The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-09-17
SNAKES TASTE IN MUSIC.
Rapture Shown by a Serpent Over
One of Chopin's NOcturnes.


During our first year in Colorado"
said the ex-ranchman's wife, my daugh-
ter and myself were desperately lone
some, and for the girls sake more than
for my own | urged my husband to try
his utmost and get a piano brought there.
A Colorado ranch was then much far
Their from any point of civilization than
it is today, and for a long time the feat
seemed hopeless, but at last after long
and tedious effort, an instrument found
its way to our wilderness.
"My daughter had a fairly good mu-
steal education before we went to the
ranch, and after the arrival of the piano
she spent a4l her leisure time at it. One
evening, about two weeks after it came,
she had spent a couple of hours practic-
ing some of Chopin's waltzes; then she
struck into the nocturnes. Chopin is my
favolite among the composers. While
sat there listening intently, my elbow
resting on a table beside me and my head
on my hand, felt myself impeled to go
to the window and look out. | had heard
no sound, everything was as still as
death. but there was just a consciousness
that something was outside.
81 moved cautiously, peered out slowly
and drew back suddenly. A huge snake
was coiled up close under the window.
Its body was perfectly still, its head
poised in listening attitude and swaying
slightly from side to side. as if In rhyth-
mic movement with the music. | did not
see this all at once. | took in the situa-
ton after | returned to the window and
stood there watching the creature out of
range of his eye and wondering if my
presence would make itself felt and di-
vert its interest from the music But no.;
/ don't believe even speech would have
broken the SPELL The creature seemed
dazed, entranced, fascinated!
"After watching him for a time l went
quietly over to my daughter and without
startling her by so much as hint of my
strange discovery l asked her to desist
for a few moments from the minor and
semiweird notes she was playing and
strike into one or two lively airs. She
did so, while / returned and watched the
reptile.
after a couple of minutes of the rat
Ting music the snake began to grow rest
i've. 1t reared its head, beat it from side
to side and showed other symptoms Of
restlessness or anger. The music kept
on; the snake began to writhe and SILVER
as if in distress; finally it uncoiled and
glided away out of sight in the under
brush.
"When 1 told my discovery to the male
portion of the family, they were all ready
to watch for that snake and kill him at
the first opportunity, but | forbade that.
l desired to make further study of his
love of music, and l did so. l prepared
my daughter to look for his advent again,
and his snakeship did not disappoint US.
Again and again we watched him creep
to his musical rendezvous, and again and
again we tested the quality of his mu-
steal tastes We proved beyond the
shadow of q doubt that low, sweet music,
minor, sad or weird notes, fascinated that
snake and that anything lively or noisy
repealed him.
81 grew positively interested in the
study and even found myself bestowing
a sort of human pity on the reptile, but
it resulted in no good, for the other mem
| bers of the family did not share my feel
ings, and l must finish my story by say
| ing that the creatures love for Chopin's
nocturnes cost him his life during one of
| his visits under our window. New York
/