Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-03-08
THE

2AAI AAA .MANn $3.50
there dvelt once a shoemaker Of tho
name Of Siobold Welt Notwithstanding
the lowliness of his station, this disciple
Of st. Crispin burned incense nssiduous-
" before the muses. Like the village
Milton immortalized by Gray, Herr
Welt had been debarred in youth by
"chill penury'' from the acquisition of
knowledge, but maturer days brought
him many a recompensing opportunity
for a glance at the pages Of wisdom.
All was grist that gravitated TO our
shoemakor's mental millstones, aud the
stores acquired thus promiscuously from
reading and hearsay were never lost CT
suffered to moider for want Of express
sion. Indeed his application Of what
he CLEANED was frequently 50 inoppor-
tune as to excite the hearty laughter of
his honest but critical neighbors. Yet
he paid little heed to their merriment,
and today wa5 as ready to excuse the
shortness of their boots with "brevity
is the soul Of wit as to assure them
tomorrow that their old shoes were
brought never too late to mend"
Siebold was a 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 the time we peep into his life we
find him landlord of Gabriel Stoss, a
student. Herr Vets proximity to SO
animated a o~yclopedia proved such q
stimulent to his love for learning as to
be we'll 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 worry steps
roaned to support.
Occasionally in the evenings the stu
dent would drop into his hosts coy
workroom and read him versions of the
Greek and Roman writers, and, carried
along by his listeners whole souled at
teation and undisguised rapture, would
not infrequently 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 his
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, a
priori, q transfer of knowledge, and
hastened to bed, where before long he
lost sight of scrdid and hampering real
ity in the ~blissfulness of a dream that
brought in its sequenco the attainments
of the professor Of ancient languages in
the very college attended by his ledger.
One summer evening, having finished
his work early, the shoemaker sauntered
- ---an.Is~ ..,-oI 20 uv~agl-a ann annAf-
tate the while ON a recent narration Of
the students. The story took his fancy
SO much as TO incite him to action. Dur
ing Herr Vets musings the sun set
The retired street grew still and dark
Lights appeared here and there behind
small diamond shaped panes and ON
phasized the descent Of night. Suddenly
knocking thenshes from his meerschaum.
the shoemaker entered his domicile, and,
acting upon his oogitations, took down
his time worn fiddle and drew from it a
few strains-a return to his former mis-
tress, music. Away back in his youth
he could recall the days when he han
died the bow with no mean skill, but
for many a year he had neglected music
to delve in the more alluring field of let
tiers. Now again he applied himself tC
his instrument with a fervor which
made use of every spare moment unit
his old art returned so r%avishingly thai
the wondering neighbors strayed in t
hear him ut his new caprice. But they
withdrew ever with jocund faces, fol
try as they would to refrain from smiles
Herr Veit was sure to elicit merrimenI
in the end by some such observation as
'eWe're never too old to learnY'
It was ON a morning after he had beer
practicing i've months that the shoe
maker closed his shop, locked mp hi
rooms, and mounting the steep, barr
steps that led to his lodger's quarters
left the key with Gabriel, adding tina
he was not to be looked for until his re
turn. Leaving the youth at the head O
the stairway, key in hand, gazing won
derinRly after him, our %itinerant musi
clan covered carefully his violin witt
his long gray cloak, drew his broa'
topped wooden cap over his eyes an'
passed into the street, free at that earl,
hour Of pedestrians. He mtde his wa,
v D bridge across the Salzach to tn
brown meadows beyond the town ]
was a most oxhilarating morning. Tn
Salzach, as 1t foamed between the peak
s~entineling its banks, tree clad Kapuz
inerberg TO the right, gloomy, rugge'
Monchsborg ON tho left seemed to Draw
more iubilantly than ever Of it, lescen
from the distant Tyrolese Alps. The SUI
had not yet risen above the mist,
mountain tops, 60 the city lay in shad
ow, but the color ~suffusing the sky, ant
the glistening Of the frost ON the falloy
meadows and an occasional strain from
some stirring songster betokened day
advent The fresh air seemed to impair
unwontod bnoyancy to Herr Welt II
strobe Justify on and soon passed th
open country adjacent to the city. Up
lands and lowlands he traversed for sey