The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-03-26

man ever played. Being but newly
come to the city, | had few acquain-
tances, and for that reason, if for none
other, | derived considerable satisfac-
tion from the powerful piece. $
one afternoon, it must have been
about six months after | first heard
him play, | was passing through his
street Whistling the middle part of the
march when | suddenly looked up at
his windows and saw the old man
looking at me- | stopped short in my
whistlng and was ashamed of myself
because / had an indefinite idea that the
march belonged entirely to him and
that | was doing wrong to whistle it,
especially when he could hear me. But
he looked at me so pleasantly that |
smiled back and bowed to him, and he
also nodded his head. A few days later
he was standing on his steps as | was
passing, and | nodded to him again, |
should have gone on, but he looked as
though he wished to speak to me, and
l paused as / reached his steps.
You like my march?" he asked.
I said l did, very much, and Won
dered how he knew that | had heard
him play.
Come in," he said, after looking me
over keenIy.
Il hope I'm not disturbing you" !
said. apologetically, but I've heard
your march several times from the
outside and | felt it that 1 must know
the man who played it,"
Yes, he said. and then led the way
to the parlor, for the organ was built
up to within ten feet of the windows.
Take a chair" he said, pointing tc
| the only one in the room, and he sal
upon the organ bench and eyed me crit.
| ically.
You, too have a sorrow. | knew you
would come. l saw you under the tree
| in the storm. But why didn't you come
! sooner?"
You knew I would GOMEZ" I ex
claimed.
Yes, of course: they all do. They
find crazy old mizer, and then they
forget the march"
He laughed low laugh at my as
tonishment that he had seen me.
| studied him curiously. He was yer.
old, not in years, perhaps, but in miser!
and sorrow. His skin was waX-lik
and seemed transparent: | almos
thought that | could see his skuI
through it. But the eyes-there wa
the man! the body vanished. |
seemed that the soul was eating up tn
body. What does body amount t
when one has soul? l forget that
was sitting in front of him and wa
wondering why he was a mlser when
realized that he was talking.
row is; everything is earth to then
They looked at my house and my bod
and said | am a fool, and they Wen
away My name is Lands. What
yours?"
told him.
Perhaps you may understand" II
swung around on the bench an
started to play his divine march II
Strengthened up and Seemed TO fiji on
the clothes that hung loosely on hin
before; his arms seemed strong and aC
tive. The player and the emaciate
old man were two separate and dlstinC
beings.
When he stopped playing and softl
pushed in the stops, the spell was nC
broken the spirit of the march wa
still in the room and when he swun
: round on the bench again, his fac
seemed to be encircled in halo
2 light, | forget that | was in a ding
{ little apartment containing no furn
ture but one chair and stool, with or
+ old engraving decorating the walls, Il
paper on which was stained and pee
= ing off.
Can you blame me for starving f,
that he asked softly, when the tin
. for speaking came.
mo l said, Il do not blame you
= There was another silence which /
, disturbed by crossing the floor an
D throwing the shutters wide open, le
, ting the sunlight into the room,
reused myself and tried to say som,
} thing in praise Of his playing but |
cut me off by laughing aloud, his ia,
beaming, reminding me of a baby vii