The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1895-11-21
Onr gamila Story.
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY.

novnik, like you and me, before he
made his daring plunge into the Rubi-
con that separates dull everyday life
from the sphere OF Art, and see what
he brought it to- Rubinstein is q
pigmy to him now. Take heart o.
Courage, old boy, you have brilliant
career before you. You only need u
grain Of faith and u deal of pluck, and
,.il the rest is plain sailing"
The speaker Michael 1vanOvitch
Petrotf, was u low-sizcd, stout, fair
haired man of about 3l one Of those
unconscious idealists often to be found
in Russia, who are never SO happy as
when they arc getting q friend out OF +
difficulty or helping him to tri-
umph. His companion, " clerk, like
himself, in the service of tho Ministry
Of Vladimir Skripkin, and although IL
handsome-lookng man of some 30
years, Or thcrcabouts, gave one tho |
impression that he belonged to the |
pitiable category OF will-lcss indivi-
duals who stink through life as noise
lessly as they can, content if they get
in nobodys way, and positively happy
if they manage to keep body and soul
together without suffering the pangs
Of hunger or the pains Of imprisonment.
Skripkin had been to the university,
but only for few months having
been found present at an illegal meet
ing of tho students, whither he had
straycd by the mcrcst Of accidents, hc
was rusticated for year, and never
returned. In the government Office he
WAS probably tho most Industrious and
conscientious Of all the clerks, never
refusing to take all mancr OF extra
work, to which he occasionally devoted
his evenings. At home be WAS musi
clan; that is to say, having been ,.c-
customed TO play the piano since lac
was or 8, ho had acquired u thorough
command over the keys, aud could
execute almost anything, from waltz
OF Strauss to Il mOrCcau OF IShaikOII-
sky's, with a degree Of correctness and
sentiment which was highly crcditabic
in q petty tshinuvnik who received but
so rOubicS u month. H. also composed
various dances and rcvcricS : but, with
the solitary exception Of II polka.
printed at his friend l'ctrUil's cNprnsc,
none OF them had ever been even
looked at by publisher. His one aim
in life WAS that make no noise or fuss,
and he never suspected that naJu, q
had destined him TO play any great
part on tho stage Of life.
His old friend Petroif, who had been
transferred from Moscow to l[icir but
peter. He had unboundcd faith In
Skripkin's genius, and had told his
colleagues over and over again that if
he only got chance to show what was
in him Beethoven and Wagner could
not hold e candle to him.
"Talk about Tshaikotrsky, Cui and
that lut," he would say, "why, if
Skripkin had Il fair start nuhouy would
dream of mentioning his name with
theirs in the samo breath"
The chance did come at last, and
when least expected. One night
Skripkin was invited to play at IL sJrou
dansante given by one his cn!!icupucs.
who was glad Of getting it donc gratis,
ana his success was nnEarailcd. The
strongest supcrlatlveS| were lavishcd
by the company tu .Mprcss their pleas.
ure ana 40 JuClcc to his performance.
1e had -Govcr be, n conscious of any
thlngr.Ak talent before, but how could
ne.fefuso the testimony Of the ladies,
'who avcrrcd that they danced twice
ns much AS usual, owing TO his waltZts
and pOlkaS, which would tempt IL
paralytic TO got up an. hop about; or
how could he ignore the value OF The
officers appreciation, who insisted ON
having two Of his polkas published aJ
their expense? No wonder that Skrip-
kin began tn feel that after all, there
was something in him, some divine
spurk-call it genius or talcnt-w whicn
was worth Il good deal more than
eighty roublcs Il north, which barciy
suiliced to pay for his room and keep
HIM in food and clothing.
Two days later the clerks in the
gOvernmcnU olico were putting by
their pens and papers, preparatory to
starting homeward, when the doors
opened, and the general himself
strollcd into the room, stately, &C.
we're and solemn. The general wa~
not Il military man, but he could not
be more abjectly feared on more i'm
plicitly oheycd if he had been. All
title as cXccllcncy, are gerncrals, and |
their wives gencrlcsscs, and are
addressed H. such always by tlcir SER
wants and often by their subOrdint,rs
This particular type OF the class, in
spite OF the terror his presence in
sptred, was by no means u hcarticss or
unj ust man. But. rs the clerks never
saw him except when something had
gone wrong, and sumcbodv had to be
made an example Of their knees trcm-
bled whenever he appeared, and their
hearts tluttercd like newly Gagged birds
This evening the general walked
|
at attention." turned as pale ;.s Il
sheet, and seemed about to faint,
Obviously tho great mau had heard Of
his musical performances, and had
come in person to tell him what they
needed at that Office was an indus
trious clerk, and not Il musician. ;
"Iou are SkriDkin, | believe ?" said
the general.
" Ycs-ycs, your exccllcncy. Skrip-
kim" ,
Well, Skripkin, it has come to my
cars that you devote u good deal OF E,
your time to music. Is that true ," ,
Skripniu could not muster up suf- |
ficicnt courage to formulate q roply. t
lie stood there motionlcss, fascinated !
by the look Of his cxccllcncy, and star S
ing at the lips which, when they next a
parted, might pronounce tho terrible t
sentence OF dismissal. The awkward {
pause was broken by Petroff, who step {
ping forward, replied: T.
Yes, your cxceIlcncy, it is true. I
If may presume to say it, he is
musical genius: not fully developed to !