Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-04-10
heTra$edy
of Toto
Ry ELLIS PARKER BUTLER
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w HEN Kubelefsky had visited
w every part of the ship and con-
WINGED himself that it had been de-
serted, and that only Toto remained to
keep him company, he seated himself
on one OF the steamer chairs that had
not been swept overheard during the
gale and gazed out over the sea-
s.It is bad, bad!" he said, more to him
self than to Toto, and then his ire
pressible optimism asserted itself, and
he added: 'But things are not as bad
as they might be-
1t was indeed bad. To be adrift in
mid-Atlantic on an abandoned steam
er. It was terrible: 1t was donner-
blitzlich! And the ship all mussed up
and broken by the storm! But on
the other hand there were endless
quantities of food, the ship did not
seem to be sinking, there was still
Toto, and there was still his violin.
Things were really not as bad as
they might be.
All the world knew Kubelefsky, the
magician of the violin. All America
remembers his hair, his art, his &C.
centricities, his triumphs, and his
Toto. His tour was one grand ova-
ton, one round of teams, cheers and
kisses. Musical womanhood knelt in
rapture before his hair, throbbed with
his art, but, above all, talked about his
Toto. But every genius has his eccen-
tricities, and Kubelefsky would not be
Kubelefsky without his Toto. Some
said he affected Toto for her advertis-
ing value, but we who knew him best
did him no such injustice He loved
her. He loved her only as those great
souls that are set high above the world
by their surprising genius can love
that which is lowly and soulless and
animal.
How Kubelefsky and Toto happened
to be overlooked when the ship was
abandoned l cannot pretend to say.
Kubelefsky had been unutterably sick;
sick as only the great genius can be,
and as he always was when the sea
was rough, and they may have left
him, thinking him dead. But Toto had
not been seasick. She was a splen-
did sailor. All cats are.
Yes, Toto was a cat; but she was
more than a cat, she was a friend, a
companion, almost lover, and in the
weary weeks that followed the storm
she was Kubelefsky's refuge from sol
itude. She was his audience, his
plaudit. his appreciation, and apprecia-
ton is demanded by genius. Genius
lives on appreciation. For weeks, as
the derelict floated on the summer sea,
Kubelefsky lived on Toto's apprecia-
ton and canned goods. It is such
occasions as these that bring out the
noblest qualities. They are, as the
advertisements Of certain iniments
say, good for man and beast"
Things were truly not as bad an
they might be. Kubelefsky had his
violin and he had Toto, and he drew
great solace from each. When he
pressed his chin against the vibrant
wood of the violin and drew the living
bow over it's speaking strings, he for
got the world in an ecstasy of joy,
and when he glanced down at Toto,
sitting sedately and watching his eyes
for the smallest token of love, his soul
was filed with contentment.
! They had always been good friends,
had Toto and Kube1efsky, but they
become more than that as week fol-
lowed week. In all his walkings to
and fro she followed at his heels, and
when he paused she would rub against
his shins and purr with delight He
talked to her as one would talk to a
sweetheart He fondled her, and held
her in his arms, and when he was
weary after playing a difficult rhap-
sody, he would bury his hot face In her
soft fur and gain new strength.
Sometimes he would vainly specu-
late whether he loved his violin or