Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-03-30

Tue anu throwing sait on MS tan.
When on the morrow Wily-Willy-
Billy son had arisen from his couch in
he upper room of the palace in Bah
,leton, and had broken fast, and az
trayed himself in the livery of the
king which the servants Of the king
had aforehand provided, he went forth
rom his chamber and descended tn
great stairs to the presence Of the king
n the, great hall of audience
Then King k'Ie.ve-lan beholding
lin, and seeing him clad in his livery
md that he appeared in his new APP
)arel brave of aspect and exceedingly
gorgeous, did call him aloud by his
lane and forthwith showed unto him
mis- pipes and his hurdy -gurdy, which
as aforesaid, had at dawn that day
oeen brought unto Babbleton by the
ightning ox-cart express. And the
king said unto him, Behold now, O..
Bard CT Bullfrog Flat, thy instruments
IF musicp' And Willy Willy Billy
son said, 10, / behold Then the
King drew yet more nigh unto him,
smiling upon him, and patting him
IN the back as one familiar; and laid
his mouth to his ear and spake in a
low voice unto him, saying, "Now
will we raise the -" But then he
quickly bethinking himself, lest he
night bewray himself, he changed his
manner of speech Of sudden and
'pake in this wise, Now, O, Bard Of
Bullfrog- Flat, we will raise the wind "
But Willy Billy-son being, for
sooth, only good and guileless Bull
frog Flat Bard of the ancient Polly
fish -un persuasion, understood not the
louble words of King K'le-ve-lau save
thusly; that he, Wily-Willy- Billy son,
was to hold his breath with due care
until such time as he should be eharg-
ed to raise the wind; that is to say. to
pipe upon his pipes and to make mel
ody with his voice to the grinding Of
his hurdy- gurdy. Verify, as the
proverb sayeth, Innocence is of more
uo,th than fine gold.
Then anon, as the day advanced,
King K'le-ve-lan sent forth messen-
gers to call together his counselors
and the chief officers of his court to
come unto the palace to hold shindig.
Now shindig was a sort of dance
which aforetime had been called hoe
down, and the same was after the
style and fashion of the court of King
K le-ve-lan's father, Dem -O-crat-I-
cuss the Great, who in his lifetime
had much approved and practiced this
way of dancing. And now when the
chief men and the counselors of state
had gathered themselves together
within the palace, then did the king
cause Wily-Willy -Billy-son to pipe
upon his pipes and to play upon his
hurdy-gurdy. and its jawbone attach
ment. And even as the king COM
manded even so did Willy Willy Billy
son pipe and play with all his might,
sparing neither his breath in piping
nor his hands in their cunning grind
ing of the hurdy-gurdy. And all that
heard him were astonished. And
many that stood thereby lifted up
their hands and cried aloud, saying,
"What is this marvel Who hath
heard music like unto thisl Truly
these are the songs of old, the sweet
songs of the days of our fathers, the
fame whereof we have all heard"
And, 10, the inhabitants of Babble-
ton, and the dwellers Of the neighbor-
hood round about the walls Of the city
heard the sound of the piping and OF
the playing, and,of the dancing there
unto; and they ran together with one
consent to the palace, and came and
stood on the steps thereof, and in the
doorways, and climbed up upon the
stills OF the windows to hear the music
of the olden time, and to see the chief
men of the court dance. For when
Wily-Willy- Billy-son piped and play
ed after the style of Bullfrog Flat, no
man with heart attuned unto the
sweet music of the olden time could
refrain from dancing thereunto with
might and main. And certain old
men also that found not admittance to
the shindig but that stood without the
walls of the palace upon the green be-
fore the main entrance, drew them
selves together and spake one to an
other in this wise: Surely this is no
dream but the renewing of our youth.
even as the eagle reneweth his youth;
for is not this the selfsame music our
ears ware accustomed to hear awav
down south in Dick-see land, and in
the country Of Jim-kro ~ And they
said, verify, it is the same Then
they threw away each one his staff.
and their crutches, and did disport
themselves, keeping time to the grind
ing of the hurdy gurdy, aud dancing,
and pe-rancing. and cavorting as they
were wont IN the days Of their youth.
Howbeit some few of these men being
deaf, or that had no ear for fine music.
did gather themselves together in a
corner to hum after tuneless sort the
song:
.Oh dear, Oh dear. grieve, grieye
For the good old days of Adam and Eve 2
And in the eventide, when night
drew on apace. and the shiudir uaS