The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-05-02
THE TBEMOLO STOP.
BY ERNEST JARRoLD


eyes, aud ran down his cheeks in ripples,
soften;ng the wrinkles, and inadiating
his swart face as apple blossoms lightup
an orchard.
This sunny smile was an outward ex-
preston Of a CHEEKY philosophy born of
varied fortunes
In his youth the old man had sung in
the chorus Of an opera company, and he
looked back through the 40 intervening
years with pleasure to the night when he
had been permitted to sing solo. But
disease had injured the delicate music
box in his throat, and his hopes of be
coming famous tenor were crushed
Then he enlisted and fought with Carl
baldi and left leg on the battlefield.
On his Goth birthday he stood in the
shade Of an lex tree in the city Of
Naples, the possessor of long gray
beard, a wooden leg, and barrel organ.
The organ was beautiful instrument,
rich in tone, and ornamented with gild-
ing. When the old man pulled aside
the red silken curtain which hung on
brass rod in front of the organ, he
dis layed to the eyes of the children
number Of little wooden figures which
danced and curtsied with the grace of
courtiers Wien he turned The handle
of the organ out came the miserere
song from La Trovatore,' followed by
the jocund hilarity of Rory OMore,'
the plaintive sweetness of annie
Laurie, the inspiring strains of the
Watch on the Rhine the warlke
measures of Rule Britannia and last,
that most cosmopolitan of airs, Home,
Sweet Home But the wonderful
thing about the organ was tile tremoio
stop which was m chanical con-
trivance Of the old mans invention 1t
was used only in connection with the
song of home, and when he touched
this stop it impaired a tremulous,
waveriug movement to the music The
old man found the tremolo stop to be
very profitable, because it made travel
ers feel homesick, and so the home
song brought him more pennies than
all the other tunes in his organ. But
as the summer wore away and the
travellers became few in Naples, the
sunlight in his smile faded and left an
anxious look ON the old mans face
For he had been carefully saving his
pennies toward opening cafe.
He reasoned that it woud be easy TO
dish out macaroni when he could no
longer carry around heavy organ.
One day two friends of his youth, who
had just returned from America with
what in his estimation were snug for
tunes, met him. These friends were
bootblacks. They were attracted by the
tremolo stop, and knowing that Ameri-
cans we're always in search of novelty,
they advised the old man to go to
America and assured him that he could
return within year with money enough
to open cafe.
The old man listened eagerly to the
advice Of his friends, but he hesitated
about leaving his native land; besides,
, he was growing old, and all lie desired
was rest and comfort. But there was
no prospect of realizing his hopes in
Italy, and so, after counting his money
carefully, and finding that lie had a
little more than enough to pay for his
passage, he resolved to go to America
Landed at Castle Garden he was dis
appointed that his service with Carl
baldi did not bring him patriots vel
come among his countrymen. His sue
cess with his organ, however, was even
greater than he had been led to expect
The native dignity of the old man, his
injecting smile-into which as his for
tunes rose and rose the sunlight had
returned - and the tremolo stop.
attracted attention, and the pen
nies came to him as easily as oats rum
out of bin. The aptness with which
the puppet who held out the little brass
plate discrininated between pennies
and pieces of coal was marvellous to the
children, and their trials of its working
was profitable to The old man. II.
frequented Mulberry street because
there were so many children there.
Once a tall, handsome man put a big
silver dollar on the plate of the man.
nikin, who was so surprised at the
magnitude of the gift that he could
neither reject nor dump it into the box.
The old man boarded his money with
jealous care, looking forward to the
return to his sunny land.
But the autumn passed away, and the
weather grew cold. The children " ere
kept indoors nowi although he could
see their noses flattened against the
window panes, he missed their pennies.
To buy coal and wood he had to spend
the money he had laid away. Besides.
the gliding upon the organ had become
tarniShed, the red silken curtain was
faded and torn, the funny little figures
refused 10 dance and Gu tsey with their
old time ease, ana the tremolo stop
failed to impart me ancholy sweet
ne to the home song On bitter
days the cold wind stole through his thin
clothing and his teeth chattered. Rough
policemen hustled him from the side
walk, the boys thre y snow balls at him,
he lost his pennies In tile snow, and the
bleak winter wind fruz his CHEEKY smile
into a look of despair When he
climbed the six flights of stairs leading
to his room at the top of big tenement
the cisterns Of his heart began to leak
as he saw the vision # his cherished
cafe fading away. One morning he
could not get Gu of bed Hunger, aud
fever and disappointment had made |
him delirious. The kindly rays of the |
sun came in the window aud did what |
they could to cheer him, but the grim
fellow was buffeting him, and fever was
drinking his blood He raved in th |
night about his youth and the solo he
had sung at the opera. He saw in his |
delirium the aaring camp fires Of his
early days, and raised his feeble hands !
to catch the cleaning dark lanterns of
the tireflies which seemed dancing over
his bed. On the evening of the third |
day the grim fellow relaxed his clutch |
about the old mans throat; he Lreathed !
easier and awoke out of his delirium
Reaching his hand out from under the
bedc.othes, with trembling fingers lac
seized the handle of the organ. As lie
turned it there faltered out, broken and
disjointed:
Ali have sighed to rest me-
Deep in the quiet grave