The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-03-07
IN PRIZE RING PARLaNcE.
The Sporting Editor Of1ciates as Critic at
o Paderewski Recital.

pdderewSkl hair the other nlght was
the fighting editor. He for that one
nights engagement only acted as un-
darstudy for the music critic, who was
carried out of the house limp and life
less Oh the opening night of the dis
tinguished and gifted Poles engage
ment and had not rounded to sufficient
ly to repeat. Paderewski was a revela-
ton to the fighting editor. He didn't
know what he was going up against"
as he expressed it when he returned to
the office.
Look here" he said to the manag-
mig editor, half by way of protest.
This is not my game. 1 confess, not
without regret, that it is too deep for
me. l am not onto all the funny angles
of Paderewski's art, as the lady in the
corner avs, but / am here to say that
in my opinion he is the best two-handed
piano fighter that ever wore hair. These
musical sharps around here haven't
done him justice. They have written
whole columns about him, but they
have filled their criticisms so full of
dago words that an ordinary gawk like
you or Mt can't tell whether they mean
to say that he's axwonder or a counter
felt.
Prom all 1 had heard about him I
thought he was as big as Sullivan, but
he locks as though he could do bantam
weight with a haircut and u shave. His
mead aoOks like a bale of timothy hay
,r;-1 a., G1-1. ,,@ H. Ioo1-- 90 +bon-h
you could pull him through a gas pipe
if he blew the tassel he carries on his
head.
HE looked like a licked man when he
left his corner shuffiing his feet across
the stage with his fins dangling like a
pair of empty stirrups. He had an eye
like a dead mackerel and no more eX-
preston on his face than a lemon pie.
I've seen people come up like that when
they were just there to take a punch
in the jaw and go out for the short end
of the purse. No ginger in him, dye
understand? 1t looked like a cinch for
the piano that was standing with all
the shutters off in the middle of the
stage. But wait Il minute. Paderewski
makes one of them jim Carney bows
und sits down. 1t seems to take him
q long time to get fixed. He runs his
neck in and out CT his collar a time or
two, adjusts his cuffs, sizes up the piano,
and then cuts loose. He fiddled a bit
for an opening up around the pilly-
willy-wink notes, then all of a sudden
he swings his left on the bass end of
the keyboard with a smash hat rattles
the chandeliers. The game was a
sonata, with q lot OF Harry Miners con
motos, Con Doyles and spaghettis in it,
and he had his work u out for him.
After landing heavily with his left
on the stomach of Mr.. Piano, he got in n
right hand smash or two over the heart
that would put any ordinary box Of
wires out of the business. He secured
would have got him the fight if he
cared to follow it up, but he lay away a
bit as if afraid of police interference.
after some sparring at the range
he commenced fiddling Tor the head
again with the right, running the
fingers of his left through his hair, as
much as to say: oh, what a picnic!'
He got going again about two minutes
before the end of the round and had IA
long way the best of a hot two-handed
miX-uE, closing the round with a series
of left-hand swings in the region of the
belt and some short right-arm jabs and
an upper-cut on the jaw. Then he
bowed again and retired to his corner.
The piano let go of a few keys.
Paddy let up a bit in the second
round and no wonder. If he kept up
the pace he set in the first they would
have had to send out and get another
piano. For an opener he tool on one of
those soft and easy things, like punch
ing the bag with big gloves"
"A n%Octurne, perhaps" suggested tho
versatile managing editor.
a what?"
a nOcturne, "a"
"All right; let it go at that. 1t was
either that or something else. Any
how, it gave the piano u chance to get
its second wind. After that he did I
prelude and two etudes. l remember
that is what they were called on the
programme. 1 couldn't tell a prelude
from an etude if you shook 'em up in a
hat.
The man with the mess of hair saved
all his steam for the final round. Pick
ing out a few more etudes and rhapso-
dies and things like that, he went at
that piano with q vehemence that was
truly inspiring, even to one who didn't
knog exactly what it was all about.
Eiff! bang. smash. Cross counters,
uppercuts, uppercuts, jabs, half-hooks,
and kidney punches. The air in front
OF that piano was filled with flying
bands and hair. The practiced ear
might have picked out of the crash and
tumble a concord of sweet sounds, but
l was too busy looking to listen. You
talk about your fast fighters, but this
bloke has the fastest l ever saw peat to
death. If the piano had eight legs in
stead Of four, it couldn't have got out
of the way. It had to stand there and
take it.
II take off my hat to Paderewski, but
my sympathies were with the piano. 1t
was the gamest thing l ever saw. III
was a piano l wouldn't travel as Pade-
rewski's sparring partner for two
thirds of the gross receipts."-Hugh E.
Eeogh, in y. o. Item.