The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-16
The Last Hope.
By Kenyen West In Five Parts-)
PART II

This was the vision Dora saw: She her
| self sitting in the very window where she
| had been this afternoon, but her compan-
ION was not her sister, but a tall, full
| bearded man, who stood on the veranda,
| just outside They had been talking bus
| ily, but a. silence had fallen between them
! as they both watched the sun set in a
mass Of glowing crimson cloud.
| by some strange association, sunset
such as this always makes me think of
Gottschalk," DR.. Van Auley said, as he
half turned his eyes from the western sky.
| 'fWhy?"
do you see that bank of vapor TO the
| left, its brilliant hues of crimson and gold
| fading away? OF course it is a well-worn
| figure to compare our hopes and aspira-
| tions to such cloud-lands. We build such
! grand, colossal castles, only to see them
| fade into nothing. L am no pessimist, and
| yet 1 think the older we grow we build
| fewer Of these phantom castles. But you
| asked me why 1 thought of Gottschalk.
Did you ever hear his Last Hoper 1
know that many people who cannot ap-
preciate anything but classical music, and
despise people VINO like lighter kinds CT
music as well. would be very patrenizing g
| towards me for even mentioning IL. OF
| course il is light, but some way I never
| tire of it as 1 tire of other things of the
| kind. 1t is possible that the history of its
| composition has something TO do with the
! effect il has upon me. / have read some
| where in a French paper that Gottschaik
himself loved to play it every night. On
| being asked the reason he said it was a
heart memory of his, and ne called it his
evening prayer. 1t seems that
once, when staying at a certain place IN
1
| a lady off1icted with an incurable disease
Mourning the absence of a beloved son,
the only thing which seemed to comfort her
and quiet the restless wish for his return
was Gottschalk's playing. One evening,
when she was suffering more than usual.
and very unhappy. she went up to Colts
chalk and exclaimed: In pity, dear friend,
give me a little melody, La Dernere Es-
perance. Tell me, shall 1 see him once
again?' And in response TO her passionate
wish, Gottschalk then and there composed
what the signora called this plaintive and
caressing song, one of those aspirations of
the soGi which seem to ascend to heaven
and almost demand an answer according
to ones wish.
The next day Gottschalk went into
neighboring town to give concert, and
on returning, two days later, he heard the
bells of the old church tolling. His heart
sank with feeling OF foreboding. and put
ting spurs to his horse, he reached the
doors of the church in time to look once
more on the calm and peaceful face of the
signora as she was being carried to her
last resting place. And so in memory OF
her, he ever loved to play with peculiar
feeling the melody with which ne had tried
to comfort her and give the longing of
her heart expression. You know Words
worth in his great ode says a timely utter
ance gives relief to the overburdened heart
and makes ii again strong. This is one OF
the great services of music. 1t gives ex-
preston to emotions which can be express
ed in no other way. and by that expression
the soul of man is strengthened and Fitted
up.
But I must try and play The Last
Hope for you, Miss Winford. Though you
are such an enthusiast over Chopin, Wag-
ner, and the other immortals, believe
you are broad and liberal enough to see
also the beauty in this simple melody"
How strangely were blended in Dora's
double consciousness the strains of Gott-
schalk's song, as played now by Prof. De
L.szt and by her friend and lover two
years before. And with the notes of this
revelation of human sorrow were also heard
the words of DR.. Van Auley's interpreta-
ton:
II think you can see, Miss Winford,'' he
said, turning around towards her, 'how
this melody has often brought to me a
message of consolation of hope, and of
healing. There is a half-concealed tone Of
joy running through the whole which pro-
misses a restoration of lost happiness
which must have suggested to the Sg-
nora that she and her son would meet
again. You notice that Gottschalk begins
with a statement in a few broken notes
of the disappointment that has come into
her life from the removal Of health, friends
and so much which once had been essen
tial to her happiness. Then comes little
upspr:nging of hope, which is almost inn
mediately overruled by the dominant sor-
row. Just as the wounded lark, whose home
is in the skies, tries to soar aloft; but
there is no strength in his wings, and he
sinks wearily TO the earth. Then comes
tor, hope or sorrow, merging at length
in the harmony of the aria which beauti-
fully declares that the heart must be the
home of both. For you see that each pa
thetic lamentation is Immediately accom-
panied by a beautiful note of hope. Though
the soul seems tempted TO give itself up
more and more to the sense of loss the
message of hope makes a more frequent
appeal. suggesting, as I said before, the
possibility that the lost joy may come
back. the lost happiness be restored"