The Red Cloud chief., 1894-07-06
THE SHOEMAKER.

In mOunsain grit Salzburg, noted IL
only for being the birthplace Of Mozart,
there dvolt once a shoemaker Of the
name Of Sicbold Welt. Notwithstanding
the lOwlincss of his station, this disciple
Of ST. Crispin burned incense assiduous-
" before the muses.. Like the village
Milton immortalizcd by Gray, Herr
Vcit had been dcbarrod in youth by
Chill pcnury" from the acquisition Of
knowledge, but maturcr days brought
him many a accomplishing opportunity
for n glance ut the pages of wisdom.
All was griSt that gravitated to our
shoemakcr's mental millstones, and tho
stores acquitted thus lroiuiscuously from
reading and heahsay were never lost or
suffered to molder for want Of express.
sion. Indeed his application u what
he CLEANED wa frequently so %inoppor.
tune IA to excite the hearty laughter of
his honest but critical noighbors. Yet
he paid little heed to their merriment,
and today was US ready to excuse tho
sho4tness of their boots with "brevity
is the soul Of witt 10 to assure them
tomorrow that their old shoes were
brought never too late to mend"
Siebold was u bachelor from choice,
but often let parts of the house, aquaint
red tiled, low ridged, many gabled
dwelling at the end Of one Of the serpen-
tine streets characteristic Of Salzburg.
AT tho time We peep into his life we
find him landlord ~ Gabriel Stoss, q
student. Herr Volts proximity to SO
animated a cyclopedia proved such n
stimulant to his love for learning a. TO
DO well nigh inelgiating. Tho mere
cronk VI the stair, as the scholar went
to and fro, wa sufficient to mako the
shoemakcr's imagination reel in visions
Of the feast Of reason that the very steps
groaned to support.
Occasionally III tho evenings the sta.
dent would drop into his hosts coy
workroom and pad him versions OF the
Greek and Roman writer's, and, carried
along by his listeners whole souled at
tention and undisguised rapture, would
not infreQucntly continue the inspiriting
iIyths away into tho night. AT such
times the simple toiler's delight culmi-
mated i'll nothing short Of ecstasy. Once
when the student had retired with his
little red margined volume of legends
his admiring auditsr actually stole into
the vacated chair to satisfy himself that
, an exchange Of seats did not entail, q
priori, u transfer ID knowledge, and
FASTENED to bed, where before long he
lost sight Of sordid and %hampcring real.
I ity in the b~lissfulncss of u dream that
[ brought in its sequence the attachments
of the professor of ancient languages in
the very college attended by his lodger.
INT summer evening, having finished
his work early, the shoemaker sauntered
ont upon his porch to- smoke and ncdi.
= tate the while II n recent narration OF
the students. The story took his fancy
% much rs 10 incite him to action. Dur
|, ing Herr Vets musings the sun set.
, Tho retired street grew still and dark.
: Lights appeared here and there behind
small diamond shaped pauos and EN-
phasi2ed the descent Of night Suddenly
Knocking thcashcs from his meerschaum.
the shoemaker entered his domicile, and,
acting upon his cogitations, took down
his time worn fiddle and drew frofu il q
few strains-a return to his former mis-
trcss, music. Away back in his youth
he could recall the days when he han
. died the bow with IL mean skill, hut
G for many "a year he had neglected must,
To dclye i'll the more alluring field Of let
tiers. Now again he applied himself tC
. his instrument with a foryor WI 4
= made use of every spare moment unit
his old art returned SO raviShingly tha'
the wondering ncighbors straycd i'll t,
Y hear him al his new caprice. But the,
withdrew ever with jocund faces, fol
try as they would to refrain from smile!
Herr Ncit waS sure Ia elicit m0rrimen'
in the end by some such observation ar
Were never too old to lcalr?'
1t was on n morning after he had bcci
Y practicing five months that the shoe
maker closed his shop, locked up hi.
4 rooms, and mounting the steep. bar,
steps that led to his dodgers quarter,
; left the key with Gabriel, adding tina
r he was not to be looked for until his 70
turn. Leaving the youth AT the head O.
! the stairway, key i'll hand, gazing Won
dcringly after him, our itinerant must
y clan covered carefully his violin will
his long gray cloak, drew his broaC
topped wooden cap over his eyes an,
u lNNf'i llp tlt SlINi'i ilNf ul lUll YAH ~
q hour of pedestrians. He made his wa,
,s over a bridge across the Salzach to TIT
, brown meadows beyond the town. !
was a most eXhilarating morning, Til,
% SalZach, as it foamcd between the peak
!" sontinCling its banks, tree clad Kapuz
lnorhcrg to the right, gloomy, rugge,
e. Monchshcrg on the left, sccmcd ~ Draw
IS more jubilantly than over of its dcscen
he from the distant Tyrolosc Alps. The SUI
n had not yet risen above the mist,
mountain tops, SO the city lay in shad
. oW, but the color suifu,ing the SKY, AM
the glistcning Of the frost on the fallov
q, meadows, and an occasional strain from
:, some stirring sOng,tcr ~bctOkcned day
;" advent. The fresh air seemed to impair
l. mnwonted ~buoyancy 10 Herr Welt. II
SO strobe Justify N and soCn passed TN
or open country adjacent Ia the city. Up
lands and lowlands he travcrsed for sew