Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-02-08

Two friends who wander by the shore
Look not upon the self same seas,
Hearing two voices in the roar,
Because of different memories.
For him whose love the sea hath drowned
1t means the music of his wrong;
For him whose life with love is crowned
1t breaks upon the beach in song.
j. D. S.
To many Of US life is not unlike the alpha
bet game of anagrams. We are given few
letters, and out of them we spell what we can.
Sometimes we fail entirely; fate gives US
all consonants; or, if we have vowels also,
we are stupid and do not see combinations,
and it is confusion to the end. Sometimes
we get the wrong word and find ''evil'' where
we should have spelled Give" Such mis-
takes give a false keynote, and our days never
come into tune as they should; but, good or
bad, life allows us to do our own spelling.
When John Elliot was Internationally
an uncle died and left him $780, In itself
$500 is not to be despised, but it is always too
much or too little for a working basis. For
year John reflected on the question what
he should do with it, and then he decided to
80 to Europe. The matter seemed simple
enough to him. AS capital for business the
legacy was meager, and it was too much to
fritter away in fractions. If he kept it for
rainy day. how was he to know that he
should not have the luck of the old woman
who saved her supper for her breakfast and
died before morning? But if a man is to live
in the world, surely he should see it, and what
is easier to do when one is four-and-twenty,
untrammeled, and full of good health and
spirits, and with purse in the pocket3
So John took years holiday from his law
studies and sailed to Havre, and he staid
away twelve months and sixteen days, and in
that time he saw much and had many adj
ventures. But as his fortune was small and
Europe is large, he had to make his own legs
carry him over great deal of ground.
One day in the fall of the year, when the
chestnuts were ripening, John was walking
along q narrow defle in the mountains of the
Sierra Nevada. Far above him rose the
rocks, bare and stony; but his own path was
shaded by trees, and he walked over grassy
ways. Quite early i'll the day he sat down by
brook which ran down stony and precip-
itous bed and let tho peace and rest of the
silence bring him dreams If he had but
known it, upon this very stone there once had
sat n Moorish knight, wounded in the fight in
the defile. Here his squire had unbuckled his
visor and watched the death shadow-which
Is always gray-steal over his face. But of
this john knew nothing, and he contentedly
whistled as he sat there; and if he thought of
Christian and Saracen it was only in refer
ence to Granada, to which he was going. He
thought of robbers, but he was as ignorant of
them as of Moors, and feared them as little;
and indeed in all his walking he never met
bandit. After time he arose, and to the
tune of Annie Laurie took up his march
again; and if there is a better test for a
whistler than is this tune do not know it,
Suddenly he heard shout from the rocks
above, and looking up he saw Spanish sailor
waving his hand.
John had gone to Europe knowing no Ian
guage but his own, but he had picked up q
few ph:s ses in Spanish, and so he called back
and said he thanked the gentleman very
much. 1t was not perhaps, a very apt reply,
but John had not understood what the sailor
had said, and the phrase sounded well, and
I had the advantage Of being in the language
of the country. The sailor was, however,
not satisfied, and again he called, and this
time John assured him that all he, john
owned was at the distinguished gentleman's
service But even this did not please the
stranger, who then thought it wise to run
down and join John, and thus try the effect
OF 8 nearer intercourse. He was a handsome
young mar, a little older than John, and his
clothes We're so beautiful in color and SO well
suited TO show off his vigorous figure and fine
face That John wished himself AZ artist, SO
that he might make study of So clean end
picturesque a subject Yet it would have
been Eanr2 to the purpose had he been lin
guist because then he could nave answered
the sailor. who seemed to be in doubt about
the road. Il would, however, nave been
of no use u have understood Spanish tbs
sailors command oG that language being
! even more limited than JOINS was But tbs
| sailor stammered along until JONI. tetook
+ himself to his own language and said he Was
an American, and spoke only English. At
this the sailor smiled, seeming we'll pleased,
but he replied in German. Then they looked
| at each other and laughed, and began to
walk on side by side Of course they talked
| and were very polite to each other, and
seemed amused and pleased to be together, so
1t mattered little that they did not under
stand each other But this will happen
when takers speak the same language, and
even if we use the best English there are
times when our nearest friends do not com
prehend US, and their Interpretation Of what
we say is astonishing to be believed.
But these two young fellows had no fear of
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 a
rock on which pine tree grew. When they
opened their knapsacks, 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
provisions, being sure of welcome. Then the
sailor took up some salt and laid it in the
PAIN of his hand, and John taking a pinch
from it, the two Of them ate salt together,
and the German embraced the American,
and they both again laughed But really che
air was so exhilarating, ard they were both
so 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 sarn" 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 It, When the sun had
turned toward the wtst, and all the shadows
pointed east, the sailor began to sing His
voice was baritone, but it was so high that
hal an Italian Staging master had the train
ing of it, he won.d have pulled it up into a ,
tenor. He would have done this because the
Italian of today s,ornS the medium registers
and would rathsr sing high than sing well.
But John pricksi 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 list drei Uhr
zwanzig MinutenN
He was not proud of his voice, but he was
Of his skill in telling the hour by the sun.
But John understood 1t as a challenge, and
he at once took up the mir 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 John? And
they nodded and smiled in great glee. So
then they quit Era DiAvolo," aud 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