Evening journal., 1897-05-01

lhnt AAtNe ~ AffLNAtA INC DbAthm
Occasion on which It Was Rendered.
''NIusic by the Band" at the School Ex-
hibition-OId Timers Look Back.
Two men were at table overlooking
Michigan avenue They were unmistak-
ably from some place in the west They
had the good old time manners which
are becoming scarce in every section.
They were go or maybe 20 years each.
One Of them was reading the news TO
the other one.
Tho one who was reading stopped and
said: "'I'l be doggoned if Sam Stone
amt dead. It says here that he died in
Topely, Kan. You remember Sam
Stone. He wrote that old song, Wait
For the Wagon and We'll All Take a
Ride.
"Hain't thought Of it 80 year, Cy, )"
replied the old man opposite him.
Let's see, how did it go?-something
like this''-the old man puckered his
lips and tried to whistle the air, but the
sound from his mouth Tesombled that
Of a hungry wind through a keyhole.
Jim, you're getting wind wasted.
Getting old. Fellows like you and me
can't whistle. Better hum it, Jim.
Aud Jim hummed -iEwhilo Cy beat
timo with his fingers on the table.
81 had forgot, Cy, who it was that
wrote it, A."
"Yes, it was Sam Stone. I'd bout
forgot it myself till 1 see it in that
morning paper. "
"Sam Stono was S4, so the paper says
He died in Topalsy, where he'd lived
about 9B years. That was a great old
song in it's day"
"That aud Pop. Goes the Weasel. "
"But Wait For the Wagon was the
most catching. l remember it was the
first piece that the St. Joo (Mo. } cornet
band learned 20 play. And just then
there was man died in St. Joe who
was a high roller in tho Masonic lodge
in the town, and a mighty popular man
he was. OF course he was buried with
Masonic rites and the lodge committee
called on the leader of the band to en-
gage the bands service. 1t was the first
job the band had, and as it was in debt
for tho snare drum and tho Dig horn
here was chance TO get even.
$50 the leader got n retainer, and
then no told the committee that the
band couldn't play only one piece, and
that was Wait For the Wagon. The
leader said it was not built on dead
march time bat by playing IL low and
mufling tho big drum he could make it
sound solemn. SO the band turned out
at the funeral and it played Wait For
the Wagon all the way out TO Mount
Moriah cemetery. Some of the boys
about town had hard time looking sad,
especially Ben Ullman, the big butcher,
who was one Of tho pallbearers. Ben
was the funny man of the town, any
how.
II remember Ben, Cy.
"I knowed you did As was saying,
it was hard to keep straight faces, the
band playing that tune, going out tc
! the grave. Coming back there was near.
" a row. The high muck a muck of the
lodge told the leader of the band he had
better change the music, and then the
leader said the band couldn't play any
thing else, and that he had told him so
The procession marched down Frederick
avenue coming back and it commenced
= to rain, so that the lodge--it was th'
I Zeredathah chapter, as 1 Iremember-haC
to quicken their steps, and that put thu
: band out. "
: "Of course, Cy. You can't marcl
4 double quick on slow music. But go on. ,
= "Well, the only thing for the band 4
u do was to liven up the tune, and tina
y was what raised Old Ned. The newspa
} per came out next week with piece il
= it as long as your arm saying it was
: disgrace, and that if the band expecte
y the citizens to help pay its debts it ha
u better learn some music. that would b
appropriate at funerals, as people wer
II liable to die any time. OF course tina
made the band mad.
- "Of course, Cy. But what did the
At dor"
J, stopped their papers. Then whe
~ Neely's academy gave the school exh'
20 bition in the Presbyterian church on tn
y hill, the band was engaged and put i
- the gallery, which was in one end {
y, the church The band opened the excl
~ cises with wait For the Wagon. The
% the pastor Of the church prayed, an
:. the band played Wait For the Wagoi
- again. The programme consisted of e
- says-compositions they called thel
ln then-declamations and some dialogue
" and scattered along through the pr
" gramme was music by the band, al
y every time it played Wait For Il
.oC Wagon It got to be as good as a ci
~ Gus. 1 remember the leader of the bar
20 died a good many years ago, and Il
- - piece in the paper about him said
10 as wrote Wait For the Wagon, but Il
y, paper was wrong. 1t was Sam Stol
AH who wrote it, him that has just died
Topeky."
''It all comes back to me now, c
But all / can remember is the tune al
.1 ~ the first two lines;