The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-03-04
THE COBBLER /

IN mountain girt Salzburg, noted
g only for being the birthplace Of
Mozart, there dwelt once a shoe
maker of the name of Siebold Welt.
Notwithstanding the lowliness Of
5;s station, this disciple Of st. Girls
n;n burned incense assiduousiy be-
{fore the muses.. Like the village
Milton immortalized by Gray, Herr
Veit had been debarred in youth Try
.chill penury' from the acquisition
# knowledge, but maturer daye
brought him many a recompensing
opportunity for a glance at the
o ar of wisdom. All was grist that
rrrayitatcd to our shoemaker's men
ri millstones, and the stores acquir-
ID thus promiscuously from reading
and hcarsay were never lost or suf-
forcl to molder for want Of express
:;on. Indeed his application Of
what he cleaned was frequently so
;nopportunc as to excite the hearty
laurhter of his honest but critical
neishbors. Yet he paid little heed
to their merriment and today was
). ready to excuse ME shortness Of
thcir boots with "brevity is the soul
If wit" as to assure them tomorrow
that their old shoe were brought
"pevcr too late to mend"
Siebold was a bachelor from
choice, but often let parts of the
house, a quaint red tiled, low ridged,
many gabled dwelling at the end of
one of the serpentine streets char
acteristic of Salzburg. At the time
We peep into his life we find him
landlord of Gabriel Stoss, a student.
Herr Vets proximity to SO Animal
ed a cyclopedia proved such Q slim
ulant to his love for learning as to
be we'll nigh inebriating. The mere
creak of the stair as the scholar
went to and fro was sufficient to
make the shoemaker's Imagination
reel in visions Of the feast Of reason
that the very steps groaned to sup
port.
Occasionally in the evenings the
student would drop into his hosts
cozy workroom and read him YER
:ions of the Greek and Roman writ
ers and, carried along by his listen
IRIS whole souled attention and IN
discussed rapture. would not infre-
quently continue. the ~inspiriting
myths away into the night. At
such times the simple toiler's de-
light eliminated in nothing short
Of ecstasy. Once when the student
had retired with his little red mar
gincd volume Of legends his admir-
ing auditor actually stole into the
vacated chair to satisfy himself that
an exchange of seats did not entail,
q priori, a transfer of knowledge
4 and fastened to bed, where before
long he lost sight Of sordid and
hampering reality in the blissful-
ness Of a dream that brought in it's
sequence the attainments Of the
professor of ancient languages in
the very college attended by his
lodger.
One summer evening, having fin
ished his work early, the shoemaker
4 sauntered out upon his porch to
i smoke and mediate the while on q
recent narration of the Students.
The story took his fancy so much
A as to incite him to action. During
Herr Vets musings the sun set.
The retired street grew still and
dark. Lights appeared here and
there behind small diamond shaped
panes and emphasized the descent
Of night. Suddenly knocking the
3ashes from his meerschaum, the
shoemaker entered his domicile and,
acting upon his co~gitations, took
down his time worn fiddle and drew
from it a few strains, a return to
his former mistress, music. Away
back in his youth he could.recall the
days when he handled the bow with
s#3no mean skill, but for many a year
|he had neglected music to delve in
5the more alluring field Of letters.
Now again he applied himself to his
s%s9nstrument with a fervor which
5nade use Of every spare moment
pntll his old art returned so raw
shingly that the wondering neigh
pOrs strayed in to hear him at his
pew caprice. But they withdrew
eyer with jocund faces, for, try as
they would to refrain from smiles,
herr Veit was sure to elicit merri-
fnent in the end by some such OBJ
}e''yatlon as, "We're never too old
70 learn"
1t was on q morning after he had
}een practicing five months that
ne shoemaker closed his shop, lock-
81 up his rooms and, mounting the
1teep, bare steps that led to his
gdger's quarters, left the key with
faoriel, adding that he was not to
looked for until his return.
ieaylng the youth at the head of
pc stairway, key in hand, gazing
t1onderinplv after him our it;nor-