The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-10-05

- fazce comedies; 1.-THE Little Pie, |"
- always makes such . hit in "Blue-
- Jr.:" Swinging in the Grapevine
ne which = one Of the attractions Of
1olly + Girard's ''Natural Gas, /" and .
~ llring Of this sort.
u Smith y Z department clerk In this
III 4 man Of not moro than 80 years,
1gous, activs, full Of fun and NOT ann
bw boyond his powers, unless some Of
= o11ompts on the stage b taken - an
Ql1noo that he would like to be great
0Do1i1n, which he u not. But he II .
r. & iinsleeome music @ watermelon
h4nn eet him ct the piano. and Il the
- - en him he win inproviss catchy
II H. hour, many Of them - strik-
M1einal q that Of the tale Of VICE."
- nobody has thought Of saying
11nes - everybody says Of 6ullivan's
that e IL only recast from old and
Nm airs found IN ancient music
~ taksn from the British Museum.
n ennnot remember when could not
rloy - piano," said Mr.. Smith, the other
lay, sthough with the exception Of two
- thrso l>nons taken when ! was 10 years
~, ! nsvm received any musical instruo-
-, and - this day know absolutely
1olAins d the theory Of music. had :
luick 81, and even when . small boy
Md eateh and play without any pains
1ooeD a music that teachers give to adj
v1nced pupils. also from my earliest
Neollocti0n had the knack Of improvising.
~ 4 CHANGED on . ther1e that pleased
- would play il over and over until it
neeu,e dxsd In my memory, give It .
mne and add II to my repertory. do
- SAme to this day, with the difference
vt now write out and publish tho inn
invitations"
1his. together with his general jollity.
aeeeunts for the fact that Mr.. Smith. ever
snco hs came to Washington City. has
IN IN demand in society, for he could
ways entertain with something new. His
NpRtofy was boundless, since If on taking
= seat ct the piano he did not happen 10
INK Of one of his set pieces. he would
~ eut on some uncharted sea with Is
1ucA confidence as the conventional
phnist strikes into one of his worn and
.sasing stock pieces which society gener-
~ enjoys. mainly because they furnish
I'D cover for confidential chat.
uo(ng back to the beginning OF his sue
- = song-writer. Mr.. Smith says: II
- Naying over number of my stock
teoos one evening for . friend. when
M one that pleased him, and he asked
- to have it written out for him. Ac-
eldmely I secured the services of mu-
"a friend, and We found 50 much pleas
~ m the task that We wrote out perhaps
~ dozen. had them published more
= ne fun Of writing with compliments
: NE composer across the title page.
80 anything else: and for this fun I paid
- me cost Of publication. receiving in re-
nothing but 100 copies of the
nsed music. To my surprise and de-
they became quite popular, and I
- encouraged to further efforts. In
publication of the second lot I Jared
-. received 100 copies Of each piece,
s 90 not have to pay any Of the cost
- - gave me the fever bad, and ! went
writing songs, polkas, waltses and ell
q things at terrific rate, and re-
ND stated sum for each manuscript,
ssek Vas in the summer of 1854. Among
hrst Of those for which I received
pensation was Listen to My Tale of
~ 1t did not have immediate success.
,aoeed, It had very little success until
ssencss Wilson and Marie Jansen took it
up"
Ihess were the circumstances under
: rEn the song was written. Away back
1uesns Fields early days of newspaper
90 y ne wrote Il believe for St Louis or
~ ~ doe paper) q bit OF verse entitled 1.-THE
:. as. = Green Peach" 1t went the rounds
: @e papers and dropped out OF sight,
s nsssefved only in q scrap book here and
8. - Tone OF which, by the way. was Sla-
~ !nompson's scrap book. and that is
-. the verses came to be preserved in the
aon which Mr.. Thompson many
- later published under the title of
humber Poets'D. After many years
: verses we're started on the round OF
press again. this time with no credit
upon them. Mr.. Smith found them
= ms form and put them into q scrap
4 which he kept for the same reason
3. most people keep diaries, and that is
.ason at all. One day in 1854 he was
over this scrap book when, in read
1e lines of "The Little Green PEACH"
~ - struck by . t~-1k that seemed to at
ma . piano he played