The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-06-06
THE.

AhH#t
In mountain girt Salzburg, noted Il
only for being the birthplace Of Mozart,
there dwelt once o shoemaker CT the
name of Siebold Welt. Notwithstanding
the lowliness OF his station, this disciple
Of Sc. Crispin burned incense assiduous-
" before the muses.. Like the village
Milton immortalized by Gray, Herr
Welt had been debarred in youth by
.tchill penury'' from the acquisition OF
knowledge, but maturer days brought
him many o recommending opportunity
| for q glance at the pages OF wisdom.
All was grist that gravitated 20 our
| shoemaker's mental millstones, and the
| stores acquired thus promiscuously from
reading and hearsay were never lost or
| suffered to molder for want OF expires
| sion. Indeed his application OF what
he CLEANED was frequently 80 inoppor-
tune as to excite the hearty laughter OF
| his honest but critical neighbors. Yet
he paid little heed to their merriment,
and today was as ready to excuse the
shortness Of their boots with "brevity
Ia the soul Of wit" as to assure them
tomorrow that their old shoes were
brought never too late to mend.
Siebold was q bachelor from choice,
but often let parts Of the house, aqnaint
red tiled, low ridged, many gabled
dwelling at the end of One OF the sarpen-
tine streets characteristic of Salzburg.
At the time we peep into his life we
find him landlord of Gabriel Stoss, o
student. Herr Vets proximity TO go
animated o ~cyclopedia proved such o
stimulant &c his love for learning % to
be well nigh inebriating. The mere
creak of the stair, as the scholar went
to and fro, was sufficient to make the
shoemaker's imagination reel in Visions
of the feast of reason that the very steps
groaned to support
Occasionally in the evenings the stu
dent would drop into his hosts cozy
workroom and read him versions OF the
Greek and Roman writer's, and, carried
along by his listeners whole souled ct
tention and undisgnised rapture. wUuld
not infreuuently continue the inspiriting
myths away into the night. At such
times the simple toiler's delight culmi-
mated in nothing short Of ecstasy. Once
+ when the student had retired with MS
little red margined volume of legends
his admiring auditor actually stole into
the vacated chair to satisfy himself that
an exchange OF seats did not entail, z
priori, q transfer of knowledge, and
FASTENED to bed, where before long he
! lost sight of sordid and hampering real.
ity in the b~lissfulness of . dream that
!. brought in its sequence the attachments
= of the professor of ancient languages In
the very college attended by his ledger.
One summer evening, having finished
his work early, the shoemaker saunteTeo
' ont upon his porch to smoke and medi:
tate the while ON a recent narration q
the students. The story took his fancy
/, 90 much as to incite him 20 action Dur
J ing Herr Veit's musings the sun set
81 The retired street grew still and dark
Lights appeared here and there behind
small diamond shaped panes and EN-
phasized the descent of night. Suddent.
knocking theashes from hismeerschaun
the shoemaker entered his domicile, and
acting upon his cogitations, took dow
his time worn fiddle and drew from II
! few strains-a return to his former mis-
tress, music. Away back In his you'll
he could recall the days when he han
e died the bow with no mean skill, bu
for many q year he had neglected musi
10 delye In the more alluring field OF let
. tiers. Now again he applied himself =
IL his instrument with a fervor whic
made use of every spare moment unit
4 his old art returned SO ~ravishingly tha
: the wondering neighbors strayed IN
Z, hear him at his new caprice. But the
a withdrew ever with jocund faces, fc
try as they would to refrain from smile
- Herr veit was sure TO elicit mortimer
4 in the end by some such observation al
q We're v b old to learn
It was on a morning after hehad bee
uracticing five months that the sho'
maker closed his shop, locked up b
l. rooms, and mounting the steep, ba,
s stems that led to his lodger's quarteI
Z left the key with Gabriel, adding thi
: he was not to be looked for until his r
Q turn. Leaving the youth at the head
the stairway, key In hand. gazing wol
deringly after him, our itinerant mus
! clan covered carefully his violin wit
!, his long gray cloak, drew his bros
ne topped wooden q over his eyes IN
passed into the street, free ct that ear
hour Of pedestrians. He made his w
~ over d bridge across the Salzach 20 Y
- brown meadows beyond the town.
was q most exhilaxating morning. =
Salzach, - it foamed between the pea
sentineling it, banks, tree clad Kapr
inerberg 20 the right, gloomy, rugg
Monchsberg ON the left, seemed 70 bra
nd more jubilantly than ever Of its desce
TiIl from the distant Tyrolese Alps. The y
the had not ret risen above the mil
he mountain tops, % the cty lay Iii ~
wa ow. but the color snffnsing the sky, y
the giistening Of the frost o. the TALL
meadows, and 81 occasional strain r.
some stirring soagster betokened da
sds advent The freah air seemed to imp
unwonted buoyancy 70 Herr Welt
strobe Justify O. and soon passed
1 nunn cnnhfry adjacent TO the city. I