The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-07-24
GENIUS TACKLED THE OLD PIANO
And All 1t Asked In Return Was a Cup o
the STRONGEST. Well Filled.

And All 1t Asked In Return Was a Cup OF
the strongest, Well Filled
At the foot of East Ninety second
street and just a few yards from the
Astoria ferry house is 4 small cottage
which has been Transformed into bar
room At one side a pavilion extends
some distance out over the water, and
in this pavilion are piano and many
tables and chairs. The place is a great
resort for the young men and women
living IN the neighborhOOd- Anybody
who likes is allowed to sit down at the
piano. and as dancing is the favOrite
amusement in the vicinity the instru-
ment is constantly in use, the result be-
ing that il is all out Of tune and when
touched makes noises not unlike those
made by a combination of small boy,
tin pan and stick 1t would be hard to
convince anybody that music of any
quality could be got from the battered
instrument, yet on Decoration day music
such as is seldom heard outside the very
highest class of concerts was ground out
Of that piano under circumstances quite
extraordinary.
It was about o'clock on Wednesday
afternoon, and the pavilion was crowd
ed with men and women, young and
old The young people had been sing
ing and dancing, when suddenly the
girl who had been playing the piano
rose from the stool and ran to the other
side of the pavilion As she did SO an
unpleasant apparition made its appear
ance 1t was a tramp, with long hair,
unshaven face and general greasy APP
pearance. His clothes were in tatters;
his toes stuck out Of his ruptured
shoes; his old hat was battered and torn.
The women began giggllng. and one Of
the young mon, a youth Of the Jimmy
Fresh type, SHE'D a piece of crust at
him. The man paid no attention to the
people, bat steerod straight for the
piano, his eyes threatening to pop out
of his head as he gazed at the is5stTu-
nent. Just as he reached the stool and
was preparing to sit down q waiter ran
up and grabbed him by the neck and
threw him nearly across the pavilion.
s'You git,' he said s.What the
devil do yen mean by coming in here
anyway
The tramp picked himself up, looked
around III a dazed fashion and some
what plaintively and much more husk-
lily said: s'Jes' let me touch her up
bit, pardnesr. You won't be sorrv, > and
started for the piano again No one in
terfered with him this time, and seating
n1I1SeI on JIG SCOOl he Iatu MS 1L2eIs
over the keys IN a fashion which made
his audience open their eyes Two OF
three times he ran up and down the
keys, and then suddenly he branched
of, and IN a second he was rendering
most exquisite bit of music 1t was the
fsTraumerel. - In q style which was
absolutely faultless the pianist played il
through, and when the last chords
of the exquisite melody had been sound
ed he suddenly began Mendelssohn'z
Song Without Words. = This also he
played through, and then he rose from
the piano stool and looked around him,
and a smile broke over his dirty face.
Say, he said in a husky voice,
faint that worth drink:''
No one made any reply. At first the
people seemed dazed- "A stout German
was the first to recover Yes, he
said, ssof course you can have a drink
Hey, waiter, come herel'' Then turn
ing tn the tra1.1n ''UU- viii vou have77'