-
ner, as indeed 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 sapling, and
then fell back suddenly and In great dejec-
tioion, he meant to express the hard hearted
ness 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 compromised
1t was, however, to a very pretty Spanish
woman that John sang Schubert's WAN
derer," 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 cong from "Lucretia Borgia"
asked her for wine, she went into the house
and brought out her guitar and sang to them.
This pleased them greatly, because her
voice was as pretty as her face, and she had a
store Of ballads they had never heard. One
Of them she taught John, who had used a
guitar in the days when he was a chorister
and had a soprano voice. 1t would be hard
to tell which of the three was best pleased,
and they were as courteous to each other as
grandees of Spain could be.
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 a coach
passed each evening 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 ne would
bis little brother To the woman John gave
his silver match safe, and the German fol
lowed it by a silk handkerchief And then,
exchanging 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 or on vessel without looking for
his German friend in Spanish service but he
never found him.
His chances, however, would have been