The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1897-09-23
THE SONG OF A SOUL.
A LEGEND OF THE STRING INSTRU-
MENT FOUNDED ON ERROR.

| the devil once had a daughter-that
was many years ago. The Lord be
praised, she lived only a short time
She as cut off in her youth. She came
to this world in the guise of graceful
kitten, and l, Mr.. Thomas Katgut. was
destined to have my fate intermingled
with hers.
While strolling along the banks of a
pleasant little stream | first met Miss
Pussy Carmine, and we'll was she
named. When / gazed into her eyes,
they seemed to glow with fire, and
when drew my eyes away they were
so dazzled that all around and about me
seemed for moment to be red and the
soft gray fur with which she was Gov
cred seemed to be tipped with scarlet
Despite the fact that my entire heart
went out to her in alteration at first
sight, | could not but be conscious of a
| strange and unusual feeling which l
could not localize. 1t seemed to draw
aud strain until il fairly ached but
could not place it 1t was not my heart,
nor yet my liver, and it seemed to be
far from my head. This meeting was
but the first of many. Night after night
we met but in the midst of transports
of Joy and ecstasies of bliss which these
meetings brought to me | always con
tinued to experience the indescribable
feeling, vague, unapproachable, yet al
ways there when in her presence.
One night / felt that could no longer
contain my feelings, SO, on the banks
of the river, on the very spot where
first we met, told her of my love.
And, oh, the effectl Fire seemed to
flash from her eyes and mouth and each
undivided hair on her body was aflame
All the devil in her seemed to be let
loose. Before my establishment gave me
a chance to act she leaped upon me and
began to scratch and tear and gnaw
and bite. And in the midst of all the
horror and pain of it came that same
Undesirable feeling in the undiscov-
cred place.
| was perfectly powerless to resist
her murderous attacks, and any efforts
VII my pun hOuid luHb Dttll uttitsH,
for felt that my hour had come. With
out pausing, she continued to scratch
and tear at me until finally, feeling
that was in the act of taking my last
breath, | opened my eyes to cast a
last look upon this sad but beautiful
world. Just then Miss Pussy seemed
to have exhausted her vitality, for
oh fa11 haoly 1U no lac A,,f-
tering breath issued from my lips. And
then my soul left its earthly dwelling
place, and, lowering above, looked down
on the scene of the late tragedy.
Horrible dictu" My own body ray
there lacerated and torn, but the body
of the DEVILS daughter had vanished
into space.
Eager as l was to soar away to bet
ter land, could not tear myself from
the spot, but fingered around my poor
body in the hope that some kind NOR
tai would find it and give it decent bur-
ial. But alas for all my hopes AT early
dawn strange looking man, tall and
lean, with long hair and bony, slender
fingers, came wandering toward our
late trysting place. Suddenly he saw
my body, and a trembling took posses
sion of him, which he soon controlled,
and lifting me gently by the tail, car
RED me for some distance until we
came to a little house in the woods
which seemed to be his own. My soul
followed through space, eager to see
what was to become of my body. This
awful man, who, it seemed, was the
commander In chief of an army organ
lied for the advancement Of music, took
up murderous looking knife and de-
liDerately cut my poor body into bits.
He cut in deep until he reached my
very vitals, and as the knife touched
these my soul gave long, quivering
but satisfied sigh, for he had touched the
spot which had always responded to
Miss Pussy presence, and which, whilo
| had lived, had always eluded my de
lection. He took up my vitals and cut
them into narrow strips and strung
them across the window to dry. Though
my body and soul were really separated,
so sensitive was my soul to any touch
to these parts that each time breeze
swept across them my soul could not
resist a cry,
These cries seemed to please the mu-
siciau SO much that he nearly went
wild with excess of feeling. He manipu-
lated the strings-which were my vitals
in all sorts of ways, and finally drew
them taut over peculiar piece of glazed
wood and over this drew rod in meas
ured time My soul moaned and sighed
at each touch, but the musician seemed
to know how to modulate and moderate
my cries and at the same time to mingle
with my tones others of such sweetness
and pathos that the combined effect was
heavenly and grand.
And thus it is that my soul has never
found final resting place, for mingled
with my sad tones are ever those sweet
and glorious ones, tremendously inter
mingled. making music which binds
me to earth, holding me back even from
heavenly joys.
Explanation. This is not true
story Cats have always been known 10
be sly and deceitful, and Mr. Thomas
katgut, whose soul tells this story, is
no exception to the rule. In proof Of
this statement call your attention to
the definition of the word catgut IN
most dictionaries, which will be found
about as follows:
"Catgut-The name given to material
of which the strings of musical instru-
L Il i. 4 ~.