The Portland daily press., 1900-01-26

IN despair. he was sittink " tne WIN
dow, looking into the garden which sur
rounded his house.
The drixzle Of the rain and the chirp Of
the low slantins swallows impressed him
like mosrnful music. and II soothed him
to cit there and listen to II In quietude.
He was an old man now.
II seemed strange, but the more he
thought Of II the more the fact impressed
him that since his meeting with the
matchmaker he never had been truly hap
py or contented.
The drizzle OF the autumn rain and the
chirp of the swallows wove themselves
into music. and as he listened he seemed
TO distinguish some Of his own music In
II. A few strains only that died away.
and then again II was only drirzle, driz-
Gle and chirp, chirp. and then the lost
strains came again and Aoated through
the somber drizzling and plaintive chirp-
Ing, and before he knew II the music Of
the prayer In Moses" was plainly audi
Bile.
with a choked Shrek the old master
Jumped to his feet. He snatched the
watch from his pocket. Michel Plivee's
masterpiece was playing OF itself! Hu-
man hand had not touched IL!
A few minutes afterward n messenger
called at the study TO deliver letter and
found the old master in n swoon. When
he recovered and saw whom the note was
from. he told those who attended him TO
leave the room. He then read the fol-
lowing letter:
Honored Msster-Now 10 the time. Come to my
house at midnight and I shall tell you the vaiu-
able meaning OF the ciphsrs 9, 81, 81. Kind re-
RardA Your obedient servant,
MICHEL PLrvrs.
Rossini opened the window and shouted
and returned.
as signor Plivee inr' asked the mas
ter.
mo. signor: he Is we'll"
"Then tell him | shall be with him at
the appointed time"
The mysterious appointment at the
hour of midnight and the possibility of
the ful6llment of a desire he had nourish-
ed for so many years combined to raise
the nervous temper of the old master TO
its highest pitch. He attempted to short
en- the hours by playing. He could not
play to suit himself. He could neither
read nor write. and he would not talk or
partake of food. All day and all evening
the Wizard Of Pesaro" could be heard
pacing about In his lonely study.
As the cathedral chimes struck II Ros-
sini knocked at the door Of Plivee's house.
A pale. tear stained face looked out.
Moaning and weeping sounded within.
My Godl What's happenedT cried
the artist.
Rsmeau, the celebrated physician.
came to the door and said: Only a few
minutes ago Signor Plivee. our beloved
host, was sitting among US, hale and
hearty. Suddenly he had q heart stroke
and fell from his chair. crying, The CT
phers-the ciphsrsv His death was In
stantaneous do not know what he
meant by the ciphers.' Do your
The news 30 shocked the Impressions
BILE composer that be almost tainted.
When he was questioned a. to the cause
Of his late visit, be shrewdly avoided an
explanation. for he was seized by the fear
that the inscription would bring him only
distress and unhappiness.
81 never want to hear another word
about him." he told his wife, whs anx-
iously awaited his return. These hg-
ures mean death"
From that day Rossini put the costly
timepiece away in his dressing chest and
in its place wore q common watch. He
declined to give his wife permission to
obtain some clew from Plives's widow
regarding the probable existence Of pa
pers containing the key to the solving Of
the figures, and he made every effort to
forget the matter.
Eight years passed. Gloachino An
ii -
passing away Of the great artist was
gradual and slow. Step BY step he was
sinking into the arms Of death. But
there were moments when he reused
himself. as it were, to consciousness.
On the last morning several letters
from friends and relatives arrived con-
tanning encouraging messages for the old
master. While his wife was occupied
In reading them for him Rossini discov-
cred among the many dainty cards and
envelopes a large envelope addressed to
him personally. Seized by an inexplica-
BILE and marvellous fright and horror he
whispered with parched lips: What 10
this2 Quick-look and see what II Isl"
But before Signora Rossini could open
the envelope the old composer sat up
stiff on his pillows. His lips moved
without emitting a sound, his eyes Slar-
ed dreadfully, and he motionsd his wife
to listen.
Therel Michel Plivee's masterpiece.
which for years had been locked up in
the dressing chest. was playing. 1t play
ed . new melody, the aria "Di tamil
palpiti." Human hand had not touch
ed 1t!
Signora Rossini was stricken with ter
ror. Tremblingly she opened the mys-
terious envelope. Her husband seized
the contents. One long, awful stare, and
the old artist fell back on his pillows
with . wild cry: IL knew it! 1t meant
deathp'
He clutched the papers so tight In his
death grasp that II was difficult TO get
them out of his hands. The contents
were three checks on the bank of Milano.
bearing the numbers Q. 81 and 81 and
amounting to over 4 million francs.
ROssini's widow donated the money
for the erection of an orphanase In the
composers birthplace. Pesaro, but his
tory does not explain the mystery sur
rounding the figures. the watch and MI
chel Plives.-Nsw York Press.