Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-06-15

udlI past IL, ana gone up TO my room
and dropped wearily into a chair, with
out even troubling to light the lamp.
But l was restless. and | soon rose and
went to the window, throwing it wide
open. 1t was clear. the moon was near
ly full and almost directly overhead.
AS | gazed out into the cold clear air,
heard clock strike II, and then an
other clock farther down town struck.
and then a clock in the house-it seem
ed as If all creation was made of
clocks, all striking II turned, in
tending to go TO bed, when my atten-
ton was arrested by a cloud, passing
over the face of the moon You know
how fanciful man will get at times
well, | thought that cloud had the
shape of Elsa's head, and then as it
passed, it seemed to ME as If, for
a moment, the moon was not so bright
as 1t was. 1t was as if some one had
turned down the light of the Lady Of
Night laughed dreariIy to myself,
thinking it was a trick of my eyes, and
1 do not know that 1t was not am
merely telling this as it happened.
well, as | say, was about to close
the window and retire, when | was
suddenly assailed with the conviction
that the room was not as had left It.
Something was different | could not
say what. but had a distinct idea
that there was difference Puzzled
/ started to light the lamp, when
most plainly heard the sound of low
minor chord "a chord struck with d
slight roll from treble to bass-a chord
that was the beginning and the ending
as well of a little song. poor little
thing at best, but one that | had COM
posed and given to Elsa and one that
only she and | had ever heard
Il turned sayagely toward the piano
| knew there WAS but that one piano In
hearing distance, ami | knew l was
alone in the ROOM l knew if that pi-
ano was the origin of the sound had
just heard that it was produced by
some other than ordinary means.
lighted the lamp. There stood the pi-
ano. lid open, just as | had left -si-
lent as | had left it-with the excep-
tien that there was the overtone of a
pedal held bass note still vibrating
softly in the air. / looked, involun-
tarily, at the pedal. Gentlemen, that
pedal was held down! 1t ig monstr0us,
it is Incredible, but it is a fact-that
pedal was held down-and even as
looked 1t was released and came slow
ly back to its natural position, as if the
foot of the invisible performer was
taken earessinsly from it.
''To say that was startled would be
to put 1t very mildly | was thunder
struck and not little frightened, not
Of bodily harm, but frightened as we
usually are of things we cannot under
stand
II took step toward the instrument
AS | did so not only heard that chord
again, but saw it struck / repeat,
saw the keys 60 softly down and
heard the sound, soft, low. but clear as
bell. / stopped, petrified. I turned,
walked an uncertain step toward the
door, turned again, and then dropped
weakly into chair. Well thought
4 am either dreaming or / have gone
crazy or / am seeing a miracle! | must
brace up and do something But even
as | moved to do something there
stole through the air the prettiest
strain of music, the sOftest, sweetest,
merriest strain ever heard. listen
ed, spellbound. | had never heard
anything like it before, nor have
ever since. You have all heard that
composition that has made me what
ever / amt is called my best compo-
sition-but | am failure as a COM
poser, because have never since been
able to do anything so good.
1.-THE music continued for some ten
minutes, the piano behaving in all re-
spects as if being played by human
being. The keys were struck with
every note, the pedals worked as if
pressed by a foot of flesh, and then
with that rapid trill that ends on A
fat the music broke off as abruptly as
it had begun and | seemed to hear
mind, | say | seemed, to hear-a low,
sweet laugh-Elsas laugh. But | am
quite willing to believe that this might
have been all imagination. How do
know the whole thing was not imagi-
nation? Well, in the first place,
know 1t from my consciousness of
what Is real and what is a dream.
know it from the music, so strangely
played for me and which have never
forgotten, although / have never been
able to play it with the power it had
when first l heard it, but lest you say
proofs, l will tell you this: had just
had my piano put in perfect order
newly tuned, yet that 4 fat on which
there is a long trill at the end of the
composition, that A fiat was full
minor third out of tune. had dropped
that amount in an evening and yet
the three strings of that middle regis
ter A fat were in perfect tune to-
gether.
.That, gentlemen, is all there Is to
my experience. 1t was my first and
my last Perhaps | should say that
told the story to the judges before play
ing the compt sitlon in competition for
the Elliott prize, but they evidently re-
garded me as harmless lunatic. Any
way, they let me play it as my own,
and it won the much needed 1900, en-
abling me to complete my course and
win what success has come to me.
have. as / told you no explanation to
offer. 1t is as mysterious to me as it
must be to you. l have asked often
for help to solve the riddle but | have
never come nearer the truth than at
first. shall be very glad of any light
any of you gentlemen can throw on
the subject Washington Post
Not n Novelty.
s'One of the latest novelties In Paris
Is monkey that plays the violin.
That's no novelty. There's monk