Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-04-27

What. what the devil does it
matter to you what I'm named?" he
said, roughly.
ooh, it doesn't matter at all, not at
ALL" / said, meekly; "only we wanted
we wanted And then, like that
chit of II, 1 cried too. / am such a
fool about music.
NOW you know what ! mean when
say j can play" he growled savagely.
He seemed really terribly excited, even
angry. "I'll play one thing more.
Then you go home. When | think %
what | might have done, great God, |
can't die till I've shown EN- ! Can /?
Can die? You hear me You see. /"
His face was livid. His eyes cleaned
like Goals. / ought to have been afraid,
but wasn't.
you shall show them! % l gasped.
You SHALL Will you play for the
hotel3 We can fill this place for you.
We cam
'Oh,' you shut up!" he snarled.
You! I've played to thousands,
have. You don't know anything about
it. It's the DEVILS drink that's KILN
me. 1t ruined mo in Vienna. Itspoiled
the whole thing in Paris. It's goin'
to kill me. p" His voice was shriek.
10 tIoppcu iIonu luo Stouis nuo itoih
| his pocket fell a bottle. The Nice Boy
gave o queer little sob.
"Oh, it's dreadful, dreadful" he
whispered to himself. He jumped up
on the platform and seized tho man s
shoulder. "Come, Gomez he said.
"We'll help you. Come, be man |!
You stay here with us, and we'll take
care of you. Such gift as yours shall
not go for nothing. Come over to the
hotel, and III get you bed"
The man staggered up. He was
much older than ] had thought. There
were deep, disagreeable lines in his
face. There was a coarseness, too
but, oh, that "Spring Song" Now,
how can that be? My brother in law
says-but this is not his story. The
man got onto the seat somehow.
You're a decent fellow" he said.
"When I've done playing you so out
Right straight out. bye hear? I'll
come SEQ you tomorrow morning."
Then he shut his eyes and felt for
the keys, and played the Chopin
that | wanted to die then. Not sud
denly--but Just to BIO rocked into rest,
rocked into rest, and not wake up any
|
most inexpressibly touching thing |
ever heard. | felt SO young-so trust
full. somehow. l knew that no harm
would come. And then it sang itself
to sleep and we went away and left
him, with his head resting on his
hands that still pressed the keys. And
we never spoke. think the girl came
out with us, but I'm not sure. And
at the door the Nice Boy gulped, and
said in queer, shaky voice, I'm not
nearly good enough to have sat by you
I know that-you seem so far away
but | want to tell you." And / said
that he was much better than THAT
none of us were good-that thought
ii would be all right in the end THAT
after all it was being managed better
than we could arrange it-that perhaps
after all heaven was more like what
we used to think than what we think
now. There is no knowing what We
might have said if my brother in law
had not come down to see where / was
And then l went to sleep like baby.
81, ".
should like to end the story here
| should like to leave him bowed ove
the keys, and remember only the mos
exquisite experience of my life in con
nection with him. But there is thu
rest of the tale, and it really needs
telling.
| didn't see the end. The Nice 30,
and my brother in law saw that, and
J. only know as much as they will tel
% me. The Nice Boy went over and go
him the next morning. He said hi
name was Decker. He said that h
had spent the night in the solemnes
watching and praying, and he had helt
the bottle in his hands and neve
touched drop of it. They gave hin
a bath and clothes, and fed hin
I steadily for two days. He grew fa
, before our eyes. He looked nicer, NOR,
. respectable, but more commonplace
5 He refused to touch the piano, becaus
it gave him such craving for drink
He hated to talk about himself. Blu
7 he let slip occasional remarks abou
, London and Paris and Vienna ant
> He must have known strange people
, Once he told me little story abou
. Clara Schumann that implied NOR
8 than acquaintance, and he quote
. List constantly. He was an America
, beyond a doubt, we thought He spok
D vaguely of u secret that even List ha
r missed. l guessed it was connecte
with that wonderful singing qualit
=. that made the instrument huma
(. voice under his fingers. When l aske
o him about it he laughed.
"You wait" he said confidently
l "You Just wait. I'll show you peopl
Q something to make you open your eyes
!, / know. You're good audience, 20
: and your friend. You make good al
t to play in. You Just wait"
And have waited. But never agai
q shall / hear that lovely girl sing acros
n the hills. Never again will my heal
q grow big, and ache and melt, and sill
n away to that song. "Du, Meme Leih
IS Du." Oh, 1t was not Of this earth
g that music. Perhaps when L die
: shall hear tho Berceuse echo-I thin
. it may be SO.
o Well, We got them all together
Q There must have been a Thousand
/ They came from across the bay and u
/ along the inlet. The piano was tuned
a and the people were seated, and ! wa
lust where we were that night, an
2. Mr.. Decker was walking behind ii
10 little curtain in a new dresssuit. II
" had shaken hands with me just befor,
J. His hands were cold as ice and the
g trembled in mine. l congratulated hi
>, on the presence of Her H--frol
q Leipsic, who had beon miraculous
ID discovered Just across the bay: an
20 Mr.. J-of New York, who could plat
1t him unsteady in the most desirab
m fashion; and asked him not to forg'
p me, his first audience, and his mo-
i sincere friend and admirer.