Evening star., 1899-04-01

appearance with a boy to lead him at the
corner of 9th and T streets two weeks ago.
He is an elderly man with long gray
beard, and his violin performance is really
not appealing. 1t consists of a decidedly
fiat rendition of the older hymn tunes. The
man is rather pitiable object, however
and undeniably helpless and deserving, and
so he comes in for his share of the charity
of the passers by, who nevertheless seem
somewhat IN hurry to get out of range of
the dreadful strains of the fiddle.
The old blind darkey-he is perhaps the
very blacklist man in the District of Co
lumbia-who has had the patent office block
as his especial territory for many years
past. still hangs on to his old stand, looking
precisely the same as he did fifteen wears
ago. He plays the accordion. but years of
it have taught him the quality of mercy
and he plays it with the soft pedal per-
petually on. Just wnat the men inside the
big marble building who have to examine
the kinds of coupling pins and mechanical
toys would do were this mendicant to take
1T into his head to perform fortissimo on
the accordlon, is a matter upon which the
examiners occasionally reflect humorously.
Like Flowers in Spring.
The exceedingly dapper young man with
the peaches and cream complexion, who
acquired laures and plenteous backsheesh
as a whistler on the streets of Washington
last spring, is about due here again. A pill
grim who recently got back to the city
from a perilous trip to the Businesses of
Phil-a-del-phia, says that the young man
has wintered on Chestnut street in that re-
mote town, wearing an overcoat considera-
bly, more rich and expensive than those of
most of the passers by. and with his com
plexion unimpaired
linen there Is considerable cron of
street musicians, just now reappearing
after their winter Information, who do not
exactly figure on the mendicant list but
who furnish music of a sort that they con-
slider worth the coins they get for it, Per-
maps the most novel pair of this sort are
the Italian ciarinetist and his pal the per
former on the italian bagpipe. These two
nave been prowling around uptown for
several weeks past. The difference between
the Italian bagpipe and the Scottish bag
pipe is SO indistinguishable to most pedes-
TRANS whose ears are assaied by the
moaning of the Sicilian wind contrivance
that they all turn to their friends and get
off that dead and gone one "Iioot monr'
and walt for the laugh to follow The diff
ference between the two Instruments is
said to be only in their appearance or the
way they are put together; surely the
sound coming from both is the same This
particular Italian piper attempts no "Dinna
Ye Hear TIL Slogan" effects. but he keeps
up sorrowful accompaniment to the quite
ambitious essays of the clarinetist who
really knows how to play upon the reed.
and who makes the beautiful aria from
William Penn his star piece. They are a
weather-beaten pair these two, and the
clarinetist wears heavy gold hoop earrings.
1t seems to be their first visit in Washing
ton, and they will probably have a profit
able uptown campaign when the weather
becomes warm enough for Washingtonians
to sit out on their front steps.
From sunny Italy.
The big, husky-looking Italian OF middle