The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-09

bunk, and l pulled it out. l thought
might be able to get so cents or a dollar on
it, and reflected what a gorgeous inspira-
ton it had been on my part that after
noon to buy il in. I took it out of the
case to see if the strings were all right
still, and picked on it some. Then 1 drew
the bow across the strings to see if the old
thing was in tune, so that If the pawn
broker guy tried it he'd find it all right.
l was hauling the box across the G. and D
strings, when l heard a rap on my door
Come in says l, and the queerest little
chap you ever saw-all hair and eyes
walked in.
L HART re veeolin,' he said, unit I re
lipperty took-it FOUND most veil. May 1
him see?
Il handed it over to him, and he looked
Ii over, and then he looked me over. Then
he felt all over the fiddle, and raped on
the back of it, and examined the inside of
it. and fondled that mask of tragedy head
piece, and finally picked the strings. Then
he looked me over some more.
VAR you get zis?" he asked me, and
derned if the hairy-looking little old chap
didn't examine me with suspicion.
AT a hook shop, for a couple o. dol
lars said L 'Why?'
He went on taking the strings again,
and then he gave me such a series of sus-
picious staTes out of his big fiery eyes that
he sort o. made me hot.
" Is there anything ailing you, Jim?'
asked him.
HE didn't make any reply, but he put
that old fiddle under his chin, made a
sweep with the bow, gave crash on the
strings from the up to the E and all on
the bridge in a chord, and-say, it gets me
around the neck to talk about that duck S
music, honest it does 1 never heard any
thing like it. Why, il was simply devilish!
| What he couldn't do to that old thing
well, he gave lot of those crashing chords
all over the violin, and then he began way
down on the bottom of the string and
fooled around there with those stubby fin
gers of his, and you could shut your eyes
and think there was woman in the room
with a contralto voice, and a solo in it, at
that. Then he gradually worked his way
up to the top of the e string and burst
into lot of low whimpering up there, and
after keeping that up awhile, down he
went to the G again with a mutter like a
little cascade, and-Well, | walked over to
the dirty window of my room, looked out
| into the alley and felt sorry for making
| such hash of my life, and I'm not such
a soft slob, either. There's not a fellow in
this room that that music wouldn't have
made to feel like thirty cents, and 1 know
il. He must have played away for fifteen
or twenty minutes and when he did stop 1
turned around. 1 knew that he couldn't
have made that music on an ordinary fid-
die, and, badly as l was in need of the
price, 1 had already reconsidered the idea
of taking it to a three-ban shack and put
ting it in for a half dollar or so.
You play that pretty well, JIM" said 1
He pulled out big red bandanna hand
kerchief and wiped his eyes. Then he
shrugged his shoulders.
"Uh- who could nod? he said. "Besites.
I pelong to re Thomas Orchestra-am
fairst veeolin. liz week we are here blay-
ing"
'Then he sort o. shook himself together.
q" I gif you nifty tollar vor re instru-
ment, he said.
" Not on your tintype.' said I. That
fids been in my family since 1923, and it
isn't for sale. I'm temporarily on the hog,
but I'm hanging on to that violin all
right
He looked me over again.
" L gif you for eet an huntairt tollar,"
he said
" You must think I'm dead easy said
I don't play on the violin myself, but 1
know 'em when / see them. You ought
to be good enough violinist to see at
glance that that violin is a first-rate
Strad."
" Nod exactly first-rate one he said.
a second--a goot eggsample, bud nod re
vair highest. 1 gif you zwei huntairt."
" Come again, said I. You want to
multiply that about five times and then
maybe I'll do business with you. / know
what It's worth.
He played on 1t again and then he made
the last ralse-$300. 1 suppose at that
l could have made him hit 1t up to the
$500 mark, but / saw the way the thing
was. and wanted to give that ST. Louis
hoodoo a good hard twist l finally told
him that he didn't have the price to paw
me for the violin, but that II he would
make me a first-rate immediate sale of
it-say 5000 or $l,500.-Id treat him right
He wanted il himself too much TO take
very Enthusiastically to this idea. but al
last he said he knew a collector of old
violins in ST. Louis-he's quite a famous
man In that llne-who would buy the
violin at sight. He went along with me
to see this man. The collector, because
/ was a bit shaky after my little month
Of H. thought that he could throw Il into
me, and tried on the brusque act. cues
tioning me as TO where / had got the in