Evening star., 1898-06-18
HIS IDEA OF REVENGE


His sleven-year-old daughter was prac-
ticing the piano in the parlor. His nine
year-old son was ~practicing the violin In
the back rooM upstairs. His eight-ysar-
old daughter was practicing the violin In
the front room upstairs. He himself sat
twiddling his thumbs in the sitting room.
He didn't look SO mean as his remarks to
the friend WHO happered in upon him
showed him t6'be.
Love music. -don't-y your" said the friend.
Not much, I DON'T" replied the father
OF the family. II
Huh? What's your idea. then, in start
ing all three Of the kids of in music so
early in the gamer
Revenge" said the father of the family.
Revenge? What the dickens are you
talking about?"
Revenge. Sins of the fathers you
Know. I'm engaged in hitting back at my
immediate progenitors through my chill
oren. Pretty mean, isn't 1t? Certainly it,
mean! But l swore a solemn oath when
my people began putting 1t on me from
tne tender age OF seven that I'd get hunk
Win some one Tor 1t, and that's what I'm
doing, right now. You see, when 1 was a
KID there wasn't any more music in me
tnan tnere Is In hoot owl. I couldn't even
Whistie through my teeth. 1 couldn't tell
the sailors Hornpipe, and I'm not much
oetter down TO the present moment or
speaking. But my father. who had had a
fiddle for thirty years without ever being
able to saw three tunes on it, was bound
tnat should be violinist, and my mother
VINO knew her two seminary commence
inent pieces by heart, was equally bound
tnat should be pianist. l was the first
Kid in the bunch, you see, and so / got 1t
In the neck. My father started me at the
' vionn' ana my mother started me on the
piano. Between 'em 1 was about miser
aDie small boy as trapsed around on this
continent. l was naturally an out-of doors,
snlnny-playing, creek-swimming sort of a
young one, but the music-practicing crowd
eu t;a this ali out OF me. 1t was practice, prac-
tice, practice. all the time l had to prac-
lice the nddle an hour before going TO
scnool in the morning. l had to practice
sne piano half an hour when l returned
Iroln u scncoi Tor something to eat at noon.
w hen L got home from school at the finish
oI t1e afternoon session-and l got warmed
good and proper if 1 didn't return on time
to dot-I had to practice both the piano
ana the violin for couple Of hours before
supper. The boys would all be out in front,
Whlstnng for me. but I'd have to go right
on practicing, just the same If I'd sneak
over to the front window to tell em 1
touion e1o come out. my mother would notice
the mon.entary suspension of the practic-
ing, and she'd come after me. After sup
per my father would review me on my
violin work for half an hour and my
deyelOD-
ment for another half hour Then l was
permitted to go out to the vacant lot and
play with the other kids for awhile but
usually, when came in, I'd find my father
saving away on his fiddle, and he'd corral
me and make me play duets with him until
q q topple over with sleepiness. They sim
ply couldn't pound any music Whatsoever
INTO me- though. This used to please me
Whlie, had regular violin teacher and
a regular piano teacher and / had to prac-
lce harder than before, but never learned
anything about music. 1t wasn't in me.
r.oa, I VI hNe solid years l was glued to piano
STOOL ana to violin music rack and at the
end OF that time l was an out -and-out dur
Ter al Doth instruments Moreover, | had
10 llck boy every day for guying me be-
much. finally ran2away from home 20
my Srandmothers place about 500 miles
away and firmly declined to return home
untii l had my folks promise that the music
hon, Mns ~ pc pe cut oN While was away from
nome nome the piano teacher and the violin
tedcher mad formed themselves into a com
mlttee OF two and informed NV peon,. In
d d neat little sReech,o that they wouldn't
;r E ~ anie 10 teach me anything about music
III zen thousand yearssiand so, when | went
pdck nome, | Eas. given a show for nv
Wnte law alleyi But the sufferings I eX-
perlenced during those five practicing years
Were surely something fierce"
Wen, put in the visitor, Il should think
mat u. the dose you had would prompt you
10 let your own yeuag ones alone. unless
they .ey - are natural musicians"
music mus ,,in, In the whole, three of them My
wIe thinks they're all geniuses but there
isn't one Of themtthat can hum .Yanks.
doodle, without; mixing ii up with 'There'Il
be Hot Time And as. for going light
on them, never. I like to sit here and usIen
TO EN- scrape and bang. l stay In of nights
Just to hear EN-. 1 particularly enioy it
sra Wneh h the rS Iwo teachers, violin and piano,
are mere. The kids can have anything they
want that's within my means-but they've
got to learn music. It'll sort of even up
the game for ME. you see. My piano daugh-
ter is playing Monastery Bells you'n no
tice. Die ever hear anything so afro
clous! Well, had to practice that piece
two hours day for months when / was
young one. Hear that boy numbering the
Miserere from II Trovatore? / had TO
practice that until fell kerfiop to the floor
from exhaustion. Moreover l like to make
my neighbors suffer. I like to get INV
neighbors in here by strategy and then
have the three kids play for them all at
once. Let me bring 'em in now. What.
are you going SO soon? Let me,