Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1902-04-25
CLOVER BILL HEARS NEVADA.
His Ideas Are Esthetic If His Language is
Somewhat homespun.

Somewhat homespun.
When we received last weeks STAND
ARD | found that Emma Nevada was
going to MARBLE At John Miller Muir.
phys opera house. After reading the
paper, tore it up SO Balinda would
not discover the fact that a great
singer was to arrive in Olympia. 1
noted the price of tickets were not
less than 81 and from that up to a
pair of opera glasses. I had just 25c,
but knowing Jim Connolly always
paid good cash price for veal,
killed the fatted Calf and carefully
slowed him in my wagon; then l
hitched up Yankum and Jerkum
(Yankum and Jerkum are mules and
twins) and headed for Olympia, l dis
posed of my veal TO jim Connolly,
and put my mules in Barnes stable
l then went to Mike O'Connor's and
purchased a ticket from handsome
young lady. Mike has pair OF hand.
some young ladies in his store.
When the shades of night we're
falling fast, l wendell my way toward
the theater; l went up until arrived
at the upper porch. there handed my
ticket to young man, who tore the
ticket in two and handed me back a
piece with the seat number on it;
went inside the door, there l met
another young man who took me to
numbered seat on the porch. On
the stage was piano, but Emma was
not in sight. l sat and waited and
waited until began to think Emma
had got lost on the way. As I gazed
around this pretty theater my heart
warmed toward John Miller Murphy
for building such a pretty house OF
amusement for the enjoyment of the
people of Olympia. After long wait,
man dressed in . claw hammer coat
and big nose and a pair OF Dun
dreary eyeglasses walked out on the
stage and sat down at the piano. He
first felt all Of the keys to see if any
OF the bunch were missing, then he hit
the piano a clap that made things
rattle; it howled, it screamed and still
this man kept punching, ramming
and slamming that poor piano, but
nary tune could he get out of it. He
seemed at times to start to play
the opening bars of Yankee nit
Doodles," Charley Granger Crossing
the Nesqually." and other popular
airs, but his hands would slip and it
was all off. The man got desperate,
he pulled his chair up closer to the
piano and could see that pianos fin.
ish all right. 1t screamed in agony,
il squalled like cat, it growled like
lion, and chirped like bird. but still
no tune, then this cruel man stopped.
turned his nose Il mean head -
around and made bow as much as TO
say it is all over, there is not a tune
in town. Then the man ran in be-
hind them trees that are planted on
the stage and came out leading a lady
by the hand. This was Emma. The
women all around me pulled their spy
glasses and looked to see il Emma had
her own or wore store teeth. Then
the man sat down at the piano again
and gently stroked it with his long,
white fingers; then Emma began to
try to sing. but her voice would get
away every little while; it would get
go far away that you could scarcely
hear it tell her it was coming back.
She warbled like bird, screeched like
q saw and droned like the wind, but
nary a word could your Uncle Bill
understand. I had began to think
Emma could not sing but later on
when the man At the piano handed the
first few bars of :" My Old Kentucky
Home" I could have given him q
dollar extra when Emma began to sing
this sweet old Southern song. I then
knew why she was called a great
singer. Emma Nevada is a great
singer. When she sung "The Last
Rose of Summer" later on, the ladies
around me began to cry; I did not
know who was dead, or what he or her
died with, but your Uncle Bill mingled
his tears with Olympia's fairest dsugh.
ters.
Long may Emma Nevada wave as
Queen Of Song Birds. is the wish
of CLOVER BILL.